PUBLIC DELIBERATION AND CORRECTIONAL OPTIONS IN MARYLAND: THE RESULTS OF A "DELIBERATIVE FOCUS GROUP" PROCESS

In a democracy, faced with unverifiable claims by individuals and groups to represent the “public interest,” public agencies, including those in criminal justice, must develop means to determine what the public, when well informed and aware of alternative viewpoints, would want the agencies to do. Polling and traditional focus groups are limited in their utility, and the agencies do not normally have resources to pursue more in-depth techniques. To build its knowledge base of public preferences for correctional options, Maryland's State Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy (SCCSP) tested “Deliberative Focus Groups,” based on literature and practice in political theory. The cost-effective process delivered useful information and ideas for the SCCSP for future recommendations when alternative sanctions rise on the state's political agenda. The process also formed a model for other resource-challenged agencies in all policy areas to consider for their own future use.