1999 ASC Annual Meeting Abstracts
Meeting | Author Index | Title Index
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1998 National Youth Gang Survey Results and Three-Year Trends
The National Youth Gang Center surveyed a representative national sample of more than 3,000 law enforcement agencies regarding youth gang problems in 1996, 1997, and 1998. The survey sample consists of all police departments serving cities with populations more than 25,000; all suburban-county police and sheriffs’ departments; a random sample of police departments serving cities with populations between 2,500 and 25,000; and a random sample of rural-county police and sheriffs’ departments. Three-year trends are presented. In addition, highlights of the 1998 survey are presented.
A
A Case Study of Daytime Truancy Enforcement and Juvenile Crime
Research on the crime-reduction impact of curfews remains inconclusive and widely debated. We examine the relationship between curfew enforcement and the distribution of urban crime with a quasi-experiment set in Orange County. California, where daytime truancy enforcement was recently begun in attempts to reduce daytime burglaries and improve school attendance. Two longitudinal data sets are used: the Gang Incident Tracking System (GITS), and a police record database of juvenile crime. Both sets contain data from 1996 through 1998, enabling an analysis of the effect of truancy enforcement on the amount and location of juvenile crime and juvenile gang crime. We first describe the motivation for the truancy enforcement and the method of implementation, and then present findings of crime reduction and displacement
A Community-Based Intervention for Homeless Crack-Using Women: Involving the African-American Church Community
This paper describes the development and implementation of an innovative community-based intervention program for homeless crack-using women with children. It was designed to address many of the needs of homeless crack-using women that traditional treatment programs frequently neglect, including: long-term, continuous services that address the social isolation, tangible needs, and alienation from the client’s community; building upon the indigenous resources of the community instead of relying solely on professional treatment providers; the use of an intervention that is sensitive and relevant to the client’s culture; and addressing the clients, spiritual needs by helping them re-establish their bonds to their church community. This federally-funded demonstration project combined six months of comprehensive residential treatment with the use of volunteer mentors from the African-American church community who maintained daily contact with clients for approximately one year. In addition, spiritually-based group activities, including workshops, fellowship meals, and group activities in the community were used to further foster social and community support for the women. A description of the program model, its implementation, and an overview of the results from the outcome evaluation supporting the program’s effectiveness will be presented.
A Comparison of Crime Trends in Chinese Societies and the U.S.
The paper compares crime rates in three Chinese societies and in the United States for the period of 1981-1994. First, the research examines crime rates in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Although considerable research has been conducted on crime trends in each of the three Chinese societies, very little attention has been paid to comparative analyses between them. This study is an attempt to remedy this situation. Second, the study compares crime rates between Chinese societies and the U.S., which has received very little attention in comparative criminal justice literature. Data used in this study were collected from the International Crime Statistics published by the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the United Nations Surveys of Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice System, and Crime Statistics published by Taiwan’s National Police Administration. They represent crimes known to the police. The overall crime rates as well as violent and property crimes are compared and discussed.
A Comparison of Group Counseling and Educational Interventions for Chronic Custody Litigators and Contemnors in Family Court
Highly conflicted separating and divorced families who are in chronic disputes and frequent contempt of court ordered arrangements for custody and visitation have been shown to be psychologically abusive of their children and costly to the courts. The purpose of this study was to evaluate two group models of diversion from litigation for these families: a group counseling intervention and an educational/skill-building class. The results of a formative and outcome evaluation study of both services are described and compared with the litigation records of a comparison sample of families that did not receive the group intervention. Compared to baseline, at the nine-month follow-up there were consistent findings that coparents were more cooperative, less conflictual and more likely to be concerned about their children’s needs. Litigation rates and usage of family court services significantly declined for the group counseling model but were unchanged for the educational model, compared with their respective comparison groups. The counseling model cost 16.5 and the educational model cost 2.5 counselor hours of service per family. However, differences in client populations and jurisdictional policies and practices renders problematic any direct comparisons of outcome effectiveness of these two models of service.
A Comparison of Juvenile Sexual Offender Treatment Programs in Correctional Settings
Recognition of juvenile sexual offending as a serious social problem has accorded treatment of this population greater emphasis and priority in the juvenile justice system. At the same time, research on juvenile sexual offending has intensified, yet such research remains limited and exploratory in nature. This dearth of literature results in little direction for treatment providers and policymakers to sufficiently guide policies and procedures regarding this seriously troubled population. This paper will examine sex offender specific treatment programs located in juvenile correctional facilities in three states. Each state will be analyzed in terms of processing juvenile sex offenders and subsequently which sort of juvenile sex offender treatment program is available for assignment. Based on program documentation and interviews with treatment personnel and program directors the paper will describe how state juvenile sex offender treatment programs vary in structure, components, and implementation as well as similarities (or dissimilarities) of program elements. Implications for policy and practice will be discussed. I
A Comparison of Rural-Urban Differences in Adolescent Substance Use
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a twenty year plus review of the nationally representative Monitoring the Future Study of adolescent substance use. Comparisons of prevalence rates between rural or non-metropolitan and urban or metropolitan youth are made across a wide variety of substances. Characteristics of students, including gender, race, age, among other, associated with substance use, are also broken down by metro and non-metro status. The authors address the issue of convergence of substance use rates and epidemiological patterns between rural and urban youth. Also, the authors discuss whether or not rural-urban differences that persist have any theoretical and substantive importance.
A Contextual Analysis of Delinquency Theories: Elaborating the Community Connection
Theories of delinquency stem from a number of sources. Much of the sociological roots of these theories suggest that macro-level processes affect the relationship between micro-level factors and delinquent behavior. However, due mainly to modeling limitations, most empirical research has focused only on micro-level analyses of delinquency. In this paper, I elaborate theoretically the explicit macro-micro links of several delinquency theories, including social control, social learning, and general strain. This is followed by an empirical examination of these links using longitudinal data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS, n=12,298). A multilevel statistical model is used to study the variability of micro-level relationships across a large sample of communities in the United States. The results elaborate delinquency theories while furthering research on micro-macro links in adolescent behavior.
A Cross-National Comparison of Drug Possession and Drug Trafficking Offenses at Different Stages of the Criminal Justice System, 1990-1994
The Fifth United Nations Crime Survey was utilized to analyze drug crime trends between 1990 and 1994 within and between countries and regions. Drug-possession and trafficking offenses were examined at each of the following stages of the criminal justice system: apprehension, prosecution, conviction and admission to prison. The questions that are addressed include: 1) where, geographically, are drugs a more significant problem in the-criminal justice system, 2) how has the share of-drug possession and trafficking offenses changed over time in the criminal justice system, 3) are drug offenses more likely to be filtered out in some countries, rather than others, and 4) is there a regional or worldwide trend in filtering out drug cases. Case summaries and means were used to assess differences and the sign test, a non-parametric test, was used to test the validity of the results.
A Developmental Epidemiological Investigation of the Relationship Between concentration Problems and Aggressive Behavior
The relationship between second and sixth concentration problems and aggressive behavior was examined in an epidemiological sample (N=191 enrolled in 19 Baltimore City Public Schools in an effort to further investigate their continuity or discontinuity beyond the first grade as previously reported by Kellam et al. (1991). The childhood sample composed on 96 males and 95 females were in a control condition; thus, their behavior had not been altered or manipulated in any manner. The psychometric ratings of concentration problems and aggressive behavior are based on the perceived observations of teaches in the classroom in the spring semesters of second and sixth grades. Four groups were created based on high or low intelligence using the scaled score of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised. Results using bivariate correlations analysis indicate a significant correlation between second and sixth grade concentration problems in males in the high intelligence category and for males and females with low intelligence scores. However, second and sixth grade aggressive behavior was significantly correlated for both males and females for both low and high intelligence. Moreover, early aggressive behavior was significantly correlated categories. On the other hand, second grade concentration problems were significantly correlated with sixth grade aggressive behavior only in females with low intelligence. Because males and females differ with respect to concentration problems and aggressive behavior, early examinations of female aggressiveness may shed insight into the development of aggression in females. The implications for the differences in patterns of correlations will be discussed.
A European Road to the Penal State?
Over the past thrity years, the U.S. has gradually substituted for the social management of populations deemed derelict, disreputable, and deviant, their penal treatment by a restructured, commercialized, “welfare-carceral complex” designed to impose desocialized wage labor and to dispose of supernumerary categories, resulting in the hyptertrophic growth of its prison and criminal justice system. Will Europe follow suit in similarly criminalizing poverty as the consequence of and complement to the generalization of work insecurity and the deepening of social inequalities attending upon the demise of the Fordist-Keynesian social compact? This paper surveys penal policies, carceral trends, discourses on “security,” urban disorder and punishment, and shifts in welfare programs in the European Union to discern the path that Europe is taking–or might take–towards building its own brand of penal state. In so doing it seeks to identify the institutional, cultural, and political factors that foster or check, accelerate or mitigate, the drift from the social to the penal government of misery in advanced societies.
A Housing Authorities Perspective on Crime Mapping
Most crime mapping in the United States is done by police departments. The mapping of crime in public housing is itself quite rare and us usually the domain of police agencies or research criminologists. The Housing Authority in New Bedford, MA is unique in that it is the principal crime mapper in that municipality. The Housing Authority forged a partnership with its local PD several years ago when crime mapping of public housing by any organization was virtually unknown. The story of that partnership will serve as the basis for this presentation.
A Jurisprudence for the Ages: Identifying the Top U.S. Supreme Court Justices and Criminal Procedure Decisions of the 20th Century
This paper presents the results of a survey of criminal justice and law school faculty in the United States who teach criminal procedure law regarding their opinions about (1) the composition of the ideal 20th century United States Supreme Court, and (2) the most significant criminal procedure decisions of the 20th century. The reasons given in support of respondents, selections for the top Supreme Court Justices and the most significant criminal procedure decisions of the century are reported, and the respective views of the faculty from criminal justice departments and law schools are compared. The survey results help identify the qualities and characteristics of outstanding Supreme Court Justices and of doctrinally and practically significant constitutional criminal procedure decisions according to experts who teach in this area of the law.
A Longitudinal Analysis of Welfare and Homicide
This study examines the extent to which simultaneity and offense aggregation biases taint cross-sectional analyses of the effects of welfare transfers on homicide. Specifically, we use ARIMA techniques to model the reciprocal relationship between the ration of individuals receiving AFDC benefits to the number of unemployed and total and disaggregated counts of homicide for a large mid-western city. The data are monthly, spanning the years 1976 through 1994.
A Longitudinal Qualitative Study of Prison-based Drug Treatment for Women
This paper describes a qualitative field study that will examine gender-specific, prisonbased treatment. First I will collect data through an intense field study of women prisoners participating in a new in-prison drug treatment program, “New Directions”, a modified therapeutic community at the Central California Women’s Facility. Second, I will follow these women upon release and detail the impact of substance abuse treatment on their futures. Through depth interviews, focus groups and participant observation, I propose to describe the links among past drug use, present drug treatment and visions of a future beyond imprisonment. I intend to use a modified life history calendar to develop profiles and case studies that probe the drug-crime connection. In the second year follow-up study, I would maintain contacts developed with a sample of women during the fieldwork and investigate the ways in which this experience has shaped their post-release lives. This project calls for the use of “multiple depth” interviewing, that involves repeated contacts with subjects, allowing relationships to develop and layers of information to be collected. Several researchers have suggested that this method is particularly important for the study of women.
A Meta-Analysis of IQ and Delinquency: Much Ado ABout Nothing
Research has demonstrated a relationship between IQ and delinquency controlling for different measures of intelligence (Prentice & Kelly, 1963; West & Farrington, 1973); age of onset of criminality (Janson, 1982; Manne & Rosenthal, 1971); severity of criminality (Gibson & West, 1970); types of offenders (Heilburn, 1982; Hogh & Wolf, 1983), and gender (Rutter, Maughan., Mortimore, & Ouston, 1979). We conducted a rneta-analysis of those and other studies generated in a comprehensive literature -review. Using an interactive meta-analytic procedure, we estimated the operational validity of IQ for the prediction of delinquency and for the amount of observed variance attributed to range restriction, sampling error, and measurement unreliability. We also conducted moderator metaanalyses by study design, sample type, measure of intelligence, gender, age, and SES. The overall results revealed an operational validity of p = -20 indicating that only 4% of the variance in delinquency is explained by IQ. We will discuss these and the moderator results
A Multilevel Analysis of Weapon Possession at School
The proposed study is aimed at addressing limitations in the extant literature on school-based adolescent weapon carrying. In particular. the present study suggests an integrative multilevel model of student weapon carrying to be used in place of exclusively micro or macro models of student armament. The proposed integrative model will emphasize the simultaneous effects of both individual sources of motivation — including fear, victimization, criminal lifestyle, pro-gun socialization from family and/or peers, and school attachment — as well as contextual (school) sources of motivation to carry weapons to school, including various indicators of school disorganization. In addition. the multilevel model proposed here assumes that school-level disorganization may condition or moderate the effects of individual-level motivation on schoolbased weapon carrying- Hierarchical logistic models of school-based student weapon possession will be estimated using survey data from over 29,000 6-12 graders in over 50 middle and high schools in eight different Kentucky counties.
A Multilevel Model of the Effects of Social Disorganization on Adolescent Deviance
This paper reports an empirical investigation of the effects of social disorganization on adolescent informal and formal social control networks and individual delinquency. Longitudinal, multilevel structural equation modeling is employed to estimate a theoretically informed model that specifies social disorganization as a second level, contextual variable operationalized using 1990 census data (Time 1). Social disorganization is also specified as a first level, individual variable operationalized using respondent perceptions of social disorganization in their neighborhoods starting in 1993 (Time 2). Also included at Time 2 are individual level constructs that measure dimensions of the respondents’ informal and formal social control networks. The dependent variable, individual deviance, is measured using interview data starting in 1996 (Time 3). The sample consists of 953 adolescents between the ages of I I and 18, who live with a least one biological parent, and are enrolled in school. Findings of the analysis support the hypotheses that social disorganization as a contextual variable has influence on the perceptions of social disorganization at the individual level, which in turn has effects on the adolescents’ social control networks. These networks then have effects on later individual deviance. Limitations of the research are discussed, as are further avenues of research.
A Process and Outcome Study of a Prison-Based Treatment Program for substance-Abusing Women
Providing treatment for substance-abusing women in prison has been recognized as an important approach both to address this prominent need among women offenders and to reduce-recidivism associated with continued drug use following release from prison. The Forever Free program in California is a mature program that provides- 4-6-months of residential treatment following a psychoeducational model rather than the therapeutic community model used in most prison treatment programs, Graduates-may also participate in six months of community-based residential treatment while on parole. This paper will present findings from a process and outcome evaluation of the Forever Free Program, including data on during-treatment changes in psychological measures; the contribution of therapeutic alliance to those changes, relationships that women have with their children, participation in aftercare, and post-treatment status on parole. Institutional and other barriers to participation in the prison and community phases-of treatment will be discussed, as will the applicability of the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment initiative, under which Forever Free is partially funded to treatment programming for women.
A Profile of Recidivism Indicators Betwen Felons and Misdemeanant Released From Incarceration in North Carolina
Studies on recidivism rates of prisoners released from correctional facilities reveal varying statistical percentages. Moreover, the term “recidivism” can be defined many ways, and any definition can be problematic. Using official data furnished by the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission, we examined the varying characteristics that are associated with fingerprinted rearrest within two years of release between felons and misdemeanants released from incarceration. A random sample and matching of 500 prisoners from each category was utilized to compare the two groups. A profile of each group was developed which identifies key indicators or predictors of recidivism. A discussion of the implications for correctional policy makers, educators, and students is provided. Future research concerns are also addressed.
A Quantitative Investigation Into Responses to Methadone Maintenance Treatment Organizational Style
The organizational effectiveness of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) was evaluated by analyzing levels of compliance and involvement with treatment programs for clients at three types of MMT clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area. Secondary analysis was used on longitudinal data collected from the National Institute on Drug Abuse funded project, Injection Drug Users, Methadone Maintenance Treatment, and AIDS, with Marsha Rosenbaum as principle investigator (n=233). The analysis rested on Rosenbaum’s theoretical model of clinics types differentiated by the clinic’s style of control over clients (A Matter of Style: Variation Among Methadone Clinics in the Control of Clients, 1985). With a focus on the interaction between individuals and their institutional environments, the analysis compared three types of clinics: reformist, medical-model and libertarian. Reformist clinics exercised the most control over their clients and libertarians the least. The methodology included cross-sectional, dynamic and pooled regression analysis. Compliance with clinic rules was measured by levels of drug use and involvement with clinic program was measured by continuous treatment. Affiliation at all three clinic types reduced drug use at the same rate. However, involvement rates varied and were explained by a control balance approach to understanding responses to organizational type.
A Self-Report Survey of Delinquency in Metro Manila
Through a self-report survey, data were gathered from 635 teenage respondents from 9 secondary schools in Metro Manila during the 1998-1999 school year. Students aged 12-17 were sampled from public and private, coed and exclusive high schools from all socioeconomic levels. Delinquency scores are found to be generally low among females, the middle class and students with good academic performance. Specifically, the rates were lowest among middle-class females and upper-class males and highest among lower-class males and upper-class females. Among those with high delinquency scores, female respondents and those coming from middle and upper classes (for both sexes) tended to commit status and property-related delinquents acts while lower-class males were associated with acts involving physical aggression and violence. Delinquency scores are regressed against the student’s social and academic backgrounds, along with theoretical variables, such as self-concept, degree of association with families, peers and authority figures in school and the labels that students receive from others.
A Social Control Explanation of the ‘Broken Homes’ Hypothesis
Despite the copious amount of literature that has been published regarding the influence of family structure on delinquent behavior a clear understanding of this phenomenon is yet to emerge, The majority of previous studies have only investigated if broken homes are related to misbehavior; however, they have failed to establish why this relationship exists. Some authors that have addressed this issue have attempted to use social control theory to explain their findings. However, their conclusions are frequently contradictory. The purpose of this study was to determine if the parental attachment component of social control theory could explain why family structure was related to delinquency. Multivariate logistic regression was used in the investigation. A representative sample of school children from the province of Ontario was analyzed (n=1,891). The findings suggest that family structure is a significant predictor of most self-reported delinquent behaviors both at the zero order level and when age, sex and SES are controlled. However, when parental attachment is entered into the regression equation the significant correlations between family structure and delinquency tend to disappear. This suggests that the parental attachment coponent of social control theory can provide a plausible explanation for why broken homes are linked to delinquency. Keywords: family structure, broken homes, delinquency, social control theory, parental attachment.
A Spatial Analysis for Calls for Police Service: Pubs, Clubs and Cabarets in Vancouver, B.C.
The present paper explores the analytical potential of “Pattern Theory,” as developed by Brantingham & Brantingham, to explore the spatial distribution of calls for police service in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As a theoretical framework, Pattern Theory is seen as appropriate for such a discussion for two main reasons. Firstly, pattern theory considers crime as a complex event, or process, that involves, among others, a spatial dimension. Secondly, this theoretical framework provides a host of practical, yet immediate, linkages between empirical study and urban planning. Such potential is discussed in the context of a preliminary investigation of the relationship between the location of licensed premises (bars, pubs, and cabarets) and calls for police service in various neighbourhoods of Vancouver. Using the GIS software of the Crime Prevention and Analysis Laboratory (CPAL) at Simon Fraser University, this study provides a tentative `first look’ at maps representing a variety of calls for police service and the street addresses of licensed premises.
A Statewide Evaluation of Ohio’s Drug Courts: Characteristics and Outcomes?
The impact of the increased caseloads from an increase in drug arrests during the early part of the 1980s, created many problems for the court system. Faced with drained resources and a lack of effective options to reduce recidivism, many jurisdictions began to search for an alternative. Hence, the movement toward specialized courts began in the late 1980s. Drug courts were developed to reduce substance abuse and recidivism through techniques such as monitoring, alternative sanctions, and treatment. Given the dramatic increase of these courts, an assessment of their effectiveness is crucial. Data from a statewide evaluation will be used to describe various drug court models and discuss preliminary evaluation findings.
A Test of the Divergent Validity of the Aggression Construct
The strong majority of criminological theories are general. General theories assume a single cause or set of causes explain all criminal and delinquent behavior. Consequently, the causal processes explicated by these theories do not distinguish between aggressive and non aggressive acts. In contrast, psychological theories explaining aggression are act specific. These theories assume that there are constructs unique to the explanation of particular kinds of behavior. This study tests the divergent validity of the aggression construct. An exploration of the divergent validity of the aggression construct provides a critical test of the assumptions of general and act specific theories. The identification of constructs that have an act specific effect on aggression would confirm the assumptions of psychological theories of aggression, while refuting the assumptions of general theory. The implications of constructs, borrowed from psychological research on social information processing, for the divergent validity of the aggression construct, are tested. An alternative specification of the standard LISREL structural equation model is used. This specification allows the estimation of both general and specific effects. Data is gathered with a scenario survey. The survey is given to a convenience sample of college undergraduates.
A View From the Inside–Prisoners on the Death Penalty
Recent research indicates that incarcerated offenders tend to favor the death penalty as a penal option. Ohio has only recently (Feb. 1999) resumed application of the death penalty. This study utilizes survey research of inmates in a Midwestern close-security prison to determine the effect, if any, the recent execution of William Berry (the first inmate to be executed in Ohio two-and-a-half decades) has had on inmates’ attitudes regarding capital punishment. We will also explore the perceived efficacy of the death penalty as a deterrent to violent crime for Ohio inmates.
Academic Integrity
An ongoing debate in criminal justice education centers on the definition of a university education in the context of students’ expectations of employment in criminal justice professions. Should the university pursue its traditional role of providing broad-based liberal arts education, or should a criminal justice education be geared to providing a more professionalized, work-oriented set of skills and knowledge? This question is partially philosophical, but we argue that the addition of empirical data is necessary in fully assessing the issue. This paper will present findings from a research project that does just that. The Employment-based Curriculum Assessment Project seeks to map the match (or mis-match) between the set of learning goals pursued by Criminal Justice and related faculty, and the set of skills and knowledge that future employers desire of Criminal Justice graduates. The primary hypothesis is that, counter to common belief, employers and faculty are more alike than different, and that both prefer students trained in a liberal arts tradition. The unique methods (both qualitative and quantitative) developed for this project will be discussed, as well as the primary findings.
Achieving Justice: An Analysis of Sentencing in the Lower Criminal Courts inBangladesh
The purpose of this study is to assess the sentencing practices in the lower criminal courts in Bangladesh. It is important to note that plea bargain does not exist in Bangladesh as a result, the majority of the cases go to trial. Data for the present study were collected from court records and in-depth interviewing of judicial officers. Preliminary results suggests that enormous caseloads, absence of coordination between the police and court, and modern technology have seriously hampered the proper dispension of justice in the from court syswtems of Bangladesh. Some policy recommendations are also offered.
Adjudicated Health: Incarcerated Women and the Social Construction of Health
Women in prison have been identified as one of the most vulnerable groups of women in society. Women often come to prison with histories of sexual and physical abuse, substance abuse, and increased incidences of chronic mental and physical illnesses. Providing health care to this group of women is a formidable challenge to health care providers who know little of the life-ways of most women in prison. This study examined the social construction of health through weekly interviews with 20 incarcerated women over 15 months. Data also included the author’s observations and experiences of how life worked, and how health care was provided within the prison. The study was grounded within a critical hermeneutic context using interpretive methods for data analysis. Adjudicated health reflects the social construction of health for women prior to and during imprisonment, and is dually grounded in protection and punishment–a construction in direct apposition to the department of correction’s conceptualization of health as individualism and personal responsibility, a position that easily supports women’s expectations of punishment, but effectively does little to protect them or their health. Implications for the health of women during imprisonment and post-release are discussed.
Adolescent Deviance, Non-Normative Timing of Role Entry, and Subsequent Adult Deviance
Recent criminological life course research finds that employment and marriage has a diminishing effect on the relationship between adolescent and adult deviance. however, not much is yet known about how off-timing, or non-normative timing of entry into adult roles affects adult deviance. These are important issues as they affect the nature and quality of adult roles which has been shown to moderate the effect of adult role attainment on adult deviance. This study attempts to add to current life course research in crime and delinquency by examining the effects of adolescent deviance on non-normative timing of entry into the roles of parent, spouse/long-term relationship partner, and worker and also upon non-normative school exit. Effects of adolescent deviance and non-normative role outcomes on subsequent adult deviance are also examined. Four Logistic regression equations and two OLS regression equations were estimated using longitudinal panel data involving a cohort of 2,240 individuals interviewed as adolescents and later as young adults (between the ages of 21 and 29). Sociodemographic correlates of gender, race, and socioeconomic status were controlled in these analyses. Adoelescent deviance significantly increases the likelihood oof all four non-normative role entries, non-normative school exit, and early entry into the workforce have positive effects on adult deviance.
Adolescent Drug Use in Korea: A Test of Competing Three Theoretical Concepts
The main purpose of this study is to examine empirically the major elements or concepts of three theories (social learning, social bonding, self-control theories) in competition to determine how useful they are to explaining adolescent substance use in Korea. The second purpose of this study is to investigate direct, indirect, and the relative influence of peer and parents on the use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other drugs. In an attempt to overcome some of the limitations of previous research regarding the parents and peer influences on adolescent substance use, this research tests the major elements and concepts derived from three theories. The data for this investigation are from a questionnaire survey among a sample of high school students in Korea. The total sample size is more than 1,000 individuals. The questionnaire is a 125-item instrument constructed for this project. A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses will be conduced. The main hypothesis for this study is that the major concepts derived from three theories will be entered into the equation in several steps and should account for a significant amount of variation on licit and illicit drug use by adolescents in Korea.
Adolescent Illicit Druge Use: The Role of Physical Abuse, Sexual Victimization, and its Co-Occurrence
There exists the possibility that adolescents exposed to childhood maltreatment are at an increased risk for illicit drug use. Moreover, the type of outcome may be dependent upon the particular type of victimization experienced. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the role of sexual victimization, physical abuse, and the co-occurrence of both types of abuse in adolescent illicit drug use among a sample of 2,468 Mexican-American and White non-Hispanic adolescents. Specifically, the present study will address the following questions: (1) Are physical abuse, sexual victimization, and/or the cooccurrence of both related to self-reported age of onset of illicit drug use?; (2) Are physical abuse, sexual victimization, and/or the co-occurrence of both related to selfreported measures of illicit drug use?; and, (3) What are the relative effects of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and/or the co-occurrence of both on illicit drug use?
Adverse Outcomes in Experiments: Methodological, Statistical and Ethical Issues
One consistent challenge that those who evaluate criminal justice interventions face is how to report and assess the risks of adverse outcomes. This challen~pe is multidimensional, including statistical, methodological, and ethical issues. For example, although the possibility of “backfire” effects, in which the primary outcome variable is actually made worse as a result of the intervention, has been discussed, even in this case it is not clear what standard should be applied in order to conclude that such an effect exists. Some researchers evaluate such risks using the same two-tailed test of significance for which they test for a beneficial effect. It might be argued) however, that the balancing of risks of Type I and Type II error that occurs for the selection of a significance level for a beneficial finding (in which the risks of false rejection of the null hypothesis are generally set lower than the risks of false failure to reject the null hypothesis) might not be appropriate when balancing risks concerning harmful findings. These issues are potentially more complex when negative results relate to secondary variables rather than the primary outcomes. For example, problems involving controlling for multiple tests of significance and post hoc analysis may be raised as are difficultie5 of causal attribution of harmful outcomes to the intervention absent a theoretical mechanism for such effects. Issues of how and what types of information should be collected on what researchers may assume to be unrelated adverse events are played out against the background of limited financing and the possibility of impacts on units of analysis different from those receiving the intervention. These latter concerns may be especially problematic when stakeholders are invested in the intervention and the effect on the primary,outcome variable is judged beneficial. The ethical issues raised include how, when, and to whom possible adverse effects should be reported. We explore these issues in the context of a randomized field experiment and with reference to the guidelines for such situations in the context of the clinical trials for the evaluation of drugs published by the Food and Drug Administration.
Affective States and Sex Offending: A Test of Control Balance Theory
The theory of control balance (Tittle, 1995) claims that people commit t deviance/crime to correct a control imbalance–be it a control deficit or a control surplus–with the goal of extending the amount of control they can exercise in their lives. This suggests that crime allows some people to adjust their evaluations about the amount of control they enjoy in their lives. But it remains unclear what it is about doing crime that corrects a control imbalance, and how offenders experience a shift toward greater autonomy and control. Tittle argues that the principal determinant of the probability (amount) of deviance is the strength of motivation to correct a control imbalance. Analysis from a recent survey of incarcerated sex offenders reveals that the frequency and amount of offending is strongly associated with the degree to which offenders experience positive affective states (including control) during and after committing their crimes. Findings appear to lend support to the idea that the probability (amount) of deviance is related to the strength of the drive to address a control imbalance. It also seems likely that contextual factors associated with committing sex offenses enhance these positive affective states.
African Americans and the Military Justice System
The U.S. military is considered the most raciallyunbiased of all American institutions, despite recent revelations of hate groups among service members. The veracity off this image is based on numerous in-house studies concluding that racism is not causative of the over-representation of African Americans in the military justice system- An analysis of cases in which African American males were ajudicated by the military justice system between 1997 iind 1995 reveals that processing (charging, pleading, and finding) of black men reinforces the criminal stereotype of an “urban inner-city” male.
After Penal-Welfare: Social Change and Social Order in Late Modernity
What new problems of security and order have been brought into being by the social and economic transformations of late modernity? How have these been thematised in the political domain? What adaptations have they prompted in everyday life and culture? And how have the political and cultural adaptations that have grown up around these problems affected our practices of crime control and criminal justice? This paper offers a theoretical account and an historical outline of these interlinked transformations and a sketch of the new grammar of crime control that they have produced.
Age, Gender and Delinquency: Results From the ISRD Study
In this paper I first examine the relation between age and delinquency in the 12 participating countries, including the age of onset. In this respect the data do suggest that the age patterns in relation to crime participation show considerable overall similarity. The second part of the paper includes the analysis of gender differences in criminal behavior. The analysis showed some interesting variations according to country. Our hypothesis is that theswe might be related to specific cultural background variables that were collected in the study, in relation to social control. In addition the paper examines the extent to which social control variables, such as family bonding and school bonding do explain gender differences in delinquent behavior, both within individual countries as well as in the combined overall sample. A multivariate HOMALS analysis of age, gender, SES and country finally considers the interactions in the relations of these variables with delinquency.
Age, Life-Course Transition, and the Desistance From Crime
A number of researchers have claimed that certain life events such as marriage, employment, and entry into the military are linked to desistance from crime- Debate remains, however, about the exact causal mechanisms accounting for this desistance. The age/crime relationship clearly is intertwined with this question. Using an extension of the deterrence doctrine suggested by Grasmick and colleagues that includes informal sanction threats in the forms of shame and embarrassment, as well as formal sanction threats, we explore age-graded changes in individuals’ perceptions of the certainty and severity of sanctions when contemplating illegal behavior- We attempt to determine whether marriage, employment, education, or parenthood mediate the relationships between age and perceived threats of sanction. Consistent with previous research, we do find that the perceptions of shame and embarrassment, as well as legal sanctions, mediate the effect of age on crirne. However, the covariates of employment, marriage, education, and parenthood do not mediate the bivariate relationship between age and the sanction threat measures.
Age and the Drug/Crime Nexus
This paper examines the associations between drug use and criminal behavior for youth and adults from the general population. Most prior studies examining the drug/crime nexus have focused on deviant populations, but the question is whether the same relationships are evident in the general population. The data for this study consist of the 1995 National Household Survey of Drug Abuse, thereby taking advantage of the large sample size to examine associations among the relatively rare events of drug use and violence. We used logistic regression to explore the relationship among demographic characteristics, alcohol and illicit drug use, and violent and properly crime Analyses show for both the adult and the adolescent models the number of drugs consumed is directly related to violence and property crime. The adult and adolescent models differ, however, in the impact of ethnicity and gender. Adolescent males, both minority and white, have similar odds ratios for self-reported violence and property crime, but white males are at greater odds for being arrested for violence and property crime. The same pattern is obtained in the adult models except minority males are at greater odds for being arrested for violence and property crime.
Age of Onset Effects in an Inner-City Sample
Age of onset has been shown to be one of the most consistent and powerful predictors of serious and chronic delinquency (Tolan & Gorman-Smith, 1998). However, there is evidence that the effects may not be a simple matter of earlier onset is related to more serious delinquency (Loeber & Stouthamer-Loeber, 1998). The emerging pattern of results suggest that onset timing may be important but that the effects may vary by the social ecology of development. This presentation will focus on the predictive value of age of onset of delinquency and the pattern of onsets of increasingly serious types of delinquency over early adolescence to predict long-term involvement, ultimate seriousness of involvement, and patterns of delinquency. Utilizing six waves of data from the Chicago Youth Development Study, longitudinal patterns of involvement in delinquency of 260 male inner-city youth will be analyzed. In particular, the necessity and relative importance of age of first delinquent act for predicting chronicity and seriousness will be examined. Comparison will be made between first act and ages of onset for a serious of increasingly serious types of crime and between this behavioral indicator and contextual risk factors such as life stress, family functioning, and peer delinquency. In addition, variations in effects by type of community and ethnic group will be examined. Preliminary analyses suggest that age of onset may be a less powerful indicator of risk than in other social-ecological contexts and there is meaningful variation among the inner-city neighborhoods of this study.
AIDS in a State Prison: Examining Inmate Attitudes on AIDS and Related Issues
In corrections, policy is generally developed from opinions of correctional administrators and staff. Often missing from policy decisions is input from those most directly affected by it: the inmates themselves. This analysis examines attitudes of newly released state prison inmates regarding AIDS and related issues such as predation, high risk behaviors and inmate social relations. Demographic and social history questions are included as independent measures. Interviews were conducted with newly released male and female inmates Texas state prisons. Results are discussed in light of emerging policy concerns in this area
Al-Islam and Alcohol: An Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Islamic Religiosity on alcohol Use at American College Campuses
Abstract: Although Hirschi and Stark’s seminal study of the impact of religiosity on crime/deviance reported that religious beliefs had no impact on delinquency, the overwhelming majority of studies that have followed consistently find that religiosity has an inhibitory effect on certain forms criminal and deviant behavior-particularly alcohol use, drug use and other minor forms of delinquency. However these studies have been fairly limited in scope, focusing primarily on the Christian faith and denominational differences within the faith. There is reason to believe that the Islamic faith may have a greater protective effect against alcohol use than other faiths because of Islam’s explicit forbiddance of alcohol use. A limited amount of research has focused on the Islamic faith and its possible inhibitory effect on alcohol use; unfortunately these studies have neglected to examine the Muslim population within the United States. In the present analysis, I explore this relationship using data from a study collected by the Harvard University School of Public Health in 1993. Using logistic regression methods, I find that Muslim respondents are less likely to drink alcohol than respondents with no religious affiliation and less likely to drink alcohol than members of other religious faiths (i.e., Catholic, Protestant, Jewish). Suggestions for future research arc made.
Alcohol and Homicide: State-Level Replication and Extension
This paper explores the causal connection of alcohol on homicide in context with other cstablishcd theories on homicide causation, including routine activities theory, social bonds theory, and economic deprivation theory. This analysis is a replication and extension of Robert Nash Parker’s book “Alcohol and Homicide, (1995). In this paper, the connection between alcohol and hornicide is examined at the state ‘ level, and a pooled cross-sectional model is used to conduct a time saxies regression analysis, Alcohol consumption is measured by sales of alcohol, and alcohol is examined in four ways: total alcohol sales, beer sales, liquor sales, and wine sales. This allows for exploration of each type of alcohol, as well as an aggregate measure of alcohol, and the potential connection of each measure to homicide. Interaction effects of alcohol with other variables that affect homicide are also explored. Tnitial resultst indicate that beer and liquor consumption are the aspects of alcohol that are causally connected to homicide, wine does tiot appear to affect homicide rates. Two major implications follow ftom these findings. By fidling to include an alcohol measure, previous homicide research has omitted a key explanatory variable. Measures of alcohol therefore are central to future homicide research.
Alcohol and Violence: The Impact of Community Interventions on Violent Crime
Three medium sized communities, two in California and one in South Carolina, were the subjects of a major national study in which the overall objective was to reduce alcoholrelated accidents and injuries. A number of interventions were organized and implemented in these communities, including community mobilization, legal, Responsible beverage service, drunk driving enforcement, and youth related interventions, school and community based. Reducing violence was not one of the original goals of this effort. This paper examines the impact of these multifaceted intervention directed at other targets on rates of violent crime reported to the police. Despite the fact that violence was not a target of the interventions, evidence from all three communities suggests that reducing access to and availability of alcohol in general in a community can have a significant effect on violent crime.
Alcohol Consumption Behaviors, Fighting and Weapon Use: Cross-Sectional Findings From the Add-Health Study
Purpose: This study examined the associations between frequency of alcohol consumption, binge drinking, drinking alone, drinking consequences and reports of fighting and weapon use in fights. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from the first in-home survey of the public-use dataset (N=6504) of the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health (Add-Health Study). This study, conducted in 1995, included a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7 through 12. Multivariate logistic regression analyses, adjusted for gender, grade, and race/ethnicity, were used to test the associations between each measure of alcohol consumption and involvement in fighting-related behaviors during the past 12 months. Results: Adolescents who reported drinking at least 2 days per month were more likely to report fighting (OR=2.40; 95%CI 2.01,2.87) and fighting with weapons (OR=5.46; 95%CI 4.01,7.44) than adolescents who did not drink. Those drinkers who reported binge drinking, drinking alone, and experiencing negative consequences from drinking were more likely to report fighting and using weapons in fights. Conclusions: These results extend our understanding of the association between alcohol use and fighting behaviors by highlighting specific alcohol consumption behaviors that are associated with risk for fighting and weapon use among adolescent drinkers.
Alternative Measures for Drug Users: The Introduction of the Toronto Drug Treatment Court
Specialized drug courts with mandatory treatment referral have been widely implemented in the USA in recognition of the costs and inadequacies of the traditional emphasis on criminal punishment of addicted drug users. Few experiments have been tried elsewhere, but the first such program in Canada was introduced in Toronto in 1999. While following the basic model established in the USA, the Toronto approach is grounded in the principles of both harm reduction and restorative justice, Focusing on dependent opiate and cocaine users, charged with possession or minor trafficking offences, individuals who choose to enter the program undergo a rigourous assessment and are assigned to various treatment modalities at CAMH, Along with monitoring and frequent court visits to ascertain progress, participants are also assisted with community-based needs- such-as-housing and employment. This program is being evaluated only on criteria of recidivism, cost effectiveness, treatment and health outcomes, but also on indicators of perceived well being, quality of life, autonomy and sense of justice. This presentation will describe the “start up process”, provide preliminary data and give some initial impressions of ways in which a uniquely Canadian approach is being realized.
Alternatives to Incarceration for Felony Offenders in New York City
In 1997 New York City implemented a new system of alternative to incarceration sentencing options for felony offenders. We will present process and outcome findings from the Vera Institute’s on-going evaluation of these programs. The ATIs are classified into special populations according to age, gender, and substance use. Data will be presented on participant needs, service delivery, case processing, and program outcomes. We will discuss treatment outcomes both in the context of individual program experience, and the special populations defined by the city. Method, and challenges in measuring program service delivery will also be addressed.
Am I My Brother’s Keeper?
There are three interwoven threads to this paper First, violence before the birth of society-such was the violence of Cain. In that story there is no precedent for the notion of “brother” and Cain acted in moral ignorance so it is inappropriate to call the killing of Abel “murder.” Second, violence in a world of social rules-the one we see evolving in Old Testament stories and which we (in the Abrahamic world) have today; there can be death by murder: an act that breaks the moral rules. However, “society” itself is not unitary but fragmented. and-the third thread-the notion of loyalty is born. What is truly done in its name, including killing, may be counted as virtuous. Drawing the threads together I see violence following from an indifference to options (the case of Cain) or reduction of options. It may be that an individual or a group feels cornered and violence is seen as the only recourse. More interestingly, loyalty itself morally implies a reduction of options-hence the all-too-common association of loyalty and violence. If at the beginning of the story violence begat morality, as the human story progressed morality begets violence.
American Apartheid: The Incarceration of African-Americans
The dramatic increase in the American prison population during the past two decades has been largely the result of the “war on drugs” (and to some extent the “war on gangs”). The impact has been most heavily felt by racial minorities, especially African-Americans. By the early 1990s African-Americans became, for the first time in history, the numerical majority in prison. Their incarceration rate increased so much that they now have a rate that is almost eight times greater than for whites. This paper explores this issue in some detail and connects the incarceration of African-Americans to two related trends: (1) the overall increase in prison populations, largely as a result of the “war on drugs” and which has resulted in a prison system that resembles the old Russian Gulags and (2) the close connection between the concentration of African-Americans in prison and apartheid-like e what existed in South Africa for so many years. We also make a connection between these trends and the changing economic system in America which has created an ever expanding underclass or what Marx called the “surplus Population” (Or “reserve army”) and attempts to ” control” or “manage” that class via the criminal justice system.
Amicus Curiae Briefs: Protecting Human Rights and Preventing Executions in the United States
No longer can the death penalty be considered solely a domestic criminal law issue. Within the last thirty years, the death penalty has evolved into an international human rights concern. Yet more than ninety countries retain the death penalty and, last year, forty countries carried out executions including the United States. The U.S. is the only western country continuing to carry out executions. One of the most recent and potentially effective efforts to prevent executions (and limit the death penalty) in the United States is the submission of amicus curiae briefs. This paper discusses how European (and other non-U.S.) organizations can effectively participate in U.S. capital litigation as an amicus curiae to prevent executions and limit the death penalty. In particular, this paper focuses on how the amicus curiae can assist the court by Presenting the relevant international law and examining the U.S. obligations under such treaties as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations thereby promoting the interests of justice. The potential impact of foreign amici on the U.S. death penalty as well as the difficulties confronted by foreign amici will also be examined. The paper concludes with an examination of quasi-legal forms of amicus participation in capital litigation on with a view to ensuring justice and preventing executions.
Amy Man Could be a Rapist, any Husband a Batterer, and any Possessive Lover a Stalker but for the Consequences
Historically laws were written in such a way as not to disturb, and officials who enforce those laws were reluctant to interfere within, the family domain. In more recent times the police and courts have become increasingly, although minimally, involved in regulating domestic relationships. This essay contends that the causes of, and the official response to, partner sexual assault, battering, and stalking could be explained under various conventional theories. But this essay argues that these acts, of which men are almost exclusively the assailants and women the victims, could be subsumed under one broad explanatory framework, a modified radical-feminist one. These three forms of victimization of women are usually studied independently yet, these acts often occur in tandem. Since men behave, and criminal justice professionals respond to those behaviors, in much the same way; the argument proposed here is, the same explanation could inform us about all three.
An Analysis of the Challenges Facing the Assault Weapons Ban
The Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1994 included a provision which was designed to stop the possession, transfer and manufacture of a specific set of firearms. These firearms were labeled as assault weapons. The Act specifically named nineteen firearms and prohibited any others which met a specific set of criteria. This ban is proving to be difficult to enforce due to a number of unplanned problems. Furthermore, its effectiveness at reducing crime is questionable. The roundtable discussion focuses on the challenges which have plagued the ban. These problems include copycat weapons, ambiguous defining of assault weapons, and an explanation of the cosmetic changes that the ban requires for weapons as opposed to the effectual changes.
An Analysis of Web-Based Educational Tools in the Criminology/Criminal Justice Field
The paper discusses a variety of Web-based tools and sites useful in support of criminology/criminal justice-oriented distance learning. Tools and sites are evaluated according to selected criteria of usefulness, and rankins are presented.
An Assessment of Private vs. Public Juvenile Justice Education Programs
The relationship between poor school performance and juvenile delinquency has been well established in the research literature. Improving academic achievement is an important step in reducing or preventing juvenile crime. Oftentimes, the best opportunity to improve academic achievement for at-risk youth involves the provision of effective educational services in juvenile justice programs. Comparing the educational services provided by various juvenile justice programs will indicate which programs are most effective in improving academic achievement for at-risk youth, thus reducing or preventing recidivism. A growing trend in juvenile justice is the privatization of juvenile justice programs. Due to the newsness of this trend, there is no research comparing the quality of educational services provided by publicly and privately operated programs. This research makes such a comparison of juvenile justice programs in the State of Florida. Unfortunately, preliminary findings suggest that the educational services delivered by privately operated juvenile justice programs may not be as effective as those delivered by publicly operated programs. The research indicates that this trend towards juvenile jsutice privatization may diminsh the quality of educational services being delivered to Florida’s juvenile delinquents.
An Ethnographic Study of the Explanation and Prevention of Soccer Violence
Soccer has been the most popuiar sport in Britain as for over a century. Scotland has the largest number of professional clubs per capita in the UK (Moorhouse 1984). A consistent feature of any professional match, besides the fans and the players, is the police. However, the role this group plays in the overall experience of a soccer game has been the subject of very little research. Much theory-based research has been undertaken in the past 30 years to study groups of violent soccer fans, or ‘hooligans’ (e.g. Dunning et a]. 1988). More recently, etlnography has been used to better understand the culture and lifestyle of hooligans from their perspective (e.g. Giulianotti 1991, Armstrong 1998). My research takes an ethnographic approach to investigate the culture of soccer policing and the relationships that exist between the fans and the law enforcers. My study is based on the Grampian Police in Aberdeen, Scotland and the home games of Aberdeen Football Club. This paper will discuss my experience of using ethnography in studying a police force and the benefits and limitations I encountered. I will highlight my findings from this approach on how the police explain and attempt to prevent of soccer violence.
An Ethnographic Study of the Heterogeneity and Utilization of Social Capital Within Urban Communities and Families: Implications for the Success of Young-at-Risk African-American Males
Furstenberg (1999) notes that the presence or absence of social capital in a community may be an important link between the structure of communities, families and the development of children. However, the lack of emphasis on the resources and strategies used by at-risk adolescents and their families to avoid delinquency and to foster successful development in distressed urban environments has contributed to fostering social policies that have moved away from focusing on parenting. Crime prevention and welfare reform policies and programs have neglected the agency and power of poor families to create strategies to help their children to “make it.” This paper lends great insight into understanding how children and their families attempt to cope with problems of violence and aggression within a socially and economically distressed inner-city community. It offers a means of examining the social resources, strategies and social networks used by at-risk adolescent African-American males and their families to succeed in an environment often depleted of resources and hope.
An Evaluation of Alternative Community-Based Treatment Programs for Youthful Offenders
This paper presents the results of an evaluation of day treatment programs in Michigan. These programs were instituted as part of an initiative to develop and implement community-based treatment programs designed to provide much needed services to state ward-delinquent youth. This study consisted of two components-a process evaluation and an impact evaluation. The process evaluation was undertaken to examine and document the process of program implementation and development. The impact evaluation consisted of comparing youth placed in day treatment programs with concurrent and historical samples of youth placed in traditional residential treatment programs on a number of dimensions including family and peer relations, school attitudes and behaviors, family and community involvement, attitudes toward deviance, community attachment, alcohol and drug use, and recidivism. Additionally, day treatment programs were compared to traditional residential programs with regard to program cost. This paper will present the results related to program implementation, recidivism, and cost.
An Evaluation of the Chester County (PA) Drug Court Program
The Chester County (PA) Drug Court Program was evaluated by analyzing iuntake and post-discharge data to determine changes in participants’ legal involvement (i.e. rearrests), vocational status, housing status, and substance use. Comparison between participants and a matched non-participant control group demonstrate the impact of the program. Statistical comparisons of Addiction Severity Index (ASI) composite scores from intake and 90-days post-discharge are also presented.
An Evaluation of the TCU Drug Screen
Although most criminal justice agencies across the United States have become invested in treating drug-abusing offenders in the past decade, the demand for treatment resources has continued to exceed availability. Not only must officials decide who should have access to limited treatment services, but they also need to determine the most appropriate type and intensity of treatment in which a drug-involved offender should be placed. These critical decisions are complicated even further in large correctional systems such as the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), which processes over 3,300 new inmates per month. For these agencies, improved drug abuse screening and treatment referral protocols are essential. To meet this demand, the TCU Drug Screen (which has been adopted by TDCJ) was developed recently, and the purpose of this presentation is provide an overview of the instrument, psychometric information, and its association with 3-year post-incarceration outcomes.
An Evaluation of the Virginia Alcohol and Safety Action Program Habitual Offender Intervention Program
The Virginia Habitual Offender Project is an intervention program intended to prevent offenders who have accumulated a second qualifying traffic offense (e.g., DWI or driving with a suspended license) from being declared “habitual offenders”. Persons accumulating three or more separate qualifying traffic violation convictions within a ten year period can be determined to be an habitual offender and have their license and driving privileges revoked. Qualifying offenders are ordered to report to a Virginia Alcohol and Safety Action Program (VASAP) within 30 days or their driving privileges will be suspended. A case management approach is used to develop an individualized program appropriate for each referral to the habitual offender program. Programmatic interventions offered by VASAP include, for example, substance abuse counseling and treatment, education programs, ordered driver improvement, and aggressive driver classes. The impact evaluation of the Habitual Offender Project was conducted using three approaches, a time series regression analysis (measuring the change in the probability that qualified offenders became habitual offenders, pre- and post-program implementation), a time series intervention analysis (examining impact of the program on motor vehicle accidents), and a panel study (examining the impact of VASAP Program elements on the probability of being declared a habitual offender.
An Evolutionary-Based Model of the Characteristics of Sexually Aggressive Men
In ancestral environments in which the human mind evolved, males could achieve reproductive success by engaging in strategies that involved “converging” or “diverging” interests with those of females. Psychological mechanisms evolved designed to increase effectiveness in each of these types of strategies, with early life experiences calibrating relevant mechanisms to prepare the individual for later interactions. Using this conceptual framework, a model of the characteristics of men who use sexually coercive tactics is presented. It integrates many seemingly independent correlates of sexual aggressors within 3 major constellations of characteristics: (1) a general personality orientation to assert one’s own interests at the expense of others; (b) a short-term mating orientation likely to create a conflict of interests with females; and (c) a constellation of emotions and attitudes priming coercive tactics for dealing with strategic interference or conflict. While each of these three constellations makes a unique contribution to the likelihood that a man will use sexual coercion, it is argued that their confluence is particularly likely to characterize sexual aggressors. A series of interrelated hypothesis derived from this model is described and supporting data are presented. The relevance of the model is discussed within the context of samples from the general population as well as mentally disordered offenders. Finally, the relationship of this model to research on psychopathy is considered.
An Examination of Legal Presentation for Indigent Offenders in the State of Texas
An examination/evaluation of legal presentation for indigent offenders int he state of Texas. Emphasis is on capital crimes, race and gender of victim and offender as well as the type of counsel received. Recommendations for improvement and change will be offered.
An Examination of Race/Ethnicity Differences in the “Cycle of Violence”
Previous literature has established a link between childhood victimization and subsequent delinquency, adult criminal behavior, and violent arrest. Yet research on the “cycle of violence” (Maxfield & Widom, 1996) reveals differences by race/ethnicity in the risk of arrest for violence among victims of childhood victimization. This presentation identifies a number of possible explanations for the apparent race/ethnicity differences and tests the adequacy of these explanations for understanding the discrepancy. We use a data set based on a prospective cohort design which follows a large groups of abused/neglected children and a matched control group into young adulthood, Implications for future research and intervention are discussed.
An Examination of the Effects on Children When Their Parents Go To Prison
Each year, several hundred thousand of America’s parents are incarcerated. While there exists a multitude of research on the prison inmate experience general, little has been written about the experience of being a parent in prison. Furthermore, even less focus has been spent on the children of the prisoners and those who care for them during their parent’s incapacitation This paper surveys the literature regarding the effects of incarceration on the children of inmates. Suggestions for future research will also be presented.
An Examination of the Relationship Between Work-Specific Stress and Substance Use: Direct and Indirect Effects
We examine the relationship of work-specific stress (work stress, job dissatisfaction and rewards), negative self-feelings and substance use. Subjects are 4,155 young adults (age 2136) from the 4th wave of a longitudinal Study. The analysis uses the LISREL VIII to estimate a structural model with latent constructs. Two perspectives of organizational psychology inform an analysis: “alienation” and “generalization”. The former postulates that work-specific alienation is most salient, while the latter suggests that generalized stress is more predictive of fluctuations in substance use. Literature shows equivocal evidences to date. In light of House’s (1987) discussion of “cognitive stress” and “affective stress”, we hypothesize that work-specific stress will increase workers’ negative self-feelings and in turn increase their level of substance use. Moreover, since-work-specific stress is more cognitive than affective in nature, it will not increase workers’ substance use while negative self-feelings is considered. The results show that most of our hypotheses are supported when gender and race are controlled. However, work stress has direct causal effect on substance use among males, while this is not the case among females, whites, or nonwhites. Among nonwhites, work stress does not predict negative self-feelings and negative self-feelings does not predict their substance use.
An Examination of the State of Precedent in the U.S. Federal Cirt Court of Appeals
Precedent is the basis of our legal system. When cases are filed, both civil and criminal, the assumption is made that the current case will be treated like previous cases as to matters of law. This assumption is critical to the stability and consistency of our legal system. In the largely unexamined Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals the concept of precedent is being called into quesiton. The current practice of unpublished opinions at the Federal Circuit level will be examined to determine the frequency of nonreliance upon precedent, specifically in the area of correctional litigation. In Circuits such as the Fourth where about 90% of all opinions are unpublished, one wonders how many of these did not follow precedent and conversely how many may have established new precedent were they to be published. Since unpublished opinions are not binding on future cases, the research question to be examined is: What is the current state of precedent at the Circuit Courts level of the federal judiciary? This research will examine cases dealing with correctional litigation for selected Circuits to answer that question. The analysis of the unpublished opinions will categorize cases as (1) not following precedent or (2) setting new precedent, if published.
An Experimental Evaluation of a Long Term Prevention Program Designed to Break the Intergenerational Cycle of Delinquence and Crime
This paper will report results of an experiment that evaluated a controlled longitudinal delinquency and antisocial behavior prevention program. This experimental program began in 1989 and targets families and children of inmates incarcerated for morns than five years. Intensive social work case management techniques were used to provide one-on-one and small group programming to reduce risk factors for delinquency and antisocial behaviors, and increase the protective factors. The analysis will focus on changes on the children’s level of risk and protective factors over the eight year, of follow-up and examine differences across experimental groups on self-reported antisocial and delinquent behaviors over the follow-up period, teachers’ reports of pro-social and antisocial behavior of children in school, and cognitive development measured by standardized aptitude tests.
Analysis of Data Collection and Statistical Research on Crime in Argentina
The paper consists of an analysis of data collection and statistical research on crime in Argentina, describing the three sources of criminal information currently used: police, judicial files and victimization surveys. It includes a description of what has been done in recent years and current plans for the improvement of crime analysis, an overview on the research methods and the sources used in each case. Priority discussion given to the problem of urban crime in the most populated cities in Argentina, the measurement of crime at the national level and coordinating activities with different governmental agencies.
Analyzing the Relationships Between Probation Terms, Probation Violations, Correctional Responses to Violations and Deterrence
Probation and community-based sanctions have increased considerably in the last few years. Consequently, several studies have examined the viability of these sanctions in preventing crime and reducing recidivism, with mixed results. Recidivism, for example, had been recorded from a low of 20 percent in some studies to a high of almost 60 percent in others. Interestingly, most of these studies seldom examined violations beyond those that elicited formal responses. Violations that are informally dealt with are often ignored, consequently limiting our understanding of the impact of different types of informal interventions on probationers’ subsequent behaviors and ultimately, recidivism. This paper examines multiple factors that can hypothetically affect the behaviors of probationers besides the static demographic and criminal history measures. Examined are probation terms, specifically the multiplicity of restrictions ordered, the types and numbers of offenders’ violations, the types of informal interventions taken by probation officers for violations, and the deterrent effects of both formal and informal interventions on subsequent behaviors by probationers. Implications for policy are discussed.
Anti-Gang Legislation: The Newest Weapon in the War on Gangs?
In the last decade a flurry of legislation aimed at reducing gang activity has been enacted, including anti-gang statutes, sentencing enhancements, and civil injunctions and curfews. The support and passage of this legislation is based in part on stereotypical views of gangs promoted by law enforcement agencies, politicians, the media, and, in some measure, criminologists and other social scientists. This paper critically examines the proliferation and consequences of anti-gang legislation in light of the distortions surrounding the issues of gangs in America. After detailing anti-gang legislation at the federal and state levels, a more thorough analysis of municipal efforts (civil injunctions and curfews) is provided. The abundance of legal scholarship pertaining to these civil “remedies” reveals several problems, including their constitutionally questionable status. This abundance is contrasted with the scant amount of criminological research examining the impact of these laws on gang-related crime. A critical perspective on anti-gang legislation relates their passage to the historical legacy of laws aimed at limiting the freedoms of racial minorities and communities. A critical view also connects anti-gang laws to more recent trends, such as aspects of the “new penology (Feeley & Simon, 1992)” and the overall punitive shift in the treatment of juveniles.
Anti-Gang Statutes and Racial Politics
This paper represents an initial effort to examine anti-gang statutes in selected states as well as federal legislation. We explore variation in the types of statutes developed and relate these to regional, political, and demographic differences. Building on this legal analysis, we conduct a content analysis of major newspapers in the selected states to assess their depictions of gang problems in the months preceding and following votes on major legislative anti-gang initiatives. The media analysis facilitates assessment of whether and how a moral panic about gangs was constructed by the local press, police, and politicians. We are particularly concerned with the social construction of the problem population in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, and age, and with how and why a legal response to the problem was invoked.
Applications of GIS to Space and Crime in the City of Edmonton
Over the past four years crime data has been gathered by the authors for the purpose of examining the effect of place on crime. It has been found that there exists in the city of Edmonton a number of rigidly defined areas that have, in large measure, resisted criminal activity over the past four years despite their criminal potential and proximity to criminogenic centres or “hot spots.” The authors examine several possible explanations for the existence of these stable “cold spots” including spatial access and social organization of the areas in question.
Applying Black’s Theory of Law to City-Level Homicide Clearance Rates
Although national crime-fighting expenditures in the US have increased dramatically over the last 20 years, clearance rates have not improved significantly. And while arrests are more likely in homicides compared to other offenses, even these cases often go unresolved. To the extent that they reflect citizens’ willingness to participate in police investigations and because they indirectly indicate the amount of police effort devoted to a case, clearance rates can be understood as a structural level indicator of the mobilization of law. Based on this interpretation, this research explores the utility of Black’s theory of law to explain differences in the homicide clearance rates of large cities in the U.S. Black proposes that the quantity of law mobilized in response to conflict varies with equality, morphology, culture, organization and other social control. Using principal components and regression analyses, we examine the impact of various social structural characteristics on city-level homicide clearance rates. We evaluate the proposition that homicide clearance rates will be highest in cities with (1) low levels of inequality; (2) high proportions of socially integrated, (3) welleducated and (4) organized individuals; and (5) low levels of alternative social control strategies, such as violence.
Are Children Being Seen or Heard?: An Evaluation of the Implementation and Effectiveness of the Provisions for Child Witnesses Under Sections 486 and 715.1 of the Criminal Code of Canada
Child sexual abuse is an insidious and pervasive problem in Canada, as well as many other nations. The recognition of this problem has lead to an increase in the prosecution of child sexual abuse allegations and, therefore, to an increase in the number of children involved in the criminal court process as victims and witnesses. This increased child involvement has highlighted the fact that the adversarial system was not designed or intended for children. As a result, some rules of evidence and procedure have been adapted in an attempt to address the problems associated with child witnesses and their testimony. Sections 486 and 715.1 of the Criminal Code of Canada set out a number of provisions designed to assist children in giving evidence when they are victims of sexual abuse. The author of this paper explores the implementation and effectiveness of these provisions since their enactment in 1988 by interviewing defence lawyers and crown counsel about their experiences with child sexual abusde victims in general and those provisions in particular. Finally, the author offers some preliminary conclusions about the merit of these provision and recommendations for more effective means of dealing with child witness and their testimony.
Artificial Boundaries Between Criminology and Minority Groups in New Jersey: Inside and Outside of the Classroom
There are many intersections in the material covered in the two popular undergraduate courses of Criminology and Minority Groups. Minority Groups courses traditionally focus on race and ethnicity and Criminology–using the traditional definition of crime–tends to see racial and ethnic minorities as committing a disproportional amount of crime. This is true especially in the area of illegal drugs. This intersection that some see as very real has come to light outside of the classroom in the State of New Jersey where the head of the State Police was recently fired as a result of the racial profiling. This is a practice where state police officers target minority males because they believe it is more likely that minority males are drug dealers and/or transporters. Additionally, minorities are over represented in most arrest categories and in prison. I find myself talking about many of the same topics in both classes. This overlap becomes clearer when the instructor uses a conflict perspective. The connection between minority groups, drugs, crime, and prisons has been clearly delineated by Angela Davis. She refers to the “prison industrial complex” which she believes has been increasingly funneling young minority males into prisons for drug and drug-related crimes.
Assessing Lethal Violence Through Criminal Justice Matrix
The NCVS (National Crime Victimization Survey) is used to examine the effects of victim-offender relationship and gender on reasons why victims report or fail to report assaults to the police. Our results suggest that self-protection is a key motive for calling the police when victims are attacked by family members or anyone else they know. In addition, victims of domestic violence are likely to view the kinds of incidents reported in victimization surveys as more serious than are victims of stranger violence. Concerns about self-protection and judgements of seriousness thus appear to increase the likelihood that victims report domestic violence, while privacy concerns and the victim’s desire to protect the offender inhibit victims from reporting family members and others they know. We suggest that these offsetting factors explain the seemingly anomalous finding in past research that victims in the NCVS are just as likely to call the police when family members assault them as when strangers assault them.
Assessing Lighting Values Through GIS Strategies
The integration of GIS with Light Meters is discussed both in regard to the theoretical and practical implications for the study of crime in multifamily environments. There has been much discussion about the relationship between crime and lighting and the fear of crime and lighting. However, there is little empirical work demonstrating such a linkage. This paper will report the results of mapping light values and crime incidents in low-income public housing communities.
Assessing Predictors of Alcohol and Drug Use Among Minority Adolescents
In this research relationships are examined between predictor factors on alcohol and drug use among minority adolescents. Specifically, the adolescent predictor factors examined are family support, peer/social support, behavior adaptation, self-concept, school commitment, interpersonal competence, school performance (Iowa Achievement Test and grades), parental drug use and parental support. Data for this research wow collected from six public middle schools, as well as from the respondent’s parent(s)/guardian(s), in Alabama . The comprised sample size is 383 respondents, Two applications were used for data collection. First, group administration was used to colleet the scholastic aptitude school based performance measures and the interpersonal competence scale of the adolescent. Additionally, the Interpersonal Competency Battery Scale of the adolescent was collected as well. The second application used was self report individual interviews of adolescents, their peers and their parents/gaurdians. For reliability of coding and data entry, two independent data entries were used and then compared for random error.
Assessing School-Based Substance Use Prevention Programs: The Gap Between Research and Practice
After three decades of research devoted to developing and testing school-based programs to prevent youth substance use, much has been learned about which approaches show more promise for effectiveness. While virtually all schools now include some measure of substance use programming, relatively little is known about the nature of such efforts. The School-Based Substance Use Prevention Programs Study is a national study of middle school teachers and school district substance use prevention coordinators designed to assess the types of school-based substance use prevention programs currently in place in public and private schools. Of specific interest are 1) determining the extent to which classroom curricula with features of programs known to be effective have been adopted and implemented and 2) assessing factors associated with the adoption of effective classroom programs. In this presentation, we will report on the gap between what is relative to what should be in classroom programs, suggesting the gap between research and practice. We also will identify those barriers identified by school personnel for implementing promising programs
Assessing the Dimensions and Scope of Wrongful Convictions: An Examination of all Post-Furman Releases From Arizona’s Death Row
Wrongful convictions have conic to occupy all important position in the public consciousness and debate surrounding tile death penalty. A number of cases, particularly those of Clarence Lee Brandley. Walter McMillan, Randall Dale Adams, the Ford Heights Four, and Anthony Porter, are well-known and widely discussed. The existence of scores additional cases, approximately 75 in all, is also widely accepted. However, in tile absence of any systematic processes for identifying the occurrence of wrongful convictions, we also lack any systematic information on their frequency. Willi more than 2.000 releases from death row since 1973, it may be that there are many more than 75 factually wrongful convictions. How many cases escaped our attention before wrongful convictions became a public issue or because the attorneys and clients involved were unable for various reasons to draw attention to their case? This research seeks to shed some light on these questions by looking systematically at each or the 78 individuals released from Arizona’s death row between 1973-1999. These cases are examined and categorized based on the types of errors leading to release, with particular attention to the frequency of factually wrongful convictions.
Assessing the Efficacy of Travis Hirschi’s Social Bond Theory for Explaining Alcohol Consumption for First and Second Generation Immigrants and White Youth
This paper explores the efficacy of the social bond theory for explaining explaining the drinking behavior of first- and second-generation immigrants and white youth. The data that is utilized is the first follow-up of the National Educational Longitudinal Study, July 1998. The initial results indicate that social bond theory is more applicable to explaining the drinking behavior of white youth than for first- or second-generation immigrant youth.
Assessing the Movement to Save Criminology at Berkeley
Publications written by this author and other students at the distinguished UC Berkeley School of Criminology recorded the events leading to the closing of the School. These publications included analytic assessments that may be useful in light of the later development of an umbrella organization, the Division of Critical Criminology, in the American Society of Criminology, which is devoted to critical examination of juridical and non juridical institutions for controlling crime as well as criminogenic causation. The presentation will review these assessments, the strategy pursued by students to maintain the criminology program at UC Berkeley and their implications for the development of critical criminology, then and now. The multimedia component of this presentation will include photographs of demonstrations, posters, and segments of a video documentary of major events and interviews with key decision-makers.
Assessment and Identification of Promising Practices in Juvenile Justice Education
“Promising” practices in juvenile justice education must be identified before the research can be conducted to determine the “best” educational practices for reducing juvenile delinquency. Promising practices are identified through the analysis of quality assurance reviews conducted on education programs in juvenile justice facilities in Florida. Comparisons are made in four areas: transition, service delivery, personnel competencies, and administration. After the programs receiving the best educational quality assurance review scores are identified, an item analysis is conducted on these programs to determine if there are common elements that appear in all of the top programs. Profiles of the positive characteristics found in these top programs are charted and discussed, and comparisons are made with a group of poor performing programs.
Assimilation and Fear of Crime: The Case of Vietnamese and Chinese
The assimilation of Asian immigrants into American society appears to be influenced by factors such as whether migration is voluntary and the attributes of the ethnic community to which immigrants move. Also as important are the level of the new arrival’s education and whether the education was received in the host country, occupation, income and the time of the settlement in this country. In addition to a discussion of these factors, our paper examines fear of crime among Asians living in particular communities in California.
Assortative Mating and Peer Affiliations as an Explanation for the Stability of Antisocial Behavior From Adolescence to Early Adulthood
Recent studies have shown that antisocial men tend to desist from criminal involvement following marriage, particularly if the marria+ge consists of a high quality relationship (Sampson & Laub, 1993). Warr (1998) recently reported that this effect is explained by the fact that men tend to discontinue association with deviant peers following marriage. The present paper extends this line of research by incorporating the process of assortative mating. We test the idea that adolescent delinquency, especially if it leads to arrest, increases the probability that a person will grow up to date and establish a household (marriage, cohabitation) with an antisocial partner. We assume that such partners encourage persistence in an antisocial life style. They do so in part, we posit, by facilitating continued association with deviant peers. There are instances, however, where individuals with an antisocial history develop a romantic relationship with a conventional person. We expect that such partners promote desistence from antisocial behavior, and that they do so, at least in part, by discouraging affiliation with deviant peers. Past studies of marriage and antisocial behavior have focused only upon men. Using ten years of data from the Iowa Youth and Families Project, we tested the extent to which our model explained the continuity of antisocial behavior for both men and women. The results were similar for both genders and largely supported the hypothesized model.
Attitudes and Belief of Public Defenders
There appears to be a decidedly ideological spirit manifest in the job motivations of public defenders. This seems to be reflected in responses typically offered to rationalize public defense work; some of the more familiar include “helping the underdog,” “doing something for the less fortunate,” and “trying to make a difference.” By doing public defense work, the expectation seems to be that some sort of social change, however minute, may be effectuated so as to improve a criminal justice system (indeed a society) viewed as increasingly unresponsive and hostile to the interests of the poor, the lower class and certain racial and ethnic minority groups. Prosecutors, on the other hand, seem to be driven by less intense ideological motivations and perhaps by comparatively apolitical considerations: the desire to “put the bad guys away” or to do something to “protect society” seem less important than the personal benefits to be obtained from their work, including the opportunity to obtain the trial experience necessary for a future career in private litigation. This paper explores the differences in the motivating ideological ethos distinguishing the work orientations of public defenders from that of prosecutors and speculates on the consequences for criminal court processing.
Attorney Use in California Juvenile Courts: 1980-1995 Trend Analysis
An analysis of 800,000 juvenile records for the period 1980-1995 shows escalating use of attorneys of juvenile courts. Contrary to expectations, a greater increasew in attorney use occurred for property and status offenders compared with violent offenders. Implications of the get-tough movement for juvenile courts and attorney use generally are explored. Compared with public defenders, private counsel are more effective at securing adjudications more favorable to their youthful clients. Disparities in adjudications are apparent and do not attenuate over the years studied. Factors contributing to adjudication disparities are race/ethnicity, gender, age, and socioeconomic status. Increasing rights for juveniles are creating juvenile courts that approach criminal courts in their characteristics. Conventional and traditional individualization of youth needs are contrasted with the current due process/justice model used by juvenile courts. Implications for juveniles are discussed. I
Attributions of Drug Offenders Under Treatment-Based Sentencing Reforms
Recent research has demonstrated the importance of attributional processes in understanding the operations of institutions of social control. This paper is a study of the decision-making processes under recent treatment-based sentencing reforms in Washington State. Whereas Washington’s sentencing guidelines require that sentencing be based primarily on concerns about punishment, these reforms have made state-ordered treatment a more readily accessible sentencing option to court actors. Because sentencing decisions can now be based on concerns related to treatment rather than punishment, issues of classification become paramount. Court officials have the complicated task of classifying offenders as being in need of, and deserving, either treatment or punishment. Past research indicates that classification decisions depend in part upon court officials’ attributions about the causes of offenders’ behavior. This paper extends that research by examining the processes by which court officials classify drug offenders, looking at the factors that influence sentencing decisions with a focus on the ways in which attributions about various groups affect the classification process.
Automated Crime Mapping: Autopilot or Power Steering
Now we have the technical capacity to produce mountains of geocoded data and piles of maps. Tools for reducing this information overload are more important than ever. This paper offers some ideas for keeping control of the process and making maps do real work for crime analysis.
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Bait on the Network: Intrusion Detection/Deterrence and the Role of Situational Crime Prevention
Intrusion detection is a rapidly expanding area of technology within the field of information security. Situational crime prevention and perceptual deterrence theory can provide network system administrators, security architects, and others concerned with information security with, (1) a systematic approach to designing plans for intrusion detection/deterrence, and (2) a research-based explanation for its successes and failures as an intervention. “Honeypots” are a form of intrusion detection that use probabilistic deception to increase uncertainty for all computer network attackers. If a critical mass of computer users and networks begin systematically deploying honeypots, diffusion of benefit effects are likely to result.
Balancing Efficiency and Equity: Economics and Insider Trading
Notwithstanding the lack of consensus about the proper scope of insider trading relatuiona, few will disagree that efforts to eliminate all informational advantages and establish informational parity in trading transactions are clearly beyond that scope. Indeed, much of the discourse about insider trading prohibitions is aimed at striking the appropriate balance between market and regulatory approaches. In this presentation, the basic economic arguments for and against insider trading prohibitions will be discussed.
Batterers Behind Doors: Evaluation of an In-Custody Program for Domestic Violence Offenders
An assessment of a pilot batterers’ intervention program for incarcerated male offenders was conducted at three corrections’ sites in Jacksonville, Florida. The batterers’ intervention program was modeled on the Duluth Power and Control (Pence & Paymar, 1993) curriculum and delivered by staff of a local woman’s shelter. The relationship between length of program, batterer type, and recidivism was explored in a pre- post design. The Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (Straus et al., 1996), Personal Relationship Profile (Straus et al., under development), and other social psychological measures were administered at intake and exit to the program. Criminal history data was obtained at a nine month follow-up period. The overall recidivism rate for any rearrest was 18.7%. Program length did not predict successful outcome, nor were any batterer characteristics as identified by the social psychological scales found to be consistently related to reoffending for domestic violence or any other violent crime in this pilot assessment. Arrest data for a 15 month follow up period will be made available in June 1999, and will be a part of this continuing assessment.
Being in the Sisterhood With No Sisters
Despite an increasing body of work in policing, very little is known about those in management and leadership, even less is known about the ways in which leadership is gendered. As women move forwards and upwards in organisations, they have been come to be seen both as a symbol of and measure of organisational change. There is evidence that women in Britain, albeit a small number, are reaching senior positions in policing. The potential transformations that these women may bring remain visions of the future and are therefore speculative. This paper aims to explore the extent tow which senior policewomen are acting as’femocrats’ in the police organisation, that is the extent to which senior women are actively working to make gender and equality issues visible and central to organisation agendas. It seeks to explore the extent of a feminist presence in policing through an analysis of the degree and nature of policewomen’s gender consciousness and activism.
Best Practices in Juvenile Justice Education: A Review of Literature
In the past several years a national reform movement has emerged in education to improve the quality of educational services for youth. Associated concerns have included the use of technology in the classroom, smaller class sizes, and more highly trained teachers. Additionally, one of the major initiatives developing from the reform movement is the call for higher education standards and associated accountability measures. The consensus on what constitutes an effective educational practice and successful delivery of quality education is unclear. However, what emerges as “effective” seems related to the individualization of each of the components in meeting the personal competencies and deficits of each child. In juvenile justice education these goals and concerns are particularly germane. This paper reviews relevant literature that identifies “promising education practices” as potentially “best practices” in the overall effort to facilitate their transfer and expansion into juvenile justice facilities. The purpose is to provide administrators and educators who work with youthful offendes the knowledge needed to deliver quality education to adjudicated youth.
Beyond Community Policing
This paper explores the growing appeal to the idea of community policing, in criminal justice policy and the involvement at various levels of actual communities. Issues that are often overlooked that contribute to exclusion will be addressed. Drawing on public documents, observations at community meetings, and media clippings; this paper argue for a redrawing of community policing.
Beyond Delinquency: Print Media Representations of the “New Breed” of Transgressing Adolescent
From May 2 (1993), when a baby at the Denver Goo was struck by a stray bullet, to August 2, when an elementary school teacher was murdered in a suburban parking lot, print and electronic media gave extensive coverage to several “high profile,” violent crimes, a number of which were allegedly committed by gang-affiliated juveniles. These incidents became the centerpiece of an unfolding media event, eventually dubbed “The Summer of Violence” by the local press, that continued until mid-September when a special session of the Colorado General Assembly convened to address the problem of youth violence concluded its deliberations. Drawing on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of (over 400) youth crime stories appearing in the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News acid interviews with over two dozen reporters. columnists arid editors involved in writing about youth crime for the two papers during the 1993 summer, our analysis delineates the print media’s characterization of an ostensibly “new breed” of transgressing adolescent, a characterization that, implicitly and explicitly, distinguished the contemporary youthful offender from the traditional delinquent.
Beyond Punishment: Perpetuating Difference From the Prison Experience
Terry discusses how prisoners develop a specific set of values, beliefs, boundaries and language that provides the means of retaining a sense of dignity and self-respect amidst degrading and dehumanizing conditions. Those who internalize and live by this perspective are convicts. The analysis compares classic prison literature with his recent correspondence and discussions with convicts. Attention is given to the distinction made between “us” and “them” and how this is perpetuated by prison staff, prisoners, and the prison experience itself. These illustrations demonstrate how convicts see themselves and their world, both inside and outside prison walls. To the extent that one “becomes a convict” s/he will do easy prison time. Conversely, the more one sees the world from a convict perspective, the more difficult it will be to “make it” in the outside world. This simple paradox is seldom acknowledged.
Birds of a Feather?: Criminal Versatility and Lifestyles Choices of Dating Violence and Gang Offenders
Few researchers have investigated the connection between dating violence and gang violence, assuming instead that they are specialized acts with different causes. In our study of suburban youth, there appears to be a connection between the two types of violence. Concepts of criminal versatility (Klein, 1984), self control (Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1990) and lifestyle choices (Hindelang, Gottfredson and Garofalo, 1978), are proposed to explain this connection. It is hypothesized that exposure to a variety of criminogenic stations produces versatile rather than specialized offenders. If this is true, then a general theory of crime (Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1990), is appropriate to explain the cause of violent crime.
Body Switching and Related Matters: Script Elaborations and Aggregate Crime Learning Curves
The paper provides a case study of the occurence of a sustained crime expansion. The analysis is crime-specific (motor vehicles stolen for resale purposes) and limited to a particular setting (a Canadian province) and time-frame (1974-1992). “How” offenders have collectively designed this particular crime increase is given a salient analytical status and made to explain “why” the crime expansion occurred in the first place. As suggested by Cornish (1993;1994) crimes can be defined as scripts of various complexity and criminal activity as the purposive experimentation and tinkering of such scripts. our main argument is that multiple innovations or script alterations can been shown to have been successfully introduced and adopted by a significant mix of motivated and suitable participants, producing over time a cumulative or sustaining effect on yearly output of unrecovered stolen vehicles. In order to document this “aggregate learning” process we rely on a subset of police investigations on resale networks.
Boot Camp Evaluation — Findings From Self-Report Data
Most previous studies on boot camp programs were based on either cursory interviews or field observations, or heavily on use of official records. This paper presents findings from an NIJ-funded evaluation of the Los Angeles Juvenile Drug Treatment Boot Camp, which employed extensive use of self-report measures. The study interviewed 100 boot camp participants and 100 comparison youngsters from conventional juvenile camps. Furthermore, it tracked a separate group of boot camp youngsters for 6-12 months after camp graduation. Official data did not reveal any differences between the two groups in terms of arrests or probation condition violation. Although, self-report interviews indicated that boot camp participants were drawn towards the structured environment and fell it would be more effective if it had been longer, measures on various offenses and attitudes did not produce any significant differences. Although the regimented programs and disciplinary procedures appeal to many policy makers as well as program administrators, the juvenile drug treatment boot camp, as evaluated here, produced more positive rhetoric than concrete behavioral outcomes. The Maryland HotSpot Communities Program, launched in 1997, supports comprehensive strategies in neighborhoods across the state. The neighborhoods were identified by local jurisdictions as places where there is a disproportionate amount of crime or fear of crime, and where community residents are ready to fight back. Local HotSpot strategies include six “core” elements – – actions that are essential to an effective community strategy. 1n addition, many HotSpot Communities are implementing “enhancing’ elements – – actions that can have a significant impact if the core elements are in place. The core elements are: community mobilization, community policing, community probation, nuisance abatement, youth prevention, and local coordination. The enhancing elements are: community prosecution, juvenile intervention, crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), victim outreach, addiction recovery, and community revitalization. The Urban Institute is conducting a process evaluation of these efforts. Our research includes monitoring implementation milestones as reported in progress reports and validated through phone interviews and site: visits with key program participants. In addition, we are evaluating resident “rear of crime” surveys, and conducting physical block surveys as a way of certifying implementation accomplishments. The presentation will highlight patterns/styles of implementation that emerge within urban, suburban, and urban localities. These patterns/styles will be interpreted against expectations articulated in each site’s application.
Born-Again? The Meaning and Significance of Religious Rebirth in Prison
This paper highlights current doctoral research into the phenomenon of religious conversion in contrasting penal cultures. There is much anecdotal evidence of prisoners having profound life-changing religious conversions whilst incarcerated yet, surprisingly, their prevalence has received little academic attention. Although there exists an extensive literature on the psychology of religious conversion, there is no specific mention within this literature of prisoners (italics) as a convert group. “Jailhouse religion” typically invites an incredulous response from a sceptical general public. This research attempts to explain why the prison environment in particular is conducive towards religious conversions taking place. Understanding the psychological dynamic of a prison conversion can ultimately lead to a deeper understanding of the effects (italics) of imprisonment. Understanding the psychological and social contexts of prison conversions may also further knowledge of how prisoners cope with the experience of imprisonment. The research described in this paper has tested out a number of well-founded theories within the psychology of religion on an original set of interviewees: the incarcerated. Extracts from semi-structured interviews with convert prisoners in both Britain and America will be referred to in order to delineate the various psychological and behavioural effects (italics) that a conversion can have on an individual prisoner.
Brave New Communities: On the Production of Identities and Communities in Criminal Justice and Penology
A number of recent studies in criminology, penology and social theory have called attention to the convergence of new strategies of regulatory governance with new forms of community activism and discourse. Included among this research are inquiries into the policies and practices of community-oriented policing, the surveillance and crime prevention activities of community groups, and the use of such things as homeowner’s insurance, architectural devices, zoning codes and civil law to prevent and deter crime. Most of these studies have focused on which strategies of crime prevention work best or how best to apply them, but few have questioned the ways in which these new policies and practices have begun to reorder the relationship between citizen and state, and draw new boundaries between public and private domains and between “legitimate citizens” and suspects or outsiders. This paper engages a critical analysis of the contemporary appropriation of community within the criminal justice system, situating it within a historical context that is foreshadowed by the remoteness of the bureaucratic state and marked with a sense of disillusionment with the legitimacy of administrative justice. It argues that community discourses and community-oriented strategies of social control have quelled some of the tensions surrounding administrative justice and restored individual and community support for state action, while simultaneously increasing the state’s capacity to manage and monitor its population, thereby altering the very meaning of citizenship and community in our late capitalist political economies.
Breaking the Cycle: Treatment Needs of Drug-Involved Felony Defendants in Three Cities
Breaking the Cycle (BTC) is designed to reduce substance abuse and criminal activity of drug-involved offenders throughout their supervision by the criminal justice system. It is being demonstrated in three jurisdictions with support from the National Institute of Justice and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. BTC goals include increasing the detection of drug-involved defendants, placing defendants in treatment curly in their contact with the justice system, continuing treatment throughout the period of supervision by the justice system, monitoring defendant progress, and using structured sanctions to ensure compliance with drug treatment and testing requirements. This paper addresses the need for comprehensive treatment services by presenting prattles of felony offenders eligible for BTC in six domains: drug use, criminality, medical and mental health problems, housing and family relationships, employment, and AIDS risk behaviors. It is based on baseline interviews with more than 800 offenders in the three evaluation sites: Birmingham, AL., Jacksonville, FI., and Pierce County, WA.
Bringing About Change in Judicial Practice in Domestic Violence Cases: Combat in the Trenches
We describe a collaborative effort in developing and implementing a dedicated domestic violence court in Vancouver, Washington. The Vancouver Domestic Violence Court utilizes principles of therapeutic jurisprudence, restorative justice, and preventative law to hold the offender accountable and to insure the well being and safety of women and their children. We set forth strategies for overcoming jurisdictional issues, political obstacles, and budget limitations to achieve more efficient and effective case processing of domestic violence cases. Ideas for the role of the specialized judge in achieving therapeutic, restorative, and preventive outcomes in the lives of domestic violence families are explored. Strategies for translating theoretical concepts into daily practice are discussed. The implications of the Vancouver experience for other jurisdictions seeking to implement changes are described.
Building Strong Relationships With High Risk Youth: Observations of the Colorado Intensive Aftercare Project
The purpose of this paper is to present observations of the relationship between participation in the Colorado Intensive Aftercare Project (IAP) and youth perceptions of their relationships with institutional and community based service providers. Colorado IAP staff often refer to the importance of trust, understanding, and mutual respect between youth and staff as an indicator of a successful intervention. In order to test this assumption, a “Youth Assets and Relationships” survey was designed and administered. Results of the survey are analyzed and presented.
Business Cycle Effects on Remand and Sentenced Inmate Populations
One of the most frequently tested and apparently durable empirical relationships in the criminological literature is that between business cycles and imprisonment rates, While most research supports the “Rusche-Kirchheimer hypothesis,” there are still grounds for skepticism. Analyses have been based on a narrow range of countries, alternative hypotheses have not been systematically explored, and the causal mechanism and theoretical significance of the business cycle-imprisonment association remain unclear. This paper addresses these issues by using data from 13 rich western democracies over 30 years and multiple measures of business cycles to analyze changes in remand and sentenced inmate populations. This strategy allows tests of several alternative hypotheses and offers some insight on different interpretations of the business cycleimprisonment relationship. Findings show that the relationship holds under some circumstances, but is by no means universal.
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California’s Experiment With Processes to Improve Juror Utilization
“Since 1995, reform of the California jury system has been one of the California Judicial Council’s top priority. The appointment by Chief Justice Malcolm M. Lucas of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Jury System Improvement in 1995 represented the Judicial Council’s first effort in recent history to undertake a comprehensive review of the jury system. The commission’s report, submitted in May 1996, included numerous legislative proposals. They also expressed concern that without continuing oversight, implementation of the recommendations contained in the report would not be fully and promptly accomplished. In October 1998, Chief Justice Ronald George appointed a 15-member task force with a number of charges, including evaluation of three pilot projects to improve juror utilization through screening of jurors prior to arrival at the courthouse for oral voir dire. The right to a jury trial is a fundamental tenet in our legal system and must be based on fairness and public confidence. Low juror turnout is the biggest problem the jury system faces because this can create juries that are less representative of the community and cause the burdens of jury service to be concentrated among relatively few citizens. Chief Justice George noted, ‘All too often, jury duty is greeted not with enthusiasm, but rather with irritation or neglect.’ This paper will review the history of jury reform efforts in California in the 1990s, examine specifically a number of mechanisms designed to increase yields of qualified jurors to improve jury selection and trial management procedures, and describe the implementation of three pilot projects in California designed to improve juror utilization.
Californians Strike Back: Public Support for the Application of ‘Three Strikes’ in California
This paper examines the results of a statewide random digit-dialed telephone survey of 4200 California households around issues about the 1993 `Three Strikes Law.’ Employing a matrix of possible offense triads, respondents identified a variety of thresholds for three strikes law enforcement that vary significantly from the actually application of this law in several California jurisdictions. Representative subsamples from jurisdictions that vary in their application of three strikes showed some consistencies and some striking discrepancies between behavior of prosecutors and their constituents. Significant differences were also found by race/ethnicity. The results show respondents are less favorable of a broad `Three Strikes Law’ such as the one currently in use in California than of a more restrictive law that focuses on serious violent offenders. Responses are mediated by education, gender, and race. The paper also examines the effects of media and fear of crime on attitudes towards three strikes laws.
Can the Coping Relapse Model Enhance Successful Reintegration? An Exploratory Study
This research explores whether the coping relapse model of criminal recidivism (Zamble & Quinsey, 1997) can improve the assessment and management of offenders in the community. Briefly, the model, which relies heavily on dynamic factors, views criminal recidivism as a breakdown process whereby a recidivistic event is preceded by a series of identifiable precursors such as daily life hassles, chronic life stressors, and negative affective. Criminal conduct results when such factors interact negatively with enduring individual differences such as psychopathy and/or available response mechanisms such as social support systems, coping efficacy, and criminal attitudes. A multi-wave prospective research design is being used to test the validity of the model using approximately 300 newly released male offenders. Assessments are being conducted immediately prior to release and at 1, 3, 6 and 9 month post release intervals. Results from the pre-release and one-month post-release phase will be presented.
Canadian Perspective on Theft of Confidential Information
This presentatioon examines the state of Canadian law related to the protection of confidential and proprietary information. It addresses some contrast with U.S. law in this area and describes certain Canadian law enforcement organizations that deal with matters of this kind.
Canadian Prison Education: For Whom the Bell Tolls
How do civilized and just nations expect to maintain prosperity and safety if its illiterate and poor are frequently under correctional control? Compelling evidence is offered which shows that controlling crime through education may be an effective and economical method of reducing recidivism rates. One implication of this finding is that some policy makers might overlook reasonable opportunities to guide offenders once offenders are apprehended and sentenced. Guidelines are recommended to meet the demands of adult students who have an average of less than 44 months to serve and where 86% of prisoners tested below 11th grade levels. It is suggested that a collaborative educational governance should develop both secondary and undergraduate programs. These programs would facilitate completion of educational programs (as opposed to courses) at a faster pace and with greater curriculum consistency than traditional programs. Student-centered agendas and productive academic delivery methods are also recommended. Finally, to maintain quality in education and to measure what counts, assessing what adult learners know might be more important than measuring how much time they spend learning it.
Capital Punishment in Huntsville, Texas: A Linguistic-Historical Approach to Examining Local Media Coverage of the Death Penalty
This paper employs linguistic and historical methodologies to examine local newspaper coverage of executions in Huntsville, Texas. This paper focuses on three distinct time periods: the 1930’s (often seen as the peak era in favor of the death penalty), the 1960’s (the preFurman era when the public opinion started to turn against the death penalty), and the era since 1976 (the post-Furman era characterized by increased public support for the death penalty). Representative samples of newspaper articles in the local Huntsville newspaper from these three time periods are chosen and noun phrases referring to the person executed (e.g. convicted murderer, killer, the leader of the gang responsible for the execution-style shooting death of a Rice University student I I eleven years ago, etc.) are examined in order to see to what extent and how the local media portrayal of the executed person has changed over the three periods under investigation. We argue that the referential expressions used for the person executed reflect some changes. in the attitudes towards the death penalty and we discuss the historical significance of these linguistically verifiable changes. We also argue that, despite the oftentimes overtly neutral expressions, a close analysis reveals a subtle pro-death penalty bias at all three time periods.
Capital Punishment in Poland: The Debate Continues
The new Polish Penal Code of June 6, 1997 abolished the death penalty. However, as soon as the Code was enacted (but prior to being signed by the President of Poland), numerous views were expressed by many prominent politicians demanding that the penalty be reinstated. The following paper deals with the historical. events leading up to the abolition of the death penalty in Poland, including the issue of statistical relationships between the administration/non-administration of the penalty and homicide rates, while focusing in particular on the period after 1989 (the last death penalty sentence was carried out on April 21, 1988) The authors also present current views on capital punishment among criminal law and criminology scholars, criminal justice practitioners, and the public at large, while trying to argue against some primitive and propaganda-type stereotypes used both by proponents and opponents of the penalty.
