Symbolism and Rhetoric: The Guardians of Status Quo in the Criminal Justice System

Abstract

This study argues that criminal justice bureaucracies depend upon symbolism and rhetoric as a major component of organizational stability. Because political pressures on the criminal justice system are usually reactive rather than systematic and sustaining, pressures can be placated through symbolic and rhetorical responses rather than substantive responses. It is further argued that much of what appeared to be changes in philosophies or processes of criminal justice agencies may have merely been symbolism or window dressing. Ironically, the reliance on symbols to legitimize the workings of the criminal justice system can lead to substantive change. In those instances when important symbols have eroded, criminal justice agencies dependent upon such symbols have been made politically vulnerable, and substantive change has also taken place.