New public management and criminal justice

Abstract

This article explores the main impacts on criminal justice, especially on the courts, of the managerialist strategies that have been applied across the public sector in the past decade. Some of the special conditions and circumstances of criminal justice are examined, as are the effects on the courts of the curbing of staff autonomy, of organizational autonomy and the push for greater efficiency. The authors conclude by arguing for a more mature form of public management in criminal justice.