Capital Punishment in the United States 1973-1995: Characteristics and Legal Outcomes for Prisoners on Death Row
Our study examines Americans under a. sentence of death for the period 1. 973 -1995. Data is, taken from ICPSR’s “Capital Punishment in the Unitcd States 1913-1995” which provides annual data on prisonert under a sentence of death, as well as those who had their sentences commnuted or vacated and prisoners who were executed. Our study examines sociodemographic. and legal characteristics of prisoners and legal. outcomes experienced by prisoners on death row. Sociodemographic characteristics considered include: sex, age, race, ethnicity, marital status, and education. Legal characteristics considered include: prior felony convictions and the legal status of the prisoner at the time of the capital offence. We consider the relationship between characteristics of pnsoners and legal outcomes and outline how legal outcomes have changed over time and place.
Caribbean Women, Crime and Justice
In the wake of the illegal drug trade and the involvement of females in the trade, the issue of whether levels of female crime, especially violent crime, are rising continues to be widely debated by Caribbean criminologists. In order to update and extend analyses of patterns and trends in Caribbean female criminality, this discussion examines the existing yet sparse data from selective Caribbean countries. Trends in the nature and levels of female crime and gender differences in criminality are also examined as well as treatment by law enforcement and the courts.
Causes and Consequences of Gang Affiliation
Although a number of books and articles have been written on gangs during the past decade, only a few have carefully considered the etiology of gang involvement, and still fewer have exercised appropriate controls for the effects of neighborhood or poverty on gangs. Our research uses two sources of data to examine these issues. First, we collected three waves of longitudinal self-report data on risk attitudes and behaviors, level of gang involvement, and other personal and family characteristics, from a sample of 600 youths living in public housing in Huntsville, Alabama. Second, we collected similar data from 1,800 youths living in very low-income neighborhoods in Mobile, Alabama, in 1998, and we will collect a second wave of longitudinal data from them this summer. In both samples, 25%-30% of respondents report affiliation with gangs or gang members. Using these data, we will examine how personal and family characteristics lead to changes in gang affiliation. We will also consider how change in level of gang affiliation is associated with risk attitudes and behaviors. Each of our samples is very homogeneous with respect to socioeconomic status and neighborhood composition, so we can rule out those factors as alternative explanations for our findings.
Causes of Delinquency II: A Full Replication
Despite the importance of replication studies for validating key findings, there have been relatively few replication studies in criminology. Our research reports the results from the first stage of a full replication study of Hirschi’s Causes of Delinquency. We use data from the original Richmond Youth Project to reproduce Hirschi’s results using the full sample of respondents, rather than the weighted sample used in Causes. We use a recent survey of high school students in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to replicate the questions used in the Richmond Youth Project. -Although the two surveys were administered more than 30 years apart and in different regions of the United States, our results provide evidence for the consistency of the relationships found in Causes. Thus, while the United States has undergone many social, cultural, economic, and political changes since the 1960s, the causes of delinquency reveal much more stability than change.
Changes in Attitudes About Crime and Punishment in the New German States (former GDR)
After unification the Eastern German States (i.e., the former GDR) experienced significant political and societal changes. This situation provided an opportunity to observe and test changes in public attitudes toward crime and punishment. Based on large scale surveys of the general public this study attempts to explain the connection between public attitude toward crime and punishment and societal indicators, including crime trends, economic development, and other socio-economic trends.
Changing Patterns in the Use of Executive Clemency
Most scholars would recognize that in the past.25 years significant changes have taken place in criminal justice policy and practices. Major research in nearly all aspects of the criminal justice system indicate that the United States has become more punitive in its approach to criminal justice and criminal offenders. This study examined the historical use of clemency in the state of Ohio against the backdrop of this shift towards more punitive and retributive attitudes and policies. Utilizing data on granted clemency actions between 1900 and 1997, the researcher examined patterns of the use of clemency, especially in the granting of commutations for those sentenced to death. The traditional “fail-safe” in the criminal justice system, clemency is thought to provide an opportunity for an objective review of sentences to insure that no miscarriages of justice have occurred. However, as criminal justice policies and actions have become more politicized, it is likely that governors and parole boards are no longer as willing to risk the political repercussions of using their clemency powers. As the number of executions increases and more are added to the over 3,000 currently awaiting execution, that the quality of justice and mercy may have become increasingly strained should be of concern to researchers and the general public.
Changing the Future: The Introduction of a New Projection Model for Prisons in England and Wales
Operational researchers at the Research, Development, and Statistics Directorate of the Home Office (A UK Government Department) have developed a new projection methodology based on a flow model of offenders, which allows the effects of changes in sentencing policy to be predicted. At the heart of the methodology is a theory of offending which allows the number of first offenders to be predicted as well as the recidivism of those released from prison. The paper gives a customer’s account of pursuing the model in practice, how we interpreted and presented the results, and the effects of ongoing changes in policy on the projections.
Chaotic Biography: A Postmodern Examination of Five Serial Killers
Postmodern criminological approaches allow us to view order and disorder in new lights. The application of chaos theory to the realm of social research offers the opportunity to explore patterns of divergent human behavior as non-linear systems. Although a topic of limited yet steady research, serial murder remains an enigma for scientists, law enforcement personnel, and the curious public. In this essay, elements of chaos theory are qualitively applied to case studies of five modern serial killers in an attempt to identify crucial bifurcation points in their life stories. Social- psychological events represent attractors; that, depending upon the direction taken at any given point, may promote disorderly and malignant behavior within the typically “orderly” subject. This research is not directed at producing the currently popular “psychological profile” or “investigative assessment.” However, popular “psychological profile” or “investigative assessment.” However, recognition of common key bifurcation points may be crucial to the development of broader theories, innovative criminal investigation techniques, and potential intervention strategies.
Characteristics and Service Needs of Women in CSAT’s Criminal Justice Treatment Networks
CSAT’s Juvenile/Criminal Justice Treatment Networks demonstration program was designed to develop comprehensive substance abuse treatment models that coordinate juvenile/criminal justice agencies and substance abuse treatment providers, expand service delivery and facilitate access to treatment with the goal of reducing costs and improving treatment outcomes. Four Networks serve adult women and are located in Phoenix, AZ; San Francisco, CA; Brooklyn, NY; and Philadelphia, PA. Since the Criminal Justice Treatment Networks inception, more than 2,600 women have been assessed for network participation and nearly 1,800 of them have entered the Networks. This presentation, drawing on a cross-site evaluation, will provide an overview of the Criminal Justice Treatment Networks; describe the demographic, criminal, and clinical characteristics of women in the Networks; and discuss the women’s service needs as well as the system gaps in meeting those needs.
Cheers! A Social Constructionist Perspective on the Home Made and Beer Industry in Ontario
General Theme: In the late 1980’3, Ontario witnessed the beginnings of facilities where indivduals can make their own beer/wine for personal consumption and not for commercial use. In the 1990s, these facilities grew from about six operators in the late 1920s to approximately 600 in 1999. These operations, however, were strongly opposed by the commercial breweries and wineries. The breweries and wineries claimed that these facilities were unfair competition, took away a percentage of their market share, promoted irresponsible consumption of alcohol, and operated illegally. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how the breweries and wineries attempted to construct the home made wine/beer industry as a social problem. The paper will focus on how the breweries and wineries made their clairns against these facilities for more regulatory control, taxation, and government intervention, finally, the paper will examine how the home made wine and beer industry countered these claims and the actions taken by governnent. Methodology: Docurnents/reports produced by the commercial breweries and wineries, health groups, the government, and the home made wine and beer industry will be reviewed. A content analysis will be done on newspaper articles, press releases, and Ontario government debates.
Child Neglect and Juvenile Delinquency: The Importance of Educational Opportunities in Deterring Criminal Outcomes
Research linking child maltreatment and delinquency has overwhelmingly focused on the detrimental effects of child abuse. However, a growing number of studies report that the effects of neglect on delinquency may be more substantial than the corresponding effects of abuse. This knowledge, combined with the fact that the majority of official cases of child maltreatment involve neglect, suggests that child neglect has a considerable impact on delinquency. The purpose of the current study is to develop a better understanding of the effects of various types of child neglect on subsequent juvenile delinquency. The sample includes 699 neglected subjects and a matched control group of non-maltreated youth. Using logistic regression models controlling for race, sex, and childhood exposure to abuse, childhood educational neglect increased the odds of arrest for subsequent status offenses (excluding truancy) by over five times. Moreover, educational neglect increased the odds of arrest for general juvenile delinquency by 2.5 times. Other forms of neglect, such as physical neglect and temporary or permanent abandonment, exerted less substantial, but significant effects on both delinquent outcomes. These findings confirm the fears expressed over four decades ago by Albert Cohen regarding the of the adverse effects of parental neglect on children’s educational achievement.
Child-Rearing, Self-Control, and Deviance: An Examination of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime
Many researchers over the years have provided support for the relationship between early childhood socialization and deviant behavior. Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) added an intervening variable into the equation, the concept of self-control. Self-control acts as an internal barrier that restrains individuals from engaging in criminal and imprudent behaviors. When parents lack effective child-rearing skills, their children are more likely to have low levels of self-control, which would then lead to high participation in deviant activities. While only a few studies have examined the proposed relationship between child-rearing skills and the development of self-control, the sparse findings are supportive of this link. Similarly, the many studies that have examined the relationship between self-control and criminal and imprudent behaviors provide evidence that, while modest, is generally supportive of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s theory. The problem set forth in this research is twofold: (1) does poor child-rearing lead to low levels of self-control and (2) do low levels of self-control lead to high participation in deviant behavior? Mother-reported and child-reported data were used to conduct the analyses. The results indicate that some aspects of child-rearing are associated with self-control levels and self-control levels are associated with participation in both delinquent and imprudent activities.
Childhood Predictors of Early Offending
The early initiation of problem behaviors has been hypothesized to be a significant predictor of more serious problems later in life. In addition to examining the role of early offending in the development of adult crime and other problems, it is important to predict early onset offending Itself. This aim seeks to understand the predictors of early offending using data from the Seattle Social Development Project, a longitudinal panel study of gender balanced, multi-ethnic youths. We will employ multinomial logistic regression to examine early childhood predictors for three distinct groups of offenders: early offenders, late offenders and non-offenders. These procedures will allow for control of demographic and other covariates In the analyses, as well as for predictive factors measured at different time points to be entered in hierarchical steps, In order to Identify possible developmental sequences. Knowing these predictors will help guide the development of effective prevention programs targeting factors associated with early offending.
Childish Prisoners: Adolescents in Adult Jails
Jails are the most commonly used correctional institution in the United States. Indeed, the jail is usually the first, and in many cases, the only experience that many people have with incarceration. Moreover, the use of jails, as both a control and correctional strategy, has been growing in recent years. According to one day counts of jail populations reported in the National Jail Census and the Annual Survey of Jails, the number of prisoners increased by 65 percent from 1983 through 1997. Considering present trends and criminal justice policy, jail populations will continue to grow in the near future. Not only are jails being used to house adults suspected of or convicted of a variety of crimes; they are also being employed to house increasingly large numbers of children, adolescents, and juveniles. This trend is the product of several factors including legislation that has lowered the age of criminal court jurisdiction in some states, the transfer of increasing numbers of juveniles to adult courts for trial, and the continued housing of juveniles in adult jails in some jurisdictions.
Cigarette Smoking Policies in Corrections: Should Smoking Be Banned?
This paper presents the final results of a major study on cigarette smoking policies in corrections. The study consisted of a nationwide survey of jails (N~1,200) and prisons (N~800) that asked correctional administrators about the policy (whether cigarettes were banned or not), its implementation, and perceived outcomes. Based on an 80 percent response rate, we found that over half the jails banned cigarettes but only about one fifth of prisons had bans. Bans were adopted both because of external pressures (e.g., smokefree laws) and for administrative reasons (e.g., keep maintenance costs down). We also conducted case studies of over 20 jails and prisons to understand more about the factors that influenced the policy choices and how the policies were implemented (i.e., enforcement practices, and smoking cessation interventions). Contraband cigarettes are a major problem in some of the facilities with bans. We discuss some of the strategies that inmates and correctional officers use to bring cigarettes into these facilities, and the strategies that administrators use to control the black market in cigarettes. The paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of banning versus restricting cigarette smoking in correctional facilities from a harm reduction perspective.
Civic Community and Juvenile Delinquency: A Study of the Regions of Italy
“Civicness” may be defined as that property of the social fabric which is characterised by socio-political commitment, solidarity and mutual trust. From a social ecological perspective it is expected that civic traditions in a given geographical area will have an impact on criminality. The aim of the present study was to test the association between level of “civicness” and level of juvenile delinquency among the Regions of Italy. For the purpose of this study, the term “delinquency” will encompass all illegal acts, from minor offenses to violent crimes. We hypothesised that Regions with high levels of civic commitment would be more successful in the socialisation of its youth, and would thus curb its involvement in delinquent behaviour. Results generally supported the hypothesis. Significant negative correlations were observed at three different time periods (in the 1970s, the 1980s, and in the 1990s) between “civicness” and official records of robbery and attempted murder by minors, and murder committed by both minors and adults. Analyses using data from a victimization survey confirmed the significant negative correlations between “civicness” and violent crimes, but also revealed a significant negative correlation between “civicness” and theft. It is concluded that the development of environments in which socio-political commitment, solidarity and mutual trust abound may facilitate the social integration of children and prevent the development of criminal behavior. The role of economic development is discussed.
Classification of Criminal Offenders: Trials and Tribulations of the Data Collection Process
Classifying criminal offenders into distinct categories where they are differentiated by various factors is not new to the social sciences. Classifying types of offenders is important; once relevant factors related to aggression and violence are identified, mechanisms can be put into place to eliminate them, thereby making crime prevention a very real possibility. However, recent classification efforts have suffered from numerous limitations to relevant data. This paper traces the history of classification of criminal offenders and then discusses trials and tribulations associated with the authors’ attempts to gather relevant data needed to accurately classify offenders.
Classifying Female Inmates in the Federal Bureau of Prisons
This study describes development of an inmate classification system for female Federal prisoners. The study compares patterns and predictors of violent misconduct among male and female inmates. Then it describes a set of general methods and procedures for developing an inmate classification system aimed at optimizing the ability to predict violence. These methods and procedure are then applied, using data on inmate characteristics and misconduct, to improve the existing female classification system as a risk assessment device. The study also discusses classification for public safety considerations in addition to violent misconduct, including classification for escape risk.
Co-offending Youth Networks in Stockholm
The influence of co-offenders is seen as a significant factor in the etiology of criminal offences. From the point of view of learning and cultural deviance theories, norms and values conducive to crime as well as criminal techniques and know-how are transmitted through contacts between co-offenders. This study uses the methodology of social network analysis to examine patterns of co-offending among juveniles suspected of offences in Stockholm between 1991 and 1995. The data are taken from the Stockholm police register. Around 22,000 individuals, together suspected of just under 37,000 offence participations, are included in the study . Twenty percent of these young offenders are linked to one another in a large central network in which a large proportion of the most delinquent individuals are included. These highly delinquent youths and their co-offenders constitute a nucleus in the central network. The networks examined here are characterized by a mixture of violent offences and other offence types. The larger the network, the higher the proportion of individuals suspected of violent offences. This violence does not however appear to be the result of conflicts between different groups of youths. It is rather a consequence of the fact that members of the larger networks are in general more delinquent than their counterparts in the smaller networks. The material studied contains little or no evidence to suggest the existence in Stockholm of gangs like those found in the large cities of North America. KEY WORDS: juvenile delinquency, gangs, criminal networks, co-offending
Co-Producing Order: Are Positive Attitudes Toward the Police a Necessary or Sufficient Condition?
In the past two decades, community policing has emerged as the guiding philosophy or dominant paradigm of police practice. One of the fundamental tenets of the community policing movement is that the public has something to contribute to policing. This has led to a number of initiatives that have originated with the aim of bringing the police closer to the public. These initiatives have largely been based on the assumption that positive attitudes toward the police are a necessary condition for the “coproduction of order” (Hahn, 1971; Stipak, 1979); however, this is a question that has only recently been addressed empirically (Frank, Brandl, Worden, & Bynum, 1996; Reisig & Giacomazzi, 1998). The current study endeavors to contribute to the literature by empirically assessing the importance of attitudes toward the police in developing meaningful ties between the police and the public.
Coercion and Communities: Trends in the Patterns and Prevalence of Coercion in Baltimore Neighborhoods
The use of legitimate coercion is often justified as a means of preserving less coercive institutions of social control. So, some comunity policing initiatives employ aggressive police practices to stabilize communities. Similarly, harsh sentencing policies are justified on the basis of making streets safe. The long-term effects of these coercive police and sentencing policies on less coercive institutions of social control and communities in particular have not been assessed. We do not know that increasec coercion stabilizes communities in the long-term. It may actually weaken them by removing more marriage-eligible men with potentially positive ties to communities from increasingly clustered. This paper will describe the nature, levels, and variation of coercion among social and geographical communities in Baltimore City, Maryland using arrest and incarceration data from four years in the period between 1982 and 1997. Patterns and trends in the levels and types of coercion by offense, race, and community characteristics will be described and presented. Where feasible, the spatial dimensions of these data will be analyzed and presented. Based on case studies and interviews, possible relationships between crime, removal, and community organization will be explored.
Collaborative and Technical Arrangements Between Two Criminal Justice Programs Involed in Distance Learning Via Compressed Video
Dr. Kedia plans to discuss the operational strategies employed in developing a collaborative agreement and criminal justice course exchange program between two universities in north Louisiana that are mandated by its Board of Regents to comply with directives to eliminate duplication of criminal justice courses.
Collaborative Coursework: Planning and Implementing a Criminal Justice Course With University Students and Youthful Offenders
In September 1999 Rowan Unviersity will be offering a special topics course on Restorative Justice theory and policies. The student body will consist of Rowan University students and incarcerated youth placed under the jurisdiction of the State’s Juvenile Justice Commission. The purpose of the course is to allow students and committed youth to work together and discuss topical issues. It is hoped that both groups gain valuable educational and life experience through their participation. The course had to be approved by University and State officials and many factors needed to be accounted for. The paper describes the goals and objectives of the course and the subsequent planning process. Some of the planning issues discussed in this paper are course content, number of students, stakeholders, safety concerns, college-credit for youth, as well as advantages and disadvantages of such an undertaking. Results from student and youth pre-tests, surveys, interviews and classroom experience will also be examined.
Collective Efficacy and Neighborhood Age-Crime Profiles
An emerging body of research suggests that neighborhood “collective efficacy” — consisting of measures of social control and social cohesion — is related to lower rates of violence and other adverse health outcomes in urban neighborhoods. This study extends work on neighborhood collective efficacy and violent crime in a number oof areas. First, rather than focusing on rates of violent crime per se, the current study treats as its primary outcomes the neighborhood-level variance in mean ages of homicide victims and offenders. Collectively efficacious neighborhoods exercising greater child supervision should not only have less violent crime, but also fewer youth involved in xcrime either as victims or offenders. Second, utilizing a new methodology that brings toghether multilevel and spatial dependence models, the analysis looks for evidence of spatial contagion in younger mean ages of offending and victimization. That is, all else being equal, the age profile of homicide in a given neighborhood may be influenced by that in surrounding neighborhoods. Finally, given the trends towards greater youth violence in the late 1980s that characterized Chicago and many other American cities, the analysis examines the factors that predict change in neighborhood age profiles over time.
College Student Alcohol Use: A Social Learning Approach
The purpose of this research is to test Akers’ Social Learning Theory, via a Historically Black College or University student’s alcohol use use. A non-random sample of 180 students enrolled in introductory English courses was used. The research question is if differential association increases, if definitions become more neutralized and/or positive, if imitation increases, and if differential reinforcement (positive and/or negative) increases does illicit drug use among college students increase? Because a linear relationship is expected between the dependent variable (alcohol use use) and independent variable (key variables of social learning theory), Ordinary Least Squares regression analysis will be used.
Combined Expertise: Effective Utilization of Practitioners in Teaching Criminology/Criminal Justice Courses
Criminology/Criminal Justice curriculums have been gaining popularity in America’s universities over the past fifteen years. To better prepare students for criminal justice related careers, there needs to be a strong network with the practitioners who have a high degree of hands-on experience. A popular concept is “team-teaching” where the course instructor brings in practitioners as guest instructors to help teach some classes where field experience would enhance a student’s understanding of how course material could be applied in real world situations. This paper will discuss strategies on establishing/maintaining effective relationships with criminal justice practitioners to include key agencies. In addition, effective teach-teaching strategies will be coverec.
Comic Books and the Law: The Portrayal of the Law and Criminal Justice in American Comic Books
Since its inception in the 1930s the American “super hero” has reflected and influenced contemporary attitudes regarding the law, crime, and justice. As public perceptions of morality, crime, and violence have evolved, so has the comic book. American comic long been considered a pathway to delinquency. As such, the American comic book industry has often been forced to defend comic books as a legitimate form of mass media. By the end of this century, the super hero comic book has attained legitimacy; however, a close examination of the content of modern comic books reveals that, since the mid-1970s, comic content has become increasingly violent and sexually oriented. This paper examines the different “eras” of comics, comparing and contrasting the portrayal of crime and criminal justice from the “Golden Age” to the “Modern Age.” This historical analysis develops a framework for explaining the emergence of the “grim and gritty” era of Modern Comics. Characteristics of the “Modern Age” include: (1) the emergence of morally ambiguous heroes; (2) the rise of the “anti-heroes”; (3) the origin of “bad girls”; and (4) the “darkening” of characters to increase their popularity. It is argued that the “grim and gritty” era represents the comic industry’s response to society’s increasingly pessimistic perceptions of the criminal justice system. Interestingly, the emergence of the “grim and gritty” era has coincided with the abandonment of the rehabilitative model of corrections in favor of a more punitive, or retributive, model.
Commemoration and Contested Arenas: Rabin’s Memorials
The many diversified memorials to Yitzhak Rabin serve as a case study for discussion of the commemoration of what is known in the literature as “a difficult past.” This paper argues that one must also distinguish between the commemoration of a difficult past and the commemoration of what is in effect a controversial present. Only a consensual context can furnish a dissensual commemoration around which heterogenous groups can gather. Since a compromise is inconceivable within a dissensual context – as is the case for Israeli society after Rabin’s assassination — multiple forms of commemoration, each of which carries different meanings appealing to different groups, are generated. The multiple commemorations for Rabin testify not to the primacy of the event itself, but to its problematic nature and the power of the agents of memory. Moreover, each form of commemoration signifies a different frame of meaning. Only by analyzing them as a whole one can understand the logic behind their evolution.
Communities and Violent Gang Incidents: An Application of Spatial Models
Investigation of the spatial relationship between crime and community attributes has a long history in the criminological literature. However, less attention has been given to the spatial attributes associated with the relationship between crime and community ecology, Evidence of crime “hot spots” suggests crime may be spatially dependent, which can lead to measurement problems in the estimation of traditional statistical models. In this study, we examine the relationship between community structure and violent gang -incidents, as suggested by past research- in a growing metropolitan region covering multiple cities. Data for violent gang incidents were extracted from the Gang Incident Tracking System, a multi-ageney database for gang crime located in Orange County, California. Community variables are based on measures Cron). the 1990 U.S. census, Estimation of traditional and spatial regression models illustrate varying levels of seriousness when spatial dependence is ignored.
“Community” as a Discursive Device for the Management of Youth Social Services
This paper concerns the narratives of counseling staff at a social services agency for youth housed in an urban shopping mall in an ethnically and racially diverse, working-class neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The agency, in concert with shopping mall management and the mall’s private security force, has helped effect a dramatic reduction in violent and otherwise disruptive acts committed by youth in the mall, to the benefit of mall business owners, patrons, and the youth themselves. To account for what some observers refer to as this “miracle,” I address the staff’s work from their own standpoint, attempting to describe, by inspecting open-ended interviews with several counselors, some of their discursive methods that helped accoplish notable reductions in crime and violence at the mall. Counselors mention “community” with great frequency in these conversations, and I argue here that the sense and reference of “community,” as displayed in counselor’s talk, may constitute part of the success of this program. I thus am concerned with both the successes of this program in particular, and its implications for policies that deal with crime and youthful offenders more generally, as well as findings on the organization of the interviewee’s discourse as a topic in its own right.
Community, Disorder and Contests of Place: An Examination of New York City’s Midtown Community Court and Its Connection to the “Rediscovery” of Times Square
The goal of this paper is to examine the way in which “community” has been invoked in criminal justice and how such invocations are connected to “place.” Unfortunately, only a relatively small amount of attention has been paid to appeals to community. Yet, when one looks at the little that has been written it seems clear that most of the efforts have been towering, macro affairs, which, following larger theoretical ambitions, have typically allowed their analyses to range widely in search of society’s “deeper structures.” Yet, like all forays into the ideal/typical such broad analyses, when imported into lower levels of analysis, may tend to obscure as much as they explain, and can, in some sense, impose, rather than explain the conditions of social and material existence. Thus, it seems desirable to return to more empirically grounded analyses that situate appeals to “community” within the micro intermediate-level conditions and struggles from which they emerge. With that orientation, this paper examines the development of New York City’s Midtown Community Court and tries to render intelligible its themes of “community,” “justice” and “disorder by exploring its connection to the political and social struggles that surrounded the recent “rediscovery” of Times Square.
Community Based Intervention in Street Gang Recruitment: More Smoke and Mirrors?
While long considered a major problem in the United States, clearly discernable street gangs have only recently become a large concern in Canada. Typically, Canadian gangs are urban-based, organized along ethnic lines, and members come from economically marginal situations. In Winnipeg, Manitoba, concern over street gang crime, particularly violent crime, has led to a number of crime suppression and crime prevention strategies. Our research examines the experience of a community intervention project having as its goal the reduction of street gang recruitment. The data indicate that the project was successful, but issues related to the measurement of “success” raise important questions about our understanding of intervention strategies.
Community Context and Delinquent Attitudes
Subcultural theories have historically played a central role in the explanation of delinquency. Little reswearch examines the sources of such attitudes, and less still examines direct effects of community characteristicxs such as concentrated disadvantage. Accordingly, we examine the relationship between community characteristics (measured using attached zip-code and county census data) and individual-level attitudes toward delinquency. The data are drawn from waves 1 and 2 of the National Educational Longitudinal Survey (1988, 1990). We control for a host of individual characteristics such as prior delinquency and family well-being, and employ analytic techniques appropriate for hierarchial data. Our analysis suggests that community characteristics matter.
Community Continuity and Change: Unraveling Social Structure, Racial Inequality and Crime
Social disorganization, strain and cultural deviance theories all posit some central place for inequality in their explanations of crime. Contemporary American experience tells us that inequality is distributed in a patterned way, particularly in urban contexts. While sociologists and criminologists continue to debate the relative importance of class versus race inequality in explaining the development and entrenchment of distressed communities, some criminologists (Liska and Bellair 1995; Morenoff and Sampson 1997) have found reason to believe that violent crime plays a prominent role in explaining changes in the community-based patterns of urban inequality. Their findings suggest that traditional crime theories may be mis-specified. Disentangling the contributions of race, class and crime on structural inequalities is complicated by racialized perceptions of offenders and fear of crime. I extend this line of research by developing a conceptual framework that specifies a reciprocal relationship between racial inequality and crime. I use census tract data combined with police report data from St. Louis, MO, and Seattle, WA, for 1960, 1970, 1980 and 1990 to investigate the viability of the proposed model. The conceptual basis for a reciprocal relationship between inequality and crime is reassessed in light of the findings.
Community Courts: The Hartford Experience
There is a new focus within the justice system on “community” approaches to the problem of crime. One innovation consistent with such an approach is the use of Community Courts. A recent innovation, such courts are designed to address “quality-of-life” issues that may be ignored within the existing trial courts due to heavy caseloads. In 1998, Hartford, Ct. opened a Community court that hears misdemeanor offenses and ordinance violations within 48 hours of arrest. Typical sanctions include community service, often served the same day in the case of a guilty plea, fines and referral to mediation or social service caseworkers. While the new court has been favorably received, striking differences in referrals to the courts can be observed between neighborhoods within the city. Using police data on calls to the police, incidence reports and arrests, the significance of these differences between 17 of the major neighborhoods within the city is examined. Further, explanations for these differences are explored using police data and community characteristics. Based on this analysis, factors that influence the successful implementation of community courts are delineated.
Community Perception of Casino Gambling’s Effect on Crime in New Casino Jurisdictions
As part of a larger study funded by the National Institute of Justice, a survey of residents was conducted in seven new casino jurisdictions. Residents were asked their perceptions of how casinos affected crime and the quality of life in their communities. In this paper, we analyze the public perception of crime and correlates ash with the perception that casinos increase crime Additionally, we compare the perceptions to the reality of crime based on the official crime statistics collected in each jurisdiction.
Community Policing
Community Policing has been established in many police enforcement agencies around the United States. These departments have established a core mission statement connecting the community to the police department and encouraging community involvement. Many police departments, however, fail to include specific implemented strategy practices within their department when dealing with hate crimes. Numerous police departments through out the United States were contacted and asked to provide a description of their Community Policing program and methods utilized when dealing with hate crimes involving minority citizens, specifically African-Americans. A qualitative method was used to analyze the findings. A method of improving the relationship between police personnel and minority citizens is suggested in this study.
Community Policing and the Quality of the Political Process
Community policing in the Netherlands was triggered by the discontent among police officers about the police organization, the growing gap between public and police, and the diminishing authority of the police. Although it has achieved interesting results, there are problems that may affect its sustainability and development. Among these issues are the lack of a common vision, quality of leadership and police-public discourse.
Community Policing in South Africa
The South African Police have undergone one of the most dramatic transitions in their philosophy, structure and organization in the world. While the transition is not complete, the restructuring of the South Africa Police will have important implications for the development of democratic institutions in the South Africa. This paper will discuss the transformation of the South African Police in relation to democratic principles.
Community Service in Place of Jail
Despite potential benefits to communities, correctional systems, and offenders, community service is infrequently used as an intermediate sanction for jail-bound offenders. Instead, it is used mainly as a sole penalty for very low-level offenders and in. conjunction with other sanctions, typically probation. The Community Service Sentencing Project (CSSP), probably the most well documented community service program in the United States, is intended as an intermediate sanction. In the place of 24 to 180 days in local jails, adult chronic misdemeanants perform 10 and 15 days of unpaid labor: in poor New York City communities. The program is part of research being conducted at the Vera Institute of Justice. This paper focuses on the experience of a group ordered to perform community service under the direction of CSSP during winter 1997-1998.
Community Structure and Childhood Outcomes Among the Poor in Urban and Rural Areas
There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that though the nature of poverty in urban and rural areas (its depth, duration, and timing) is similar, the effect of poverty on childhood outcomes differs, This difference in outcome might be accounted for by structural or cultural differences that exist across urban and rural areas. In this paper we use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLYS) to explore whether structural differences in urban and rural communities account for differences in a variety of childhood outcomes at home and in school.
Community Violence Exposure and Aggression: Biosocial Interactions
Findings from two studies are presented regarding effects of community violence and hormonal and cardiovascular functioning on aggressive behavior. In the first study, 54 college students (19 male, 35 female) were selected from a screening sample on the basis of high and low exposure to community violence, as a victim or witness. Salivary cortisol and cardiovascular measures were obtained twice before and twice after two stressor tasks. Self-reports of aggression were obtained before the tasks. Results indicated 1) increased levels of aggression reported by the high versus low exposed groups, 2) no group differences in the physiological measures, but 3) aggression was correlated with heightened post-stressor cortisol levels, greater cortisol reactivity, greater baseline heart rate variability, and lower baseline heart rate. The second study focussed on the victimized and non-victimized participants in study 1 (18 male, 29 female) and tested predictions that victimization and physiological functioning would interact in increasing aggressive behavior. Aggressive behavior was predicted by 1) heightened post-stressor cortisol levels only in the victimized group, 2) heightened heart rate variability only in the non-victimized group, and 3) reduced heart rate in both groups. Findings are discussed with relation to emotion dysregulation and underarousal in antisocial populations.
Comparative Analysis of Race, Ethnicity and Crime in the United States and United Kingdom
This paper compares the relationship between race, ethnicity, and crime in the United States and United Kingdom. The discussion begins with a brief historical examination of ethnic and racial minorities in the two societies. This is followed by a presentation of data regarding patterns of victimization, arrest and incarceration. Similarities and differences between the U.S. and U.K. are noted. Finally, a number of socioeconomic, cultural, and political factors are explored which may help to explain some of the differences observed.
Comparative Perspectives on Victim/Offender Mediation With Adult Offenders in Austria and Germany: Preliminary Results From an Empirical Research Project
Restorative justice has become a major issue in criminal justice policy throughout different regions of the world. Even though based upon a range of differing theoretical approaches, mediation practice show similar basic characteristics. Starting up with a number of model projects dealing with juvenile offenders at first. victim/offender mediation (VOM) is practiced in Austria and Germany since more than 10 years now. Meanwhile it has also been implemented for settling offenses committed by adults. Thus it is established as a regular-part of the Criminal Justice System. A joint research project conducted by the Max-Planck-Institute Freiburg/Germany and the University of Graz/Austria is evaluating VOM dealing with adult offenders, The first section of the paper gives a comparative introduction to the legal provisions regulating mediation. The second section outlines the research design. Unlike program evaluations typically conducted to investigate the practical work of VOM schemes, our research is analyzing the significance of VOM from the system’s point of view. Based on a control group design, we will analyze VOM cases (experimental group) versus a selection of similar cases resolved through traditional procedures (control group), Analyses will focus on (i.) a record of the frequency of mediation, (ii.) qualitative profiles of typical VOM cases by personal and case-related variables, and (iii.) evaluation of the consequences of VOM versus regular intervention on the micro level, i.e., in the personal perspective of victims and offenders involved, as well as on the macro level, i.e., with regard to the Criminal ,Justice System (how VOM affects sentencing). The final section, presents a selection of preliminary research findings from the first wave of cases observed.
Comparative Policing Systems
This paper considers typologies of police systems and forms of accountability on a comparative basis. It makes use of the typologies of police systems first devised by Stead [1957;1965] who identified three types of police system. These were : National, centralised systems; Combined police systems and fragmented police systems.In developing these typologies it is clear that both Stead and scholars who followed him had easily distinguishable examples to hand which appeared to both fit and sustain these typologies. It may also have been the case that the examples identified to fit the typologies served to sustain a perception of Anglo-American policing as better able to safeguard the interests of established liberal-democratic societies. It is argued that in the application of these typologies Britain,Canada and America continue to be classified, in terms of there respective police systems as either combined or fragmented systems. Similarly in this literature France is traditionally seen as exhibiting a classically ‘centralised’ police system. It is Rely that the distinction may have served to reinforce a view which, traditionally, gave democratic primacy to Anglo-American forms of local accountability over that of European statist systems. To what extent do these assumptions and examples of police systems remain applicable at the turn of the century? This paper argues that in each case the typology identified can no longer be sustained. Moreover in terms of organisational accountability it is increasingly apparent that police systems in liberal -democratic states may be less accountable than those which operate in more centralised states.
Comparing Drug Court Program Success: A Case Study in California
The growth of drug courts programs in the last ten years is related to the perceived success of these innovations in reducing substance use and recidivism. However, there is still a limited amount of research that has compared the success rates of drugs of drug courts versus other alternatives. This paper reports the finding from two quasi-experimental evaluations of adults drug court programs in southern California. In both sites the experimental drug court was compared to drug diversion and felony case processing. This paper discusses the program design and implementation as they relate to the graduation and recidivism rates of offenders in the drug court programs.
Comparing the Attitudes of Judges and Jurors Toward Jury Reform
Washington state is currently exploring methods of reforming the state’s jury system. As part of this exploration, 263 trial judges and over 1200 jurors were surveyed regarding their attitudes toward various proposed reforms, as well as their practices during trials. The current study examines and compares the attitudes of judges and jurors with regard to areas of jury reform. Similarities and differences between the two groups are presented and policy ramifications are discussed.
Comparison of Characteristics and Activities of Delinquent and Non-Delinquent Adolescent Victims of Crime
It is well established that criminal offending is a powerful risk factor for victimization. Given the fact that victims and offenders are often the same people, it is difficult to establish whether or not the predictors (and causes) of victimization are actually separate from those of offending. This paper contributes to the resolution of this issue by offering a comparison of delinquent and non-delinquent victims of crime with regard to both personal characteristics and activities/lifestyle factors.
Comparison of Correctional Officers’ Attitudes About Visitation Based on Job Assignment
Visitation between an inmate and family members is beneficial to both the inmate and the family members in coping with the new situation. However, due to restrictions placed on inmates and visitors, visitation is a difficult matter for family members. Correctional officers are responsible for processing visitors for visitation. Thus, how correctional officers work with the visitors can have an influence on how family members experience visitation. In this study, Correctional officers from two county jails were interviewed. At one site, only one officer is assigned to work with visitors. At the other site, numerous officers work with visitors. The researcher compared the officers’ attitudes about visitation. The officers were asked how they felt about visitation. They were also asked what helped them to develop skills to work with visitors. The findings of this study suggest that having one person assigned to work with visitors may be more conducive to making the process of visitation run more smoothly. It may be that one officer is not only better able to develop skills to work with the public, but is more willing to take full responsibility for any problems encountered.
Compassionate Corrections: The Impact of Ancient Wisdom Traditions on Correctional Peacemaking
Wisdom traditions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism are examined in terms of what they offer Corrections both on the level of personal and institutional transformation. Implications for policy priorities are offered for the institutional context and suggestions for personal transformation are explored through representative teachers of these traditions (eg., Gandhi, Rabbi Heschel, Mother Teresa, Thich Nhat Hahn, Nasrudin, and Lao Tsu).
Compulsive Consumption of Crack Cocaine: Implications for Drug Markets and Law Enforcement Efforts
The compulsive behaviors of crack consumers appear to be different from consumers of other illegal drugs. This paper provides a thick description of how crack consumers construct their lives so as to engage in continuous repetitive cycles of purchase and crack use episodes. The paper uses case studies from three households to demonstrate how the compulsive behavior patterns influence various conduct norms that are specific to crack consumers. These repetitive actions have important effects upon children, school, family life, and other household functions. Through a focus upon the impulsive nature of compulsive behavior, an important dimension of the drug problem among inner city black families is illuminated. Data for this paper comes from an ongoing NIDA funded ethnographic study that examines crack user/seller households and violence. Thousands of pages of transcripts have been collected and computerized for analysis. Over 160 persons have been observed in their households over a period of 4 years. Illegal drug procurement can be conducted in many quantity levels, but most street level users tend to buy very small quantities very frequently, even though buying in larger quantities less often would result in three advantages: (1) less exposure to dangers from law enforcement, drug dealers and other drug users, (2) discount prices, and (3) less time and effort lost in making drug buys. This paper investigates reasons for and consequences of making routine small purchases and consumption of small retail units. Interviewers recruited over 600 users and/or distributors of crack, powder cocaine and heroin in Central Harlem. Respondents were asked to provide quantity and price information for these drugs and marijuana, alcohol and tobacco in 1 and 7 day periods preceding the interview. Respondents were also asked about their household situation and contact with law enforcement. Users of crack cocaine were more likely to buy small quantities more often than powder cocaine, heroin or marijuana users. Even crack users who consume other drugs buy crack in smaller amounts and more often than the other drugs they use. Persons who primarily used crack cocaine spent a larger proportion of their income on drugs than users of other drugs. Users and sellers of crack cocaine were also more likely to have multiple contacts with criminal justice system than users and sellers of other substances. Since market factors at the street level are quite similar for all illegal drugs, crack cocaine users are more compulsive in their drug buying and consuming behaviors than users of other illegal substances, apparently because of pharmacological factors.
Confronting a Logical Problem in Control Balance Theory
An effort will be made to resolve a major issue in control balance theory–the extent to which the forms of deviance on the deficit side overlap with those on the surplus side. In the original statement, repressive and autonomous deviance were conceptualized as stemming from separate and qualitative distinct continua of control imbalances. However, since the key underlying element is “seriousness” of the deviance, a problem arises in that the most serious repressive deviance (predation) may also be more serious than the least serious autonomous deviance (exploitation). But if balance stands between autonomy and repression and they run on different tracks, then it is difficult for the theory to predict predation by those with control surpluses or exploitation by those with control deficits. Clearly, there must be some intersection. I will offer some thoughts on that intersection.
Consensual Sex and the Age of Consent
According to the Ohio Revised Code, it is illegal for any person to commit an act of sexual intercourse with a female under the age of sixteen years. This law has not been changed in Ohio since 1961. Age of consent, however, is different in many states and is rapidly changing over the past few years. This paper reports the results of a 2×2 design that examined the extent to which people perceived that consensual sex between a male and a 14-year-old female should be considered rape. Subjects were either incarcerated sex offenders or college undergraduates. All subjects read a brief scenario in which either a 20-year old male or a 30-year old male was involved in a long-term romantic relationship with a 12-year old girl. When the girl was 14 the couple began having consensual sex. College students were more likely than the sex offenders to perceive this scenario as rape when the offender was 20 but less likely when the offender was 30.
Constructing Crime in Terms of Race and Race in Terms of Crime: A Content Analysis of Televised News
Both crime and race are, in part, social constructions that are importantly informed by media representations. It is widely assumed that the “reality” of crime is disproportionately shown on television with a black male face. It is also widely assumed that when blacks are shown on television, they are disproportionately shown in threatening postures that are often typified by crime. To the degree that this is true, television images reinforce the conflation of crime with race and race with crime, and so contribute to the development of what Entman (1992) and others have termed “modern racism.” This paper reports on the results of a content analysis of three weeks of televised news on four channels in Orlando Florida during May of 1998. We examine the racial proportions of all criminal offenders who appear on the news, and we examine the criminal proportions of all blacks who appear on newscasts. The objective is to assess the extent to which blacks may be over represented among televised criminals and the extent to which criminals may be over represented among blacks who appear on television. Implications of these findings for the social construction of both crime and race are discussed.
Constructing Juvenile Delinquency — Creating Civil Society, Israel 1948-1973
Almost: ten years after the State of Israel was established, a whole range of controls regulating juvenile delinquency, aiming to treat, punish, and discipline young offenders were developed. The paper examines the ways these regulations originated in the fears of various groups from among the large-scale immigration to Israel during the 1950s and the responses of these groups to the social uprising of the Black Panthers during the early) 70s. The paper further demonstrates that attitudes towards youth delinquents were absorbed with the construction of citizenship in the developing civil society in Israel. These constructions that recruited conceptions of public hygiene, purity and moral order unfolded in the context of citizenship struggles which were about (re)constructing good citizens who conformed and (re)producing those who failed to measure up. It examines the role of new forms of social scientific knowledge about juvenile delinquents and the influence of professionals claiming the ability to scientifically separate the normal from the deviant and the salvageable from the incorrigible. The authoritative, scientific voices of experts gained a monopoly over a range of moral behavior and public health concerns and soon, these professionals became an important group considered able to determine the citizenship status of Israeli populations.
Constructing Law in Early Canada: Vigilanteeism, Discrimination and Authority
This paper examines the social construction of law in an early farm settlement in Alberta. The paper explores community reaction to a small, previously undiscovered sect composed of American immigrant farmers who were labelled “The Dreamers” by their fellow settlers. The Dreamers practiced religious observances which were composed of the relating of dreams which members were required to act upon, specifically acts of arson, assault and public damage. The Dreamers were the subject of intense community discrimination predicated upon their hearsey exploits as murderers and arsonists in South Dakota. The paper tracks the development of community fear, resort to vigilanteeism and centrally the creative use of law as a method of social sanction. Attention is directed to the arbitrary use of law as constructed through intermediaries in the enforcement apparatus of the Royal North West Mounted Police, and the Attorney General’s Office. The creation of a moral panic in relation to the Dreamers is explored as an extension of attempts to “bend” law to criminalize a marginal community.
Constructing the Sexual Sterilization Act in alberta: Tactics, Activities, and Ploys of Key Players
In the early 1900s, eugenics doctrine was sweeping the world. Alberta, Canada was no exception. In 1928, the Sexual Sterilization Act was passed, and by 1971, the year of its repeal, over 2000 people had been sexually sterilized, many without their own consent. This paper looks at the specific individuals, interest groups, activits, and politicians who were involved in the creation of the image of the public threat of ‘mental defectives’, the ‘feebleminded’, the mentally ill, and the criminal. Through the use of claimsmaking tactics, including the use of the media, speeches, meeting resolutions, newspaper and magazine articles, and books, these individuals and groups were able to create the perception of a province being over-run with such ‘undesirables’. In so doing, they were also able to pave the way for the Sexual Sterilization Act and the sterilization of thousands of people. An analysis of the activities and tactics of key players during this time illustrates the ways in which certain groups were able to influence public perceptions, public opinions, and the construction of a law that robbed thousands of people of their reproductive rights.
Consuming/Purchasing Behaviors in Distressed Households : Report From the Field
The compulsive behaviors of crack consumers appear to be different from consumers of other illegal drugs. This paper provides a thick description of how crack consumers construct their lives so as to engage in continuous repetitive cycles of purchase and crack use episodes. The paper uses case studies from three households to demonstrate how the compulsive behavior patterns influence various conduct norms that are specific to crack consumers. These repetitive actions have important effects upon children, school, family life, and other household functions. Through a focus upon the impulsive nature of compulsive behavior, an important dimension of the drug problem among inner city black families is illuminated. Data for this paper comes from an ongoing NIDA funded ethnographic study that examines crack user/seller households and violence. Thousands of pages of transcripts have been collected and computerized for analysis. Over 160 persons have been observed in their households over a period of 4 years. The production and distribution of illegal drugs exists on a global scale that extends from the Middle East to Asia and to South America and the Caribbean (Sullivan, 1990). Drug trafficking is a form of commodity trading conducted by transnational crime syndicates, generating an annual income of more than $500 billion a year worldwide, of which about $250 billion may be a not profit (Venter, 1998). The profits generated by the drug trafficking industry are so immense, they provide syndicates with the motivation to maintain the traffic in illegal drugs despite the costs exacted by various national and international law enforcement agencies (Swisher, 1991). This study examines regional drug trafficking in West Africa and the control measures adopted by six West African countries. Informal (parents, uncles, elders etc) and formal (education, legislation, police, teachers etc) control techniques were examined and found to have limited effccts. It is hypothesized that the unfavorable economic conditions that prevail in West Africa hinder any effective strategy from reducing drug trafficking. There does not appear to be an end to the current economic condition in West Africa, future intervention strategies are likely to be met with uncertain results.
Containing Contradictions: The Development of Prison Drugs Policy in England 1980-1998
The ‘problem’ of drugs in prisons has become a key policy concern in many countries. In Britain, this issue has generated considerable public and political interest culminating in various policy initiatives. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with key players in the policy process and an analysis of documentary materials, this paper explores the contradictions in the development of contemporary prison drugs policy in England during the period 1980-1998. Since 1980, policy in this area can be divided into four main phases of development which have hinged upon complex patterns of conflict, contradiction and convergence between medical and penal forms of control. The various shifts in policy will be examined by exploring several processes including the changing perceptions and definitions of the drugs ‘problem’, the nature and extent of drugs use and risk behaviour in prisons, and the impact of changes in wider policy frameworks.
Contextual Determinants of Female Prison Misconduct
What are the determinants of prison misconduct? This question has been posed for male inmates; however, researchers have ignored possible gender-specific determinants of inmate misconduct. This research will attempt to address the limitations of previous studies. Using data from a subset of the 1991 Survey of Inmates of State Correctional facilities, I will estimate the effect of prison and inmate-level variables on inmate misconduct. Specifically, I will examine the role that remunerative and coercive controls play in exacerbating or mediating misconduct. To achieve the research goal, I will analyze both inmate and prison-level data in a series of hierarchical linear models. Research implications for correctional managers will be discussed
Contextual Influences on Childhood Aggression in Canada
Research on contextual influences on violence, aggression, and delinquency indicates that characteristics of both neighborhoods and families explain variation in these behaviors beyond individual level factors. While theoretical arguments have drawn attention to the need to incorporate children into research on communities and crime, most studies have focused on adolescents and young adults. The interdisciplinary literature on neighborhood influences on a range of children’s outcomes shows the results on behaviors have been inconsistent. This paper seeks to clarify findings on neighborhood influences on childhood aggression by using census data and information on young children from the first cycle of an ongoing Canadian study, the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (Human Resources Development Canada and Statistics Canada). The paper considers how the macro-level context of the research and alternative model forms may clarify how neighborhoods affect outcomes in childhood. As research on the geographical concentration of socio-economic disadvantage in Canada highlights regional differences, the influences of regional patterns within Canada in neighborhood disadvantage on children’s aggression are also examined.
Contrasting Visions?: Types of Ambiguity in Penal Discourse
Much philosophical analysis of punishment centres on contradiction and incompatibility, for example the familiar textbook dualism between instrumental and deontological justifications for penal measures. Similarly much social analysis emphasizes the ‘clash’ (Garland, 1990) between the impassioned language of retribution and, on the other hand, the normalizing or managerial aims of penal practices. Introducing perspectives from a study of children’s conversations this paper argues that discourse on punishment may be better thourhg of as disclosing a variety of persistent dilemmas and ambiguities, and suggests some methodological principles for coming to terms with the messy and open character of our penal vocabulary.
Control Theory: Can It Explain Female Participation in Delinquency?
Although most delinquency research focuses primarily on males, some studies show existing theories have potential utility for explaining female delinquency and that sex differences in delinquency may be attributed to the fact that females are not exposed to factors associated with delinquency as often as are males. These studies, however, have used sex only as a control variable, and therefore, the applicability of the theory for explaining female delinquency is unknown. This paper will use various theoretical concepts, with a focus on control theory, to investigate whether existing constructs are sufficient to explain female delinquency or whether there is a need for new, distinctly female theories.
Convict Criminology and the Mentally Ill: Prisoners of Confinement
The research explores how mentally ill convicts experience transcarceration as they are routinely funneled to and from the criminal justice and mental health systems. This method of processing individuals has profound effects for how disordered persons are identified with and assume the role of prisoner. These mentally ill people become part of the systems they are repeatedly channeled through, in the process, they unknowingly reify the legitimacy of their involuntary participation in transcarceration. As a result, not only do they live roles as both “bad and mad,” they are also powerless to free themselves. Mentally ill offenders become prisoners of confinement; that is, they figuratively and literally become hostage to a process that restricts their role performances, leaving little room for them to re-negotiate their identities. Particular attention is given toward the field experiences of the researcher, coupled with the life stories of selected psychiatrically disordered inmates. Both theoretical and practical dimensions of this phenomenon will be considered. The paper concludes by speculating on the future research and policy implications of convict criminology for the mentally ill prisoner.
Convicting Innocent People Does Not Prevent Crime: The Guy Paul Morin Inquiry
James Lockyer is a founding director of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC) and has been involved in numerous post-conviction exonerations in Canada. He was counsel for Guy Paul Morin, a man convicted of a murder in Ontario, Canada, that he did not commit, and arranged DNA testing which led to his eventual exoneration. He continued as Mr. Morin’s counsel at the Commission on Proceedings Involving Guy Paul Morin (1997 – 1998) which resulted in the Kaufman Report which contained numerous recommendations to prevent wrongful convictions in Canada in the future, Through the auspices of AIDWYC, he also arranged for DNA testing that led to the exoneration of David Milgaard, a Canadian from Winnipeg, Manitoba, who spent 23 years in jail for a murder lie did not commit. Using these and other cases in the United Kingdom and the U.S.A., Mr. Lockyer will discuss the systemic causes of wrongful convictions including “junk” science, prosecutorial and police misconduct, the use of jailhouse informants and the ovcr-reliance on eye-witness identification evidence.
Cooperative Styles of Supervision and Monitoring as Protective Factors Against Delinquency and Victimization of Children in Inner-City Neighborhoods
Research shows that neighborhoods with informal networks that promote and enforce conventional values and law-abiding behavior have lower levels of crime and disorder. This paper explores the effects of collective socialization as a protective factor against delinquency and victimization of children. In particular, it examines the effects of traditional styles of cooperative supervision and monitoring of children in poor, inner-city minority neighborhoods. This paper builds upon an ethnographic pilot study in a Northeastern city of female African-American caretakers from a poor and working-class street that bordered a drug market. To be discussed are efficacy of cooperative styles of supervision on this street: residents’ willingness to enforce neighborhood values and rules; effects of environmental factors on perceptions of safety and neighborhood cohesion; and accommodations that female caretakers made to avoid trouble with local drug dealers. Tw3o working hypothesis are posited. First, neighborhoods with greater levels of cooperative monitoring and supervision will enjoy lower rates of crime and disorder than neighborhoods with more individualistic styles of supervision. Second, crime and disorder affect the levels of interaction among neighbors, and cooperative styles of supervision and monitoring would be affected by rapid changes in neighborhood composition and sudden increases in crime and violence.
Coping in a Gendered World: Men, Masculinities and Male Child Sexual Abuse
Over the last ten years, information regarding the sexual victimization of boys has filtered into public awareness from a variety of popular and academic venues, Much of the literature has been esssnetial in highlighting the unique needs of adult male survivors of childhood and adolescent molestation-, in particular the role gender plays in keeping males silent about their experiences of abuse. However, much of the generated knowledge has been framed within an understanding of gender which is singular, static, and acontextual. In contrast, this paper examines the diverse processes with which males construct and reconstruct their masculine identities and practices in response to sexual abuse. The accounts of seventeen male survivors of child sexual abuse Illustrate the necessity of a critical understanding of gender in theorizing the role of masculinity in the context of victimization.
Corporate Criminality: Analyzing Recidivism, Multiple Offending, and the Effectiveness Fines
Possibly due to the lack of empirical-, corporate crime data, the terms “multiple offender” and “recidivist” often conjure up images of conventional-, or street criminals. However, these terms could easily apply to crimes committed by corporations. Using data regarding the fines allocated for violations of the Traffic Safety Act (collected from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), the present research addresses the propensity, or likelihood of automobile corporations to recidivate and/or commit multiple offenses. Issues surrounding corporate crime enforcement practices are presented and suggestions are made concerning the effectiveness of imposing fines as a punitive sanction.
Correcting Household Survey Responses of Age of First Use of Alcohol for Inaccurate Recall and Sample Selection Bias
Household survey data on age at first use of alcohol can be biased from both sampling and response errors. The paper presents a procedure for obtaining a more accurate distribution of age at first use by viewing the NHSDA as a cohort study. One potential concern is attrition, whereby individuals who start alcohol use at an early age become increasingly less likely to be surveyed in successive years. This paper suggests that such attrition causes substantially less bias than inaccurate responses. This contention was partially confirmed through a comparison of NHSDA cohort data with longitudinal data obtained from a panel study of New Jersey youths The paper presents findings for the 1968-73 birth cohort, which provide extensive bias presumably caused by forward telescoping. By the time of the interview at age 25, the average age at first use of alcohol reported was 16.1 as opposed to the presumably more accurate 14.3 estimated. Additionally, the proportion of 25 year-olds who reported first use of alcohol before age 12 was only a third of the proportion reported at age 12.
Correctional Facility Architectural Design: History, Current Trends, and Future Directions
The architectural design of correctional facilities has been documented and studied since the inception of the earliest forms of criminal sanctions. Architectural design is an integral part of correctional policy because facility construction should reflect a synthesis of five correctional goals: deterrence, punishment, incapacitation, rehabilitation, and reintegration. Evolution of correctional philosophies has provided diverse designs over the course of time. The present paper has three purposes: (a) to examine the rationale and trends of historical designs, (b) to assess the features of current prison and jail design, and (c) to make recommendations for future directions in the architectural design of correctional facilities.
Correctional Practice in Prisons and Jails: Best Practices, Performance-based Standards, and Expected Results
The American Correctional Association (ACA) has developed a process for developing and implementing performance-based measure in correctional settings. In addition, the ACA has produced a best practices document for corrections practitioners. The findings from the ACA work point to the critical need for performance-based measures based on relevant standards for achieving desired results.
Correlates of Inmate Crime: A Hierarchical Linear Model
A secondary analysis (of data sets previously used to test inmate classification systems) was performed to examine correlates of individual level crime and misconduct within state prisons located in Connecticut, Hawaii, New York, and Washington. hierarchial linear models (HLM) were established to examine the relative importance of inmate characteristics (e.g., age, criminal history, and program participation), versus institutional variables such as security level and crowding. the HLM models predict the likelihood of engaging in specific types of institutional crime, the likelihood of engaging in any crime or infraction, and the number of crimes or rule infractions during incarceration. Implications of these findings for correctional classification and management are discussed.
County Correctional Officers’ Perception of Private Prisons: The Case of the Private Prison in Youngstown
This presentation explores the perceptions of correctional officers working in county jails contagious to the private prison (NOCC) in Ohio. The data is derived from a survey of 100 correctional officers working in counties near the prison. The survey includes both qualitative and quantitative data pertaining to a range of attitudes ranging from general opinions about privatization to the officers’ perceptions of their own jobs in the atmosphere of privatization. Both ethnographic data from the questionnaire as well as statistical analysis will be presented. The presentation concludes with future research and policy strategies for dealing with private prisons and publicly employed correctional officers.
Court-Appointed Attorneys for Federal Criminal Defendants
In 1993, Congress began to take a closer look at the rising costs associated with the Federal Defender Services. The investigation of costs occurred at a time when the mix of Federal cases were changing and the fully implemented Federal sentencing guidelines appeared to be imposing additional burdens on court-appointed attorneys. Survey work done by the U.S. GAO revealed, however, that a relatively small number of cases were responsible for most of the increase in costs, that Federal capital prosecutions had a disproportionate impact on costs, and the studies on tcosts, the Federal courts began to implement new methods for managing and controlling costs of defender services. This paper reviews and assesses the methods that arose to organize Federal Defender Services in a more cost-effective manner. These include: Expanding the use of Fe4deral Public Defender and Community Defender Offices; up-front budgeting for cases; maintaing continuity of representation for capital defendants in state courts; and reinstituting Death Penalty Resource Centers. While the jury is still out on the impacts of these initiatives, this paper draws out the implications of them for the quality of justice and containment of costs.
Creative Teleteaching of Distance Learning Courses to Criminal Justice Students: Dilemmas and Prospects
This discussion will address concerns of criminal justice programs/instructors mandated by policy to restructure and offer criminal justice courses statewide through the new distance learning media. The role of training and resocializing the criminal justice educators is a key component to this process, in light of both student and faculty ambivalence, apprehension, and reluctance in accepting the transition to the compressed video instructional method.
Crime, Capitalism and the Risk Society: Towards the Same Olde Modernity
The discourses of risk society and ‘governmentality’ have played an increasingly important role in criminological theorizing. Studies of carceral settings, the public and private police, and examinations of actuarial practices within the criminal justice system have increasingly relied upon risk society theory as an orienting strategy. We offer reservations about the utility of risk theory absent a consideration of the history of probability and the practices of early modem English projectors. Rather than view risk society as a late modem development that (a) is tied to computerization, (b) is forward-looking as opposed to retributive and (c) is an apolitical actuarial rationality, we link risk to the techniques, aims and interests of 17th century English capitalists. By analyzing correspondence between the English projectors and thinkers contained in the papers of Samuel Hartlib and his circle, and by examining the works of John Graunt and Sir William Petty on both criminality and risk, we argue that the logics of retribution and actuarialism have always been overlapping and tethered to the interests of capitalism. The discourses of risk society and ‘governmentality’ have played an increasingly important role in criminological theorizing. Studies of carceral settings, the public and private police, and examinations of actuarial practices within the criminal justice system have increasingly relied upon risk society theory as an orienting strategy. We offer reservations about the utility of risk theory absent a consideration of the history of probability and the practices of early modem English projectors. Rather than view risk society as a late modem development that (a) is tied to computerization, (b) is forward-looking as opposed to retributive and (c) is an apolitical actuarial rationality, we link risk to the techniques, aims and interests of 17th century English capitalists. By analyzing correspondence between the English projectors and thinkers contained in the papers of Samuel Hartlib and his circle, and by examining the works of John Graunt and Sir William Petty on both criminality and risk, we argue that the logics of retribution and actuarialism have always been overlapping and tethered to the interests of capitalism.
Crime, Control, and Cultural Space
Many of the most visible contemporary controversies surrounding crime and policing incorporate the contestation of cultural space-that is, conflict over the social meaning and symbolic occupation of public domains. The widespread criminalization and relocation of homeless populations; the aggressive regulation of street gangs, street cruisers, and their public activities; the sophisticated enforcement campaigns designed to remove graffiti writers and their stylized markings from public life; the larger legal containment of the times and spaces occupied by ethnic minorities, young people, and the alternative subcultures they create-all suggest emergent forms of everyday legal and cultural control aimed at policing public spaces and public perceptions. As they emerge, these strategies of control serve to physically and symbolically partition public domains on the basis of ethnicity, social class, and age, to enforce and reproduce the marginalization of ethnic minorities, young people, and the poor-, to protect and privilege the interests of economic and political elites; and thus to promote a form of day-to-day cultural apartheid that structures public space and the practice of public life.
Crime, Punishment, and Global Solidarity: An Extension of Durkheim’s Theory of Moral Development
Emile Durkheim’s account of the changing nature of morality structures his explanation of historical variations in crime, punishment, and solidarity. In this paper, Durkheim’s theory of moral development is extended to possibilities he either rejected or did not consider — possibilities concerning the relationship between crime, punishment, and the potential emergence of a global common consciousness and cross-national mechanical solidarity.
Crime, Punishment and Globalization: How the New Social Structure of Accumulation is Shaping American Justice
This paper explores how a globalized transformation in the dominant social structure of accumulation (SSA) is affecting crime and punishment in the United States. SSAs are constellations of economic arrangements and public policies that govern production, distribution, social welfare, and social control. The central decades of the 20th century were dominated by the Fordist SSA, and its distinct phases of exploration, consolidation, and decay (Bowies, Gordon, and Weiskoppf, 1990). In the 1980s, the search for a new global SSA based on cyber-technological systems of production, management, and control began to displace the older Fordist system. Building on recent research showing how the relationship among economy, crime, and punishment reflects the characteristics of SSAs and SSA phases (Carlson and Michalowski, 1997; Michalowski and Carlson, 1999), we analyze the ways important features of the new cybertech SSA bear (and will bear) on patterns of crime and punishment in globalized America. These include increased surplus populations, increased reliance by these populations on informal markets, increased used of repressive control regimes to manage the intersection of surplus populations and informal markets, and economic and political contradictions posed by a potential global expansion of wealth, poverty, crime, and punishment in the early 21st century.
Crime and Community, Who is Who? And What is What?
Lately we find the most significant criminal justice functions prefaced with the label community. This is most prominent in law enforcement. Seemingly every police department wants to be known now for doing: Community policing. ( Whom did they police before?) More questionable as new, is the label community correction except for finally replacing the name of corrections from the prison system. One may well doubt if prisons ever corrected many who passed through them. But, did the proponents of correcting law violators best in their communities, forget that probation was invented about a century ago to replace prisons which failed to correct offenders – or even made them worse? Today probation is largely an auxiliary to law enforcement. More problematic is belief that a community is best to prevent crime and to cure the ills of criminal justice. This fails to recognize that most offenders are products of their social environment, which in modern urban America is no longer what traditionally meant community.
Crime and Psychopathy: Implications for Correctional Treatment in Europe
The relationship between crime and psychopathy is fairly grated at least since Robert Hare designed the Psychopathy checklist and made its work available. The data presented reinforce the idea that psychopaths show a remarkable pattern of criminal versatility and therefore correctional administrations have to be very careful in selecting and classifying inmates solely on the basis of the crimes they committed. In fact importance should be assigned to their psychopathic tendencies which sometimes may be dissimulated under a less serious criminality. Therefore the author argues, based on data gathered in the Portuguese prisons and compared to other European countries, that inmates’ jobs assignments or indications for correctional programs should be mediated through the use of Hare’s PCL-R (Hare, 1991), so that failures and disciplinary problems could be prevented. Implications concerning the application of the European Rules for Correctional Treatment are also briefly addressed.
Crime and Punishment in Russia and the United States: 1991-1996
The comparative criminal justice literature contains only a limited number of studies that have systematically compared the disposition of criminal cases across societies. Some datasets with information pertaining to the disposition of criminal cases are available, such as the UN World Crime Surveys, but to date only limited comparisons of this nature have been made. In addition, there is a particular lack of information on the disposition of criminal cases in Russia and the former Soviet Union (e.g. Williams and Rodeheaver 1998). Much of this lack may have been attributed to the historical difficulty of obtaining data on crime in this part of the world. However, data on crime in Russia and the former Soviet Union has been available since 1988. This paper addresses both of these limitations. The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic comparison of the processing of violent crime in Russia and the United States during the period 1990-1996. Using data from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the (U.S.) Bureau of Justice Statistics, we examine the disposition of homicide, rape, and aggravated assault cases in both countries during this period. We discuss implications of the findings and suggest additional research.
Crime and Social Change: The Case of the Republic of Ireland
The relationship between crime and social change has always been central attempts to understand fundamental transformations in crime rates,particularly in developing countries. This has usually involved the application of some form of modernization theory with its stress upon the disruptions caused by the speed and intensity of change and their consequences impact on levels of crime. In the last thirty years the Republic of Ireland has undergone major structural change, moving as it has from being a relatively poor agricultural country to achieving a level of affluence that has lead it to be described, in a phrase drawn from the experience of Pacific rim countries, as the “Celtic tiger” of Europe. This change has been accompanied by major changes in both the level of crime and public concern about it. The argument of this paper is that these changes are inadequately conceptualised through the conventional approach to the study of social change and crime. In its place it suggests that the concept of dependent development is a more appropriate framework as it is this form of development that has created the “double marginalisation” that is at the heart of rising crime in Ireland.
Crime and the Perception of Social Stress and Solidarity: The Role of Education
This study investigated the relationship between the subjective perception of stress and support (as independent variables) and the prevalence of homicide, robbery, and property offenses, while controlling for the effect of education. This was done by analyzing (on the aggregate level) how these crimes are related to the differential perception of stress and support among respondents of low, medium, and high education. The theoretical framework is provided by a model that postulates that crime will be positively related to stress factors and negatively related to support systems. The eight stress indicators and the four support (solidarity) indicators were derived from surveys of Israel’s urban population during the years 1967-1979. The theoretical model was substantially supported by the findings. The perception of stress and solidarity among respondents of lower education was more strongly related to crime rates (as expected) only with regard to homicide and property offenses, but not with regard to robbery. Suggestions are made for future studies in this line of research.
Crime in Cyberspace: Typologies, Control, and Prevention
Modern technology in computers, satellite telephones, electronic communications, telecommunications, and other information highway media have expanded the rims of criminal perpetrations and criminology. The nexus of computing and telecommunications provided now avenues for deviance and crime, including stealing of services, information piracy, forgery, money laundering, electronic vandalism, terrorism, illegal transfer of funds electronically, maritime piracy, illegal interception of information, etc., (Grabosi 1998). Unfortunately, there are no frontiers in cyberspace criminality. The paper analyzes all forms of cyberspace crimes, suggests control mechanisms, and counter measures to prevent them, with data from both federal agencies and computer companies.
Crime Niches and Criminal Foraging in Patchy Environments: Anthropological Models in Crime Pattern Analysis
This paper explores a set of ideas and models derived from contemporary ecology and behavioural archaeology — particularly the idea of the “crime niche,” ecological patches and ecology edge effects — which we advanced in prior papers. Attention is paid to contemporary foraging theory. These concepts are expanded and synthesized with the contemporary pattern theory of crime in order to derive some additional models for predicting the distribution of criminal events. These models are explored using metro Vancouver crime data arrayed in time and space.
Crime Patterns and Impacts of Economic Reform in China
The Chinese economic reforms started in the late 1970’s have lead to profound changes in all aspects of Chinese society. This paper explores how economic reform impacts on the trends and characteristics of Chinese crimes through analysis of Chinese Crime data. The paper explores the dynamic relationship between Chinese socio-economic development and the changes in crime.
Crime Potentials, Hazards, and Risks at Every Point on the Map
This paper offers some simple ideas about crime potentials, hazards and risks, making distinctions among them. The paper also presents some simple indicators of crime risk and security, which can summarize a lot of data in far fewer numbers. The authors talk about the field of geocriminology and its ability to make crime mapping a substantive field making use of technology to serve non-technical purposes.
Crime Treatment in Europe: The 80’s and 90’s and Future Perspectives
During the seventies the main conclusion in the field of crime treatment was “nothing works,” the famous epitaph expressed by Martinson. Nevertheless, from the beginning of the eighties the rehabilitation ideal reemerged in applied criminology. In Europe, this re-emergence took the form of some applications of different programs to both juvenile and adult offenders. This paper reviews treatment techniques most often applied in European countries and their relative effectiveness. Four meta-analyses have been conducted during the last decade. In 1987 LTMseI, KVferl, and Weber reviewed 18 sociotherapeutic programs of German prisons. In 1996, 1998, and 1999, Redondo, Sanchez-Meca, and Garrido reviewed 57, 32, and 25 European programs respectively. The results are consistent with those obtained by American reviewers of correctional treatment. On the average, treatment programs obtained a global effect size of about .10 to.15. It could be interpreted that treatment groups surpassed controls by 10 to 15% in terms of different evaluated variables including recidivism. The effectiveness of some programs (e.g., behavioral and cognitive-behavioral strategies) was twice as much as the average. These results allow us to be a reasonably optimistic regarding the future of offenders’ treatment.
Crime Trends in Post-Socialist Countries: Exploring the Economic Correlates of Crime in Select Transitional Countries
Past cross-national studies of crime trends had largely neglected socialist countries due to data limitations. However, the recenyt availability of crime data from the post-socialist countries of the former Soviet bloc allows for an exploration of crime trends in these countries. In addition, data from these post-socialist countries present an opportunity to explore the effects on crime rates of a rather unique process of social change, the transition from a command to a market economy. This paper examines crime trends in select post-socialist societies from 1989 to 1994. It then assesse the relationship between crime rates and certain economic correlates that are specifically related to the economic transition in the region. In particular, variations in unemployment, privatization, and consumtion are considered as key correlates. The paper concludes with a discussion of how the inclusion of post-socialist socieites in comparative criminology requires careful attention to the past and current socioeconomic conditions of this region.
Crime Waves as Constraint and Opportunity: Political Leadership, Law-making, and the Summer of Violence
Employing a constructionist approach, this paper examines the leadership role asserted by Governor Roy Romer during the (1993) “summer of violence” in Denver (and Colorado). Beginning on May 2 (1993), when a baby at the Denver Zoo was struck by a stray bullet, to August 2, when an elementary school teacher was murdered in a suburban parking lot, print and electronic media gave extensive coverage to several “high profile,” violent crimes, a number of which were allegedly committed by gang-affiliated juveniles. These incidents became the centerpiece of an unfolding media event, eventually dubbed “The Summer of Violence” by the local press. The unremitting coverage of this putative crime wave heightened fear of violence, prompting some residents to flee the supposedly deadly environs of Denver for the alluring (but ultimately elusive) safety of the suburbs, while others organized marches to “take back the streets” or badgered public officials to “crack down” on violent youth. This was the context, one largely fashioned by the media’s continuous and prominent coverage of violent crime, in which Governor Romer convened a special session of the Colorado General Assembly, a session that considered three dozen bills, eventually passing nine into law. (The two most significant measures (a) outlawed juvenile possession of handguns and (b) established a $37 million (in construction costs) Youthful Offender System (whose operating costs run another $10.2 million annually).) Acting in this case as a primary claimsmaker, the media (through their coverage) fashioned a complex ensemble of opportunities and constraints that enabled and/or compelled other claimsmakers to adopt the incipient problem of youth violence. No other (local or state) claimsmaker proved more effective in appropriating this problem than Romer, and we focus on four features of his leadership role. First, Romer played a crucial role in legitimating and defining the problem. More so than any other public official, he characterized the summer of violence as a credible threat and a genuine crisis (not a mere media fabrication) while also defining the problem as essentially one of youth violence (despite the fact that several suspects in the high profile cases were either not juveniles or of indeterminate age). Second, Romer formulated an official- plan of action (which he called “The iron fist and the helping hand”) and convened a special session of the state legislature to consider a myriad of legislative initiatives he had proposed. In addition, Romer proved exceptionally adept at mobilizing elite and popular opinion behind his plan, using the media and “populist” town meetings (which were invariably well-covered by the media) to enlist support for the general principles of his plan, the specific bills he had proposed, and his decision to call a special session. Third, relying on persuasion, inducements (both positive and negative), and bargaining, Romer effectively defused (potential and actual) opposition. For example, as a Democratic governor confronting a Republican-controlled legislature, Romer recognized that his legislative initiatives would succeed only if they had bipartisan support, and consequently he pressured leading Republican lawmakers to co-sponsor his bills. Fourth, throughout the summer, during the special session itself, and long after the special session’s deliberations concluded, Romer successfully claimed credit (at the state and national levels) for devising an effective political and legislative response to the problem of youth violence. Empirically, our analysis of Romer’s leadership role relies on news reports and in-depth interviews. Romer’s activities (and those of his allies and antagonists) are well-documented in the state’s two leading newspapers (the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News) and by the Denver-based electronic media. These (local) “papers (and broadcasts) of record” have proved to be an invaluable resource for our study. We have also conducted over two dozen, in-depth interviews with reporters, columnists, editors, and program managers at the Post and News, and at local electronic (both radio and television) media outlets, querying respondents at considerable length about the “politics” of the summer of violence. In addition, we conducted more than three dozen, in-depth interviews with influential local (i.e., Denver-metro area) officials (including law enforcement officials), state legislators (of both political parties), state officials (of both political parties), and key members of Romer’s staff. state legislature to consider a myriad of legislative initiatives he had proposed. In addition, Romer proved exceptionally adept at mobilizing elite and popular opinion behind his plan, using the media and “populist” town meetings (which were invariably well-covered by the media) to enlist support for the general principles of his plan, the specific bills he had proposed, and his decision to call a special session. Third, relying on persuasion, inducements (both positive and negative), and bargaining, Romer effectively defused (potential and actual) opposition. For example, as a Democratic governor confronting a Republican-controlled legislature, Romer recognized that his legislative initiatives would succeed only if they had bipartisan support, and consequently he pressured leading Republican lawmakers to co-sponsor his bills. Fourth, throughout the summer, during the special session itself, and long after the special session’s deliberations concluded, Romer successfully claimed credit (at the state and national levels) for devising an effective political and legislative response to the problem of youth violence. Empirically, our analysis of Romer’s leadership role relies on news reports and in-depth interviews. Romer’s activities (and those of his allies and antagonists) are well-documented in the state’s two leading newspapers (the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News) and by the Denver-based electronic media. These (local) “papers (and broadcasts) of record” have proved to be an invaluable resource for our study. We have also conducted over two dozen, in-depth interviews with reporters, columnists, editors, and program managers at the Post and News, and at local electronic (both radio and television) media outlets, querying respondents at considerable length about the “politics” of the summer of violence. In addition, we conducted more than three dozen, in-depth interviews with influential local (i.e., Denver-metro area) officials (including law enforcement officials), state legislators (of both political parties), state officials (of both political parties), and key members of Romer’s staff.
Crimes of War; Wars on Crime
The war on crime within the United States has concentrated upon street crime, acts of random violence that strike fear into the hearts of voters anti create safe political issues. This concentration has been at the expense of serious attention to corporate criminality that has a much greater aggregate rate of victimization than street crime. States that attempt to rein in corporate behavior are frustrated by the “race to the bottom” ar, corporate persons locate in those states that offer the fewest intrusions upon corporate activity by government, employees, or shareholders. The international community has, over the objection of the United States, created permanent protocols for the prosecution of transnational crime. once more, however, these protocols focus on what might he termed international street crime: war crimes, use of prohibited weapons, homicide and rape as instruments of policy, particularly the policy known as ethnic cleansing. Transnational crimes involving air and water pollution, nuclear, oil and chemical misuse, securities fraud, sweatshops and currency manipulation may, as within the United States, continue to cause significant losses while multinational corporations “race to the bottom” to avoid national sanctions and the new international protocols take no notice.
Criminal Activity Among women Mandated to Drug Treatment: A Before and After Comparison
This paper presents outcome data from project WORTH, an evaluation study of eight drug treatment programs for women offenders in New York City and Portland, Oregon. The sample consists of over 1,200 women who were interviewed at the time they entered treatment. This paper is examines the criminal activity of a subsample of the women (N>600) who were reinterviewed at follow-up (i.e., one year after they are discharged from treatment). The analyses compares the women’s criminal activity after leaving treatment with their behaviors during the year before they entered treatment. Several measures of criminal involvement are examined. These focus on the frequency that various types of crimes were committed, the extent of criminal activity (e.g., crime days), and the amount of time the women were involved in crime during the year. Women who complete treatment are compared with dropouts. Because time at risk varies considerably among the women, comparing criminal activity is problematic (e.g., women who are at risk for a short period of time do not necessarily have the same opportunity to commit crimes that other women have). We address this dilemma from a methodological standpoint by creating crime measures that control for variations in time at risk.
Criminal Deterrence and Sentence Severity: An Analysis of Recent Research
This is a comprehensive study of the literature on criminal deterrence, concentrating on recent research. 71c result examines the popular claim that “deterrence works”. That it works in general terms is beyond dispute, but the claim most favored by law-makers is narrower: that tougher sentences have direct impact on criminal behavior, limiting the number and severity of offenses committed. This study seeks to discover the truth of that claim. Deterrence as penal aim, is a broad subject, hence this study decided to look at two elements of recent research. First, the authors looked at studies which examine the marginal deterrent effects changing the certainty of punishment, that is, of altering the likelihood of an offender’s being apprehended and convicted for a crime. Secondly they looked at studies of the marginal deterrent effects of altering the severity of punishment through changes in sentence policy. It is their evaluation and analysis of the latter which is the principal focus of this study. The Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge was commissioned by the UK Rome Office to conduct the study.
Criminal Justice and the Globalization of Crime
This paper focuses on the criminal justice systems of Caribbean countries, discussing globalization of crime and justice. The systems model will be used to assess the relationships among the components of the criminal justice systems in selected Caribbean countries.
Criminal Justice Education: Using Technology to Achieve Diversity
This paper describes criminal justice education via an innovative program of instruction using technology in team teaching with interactive television between two significantly different institutions: One predominantly white, the other historically and predominantly black; one located in the north, the other in the south. With the underlying goal of addressing diversity, the paper discusses the promises and challenges in using technology in criminal justice education, dealing with racially and ethnically diverse population the classroom, and some of the issues and considerations of distance learning. The paper concludes that while the use of technology in criminal justice education is essential for the new century, successful programs must have a strong commitment to use the technology to address specific goals. The application of technology challenges and sometimes conflict with the traditional classroom pedagogy. Accordingly, having a strong commitment and strong technical support are essential requirements. Institutions and programs that may be considering incorporating technology will need to confirm the needed support, training, and commitment when preparation is made to use technology.
Criminal Justice Policy as Social Oppression: The Prosecution of Pregnant Substance Abusers
The debate over the prosecution of pregnant substance abusers under existing drug trafficking statutes and newly enacted fetal protection legislation has centered around a legal analysis of the constitutionality of such practices. Legal scholars have debated the pitfalls of granting fetal rights that are in direct opposition to a woman’s right to bodily integrity. However, while mentioning in passing that these prosecutions have been directed almost entirely against poor minority (usually African-American) women, few scholars have sought to fully investigate the social and cultural realities that have resulted in prosecution becoming the preferred method of social control for these women who have not fulfilled the middle-class model of motherhood. This paper will address the use of prosecution as criminal justice and social policy in the context of the historical devaluation of Black motherhood. In this context, the prosecution of pregnant substance abusers is viewed as a continuation of practices begun during slavery that continue to socially oppress minority women.
Criminality and the Dark Figure in Rural Communities
On the basis of many national victim surveys in Germany on the crime problem, it is possible to compare criminality in rural and urban communities. Accordingly, analysis has confirmed that a close positive relationship exists between the level of property victimization and urbanization but not with violent victimization. Certain settlements that fall between rural and urban places in their size and structure display greater violent victimization rates even than large cities. These differences are explained in terms of variations in age-levels and leisure-time inhibitions. Regional differences appear to explain a larger portion of the variance than community size.
Criminalization of Street Youth in Montreal
During the 1990’s, a considerable increase in the number of homeless people took place in Canada, particularly amongst youths. Studies interested in homeless youths usually focus on runaways or on the causes explaining why young people leave home for the street. This analytical focus generally turns to a transitory representation of street life experience. However, many youths remain on the streets for several years and, in addition, do not share the same experiences as older homeless people. Furthermore, such studies usually depict street youths as either victims or criminals. Through a combination of labelling theory and symbolic interactionism, we analyze the experience of the street directly from the youth’s point of view. Our methodology is based on participant observations and in-depth life story interviews realized over two years. Specific focus revolves around strategies used to make money, find food, shelter, and pleasure. Further inquiries concern how such youths interact with policing agents controlling their daily hang-out spaces. Results presented describe the process of criminalization, its nature, and effects on street youths. A critical overview of the implication of using the penal process for regulating the problem at hand is discussed in conclusion.
Criminalizing Political Resistance: Women Political Prisoners in the United States
This study examines selected case studies of women political prisoners, and attempts to link the commonalities of these cases with the broader issue of criminalising political protest and resistance in the United States. Specifically, I address how the implementation and expansion of the retributive crime control model over the last 25 years, have effected women in revolutionary activist soups, including the American Indian Movement, Black Panthers, and Puerto Rican Independentistas. Finally, I highlight the particular dilemmas women face both in having their needs addressed inside the movements, as well as their experiences of ‘ideological conversion’ tactics, once confined as political prisoners.
Criminology, Indigenousness and Maori in Aotearoa/New Zealand
Crime in Aotearoa/New Zealand has come to be associated with offending by the country’s indigenous population, the Maori. Like other indigenous peoples in most post-colonial countries, Maori are over-represented in prison populations. Prisoners identified as Maori comprise around So percent of the inmates in New Zealand prisons, while Maori constitute only 15 percent of the general population. Explanations of why Maori behave ‘deviantly’, and the responses that such explanations elicit, are produced from a ‘grab bag, of theoretical and empirical critiques. Recently, epistemological assumptions inherent in these approaches have drawn criticism for their ethnocentric basis, culminating in a call for theories and responses to crime to be drawn from Maori perspectives on crime and justice. While some criminologists have grappled with indigenous ‘criminality, arguing for more inclusive cross-cultural theories of crime, indigenous perspectives have remained largely absent from (or on the fringes of) criminological theorising. This paper examines the possibility of a Maori criminology, derived from Maori understandings of crime. The analysis will chart the changing theoretical understandings that form the current responses to Maori ‘crime’, or to consider some of the salient limits and critiques that a Maori, or indigenous criminology could encounter.
Critical Approaches to the Study of Crime: The Limits of Legislation and the Poverty of Public Policy
Culture frames interpretations by supplying experiences from which inferences are quickly drawn. Specifically, culture legitimates legislation and policy initiatives by deferring to a of ?commonplace? understanding, social obligations and a generic loyalty to rules. This construction of laws and policies is determined by a variety of dominant discourses – political as well as cultural. Crime, therefore, as a juridic judgement negotiates between the more micro politicized processes and the more macro structures of politics. Parenthetically, this ?crime as a commodity? Fetish is significant in signalling the cultural capital of crime thereby avoiding any serious analysis of inherent social policy issues. Substantively, this paper provides a conceptual framework for questioning prevailing ideas and the cultural enclosures. This paper further advances a critical cultural analysis to highlight the ongoing official chatter, illusions and fascination with crime that serves well to mystify, trivialize and distract from a much needed public consciousness and debate. In piecing together the crime puzzle, we discover how culture not only contributes to diversity, but we also learn to appreciate how culture provides coherence to conventional. Crime as a discourse is a major device for interpreting the culture of control, powerful panoptic prisons, and ideological hegemony. Any appreciation of crime, law and policy encourage us to ask the following question: what is the role of culture in mediating the relationship between law and policy? The enterprise herein, therefore, invites a more intrepid, circumspect and perhaps a more ambitious interrogation of our familiar, traditional, as well as common-sense interpretations in forging more critical social analyses of crime.
Critical Race Theory, Positivism, and Criminology: Prospects for a Rational Analysis of Racism
Critical race theory (CRT) refers to a collective work of a number of ‘minority’ law professors at elite law schools, including Derrick Bell, Kimberle Crenshaw, and Richard Delgado. This critique explores the CRT perspective as applied to criminology, particularly with the aim of developing a rational analysis of racism. CRT methods free criminologists from the scientism of positivist statistical analysis by introducing rational methods (allegorical and autobiographical accounts). Yet CRT methods also invoke positivist concepts of structural determinism that weaken the approach as a critique of racist activities with society. The prospects for developing a Black criminology are discussed.
Critical Race Theory and Black Female Criminality: Shifting Sands of Control
Black female criminality is represented in rising incides of criminality, arrest and imprisonment rates. It is important that criminology continue efforts to understand this disturbing trend. Understanding black female criminality however, is difficult because of the small numbers of studies that focus on the black female criminal, or compare black and white female criminality. When such studies are completed, there arise certain constructs between behavior and structure as they relate causally to the criminalization process. Using Critical Race Theory as a primary theoretical base, this paper will attempt to define more clearly the factors seen to differentiate criminalization processes between black and white female criminals. Historically, criminological theory has relegated criminality to behavioral dysfunction, while more modern theories began to recognize the role of structural constraint. Applying Critical Race Theory to both historical and modern theories, it is proposed that a weakness in the examination of female criminality is that criminology often does not focus on the particular lines of definition between black and white female criminality that historical and structural racism create. This paper evaluates stereotypes, identity formation and structural constraints, and examines how these factors affect criminalization in the black female criminal.
Cross-Border Crime and Legal Jurisdiction in Post-Colonial Hong Kong
Decolonization should be considered a process that both precedes and follows a change of sovereignty rather than as a discrete, historic event. Seen in this light, decolonization is now well advanced in Hong Kong. One of the major institutions engaged in this process is the Hong Kong legal system. In this paper I shall 1) analyze the constitutional arrangements for Hong Kong’s post-colonial legal system, 2) describe Hong Kong’s most sensational cross-border criminal case of the 1990s, and 3) evaluate Hong Kong’s prospects for retaining a separate legal system under Chinese sovereignty.
Cross-Functional Problem-Solving in the Columbus Division of Police
To enhance cooperation and the ability to solve community problems, the Strategic Response Bureau of the Columbus (OH) Division of Police instituted cross-functional problem-solving teams (CFPST). These teams consist of members from the various units within the Bureau and are responsible for working together to solve community problems within their precinct. The teams facilitate sharing of the specialized knowledge of each uni8t, coordinate efforts, and strengthen accountability. Multiple methods to assess the effectiveness of CFPST were conducted, including surveys of team members and complainants, interviews of zone investigators, and analysis of documented problems and calls-for-service. This paper examines the findings of the CFPST evaluation and the implications of using cross-functional teams as a strategy to address community concerns.
CSAT’s Juvenile Justice Treatment Network Demonstration Projects: The Impact of Intake Processes on Treatment Provision
In FY 1996, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) initiated the Juvenile/Criminal Justice Treatment Networks (J/CJTN) Demonstration Program: The J/CJTN is designed to enhance substance abuse treatment access and service delivery to offender populations while they are still part of the justice system. To date, the three juvenile networks have assessed more 2,000 juveniles of whom nearly 1,300 have undergone formal network intake. This paper describes the intake procedures at each site and summarizes interviews with project staff regarding the impact of centralized intake procedures on the justice and treatment systems and on client outcomes. Preliminary process evaluation results indicate that services to Network clients have been streamlined and become more coordinated. Centralization of the intake process has increased communication and understanding of staff roles across participating agencies. Client treatment has benefited as the use of a single assessment instrument reduces the time spent determining clients’ needs and increases the speed with which c1ients can be placed in appropriate treatment settings. Lessons learned through the process of centralizing the intake procedures for justice-involved youth will be discussed with recommendations for practitioners or agencies interested in forming these types of cooperative relationships.
Cultural Codes and Violence: Towards an Understanding of the Kanun in the Lives of Albanian American Youth
Customary law in northern Albania is guided by a collection of Albanian laws and codes called the Kanun, which dictates behavior for matrimonial and funeral rites to adultery and murder. The laws of the Kanun place physical violence at the center of some types of social relations. There is a lack of literature, however, detailing the relevance of the Kanun in the lives of Albanian Americans. Using Elijah Anderson’s research on street codes as a means for interpreting interpersonal behavior, this paper examines the salience of the Kanun in dictating the behavior of young Albanian American men and women in the Bronx, New York. There is a large concentration of Albanian Americans who reside in the borough of the Bronx. The paper seeks to analyze the Kanun as a primary mechanism for the enforcement of norms and expectations that centers on respect. The codes of the Kanun may also grant some Albanian American youth the liberty to precipitate violent encounters.
Cumulative Continuity and Injection Drug Use Among Women: A Test of the Downward Spiral
While researchers have examined injection drug-use among women, the findings vary and remain inconclusive. We know very little about the career of 1DU women. In specific, what processes link injection drug use to events and situations prior to adulthood? This paper examines, through self-report data, the route into injection drug use and its long-term consequences among a sample of incarcerated women. Comparisons are made between women who have and women who have not injected drugs within the conceptual framework developed by Rosenbaum (1981). We argue that IDU women live in social circumstances typified by a narrowing of life’s options that decreases their ability to assume to conventional roles. Further, the process of role constriction facilitates risk-taking. The reasons for presenting such an explanation are bout theoretical and applied, In a theoretical context, explanations for injection drug use typically undervalue the sociological dimension, or the “social processes, conditions, and variables that trigger and sustain” injection drug use (Rosenbaum 1981: 11). The applied implications of a situation all contextual approach lead us to consider the prospects of social policy directed towards remedying the context in which many female injection drug users find themselves.
D
Dangerous or Disadvantaged? Juveniles Prosecuted as Adults
Juveniles are prosecuted as adults in every state in the United-States. Juveniles are typically transferred to adult criminal court in one of three ways: judicial, prosecutorial, or automatic transfer. The extant literature primarily covers the first two. This research discusses the third, automatic transfer. Data was abstracted from archival court records and from personal interviews with juveniles. Four stages in the criminal justice process – indictment, plea, sentence type, and sentence severity — are treated as dependent variables. Six legal and variables six sociodemographic and are treated as independent variables.’ The goal is to A predict criminal court outcomes. Logistic regression equations reveal that legal variables are better predictors of court outcome, although one sociodemographic variable, drug use, also impacts two outcomes. Sociodemographic variables are not good predictors, however they provide a much-needed social profile of juveniles in adult criminal court. After reviewing both the sociodemographic variables and the criminal court outcomes the author conclude$ that many juveniles automatically transferred are more disadvantaged than they are dangerous. In particular, the transfer of drug and weapon offenses disproportionately affects disadvantaged, young, Black males.
