The Foundations of Criminal Policy Evaluation

Although the necessity of evaluating criminal policies is of evident issues, the study of the foundations of criminal policy evaluation is essential for Iranian criminal policy makers. The aim of this article is to search for some rational foundations for criminal policy evaluation. Taking a descriptive-analytical approach this article reviews evaluation and its relationship with public policy in general, briefly. The article, then, studies three major foundations of criminal policy. Rationality is the first major basis of criminal policy making. It means that evaluation is the very requirement of every single rational public policy making including criminal policy. The second foundation of policy making, according to this article, is good governance in its public law sense and as conceived in the literature of Human Rights. Indeed, there is a dire need to improve the quality of governance by applying effective policies, especially in controlling crime and delinquency. Due to the fact that transparency and accountability are two necessary indicators of good governance, implementing numerous evaluations of policies are needed. This, in its turn, helps achieve human and economic development goals and makes policy makers more aware of the results and side-effects of the programs, if any. Evaluation has its own economic aspects and dimensions. Due to the resource limitations of the society, it is necessary to implement the most efficient policies at the lowest financial cost. Without evaluation such an objective seems not to be achievable.