Dangerousness in Change?
The literature study for our research started from the concept of dangerousness and investigated how this concept has been concretised in the development of different penal theories. In this we concentrate principally on the models that can give an explanation for the increase in the number of long-term prisoners in detention : an international problem in Europe as well as in the USA. We give extensive attention to the school of positivism in Europe (known as social defence in Belgium) and to the influence of just desert and incapacitation in North America. In the context of incapacitation we investigate the influence of the abolition of the death penalty, since in several countries such as Canada and France this has led to the imposition of longer effective prison sentences. With respect to the abolition or re-introduction of the death penalty, we treat both public opinion and public opinion surveys. Feeley & Simon see incapacitation as a sentencing model within the scope of new penology. A number of elements from their thinking about risk can be found back in the theory of social defence in Belgium at the beginning of this century. We close with the pertinent question: is the new penology indeed so new?
Days of Sorrow: African American and Latina Women Standing By Their Incarcerated HIV/AIDS Men
Within New York City’s impoverished communities, all too often African-American and Latina women cope with separation and loss through violence, drug addiction, imprisonment, illness and death. This ethnographic study examines how some of these women sustain their determination to support their HIV/AIDS-infencted men’s struggles to prolong their lives and avoid dying of AIDS in prison. Particular attention is given to how these women draw on culturally-spefic rationales to justify the kinds of support they provide their men and reassure themselves that their efforts are worthwhile. Preliminary findings reveal that two rationales emerge from the women’s accounts. One rationale draws upon traditional family values that women, out of loyalty, duty and obligation, stand by their men. The other rationale emphasizes the importance of African American and Latina women resisting those societal forces which place their men at risk for extinction. The goal of resistance is (1) protection of their imprisoned HIV/AIDS-infected men and (2) to support their man’s struggles to stay alive thereby underminding this genocidal plan. Finally, I conclude that these rationales allow women to resist dissolving relations with their men and ameliorate the pains of enforced separation from an imprisoned loved one facing a life threatening disease.
Death Rows: What a Difference Gender Makes
There are currently 47 women on death row in 16 states throughout the United States. This paper compares and contrasts the death rows for women of those 16 states with the death rows for men in the same states. The basis for the comparisons and contrasts are the results of two surveys: wardens of the women’s death rows and wardens of men’s death rows in states that have a death-sentenced female population. The surveys focused on the facilities that each state provides and includes the following topics: segregation from the general population, daily routines, availability of law resources, visitaton, counseling services, selection and training of death row personnel, the procedures that are followed when the sentence is carried out, special needs of the populations and the challenges that these populations present to correctional staff and administrators. The paper concludes with a discussion on consistency within and between states regarding “reformed and unreformed” approaches to the housing of death-sentenced individuals.
Debunking the Major Myths Regarding Distance Learning in Criminology/Criminal Justice Education
Various media-based technologies have been utilized by academics for years. Recent implementations oof these seasoned ancillaries in efforts to create “distance learning” environments in higher education have been met with mixed responses. While it is imperative to address the procedures, logistics and parameters of an on-line distance learning program prior to its development, the utility, efficacy and validty of such an endeavor must also be examined if an on-line, degree granting program has any chance of succeeding. This paper attempts to address the issues raised by various faculty and students to show (1) although important to discuss, but once examined, many of the misconceptions regarding distance learning are without merit; and, (2) when discussed, these myths can be debunked, and as a result, support for this new practical pedagogy can be gained.
Defending the American Dream: Narratives of Espionage in the American Popular Press
This paper examines the phenomenon of espionage of espionage, as it is covered in the American popular press. Taking as its starting point the paradox that underlies spying-that it communicates nothing to the majority while communicating everything to the select few-the paper discusses the structure of the spy narrative. In particular it explores the ways in which espionage differs in American popular thought from that of other nation-states.
Defining Punishment and Measuring its Prevalence: A Case Study of the Punitive City
The penal literature has addressed the questions “why punish,” “what works,” and “what latent function does punishment serve.” It has not examined the scope of punishment, based on a definition that exceeds the conventional control exercised by the state. Put differently, the questions “what consitutes punishment” and “how prevalent is punishment” have not been investigated in a mutual context. For example, policy studies rely on juvenile court, prison probation, parole, and jail statistics, reinforcing the notion that punishment begins and ends with these official categories. Consequently, the more obscure punishment activities embedded within local communities are unaccounted for. Theoretical studies have been more attentive to this “hidden” terrain, but perhaps too encompadssing and vague in their characterizations. Technology, state sanctions, welfare, and knowledge are all thrown into a social control mix, and at the bottom lies the normative question “what are the limits of control in a democratic society?”. While recognizing that an absolute measure of the prevalence of punishment is not possible, if definition boundaries are justified in advance, a more inclusive, and yet more precise, micro-indicator is possible. Using case analysis, this study illuminates the reality and implications of the “punitive city” phenomenon.
Delinquency Among Asian-Immigrant Groups: An Exploratory Study
Despite the stereotype of Asian Immigrants as “model minority” or “model immigrants,” literature points to delinquency as an issue of growing significance in a number of Asian groups in the United States. This paper examines patterns of juvenile delinquency among major Asian immigrant groups and explores factors associated with delinquency within the context of immigrant resettlement. It is expected that information about peculiar situations of Asian immigrant youths in relation to their delinquent behavior would provide insight on an understanding of the underlying cause(s) of juvenile delinquency.
Demo Scene Party in Israel: Collusion of Creativity or Criminality
Computer underground events occur in numerous countries. This particular subculture includes several subgroups – demo (considered the least pirate) and art scene, hacking, cracking, phreaking, virus, and others. “Movement” is the Israeli official demo party, a yearly gathering of teenaged demo sceners and multimedia creators, part of the local computer underground subculture. “Movement 9811 was the fourth year in which they held a 48 sleepless hours event. It took place in Ashkelon, Israel, where some 150 participants with their computers sat together in a large hall, connected to the internet and to an intranet, worked on their productions and watched the competitions in the areas of music, graphics and animation. Who were the participants in the demo scene party – creative guys, computer criminals, or maybe both? What were the accounts they used for their deviant behavior (if that was so)? And what role did this gathering play for the actors? To answer these questions, 80 questionnaires were collected, observations during the event were made and a content analysis of the party’s web site was performed. The results are discussed in the context of the diffusion of hackers, deviant subculture.
Democratic Policing
This paper will argue that the professional model of policing has contributed to an authoritarian, bureaucratic, inefficient and undemocratic image of policing in the United States. It also promotes resistance to change and organizational development. It is argued that community policing is more democratic, promotes accountability and breaks down police subcultures.
Description of the Different Components in the Municipal Program for Peaceful Coexistence in Medellin, Colombia
The first aim of this project is to increase community use of and confidence in police force and judicial system by participatory diagnosis and action. Together with community leaders, the existing services will be evaluated, goals and procedures for case-management will be redefined, a filing system and system for follow-up of cases will be developed and personnel trained. On the basis of the results obtained, new services and offices will be offered in other communities. A second aim is to strengthen existing conflict resolution and mediation services in local communities and develop new services in high violence zones by building on previous successful experiences. In addition, based on community needs, basic judicial services will be identified and offered to at the local level to facilitate access. Apart from reducing violence, the basic justice services units are conceived as a attempt to enhance the type of response that the justices services offer to poor, peripheral, local communities, to bring formal justice services into closer contact with their clients and their social reality and to encourage employees in the system to develop a greater sense of service and public responsibility in the roles they play. The third aim of this project is to reduce impunity. By reaching agreements with the police, the prosecuting attorney’s office and the courts, as well as the relevant municipal justice authorities, the component will implement projects that try to modify aspects of criminal and family investigations and proceedings detected as factors limiting the effectiveness of the system. Specifically, the program will increase the number of attorneys to defend those who cannot hire a private attorney, provide techniques and equipment to obtain evidence that can be used in court, increase the efficiency of the courts, and supporting community anticrime efforts and introducing physical measures to prevent crime. Four programs have been developed to prevent violence. One program will help teachers in preschool, kindergarden and first grades to redesign the physical and programatic environment, model and reinforce prosocial behavior and respond consistently and effectively to children’s aggressive behavior. In addition, children with extreme behavior problems will be identified to provide parental support and promote effective management in the home. A second program will identify, coordinate and support a network of youth programs in introducing structured and adult monitored activities for high risk youth, and in the diffusion of information on preventing substance abuse, safe sex, planning, conflict resolution and problem-solving skills. Conflict resolution and problem solving skills will also be included in the middle and highschool curriculum. A third program aims to reduce gang related violence by facilitating the negotiation of peace agreements between gangs, mobilizing communities to develop, implement and evaluate programs to decrease violence in their communities, and provide opportunities for helping exgang members resume a constructive social role in their neighborhoods. The fourth program is aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a social cognitive intervention compared to existing interventions in the rehabilitation of institutionalized and noninstitutionalized male violent offenders. The impact of the intervention will be established in four different subgroups: child abusers, male batterers, men involved in brawls, and those accused of armed robbery. Efforts targeting the mass media are directed firstly, to reducing violent content in the media, secondly, promoting prosocial programming, and thirdly, creating a more critical viewer. To reduce violence in the media, media owners and programmers, schools of journalism, and other interested participants will be invited to multiple open forums to discuss and analyze the role the media plays in generating and reducing violence. The aim of these discussions is to sensitize and help participants critically analyze their role in violence prevention so that they will act as advocates in the media for reducing violent programming and promoting prosocial programming. An office for the press will be created to provide objective but didactic information to communities and families on violence and nonviolent conflict resolution. In addition, prosocial programming for children will be included in the city’s public channel and will be promoted for viewing in public day care centers and schools. The mass media will also be used to promote prosocial values and peaceful coexistence. Strategies for promoting a more critical audience include training parents and youth leaders in the use of the media and designing and presenting commercials and programs to demystify violence in the media, show its negative consequences, and model alternative behaviors. This component will also help in developing and diffusing messages that support the other components.
Destiny and Choice: Examining the Role of Rational Calculation in Criminal Offending Over the Life Course
The rational choice model of offending is one of the most important and most controversial theoretical. perspectives in criminology. While some (if not most) theories present a somewhat overdetermined image of offenders, recent decision-making theories challenge this view by arguing for recognition of offender’s free wi11 and the ability to make purposive decisions. Yet, whether and to what degree rational calculation influences offending is a question that has received relatively little empirical attention. Our research attempts to fill this void by first examining the role of rational calculations on offending and second examining the degree to which psychological, situational, and structural factors contextualize the effects of rational-choice calculations. In doing so, our work assesses different decision-making theories, links together deterministic and choice theories of offending, and expands our understanding of the role of decision making in crime and delinquency.
Detectives’ Decision Making in “High Profile” Cases: Examining the Effects of the Organizational Structure and the Occupational Culture
This study analyzes the extent to which the police occupational culture is shaped/influenced by the organizational structure of policing, and examines the effects of the social structure and culture on detectives’ decision making in cases they define as “high profile”. Policing, as a social system, is organized around administrative rules, a paramilitaristic, hierarchical structure, and a crime control model of policing rather than – community-based. This organizational structure shapes and defines the normative and interpretive behavioural social world of police officers. The occupational culture emphasizes detectiv autonomy and discretion, loyalty, secrecy and pressure to produce “good work”. The study examines the dynamics of these variables in understanding the differences in police treatment of cases and what ultimately becomes defined as “high profile”.
Deterrence and the Death Penalty
Most research on the deterrent effect of capital punishment compares homicide rates and execution rates and asserts that the death penalty has no greater deterrent effect than life imprisonment. This research has been unable to resolve the persistent debate on this question in society because of the ideological and criminological belief that criminals will consider the penalty before committing their crime, then be dissuaded them from their murderous intent. However, this paper hypothesizes that homicide research demonstrates that the killers capable of the few homicides that qualify for capital punishment are not deterred by the threat of execution. Through analysis of recent research on deterrence theory, the statutory qualifications for capital murder, and research on these types of killers, this project explores the likelihood that the death penalty will deter the capital murderer.
Deterrence or Brutalization: The Effect of Death Penalty Executions in California
A traditional argument in favor of the death penalty is deterrence, that is, the threat of death will prevent serious crimes, especially murder. Recently, there has been research on an alternative view; the brutalization perspective takes the view that executions result in an increase in the number of murders. The present study is an test of these two perspectives using an ARIMA analysis of an eleven year (1987-1997) series of homicides in California during which four executions occurred. What is of special interest is the effect of the last two executions which occurred within ten days of each other.
Deterrent Effect of Certainty and Severity of Punishment: A Prospect Theory Interpretation
Deterrence research over the past three decades nearly always an inverse relationship between punishment certainty and criminal behavior. In theorizing about this link, (rational choice) economists have appealed to the Expected Utility (EU) model of decision making. I propose an alternative conceptualization of the role of punishment certainty, using the Probability Weighting function from Kahneman and Tversky’s Prospect Theory (PT). This paper presents experimental results testing whether EU or PT best characterizes the relationship between punishment certainty and criminal behavior. I also explore whether previous criminal involvement affects the way offending propensity responds to detection probability.
Development of a Private Prison Built “On Speculation”
This paper will trace the development of one of the first prisons to be built “on speculation” in the United States — the Prairie Correctional Facility, which is operated in Appleton, Minnesota, by the Corrections Corporation of America. Data collected from interviews with prisoners at this facility will be compared with data from interviews with prisoners at three medium-security facilities operated by the Minnesota Department of Corrections which contrast important differences between prison operations in the private and public systems. The comparisons cover many vital aspects of correctional programs and services — medical care, education and vocational training, work assignments, chemical dependency treatment, facility safety and security.
Developmental Associations Between Alcohol and Aggression During Adolescence
While the association between alcohol use and aggression is well documented, Eew studies have examined the relationship among youth developmentally. This study utilizes yearly data from a cohort of 808 male and female adolescents. The sample is from the longitudinal panel of the Seattle Social Development Project, which in 1985 sampled 5th grade students from high crime neighborhoods in Seattle, Washington. Yearly surveys were administrated from 8th to 12th grades except 11th grade. Both alcohol use and aggression were measured by multiple indicators in each of the four waves. With stability effects (from earlier alcohoL use to later alcohol use, and from earlier aggression to later’aggression) and cross-sectional correlation* controlled, we examine the cross-lagged effects from alcohol to aggression as well as those from aggression to alcohol. Structural Equation Modeling (LGM) was used to examine the fit of the model to the data. We conclude that the cross-lagged effects are evident in late adolescence, and mostly from aggression to alcohol use. separate models for males and females are also analyzed.
Developmental-Ecological Criminology: Findings From the Chicago Youth Development Study
This symposium provides four presentations drawn from the Chicago Youth Development Study (CYDS); a multi-variate, multi-level study of the social ecological factors affecting the development of delinquency among inner-city youth. Begun in 1991, the study has collected 6 annual waves of data on 275 high-risk inner-city youth over the past 8 years. Beginning when the youth were 11-13, annual interviews with a parent and the youth were conducted to obtain information about behavior, family and peer relations, and archival sources were used to characterize the contexts of their development (community characteristics, social stress experienced). These indications were related to onset of delinquency, patterns of delinquency over time, and variations in patterns attributable to variations in the social ecology of their development. The CYDS is the most concentrated study of inner-city youth development and delinquency to females to consider the later adolescent issues of intimate partnerships and the variations in effects for males and females. The CYDS is organized by developmental-ecological theory (Elliott & Tolan, 1998; Tolan, Guerra, & Kendall, 1995) which emphasizes the role of developmental and social-ecological factors in understanding patters of risk development and variations in risk factor-outcome relations. The four presentations illustrate key studies from this longitudinal study to illustrate the value of this theoretical model for understanding risk of inner-city youth. In addition to the four presentations, there will be a discussion by Professor Joan McCord.
Developmental Needs of Children: A Measure of Youth Deviance
Studies of children suggest at least four significant needs having to do with development of the child, which if met or not in the individual child, affect the child’s effectiveness to act appropriately in its environment. The study identified four Developmental Needs: Attachment, Independence, Competency and Frame of Reference of Behavior. The study looked at children of primary and secondary school age to ascertain if these Developmental Needs were a part of the children’s makeup; and to what extent the children had these needs met. Records of deviant behavior among these youth were examined; and an attempt was made to relate such behavior to degree to which the developmental needs were being met in the subjects. In addition, information was collected on the extent that persons in the child’s environment might be responsible in aiding the child to fulfill these needs. Results identified these developmental needs in the child subjects and found a relationship with deviant behavior in a number of the children.
Developmental Trajectories Leading to Delinquency and Substance Use in Adolescents
Longitudinal studies around the world have shown that children’s problem behavior is one of the best predictors of delinquency and substance in adolescents. Efforts to examine specific types of problem behaviors have suggested different trajectories leading to subtypes of delinquency, examine adolescent antisocial behavior through the concepts of onset and persistence and underlined the importance of comorbid conditions, including substance use/abuse. The present study aimed at examining developmental trajectories related environmental factors leading to different types Of delinquency, wit and without substance use, and to the persistence of these problems through adolesence in boys of low SES families. Subjects were 1037 boys part of an ongoing longitudinal study in Montreal, Canada. The boys were assessed year from kindergarten to age 17 on a variety of behavioral and environmental dimensions. Results are presented in terms of developmental trajectories an examine the influence of contextual factors on the course of behavior over time. The implications of-the findings for prevention and treatment are discussed.
Different Kinds of Bullying: Implications for Prevention
Bullying behaviour is an extensive and serious problem among schoolchildren. In some research about half of the students were bullies and over half were bullied, We can also note that there arc different dimensions of bullying behaviour e.g., bullies, victims and the bully/victims. It is important to identify the mechanisms and characteristics of the different groups of bullying when working with intervention programs. In this research I will present some data from Sweden that shows some different characteristics for the three groups (bullies, victims and bully/victims). I will present some problems facing this topic (for example the definition of bullying) and I wit) also discuss some suggestions on how we could work with the intervention programs.
Differential and Developing Bonds Explaining Changes in Delinquent Behavior
The social control theory as formulated by Hirschi does not account for behavioral change and for peer influences. Although some might find these absences irrelevant in the context of basic assumptions of the control perspective, they limit the scope and credibility of social control theory. In this paper, social control theory is elaborated by using a refined concept of ‘social bonds’. Combined with certain assumptions on human nature, this ‘bonds’ theory allows crime inhibiting and crime stimulating influences from various persons and institutions. It specifies the nature of bonds and processes that cause change in them, so that the dynamics of delinquent behavior can be explained. In the paper, supporting data are presented from a longitudinal study in which 174 adolescent boys were interviewed twice. The results show that many light and serious offenders become less delinquent in the follow-up period. It turns out that changes in their bonds are related to a decrease in delinquency.
Differentiating Program Completers From Non-Completers: A Quantitative and Exploratory Analysis of Participant Characteristics
Research has suggested that those individuals most in-need of treatment or prevention services tend to drop out prematurely. In an attempt to understand why certain program participants do not complete an intervention and others do, an analysis of participant characteristics was undertaken. This paper investigates the characteristics associated with program completers and non-completers among individuals recruited for a family-based prevention program. Factors associated with program non-completion differ depending on the type of program participant (i.e., adult versus child subjects). In this analysis, adult and child participants were analyzed separately. A quantitative and an exploratory investigation was undertaken to explore the factors associated with program status among both adult and child participants. Based on pre-test information, the quantitative analysis provides information on characteristics that differentiate program completers from non-completers. Interviews were conducted with program completers and non-completers to obtain more in-depth information concerning their reasons for completing the program or leaving prematurely. Obtaining a more comprehensive understanding for subject attrition is intended to help clinicians and researchers devise programs that maximize retention.
Differentiation of Substance Abuser Inmates on the Basis of Self-Reported Criminality
At the end of 1997, a record high of 1,224.554 prison inmates were incarcerated in the United States. Considering the fact that nearly all prisoners are eventually released and a substantial proportion continue a course of deviance, obtaining comprehensive sell-report information on their criminal behavior and determining factors associated with serious offending is desirable for both policy and critic control purposes. Such data, however, are currently lacking despite the emergence of more powerful types of heroin and cocaine and severe social and economic decline in inner-city areas. Relevant to this issue, extensive confidential self-report data on prerelease Baltimore prisoners with a history of drug abuse suggest that drug-involved offenders may he more deviant than in previous years. For 122 such individuals, a total of 40.227 crime-days were reportedly committed during the six-month period preceding arrest. While 70øl0 of these crimes involved drug distribution, the proportion of violent offenses was higher, and the mean and median ages at first crime were younger, than found in previous cohorts of drug-involved offenders. Various offender characteristics were found to predict crime severity. Considerable heterogeneity wits observed in the characteristics and backgrounds of the inmates and in the frequency and severity of crime committed, suggesting the need for different interventions for different types of’ substance-abusing offenders.
Discipline in Dissent: Canadian Academic Criminology at the Millennium
In this paper we offer a few desultory musings about the condition of Canadian academic criminology at the turn of the millennium. We chronicle some of the more turbulent trends that have accompanied criminology’s ascension into its golden age of recent time. We ponder the discipline’s relationship to its clientele, its subjects, the academy and the state. We contemplate the alternate prospects for academic criminology that have been advanced by assorted futurologists in this country and elsewhere. We resist the impulse to augur its demise. But our prognosis is guarded.
Discrete Offender Groups and Partner Violence: Exploring the Linkages
Moffitt’s (1993) dual taxonomic theory of offending behavior identifies two typologies of offenders with distinctive characteristics and processes giving rise to crime and delinquency. Two of the features of her “life-course persister” offender typology are offending stability and variety across anti-social domains. In this paper, we explore the connection between Moffitt’s theory and partner violence. We examine the following research questions. First, what are the linkages between Moffitt’s discrete offender groups and partner violence? Second, do relationships between discrete offender groups and partner violence vary when previous experiences of violence while growing up (e.g., witnessing parental violence, experiencing child abuse) are considered? Third, are the pathways to criminal violence different from the pathways to partner violence? Data collected from male parolees in Buffalo, New York will be used to explore our research questions.
Displacing the Other: An Examination of Israeli Judicial Domination
Examination of the history of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip reveals a complex of systemic violence against the Palestinian people. Human rights violations such as torture, collective punishment, administrative detention, educational and travel restrictions are tolerated and perpetuated by the military juridical system of Israel. We examine how the Israeli legal system, in contradiction to international laws, permits and supports the human rights violations of a people fighting for self-determination. An exposition of Marxian conceptions of the state is conducted and utilized to demonstrate how the Israeli juridical system permits the gross violation of Palestinian rights and continued land confiscation projects. This paper begins with an exposition of Marxist analysis, followed by the history of the Israeli/Palestinian relationship as it relates specifically to the formation of the Israeli juridical apparatus. It is suggested that the juridical system of Israel is the driving force used to legitimate and rationalize the human rights violations committed against the Palestinian people.
Distance Education
This paper provides a general overview of distance education in the 1990s. The following topics are examined: distance delivery methods, advantages and disadvantages of distance education, and establishing distance education programs. Distance education will also be compared to traditional face-to-face education. In addition, policy implications are explored.
Distinguishing Crack From Powder Cocaine Use Among Arrestees
Cocaine is one of the most rapidly growing drug of abuse sold on the streets in the forms of powder and smoke (crack). The addiction associated to crack abuse and its particular CNS (central nerves system) distribution leads to clinical complications different from powder cocaine use. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish the use of two forms of cocaine. Here, we report the experimental results obtained from this research. First, we have identified and selected two unique pyrolysis products resulted only from crack use: anhydroecgonine methyl ester (AEME) and ecgonine (ECG). Secondly, a total of approximately 2140 urea specimens are collected from 5 ADAM sites across USA: New Orleans, Portland, Phoenix, Houston, and Los Angeles. These sites are selected due to their high cocaine positive rates according to the 1997 ADAM annual report to ensure that enough positive specimens are involved in the research. Third, 11 specimens are screened using EMIT II assay to detect the presence of cocaine. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) is used first to identify the presence of common major metabolite of both crack and powder cocaine, benzoylecgonine (BE), and then to confirm the pyrolysis products of crack use, AEME and ECG. Finally, as a comparison research project, hair specimens are analyzed using the similar procedures for the detection of BE, AEME, and ECU’. The quantitative data obtained from both urine and hair specimens are compared and the results linked to the geographic regions. Additionally, costs of powder cocaine and crack, profit margins, and preference use of one form of drug by different gender groups are discussed.
Diversion of Cannabis Possession Offenders: Mandatory Repentance in Canadian Drug Policy
After the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (May, 1997) maintained the-meal boundaries about the “wrongness” of cannabis use in Canadian criminal law, a federal diversion policy, provided an escape valve from the pressures-of continued criminalization. In Toronto, cases of simple possession meeting the prosecutor’s criteria for diversion were initially given the option of “self diversion,” in which those diverted were expected to provide their own remedial measures. This short lived effort was replaced by a more formal scheme of referral to an agency which provided community service placements that if successfully completed, avoided a criminal record. Thus, for the first time, arrested offenders were spared this serious consequence; however, others resulted in the form of enforced and considerable demands on the offenders’ time. The characteristics and perceptions of a sample of 80 users who were processed during the introduction of the new policy, some of whom were, diverted and some not, are described and the implications for reform without significant legal change are discussed.
DNA Databanks: Biological Explanations Revisited DNA
Although the fortunes of biological explanations of crime have risen and fallen over the past few decades, recent scientific endeavors such as the Human Genome Project, and potential policy changes such as New York- City’s proposed DNA collection initiative, have once again renewed interest in biological explanations of deviance, Federal, State and military authorities have, for some time now, maintained comprehensive databanks of DNA materials collected from convicted sex offenders and other violent felons. These databanks were created in the hope that crimes would be solved more efficiently if genetic materials collected at crime scenes could be quickly matched to perpetrators. Recent political developments in New York City however, suggest that the process of DNA collection will be expanded to include not only convicted violent offenders but also simple arrestees charged with both felonies and misdemeanors. Additionally, while current technology allows for the isolation of genes that cause specific hereditary diseases, it is possible that future gene mapping techniques ‘may uncover a connection between specific genetic patterns and deviant behavior. The New York City initiative, and the Human Genome Project, present both the public and social scientists with grave legal and ethical issues. The purpose of this paper is to explore those issues.
Do as I Say, Not As Do: The Pedagogical Implications of Student Conceptualizations and Behaviors Concerning Law and Morality
A survey designed to measure student conceptualizations of the link between law and morality was administered to a stratified random sample of approximately 200 undergraduate students. Students were asked to assess the level of immorality and the level of criminality of twenty human behaviors that either are now are or once were criminal offenses in the U.S., all of which have significant moral implications. Students were also asked to self-report the frequency of their own participation in all such behaviors. Results, consistent with philosophy of law ltierature, indicated a strong positive correlation between student conceptualization of law and morality, but also indicate that students do not live by their own standards. The implications for the teaching of ethics as a part of the law curriculum in criminal justice programs is explored.
Do Large Jurisdictions Have Higher Crime Rates Than Small Jurisdictions? Developing an Indicator of Covariance Between Crime Rate and Population
It is apparent that the number of crimes that occur within law enforcement jurisdictions is related to their resident populations. However, it is not a priori apparent whether the agency’s crime rate, a relative figure standardized per capita, is still related to the jurisdictional population. The object of this paper is (1) to examine whether crime rate (expressed per capita) is still related to the agency population, (2) to connect correlations to a crime-oriented, tangible indicator in measuring the degree of such associations, and (3) to assess the implication to crime data interpretations, particularly to the oft-cautioned-against practice of ranking law enforcement agencies in terms of their crime rates.
Do Men and Women Commit Similar Offences?: Explaining Gender Disparities in Criminal Case Outcomes
Empirical studies commonly find that female defendants are treated more leniently than male defendants by the criminal courts at certain stages of the criminal justice process. Nonetheless, how gender works as a stratification mechanism in the administration of justice is still not fully understood. Drawing on recent theoretical developments, this paper argues how court officials form their subjective assessments, or perceptions, of defendants may help explain the gender disparities that occur in court decisions. Prior research provides some suggestive evidence that there may be qualitative differences in the seriousness and circumstances surrounding the crimes for which men and women are arrested. These differences–e.g. seriousness, circumstances, and other mitigating factors–might change officials’ perceptions of women offenders, and thus help explain differential criminal case outcomes. Thus, this paper examines whether differences in the context of offences explain gender differences in pretrial decisions, using data from the King County Superior Court (WA) for the years 1994 to 1996. Combining information from narrative accounts of how offences were committed, with quantitative data about each case, the relationship between the context of defendants’ offences and differential practices in pretrial releasee decisions is explored.
Do Neighborhoods Matter?: The Interaction Between Neighborhood Context and the Age-Crime Curve
Researchers in the fields of sociology and criminology have long recognized that social environments play a large role in influencing delinquent/criminal behavior. Recently, neighborhood contextual factors which measure the quality of life, culture, and organizational structure of individual neighborhoods have been the focus of criminological research, but with mixed results. The weak relationship between neighborhood context and behavioral outcomes such as criminal offending can be attributed, in part, to the use of census and other “macro” level data and a narrow focus on poverty as the most salient quality of the neighborhood. Using individual-level data drawn from two birth cohorts from the city of Racine, Wisconsin, this paper examines the impact of neighborhood contextual factors on individuals’ trajectories of delinquent/criminal offending over time. Using the concept of the “age-crime curve,” we examine how neighborhood living conditions across the life course (ages 6-26) impact offending for a subsarnple of the 1942 and 1949 birth cohorts when controlling for other salient predictors of delinquency such as delinquent peers and family structure. In particular, we highlight the interaction between neighborhood context and the age-crime curves for aggregate groups of offenders with similar offending trajectories.
Do Public Assistance and Family Structure Influence Delinquency? A Test Among Inner-City Puerto Rican Adolescents
Given the salience of public assistance and supposedly related female headship to delinquency and other problem behaviors, relatively little attention has been paid to testing these factors’ supposed effects. Very few individual level studies show effects on delinquency of either of parents’ public assistance enrollment or family structure variables on delinquency. Fewer studies have considered the effects of several family structure variables such as female headed households with or without father surrogates; examined both public assistance and family structure effects conjointly, or compared effects on arrest and delinquency. Drawing data from a large sample of inner-city Puerto Rican adolescents (N-1070) this study examines the effects on multiple delinquency and arrest indicators of parents’ public assistance, family structurek singly and combined. ANOVA tests do not show strong evidence for the supposed effects. Using several independent and delinquency indicators, differences between adolescents from female headed vs. two parent families are mostly non-significant, and when significant, relatively minor. The same effects hold for public assistance and for typologies, combining public assistance and family structure. Findings add support to contentions that policy concerns for the supposedly adverse effects of public assistance, female headship and father abscence are misplaced.
Does All That Fancy Book Learnin’ Matter? A Meta-analysis of the Impact of Correctional Officer Education and Training Requirements
Empirical studies on the relationship between the education and training of correctional officers and outcome measures such as treatment orientation and job satisfaction have yielded inconsistent results. Narrative reviews of this body of literature have failed to reach any definitive answers. Therefore, the preent analysis applies the statistical technique of meta-analysis to quantitatively assess the relationship between correctional officers training and education on various outcomes measures.
Does Baltimore’s Drug Court Reduce Recidivism? Initial Results From a Randomized Experiment
The Baltimore Drug Court Treatment program (BDCT) offers drug treatment, counseling, and educational/vocational services to non-violent male and female offenders with drug abuse problems. A recent evaluation of the program found participants’ odds of re-arrest during the six-month follow-up were reduced by 50%. Though these findings were promising, the design of the study was not sufficiently rigorous to yield conclusive results. The present study improves upon the initial BDCT evaluation by utilizing an experimental design and a longer follow-up period. Between February 1997 and August 1998, 235 clients were randomly assigned to the BDCT program or to traditional adjudication. Subjects were referred from three tracts: Circuit Court, which typically imposes incarceration sentences; District Court Parole and Probation, which typically imposes probation sentences; and the less serious District Court Alternative Sentencing Unit, which typically imposes “Nolle Pros” or “Stet” dispositions. The randomization produced treatment and control groups that are remarkably similar in demographic composition and prior criminal involvement. Currently, recidivism data is being collected throughout the 24 months following entry into the program and is scheduled for completion in August of 2000. In this report we present data collected thus far to evaluate the BDCT program’s short-term impact on recidivism. A
Does the Punishment Fit the Crime or the Country?
This paper presents a research study on perceptions of punishment in relation to where punishment occurs. In 1994 Michael Fay received six lashes with a cane on his buttocks for vandalism in Singapore. Surprisingly, polls revealed that Americans supported this punishment. Was this because Americans have become more punitive towards crime or are we more accepting or harsher punishments in other countries? Subjects in this 2 x 2 design read a scenario about an American college student who is convicted of possession of crack cocaine in the United States or in Iran. Punishment was either 10 years imprisonment or a $10,000 fine and 2 years probation. Results revealed that the prison sentence was viewed significantly harsher when it occurred in the U.S. compared to Iran. Subjects’ views about the deterrent effect of punishment are also discussed.
Domestic Justice: A New Model of Law and Social Policy
In this paper, I develop the notion “domestic Justice” as a model of law that upholds substantive values as it struggles to stay within the bounds of formal rational law. Domestic justice is an ideal by which the court operates as well as a social policy it promotes. Domestic justice is an assertion of a victim’s right to safety and a demand for an offender’s criminal responsibility; it is a preventative and reactive approach to domestic violence coupled with the redistribution of social services which contrasts sharply with judicial treatment of domestic violence in the past. Moreover, domestic justice relies upon a “correctionalist” or penal-welfare model of punishment in order to carry out its goals. The conceptualization of “domestic justice” comes out of my participant-observation study of a Domestic Violence Court part in a large urban jurisdiction and an analysis of communications with courtroom personnel, multi-media court information, and the district attorney’s public relations material. Domestic Violence Court is a specialized court part which operates with a specialized docket, vertical prosecution, two full-time judges, a resource coordinator, victims advocates, anti-violence counselors, and a Domestic Violence Bureau in the District Attorney’s office. I argue that this court addresses the crime of domestic violence in such a way that goes beyond penal codes against assault; it reconstitutes the legal definition of the crime to include the consequences for the victim. By redistributing social services however limited or problematic (e.g., anti-violence programs, housing relocations, on-site child-care, drug and alcohol treatment, mental health evaluations, psychiatric treatment) to both victims and offenders, it attempts to prevent further incidents of domestic violence and treat domestic violence as a social problem. The creation of a Domestic Violence Court is significant as it represents a new strategy to deal with domestic violence which has taken domestic violence cases out of the jurisdiction of lower criminal courts with mixed dockets and put them into a specialized court part . As a model of law and social policy, “domestic justice” also speaks to and contrasts with debated trends about punitive crime control and actuarial penal practices. And finally, I contend that it is only when we turn to a constitutive theory of law (Engel, McCann, Merry, Sarat & Silbey, Silverstein) supplemented with the notion of “policy feedback” (Skocpol) that we begin to grasp this transition in law and how domestic justice takes the form that it does and the particular policy it produces.
Domestic Violence, Stalking and Versatility
The nature of menacing and stalking crimes make them a natural focus of modern media. As with other crime-related panics (such as child abduction, Halloween candy tampering, and serial killers, etc… ), misinformation abounds, and as “real life” and fictional portrayals of stalking become more common, the public is likely to gain a distorted perception of the general nature of stalking offenses. Recent studies of stalking behaviors show a pattern of versatility in crimes committed. Preliminary results of a study of stalking offenders in a large city in Ohio will be discussed, with reference to stalking as part of a general pattern of crime, and its overlap with domestic violence.
Domestic Violence Against Women: The Case of Greece
Violence against women in marital or marital like relationships is not a new phenomenon in most societies in the world. However, there are still societies where the issue has been studied very little. This paper presents the findings of the first empirical study conducted on marital violence against women in Greece, in particular their help-seeking behaviour and the support providing from formal and informal sources of help. An exploratory study of fifty three abused women, used qualitative data and adopted a feminist and context-specific approach. Interviews were carried out in the Refuge for battered women in Athens, and the Women’s Issues Office and the Laboratory of Forensic Medicine in Thessaloniki. The interviews were based on a structured interview schedule including both open and close ended questions and the data were organised around general themes. The findings show that the women in the study were slow to seek help from others as a result of personal, societal and cultural barriers. Marriage and the family have a particular importance in Greek women’s lives and they learn to gain social and religious approval by being good wives and retaining their relationships at any cost. The study revealed that although this is the case, there is also a point in women’s lives when they decide to take steps forward. The most important confidants and sources of help from the informal and formal levels appeared to be their best friends, and the refuge workers, and the less helpful and effective help was received from their in-laws and the police, respectively.
Domestic Violence Paradox: Arrest of “Battered” Women
An unintended consequence of mandatory and pro-arrest policies for domestic violence offenders may result in a greater number of women arrested, either as sole offenders or in conjunction with dual arrests. Are women becoming more violent? Does this phenomenon reflect backlash shaped by men who batter? Do law enforcers, courts, and treatment providers support aggressive arrest policies for women? Are these women “offenders” or “victims”? This presentation explores these questions as well as the potential for acontextual decisionmaking that may facilitate female arrests, the consequences of gender-neutral law enforcement strategies, and the issues these actions raise for female “offenders.”
Dreams, Guns and Gangs: The Interplay Between Adolescent Violence and Immigration in a New York City Neighborhood
Dream Guns and Gangs based on an ethnographical work in an immigrant Now York City neighborhood, describes and analyzes patterns of youth violence and how these Patterns of violence are related to family and neighborhood organization under conditions of immigration. It documents risk and protective factors that young immigrants, first and second generation, face in the neighborhood in which they settle. This research is a qualitative study based on participation, observation and in depth interviews of 25 young first and second generation immigrants and its parents over a four year period. The results document the feelings and experiences that immigrant adolescents have regarding the violence they encounter as witnesses, victims, and/or victimizers. The research explores how exposure to or engagement in violent behavior effects the immigrant youth and their acculturation in the now country. The research else explores coping and safety strategies that young immigrants develop to deal with violence. This research examines closely the relationship between family and neighborhood conditions related to Immigration (circular migration, proto-gangs, cultural differences) and the onset of serious violent behavior in early adolescence.
Drug Courts: A Bridge Between Criminal Justice and Health Services
There is striking overlap between the public health threats of drug abuse and crime. Crimes are often drug-related, and drug abusers frequently encounter the criminal justice system. However, with few exceptions (e.g., TASQ, the intersection of drug abusers with the courts has rarely addressed the defendants’ drug problems. Drug Courts represent an innovative approach to addressing both crime and drug abuse. Especially promising, and of great importance given that drug abuse is associated with a host of other health and social service needs, is the link that drug courts represent between the criminal justice and health services systems. These linkages are considered vital to drug courts but are poorly understood. RAND has received a grant from the National Institute of Justice to conduct a national evaluation of 14 drug courts that received implementation funding in 1995 and 1996 from the NIJ Office of Justice Programs. Using data collected from our intensive site visits, we will explain the linkages between drug courts and health services (including drug treatment providers) in terms, for example, of information sharing and reliance on case management, whether TASC brokers services, and whether there is a single treatment provider or a network.
Drug Courts: Process and Policy
Since the mid- 1980’s, illegal drug use has been the primary focus of the criminal justice system. The emergence of crack cocaine and criminal activities associated with its use resulted in sharp increases in arrest and prosecution of offenders. These increases overburdened the judicial system, often forcing the courts to release offenders into the community without the benefit of treatment. Recidivism rates skyrocketed as drug offenders were arrested on new charges, prosecuted, then released into the community again. In response to overburdened dockets and escalating recidivism, several jurisdictions began drug courts in order to identify offenders with substance abuse problems and force treatment. The 1994 Crime Act expanded the development of drug courts to more jurisdictions through grants made to State and local courts. These new courts, having developed independent of one another and without uniformed guidelines, vary in terms of process and comprehensiveness. The purpose of this paper is to provide a process mapping and evaluation of drug courts, based on the approximately 300 drug courts currently operating, so that future drug courts (more than 150 jurisdictions are currently planning to implement drug courts) may benefit from the accumulated experience of their predecessors.
Drug-Exposed Infant Cases in Juvenile Court: Predictors of Court Outcomes
The purpose of this study was to determine predictors of court outcomes for drug exposed infants in juvenile dependency court. Specifically, we focused on the extent to which social background, criminal record, attendance at court hearings and compliance with court ordered programs influenced court outcomes. Method: A longitudinal descriptive study was conducted of 118 drug exposed infant cases petitioned to the juvenile court in California, using the documentary case files from juvenile court hearings. Data were analyzed with correlations and logistic regression statistics. Results: The sample showed an overrepresentation of minority mothers who were poor, unemployed, undereducated and single, with prior referrals to the dependency system and criminal records. Bivariate correlations indicated that minority mothers were less likely to attend court and comply with court orders, and more likely to have their children removed from the home, first with reunification services, and later in permanent placement. The regression analysis, however, showed that ethnicity alone was never a significant predictor of court outcomes. Instead, past drug and criminal records, court attendance and compliance with court orders were the significant predictors.
Drug Offenders and Police Resources
If the relative number of drug off-ends-is a reasonable indication of the proportion of police resources used to respond to drug offenses, the new incident-based Uniform Crime Reports-provide some-useful information. Data from the 1995 and 1996 National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) for hundreds of police agencies in the nine states providing reports suggest that the number of drug offenders reported in most departments is from one-third to one-half of the number of offenders involved in larceny-. The number of drug offenders in these states generally exceeds the number of offenders reported in burglary incidents and exceeds the number involved in robbery by factors of five to ninety. In some departments the ratio of drug offenders to those involved in aggravated assaults is two to one. For some states the ratio is higher than two to one. This information suggests that most police agencies expend more time and effort discovering and responding to drug offenses than the do responding to many forms of predatory crime. This and other information produced by the new incident-based Uniform Crime Reports may be useful in the reevaluation of existing statutes and in periodic reevaluations of current practices.
Drug-Related Homicides
Official crime statistics indicate that homicide clearance rates decreased steadily between 1971 and 1995. It has been hypothesized that the drug epidemic of the 198’s, particularly crack cocain, is at least partly responsible for these phenomena. It is argued that the use and distribution of drugs, especially in urban areas, have increased the level and types of lethal violence. The aim of this research is to determine how the nature of drug-related homicides differs from non-drug related homicides. A data set of nearly 24,000 homicides that occurred in Chicago during the years 1965-1995 will be used to compare victim, offender, and situational characteristics. Both bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques will be used to assess the relationship between these characteristics and drug-related homicides. Implications for the management of investigative units will be addressed.
Drug Robbery, Deterrence, and Informal Social Control
The notion that informal sanction threats influence criminal decision-making is perhaps the most important contribution to neoclassical theory in the past 15 years. Notably absent from this contribution, however, is an examination of the ways in which the risk of victim retaliation — arguably the ultimate informal sanction — mediates the process. The present paper aims to address this gap, examining how active drug robbers (individuals who take money and drugs from dealers by force or threat of force) perceive and respond to the risk of victim retaliation in real-life settings and circumstances The data’s implications for deterrence and contagions of violence are explored. Data were drawn from in-depth interviews with 25 currently active drug robbers recruited from the streets of St. Louis, Missouri.
Drug Treatment Courts: The Law as a Healing Agent
This presentation will examine the phenomenon of drug treatment courts, judicially supervised courts which divert substance abusing criminal offenders out of the traditional criminal justice system into treatment and rehabilitation. The presentation posits that Therapeutic Jurisprudence is the theoretical underpinning of the drug treatment court movement. The paper’s premise is that law has the capacity to heal addicted offenders. The basic mechanics and the economic impact of a drug treatment court will be examined. The different styles of drug courts will be explained, including courts which are gender specific, courts for juveniles, and family drug courts. Finally, the paper will posit a new responsibility for the criminal justice system caused by funding reductions for both substance abuse treatment and mental health. Clients formerly served by those systems now populate the criminal courts in greater numbers. For them, the traditional emphasis on litigation of personal rights in an adversarial context must be examined for appropriateness. To the extent that the criminal justice practitioners- -lawyers, instructors, judges- -engage that population, they not only have the opportunity to energize their own professional lives, they also stand to heal a breach of faith in the criminal justice system.
Drug Use, Drug Dealing and Serious and Violent Offending
This paper examines the interrelationships among drug use, drug dealing and serious and violent offending during adolescence. Six years of annual data are analyzed for 506 boys in the oldest sample of the Pittsburgh Youth Study. First, we examined rates of drug use and drug dealing among serious and violent offenders. We also examined rates of serious and violent offending among drug users and drug dealers. Then we developed trajectories of drug use, drug dealing, and serious and violent offending over time from age 13 through age 18 years and examined how changes in one behavior impact changes in the other two. The results are discussed in to of various theoretical models that explain the drug-crime nexus.
Drugs and Crime in the Caribbean
Crime within the Caribbean continues to increase. The drug trade offers an opportunity for marginalized segments of the population within the Caribbean region to make a living. Any attempt to explain and prevent crime therefore must include an examination of the economic situation of the segment of the population, while also focusing on the drug trade. This presentation will examine both these aspects.
Drugs and Violence in an International Comparative Study: A Secondary Analysis of the International Self-Report Delinquency Data for the ‘Youth in Europe’ Project
This paper is an attempt primarily to describe and explain drug taking and violent offending by young men and women, drawing upon a three nation sub-sample from the International Self-Report Delinquency (ISRD) survey dataset, comparing young people between the ages of 14 and 21 years in England and Wales, the Netherlands and Spain, and asks whether participation in these activities is common amongst males and females in the three countries wstudied. Also included in the paper is an analysis of public order and expressive offences across the three nations concerned, along with analyses on the age of onset and specialization in offending. This paper also affords the opportunity to investigate other possibly related areas to drug taking and violent activity, for example attachment to family, truancy, and the presence of alcohol and drugs, within a multivariate framework. Methodological issues surrounding the use of this data will also be discussed.
Dual Systems of Incapacitation for Sexual Predators: Analyzing the Necessity of Civil Commitment
The Supreme Court’s affirmation of the constitutionality of the decision in Kansas v. Hendricks (1997) allows for the civil commitment of sexually violent predators (SVPs) upon completion of their criminal sentences. Most states have authorized similar statutes or are in the process of doing so. Though serious, repeat sexual offenders should not be released into the community without safeguards, the SVP laws raise awkward questions for health care and criminal justice decision making. Specifically, predictions of dangerousness are required to address the likelihood of future offending behavior, and such predictions are notorious for their high level of false positives. Second, the states require different standards for commitment, ranging from ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ to ‘clear and convincing evidence.’ Third, the majority of states allow for indeterminate periods of commitment. It is argued that the SVP law – as with the ‘pretextual’ and ‘sanist’ commitment of insanity acquittees – is one of “barely disguised retribution” and that we should be open about the fact that detention in “hospital-as-prison” is punitive and incapacitative. The laws represent jurisprudential therapy rather than therapeutic jurisprudence. Increasing medicalization of criminal behavior such as sexual offending realizes Szaszian theory that hospitals are rapidly becoming dustbins for social deviants and society’s most unwanted.
Dynamics of Juvenile Shoplifting
This study is based on indepth interviews with 150 juvenile shoplifters in Wichita, KS. Each subject completed a 90 question survey instrument which elicted attitudes on a variety of topics, including school, parents, rule breaking, law breaking and the criminal justice system. Subjects were asked about their shoplifting history, their experiences when shoplifting, their motivations for committing shoplifting offenses and issues relating to deterrence and desistence from shoplifting. Responses on some items were compared to responses from a school district wide survey utilizing the same survey items. A smaller sample drawn from the survey respondents were interviewed extensively aconcerning their shoplifting experiences and the motivations behind their behavior.
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Early Life Circumstances, Discrete Offender Groups, and Persistence in Crime
Moffitt’s dual taxonomic theory of offending identifies the consequences of early life circumstances on risk for early delinquent participation, serious offending behavior, and persistence in crime. In the current paper, we explore the relationships between early life circumstances and membership in discrete offender groups consistent with Moffitt’s theory. Additionally, we examine key dimensions of her offending trajectories including characteristics associated with persistence in offending. Data from the second Philadelphia Birth Cohort study will be used to examine our research questions. Directions for future research on Moffitt’s theory are discussed.
Early Termination: Outdated Concept in Era of Punitiveness
This paper addresses the issue of early termination of probation or parole as an incentive, for cooperation and compliance during the supervision process. The use of early termination as an incentive for encouraging a favorable adjustment to supervision appears to be on the decline as districts view such recommendations as incompatible with the punitive philosophy of sentencing guidelines. Discussion of early termination at the initial interview is also an area of dispute as some probation officers openly discuss early termination expectations at the initial interview while others feel such discussions are premature and should not be addressed until offenders have demonstrated they are deserving of such consideration. Legal issues, district policies, and actual practices are addressed in this paper.
Economic Deprivation, Public Assistance, and Community Crime: Examining Strain Theories
This paper explores the link between public assistance –or the absence thereof, in specified communities (in the Hampton roads area) and the incidences of crime. More specifically, the paper examines the connection between public assistance, economic deprivation drawn upon strain theories, and criminal activities. Strain theories suggest that when the economic resources available to communities are inadequate, communities are likely to have higher incidences of illegitimate activities that are typically a response to economic deficits. Historically, public welfare support has been used in the U.S. to ameliorate economic deficits experienced by communities. If strain theories are correct, communities which have large economic deficits, as measured by rates of poverty, but a strong presence of public assistance, should have lower incidences of crime compared to those communities in which economic deficits are also high but the presence of public assistance is relatively lower or limited. A sample of census tracts are used to ascertain the extent to which the rate of poverty in an area is linked to crime as well as the extent to which the percentage of household receiving public assistance and the average public assistance benefit in a community are associated with the incidence of crime.
Economic Resources and Death Sentences: Preliminary Results
The objective of this research is to determine if the financial resources available to counties are a significant factor in the application of the death penalty in the state of Idaho. The population studied was all persons imprisoned for first-degree murder in the state from 1979 through early 1999. The results show that death sentences are significantly more likely to occur urban counties and that mean per capita county-level court expenditures are significantly related to death sentences. absent data on aggravating and mitigating factors. Interviews and reviews of newspaper archives were used to identify cases in which economic. factors were known to have influenced the decision to seek the death penalty.
Economic Restructuring, Political Shifts, and Crime Rates
In attempting to make the macro-link between aggregate structural conditions and crime, current research fails to recognize the important role of the middle class in mediating class relations between the poor and the elite. When middle class jobs are eliminated as the result of economic restructuring, cities often lose a large proportion of middle class residents. If urban areas lose middle class residents in large numbers, who remains? Those who remain are either part of the poverty population who lack the resources to move or part of the traditional social, political, and economic elite who are historically tied to the city. Such a bifurcated class structure is likely to have important effects on crime rates. In this paper I argue that the middle class serves as an integral link between the interests of the poor and the elite. As the middle class is lost, local politics fails to adequately serve the interests of the poor and as a result large segments of city populations become increasingly ambivalent to legitirmate poweir structure. Hypotheses derived from this perspective are tested using time-series analysis of city-level crime rates, demographic shifts, and local legislative patterns.
Educating for Peace
This is a consideration of how to respond to violence in schools by making peace with students rather than making war upon them.
Educating Sensibilities: Local and Global Landscapes of Penal Practice and the Problem With Punishment in Children’s Talk
Writers on punishment often comment on the sheer range and diversity of rationales for punishing that circulate in particular penal cultures. Our research explores both the referential content of children’s (9-10 year olds) deliberations about justice and punishment and the ethnopoetics (oral performances) of those deliberations in a focus group setting. The paper attempts to get beyond the languages (and philosophical impasses) of ‘contradiction’, ‘intruding tendencies’ and ‘messiness’ of contemporary penal culture to explore how children deliberate on and negotiate this ‘forest of symbols’ (cf Turner 1977) – a forest that is both experientially near (in the form of familial and school discipline) and experientially distant (children as spectators of and commentators on dramas of national and global penal practices).
Effectiveness of a Mother-Infant Correctional Program
Family Unity programs–community based programs for incarcerated women who give birth in prison and their infants–are currently operating in 14 states, but there has been little evaluation of the long-term effects of these programs on recidivism, drug and alcohol use, and mother/child relations. Preliminary findings on outcomes of a Family Unity program operated by a community social service agency under contract by the Department of Corrections will be presented. Findings will include participant characteristics and experiences in the program, post-release arrest rates and child protective service involvement, and the relationship between participants’ characteristics and program experiences and post-release outcomes.
Effectiveness of an Aftercare Program for Drug-Involved Offenders
Study was made of the effectiveness of a manual-driven aftercare program designed to maintain probationers and parolees drug and crime free after exiting mandated outpatient drug free programs. Aftercare was provided by teams of a case manager and two community aides at each of three community sites for six months post-treatment. The aftercare program involved a mix of supportive and crisis counseling, case management services, vocational assistance, development of a peer support group, organizing church and community support, and family counseling. Baseline and follow-up instruments included measures of behavioral, psychological and community functioning. Clients were assigned to (a) aftercare on the basis of residence in one of three catchment areas in which program was located, (b) aftercare by random assignment and (c) control by random assignment. At six months follow-up (97øl0 located and interviewed) the two aftercare groups did not differ in outcomes and were combined (N–58) for comparison to controls (N–32). Aftercare clients were found to have significantly fewer crime days, F(1.88)=5.56,p=.020, and showed trends toward lower alcohol use F(1.87)=3.35,p=.071, and less alcohol-related problems F(1.87)=3.18, p=.078. More than 90% of all treated clients were heroin and cocaine free at follow-up (confirmed by urinalyses) although over 75% reported use at baseline.
Effects of Ethnicity on the Administration of Bail: Evidence Concerning Hispanics
The precept of equality under the law becomes more myth than reality if extra-legal attributes of defendants affect legal decisions. A great deal of research has examined whether factors such as race/ethnicity influence defendants’ outcomes, focusing particularly on sentencing. Earlier decisions concerning pre-trial release have also been studied, but there are significant gaps in the literature. The first is inherent in the tendency to focus on later decisions. That approach relegates pretrial release to a single outcome that operates as an intervening variable between defendants’ characteristics and final dispositions. Here we treat pre-trial release as involving three related outcomes (release on recognizance, amount of cash bail, and release on cash bail). A second problem is the lack of theoretical development, with most research using a simple consensus versus conflict model. Here we employ a more complex framework that incorporates a consideration of organizational factors. Finally, research has focused on blacks to the veritable exclusion of Hispanics. Here we compare the pre-trial release outcomes of Anglos (non-Hispanic whites), blacks, and Hispanics. Data for this study were collected from archival records in Bexar County (San Antonio) and El Paso County, Texas. The data set contains 976 cases, allowing for the development of complex multivariate statistical models that include legal (e.g., offense severity), quasi-legal (e.g., marital status), and extra-legal (e.g., race/ethnicity) variables.
Empathy Among College Students: Identifying Predispositional Traits and the Role of Maturation
This paper examines empathy among a purposive sample (N = 633) of college and university students in the Northeast. Using Mehrabian’s Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES), this exploratory study measures how empathetic future practitioners and policymakers are on several different dimensions. Descriptive and inferential statistics are used to compare scale and item means across gender, school size and type, grade level, age, and other variables. Also, a comparison is made between criminal justice (CJ) and ‘other’ (non-CJ) majors. The authors also examine the relationship between empathy and attitudes toward punitiveness. Variables thought to be important in predicting or influencing empathy are tested and possible reasons for differences in empathy among majors and across different variables are offered. Lastly, the pedagogical implications of the findings are discussed.
Engagement and Therapeutic Progress in Corrections-Based Treatment
Findings from recent evaluations of therapeutic communities (TC) operated in correctional settings have shown these programs reduce the likelihood of further criminal and drug-using behavior when the offender returns to the community, but questions remain about what happens within the “black box” of treatment. In this study, baseline, process, and time-in-treatment (a commonly used engagement measure) data were collected from 435 probationers court-mandated to a 6-month modified TC. Results revealed that early dropout was associated with lower education levels, unemployment, drug use, and psychological characteristics. Furthermore, improved psychological functioning (i.e., higher self-esteem, and lower degrees of depression and anxiety) was evident after the first month of treatment.
Engagement Strategies Used by Adolescent Male Sexual Offenders Against Their Victims
Although once dismissed as not being serious, sexual offending by adolescent males is now considered a serious social phenomenon. This study adds to the literature by investigating a little-explored area – that of the type of engagement strategy, or strategies, used by adolescent male sexual offenders against their victims. While examining the court records of 80 adolescent male sexua1 offenders from a mid-western state we were able to identify four types of engagement strategies employed. Some offen-ders used only one strategy, while others used more than one, or all. four. The types of engagement strategies we identified, are: (1) emotional coercion; (2) non-threatening enticement; (3) threatening enticement; and physical restraint. Analysis of the data indicates that overwhelmingly, there was a pre-existing non-sexual relationship between offenders and victims. Thus these engagement strategies were not often used against strangers. The data showed that 30S of the offenders used emotional coercion against their victims, 20% used nonthreatening enticement, 20% used threat of physical harm, and 67% used physical restraint. The data further indicated that differences occurred in the engagement strategy used by the offender depending on whether the victim was male or female.
Environmental Resistance and the Legal System
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between environmental resistance (i.e., actions actions undertaken by groups or individuals aimed at preventing or undoing environmental degradation) and the legal system. Environmental resistance will be divided into two main types for purposes of this analysis. “Conservative” environmental resistance can be viewed as those actions joined under the color of law. Groups such as the Sierra Club and the National Resources Defense Council and individuals engaged in recycling efforts epitomize “conservative” environmental resistance. “Radical” environmental resistance can be described as those actions pursued outside the blessings of law, undertakings which often garnish the attention of law enforcement agencies and are frequently placed in the “domestic/international terrorism” camp by these same officials. Groups such as Earthfirst!, Earth/Animal Liberation Front, and Greenpeace and individuals best characterized as “monkeywrenchers” (to borrow Edward Abbey’s provocative term) represent the ideals of “radical” environmental resistance. Drawing on case studies of the groups and individuals that fall into each of these resistance modes, this paper seeks to identify the ideological underpinnings that inform the practice of environmental resistance, with special attention placed on the role of law enforcement in shaping these ideological moorings.
Equal Protection Implications of Electronic Monitoring: Who Should Bear the Cost?
The cost of the technology used in electronic monitoring, both for pretrial release and as a post-conviction sentencing option as an alternative to incarceration, has created a potential for disparate treatment of otherwise similarly situated offenders with Equal Protection implications. This paper will examine the impact of the continued development and deployment of these new technologies as to their cost and access implications for lower socioeconomic groups affected. This analysis is conducted in an effort to identify how administrative policy makers should address these Equal Protection concerns.
Estimating the Elasticity of Drug Prices With Respect to Enforcement Stringency
Drug markets have been targeted for increasingly tough enforcement during the period between 1980 and 1994. For example, the numbers sent to state prison for drug offenses rose from 19,000 to 202,000 and federal spending on drug enforcement rose from $1.5 billion to $12 billion in the same period. One of the ideas motivating this increase in punishment was that prices would increase and, among other things, initiation into drug use would decrease. Despite this intensified punishment, prices for cocaine and heroin fell by 75% after adjusting for inflation during this period. Clearly, the economic “risk and prices” model which predicts that prices should drop when enforcement increases could be flawed. But it is also possible that other things have changed on either the supply or demand side of the equation that have overwhelmed the increase in enforcement and caused prices to drop. This paper explores this issue empirically using price data from the DEA and sentencing data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics for 30 cities from 1983 to 1995. The panel framework allows for a study of the impact of enforcement on prices controlling for factors that are constant across all cities over time, and within cities over time.
Ethnocriminological Research on the Opinion of Inhabitants of the Ivory Coast Concerning Restorative Justice
As theme for my doctoral thesis I have chosen an “Ethnocriminological research on the opinion of inhabitants of the Ivory Coast concerning restorative justice.” On the one hand it will be examined through participative observation whether elements of restorative justice are present in the autochthonous law of the Wobe. The opinion which members of this population living in a rural environment, formulate concerning the official criminal system will be studied as well. With respect to the other groups of the population in the Ivory Coast, the existing literature will be examined. On the other hand, the opinio concerning restorative justice will be examined amongst judges, prosecutors and police officers in Man and Abidjan. In my paper I would like to focus on specific methodological problems when it comes to ethnocriminological research. Special attention will be paid to the difficulties faced during my own field-work with the Wobe, which will take place in March, April, May, August, September and October 1999 and as such will have ended just before the Annual Meeting 1999 of the American Society of Criminology.
Ethnography and Globalization: A Contradiction in Terms?
This paper will consider the extent to which globalisation impacts on the methodological techniques of ethnography. The globalisation thesis asserts that the world is experiencing the creation of global economic markets which are undermining local institutions and identities and leading to the creation of a global cosmopolitan society. As Anthony Giddens argues, globalisation is not simply an economic or technological force but brings with it cultural transformations. If this is the case, it is important to question the contemporary validity of ethnography as a sociological research strategy, traditionally employed to develop an insider perspective on the culturally exotic worlds of small-scale and localised deviant groups. The discussion will consider the extent to which local cultures are in the process of mutating along global lines and will ask whether globalisation and ethnography are necessarily contradictory processes.
European Law and Policy on Capital Punishment
“Most member states of the Council Of Europe have ratified the Sixth Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights and the’ Second Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, thereby endorsing the view that the death penalty should be regarded as a human rights violation in 811 circumstances. This view is not yet shared by all states. However, under current public international public law the death penalty should be considered a human rights violation in certain situations wherever they occur in the world (e.g. death sentence imposed on minor’s and pregnant women). The Policy of the member states of the European Union is geared towards gaining support for a universal ban on capital punishment.”
Evaluating Inmate Classification: Ohio’s Search for a New Model
The classification of inmate populations is an integral part of the operations of any corrections department. The inmate classification system in Ohio existed for over thirteen years without any validation or major changes. Significant changes in the prison system and sentencing structure mandated an examination of the current classification system. The present study attempted to validate the current classification instruments for the male inmate population. New classification instruments were constructed and implemented in Ohio. A comparison of the old and new instruments will be presented, along with discussion of the methodology and statistics used to create the new classification instruments. A brief analysis of the impact of the new instruments on the prison system will be discussed.
Evaluating Juvenile Justice Programs in the States
Although a great deal is now know about the effectiveness of juvenile justice programs, there is relatively little systematic evaluation at the state level of juvenile programs funded through various federal initiatives. The Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA) is working with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to enhance the, capacity of states to evaluate state and local juvenile justice programs. This paper presents the findings of a national assessment of the current status of juvenile justice program evaluation in the states. Surveys of state evaluators, program monitors and policymakers were conducted to determine what types of juvenile justice evaluations are being conducted, who is carrying out the evaluation research, and how the findings are being utilized. The paper also examines institutional and political factors that facilitate and hinder juvenile justice program evaluation efforts at the local, state, and federal levels. Recommendations are offered for improving juvenile justice evaluation research in the states.
Evaluating POPS Technology and Training
Using data collected from pre and post POPS training surveys as well as productivity data before and after the use of new wireless communication technologies we first assess the impact of short-term, intensive POPS training for middle management and sergeant level state police officers. In addition, we assess to what extent new information technologies such as wireless communications, may affect various measures of police productivity-both traditional as well as more “problem-solving” measures. In addition to a presentation of quantitative and qualitative findings, the efficacy of new information technologies and training are discussed.
Evaluating the Future: Prospects and Problems in the SafeFutures Program Evaluation
SafeFutures is the key program in gang prevention and intervention at the federal level government. SafeFutures, funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, selected six sites (one rural, one Indian country, and four urban) to fund longterm interventions. Each intervention is funded for a five-year period, and must choose a targeted area in which to provide services. This paper reports on the problems and prospects for evaluating such programs. We highlight the positive issues such as enhanced access to data, program cooperation in the evaluation, and the role of a federal presence. The paper also identifies the dilemmas of meshing local evaluations within a national context and the conflict between technical assistance and evaluation.
Evaluating the Newsworthiness of African-American Homicide Victims
This paper examines the impact of race of victim and suspect on the likelihood of a homicide being reported in a local newspaper. The data are derived from a combination of newspaper stories printed in the Houston Chronicle from 1990-1994 and homicide statistics provided by the Houston Police Department for the same time period. The dependent variables include existence of a story (vs. no story), length of story (word count), location of story, length of time between incident and story. In general, the results suggest that when homicide victims are AfricanAmericans, the homicide is less likely to be reported in the newspaper. When the story is reported, the stories are shorter and tend to be found further from the front page.
Evaluation of a Specialized Court for Handling Domestic Violence Cases
Prosecution of domestic violence (DV) cases is often complicated by uncooperative victims, insufficient evidence, and limited training on the part of prosecutors and judges regarding the dynamics of DV. In large jurisdictions, the standard practice of assigning cases randomly to different dockets also complicates victim services in that advocates must cover a large number of courts. Finally, consistency of dispositions and monitoring of DV offenders on probation may also be problematic when many different courts are involved in handling DV cases. Recognition of these problems has resulted in increasing use of specialized DV courts and prosecutorial units. In this presentation we will describe the development and functioning of a DV Court developed in Memphis, TN. Before and after data evaluating the impact of the court will also be presented, including changes in the timing of cases, dispositions, offender treatment referrals, offender compliance, and victim services.
Evaluation of Alternative Justice Programs: A Community-Based Action Approach
The central premise of this presentation is that conventional program evaluation values, methodologies, and circumscribed evaluator roles are ill-suited for many investigations of community-based justice initiatives. The critical needs of such programs – including improvements in program implementation, sustainability, and impact – require deliberate and creative strategies to fashion responsive methods, malleable evaluator/researcher roles, and performance measures that are consonant with what are often alternative program values and orientations, in challenging community venues. A host of issues are explored: determining local values, needs, and possibilities through dialogue and consensus-building; nurturing sensitivity and responsiveness to indigenous values and culture; building organization and community capacities; advocating participation, inclusion, and intimate involvement and collaboration of organizational workers in the evaluation and research processes; expanding the evaluator role; conceptualizing program performance within the larger social structural and community environments; and maintaining transparency of the evaluation and research processes. The presenter will draw upon sixty-five evaluations he has conducted of community-based justice initiatives in the US and Northern Ireland.
Evaluation of Treatment Programs in Prisons: The Stick, the Carrot, and the Sermon
Corrections-based treatment programs for the chemically dependent present a host of challenges for evaluators. Not the least of these is the degree to which findings from evaluations of private sector programs may be extrapolated to the prison context and, conversely, the degree to which inferences based on inmates may be generalized to other populations. Vedung (1997) suggests that one way to improve the generalizability of evaluations is to conceptualize programs as public policy instruments, of which there are three types available to governments: (a) the stick-being forced to do it; (b) the carrot-being rewarded for doing it; or (c) the sermon-being preached at that we should do it. In the proposed paper, we apply Vedung’s approach to the evaluation of a residential substance abuse treatment program for women offenders in a minimum security, co-ed institution. We explore the advantages and disadvantages of characterizing not only the treatment program, but also the evaluation itself as a public policy instrument.
Evidence in Support of Gradual Release: Day Parole
Day parole, which generally requires that an offender reside in a halfway house, has been used in Canada for over 25 years. However, there have been few studies on the impact of day parole on success after release to the community. Day parole is one step in the gradual release process that provides opportunities for offenders to adjust to life outside of prison, to complete treatment programs and to find employment prior to taking up residence in the community. Day parole may be granted early in the sentence, prior to one-third of the sentence being served, or late in the sentence prior to two-thirds of the sentence being service. Results from a number of studies will be presented to show how day parole contributes to the increased likelihood of success on parole and after statutory release for both low risk offenders released early and for higher risk offenders released later. Factors associated with day parole success will also be examined. Results of a study comparing offenders who had a day parole release with those who were released directly to the community will be used to demonstrate the impact halfway house placement can have on successful sentence completion.
Evolution of Social Responsibility: A Twin Study
Human beings are a highly intelligent social species that evolved to construct ideologies of social responsibility to make communal living more effective. People differ markedly among themselves, however, in how inclined they are to act altruistically, as game theory usefully shows. Although most evolutionary psychologists look at the “average” human being (with the big exception of sex differences), in fact, evolution is the science of variation and selection. Studies of adoptions and of twins, show that some individual variance is heritable. Two previously published twin studies of altruism, aggression, and delinquency carried out by me with the University of London (UK) Twin Register showed that about 50% of individual variation is heritable and that about 50% is due to environmental factors such as social learning (see the 1986 Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and the 1996 issue of Psychiatric Genetics). Currently I am analyzing data from about 275 pairs of twins (men and women) to examine self-reports on a wellknown Social Responsibility Scale. I will urge a synthesis between evolutionary psychology (as currently practiced) and behavior genetics, to more usefully build on the Darwinian comparative method. Although within-species variation is essential for evolution to occur and is the bedrock of theory building, too often today it is denied as “Darwin’s REALLY Dangerous idea.”
Ex-Con: Managing a Spoiled Identity
Jones describes the difficulties convicts encounter upon the completion of their sentence as they reenter the “free world.” Some of the problems identified in the literature include loss of intimacy of family and friends, loss of parental rights, unemployment, and other structural impediments to successful reentry. An equally compelling problem confronting all ex-convicts is the meaning that the term ex-convict holds for society in general and how ex-convicts manage this spoiled identity. Questions confronting the ex-con include: to reveal or not reveal the deviant status, to let on or not to let on, to lie or not lie, and under what circumstances that a particular strategy might be employed? Ex-convicts expect to be treated differently than “noncriminals.” The purpose of this chapter is to examine the impact that stigma has on the identify of ex-convicts and how this influences their coping strategies.
Examination of Adolescent Crime and Delinquency: Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to Test and Extend Agnew’s General Strain Theory
The purpose of this study is to test hypotheses derived from Agnew’s (1992) revised strain theory and to expand on the theory to include female crime and delinquency using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Agnew (1992) reformulates the theory from his earlier version of general strain theory (1985) by stipulating that there are three types/dimensions of strain that lead to crime. Since Agnew’s (1992) revised strain theory seems to focus primarily on male crime and delinquency as opposed to female crime and delinquency, this study will attempt to build on Agnew’s work by examining how males and females respond differently to various forms of strain in their lives. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health provides good social psychological measures of the concepts defined in Agnew’s (1992) revised strain theory and concepts that are being used to build on Agnew’s work.
Examination of Court-Mandated Counseling for Perpetrators of Domestic Violence
Treatment attrition can occur due to the individual characteristics of the participants or the specific techniques of the program. The present study examined a court-mandated treatment program for perpetrators of domestic abuse. Sociodemographic factors such as age, marital status, employment, educational level, family background, prior criminal history, prior substance abuse treatment, and alcohol and drug use were compared between completers and non-completers of treatment. Data for this project were gathered from the case files of 328 participants of a counseling program at the Correctional Counseling Institute in Tennessee. Statistical analyses suggested that program completers were more likely to be slightly alder, employed, better educated, from an intact family of origin, and have no prior experience with the criminal justice system nor substance abuse treatment programs. However, logistic regression revealed that only prior juvenile record had a significant predictive effect on program attrition. Sociodemographic characteristics were poor predictors of program completion. A secondary descriptive analysis was conducted for the treatment techniques at the institute. A preliminary evaluation using Gendreau’s principles of effective intervention revealed that the programs at the institute were not likely to decrease offender recidivism in the long-term.
Examination of Racial Disparity in Competency to Stand Trial Between Caucasian and African American Retarded Defendants
Criminal offenders with mental retardation are vulnerable in the criminal justice system due to their impaired intellectual capability and the insensitivity of identification proceedings. Previous studies consistently revealed that African Americans with mental retardation were overrepresented in the criminal justice system. This study examines 288 criminal defendants who had been adjudicated as incompetent to stand trial in the pretrial stage due to their mental retardation. The diagnostic mechanisms in determining competency by the judges and the mental health experts (e.g., psychologists) are also explored. The results show that the effect of race on competency determination was not statistically significant. Racial disparity in determining competency to stand trial was not significantly distinctive. However, this study’s results show that African American retarded defendants were overrepresented in this special population, and they had been involved in the criminal justice system at a younger age than Caucasian retarded defendants.
Examining Deinstitutionalization: Reading Toronto’s “Subway-Pushers” as a New Criminal “Type”
Current trends in deinstitutionalisation in Canada, marked by massive cuts to funding for psychiatric facilities and health care more generally, have many folk deemed “mentally ill”, receiving inadequate care. As well as the closing of hospitals, drugs have been de-listed, services have been privatized, fees charged and waiting lists having been extended. The result, in many cases, has been popular imagery of a new version of “criminal” has made a prominent showing of recent. This work proposes to investigate contemporary images of the schizophrenic as “criminal”, portrayed by Toronto’s print media. It is proposed that, as a consequence of a discourse mounting around an imaginary “violent” schizophrenic, shifts towards incarcerating patients in jails are going largely uncontested. Through an assessment of newspaper articles published in the past three years, we can compose an understanding of this new discourse of the mental patient as criminal. Where earlier historical representations presented the “mentally ill” in a variety of deviant ways, it has only been recently that the imagery has been reinforced by an apparent increase in “criminal activities” perpetrated by mentally ill persons. Seen alongside government cuts to spending, it becomes apparent that patients are experiencing a re-definition that extends beyond the boundaries of professional control. Rather, the mental patient as criminal is a definition that has developed directly out of issues of government financing, cost cutting and privatization. This paper attempts to investigate the rationale behind shutting down mental hospitals and exposes the resulting emergence of the patient-criminal as a normative social type. Further, it will attempt to address the inhumanity of sending persons deemed mentally ill to prison as a result of government belt tightening.
Examining Probationer Recidivism in Michigan
With tile increased use of community supervision, the number of probation violators has also increased and has become a significant contributor to the crowding problem. In Michigan, over thirty-two percent of the total prison intakes for the year 1 997 were probation violators. Despite large numbers of violations, few studies have examined the correlates of these violations, the types and frequencies of violations, and tile interventions that are taken before probationers are re-sentenced to prison. Offender characteristics, which include socio-demographic characteristics, age at first arrest, prior criminal convictions, and history of substance abuse are among the variables that will be examined in this paper as correlates of successful or unsuccessful completion of probation terms. Findings of this study are intended to provide viable intervention techniques that can reduce the re-sentencing of probation violators to prison and hence ameliorate one source of prison overcrowding.
Examining the Childhood Victimization-Alcohol-Violence Link
There is an extensive literature relating alcohol problems to violence. However, there remains considerable controversy about the temporal order and possible causal nature of the relationship. Some researchers have suggested that alcohol plays a causal role for violence. Others have suggested that the co-occurrence of alcohol and violence may not reflect a causal role for alcohol, but that the relationship may be spurious, explained by some set of common causes underlying both aggression and alcoholism. Still. others have suggested that the co-occurrence may not reflect a causal relationship, but that alcohol and violence may represent different sets of problem behaviors with fundamentally different etiologies. This presentation will first describe and then test several explainations of the relationship between early childhood victimization, alcohol problems and violence. Analyses will be based on data from a prospective cohort design study of long-term consequences of early childhood victimization in which abused and neglected children were matched with non-abused and non-neglected children and followed prospectively into adulthood. Since the models in this study are complex and variables interrelated, several methods will be used to test multiple linear and nonlinear models, The findings and policy implications will be discussed.
Examining the Relationship Between Crime News Sources and Fear of Crime and Gangs
Research in both Canada and the United States indicates that the public has become increasingly critical of the criminal justice system. In particular, recent research has found that the public believes that the sentences given out by the courts are too lenient and that there exists racial discrimination within the criminal justice system. This study examines both Canadian and American attitudes towards two specific aspects of the criminal justice system: the court’s ability to provide help to the victims of crime in addition to it’s ability to protect the rights of accused individuals. The specific aspects of the criminal justice system being examined in this analysis were guided by an interest in the growing public concern for the victims of crime over the rights of the accused. For example, Myers (1996) argues that citizens are much more concerned with issues of protection of society, such as the treatment of victims and sentencing than with issues of equality and fairness, as measured by the protection of the rights of accused individuals. The analysis utilizes data from both the 1993 Canadian General Social Survey and the 1995 National Opinion Survey of Crime and Justice (US) in examining the role of race and social class on public perceptions of the courts. The focus of this research is to uncover the extent and type of public dissatisfaction and examine whether this dissatisfaction is shared by all Canadians or is experienced by specific groups.
Examining the Strengths and Weaknesses of Repeat Address Mapping as a Crime Analysis Tool
For most police applications, the mapping technique of choice continues to be the plotting of crime sites on a single base map. Computers have made this less labor intensive and more flexible than it has been in the past, but these are still spot maps. While the reasons for their continued utility are many, they still have several basic weaknesses. One of the most glaring of which is that when examining crime trends from a long period of time on a small scale map, the clusters of spots blend into a single cloud of crime. This technique results in an excess of map clutter and increases the difficulty of interpreting the underlying pattern of events, which ultimately makes it problematic to law enforcement officials to make tactical and operational decisions. In this paper we describe a simple technique, Repeat Address Mapping, that can be used to identify high crime areas of repeat activity. We will examine data from two separate jurisdictions (Baltimore City & Washington, DC) and explore the strengths and weaknesses of this techniques as it pertains to different types of crime events.
Exclusion or Inclusion? An Ethnography of Young People and Their Local Drug Culture
Recent theoretical issues associated with ‘social exclusion’ are explored and analyzed within the context of youthful ‘recreational’ drug use. Particular attention is given to examining the informal economic and social ynamics associated with the local drug culture. Emphasis is given to exploring the nature of young people’s participation within their local drug culture. This paper draws upon an ethnographic study of legal and illegal recreational drug use amongst young people aged 11-16, resident in an estate, north west of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. ‘Moordale’, a relatively small estate, is characterised by high levels of long term unemployment, a high proportion of single parent households and an unusually stable and predominately white population. Identified by locals and police as a key drug using and dealing community, the relationship between local drug culture and ‘social exclusion’ is discussed.
Experimental and Non-Experimental Research in Policing: A Strategic Analysis
This paper looks at police effectiveness within the context of experimental and non-experimental research and argues that, in order to properly evaluate crime control efforts, process, social context and research design must be taken into equal consideration. A purposive sample of studies (N = 82) was drawn from three general areas of policing: basic police operations, strategies target ill repeat clients, and strategies targeting specific crimes. These areas of police innovation were examined to identify the types of strategies, methods of target selection, and social and institutional settings that were most often associated with positive program impacts. Additionally, an analysis contrasted experimental and non-experimental police studies across such factors. Data collection techniques and outcome measures were also examined to account for variations in research design. The purpose of such an inquiry is to bring to light the commonalities among successful police programs, as well as the interaction effects between program components and the social environment in which programs are implemented.
Explaining Lower Rates of Criminal Violence by Women: Patriarchy, Control and Self Control
This paper reviews measures of violence by gender and considers a number of explanations of the differences. Using women’s narratives from a series of in depth interviews several theories of differences in criminal violence by men and women are investigated. Using a feminist method the interviewees are themselves seen as theorizing about gender and violence in telling their stories. The first case history shows the impact of a woman’s self definition as “deviant” from her gender script– and from appropriate behavior. This results in her seeking the “medicalization” of her violent impulse, and the consequent prevention of violent crime. The story fits a model of “self control”. The second story indicates the reverberating impact of women abuse and child abuse and the exacerbation of this pattern through the criminal justice, family court, and even shelter systems of two States. This woman abuse and child abuse results in a perpetuation of patriarchy– and criminal violence within the home. Control and self control theories are necessary but not sufficient to explain this process.
Explaining the Minority Experience Through Active Learning, Critical Thinking and Theory Building in the Classroom
Based on the results of a survey on student perceptions of minority involvement in crime, this paper discusses an ongoing experiment to teach students to think critically about crime through the use of active learning in the classroom. The techniques used and results obtained in an upper-level undergraudate criminological theory course are discussed. Suggestions are offered regarding how criminal justice educators should define and measure success in the classroom.
Explaining the Startling Growth in the Queensland Prisoner Population
The state of Queensland in Australia currently has one of the most rapidly increasing rates of incarceration in the world. This paper examines the bases of this sudden increase in the prisoner population, and in doing so, draws attention to the systemic nature of the justice system. There would appear to be no single factor propelling the escalating prisoner population, but rather a diverse range of interdependent factors each of which only modestly contributes to the overall dramatic increase. Crucially however, these interdependent factors derive from the activities of quite different arms of government, all of which have been required to operate within a political climate markedly influenced by strident law and order debates. Despite this climate, the extent of the growth in prisoner numbers which occurred over the last six years was neither anticipated nor planned for and is now fiscally unsustainable. The Queensland experience constitutes a telling reminder of the importance of coordinated whole of government approaches to crime based upon an acknowledgment of the complex systemic nature of the criminal justice system.
Exploring the Influence of Ethnicity on Traditional Strain Theory: An Examination of Latino, African American and Caucasian Youth
This paper examines the potential influence of ethnicity on traditional strain theory. Cloward and Ohlin (1960) have introduced race into strain theory, however, ethnicity has been largely ignored in the theoretical development and empirical testing of strain. Examinations of the theory are overwhelmingly based on general population samples; as such, the utility of strain in explaining delinquent behavior among Latinos and African Americans remains unclear. In addition, interactions between ethnicity and theoretical constructs within the strain model have not been fully explored. To address these concerns, this study utilizes data from the Denver Youth Survey and the Rochester Youth Development Study to estimate the traditional strain theory model across two separate Latino groups and their African American and Caucasian counterparts. The overall explanatory value of strain theory and differences in model pathways are examined, and implications for the theory are discussed.
Exploring the Influence of Peer Group Structure on Crime
Research conducted primarily by psychologists and sociologists finds that even loosely defined, informal peer groups are structured, with individuals holding positions of higher and lower status and authority. The implicit (and, in the case of some gangs, explicit) authority of higher-status peers can exert powerful influences on the behavior of subordinates. Most criminological theories neglect the role of structure in crime and deviance occurring in the context of peer groups. While many theories acknowledge that deviant peers are associated with crime, most fail to examine the processes of how peers influence behavior beyond individual-level criminal propensity. Our study is an exploratory examination of the criminogenic influence of hierarchical peer groups. A factorial vignette survey of young adults examines how peers of varying status and authority (as well as other contextual variables) influence the likelihood of individuals committing crime. The implications for criminological theories such as Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory are discussed.
Exploring the Relationship Between Gender and Control Balance
Most scholars will acknowledge that males are over-represented in crime statistics, but existing criminological theory has not yet provided a widely accepted explanation of this difference. In the present study, the authors review Tittle’s (1995) arguments concerning gender differences in deviant behavior. Using data collected specifically for the purpose of operationalizing the control ratio, the authors examine differential involvement in a variety of forms of deviance, and empirically assess one of the key gender hypotheses explicit in Tittle’s theory: male control ratios are distributed around conformity, while female control ratios are distributed toward the repressive end of the control balance continuum. Implications for control balance theory and future research are discussed.
Exploring the Relationship Between Victimization and Delinquency: An Assessment of Conditioning Influences
Past research and theory had identified that victimization experiences can have deleterious consequences including for example, involvement in delinquent behavior. In the current study, the relationship between victimization and delinquency will be explored. We will examine whether victimization increases delinquent behavior or whether the relationship is spurious. Additionally, we will examine whether the relationship between victimization and delinquency is conditioned by various factors including self control, delinquent peer exposure, family structure, school performance, and social class. Moreover, we will examine whether the relationship between victimization and delinquency is invariant across discrete offender groups consistent with Moffitt’s dual taxonomic theory of offending. Data from the Australian Sibling Study will be used to examine our research questions.
F
Factors Affecting Leadership Styles of Prison Wardens in Virginia
The organizational structure of prisons has been described as a punishment centered bureaucracy in which wardens lead by threat and coercion. Yet, such a style may affect negatively the morale of staff and the general climate of an institution, perhaps even contributing to riots. This study identifies the leadership style of wardens in the public prisons in Virginia. Scores on the Leadership Practices Inventory and Leader Behavior Analysis scales, indicating the leadership styles of the wardens, are examined in relation to demographic, institutional and career variables. While the majority of wardens prefer a “highly supportive” leadership style, race, education, and location of the prison are not related to either instrument. Significant differences in leadership style are noted for gender and institutional size and security level. Careers which are predominantly in “treatment” are weakly but positively associated and careers in “security” or “management” are negatively but weakly associated with “effectiveness’ as measured by the Leader Behavioral Analysis scale. The wardens’ scores on the Leadership Practices Inventory are also compared to the scores of managers in other fields. Policy and research implications are suggested.
Factors Related to the Desistance of Crime in a Longitudinal Sample
Currently there is an effort in criminology to focus not only on the initiation of crime and deviance for adolescents but to also look at patterns of persistence and desistance (Sampson & Laub, 1993). Juvenile court records were collected in 1995 as part of an ongoing longitudinal research study initiated in 1990 of mothers and one of their children. Out of 363 participants eighty-eight children were found to have had contact with juvenile court. In 1996-1997 participants were brought in again to be interviewed and then a third time in 1998-1999. In these two later interviews extensive data was collected on a variety of constructs that might relate to desistance of delinquency. We will be examining the subsample of arrested youth. We will divide those who have desisted from criminal activity and those who have continued, as per self-report in the later interviews. Hypothesized constructs such as family structure, parental monitoring and family attachment will be tested to see if they relate to participants’ desistance from crime.
False Confessions: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions
In this paper, I will review the social science and legal literature to address three questions: (1) What are the social psychological causes of false confession? (2) What is the impact of false confession evidence on the decision-making of criminal justice officials and jurors?- and (3) What policy solutions are likely to prevent false confessions and minimize the likelihood that they will lead to the wrongful conviction of the innocent? I will argue that false confessions are caused largely by the misuse of commonly taught, but nevertheless psychologically coercive, police interrogation techniques; that individuals who falsely confess are often convicted — despite the absence of any inculpatory evidence other than a highly questionable and factually disconfirrned confession and the presence of highly exculpatory evidence — because confession evidence exerts a strong biasing effect on the decision-making of criminal justice officials and jurors; and that mandatory audio and video recording of the entirety of all felony police interrogations (not just the confession statement) is the policy reform that is most Rely to minimize police-induced false confessions and the miscarriages of justice that they sometimes cause.
Family Group Conferencing: Justice That Empowers Communities
Despite a national decrease in violent crime, public concerns regarding violent juvenile crime and victim rights are driving communities to identify, create, and implement innovative approaches to justice. Showing considerable promise are strategies emerging from the concepts of restorative justice, community justice, and real justice – terms used to describe a philosophy of redressing and reducing offending by including multiple parties (e.g. victim, offender, family members, community advocates) in the justice process. Family group conferencing (FGQ) is one such strategy that communities in the U.S. and abroad have embraced since its inception a decade ago. In a similar vein to many community policing practices that reflect a neighborhood-level, problem-oriented focus, FGC operates on the basis that offending can be effected at the micro level and that justice is best served by involving multiple parties in the community. Because FGC is developed and implemented locally by members of a given community, programs vary considerably by location. The authors will therefore present a theoretical framework for this process of justice while describing common and unique components of FGC across communities. The implications of FGC for criminal justice agencies at local and state levels will also be considered.
Family Matters: Power Control Theory and Alternate Family Forms
Research on power control theory has focused almost exclusively on traditional families and/or single mother families. Power control theory implicitly argues that processual issues (levels of patriarchy and types of control) in the household will determine gender differences in delinquency. These processes may be affected by varying family forms. This study examines the effects of including a measure of family structure in a power-control model. Our measure of family structure includes intact two parent families, single mother families, single father families, and stepfamilies. The inclusion of a variety of family structures in a power control model, however, creates a related complication. Previous power control research has used a measure of patriarchy that is implicitly tied to family structure. Therefore, this research also includes a discussion of the best measure of patriarchy given our inclusion of these various family forms. The best measure of patriarchy will be determined based on its relationship to the measures of family structure and its predictive capabilities concerning levels of control, risk, and delinquency in the family. Finally, we will examine the overall effectiveness of power-control theory in our model to explain gender differences in delinquency.
Family Protection From Risk of Joining Gangs: Protection as Interaction
There is a current misuse of the term protective factor in the literature that has been left unaddressed. Rather than simply occupying the opposite end of the continuum. of risk, protection, in fact, interacts with risk to reduce the latter’s effect. This presentation will utilize a definition of protection that is distinct from risk to examine family structure and processes that relate to gang joining. Personal interviews with 391 13 – 15 year old African-American and Latino gang and nongang males in San Diego and Long Beach revealed information about their families which increased the risk of gang joining, interacted with risk to reduce the odds of gang joining, or did not differentiate gang and nongang youth. The discussion will focus ors the interactive relationship of risk and protection and will suggest policy implications for strengthening at-risk families.
Faster Evaluation of Reconviction Outcomes Using Police Data
“Studies of reconviction in England and Wales have traditionally used follow-up periods of 2 years after discharge from custody or commencement of a community sentence, and the timelag involved in obtaining information from the courts has meant that results are not available for at least another year, making a 3 year delay. Increased emphasis on evaluation in the criminal justice policy process has increased demand for reconviction studies, to be delivered in a shorter timescale. A new system for extracting data from the Police National Computer (PNQ is now available that enables researchers to obtain results much more quickly. This paper discusses the methodology used in these new studies, and presents provisional results from early studies. One such study is of Welfare to Work for Prisoners, a scheme addressing the employability of 18-24 year olds leaving custody. Participating offenders began to leave custody in June 1998, and 6- and 9-month follow-up periods have been used to examine the effectiveness of the scheme in preventing reconviction. Other uses of PNC data will also be presented.”
Fear of Crime in Public Housing: The Exploration of Social Networks as Informal Social Control
Public housing has been portrayed as a violent, crime-ridden contest where community members lack control of both residents and outsiders. This depiction probably has served to increase the fear of crime among residents in these contexts. However, there is little research attempting to identify the mechanisms through which fear of crime among public housing residents is perpetuated. This paper is intended to provide a conceptual model to better understand what factors influence fear of crime in public housing. This paper represents a theoretical explication of the problem concerning the lack of social control mechanisms available to residents in disadvantaged neighborhoods, specifically public housing. It is hypothesized that the lack of network ties impedes the ability to informally control residents and outsiders This lack of social control is thought to increase fear of crime among residents of public housing. This model is based on the existing literature which includes research on how certain factors, such as social class, affect social network ties, how social networks operate as informal social control, and how these network ties (or lack thereof) affect one’s fear of crime. Preliminary findings from on-going research will also be discussed.
Federal Sentencing Guidelines and Mandatory Minimum Sentences: Do Defendants Bargain in the Shadow of the Judge?
The 1987 sentencing reforms were expected to change profoundly the environment in which plea bargaining takes place, by increasing the average length of sentences for serious crimes, and by eliminating the variation in sentences imposed by different judges. Using cases initiated and resolved between 1981 and 1995 in two federal district courts of New York, we examine whether the variation in sentences attributable to individual judges has been eliminated, and we investigate whether the plea-bargaining behavior of defendants has changed. Surprisingly, we find that the amount of variation attributable to the judge for trial sentences increases post-reforms. Consistent with this result, defendants continue to bargain in the shadow of the judge post-reforms, particularly for crimes involving minimum sentences. Further, sentences may not have increased as much as expected: although the average prison term for trial sentences increases post-reforms, there is no systematic increase in the average length of the pleas.
Female Offending and the Desistance Process: Applications of Moffitt’s Dual Taxonomic Theory of Offending
Moffitt’s (1993) theory identifies two typologies of offenders with distinct characteristics and processes giving rise to crime and delinquency. Although her theory accounts for both male and female delinquency, much of the available research has focused on males. In fact, there have been few attempts made at applying Moffitt’s theory to female offending. The primary focus of our investigation is to examine the applicability of Moffitt’s theory to female offending. In addition, we will examine various aspects of criminal careers for female offenders including criminal desistance to assess whether these dimensions vary for different types of offenders. Data from the second Philadelphia Birth Cohort study will be used to examine our research questions.
Female Youthful Offenders in the Florida Juvenile Justice System: Offense Patterns, Processing, and Program Placement
Consistent with national trends, arrests involving female juveniles ‘in the State of Florida continue to rise while male juvenile arrest rates decline. In 1993, females represented 18.9 percent of the total juvenile arrests for the State of Florida, yet as recently as 1995 there were no youthful offender programs for girls. Young women who were convicted of serious crimes were sent to adult women’s correctional facilities while boys convicted of the same crime were sent to juvenile commitment facilities with appropriate educational and rehabilitative program . Recently, Florida has made efforts to develop and implement programs to address the needs of at-risk girls and juvenile female offenders. In this paper, we report on the changing trends in female juvenile arrests ‘in the State of Florida; the female youthful offenders’ involvement with the juvenile justice system from referral to placement; and gender specific programs that work and why they are successful.
Fenced in/ Fenced out: The Prison, the Gated Community, and the Decline of City Life
Recent scholarship in urban planning and social demography has demonstrated the impact of gated communities on the urban landscape (e.g., Blakely & Snyder, 1997). In this paper, I extend the concept of “gated communities” to include those which involuntarily fence in their residents–prison facilities–then explore the impact of the range of these gated communities on contemporary urban life. Through an examination of printed source documents (published rules and regulations, developers, and management companies’ promotional materials, etc.) I first draw parallels between the prison and the free gated community in terms of the homogenization of resident populations, the needs for security, the geographic segregation of the settings, the “amenities, offered to residents, and the role of crime anxiety in their expansion. I then distinguish the two at their essence: the voluntariness / involuntariness of residency, and the opposing goals of keeping undesirables out, in the free gated community, and keeping undesirables in, in the case of the prison. I conclude by discussing the role of the expansion of both kinds of gated communities on the decline of civic life.
First World Aspiration in a Second World Enclave: Relative Deprivation and Youth Crime
Theories of relative deprivation in the work of Runciman, Merton and the Left Realists are discussed in order to put into context data gathered during an ethnographic study of young people and representatives from various agencies during the course of 18 months. This paper discusses the strategies employed by a group of young people when confronted by constraints on ambitions. The town in which this study took place, Hayes to the west of London, is similar to many such towns on the outskirts of large cities that are often over-looked by criminologists. The town suffers from various forms of deprivation, relative to the London borough in which it is located, which is the site for many large international companies. It is argued that both crime and disorder can result from the frustrations of unfulfilled promises whereby local people are denied access to jobs, either perceived or real, in an area that exhibits many opportunities. However, this is not sufficient to explain all crime and disorder, thus it is also shown that by employing a social psychological theory, self-categorisation theory, the remit of relative deprivation theory can be extended to cover crime that is related to a conflict of identities rather than economic variables.
Five Ways in Which the Penal System Reinforces the Corporate Agenda
The penal system is a linchpin of the corporate agenda, filling this role in 5 major ways: 1. The penal system is a very profitable industry, as spelled out by Nils Christie and others. 2. It employs surplus labour, through both justice system jobs and the incarceration of surplus poor and minorities. 3. It enforces the corporate agenda brutally: against property violators, political dissidents, labour organizers or others who challenge it. 4. It distracts us from the pain of the corporate agenda: lost jobs, housing, health care, accessible quality education, and survival income. 5. It distracts us from the major source of crime, corporations themselves.
Fleecing of Medicaid: A Profile of Sentenced Medicaid Fraud Offenders in New York State
Medicaid fraud has largely gone unnoticed, despite the amount of money that it has drained from the Medicaid program by fraudulent activity. Estimated millions oof dollars each year end up lining the pockets of physicians, other medical related employees and industries. To date, there seems to be little prosecution of medicaid fraud offenders in comparison to the staggering amounts of loss to the program. The purpose of this study was to determinate the percentage, at a state level, of sentencing that is being carried out in dealing with these particular types of offenses. The characteristics of the offenders and the factors important in the investigation, prosecution and sentencing of these offenders was also examined using all of the cases of medicaid fraud over the lat ten years in New York state. By examining the in-depth court case files we were able to dreate a profile of the medicaid offenders investigated and prosecuted in New York state.
For the Sake of the Community: Concern for Neighborhood Safety and the Construction of Habitual Sex Offender Legislation
Federal government legislation aimed at habitual offenders and the U.S. Supreme Court affirmation of Megan’s Law are the latest developments in a complex journey from public outcry to policy initiative. Many analysts forget the original uproar over a preMegan’s Law case involving a habitual sexual offender named Larry Singleton. Washington State, and then New Jersey, steped into the fray and triggered enormous public pressure for community protection against sex offenders. This paper will assess: 1) The original nature of Megan’s Law and other sex offender legislation; 2) expansion of the sex offender statutes into predicting dangerous behavior; 3) legal substance for the original and current sex offender statutes; 4) analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court decision sustaining -Megan’s Law; and 5) the future of sex offender legislation.
Forget Crime: Government, Accusation and Criminology
At least one etymological interpretation derives the word ‘criminology’ from the Greek Krima (judgement), and its Latin equivalent crimen (accusation, verdict, etc.). This suggests an interesting possibility; namely, that criminology might focus on the logic (logos) of accusation (judgement, verdict), as opposed to privileging conceptions of ‘crime’. Yet, more than simply redirecting attention to labelling processes, this insight could develop radical criminology as an analysis of the complex governmental relations through which someone is accused of (and perhaps punished for) a crime. Drawing on Foucault’s ‘governmentality’ concept, such a radical criminology might: (1) chart the various governmental rationales (logics) behind given instances of criminal accusation; (2) examine the multiple governmental techniques involved in producing given criminal identities; and (3) analyse the complex effects of governing behaviour through accusation. This approach could embrace a genre of critique not bound to the founded judgements, and normative evaluations, of previous radical discourses. It might, instead, use critique to point out the contingency of existing governmental forms, to scrutinize their limits continuously, and to contemplate the permanent possibility of alternative governmentalities.
French and German Criminology and Criminal Justice. The History of an Antagonism and Its Development in Glogalized Sciences Communication
The French and German criminal justice ystems are genuinely different ones. This is true for criminology. This antagonism has its historical origins in the 18th century enlightment culture which stands synonymous for the contradiction between the universal, transhistorical and essentially preventive codification tradition (France) and the particularist, historical–relativist and essentially repressive codification tradition. The paper shows the continuity of these different traditions in the history of criminal justice, criminal law as well as its implications for criminology. It analyses the effects of globalisation on these traditions; the efforts of harmonisation in French and German criminal law, criminal policy and criminology and the resistance of these two models. Their future development and outcome will be discussed. A presentation of the success and failure of common projects on criminological research is given.
Friendship Network Coalescence, Gang Membership, and Delinquency
There is general agreement that gangs and gang members are responsible for more violent and criminal offenses than would be expected given their prevalence in the population. Aspects of informal of informal social networks have long been associated with the development of gang membership and delinquency, but the role of adolescents’ social networks is controversial. Social disorganization theorists, subculture theorists and control theorists differ regarding the role of adolescents’ social networks in the development of delinquency and gangs. Using five waves of data from the Chicago Youth Development Study, we tested a model of peer network influences on delinquency and gang membership. We hypothesized that part of normal child and adolescent development involves a coalescing of peer groups into clique-like structures with high friendship network density and low boundary density. Boundary density refers to the extent of overlap between friendship groups and families and communities. We also hypothesized that the growth curve of boundary density would show a decreasing linear trend, and the growth curve of friendship network density would show an increasing linear trend over the course of adolescence. Finally, we hypothesized that the interaction of these two slopes would predict membership and level of delinquent behavior in late adolescence.
From Walnut Street to Wall Street: Issues of Class, Gender, Race in Prison Privatization
An interdisciplinary approach is used to examine the reemergence of prison privatization in the United States. privatization was implemented in spite of the lack of significant public debate, academic research, or even historical analysis; economic necessity created by endemmic prison over-crowding typically drove penal decision-making processes. Theoretical explanation including power elite theory reveal the potential policy and ethical implication as well as the effifacy of privatization.
G
Gang and Non-Gang Adolescent Males’ Acceptance of Interpersonal Violence
Criminologists have long debated whether delinquent gangs subscribe to subculturally distinct norms supporting the use of violence. This paper reports on an effort to develop an instrument to measure whether a “code of the streets” which supports the use of violence is verbally endorsed by lower class urban males adolescents. The instrument consists of ten hypothetical situations which depict incindents of betrayal, disrespect, vulnerability and challenge young males are likely to experience. Each scenario is read to a respondent who is then asked “what would you do” in that situation. The answers are ranked according to the degree of violence reported as a probable response. This paper presents an analysis of the respondents of 40 lower class urban males aged 12 – 18 to the hypothetical situations. The analysis of the examines the relationship between the average levels of violence endorsed and gang/non-gang status. In addition, it explores variations in responses to different scenarios to ascertain which factual situation are most likely to elicit responses endorsing violence in order to develop a more accurate depiction of the norms governing the use of interpersonal violence.
Gang Involvement Among Homeless and Runaway Adolescents
The majority of adolescents in the Midwest Homeless and Runaway Adolescent Project (NIHRAP), which is a study of 602 homeless and runaway youth in 4 Midwestern states, are aware of gang activity in their area, and one-third of these youth have been threatened or bothered by gang members. Moreover, 15% of these youth (10% of females and 24% of males) currently belong to a gang, 8% have been through a gang initiation, and 23% have been asked to join a gang. These rates are higher than those in samples of high school students. This paper will examine factors that distinguish among youth in the MIRAP who are gang members, who have been initiated (but are not members), who have been asked to join (but were not initiated and are not members), and who are not affiliated with a gang. The factors to be studied include family dysfunction, deviant behaviors, deviant peers, social support, and mental health. Analyses will be conducted separately for males and females. It is hypothesized that youth with a greater degree of gang involvement will evidence more victimizing behaviors, score higher on measures of conduct problems, and report higher perceived support from peers.
Gang Prevention and Intervention in a Rural Town in California: At-Risk Youths and the Community Policing-School Partnership Program
While long considered a major problem in the United States, clearly discernable street gangs have only recently become a large concern in Canada. Typically, Canadian gangs are urban-based, organized along ethnic lines, and members come from economically marginal situations. In Winnipeg, Manitoba, concern over street gang crime, particularly violent crime, has led to a number of crime suppression and crime prevention strategies. Our research examines the experience of a community intervention project having as its goal the reduction of street gang recruitment. The data indicate that the project was successful, but issues related to the measurement of “success” raise important questions about our understanding of intervention strategies.
Gangs: Does Race Matter?
The fact that gang members are involved in deviant behavior is most evident and undisputed in academic research. However, in this research, there is usually no pregang comparison time making it difficult to determine whether these changes are actually the result of joining the gang. In addition, there is little research that attempts to explain the process by which this increased deviant behavior occurs. The current research examines the immediate effects of gang membership. The research examines the relationships between gang membership, conventional institutions, peer groups, values, and deviant behavior, to determine the reasons why increased deviant behavior occurs. This research utilizes data from the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS). This data set has the capability of examining the effects of gang membership. It provides information on gang members before and during active gang membership, allowing for the control of prior deviant behavior. This data set also offers a comparison group of nongang youth providing a rich source for data analysis. The current findings suggest that gang membership has an effect on deviant behavior, including general delinquency, violent crime, drug use and drug sales. The effects are direct and indirect through other life domain variables. The effects of gang membership are similar for males and females.
Gateways Into the Social Contract: Migration and Incarceration Processes in Historical-comparative Analusis
Current debates in the sociology of punishment turn around the confrontation between “cultural” vs. “structural” explanations. In previous studies, I claimed that the high imprisonment rates in the U.S. in this century vis a vis the lower ones in Europe and particularly in Italy, may be accounted for by the different cultural traditions of the two countries, shaped by Catholicism in the Italian case and radical Protestantism in the U.S. case. However, in the second half of the nineteenthcentury, Italian imprisonment rates were much higher than in the following century, sometimes higher than the U.S. ones in the same periods. In this paper, I therefore submit that notions of penality and practices of imprisonment should be regarded as marking the boundaries of “the social contract” in a given socio-historical formation. Prisons are the “gateways” through which a variety of “newcomers” are processed in order to be incorporated into the social contract. If this is the case, imprisonment rates should be directly correlated to processes of im-migration and inversely correlated to processes of e-migration. I test the hypothesis with reference to Italian rates of imprisonment from 1880 onward, and proceed then to derive more general consequences for the debate about historical-comparative analyses of punishment.
Gender anThe period in which young people move from childhood to adulthood is a critical one in their development and often a criminogenic one. In 1992 a Spanish representative sample of 2,100 youths aged 14 to 21 responded to the Questionnaire for the I
The period in which young people move from childhood to adulthood is a critical one in their development and often a criminogenic one. In 1992 a Spanish representative sample of 2,100 youths aged 14 to 21 responded to the Questionnaire for the International Study on Self-Report Delinquency (ISRD). The findings show that rates of participation and incidence varies with gender with males more actively engaged in delinquency and antisocial behavior compared to females. The Spanish results also indicate that males and females differ on other social variables which usually correlate with delinquency such as parental supervision or school-related factors. This paper will look at gender socialization and delinquency comparing the Spanish data to two other European but non-Mediterranean samples from the same ISRD: England and Wales and the Netherlands.
Gender Differences in Juvenile Arrestees Substance Abuse Problems and Treatment Utilization
Examined gender differences in substance use dependency, need for drug and/or alcohol treatment, and treatment utilization in a sample of juvenile arrestees, ages 9-18. The sample (n=3,179 boys; n=3,198 girls), drawn from the Juvenile Drug Use Forecasting Survey, was matched by gender within seven sites across the United States that included girls in survey years, 1992-96. Lifetime substance use dependency and need for treatment were assessed by self-report for marijuana, crack/cocaine, amphetamines, heroin, and alcohol. Dependency on at least one substance was higher in girls than in boys (12.3% girls, 10.1% boys, Xz=10.99, p
General Strain Theory: An Exploration of Family and Gender Issues
Past research examining the relationship between strain and delinquency has provided a degree of support for Agnew’s General Strain Theory (GST). Few researchers, however, have explored the interplay between GST variables with variables from other delinquency theories, such as social control and differential association. This research elaborates on the GST model by incorporating variables drawn from other theories. In addition, we examine the possibility that the theory has different implications for males and females. The present study uses data from the Australian Sibling Study comprising 1125 male and female adolescents. The analysis includes measures of strain such as negative relations and neighbourhood problems and other variables such as social attachments, involvement with delinquent peers, self control, social class and anger. By utilising the male-female sibling pairs included in these data, we also examine gender differences in strain theory controlling for the family context.
General Strain Theory and Juvenile Crime: Test of the Cumulative Impact of Strain on Severity of Criminal Behavior
Using General Strain Theory (GST) this research analyzes data gathered about juveniles committed to the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) during 1992 and 1993 and attempts to increase our understanding of the interrelated social and environmental factors which contribute to the problem of juvenile delinquency. Building on the revised strain theory of Agnew (1992, 1994) and others (Agnew and White 1992; Messner and Rosenfeld 1994; and Paternoster and Mazzerolle 1994) this research differs by utilizing official statistics in an attempt to better understand severity and type of juvenile criminal and delinquent behaviors. Instead of a focus on delinquency vs. non-delinquency the focus is on those already considered delinquent and trying to explain the severity of behaviors through both family and neighborhood characteristics. Family characteristics will include marital disruption, employment, and economic assistance while census data will be used to characterize the neighborhood by tract on poverty, income, female headed households and others. Crime as a dependent variable comes from official records of offenses for which a juvenile has been adjudicated and scaled from minor to serious offense. Findings are expected to show a positive association between negative family and neighborhood circumstances on the severity of criminal/delinquent behaviors.
General Strain Theory and Race
(GST) General Strain Theory (Agnew, 1992) broadens traditional strain theories by focusing on adolescents’ negative relationships with others. Negative affective states may have the potential to arouse delinquent tendencies in adolescents. This article tests only strain measures of GST. Although measures of differential association and social control are part of the overall analysis of predicting delinquency, these two measures were not examined in the current study because they do not adhere to the major assumptions of GST and therefore do not accurately measure strain. Survey data were used to detect if group differences exist between African American and white youth on components of GST. It is argued that African American youth experience more strain than white youth. If this is true it is hypotheized that: (1) African American youth experience relationships with more negative affect than white youth and (2) there will be more delinquency as a coping mechanism to strain among African American youth.
General Theories: How Broad Can They Be?
A general theory on deviance, such as self-control theory (Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1990) or control balance theory (Tittle, 1995), describes how common causes will lead to a variety of common negative outcomes. Theories on deviance obviously have deviance as an important outcome variable. The question addressed in this paper is whether there are other types of outcomes which are predicted by the theories mentioned above. For example, do academic success, accidents and/or do health problems belong to the set of negative outcomes? An important question is whether there is some empirical support for this broad and global approach of negative outcome as belonging to one single dimension. This study will take a look at the relationships between deviance, risk-behaviors and investigate possible common causes.
Genetic and Environmental Influences on Adolescent Antisocial Behavior: Moderating Effects of Time Together
The present study used a behavioral genetic design to investigate how siblings influence adolescent antisocial behavior. Data arc from same-sex siblings in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Two measures of antisocial behavior were used delinquency and aggression. A time together variable was created using sibling reports of how much time they spent with one another and with the same group of friends. : Siblings who spent more time together were more alike in delinquent, but not aggressive behavior. The heritability of aggression was .20, and the heritability of delinquency was IS. Shared environmental influences accounted for an additional 18 % and 24% of the variation in aggression and delinquency, respectively. Although time together did not moderate the shared environmental influence on either behavior, time together did moderate the heritability of delinquent behavior. The heritability of delinquent behavior was .34 among adolescents who spent more time together, but genetic influences were not significant among siblings who spent less time together. Shared environmental, influences in both groups were .21. These results suggest that adolescents may choose their peer groups partly on the basis of genetically-influenced characteristics, and that similarity in peer groups may enhance the genetic influences on delinquent, but not aggressive behavior.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the Measurement of Crime in Public Housing
Although virtually all local police departments generate crime statistics, very few routinely produce such statistics with respect to the public housing communities in their midst. Official police statistics usually are keyed to large geographic areas such as precincts or districts, not small parcels like most public housing developments. HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) recognized the potential of geographic information systems (GIS) for crime mapping public housing development. In the Fall of 1997, HUD launched a study to test the feasibility of GIS crime mapping for public housing. Research Triangle Institute (RTI) served as the project contractor. The study was based on the creation of crime data-sharing partnerships between housing authorities and municipal police departments in three urban jurisdictions. Lessons learned from the HUD Study along with some information on actual levels of crime in public housing will be presented.
Get the Lead Out: Specifying the Link Between Lead Exposure and Crime
The purpose of this work is to extend the examination between lead levels and crime rates to include the role of corporate and state crime. Such an analysis requires an integration of criminological, medical and environmental justice literature. To accomplish this task, we review some of the medical evidence that explores the connection between lead exposure and a variety of adverse health consequences including cognitive dysfunction and behavioral disorders. Next, for all counties in the United States, we examine the bivariate association between levels of lead present in the air and street crime rates. The data used to examine this connection were obtained from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Our results indicate that lead levels are related to the street crime rate. However, it is was also discovered that the number of polluting facilities in a county are positively related to air lead levels. This finding calls for an extended analysis concerning the connection between lead and crime. Specifically, our analysis suggests that further attention be paid to the ways in which the corporations, under the state’s supervision, create public harm through the release of lead into the environment.
Getting Women Into Treatment in Philadelphia’s Criminal Justice Treatment Network: Analysis of Implementation and Preliminary Impact
In 1996, the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, in collaboration with the Department of Public Health, and funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, began planning and implementation of a program to address the needs of substance abusing women entering the criminal justice system. The objective of the program was to provide a “seamless” network of treatment and supportive services tailored specifically to the problems of women, a need not previously addressed by the justice system. The goals of the effort were to: 1) reduce substance abuse in this population; 2) reduce reinvolvement with the justice system; 3), increase the social functioning of these women; and 4) improve the lives of not only the women themselves, but of their families. This paper looks at the planning and early stages of implementation of this collaborative effort to improve services for the target population It examines how effectively the Network has identified and enrolled its target population, and the impact of Network participation on a cohort of women one year after entry, compared to a control group. Outcome measures include degree of access to treatment and ancillary services, as well as levels of substance abuse, criminal recidivism and social functioning.
Globalization and the Future of Crime
Most visions of the future of crime and social control are indebted to ideal types spelled out in literary fiction by Aldous Huxley and George Orwell and, correspondingly, in social philosophy by Herbert Marcuse and Michel Foucault. The basic idea is that an ever more efficient manipulation by industrial capitalism and an ever stronger state will produce a “one-dimensional man” (Marcuse), a “maximum security society” (Gary Marx) or even a plain “carceral” (Foucault). Global demographic, economic and political processes are making these past visions of the future of crime and social control obsolete. Lower living standards and immigration cause social tensions and, consequently, punitive attitudes. Crime increases and is increasingly defined as such. At the same time, globalization undermines the states’ means of preventive control – be it through welfare redistribution and/or panoptical supervision – and leads to a renaissance of selective repression. Both the optimistic vision of a gradual abolition of criminal law in favor of civil restitution and the usual pessimistic one featuring the police state and the perfectly manipulated and/or controlled citizen are thus rapidly becoming implausible. Present trends already announce a very different future.
Globalization of Criminological Knowledge? Or Hegemony of Criminological Failures?
This paper seeks to raise important critical questions concerning unexamined assumptions and facts surrounding the much trumpeted “globalization” of knowledge (including criminological), and raises issues about whether this is better conceived as the hegemonization of failed North/Western especially American criminology and crime policies. A cursory review of internet/web data will reveal how centred it is in the major dominions of the former British/English empire, Western Europe, and especially the United States. This primary technological form of contemporary communication and knowledge shapes its content: English/American communication dominates 75% of the web usage, and almost all the internet programs are developed in the United States. While touted as a great vehicle for education and cultural exchange, the more than 80% of the world’s under=15’s who live in Latin America, Africa and (non Japanese) Asia have access to only some 3% of the world’s computers! The generation and distribution of criminology knowledge content will follow this form of distribution: it will utilize North/Western concepts, concerns, policies, methods of globalizing technologies threaten such possibilities, and threaten to impose North/Western failed criminologies on the rest of the globe. While this global hegemony might be argued to have some positive aspects given American success in physical sciences, technology, industrialization, commerce, etc., it is highly questionable that the American experiences of crime, criminal justice, and criminology are advisable for the rest of the world to emulate! (These relationships between its economic dynasim and its criminality might be more seriously examinated!) America is widely recognized as having a “serious crime problem” (by whatever measures) compared with other industrialized countries, and its criminal justice policies (indicated by record-high incarceration rates) make it a society others should AVOID emulating! Indeed, many criminologists are beginning to ask whether we shouldn’t be learning from non-North/Western models of dealing with crime, deviance, etc.
Good Kids in Bad Circumstances: A Longitudinal Analysis of Resilient Youth
A central concern of the life-course perspective has been to demarcate the factors–often called “risk factors”–that place an individual at risk for criminal activity at various points of development. This perspective, however, has resulted in only limited investigation of the factors–often called “protective factors”–that prevent an individual from becoming involved in these problem behaviors. It is noteworthy that researchers have infrequently investigated the effects that protective factors have on high-risk youths (e.g., individuals exposed to multiple crimiunolgenic risks as opposed to an isolated risk). This research, commonly referred to resiliency research, has generally found that protective factors emerging over the life course from many different domains play an integral role in insulating or buffering youths from the effects of multiple risk factors. The existing research on resiliency, however, has been limited by one or more considerations: the use of crodss-sectional research designs; approaching research hypotheses in an atheoretical manner; relying on small samples that are not nationally representative; and generally focusing on a narrow period of the life course. In the present paper, using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we examine the effects thar protective factors have on resilient youths over the life course. Implications of the results and future directions are discussed.
Growth of Youth Gangs in Small Towns and Rural Areas: An Analysis of the 1996 NYGS
This paper extends earlier research on the development, distribution, and characteristics of youth gangs beyond their traditional locations in metropolitan centers in the U.S. using data from the 1996 National Youth Gang Survey. The 1996 NYGS data are much more widely representative of U. S. communities of all sizes and contain more detailed information about gangs and gangrelated problems than prior surveys. Supplementing the NYGS data with information from county-level Census Bureau data and from phone interviews with police agencies in rural/small town locations, the paper: (a) analyzes the distinctive characteristics of youth gangs in smaller communities (in contrast with those in larger urban centers); (b) examines the characteristics of non-urban communities where youth gangs have been most active or problematic; (c) assesses the typical patterns by which youth gangs have appeared and operated in smaller communities; and (d) evaluates the validity of recent urban migration models of rural/small-town gang development.
Gun Control in Canada: Explaining Public Attitudes Concerning Legislative Change
Gun control was the subject of increased public attention and debate in Canada in the 1990s as more restrictive legislation was passed by Parliament. Although there was a good deal of public support for these increased restrictions, there was all vocal opposition in some segments of the population. However, there has been little research directed at explaining variation in the public’s attitudes toward gun control. The present research is part of a pilot study of public attitudes toward crime control which explores several explanation perspectives. Data from a telephone survey of adult residents a the Province of Alberta will be used to test hypotheses concerning instrumental arid cultural explanations of support is gun control. These hypotheses will he tested with controls to social and demographic characteristics of the respondents. Potential interactions between these characteristics and the instrumental and cultural variables will also be explored.
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Handling the Pan: A Typology of Newark Panhandlers
Current social science literature generally refers to panhandling only in passing, describing the act simply as the means to an end. In these accounts, little mention is made of how the panhandler actually operates. Through the use of field observations and subject interviews, this paper examines the different strategies that panhandlers employ when approaching potential donors. Subjects are classified on the basis of such factors as aggressiveness of approach, use of “sales pitch,” and target selection criteria. Areas for further study are discussed.
Hanging Out With the Gang: Routine Activities, Gang Membership, and Problem Behavior
Ethnographic studies of gangs make clear that “hanging out” is a dominant and universal characteristic of gang life. Gang members spend enormous amounts of time with fellow members in unsupervised public gathering places, doing nothing in particular. Osgood et al.’s opportunity based theory of individual deviance asserts that situations conducive to deviance are especially prevalent during this type of activity. Using data gathered as part of the G.R.E.A.T. program evaluation, this paper finds support for hypotheses 1) that gang members spend more time “hanging out” than non-gang members; 2) that time spent in unstructured socializing contributes to the higher rate of delinquency and drug use among gang members and; 3) youths who spend more time in unstructured socializing are considerably more likely to join a gang in the future.
Hate Crime Laws: Are They Really Needed?
With the recent addition of hate crime legislation in the United States, are we to assume that they are having any effect? There is still some debate as to whether hate crime laws are even needed in this country. We already have laws on the books making any act from threatening to murder a crime. Do the addition of extra laws with stiffer penalties have any deterrent effect on whether people will commit a crime based on hate? This is an especially volatile issue at present with the two recent killings of gay men and the dragging death of a black man. We continually hear both sides debating the merits of hate crime laws. This paper will attempt to examine the history of hate crime legislation and the impact, if any, it has had. It will also examine the theoretical links between threat of more severe punishment and the commission of crime. The paper will include an analysis of the dates and locations that hate crime laws went into effect, as well as the numbers of crimes in those areas reported as hate crimes. It will also examine the problems with documenting hate crimes and issues of reporting. The hope is to empirically test whether hate crime laws are having any deterrent effect and, if so, how those effects can be measured.
Healthcare Within the Federal Bureau of Prisons
Today, the FBOP operates a symbolic medical care system. Many federal prisoners who lived in third world or American poverty before entering prison had suffered medical neglect. Some prisoners engaged in hazardous life styles before entering the prison system. In both medical and non-medical prison facilities, FBOP provided medical care is limited. Upon entering the FBOP, many inmates were in poor health. In response, prisoners have developed guerrilla healthcare as a means of self -survival. The author observed three primary strategies of guerrilla healthcare; the walker, the weight lifter, and the health nut. As the federal prison system grows, over crowding and greying of the prisoner population creates new problems. Overcrowding is driven by new commitments, longer sentences, and no parole. The result is a greying of the prison population and a growing number of medical prisoners. In general, with age, the cost of medical care increases. What are the alternatives? How might home incarceration increase the quality of health care provided prisoners, and at the same time reduce the financial impact upon the FBOP? What is the role of compassionate release?
Hedonism Versus Health?: Implications of Recreational Dance Drug Use in British Night Clubs
This paper describes the first comprehensive, inter-disciplinary exploration of dance drug use in Britain. Literally millions of the young and not-so-young fill the floors of night clubs, dance clubs and ‘raves’ each weekend. Most drink alcohol, most take stimulant drugs, and many do both. What are the gains and losses of such psycho-active nights out? Is it hedonism versus health? Is it well calculated risk taking by a drugwise generation who manage their intake of amphetamines and alcohol, ecstasy and cocaine successfully, or is it dangerous illegal excess with physical and psychological costs? This unique social and medical investigation included surveys with over 2000 club goers, follow-on in-depth interviews, intoxication tests and urine samples with 350, and comprehensive health and psychological checks with a subsample of over 50. We will present in this paper some of the health and social implications of this ‘public space’ recreational drug use. In particular, we will describe the drugs taken on a typical night out, including place and order of consumption and quantities consumed. We will also describe the drug-related and non-drug related safety and health consequences for club goers.
Heroin Use in the 1990s: Changing Patterns and Trends in the United States
Most available epidemiologic data from the Northeastern Urban sectors of the United States indicate the re-emergence of heroin as a significant drug of abuse. The heroin an the streets in the 1990s has been characterized as some of the most potent in modern times. Further, it has also been recognized in many cities as highly available, easy to acquire, and relatively inexpensive, based on its purity levels. With the increased purity of heroin has come a drastic change in the typical route of administration of utilizing the drug. Many large cities have reported a significant movement away from injection use and an increase in the reporting of intranasal use. This paper reviews the current Community Epidemiology Work Group (CEWG) based epidemiological data and research on heroin use in the United States, examines the shift towards intranasal use, emergent “nontraditional” user subgroups, and discusses the pattern of co-occurrent heroin and cocaine abuse. A profile of changing patterns of heroin use in Philadelphia is also presented. This includes: admissions data from a VA based Methadone Clinic looking at route of administration shifts; and ethnographic data collected through participant observation of a Methadone Maintenance based self-help group, and from two needle exchange sites in heavy drug use areas in Philadelphia. These issues regarding shifting patterns of use, routes of administration, and new user groups are of particular importance because of their implications in understanding changes in HIV transmission, use of alcohol and other drugs, and ascertaining the etiologies, natural addiction histories, and treatment trajectories of emergent user groups.
High School Students Who Work Part-Time Jobs: The Effects on Academic Performance and Delinquency
The current study analyzed data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey of 1988 to investigate the effects of working as a high school student on standardized test scores, school attendance, the likelihood of attending a post-secondary school, alcohol and marijuana use, and being arrested. A variety of controls were introduced, such as socioeconomic status, extracurricular involvement, parental school involvement, peer associations, past test performance, and past cigarette smoking. Recent studies have found that as the number of hours worked by adolescents increases, delinquent behavior is more common and school performance declines. The current study found a more complex relationship and challenges the notion that working part-time while in high school has straightforward, cumulative negative effects on similar outcomes. It was found that students who work up to 10 hours pwer week consistently outperformed non-workers in nearly all outcome areas. Students working 11 to 20 hours per week had a similar pattern of results. In general, negative effects only were found among students who worked more than 20 hours per week. The importance of this nuance in the relationship betewen working during high school is discussed.
HIV Transmission in Prison and Correctional Policy
Unfortunately, the relationship between research and public policy is not always evident. One area in which this is especially true is that of HIV transmission in the correctional setting; however, the reason this relationship is not evident is somewhat unique. Oftentimes policy makers choose to ignore research in favor of bureaucratic convenience, political or economic self-interest, or ideological contradiction; but, in the case of correctional policy regarding HIV transmission, policy makers have not been furnished with reliable research on which to base policy. The shortcomings of existing research are due to the complexity of the HIV virus and the controversy surrounding HIV and AIDS. Researchers have had to compromise reliable research techniques for convenient alternatives, and the result has been a limited body of research characterized by unreliable findings. The present author will present a backward looking longitudinal research design that will use existing data to arrive at a reliable HIV transmission rate estimate for a sample of Florida prison inmates. Once the research design is described, the findings will be presented and interpreted. Researchers assume there is a relationship between HIV transmission and prison; however, there is virtually no reliable research on which to base this assumption. Reliable research assessing the relative risk of prison inmates is needed to provide a foundation on which to base policies aimed at reducing or preventing risk in the correctional setting. This research is intended to bolster the connection between research and correctional policy regarding HIV/AIDS in the correctional setting.
Home Ownership and Crime: What is the Relationship?
An examination of the relationship between the percent of homeowners in a city or neighborhood and selected crime rates. The study considers the 100 largest U.S. cities in the periods 1970-80 and 1980-90. Also included is an analysis of the crimerelationship across neighborhoods in Norfolk, Virginia for the period, 1980-1990. The study examines the effect of per capita income on the relationship. A two wave cross-lag procedure is used to analyze the relationship.
How the State Constructs and Abets Child Neglect
Narratives of mothers accused of neglect explore how state workers construct neglect cases. The legal and social processes that label poor, ethnic and racial minorities as unfit will be analyzed utilizing court narratives and interviews with key court personnel. It is the author’s contention that state workers socially reproduce the power relations of class, gender and race in their creation of a child neglect case.
How to Teach About Crime, Law and Justice Through Web Technology
This panel will be a demonstrationa nd discussion of our first hand experiences in developing web-based instructional products which we currently use to support traditional classrrom instruction, enhance student advisement, and to deliver distance education courses via the web. The co-chairs will each demonstrate a web-based product and then discuss the processes that were used to develop them. This session will be an opportunity for those who have yet to use the web for instructional purposes to learn more about how it can be accomplished, and to explore the possibilities of the pedagogical uses of technologies. In addition, there will be an opportunity for those already teaching on the web to exchange ideas and experiences.
Hustling for Money: The Experiences of Male Prostitutes
This paper presents preliminary findings from a series of interviews with male prostitutes (primarily out-call/in-call escorts, primarily from the west and east coasts of the United States). The paper reports and analyzes respondents’ views about law and the criminal justice system; views of prostitution as work, source of identity, pastime, or other; experiences of violence or stigma resulting from the work; and safer sex practices and attitudes, both on the job and off. The paper concludes with some comparisons of male and female prostitutes, with a view toward developing a more nuanced understanding of the social significance of prostitution as well as a fuller understanding of its (in)significance for “deviant” members of our society.
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I Fight the Law–White Collar Crime and Criminalization
We do have a considerable amount of analyses on the role of the actors of the criminal justice system (police, prosecutors, judges) in creating injustice and on the socio-economical, political and structural reasons on why the “rich get richer and the poor get prison”. However, I find that it is relevant to look also at how law itself as an actor of its own , or at least as a tool, plays a part in creating social injustice. The political, structural and socio-economical tensions can be found in the law, and they are beautifully present in investigation, at the point where the police try to construct a case of an act definable as a white collar crime. The legal definition of crime is usually criticized or abandoned by criminologists (for reasons we all know). However, if one tries to understand, why the control of white collar crime is so difficult and unsuccessful, it is absolutely relevant to look at also the legal processes which lead to the production of inequalities. The legal criminalizations, after all, are the basic points of reference for the criminal justice system to react. Furthermore, law is not apart from society; it (including criminalizations) is one of the elements that constitutes reality. It has a great influence on how we see the world. One should not overestimate the role of law, but nor should one underestimate it’s power.
Identifying and Describing Core Areas of Gang Activity
This research begin by identifying core areas of gang activity in Chicago from 1993 thru 1996 using a new geographic methodology based upon policing records analyzed using a very fine grid. Core areas are identified for the 5 most active gangs and compared to STAC hot spot areas. The physical and social characteristics of each of these cores is then described using census data, official records, police reports, and photographs. These identified core areas will then be used to predict criminal incidents in 1997.
Identifying Children Who Are High Risk to Deviance
A study was conducted to identify and track elementary school-age children who were identified as high risk, to deviance. The subjects were students in grades 3 through 5 in public schools in the mid-Michigan area- They were identified. as high risk through interviews with teachers in the schools, others by juvenile court records. A skills survey instrument along with personal interviews of teachers and individuals from other behavior control institutions in the community, including police, courts, and church groups. Initial results indicate -a relationship between the child.’s perception of competence and both appropriate and social behavior as well as school success.
Identifying Crime ‘Hot Spots’: An Evaluation of Alternative Approaches Using GIS
This paper examines alternative methods for identifying crime ‘Hot Spots’ using GIS and discusses the feasibility of integrating them into a single software application. The research draws upon a number of geographically referenced data sets which are being analysed as part of the evaluation of the Safer Merseyside Partnership: a nine year crime prevention initiative in north west England. These include all calls for service to Merseyside Police since January 1992 (over 4 million records), disaggregate data on recorded crime and offenders (some geo-referenced to an accuracy of 1 metre) together with census data, residential area classifications (geodemographics), priority area boundaries, the street network, major bus routes and non residential properties. Geographical information systems are being used in conjunction with techniques for identifying spatial and temporal patterns in disaggregate crime data (‘hot spot searching) and software for generating demographic, land use and crime risk profiles for areas of high crime. Considerable progress has been made towards the integration of these techniques into a single software package so that they may be applied interactively by researchers and evaluators to select areas used to search for clusters and to define and redefine crime ‘hot spots’ using information about the characteristics of each incident (e.g. the date, time, crime type, etc.). Enhancements to the way in which high crime areas are identified environmental risk factors have also been pursued alongside iterative searching techniques for defining crime clusters. The development of this range of analytical tools for exploring crime patterns is a good example of how collaboration between academics and practitioners can deliver benefits to both.
Ideology and Dangerousness: The Case of Lisa Colleen Neve
On November 17, 1994, a superior court judge in Alberta declared that Lisa Neve was a dangerous offender and sentenced her to serve an indeterminate term (i.e., life imprisonment). A young aboriginal prostitute, she had been in and out of psychiatric institutions and jails since a teenager; and was before the court for sentence on a robbery and assault with a weapon charge. At present, she is the only female dangerous offender in Canada, and her case has sparked the interest of numerous organizations. Indeed, a coalition of women’s rights groups attempted to intervene in her pending appeal, only to be denied standing. Using a case study approach, this particular paper will explore the issues of class conflict, racism, sexism, and sociology of psychiatric diagnosis. in addition, the whole notion of dangerousness as currently interpreted in the Canadian Criminal Code (Sect. 752) will be addressed, both with respect to society as a whole and the class of offenders it designates as dangerous.
Ideology and Discursive Constructions of Crime and Race
The objective of my research is to bring to light discursive constructions of racial issues in criminal justice and how discriminatory practices are transmitted through them. In addition, my research focuses on how the unconcious mind, the interplay of the imaginary and symbolic orders, and speech production play a major role in ideology. Ideology will be seen as encompasing relatively stabilized discursive constructions of reality, These ideologies are perpetuated predominantly through the media, scientific hypotheses passed on as empirical facts, and dominant segments of society. In turn, this circular feedback loop reinforces negative stereotypes- My research is based on the application of Lacan’s work to Katheryn Russell’s book The Color of Crime (1998). 1 will show how Russell’s ideas can be refined with Lacan’s insights. The results will show the importance of the decentered subject and the role the imaginary and symbolic orders play in ideology, and the perpetuation of discursively constructed discriminatory practices.
Image, Realization and World View: Incorporating the Principles of Environmental Criminology Into the Architectural Design Process
Crime and safety are increasingly becoming part of the stated criteria for the design or (re)design of urban areas. For this to be effective there needs to be a good exchange of information between criminologists and architects. This paper presents the architects “way of seeing” crime and safety. For architects much of the idea of designing safer places goes back to the work of Oscar Newman in the 1970’s. A vast amount of criminological research and information since Newman, especially in the field of environmental criminology, is unknown or not understood by architects. This paper explores why knowledge transfer has been difficult and suggests approaches that could be used to improve the exchange of knowledge between architects and criminologists. It does this by describing the architectural design process and indicating the types of knowledge more easily understood by architects. The paper includes a focus on how architects design, that is, how they accumulate information, form images, and develop social statements. These mental constructs set limits on what type of information is understood and what is easily dismissed. Examples of alternative ways of knowledge transfer are included in the paper.
Image and Action: Narco-Corridos and the Narcotraficante Image on the U.S.-Mexico Border
This paper discusses ongoing ethnographic/qualitative research investigating how culturally specific media on the U.S.-Mexico border (El Paso, Texas/Juarez, Mexico), in combination with social conditions, have shaped the creation of a cultural persona — the narcotraficante (drug trafficker). The focus is on the way in which the narcotraficante persona is constructed, disseminated, and (potentially) incorporated in behavior through the medium of the narcocorrido, a recent and mass-marketed variation of a traditional border song form called the corrido, which was typically used to memorialize the exploits of heroes. The paper draws preliminary- conclusions about the narcotraficante image as a “packed symbol,” and about its link to risk behavior (violence, drug use), particularly since the narco-corridor characterize narcotraficantes as folk heroes in many cases- The traficante irnabe in narco-corridor is viewed as similar to the way other “outlaw” characters or popular personas are constructed and understood in analogous situations of long-standing poverty, such as in urban centers elsewhere in the U.S. For this reason, it is hoped that research results will contribute to a better understanding of how to focus and frame prevention efforts surrounding drug use, violence, and other related issues. The research is supported in part by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.
Images of Disrepute: The Depiction of Race and Crime in the Toronto Print Media
Both scholars and community activists have long argued that black people of Caribbean descent are almost exclusively presented by the Canadian media in the context of crime and social deprivation. This paper explores this hypothesis by presenting data from a content analysis of more than 11,000 stories appearing in Toronto-area newspapers over a four month period in 1997/98. A quantitative analysis reveals that approximately 90% of the stories involving black people deal with either crime, sports or entertainment. Black people are especially likely to be affiliated with crimes of street violence and drug trafficking. Furthermore, crimes involving white victims receive much more coverage — in terms of story area, headline size and front page exposure — than crimes that involve black victims. A qualitative analysis also reveals important differences in the narratives that involve black crime. While stories involving white offenders usually focus on individual pathology (i.e., family background, psychological problems, etc.), black crimes are often attributed to problems within the black community or aspects of Caribbean culture. The paper concludes with a discussion of how such media depictions shape attitudes towards the black community in Canada and how these attitudes contribute to discrimination with respect to immigration and deportation practices, employment and treatment within the criminal justice system. I
Impact of a Family Empowerment Intervention on Youth Recidivism: A Final Assessment
We report the results of an expanded, final analysis of the impact of a Family Empowerment Intervention on recidivism among youths processed at the Hillsborough County Juvenile Assessment Center. The impact of this innovative intervention, a five year clinical trial funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is examined in regard to the youths’ subsequent rates of arrests for violent felonies, property felonies, drug felonies, violent misdemeanors, property misdemeanors, drug misdemeanors and public disorder misdemeanors – and arrests on any of these charges, controlling for their time at risk.
Impact of Reintegration TAs on Release Outcome
Temporary absences (TAs) (i.e., furloughs) provide opportunities for inmates to participate in activities outside of prison for short periods of time and should assist in the gradual reintegration process. TAs may be escorted (ETA) or unescorted (UTA) and may serve reintegration purposes (eg. family contact, community service, etc.) or be for functional reasons (eg. medical, court appearances, etc.) To evaluate the overall effect of TA participation on outcome after release, groups of offenders who had TA experience (study groups) were compared to groups who had no TA experience (comparison groups). Groups matched on 11 variables were studied to determine the effect of TA participation on outcome on day parole, full parole and statutory release. Results suggest that offenders receiving reintegration TAs had better outcome within a one year followup period than offenders who had not received these TAs while non-reintegration TAs had a limited effect on outcome. Reintegration UTAs appeared to be the most beneficial to offenders in reducing recidivism. In addition, differential outcomes were observed for low and high risk offenders on different types of releases. The results support the need for gradual release programs in order to ensure offenders are prepared for full release to the community.
Impact of Residential and Non-Residential Drug Treatment: An Examination of Florida Probation Outcomes
This paper presents the results of an analysis of drug treatment and recidivism for nearly 140,000 `drug-involved’ individuals sentenced to probation in Florida between July 1, 1991 and June 30, 1995. Of these 139,942 subjects, 41,139 were assigned to some type of residential or non-residential drug treatment. Recidivism was defined as the occurrence of any of the following events within two years of the admission to probation on the current sentence: Revocation of current probation sentence, return to prison with or without revocation, addition to the current probation sentence but without revocation, and a new sentence to prison or probation after successful completion of the current sentence. The results suggest that Florida was successful in channeling more serious offenders to their residential programs, as had been required by statute. Further, both the residential and non-residential treatment programs were effective in reducing the recidivism of these probationers. Non-residential treatment appears to reduce recidivism by about 16 percent over what would have been expected in the absence of the treatment programs. Residential treatment effects were estimated to be smaller but still meaningful-about a 7 percent reduction over expected.
Impact of Skewness in Personal Crime and Arrest Rates on Deterrence and Incapacitation
It is well known that personal crime rates are skewed in that a minority of criminals commit most crime. However, estimates of the extent of skewness differ greatly. Little is known about differences in criminals’ individual arrest rates, i.e., their ability to evade arrest for crimes committed. The paper will compile evidence concerning the extent of skewness in these two variables and the correlations between them. It will argue that these are extremely important for deterrence and incapacitation theory and research. Criminology presently operates under the assumption that the skewnesses and correlations are at the low end of the possible range. If instead they are at the high end, current deterrence and incapacitation theory, as well as criminology in general, should be refocused.
Impacts of VOITIS on Privatization and Correctional Management
This project, a recently-funded supplement to RAND’s national evaluation of the Violent Offender and Truth-in-Sentencing (VOI/TIS) state grants, examines adaptations in management made by correctional agencies in response to VOI/TIS. Using a multi-tiered research design, this study examines the extent to which VOI/TIS has impacted the use of private facilities to house offenders, the types of offenders, programs, or services that fall within private corrections, and the experience of private corrections in terms of inmate and officer safety, infractions, accountability, and costs. We also seek to learn what other management changes are required in correctional agencies to deal with the increase in the numbers of violent offenders being incarcerated, what additional safety training and procedures are necessary to deal with the increase in violent offenders, and how the increase in violent offenders, many of whom are serving very long terms, affects programming, health care, and safety procedures in correctional facilities.
Implementation and Impact of Violent Offender and Truth-in-Sentencing Legislation: How Localities Respond to the Challenge
There is significant variation across states in the definition of “Get Tough” legislation. There is further variation iii the actual interpretation, implementation and impact of these laws at the county level. Using quantitative, qualitative, and archival analyses, this study explores these, and other issues surrounding the implementation and impact of this legislation in six counties selected from three states each with a different sentencing structure and form of “Get Tough” legislation. Specific issues addressed include: The role of counties in the chatting and passage of “Get Tough” legislation. County level changes in prosecutorial, defense, judicial, jail and probation policies and practices. Legislative impact upon the number and characteristics of offenders under local community control. The method by, and extent to which, county criminal justice administrators affected the laws’ implementation and impact at the local level. Apparent costs and benefits of “Get Tough” reforms at the local level. Findings are discussed in light of theoretical expectations, differences across study sites, and factors affecting reform implementation and impact.
Implementation Issues in the Strengthening Families Program
The Strengthening Families Program targets youths aged 7 to 11 who are at-risk for developing problem behavior. Both the children and their parents receive 14 sessions of both individual and family training to enhance skills in communication, discipline, resisting peer pressure, drug knowledge, and other areas. NIDA is currently sponsoring a randomized test of the effectiveness of the Strengthening Families Program in the Washington, DC area. More than 800 families will participate in the research project over a five-year period. The design of the project allowed families of at-risk children to be randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions: minimal treatment, parent-only treatment, child-only treatment, and family treatment. Several other aspects of the research design were built into the original NIDA proposal to guard against threats to study rigor and validity. Since the beginning of the project in the summer of 1998, there have been many concerns and problems regarding the implementation of the research program. Recruitment of families has been especially difficult, mainly due to the randomization into treatment conditions. This fact was compounded by other programs currently being offered in the area which did not involve randomization. Many families were also turned off by the notion that their child was “at-risk”, and still others by the extensive testing instruments used by the research team. Training and retention of program providers also proved to be a difficult part of the implementation process. The participant compensation and transportation were also concerns during the initial phases of the project. This presentation will cover these implementation issues which arose in the SFP program, and the steps which were taken to address them.
Implementation of a Risk/Need Assessment Tool (LSI-OR) Throughout a Provincial Correctional Agency
This paper addresses issues arising from the implementation of a common risk/need assessment instrument (LSI-OR) throughout a provincial correctional agency. The process of revising the instrument entailed and updated literature review, data analysis, corporate endorsement, field level consultation, pilot testing and staff training. The resulting tool consists of fewer items (43) that are grouped into eight subscales and a ‘specific risk/need’ section that concentrates on violence-related items. It also provides an opportunity to endorse strengths, non-criminogenic needs, responsivity issues and a clinical override. A system-wide database was established to monitor its usage (compliance) and to collect ministry norms. Since its introduction in 1996, more than 150.000 assessments have been completed and recorded on the system. This has permitted an opportunity for various kinds of research including a needs analysis of the offender population, a review of judicial sentencing patterns in terms of offender risk/needs and the traditional recidivism study. An electronic version of the LSI-OR has been developed to facilitate administration of the tool, to expedite staff communications for the purposes of case management, to augment data collection (items and qualitative notes) and to conduct quality assurance of more than 1,000 staff who conduct 50,000 assessments per year.
Implementation of International Standards in the Field of Non-Custodial Sanctions
In 1990 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted by consensus the “United Nations Standards Minimum Rules for Non-Custodial Sanctions / Tokyo Rules”. In 1992 the European Council followed with the “European Rules on Community Sanctions and Measures”. Both international instruments are not legally binding but serve as recommendations to the member states. They contain legal safe-guards for offenders remaining in the community but being restricted in the exercise of their rights and liberties with regard to the proportionality of the sanction, the consent of the offender or procedural safeguards. They also contain provision for good practice in the enforcement of the sanctions and stress the role of the community. The direct impact of the instruments on national criminal policy, legislation and practice is low. However, penal law reform projects not only in Eastern but also in Western European countries must be seen In the light of those minimum standards. First results of an European study show particular difficulties in the Eastern European Countries due to infrastructural deficits, e.g. in the probationary service, whereas some Western European Countries consider a greater diversification of their sanction systems by introducing community service programms or electronic supervision schemes to be promising.
Implementation Roadblocks, Costs and Benefits of Early Intervention Strategies
Violent crime remains one of the most compelling issues on the public agenda. Recent neurobiological research indicates that the first few years after birth are particularly important in child development, suggesting that intervening early in the lives of disadvantaged children could avert future problems such as criminal behavior and welfare dependency. In response, RAND investigated whether existing early interventions yield substantial benefits and to what extent they might pay for themselves through future savings to government. Our current follow-on work addresses the spectrum of early interventions intended to reduce violence. In one project, we are describing which violence prevention strategies are actually being funded and implemented; determining what fraction utilize approaches that have been proven effective; and investigating the roadblocks that hinder the adoption of more effective strategies. The objective of this project is to better understand how strategies proven effective in pilot programs can be successfully implemented in a larger public setting. A second project is taking a more in-depth look at the costs and benefits of early intervention. In this presentation, we will briefly summarize past work and its impact on public policy, describe what we have learned about implementation of these interventions, and outline the results of our current economic evaluation of early interventions.
Implementing the “Key-Crest” Model in Maine: Preliminary Findings
The presentation will describe the results of an NIJ-funded process evaluation of the Key prison based therapeutic community (TC) in Maine, which has been funded by the U.S. Department of Justice Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) and developed by the State of Maine Department of Corrections (1v1DOC) and its Office of Substance Abuse (OSA). The Key TC began operations an March 9, 1999 and is yodeled after the successful Key-Crest TC in Delaware. The primary aim of the on-going process evaluation of Key Maine are: 1) To describe how successful the MDOC is in implementing the TC model in a prison-setting (e.g., how consistent TC staff and inmate attitudes are with the TC perspective; whether or not counselors are utilizing the TC methods); 2) To profile the drug use, treatment, and background characteristics-of the inmates who enter the K -y Maine and to compared Key members to a sample of similar inmates who did not receive treatment; and 3) To examine treatment process among clients who enter Key Maine during the first year o? treatment. Preliminary results will include 1) a qualitative description of the of the program based on program-level data collection, site visits and focus group results and 2) detailed profiles the treatment and comparison group members in terms of their demographic and background characteristics, psychological status, motivation and readiness for treatment Data on client progress in treatment will also be presented. T -test, chi square, and Wilcoxon Ranked Signs tests will be used to as: assess statistically significant changes. Most evaluations of prison based treatment initiatives have focused on states with large prison populations (e.g., New York, Texas, sad California). Therefore, little is known about treatment effectiveness in smaller correctional systems . Smaller systems may afford the opportunity for more intimate one-to-one client-staff interactions which would enhance effectiveness or suffer from lack of resources and/or treatment experience which would impede the effective implementation of the TC model.
Improving Tracing Methods in Longitudinal Studies
Longitudinal research designs offer a beneficial understanding of change and process, which is vital to understanding behavioral development. However, in order to gain the benefits offered by longitudinal design, studies must maintain a low level of attrition, Through improved tracing methods of longitudinal study participants, studies can decrease attrition (and thus maintain a high level of participation). This article includes a comparative look at past and present longitudinal tracing strategies, This article also includes effective tracing strategies developed in a longitudinal study of Latino and African American males conducted in a large metropolitan city. Due to the highly mobile nature of the population, adolescent males provide many challenges to maintaining high retention rates in longitudinal studies. This article will explore using ethnographic techniques as a method of tracing inner-city adolescent males. Some ethnographic strategies that are explored include community observation, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews with members of the participant’s community. These strategies used help one gain a fuller understanding of the participant’s environment and daily activities of members in the community, which in some cases might not be captured during data collection. This article will also explore the importance of language, appearance and nonverbal communication when tracing Latino acid African American adolescent subjects in the field.
In it for the Money? Towards an Economic Sociology of Youth Offending
This paper develops an economic sociology of property crime by ‘socially excluded’ young people. It suggests that four factors have combined over time to create a situation in which property crime has come to be understood, by an increasingly large group of young people in the UK, as a rational, instrumental economic activity. The four key parts of the argument are: increasing social exclusion, created both by economic rationalization and as a consequence of government policies towards youth; the wider development of consumer culture; the growth of the ‘hidden economy’; and changes in youth subcultures as adaptations to these three influences. The significance of this argument is that most recent studies of young offenders in the UK, and UK youth crime policies, have pursued the idea that youth offending is rooted in factors such as poor socialization and social deprivation. The idea that young offenders might be involved in property crime for economic benefit has thus been treated as having little theoretical or practical importance. In this context, the paper presents the case for a re-orientation of work on youth crime around economic factors and subcultural understandings of their implications.
In-School Friendship Networks of Delinquent Adolescents
This study examines cross-sectional data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Wave 1, 1995) to estimate the relationship between in-school association with delinquent peers on self-reported problem behavior. Several measures of delinquency and victimization are examined, with particular attention to weapon carrying in school and fighting in school. Data were collected from extensive in-home interviews with students from two large U.S. high schools (grades 9-12). All students enrolled in either school were eligible respondents. Each respondent was asked to nominate 10 friends (5 males, 5 females). To the extent that respondents nominated friends who were also enrolled in their school, the data set includes selfreport data on the attitudes, behavior, and friendship nominations of both members of any friendship dyad. The study is limited by the absence of data on the out-of-school associations of the respondents.
Incapacitation and DWI Recidivism: Towards a New Analytical Framework
Over the past several years the number of alcohol related crashes has been reduced. In spite of this there is still widespread concern about repeat offenders. The incidence DWI recidivism is substantial. For example, of the 1.5 million persons arrested for DWI each year in the US, about one third have a previous DWI conviction. There has been a significant amount of research on preventing repeat offending, but most of this work has focused on deterrence. In this paper I examine the role of incapacitation in preventing DWI recidivism, and particularly how we might apply career criminal models to drunk driving.
Incarcerated Parents: Comparing Men’s and Women’s Responses to Parental Roles, Separation From Children, and Program Needs in Jail
Research has shown that one of the most important issues that faces a majority of incarcerated women is the loss of regular interaction mid active parenting of their children. Much less work has been done to explore the effects on men of their separation from their children and how the incarceration experience of fathers differs from that of mothers. This paper will serve as an exploration into the issue of gender and response to being incarcerated parents, The data for the paper will be drawn from in-depth interviews done with 25 women and 25 men in a local county jail. These interviews are face-to-face, audiotaped, and are between one and two hours in length. The key topics in the interviews are background (both demographic and criminal), response to being separated from the children, adaptations to cope with the difficulties of being separated, and the way they see their parental roles. Responses to the available parental visitation program (TALK) and any programmic needs not being met are also discussed. Analysis will focus on how gender may affect differences in coping and adaptation to Parenthood and how correctional approaches to parents in jail may be impacted by these differences.
Incompetent Prison Doctors: Myth or Reality?
Previous research has questioned the clinical qualifications and professional competence of physicians who work in correctional facilities. This paper examines prison physicians sued for medical malfeasance and malpractice by prison inmates. Physicians subject to suit are categorized by type of suit, medical complaint, plaintiffs injury, and disposition of the litigation. Physicians implicated in inmate litigation are also compared to the 16.63 8 Questionable Doctors Disciplined by State and Federal Governments published by the Health Research Group of Public Citizen to determine if they have had any formal action taken against their medical license. The paper concludes by raising concerns about role conflict among correctional medical personnel and by calling for more systematic research on prison doctors who have had disciplinary action taken against their privilege to practice medicine.
Indian Gaming and PL 280: Federal/State Constitutional Issues in Indian Country
The current controversy over Indian gaming in the US is closely linked to Public Law 280, the congressional act of 1953 which extended outside (state) jurisdiction within Indian country without the consent of any of the tribes targeted for this Intrusion Into their traditional culture, The need for on-reservation gaming In Indian country came as a result of cutbacks made under the Reagan administration’s Interpretation of selfdetermination and US treaty and trust responsibilities as stipulated under the Snyder Act of 1921, Nonetheless, the first federal court case relevant to Indian gaming Involved a PL 280 state, Florida. California Is another PL 280 state which played a significant role In the Indian gaming controversy providing the 1987 US Supreme Court decision leading to Congressional authorization for this practice with passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (PL 100-497). Former Governor Wilson’s Pala compact reflected the extremes of Intervention some states are attempting to Imposing on Indian tribes despite federal/tribee treaty protection. Our study looks at state/federal/tribal conflicts relevant to Class III, or casIno-type, gaming in Indian country.
Influences of Interviewer Gender on Fear of Crime Response Rates
The relative merits of telephone, mail, and face to face interviews have been heavily debated. One of the many factors affecting reliability and validity in telephone interviews may be the gender of the interviewer. In particular, sensitive issues such as fear of crime may be influenced by interviewer gender to a greater extent. Using a study of 3,000 respondents, interviewer gender influences on response rates to questions on fear of crime have been studied to provide additional information in this area. The impact of gender on telephone surveys is a “gray” area, and by increasing our awareness of the impact of gender influences we may be able to enhance our methodological tools. With the growing impact of technology, such as computer-assisted telephone interviews and computer driven survey systems, on our research methods and design, further studies such as this into factors impacting telephone-generated responses need to be done. This study is a preliminary investigation in this field.
Influences on Peacemaking Criminology: Common Themes and Unique Directions
A number of diverse authors have joined together during the past decade to form a “peacemaking criminology” approach toward the study of crime and its control. One issue that requires current research attention is to determine and examine the compelling influences that have helped to shape the thinking of founders of peacemaking criminology. Based on a survey of authors who have undertaken early writings within peacemaking criminology, this paper explores what these peacemaking criminologists have identified as the major influences on their work. This paper also analyzes the common themes as well as unique twists that are apparent in these influences.
Inmates and Officers: The Impact of Race and Age on Inmate Perceptions of Correctional Officers
The correctional research literature is rife with studies of inmate adjustment patterns. While early studies adssumed inmates were part of a monolithic whole, later research suggested factors such as race and age affect inmate adjustment to prison life, as well as perceptions of the institutional experience. This research focuses on the impact of race/ethnicity and age on inmate perceptions of correctional officers. A survey of recently released Texas inmates reveals that race and age have a major impact on perceptions of staff.
Inside the “Black Box”: Measuring the Therapeutic Integrity and Effectiveness of TC Programs
Extensive research has been conducted on the effectiveness of corrections based drug treatment, including Therapeutic Community models. Previous research results have been mixed, with, some authors finding that these programs are successful in reducing recidivism and drug use, while others conclude that these programs are largely ineffective. Some have suggested that one reason the evaluation literature remains equivocal is the frequent lack of attention paid to “therapeutic integrity”. Questions regarding whether the program delivers its services in a manner consistent with the program’s intent are often ignored. While few studies have measured what goes on. inside the “black box” of treatment, the current study investigates the relationship between several program and counselor characteristics, and participant outcomes. Using structured observation and interview techniques we examine various aspects of the treatment environment, including program orientation, counselor style, treatment topics and activities, as well as how these program aspects relate to participant recidivism and subsequent drug use.
Integrating Routine Activity and Social Disorganization Theory: Multi-Level Models of Street Robbery
Previous work on cross-level interaction effects involving multi-level models depicting the integration of routine activity and social disorganization theory have been disappointing because of “he paucity of such effects. Hierachical linear models of data collected on a southeastern U.S. city, using face blocks and block groups as units of analysis, reveal Strong support for the integration of the two theories. Specifically, rclationships for models of street robbery at the face block level are conditional upon attributes at the block group level. ‘The results have implications for the conceptualization of robbery as a diffusion process. Implications of the findings ‘for the integrated theory are discussed.
International Theft of Knowledge and the Economic Espionage Act
This presentation examines recent legal trends aimed at preventing the theft of confidential information. In particular, it examines some of the enforcement and public policy issues that have emerged since the enactment of the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 in the United States. it considers, among other things, certain legal technicalities involved in enforcement and corporate compliance for companies based outside the United States. –
Internships
The following paper examines the role of internships in higher education. Criminal Justice/Criminology programs are sprouting all over the country and it is relevant to examine the student-professor-agency role in developing and organizing a successful internship experience/program. The mentoring, advising, and grading/evaluation process will be a focal point of this paper. The role of internships for graduate students will also be discussed for supplementing their potential experiences in research or administrative positions. Also, there will be a discussion on the importance of evaluating the effectiveness of internship programs.
Interracial Violence: An Analysis of Oppositional Responses to Interracial Couples
-From its inception in slavery and the economy of the American South, relations between blacks and whites have been closely monitored and restricted. Historically, legal statutes were used to prevent interracial unions from occurring, especially between black men and white women. Those involved in interracial relationships were jailed, whipped, beaten and lynched: more specifically black men were frequently lynched, castrated, and even whole black communities were destroyed over the rumor or implication of an interracial sexual encounter. Therefore, lynchings and random killings of blacks were common throughout the early twentieth century and even during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In contemporary American society, those involved in an interracial relationship (or in certain cases, even those believed to be in an interracial relationship) often experience verbal harassment and violent opposition. A case study of recent incidents where individuals where brutalized and even killed, such as the Yusuf Hawkins murder, the 1994 Long Island beating of a black man, and other less publicized cases will be used to illustrate the violence that interracial couplings still invoke. Qualitative interviews with interracial couples will also be used to reveal how the everyday experiences of interracial couples often include oppositional reactions as well as verbal and physical harassment.
Intersection of Victim Rights Advocacy and Therapeutic Jurisprudence
Much of the concern of victim rights proponents relates to the way in which victims are treated by criminal justice and related agencies at key interaction points in the criminal justice process. In particular, the academic and advocacy literature devotes significant attention to the ‘second wound’ said to be inflicted on many victims as a result of the documented or perceived inadequacy or inappropriateness of the system’s response to their victimization. To the extent that interest stems genuinely from concern for the physical, financial, and especially psychological/emotional impact on victims– as opposed, for example, to doing whatever it takes to assure their compliance and cooperation with system expectations– the advocacy of victims, rights and services for crime victims falls squarely within the realm of therapeutic jurisprudence study. This paper discusses empirical and conceptual deficiencies in our understanding of the nature and scope of “secondary victimization” that must be addressed in order to pave the way for more fruitful study and reduction of the anti-therapeutic impact of discrepancies between criminal justice practice and what victims and their advocates say they want, need, and are entitled to have.
Intra-Metropolitan Stratification, Opportunity Structures, and Crime: An Application of Strain Theory at the Municipality Level
Using the sociological concepts of opportunity structure and strain/anomie extended by Robert Merton, this paper examines the aggregate patterns and organization of people and places in the intrametropolitan environments of Chicago and Los Angeles from 1970 to the present. The metropolitan environment is an ideal laboratory to study diverse types of municipalities (both central city and suburbs in these multi-county regions) and the factors influencing the sorting of people and places within these municipalities. This paper combines regional science, urban sociology and criminological literatures in order to analyze the stratification of municipalities in the metropolis. Opportunity structures at the municipality level can be thought of as constraining and facilitating the ability of municipalities to remain fiscally solvent, attract businesses and employment, and maintain property values. Specification of these opportunity structures facilitates understanding of how environments fostering or inhibiting crime develop and evolve. Strained and stressed environments for crime are identified by establishing longitudinal profiles of their development over time and across space. Changes in macro economic and social factors are also traced with reference to the differing impacts on crime in the organization of municipalities within a metropolitan region.
Invisible Influence: A Citation Analysis of Crime and Justice Articles Published in Leading Sociology Journals
Although recent research consistently ranks leading sociology periodicals among the most prestigious places to publish in criminology and criminal justice, no recent citation study has examined these journals. Through an analysis of 107 articles and research notes appearing from 1991 to 1997 in four prominent general-interest sociology journals, this paper lists the 50 most-cited scholars and the 25 most-cited works. I discovered many infoluential scholars and works that were invisible in previous citation studies that examined only leading criminology and criminal justice journals. By neglecting prominent sociology journals, previous citation researchers have misrepresented the influence of scholarship on crime and justice.
Is the Concept of Compulsive Crime Intellectually Useful?
Behavior that used to be labeled “deviant” is now considered “compulsive”: child abuse and other forms of disapproved sexual behavior, gambling, overeating, and the prototypical addictions, drug and alcohol abuse. Presumably, if the behavior is compulsive, criminal responsibility is attenuated if not eliminated completely. Consequently, as criminologists we must ask when, if ever, is it appropriate to call a crime “compulsive”? At least provisionally, it is hardly ever appropriate when applied to adults not mentally ill because the concept of compulsive crime almost always involves reasoning in a circle, as Donald Cressey pointed out a half-century ago. Cressey’s argument was as follows: “Compulsive criminality” can be distinguished from ordinary criminality only because the motivations for so-called compulsive crimes like kleptomania and pyromania cannot readily be explained as the predatory motivations of the underprivileged. A rich person who steals is a kleptomaniac and a poor person is a thief when the motivation for stealing is baffling, and a person who burns down a church for no apparent reason is a pyromaniac whereas a person who collects insurance for burning down a store is an arsonist.
Is the Sociology of Deviance ‘Dead?’ A Citation Analysis of Leading Journals
Sumner recently proclaimed that the general area of the sociology of deviance was “dead” by 1975; later influential research on norm-violating behavior appeared only in the specific area of criminology. We subject these arguments to empirical test through an analysis of the most-cited scholars and works in 160 articles and research notes appearing in the sociology of deviance from 1993 to 1997. We find some support for Sumner’s claims: The majority of the most-cited scholars in deviance today conduct research in other areas, primarily criminology. Furthermore, among the 25 most-cited works in our analysis, nine of 12 published by 1975 — but only one of 13 published later — were classified in the sociology of deviance.
Is There a Comprehensive Explanation of Both Branches of the Age-Crime Curve?
The focus of theories on the age-crime curv which increases to a peak in the teenage years and then decreases is generally on the right branch of decreasing crime, the “maturational reform”. According to Hirschi and Gotffredson, “crime declines with age” for unknown reasons. In their opinion, the factors behind this maturational reform are not connected with the independent variables of traditional crime theories. We therefore need one theory for the left branch of the curve, one for the right branch and one which serves as a traditional crime theory. Altogether, thats far from elegant A comprehensive theory is presented for all three domains, according to which t he factors behind crime are embedded in a framework of causally connected and coordinated characteristic features which, as in Durkheirn’s and Merton’s theory, defines a state of balance. Massive changes in the outward circumstances lead to a state of imbalance, which, however, tends to reach equilibrium at the original level. The theory is explained in detail, substantiated with data from an empirical study and related to statements by Durkheim, Merton and Sampson and Laub regarding the development of and changes in deviant behavior
Issues and Practical Problems in Delivering Criminal Justice Courses Via the Internet
Issues and practical problems in delivering criminal justice courses via the internet. Paper includes history of internet courses, developing objectives and goals, course organizational problems and concerns, and evaluating students’ performances in web courses.
Issues of Transnational Police Corporation: The Case of Taiwan
Transnational police cooperation between nations has become more and more important due to ever-increasing cross-boarder criminal activities. This paper will focus on how police in Taiwan cooperate with their counterparts in neighboring countries and the United States and explain difficulties in cross-strait police cooperation because there is a lack of international recognition of Taiwan as an independent sovereignty and distrust between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China. The paper will also discuss Taiwan’s role in international police cooperation in the future.
“It’s Me Against Them!” Framing the Accused Status: Defendant as Other
In light of judicial processes that construct the criminal offender as moral enemy, the accused is often reified as “different” from the presumed righteous community. Institutionalized forms of legal procedures and rhetoric systematically assemble the defendant as a folk devil and, as a result, the accused experiences a subjective notion of “other-ness.” Drawing upon ethnographic interviews with jailed inmates (awaiting trial), this paper examines how defendants phenomenologically experience their “accused” status and the juridical distinction between (and construction of) civility and moral corruption. The structural context of judicial power is also considered.
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Job Autonomy and Workplace Crime: A Test of Control Balance Theory
One of the most recent and controversial contributions in the Social/Self Control theoretical paradigm is Charles Tittle’s Control Balance theory. Control Balance is a significant departure from traditional control theories which posit that criminality is a function of weak bondinf — or low self control, Control Balance, instead, suggests criminality while related to a lack of control in one’s life, may also be related to individuals who posses a “surplus” of control. Thus, Tittle suggests that an important determinant of crime is the ratio of control exerted on one versus the control one can exert on others. To the extent the ratio is even or balanced the less likely one is engage in crime or deviance. With the notable exception of a forthcoming article by Piquero and Hickman (1999), little empirical work has examined Tittle’s hypotheses. Our study provides a partial test of Control Balance theory by assessing the effects of one specific but, significant aspect of personal control – control in the work environment – on crime. Using multiple measures of employment autonomy we examine the effects of -workplace and economic control on workplace crime, as well other types of crime and deviance.
Jury Consultants in Criminal Trials: An Examination
This paper looks at the issues surrounding the use of jury consultants in criminal trials. Criminal Defense attorneys from the state of Pennsylvania were surveyed to learn their views on a variety of issues. Several issues were considered key to the study. First, do defense attorneys believe that jury consultants are effective in seating a jury favorable to the defendant’s view of the case? Second, what qualifies an individual to become a jury consultant: a legal, psychological, or social science background? Third, what are the ethical implications of hiring such an individual? Finally, what if any impact does the use of a jury consultant have on the defendant’s and the state’s right to a fair trial? Following an examination of the data, policy recommendations are made, as well as a call for additional research from the social science perspective.
Jury Deliberations Relating to Future Dangerousness
As part or the capital Jury project, we surveyed Jurors who served on capital cases in Texas and returned life sentences. Quantitative and textual information from these surveys is presented and compared to data previously collected by Bowers and colleagues from jurors serving on capital cases who had returned death sentences. Our goal is to provide a detailed description of jury deliberations specifically related to future dangerousness. This description will include the factors that have directly influenced jurors’ responses to the special issue regarding the threat of future violence posed by defendants.
Just Do It? The Effect of Participation in Athletics on Delinquency
A promise of contemporary crime prevention programs such as youth athletic leagues and midnight basketball projects is that athletic participation reduces crime, either by way of the socializing effects of participation or by way of the tendency of athletics to channel the time and energy of teens and young adults from crime to more benign, and even healthy activities and thus divert potential delinquents from criminal activity. In this paper we examine the relationship between athletic participation and delinquency by using el data of over 20,000 high school students from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS). The NELS data permits separate estimates of factors that predict participation in various high school sports programs from estimates of the effect of that participation on delinquency. We use an instrumental variable approach to disentangle the self-selection effect from the subsequent effect of athletic participation on delinquency. We focus on the effects of participation in particular sports football, basketball, bascball, swimming, and other- on delinquency, and do so for various subsets of students.
Just for the Thrill: A Grounded Theory Study of Adolescent Risk-taking Behavior
The primary purpose of this study is to develop a grounded theory of adolescent risktaking behavior as it relates to identity construction. A secondary aim of this study is to understand the kind of impact governmental intervention efforts, such as local truancy programs and curfew ordinances, has on such situated behavior. The data are derived from thirty (n=30) semi-structured qualitative interviews of adolescents referred to a local truancy program and those cited for violation of a local curfew ordinance. For comparative purposes, the analysis will also daw upon twenty (n=20) semi-structured qualitative interviews with adolescents referred to local youth service investigators for schoolrelated offenses (e.g. tresspassing, disorderly conduct, vandalism of school property, etc.). In addition, personal accounts will be taken from respective family members, guardians, local youth service investigators, school resource officers, and school administrators. This paper will present initial findings as a result of ; (1) examining the interviews for similarities and dissimilarities across pre-identified topical categories, (2) studying the accounts of family members, law enforcement personnel, and school administrators, (3) building analytic categories from emerging themes as identified by the participants themselves, (4) follow up interviews to refine such emerging themes, and (5) engaging in a comparative process of adolescents referred to local law enforcement for school-related crimes.
Juvenile Delinquents and Non-delinquents Among Vietnamese Youths: Cultural, Economic, and Social Determinants of Juvenile Delinquency
Since their arrival in the United States, we often hear economic success stories of Vietnamese immigrants/refugees. The reality, however, does not always reflect this popular report. Examining economic achievements among the Vietnamese, we find out that the economic success is not evely achieved. Their economic success is frequently linked to the cultural values of their family life including a dedication to family and education. However, some parents failed to reconstruct and redefine the structure and meaning of family life for their children. In addition, many parents have experienced a considerable amount of tensions with their children partly because of their loss of authority over their children. Moreover, although the Vietnamese are frequently portrayed as a model minority, some youths faced difficulties in the schooling process. Such factors as economic, family, and school experiences influence the youths considerably. Despite the increasingly sizable presence of the Vietnamese population, the past studies have not examined systematically cultural, economic, and social factors that may contribute to juvenile delinquency among Vietnamese youths. The present study examines these determinants by comparing 74 male juvenile delinquents and 59 male non-delinquents.
Juvenile Homicide, Juvenile Suicide and Drug Addiction: An Ecological Study on “Civicness” and Socio-Economic Factors in Italy
Research on contextual influences on violence, aggression, and delinquency indicates that characteristics of both neighborhoods and families explain variation in these behaviors beyond individual level factors. While theoretical arguments have drawn attention to the need to incorporate children into research on communities and crime, most studies have focused on adolescents and young adults. The interdisciplinary literature on neighborhood influences on a range of children’s outcomes shows the results on behaviors have been inconsistent. This paper seeks to clarify findings on neighborhood influences on childhood aggression by using census data and information on young children from the first cycle of an ongoing Canadian study, the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (Human Resources Development Canada and Statistics Canada). The paper considers how the macro-level context of the research and alternative model forms may clarify how neighborhoods affect outcomes in childhood. As research on the geographical concentration of socio-economic disadvantage in Canada highlights regional differences, the influences of regional patterns within Canada in neighborhood disadvantage on children’s aggression are also examined.
Juvenile Involvement in Occupational Delinquency
Although concern with white-collar crime has grown considerably in recent years, little research has been undertaken on the workplace misconduct of juveniles. This omission is noteworthy because of the extensive involvement of youths in the labor market. Accordingly, based on a sample of high school seniors, we explored the determinants of youths’ occupational delinquency. The analysis revealed that work-related delinquency is affected both by underlying criminal propensities and by contact with delinquent coworkers on the job. It also appears that delinquent youths are selected into negative work environments in which they come into contact with fellow delinquents–an interaction effect that amplifies their occupational delinquency. Finally, the data suggest that associating with delinquent coworkers affects misbehavior not only within but also outside the workplace. The theoretical implications of these findings are explored.
Juvenile Justice system Processing of Very Young Offenders
Several developments in the history of the juvenile justice system are outlined that help understand current processing of very young offenders. In particular, the influence of labeling theory and the federal requirement to deinstitutionalize “status offenders” and dependent, neglected, and abused children have served to limit processing of very young offenders. Promising programs for these clients are examined against this backdrop. Suggestions are made for development of comprehensive, integrated programs.
Juvenile Sexual Offenders: Identifying Research Needs for Criminal Justice Personnel
Only within the last fifteen years has juvenile sexual offending been identified as a serious social problem. As a result, the research in this field is still in its infancy and the research available consists of considerable disjointed information with limited sample sizes and few studies validating prior research by using different samples. For these reasons, current research on juvenile sex offenders offers little guidance to criminal justice personnel whose two-fold job it is to make vital decisions regarding the best interest of the child, while at the same time protecting society. This paper presents the research needs in the field of juvenile sexual offending as identified in interviews conducted with key treatment providers and correctional personnel in various states, as well as the research needs as presented in the literature. A comprehensive research strategy will be proposed to guide future research in such a way that informed decisions may be made on the part of both policymakers and those making decisions affecting the lives of these young offenders. I
Juvenile Sexual Offenders in State Custody
This paper presents the findings of a study of 203 juvenile sexual offenders in the custody of the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections from 1995-1998. It was found that Idaho has high rates of arrest for juvenile sexual offenses and high rates of commitment of juvenile sexual offenders to state custody when compared to other states. Commitment rates were found to vary considerably by geographic area of the state. In addition, although most of these youth were charged with the same offense, it was found that the behavioral descriptions of their offenses revealed a wide range of sexual behaviors. A classification scheme of their offending behaviors is presented.
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Keeping to Themselves: The Problems of Researching an Affluent Suburb
This paper describes the challenges involved in reearching a low crime, affluent, suburban area in the United Kingdom. Ethnographic techniques, which included observation, participant observation and in-depth interviews, were used to investigate the dynamics of informal social control, design, environment and fear of crime, The merits of this approach lie in the fact that affluent areas have been relatively unexplored in terms of crime and informal social control. However, the research was not without its difficulties. For example accessing people was problematic as they had busy lifestyles and limited social networks which militated against effective snowballing, and mistrust based on an exaggerated fear of strangers. The problems of accessing the community were reflected in my findings. I found that, despite an apparent belief in solidarity and social cohesion among affluent suburban rcsidents, an underlying low commitment to community coupled with desires for privacy existed. This resulted in heterogeneity and atomization, individualized crime control and enhanced fear of crime. The disparity between these superficial and underlying social conditions may not have become apparent with other methods of research, such as surveys, on which much research evidence is based.
“Killing Them Softly;” Original Criminological Songs as an Experimental Teaching Technique
Appointed as the sole purveyor of criminological theory to about 400 undergraduate and 50 graduate students, I set out to improve the delivery of this knowledge. Noting that experimental teaching methods were viewed favorably in the tenure process at my institution, I drew on my pre-academic experience as a singer and guitarist, wrote several satirical songs about theory, and performed them in class. Initial topics were Lemert’s primary and secondary deviance, Sutherland’s differential association, Wilson and Kelling’s “broken windows” and Gottfredson and Hirschi’s self control theory. The initial reaction of the students was so enthusiastic that I added traditional songs with criminal justice content: “The Long Black Veil” (arbitrariness of capital punishment), “Stormy Monday Blues” (delay of gratification), “Trouble in Mind” (Durkheim’s study of suicide) and others. Quantitative instructor evaluations were very high in general, and 42 percent of the students wrote positive comments (and no negative comments) about the musical intervention in response to very general, open-ended questions on evaluations. In the future I plan to write more songs, involve undergraduate teaching assistants in the delivery and make the music accessible from the departmental website.
Knowing Rights: State Agents’ Stories of Power, Identity and Morality
This paper examines stories told by cops for a combination of identity and moral content. Knowledge claims may carry more weight when made by state actors like police officers, but they are not simple manifestations of formal power. These are moral claims about how people fit together and who people are. Such claims are often driven by experience as cops bring their identities, their morals, and their experiences to their jobs. This study explores the moral/justice orientations and identities at play as state goods and services are dispensed by individual state agents at the street level. The analysis centers on the matter of how “who one is” informs what is known about the right thing to do, and in turn, what is actually reported to have been done in the non-hypothetical circumstances told by the officers and supervisors who participated in the research. This analysis suggests that identity and morality are intertwined and that together they partially drive the decisions made by cops, changing the homogeneity of “state morality” into an interconnected web of subjectified moralities working within, around, or even in contradiction to departmental policy. Legalistic normative orders, from the top down, become entangled -with moralistic ones, both from the bottom up and from side to side, and the result is neither law nor order, but a mixture of both, uneven and delivered only in local ways. In this sense, the morality of the state is the morality administered by individual officers. This understanding of the stories presents moralities, identities, and authority as much more complexly related than the simple gendered debate offered by Kohlberg and Gilligan, and accounts for more of the richness and variety in these non-hypothetical moral decisions. It also suggests that legal orderings are not the only (or perhaps not even the primary) orderings on which state agents rely to make their daily decisions. Identity and morality,a s pliable cultural orderings, and as somewhat distinct from law, are used, like the rules and regulations, to justify action.
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LaBodega de la Familia: Meeting the Challenge in Implementing Family-Focused Drug Treatment
Criminal justice-based treatment seldom considers the uniquc needs of the addict. Also, the addict’s family is left abandoned in its struggle with addiction. La Bodega de la Familia, an innovative program on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, regards these issues as integral to its services for substance-using offenders. While working with offenders to match need with appropriate drug treatment, La Bodega also serves family members of the offender. La Bodega has experienced families as “hidden victims,” struggling with problems that are concomitant with the user’s criminal justice involvement and addiction. In over two years of service, La Bodega has observed that 20% of families present mental health concerns, 30% report histories of domestic violence, and almost 80% are at risk of eviction because of a family member’s criminal involvement. All parties involved with Bodega’s work – family members, criminal justice system officials, and other service agencies in the community–are learning to understand and experience the family as the client. Through Family Case Management and unique partnerships with criminal justice agencies, such as Parole, and with community based organizations, La Bodega has developed strategies to overcome the hurdle of innovation.
Larcenies From Motor Vehicles: Results of a Crime Analysis in a Commercial Area
While research appears to discuss larcenies from motor vehicles mostly in connection with other offenses, such larcenies differ in some ways and deserve focus by themselves. In the United States, larcenies are the most prevalent index offense reported to police and those from motor vehicles are the most prevalent component of such offenses. This paper presents the results of an analysis of larcenies from motor vehicles in a commercial area appealing to tourists in a northeastern city in the United States. Data consist of crime reports since 1994, as well as interviews with police officers and other employees of the municipality, business people, security personnel, victims, and two offenders familiar with activity in the area. Virtually all the offenders live in a racially mixed, predominantly low-income area within easy walking distance of the targets. Target vehicles are parked in multiple hotel parking lots as well ads in two ramps. Offenders include juveniles and adults in their mid twenties to mid thirties. Offenders’ procedures are discussed.
Last Call: An Evaluation of the Effect of Earlier Bar Closings on Alcohol-Related Crime
This paper evaluates a policy that affects the residents of a southeastern college town. The local government of this town established a policy that mandates that all downtown bars, pubs, and taverns close their doors by 2:45 a.m. Prior to the enactment of this policy, bars were perniitted to stay open as late as they chose, as long as alcohol was not served past 2 a.m. After a downtown shooting and rash of fights broke out in the early morning hours, this policy was proposed and enacted with the idyllic notion that earlier bar closing times would result in lower rates of alcohol-related crime and deviance, such as driving under the influence, assaultive violence, or drunk and disorderly conduct. Although this policy was proposed to decrease crime, it may increase now that all bar patrons are ushered into the streets at the same time and have less opportunity to “sober up” after their last drink. Using official statistics and trend data, this paper will use a time-series analysis to assess the impact of the new policy on alcohol-related crimes. Results have implications for future alcohol policies and research on the relationship between alcohol availability and crime.
Latent Markov Modelling of Recidivism Data
We discuss the application of latent Markov modelling for the analysis of recidivism data. After shortly examining the relations of Markov modelling with log-linear analysis, we apply latent Markov analysis on an empirical data set of juvenile prosecution careers. Our analysis shows that the group of offenders can be decomposed into a subgroup of `frequent’ offenders and a subgroup of `incidental’ offenders. Performing the analysis separately for ethnic Dutch offenders and for non-ethnic Dutch offenders, we show how non-ethnic Dutch offenders become frequent offenders at an earlier age, and less often desist from offending. Non-ethnic Dutch offenders also commit more violent crimes, and fewer vandalism offenses. We end with recommendations and directions for future research.
Law Enforcement Programs in Canada
Canadian law enforcerment agencies have various organizations and mechanisms for dealing with criminal conduct involving unauthorized intrusion of computer networks. This presentation addresses those agencies and mechanisms as well as recent developments under Canadian law.
Law School and the Corporate Agenda
Upon entering law school, I assumed I would be surrounded by people who wanted to help others and “save the world.” I soon found out this was not the case. On the first day we were bombarded with names of large corporate law firms who would be sponsoring all the orientation events. We were told we would soon be able to list these “big name” corporate firms off the top of our heads, and soon they were right. Everywhere you turn, they are there. I decided to stick to my goals and ignore the nearly weekly invitations. However, it is very difficult. With few jobs for first year students, we were told early that the corporate firms pay $1100 per week if you are lucky enough to get a position! What a temptation for students with thousands of dollars of student loans. Comments are made about people who do not want to work on Bay Street. A recent school article was entitled “Top 20 Reasons Not To Be a Criminal Defence Lawyer.” If you come to law school motivated by money instead of a desire to help people, you would certainly feel a part of the group. If you don’t come with that attitude, you have to hold on tight to what you believe!
Laws/cyberlaws: Who Are They Protecting?
With the increase necessity of the Internet in obtaining information, searching for jobs, and meeting new people, the boundary between reality and virtual reality appears to be very permeable. In the United States, many laws that are enforced in reality are advancing into virtual reality. Cyberspace has provided anew environment to commit ‘old’ crimes. The prefix ‘cyber’ is added to many legal terms to exhibit their social control in cyberspace. These particular laws would include such aspects as stalking (cyberstalking), harassment (cyberharassment), and rape (cyberrape). How are laws applicable to the Internet? What are the similarities and differences between laws in reality and virtual reality? This paper will explore the boundaries between the construction of laws in reality vs. laws in virtual reality to examine their implication in the protection of women.
Legal Counsel and Departures From the Federal Sentencing Guidelines
The Federal sentencing guidelines have reduced but not eliminated discretion of judges and other actors in the Federal criminal system. Judges, for example, are granted latitude to depart from established sentencing ranges, provided specific reasons are cited for the decision. Prosecutors may petition judges to grant departures for substantial assistance. Many factors may influence those decisions that led to departures, and departures may lead to sizeable reductions in the length of sentence imposed. Unexplored in analysis of departures is the role of legal counsel in obtaining a departure. This research presents the results of an empirical analysis of departures from the Federal sentencing guidelines as they relate to the type of counsel representing criminal defendants (public defender, private attorney, or court-appointed attorney). Using data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission over the 1992-97 period and linking it to data from the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts (to obtain data on the type of represenation), this paper examines the nature, extent, magnitude, and distribution of departures as they relate to the type of counsel. Results of multivariate models controlling for factors related to sentencing outcomes, the characterisctics of defendants, and the type of representation are discussed to isolate the association between type of counsel and other case processing factors. The data for the study are maintained by the Bureau of Justice Statitics’ Federal Justice Statistics Program.
Legal Counsel and Two Correctional Populations: Comparing Federal and State Offenders
This paper addresses issues related to the legal representation received by Federal and State prison inmates. It provides information about inmates who hired lawyers and those who received counsel from the court. It compares differences in the use of private and court-assigned attorneys for both Federal and State inmates, controlling for differences in the mix of offenses and offenders in these two types of jurisdiction. Using data from the 1997 Bureau of Justice Statistics Surveys of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, the paper will answer descriptive questions about the type of counsel received or retained; when counsel first contacted inmates; how use of counsel varies with demographic and social characteristics, criminal history, current offenses, and experience with the criminal justice system. It also addresses whether the type of counsel makes a difference in the length of sentence imposed.
Legalized Abortion and Crime
While many explanations for declining crime in the 1990s have been offered, each of them has difficulty explaining the timing, magnitude, persistence, and widespread nature of the drop. In this paper we propose a new explanation for failing crime: the legalization of abortion roughly twenty years earlier. States that legalized abortion before the rest of the nation were the first to experience decreasing crime. Also, states with high abortion rates have seen greater declines in crime. The abortion-related reduction in crime is predominantly attributable to a decrease in crime per capita among the young, rather than smaller cohort sizes. Ibis suggests that the primary mechanism at work is selective abortion on the part of mothers most at risk to have children who would engage in criminal activity. We estimate that crime rates might be 10-20 percent higher than they currently are if abortion had not been legalized. All else equal, we predict that crime rates will continue to fall slowly for an additional 15-20 years as the full effects of legalized abortion are gradually felt.
Lesbian Rape: Maternal Metaphors for the Patriarchal State and International Conflict Resolution
This paper analyzes the appropriation of the metaphor of rape and its representation in the iconography of international conflict, spatial conquest, exploitation and imperialism. The paper questions the appropriateness of this metaphor within the masculinist discourse of international conflicts. Furthermore, the paper compares and contrasts images of motherland or motherearth with the patriarchal raping of real women by men and sometimes by other women. Such a comparative analysis raises the question of whether the discourse of spatial rape in works like The Rape of Britain by Amery and Cruickshand, The Rape of Europa by Nicholas, The Rape of the Wild by Collard with Contrucci and Rape and Plunder of Shankhill in Belfast, for example, are consistent in their assumption that nation states, nature, and the earth are feminine or whether they perform a transvestite operation for the rapist state or agents of rape as essentially male? If the feminine identity is retained by all nation states in international conflict situations and rape is acceptable as a metaphor for international plunder, is it a heterosexual rape or a lesbian one that is assumed? The paper concludes by looking at how much the international community has prioritised the prevention/punishment of actual rape of mostly women by mostly male invading troops and the extent to which this real ‘fate worse than death’ is marginalised in the patriarchal peace negotiations and sanctions against the rape of the motherland.
Lifestyles and Crimetypes: Considerations of Direct and Indirect Aggression
This paper examines differences in subsequent behavior between males whose elementary school teachers had described their behavior as indirectly aggressive (blaming others for their mistakes, lying, stealing, cheating, or secretive, crafty, sly) or directly aggressive (fights). Family socialization practices and criminal behavior will be analyzed to answer questions regarding whether the distinction might best be considered a typology of people or one of developmental sequencing. information about socialization is based on direct observations over a tenyear period. Longitudinal data, covering a span of forty years, will be used for the analyses of crime patterns.
Limiting Liability and White-Collar Crime in 19th-Century France
Sutherland argued that white-collar offenses often occupy a Shifting area between the bright sunlight of legitimate business procedures and the shadows of clearly criminal. In support of this. the following analysis suggests that changing business practices which were designed to ease financial pressure on investors and encourage more risky ventures, also eased pressure to commit white collar crime. More precisely. this paper argues that legislation reducing individual liability for business losses also decreased investors’ Inclination to engage in embezzlement. Specifically, we argue that the limited financial responsibility encompassed in bankruptcy legislation and incorporation offered greater protection to financially insecure people who were In positions of financial trust. Thus, bankruptcy and incorporation are negative correlates of white-collar crime. Data are for continental France, 1852-1914, with a multivarlate time-series analysis (ARIMA) used to test the argument.
Little Village: An Integrated Approach to the Reduction of Gang Violence
Five-year evaluation implementation and outcome results are presented on the Little Village Gang Violence Reduction Program. The program represents an integrated, interorganizational (police, probation, outreach youth workers and grass-roots organization) community approach to serious youth gang violence and crime. The Little Village program targeted two of Chicago’s most violent gangs, the Latin Kings and Two Six. Data were collected on about 200 hard-core offenders in the two gangs who were program clients, and on a comparison group of about 200 almost identical co-arrestees and members of the same gangs in the Little Village area who were not contacted or served in the program.
Littleton, Colorado: Harris and Klebold Killed 12 Fellow Students and a Teacher at Columbine High School Before Apparently Taking Their Own Lives on April 20, 19999
In the last couple of years, the media is frequently giving many news relating young teenagers, with different violent events. The situation is getting out of hand, since the dangerousness of the offences is increasing day by day. Unfortunately, we’ve just heard about the horrible event in Colorado, United States, where two teenagers killed several of their fellow students. There are also known the cases detected for example in the United Kingdom about rapes to young girls committed by underage students from the same school, in Spain the physical and psychological aggressions to the teachers; and many others that include the use of drugs. For political matters in some cases, for social classes concerns in others, for racism or just “for the fun of it”, the truth is these kind of problems are increasing day by day. In my opinion, to prevent them from happening can be the only possible way of solving this problematic situation. In each place, the characteristics of the events, such as the legal norms, the social and economic situation, the political system, are different; this can happen as well with the type of offend committed and the measures adopted to prevent such cases. Therefore, this workshop pretends to provide in one hand, an interdisciplinary forum of debate where we can share different cases and situations; on the other hand, and if it is expressed to be so, this could be the starting point for a framework of future meetings, where more experiences could be shared and projects prepared around the International Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency.
Living a Life of Nonviolence: Meeting the Needs of All
This paper will examine the basis of violence in terms of power and how power manifests itself structurally. Hence we can talk about a “structural violence” that manifests itself in our everyday lives and which we are a part of. Suggestions are made about the structuring of alternative social arrangements in which power does not exist or is not the prevailing force. Thus alternatives include intimate relationships, relationships in families, schools, and workplaces and restoring relationship when someone has harmed another.
Living Dangerously: Lifestyle Choices and Criminal Victimization Among Toronto Street Youth
While the criminogenic activities of out of school street youth have been increasingly scrutinized by social scientists, considerably less attention has been paid to their victimization experiences. Our paper contributes to this neglected area of research by comparing the victimization experiences of over 400 Toronto street youth with a control group sample of llocal high school students. Our analysis reveals that street youth have much higher victimization rates than high school students for both violent and property offenses and appear to be particularly vulnerable to victimization by strangers. This disparity in victimization experiences is largely explained by the routine activities of street youth rather than differences with respect to background characteristics (age, gender, race, social class, etc.), self-control, deviant peer associations, self-reported substance abuse or self-reported criminal behavior. We maintain that the nature of life on the street, combined with the l8ifestyle choices of many street youth (as measured by their leisure activities), place this group at a particularly high risk of personal victimization. We conclude with a discussion of how street youth deal with their victimizaqtion experiences and how shelters in the Toronto area have attempted to disrupt the routine activities of street youth in order to prevent further victimization.
Long-Term Prisoners in French Prisons
During the lost twenty years, the structure of the imprisoned population has changed; short sentences have decreased at the expense of long sentences. This increase is partly explained by the sentencing for traffic of narcotics and sexual offences. French penal policies have been concerned with decreasing remand detention and fighting short penalties, without paying attention to either the increase or the execution of long sentences. Regarding long sentences there is a lack of politics, or rather there is a politic guided mainly by the concern to display a repressive will or to make symbolic gestures to satisfy a portion of the supposed public opinion. However, long term sentences constitute the main cause of the problems posed by imprisonment that this paper will discuss.
Longitudinal Study of the Effects of Religiosity on Delinquency and Substance Use
Past research on the religion-delinquency relationship has been severely criticized for lack of theory, poor operationalization of religious beliefs and behavior, inadequate statistical analyses. Research efforts have also been frustrated by many contradictory findings. This study addresses these criticisms by placing the religion-delinquency relationship within the framework of an elaborated social control theory and tests this theory with structural equation modeling using longitudinal data from the Rochester Youth Development Study. Results from the analysis suggest that religiosity does indeed have an effect on both delinquency and drug use: religious youth are less likely to engage in delinquency or drug use than non-religious or less religious youth. However, most of the effect of religiosity on delinquency and substance use is indirect through conventional values, delinquent peers and delinquent values. These relationships were fairly consistent across three different time periods, suggesting that although the quantity or quality of religiosity may change as a youth matures, the basic manner in which religiosity operates in deterring delinquent behavior remains relatively consistent.
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Making a Buck: Economic Activity and Crime Among Street Youth
The problem of urban youth homelessness is receiving growing attention across North America from policy makers, practitioners and academics. Drawing upon a sample of 300 street youth from Toronto, Canada, this paper addresses the following research question: Do income differences exist between youth who primarily make money by partaking in legal economic activity (e.g., pan handling, squeegee cleaning, temporary employment) and street youth who report involvement in illegal economic activity (e.g., theft, prostitution and drug dealing)? Based on qualitative and quantitative analyses, we find that there is a complex interplay between the boundaries of legal versus illegal activity among street youth. We also discuss the impact which gender, age and length of time youth have been on the street on their patterns of income generating activity. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy implications regarding street youth incomes and state sponsored employment programs.
Making Justice Work: Effective Criminal Justice Interventions for Domestic Violence
Judicial responses to domestic violence have been an important focus of examination for academics and activists concerned about violence against women. Much recent commentary has been pessimistic about the potential of the justice system to benefit women survivors of violence. In this paper, we draw on empirical evidence to argue that criminal justice intervention *can* have an important positive impact on women’s lives. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data elicited from 142 women and 122 men, we analyse the elements of criminal justice intervention which have a positive impact in reducing men’s violence and improving women’s safety and quality of life. We identify three key features of successful legal intervention: 1) rehabilitation of men is significantly more effective than traditional sanctions (such as fines) in terms of stopping men’s violence and protecting women; 2) a legal context which incorporates coercion and control can facilitate long-term rehabilitation and short-term deterrence; 3) legal structures which recognise and support women’s agency can contribute to women’s safety and resistance to men’s violence. This research contributes to debates about how the legal status quo, flawed as it is, can be adapted to provide women survivors of abuse with ‘justice, and to improve their safety. We adopt an approach of ‘sceptical reform, of legal structures rather than ‘abstention, from the law. Key departures from traditional research in this area are examination of: intervention from the perspectives of both women (as survivors) and men (as perpetrators); the process as well as the outcome of intervention; the ways in which women can and do express ‘agency, in their negotiation of the justice system. Within our approach, which is based on theoretically and empirically -informed analysis, we raise concerns about recent proposals to develop ‘community justice,. We argue that such proposals fail to seriously address the dangers women face when they resist men’s violence and, in promoting ,loving justice,, fail to recognise the need for coercion and control of male perpetrators.
Making Prisons Work: Prediction, Intervention, and Effective Management Practices
Four sets of prison literature are addressed using statistical syntheses (i.e., meta- analysis) and narrative review techniques. The areas covered are a) the predictors of prison misconducts, b) treatment programs designed to reduce prison misbehaviours, c) management strategies for managing prisons better, and d) the relationship between length of time served and recidivism. The prediction and treatment results demonstrate a remarkable congruence with what has been found in the offender prediction and treatment literature regarding “what works”. Secondly, some strategies are nominated by corrections management experts much more frequently (e.g., strategies directed toward management and inmate) than others. Finally, there is evidence that prisons may be “schools of crime”; length of time served is associated with increased recidivism regardless of the risk level and age of the offenders. 1
Making Sense of Community Responses to Crime and Disorder
The involvement of communities in crime reduction strategies has been promoted by commentators across the political spectrum in the UK and elsewhere. Their part in crime reduction has been recognised in the Crime and Disorder Act (1998) and to varying degrees in policies currently being implemented by local authorities and police forces in the UK. However, many community safety policies are based upon a number of assumptions about the role of communities in, and community responses to, crime and crime reduction programmes. Drawing upon recent research in high crime, inner-city neighbourhoods in Merseyside, UK, this paper argues the importance of recognising the complexity of community group responses to crime and disorder, and community groups’ understanding of their causes.’ In so doing, the paper argues the importance of a criminological understanding of toleration towards crime and disorder, its origins and implications. Moreover, it illustrates how an appreciation of neighbourhood groups’ sensibilities towards crime and disorder requires sophisticated methodological approaches. The paper concludes by highlighting a number of areas that will be investigated in future research and discusses the kind of research methods that will be employed to study them.
Male and Female Prison Populations: Differential Effects of Probation and Parole Violations
Prison populations have been increasingly affected by an influx of admissions for violations of conditions of probation or parole. In some states, more than half the annual admissions are for violations rather than new sentence commitments. While this is true, there is speculation about what leads to revocation, and whether technical and legal violations are equally likely to result in time behind bars for both males and females. For eample, the large increase in female admissions to state prisons has been mainly related to drug offenses, so female parolees may be more likely to have a technical violation related to their drug use. To explore these issues, we examine the reasons why males and females are currently incarcerated in prisons across this country, with careful attention given to the possibility of a differential impact of probation and parole revocation. Changes in these patterns overtime are also analyzed. The analyses are based on national inmate surveys conducted in 1991 and 1997.
Managed Care Made Easy: The CCA Approach to Corrections
The Corrections Corporatio of Ameria is the largest private prison operator in the U.S. The recent history of CCA provides material for an analysis of the idoelogical underpinnings of prison privatization.
Manufacturing Crime: The Drug War’s Vilification of the Underclass
On its face, the Drug War seeks to eliminate the “evil” of drug use. Its pragmatic operations, however, are almost exclusively aimed at America’s underclass. Drugs targeted are chosen largely because they are the drugs of choice/necessity of the underclass. Police tactics are almost exclusively aimed at the underclass. No serious effort is spent pursuing drug use by the upper classes. This paper traces the shift from the Cold War paradigm to the Drug War paradigm. Both rationalize(d) strategies for maintaining control over the underclass. Such control is accomplished directly, through the utilization of increased police power, and indirectly, by taking attention away from other underclass social problems.
Marketing the Law: Globalization, Corporatism, and the New World Order
While there has been considerable debate in recent years over the precise nature and implications of globalization, one trend that is clear is the growing influence of fiduciary interests in the articulation and organization of an emerging framework of international law and order. This movement is reflected in the emergence of organizations such as the World Trade Organization, the IMF, The World Bank, and the OECD whose primary mandate is the development of policy and legislation designed to facilitate the transnational mobility of trade and investment–this in accordance with the principles of transparency and free market liberalization. With this context in mind, it will be argued that what we are witnessing is a fundamental re-framing of the very nature of crime, law, and social order such that what were previously issues of public protection and corporate accountability are now being re-articulated as sources of risk and uncertainty to global capital, and thus, subject to challenge under multi-lateral trade and investment agreements. This corporatization of international law will be shown to have important implications for our understanding of crime (particularly corporate criminal) and social control within a transnational context.
Maternal Cigarette Smoking during Pregnancy and Early Onset of Criminal Offending in an Urban African-American Birth Cohort
Several types of pre- and perinatal risk factors, such as maternal cigarette smoking, have been shown to be related to indicators of life-course persistent criminal offending. Our research examines whether a prospective measure of maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy leads to one manifestation of life-course persistent criminal offending. Subjects were a birth cohort of 987 individuals born between 1959 and 1962 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that participated in the National Collaborative Perinatal Project. During pregnancy, mothers self-reported the number of cigarettes smoked daily. Through 18 years of age, detailed police contact information was collected from the Philadelphia Police Department. Additional data were collected concerning cognitive functioning, school records, pregnancy and delivery complications including birth weight, maternal adversity, socioecionomic status, as well as detailed information on the family structure of the offspring. A logistic regression analysis indicates that maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy has a significant effect on early onset of criminal offending. Maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy was predictive of those individuals who incurred an early onset of criminal offending. This relationship remained significant even after controlling for potential demographic, parental, perinatal risk factors, as well as subject-specific neuropsychogical logical test scores.
Measuring Displacement and Diffusion: An Analysis of Indirect Impacts of Policing in Crime Hot Spots
Crime displacement and the related phenomenon of diffusion of crime control benefits have generally not been a primary subject of empirical study. Most evidence about displacement and diffusion comes as a byproduct of study of something else (the direct effects of crime prevention strategies). This fact has hindered investigation of these phenomena, and has created important gaps in our understanding of the reliability of measures of displacement and diffusion. In our presentation we report on a National Institute of Justice supported study that seeks to fill these gaps by focusing directly on displacement and diffusion rather than on main program effects. Specifically, we brought intensive crime control efforts to three hot spots of crime (representing property, violent and consensual offenses) and then used intensive data collection efforts (including ethnography, citizen surveys, official crime data, social observations, interviews, and physical observation). We will describe the types of measures and how well they fare at detecting forms of displacement and diffusion. We will also report on our overall findings regarding the magnitude and scope of displacement and diffusion effects.
Measuring the Effects of Fear of Crime
Over the past 30 years, there has been much debate over how to operationalize Fear of Crime when conducting investigative research. Previous studies have been criticized for using measures considered to be either too general, too specific or confounded with other types of fear (e.g., fear of the dark). Nevertheless, there have been a number of studies demonstrating who is afraid of crime and why they are afraid, as well as various sources of such fears. However, very few studies have assessed the practical and theoretical implications of fear of crime, and relatively few psychologists have considered it at all (See Hale, 1996 for a comprehensive review). The goal of this paper is to synthesize standardized psychological scales and new measures derived from previous research into fear of crime. Based on data collected from 265 participants and a “validation sample” of 97, we discuss some of the more and less successful ways of measuring fear of crime and associated outcomes.
Measuring the Gang Problem: An Ecological analysis in a Southern State
There has been a notable resurgence of research interest in the gang problem in the United States in the last ten to fifteen years and several different attempts to measure its magnitude. One procedure has been to survey police agencies and such surveys have suggested a sizeable and growing problem. Another procedure has been to ask youth about their gang membership and, depending on the definition of gang delinquency used, depictions of the problem range from modest to huge. This new wave of gang research has been based on the nation as a whole or on specific cities and there has been no research allowing an assessment of relationships among alternative measures nor any research on the relation between estimates of the gang problem for ecological units and measures of the crime problem in those same units. This study begins such an analysis using data from a) a survey of police departments in counties in a southern state, b) interview data on county of residence for gang youth in juvenile institutions and c) agency data on juvenile delinquency and crime in these same counties. The key research questions are 1) Do estimates of the magnitude of the gang problem correlate with the magnitude of the crime problem among counties? 2) Do jurisdictions with special gang assistance personnel report more gang members per capita than those without such units? 3) Are the demographic correlates of estimates of the gang problem similar to the correlates of violent or property crime?
Media Representation of Woman Battering: An Analysis of Magazine Cover Stories, 1970-1999
Woman battering gained recognition as a social problem in the early 1970s with the emergence of the battered women’s movement. The news media have played art important role in the types of information the public has received about this problem over the last three decades. In this paper, the authors report on their qualitative study of magazine cover stories on woman battering in the 1 9706, 1 9806, and 19906. Mainstream newsmagazines, such as Time, Newsweek, and US News and World Reports, are examined along with alternative magazines, such as Ms. Magazine, to explore whether competing discourses on woman battering may be observed in media accounts of this pervasive social problem.
Mediating the Influence of Deviant Peers
Throughout the research literature on deviance, deviant behavior among the peer group has been found to be the best predictor of deviance. This study examines the role of the family in inhibiting deviance among respondents who report having deviant peers. The research focuses on a group of respondents (N=332) from the National Youth Survey. These respondents reported in 1979 that they had riot used marijuana in the previous year, but they had friends who did. Examining 1980 data for this group, I distinguish those respondents who continue to report non-use (N=238) from those who report that they have started using marijuana (N=94). The research reported here suggests that the role of family function in mediating the effects of deviant peers is more complex than was expected, The data reveal that adolescents’ beliefs about their parents’ probable reaction to the use of marijuana is significantly related to their actual use. Those who anticipated a negative reaction from their parents were less likely to use. Also, those who reported that being honest with their parents is important to them were less likely to use. However, the majority of the variables examined were not found significantly related to use.
Mentally Ill Offenders in Prison, Jail and on Probation
Presents nationally representative survey data on offenders in prison, jail and on probation who reported a mental condition. Examines current offense, criminal history, substance abuse, family background and other select characteristics of mentally ill offenders incarcerated in the Nation’s prisons and jails. Also includes data on mental health treatment of offenders under correctional supervision. Findings are based on the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ 1997 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, the 1996 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, and the 1995 Survey of Adults on Probation.
Meta-Analysis of Sex Offender Treatment
Evaluations of sex offender treatment programs generally have small sample sizes and varied method, making the detection of true treatment effects difficult and generalizations across studies impossible. Meta-analysis addresses these weaknesses by pooling the estimates of treatment effectiveness, thus greatly increasing the statistical power and precision and providing methods of assessing the consistency of results and the relationship between effectiveness and study characteristics, such as treatment type and methodology. The current meta-analysis of sex offender treatment updates the meta-analysis conducted by Hall in 1995, roughly doubling the number of studies including. Our findings support the general effectiveness of chemical/medical and cognitive behavioral programs.
Meta-Analytic Inquiry Into the Relationship Between Risk and Protective Factors and Delinquent and Problem Behaviors
Prevention efforts targeted at youths often maintain the goal of reducing risk factors associated with delinquency and increasing protective factors. It is believed that doing so will result in a subsequent reduction in problem and delinquent behaviors. The research to date, examining the relationship between risk and protective factors and problem behaviors, has been primarily correlational. The present research attempts to improve on this by applying meta-analytic techniques to existing experimental and quasi-experimental studies of school-based prevention. If the risk and protective factors are indeed causal, one should see evidence that when they change as a result of an intervention, so do measures of problem behavior. Observing these factors and behaviors after the implementation of a school-based prevention program allows for a stronger conclusion regarding the relationship between the factors and delinquent behaviors.
Methamphetamine, a Uniquely American Drug
For several years, the production, distribution, and use of the drug, methamphetamine (meth) among subsets of the population have been concerns of the Western part of the United States. In recent years, indicators of meth have emerged in locations east of the Rockies. Several features about meth make it unique compared to other illegal drugs. First, the source country for meth is the USA. The low price, wide availability, and initial effects are attractive to drug users. The downsides are the addictive quality of meth and the devastating effects on the body chemistry and the environment when clandestine labs explode or waste materials are carelessly dumped into the landscape. Increased knowledge about the users and drug market dynamics compared to other illegal drugs would be helpful to practitioners and policy makers who are just beginning to struggle with meth indicators appearing in their locales. This study, supported by the National Institute of Justice, presents results from interviews with over 1,000 self-admitted meth users in five Westcoast sites and compares them with other arrestees who participated in the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring JADAM) Program. The findings have policy implications for drug prevention, intervention, enforcement, treatment, and interdiction strategies and suggest that meth production and use may require different approaches than other illegal drugs.
Methodological Problems Associated With Research on Jury Selection in Trial Courts
This paper will discuss the methodological difficulties in conducting qualitative and quantitative research on juries during the voir dire process. In trying to conduct research in a courtroom setting, there is quite a lot of resistance by the courtroom and administrative personnel for a variety of reasons. All parties involved are concerned how a research project may effect trial outcomes, and that participation in the project is possible basis for appeal. There are also more general concerns because any project conducted in this type of setting may upset the day to day rituals of the courtrooms and courtroom actors involved. This paper will focus on how these concerns were addressed and how the project’s methodology was adapted to fit within the confines of this unique research setting.
Methodological Problems in Screening Juvenile Offenders
In 1997, the California Youth Authority (CYA) implemented a paper-and-pencil assessment package to obtain ongoing direct information about the mental health status of wards entering state-level institutions. Sources of possible inaccuracy in these assessments include: The reluctance of some wards to disclose aberrant or “bad” thoughts, feelings or behaviors; The attempt by some wards to influence programming decisions by minimizing or exaggerating symptoms; The situational distress and/or disorientation resulting from state-level incarceration; and Standard reliability or validity problems associated with the assessment instruments. This presentation will report on research being conducted to overcome these problems and establish this assessment package as a reliable and valuable classification tool. Structured clinical interviews with wards, file reviews, and interviews with treatment and security staff will be conducted for approximately 1,000 wards. These data will also permit us to estimate the actual prevalence of various types of mental health problems in this population and to develop a better understanding of the relationship among mental health problems, prior criminal behavior, personality characteristics and functioning (including aggressiveness) within institutional environments. The presentation will include a description of the research project, which is funded by the National Institute of Justice, and preliminary findings.
Mid-Term Evaluation of Undergraduate Teaching by Graduate Students in the Criminal Justice Major
The purpsoe of this project was to develop, implement, and evaluate a mid-semester undergraduate teaching evaluation to supplement the university-wide student rating forms. Students in all classes taught by criminal justice graduate students completed mid-semester evaluation forms, items on which were selected by individual instructors. This feedback served as guidance for these instructors to implement pedagogical changes. The effectiveness of the changes in addressing undergraduates’ concerns was assessed in end-of-semester supplementary evlauation forms and focus groups with students from randomly-selected classwes.
Minorities’ Perceptions of Police Officers
This study describes black minorities, perception of police officers. Using a survey questionnaire, data were collected from a convenience sample of black minorities from both middle class and lower class neighborhood in New York City. A comparison is made to test the hypothesis that type of neighborhood plays a role in minorities, perceptions of police officers. The methodological problems involved and the findings obtained are discussed.
Minority Adolescents and Substance Use Risk and Protective Factors
Prior research on adolescent drug use in the United States has revealed relatively consistent and significant differences in use across different racial and ethnic groups. This research, although somewhat limited in its consideration of these issues, indicates that we should not assume that the drug use of different racial and ethnic groups is predicted by the same set of factors. Using data from the 1994 Washington State Household Survey on Adolescent Drug Use, we present a series of multivariate models focusing on differences in the risk and protective factors across five racial/ethnic groups (Whites, Hispanics, African-Americans, Natives, and Asians) and across a variety of licit and illicit substances. The policy implications of these findings for prevention and treatment of substance abuse problems in youth populations are also addressed.
Minority Status and Delinquency: Results From the ISRD Study
This paper analyzes data collected as part of the large-scale International Self-Report Delinquency Project (ISRD) (Junger-Tas, Terlouw and Klein 1994). Although this international collaborative study collected data in 12 countries, only 5 countries provide useful information on ‘minority status’. The paper first discusses the culturally-specific meaning of ‘minority”, and cautions that analysis of cross-national data relating to this ambiguous concept must proceed with extreme caution. Using comparable survey data on youth crime in Germany, U.K., the Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA, the role of ‘minority status’ as a correlate of delinquency is examined. First, differences in prevalence and frequency of self-reported delinquency between minority and majority youth are presented. Second, using OLS regression, the analysis tests the hypothesis that the power of selected social control variables as predictors of self-reported delinquency will not vary significantly between minority and majority youth in these five countries. Additional analyses focus on the contribution of ‘minority status’ to the explained variance in delinquency, controlling for other socio-demographic variables and social control variables.
Mobilizing Government and Private Enterprise for Action Against Violence
The government has implemented various programs to control crime and violence over the past ten years. These programs have focussed on strengthening the police force and changing its role and relationship within the community, and promoting community participation in changing attitudes towards authorities and the value of human life. Despite these efforts, the rates of crime and violence have remained at very high levels. In 1998, the Mayor’s Office, together with leaders in private business, prepared a plan to promote peaceful coexistence and control violence and crime. This was achieved after various meetings in which: a. the situation and characteristics of violence in Medellin were carefully analyzed, b. with the help of experts and researchers, risk factors for crime and violence were identified, c. these factors were prioritized based on strength of association and feasibility for successful modification, d. a proposal was developed and presented to the national government in order to secure loans from international banks to finance programs for nonviolence, e. the possibility of loans with the Interamerican Bank of Development for the nation, Bogota, Medellin and Cali were negotiated, f. proposals for interventions in the different components of the Program for Peaceful Coexistence with ample participation of the public and private sectors, including the Police Department, various universities and research institutes and nongovernmental agencies were developed. As a result, the Municipal Authorities of the City of Medellin have recently received a loan from the Interamerican Development Bank to undertake several projects to reduce the levels of interpersonal violence in the city. Throughout the next three or four years, the Municipal Authorities will finance a variety of interventions targeting families, schools, communities, public institutions and the mass media. These projects have been organized in six components which are 1) Preventing and controlling violence among children and youth 2) Bringing justice services to the community, 3) Communication processes as promoters of a nonviolent society, 4) Institutional modernization 5) Surveillance system for crime, injury and court efficacy, 6) Citizen participation in project monitoring and evaluation. Factors identified as important for success in this endeavor have been: persistent leadership, especially from the Mayor’s Office, diffusion of scientifically sound information on causes of violence and effective interventions to dispel existing myths on violence and its solutions, facilitating ample participation in the development of programs, effective cooperation between the municipal authorities and the multiple agencies participating in this effort, and the consistently high ratings of citizen satisfaction with the Mayor’s efforts (the highest in the country).
Modelling and Predicting Crime in England and Wales
In a seminal report published in 1990, Field established a clear link be recorded crime and a number of key socio-economic and demographic variable In particular, he concluded that the dominant factor for both property crime violent crime is real per capita personal consumption (the amount of money people spend on goods and services). Due to methodological restrictions at the time Field was only able to ex the relationship between changes in crime and changes in the explanatory variables. Other researchers have since used more advanced techniques to construct models of the actual levels of various types of crime. These incorporate information about both the long-run and the short-run behavior crime. This paper reports on recent work by the Home Office to build similar econometric models of the level of recorded burglary, theft and violent It also discusses how these models can be used as forecasting and policy analysis tools. 1
Modelling Canadian Crime Trends in Terms of Unemployment and Age: Implications of the Easterlin Hypothesis
This paper examines the uniform crime rate in Canada from 1962 to 1997, and focuses on the trends in the major categories of offense (murder and attempted murder, theft under, theft over, robbery, fraud, motor vehicle theft, non-sexual assault and violence). Tests for cointegration show significant long term relationships between the gender and the age sensitive unemployment rates on specific offense categories as might be predicted by strain theory. However, an equally impressive empirical case can be made for changes in the supply of men at crime prone ages, more consistent with a control perspective. Evidence suggests that while the modal age for violent offenses is in the early ’20s, the median age for violent offenses is in the late 20s, requiring a bimodal model of the contribution of age in the case of violent offenses. However, crimes of property peak in the early 20s. Hence,the different ages of risk for offending vary across crime type (property and violence), and provide a different -signature, in the long run trends for crimes of property and violence. Since Easterlin predicts that changes in birth cohorts can influence both changes in the supply of crime and employment, the relationship between crime and unemployment in the Canadian data may be spurious.
Models of Deterrence and Crime Using Endogenous Switching Regressions
We specify a rational choice model of specific deterrence, perceived risk, and crime. Our model hypothesizes that criminal decision-making, including the weighing of costs and returns to crime, varies by whether youth have been arrested or jailed. We estimate an endogenous switching regression model to correct for nonrandom selection into sanction regimes. The statistical model specifies a selection model into sanction-which includes future crime-as well as separate equations for criminal behavior in each sanction regime. After correcting for nonrandom selection into formal sanction, we examine whether the effects of perceived risk of formal punishment, and risk of personal costs affect future crime for differently depending on experience with the criminal justice system. In other words, does the rational choice process vary depending on whether one has been punished or not. We can also examine different reduced-form models of sanction allocation that corresponds to different hypotheses about the unobserved selection process into sanction groups.
Models of Law and Social Control Depicted Through Fiction
This paper explores how Shakespearean plays offer explanations and analogies for laws and various models of social control. More specifically, the paper examines the different suggestions William Shakespeare proffers for crime prevention, legal and judicial procedures, and correctional sanctions. Based on a content analysis procedure, a sample of plays is examined to glean literature pertinent to the study. The findings reveal that Shakespeare advocated both informal and formal mechanisms and strategies for
Monitoring and Evaluation of the Program
In addition to the formative and summative evaluation strategies included in each component, two mechanisms will contribute to the overall evaluation of the impact of the program. These involve developing a system for epidemiological surveillance of specific indicators of crime and violence and promoting community participation in the monitoring of activities. To develop a surveillance system, the Police Department, Institute of Forensic Medicine, the Prosecutor’s Office, and Municipal Health Services will together, and with the help of the Program, identify relevant indicators for tracking the magnitude and characteristics of different forms of violence across the city, adapt or develop instruments and procedures for uniform collaborative data collection and analysis. Periodic reports emerging from this system will be amply distributed, especially among decision-makers. In addition, resources will be invested in the training and support of research teams and graduate programs devoted to the study of causes and prevention or control of violence. Through the mass media and local community organizations, citizens will be invited and motivated to participate in the monitoring of activities and results of the different components and the program in general..
Moralistic Drug Robbery: Exploring the Intersection of Motivation and Justification
In this paper, the utility of Donald Black’s (1993) self-help theoretical perspective is examined in the context of drug robberies using ethnographic data collected from 86 active armed robbers in St. Louis, Missouri in 1994. Robbers, like many other more conventional residents of neighborhoods damaged by the drug trade, sometimes claim an almost chivalrous motivation for offending against drug dealers. At the very least, robbers view their victims’ participation in the drug market as mitigating this offense, in that dealers represent a destructive criminal force, unworthy of pity or protection and indoctrinated to the risks of participating in such a venture. However, it is impossible to ignore the fact that robbers obtain both money and drugs-two very highly valued commodities-in the commission of a drug robbery. Contrary to theoretical expectations, this analysis suggests that the acquisition of drugs and money is tantamount in understanding the motivation for such offenses, while factors related to drug robbery as a manifestation of informal social control more likely serve as a mechanism for the negation of, or, at least, a justification of the offense. The self-help element in dealer retaliation for such robberies, and implications for theory testing are also discussed.
More of Less Governmental Social Control: Assessing the Quantity of Law in Cases of Sexual Harassment
Recently, Black’s (1976) theory of law has been criticized for failing to capture quasi and de facto governmental social control institutions (Wong, 1998). A restatement of the theory introduces the idea of ‘more or less governmental social control’ which encompasses government endorsement of private forms of social control or government delegation of social control powers to private parties rather than a unitary concept of government. This paper assesses the utility of this restatement by examining sexual harassment cases handled by the Canadian Human Rights Commission, a private body to which government has delegated social control powers. Empirical tests of Black’s theory have relied primarily on criminal justice processes that often involve identifiable increments in the amount of law. In sexual harassment cases, however, increases in the amount of law are less identifiable. While a case may be settled or dismissed paralleling the criminal justice process in which an accused is convicted or acquitted, beyond this stage increments in law are less identifiable in sexual harassment cases. Settled cases may be accompanied by monetary settlements, letters of apologies, sensitizing classes, implementation of sexual harassment policies or a combination of these legal remedies. Using over 200 cases of sexual harassment in Canada, this paper tests several concepts in Black’s theory of law (i.e. respectability, stratification, organization) in a quasi governmental social control institution.
MPDC Community Problem-Solving Partnership Initiative
The Metropolitan Police Department began a community problem-solving partnership in the Spring 1999. Ibis partnership holds community and sworn police personnel accountable for jointly identifying and solving problems within an 8-step process. The presentation will highlight each of the 8 components – Identify. Prioritize, Analyze, Design Strategies, Implement Strategies, Evaluate and Refine, Initiate Maintenance and Next Steps, and Celebrate and Share. Additionally, we will share our experiences from the first several months of the partnership.
MPDC Drug Market Initiative Evaluation
The Urban Institute is currently conducting a process evaluation of restructuring within the Metropolitan Police Department (MPDC). As part of the process evaluation, we: are assessing the development and implementation of prototype initiatives as they emerge. One such prototype is the Drug Market Initiative (DMI). DMI involves a problem solving partnership between community residents and MPDC. The partnership operationalizes SARA into components that bring the community into the problem solving process. Specifically, the partnership holds community residents accountable for scanning the drug markets and collecting quality of life indicators (identifying problems), while MPDC sworn personnel are accountable for collecting surveillance data and identifying the appropriate ratite responses. Using a quasi-experimental evaluation design, we conduct an impact and a process evaluation of DMI in three experiment and three comparison police districts. Preliminary findings are presented from each evaluation component. The impact evaluation focuses on pre/post changes in quality of life indicators and nuisance/drug-related calls-for service. Our process evaluation focuses an implementation milestones as reported by community residents and key MPDC sworn personnel.
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Narrative Teaching and the Development of “Dear Habermas” as a Highly Interactive Teaching/Learning Website
During January 1998 we put up the beginnings of a major Web site: Dear Habermas, A Journal of PostModern Thought, By Undergraduates for Undergraduates. “Dear Habermas” (now located at www.habermas.org) is the nucleus of an academic community, in which all are invited to share, The name was inspired by the “Dear Abby” column for advice on almost everything. “Dear Habermas” provides advise, information gathering, and shared discussions on some of the major issues we face today, like justice, fairness, equality, access, social responsibility, violence in all its ugly forms. The purpose of this paper is to explain how the growth and development of the “Dear Habermas” site has evolved into a highly interactive teaching/learning model.
Narratives of Work
The paper explores ways in which modern forms of work break down coherent life narratives. The paper also address the methodological issues in using interviews to document this breakdown.
Narrowing the Causes of Criminal and Analogous Behaviors From Self-Control to Risk-Seeking
Recent investigations have shown that risk-seeking might explain at least as much variation in the prevalence and frequency of delinquent, criminal, and analogous behaviors as Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) more inclusive construct of self-control. If self-control can be conceptually and empirically reduced to risk-seeking, theoretical and applied research should focus on the etiology of risk-seeking rather than of self-control. Prevention and rehabilitation services should focus on displacing risk-seeking motives to more positive and socially acceptable activities. RAND’s longitudinal evaluation of Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime programs and nested structural equation models are used to compare the effects of self-control, impulsive risk-seeking, and riskseeking on criminal behaviors, Our hypothesis is that we can effectively narrow the causes of criminal behaviors from self-control to risk-seeking, and can do so without any loss in generality. More specifically, we hypothesize that risk-seeking can explain both criminal and analogous behaviors (i.e., drug use and risky sexual behavior) as well as self-control. In addition, we hypothesize that risk-seeking can explain both criminal and analogous behaviors as equally well across gender and ethnic groups as self-control. Finally, we examine whether opportunity and riskseeking interact to predict criminal behaviors.
National Evaluation of OJP’s Safe Kids/Safe Streets
The Safe Kids/Safe Streets National Evaluation consists of both a process and as outcome, evaluation. Measuring the impact of community initiatives poses many challenges, including the comparability of treatments/prevention efforts implemented at different sites; developing measures for program activities; developing community indicators that will be sensitive to change in the allotted time; identifying baseline measures against which to compare program effects; and distinguishing between program and non program effects. While these challenges may be considered common to most evaluations, comprehensive community initiatives, such as Safe Kids/Safe Streets, complicate these issues because of the changing nature of the program itself, disparities across the sites, and the development of programs tailored to unique community needs and problems. The Safe Kids/Safe Streets Program is further conditioned by the fact that three different OJP offices both fund and monitor the programs. To date the planning process has consumed far more attention that initially anticipated. The presentation will focus on the complexity of this process and the preliminary impact of planning on early implementation.
National Evaluations of OJJDP’s Title V Prevention and Comprehensive Stragtegy for Serious, Chronic and Violent Juvenile Offenders
This paper will discuss the evaluation of two related initiatives, supported by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The Title V Community Prevention Grants Program and the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders both employ a community-driven, risk- and protection focused approach to preventing and responding to juvenile crime and delinquency., Both initiatives are designed to provide communities with a framework for assessing and responding strategically to local conditions and needs by coordinating and targeting resources. Both provide communities with training and technical assistance in the concepts and techniques for implementing the prevention/intervention frameworks, and OJJDP is supporting evaluations of the local planning and implementation efforts and outcomes achieved. These broad based, community-driven crime prevention strategies pose considerable evaluation challenges that require innovative methodological techniques and fostering community commitment to data collection and ongoing assessment, This paper will review the evaluation approaches, challenges, lessons learned, and findings to date for both initiatives.
Neighborhood Context and Victimization: A Test of Sampson and Groves’ Theory of Social Disorganization
The paper tests an extended model of social disorganization theory proposed by Sampson and Groves (1989), who suggest that neighborhoods with high residential mobility, racial heterogeneity, family disruption, and low SES tend to have sparse local friendship networks, low organizational participation, and unsupervised youth groups, which, in turn, contribute to high crime rates-. Data used in this research were originally collected from 8,15 5 Individuals by several research projects conducted between 1983 and 1990 across 36 neighborhoods in seven U.S. cities (Skogan, 1994). Individual survey responses were aggregated to neighborhood level to provide measures of neighborhood structural and organization characteristics and victimization, rates. Regression results indicate that Sampson and Groves’ model is generally supported by the American data. Structural and organization variables taken from social disorganization theory show a strong explanatory power of robbery and burglary rates. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.
Neighborhood Effects on Children’s Behavior Problems in Montreal and Toronto
This paper seeks to clarify findings on neighborhood influences on childhood behavior problems by using census data and ratings of children’s behavior problems from the first cycle of an ongoing Canadian longitudinal study, the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. The behavior problems of more than one child in a given family were assessed, thus providing an opportunity to study family effects. As research on the geographical concentration of socio-economic disadvantage in Canada highlights differences
Neighborhood Violence and Adolescent Survival Expectations
Using a nationally representative sample (The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health) I examine the effects of neighborhood demographic structure, and mediating social processes, on adolescents’ survival expectations – i.e., their perceptions of their chances of living into adulthood. I use 1990 Census tract data in conjunction with adolescent and parent reports about characteristics of their “neighborhoods,” subjectively defined. One mediating process linking neighborhood socioeconomic status to adolescent outcomes is exposure to community violence (i.e., adolescent reports of victimization and witnessing of violence). Hierarchical Structural Equation Models allow me to distinguish neighborhood- and individual-level effects, and to examine the structural relations between neighborhood demographics and social processes and adolescent outcomes. I find that exposure to community violence is the primary mechanism through which neighborhood SES affects survival expectations. I also find an interesting gender difference, with males more responsive to neighborhood violence, while females are more strongly influenced by parent reports of neighborhood disorder (problems with drugs, litter and crime). Racial differences in exposure and vulnerability to violence are discussed.
Neighborhood Vulnerability: Crime and the Streets
Over the years many community-level explanations for crime have been offered. Social Disorganization and Routine Activities theories posit that neighborhood factors such as family structure, homogeneity, residential mobility, the presence of suitable targets and the absence of capable guardians contribute to the level of crime in a neighborhood. Physical properties such as building density and access to major thoroughfares have also been implicated in a neighborhood’s vulnerability to crime. Overlooked in this research tradition has been how residential street patterns contribute to a neighborhood’s vulnerability to crime. Social geographers have identified residential, or tertiary, streets as important community building blocks. Some researchers have suggested that tertiary street patterns influence the degree of community organization. We contend that communities whose tetiary street patterns have low access to major thoroughfares are less vulnerable to crime. Other community-level factors also contribute to a neighborhood’s vulnerability, but we believe that tertiary street patterns influence levels of social control. This research builds on the longstanding traditions of conmunity-level explanations by examining the relationship between tertiary street patterns and neighborhood crime. Our data is drawn from physical street maps, census data and official police records (both official reports and calls for service).
Neighborhoods and Crime: Individual and Neighborhood Effects on the Risk of Victimization
Research on the determinants of criminal victimization is along the micro-level and the macro-level. Studies at the individual level have shown that the risk of victimization varies across several social and demographic characteristics, indicating lifestyle and routine activities. Studies at the aggregate level (neighborhoods, cities, SMSA’s, countries) have shown that the the rates of victimization vary across characteristics of geographic areas. In this paper two questions will be answered: (1) to what extent does the risk of victimization vary across social groups and neighborhoods, and (2) to what extent can differences in the risk of victimization be explained by individual and neighborhood characteristics. Hypotheses will be derived from the opportunity and social disorganization approach. To test the hypotheses and answer the research questions data will be used from the Police Monitor, a biannual national crime victimization survey in the Netherlands. This survey is carried out in 1993, 1995 and 1997 and it contains information on about 200,000 respondents across 3,500 neighborhoods. The individual data will be matched with information on the neighborhoods, such as percentage low income, income inequality, residential mobility, percentage of single-parent households, percentage ethnic minorities, and percentage aged 15-24. These data are available from several official sources for each neighborhood. The data will be analysed with multilevel analysis.
Neuropsychological Function, Drug Abuse and Violence: A Conceptual Framework
Delineation of the biological substrates of violence in substance abusers would be valuable to develop therapeutic interventions for substance abusers who tend to be refractory to conventional treatments. Substance abusers with chronically violent behavior show more severity and poorer prognosis of their substance abuse disorder, and more criminal activity. Violence may share many of the same underlying mechanisms as substance abuse, given the comorbidity and commonalities in behavioral dimensions, including childhood and personality disorders with biological underpinnings. Neuropsychological dysfunction consistently characterizes both drug abuse and violence and may contribute to traits often cited as precursors to both; e.g., impulsivity, poor decision-making ability, disinhibition, and inability to assess consequences. Deficits in executive cognitive functioning subserved specifically by the prefrontal cortex are implicated in substance abusers with violent behavior.
No Noble Recourse: An Intersecting Analysis of Race, Class, Crime, and Gender in “Set It Off” and “Thelma and Louise”
The purpose of this paper is to critique and extend Spelman and Minow’s (1992) concept of the white, female, “noble outlaw” in “Thelma and Louise” (1991). The juxtaposition of “Set It Off” (199G), a black film take on female crime, reveals the inadequacies of a concept that does no contend with race nor its interplay with class, crime, and gender. Despite this conceptual extension, further dissection of the similarities and differences between the two films shows that subversive crime is still viewed as misplaced femininity. Both films suggest that even as the millennium approaches, women without means still have no noble recourse under a patriarchal legal system. They cannot live the noble lore of crime either outside the law or on the big screen.
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Offender Employment and Community Reintegration
Despite acceptance of employment as an important criminogenic need (Gendreau, Little, & Goggin, 1996; Gendreau, Goggin, & Grey, 1998; Motiuk, 1996), the construct has not received systematic exploration commensurate with that of other well-established offender needs (e.g., criminal attitudes). In 1993, the Correctional Service of Canada initiated an employment research strategy to attain a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of employment on offender community adjustment. Results from these studies support the role of employment, in contributing to offender community reintegration. This paper will present these findings, along with a theoretical framework for the exploration of community employment stability. The theoretical perspective accounts for various factors postulated to influence employment stability, including: attitudes toward work and crime, social support, occupational and criminal self efficacy and intention to find work. The theoretical framework, research methodology and preliminary results from this study will be described. Furthermore, implications and future directions for employment research will be discussed.
Offense and Drug Use Patterns Among Male and Female Detainees
Drug addiction is not a gender specific problem. Men and women both abuse and become addicted to legal and illegal drugs. While there are implicit and explicit risks to using drugs overall, women suffer different and often more substantial harm than their male counterparts. This paper reports the results of a secondary analysis of a larger study conducted at the Erie County (NY) Holding Center to assess the need for substance abuse treatment among detainees. A number of relationships between drug use and criminal behavior, as well as among drug using behavior and other high risk behaviors are examined. Among the findings presented are those that reveal that women who use illicit drugs such as heroin, powder and crack cocaine, and other drugs were more frequently arrested for larceny, prostitution, and assault than males. Furthermore, females testing positive for addicting drugs were at greater risk of contacting the HIV virus and AIDS and had a lower chance of obtaining drug treatment than males. The results suggest that drug-abusing women have fewer resources to deal with the strain of drug dependence that may have triggered their involvement in high risk behavior to support their drug habits.
On Digital Rule: Punishment, Control and Technology
This paper identifies the emergence, in certain (at present limited) fields in advanced liberal societies, of a new mode of control. Following Deleuze, it is argued that this new mode can be understood as a fourth Foucauldian technology of power’, one which begins to replace ,discipline’. This new mode is shown to rely on a combination of architecture and electronics. Examples of the new control mode are found already to exist in both real and virtual cities. By way of conclusion, it is argued that just as discipline gave rise to disciplinary punishment, so too, in time, will this new mode of control give rise to a corresponding new punitive form.,
On the Causes and Consequences of Price Variation in Retail Drug Markets
The price and purity of retail heroin is extremely large, sometimes an order of magnitude within a sector of a city within a three month period. This may reflect not quality variation but the vulnerability of buyers in a market where the quality of goods cannot be ascertained in advance and only with uncertainty even after consumption. High variance may reflect the interaction of abrupt terminations of market careers and the small value of reputational capital. This paper presents a preliminary account of the sources of this variation and examines its consequences for market structure and observed prices.
On the Horns of a Dilemma: Social Class Divisions and High Rates of Criminal Victimization Among African Americans
This paper will examine the political and public policy dilemmas that confront African American citizens, politicians, and community activists when they are confronted with the realities of high rates of black-on-black criminal victimization, a widening class divide, and the persistence and proliferation of criminal justice policies and enforcement patterns which differentially target African Americans. I argue that, consistent with research by William Julius Wilson and others, the last three decades have witnessed a widening of the divide between the black middle class and the black underclass- This has served to isolate the underclass in neighborhoods separated along lines of race and class, as Massey and Denton have suggested. Such neighborhoods have produced social conditions conducive to involvement in crime. But, perhaps as importantly, black class divisions have led to widespread support among the black working and middle classes for many of the oppressive criminal justice policies and criminal laws devised during this period. While observing the extent to which recent, more punitive criminal justice policies have been supported by the black middle class, I suggest that the newly acquired the political and economic clout of the African American middle class may offer the best hope for reversing some of the most blatantly racist of the public policies that have been spawned by the War on drugs and other facets of the get tough ideology of the last several decades.
One County’s Experience With Jail Privatization: A Case Study of Frio County, Texas
At midnight on August 30, 1991, Frio County transferred the management of the county jail to Dove Development Corporation. In this way a private jail monopoloy replaced the traditional public monopoly on jail operations. Total privatization of the confinement mission presents the highest risk of private sector abuse. Such transfers of public authority makes justice policy and community resources vulnerable to exploitation by private interests. This paper examines the local political environment leading up to the decision to privatize the jail and impacts of that decision on the county. This case study provides an instructive example of the downsides associated with total mission privatization.
One Step Forward, Two Steps Backwards: Community Penalties in England and Wales
As the probation service in England and Wales moves towards the 100th anniversary of its birth, it is in a state of considerable confusion about its direction. Not only are there signs of the service being marginalized in terms of the offenders it deals with, but the increase in the use of electronic monitoring and developments in the Crime and Disorder Act also pose threats. In addition, in 1998, four official documents addressed the future of the service. This paper will critically discuss these key developments and the messages they carry for the future of community penalties in England and Wales.
Onset Age of Drinking: A Trend Study Predicting Drug Use Among High School Seniors
A trend study was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between drug use and onset age of drinking. Despite the fact that drinking is illegal for teenagers, general acceptance of alcohol use in mid-adolescence prompts many underage individuals to drink. An early start in drinking suggests, however, not only a general tolerance for deviance; it also indicates a willingness to violate the roles assigned or defined by society. As explained by problem behavior theory, individuals, tolerance for drug use-or lack of it-may exert an effect on lifetime and on current drug-using behavior. It was hypothesized that the younger individuals are when they start to drink, the more frequently they will engage in drinking and also in illegal drug use. Relying on repeated survey data collected in the “Monitoring the Future” project, the present study was intended, secondly, to examine whether the impact of onset drinking age is consistent in its relationship to the use of different kinds of drugs between 1977 and 1997. The results should shed light on whether the generality of deviance thesis is supported.
Opening the Black Box: What Role can Program Evaluation Tools Play in Understanding What Works?
In the field of criminal justice, much evaluation research has focused on the inputs, outputs and outcomes of programs to understand why they work or do not work and has neglected to examine the program mission, goals, or methods of delivery. This problem has been referred to as a failure to open the black box. This presentation will explore the state of the art of program evaluation tools and their utility in understanding program mission, goals and delivery, and other issues associated with opening the black box.
Operative Criminal Case Analyse/Strategical Analyse and Behavioural Science-Based Criminal Investigation Expertise in Germany and France: History and Actual Trends
Investigation expertise in Germany and France. The construction of the killers profile and the police use of Offender Profiling had been first developed in the USA during the 1940s. This social sciences construction model remains still the base of the 1980s and 1990s development of oeprative crime analyses and behavioral science–bases criminal investigation expertise in Germany and France. The paper points out the scientific testing for the use of the US–model in Germany and France as well as the convergencies and differences of its development and implementation the two countries. The application of serial (sexual) killers profiling on other serial offenders will be discussed. The paper gives a comparative overview of the construction-methods, the behavioral science bases investigation expertise and its application to different offenders, implementation and evaluation; the most recent policy–project are presented.
Opinions on the Death Penalty in Europe
ReSistance to execution of the death penalty in Western Europe started in the course of the middle ages. Now, all Western European countries have abolished the death penalty. This is sharp contrast to most of the United States. Support for the death penalty in the United States Is widespread, both among the population and the political elite. In Western Europe most of the political elite opposes the death penalty, while it seems that a substantial Part Of the Population, with varying percentages, would support reintroduction of the death penalty for certain crimes. In this paper I will, discuss two Point stemming from this state of affairs: Why is the support for the death penalty in the United States larger than in Western Europe, and why is reintroduction of the death penalty in Western Europe a non issue?
Opportunities, Self-Control and Criminal Behavior: An Empirical Analysis of the Interaction of Person and Situation
At the focus of this theoretical and empirical study is the ,General Theory of Crime” as it was recently proposed in the American criminological literature by Gottfredson & Hirschi (1990). This approach has its special value in adopting a parsimonious explanatory concept to cover a broad range of behaviors. It is assumed that one single personality trait – Self-Control – in interaction with opportunities leads to various criminal, deviant, sinful and reckless behaviors. Since prior research mostly considered the main effect of Self-Control on various behaviors (e.g. risk behavior, driving under the influence of alcohol), it was considered to be fruitful to analyze criminal behavior (larcency) and to apply the theoretically proposed interaction of person and situation in this context. For this purpose a survey was carried out. 160 undergraduates answered a standardized questionnaire. A quasi-experimental design (vignette technique) was used to analyze the influence of situational factors (private-public, differential associations yes-no). Self-Control was measured using a German translation of Arneklev’s inventory (Arneklev et al, 1993). First results of data analysis show that larcency can to some extent be explained by situational factors (private-public) and to some extent by an interaction of Self-Control with situational factors (differential associations yes-no).
Organized and Government Crime in Peru and Columbia
This paper analyzes the relationship of state and non-state elites with organized crime groups and is largely based on field work done in Peru and Columbia. The paper will focus on the links between the respective countries’ militaries, rural elites and organized crime, death squads and human rights abuses, as well as the failure of the drug war.
Other Voices on Crime and Violence: The Theoretical Views of African American Women
This paper provides a historical overview of the theoretical writings of African American women on crime and violence. The characteristics of these works are compared to mainstream criminology and the theoretical writings of both feminist criminologists and African American males.
Outside of the Box Thinking: Using Popular Media Materials to Enhance Criminal Justice Core Courses
Instructors are always trying to identify ways to make the core courses in the criminal justice curriculum more exciting while at the same time helping the students develop their critical thinking skills and criminological imaginations. As part of a larger attempt to develop alternative approaches to enhance the quality of undergraduate criminal justice education, this paper discusses the use of a variety of popular media articles, reports and statistics as alternative ways to discuss and evaluate theories, statistics and methods. The author will present and discuss a number of different teaching techniques, strategies and projects to facilitate the use of these materials in a classroom setting. Attention will be given to how these materials fit into the larger goals and objectives of the undergraduate curriculum.
Outsiders on the Inside: Volunteer Experiences in a Women’s Prison
Volunteer services within women’s prisons are crucial due to the tremendous increase in the incarceration of women, combined with the public’s neglect of prisoners, the lack of information regarding the conditions of incarceration, and the lack of services for women and their children. This presentation examines the authors’ two-year, ongoing experiences as volunteers who have established a college program within a federal women’s prison. The presentation will focus on the following question: What is the nature and impact of the prison experience for the unprisoned who are in the prison environment on regular basis and in the capacity of volunteers? Additional issues to be discussed include: access to prisons, reciprocity with incarcerated students and staff, team research, socially responsible service, and controversies surrounding race, class and gender.
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Paradox Within a Paradox: Eighteenth-Century English Criminal Forgery Law and the Enforcement of the “Bloody Code”
The paradox of eighteenth-century English criminal law is found in Parliament’s steady increase in the number of capital offenses throughout the century in conjunction wity a small and stable number of executions during the same Period. Some scholars have argued that this was the result of a deliberate policy choice by ruling elites. They argue that these elites did not intend for a strict enforcement of the criminal code. A notable exception to this practice can be seen in criminal forgery law and its enforcement. Not only was there a significant increase in the number of forgery statues during this period, there was also a substantial number of executions under these statutes. Forgery was relentlessly prosecuted, and convicted forgers were almost certain to be hanged. In the enforcement of forgery law we thus find a paradox within a paradox. Using some historical data on the number of executions for forgery and the number of criminal statutes, this paper will consider and evaluate some possible explanations for this second paradox. The paper will incorporate a critique of various theories of judicial autonomy and will conclude with a discussion of their implications for an understanding of courts and the judicial process.
Parental Substance Abuse and Child Maltreatment
There is wide agreement on the occurrence of a strong correlation between parental chemical dependency and child abuse and neglect. Of the nearly one million children found to be confirmed or “substantiated” victims of maltreatment in 1996 alone, at least 50% had chemically involved caregivers. Substance abuse by mothers has received the most attention but substance abuse by fathers or male paramours may also place the child at equal or greater risk for serious abuse, and this has been a less explicit focus of both public attention and research on substance abuse-child abuse. This study will examine the nature of substance abuse linkages to child maltreatment according to: the gender of the perpetrator, type of chemical dependency, the nature of the maltreatment, and the way in which substance abuse is determined by DCYF to be a factor in the maltreatment of children brought to their attention. Preliminary data on the initial phase of a five year randomized substance abuse intervention demonstration project conducted by NH DCYF will be presented.
Parricide and Society: The Irony of Law, Postmodernism, and Psychoanalysis
Freud theorized that parricides threaten the fundamental social order, hence its universal “horror.” The historic literature from the classic story of Oedipus to Orestes, Hamlet, Crime and Punishment and Brother’s Karamazov demonstrates that the horror of parricide has consumed the creative endeavours of the human psyche. The two dominant methods of investigating parricide, led by the psychoanalytic and psychiatric tradition, have relied on myths, fables, and films in the former and case reports in the latter. Recently, however, a small group of evolutionary psychologists have vehemently attacked the predominantly psychoanalytic theories of parricide. In this paper, using the psychoanalytic contributions of Jacques Lacan and his idea of the paternal metaphor, I provide an alternative theory of parricide, along with a critique of the evolutionary psychological perspective. First, I attempt to explain the irony in postmodernism by examining the biographical details of the two key postmodernist, Nietzsche and Lacan. Then by integrating Lacan’s three registers of experience, theory of subjectivity, and desire to the situational characteristics of the crime scene and subjects of parricide, I argue for the emergence of an ironic hero.
Participation in Athletics and the Use of Recreational Drugs: An Analysis Using Social Control Theory
One major problem facing the youth of America is drug use. Today’s children are given copious suggestions on how to avoid getting involved with drugs. One such suggestion is participation in organized sports. However, an increasing number of both collegiate and professional athletes are becoming involved with drugs. The research question for this paper is what impact does participation in organized athletics have on high school seniors? The theoretical framework of this paper is guided by Hirschi’s Social Control theory. The hypothesis speculates that individuals involved with sports will have a stronger bond with society, will be more likely to be involved with conforming behavior, and consequently less likely to use alcohol and drugs. Social Control Theory is operationalized as attachment to parents, peers, school, and religion, commitment and involvement with school and work, and a general belief in the moral validity of the laws of society. The study uses data from the 1995 Monitoring the Future study and OILS regression is used as the analytical technique. Nested models are used to determine if the variables associated with social control act as a mediator- between athletics and drug use. The results suggest that as sports participation increases so does an individuals bond with society, and as this bond becomes stronger the individual is less likely to use marijuana and other illicit drugs. However, the results for the use of alcohol are more ambiguous and can be interpreted in a number of ways.
Partnering With Youth to Prevent Violence: An Overview and Evaluation of ProjectFREE
ProjectFREE is a community-based, volunteer-driven, youth-oriented program that seeks to reduce violence in the community, especially among the youth of the community. Focusing on youth as both leaders of our program and primary recipients of our services, an attempt is made to prevent violence and educate about peace. Non- violent approaches to conflict are emphasized, with an attempt to increase both awareness and skills. Services are provided to youth in primarily non-school settings, and require a commitment on the part of adults who lead youth groups. The overall intent is to involve numerous community members in the proliferation of non-violence, and to facilitate youth moving into leadership positions in their communities, where they can become community leaders and continue to involve themselves in non-violent approaches to violence. An overview of the program, plus an assessment of its components will be provided.
Party Control and Crime
Surveys of the electorate consistently have shown that voters believe that the Republican party does a better job of fighting crime than the democratic party. In short, the Republicans own this issue. On the other hand, analyses of the platform of the parties show the positions of the parties to be similar and crime to be a valence issue. Both parties strongly support the crime control/”tough on crime” orientation to criminal justice. This paper will investigate whether party control of state legislature and governorships has an influence on crime rates. Are the perceptions of the voters correct, or, as I believe, is crime not affected by the crime policies of the two parties? I will use Part I and Part II index crime rates of the 50 states in each year from 1990-1995 as dependent variable and an index of party control of state government as the primary independent variable. At the same time, my statistical analysis will control for other factors that are know to affect crime rates.
Paternalism in Public Housing: An Observational Study of Social Control
Paternalism is a concept primarily reserved for the description of traditional social settings: the patriarchal family, the Puritan Church, American workplaces of the early 1900s. But paternalism is also thriving in a particular modern setting: the public housing agency. This study focuses on conflict management or social control at a public housing agency; specifically on the methods of sanction the agency uses in response to tenant lease violations. It is set within the theoretical framework provided by Donald Black, which maintains that social control is a product of its social setting. I spent eight months observing a public housing agency in a medium-sized town in the Southeast. I found that this agency was characterized by paternalism, involving intrusiveness, formalism and legalism as well as contrasting patterns of leniency and severity. Social control ranged from banishment or eviction to mere warnings. These paternalistic patterns are predicted in Blackian theory by structural conditions of hierarchy and intimacy at the agency. Furthermore, within this paternalistic context there is variation -some tenants are treated more severely than others. Black’s theory is also used to suggest that length of residence, offense history, and family integration are factors that predict such variation.
Pathways in the Offending Process of Sexual Murderers
The aim of the current study was to investigate specific pathways in the offending process of sexual murderers. Thirty-six aggressors who had at least commited one sexual murder against an adult woman were included in this study and were classified using cluster analysis. Subjects using the sadistic pathway (n=16) had planned their offense, they had selected their victims, which were more often unknown to the murderer, and had used physical restrains during the commisson of the offense. Furthermore, they had inflicted mutilation to the victims, humiliate them and they had taken greater risks during the murder. These sexual murderers had hidden the body of the victims and spent more time (more than 30 minutes) with them. Subjects using the anger pathway (n=20) had not premeditated the murder neither they had selected the victims prior to the offense. Mutilation, humiliation and physical restrains were less predominant than with those using the sadistic pathway. Moreover, these offenders had spent less time (less than 30 minutes) with the victims, had taken less risks and were more likely to let the body on the crime scene after the killing occured. These two pathways will be compared with the organised/disorganised types of the FBI (1988) typology of sexual homicide.
Pathways Into Crime for Cocaine-Dependent Women
Researchers have discussed several pathways into crime for women offenders. Using data from interviews with over 800 crime-involved cocaine dependent women living in Miami, we will explore the circumstances of their entries into crime. The data will be examined using both OLS and logistic multivariate modeling. History of violence, sexual abuse, drug use and conditions of poverty in these women will be considered. Also examined will be the types of a criminal activity in which these women engage. Finally, we will look at whether or not any of the pathways or other variables vary by whether or not the women were currently in treatment or were interviewed “on the street.”
Patterns in Juvenile Offending: An Optimal Matching Analysis of Criminal Careers
Life course approaches to the study of crime have become increasingly popular in recent years. In addition, “person-based” sequence analysis is becoming more widely accepted in social sciences. This paper applies these perspectives to the study of juvenile delinquency. Specifically, I use the optimal matching technique to measure criminal career resemblance among juvenile delinquents. Optimal matching allows us to compare entire sequences of events, to see whether there are patterns over parts of or entire sequences. This information is then used to categorize the sequences. The data in this paper are sequences of police contacts of juvenile delinquents in a Midwestern county. The sample consists of minors who have had at least one delinquency petition filed against him/ her. For these minors, we have information on all juvenile police contacts (prior and subsequent to the initial delinquency petition). A preliminary look at the data suggests that, based on age of onset and frequency of contacts, there are several patterns in offending among delinquents. The results of this study have implications for developmental theories of crime, as well as for policies and programs aimed at reducing juvenile recidivism. I
Patterns of Juvenile Delinquency in Post-Soviet Russia
The tremendous changes in the social and economic spheres in Russia, together with the extremely negative trends in the overall structure of crime since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, have drawn attention away from juvenile delinquency. During this time, however, juvenile delinquency-in the form of violence, drunkenness, drug crimes, and other offenses characteristic of adolescents-has become an increasing concern in the country. The larger structural problems of increasing poverty and divorce rates, and decreases in funding for social services and education, translate into higher risks of offending for youth. Furthermore, Russia has no true juvenile justice system to deal with adolescent offenders and, due to the absence of alternative measures, juveniles are increasingly finding their way into reform colonies at younger ages and for relatively minor offenses. Thus, just when the troubles of Russian adolescents are in desperate need of attention, the overwhelming social, political, and economic problems of the country detract from the resources devoted to at-risk youth. Employing data from the Russian Ministry of the Interior, this paper examines the patterns of juvenile delinquency in post-Soviet Russia, focusing on social and economic antecedents, levels of offending, the distribution of various types of crimes, and the characteristics of offenders.
Patterns of Juvenile Frequent and Chronic Offenders in East Germany
The paper presents selected data of an empirical study in Mecklenburg-Western-Pomerania (East Germany). The study contains a quantitative survey of 306 Juveniles offenders having at least three police records within one year and of 1.094 pupils -and young trainees concerning their social backgrounds, life-style, attitudes and views in connection to their delinquent behaviour (incidence rate and persistence). Considering the high aim rate of juveniles in this federal state – higher than in other new federal states and in West Germany the question is whether the changes in social economic structure due to the transformation process in East Germany being caused by the reunification relates to firequent offending among juveniles. Besides deficiencies in family structure and school problems the quantitative study has revealed extreme right wing orientation among the frequent offenders and the comparison group. Nearly one third is in favour of anti-democratic, racistic and xenophobic views. The exreme right wing views correlates with aggressive behaviour and violent crimes. This phenomena of right wing views of social discriminated young people is to be seen within the anomy theory and social control theory.
Peer Evaluation in Higher Education
An essential component of the higher education experience is the student peer evaluation process. Through a review of the current literature this paper reports on student peer evaluation methods used in cooperative learning environments, peer assessment of written work, and group work. Depending on the assignment, the methods include a variety of criteria for the student evaluators to follow. The techniques require the peers to assign marks and grades in addition to providing feedback on written and group assignrnents. The current literature reveals that initially students found it difficult to switch toles, but found it helpful in that it increased the awareness of their performance. The author concludes that student peer evaluation serves to increase student motivation and enhance the learning process in higher education settings.
Peer Factors in Very Young Offending
This presentation reviews evidence for the role of two peer factors as significant mediators in the development of early starting delinquents. How deviant peer associations play a role in the early development of very young offenders is less clear because the deviant peer construct has primarily been studied with adolescents. Several longitudinal studies provide reasonable support for the social learning theory hypothesis that deviant peers influence the escalation of offending, including the formation of gangs. Further, peer rejection has been found to add incrementally to the prediction of antisocial trajectories across adolescence, beyond what is known about a child’s aggressive or antisocial behavior. Three characteristics distinguish this rejected subgroup of aggressive children; hyperactivity, emotional reactivity, and poor social skills. These factors create a distinct profile of young offenders that may predict greater violent tendencies. Rejection also seems to segregate the social experience of these children into less adaptive social experience of these children into less adaptive social learning experiences, including early deviant peer groups. In this way, these two peer factors may be linked in the early development of young offenders.
Perceived Order and Disorder: The Determinants of Individual Attitudes Towards Law Enforcement
The purpose of this paper is to assess the relationship between exposure to police and crime stories irk the mass media and individual attitudes towards the police. The role of the media as a determinant of public opinion is an emerging axes of criminal justice research. This paper contributes to this literature by testing the hypothesis that individuals why are frequently exposed to stories of police and crime in the mass media are more likely to have favorable opinions towards law enforcement agencies. Additionally, earlier research indicates that race, age, economic class and. other individual characteristics mediate levels of support for the police. I extend these previous works by incorporating measures of perceived neighborhood disorder as a contextual determinant of attitudes towards law enforcement. The findings are discussed its terms of their implications far the media and criminal justice literature, and the expansion/contraction of state-supported law enforcement.
Perceptions of Crime Seriousness: What Have We Learned and What Else Do We Want to Know?
Research on perceptions of crime seriousness has been formally introduced in criminology with the work of Sellin and Wolfgang (1964). Since then, a large number of articles and a few books have been published on this subject, predominantly in the United States. This paper summarizes this area of research. The presentation is organized thematically (conceptualization, operationalization, methods of data construction and analysis, findings, and implications for theory, research, and policy). Then, based on the general conclusions, I identify possible directions for contemporary and future research. I argue that this area has established a body of knowledge, which although rich in implications and possible ramifications, has remained theoretically unstructured. I also argue that the study of deviance perceptions has the potential of assuming a central position in the study of culture and discourse domination.
Perceptions of Local Courts: A Comparison of White, African-American, and Hispanic Viewpoints
There is general recognition that confidence in, and opinions about, the legal system differ sharply among racial and ethnic groups. Opinion surveys that sample from the adult population rarely include a sufficient number of minority group respondents to precisely gauge the extent of these differences or to explore the dynamics of minority group opinion. Analysis of data from a 1999 national public opinion survey, “How the Public Views the State Courts” offers an opportunity to focus on minority group concerns about the legal system. Telephone interviews were conducted in January and February 1999 with 1,231 randomly selected adults and oversamples of 300 African Americans and 300 Hispanic\Latino Americans. The survey data can thus support a more nuanced view of the structure and correlates of public opinion about the courts as they vary by racial and ethnic groups. The analysis will consider the extent to which intragroup differences in perceptions are associated with social class, education, income, region, and prior experience with the court system. Other analyses will consider media influence on perceptions about the courts in terms of general exposure to
Perceptions of Procedural Justice by Felony Offenders in Drug Treatment
Breaking the Cycle is a demonstration project designed to identify drug-involved offenders under criminal justice supervision, develop intervention strategies that wilt address individual treatment needs, and provide them with appropriate judicial and programmatic supervision. This paper will discuss defendant perceptions of the fairness of treatment by the justice system while they participated in BTC. Data will be presented from focus group interviews and wilt address questions such its: Did clients feel that their treatment by the criminal justice system was appropriate? How did this affect their compliance with treatment? What supervision styles are effective in treating drug-abusing offenders?
Perceptions of Violence, Violent Experiences, Drinking Patterns and Views on Alcohol Control Policies: Results From a Survey of Ontario Adults
Previous research — using official Statistics, survey data and qualitative approaches — has shown associations between drinking and violence. For example, frequency and seriousness of interpersonal violent incidents may be intensified when alcohol is a factor, some suicide attempts correlate with heavy drinking, and in some instances heavy drinking by the perpetrator or victim may develop following violence experiences. Demographic characteristics of respondents are related to consumption and violence. Other research has found strong associations between demographic characteristics (males, young adults) and frequent heavy drinking. These characteristics and drinking patterns are also associated with low levels of support for alcohol policy measures. In this paper we examine the interactions between four groups of variables: demographic characteristics, drinking patterns of respondents, experiences of violence over the past 12 months, and their support for various alcohol policy measures. After controlling for age, gender and drinking pattern, it is expected that persons who have recently experienced violence are likely to be more supportive of policy controls, than those who did not have violent incidents. Our analysis includes descriptive statistics and logistic regression. It is based on a 1997 telephone survey of a representative sample of 2,000 Ontario adults aged 18 and older. The results are relevant to planning policy interventions in general and those specific to preventing violent incidents.
Persistence, Intensity and Areal Extent of Violence Against Women: Baltimore City, 1992-95
We focus on the density of assaults against women in Baltimore City, expressed in terms of persistence, intensity, and areal extent. Aggravated assaults and homicides with female victims were abstracted from the data base of all such events in police files for the four years 1992-95 (N = 36,286). Women were victims in 209 homicides and 12,553 aggravated assaults. Problem areas were delineated using a threshold incident density of approximately two standard deviations above the mean. Maps expressing this density level were prepared for each year. The intersection of each annual high density pattern with census block group geography was determined, and block groups were divided into two classes: those intersecting high density zones, and those not intersecting. We report on salient census characteristics of the two sets of block groups and comment on relevant policy implications.
Personality Traits of Incarcerated Juveniles
This presentation focuses on the personality traits of incarcerated juveniles. The dimensions of distress and restraint, derived from the five factor model were examined in a sample of 2000 juveniles. These dimensions were chosen because in our previous research they are predictive of institutional adjustment and criminal recidivism. They also are impacted differentially by psychopathology. Our findings have implications for short term management, treatment and planning for parole.
Perspectives on Crime Causation in Nigeria
This paper examines the etiology of the causes of criminal behavior with particular emphasis on white-collar crime generally referred to as 419 in the Nigerian context. Employing the rational choice and anomie theories, it argues that crime is a product of a personal choice in Nigeria and that Nigerians, like their American counterparts, have unfulfilled material needs that push them in the part of law breaking.
‘Petit Apartheid’: An Exploratory Study of Post-Garner Police Behavior
During the 1980s, Georges-Abeyie posited that petit apartheid is a characteristic of some criminal justice agents, agencies and processes. Inhumane and demeaning behavior including intimidation, cruelty, insults, as well as rude and indifferent behavior arc examples of petit apartheid. This paper will explore the problem of petit apartheid police behavior since the Garner decision. Focusing specifically on the past decade. case studies of questionable police practices will be presented to determine the interaction of police behavior, with race, class and gender.
‘Petit Apartheid’: The Reality of the Africa American Experience
On March 25, 1999 a police sergeant while working in a predominantly African American area on the West side of this large city was shot at point blank range while on routine patrol in a high narcotics area. The offender was described as a male black teenager, 16 years of age, 5’8 and 140 pounds. Shortly thereafter an intense manhunt ensued for the possible suspect. Minutes after the description of the suspect came across the radio, a call was received of a possible suspect on board a city bus, several blocks from the area of the shooting and the media responded to the scene of the incident. With cameras rolling, several police officers were filmed dragging young black males off the city bus, throwing them to the pavement and exerting excessive force on the subjects. These officers, unaware or unconcerned about the presence of the media, commenced to manhandle numerous male blacks, some, not even remotely similar to the original description given of the wanted subject. To some, the officers were within the scope of their power, trying desperately to solve a violent crime that had happened to one of their own. To others, however, the conduct by the police depicted the type of treatment that the African American male has experienced on a daily basis for numerous years and what Daniel Georges-Abeyie has referred to as petit-apartheid. Was this a form of excessive force that African Americans claim to experience by agents of the criminal justice system on a daily basis or was this proper police procedure? This paper will take an in-depth look at the realities of the treatment of the African American male by police officers.
Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Use: Applying Institutional Anomie Theory to a Specific Cultural Milieu
Messner & Rosenfeld (1994) see the “American Dream” as the central ethos of American culture, one characterized by universal commitment to individualism, achievement, and monetary success. They argue that this monetary fixation negatively effects institutions of social control. Specifically, disproportionate empowerment of the economic institution leads to devaluation, accommodation, and penetration of traditional social control functions provided by the family, educational and political institutions. Increased crime rates result from these conditions of institutional anomie. To date, discussions and tests of the theory have been limited to societal level inquiries focusing on property or violent crime. This research moves in a different direction, applying the institutional anomie framework to a specific type of victimless crime -illegal prescription drug use — within specific cultural structure — the pharmacy profession. We argue that the cultural ethos of the pharmacy profession is one of “pharmaceutical imperialism,” embodied in a universal, paternalistic commitment to wellness via pharmacology. Survey data from 1, 106 practicing pharmacists and interviews with 50 drug recovering pharmacists are used to explore whether a profession-wide fixation with pharmaceutical interventions compromises the cultural structure dynamic and social control functions provided by the educational, occupational, and professional institutions, which are specific to pharmacists illegal prescription drug use.
Police and Youth Interface With Interactive Technology in Researching Juvenile Crime
This study reports on an innovative approach to explore the problem of youth crime. This was a community-based problem solving project that involved interaction between sixth, seventh and eigth grader school youth and Suburban Police departments in the Chicago south metro region. The project was supported by local governments to facilitate family as well as the community youth interaction with local police departments. The study involved Interactive research using classroom and home on-line services In exploring the data. identifying problem areas, researching the problems and presenting alternatives to reduce juvenile crime. The areas of concern identified include shoplifting, physical abuse between students, vandalism, substance abuse, and deterrence of juvenile crime. The solutions proposed by the elementary And middle school students will be discussed with the local government and police departments and may be presented in a teleconference to State policy makers.
Police Checkpoints: Interpreting the “Balancing Test” as Social Control
This essay confronts the matter of police checkpoints through empirical analysis of evidence from two cities (Springfield, Illinois and Fresno, California) relating the kinds of citations, circumstances, and law enforcement personnel constituting checkpoints. A second analysis applies to court cases (including Michigan v. Stinz) that have extended police powers. In the last part of this essay, police checkpoints are deconstructed relative to the insights of critical race theory, a critique of legal formalism, and social control literatures influenced by Foucault and others. It is our contention that police checkpoints signify a kind of state power, legitimated through legal formalism, that violates Fourth Amendment protections against reasonable searches, and in doing so serves to expand the web of control mechanisms instituted by the state.
“Policezation” and Zero Tolerance in Finland
In Finland, in a so called social democratic Scandianvian welfare state, it is widely known, that the police has extremely limited possibilities to solve social problems. The police is the most competent organization above all in criminal investication and at removing armed, violent and threatening people from different places. Even though, there is political tensions to start to solve problems by Zero Tolerance politics. When the social problems are being defined as disorder and criminal problems, for which according to the law the police is responsible, and simultaneously the social structures are changed to creating unsecurity and crimality, the police has to be responsible for the growing burden with limited means and resources. The phenomenon can be called the policezation. Thus the social problems are left to the police and the criminal justice system to be “solved” by them. The politics are accounted for “the economic compulsion”, “the disorder of the streets” and “the half truths of the crime statistics” and “the populistic surveys”. In Finland there are several policezation risks, which are handled with zero tolerance politics – traditionally in alcohol and drug problems. These phenomena are problematized in this paper.
Policing by Consent and Partnership: A Model of Community Policing in Taiwan
The current climate of public distrust of police in Taiwan has led to renewed efforts in seeking strategies of increasing understanding and cooperation between police and community members. This paper examines the Jin Chin Chu System GCC), a community policing program experimented in Taipei County. JCC combines the features of both Chinese policing and the Japanese koban system, reviving the elements of traditional policing that are diminishing in the midst of ever increasing modernization. The author, as the principal investigator of this project, will report the findings of this study, including the implementation and development of the program, differences between the experimental and comparison areas, obstacles to the full implementation of JCC and recommendations.
Policing in Belgium: Democracy and Development
Belgium has experienced the negative effects of the professional model of policing in the past 20 years. This has been exacerbated in recent years by the Zero Tolerance Philosophy. This paper will examine the implications of community policing for change in Belgium.
Policing in Bermuda: A Comparative Study of Dimensions of Policing During Transition, 1950-1977 and 1978-1995
The post World War Two global process of de-colonization often occurred rapidly in the context of violence. However, for some micro-state dependancies the transition to political independence has been slow and reformist characterized by the progressive transfer of political control of domestic institutions from the external to internal power. The transition of policing in the British dependency of Bermuda involved a progressive transfer of political control, and command and line functions from external/colonial to the internal/domestic resources. This paper undertakes a diachronic study of measures of dimensions of policing in the islands of Bermuda for the years 1950-1977 and 1978-1995. These two periods are characterized by the limited transfer of political control of policing in 1977, from the external colonial power Great Britain, to the domestic government of the dependency of Bermuda. Sixteen measures of police strength, function and accountability and control were compared between the two time periods, and statistically significant differences were observed.
Policing Sexual Violence: The Politics of Investigating Sexual Violence
Sexual violence continues to be expressed as pervasive social and cultural manifestations within the Canadian and American social landscape. Sexual violence carries with it a “Sexual Mystique” that is embedded in traditional, historical, cultural, and legislative responses. This sexual mystique emanates a shroud of “Rape Myths” which lead to social, moral, and cultural notions. The values and beliefs of the sexual mystique that historically have been fostered within the Canadian and American legal system, are the same ideologies that continue to be expressed today within some elements of the legal apparatus. This assessment provides an opportunity to critically evaluate current criminal justice responses, policies, and practices in responding to sexual violence. Although much discussion has been generated to address reformations of the criminal justice apparatus response to sexual violence, this research will evaluate these changes to provide an assessment of these changes to provide as assessment of these reforms. Specifically, this assessment will provide will provide an inventory of changes in criminal justice practice and policy, current systemic criminal justice responses to sexual violence, specialized programs and agencies that address the needs of survivors of sexual violence, and arguements for enhanced developments and reformations of the criminal justice system.
Policy Change and Prison Population Forecasting: Producing and Validating Results
Prison population forecasters confront two problems. First, they must produce valid and reliable forecasts of future prison populations, where forecasts are seen as conditional statements about future conditions if the assumptions on which they are based hold. To project populations, forecasters use four general approaches: Microsimulation models are used by 23 States and the Federal Bureau of Prisons; 15 States and the District of Columbia use disaggregated flow models; and 12 States use either statistical or mathematical models. The challenges of producing reliable forecasts are compounded during periods of policy change, as historical relationships and patterns between variables may change, and forecasters must decide what to use to base forecasts on in the absence of history. Second, forecasters have to convince decision makers of the reliability and validity of their forecasts. Accuracy is an important, but not the only, standard for gauging the quality of forecasts, as the independence of the forecaster from departmental or other political pressures is an important consideration for the users of forecasts. In some States, steps have been taken to organize forecasting in ways that are consistent with the principles of objectivity and independence. Policy changes also compound problems associated with the use of forecasts, as policy makers also must confront departures from history.
Political Piggybacking: Should State Public Defenders and Federal Defenders Collaborate to Strengthen the Right to Counsel?
Among the many problems state public defenders observe is the general public’s failure to comprehend the; nature of their work and to understand the importance of providing an adequate defense to the indigent accussed. The Supreme Court’s sixth amendment charges in Gideon and Argersinger have not been fulfilled in too many state criminal justice systems mainly due to lack of political backing for their work. To strengthen the right to counsel some state defenders are reaching into their communities to build new fortes of political support. One likely ally that is too often overlooked are Federal defenders who are engaged in simlilar work. Although both represent the. indigent accused these two worlds rarely coincide. Too often the only contact state defense lawyers have with the Federal defenders arc periodic joint training sessions; sometimes there is no contact at all. The concept elf state public defenders reaching-out more systematically to Federal defenders to increase communication, share expertise, and engage in political coalition-building is relatively novel. This paper explores ways to build incentives for increased collaboration between state and Federal defenders representing clients within tile same geographic area. The stateof Minnesota serves as a case study of techniques and strategies that have begun to shift perceptions among state public. defenders and others stakeholders in the criminal justice system. This shift takes on particularly significance considering that an increasing number of cases which might have previously been brought in the state system arc now being brought in the Federal system. In the second part of the paper the Minnesota case study will serve as an example to explain the concept, behind a proposal for a national Attorney Defender. The creation of a National Attorney Defender could serve as a unifying force akin to the Attorney General, only from a defense perspective within our adversarial system. This increased political ‘piggybacking’ arid the national Attorney Defender proposal reflect new approaches to forge broader national support for the sixth ammendment right to counsel.
Pomp and Circumstances: Making the Life-Course Transition From Middle School to High School
The transition from middle school to high school has been considered a major life event. This study incorporates a developmental model focusing on this life-course transition and its subsequent effects on adolescent behavior. Four waves of data from a six city sample in which youth were followed from entry into middle school to entry into high school were employed for analyses. Sample characteristics include an equal distribution of males and females and adequate represntation across categories of race allowing generalizability of results.
Pondering the Future: Effective Control of Long Term Inmates
The increasing numbers of inmates in our nation’s prisons is an area for concern for citizens and administrators. This project looks into the relationship between increased inmate populations and the level of violence and discord that exists in prisons today. Unit management is used In 37 states and anecdotal evidence points to Its effectiveness as a means to control even the most recalcitrant prisoner. Two institutions are investigated, one unit management and one not unit management, to determine the level of institutional tranquility as measured by such variables as disciplinary reports, program completion, staff overtime, and man days spent in segregation.
Possibilities for Geocriminology
This paper explores the possibilities of what might be considered a new field in criminology, that of geocriminology. Geocriminology is related to on-going areas of study in criminology, including theory and research on spatial and temporal dimensions of crime. Crime is a dynamic entity describable in terms of inertia, place, and time. It exists independent from the actors who create it and its reality is multiple. The task of geocriminology is to capture that dynamic theoretically and empirically.
Postmodern Images: Claims, Crime and the Hyperreal
Postmodern theory has been met by criticism that it represents little more than a passing trend among intellectuals. Yet, its assertions regarding the nature of power and the influence of technology provide significant contributions to the discourse on public perceptions of reality. Media criminology has only recently begun to recognize the importance of postmodern thought on our understanding of crime and justice in a media-based society. This paper merges the literature on postmodern thought with key theories and concepts regarding media, the claims-making process and the social construction of crime.
Practical Payoffs to Evaluation in a Juvenile Correctional Setting Implementing Juvenile Boot Camp Reform
In 1998, the New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission (NJ’s juvenile correctional agency) completed a legislatively mandated report on the performance of its new juvenile boot camp program. The legislative purpose of the report was to identify changes required to improve the performance of the program. The report was based on a comprehensive and ongoing process and outcome evaluation conducted by the Research Unit of the Commission’s Office of Policy and Service Development. It provides extensive findings regarding the implementation, nature, performance and preliminary outcomes of the program. The report also contains 12 formal recommendations for program improvement and notes, in its findings, additional opportunities for program enhancement. Due to the practical goals of the ongoing evaluation project, a detailed implementation plan was develo0ped to facilitate optimum accetance and implementation of the recommendations for change. The present paper focuses on the nature of this iplementation process, and documents substantial program changes that have been achieved through a cooperative effort between the Office, its Research Unit, and the involved administraotrs (boot camp, education and aftercare). The paper provides insights into the potential for rigorous research to contribute to achievement of the practical goal of program development and improvement in a correctional setting.
‘Praying to the Golden Calf’: A Preliminary Conceptual Paradigm of Religious Deviance
The preponderance of social norms are imbedded in the major social institutions — family, religion, education, the polity, and work. Accordingly, violations of such norms -deviance – are institutionally related. Behavioral scientists have examined most forms of institutional deviance in considerable detail. Thus, there is an extensive literature on configurations of institutional deviance such as family related deviance (e.g. abandonment, domestic violence, adultery, or failure to pay child support). There is a similarly extensive literature on educational deviance (e.g. truancy, plagiarism, school violence, etc.), work related deviancy (e.g. white-collar crime, substance abuse on the job, etc.) and political deviance (malfeasance, corruption, “rigged elections,” etc.). Curiously, religious deviance has tended to be relatively neglected by social science scholars. There is, of course, a detailed vocabulary of terms articulating specific modes of such deviance. These include, “apostasy,” “blasphemy,” “heresy,” and, of course, “sin,” as examples. Religious deviancy covers a much larger array of transgressions, however, ranging from a Protestant child attending Sunday School and failing to have memorized a Bible verse, to a member of the Amish faith acquiring an automobile, to a Catholic Priest engaging in sexual activity, to the individual in some preliterate society “displeasing” the Gods by failing to perform some critical ritual, thereby causing the volcano to erupt. An appropriate focus of study is needed. This paper seeks to offer a preliminary conceptual scheme for the exploration of religious deviance and its parameters. In addition to traditional modes of “crime,” this paradigm will also examine new dimensions such as “Crimes Against Tradition,” “Crimes Against Belief,” “Crimes Against Authority,” and “Crimes Against Life Style,” among others. Examples of such deviant behavior are analyzed and discussed.
Predators and Their Prey: How Far Will the Residential Burglar Travel to Score
In an effort to reduce the incidence of residential burglary, a small southern city recently implemented a community policing plan with a focus on crime prevention. In addition, the agency implemented a secondary program of crime analysis, focusing on burglary. This paper will profile the top ten residential burglary suspects in this city to determine if community policing efforts have changed their activity patterns based on the distance between their primary residence and their targets. Data will also be examined to determine whether the community policing / crime prevention program has displaced the overall patterns of residential burglary. Finally, hot spots of residential burglary will be compared to hot spots of burglar residence to determine what, if any, overlap exists between these two variables.
Predicting Attrition From Prevention Programs: An Evaluation of the Maryland After School Community Grant Program
Recently, the FBI has found that juvenile crime peaks between the hours of 2:00p.m. and 8:00p.m. Additional findings have noted that children who are left unsupervised at these times are at higher risk for problem behaviors. In response to these findings, after-school programs for children have gained strong public and political support. In order to reach at-risk children during at-risk times, the programs must be able to retain the students. The problem of attrition from these programs has been noted, but the reasons for student dropout of prevention programs has not been studied. Extensive research on school dropout has found various characteristics of individuals, families, communities, and schools to be associated with school dropout. This study employs the models and findings on school dropout to examine after-school program withdrawal behavior. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether there is a relation between students’ decisions to drop out of after school programs and the following factors: individual student characteristics, family attributes, community structure, or properties of afterschool programs. The study utilizes a variety of both quantitative and qualitative data from after-school programs throughout the state of Maryland to explore whether these factors influence after-school program dropout. The results of this research have important policy implications on funding and implementation of after-school programs aimed at delinquency prevention.
Predicting Change in Capital Punishment Opinion
Since the landmark case of Gregg v. Georgia in 1976 when the Supreme Court held that “the punishment of death does not invariably violate the Constitution,” over 350 defendants have been put to death (Sourcebook, 1997). As of April 1, 1998, there are over 3,000 inmates on death row awaiting execution around the United States (Sourcebook, 1997). Public opinion data offer insight about the decision making process of potential jurors when sentencing an individual to death. Rationales for punishment, characteristics of the defendant and confidence in the ability to determine guilt offer reasons for individuals to support or oppose the death penalty. The reasons that individuals change their support of capital punishment will be examined. The current research utilizes public opinion data to predict change in capital punishment opinion based on the above issues.
Predicting Individual Risk for Recidivism
Given the increasing cost of incarceration, prison overcrowding, and the increasing numbers of offenders being sentenced to community-based corrections, considerable attention has been focused on recidivism prediction in the criminological literature. The aim of this area of research has been to identify variables which appear to be the most salient factors related to recidivism. Using 14,343 cases which appeared before a New Jersey state court over a 14-month period, this study uses OLS regression to examine the ability of several types of variables to predict recidivism. Unlike previous recidivism research, this study tests models utilizing combinations of specific values of social structural variables to examine more accurately the risk for recidivism. Implications for risk assessment with regard to interventions are discussed.
Predicting Juvenile Crime Rates: A Hazardous Business
In the mid-1990s spate of articles in the mainstream magazine spoke of a startling climb in violent crime rates of juveniles in the United States. Criminologists wrote some of these articles and were widely cited in others. The articles went on to project even more ominous rates of juvenile violence in the future. In this paper, we evaluate the validity of these claims.
Predicting Juvenile Recidivism in At-Risk Youth
Myriad treatment and intervention programs for youth at-risk for delinquency are available throughout the United States. Given that a rather high percentage of youth have at least one arrest during adolescence, cost effective treatment depends not only on the ability of these programs to decrease risk and problem behaviors, but also the ability of service providers to identify those most likely to be recidivists during adolescence. In response to a request from the Lane County Oregon Department of Youth Services to assist in the identification of youth at risk for multiple juvenile arrests, we created a screening scale comprising six risk factors (i.e., mother ever arrested, father ever arrested, documented involvement with child protective services, at least one family transition, ever received special education services, and first offense prior to age 14). Each factor was chosen for two reasons: (1) the importance of the factor in the lifespan development of antisocial behavior and (2) the likelihood that the factor might be available in existing governmental data sets. Using data from the longitudinal Oregon Youth Study (n=206) funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, we performed a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis (see Mossman, 1994) to determine an optimal cut off score of 3 on this risk scale. Approximately 80% of youth with three or more of these risk factors were detained two or more times during adolescence compared to I I% of those with none or only one risk characteristic.
Predicting Juvenile Violence From Early Onset of Delinquency
Previous efforts have examined the onset age of serious and violent offending in juveniles, but have tended to rely on retrospective rather than retrospective data (Loeber, Farrington, Stouthamer-Loeber, Van Kammen, 1998). We investigated whether individuals with prospectively reported early onsets were more likely to commit later acts of violence than individuals with late or no onsets. In addition we examined several risk factors that contributed to the effect of early onset predicting violent delinquency, The analyses were performed on the youngest sample from the Pittsburgh Youth Study, N 5 503, between the ages of 7 and 13 years. Individuals who committed acts of moderately serious delinquency prior to age 13 were significantly more likely to commit violent acts during early adolescence, as reported by parents, teachers, and the children themselves. Furthermore, very early onsets (between ages 6 to 8 years) were associated with an increased tendency toward violence. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that early onset as well as race, lack of guilt, and hyperactivity-impulsivity-attention problems contributed to the prediction of violence.
Predicting Program Completion in a Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison Program: Preliminary Findings
One hundred fifty felony drug offenders diverted from prison to a community-based, residential drug treatment program completed a comprehensive intake interview as part of a longitudinal study. This paper analyzes the offender attributes that predict treatment completion, including demographic characteristics, family, social, educational, employment, medical, psychological, criminal, sexual behavior, and drug use and treatment histories. Logistic regression results reveal treatment completers as having more social conformity and close friends, and lest need far employment counseling, fewer prior felony drug convictions, less drug dealing income, and less frequent unprotected sexual behavior than dropouts. OCompleters were also less likely to encounter recent problems with a significant other, have a psychiatric history, experience gunshot or stab wounds, and commenced heroin use at an older age than dropouts. However, completers were more likely to report recent problems with alcohol. Further analyses examine models classified into three subcategories: “life choice” variables (substance use, criminal and sexual behavior), stable variables (background and dispositions), and less stable situational variables (employment, current psychological state, recent arid pass encounters). Exploratory analyses examine differences among dropouts leaving treatment at various stages. Treatment implications considering these findings are discussed.
Predicting Recidivism: What Are the Most Useful Measures?
A narrative and quantitative synthesis of the literature regarding the prediction of recidivism by risk measures was conducted. Measures were assessed according to their (1) breadth of content particularly in regard to essential constructs that assess criminolgenic risk factors, (2) suitability for measuring change, and (3) utility in predicting various types of recidivism including prison adjustment. Of the available measures, the LSI-R appears to be the measure of choice. Other promising measures are also noted.
Predicting Success or Failure in a Drug Testing Program Combined With Immediate Sanctions for Parolees: The Evaluation of Project S.T.O.P.
An intensive drug treatment program was piloted in a large Midwestern city in an attempt to curb the high recidivism rate of parolees with substance abuse problems. This program consisted of randomly teting parolees and immediately incarcerating, for three days, those parolees testing positive. Random drug testing with immediate sanctions was believed to decrease drug use and lower a parolees chances of recidivating. The primary results from the evaluation found that parolees in the experimental group (this group had random drug tests and immediate sanctions) had lower rearrest rats and a lower rate of positive drug tests during the program period than the two control groups. This presentation will discuss specific results of the evaluation by focusing on characteristics of parolees successfully completing the program versus those who failed, types of program failues (technical violation or new criminal offense) and differences in the amount of time to failure. In addition, various policy and program implications will be explored.
Predictors of Violence: Ethnographic Interviews With Inner-City Youth
Violence is a continuing concern, and is considered a crisis which particularly plagues cities. The literature documents the trend of increasing adolescent involvement in urban violent crime. A number of studies cite reasons for the overwhelming presence of violence, but few report from the viewpoint of the adolescents themselves who so often commit, or fall victim to violent crime in American cities. Eight focus groups were conducted and analyzed in order to prepare interviewers for a series of individual ethnographic interviews. These focus groups served to inform ethnographers on salient aspects of the role that violence plays in the lives and communities of the 67 focus group participants. This paper presents results from ongoing ethnographic interviews with approximately 30 African American and Latino male and female adolescents who have been interviewed over the course of a year and attempt to learn more about predictors of violence from an adolescent vantage point. Some preliminary themes have been glean from the qualitative interviews which appear to be factors influencing adolescent risk for committing violent acts, or becoming gang involved. Some of these factors include relationships with family members, gang-control of communities, mentorship, employment opportunities, drug solicitation, future plans and goals, sexual activity, and early parenthood. It is our objective that those who attend our presentation leave with an understanding of the possibilities of using qualitative methodology, as well as factors that may lead to adolescent violence.
Preliminary Findings From a National Survey of Intensive Aftercare Innovations in State Youth Correctional Systems: A 10 Year Update
In the spring of 1988, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) funded a long term research and development project, “Intensive Community-Based Aftercare Programs (IAP),” that focused on assessing, developing, testing, and disseminating information on intensive community-based aftercare prototypes or models for successfully transitioning serious juvenile offenders from secure confinement. As part of the initial assessment process, a national survey was conducted in 1989 to determine the extent and nature of intensive juvenile aftercare programming or commendable programs and to gather policy and operations information relevant to their development and implementation. Today, approximately 10 years after the initial survey was conducted, the same team of researchers at the Johns Hopkins University and California State University, Sacramento, are concluding a followup survey to determine the degree to which youth correctional systems nationwide have adopted various intensive aftercare policy and procedures as formal requirements in their daily operations. This paper provides preliminary findings from this followup survey. Special attention in this inquiry has been directed toward population targeting, institutionally-based reintegrative activities, structured stepdown for community re-entry, collaborative planning and programming, and indications of positive outcome.
Preliminary Findings on Criminal Justice Systems Impact From the Brooklyn Treatment Court’s Women’s Criminal Justice/Treatment Network
The King’s County Supreme Court (NY) began the Brooklyn Treatment Court (BTC) in 1996 as an experimental project to test the feasibility and effectiveness of reducing offender drug use and criminal activity through court-mandated drug treatment and case management. BTC links drug-involved defendants to treatment by identifying defendants early in their court contact, requiring completion of treatment as a condition of case dismissal, assessing and matching defendants to appropriate treatment settings and services and actively monitoring each defendant’s progress, with particular emphasis on female defendants. This paper will present preliminary findings from the impact evaluation, which seeks to measure the effect of the Court on the criminal justice system as a whole. The impact evaluation uses a pre-post quasi-experimental-design to model changes in criminal justice system outcomes as a result of BTUs implementation, in terms of pleas, conviction rates, case duration and sentences.
Preliminary Study of Drug Courts in Kentucky
Since the middle 1990s, the Commonwealth of Kentucky has experimented with drug courts. This paper reports on the Kentucky experiment in selected urban counties. Research is based on program design, interviews with participants, and courtroom observation Issues explored include how the court impacted defendants, defendant’s families, attorneys, judges, jails, and community correction programs. Preliminary analysis of data suggests mixed results with officially stated goals. For example, positive outcomes include diversion of some of the defendants from jail or prison, individuals receiving medical attention for their abuse of controlled substances, and reduction in the demo for jail space. One major negative outcome includes a possible compromise of legal procedures. This takes place when a defendant forfeits the right to plead innocent in exchange for entry into a treatment program. This sacrifice of a real legal right may result in a speedier prosecution of drug cases and an increase in the prosecution of minor drug possession cases and a corresponding increase in the “widening of the net”. Evidence sets that diversion programs like drug courts provide officials with an opportunity to process minor offenders instead of dismissing weak cases or cases predicated on a minute amount of illegal drugs. Another problem that may be present is that the drug treatment program is organized as a private business. The defendant who waived his right to a legal defense must pay to have their urine tested for drugs, a real problem for sow members of the underclass. Another negative spin-oil is the establishment of this drug treatment business as a stakeholder or interest group, in the policy process. The potential for drug courts to reduce crime or aid in rehabilitation requires further research.
Pretrial Detention of Men Accused in Domestic Violence Affairs
The penal processing of spousal abuse is being increasingly considered as an effective way to punish and deter the offenders, to protect the victims and to publicly denounce the unacceptable and reprehensible nature of this act. Given the particular context of this type of abuse, especially the risk of violence escalation, many have also put forward the necessity to detain the accused during the criminal justice process. However, in terms of legal matters in Canada, the release is the rule unless it is shown that the detention in custody is justified. We will discuss the results of a research on pretrial detention, conducted in the Court of Quebec in the Montreal district, Criminal and Penal Division. The analysis were based on a cohort of men who appeared detained in court for a new charge laid between November 1992 and April 1993. A sample of 284 domestic violence cases was compared with a sample of 1374 cases involving men accused in other types of situations. Court decisions on pretrial release of spouses will be analyzed not only by considering the legal prescriptions regarding pretrial confinement, but also by taking into account the sociohistorical context of the spousal abuse’s criminalization. We will also discuss the influence of pretrial detention on the outcome of the trial.
Preventing Vehicle Theft With Curfew Decals: Does it Work?
“Combat Auto Theft” (CAT), “Help End Auto Theft” (HEAT), “Beat Auto Theft” (BAT), “Citizens Against Auto Theft” (CAAT), “The National Watch Your Car Program”, “Vehicle Watch”, and “The “25” Scheme” are all programs with the objective of preventing vehicle theft with curfew decals. This paper discusses the theoretical and practical requirements of the program. Moreover, this paper presents the results from a Swedish pilot project with the aim of reducing vehicle theft with curfew decals.
Prevention of Violence and Vandalism in Jails: An Environmental Perspective
During the past few decades, crime prevention through environmental design has been used to improve the safety of those residing in public housing projects. Supporters of this approach argue that the environment itself provides opportunity, and to a certain extent motivation, for illegal activities. Since jails and public housing projects share many of the same attribute, jail architects and administrators can benefit from the use of similar changes in the environment as those seen in apartments. The current study analyzes different approaches to jail design and surveillance strategies and their impact on violence and vandalism in these institutions.
Prison Inmates in New Mexico and New Zealand: A Descriptive Cross-Cultural Comparison of Prisoner Characteristics and Attitudes
In 1996-1997, two identical surveys were administered to 170 inmates in two medium security prisons located in two nations. The first prison, Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility, near New Mexico’s border with Mexico; the second, Christchurch Prison, is on the South Island of New Zealand. The inmates in both facilities responded to questions about inmate systems of respect and prisonization levels. The only alteration to the two instruments was to cast them in terminology relevant to prisoner in the two rather different English-speaking nations. The present research compares these two populations on four dimensions. First, the personal biographical, criminal records, and prison sentences of the two populations were compared to determine the extent to which the two populations were similar or dissimilar. Second, we examined the respect rankings given to a series of 15 different types of criminal offenders. Third, we looked at the impact on respect of a series of 16 intrainstitutional inmate behaviors or personal characteristics. Finally, we explored the extent to which inmates in the two facilities resembled each other on a standard prisonization scale. Policy and theoretical issues revealed by these analyses are addressed in the paper.
Prison Misbehavior and Prison Gangs: 1990-1996
This study examines the role of gang membership in prison misbehavior. Individual level data, from a random sample of 300 Texas Department of Criminal Justice inmates admitted between 1990 and 1996, are analyzed to determine what factors are significantly associated with major and minor prison disciplinary infractions. Controls for age, race, gender, education, marital status, sentence term length, and religion affiliation are examined. Results are discussed in terms of recent trends in gang control management.
Prison Population and the Law Enforcement System: A Model for the Netherlands
This contribution outlines a model of the Dutch law enforcement sytem. It relates demographic, social-economic and policy trends on a national level with crime and the need for prison cell capacity. This is combined with external demographic and economic forecasts and the planned expansion of police and court input. Thus an increase of the need for prison cell capacity in the next years is projected. This is mainly due to a rising number of convictions related to violent crimes and drug trafficking. The model is, as far as we know, unique and useful for policy purposes in its present form. But there is certainly room for improvements. In any case, perfect forecasts do not exist. Policymakers always have to face the risk of under- or over-estimations.
Prisons and the Future of Penal Policy
The emergence of the modern prison was associated with the modernist impulse and its development was deeply influenced by the ideas expressed Enlightenment thinkers. As we now move into the era of late modernity and into a period which has been variously described as post-traditioinal, post-Fordist and post-welfare, the issuee arises of the role of imprisonment and other regulatory institutions in society. Do these broad structural changes provide the conditions for the the inexorable expansion of the prison system or could it be that they may in the longer term serve to undermine the legitimacy of the prison? Are these social and economic changes likely to have an impact upon the composition of the prison and by implication the function of prison in the 21st century? This paper will address these questions and aim to locate the changing role of the prison within a wider debate about the changing nature of social relations and social control.
Private Adult Prisons: What Do We Really Know and Why Don’t We Know More?
Strategies for evaluating the performance of privately operated prisons have inadequately addressed the ways in which public and private prisons differ in their operations. We review the methodological shortcomings of existing research, but we give most of our attention to substantive differences that are hypothesized to exist between public and private prisons. If future evaluations address the issues raised here, it will be possible to more systematically examine how privatization affects the operations of public prison systems.
Private Property and the Commons: Environmental Resistance and the Preservation of Indigenous Lifestyles
A major impediment to promulgating effective environmental legislation has been the longstanding conflict between private property and the commons. This paper Will use a case study to examine the conflict between private property and the concept of the commons as a legal, human justice, and environmental issue. This particular case deals with the rights of an individual land owner to deforest a mountainous area in Colorado, a land use practice which is radically altering the watershed of an entire Chicano farming community and reducing their ability to carry on a way of fife which has existed for hundreds of years. In addition to examining the legal, human justice, and environmental issues raised by the plight of these farmers, this paper will also focus on some particular modes of resistance being used by the Chicano farmers of the San Luis Valley in order to counter the destruction of their way of life.
Privatization and Flexibility: Prisoner Transfers
One of the current issues in punishment and corrections is the privatization of confinement facilities (prisons and jails). Since private for-profit correctional companies try to achieve maximum efficiency in filling beds to maintain high profits, they may use the transfer of prisoners from one jurisdiction to another more often than public facilities. In many cases this may occur without the agreement or knowledge of government authorities, loocal officials, and citizens. This paper reviews some of the issues involved with transfer policies, looks into some of the recent and well known cases of problems of transfers, and their implications for prisoners, their families, government authorities, monitors, and the host communities.
Problem-Oriented Policing and GIS Across Multiple Jurisdictions: The New England Consortium Experiment
Many criminologists have studied and commented on the drop in crime in citieS’ and towns throughout the United States. One hypothesis explaining the drop id crime is that agency-wide adoption of problem-oriented policing using crime analysis (especially Geographic Information Systems) can reduce crime. The Nev) England Consortium Experiment tests this hypothesis across multiple jurisdictions under randomized field trial conditions. Using a hierarchical block randomized design, we assess the utility of GIS and problem-solving across 30 small police agencies with individual patrol officers and teams of beat officers tackling a total 184 problems during the course of the experimental year. The New England Consortium Experiment: Operational, Organizational and Logistical Challenges
Profiling Inmates in Los Angeles County Jails: Risks, Recidivism, and Release Options
By 1996, Los Angeles County jails faced serious problems. The core problem was overcrowding, and there were really only two choices: build more jail capacity or divert a greater number of incoming inmates to community-based, intermediate sanctions. Los Angeles County sails, county officials requested assistance from researchers at RAND to address the question of whether offenders currently locked up in the jails represented good candidates for community-based release programs, or were too serious and needed to remain in custody. RAND received a grant from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to “profile” inmates in the LA jail system, and to determine how many of them might be good, candidates for intermediate sanctions. A random survey of 1,000 pro-adjudicated inmates was selected for study. For these inmates, we coded detailed prior criminal record and current offense information, length of time spent in jail, and we also requested State and local “rap sheets” so that we could record their recidivism behavior between our census date and two years hence (January 15, 1996 to January l5. 1998) , Analysis showed that LA jails are occupied almost entirely with offenders having a current felony offense combined with an extensive criminal record. Additional analyses estimated the number of offenders eligible for pretrial release programs as a means to reduce the crowding problem.
Program, Population, and Provider Correlates of Strength of School-Based Prevention Programs
This presentation summarizes information from nearly 4,000 surveys of providers of prevention services in the National Study of Delinquency Prevention in Schools about the quality and quantity of prevention services provided in schools. Surveys were designed to capture information about fourteen different types of school-based prevention, ranging from prevention curricula, to school management practices, to security enhancement. Providers described the intensity and quality of the actual implementation of the activities as well as characteristics of the funding and selection process, target population, training, organizational support, content of the activity, and their own personal characteristics. This paper describes the quality and quantity of prevention activities and correlates of implementation strength.
Program Retention and Criminal Recidivism in Different Models of Legally-Mandated Drug Treatment
A number of recent studies suggest that legal pressure is an effective means of-compelling retention in drug treatment. Retention is an important interim indicator of success, since research shows that longer treatment stays are associated with better outcomes. This paper will examine retention rates and criminal recidivism outcomes of participants attending two different mandatory treatment programs. Offenders mandated to long-term residential treatment by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison (DTAP) program (N=150) and the local TASC program (N=120) show similarly high rates of retention. The DTAP group, however, has significantly lower rates of rearrest. We will present findings from multivariate analyses that examine the role of selection factors in the retention and rearrest results. Discussion will also focus on the different coercive strategies employed by the two programs, and the ways that they may differentially affect retention and recidivism.
Projecting Prison Populations–The CSC’s Use of Risk/Need and Custody Ratings Scores for Projecting Future Offender Profiles
The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) is responsible for all Canadian offenders sentenced to a prison term of 2 years or more. It is presently in the process of developing a number of new forecasting tools and methodologies including simulation models for forecasting 1-5 years ahead, time-series models for 10 year accommodation planning forecasts, and a criminal justice process model for predicting annual federal offender admissions. One new tool is a simulation model which we call OPPSIM– The Offender Population Profiling and Simulation System. The use of simulation models to forecast offender populations is neither new nor unique to the CSC. However what makes OPPSIM unique is the use it makes of the CSC’s new Offender Intake Assessment (OIA) indicators–e.g., Risk, Criminogenic Needs, and Custody Rating Scale (CRS) scores–as factors in the population simulations. Use of these OIA indicators will permit the CSC to project offender intake risk assessment trends into the future, improving the ability to anticipate and plan for changing profiles. changing trends in intake needs assessment should improve the ability to plan future core program demand levels. Finally, the use of CRS scores will permit accommodation planning based on individual offender’s ratings rather than the institutional security level placements.
Prostitutes’ Perceptions of a Misdemeanor Arraignment Court’s Sanctions and Services
This paper examines street prostitutes’ perceptions of the Midtown Community Court – a misdemeanor arraignment court in Manhattan – regarding the fairness of its sanctions and the helpfulness of the social services that it offers. First, because the Midtown Court has individualized sentencing and graduated sanctioning based on criminal history, it was hypothesized that prostitutes would find the Midtown Court to be fairer than traditional courts, which have comparably arbitrary sentencing practices. Second, because a goal of the Midtown Court is to act as a gateway to services for those defendants who have underlying problems, in semi-structured interviews, questions were posed to learn whether individual prostitutes perceived the court to be helpful. Interview data show that, consistent with the “group-value” model of procedural justice (Lind and Tyler, 1988), prostitutes perceived the sanctions meted out at the Midtown Court to be more just at the same time they considered them to be harsher. In regard to perceptions of helpfulness, few subjects considered court-mandated social services to be helpful; and, although they were aware of voluntary court-based services, few took advantage of them. Policy implications of these findings are considered.
Protective Factors Against Violent Offending in Adolescence: A Prospective Study of Aggressive and Hyperactive Children
Reviews of the research literature indicate clearly that children who exhibit aggressive and hyperactive behavior in childhood are at much higher risk for later violence than are other children. Research has also shown that many children who exhibit such behavior do not engage in violence In adolescence. In spite of these findings, Information about why some children go on to engage in violence and others do not is quite limited. This study uses data from the Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP) to explore factors in early adolescence that disrupt the progression of childhood aggression and hyperactivity to later violence. SSDP is a longitudinal study of youth development and behavior that has followed prospectively at panel of Seattle public school students (n = 808) from 1985. Analyses were carried out using a structural equation modeling framework. Findings from the study have direct implications for the development of preventive Intervention programs from childhood through early adolescence.
Providing Prison-Based Treatment for the Substance Abusing Sex Offender
Since 1992, the California Department of Corrections has experienced a substantial growth in the number of prison-based substance abuse treatment programs. To date, there exist approximately 5,000 in-prison beds devoted to substance abuse treatment based on the therapeutic community model of treatment, as well as numerous other programs based on the 12-step model of treatment. A major component of these models of treatment is “mutual self-help,” which is achieved through self-disclosure and sharing among members of the community or group. This paper examines the stigma attached to sex offenders within the prison subculture, how this poses a significant barrier to integrating these individuals into existing substance abuse treatment programs, and strategies for providing effective prison-based treatment to these individuals for their substance abuse disorders.
Provision of Appropriate Training and Education for Qualifying Probation Officers: Lessons From England and Wales
This paper will consider the new arrangements for the education and training of probation officers in the UK. The new form of training provides a dedicated curriculum and incorporates work based learning course units. The linking of theoretical frameworks to probation interventions is a central element of the programme and special emphasis is paid to both effective and evidence based practice paradigms. This paper will draw on the experience of the authors in designing a curriculum and implementing an integrated university and work based learning strategy within Higher Education. Consideration will be given to the provision of appropriate intellectual frameworks to ensure that qualifying probation officers are able to reflect on their work, analyse their practice and critically evaluate outcomes. Finally the paper will consider how effective such an education and training strategy is in realising the goals of the English and Welsh probation service of reducing offending, protecting the public and rehabilitating offenders.
Pseudofamily Groups in Female Prisons: Is It About Sex and Is Membership a Positive Experience?
Only a few studies over the last several decades have touched on the familial type relationships which are a part of the female prison subculture. The majority of these studies have prominently focused on the sexual nature of these types of relationships. However, sexual contact is only found among a small percentage of those Involved. Research which focuses on the various roles that are commonly portrayed and why such pseudofamily (families not based on biological relations or marriages, but by choice) groups exist, would enhance our understanding of the function of such groups and If these groups have a positive effect on the well-being of female inmates In prison. This study examined the formation of pseudofamily groups and if these groups resulted In positive experiences for its members, Women who had been members of a group expressed that their time incarcerated had been easier and that the relationships had helped to Increase their confidence and self-esteem. Those that had not participated in these groups tended to be withdrawn from the prison population and basically felt their time had been harder. In addition, the fear of being labeled a lesbian had been a major factor in not joining a family group.
Psychoanalytic Semiotics and Doing Critical Legal Analysis
This paper seeks to achieve a two-part objective. Drawing from the works of Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalytic semiotics, the first part of our research objective is to explain in detail Lacan’s three interacting elements in the construction of the subject and of speech production. Specifically, we want to indicate the interplay of the symbolic, imaginary, and real orders. The second part of our research objective is to apply this conceptual schema to the U.S. Supreme Court case, Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council (1992). Specifically we want to show which voices were dominant, which were denied expression in our serniotic analysis. Psychoanalytic semiotics offers us critical tools for inquiry by which forms of domination (e.g., linguistic repression) can be understood, and hence confronted. Our paper will therefore indicate how this is so by the application to a particular court decision.
Psychology, Chaos, and Anarchism: On the Future of Justice
Anarchist political theory and the ideas and practices begotten by it have continued to represwent themselves as the “secret history of the twentieth century.” Indeed, the influence of anarchist ideas on the development of theory and practice in various disciplines is as indeterminable as it is often clandestinel More recently, the revolutionary political nature of anarchist thought has seen its application to issues more concerned with finding alternatives to centralized structures of authority that would allow humanity to flourish and social justice to become more of a reality than a romantic idealization. What has largely been ignored is the role of chaos in anarchist thought. While the terms “anarchy” and “chaos” generally go hand-in-hand, theoretical developments concerning the nature and role of chaos have fallen short of what is necessary for further advancement and acceptance of anarchist thought. The emerging insights of chaos theory offer valuable acumen. Examining the nature of disorder through the lens of chaos theory offers critical direction for the advancement of anarchist theory and practice, particularly where they converge on issues of relevance to law, crime, psychology and the systems that represent them.
Psychopathic Personality Disorder: An Evaluation of PCL-R Scores and APD Diagnoses as Predictive Factors of Recidivism
The prediction of recidivism among incarcerated criminals or institutionalised offenders is an obvious concern for clinicians, prison staff and government agencies and strongly influences the management of release decisions. Researchers have long been trying to identify factors which could help them achieve a greater level of predictive accuracy. They have hypothesised that psychopathy could be a useful variable, since several studies indicates that psychopaths as a subgroup of offenders are particularly prone to repetitive violence. When measuring and assessing the psychopathy construct, two competing views pervade the literature: the Hare psychopathy checklist on one side and the DSM IV APD diagnosis on the other. The present paper evaluates and compares the predictive validity of the PCL-R and the APD diagnosis. It is argued that the relative predictive failure of APD, and the PCL-R’s relative success, stem directly from the differences between the theoretical construct behind them. In other words, the lack of focus on the interpersonal and affective components of the psychopathic personality is at the roots of the APD predictive failure. It is further argued that the continuous use of psychopathy and APD as synonyms is not without ethical, legal and clinical implications in relation to release and treatment decisions.
Public Expectations of Probation and Parole, and the Need for Evidence-bases Practices: Where We Have Been and Where We Are Going
The American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) has worked with state legislators on the matter of assuring cost-effective practices in probation and parole. Moreover, the APPA has developed a long-term perspective regarding probation and parole practice and its relationship to publicly valued results. In this regard, the APPA has developed a model for results-driven practices. These practices focus probation and parole organizations on the relationships between results, practices, and the development of appropriate management information systems.
Public Housing and Crime: The Conditioning Effects of Design and Composition
Little systematic empirical research has been done on the implications oof federally assisted public housing for crime. A handful of studies indicate that crime rates are higher in neighborhoods containing public housing projects, but research has not demonstrated which aspects of public housing may be responsible. It has been argued that public housing is, by design, more susceptible to crime than other forms of housing–especially the high-rise, structurally dense projects. Yet public housing is not randomly distributed, socially or spatially. Thus, the socioeconomic composition of public housing and of the neighborhoods in which they are located may also explain its higher susceptibility to crime. We utilize block-group data for Atlanta, Georgia in the early 1990s to assess the relative contributions of design and compositional effects of public housing on neighborhood crime rates. We find that the effect of public housing on crime rates is conditioned by both the design and composition of public housing projects. In addition, the public housing-crime relationship is conditioned by the neighborhood context of public housing — its magnitude increases when poverty, race, and public housing are spatially concentrated, due to the corresponding concentration of social disadvantage within such locations.
Public Perceptions of the Courts: A Canadian/American Comparison
Research in both Canada and the United States indicates that the public has become increasingly critical of the criminal justice system. In particular, recent research has found that the public believes that the sentences given out by the courts are too lenient and that there exists racial discrimination within the criminal justice system. This study examines both Canadian and American attitudes towards two specific aspects of the criminal justice system: the court’s ability to provide help to the victims of crime in addition to it’s ability to protect the rights of accused individuals. The specific aspects of the criminal justice system being examined in this analysis were guided by an interest in the growing public concern for the victims of crime over the rights of the accused. For example, Myers (1996) argues that citizens are much more concerned with issues of protection of society, such as the treatment of victims and sentencing than with issues of equality and fairness, as measured by the protection of the rights of accused individuals. The analysis utilizes data from both the 1993 Canadian General Social Survey and the 1995 National Opinion Survey of Crime and Justice (US) in examining the role of race and social class on public perceptions of the courts. The focus of this research is to uncover the extent and type of public dissatisfaction and examine whether this dissatisfaction is shared by all Canadians or is experienced by specific groups.
Public Support for Capital Punishment: “Community Standards” or “Race Coding?”
The Supreme Court has used the overwhelming public support capital punishment currently enjoys as a justification for recent decisions supportive of capital punishment, arguing that the use of the death penalty reflects present community standards. However, it is possible these community standards may actually be reflective of racial biases among the public. Several scholars have suggested that some political issues such as crime, which have a racial dimension but are not specifically racial issues, ate “race coded.” According to this argument, policy makers are able to gain public, support for puniative policies in these areas by playing on negative racial sentiments, but without making explicitly racist arguments. The present study uses data from the General Social Survey to assess the extent to which the community standards of support for capital punishment is a function of racial prejudice among the public. It is hypothesized that measures of prejudice will be the strongest predictors of death penalty support when included in the models, and implications capital punishment policy are discussed in light of the findings.
Punishing of Drug Importers by the Correctional Court in Brussels
This paper covers extensive statistical analyses of about 17.000 judgements of drug offenders, of which about 15 % are drug importers. Apart from tracing the evolution (prevalence, kinds of drugs etc.) from 1975 onwards, an overview of the main socio-demographic characteristics of drug importers is offered : nationality, age, sexe … Regression analyses reveals an important disparity between judges, among other things. Also other effects are explored – race, nationality, age, offense characteristics, judicial characteristics. The impact of Belgian drug policy is discussed.
Punishment, Shame and Social Order
Over the course of the last decade or so, it has become increasingly apparent that the modern penalty is undergoing significant change. New strategies, technologies and cultural values seem to be reversing or reshaping many of the hitherto well established assumptions about the trajectory of punishment in the modern world. One aspect of these new penal arrangements – perhaps an aspect that would have been most unthinkable just a little more than a decade ago involves growing recourse to the use of shaming punishments. ‘Unthinkable’ would seem an appropriate term to use to describe the disjuncture that existed between shame and punishment at that point. When we consult the leading textbooks on sentencing of that period, most include no reference at all to shame or shaming sanctions (see Ashworth 1983; Boyle and Allen 1985; Wasik and Pease 1987). If there is any reference, the issue is one of how this then unwanted feature of the penal world might be minimised (Walker 1985). That it has since become such an important motif of penal development from all sides of the political spectrum (see, for example, Braithwaite 1989, Anderson 1995) would seem to indicate that we may well be in the process of moving into a distinctly new penal realm. What I thus want to explore in this paper is the general relationship between punishment, shame and modern society. Why was it the case that shaming sanctions had become so unthinkable just a short time ago; why is that since then they have become so prominent; and what is this resurgence of shame telling us about the nature of social order today?
Punishment and Social Structure: A Review and Assessment of the Research Evidence
This paper assesses the extent to which rates of incarceration are linked to social structural conditions, independent of the influence of crime. Specifically, I review the research evidence from studies that use either racial composition of place, rates of unemployment, or economic inequality as predictors of incarceration levels. The purpose is to estimate the quality of support that exists for theoretical perspectives that regard the state’s punitive response to be organized, at least in part, by the control of surplus or threatening populations. All studies published since 1970 with aggregate level empirical indicators of the relationship between rates or levels of incarceration and these social structural measures are examined. A “meta-analysis” is conducted to isolate the contexts in which those relationships are most often statistically significant. The relevance of these findings for macrolevel theories of punishment and social control are discussed, with a particular emphasis on the “social threat” (Liska, 1992), “social dynamite” (Spitzer, 1975), and control of labor surplus (Rusche and Kirchheimer, 1939) perspectives.
Q
Quality of Conditions of Confinement: The Effect of Privatization on Juvenile Correctional Institutions
Controversial expansion of the private sector in correctional institutions has sparked a number of debates. One concern is that the quality of conditions of confinement for inmates who are incarcerated in private institutions will not be as high as the quality of conditions of confinement for inmates in public institutions (Logan, 1993). Despite the large number of institutions that are becoming privatized, there is little empirical research examining how facilities operated by the private sector differ in quality from the publicly operated facilities. This research uses survey data collected in a national study of residential juvenile correctional institutions from over 4,000 juvenile inmates and 1,300 staff at 47 juvenile correctional facilities in 19 states. For a small subset of the cases (n= 545), repeated measures of the juveniles allow us to examine changes over time in perceptions of conditions of confinement, institutional adjustment and stress. Further, we will be able to examine the work experiences of the staff including job satisfaction, previous correctional experience, staff communication and stress levels.
Quest for “Informationology of Crime and Punishment”: Critical Analysis of Information Control
In Japan the criminal justice system has been administered in a closed and separated space from persons concerned (especially victims) other than criminals and criminal justice agencies under the name of human rights of criminals and protections of their privacies. With an increasing awareness of human rights on the site of victims, such a problematic situation has begun to be brought into question. It is necessary for us to get sufficient information about crime, punishment and criminal justice because we live in democratic countries. According to my research, however, our present situation of disclosure in Japan is so poor that only minimum information is fragmentarily and partially disclosed based on the needs of each criminal justice system (police, public prosecutors office, court, prison, etc.). Disclosures should be met demands of whole persons concerned (criminals, victims and their families, criminal justice agencies, people general, mass-media, etc.). Moreover we need a wider awareness of the issues involved to get a correct understanding of the meaning of information control: why do criminal justices control information, what are their aims, how do information controls function, how can we trace their histories, etc.. I would like to call this kind of science “informationology of crime and punishment”.
R
R-E-S-P-E-C-T–Find Out What It Means to Me: Female Gang Members and the Code of the Street
In recent years several scholars have established the importance of `respect’ and its role in youth street culture and conflict (e.g., Anderson, 1994; Bourgois, 1995; Wilkinson and Fagan, 1996; Canada, 1995; Shakur, 1993). Theso studies have revealed that respect is a highly valued attribute which young males constantly struggle to earn and maintain. While the `code of the streets’ perspective has increased our understanding of the norms arid dynamics of urban street culture, it has been limited to a focus on males; Findings from a qualitative study of female gangs in Boston reveal that the quest for `respect’ (anal the need to punish those who show `disrespect’) is of great importance to these young women. Based on interviews with 60 female gang/clique members, this paper presents females’ perceptions about the norms and values intrinsic to their social system, and the ways in which gender shapes their rules and responses to rule violation.
Race, Economic Competition, and Increasing Imprisonment Rates
The large increases in imprisonment in the United States since the 1970s reflect large increases in the proportion of African American and minority inmates. In this paper, we attempt to develop a theoretical explanation of how competition between whites and minorities in labor markets contribute to changes in patterns of imprisonment. More specifically, we examine the influence on imprisonment rates of contracting of job opportunities for minorities due to shifts in population size and unemployment, as well as changes in the racial composition of occupations and industrial sectors. We also examine how these processes operate within more conservative versus liberal political contexts. We empirically test our arguments using data from the 50 United States from 1976 to 1997 and random-effects models. Based on our findings, we suggest avenues for further developing our theoretical framework and speculate about possible future trends in imprisonment given current economic and political conditions.
Race, Expectations, and Evaluations of the Police: An Empirical Assessment
The purpose of the current study is two-fold. First, using data obtained from a sample of crime victims (n=122), this study endeavors to empirically assess the effect that police officer race has on evaluations of the police. Second, this study attempts to provide a greater specification of the effect that expectations regarding police performance have on evaluations of the police. ANOVA and Ordered Probit analyses indicate that police officer race does not influence victim evaluations of police performance. Expectations do significantly influence evaluations of the police and furthermore, expectations of police performance differ across racial lines. Explanations for these findings and directions for future research are offered.
Race, Racial Attitudes and Support for Punitive Measures
This paper will focus on the use of racial and ethnic profiles in drug and gun interdiction efforts and how such use is underpinned by selective use and faulty interpretations of empirical research. It will demonstrate how the use of such profiles and consequent policy activity force members of minority communities to ‘choose’ between safety and constitutional rights; and falsely pegs ‘the drug problem’ as a ‘minority problem’ while masking evidence of substance abuse and violence as broader disturbance involving members of all groups as perpetrators and victims. In particular, the paper emphasizes the way in which the aggressive police tactics associated with interdiction efforts (and their questionable constitutionality) has been justified by criminal justice policy makers as keeping ‘crime prone’ aka ‘minority’ neighborhoods safe, while non-minority citizens are permitted to have both safety and constitutional rights.
Race, Social Disadvantage, and Poor School Performance: A Developmental Perspective
Race and social class are often seen as inextricably linked in relationship to outcoems such as school failure and delinquency. Recent work has suggested that social class should be operationalized to reflect social disadvantage. This research examines the role of race and social disadvantage in relationship to poor school performance in elementary school. Findings suggest that race plays a much more significant role in relationship to school failure. The implications of these findings for delinquency and violence research are discussed.
Race and American Drug Wars
Illegal drug use is ubiqutous in American society cutting across all races and all classes. Despite this there is a disturbing tendency for separate and unequal drug wars to be fought against different drugs. Drugs thought to be popular among African-American users result in increased surveillance and monitoring of the black population and more arrests and imprisonment for black drug users. By contrast, illegal drugs favored by affluent whites lead to calls for prevention and treatment. In this paper, I look at how these two-tiered policies are justified. I focus, in particular, on how the minority drug problem is distorted so that drugs favored by minorities are constructed as more dangerous because of dubious associations made between minority drug use and other social problems like crime, violence, persisting poverty and parental neglect. I conclude by examining how these questionable notions about the dangerousness of minority drug use are used to justify separate and unequal drug wars against black drug users and a concerted attack on the civil rights of all African Americans–users and nonusers alike.
Race and Drug Trials
A higher proportion of black people than other racial groups are represented in the rate of imprisonment in Britain. Existing bodies of evidence show that the overrepresentation of black people in the criminal statistics remains a contentious issue. This paper demonstrates a new approach which gives prominence to the beginning and end of a court case prior to sentencing, and points out that the trial process plays a vital role in determining the production of criminal statistics and is therefore essentially significant to the issue of black disproportionate presence in the criminal figures. It examines how barristers in the trial process influence the production of a case outcome. On the basis of detailed observations of court proceedings involving black and white defendants charged with a drug offence at a London Crown Court, it is argued that the drug offence cases were socially constructed through the process of claims-making, which entails the effective use of language to persuade – in this case, the jury. It is subsequently argued that in the process of social construction and claims-making, black defendants were placed in a more likely position than their white counterparts of being convicted and imprisoned for a drug offence.
Race and Gender Comparisons of Self-Reported Behavioral and Emotional Problems
This paper is a secondary data analysis of the NHSDA. We will use the Youth Self Report Checklist, developed by Achenbach (1991) and included in the 1995 NHSDA, to examine the self-reported behavioral and emotional problems of a national sample of adolescents. More specifically, we will determine if behavioral and emotional problems identified by Achenbach differ among adolescents by race/ethnicity, by gender, and by age group. Do the eight syndromes that comprise these behaviors and emotional problems differ among adolescents by race/ethnicity, by gender, by age group? We will determine if there are significant differences in behavioral and emotional problems among adolescents when you look at interactions between gender, race, and age. Are there significant differences in the in the syndromes when you look at the interactions between gender, race, and age? More specifically, do Black, White and Hispanic, male and female, young and older adolescents differ significantly with respect to the eight syndromes.
Race and the Case for the Prosecution
The treatment of ethnic minority people in the criminal justice system promises to remain a critical issue in criminology and public affairs, if not the most crucial issue, for many years to come. To date, the research evidence suggests that ethnic minorities receive harsher treatment from the police and the courts. But, drawing on a painstaking three year nationally representative empirical research of the decision-making process of the United Kingdom Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), aimed at assessing the effect of ethnic factors on decisions made, the evidence uncovered shows that at the CPS level of the criminal justice system, Asian, black and other minority defendants than white defendants received favourable lawyers decisions, in their operation as a sifting and diversionary mechanism for defendants. The important new findings are of great interest to criminology, the general public and under s.95 (1)(b) of great the the Criminal Justice Act 1991, in terms of the opportunity that the research findings offer towards the advancement of our knowledge of ethnic offending and of the legal and non legal influences on decisions made by the police, the CPS and the courts.
Race and the Use of the Death Penalty in Ohio
Race and the imposition of the death penalty has been the topic of an extensive line of research which attempts to understand the relationship between the two. The current project is a replication of Michael Radelet’s research found in “Choosing Those Who Will Die: Race and the Death Penalty in Florida,” published in the Florida Law Review. The current study, however, analyzes death sentences in the state of Ohio, which, apart from the recent execution of “The Volunteer” Wilford Berry, has not carried out a death sentence since the 1960s, despite having almost 200 inmates currently on death row. The effect of race on the imposition of death sentences in Ohio is analyzed with other variables, including age and gender of the defendant and victim, number of conviction charges, stranger/non-stranger offense, and gun-nongun offense. These variables are also used to compare those homicides which resulted in a death sentence with those which did not.
Racial, Ethnic and Gender Disparities in Sentencing: Evidence From the U.S. Federal Courts
This paper studies 77,756 federal offenders sentenced under the Sentencing Guidelines and Policy Statement of the Sentencing Reform Act (SRA) of 1984 and makes the following conclusions. First, after controlling for criminological variables, blacks receive sentences 5.4 months (12%) longer than whites, and females receive sentences 5.5 months less than males. Second, when socioeconomic and demographic controls are added, the black-white difference decreases to 4.8 months and the female-male difference remains the same. Offenders without a highschool education get longer sentences while college-educated offenders receive shorter sentences, and low-income offenders receive longer sentences than high-income offenders. Third, most of the disparities are generated by departures from the guidelines, rather than differential sentencing within the guidelines. About 55% of the black-white difference and 85% of the male-female difference is generated through guideline departures. Fourth, the racial and gender disparities occur on a number of different margins. Blacks and males receive longer sentences, are less likely to get no prison term when that option is allowable, are less likely to receive downward departures, are more likely to receive upward adjustments, and, conditioned on having a downward departure, these groups receive shorter reductions in their sentences than whites and females receive. Last, although black-white disparities occur across offense types, the largest differences are for drug trafficking crimes, where blacks receive sentences 10.5 months longer than whites. The Hispanicwhite disparity is generated primarily by those convicted of drug trafficking and firearm possession and trafficking. About two-thirds of the black-white disparity and nearly all of the Hispanic-white disparity for drug trafficking is accounted for by departures in the guidelines.
Racial Patterns of Aggravating and Mitigating circumstances: An Examination of Tennessee’s Death Row
More than 150 persons have been sentenced to death under Tennessee’s post-Furman statues. The purpose of this study is to examine patterns of aggravating and mitigating circumstances among different defendant/victim racial combinations, Trial data for l56 offenders sentenced to death were obtained from administrative forms and appellate records. We hypothesize that there are significant differences in the number and types of aggravating and mitigating circumstances found in cases with white victims and nonwhite defendants compared to cases involving nonwhite victims.
Racially Disproportionate Confinement and the Organization of Sentencing in Michigan Juvenile Court Communities
While racial minorities currently account for approximately thirty-two percent of the U.S. population aged 12 to 17, they account for sixty-six percent of youth confined in juvenile facilities nationwide. This paper describes ongoing dissertation research examining the history of racially disproportionate confinement and the impact of an attempted reform in the organization of juvenile court sentencing. “Structured decision making” is a standardized assessment tool designed to produce objective and thus racially unbiased dispositionall (sentencing) recommendations according to offender risk, needs, and security level classifications. The dissertation begins with an historical review of racially disproportionate confinement in the twentieth century to establish an understanding of the problem and contextual basis for the analysis of current reforms. The remainder of the study concentrates on the organization of juvenile sentencing in Michigan and, utilizing the “court community” framework developed in adult sentencing research, examines relationships between individual offender characteristics, county socio-demographic characteristics, county court characteristics and racially disparate confinement outcomes. A case study of Wayne County, Michigan is included to capture an ethnographic appreciation of these same relationships. The study should inform federally mandated efforts to reduce racially disproportionate confinement and make a scholarly contribution to the growing “organization of sentencing” research literature.
Randomization in Drug Abuse Treatment for Offenders: Perils and Pitfalls Across Sites
In a multi-centered evaluation of dug treatment programs for offenders, the same randomization procedures are used in six sites. This paper discusses the randomization protocol, some of the operational issues that researchers must be prepared for as they randomized, and some of the strategies used to maintain the integrity of the randomization process.
Re-Assessing Models of Prison Culture: Does Gender Matter?
The culture of the prison has not been studied much in the past decade. Not since the time of Clemmer in the 1930’s, and Sykes in the 1950’s, and several small studies in the 60’s and 70’s have there been many in-depth studies on what prison life is like, meaning the culture, daily life, and other aspects of prison life. Even while recognizing a few exemplary studies since 1990 (Earley, 1992; Welch, 1995; Zaitzoww, 1999), changes in the quantity and composition of the nation’s prisons and prisoners raise questions about how prisoner culture is currently produced, maintained, and experienced. Of particular relevance to the preswent investigation is the fact that many have noted the corrections experience is significantly different for women than for men, because men and women are treated differently by the courts and corrections systems (Chesney-Lind & Pollock, 1995). however, all too often we evaluate the prison experience of women in terms of what we think we know about prisons for men. So much more has been written about the far larger number of these inswtitutions for male offenders that it may be unrealistic to expect there to be a significant body of research and other literature on women’s prisons. But, it is certainly indicative of a gender bias that our knowledge of inmates’ imprisonment experiences is based largely on the experiences of men. Women in prison manifest a number of problems in common with men (e.g., drug dependence, lack of marketable job skills, health problems), but they have certain special needs. In this paper, we assess the existing literature on prison culture in men’s and women’s institutions. We argue for the necessity of resurrecting interest in prisoner culture and suggest several new directions to pursue. The ultimate goal is to move criminology toward a more satisfactory understanding of human behavior in which our “science” no longer ignores vast sements of society. The need to understand both male and female responses to the incarceration experience and to evaluate the generalizability of our theories and policies remains of paramount concern to the development of the discipline.
Recasting Cohen’s Strain-Based Theory of Subcultural Delinquency
Even though crime and delinquency still thrives in subcultural milieus, subcultural theories of crime and delinquency have found their way into research obscurity, finding greatest expression in textbooks and classrooms. One such statement is Albert Cohen’s subcultural theory of delinquency, which has gained and lost an audience over the past half century. The empirical tests of Cohen that took place narrowly focused on the dropout-delinquency relationship, a marginal test which has provided mixed results at best. Rather than banish Cohen’s theory to an academic wasteland, it deserves a second look. In this paper I recast Cohen’s subcultural theory of delinquency in a way that makes it more amenable to empirical tests. These modification are not designed to affect the theoretical integrity or etiology proposed by Cohen, but instead focus on generating more internal consistency among the middle-class values and standards proposed therein. Using Cohen’s nine middle-class values as a guide, I propose a new scheme which reduces the number of values to five, each of which is made up of at least one of the nine original middle-class values.
Recent Developments in Crime and Criminal Justice in Russia: Research Issues From the Perspective of American and Russian Scholars
This paper focuses on the recent changes in crime and criminal justice in Russia. Reform politics aiming at the abolition of capital punishment will be highlighted. In addition, the problems that emerge when an American and Russian collaborate on research will be discussed.
Recidivism, Risk, and Resiliency Among North American Indian Probationers, Parolees and Former Prisoners: An Examination of the Lumbee First Nation
Using official data, this paper examines recidivism, defined as rearrest over a 3-year follow up period, among a North American Indian First Nation–the Lumbee of North Carolina. Recidivism of the Lumbee, who reside in a tri-county non-reservation area, is compared with non-natives residing in the same counties, as well as with other North American Indians living across the state. The working hypothesis is that being a member of the Lumbee First Nation, and residing in a “Lumbee county” provides resiliency against the risk of recidivism.
Recidivism Around the World: A Comparison Between Europe and U.S.A.
Recidivism is the most objective index in determining both delinquent and criminal rehabilitation. However, nowadays there are no standard measures of recidivism that are universally accepted in the criminological context. Through a qualitative review of the literature, we propose three indexes of recidivism: General recidivism (new police contacts or new sentences), serious recidivism (new confinement), and self-reported recidivism. To compare the recidivism rates in different countries and continents we have carried out a meta-analytic review of the empirical studies that reported the above-mentioned recidivism measures. The literature search covered 1987 to 1998. Besides obtaining average recidivism rates, we assessed the influence of such moderator variables as average sample age, sample gender, offense type, offender type, and follow-up period. As expected, the results showed significantly greater rates of general recidivism than of serious recidivism, as well as a great heterogeneity in the recidivism rates in the different countries and continents. Finally, the theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.
Recidivism of Federal Prisoners: Effects of Sentencing Reforms on the Likelihood of Returning to Federal Prison
This paper analyzes recidivism among offenders released from Federal prison between 1986 and 1995. Measured as “return to Federal prison within three years of release,” the paper compares return rates for offenders sentenced according to laws in effect prior to the implementation of the Federal sentencing guidelines with the return rates for those sentenced to tile determinate and “truth in sentencing” reforms embodied in the Federal sentencing guidelines. Controlling for crime type, length of sentence imposed, time served until-release, and several demographic factors, the paper identifies the factors associated with return to prison. The Federal experience with truth in sentencing dates back to the 1987 implementation of the Federal sentencing guidelines. The recidivism rates of offenders released from these sentences may provide insight to tile 27 states and the District of Columbia that had, by 1998, adopted or implemented truth in sentencing laws requiring offenders to serve 85% of their sentences ill prison. The paper uses Federal Bureau of Prisons data on offenders released from Federal prison and links their records with those that indicate that they returned to Federal prison within three years of release. The data used in this paper arc maintained by the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Federal Justice Statistics Program.
Reconceptualization of Attachment-Extending Social Bonding Theory
In this theoretical review of social bonding theory, the conceptualization of attachment is closely examined. Hirschi’s social bonding theory, despite its widely recognized contribution to the etiology of delinquency, has suffered from several problems, including (1) small explanatory power, (2) ambiguous peer influence, (3) lack of ability to explain serious crime, and (4) negligence of the developmental stages of delinquency. The key assumption of this study is that these problems will be easily solved by the theoretical revision, that is, the reconceptualization of the core concept of social bond. From the close examination of Hirschi’s original definitions of attachment, three requirements, for attachment (Sensitivity, Conventionality, and Significant Others) and four dimensions of attachment (Affective, Fearful, Perceptive, and, Volitional) are identified. Each requirements and dimensions of attachment are discussed in depth, to explore the enhanced potentials of social bonding theory which were alluded by Hirschi but not systematically developed by both Hirschi and subsequent researchers. Although the empirical evidence is not provided here, this paper tries to show how the persistent problems with social bonding theories can be solved by using the new concept of attachment. Finally, the directions for the operationalization of the revised concept of attachment are proposed. i
Reconsidering the Broken Homes/Delinquency Relationship and Specifying Its Mediating Mechanism(s)
Prior research concerning the relationship between broken homes and delinquency has suffered from methodological problems that may have artificially attenuated the magnitude of the broken homes/delinquency relationship. Likewise, prior research has failed to identify the theoretical mechanism that mediates the relationship between broken homes and delinquency. The present study addresses both issues using a national probability sample of 1725 adolescents. Results indicate that the broken homes/delinquency relationship is stronger than prior research suggests, particularly among homes that recently experienced a parental divorce or separation. Moreover, while General Strain Theory (Agnew, 1992) and Social Learning Theory (Akers, 1985) account for a greater portion of the relationship than do control theories (e.g., Hirschi, 1969; Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1990; Patterson, 1982), a statistically significant portion of the relationship persists in both OLS and negative binomial regression even after controlling for variables from all three theoretical perspectives.
Redefinition of Crime and Deviancy in a changing Russia: Theoretical Explanations
An empirical analysis and discussion of changes in Russia and what happens to the definitions of crime and law enforcement when authoritarian governments move aside. The analysis focuses on both historical and cultural traits that effect the way in which different societies move through these processes. Specific attention is directed at 1. The process by which behaviors are defined into and out of the crime category. 2. The role of economic change in the process of redefining crime. 3. How specific groups respond by filling the vacuum and needs once met by government. 4. The changing role of government in responding to the new definitions of crime, i.e. the adaptation of bureaucracies. 5. The entrepreneur behavior of law enforcement. 6. How the new economic elite exercise hegemony in the process of redefining crime and law enforcement. 7. Differences in these processes between rural and urban areas.
Reducing Violence in Immigrant Detention Centers
This study analyzes violent incidents which have occurred over a 5 year period in immigrant detention centers. It finds that the majority of the incidents have been protest oriented, challenging the right of the state to incarcerate non-citizens. The paper concludes with suggestions on how to reduce violent protest in detention centers.
Reducing Violent Behavior Among Chronic and Serious Juvenile Offenders: A Comparison of Two Community Treatment Programs
Adolescent violent behavior is a serious social problem. The number of juvenile arrests for violent crime has increased 75% from 1986 to 1995 (FBI, 1996). Tertiary prevention efforts, those designed to treat the chronic and serious juvenile offender, are typically designed to reduce general delinquency. Of interest in this study is whether multidimensional treatment foster care (MTFC), which has been found to reduce delinquency and antisocial behavior in general, can reduce violent offending in particular. We examine the ability of MTFC and GC to reduce violence (self-reported and official) for 79 adolescent males with histories of chronic and serious juvenile delinquency, including violent offenses. Assignment to MTFC and GC was random. Data were collected every six months following a baseline assessment for a period of 24 months. Repeated observations are expected to be correlated within individuals. Thus, we use GEE (generalized estimating equations) which offers consistent estimates of regression coefficients by taking into account the correlation matrix for each subject (which can vary in size and structure by individual) (Zeger and Liang, 1986). Results indicate that MTFC youth are significantly less likely to commit violent offenses than youth placed in GC conditions. This group effect holds when control variables, including age at placement, age at first arrest, prior offenses (official and self-reported) and time, are introduced.
Reflections on Forty Years in the American Criminal Justice System
Edward Tromanhauser discuses his career in “Reflections on Forty Years in the American Criminal Justice System.” He tells the story of a young man who did four stretches in prison for armed robbery and emerged to pursue a successful academic career (Professor and Chair of Department of Criminal Justice). Tromanhauser reflects on forty years of experience with the criminal justice system as criminal, convict, and criminal justice professor. He shares his insight on the existential moment of rehabilitation, shifting allegiances and sympathies, and twenty-five years as a change agent and teacher.
Refracted Media Claims: NRA’s Reproduction of Defensive Gun Use Newspaper Stories
In the social problems claims-making literature, Best distinguishes between primary and secondary claims, both concepts emphasizing the central importance of the mass media for contemporary claims-making activity. Primary claims emanate from some original source, and are thus relatively less mediated. A speech given or press release issued by an activist or agency spokesperson exemplifies primary claims-making activity. In contrast, secondary claims are conceived as media coverage of events, conditions, and claims. Secondary claims encompass a variety of forms, including news (print, radio, and television), exposes, docudrama, and fiction (print and cinematic). While the concepts of primary and secondary claims have heuristic utility, they do not assist in the conceptualization of media reproductions of media reports. To explore this issue, our paper examines the National Rifle Association”-s (NRA) “The Armed Citizen,” a monthly column that appears in the organization’s membership magazine, American Rifleman. “The Armed Citizen” reprints, albeit not verbatim, newspaper stories of defensive gun use. Referring to the reproduction of media stories as refracted media claims, we illustrated how this form of claims-making is accomplished and the functions that it serves.
Registered Juvenile Crime in Brussels: A Socio Spatial Analysis
Although the topic of juvenile crime is a hot one in Belgium, we don’t have good figures on juvenile crime in general nor on registered juvenile crime. In our research on social exclusion of youngsters and street-crime in Brussels we wanted on the one hand to look at the processes of social exclusion and on the other hand at juvenile crime. By using results from earlier research on Brussels and our own survey among youngsters in Brussels schools we can describe the processes of social exclusion. By making use of our own registration of registered juvenile crime in Brussels as well as our dark-number figures we can get a good idea of juvenile crime in Brussels. In this paper we want to look if and how social exclusion and crime are correlated.
Regularity of Substance Use Among Arrestees in the Five Boroughs of New York City
Illegal drug procurement can be conducted in many quantity levels, but most street level users tend to buy very small quantities very frequently, even though buying in larger quantities less often would result in three advantages: (1) less exposure to dangers from law enforcement, drug dealers and other drug users, (2) discount prices, and (3) less time and effort lost in making drug buys. This paper investigates reasons for and consequences of making routine small purchases and consumption of small retail units. Interviewers recruited over 600 users and/or distributors of crack, powder cocaine and heroin in Central Harlem. Respondents were asked to provide quantity and price information for these drugs and marijuana, alcohol and tobacco in 1 and 7 day periods preceding the interview. Respondents were also asked about their household situation and contact with law enforcement. Users of crack cocaine were more likely to buy small quantities more often than powder cocaine, heroin or marijuana users. Even crack users who consume other drugs buy crack in smaller amounts and more often than the other drugs they use. Persons who primarily used crack cocaine spent a larger proportion of their income on drugs than users of other drugs. Users and sellers of crack cocaine were also more likely to have multiple contacts with criminal justice system than users and sellers of other substances. Since market factors at the street level are quite similar for all illegal drugs, crack cocaine users are more compulsive in their drug buying and consuming behaviors than users of other illegal substances, apparently because of pharmacological factors.
Rehabilitating Criminals: It Ain’t That Easy
“Rehabilitating Criminals: It Ain’t ‘That Easy” asserts that New Zealand has a long history of liberalism and reiform in corrections. It was the first country in the world to develop a probation system (1886) and has located the majority of prisoners on minimum security prison farms since 1920. Today, more than half of New Zealand’s prisoners are in minimum security, and only six percent are in maximum. There is a wide range of rehabilitative and treatment programs in prisons, living conditions are generally acceptable and most prisoners have their own cells. Sentences are relatively short, parole allows many prisoners to work in the community or live in half-way houses before their release, and there is a wide range of intermediate sanctions, such as community service and weekend detention, available to sentencing judges. In spite of this, recidivist levels are high, with approximately 50% of released prisoners reoffending in a criminal way within a year or so of release. Where young offienders are concerned, the figure is closer to 70 percent.
Reincarceration as an Artifact of Limited Reliance on Imprisonment: Implications From Japan
Japan’s imprisonment rate (about 35 per 100,000) contrasts sharply with the soaring U.S. rate. Previous imprisonment raises chances of the reincarceration of Japanese offenders. Japanese variables linked to those chances offer insights into the long-term implications for U.S. policy, especially if there is a retreat from political preference for heavy use of imprisonment and a return to the emphasis in the 1970s on community-based corrections. The implications are the central theme of the paper.
Relationship Between Victimization and the Process of Criminalization of Black Women: A Contextual and Situational Analysis of the Relationship Between Interpersonal and ‘Stranger’ ViolencePersonal, Cultural and Situational Factors Influencing the Experi
The prevalence of interpersonal violence against women has been consistently highlighted in contemporary research as one of the major challenges in American society. The majority of research has indicated that the experience of intimate abuse effects women irrespective of cultural or racial origins. However recent studies have shown that not only are these factors relevant but that they also influence that the pattern and the consequences for women from racial and ethnic minorities. The purpose of this paper is to explore some of these issues related to the cultural, situational and social factors which impact on the cycle of abuse and the increased involvement of Black women in violent crimes. What are some of the factors, which impact on Black and minority women’s experiences of intimate abuse? Drawing on comparative research findings in America and Britain I will be identifying some of the distinct situations and contributory factors which increase their risk of victimization. What is the relationship between these early experiences of abuse and the wider social and structural context of abuse? What is the relationship between intimate abuse and increase rates of violent offenses committed by Black and minority women I examine the different social and feminist theories, which could explain the interplay between gender, ethnicity and race in relation to victimization and offending behavior of Black women. Finally I will present an approach which incorporates psychological, cultural, situations] l environmental and structural explanations. This new paradigm moves away from the traditional explanations which pathologists women’s experiences whilst ignoring the complex interaction between female offending and intimate abuse.
Reliability and Construct Validity of the LSI for Colorado Inmates
The Level of Supervision Inventory (LSI) measures offenders’ criminal risk across 10 needs domains, lending itself as a potential diagnostic assessment in corrections settings. Absent from the literature are LSI reliability and validity findings with American offenders. The present study examined the reliability and construct validity of LSI subtotal scores and explored the relationship of the LSI total score to Colorado’s inmate classification tool and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-111. The sample included 652 male and female incarcerated felons. The reliability of the subscales was found to be modest using Cronbach’s alpha (OC = .65) and subtotal-total correlations (I = .22 to .67). Subtotal scores were compared to subjective diagnostic ratings, obtained independently of the LSI, in seven overlapping domains. In 4 of the 7 areas, convergent validity estimates were significant and larger than the divergent validity correlations. The relationship of the LSI total score to the inmate classification instrument was weak (r = .22); however, a multiple regression analysis revealed a stronger relationship of the LSI to six MCMI scales (R = .47). These exploratory analyses suggest that the LSI is tapping into domains beyond risk, yet only subscales with more items may adequately evaluate needs domains.
Religious vs. Secular Control of Violent vs. Non-Violent Delinquency
While many studies have examined the relationship between religion and delinquency over the past several decades, the findings from these studies have been inconsistent. Following one of the most notable studies, Hirschi and Stark’s (1 969) “Hellfire and Delinquency”, where a null relationship was found, many studies have attempted to replicate this study, but have concluded in opposition to this original work. There are several possible explanations for inconsistent findings in previous research. First, much of the research has suffered from methodological limitations (i.e., small sample sizes, certain racial or gender groups). Second, research findings have suggested that the relative effects of religious versus secular controls may vary by crime. Burkett and White (1974) propose that religion may only affect non-violent delinquent acts (i.e., substance use), whereas secular controls may be sufficient in controlling violent behavior. The inconsistencies in previous research have led me to explain two research objectives in the present study: Is there a relationship between religion and delinquency, or are secular controls more important in controlling delinquency? Is there a difference between victimless and victim delinquency as it relates to religious versus secular controls? Data from 6-12 graders across fifteen Kentucky counties (N=26,687) are used in the analysis.
Religiousness and Post-Release Community Adjustment
This study evaluates whether the level of inmate religiousness in prison is associated with subsequent adjustment to the community as measured in (a) re-arrest or (b) self-reported measures of adjustment. This research is an extension of the study by Clear et. al. (1992) which examined the relationship between prisoners, prisons and religion, and found that a prisoner’s religious participation has an important and complex, but significant relationship to adjustment to prison. In this study official FBI Criminal Reports were added to the existing data base for the two cohorts (religious and non-religious inmates( who participated in the earlier study by Clear et. al.. (1992).
Remand Custody and Alternatives for Remand Custody
A quantitative and qualitative research has been conducted in Belgium by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the Nationaal Instituut voor Criminalistiek en Criminologie from 1996 till 1999 on the use of remand custody and alternatives for remand custody. The results of the study show that remand custody is mainly imposed considering the gravity of the offence and the danger of recidivism. It indicates that remand custody is increasingly used as an immediate punishment. And as a security measure to protect society against “dangerous” elements, instead of being used as an instrument to secure the presence of the suspect at the trial. So just as in other countries we can observe in Belgium an impact of actuarial justice. Presumably this contributes to the enduring quantitative importance of remand custody. It can also explain the selective use of remand custody on a population that is seen as socially barely stable or tied. It places the alternatives for remand custody before a fundamental dilemma. If they are supposed to be a real alternative for remand custody then they will have to comply to the same logic and needs. But consequently social aid to non-convicted persons risks becoming a form en Criminologie from 1996 till 1999 on the use of remand custody and alternatives for remand custody. The results of the study show that remand custody is mainly imposed considering the gravity of the offence and the danger of recidivism. It indicates that remand custody is increasingly used as an immediate punishment. And as a security measure to protect society against “dangerous” elements, instead of being used as an instrument to secure the presence of the suspect at the trial. So just as in other countries we can observe in Belgium an impact of actuarial justice. Presumably this contributes to the enduring quantitative importance of remand custody. It can also explain the selective use of remand custody on a population that is seen as socially barely stable or tied. It places the alternatives for remand custody before a fundamental dilemma. If they are supposed to be a real alternative for remand custody then they will have to comply to the same logic and needs. But consequently social aid to non-convicted persons risks becoming a form of punishment or security.
Repeat and Multiple Victimizations: The Role of Individual and Contextual Factors
Recent victimization studies find that individuals who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods are more likely to be victimized than individuals in more affluent neighborhoods. The dominant view attributes this disparity in victimization to lower levels of social control in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Yet some research challenges this view by asserting that the effect of social control on victimization risk depends upon the level of neighborhood disadvantage (e.g., Skogan). Specifically, this view contends that neighborhood disadvantage thwarts the effectiveness of social control in reducing victimization risk. Using data from the Police Services Study for 9,993 respondents across neighborhoods in St. Petersburg/Tampa (FL), Rochester (NY), and St. Louis (MO), I assess this claim by examining the role of neighborhood social control–neighboring, informal social control, and public control–on household anRepeat victimization raises important questions of attribution. That is, do individuals become repeat victims as a result of their personal characteristics and activities, their environment, or both individual and contextual factors? The present research uses hierarchical modeling to examine the relative contributions of factors about the person, factors about the context, and, most importantly, the interaction of factors about the person and factors about the context in models of both repeat victimization (more than one of the same type of crime) and multiple victimization (two or more different types of crime). Using telephone survey data from a multi-stage sample of Seattle residents, we estimate separate hierarchical models for repeat property, repeat violent, and multiple victimization. Results indicate that repeat victimization of both types varies substantially by neighborhood, whereas multiple victimization seems more determined by individuallevel factors. Implications for social disorganization theory, routine activity/lifestyle exposure theory, and future work on repeat victimization are discussed.
Replicating Victimization Surveys in 12 Urban Jurisdictions
This paper presents the substantive and methodological results from the use of a new technology for implementing victimization surveys at the city level. Using technology developed by BJS, surveys have been implemented in 12 jurisdictions and these surveys provide the basis for local estimates of crime victimization. The prospects for replicating these methods to other jurisdictions are addressed.
Research Methods: Undercover Tactics
In order to achieve a thorough research method it is necessary to resort to undercover tactics, such as undercover agent, the infiltrate, controlled delivery, and electronic surveillance, all duly complemented by justice cooperators and an adequate witness protection program. My presentation will deal with these elements and how to control them according to national and international norms. In fact, crime investigation requires a new type of approach which must be legislated. As regards the undercover agent end the infiltrate, adequate control must be considered as well as limiting their behaviour when related to the performance of criminal acts, their instigation and their appearance in trial, so that the defense can control their statements, The legislation should conform to the constitutional rights protection freedom of speech, privacy, due process and should be in accordance with norms set by international human rights courts. In the case of controlled delivery, diverse regional institution in charge of ‘4 enforcing the law should set aside their pride while the various countries involved should carry out joint proceedings and centralize efforts to coordinate action against any type of crime that may threaten their security. For electronic surveillance as a research method since conversations of suspects can be eavesdropped, an activity impossible to perform without endangering the life of investigators and witnesses. Likewise, this research method is completed by justice cooperators who should have special benefits in view of possible inequalities and moral problems, and also for an adequate enforcing of justice as regards the analysis and confirmation of the proofs offered. All this should be complemented by and adequate witness protection programme which would analyse varied relationships, and would take into account an infrastructure involving the problem of family (parentchild), economic (creditors), and labour relationships, subsequent penal responsibilities, etc. All these elements are necessary when devising a research method. For this reason undercover tactics duly complemented by the above mentioned techniques are the essential device to be taken into account for the succes of an investigation.
Residential Provision for Female Offenders: Issues in Effective Practice
The development and consistent delivery of effective intervention with serious and/or recidivist female offenders within a community based residential setting poses a challenge to practitioners arising from unique qualities of women’s offending and of their social and psychological problems. This paper explores emerging findings from an ongoing study of a voluntary organization offering specialised hostel provisions for female offenders. Drawing on material from interviews with project staff, probation officers and residents, supported by an analysis of the women’s offending and needs, elements of effective practice in
Resiliency in Youth: Exploring the Moderating Influence of Health Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Cannabis Use Among ‘At Risk’ Ontario Students
In Canada, while the range of deviant behaviours young people engage in is quite varied, formal control mechanisms have been applied with particular vigor to youthful drug use. The deterrent effects of criminal sanctions however are questionable and more attention must be paid to the role of informal control mechanisms such as health beliefs and social disapproval. Although numerous social stressors have been identified as factors placing adolescents at risk for drug use, not all ‘at risk’ adolescents engage in this behavior. Therefore there must be protective factor that promote resiliency in youth exposed to high levels of risk. Using a stress process model framework and the 1997 Ontario Student Drug Use Survey, the following research evaluates the extent to which perceived health risks, personal disapproval and parental disapproval moderate the relationships between risk factors and cannabis use. By adopting a nested dichotomies approach, interaction models are estimated using logistic regression that provides an analysis of not only the abstainers versus user dichotomy but identifies whether protective factors insulate youth from progressing to problematic levels of cannabis use. Suggestions are made regarding alternative models for social control.
Resistance and Response: Eco-Vandalism as Terrorism and as Fun
This paper explores the theory and practice of monkeywrenching as espoused by Ed Abbey, and the state response to such environmental activism. Typically, the state defines such actions as ‘eco-terrorism” and responds accordingly, while the “vandals” themselves often appear to be having fun. It is suggested that the overreaction to monkeywrenching can be explained in part by the fact that play, especially play with nature, is an affront to the deadly earnest approach to life sponsored by industrialism.
Resonances of Abolition — The United Kingdom Looks Back
The last couple of years have given rise to more official and semi-official reflection on the days of capital punishment then at any time since the IRA bombing trials of the mid- 1970s. The lag execution (James Hanratty) took place in the United Kingdom in 1964, capital punishment it was abolished for murder in 1965,(1). arson in HM Shipyard in 1971,(2). and that it was finally abolished for treason and piracy in 1998,(3). Tireless activity on behalf of campaigners has lead to the reappearance before the courts in recent years of clam for the posthumous pardons to be granted to persons executed before abolition. As a consequence of the Royal Commission on Criminal Justicie the Criminal Cases Review Authority was created in 1996 as an alternative to the previously existing power of the Home Secretary to refer cases of alleged miscarriages of justice to the Court of Appeal. This has lead to the consideration by the Court of Appeal of a series of causes celebres (Ruth Ellis, Derek Bentley, James Hanratty, Mahmood Mattan) arising from executions in the late 1950s and 1960s. The First two have been the subject of films and the second is to become a musical. Much literature has been generated about the first three. Whenever public opinion is polled the United Kingdom always expresses; a strong majority to have the death penalty restored (though the majority has lessened slightly recently). The essay will concentrate upon three historical conjunctures. 1. The events surrounding the Royal Commission an Capital punishment (1953) and the Homicide Act 1957. 2. The events in 1965 surrounding abolition, and the parts played by Roy Jenkins and Gerald Gardiner and Leon Radzinowicz. 3. The events of 1998 since the Criminal Cases Review Authority was put in place and the British government legislated so as to accede to the protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights ruling out capital punishment, The analysis will concentrate upon the changes in the nature of the discourse as between the three periods, and the conditions for countermajoritarian abolition.
Responding to Drug-Abusing Female Offenders: Early Results of the Women’s Network in Maricopa County, Arizona
While women represent only a small percentage of the total offender population, the number of women coming under the control of the criminal justice system has increased rapidly in recent years. In an attempt to respond to the needs of this unique population, Maricopa County, Arizona Adult Probation Department received funding from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment to design and implement an integrated network of services, treatment and supervision for substance abusing female offenders. Data collected from approximately 250 female offenders randomly assigned to treatment and control groups are analyzed to assess service referral and services received, as well as the likelihood of continued criminal and drug activity. Preliminary results are presented and implications for correctional policy are discussed.
Responsibility and Rehabilitation: Inmate Reactions to Increased Autonomy in a Prison Setting
This paper presents the results of an ethnographic study of a prison-based, modified therapeutic community (TC) that is operated with a minimal professional staff, and instead relies heavily on an inmate “cadre.” Based on 12-Step and TC concepts such as the “wounded healer” and “each one, teach one,” inmates selected to be part of the cadre are largely responsible for peer-group counseling, role modeling, and maintaining discipline and order inside the community. This study traces the changing perceptions and self-concepts of a cohort of inmates as they move from the general prison population (“gen pop”) into the higher echelons of this inmate cadre. Particular attention will be paid to the possibly rehabilitative effects of this increasing autonomy and responsibility inside the prison setting; how cadre selections are made; and how the concept of “progress toward rehabilitation” is constructed among staff and cadre members. Additional issues to be addressed include how the “snitching” role of cadre members interacts with the traditional “Prison code;” the potential for inmate exploitation; custodial staff interactions with the inmate cadre; and inmate constructions and understandings of a peer-guided “treatment” experience.
Restorative and Abolitionist Approaches to Prison: Reflections on the Work of Claire Culhane
The social movement that seeks to abolish prison as an institution, and the penal philosophies that underlie prisons, has attracted considerable criticism as well as some success with respect to prison operations, prison construction, and alternatives to close custody. This paper includes a review of prison abolitionism and what might be referred to as restorative justice, transformative justice, or negotiated outcomes. The review of abolitionism and restorative justice is followed by a commentary based on the work of the late prison abolitionist, Claire Culhane (1918-1996). Findings from a content analysis of her correspondence concerning prisoners will be presented, along with a discussion of how Claire’s approaches could be incorporated with ongoing abolitionist and restorative approaches.
Restorative Justice and Punishment: The Views of Young People
A common convention in the restorative justice literature is to draw a strong oppositional contrast between “retributive” and “restorative” responses to crime. This framing offers apparent clarity in a messy justice field, and it provides a secure normative footing for restorative justice advocates. Less certain is whether the retributive-restorative contrast is borne out empirically. One point of contention is the role of “punishment” in restorative justice. Advocates eschew punishment, arguing that restorative justice practices should not be about the “intentional infliction of pain” but rather about “repairing the harm caused by crime.” But what of young people (offenders, aged 10 to 17) who are at the receiving end of restorative justice practices and outcomes? Do they view the process and result as “punishment”? Drawing from interviews of young people who have participated in a family conference in Australia, I assess their views on what is “punishment” (and “non punishment”) in a restorative justice process.
Rethinking Victimization Risk From a Criminal Event Perspective
The development of opportunity perspectives in criminology has had a tremendous impact on the way in which crime is understood. Yet, due to the predominant focus on the role of public space activities and public space interactions in the aetiology of crime, critics have argued that its scope is relatively limited. In this paper, we use a criminal event perspective to re-examine factors that influence victimization risk. Drawing upon a social domains conception of routine activities, we first use latent structure analysis to derive a typology of victimization events that are defined in terms of their social, rather than legal, characteristics. Second, we use polytomous logistic regression to examine the effects of both demographic and behavioural indicators on risk of different types of victimization events. The results indicate that different victimization events and the factors that influence victimization risk are closely, but differentially, tied to specific social domains. The implications of these findings for both criminological theory and public policy are discussed.
Risk, Dangerousness and the Classified Society: an Analysis of New Penology and New Institutionalist Frameworks
A primary goal of this paper will be to expand the scope of the new penology, or actuarial justice model, as proposed by Feeley and Simon and couch it within a neoinstitutionalist framework. The research will attempt to demonstrate that policy-making in the 1990s has become largely communitarian in its approach. The recent sex offender legislation provides an effective example of community-oriented legislation designed to protect the public from a dangerous group of offenders. However, an analysis of contemporary sex offender laws presents a difficult task due to the numerous complexities involved in attempting to explain the underlying reasons for their enactment and implementation. The laws present more than a constitutional debate over the perpetual dialectic between community-oriented justice and the legal institutions sworn to protect individual rights and uphold constitutional principles even when faced with adversity. This legislation marks a significant departure in both penal policy and Supreme Court jurisprudence. Within American penology, penal policies indicate a shift away from the focus on individual treatment and rehabilitative programs and towards broader goals of community protection and the management of dangerous classes of persons based on actuarial models and risk assessments. Additionally, by approving of Kansas’ Sexually Violent Predator Act in Kansas v. Hendicks, the Supreme Court established itself as a majoritarian institution informed and guided primarily by actuarial justice, communitarian concerns and public opinion rather than by clear constitutional precedent and traditional recognition of individual civil liberties.
Risk and Protective Factors of Juveniles’ Development to Serious Delinquency
Few studies have examined males’ progression and development from minor problem behavior to persistent serious and violent offending from childhood to early adulthood, Also, few studies have examined risk and protective factors that can explain individual differences in progression, persistence, and severity of offending. These issues are addressed in data from the Pittsburgh Youth Study, a study on the development of delinquency in males. Three samples were first assessed in first, fourth, and tenth grade (called the youngest, middle, and oldest sample). Follow-up assessments for the current analyses consisted Of ten a$SeSUneDt3 for the youngest sample, seven assessments for the middle sample, and nine assessments for the oldest sample. Earlier work on developmental pathways is expanded to show further differentiation of steps toward serious offending. Serious offenders are distinguished between those who commit serious property offenses only and those who engage in violent and serious prop” offenses Shared and unique behavioral trajectories of each group are highlighted. Risk and protective factors associated with males’ progression to serious offenses are reviewed. The need to better explain aggressive and violent offense patterns as distinct from nonviolent offense pattern is stressed.
Risking Lives for Profit: Analyzing Corporate Risk Taking With Event Trees Among a Sample of Commercial Passenger Vessel Casualties
When maritime transportation catastrophes occur investigations seek to identify the individual(s) directly responsible for the incident and in doing so, overlook and even neglect the role of the larger organization. Sailing schedules, staffing deficiencies, and poor equipment maintenance, are all profit driven decisions made by the corporation that directly affect the operating conditions of the vessel. In this sense, the corporation chooses to maximize profit at the expense of safety thereby warranting some degree of culpability for ensuing tragedies. Research examining corporate misconduct is often criticized for using single case studies to examine important concepts. To address this limitation, the current study involves the analysis of 30 case studies to examine whether maritime casualties among commercial passenger vessels can be attributed to corporate negligence. Analysis follows the strategy used by Hagenzieker and Wagenaar (1987), to examine whether risk taking was the principle cause of maritime accidents. This research builds upon the prior work by , focusing on a single component of maritime commerical trade and it examines decision making with event trees on three operational levels a priori rather than post hoc.
Risks, Needs and Effectiveness in British Probation Services
During the last four years probation services in Britain have become increasingly interested in the potential of risk/needs assessment techniques, both to help with decision-making about individual offenders and to contribute to evaluating the effectiveness of services. This paper reports the key findings of pilot sutdies of the introduction of the Canadian Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) in Britain, and of a recent Home Office funded study of LSI-$ and the locally developed Assessment, Case Management and Evaluation system (ACE). The findings include data on how well risk/need instruments predict further offending; how they compare with prediction methods based on age, sex and criminal history only; what needs they highlight among offenders in Britain; what changes in needs profiles are found during probation supervision, and how far these changes are related to reconviction. The paper also draws on these findings to assess the potential contribution of risk/need assement techniques in the British policy context: in particular, are these techniques primarily of interest to managers in pursuite of new forms of monitoring and accountability, or do they open up more possibilities for effective rehabilitation in a system which is currently intended by policy-makers to deliver ‘punishment in the community’?
Role of Culture and Parenting Style for Overall Treatment Satisfaction With the NIDA Strengthening Washington, D.C. Families Program
The current research draws on Baumrind’s (1978) typological model for different styles of parenting to determine whether specific parenting styles can be used to contribute to the understanding of parental satisfaction of components of the NIDA Strengthening Washington, DC Families Program (SWFP). SWFP seeks to reduce drug abuse and precursors of drug abuse in high risk children by offering skills training to parents and/or their children. This study examines whether initial parenting styles predict satisfaction with the training received. The goal is to determine the main cultural factors related to differences in parenting styles that would likely influence overall treatment satisfaction. Understanding the role of culture and parenting style in treatment satisfaction would add to the literature in helping to determine specific elements which enable parents from different cultural backgrounds to accept family-based treatment.
Role of Social Developmental Processes in Facilitating or Interrupting the Link Between Early Offending and Adult Crime
Understanding the nature of the relationship between early antisocial behavior and the development of criminal careers is important for effective crime prevention. This paper, theoretically guided by the authors’ social development model, first examines the relationship between early offending and subsequent criminal careers, and then examines the social developmental processes that facilitate or Interrupt this link. In addition to studying the general social developmental mechanisms that link early onset offending to adult crime, this study also examines the impact of specific experiences in adolescence such as involvement in the juvenile justice system, on the subsequent offense trajectory. Finally, since socialization experiences may differ by gender, these analyses examine how the processes differ or are similar for males and females. The sample is from the Seattle Social Development Project, a longitudinal panel study of 808 youth Interviewed annually from 1985 tat approximately age 10 years) to 1991 (age 16), and again in 1993 (age 181 and 1996 (age 2 1). The sample Is gender-balanced and -ethnically diverse. Analyses include logistic regression and survival analysis to examine the effect of fixed and timevarying predictors on the risk of re-offense. Implications of the results for effective crime prevention are discussed.
Routine Activities in Social Context: A Closer Look at the role of Opportunities in Deviant Behavior
This paper argues that present versions of the routine activities approach to deviant behavior fail to account for the microsocial context of situational motivation and opportunity. This failure, in turn, leads researchers to misspecify the effects of the patterning of routine actitivites on deviant behavior. Using concepts from two distinct theoretical frameworks, social control and differential association theories, I argue that routine activities cannot simply be understood as neutral patternings of structural changes. To the contrary, social activities are guided by aims and practices of social actors. From this perspective, routine activities are less understood as causing behavior, they become part of what is to be explained. Using cross-sectional survey data from a nationally representative sample of 3860 Icelandic adolescents, my findings lend considerable support for these theoretical claims. As hypothesized, the effects of routine actitivites (unstructured socializing with peers) on types of deviant behavior are considerably reduced when differential social relations are controlled-that is, bonding with conventional agents (parents and school) and associations with deviant peers. Secondly, net of the main effects of differential social relations, routine actitivties (unstructured socializing with peers), and favorable definitions (neutralizations) on deviant behaviors, statistical interactions are reported between differential social relations and routine actitivties as well as between favorable definitions and routine actitivties.
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SafeFutures Milestones and Mid-Course Corrections: Reflections on Evaluating Comprehensive Community-Based Initiatives
SafeFutures is an Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) multi-year initiative designed to further the existing efforts of selected communities in reducing delinquency and youth violence, using a continuum of care that encompasses prevention, intervention, treatment, and sanctioning programs or services. Six communities — Boston, MA; Contra Costa County, CA; Fort Belknap, M0; Imperial County, CA; Seattle, WA; and St. Louis, MGR — began SafeFutures demonstrations in the spring of 1996_ Emphasis is placed on using comprehensive strategies to improve service delivery mechanisms that help at-risk youth, juvenile offenders, and their families. The proposed presentation will describe cross-site evaluation strategies in place or planned; the interface between national and local evaluation activities; and preliminary process and outcome findings.
Safety and Civility: Reconfiguring Childhood and Commodifying Youth Leisure
This paper seeks to make some remarks about the social construction of concepts of childhood and the changing patterns of youth leisure and play activity. It draws upon data from a soon-to-be-published Communities Crime Survey undertaken in the north of Ireland which looked at patterns of activity among children and young people and the influence of a large range of environmental factors upon children’s free time. Data relating to parental anxiety about crime and the safety of their children is explored to mark out a changing pattern of childhood activity. The commodification of children’s free time through market providers which address parental safety anxieties is considered in relation to the out the role of formal and informal civil society.
San Diego CHOICE Program — Parent (Guardian)
The Choice Program in San Diego is designed as an alternative to standard juvenile probation. The program consists of continuous monitoring of these youth through daily facc-to-face contacts with Choice staff members. These encounters may occur at the juvenile’s school, home, or in their neighborhood. Program goals include expedient completion of court orders and prevention of further criminal behavior, While Choice participants did finish probation sooner than a comparison group, as found in a recent study, Choice parents (guardians) had mixed reactions to the supervision model. While some held the program in high acclaim, others found it to be too intrusive. To confound this finding further, Choice participants fared no better than comparison subjects by most official measures. Focus groups are currently being conducted to explore Choice parents’ perception of the intensive nature of this program Lind to I earn more about their experiences with the program overall. Targeted areas of inquiry include in parental responsibility, changes in parental role, and perceptions of the Choice program in general.
School Capacity for Guardianship and Student Problem Behavior: An Evaluation of a 5-Year Intervention Program
A program to increase school capacity to signal expected and undesired behavior, provide supervision, and respond to behavior in the environment with positive and negative sanctions is described and evaluated, One component of the program also delivered a social problem-solving curriculum. faculty, parents, and students were engaged in planning and implementing actions to increase guardianship. Quantitative evidence from surveys of teachers and students implies that the, program was remarkably successful in improving safety and school morale according to teacher and other staff reports for a period of time, but that this progress was impeded and then eroded when the school leaders’ support for change was withdrawn. Social skills instruction was exceedingly difficult to implement because of the high rates of truancy, tardiness, class cutting, and oppositional behavior in the school. The evidence does not support the effectiveness of this training and instruction under these circumstances. Organization development in a troubled school is fraught with difficulties and frequent setbacks, described and discussed in this report. But the quantitative data and qualitative observations converge in implying that progress can be made if efforts to build school capacity are not blacked by poor administration or other obstacles to the orderly conduct of schooling.
School Contextual Effects: The Role of the Single Parent Family
This paper addresses the extent to which the rising level of single parent families affects the delinquency of all children, regardless of an individual child’s own family structure. Although there is abundant research on the relationship between family structure and delinquency, few studies have separated the effect of an individual’s family structure from the collective effect of the predominate family structure in one’s community. School is a meaningful context to examine delinquency: this is the major institution where children from different backgrounds come together and interact. I expect a contextual effect because a high percentage of single parent families is likely to result in a breakdown of control over the children due to fewer adults available for supervision. The present study examines data from 42 schools to assess both how a child’s delinquency is affected by the child’s own family structure and how the percentage of single parent families affects the delinquency of all children within the school. Preliminary findings suggest slightly higher rates of delinquency for children from single parent families, and a larger contextual effect: those children who attend a school with a high percentage of single parent families are at higher risk for delinquency even if they live with both parents.
School-Level Correlates of Strength of School-Based Prevention Programs
This presentation combines data from several sources to summarize school-level correlates of prevention program strength. Using school aggregates of the program intensity and quality indicators described in the previous paper, this paper reports correlations between these quality indicators and school characteristics as reported by principals, teachers, and students. Data come from principal, teacher, and student surveys administered in a national probability sample of approximately 900 schools. Data include principal reports of community characteristics; principal and teacher reports of organization capacity, staffing quality, and leadership; and student and teacher reports of the level of disorder experienced in the school. The paper test the hypothesis that disorganized and poorly managed schools have the most difficulty implementing programs and experience the most disorder.
Screen Portrayals of Consensual and Coerced Sex
This work examines portrayals of both consensual and ,coerced sex acts in a sample of 1996 movies which s includes the 50 top grossing films of that year. Discussion focuses an the frequency and characteristics of sex scenes with an emphasis on male and female sates in sexual encounters. Special attention is given to coerced sex acts or rape. The primary goal is to analyze screen sex to determine whether gender stereotypes and sexual myths continue to be perpetuated in that particular medium. The proposed paper assesses the factors that influence the development of juvenile justice policy in France and Germany within the context of systems theory. This study utilizes an open/closed systems framework as a way to conceptualize determinants of juvenile justice policy. France and Germany serve as two single case studies for demonstrating the open and closed dichotomy that characterizes systems theory. The study shows how France and Germany differ on the open/closed dimension, with France being characterized as a closed system while Germany is characterized as an open system. This is demonstrated through a discussion of historical, cultural, political, social and economic factors, which shape policy development in each of these countries. The topic of this paper addresses the hypothesis: Policy changes and media coverage will be more strongly related in Germany than France due to its being an open system while France is a closed system. The methodology utilizes both qualitative and quantitative techniques, incorporating 1) focused interviews with key informants (non-random sample, one-on-one, in person, purposive, taped and transcribed), 2) A review of documents; laws/policies, newspapers, and 3) graphs illustrating quantitative data.
SECURE: An Experiment in Reducing Crime in Affordable Housing in Chicago
The CURL evaluation of SECURE I was a pre and post change study of changes in crime prevention hardware in four privately owned affordable housing complexes in Chicago. SECURE I crime prevention changes and the evaluation were funded by the mortgage holder, the Illinois Housing Development Authority. The research had four components. 1. Interviews with management and janitors prior to, during and after completion of SECURE changes 2. Surveys with tenants prior to and after SECURE changes were made 3. Video-taping of each project prior to, during and after completion of SECURE changes 4. Continuous monitoring of crimes known to the police at project addresses, in a 500 foot buffer, and in a 1000 foot buffer from 1996 to 1998. Consistent with this panel, this paper concentrates on geographic analysis of police records. It is shown that the crime prevention interventions had little effect on crimes known to the police but probably resulted in increased feelings of security among tenants and better control of semiprivate spaces.
Seeking a Different World: Restorative Justice and the Search for Social Alternatives
Many individuals actively seek out competing models to the current criminal justice system. Some individuals claim that restorative justice, in the forof reparative community boards, alternative programs, victim panels and day reporting centers, and victim/offender mediation, provides interesting alternatives to incarceration. This paper offers an analysis of: 1) how restorative justice is conceptualized by advocates and critics; 2) recent applications of the RJ principle in various community settings; 3) current problems within the criminal justice system; and 4) future directions for restorative justice-driven community crime policy applications.
Self-Concept and Violence in African-American Adolescent Males: Issues in Prevention
African-Americans, particularly young males, experience a disproportionate rate of both victimization due to and arrest for violent crime. While legitimate structural correlates of violent behavior have been prveiously identified, one area which has not been appreciably explored involves the mental health status of AFrican-American adolescent males. This research examined whether positive self-concept, one dimension of mental wellness, will insulate an African-American adolescent male from engaging in violent behavior. Reckless’ (1967) Containment Theory serves as the primary theoretical frame of reference to investigate the relationship between self-concept and violence in African-American adolescent males in the urban setting. A multistage cluster sampling technique was used to select a sample of 160 committed and non-committed African-American males aged thirteen to eighteen who completed a survey instrument that explored both quantitative and qualitative aspects of self-concept, victimization and delinquency, and the impact of various structural factors on the formation of the self-concept. Results from regression analysis and content analysis/interpretation are discussed as well as implications for prevention.
Self Control, Risky Lifestyles, and Situation: The Role of Opportunity and Context in the General Theory
Gottfredson and Hirschi propose that low self control is a cause of criminal behavior. Several recent studies show mixed support for the theory and call for researchers to examine the more proximate causes that may intercede between self-control and criminality including lifestyle and the social circumstances of criminal events. Utilizing a sample of 125 homeless male street youths the study explores how low self control, risky lifestyles and street youths reactions to situations influences their participation in a range of violent behaviors both as offenders and victims.
Self Control and Youthful Auto Theft
Gottfredson’s and Hirshi’s theory hypothesizing a causal relationship between a lack of impulse control and social deviance is tested. The data were collected by self-administered questionnaire in November-December of 1998 from a cluster sample of students in Grades 9 through 12 across three contiguous school districts in a Western Canadian regional district. Specifically, the relationship of impulse control with both self-reported attitudes and behavioral experiences with auto theft are examined with a replication of the Grasmick et al. scale of impulse control. Additional control variables are also used as part of a multivariate analysis.
Self Control Theory and the Social Contract: Measuring Institutional Ties Symbolically
Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory includes the notion of selfcontrol as an integral explanatory factor for why individuals are restrained from criminality. It has been argued that in order for the theory to have a policy impact, caregivers must ascribe to a social contract in which the benefit of longterm planning and delayed gratification is commonly valued. Otherwise, caregivers are not equipped to recognize or sanction deviant behavior stemming from a child’s lack of self-control. Traditionally, institutional ties that might measure a caregiver’s commitment to the social contract have been explored through counting frequency of involvement with institutional activity. Instead, I am suggesting that institutional ties might better be measured through the use of symbolic association with the institutions of religion, education, family, and law. This paper will explore the theoretical appeal and empirical support for such an approach.
Self-Disclosure, Studying Down, Finding the Truth: Fieldwork Dilemmas From Qualitative Research With Girls in Trouble
While in the field working on a qualitative dissertation focusing on the feelings, beliefs and experiences of girls in juvenile corrections, many dilemmas arose for me. This paper presents various research experiences, including the notion of the urban anthropologist herself actually becoming the research instrument in the field. That is, not only the acts of receiving and bearing the participants’ stories, feelings, and ideas, but also recording my own intuitions, judgments, thoughts, suspicions, and empathy all became data from which insights blossomed. The research field was a highly dynamic arena where I found that the sociology of emotions (theirs and mine), autobiography, and objectivity were key ideas that needed to be unpacked and explored. One important ongoing struggle is how to talk about girls’ sexualities and experiences with violence without fueling the pedophilia and titillating the obsessions that the academic readership seems to have with the living arrangements of subalterns.
Self Reported Alcohol Use by ADAM Arrestees
This presentation will examine relationships among self-reported recent use of alcohol, demographic characteristics, urinalysis results for illegal drugs, and charge at arrest. Analyses are based on 20,037 male and 6,548 female booked arrestees interviewed in 35 cities during calendar 1998. During the ADAM interview, arrestees were asked about their use of both legal and illegal drugs, including alcohol consumption. These questions addressed both lifetime use and recent use (within the past 72 hours). The analysis also will compare 1998 recent-alcohol consumption and crime findings to the only earlier NIJ report of alcohol use — based on 1989 data. Preliminary analyses indicate that more than half of the arrestees in all age groups except persons 15 to 20 had recently used alcohol and that recent alcohol use rates were higher than those for cocaine, marijuana and opiate use for all groups except persons 15 to 20. Nevertheless, the proportion of arrestees using both alcohol and cocaine has declined since 1989.
Sentence Severity: A Comparative Survey
This paper is an attempt to determine whether the sentencing policies and practices of one country or jurisdiction are more or less ‘severe’ than another. To date, cross-jurisdictional comparisons of penal severity have been few and their findings relatively narrow and inconclusive. Comparative sentencing observations and studies tended to focus upon variations in imprisonment rates as an index of severity. Taking the offence of burglary as an exemplar, this paper looks at a broad range of measures of ‘severity’ including statutory maximum penalties, modes of trial, the number and proportion of custodial and non-custodial sentences as well as the range and quantum of sentences handed down, been few and their findings relatively narrow and inconclusive. Comparative sentencing observations and studies tended to focus upon variations in imprisonment rates as an index of severity. Taking the offence of burglary as an exemplar, this paper looks at a broad range of measures of ‘severity’ including statutory maximum penalties, modes of trial, the number and proportion of custodial and non-custodial sentences as well as the range and quantum of sentences handed down, imposed versus actual time served in relation to custodial sentences, suspended sentences and the like. At this stage only a small number of common law jurisdictions are examined, with a view to determining the degree to which differences in imprisonment rates between jurisdictions are due to differences in sentence severity rather than differences in crime rates. If the methodology adopted proves valid, the study may be expanded to cover a broader range of jurisdictions with more widely disparate sentencing systems.
Serotonergic Mechanisms of Behavioral Disinhibition in Patients With Impulsive Aggressive Personality Disorders
Both animal studies and indirect, peripheral indices of brain function in humans suggest that disturbances to the brain serotonin (5-HT) system increase susceptibility to impulsive aggressive behavior. In the present study, we tested this hypothesis by directly measuring rates. of 5-HT synthesis in different brain regions of patients with impulsive aggressive personality disorders. Method: Rates of brain 5-HT synthesis were measured using positron emission tomography and a-(11C]methyl-L-tryptophan in healthy controls (n 11) and medication-free patients with Cluster B personality disorders (n = 13). Impulsivity was assessed objectively using scores on a laboratory measure of behavioral disinhibition, Go/NoGo commission errors. Results: In male patients, compared to male controls, relative 5-HT synthesis rates were significantly reduced in cortico-striatal sites thought to be involved in affective regulation, motivational states and behavioral inhibition. the medial frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, and striaturn. In female patients, significantly reduced 5-HT synthesis rates were seen in fewer regions, but, in both male and female patients, impulsivity scores were negatively correlated with 5-HT synthesis rates in the same cortico-striatal regions: medial frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, and striatum. Conclusions: Low rates of 5-HT synthesis in cortico-striatal circuits might be related to the development and expression of impulsive aggressive personality disorders.
Service Learning and Juvenile Delinquency
Service learning as a teaching pedagogy has increased over the last decade in criminal justice classes nationwide, particularly in small liberal arts schools who are instituting new majors in justice studies at the undergraduate level. This paper reports on an intensive group service-learning experience of 20-25 hours which includes the three service learning components of preparation, participation and reflection in a juvenile delinquency class and suggests a student-led model which is applicable for undergraduate criminal justice classes. It is intended to suggest to faculty that despite the fact that service-learning is time consuming, disruptive and occasionally controversial, it is a pedgagoy worth considering, particularly in majors where “hands on” experiences are useful. Studies using an experimental/control group design (Markus, Howard, King, 1993; Osborne, Hammerich and Hensley, 1998) have reported that service-learning has a significant positive impact on both student development and course learning. Previous research suggests that a 15-20 hour service learning experience spaced over a semester with the course content directly related to the service-learning experience provides the most desirable outcoems for student learning.
Sex Offender Community Notification: Analyzing the Role of the Media
Sex Offender Community Notification Laws exist in all fifty states. The notification process authorizes local law enforcement to release relevant information about sex offenders residing in their community to the general public. Lair enforcement has the discretion to maintain the information within the police department and disseminate it to other appropriate agencies, target the information to specific agencies, groups, and organizations, such as schools or day care centers, or expand the notification process. Several techniques of expanded notification have been utilized, including community meetings, internet postings, and news media relines. This paper explores the role 4f the media in sex offender community notification through a qualitative content analysis of over 200 newspaper articles from around the state of Wisconsin. Observation. of the media. at several community notification meetings eras an additional source of data, The presentation of information about the sex offender and the accuracy of that information was examined. The paper concludes that the media oftentimes inaccurately reports or sensationalizes information about the sex offender and his offense. The risk level is also mistakenly reported resulting in virtually all sex offenders classified as Level III by the media. Strategies for law enforcement and correctional agencies to work with the media are suggested to avert problems in media sensationalizing or misclassifying a sex offender.
Sex Offender Legislation and the Antitherapeutic Effects on Victims
Different types of sex offender legislation are appearing in an increasing number of states and on the federal level in the United States. Most of the legislation is in response to widely publicized heinous crimes of sexual violence committed by chronic offenders against strangers. This article examines the disjuncture between sex offender legislation aimed at stranger offenders and the empirical realities of sex crimes against children and women. The article reviews the prevalence and incidence of sex crimes committed by family and acquaintances against children and women and the rarity of the stranger sex criminal. Disparate research findings are summarized that show that the legal system consistently reserves the worst condemnation for the stranger sex criminal while treating more leniently the family and acquaintance offender. The iatrogenic effects of current sex offender laws and policies that target strangers on current and prospective victims of family and acquaintance child sexual abuse and rape are examined. Solutions are proposed for future law reform efforts to effect therapeutic outcomes for victims. This includes a discussion of different paradigms of law that can be integrated to achieve therapeutic aims and minimize iatrogenic effects for children and women.
Sex Offender Treatment: A Post-Release Follow-Up
Alaska’s sex offender treatment program began in the mid-1980s and has “treated” approximately 500 male inmates using a mainly cognitive, “thinking errors” approach. About 10 percent of these inmates have successfully made it through all phases of the program with the remainder dropping out or leaving prison before the program staff felt they had accomplished all of their goals. This report examines the arrest records of all 500 sex offenders subsequent to their release from prison. A set of comparison groups composed of other Alaska inmates is used to give the results a context for discussion. A brief description of the treatment program and the inmates it has served is also included. Those who have completed the program appear to be doing quite well and there also appears to be some benefit attributable to length of time spent in treatment.
Sex Offenders Notification Laws: Process and Procedure
At present, U.S. jurisdictions employ a broad variety of approaches to effectuating sex offender registration, classification, and notification. This paper surveys several critical aspects of this diversity, including: the mechanisms and entities by which decisions are made; the burdens of proof and their allocations; eligibility criteria for registration and notification; the role of counsel; the role of witnesses (including experts); and the rights of appeal, if any, to classification and notification decisions.
Sexually Aggressive Inmates on Correctional Officers
This study uses regression analysis to examine the effects of sexually predatory inmates on Federal correctional officers. Thios study will examine demographic and disciplinary records for inmates between 1991-1998 along with the security level of the institution at the time of the incident. Social climate data will provide contextual information with regard to the gender of correctional officer. We will hypothesize that with the increase of female correctional officers at higher security level institutions the rate of sexual misconduct will increase. In addition we will examine tangible steps that institutions could take in the management of sexually predatory inmates.
Shifting Constructions of Drug Treatment in Print Media Coverage
Constructionist accounts of illicit drug use have generally addressed drug treatment as a solution to a typified problem. That is, while the problems associated with drug abuse and addiction have been seen as socially constructed and subject to the influence of claims-makers, the issue of drug treatment has typically been viewed as a standard medical or public health approach to these drug problems. Drug treatment however, can be perceived as a unique facet of illicit drug issues, as treatment is attached to both medical and criminal spheres of influence. Thus, as political and public attitudes toward the drug problem shift (from medicalized to criminalized models of abuse and addiction), the way in which drug treatment is constructed may also shift. A content analysis of New York Times articles about drug treatment from 1970-1991 provides support for the assertion that the topic of drug treatment may be constructed differently as political and cultural climates change. Examination of the types of sources quoted or cited, the nature of their statements, and the format of news articles attempts to extend notions of the construction of social problems to constructions of the advocated solutions to these problems.
Should There be an International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Crimes of State-Sponsored Violence in Latin America?
The incidence of serious crimes against the people in countries such as Argentina, Chile and Guatemala, by military junta leaders, has raised the question of how to bring these people to justice. In these countries it has become evident that in-country prosecutions have not been efficacious, especially given the concerns of the current military leaders. This paper will explore different ways to have international trials, such as those currently underway in the Hague by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and in Arusha, Tanzania by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.
“Sister Sam” North of the 49th: The Demise of Bill C-220
This paper examines the debate in Canada between 1996 and 1998 on the attempted passage of Bill C-200, a legislative endeavour to transfer to the Crown the copyright of “creative works” produced by people convicted of indictable offences. The authors use the Hansard transcripts of the discussions on the Bill and examples from similar U.S. experiences to explore this recent challenge to the time-honoured practice of prison writing by “victims’ rights” groups in Canada. We begin by considering its genesis and evolution as a “victims’ rights” initiative, and then focus on the issues raised by the different stakeholder groups, namely (1) freedom of expression and prison writing, (2) conceptualizing writings as proceeds of crime, and (3) copyright and domestic/international obligations. Particular attention is paid to the process by which the bill speedily progressed, until its demise as the first private members’ bill to be defeated in the Senate in over 60 years. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this case for a democratic civil society in the context of penal justice discourses.
Social Bonds as Opportunity (or Lack Thereof): A Reconciliation of Social Control and Self-Control Theories
This paper attempts to clarify the relationship between Hirschi’s (1969) social control theory and Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) general theory of crime. The interpretation taken in this paper is that social bonds, like crime and analogous behavior, are by-products of self-control and have no effect on individual crime propensity. However, the presence of social bonds should influence offending through its effect on routine activities and lifestyles. The questions are thus: what effect do the elements of the social bond have on opportunity, and do the opportunity measures have an independent effect from that of the self-control construct on the probability of committing a crime? These hypotheses are tested using a sample of high school students. The theory and the findings of the analysis should have useful implications for other control theory research as well as routine activities/lifestyles research.
Social Construction of Crime and Criminal Justice in the Mass Media in Japan
This paper aims at discussing what knowledge and social order is symbolically represented in the crime news. The discussion is based on the analysis of newspapers on murder cases occurred in 1997 and 1998 in Japan. To begin with, characteristics of the news making process regarding criminal cases and the criminal proceedings in Japan will briefly be introduced with comparative perspective with those in the U.S. Because of the media’s heavy reliance on the police as a major news source organization, crime news can be characterized as the news story about the law enforcement activity. Only a few “big” cases are reported at the stage of hearing at the court. The crime news is emotionally constructed from the victim’s perspective. The news discourse, without fully representing the criminal justice system, develops debate over justice policy to strengthen the control power, contributing to construct an image that “serious” crime is increasing.
Social Control, Drug Interdiction and the Response of Drug Traders
Drug trafficking, and efforts to stop it, continues to spread across international borders. Subsequently, drug interdiction efforts and the social control mechanisms for the detection and apprehension of drug traffickers have increasingly become more technologically sophisticated. As this technology advances, however, those who attempt to evade such effort also become more innovative and proficient in development means for eluding detection. The interaction between the actors involved in this exchange is a dynamic and complex process the has societal consequences. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between agent of drug interdiction and those who engage in drug-related behaviors. In addition, one of the latest and most innovative technological advances for trafficking illicit substances will be reviewed.
Social Disorganization, Social Capital, and Adolescent Alcoholism: An Assessment of Contextual Effects
Although adolescent alcohol consumption has long been recognized as detrimental to youth developmental outcomes, the majority of the research on the subject has focused on explaining individual-, family-, peer-, and school-related risk factors (Elliott, Huizinga, and Ageton 1985; Hawkins, Catalano, and Miller, 1992, Kandel, Simcha-Fagan, and Davies, 1986). Recent reviews of the research literature, on crime, delinquency, and adolescent substance abuse (Hawkins, Catalano, and Miller, 1992; Reiss, 1986; Sampson, 1997; Sampson and Lauritsen, 1994) have clearly pointed out the need for inquiries into the impact of contextual variables since individuals, families, schools, and peer-groups exist in social contexts, and are inevitably affected by the structure and values of their societies (Hawkins, Catalano and Miller, 1992). Research emanating from the social ecological framework suggests that contextual factors such as neighborhood economic deprivation and community social disorganization may exert detrimental influences on adolescent substance abuse outcomes (Bursik and Webb, 1982). The current research was designed to bring the appropriate data to bear on this hypothesis. Largely, the results contradict theoretical expectations deriving from the social ecological theoretical framework. The contextual data suggest that: (1) the incidence of adolescent alcoholism is higher in areas of high family stability, (2) family social capital is stronger in areas with higher crime rates, and (3) peers’ alcoholism is lower in areas of higher population density, We discuss the theoretical implications of these results
Social Disorganization and Crime in Australia: An Ecological Analysis of Crime Rates in Urban Areas
The analysis of crime in urban areas is a well established empirical tradition in American criminology. Beginning with Shaw and McKay’s landmark study of juvenile delinquency in urban areas, the ecological study of crime rates has continued until the present day to occupy an important role in the criminological enterprise. While there have been a few studies that have examined the ecology of crime outside of the United States (US), there are no recent studies that have examined the propositions put forward by Shaw and McKay within the Australian context. This paper examines the ecology of crime in the metropolitan area of Brisbane, Australia; and will test social disorganisation theory as proposed by Shaw and McKay. The aim is to investigate whether this explanation of crime is applicable outside the US context. This study tests the validity and replicability of social disorganisation theory in another developed nation and thus provides evidence about the robustness of one of the most prominent structural explanations of crime.
Social Disorganization and Partner Violence: Does it Matter Where You Live?
This study investigates how individual and partner-level factors interact with community context to affect intimate violence between cohabiting adults. Relevant dimensions of community context are derived from social disorganization theory. This theory suggests that factors that contribute to high levels of crime and violence in areas that are socially disorganized include a lack of formal and informal controls as well as normative codes of behavior that support violence. Additionally, women who live in these areas may lack the social support and financial resources to leave their abusive relationships. Individual and relationship variables may interact with community context differently in different areas. The data come from wave 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households, which was completed in 1994, and the 1990 U.S. Census. This study assesses both within group variation and between group variation for different economic areas.
Social Disorganization and Rural Violent Crime: A Spatial Analysis
Recently we showed that a model informed by social disorganization theory explained violent crime rates in the Mid-South states in a manner consistent with the effects in urban based models. In this paper we extend the analysis to other regions of the nation to see if the urban based social disorganization model also explains rural violent crime rates in these regions (West, , Midwest, Southeast/Mid-Atlantic regions to see if the model behaves the same across regions, or is rural crime a regional phenomenon. Additionally, we use SPACESTAT, a software package designed by Luc Anselin, and employ a MLE spatial lag model to control for spatial dependence in rural violent crime rates. Our original analysis failed to detect any spatial association in violent crime in the Mid-South states. However, this may not be the case in other regions of the country. We explore these issues in the analysis.
Social Function of an Epidemic: “Crack” in a Durkheimian Context
The emergence of crack in the 1980s led to public outrage and a moral panic. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, built upon fears of the evil of crack offenders demonstrates the power of such moral panics to incite hysteria and severe punishments for criminals. The question arises as to what function the moral panic and resulting legislation served. This paper examines the social function of the “crack epidemic” and the response to it in light of the theory presented by Emile Durkheim. Durkheim’s assertion that crime is normal and offers a mechanism for maintaining and increasing social solidarity provides a framework for this analysis. The media coverage of crack provides information on the discourse about crack. This paper focuses on a content analysis of newspaper articles between 1986 and 1989, examining the development and effect of the epidemic in relation to Durkeheimian theory.
Social Problem Solving Mechanisms: Considering the Dimensions and Impact of the Incarceration Model in American Society
Coercion, punitivieness, and violence characterize dominant problem response strategies, and mechanisms across America’s social institutions and interactional settings. Arguably predominantly these strategies, tend to be criminogenic. Collectively their quintessence forms what may be described as an Incarceration Model of Response. The nature of these practices counterdicts the putative predominant policy emphasis of both the public and private sectors and such institutions as religion and the family. Indicators suggest pcrvasity and harshness of these strategies are increasing, differentially registering across class, gender and color. Radical, critical conflict (Marxist) theory suggests rather than emerging from a social consensus designed to protect the social community from “bad apples” these strategies function to serve the perceived best interest of the prevailig dominant power structure. Policy implications are discussed. As a viable alternative a systemic change, proactive sociological prevention and non violent problem solving approach is presented.
Social Reaction to Crime in Three European Countries
Although research on comparative juvenile justice systems and policies is periodically conducted, this has rarely been contrasted with the results of self-report surveys which on the detection and consequences of delinquent and antisocial bheavior. This paper details the differences in social reaction to crime in Spain, England and Wales and the Netherlands as part of an European Commission funded research project. Although detection rates are generally low and informal social control agents (parents, teachers, etc.) play a larger role in detection than formal social control agents (the police), there are differences among the three countries studied. This paper will look at these differences in the context of each country’s juvenile justice policy, examining the characteristics of the act and of the offender as explanations for differences in social reaction in the three countries.
Social Sanctions and Patterns of Drunk Driving Among College Students
This paper will report an analysis of data from a self-report survey administered to college students. The focus will be on the relationship between patterns of drunk driving and social interventions. Both intervening in potential DUI situation and being the recipient of intervention efforts will be examined. These informal social sanctions will be contrasted with the respondents perceptions of formal sanctions. This will hold implications for the relative explanatory power of the two bodies of sanctions.
Social Support Networks, Strain, and Gender: An Empirical Examination
Anecdotal accounts and empirical evidence suggest that the etiology of female delinquency may differ from the etiology of male delinquency. Broidy and Agnew (1997) propose that a gendered version of strain theory may be able to account for these differences. One component of a gendered version of strain theory which may be important is the concept of social support. Theory and logic suggest that juveniles with weaker social support will be more likely to participate in delinquent behavior. Evidence suggests that females have more extensive support networks than males (Turner & Noh, 1983; Vaux, 1988) and that social support is more important to the mental health and well-being of females than it is for males. These findings suggest several hypotheses. First, if females have greater social support networks than males, differences in social support may explain the differences in the prevalence of female and male offending. Second, if females weigh the importance of social support more heavily than males, the explanatory value of social support will be greater for explaining variability in delinquency among females than it is for explaining variability in male delinquency. In addition to a direct effect of social support on delinquency, it is also highly plausible that social support may be an important buffer against strain–mediating the effects of strain on delinquency. Using data from the National Youth Survey, this paper is an attempt to evaluate these hypotheses.
Social Threat and Benign Neglect as an Explanation of the Relationship Between Race and Crime
According to conflict theory, crime is not inherent in behavior, but it is the product of the interests of a ruling elite and the behavior of those who interfere with such interests. Recent research has argued that an increase in a population perceived as threatening will only lead to an increase in the formal control of that population if it is in proximity to the dominant population. This benign-neglect hypothesis argues that segregation of threatening groups as a mechanism of social control reduces the need for crime control. This paper seeks to expand on this hypothesis by defining the relevant concepts in ways that are more consistent with the arguments of conflict theory. Rather than examining rates of violent and property crime, this study will use drug-related arrests, which may be more vulnerable to the influence of elites. Also, rather than employing the popular index of dissimilarity as a measure of the segregation of blacks and whites, an argument is made for using the isolation index, which is more consistent with the idea of exposure to a threatening population. Data for a sample of 114 U.S. cities are examined in order to assess the utility of the social threat/benign neglect hypothesis in explaining levels of crime control.
Socio-Cultural Dimensions of “Crime” in 21st Century U.S.A.
This paper examines the “crime” concept for the 21st Century United States. The key question addressed here is: Considering the socio-cultural diversity in the make-up of the USA, how should “crime, be defined for the 21st Century in order to improve social control in this country? The following socio-cultural qualities are examined: culture, tradition, custom, religion, language, economics, system of government, and motivation for migration, The contributions of these qualities to defining crime for the 21sr, Century USA are considered. The qualities are examined in the context of “domestic crimes” and “international crimes.” The author concludes that a consideration of the outlined qualities in law making, law application, and law enforcement will result in a more effective social control in the United States.
Socio-Spatial Polarisation, the Geography of Education and Youth Delinquency: A Brussels Case-Study
Both social and spatial inequalities are increasing in Brussels as a result of a selective suburbanisation process, the differentiated effects of economic crisis and recently now urban growth. As a result, youngsters from migrant origin live concentrated in the 19th century inner city working class areas. Competition between secondary schools and soft discrimination of these youngsters further enhances these inequalities between schools, even if the location of ‘.concentration schools’ and ‘e1ite schools’ does not correspond to the residential divide in the city. However, a close analysis of socio-economic status, educational achievements, leisure activities, social control and deviant behaviour of 4500 pupils in 47 schools, shows that this strong dual pattern of housing and education is not strongly related with streetcrime. Keywords: Brussels, socio-spatial structure, education, immigration, youth delinquency, correspondence analysis.
Some Origins of Support for the Violent Offender Incarceration/Truth-in-Sentencing Movement
This research sought to understand the origins of public support for the saris of “tough” sentencing regime envisioned in the VOI/TIS legislation through an examination of national- and state-level data over time, including data on: objective events and conditions (including crime rates. reports and arrests), political and media attention to violent crime and other criminal justice issues, and public opinion data. The research suggests that objective conditions (the increase in crime rates in the early part of the decade) led to the bipartisan decision by national political leaders to focus an the issue of crime in the early 1990s, while media reporting increasingly focused on sensational crimes of violence. Taken together, these influences appear to have fueled increasing concern about crime in the public, which made more salient the public’s eroding confidence and increasing dissatisfaction with the performance of the criminal justice system, changing beliefs about the purposes of prisons, and a growing belief that sentences were too lax.
Some Preliminary Findings From the Evaluation of Communities in Schools of San Fernando Valley/Valley Unit Peace Treaty Gang Prevention and Intervention Strategies
While long considered a major problem in the United States, clearly discernable street gangs have only recently become a large concern in Canada. Typically, Canadian gangs are urban-based, organized along ethnic lines, and members come from economically marginal situations. In Winnipeg, Manitoba, concern over street gang crime, particularly violent crime, has led to a number of crime suppression and crime prevention strategies. Our research examines the experience of a community intervention project having as its goal the reduction of street gang recruitment. The data indicate that the project was successful, but issues related to the measurement of “success” raise important questions about our understanding of intervention strategies.
Someone is Always Outside the Boundary: A Parole Board Tribute(?) to Emile Durkheim
Ohio’s Parole Board, in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC), has functioned under the same set of guidelines for about 14 years. The DRC’s research bureau helped to establish the original guidelines, monitor levels of compliance, and prepare a revised set of guidelines. The revisions went into effect in April, 1998, to accomplish several purposes: (1) update several mechanical aspects of the guidelines, including changes to increase the reliability and validity of operation; (2) increase predictability of release by adopting a time-based release grid; (3) shift release patterns to bring greater conformity between cases under an old indeterminate structure of sentencing and a new, “truth-in-entencing” criminal code. It was believed that the revised guidelines, being developed with high levels of input from the decision-makers (Board members), would greatly increase conformity to these decision-making guidelines. The paper describes, first, the process of change and, second, decision-making patterns under the old and new guidelines.
Sorokin and Altruism: Implications for Peacemaking Criminology
Pitirim Sorokin was one of the country’s most influential sociologists in the first half of this century. His work on social change and particularly altruism has implications for the current emphasis on peacemaking criminology. This paper reviews Sorokin’s ideas and suggests ways that contemporary theorists might profit from the work of this prominent sociologist.
Spatial Analyses of Crime Using a Japanese Version of “SCAS”
Spatial analyses of crime with GIS have attracted increasing attention of both researchers and practitioners in criminology and criminal justice. In order to promote the application of GIS in criminological studies and police practices in Japan, we have developed a Japanese version of “SCAS: Spatial Crime Analysis System,” a GIS application originally developed by the U.S. Department of Justice. By means of this localized version of SCAS, we examined the characteristics of spatial distribution of crime in large urban areas of Japan. The data are Penal Code offences known to the police, plotted onto large-scale digital maps published by the Geographical Survey Institute of Japan, using our original address-geocoding program that is compatible with Japanese address formats. The crime location maps were overlaid with maps on physical and socio-demographic features and the relationships between crime patterns and community characteristics were analyzed. Preliminary findings of the analyses and their research and policy implications are discussed.
Spatial Aspects of Illegal Drug Markets in Wilmington, Delaware
Past research has established two important geographic principles concerning the retail sales of illegal drugs-that illegal drug markets tend to be spatially concentrated, and that the location and marketing characteristics of these markets will vary depending on whether the customers are local or regional. The present research will build on these principles and determine whether the location of illegal drug markets in Wilmington, Delaware can be predicted using variables that measure the relative size of the local demand combined with variables that measure accessibility to regional customers. The data include arrest records from the Wilmington police department for the years 1989, 1990,, and 1991 so as to be comparable with the 1990 census data.
Spatial Relationships Between Unemployment and Crime
The spatial relationships between unemployment and crime rates in Virginia is examined using annual data for the period between 1993 to 1997. The analysis is developed int he context of routine activity theory. Both local and global indicators are used in exploring the spatial relationships. Spatial regression models are developed to explore the linkages between unemployment and crime. The utility of notions of spatial regimes in a theory of unemployment-crime linkages is explored.
Spies, Dickie and Prison Security: A Short History of Security Categorisation in the English Prison System
In 1966, the KGB spy George Blake, sentenced just five years earlier to an unprecedented 42 years in custody, casually escaped from Wormwood Scrubs prison in West London. He hopped over the wall with the aid of a rope ladder strengthened with knitting needles, helped by an alcoholic Irishman and two anti-nuclear activists. Blake’s escape caused enormous embarrassment to the Prison Service and a Public Inquiry was established under Admiral of the Fleet, Earl Mountbatten of Burma. It is a disturbing anomaly that Mountbatten’s subsequent report is better remembered for a proposal that did not become policy – a single, maximum security prison – than for one that did – a Isystem of categorisation of prisoners by security. This paper argues that at the time the Prison Service did not fully appreciate the meaning and ramifications of the implementation of security classification. Subsequent problems affecting the operation of categorisation, such as the influence of factors other than security into the categorisation decision, can be traced back to this important initial period. The paper asks: was the cold October night of Blake’s escape the start of a security freeze that would numb the treatment and training ethos then dominant within the prison system?
Stake in Conformity as a Predictor of Success for Domestic Assault Probationers
This paper reports the results of an ongoing study of probation compliance and recidivism among adult domestic assault probationers in Hennepin County, Minnesota. One of the hypotheses tested was whether having a stake in conformity (i.e., being married, educated, employed, in a stable residence) would predict better outcomes for domestic assault probationers. This hypothesis stems from prior research that suggests that arrest may be a deterrent for those domestic assault offenders with a stake in conformity (Sherman and Smith, 1992). However, there has been relatively little research done on outcomes for domestic assault offenders on probation. This paper reports outcomes for 2,110 probationers at one year from the beginning of the probation portion of their sentences.
State Crime, Human Rights and the Limits of Criminology
This paper will argue for a definition of crime which reflects the centrality of state crime to criminology’s concerns. State crime is of central concern for two reasons. First, its sheer scale: many of the most serious harms suffered by human beings around the world are inflicted by state agents. Secondly, criminology studies the practices of coercive state agencies; those practices are founded on violence and on the state’s power to define the boundary (which in fact never is clearly defined) between ‘legitimate’ and ‘criminal’ violence. A critical study of the way states construct their own legitimacy cannot take the state’s own crime as given.
Statistics as Narrative
In criminal justice, statistics is considered to be a major tool of the methodology of science. Because the language of science is considered to reflect reality, and because statistics, as a branch of mathematics, is considered to be primarily logical, the use of statistics is believed to uncover reality to be primarily logical, the use of statistics is believed to uncover reality through the operationalization of scientific research data. However, if one does not agree that science reflects reality, then its use of statistics can be seen as a tool used to further a particular worldview. If we understand that there is more than one way to view the world, then the language of statistics as used by social scientists becomes a particular type of narrative. This paper will briefly discuss the place of statistics within mathematics. It will then discuss the limiting view of statistical studies, and &en them to the limiting view of “objective” ethnographies, which also inherit the same “flat” perspective. Finally, it will compare these two types of studies with other types of narrative.
Steaming: A Kind of Youth Violence
in October 1998 the Research Group on Juvenile Criminology started with a research about a special kind of crime: “steaming”. We try to discover to what extend we are dealing with a phenomenon or a problem. If considered to be a real problem, we want an answer on the next questions: “Who Is affected by It and how with? Who are the offenders and who are the victims?-. in the first period of the research we did a study of the scientific literature. Soon, we discovered the non-e literature about steaming. Despite the lack of Information, steaming Is a phenomenon that gets a lot of me lately. What we call steaming nowadays, has existed for quite a long time. Steaming has sensationalist overt such overlaps the existing offences of theft with violence. The problem Is that steaming Is not recorded as category In the Criminal law or In the Criminal Statistics. So, It Isn’t easy to qualify steaming juridical correct To find a definition of steaming we looked for existing definitions of steaming and compared them. In gen that steaming Is a kind of group violence. More specific, a few youngsters choose a victim and surround him they extort money or something else from the victim. If the victim refuses, the offenders sometimes become Mostly it concerns young offenders and victims. We found the next 6 characteristics to define steaming: 1. There are two or more offenders. 2. The location Is always a public place. 3. There Is always an Interaction between the offenders and the victim. 4. The offenders threaten and/or use violence, 5. The offenders extort money or something else from the victim. 6. It Isn’t obvious If the use of violence Is only Instrumental. After we compared definitions of steaming we compared those founded characteristics with certain linked from the person, street robbery and robbery, mugging, rip-deals. This comparison resulted in the same c steaming has links with all these crimes, but has a few characteristics that are typical. Because steaming got a lot of media attention over the last two years, we have analysed the newspaper art. We looked In articles for variables about the crime, the offenders and the victim. We give the most Import the analysis. We also made an inventory of services that are working around the problem of steaming. Therefor we called prevention services in the Flanders and asked them 5 questions. Prevention services are organised at com. The role of a prevention service Is to apply different prevention strategies and projects for different target of this service Is to decrease Insecurity and delinquency, and to Increase the well-being of people. Afterwards, we started with an analysis of allegations of steaming recorded In three Flemish cities: Antwerp en Gent. We have chosen this cities because only In this cities the police make records with the term steaming. The aim is to find out the characteristics of steaming, the profile of the victims and the profile and the met offenders.
Steaming: A Kind of Youth Violence
In October 1998 the Research Group on Juvenile Criminology started with a research about a special kind of youth group crime: “steaming”. We try to discover to what extend we are dealing with a phenomenon or a problem. If steaming is considered to be a real problem, we want an answer on the next questions: “Who is affected by it and how can it be dealt with? Who are the offenders and who are the victims?-. in the first period of the research we did a study of the scientific literature. Soon, we discovered the non-existence of literature about steaming. Despite the lack of information, steaming is a phenomenon that get a lot of media attention lately. What we call steaming nowadays, has existed for quite a long time. Steaming has sensationalist overtones and as such overlaps the existing offences of theft with violence. The problem is that steaming is not recorded as one offence category in the Criminal law or in the Criminal Statistics. So, it isn’t easy to qualify steaming juridical correctly. To find a definition of steaming we looked for existing definitions of steaming and compared them. In general we can say that steaming is a kind of group violence. More specific, a few youngsters choose a victim and surround him or her. Then they extort money or something else from the victim. If the victim refuses, the offenders sometimes become violent. Mostly it concerns young offenders and victims. We found the next 6 characteristics to define steaming: 1. There are two or more offenders. 2. The location is always a public place. 3. There is always an interaction between the offenders and the victim. 4. The offenders threaten and/or use violence. 5. The offenders extort money or something else from the victim. 6. It isn’t obvious if the use of violence is only instrumental. After we compared definitions of steaming we compared those founded characteristics with certain linked crimes: theft from the person, street robbery and robbery, mugging, rip-deals,-. This comparison resulted in the same conclusion: steaming has links with all these crimes, but has a few characteristics that are typical. Because steaming got a lot of media attention over the last two years, we have analysed the newspaper articles about it. We looked in articles for variables about the crime, the offenders and the victim. We give the most important results of the analysis. We also made an inventory of services that are working around the problem of steaming. Therefor we called the prevention services in the Flanders and asked them 5 questions. Prevention services are organised at community level The role of a prevention service is to apply different prevention strategies and projects for different target groups. The aim of this service is to decrease insecurity and delinquency, and to increase the well-being of people. Afterwards, we started with an analysis of allegations of steaming recorded in three Flemish cities: Antwerpen, Mechelen en Gent. We have chosen this cities because only in this cities the police make records with the term steaming. The aim is to find out the characteristics of steaming, the profile of the victims and the profile and the methods of the offenders.
Strategies to Reduce Antisocial Behavior in Elementary School-Aged Children
There are four strategies to reduce the burden of suffering from antisocial behavior. The first is that there must be the presence of a civic community where, for example, all children in the community are guaranteed full participation in community life, and that parents in this community take responsibility for more than their own children. The next three strategies have advantages and disadvantages. Universal programs offer a program to all children (and their families). A major advantage of this strategy is that there is no labeling or stigmatization of individual children and a disadvantage is that only small effects can be expected for individual children. Targeted programs were high-risk children only receive the intervention have the advantage of being efficient if targeting can be done accurately. However, accurate identification of high-risk children is fraught with difficulty and targeted programs tend not to take into account communitywide factors that may be causally related to antisocial behavior. Clinical programs are the most efficient of the three because the children of families seeking service usually have clinically important disorders. Disadvantages include the cost and the difficulties with compliance and the delivery of services. Arguments are furnished that programs at all four levels are needed, and if present, there can be multiplier effects. Lastly, the importance of monitoring levels of antisocial behavior at the community level is emphasized.
Street Gangs as Revealed by Immersion in the Hood
The Fremont Hustlers, a mixed race, dual sex youth gang with some 72 members in Kansas City, Missouri, was well known among KCPD officials for violence and drug distribution. In the summer of 1995, I began a Fremont Hustlers ethnography, funded by the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, with the goal of doing 12 months of participant observation in Fremont territory. The immersion began with the idea of focusing on “hardcore gang activity,” but 21 months later, when the research ended, I was not sure that I had found the “gang” known as the Fremont Hustlers, even though Fremont had all of the overt well defined indicators of a gang- This paper explores how long-term immersion through participant observation and deep involvement in Fremont members’ lives revealed (or muddled): the nature of a youth gang (as it’s defined in the literature); the identification of the causes or conditions leading to this gang’s emergence and its continuation; and the effects that Fremont had on members’ lives, especially adolescent females.,
Street Gangs as Revealed by Longitudinal Research
There are several methods for studying street gangs and, gang members. In this paper we describe one approach: the investigation of careers as gang members in longitudinal studies that follow the same individuals over time. This approach, which is relatively new to the field of gang studies, offers distinct advantages and disadvantages are discussed and illustrated with data from the Rochester Youth Development Study.
Street Gangs as Revealed by Police Data
Law enforcement agencies simultaneously reflect and shape street gang phenomena. since Thrasher, gang researchers have been aware that gangs develop and survive through processes of social conflict. At their organizational strongest, gang dynamics are influenced and interpreted through gang conflict with law enforcement agencies. From this conflict emerges law enforcement statistics and intelligence as major sources of information about gangs. This presentation will be a critical analysis of what, if any, sense can be made of law enforcement information on gangs given the adversarial nature of the relationship between gangs and law enforcement agencies.
Street Gangs as Revealed by School Surveys
The past decade has seen a resurgence in gang research utilizing a variety of methods. In this paper I present findings from a survey of middle school students in eleven different cities. This school-based survey taps the lower age range of street gang members and, as such, includes gang members generally excluded from gang research strategies that target older members. The 623 (10.6% of the sample) self-identified gang members in this survey allow for a general description of young gang members (13-15 years of age), but to what extent does such aggregation mask local differences? While considerable stability of gang characteristics (e-g., gang structure, organization, and involvement in delinquent activity) was found across sites, demographic characteristics of gang members varied considerably by site.
Street Prostitution is a Drug Issue
Street prostitution cannot be understood in isolation from the drug problem. An in-depth study of fifty large city street prostitutes reveals that the need for drugs shapes the urban sex industry. Addiction is almost universal among the sample. More than half report using crack on a daily basis and almost as many are regular users of heroin. Prostitution and drug addiction are mutually reinforcing. Almost all the respondents report using illegal drugs before becoming prostitutes but most claim that they engaged in sex work before become addicted. Ninety percent describe themselves as being currently addicted. Eighty-four percent report regularly using drugs while tricking. Some of the subjects state that drug use while providing services avoids drug withdrawal while others note that being under the influence diminishes the reality of sex work. Nearly half report spending all of their earnings from prostitution on drugs. A majority have traded sex for drugs; usually hits off a crack pipe. Many long-term street prostitutes complain that this sex for drug exchange is reducing the price they can demand for services. Pimps generally try to keep their stable off of drugs because drug addicts are unreliable but pimps are loosing their power to control as they are increasingly replaced by drug dealers. The dealers encourage addiction because it increases their control over the prostitutes. Thus criminal justice policy addressing street prostitution must simultaneously confront our drug problem.
Structure and Procedures of Hostage/Crisis Negotiation Units in U.S. Police Organizations
Hostage negotiation was first adopted as a formal police practice in the U.S. by the New York City Police Department in 1972-1973. This paper briefly traces the formation and early develo9pment of that innovative team and then examines the status of similar hostage/crisis negotiation teams throughout the country. A four-page original questionnaire was mailed to the Chief Executive Officer of each of the 661 police departments contained in the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 1993: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers (1995). An overall response rate of 48% and a useable response rate of 42% (N=276) was realized. ninety-two percent (254) of useable questionnaires were completed by trained police negotiators, including 204 (75%) who identified themselves as negotiation team commanders. nine hypotheses were tested utilizing data obtained from the questionnaires and from LEMAS. Four of the hypotheses were supported, four were found to be not significant and one was significant but in the oopposite direction than predicted. In addition to the factual information sought in the questionnaires, eleven opinion items were included. A variety of descriptive data was also obtained and is utilized to provide a composite of team characteristics.
Student Attitudes Towards School Discipline and the Impact of Gangs, Student Victimization and Disorder
Discipline in schools is an important topic with many researchers suggesting that the type of discipline a school employs (consensual versus coercive) has an impact on the environment of the school and subsequently the students commitment to education. While many have argued that gangs are disruptive to schools, the relative impact of gangs on school discipline is less well known. Using data from a study of school crime and disorder that was conducted in Lucas County (Toledo Ohio), this paper will discuss the relationship between the type of discipline employed by various schools and the level of gang membership, student victimization and disorder within the schools. In addition to student demographics, measures of the school itself (size of student body, public – private, jr – sr high), and measures of disorder (gang membership, in-school victimization, fear of crime at school, drug availability in school) are employed. Implications for further research and policy will be discussed.
Student Learning Styles
The purpose of this descriptive research is to present learning styles of students. The learning styles to be. covered in this narrative research are: cognitive style, affective style, and physiological styles. There will also be some description of pedagogical methods that will tap these learning styles.
Student-Teacher Relationships and an Outcome of Juvenile Delinquency for African-American Males
This study is a qualitative effort towards understanding a possible connection between the student-teacher relationship and an outcome of juvenile delinquency. Of particular interest are the messages that students receive from their teachers. These messages may be direct and verbal or subtle and non-verbal. Some messages may facilitate school success (academically and/or behaviorally) while others may facilitate school failure and/or delinquency. African-American males are the focus of the study because of a growing concern about their over representation amongst delinquents. The study involves an analysis of classroom observations, plus student, teacher and parent interviews.
Students’ Perception of a Criminal Justice Program
Two identical surveys of students’ perceptions of their criminal justice programs were conducted in a large public and in a small private college in a northeastern state. The major findings revealed that most students were white males employed part-time in the private college, and full-time in the public college. The majority liked their programs, courses that were job-related, and teachers who taught well. There were differences between the collges in student motivation and the type and structure of the program. The most important conclusion was that criminal justice programs have to be matched with the college and the type of students in the program.
Substance Abuse Diversion Program for Women Offenders: A Benefit Cost Analysis of Programmatic Aspects
This study is a benefit-cost analysis of the programmatic aspects of one women’s drug court program. The main purpose of the program is to divert women who are substance abusers and have also committed nonviolent felonious acts, to drug treatment instead of a prison sentence. It covers a 2-1/2 year period and covers 232 clients who were enrolled or graduated from the program. Even based on conservative assumtions and calculations, the benefit-cost ratio was 2.28 indicating a benefit or cost saving of $2.28 per dollar spent. Eight of the items are cost related and four of them are benefit related items. The assumptions involved in the calculations are spelled out.
Substance Abuse Treatment and Recidivism: An Assessment of Predictive Factors From a Residential Program
The purpose of this research is to discuss and identify factors that predict recidivism in conditionally discharged offenders who have received community-based residential substance abuse treatment. Prior research has examined the treatment of offenders in correctional settings. There has been little study of offenders, who receive residential treatment while conditionally discharged. There is an increasing number of conditionally discharged offenders who are drug involved. Their drug involvement places them at risk to recidivate and return to prison. To address the problem many noncorrectional substance abuse programs have begun to treat these individuals once conditionally released. Data will be derived from the archival case files of a residential substance treatment facility; and the public records of the Department of Corrections. My study will use a sample of 400 individuals who have received residential substance abuse treatment. The residential population is comprised of males. Recidivism is a dichotomous variable and therefore logistic regression will be used. My hypotheses are tested using statistical techniques. One of the data reduction procedure will be factor analysis. Statistical analysis will include univariate, Bivariate. and multivariate analyses. Frequencies and cross tabulations will be used to explore the characteristics of the sample and describe who recidivates.
Supermax: The Last in the Line, the Present and the Future
This paper will focus on the prisons commonly referred to as “supermax” prisons (aka the SHU, ADX, “adseg”). They are the secondary placement units within the federal and state departments of corrections. These units are for the incarceration of the worst of the worst prisoners, those who have discipline problems, violence issues and are common disrupters of the tedious balance found within any prison. These inmates are then moved to the supermax units. Within the confines of this prison the meaning of administrative segregation takes on a wholly new meaning. This is truly the next and final step in the prison system. Presently, “Supermax” units are used as housing for unruly inmates and are fresh territory for different forms of litigation and legislation. The history of the units is not new but the implementation of these units in its current form is unlike any seen in previous times. Being a secondary placement unit, with exception for certain levels of prisoners sent to Florence, opens new doors for evaluations, socialization issues, restriction, isolation and psychosocial and psychological issues of prisoners. The lawsuits are pending and are only tied down by lack of case history on constitutional issues being brought forward in these cases. There are no policies on ADX units that have been changed by a lawsuit. The number of groups protesting against these units is growing. However, the technology implemented within these units is trickling down to the local level. It is only a matter of time till these units become the standard not the exception. Supermax unit futures are indeterminable, presently. They are the most expensive of any prison unit but seem to have a greater effects on prisoners. The psychological damage is the most well reported on but the use of the units seems only to be increasing. To speculate on the future of the units one could say the next step would be to make them primary incarceration facilities for specific cases. Another would be the strict punitive use of them in both primary and secondary offenses. The third speculation would be that more controlled long term programming for those not serving life but numbered sentences. Further pondering would be that of psychological effects found in inmates during the different stages of adaptation as well as the effects that total isolation has on ones behavior when sentenced there. Finally does the need for these units actually exist or is their cost to prohibitive for the true next step in punishment/rehabilitation. Technology is advancing enough to keep track of the “minor offenders” thus leaving the “majors” a minority group that could act as subjects for long term programming.
Support for the Death Penalty: A Gender Specific Model
Research on the public’s level of death penalty support (DPS) has neglected gender specific models. It is not clear if traditional models of DPS will work for a sample restricted to women. Possibly the greater intolerance of the dcath penalty among women may overshadow or reduce the impact of traditional predictors of DPS among women. The present paper performs the first systematic gender specific analysis of DPS. It uses national data from the 1990 General Social Survey. Measures of three variable sets are employed: symbolic orientations (e.g. conservatism, authoritarianism) crime salience (e.g. victimization, fear), and demographic controls. The results of a stepwise logistic regression analysis find that political conservatism has a direct effect on the DPS of both men and women. For women only, authoritarianism also has a direct effect an DPS. A further analysis finds that for women six variables exert an indirect effect on DPS through political conservatism and seven through authoritarianism. Only three indirect effects are found for men. However, only one variable of the 17 had a significant gendered effect- indicators of traditional models of DPS were found to work for women and there was some evidence that they worked better for women than men.
Surrender Narratives: Boundary Matters in Social Conflicts
As simultaneous representations and instrumentalizations of transitions in power, surrender scenes are rich sociological sites. They are diacritical markers, construing boundaries of before and after; war and peace; parity and asymetry. By attending to specific scenes and ceremonies of surrender, this paper aims to track the terms, personnages, actions, and affect of these phenomena. A narrative framework is proposed for thinking about the variable structures, functions, and genres of these events that transform violent encounters into peaceable interchanges. The primary data for the paper include the following: primary documents of surrender, armistice, armistice, and treaty accords; ethnographic accounts of surrender scenes; paintings, photographs, and films of surrenders. Ultimately, the paper aims to develop an understanding of surrender as a critical act that markes both an end and a beginning.
Surviving “Governor Hitman”: Needle Exchange as a Social Movement
The use of needle exchange programs mss) as s strategy to (educe HIV infection among injection drug users is extremely controversial within the United States. As a result of a federal ban on funding, NEFs are forced to rely on state, municipal, and private sources for funding. As well, certain NEPs face legal challenges in states where current drug paraphernalia laws make operating a needle exchange illegal. Bluthenthal (1998) has recognized that the current political climate at the national and state level has imparted the attributes of a social movement on NEPs. This paper further develops the social movement aspects of NEFs, exploring the case of a needle exchange program in New Jersey that has been the object of intense law enforcement efforts. The strengths and weaknesses of the social movement approach to studying NEPs are investigated.
Symbolic Politics: America’s War Against the Working-Class
Politicians have waged a costly and fraudulent war on crime and drugs by spending billions of dollars on prosecutors, courts, jails, and prisons to discipline and punish the working class. Meanwhile, while the police and courts hammer working people, elected politicians have implemented staggering reductions in public investments designed to enhance corporate productivity and profit. Symbolic politics explains how politicians have manipulated public opinion with fabricated statistics, misinformation, and propaganda to advance their own narrow ends. Massive expenditures on prison construction endanger the public safety by incarcerating millions of Americans who will not learn the necessary skills in prison to participate in the legal economy. The chapter explains prison construction as a “solution” for surplus Americans in the age of economic downsizing, and how to deal with those who challenge the status quo.
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This presentation will further develop on the concept of the community as being an undividable ‘whole’. This paper will present the author’s personal path to the understanding of a need for Transformative Justice, and give an outline of this concept. This paper will address the idea that the current penal system is an unjust, immoral failure and that there is a need to create a more healing justice system that meets the needs of victims, offenders, their families and the whole community. Further discussion will center on the role that public education takes in moving towards a vision of Transformative Justice and the action being taken by Rittenhouse in this area. In addressing the need to move out of a misery justice system, this paper will outline the part ICOPA has to play in the actions of ‘getting there’.
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This paper will examine the concept of community and the notion of ‘separating’ it. Within Penology, the prison’s notion of separation and society’s wall of stigma will be critically assessed in terms of inclusion as opposed to the illusion of exclusion. An analogy to facilitate this line of assessment will be used: the ostrich sticking its head in the sand and assuming that the world has disappeared is to be compared to the walls erected by the prison that assume they have separated the ‘community’. The use of language in defining community and a redefinition of the concept will be presented, This will lead into a discussion about the role of ICOPA in challenging these ideas, working to empower community and find solutions within the ‘community’s’ inclusionary nature.
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In “Pennsylvania Department of Corrections vs Yeskey,” the supreme court found that state prisons are not exempt from compliance with the “Americans with Disability Act” (ADA) of 1990. This paper presents research of a preliminary view of ADA compliance in the California prison system. This research addresses the question of the definition of disability in the prison context and measures accessibility in the living, working and program environments of the prison for inmates who are defined as visual, speech/hearing, mobility and mentally/developmentally impaired. The instruments used to measure accessibility are the Title II ADA accessibility checklist for barrier removal, CalDAG, and FSCU.
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At Washington State Penitentiary proof was requested that our high-precision psychogenetic IDEAL (individualized-directuve-explanatory-action-log). Method could lower the recidivism rate for 60 S.A.M. (Social Adjustment for Minorities) inmates. Each of these criminals–murderers, rapists, arsonists and other felons–was given a one-hour private consultation consisting of the genogram, an explanation of the applicable genetic and contemporary dynamics, a step-by-step enhancement program including a set of personalized affirmations. In conclusion, a three-hour seminar was given. All questions were answered. Every one of these inmates except one responded favorably. Some even became family and community leaders. This group’s recidivism rate dropped from its customary 50-70% level to an unprecedented 1.33%. The key to this effective experiment was the personalized re-education program based upon a thorough grasp of the pertinent factors. The widespread application of our findings could lower the crowded prison population significantly, in addition to saving substantial federal and state funds. Best of all, it could convert otherwise hopeless criminals into useful citizens. In some cases, it has already done so.
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This paper discusses the possibility of a social realization and understanding of justice as healing and harm reduction both theoretically and practically. Unlike the birth of a ‘new criminology’ , the potential of such a conceptualization of justice is to be located and traced along a continuum towards social change. Criminological theories arising in reaction to mainstream discourses analyzed in relation to how they come together in a fluid transgression of progressive thought and action towards this larger but less defined vision of a social movement towards healing and harm reduction. Within this holistic weaving of criminological discourse derives a similar continuum of practical methods and interventions for dealing with conflict. The work of Thomas Mathiesen (1974), who offers the ‘unfinished’ as a blueprint for social change, is reworked from a simplistic duality of ‘reform’ verses ‘alternative’ into a continuum of practical applications towards healing and harm reduction. This paper proposes that social change does not evolve from a ‘correct’ theory from which ‘correct’ interventions follow but rather from the theoretical and practical wisdom derived from a continuum of knowledge reflecting a social movement towards change.
Technology Choices for Criminology/Criminal Justice Distance Learning
The paper will evaluate the pros and cons of current technology choices as related to distance learning. Included will be delivery systems (e.g. satellite, compressed video, Internet) and course construction methodologies (e.g. individual faculty model, faculty team model, faculty/AV team model).
Teenage Fathers and Violence
Recent studies have found an association between teenage fatherhood and delinquent behaviors, including violence. The present investigation addresses the types of violence teenage fathers have been involved in (e.g. gang-related, violence toward females), and whether violent fathers are more or less likely to be living with their children. In the Pittsburgh Youth Study, 22% of participants have fathered a child by age 19. Using seven years of followup data 110 teenage fathers are compared to 326 non-fathers. Although teenage fathers were no more likely than non-fathers to be involved in any type of delinquency, fathers were more than twice as likely as non-fathers to be involved in violence (OR = 2.07, 95% C.I. = 1. 10-3.92). The proportion of fathers engaging in violence did not differ according to whether or not they lived with their children In terms of the 41m of violence, teen fathers were almost three times as likely as non-fathers to have been involved in gang fighting (OR~-2.97, 95% C-1- = 1.43-6. 18). In contrast, the proportion of fathers who had ever committed rape (2.79%o) was not significantly different than the proportion among non-fathers (4.3%). The results are discussed in relation to policy-making and interventions.
Televising Executions, Primetime ‘Live’?
The possibility of a televised execution may seem bizarre, but it has many supporters who include advocates and opponents of capital punishment. This paper examines the pathways to a televised execution, including I st Amendment issues, principles of open government and victim’s rights. It reviews the potential for additional publicity to create a deterrent effect, stimulate further violence and make celebrity criminal heroes. The analysis also questions whether a televised execution would cause abhorrence by showing the ‘reality’ of an execution, its methods or informing people about capital punishment.
Television Viewing and Effects on Adolescent Violent Behavior
Multiple studies point to media violence as one cause of real-life violence, having both short and long-term effects on the individual. Although it is not the main factor, it is difficult to deny the influence that media violence has on real-life violent behavior. The nature of this influence, while subject to widespread debate, is generally considered to occur through one of three mechanisms. First, a high level of exposure to media violence may directly facilitate aggressive or antisocial behavior towards society. Second, it may desensitize viewers to violence, removing the emotional response by routinizing this behavior. Finally, a high exposure to television violence may increase the perception of a “mean world,” in which the viewer perceives that society is more aggressive and violent than it may be. In addition, the influence of the media is by far the most easily modifiable than, for example, poverty, racism, sexism, individual psychological differences, or the quality of parenting. Using the Monitoring the Future Survey, this study will examine the roles of both peers and television viewing on violent behavior in adolescents. Previous research has been unclear in explaining the process by which television violence leads to delinquent behavior and aggression. By examining both the effects of the role of peers and television viewing, this study offers a strict test of the role of television on violence among youths. If television has independent effects on violence over and above the effects of delinquent peers, considered the most important factor in delinquency, it will provide strong support for the important role of television in violent behavior.
Ten Years After Enabling Legislation: Changing Patterns of DUI Offenders and Dispositions?
North Dakota was the first state to pass driving under the influence legislation meeting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration guidelines passed by the United States Congress. The state-wide evaluation was funded by 403b funds and began in 1985 and completed In 1989. While the emphasis was statewide, there were three model communities given indepth coverage and analysis. Patterns of DUI offenders were established [ and the dispositions]. Ten years later, an analysis has been completed of a model community producing an offense and disposition pattern. Using the 1999 arrest and conviction for DUI and APC [actual physical controlls an offender profile will be developed and compared to earlier evaluation findings. Previous profile had a modal offender who had no other criminal offenses than DUL Current data suggests this has changed. There also appears to be a changing pattern in dispositions given for DUI & APC.
Tensions in the Barrio: Race, Class, Gender and Policing
n the state of Arizona, Maricopa County has a large Latino/a population that experiences rnany social iUs in their communities such as gangs, drugs, violence, and crime. Like many neighborhoods in Phoenix, residents desire and deserve to live without the fear of crime. However, producing a safe neighborhood often means. increasing police presence, which is troublesome for some residents since they may few or despise the police. The purpose of this paper is to explore how race, class, gender effect policing within Latino communities from the perfective of those who are police. Particularly, this study attempts to understand the paradoxical relationship between the communnity and officials who police Latino neighborhoods. This paper also examines how immigration status shapes the relationship with the police due to the fact that illegal Mexican immigrants fear calling the police because of the perception that they work closely with Immigration and Naturalization Services. This study uses a collaborative action research project in which paid community researchers and graduate students collect 3 0 life interviews and 100 surveys in a West Phoenix neighborhood. Participants were asked to describe their neighborhoods, their views of policing, the number of interaction-,, and describe their encounters with the police. The findings indicate that young men are more likely to be stopped and searched than are young women. Men are also much more likely to have negative interactions with the police which can include beatings and the use of racial taunts by the police, However, both young men and women were much more likely to have negative views of the police and believed they used racialized profiles in their communities to justify searches and stops. Older men and women in the community view the police as friendly or as insensitive to Latinos depending if their children had negative interactions with the police and if they personally had difficult experiences with these officials. Also, some illegal Mexican immigrants tend to view the police with disdain and fear while other believe they are doing a wonderful job and would call them for help.
Testing Control Balance Theory: Relating Control Ratio and Deviance
Charles Tittle’s Control Balance Theory posits that a control ratio (defined as the amount of control to which one is subjected relative to the amount of control one exerts over others) influences both the likelihood of deviance occurring and the type of deviance that will emerge. This framework goes beyond traditional control theories by proposing that both high and low levels of control lead to deviance and crime. According to control balance theory, control deficits increase the probability of repressive forms of deviance as means to escape the deficit, whereas control surpluses increase the likelihood of forms of deviance that seek to extend the amount of control. This paper tests these hypotheses by using non-linear models to analyze the relationship between a continuous measure of control balance and various types of deviance ordered according to their type and seriousness. Implications for the theory and additional research are discussed.
Testing Restorative Justice: Comparing Low and High Impact Contexts
Emerging notions of restorative justice combine ideations of both offender “pay-back” and offender reintegration and counseling in a community context. There is little empirical evidence that the two notions are fully compatible. This study reports on early findings of an evaluation of a large restorative justice project in Spokane Washington. Set in the context of one mundane charge with minimal community and primary victim impact and other charges with more impacts of both types, this study tests the efficacy of restorative justice by comparing its effects while controlling for offense type, impact and dose of community “treatment” (counseling, work, job training, restitution, service, etc). The primary hypothesis suggests that increases in impact and severity of offense decrease the effectiveness of restorative justice, while “dose” has an upward bounded limit of efficacy in reintegrating offenders and healing community/victim wounds.
Testing the Limits of “One Country Two Systems”: Untangling Legal and Policy Issues in Cross-Border Crime Disputes
Tuesday, October 20, 1998 was an eventful day for Hong Kong. It wasw the day Cheung Tse-keung, also known as the “Big Spender,” and 35 others alleged accomplishes went on trial in China for a host of criminal charges, ranging from murder to kidnapping to smuggling of explosives committed in Hong Kong and China from 1991 to 1997. It attracted attention and aroused the imagination of the public because of the flamboyancy and mystics of the legendary gang boss “Big Spender.” The case was known around the world for the unprecedented amount of ransom money involved. More significantly for our purpose is that it made legal history in Hong Kong and China. It is the first time Hong Kong legal residents were prosecuted and tried in China under the PRC Criminal Code for criminal acts largely perpetrated in Hong Kong; thus testing for the first time the limits of “one country two-systems.” The “Big Spender” might have been convicted and executed, but lingering legal, political, and policy issues remain. This article is intended to be a working-policy paper for concerned policy makers who want to provide a solution to the “Big Spender” case within a broader context. It is also meant to be an academic paper for interested scholars who want to understand cross-border crime issues. The article began by analyzing and discussing various legal and policy issues raised by the “Big Spender” case in a broader historical, richer factual and deeper legal context, than what has been attempted to date. The article ended by reflecting on lessons learnt from the “Big Spender case, as it anticipated similar cases in the future. The rationale and contributions of this stuey are all too apparent. Conflicts of criminal jurisdiction are embedded within a “one country two systems” constitutional framework. As a result, they are structural in nature and enduring in kind, i.e. inevitable and recurring problems. As such, they should be resolved earlier than later, reflectively than reactionary, and comprehensively more so than in an ad hoc manner. There is also a dire need and urgency to find workable solutions to “concurrent jurisdiction,” “police cooperation” and “judicial assistance” problems in order to better facilitate on going cross-border crime control and multi-jurisdictional justice administration.
Testing the Relationship Between Incarceration, Informal Social Control and Crime
The inability to self-regulate through formal and informal mechanisms is the reason disorganized communities are thought to have high crime rates. In their study of community-level control, social disorganization theorists have largely ignored the impact of public, or state control on processes of community organization and subsequent opportunities for crime. This is because formal public controls are thought of as responses to crime. Yet, there clearly is a relationship between the use of informal and public control. In earlier papers we have shown that at the individual level, exposure to incarceration influences attitudes about informal social control, and at the aggregate level there is a curvliniear relationship between admissions to prison and crime (first a negative and then a positive effect). This paper explores the relationship between aggregate levels of incarceration, informal social control and crime in 103 Tallahassee, Florida neighborhoods. Data are drawn from a 1997 Leon County Neighborhoods and Crime survey of Leon County, Florida residents, which have been merged with 1990 Census data, incarceration convictions and releases and crime data.
Testing Therapeutic Jurisprudence in Drug Court: The Orientation and Goals of Drug Court Officers
The drug court movement has developed at surprising speed but equally surprising, drug court implementation proceeds largely absent of a distinct theoretical foundation. The purpose of this research is to develop the theory of therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ) as part of the underlying force behind drug court so that drug court administrators, legislators, and community leaders have a better understanding of how these specialized courts work and which aspects of the courts have a significant impact on changing the criminal behavior of the offenders. Therapeutic jurisprudence is considered a “focus on the sociopsychological ways in which laws and legal processes affect individuals involved in the legal system” (Hora, Schma and Rosenthal, 1999; p. 3). The goal of this research is to test an aspect of the theory of TJ with a focus on the orientation and goals of the drug court judge, prosecutor, defense attorney and other officers. This research is based on an organizational perspective of one drug court in Broward County, Florida. Each officer of the court was interviewed, surveyed, and observed in order to understand the court’s goals, processes, and outcomes and how each officer’s individual goals and orientation may conflict with or support the goals of the drug court. From the data analysis, a high degree of consensus among the officers of the court is found. Professional interests, occupational goals, and values of the court officers appear unified. Each is apparently coordinated into a consensus on behalf of the tenets of therapeutic jurisprudence and the fundamental idea that to lessen the likelihood of drug offender relapse and recidivism requires supporting and encouraging an offender to change their view of themselves from one of an outcast to one of an empowered person and supported by the criminal justice system previously thought of as an adversary.
The “Whys” and “Why Nots” of Reporting Domestic and Other Assaults to the Police
The NCVS (National Crime Victimization Survey) is used to examine the effects of victim-offender relationship and gender on reasons why victims report or fail to report assaults to the police. Our results suggest that self-protection is a key motive for calling the police when victims are attacked by family members or anyone else they know. In addition, victims of domestic violence are likely to view the kinds of incidents reported in victimization surveys as more serious than are victims of stranger violence. Concerns about self-protection and judgements of seriousness thus appear to increase the likelihood that victims report domestic violence, while privacy concerns and the victim’s desire to protect the offender inhibit victims from reporting family members and others they know. We suggest that these offsetting factors explain the seemingly anomalous finding in past research that victims in the NCVS are just as likely to call the police when family members assault them as when strangers assault them.
The Adequacy of Several Criminological Theories: Juvenile Probation Officers’ Explanation for Juvenile Delinquency
A moderate size sample of juvenile probation officers in a New England State were surveyed concerning their perception of or explanation for the cause(s) of juvenile delinquency. Officers were asked to respond to a Likert scale that included several popular criminological theories (social control, strain, differential association, delinquent subculture and others). It is believed that their years of professional experience and insight from working with problem youths have given them a special ability or cultivated a particular knowledge base that may be used to identify what is causing juveniles to become delinquents. Their reaction to particular theories is informative and probably contains less partiality than those regarded as theoreticians. Their explanation(s) for the cause(s) of juvenile delinquency should add a different dimension than the self-reported data or the secondary analysis of official statistics. The challenge is to identify whether the juvenile probation officer’s explanation of delinquency coincides with the explanations that have been offered by the theorists in the field.
The Aftermath of Homicide Victimization: Revisiting Arguments Against Seeking Retirubution Through Capital Punishment
In recent years, there has been a greater willingness on the part of the American public to endorse the motives of retribution and revenge as socially legitimate reasons for supporting capital punishment of convicted homicide offenders. This paper utilizes existing arguments to disagree with this retributive philosophy. Specifically, this paper argues that: (1) the goals of punishment are not met through the execution of convicted homicide offenders; (2) exacting retribution and revenge through the execution of convicted homicide offenders is morally, religiously, and pragmatically wrong; (3) not all survivors of homicide victims seek revenge through the execution of convicted homicide offenders; and (4) healing, for both victims and offenders, can be achieved more quickly and efficiently through a restorative justice philosophy that emphasizes reintegration, atonement, and forgiveness. The principles of restorative justice have ordinarily been applied to property crimes, not violent ones. This paper contributes to the existing literature by recognizing that these same principles can be expanded to include the violent crime of murder.
The Alcohol and Violence Link Revisited: Ethnicity and Booze in Miami
This paper replicates and extends the work of Wolfgang and Parker by examining the relationship between alcohol outlets and violent crime in Miami census tracts. Using state liquor license data and police department records, we measure the impact of alcohol availability (net of other control variables) on aggravated assaults and armed robbery victim rates. Victim characteristics are disaggregated by age, gender, and ethnic composition (White, Latino, African American and Haitian) to further the alcohol and violence link. Over and above traditional predictors, we expect alcohol outlets to strongly influence levels of crime in diverse areas. We conclude with implications of our findings.
The Analysis of Mitigating Factors Presented in Capital Murder Sentencing Trials
In most U.S. states that utilize the death penalty, a defendant Convicted of Capital, murder has the opportunity to present mitigating factors during the sentencing phase of his/her trial. In essence, the defense counsel, within judicial guidelines, attempts to portray the defendant in ways that will dissuade the jury from recommending a death sentence. This paper analyzes a sample of capital murder trials in North Carolina (1) to ascertain the predominant themes of mitigating factors presented at these trials and (2) to determine the general relationship between these themes and jury decisions regarding imposition of a death sentence. Several results are discussed, the most interesting of which is that some commonly presented factors are found to be associated with increased risks of receiving a death sentence.
The Assessment of Risk and Need in a Sample of Provincially Sentenced Women
The current study established recidivism rates and determined which risk and need factors have predictive validity for incarcerated and communitysentenced female offenders. Over almost a five year follow-up period, 46.5% of 441 adult Ontario female offenders recidivated, 14.3% recidivated violently. Analyses revealed that women from the institution sample had higher risk/need scores than community- sentenced women, as assessed by the Level of Service Inventory (LSI; Andrews, 1982) and the Level of Supervision Inventory – Ontario Revision (LSI-OR). Also, recidivists scored significantly higher than nonrecidivists on the LSI total score, as well as on all the LSI subscalcs. In particular, the recidivists scored higher than the non-recidivists on all of the major risk factors identified in the criminological literature, including LS1 Attitudes/Orientation, LSI Criminal Ifistory, LSI Compamions, and the LSI-OR Antisocial Pattern scale. These variables also differentiated between women who did and did not recidivate violently. With the exception of problematic childhood experiences, none of the more gender-specific variables , such as adult abuse history, self-harm history, and parenting status, differentiated recidivists from nonrecidivists. A history of self-injurious behaviour contributed to the prediction of violent recidivism.
The Attributes of Drug Markets: Is it Really the Drug That Determines Purchasing Patterns?
Several theories exist in the drug policy literature regarding how drug markets operate, but very little empirical data has been collected that would enable researchers to test these theories across locations, drugs, and time. Using drug market data recently collected in a special addendum to the National Institute of Justice’s ADAM survey, this paper evaluates some of these theories by examining the purchase patterns and attributes of cocaine, crack and heroin markets. The ADAM drug market addendum was fielded in six U.S. cities over four consecutive quarters. We examine five key attributes of these three drug markets (use of guns, number of dealers known, search time, price, and frequency of purchases) using multivariate regression analysis to determine if the type of drug is a more important determinant than other market attributes, such as location, season, and characteristics of buyers and sellers. Information from this analysis may be useful for developing a better understanding of how drug markets operate.
The Canadian Police Approach to the Behavioural Sciences
Canadian police agencies use both sworn and civilian personnel to deliver behavioural science services. These personnel are trained in various aspects of the behavioural sciences including criminal profiling, geographic profiling, threat assessment, forensic psychiatry, polygraphy, and violent crime linkage analysis. Although each of these techniques may be utilized individually, they become much more powerful investigative tools when used in conjunction with the others. These techniques, their application, and ongoing research initiatives will be discussed.
The Changing Nature of State Crime in an Era of Globalization
The transformation of the world system through the forces of globalization and neo-liberalism, have intensified the potential for corporate social harm. These same forces are also changing the role of the state. Through the nondemocratic forces and policies like the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, states increasingly facilitate corporate social harm. At the same time, certain other state actions,like ethnic cleansing, become the target for increasingly tougher international social controls.
The Cleansing Times
At 2 a.m., January 22, 1998, 45 armed police officers and several trained dogs descended on a small group of protesters gathered around a friend and a well-known landmark in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. Their mission: to tidy up. This paper examines the events that culminated in the police-enforced clean-up of Dave’s World, with a focus on the definitional struggles that were played out in the media, the community, politics and the law. An analysis of how the issue was framed for public consumption; its translation into legal terms; and a reality check on the concomitant political rhetoric reveal how the District of Maple Ridge was ‘successful’ in its bid to clean up Dave’s World despite heavy opposition from the community. The analysis draws on elements of conflict theory, discourse analysis and neo-Marxism.
The Clustering of Severe Behavioral, Health and Educational Deficits in Canadian Children: Preliminary Evidence From the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth
This study identifies a high-risk subpopulation of children with a markedly antisocial behavioural profile in a national sample of Canadian children. We examine abroad array of environmental and child factors that may be associated with this high-risk group. The data are from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth of 18,135 two to I I year olds. A cluster analysis was performed to identify children possessing extreme antisocial behaviour across five dimensions-aggression, hyperactivity, prosocial behaviour, emotional difficulties and misconduct. Clusters were compared across structural, family, school, neighbourhood, and health covariates. Membership in this severe cluster is associated with material disadvantage across the range of environmental factors as well as significant deficits in child health and education.
The Connection Between Gangs and Drugs: Drug-Related Analysis From the Gang Incident Tracking System
Popular perceptions of heavy gang involvement with drugs are in contrast to empirical evidence by Maxson and Klein (1996) and other prominent gang researchers. Preliminary analysis from the Gang Incident Tracking System (GITS) shows that in Orange County, California, the connection is quite weak. Around 10% of all gangrelated incidents involved drugs as co-offenses or factors involved, This finding is also in direct conflict with what is happening in law enforcement. Larger agencies are beginning to combine gang and drug units as a response to what they say is an increase in the gang/drug connection. Researchers using data from the Gang Incident Tracking System, focused on larger agencies and their gang-related/drug-related crime. Trends covering 1996-1998 are scrutinized to determine if the reporting practices of larger agencies are different from other agencies’ procedures of reporting drug involvement and if GITS is capable of detecting drug involvement in gang-related incidents. Trends will also be compared to other sources that identify a gang/drug related connection.
The Continuing Mismeasure of Man: The “Race Bias” Controversey in Hair Testing
The Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program in New York City has recently expanded to include samples of arrestees in all five boroughs. This paper will analyze similarities and differences by borough in patterns of regular self-reported use and detected use of cocaine/crack, heroin, marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco. This report will also make reasonable adjustments for arrestees’ denial and possible underreporting of substances, and for crack use and all other substances. Another major ADAM change involves the use of random sampling of arrestees coming through the booking facilities, which has greatly increased the number of persons interviewed who are processed under the Quality of Life violations or for very minor misdemeanors; the number of drug-related and nondrug felony arrestees has declined. The analyses will address the question of whether and how much different patterns of very regular substance use exist within or across the five boroughs.
The Crime-Control Effect of Incarceration: Reconsidering the Evidence
Abstract Using very different empirical methods, recent studies by Levitt (1996) and Marvell and Moody (1994) arrived at quite similar conclusions about the effect of prison space on crime rates: about 15 Uniform Crime Reports index crimes averted for every additional inmate. Due to the sources of variation used to estimate this effect, the methodologies used in each of these studies are such that the findings are of limited value for thinking about punishment policy. This paper offers’ detailed critiques of these two studies, more general critiques of the broader literature concerned with the measurement of the empirical relationship between incarceration and crime, and our own estimates of the relationship. Our results are extremely sensitive to specification, which strengthens our conclusion that much more theoretical and empirical work must be done before we can be confident we know the true magnitude of the relationship of interest.
The Criminalization of U.S. Immigration Policy
U.S. Immigration policy is the focus of substantial dissensus among American elites as well as the general public, Immigration sparks wide differences of interest among various groups from big business to ethnic minorities to preservationists and civil libertarians. Congress and the administration have been seeking policies that can win consensus and achieve control, Focusing on immigrants who commit crime or are related to criminal activities has become an increasingly critical feature of immigration policy as opposition to immigration policies increases. The emphasis on crime and immigration has led to the compromise of criminal justice principles such as rehabilitation p proportionality between crime and punishment and reintegration. It also offers little likelihood of success as an immigration or crime control policy,
The Criminogenic Nature of Corporate Capitalism
First, corporations and the people who run them frequently commit crimes. They do so because what corporations have to do is to pursue goals which require a rejection of values — fostered by eons of social, communitarian and religious practices and teachings — which supposedly underly the tents of criminal law. Second, corporations and the people who run them are punished rarely for committing crimes. They are left off the hook because, in mature capitalism, the values which are said to underly criminal law have been perverted. Harshness, greed, self-maximization and disregard for truth have been transliterated into modulations, rather than contradictions, of kindness, altruism, sharing and probity, the values which allegedly anchor the criminal justice system. Criminalizing the conduct of corporations and of the people who run them should be undertaken as this will require showing how distorting it is to have political and social decision-making rest on premises which are shared by non-wealth owners, but rejected by wealth owners who hide behind the corporate veil. The presentation will demonstrate how this can be done, and offer some strategies for reversing the iniquitous trend set by corporate criminals. I
The Crisis of Law and Order in Mexico: A Failure of Society to Influence Social Policy?
Between 1870 and 1910, the Mexican government of Porfirio Diaz arguably relied on the ideas of Aguste Comte to create economic and social policies. However, it is hard to find evidence that Comte’s sociology produced a real effect on Mexican social policy. This is especially true with respect to criminal law, criminal justice and the administration of justice. While both Canada and the USA were influenced by Enlightenment ideals and moved in new directions to create more rationalized systems of justice–Mexico failed to ‘modernize’ its system of law and its institutions. This paper looks at this critical time period and asks 3 general questions: (1) How did Canada and the United States come to accept the ‘rehabilitative philosophy’ encompassed by the Cinncinati Convention and Mexico did not? (b) How did Canada and the United States come to develop separate institutions for juvenile justice and Mexico did not? (c) Given the law and order crisis in modern Mexico, can the Mexican justice system deal with crime without the philosophical underpinnings that are clearly present in Canada and the USA?
The Death Penalty: Arguments Pro and Con, and Why it Matters
Why is the death penalty so prominent in discussions of crime although a very small percentage of all criminals, even of all murderers are executed? obviously, capital punishment is perceived as morally more important than the punishments which are less rare. Opposition to it is concentrated in the professional and middle classes, whereas lower income groups favor it. In some countries (e.g., Germany) it is prohibited by the Constitution. People react to capital punishment as though it causes the death of the convict, whereas, at most, it hastens it. (J.S. Mill) The more rational arguments for and against capital punishment will be discussed as well as the reasons for which it appears so disproportionately important.
The Death Penalty and Public Opinion in Russia
Studies in Russia shows that a lack of legal information, together with incomplete and distorted notions of the law, is universal, This point is in itself extremely important for evaluating the significance of survey results. The incomplete and contradictory nature of responses, the complex and hidden mechanics determining the shaping of public opinion, and the lack of legalknowledge are conductive to a very biased interpretation of survey results, that is, one oriented toward the emergent political situation. Public opinion is a dynamic category. Although the degree of polarization varies according to the times and even eithin the boundaries of specific social groups, a public consensus on the issue of the death penalty will probably always be difficult to attain. In any social groups public opinion is always conservative on the issue of crime policy. Based on excessive emotions and past stereotypes, it does not take it well when long-accepted ideas show cracks. Hence the state must move ahead of public opinion, see that it is informed and rationally shaped, and clarify which grounds are desirable and what the social and political advantages will be of any decision on the application of the death penalty.
The Debate on Capital Punishment in Europe
During me second hair or the century, theabolition of the death penalty, became an Important politcal issue in several western European countries like the Netherlands and the German Empire. After the second world war, the renewed interest in human rights and human dignity has been the mainspring of the movement on the abolition of the death penalty in almost every European country. In France for instance the problem of capital punishment raised an enormous public debate when in 1977 someone was sentenced to death and executed for murder. Today, the issue of capital punishment is still a very important one because in the nineties the former communistic countries had to choose as to maintain or abolish the death penalty. The theoretical controversy in Europe on the problem of capital punishment has been going on at least since Beccaria, and has given rise to abundant literature in almost all European countries. In my paper I will give an account of the most important reasons for maintaining or abolishing the death penalty in theNethelands, France, Germany and one of the Eastern European states. In order to give a good impression of the “European debate” I have chosen countries with a different historical background and (slightly) different legal and cultural traditions. It is my intention to analyse the respective positions of the various countries and national schools of thought.
The Development of Criminal Behavior Over the Life-Span
This paper describes the development of types of criminal behavior over the entire life-span. It summarizes police-reported data on the age and gender of alleged offenders from 3 to 89-plus years old, and the offence classification and circumstances of the incident, for over 2 million criminal incidents in Canada from 1992 to 1997. Five male and five female age strata are identified: children, adolescents, young and early middle-aged adults, lage middle-aged adults, and the old. The offence profiles of these strata form a criminal life cycle, with an emphasis on minor property crime in childhood, then on major property crime, then on offences against the person and “victimless” offences, and returning to minor property crime in old age. The criminal behavior of males and females differs considerably in adolescence and adulthood but converges somewhat in childhood and old age.
The Dominoes Effect: Community Integration and Family Violence
The games cricket, soccer, and dominoes are ranked among the top leisure activities of West Indians. However, the sport of dominoes, unlike cricket and soccer, pays no heed to Canada’s wintry weather. That is, many West Indian-Canadians tend to spend a significant amount of time participating in the game of dominoes. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of playing dominoes on social bonding and family violence among West Indian-Canadians. Participant observation in a “culture of dominoes” (typically composed of middle-aged to later-life males) and interviews with family members reveals important avenues for reducing family violence. Implications for resource allocation, counseling, and further research will be discussed.
The Economic Espionage Act and the Enforcement Actions in the United States
The objective of this presentation is to analyze the law enforcement policies and practices relating to Economic Espionage Act of 1996. Law enforcement officials have an important statke in assuming that important and sensitive political, economic and military information, both classified and unclassified, is protected from foreign governments or other parties whose interests are hostile to those of the United States.
The Effect of Alcohol and Emotional Arousal on Male Violence
Research within the rational choice perspective has attempted to calibrate the impact of perceptions of the costs and benefits of offending on either self-reported offending or intentions to offend. Although this research has shown that offending is related to considerations of instrumental factors, it has not considered the role of emotions. In this research we attempt to calibrate the effect of emotional arousal on violence within a sample of young males who reside in Montreal, Canada. In as much as the extant literature suggests that alcohol consumption may condition the effect of motional arousal, we employ a 2×2 experimental design. After the experimental manipulation, subjects respond to a battery of questions that pertain to two hypothetical scenarios, one involving sexual forcefulness, the second simple assault. In addition, subjects’ physiological responses are recorded in response to the arousal and alcohol stimuli.
The Effect of Cocaine Price on Cocaine Use Among Male Arrestees: A Multilevel Analysis
Using data from a variety of sources, we investigate the effect of the retail price of cocaine on cocaine consumption levels among male arrestees in several U.S. cities, net the impact of several individual and aggregate-level control variables. Drawing on the rationale of the supply-demand thesis, we employ a Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling procedure to examine whether the probability of testing positive for cocaine use among male criminal arrestees varies across aggregate levels of cocaine price. In addition, we test whether the price of cocaine influences whether an individual is arrested for a violent or for an income-generating crime. Based on the logic that addicted individuals will increase their illegal activities to fuel their drug habits, one might expect that a higher percentage of male arrestees to test positive for cocaine use for income generating crimes in areas were cocaine is more expensive. Finally, we explore whether the price of cocaine affects the probability that a male arrestee tests positive for heroin or marijuana. The results of this study are important for gaining insight into the causal connections among drug price, drug consumption, and criminal activity.
The Effect of Differential Enforcement on Violence Against Prostitutes: A Preliminary Assessment
This paper analyzes the effect that differential prostitution control strategies exert on levels of violence against prostitutes. The analysis compares data from an existing study in Vancouver, Canada, which indicated that an increase in enforcement tactics resulted in an significant increase in violence, to the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Toronto, Canada. The major focus of the study involves testing the assertion made by feminist and prostitute’s rights groups that increased enforcement of criminal laws against prostitution result in increased violence against prostitutes.
The Effect of Proper Names and Context on Race Recall
It has been assumed in some research on. stereotyping that proper name indicative of racial group membership can be used to activate race stereotypes. However. there is evidence to suggest that these names are not always interpreted as expected. Past research has rarely examined the role that contextual factors play in the interpretation of proper names. The purpose of this study is to evaluate if. based on proper names, context affects the recall of race. This research could have implication for how proper names are interpreted in the media reporting of crime.
The Effectiveness of Public Appointed Attorneys in Criminal Cases
There is perhaps no issue in the American criminal justice system ore controversial than the degree of quality of public defenders, assigned attorneys, and contract attorneys. The goals of this paper are to present and to analyze evidence on the performance of criminal defense attorneys. Copared to privately retained attorneys, are publicly appointed attorneys effective or ineffective advocates for the accused? Do publicly appointed attorneys rush their clients to guiloty pleas? How often do publicly appointed and privately retained attorneys take cases to trial and what are the outcomes? What is the effect of type of criminal defense representation on sentencing outcomes? Answers to these questions are drawn from performance related data gathered by the National Center for State Courts from eleven state trial courts in eight states (Baltimore City, MD; Baltimore County, MD; Des Moines, IA; Fort Worth, TX; Omaha, NE; Riverside, CA; St. Petersburg, FL; San Jose, CA: Seattle, WA; Spokane, WA; and Tucson, AZ). The eleven court data demonstrate that in key respects publicly appointed attorneys do reasonably well when compared to privately retained attorneys. Conditions that encourage the positive performance of publicly appointed attorneys are discussed.
The Effects Medical School Socialization on Death Penalty Opinion
The most popular method of execution today is lethal injection. Behind the scenes are physicians, who prescribe the drugs mid are present at the time of death. They are required to be there in most states, by law. However, the American Medical Association has said that it is opposed to any involvement of a physician in the process of putting an individual to death. While a an individual physician’s participation in executions is voluntary in most states, and technicians perfom the actual injection, these circumstances raise interesting questions about the role of doctors in this process. How do these doctors feel about the process’ Does their medical school training prepare them for this paradox? Does medical school socialization predispose future physicians towards a particular stance regarding capital punishment? In this research I use in-depth interviews of twenty Midwestern Public University medical students to explore these and other questions relating to the impact of medical school socialization on student’s opinions about capital punishment in the US..
The Effects of the Boundary Problem on the Prediction of Illegal Drug Markets
As the field of criminology advances in its ability to use spatial analysis to examine crime, it continues to struggle with problems that have long been known to the field of geography Criminologists face difficulties such as the boundary problem and how they affect the results of their analyses. While several methods of dealing with the boundary problem exist, the technique used has a direct impact on the results of an analysis. Identification of hot spots, location of crime clusters and prediction of problems areas are all affected by the definition of the study area and the data used. This paper focuses on the impacts of the various methods for dealing with the boundary problem on a prediction model for drug market locations in Philadelphia. Different analyses are performed, each using a different technique for dealing with the boundary problem The predicted area in each analysis is then compared with known drug market locations in Philadelphia. This analysis provides information on the accuracy of the prediction models as well as the various impacts of the choice of method used to deal with the boundary problem.
The Efficacy of Court-Mandated Counseling for Convicted Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Offenders: Conducting Experiments in Criminal Jutice Settings
The study used a classical experimental design whereby all male defendants convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence in Broward Courthouse for a five month period in 1997 (N=447) were randomly assigned either to experimental (one year probation and six-months court-mandated counseling) or control (one year probation only) conditions. The subjects were then followed in the community for a one-year period from date of adjudication to determine whether court-mandated counseling lowered the frequency and/or severity of repeat violence. Using offender self-report surveys, victim reports and official measures of recidivism, the data was analyzed in terms of both Treatment Assigned (assigned treatment versus assigned no-treatment) as well as Treatment Received (assigned treatment and received it, assigned treatment and did not receive it, not assigned treatment and received it, not assigned treatment and did not receive it). This paper reports on the politics that surrounded this controversial study and discusses the results in full.
The Efforts to Gain Legitimacy: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTFY) was established in 1993 by the UN Security Council. Not since the creation of the Nuremberg and Tokyo military tribunals immediately after World War II has an international court been established to prosecute persons responsible for international crimes. Those who pushed for the creation of the ICTFY argued that, as with earlier trials of major Nazi and Japanese wartime leaders, properly conducted international criminal trials, could accomplish certain goals. These goals include the deterrence of violence by others in positions of power, providing a mechanism to ensure the benefits of procedural as well as distributive justice, and the restoration of the lost civility of decimated societies that will enable a sense of national reconciliation. This paper examines the accomplishment of these goals, in the efforts of the ICTFY to gain legitimacy, from political, sociological, psychological, and legal perspectives.
The Empirical Status of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime: A Meta-Analysis
Since its inception nearly a decade ago, Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) “general theory of crime” has generated an increasingly lengthy roster of empirical tests. In light of this research, what is the theory’s empirical status? To address this question, we conducted a meta-analysis or quantitative synthesis of the existing studies, which revealed four main conclusions. First, regardless of how the concept is measured, low self-control appears to be an important predictor of crime and of “analogous behaviors.” Studies omitting this variable from their analysis thus risk being misspecified. Second, low self-control appears to have general effects across types of samples and demographic groups. Third, contrary to Gottfredson and Hirschi’s position, the effect of low selfcontrol is weaker in studies using a longitudinal as opposed to a cross-sectional design. Fourth, also inconsistent with the general theory, the main competitor to control theory-social learning theory-receives empirical support in studies that include a measure of low selfcontrol. Finally, although not without limits, we argue that meta-analysis is an underutilized tool in discerning the relative empirical merits of contemporary criminological theories.
The Evolution and Impact of Two Urban Drug Courts: The Drug Court Models in Portland and Las Vegas
The drug court movement, which began in Miami in 1989, has grown, changed and spread to what may now be over 200 American jurisdictions with adaptations also found in a number of foreign countries. Although this is changing, there is still little published literature describing the growth, implementation and impact of drug courts, certainly only a very small body of empirical studies. This paper presents findings from an NIJ-funded retrospective evaluation of two of the earliest and longest-lived drug courts in Portland, Oregon, and Las Vegas, Nevada. The analyses focus primarily on criminal justice and treatment outcomes for cohorts of participants entering both systems during the 1990s with one-, two- and three-year follow-up periods. Inferences are drawn concerning the potential impact of drug courts, variations of the basic model, and implementation issues that may be related to effectiveness.
The Experiences and Perceptions of Incarcerated 12-15 Year-Olds
The present study is an exploration of the experiences of young offenders serving custodial services. The issues include, the initial trauma of arrest and detention, the stress of incarceration and fears associated with the return to home communities. The sample of 12-15 year-old youth were drawn from young offender custodial facilities in Ontario. All inmates were serving 25 – 90 day sentences which represents the current “typical” sentence for young offenders in the province. The focus of the study was how youth perceive prison has impacted on their lives. Findings highlight the importance of internal support systems throughout the custodial process, particularly for this younger cohort.
The Extent and Sources of the Gender Gap in Attitudes Toward Crime and Justice
One aspect of research into public preferences for crime-related policies that has beet underdeveloped in previous research is the role that gender plays in determining attitudes. Despite valuable investigations of the influence of gender in other areas of criminological interest, no concerted efforts have been mounted to establish the extent of a gender gap in clime views and what factors might explain attitudinal differences between men and women. Using data from a statewide survey of Curio residents, this study seeks to explore this issue in some depth. In this regard, we investigate the influence of gender on a range of crime-related attitudes. We then seek to determine what other attributes, experiences, or perceptions might explain observed differences between men’s and women’s views.
The Failure of Criminal Courts: Illustrations From Smaller Communities
In North America, there is an assumption, at least on the part of lawyers, that the court setting is the best way to respond to crimes, deciding on guilt and appropriate sentencing. While the court room setting may be appropriate for many situations, we contend that the legal system is poorly equipped to deal with many of that appear in court. However, judges and others who currently operate in the system would be able to make significant contributions if they could step outside the restraints imposed by a rigid and at times, stupid, system. This is part of an ongoing discussion with Barry Feld, who is critical of many of the alternatives to current legal procedures (1998). He has little faith in the juvenile court system and feels that the needs of juveniles could be accomodated without a specialized and separate system. With regard to restorative justice, he raises questions that need to be addressed by advocates of alternative approaches. That debate has continued at these meetings (Lode Walgrave, Kathleen Daly, Gordon Bazemore). We would simply like to describe some situations which illustrate deficiencies in our current system.
“The Fatal Glass of Beer”: The Impact of Alcohol Involvement on the Treatment Success of Cocaine and Opiate-Involved Offenders, A Longitudinal Analysis
Previously studies in Delaware have demonstrated significant reductions in relapse and recidivism for TC treatment clients, as opposed to a comparison group that did not receive treatment. These effects are clearly evident 18 months after release from prison, and, for treatment completers, the effects remain, reduced but significant, up to 42 months after release from prison. In previous research, we have found alcohol to have both additive and interactive effects on subsequent treatment outcome. In this paper we examine alcohol involvement as an important indicator of long-term treatment success and look at some of the treatment program information that is most predictive to releasees resuming significant alcohol involvement as a precursor to other drug relapse and recidivism. Using data from follow up surveys re-interviewing these subjects and arrest data from the State reporting system, we examine the mediating effects of alcohol use in our multivariate models predicting to long-term relapse and recidivism. Discussion center on the importance of encouraging protective factors to alcohol involvement as a major component of effective treatment and aftercare.
The Feminization of Poverty in Rural Kentucky: Creating Crime and Excessive Social Control
Research regarding the existence of gender discrimination and gender inequality in the criminal and juvenile justice system reveals a historical pattern of benevolent paternalism and patriarchal control with regard to girls’ and women’s arrest, detention and incarceration. Moreover class and race membership determines whether or not the female will be adjudicated, convicted, or incarcerated. Sommers and Baskin’s research into the lives of one-hundred and seventy poor urban inner city women of color reveals that deindustrialized and divested neighborhoods provided few if any options for legitimate work and little if any hope for the future, leading to increased addiction and criminal involvement among girls and women. This research investigates how the femininization of poverty, the “war on drugs”, and the persistent and deleterious effects of advanced capitalism in rural Kentucky counties produces girls’ and women’s crimes of accommodation and resistance which then results in excessive social control through their arrest and institutionalization.
The General Theory of Crime and Substance Use
Use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs among juveniles has long been a concern in criminological research. Juveniles who use these substances are found to be more heavily involved in other forms of crime and deviance than their abstaining peers, and criminal offenses associated with drugs account for a heavy portion of the cases within the criminal justice system. Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (11 990) General Theory of Crime argues that drug use is one form of behavior that is engaged in by individuals who lack self -control. This theory is tested by examining substance use among a high school sample of juveniles. The results of this analysis show that use of alcohol, tobacco and other illicit drugs is heavily influenced by individual self -control and general crime opportunity, thus providing support for the General Theory of Crime.
The Ghost Dance: A Case Study in State Crime
Numerous historical and ethnographic studies shave been written examining the Ghost Dance, a revitalization movement among Plains Native Americans, and the destruction of a band of Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota that served as the climax point of the U.S. Government’s attempt to suppress this activity. Few studies have offered theoretical explanations of the U.S. government’s actions and perceptions; none have gone beyond basic discussions of racism and the amorphous concept of Manifest Destiny. This essay examines and explores suppression of the syncretic plains religion of the Ghost Dance and the Wounded Knee massacre in fight of state crime theory. It focuses in on the interaction of cultural and organizational paradigms, especially as relating to the U.S. Army calvary and infantry and governmental “Indian” policy–exploring how these forces combined in the production of the events under examination. Critiques of state crime theory are offered, a through application of the theory to the historical-ethnographic record is made and suggestions for further empirical and theoretical research are offered.
The Going Rate
For several years there has been a proactive attempt to familiarize the population with all facets of domestic violence. Since the O.J. Simpson trial, the media has directed its attention to domestic violence. This new focused direction on domestic violence, however, is not just within the paradigm of opposite sex abuse but within the wide range of possibilities. Now that this new alternative to the basic opposite sex relationships has made its way to the population’s consent, the problem of legally protecting this new alternative comes into view. The domestic violence laws should be proscribed into specialized laws protecting specialized individuals, but which states are specialized and are proscribed for the current population? The subject of domestic violence law equality throughout the United States is the focus of this study. There are 50 states plus the District of Columbia that uphold 51 domestic violence statutes, and the question we will attempt to answer is, Are the same people protected or are the same behaviors defined as domestic violence in all 51 statutes? Through examining each of the 51 domestic violence statutes, the question of equality will be resolved.
The Good, the Bad, and the Rational: Analyzing Robber Decision-Making
Information about offender decision-making has been generated traditionally by individuals filtered through the criminal justice system. Successful offenders, that is, those who avoid the justice system may exhibit very different behavior than less successful offenders. The result of past research is an incomplete record in our understanding of offender decision-making. One neglected source of information about offender decision-making are victim surveys. The NCVS provides rich detail about victim behavior, offender behavior, situational characteristics, and event outcomes. It is then possible to examine robber decisions in relation to success, The strategic choice analysis framework proposed by Cook (1976) is used to examine whether more rational offenders, i.e., more successful, use different methods of operation, target different victims, and/or work in different environments as compared to less successful offenders. Success is defined in terms of 1) incident completion, 2) payoff, and 3) arrest avoidance. The results are discussed in light of criminal investigations, crime prevention, and criminal career rnodeling.
The Historical Analysis of the Discourses Related to Drug Use in Canada: A Study of Transformations in Social Control
This paper presents the results of an historical analysis of Canadian discourses related to drug use from the late nineteenth century to the present. The purpose of this analysis is to illustrate, through the particular circumstances of social and political responses to drug use, the recent trasnformations in the state’s management of deviant populations. Our intent is to verify the hypothesis that important transformations in social control have occurred over the last 25 years which have resulted in the dispersion and widening of measures from specific groups to the general population. This hypothesis stipulates that the new philosophy contributes to the dissolution of the symbolic frontier between the deviant and the general public, resulting in the dispersion of social control to the social organisation in its totality. These institutional transformations could also be understood through the theoretical framework of the emergence of the new penology. Computerized discourse analysis is used to verify the relationship between the discourses and practices realted to drug control and the transformations in the role of the state.
The Historical and Contemporary Production of the Opiate User as Criminal: A Critical Geneaology
The purpose of this paper is to examine the historical contingencies that have produced and continue to reproduce the criminal identity of opiate users. Around the turn of the 200′ century, complex intersections of events and ideas gave rise to the institutions and disciplines of criminal justice, medicine, and the social sciences, which in conjunction with new forms of entertainment and media established and confirmed this identity in the popular imagination. In the late 1990s, a phenomenon known as “heroin chic” provided an opportunity for the continued circulation of these images primarily in mass media. This paper traces the historical record and combines media analysis with ethnographic insights gathered in a 5-year study of heroin users in New York City to examine the relevance the reified criminal identity of illicit opiate users has for drug policy, law enforcement, and drug treatment.
The Immediate Effects of Adolescent Gang Membership
The fact that gang members are involved in deviant behavior is most evident and undisputed in academic research. However, in this research, there is usually no pregang comparison time making it difficult to determine whether these changes are actually the result of joining the gang. In addition, there is little research that attempts to explain the process by which this increased deviant behavior occurs. The current research examines the immediate effects of gang membership. The research examines the relationships between gang membership, conventional institutions, peer groups, values, and deviant behavior, to determine the reasons why increased deviant behavior occurs. This research utilizes data from the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS). This data set has the capability of examining the effects of gang membership. It provides information on gang members before and during active gang membership, allowing for the control of prior deviant behavior. This data set also offers a comparison group of nongang youth providing a rich source for data analysis. The current findings suggest that gang membership has an effect on deviant behavior, including general delinquency, violent crime, drug use and drug sales. The effects are direct and indirect through other life domain variables. The effects of gang membership are similar for males and females.
The Impact of a Therapeutic Community on Prison Management
In 1992, the California Department of Corrections established, under legislative authorization, the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility (CSATF). With a treatment capacity of 1,478, the CSATF is currently the largest in-prison therapeutic community in the state, and one of the largest in the country. The UCLA Drug Abuse Research Center is conducting a five-year evaluation of this project. Although post-treatment outcomes are not yet available, a number of process measures suggest that the presence of an in-prison therapeutic community is associated with significant advantages for prison management-including lower rates of infractions, reduced stress among correctional staff, and virtually no illicit drug use among inmates. These objective data are further supported by focus groups conducted with inmates and correctional staff.
The Impact of Changing Family Structure on Delinquency
Using longitudinal data from the National Evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training program, the author looks at the impact of changing family structure on delinquency. Prior research on the relationship between families and delinquency have generally concluded that family structure (as in type of household) is not nearly as important as family process (in terms of supervision, discipline and attachment) in explaining delinquency. However, research on how changes in family structure may impact the relationship between family processes and delinquency has been less extensive. In this descriptive analysis of adolescents over a two year time period, the author compares individuals who have remained in the same type of family structure (intact and single parent households) with individuals who have changed household types from single parent to intact households and vice versa. Measures of adolescent drug use, status offenses, minor delinquency, and more serious forms of delinquency are compared across respondent categories. Finally, the family process variables of maternal and paternal attachment and parental supervision are incorporated into the models comparing individuals who have changed family structure with those who have not for each of the forms of delinquency.
The Impact of Drug and Alcohol Treatment on Recidivism of High-Risk Youth: The Youth Intervention Network
The Youth Intervention Network (YIN) is a demonstration project funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). The project is designed to create systemic changes in the county juvenile justice department and strengthen the linkages between local providers of social services. The YIN provides a risk screening for youths coming through intake at the juvenile justice department. Youth who are identified as high risk to re-offend and who indicate problem use of alcohol and other drugs are given an alcohol/drug use assessment and referred to treatment services. In addition, these youth are provided a service coordinator, who helps the youth and family obtain needed services. This paper describes the program model and the services that youth receive, and evaluates the impact treatment services have on recidivism. The paper discusses the efficacy of requiring treatment for alcohol/drug problems as a component of a youth’s juvenile justice intervention. Additional program outcomes, such as improved school success and family functioning, are also presented.
The Impact of Empirical Data on the Shaping of Death Penalty Views of Undergraduate Students at a Michigan University
There is increased attention on the death penalty. Michigan, the first English speaking jurisdiction in the world to abolish capital punishment in 1846, is considering proposals to reintroduce the death penalty. The public, in Michigan and elsewhere, appears to support capital punishment. However, the late Justice Thurgood Marshall argued that “the American people are largely unaware of the information critical to a judgement” and an informed citizenry “would consider it shocking, unjust and unacceptable,” To test Justice Marshall’s hypothesis concerning the support for the death penalty, a survey was conducted of undergraduate students, including criminal justice majors, at a Michigan regional university, The survey examines the views and support for the death penalty and whether the views are affected by information on empirical findings, of racism, deterrence, execution of innocent individuals, and other related factors. This paper will discuss the survey results, as well as making recommend actions for providing individuals with accurate information on the death penalty.
The Impact of Formal and Informal Social Controls on Criminal Careers
This paper examines the impact of arrest and probation on the self-reported criminal activities of offenders sentences to a term of community supervision. Offenders were interviewed once immediately after beginning a sentence of probation and again approximately 6 to 8 months later. Using detailed monthly calendars, we asked offenders to report on criminal activities, high risk behaviors (e.g., drug use) and social bonds. Changes in criminal activities as a function of the formal criminal justice sanctions as well as changes in social bonds were studied.
The Impact of Incarceration on Crime
Throughout the last twenty years, the U.S. has experienced unprecedented increases in the level of incarceration. Since 1995, crime has declined. Proponents of the incarceration binge arc quick to attribute the decrease in crime higher rates of imprisonment. Opponents of prison expansion argue other factors, such as an aging population and/or an improving economy, may be responsible for declining crime rates. Using residual-change regression analysis from three years (1988, 1993 and 1999) this study examines the degree to which changes in the level of incarceration has influenced changes in the crime ratee while controlling for changes in the size of the crime prone population and economic conditions (unemployment and poverty). In addition to measuring poverty as the percent of the population with incomes less than the official threshold, this research also employs poverty indexes that are sensitive to both the depth of poverty and the relative deprivation among the poor. The selection of the above years permit the inclusion of data on incarceration in countail jails. The inclusion of this population is important because as of 6/30/98, one-third of all 1. 8 million individuals incarcerated in the U.S. were confined in jails.
The Impact of Information on Sentencing Outcomes
Under sentencing guidelines, the primary determinants of sentencing outcomes are characteristics of the current offense and the criminal history of the defendant. Yet even under such guidelines, judges and prosecutors retain substantial discretion. This paper investigates how information about defendants affects sentencing outcomes: type of sanction (incarceration vs. other), sentence length, and whether or not it went outside of the guidelines range. This latter outcome could be particularly important since there is some evidence that departures are utilized differentially for whites and blacks. Using data from the Maryland Administrative Office of the Courts, we analyze over 100,000 cases from circuit courts from 1983 to 1995. We consider the impact of four types of information: age, juvenile criminal record, adult criminal record, and reports of pre-sentence investigations. First, we hypothesize that criminal justice officials and/or juries will interpret criminal history of older defendants differently from that of younger defendants because the information about older defendants is a more accurate reflection of their “type.” Second, we look carefully at the impact of “sealing” juvenile records for defendants age 26 or older. Third, we consider whether adult criminal history impacts sentences in addition to its contribution to the “offender score.” Finally, we investigate the role of pre-sentence investigations (PSI’s). Because cases that go to trial are much more likely to have a PSI, we must consider the determinants of whether a PSI is ordered as well as its impact on sentencing outcomes. Together, the findings provide a picture of how sentencing decisions are made that is more nuanced than a simple reading of the guidelines law would suggest. I
The Impact of Peer Attitudes on Adolescent Drug Use: Differences by Race and Gender
Drug use has become an increasing problem among adolescents within our society. Previous research has documented various reasons for this increased drug use including lack of family ties, adherence to delinquent peers, etc. The purpose of this paper is to examine adolescent drug use in conjunction with peer group attitudes regarding drug use. This study examines racial and gender differences in the adherence to a peer group identity regarding the use of drugs. It is posited that white males are more likely to use drugs than black males- or black or white females. The reason for white male’s increased drug use is explained by examining white males adherence to peer group’s and their internalization of the peer group’s favorable attitudes toward drug use. The fact that white males are more influenced by peer group attitudes toward drug use is explained by utilizing a theory of masculinity and power within the group. For this analysis, the Monitoring the Future data set for 1995 was utilized. Measures that were utilized include information regarding peer group attitudes regarding drug use (majority of the students and immediate friends), as well as frequency of drug use in a lifetime and within the last year.
The Impact of Peers, Weapons, and Alcohol on Violence Decision Making: An Experimental Study
The aims of this study are twofold: (1) to examine the impact of peers, weapons, and alcohol on violence decision making and (2) to test whether such impacts depend on the individual’s developmental history as well as psychological characteristics and life circumstances in childhood. Subjects of this study are young men who have been subjects of Montreal-based longitudinal study who have been tracked since age 6. Subjects responded to hypothetical vignettes involving a conflict that might erupt into physical violence. The presence of peers and weapon availability was randomly varied across subjects and vignettes. Also, subjects were randomly assigned to an alcohol and nonalcohol condition involving the actual consumption of alcohol or a non-alcoholic placebo.
The Impact of Socio-environmental Risk Factors on Subsequent Delinquency: Prior Delinquency as the Conditioning Variable
Longitudinal analyses regularly show that the best predictor of delinquency is prior delinquent involvement. Moreover, environmental variables (e.g., strain, social control, and social learning factors) tend to have little or no effect on subsequent delinquency when prior delinquency is controlled — a finding that bas been interpreted to mean that environmental factors have little impact on delinquency once individuals reach adolescence (aid levels of “grins” delinquency are established). This interpretation, however, assumes that the effects of environmental variables are the same across all levels of prior delinquency. Ire this paper, we examine an alternative possibility. In particular, environmental variables may affect subsequent delinquency when prior delinquent involvement is high (and, presumably, a predisposition to delinquency exists), but not when prior involvement is low. Analyses of data from the National Youth Survey provide qualified support for this hypothesis, showing that the effects of environmental variables on subsequent delinquency (especially serious delinquency) are substantial, but only among adolescents who have high levels of prior delinquent involvement. Implications for criminological theory and delinquency control are discussed.
The Impact of the Three-Strikes Law on the California Trial Courts
This paper reports the results of a comprehensive multi-year study of the impact of California’s “three-strikes, you’re out” law on the trial courts. This study used filing, disposition, and case-processing time data from all California trial courts. More extensive data was also collected from six large jurisdictions, including case-level data designed to isolate the effects of the ‘three strikes” law from other factors affecting court workload in the focus jurisdictions and interviews with selected judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and court personnel. Bivariate and multivariate analyses of these data were performed. Findings indicate that the law created complex, often unanticipated impacts on trial rate, case processing time, and case management policies, among them that prosecutor policies toward two-strike defendants determine more of the impact of the new law than policies for three-strike defendants. The law had the potential to increase felony trials to the point of system overload, but this did not occur because the law was not prosecuted to its full potential.
The Implementation Quality of the Maryland After School Programs
Research has shown that children who are left unsupervised during after school hours are at high-risk for delinquency and drug use. Due to these findings, after-school programs have gained increased popularity in recent years. The state of Maryland is utilizing funds from the federal Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994 to increase the availability of high-quality, structured after-school programs for at-risk youth. The four main programming interventions include: social skills training, tutoring, mentoring, and service learning. This paper will summarize the implementation standards the programs are required to fulfill. Results from the process evaluations of the 1998-1999 school year will be presented indicating the ability of the programs to meet these requirements.
The Importance of an Evaluability Assessment for Research on Program Design
The purpose of this paper was to demonstrate the utility and importance of an evaluability assessment as a method of research. This form of qualitative research identifies inconsistencies within a program and can indicate needed modifications. This research technique is not often used at present but is invaluable for newly developing programs and for existing programs that need modifications. A juvenile drag rehabilitation program in Pennsylvania utilized an evaluability assessment to ermine their program. The goal was to compare each operating component of the program to the overall philosophy, goals, and expectations before expanding their agency. This juvenile rehabilitation program consists of 5 schools and 10 residential programs. Information was obtained through, program records, interviews with staff, and observations of daily activities. The authors conducted semi-structured interviews that asked detailed questions regarding the target population, program objectives, definition of success, program activities, and perceived obstacles to success. The results suggested that this program lacked the proper measures to correctly assess their students throughout the duration of the program. While there was consistency between the philosophy and implementation of the program, there was a lack of benefits to the students. In sum, motor modifications are essential before expansion.
The Impulsiveness and Routinization of Decision Making
Rational choice theory and research based on its assumptions, suggests that decisionmaking is a problem solving process of deliberative calculation, Rational choice theory has been advanced more recently by the empirical recognition that decision problems often are shaped within and solved through situational settings, These recent positions seemingly emphasize variables of the foreground over background. This paper uses these assumptions as it describes decisions and actions that occur seemingly impulsively and routinely among both law violators and low enforcers. Furthermore, this paper describes decisions within their cultural context and highlights the moments when thought and action appear inseparable which raises critically fundamental questions about the underlying assumptions of rational choice.
The Indirect and Direct Effects of Age on Perceptions of Risk: Among Incarcerated Offenders
This paper examines the indirect and direct effects of aga on perception of risk of arret among a saple of incarcerated offenders. Offenders were asked to estimate their chances of being arrested for serious offenses. An integrated theoretical model was employed to examine the factors that influence the formation of risk perceptions. Based on the findings from path analysis it was concluded that offenders’ perceptions were significantly influenced by age only through the direct and indirect effects of other variables in the model.
The Influence of Ideology in Criminal Justice Policy During Long Waves of Economic Development
This paper takes the concept of long waves of capitalist development, used by political economists, and explores ideological changes occuring within each wave. Expanding on the quanlitative work done by Barlow, Barlow and Chiricos (1993), the author qualitatively analyzes the ideologicalrhetoric which promotes, sustains and legitimizes the underlining ideology of criminal justice policies and innovations. Ideology is shown to be a crucial element of the social structure of accumulation, it is inseparably linked to the politics and economics which provide the framework for the social structure of accumulation. The result is that often criminal justice policies and innovations, because they are social structures, response to economic forces and decision makers seek out paralleling ideologies to legitimize policies and innovations. This paper qualitatively demonstrates the changes in political and criminal justice ideology in response to economic conditions as well as providing a sense of agency to political and criminal justice decisions.
The Intensive Aftercare Program for Serious Juvenile Offenders: Factors That Facilitated and Impeded Implementation and Interpreting Preliminary Outcome Findings
The National Council on Crime and Delinquency has been conducting a multi-site process and outcome evaluation of the OJJDP-sponsored Intensive Aftercare Program Research and Demonstration effort since 1995. The IAP model was begun in four states, with three still solidly in place (Nevada, Colorado and Virginia). The IAP model was prescriptive in the sense that sites were expected to develop programs consistent with the underlying theoretical principles. The designers, Armstrong and Altschuler, intentionally did not develop detailed policies and procedures for wholesale adoption by the sites, recognizing the need for sites to retain flexibility to adapt the model to be compatible with local contexts and conditions. Program intake has now ceased in two of the three sites, with adequate, albeit less than ideal, enrollments. This, in large part, reflects diligent steps taken to restrict program eligibility to the most serious juvenile offenders. The IAP implementation experience has surfaced issues that are instructive for the field-factors, both positive and negative, that have had an influence on implementation across the IAP sites. This paper presents site-specific, as well as general factors deemed instrumental in facilitating and impeding implementation. This contextual information is used to interpret preliminary outcome findings.
The Invitation: An Answer to Women’s Experience With Social Services, Jails, Prisons, and Community Punishments
Female convicts are victimized twice, first by the social welfare system and then by the criminal justice system. The reader learns what “conettes” experience during their journey through the criminal justice system; how they are used, manipulated, and endure a “sentence of silence,” oppression, and horrific human rights violations perpetrated by the state upon them and their children. The author discusses the effects of incarceration on mothers and dependent children, including state policies concerning pregnant prisoners. An examination of current vocational programs is presented, illustrating an intentional agenda promoting and reinforcing female roles as public wives, sexual objects, and economic dependents.. An insider perspective is used based on personal experience, interviews, review of records, and standpoint epistemology. The chapter concludes with solutions termed “the invitation” that lie outside the control of the state. The invitation is a combination of acceptance, redemption, reconciliation, inclusion and social immersion, none of which can be mandated by legislative or judicial authority.
The Islamic Criminal Code in Iran: A Study in the Revivalist Social Construction of Law (1982-1999)
Iran’s post- 1979 Islamic Criminal Code (Qanun-e Mujazat-e Islami), enacted by the Iranian Parliament in 1982, and revised in 1991, is a prime example of a criminal code that has been premised on a revivalist notion of Islam and of its Sacred Law. Based on “semi-official” data, this paper argues that although the Code covers a wide range of Islamic notions of crime and punishments, it nonetheless suffers from a double legitimation crises: It is very difficult to institutionalize the articles of the Code from a procedural perspective, at the same time that it has proven quite discriminatory from the stand point substantial laws that the Code has envisioned in resolving social and legal conflicts. In particular, the Code’s incompatibility with the Universal Human Rights is the main stumbling bloc in its acceptance as a legitimate legal document.
The Judicial Interpretation(s) of ‘Traditional’ Aboriginal Resource Rights: A Preliminary Investigation
In recent years Metis communities have attempted to clarify the nature and extent of their legal rights regarding resource extraction in Canada. With the exception of several recent court cases, dominant legal interpretations have tended to circumscribe these rights by rendering their ‘traditional’ usage as primarily subsistence-based rather than commercial. My paper focuses on two aspects: First, I explore the types of historical evidence used by the Canadian courts to support legal arguments of ‘traditional’ Aboriginal resource activities in Canada; second, through the use of multiple and unpublished archival records, I critique the dominant judicial interpretation and offer in its place a more nuanced and historically robust interpretation.
The Jury Deliberation Experience: How do Jurors’ Perceptions Differ by Race?
A number of research studies have been conducted during the past several decades to determine whether the American criminal justice system is racially discriminatory. While several individual stages of the justice system, including policing and law enforcement, sentencing, pretrial release, and setting of bail have been examined extensively for the presence of racial mistreatment, other stages have gone virtually overlooked. One of these neglected spheres embodies the complex and intricate role of the jury. This presentation will focus on juror deliberations, and in particular, how jurors’ experiences in and perceptions of deliberations differ by the race of the jurors. Numerous studies have shown racial disparities in perceptions of discrimination within the criminal justice system; however, little work has focused on the perceptions of racial mistreatment within the jury. Given the long history of racism among the public and private sectors within the United States, is it possible that the structure of the jury could eliminate all traces of racism currently infringing upon the rest of the justice system today? This analysis explores this question in further detail. This work will employ a data set of 1367 Arizona civil jurors, including 282 minorities, and undertake statistical analyses examining the effects of jurors’ race.
The Juvenile Domestic and Family Violence Court: A New Intervention Program for Juvenile Domestic and Family Violence Offenders
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate an innovative new Juvenile Domestic and Family Violence Court program for juvenile offenders in Santa Clara County, California. This program addresses the growing problem of teen domestic and family violence by holding a special calendar with frequent court reviews for all juvenile D/FV offenders, and through a dedicated probation department unit that offers specialized services to teen batterers, victims, and their families. The court is modeled on the adult domestic violence court and uses components of the juvenile drug treatment program by incorporating close monitors of offenders with special services. All minors who have committed a violation of Penal Code sections 243(e) and 273.5, or other criminal occurring between persons as defined in section 6211 of the California Family Code will be referred to the court program. In the first year of operation, it is expected that about 70 youths will participate in the program. Several outcome measures along with socio-economic variables and victim’s perceptions of safety and satisfaction will be analyzed and compared with the profiles of D/FV offenders who were in the juvenile system prior to the start of the program.
The Legalization of Petit Apartheid
Whether or not police discretion results in racially motivated arrest is an issue that continues to demand investigation and research. The evidence remains inconclusive as to the actual effect of race on a police officers decision to arrest (Free 1996). Research and official statistics do show that African-Americans are arrested and sentenced to prison at a disproportionately high rate as compared to whites. The lifetime likelihood of an African-American going to prison is 16.2% higher than for a white male. It has been estimated that 28% of African -American males will enter prison during their lifetime compared to 4.4% of white males (Bureau Justice Statistics 1998). The true effect of race on the decision of a police officer to arrest may never be determined. What can be examined are those laws, statutes, and police departmental policies which adversely affect African-Americans at the pre-arrest and arrest stage. Many laws, statutes, and policies are enforced against certain groups of people more than others. Gang statutes such as those prohibiting gang members from associating with one another, police profiles used to identify potential drug dealers, and stop and question and stop and frisk policies all provide the opportunity for police to engage members of certain groups more than others. These types of rules have a detrimental effect on members of particular groups and legalize petit apartheid ( Georges-Abeyie 1989). This paper will examine the relationship between race and arrest rates by focusing on those laws, statutes, and policies that have had a detrimental effect on African-Americans at the pre-arrest and arrest stage and that promote and legalize a system of petit apartheid.
The Link Between Youth Aggressive Behavior and Victimization: Findings From the Israeli National Youth Survey
The purpose of this study is to investigate the link between offending and victimization among an adolescent population. Data from the 1998 Israeli National Youth Survey was used to test two conflicting hypotheses. One, derived from the extensive literature on bullying behavior, suggests that there is a clear distinction between those who commit acts of aggression and those who are on the receiving end. Two, which is the more criminological sound hypothesis that suggests that those involved in aggressive behavior, have a higher likelihood also to become victims of aggression. The findings show that there is a high association between the aggressive conduct of youth and their probability of being victims of aggressive behavior. Engaging in aggressive behavior increases the likelihood of being on the receiving end. Adolescents reporting that they have slapped or hit their friends are more likely to be victims. The findings provide support both to the subculture of violence and proximity hypothesis. Adolescents that know delinquent peers and live in neighborhoods where violence against children is common are more likely to be victims of both verbal and physical aggressive behavior.
The Longer Term Effects of Graduated Sanctions: Findings From the Evaluation of the D.C. Superior Court Drug Intervention Program
This paper presents findings from the evaluation of a program of graduated sanctions designed to reduce drug use and criminal activity among drug felony offenders. The research compares 240 program participants to 311 offenders on a standard docket. Both groups received twice weekly drug testing and close judicial monitoring. The participants received penalties for each positive or missed drug test. Results of the one-year follow up indicate reduced stronger drug use and criminal activity among participants. The paper will include findings from focus group interviews and a cost analysis of the program.
The Maintenance of Order Amongst Lightly Engaged Strangers
This paper examines the role of critical criminology in an age of late modernity. It starts with three questions: Where are we? What works? What are the possible interventions? Where do we want to go? What sort of transformation do we want? It argues that each of these questions poses particular challenges in the late modem period. It critically discusses the transformative policies of Nancy Fraser: socialist in the sphere of redistribution, deconstructionist in the field of recognition and engages with Iris Young’s ideal of the ‘unoppressive city’ with its ‘openess to unassimilated others’. It argues for radical meritocratic policies in the field of redistribution and for a transformative multiculturalism in the area of recognition.
The Maximum Security Prison in American Culture
This paper examines the cultural legacy and future of the maximum security prison in the United States through two primary media forms, dramatic and documentary film. The discussion of this representation will be situated alongside an examination of past and contemporary prison conditions and an analysis of the social scientific legacy which has surrounded maximum security facilities. My contention is that these institutions cannot adequately be understand by social scientists without attention to the ways in which confinement appears across the American cultural imagination, including how prisons and prisoners are depicted by dominant media forms. These representations, as social products, reflect cultural concerns about U.S. prisons, real and imagined. Ultimately, I hope to relate my findings to contemporary developments, including the prison system’s vast and unprecedented rise into an industrial complex and the development of a new breed of super maximum/mega security facilities.
The Mental Health Effects of Victimization and Fear of Crime on Neighborhood Residents as Tempered by Social Disorganization
Recent research in communities and crime supports the notion that social disorganization factors such as neighborhood poverty, high residential mobility, family disruption, physical incivilities, and public disorder crimes are related to victimization and fear of crime. In a related area, researchers find correlations between criminal victimization and reported mental health. This paper furthers extends prior research by exploring the relationships among social disorganization, victimization, and mental health. It is hypothesized that social disorganization will conditioning the relationship between reported victimization and reported mental health. This paper uses the responses from a random telephone survey of Illinois residents to compare differences in levels of mental health between residents of socially disorganized neighborhoods and those of socially organized neighborhoods. Implications of these findings are described.
The Neighborhood a Hotbed? The Influence of Environment on Juvenile Delinquency
Research on the neighborhood level shows consistently high correlations between socio-structural neighborhood characteristics and the numbcr of juvenile residents committing crimes. It is often assumed that these relations are causal. In this paper this causality assumption is tested. By using multi-level techniques we try to separate contextual (neighborhood) effects from composition effects. The analyses are based on data concerning juveniles and neighborhoods in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. To ascertain that the empirical test is really critical, we use three independent measures of (the number of) juveniles committing crimes. Results show that correlations on the neighborhood level do not necessarily indicate causal (neighborhood) effects. Above all, differences between neighborhoods are caused by differences in composition. Theseresults are interpreted in terms of the geographical distribution of social networks.
The New England Consortium Experiment: Operational, Organizational and Logistical Challenges
The New England Consortium Experiment seeks to assess the efficacy of computer mapping used within the context of problem-oriented policing. Thirty small municipal police agencies were randomly assigned to treatment (GIS and Problem-Oriented Policing) and control (Problem-Oriented Policing only) conditions. This paper focuses on the operational, organizational and logistical challenges faced in implementing the experiment. We explore some the complexities associated with keeping thirty autonomous police agencies involved in the project; we highlight the challenges associated with managing the operational dimensions of the project; we identify the central ingredients hat are necessary to maintain multi-jurisdictional collaboration for any substantive period of time; and we discuss the economy of scale benefits of approaching reforms from a consortium perspective.
The New School of Convict Criminology
Ross and Richards introduce a new school of convict criminology for a forthcoming book. They discuss how they gathered together the contributors to form a creative working group in a collaborative effort. The book chapters emerged as writers shared their experiences with prison and academia. The book represents an effort to revitalize the criminology literature with research in grounded experience. In doing so, the authors in this volume hope to illuminate the message that “it’s about time” (Irwin and Austin, 1997) time served, time lost, and time that taught us the lessons we share. The convict scholars are not the first to criticize the prison. The contributors pay their respects to the scholars who have attempted in the literature to raise critical questions about prisons and suggest humane reforms. The real problem is that the reformers rarely even bothered to ask the convicts what reforms they desired. The new school corrects this oversight as the faculty are educated “con-sultants.’
The Norwegian Securities and Exchange Commission (Kredittilsynet) and the Control of White-Collar Crime at the Stock Exchange
The Norwegian Securities markets have during the 1990s been afflicted by cases of fraud, deception and accusations of insider dealing. Ethical standards have been challenged by brokers and other agents. Though these acts represent nothing new, these practices are currently viewed as more alarming than 20 or 50 years ago. This is reflected in the multiplying resources used to supervise and control the financial markets during the last decade. This paper is a presentation of an ongoing study of the Norwegian SECs work with some of the most infamous / well known cases of the 1990s. The methods used are first of all a study of the records and files concerning the work with these cases supplemented by in-depth interviews of the personnel working on these cases in the SEC. The goals of the research are mainly to describe how these agencies are working and what their priorities are. In studying the SEC one of the most central theoretical foundations is the network perspective. The formal co-operation with other control agencies like the Oslo stock exchange and the OKOKRIM (the central prosecuting unit for white collar crime) will be studied along with more informal and personal networks.
The Nuts, Bolts and Potential Pitfalls of Developing an Interdisciplinary and Multi-Cultural Criminal Justice Course
This paper addresses the experience of a criminology professor and a history professor, both of whom had little previous knowledge of non-American criminal justice systems, in developing from scratch an interdisciplinary course for freshman honor students. The course was entitled Criminal Justice Past and Present: A Cross-Cultural Approach. The paper begins by explaining how the course was initially conceived, and why the decision was made to study four specific criminal jsutice systems within the context of the legal tradition within which each developed historically. Next, course objectives are delineated, with an explanation of how and why these objectives were chosen. The discussion also explains the decision to include both traditional and non-traditional sources, including those accessesible via the internet. Lastly, the paper assesses the success of the course in achieving its goals, both as an honors and as an interdisciplinary course, offering suggestions for how the structure, methods, and content of the course could be altered to accomplish these goals more effectively in the future.
The Objectives and Effectiveness of Distance Learning Via Compressed Video for Criminal Justice College Students
Dr. Singh plans to discuss the restructuring of criminal justice courses developed from the “traditionaal” model of instruction into the newly emerging “distance learning” model of instruction for criminal justice students. he also plans to address perceived student receptivity and improved knowledge outcomes of criminal justice course material being delivered by this newly emerging medium in Louisiana – compressed video.
The Offender/Community Encounter: An Exploration of the Vermont Reparative Boards
In contemporary criminal justice, relations between community members and offenders are minimized. Typically, community members are given no formal role in the decision-making process following arrest and have little knowledge of the offenders’ criminal status even when the offender remains a community resident. Community justice models respond to this situation by creating forums for community/offender interaction. In Vermont’s reparative board program, community volunteers serve on boards that meet with adult offenders to negotiate terms of reparation to victims and to the community. This study examines the offender/community encounter and is guided by a very basic question: what happens when community members confront offenders in response to their crimes? Findings are based on content analyses of videotaped board hearings and emphasize board member attempts to establish common ground; affirm normative standards; increase offenders’ sense of responsibility; and resolve philosophical disagreements about the mission of restorative justice.
The Old New Panic: Rediscovering the Amphetamine Drugs
Since the late 1980s, the mass media have discovered what appears to be the growing menace of methamphetamine and other cognate drugs, which seem to be growing rapidly in use in areas previously untouched by major drug problems, especially in the Midwest. However, a convincing case can be made that amphetamines and especially methamphetamine have been popular in these precise areas at least since the 1950s, and that what is now being noted by the media is really a very old-established problem. Certainly some very early case-studies indicate widespread methamphetamine use in trucking centers and near military bases at least through the 1950s, and it is hard to deduce when, if ever, this usage declined. The fact that these drugs were so thoroughly neglected in years gone by partly reflects law enforcement priorities, but also demonstrates the racial assumptions and prejudices of journalists and editors, who tended to classify drug abuse as a strictly urban and minority phenomenon, so that predominantly White rural and suburban users were not taken seriously. The implication is that some “new” drug menaces might in reality represent not new phenomena, but the sudden media discovery of pre-existing circumstances.
The Place of Replication in Alternative Methods of Research Synthesis
This paper addresses the place of replication among alternative ways to synthesize findings across independent studies. Two common methods of synthesis–literature review and meta-analysis-are compared and contrasted with less common but potentially more rigorous methods–secondary data analysis, replication and consensus reviews. The paper suggests that the selection of synthesis approach depends on the nature of existing research and the purposes for which the synthesis is being conducted.
The Political Economy of Routine Corporate Killing
Simon Jones was a 24 year old student, who signed on for casual work in April 1998 with a local employment agency “to get the dole of his back”. Within two hours of his first job, for a Dutch cargo company, he was dead, his head having been crushed and partially severed. No prosecution was taken against the employment agency; the Crown Prosecution Service is now reconsidering its original decision not to prosecute the cargo company. Irrespective of the legal outcome, this case represents, in Mills^Os classic terms, a public issue. The most intimate element of personal biography – the end of a life – raises crucial questions about the society in which Simon lived: about social structure, history, the priorities and values, and the kind of men and women who prevail – and those who perish – in Britain at the end of the twentieth century. This paper takes the death of Simon Jones – a routine corporate killing – and seeks to understand it via a Marxist political economy, addressing the range of issues highlighted above in a way which integrates micro- and macro-level analysis. Via this approach, we contribute to efforts to grasp the nature of corporate crime – that is, its normality, its shifting character, and its making and unmaking through legal, social and political construction.
The Power of Oppression: Towards Understanding the History of Criminology as a Science of Oppression
This paper offers a reevaluation of the history of criminology that unifies Foucault’s analysis of power and Piers Beirnes’s critical history of criminology (Inventing Criminology). Unification of these views leads to the assertion that criminology is a science of oppression; that is a method of organizing knowledge and ideas to facilitate the categorizing and disciplining of people through control of the body. Criminological theories and policies are reinterpreted as discourses that employ science to help rationalize and justify social, economic and political orders consistent with unequal class, race and gender structures that form the basis of power relations within society.
The Practical and Curricular Concerns of Criminal Justice Professionals
Universities have long been interested in educating professionals who are currently employed in criminal justice related fields, While criminal justice programs may attempt to attract practitioners, programs of curricula may not meet the professional or educational needs of this population. For example, practitioners who are simultaneously managing work and family responsibilities may have special needs not met by the traditional graduate program. A survey was conducted of practitioners to ascertain their professional and personal concerns. The results of the survey and their implications for professional program development are discussed.
The Prediction of Criminal Reoffending Using the Level of Service Inventory–Ontario Revision
The current research project represents the first prospective study using the LSI-OR, which is a modified version of the LSI, on a sample of 630 adult male offenders (inmates and probationers), Subjects were administered the LSI-OR at intake or pretreatment as part of a pilot project and followed for an average of 2.6 years. Any recidivism was defined as any reconviction for a new offence. Both general and violent recidivism were assessed by means of multiple follow-up sources. Comparisons revealed that all LSI-OR sections and subscales differentiated recidivists from nonrecidivists among both inmates and probationers. Some minor differences in the correlations between the subscales and recidivism were noted for probationers and inmates. When subsamples, such as mentally disordered, domestic violence, and sex offender groups were examined, the LSI-OR risk/need levels still differentiated between recidivists and nonrecivdivists. Whereas the traditional risk/need domains (criminal history, antisocial patterns) were superior at predicting general recidivism (r=.39 vs .22), the specific risk/need domains (violent history, clinical needs) were superior at predicting violent recidivism (r=.34 vs .28). Other mental health (noncriminogenic) needs correlated minimally with general (.09) and violent (. 09) recidivism, as did client responsivity (.11 and. 10, respectively).
The Pretrial Release Process in Baltimore City, Maryland
In 1997, the University of Maryland researchers modeled the flow of cases through the Baltimore City, Maryland, criminal justice system based on a sample of over seven thousand cases. While that model provided a broad view of the criminal justice process, it did not provide detailed information on the pretrial release process. In order to answer questions about how pretrial release decisions are made, a new model is being developed. The current research involves a smaller sample for which detailed data on the pretrial release decision-making process is being collected. This paper will present the preliminary findings of this research.
The Problem With Tragic Narratives: Lessons From the Los Angeles Uprisings
Public narratives of violence are shaped in fundamental ways by genre. Typically, violent events are narrated through a tension between romance and tragedy, which serves to heighten the sense of social drama and suggest that the challenges of fragmentation and anomie can be romantically overcome. On the other hand, narratives of violence which are exclusively tragic present real challenges to civil society, encouraging an attitude of resignation, and privileging the act of private contemplation over that of public interaction or public engagement. This emphasis on tragedy was the primary cultural legacy of the 1992 Los Angeles uprisings.
The Propensity for Violence as a Function of Verbal Abilities and Fluency
Violence has been conceptualized and studied utilizing various paradigms from anthropoligical, behavioral, medical and social science disciplines. Numerous studies about the correlates of violence have been, consequently, replicated continually in an effort to develop a clear understanding of violence precipitating factors. What is not evident or presented, in any detailed manner in existing literature, is the role of verbal ability and fluency as it impacts aggression prepensity. This research will focus on verbal ability and fluency (language development and relative ease of verbalizing one’s feeling and/or opinions) as this relates to an individual’s propensity to resort to nonverbal, overt forms of aggression will decrease. Theoretical concepts and paradigms will be presented along with findings from a preliminary study.
The Psychopathology of Incarcerated Juveniles
The large number of youth committed to institutions for juvenile offenders suggest this is a population that warrants attention. Mental health problems are prevalent among incarcerated youth; however little is known of how these mental health problems impact the need for treatment. This presentation will focus on the general psychopathology found among wards in the California Youth Authority as well as how wards tend to manifest mental problems. The Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist Youth Self Report was used to assess general psychopathology. As expected, there were high levels of psychopathology found . The implications this study has on understanding the treatment needs of incarcerated juveniles will be discussed.
The Re-Emergence of the Sheriff in British Policing: The Case of Policing Environmental Protest
The sheriff is a ubiquitous feature of policing in the USA and was once a common agent of policing in England before the formation of the modem police. Over the last 200 years the police have come to symbolise the main force engaged in policing and generally have assumed a monopoly in policing protest. However, during the 1990s the emergence of new forms of direct action orientated protests on private land, largely focussed upon environmental issues, has led to the emergence of a new policing order. Those who police are frequently no longer ‘The Police.’ The private sector has come to dominate the field. Private investigators, security officers, bailiffs and sheriffs perform many of the ‘front line’ functions traditionally associated with the state police. This paper will examine some of the changes that have taken place using a case study of the policing of environmental protest exploring issues such as accountability, co-operation and effectiveness.
The Relation of Family functioning to Patterns of Delinquency Within Types of Urban Neighborhoods
Person-centered approaches to understanding delinquent and criminal careers have identified several distinct pathways or patterns of delinquent behavior (Gornan-Smith, Tolan, Loeber & Henry, 1998, Loeber, Stouthamer-Loeber, Van Kammen & Farrington, 199 1). In addition, research suggests that there may be etiological variations that correspond to these different pathways (Gorman-Smith et al., 1998). The current study brings a person-centered analysis to examine how patterns of family functioning relate to pattens of offending. In addition, this study contextualizes these relations by examining how these relations vary as a function of community setting. Using four waves of data from the. CYDS, cluster analyses of delinquency variables, family relationship characteristics and parenting practices, and community and neighborhood factors were conducted to derive patterns of each that could be related to each other via logistic regression and categorical modeling. Differential relations between configurations of family characteristics and patterns of delinquency involvement were found, These relations were dependent, to some extent on the neighborhood context. Overall, the patterns found suggested that some family configurations elevate risk in the presence of certain neighborhood conditions, while others relate to risk across neighborhood types, but with varying magnitudes. Recognizing these patterns is an important advance in designing interventions and in targeting groups for prevention efforts.
The Relationship Between Children’s Threats of Violence and Violent Behavior
Most professionals who work with children and adolescents recognize the imminent danger when a student threatens self-harm, and would not release such a child from their supervision until after the completion of proper assessment for suicide potential. However, youths’ threats of physical aggression toward others has been addressed differently than threats of self-harm. The following research question is addressed by this study: Does the presence of a threat increase the likelihood of interpersonal violence among children and adolescent? Data from three separate studies was used to create a total sample of 9597 students from 33 public schools. Ages ranged from 7-19 years. Across the three samples, the percentage of African Americans ranged from 6%-35%, Caucasians from 31%-57%, and Hispanics from 5%-50%. The relationship between frequently threatening others and violent behaviors were especially strong, with odds ratios ranging from 5.81-8.02 for “hit someone after being hit,” 10.81-17.00 for “hit someone before being hit,” 11. 14-18.75 for “beat up someone,” 14.34-23.21 for “attacked someone with a knife,” and 16.99 for “shot at/shot someone.” Findings suggest that students’ threats of harm towards others should be taken seriously, and that policies should be developed to ensure that children who threaten others receive proper assessment and management.
The Relationship Between Prison Administrative Policy and Rates of Recidivism
The paper looks at possible relationships between a particular policy position taken by a state prison administration and the recidivism rates of inmates released to the community after serving prison sentences under that policy in comparison to those released prior to the policy introduction. During the 1990s there was at least a public perception that the Massachusetts Department of Correction had undergone a gradual shift in public policy. That shift in policy was associated with the Governor Weld administration that took office in January of 1990. To many, the shift in policy represented the lowering in priority for communitybased prisoner reintegration programs , and in contrast an increase in priority for secure care, custody and incapacitation of the sentenced prison inmate population. Perhaps the policy shift was best characterized symbolically with the Governor’s administrative removal of the Department of Correction from the Human Services branch of government and its reassigned placement within the Department of Public Safety. New policy reflected a “get tough” law and order theme which emphasized mandatory minimum prison sentences, restricted use of parole, and established less “inmate friendly” prison environments. The proposed paper summarizes a research effort that seeks to determine the impact of the new procedures on the post prison criminal histories of released prisoners in subsequent years to the policy change.
The Relationship Between Self Reported Brain Injury and Substance Abuse Among a Sample of Incarcerated Males
Traumatic brain injury has been associated with aggression, as well as problems in cognitive functioning such as damage to intellectual functioning, reduced impulse controls, impaired problem recognition, and problem solving. These factors contribute to substance abuse treatment outcomes. In addition, substance abuse may be a contributing factor to brain injury and a complicating factor for rehabilitation. Therefore, the presence of brain injury among substance abusers may have serious implications for substance abuse treatment. This study examines the relationship between self-reported brain injury and substance abuse among incarcerated males in Kentucky. Method: The sample includes 500 incarcerated men in minimum and medium security facilities in Kentucky. Inmates were interviewed individually by trained interviewers. The interview incorporates factors associated with health and substance abuse including a self report head injury index. Chi-square and analysis of variance (ANOVA) will be used to examine differences in substance abuse and treatment across three groups defined by no head injury, one head injury, and two or more head injuries. Implications for Practice: A better understanding of the correlating behaviors with the presence of brain injury among incarcerated males may stress the importance of including brain injury items into clinical assessments of substance abusers.
The Relationship Between the Theory of Law and the Enforcement of Environmental Laws
This paper will attempt to explore the relationship, or lack thereof, between our basic theories of law development and enforcement and the development of environmental laws and the philosophy of the agencies charged with enforcing them. It will be posited that the legal development and philosophy of enforcement have diverged, leaving large areas largely unprotected, while others are suffocated by over enforcement.
The Relative Importance of General Versus Offense-Specific Beliefs
Many theories of crime and delinquency incorporate some element of moral attitudes which allow (or prohibit) the commission of an offense. This study examines the relative influence of general attitudes towards conformity and obeying the law with the influence of attitudes specific to violent offenses, property offenses, and drug offenses. The results imply that both general and offense- specific beliefs are important predictors of offending behavior; however, their relative importance varies by the type of offense.
The Response of Law Enforcement Officers to Domestic Violence: The Case of Immigrant Women and Women of Color
The police treatment of women of colour has been defined as problematic in existing literature and by community groups. This paper details how police deal with racial minority and immigrant women who are victims of male violence. Moreover, the perceptions of women are elaborated in terms of police abuses. This paper highlights the “multiple oppressions” of women of colour and immigrant women due to their combined discrimination based on race, gender, colour and culture. It is argued herein that women of colour and immigrant women generally, as victims of disadvantage, experience attenuated neglect due to their status as female and as members of minority groups. This paper also explores a progranune of action involving feminist and anti-racist organizing. Data for this research are based on interviews and focus groups with victims of woman abuse and with representatives of social service organizations serving women.
The Role of “Experts” in Network Television’s Presentation of Crime
The issue of crime, and specific incidents of crime, are popular subjects far network television news coverage. Crime news is typically presented in short, often sensational, and typically incomplete reports. The coverage may include comments from “experts.” Perhaps unwittingly, these experts may be participating in biased, and often alarmist, crime news. This research includes a content analysis of network news coverage of several incidents of school shootings. This analysis focuses on the content of the coverage, as well as the contribution of media presented experts. In addition, criminologists and other experts who were called upon to provide expert opinions have been interviewed. This research discusses the role of these experts, the content of their contributions, and the experts’ reaction. to their role as “newsmaking criminologists.”
The Role of Alcohol in Sexual Assaults
The role of alcohol in sexual assault incidents (N = 163) identified from a national sample of women was studied. Offender drinking and offender aggression were each strong predictors of victim injury, although these two factors did not interact synergistically in predicting injury. Victim alcohol abuse propensity did not predict victim injury controlling for other assault characteristics, victim and offender drinking prior to assault, and victim demographic characteristics. Drinking by offenders and victims was more common in assaults where victims were less acquainted with their assailants prior to attack. Greater offender aggression and victim injury were also associated with stranger attacks. Implications for the study of alcohol and sexual assault are discussed.
The Role of Community Social Control and Neighborhood Disadvantage: A Contextual Analysis of Victimization Risk
Recent victimization studies find that individuals who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods are more likely to be victimized than individuals in more affluent neighborhoods. The dominant view attributes this disparity in victimization to lower levels of social control in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Yet some research challenges this view by asserting that the effect of social control on victimization risk depends upon the level of neighborhood disadvantage (e.g., Skogan). Specifically, this view contends that neighborhood disadvantage thwarts the effectiveness of social control in reducing victimization risk. Using data from the Police Services Study for 9,993 respondents across neighborhoods in St. Petersburg/Tampa (FL), Rochester (NY), and St. Louis (MO), I assess this claim by examining the role of neighborhood social control–neighboring, informal social control, and public control–on household and personal victimization across neighborhoods with varying levels of disadvantage. Preliminary results indicate that the effect of a neighborhood’s level of social control is conditioned by neighborhood disadvantage. I conclude with a discussion about the important influence of social control on victimization risk and its applicability to disadvantaged neighborhoods.
The Role of Employment in the Post-Imprisonment Lives of Prisoners
Data on inmates’ employment and incarceration history, substance addiction, and attachment to the community were gathered from 100 inmates in a mid-westem community corrections center. This paper uses survival analysis to test several specific deterrence hypotheses and broadens the arguments about the value of employment and education in the post-imprisonment life course of inmates. It is argued that employment and other conventional community attachments indicators, such as marriage and full-time employment, do in fact increase offenders’ post-imprisonment stress, especially among inmates who have poor school backgrounds and parents with weak employment and education histories. This research indicates a need for a reform of post-imprisonment release practices with greater integration of community services for former inmates, even after the lapse of their period of supervised release.
The Role of Impulsiveness in Aggression and Commonly Co-occurring Disorders Among Youthful Offenders
A general aim of this exploratory research was to clarify the relationship of impulsiveness to aggressive/violent acts (AN) committed by adolescents. The target population was Youthful Offenders (YOs) who were incarcerated in a prison for adult offenders. The YOs were compared to matched non-inmate adolescents. Impulsiveness has been implicated as a risk factor among adolescents for AV acts and also for cooccurring disorders including ADHD, substance abuse, and conduct disorders. All of the YOs met the criteria for a conduct disorder. This research was based on a dimensional model of impulsiveness which includes in addition to global impulsiveness (IT) three subdimensions: 1) motor (1m); 2) attentional (IA); 3) non-planning (INp). The impulsiveness dimensions are mulidisciplinary in nature and are defined by biological, social, self-report and behavioral measures. A general thesis of this study was that impulsiveness is a significant part of the underlying biological and social substrates of AV acts and the often aforementioned co-occurring disorders. AV acts as criterion measures were classified as impulsive; premeditated; medically related; can’t clarify; mixed. This classification is based on our research with inmates and outpatients. The results indicate that: IT was significantly higher among YOs than controls; 2) different subdimensions of impulsiveness were related to different classes of aggression; for example, Im was significantly related to impulsive aggressive acts but INp and IA were not; 3) YOs who were murderers had significantly higher IT scores than other YOs and Im added significantly to discriminatirig between murderers and other YOs in a discriminate function analysis.
The Role of Parenting in the Development of Antisocial Behavior
The purpose of this research project is to explore how children’s individual traits as well as their interaction with the social process factors, such as family and school environment affect the development of their anti-social behaviour. our preliminary findings from 4 to 11-year-old sample of children from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) suggest that such traits as temperament are closely correlated with antisocial behaviour. The correlation coefficient is .40 between the variables emotional disorder and aggressive behaviour in the 4-11 year old children; .457 between hyperactivity and aggression; .44 between emotional disorder and property offenses; and .465 between hyperactivity and property offenses. These positive correlations indicate that children with the individual level traits are more likely to become delinquents than other children. These facts lead to questioning the important assumption made previously by many researchers that children’s anti- social conduct is entirely learned behaviour. In fact, it seems that individual, biological, genetic and developmental factors play a far more important role in the formation of such behaviour than previously appreciated. Indeed, contemporary theorists suggest that sociopathy may well have a developmental if not a genetic basis (see Mealey, 1995; Wilson, 1993: 98).
The Role of the Prison Environment in the Etiology of Sexual Aggression
Existing research on prison sexual aggression centers on the jctim and victim typologies. This focus results in broad assumptions about the aggressor. Most recent literature attributes causation to the character of the individual inmate-aggressor, using and supporting an importation model perspective. This research fails to consider the contributing role of deprivations caused by the prison environment. This paper offers an altemative approach by incorporating a deprivation model that recognizes that the prison environment can facilitates sexual aggression by limiting the aggressor’s autonomy and challenges his positions of power and status within the prison subculture. The paper contributes to the understanding of sexual aggression in prison by putting the focus on the aggressor. It provides a typology of sexual aggressors based on personal observations and theoretical construction.
The Role Played by Drugs in Crimes Committed by a Group of Incoming Prisoners
An interview study was conducted among a group of incoming prisoners in the summers of 1997 and 1998 in the Cuyahoga County Jail, situated in Cleveland, Ohio. “Incoming prisoners” denotes people who had been adjudicated in court and were on their way to one of the Ohio prisons. This study was intended 1) to examine whether specific drug dependence/abuse was associated with criminal behavior; and 2) to evaluate the perceived role of drugs in crime. Crime, in this study was indicated by the number of times a respondent had ever been indicted in a court and by the type of crime committed by the respondent (the most recent crime for which he/she had just been adjudicated). The results show that cocaine-dependent or cocaine-abusing respondents were more likely to have committed property crimes, but less likely to have committed drug-related or violent crime. The cocaine-dependent or cocaine-abusing prisoners were also more likely to have a long criminal record. When the respondents were asked to report whether they perceived that drugs and alcohol had been factor in the crimes for which they were arrested, respondents who were charged with a drug-related crime or who had longer histories of criminal indictments in the past tended to answer affirmatively.
The Roles of Practioner-based and Scholarly Professional Associations in Enhancing Public Safety Through Principled Approaches to Corrections
The International Communicyt Corrections Association (ICCA) has taken the lead among professional associations in bringing scholarly research to practitioners. The experiences of ICCA in advancing their evidence-based approach to risk management and public safety will be presented. The ICCA experience reveals that there is significant interest among practitioners, including legislators and policymakers, to develop state-of–the-art practices and thereby affirm their value in the public arena.
The Roles of Scholars, Practitioners, Politicians, and the General Public in Establishing Correctional Goals and Influencing Practice
A review of public opinion research, local practitioner-based focus groups, and information from professional associations regarding expectations of corrections systems is reviewed. As well, current and recent correctional practices are discussed as they relate to these public expectations. The findings point to the incongruity between desired outcomes and certain practices that are typically favored for assuring the public relevance of corrections.
The Roots of Criminality in the Biology of Blame
Opportunistic criminality and the urge to retribution are normal biological adaptations to the living conditions that prevailed in ancestral environments. That is, for sound biological reasons, ancestral human beings and their precursors acquired propensities not only to detect, learn and comply with locally prevailing social rules but also to “cheat” and to act aggressively toward others caught cheating. Deep-felt conceptions of right and wrong, and indeed the conception of “crime” itself, have grown up based on these innate behavioral propensities. The propensities themselves are subjectively sensed today as the feelings we have of guilt, blame, outrage, and the like. Their biological function is to promote genetic survival through social control, for example by prompting the delivery of deterrents in response to harmful acts. Although we do not know literally “why” these feelings well up within us when cued by behavioral events, they most definitely seem to motivate us, and we draw strong moral conclusions from them. However, the social and environmental conditions that gave rise to “blame” and resultant notions of “justice” have long ceased to apply. The innate urge to retribution is no longer a socially adaptive or morally defensible guide to social behavior.
The Routinization of Panic: Marilyn Manson, Moral Entrepreneurship and Myth-Making
This paper focuses on the contested terrains of music production, consumption and political (RE)presentation in light of postmodernity’s disciplinary ordinances. Beginning with a presentation of music as a vital cultural space for the articulation and promulgation of youth identity and counter-hegemonic praxis, the paper traces the development of deviant designations. Particular attention is paid to the clash between 1) music consumption (especially concert-going) as a form of youth resistance and 2) moral entrepreneurship/oppositional designations of the authorities (school board, police, city council, etc.), as a means of unraveling the inter-relationships which constitute delinquency and its control particularly policies such as curfews and concert prohibitions.
The Rural Community and Crime
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the social and economic characteristics of rural communities and crime in New South Wales, Australia. The paper applies social disorganization theory to test for relationships between various structural dimensions of communities and rates of assault, malicious damage to property, breaking and entering, and motor vehicle theft. The sample consist of 128 non-metropolitan LGA’s (local government areas) in New South Wales. Results of the regression analysis indicate statistically significant relationships with crime for measures of urbanization, age specific sex ratios, population movement, unemployment, family income, percent Aboriginal population, and various measures of family structure. Cluster analysis was used to develop a typology of communities. Five distinct clusters emerged, with each showing differing rates across the four crimes.
The San Francisco Criminal Justice NETWORK for Women: Preliminary Results
The San Francisco Criminal Justice Treatment NETWORK for Women (NETWORK) was established by the San Francisco Adult Probation Department as part of a demonstration project sponsored by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT). This presentation will compare baseline and initial follow-up outcomes of women receiving (n=150) and not receiving (n=150) case management services provided by the NETWORK. Participants were recruited through a Pilot Study using a wait-list control group strategy (n=110), or through random assignment (n=190). Interviews were conducted at baseline, 6 months post baseline, and 12 months post baseline. Instruments included the Addiction Severity Index (ASI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and a measure of Social Support. Outcome variables to be examined will include the ASI composite scores; select ASI variables; and BDI, BSI, and Social Support scores. Comparisons will be made both between and within groups at each time point, and longitudinally over the 12-month study period. Conclusions resulting from these comparisons will also be discussed
The Situation of Juvenile Pre-Trial Detention in Eastern Germany After the Reunification
Juvenile delinquency in Eastern Germany has experienced a major increase since the reunification of Germany in 1990, due to the political, social, and economic changes. In the same time, the number of cases of pre-trial detention in the former GDR have increased rapidly both for adults and juveniles. Still after nearly ten years the situation of pre-trial detention is a major problem especially for juveniles as the living conditions in pre-trial detention are worse than for sentenced offenders. As excesses of violence during the last years have caused a public discussion about judicial reactions it is today to be presumed that pre-trial detention – in contrary to the purpose of law to be only an ultimate means of safeguarding the trial – is misused as a short and prompt reaction. The authors’ study deals with juvenile pre-trial detention in Eastern Germany, evaluating the court records and interviewing prosecutors and judges. The authors have yet found clues that judicial orders to pre-trial detention are not only based on the reasons foreseen by law, but that pre-trial detention is often instrumentalized as a measure of education or intervention in crises or for reasons such as general prevention.
The Social Construction of Law: A Moot Court That Fosters Both Discipline and On Your Feet Risk-Taking
Relating to the social construction of law, there are many perceptions that trail along with moot court as a learning tool, most of which assume that the model is adversarial, professional, and technical, and that as a consequence it should have no place in an undergraduate liberal arts curriculum. Like most such sweeping generalities that reflect the wicked little unstated assumptions we carry with us into teaching, this one is patently wrong. Moot court as a teaching model will present as varied a collection of teaching styles as those that undertake it. We have been blessed by a series of grants from the CSUDH Associated Students, Inc. that has funded our moot court project for thirteen years. This program teaches students to tell stories, to use stories to develop a complex narrative context through which the argument must wend when judges control the thread of the narrative, and when hard questions will be launched on both fact and issues of law. The story and how well you can fit it to the law and get it across in oral argument is “the thing.” The purpose of this paper is to present our thirteen-year experience with the social construction of law using our students’ narratives.
The Social Construction of Rape: A Theoretical Model
African-American and white women have experienced distinct historical legacies that have directly influenced the societal and the criminal justice response to their rape victimization. The literature lacks a consideration of how these historical legacies may have affected the development of social and legal rape reforms over the last thirty years. Specifically, the connection between these legacies and how these reforms have affected the lives of African-American and white women and their experiences with sexual assault. LaFree (1989) argues that the victim ^9s definition of an act as rape is a ^Nsocially constructed event.^O. LaFree suggests that rape victims will be influenced by the same factors that criminal justice officials are when making processing decisions. Rape myths and stereotypes, as well as personal and public attitudes, will affect a person^Os decision to define him/herself as a rape victim, confide in friends and family, and report the crime to the police. The goal of this paper is to develop a theoretical model based in a social reaction perspective that could explain the process of how individuals and institutions define a behavior as rape. The first stage of this process is the victim^Os decision to report. It is hypothesized that the historical development of rape as a social and legal problem has had a differential impact on the process by which African-American and white women define themselves as rape victims, and thefefore has distinctly influenced the decision of the victim to report the crime to the police. Support for this hypothesis will be found in three areas: (1) history of rape, race, and gender in American society; (2) the history of the women^Os movement; and (3) the rape law reform movement.
The Social Construction of Road Rage
Typically depicted as belligerent, militant, aggressive, assaultive, discourteous and inconsiderate behavior in the context of operating a motor vehicle, “road race” has recently garnered much public attention. Despite an insubstantial body of theoretical and empirical literature this phenomenon is conventionally understood as a loose constellation of events that has arguably achieved the heightened status of a full-fledged social problem. In addition, the logic used to manufacture this particular construct has been popularly applied across different contexts as well (e.g., air rage, ski rage). Employing a classic analytical framework, the social construction of reality, this paper will outline the evolution of this social phenomenon in the United States. The analysis attends to the underlying context of this phenomenon by exploring the cultural, political, and economic forces that shape the nature of this social problem. Hence, the context that undergirds the claims of the claimmakers is made explicit. That is, what forces in addition to the possible increase in “road rage” incidents contributed to this issue’s ascension towards a social “epidemic'”” This analysis will also examine the phenomenon of “road rage” historically by exploring the early stages of automotive transportation.
The Social Control of Women Within the ‘Semi-penal’ Institution
During the nineteenth century a number of ‘special cases’ were identified within the English pris. on system. These ‘special cases’ included juveniles, drunkards. ‘imbeciles’, vagrants and, of. course, women. Due to the perceived fragility of their morality and their perceived susceptibility to (positive and negative) external influence, women were deemed to be particularly unsuitable for the, often brutal, prison regimes. As a result a plethora of non-penal, semi-incarcerative institutions (such as homes, refuges and reformatories) were developed to cater for the deviant female. These institutions straddled the boundary between ‘custody’ and community’ but, for the purposes of reforming and normalising recalcitrant women, utilised methods of discipline and control from both. It is the intention of this paper to examine the experiences of women within these ‘semipenal’ (Weiner, I cl 1-10) institutions and the discourses used to categorisc and define than. In addition it will be argued that the ‘semipenal’ institution still exists in the form of the modern day probation hostel for women. These institutions will therefore be critically examined with the aim of identifying some ideological and practical themes of continuity between the nineteenth century reformatory and the twentieth century hostel.
The Spatial and Temporal Distribution of “Hot Spots” of Crime and Fear of Victimization: Identifying and Explaining Overlap and Independence
Research shows that “hot spots” of crime and “hot spots” of fear of victimization exist in time and place. However, little empirical research has examined if an overlap between these two types of “hot spots” exists or explained why an overlap may exist. Using survey data collected from a two-year panel study of faculty members, staff, and students and 72 months of the location and time of criminal incidents reported to campus police, this paper (1) explores the relationship between “hot spots” of crime and “hot spots” of fear of victimization on a college campus and (2) describes the utility of “hot spots” research as tool to analyze patterns of crime and fear of victimization.
The State, Sexuality, and the Market: The Regulation of Prostitution in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden
This paper draws upon comparative research in order to trace three relatively strong, yet uniquely configured welfare states in their responses to prostitution. I explore the ways in which these responses interweave with feminist activism and with other state interests–such as immigration policy, globalization, and membership in the European Union. Finally, I note the presence or absence of market- and state-based ideologies and the forms these take, and examine the ways in which different ideological balances correspond to distinct normative visions of gender and sexuality.
The Sun Never Sets on Electronic Monitoring: A Comparison of ‘Tagging’ in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Commonwealth Nations
Although home incarceration with electronic monitoring is a distinctly American invention, it his been adopted with varying degrees of enthusiasm in many common law countries around the globe. This paper, compares the use and experience with “tagging” in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other English-speaking nations, with emphasis on the political and policy climate surrounding the use of home incarceration as an alternative sanction.
The Truth About “Truth-inSentencing” and Impacts on Prison Populations and Crime Rates
In recent years, many states halve enacted “truth-in-sentencing’ laws chat require offenders to serve a majority of their prison sentences (often 85%; before they return to the community. These laws have been passed in part due to public outcry that offenders were serving only a small fraction of their sentences imposed by the court. Federal support for “truth-in-sentencing” is strong. As part of the 1994 crime bill. Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth-in-Sentencing (VOITIS) grants totaling hundreds of millions of dollars will be awarded to states with “truth-in-sentencing” laws it order to build prison beds for violent offenders. To date, 28 states have received truth-in-sentencing funds. RAND is conducting a three-year study funded by the National institute of justice to study the implementation and outcomes of VOITIS. This paper describes alternative strategies states have taken in responding to VOITIS, and the impact of these strategies on incarceration and crime rates. Data for the analysis are drawn from the National Corrections Reporting Program, U.S. Census, Uniform Crime Reports and interviews with state practitioners.
The U.N. Detention Unit and the Future International Criminal Court Corrections Program
On May 25, 1993 the U.N. Security Council established the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to prosecute persons responsible for seriously violating international humanitarian law in Yugoslavia. In like manner on July 17, 1998 the U.N. Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries adopted the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Shortly, after sixty Member States ratify the Statute the Court will come into existence. One area in which the Statute lacks considerable development is that of Enforcement of the Sentences of Imprisonment (Part 10. Enforcement, Article 103). It is likely that in developing this area policymakers and practitioners would consult others who have undertaken similar work in the recent past such as the ICTY. This paper describes the treatment of offenders and the facilities of the ICTY, including the Detention Unit, and explains the implementation of the Rules Governing the Detention of Persons Awaiting Trial or Appeal Before the Tribunal or Otherwise Detained on the Authority of the Tribunal. The research is based on document reviews, courtroom observations, interviews, and on-site visitation to the Tribunal and the Detention Unit. It analyses the adequacy of the circumstances in terms of the U.N. Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Offenders, Council of Europe Prison Rules, and accepted corectional practice, and makes recommendations for the International Criminal Court correctional practices.
The Use of Civil Law to Control Criminal Behavior: An Examination of the Issues
Over the past several decades, members of the criminal justice enforcement community have begun to employ a broad array of non-traditional techniques to combat crime and to deal with a wide range of criminals. These techniques normally involve the use of the civil courts accomplish crime reduction goals. They include, among others: The use of civil forfeiture statutes to seize valuable property, the legal eviction of drug dealers (or other undesirables) from housing projects, and the utilization of nuisance ordinances to control unwanted behavior. These alternative “enforcement” strategies are not only effective but also fit well into the general philosophy of community oriented policing. In this research effort, the range of non-traditional enforcement strategies will be reviewed, legal foundations will be explored, and the efficacy of these techniques will be discussed.
The Utility of Routine Activity Theory in Explaining Rural Victimization
Routine activity theory examines ecological conditions conducive to victimization. Empirical tests have demonstrated some utility for routine activities in urban areas, aggregated at the place and neighborhood level. As urban areas can be readily aggregated into these categories comparison and replication become relatively smooth processes. However, replication to rural areas can be tricky due to structural variances, among other things. Determining the utility of routine activities for rural areas remains an important theoretical and empirical question, as many rural areas maintain comparable levels of victimization in certain crime categories to inner cities. This paper will attempt to gauge the utility of ecological explanations of victimization in a rural area.
The Utilization of an Interview-Based Classification Instrument for Parole Board Decision-Making
The assessment of both the risk and needs of criminal offenders has become of paramount importance in the parole process. The Level of Service Inventory- Ontario Revision (LSI-OR), and objective risk/needs instrument similar in content and structure to the empirically validated Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R), was administered through a structured interview to 340 provincial inmates applying for parole. The Statistical Information on Recidivism Scale score and the Salient Factor Score, two file based actuarial instruments, were calculated. Inmates were followed for a minimum of one-year subsequent to their release and both the LSI-OR and LSI-R scores were statistically associated with all recidivism measures, including future violence. Both the LSI-OR and LSI-R offered incremental predictive validity over the file based actuarial instruments in explaining general and violent recidivism. Professional recommendations for release were gathered through parole board member’s interpretations of police, parole office, clinician, and institutional staff input into the parole process. Despite high correlations between professional recommendations were not valid predictors of most recidivism measures. The findings suggest that risk/needs instruments are best suited to aid in the parole decision-making process.
The Validity of Self-Reported Delinquency Among Adults: Results From the Evaluation of the Swiss Heroin Prescription Programs
This paper discusses issues related to the validity of self-reported delinquency measures among adult. hard-drug addicts. Official records are used to check correlational and known-group validity of self-reports. The data upon which the paper is based were collected in Switzerland between 1995 and 1990 among drug addicts participating in heroin prescription programs. The minimum age for admission into those programs was twenty and the average age of the sample presented here (n=492) is thirty-one. Before admission into the program, all sources of data confirm that the participants were heavily involved in delinquency. These sources include police records, criminal records on convictions and self-reported victimization and delinquency, the latter being measured with a self-report instrument containing twelve items concerning serious offences. The comparison with official records suggests that the self-report method can produce valid results within this context. Moreover, self-reports seem to measure the amount and patterns of delinquent behavior more accurately than official data. The findings suggest that, under certain conditions, adult drug-addicts can ire appropriate subjects for self-reported delinquency surveys.
The Victim’s Rights Movement: A Case Study in the Social Construction of Law
This research is a case study of the Victim’s Rights Movement. In particular, I examine the people involved in establishments of rights and laws and the actions and strategies that they use to do so. I am particularly interested in examining the representation of “ideal” vs. “real” victims. In the interest of spurring social change, one needs to motivate those with the power to do so. I am looking at the use of victimhood images, the use of horror stories, the use of the media and fear of crime. Through the case study method, I am hoping to uncover those strategies that led to successful social change. I also hope to examine how is represented as the victim – if most crime is intra-racial and intra-class, is this who is represented in the movement itself? Is this who is represented as motivation for social change?
The Victim’s Role in Pre-Trial Decisions: Seeking Warrants and Protective Orders in Partner Violence Cases
Although many communities have adopted pro-arrest and mandatory arrest policies in family violence cases, these policies seldom dictate arrest in the many situations in which offenders have fled the scene before police arrive. Further, the legal system’s responsibilities to domestic violence victims, and victim’s roles in legal proceedings, remain ambiguous even after arrests are made. Much research on the criminal justice response to these cases focus on offender behavior; less attention has been given to the choices and decisions that victims face, and the circumstances that guide these decisions. This study will examine two key decisions in which victims play all important if not central, role: the decision to seek arrest on a warrant following police response to an offender absent complaint; and the decision to seek an order of protection following an arrest. Hypotheses predicting these choices will be empirically examined using data from a multi-site study of misdemeanor case processing in New York.
The World Justice Information Network as a Tool for Sharing Criminal Justice/Criminology Information World Wide
The applicability of the World Justice Information Network to distance learning in criminology/criminal justice will be discussed. The background of the Network, its’ history, and future development will be discussed, along with techniques for using the network effectively in criminology/criminal justice distance learning.
Themes and Images of Gang Rape in Print News
This research is based on a content analysis of newspaper articles pertaining to gang rape over a 7-year period, 1990 through 1997. Five recurrent themes are identified and a semiotic analysis of specific cases reveals the prominent ideological positions encoded in gang rape stories. The findings are discussed in light of the constuctionist perspective of social problems and related to theoretical and empirical research on the discourse of social problems.
Theoretical Contributions of Interpretive Sociology to Peacemaking Criminology
The theoretical development of peacemaking criminology has primarily been framed and conceptualized as a philosophy rather than a testable theory. Rather than including interpretive sociology in theoretical and methodological development, peacemaking has remained anchored in abstract philosophical definitions that are difficult to operationalize. This paper attempts to reunite peacemaking philosophy with symbolic interactionism, phenomenological sociology, ethnomethodology, and Habermas’ theory of communicative action.
Theory, Law and Social Change: Domestic Violence Law in New York State
This study will include an analysis and literature review of domestic violence law in America. There will be an emphasis on the development of New York State domestic violence law and the affects these developments have on both perpetrators and victims. Significant changes in the law, along with the effects and impact of these laws on society throughout the past twenty years will be examined. The philosophical and theoretical basis for legislative change in New York will be explored.
Thinking Outside the Box: Re-Imagining Criminal Justice Education for the 21st Century
In many jurisdictions, nationally and internationally, criminal justice agencies are engaging in an exploration in new and different approaches to the problem of crime. From the local level to the federal level, there has been substantial exploration and innovation dedicating to developing new strategies for involving victims and communities in the justice process. Coming under the rubrics of restorative justice, community justice, community prosecution and commu ity policing, these principles and practices articulate new roles, skills and ways of thinking for criminal justice professionals. The creation of “partnerships: between justice agencies and the communities they serve, has profound implications for the education of criminal justice, both at an undergraduate and graduate level. Presenters at this session will share innovations, strategies and challenges for preparing professionals to work with victims, communities and offenders in nontraditional formats and forums. The challenge for criminal justice educators will be to expand beyond the traditional offender-focused education to include substantial preparation on victims needs and rights; on the consequences of crime to the community; on strategies and skills for working with diverse communities;a nd skills for collaborating with non-justice organizations to implement a response to crime that addresses the needs of all stakeholders.
This is What I Want and Here’s How I want It Done: Exploring the Supervision of Correctional Officers in Arkansas
During 1996-97, the Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC) had a Correctional Officer I and II turnover rate of 37.1% compared to the national average of 29.0%. The following year this turnover rate increased to 42.4%. As the result of this turnover, ADC and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock initiated the Arkansas Correctional Officer Retention Study. This four-part study involves a state-wide assessment of CO I and II attitudes towards their job tasks, working conditions, career development, and decisions to either remain with or terminate their employment with ADC. This total-population survey was designed and administered during October 1998 which revealed a number of supervision concerns, such as perceptions of favouritism, sexual and racial discrimination, and generalloy inadequate supervision, all of which directly influence the overall effectiveness of CO I’s and II’s and their ultimate decision to remain with ADC. Results form this survey will be used to design a series of focus group sessions with CO I’s and II’s, design a further study of supervisory-level personnel, and to formulate policy recommendations for ADC senior management.
Thou Shalt Blot Out the Remembrance of Amalek: The Otherization of Violence in the Jewish Tradition
Based on the biblical narrative of the war against Amalek and the injunction to completely wipe out their memory this particular nation has become the apogee of evil and the supreme other in the Jewish tradition. However, an analysis of how these texts have been interpreted over the generations draws attention to the way in which the term Amalek has been used to otherize other groups and phenomena that are considered to be not only physically but also spiritually dangerous . This paper will analyze three examples of this process-the otherization/amalekization of other external enemies (the gentile other), internal enemies (the Jewish other) and what is referred to in the Jewish tradition as the evil inclination that resides in every individual (the other self).
Three Criminal Policy Trends Into the Global Millennium
As far as criminal justice trends are concerned, the prevailing sentiment has been that of a (1) victory of managerialism due to the decline of the rehabilitative ideal and maybe a general adiaphorization, i.e. loss of moral interest and empathy (Z. Bauman); but there are also (2) populist countermovements reviving moral stigma and degradation, and even more importantly but often overlooked there is (3) a powerful replacement discourse (HenrylMilovanovic) applying the old penology’s concepts (e.g., “dangerous criminal”) to individuals and collectives who had hitherto been immune against such ascriptions. Especially heads of state and countries as such, but also transnational enterprises are increasingly being defined and treated as delinquents deserving a morally and legally just punishment. This comes to show that – while we are witnessing the emergence of the new penology (Simon/Feeley) in many of the old criminal justice systems – the old penology is not dead, but only leaving the nation state in order to build and express the authority of the new Leviathan: that of the first truly global empire.
Three-Strikes Theory: A Biosocial Theory of Serious Juvenile Delinquency
The CSD/Weaversville Intensive Treatment Unit is widely regarded as the nation’s oldest and most successful Public – Private Sector partnership in the field of small, secure, treatment programming for serious, violent, male juvenile offenders. A brief review of the literature on chronic, violent juvenile offenders is presented. Currently, the most promising explanatory approaches toward the problem appear to be the construction of integrated theories. An original, Biosocial “Three-Strikes” theory is explicated in relation to its Biological, Psychological and Sociological components. Significant limitations and opportunities for empirical examination will be discussed.
Three Year Outcomes of a Corrections-Based TC Drug Treatment Continuum, and Comparison of Components
A continuum of correctional-based therapeutic community (TC) treatment programs for drug-involved offenders has been functioning for several years in Delaware. Previous evaluations of a specific sample featuring random assignment has shown the efficacy of the full continuum. This paper examines recidivism and relapse of the complete sample at 18 and 42 months after release from prison, with particular focus on the relative impact of the specific treatment components, namely the in-prison, transitional, and aftercare programs. Comparisons of participants in these programs are made in the context of individual demographics, criminal and drug use history, employment status, and present AA/NA participation. The treatment components are compared by examining the outcomes for respondents who participated in a varying number of components. From preliminary analyses, the relative benefit of participation in the full continuum is supported, over and above the traditional positive effects of age, employment, and less extreme histories.
Time Interval and Offense Escalation
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of time interval on offense escalation and specialization. In Wolfgang’s Birth Cohort II study, offense escalation and specialization were measured by offense severity and the number of offenses. We argue that continuous measurement of recidivism such as time interval between offenses represents another important dimension of offense escalation. Although two offenders may have the same number of offenses, their propensities to criminal career may still be different in terms of time interval between offenses. The techniques we use are survivalanalysis and proportional hazard model. We test our hypothesis in a cohort data set.
Tolerance and Intolerance of an Alleged Criminality: Theory of Interest Interaction, Reaction or Inaction
Human situation and solutions are complex phenomena and often defy simple explanation. Some deviations/violations are tolerated while others are not, depending on people’s processing of those behaviors through their own perceptions, experiences and overall internal and external factors. The theory of Interest-Interaction, Reaction or Inaction, attempts to explain those responses. The prismatic filtration of Interest-Interaction allows or inhibits the translation of their perceptions into opinions, actions or inactions, either negative or positive, at any given time. Even the fluctuations, the fuzziness, extent of segmentation, indifference, exceptions and transformations of those variations/reactions are covered by this theoretical framework, in a measured, practical and analytical way.
Toward a Criminological Victimology of State Crime
While the study of white collar crime victimization has been fairly well established, little attention has been given to the victimizations of the state and its agencies. This paper explores the reasons for the relative lack of attention paid to the victims of state crime. Specific instances of state crime victimization are then outlined. The paper concludes by examining the overall nature and extent of state crime victimization, and an analysis of the common characteristics of the victims of state crime.
Toward a Totally Administered Society: An Alternative Explanation for the Growth of the Crime Control Complex
While criminology has focused heavily on explaining changing rates of criminal activity, little effort has gone into explaining the massive growth in criminal justice activity. This paper questions the reactive explanation (society is merely reacting to a worsening crime problem) and the moral panic explanation. An alternative theory is presented which stresses the influence of the “rationalization” of society. Traditional and contemporary scholarship view this societal force — one which places a premium on efficiency, predictability, safety, regulation, routinization, and risk reduction — as a central feature of modem and late modem society. I posit that the growth in the crime control complex, and a host of newer developments, can be at least partially explained by the force of rationalization altering our norms and standards of “safety” and “risk.” Four implications follow: 1) crime represents irrationality in its highest form and control efforts must accelerate; 2) a fetish for safety and an aversion to risk will mandate formal control systems to infiltrate new venues (c.g., schools); 3) crimes of risky “lifestyle,” such as illegal drug use, will be increasingly targeted; and, 4) techniques of control will coincide with the tenets of rationalization.
Toward an Institutional Theory of Incarceration: Social Control, Welfare, and the Transformation of State Policy
Since the 1970’s, the proper role of the state in social and economic life has become the subject of intense controversy in many advanced capitalist societies. In this context, the policies associated with both the welfare state and rehabilitative paradigm have come under attack. The breakdown of consensus around Keynesian economics has meant a scaling back of many modern welfare states, while the rehabilitative approach to crime-related problems has been replaced–to varying degrees–with more punitive anti-crime policies and rising levels of incarceration. The simultaneity of these changes and the apparently inverse relationship between these two state sectors suggest that the extension of state control systems may be a component of a much larger transformation of the state. Furthermore, there is evidence that policy changes in these state sectors are strongly related to racial dynamics. In this paper, we use cross-sectional data to assess the extent, pervasiveness, and causes of this alleged transformation in the fifty U.S. states.
Towards a More General Theory of Crime
Gottfredson and Hirschi’s “general” theory of crime, by definition, applies only to acts of force or fraud in the pursuit of self-interest committed by offenders with low self-control and a short time horizon. While the range of crimes thus described is impressive, it does not encompass everything. The present project uses the approach taken by Gottfredson and Hirschi by inferring the nature of the offender from the characteristics of crimes themselves, but examines crimes that, by definition, fall outside of control theory: hate crimes, war crimes, terrorism, and corporate and organizational crimes. The project aims to identify psychological constructs thought to underlie these other crimes and to test whether they are more successful than constructs based on low self-control and related concepts in explaining various types of crimes. A typology of crimes and their relevant psychological constructs will be presented, as well as data from our preliminary qualitative studies and psychometric investigations.
Towards an Understanding of the Victimization of People With Developmental Disabilities and Mental Retardation: Achieving Equal Justice
People with developmental disabilities and mental retardation, as a group, are more vulnerable to, and experience, a greater range of victimization (e.g. from petty theft to repeated sexual and physical abuse to financial fraud) than the average nondisabled individual. In addition, research indicates that people with developmental disabilities and mental retardation experience significantly greater amounts of both initial and repeat victimization. This victimization is often complicated by the fact that these individuals frequently have a much more difficult time navigating the criminal justice system. In this paper, I will outline why this is an important area of study, focusing on the scope and magnitude of victimization. I addition, I will present what is currently being done, both within and outside the criminal justice system for victims with developmental disabilities and mental retardation.
Tracking Hung Juries
A good deal of ink has been spilled over the phenomenon of the hung jury. Hung juries are alleged to have increased beyond all reason so that they now constitute an unacceptably high proportion of case outcomes in some jurisdictions. They are variously ascribed to the jury’s racial or class incompatibility or the conspiracy theories, irrationality, and religiosity of the holdout jurors. Elimination of the centuries-old unanimity requirement is often promoted as the solution of choice to the problem of hung juries. Yet, surprisingly, very little empirical data are available on the frequency and reasons for hung juries. The paper reports findings from the first stage of a National Institute of Justice-sponsored research project designed to examine the frequency and causes of hung juries in the USA. There are serious methodological challenges to studying hung juries since many jurisdictions record the hung jury only as a temporary outcome prior to the final resolution of a case. Other courts and researchers have used inappropriate methods to count hung juries, resulting in inflated estimates. The paper describes what we know about hung juries and discusses these and other methodological problems to studying them.
Transforming Rituals: Alternative Approaches to Court Architecture and Practices
Much of the sociological work on courts suggest they tend to be archaic and hierarchical, frequently humiliating victims and defendants (Garfinkel, Goffman, Carlen etc.). This paper, based on the work of French scholar Antoine Garapon, examines alternative models of justice, drawn both from the Civil Code tradition and lesser-known models within the English-speaking world. It is argued that court design, practices and ceremonies can be re-shaped to treat participants with dignity and respect.
Transition From School to Work: An International Comparioson ! The
This presentation describes results from an international study of the effect of the transition from school to work on delinquency and drug use. Results from analyses of comparable data from two collaborating longitudinal studies – The Bremen School to Work Study, in Bremen, Germany, and the Denver Youth Survey, Denver, CO – will be described. In addition to the potential attributed to apprenticeships to ameliorate various problems, including delinquency and drug use, a comparison of the effect of apprenticeships with other alternatives for training for work, and the effect of school to work transitions on groups at particular risk for delinquency and drug use will be described.
Trends in Juvenile Detention
This paper examines the recent trends in the detention of delinquent youth. Data was derived from a 1997 population study of youth detained at the Pierce County Juvenile Court in Tacoma, Washington. Variables to be examined in this paper include types and severity of crimes, length of incarceration and release types, cross-referenced with demographic variables. In addition, a random sample from the population was drawn to investigate how delinquency history affected referral and incarceration rates. This paper concludes with recommendations for further research and programs that will target the specific trends noted in this paper.
Trial Outcomes in Spousal Homicide Cases
A preliminary finding of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) study Murder in Large Urban Counties, 1988 is that: women who kill their husbands are acquitted more often than men who kill their wives. The present paper explores possible explanations for the marked discrepancy in trial outcomes of men and women accused of spousal murder. The central issue is: to what extent do social and legal factors beyond the gender of the accused affect trial outcomes in spousal homicide cases? Black’s formulation of the impact of the structure of a case on its legal outcome forms the basis for the analysis. The social characteristics include: age, race, and gender of the victim and the accused. The legal characteristics include: the prior criminal history of the accused and the victim, victim provocation, and the victim’s use of a weapon. Logistic regression is used to determine the main and interaction effects of the social and legal variables on the probability that the accused will be acquitted or found guilty at trial. The theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.
Trials and Error
This paper attempts to examine the effects of alternative standards of evidentiary proof, rules of procedure, and improved technologies for analyzing evidence on judicial errors. It focuses specifically on the effects of changes in these standards, rules, and technologies on the number of true offenders set free per innocent person erroneously convicted. By combining available data on conviction rates in trial with a wide range of assumptions about the percentage of persons in trial who actually committed the crime, the effects of changes in a variety of inputs and standards on judicial errors can be assessed, including the effect of raising or lowering the standard of proof required for conviction, improving the power of forensic analysis, and changing the number of jurors and the size of majority needed for conviction in jurisdictions that allow less than unanimity. The effect of rules changes and improvements in evidence technology on judicial errors is compared to the effect of alternative sampling designs and sample sizes on Type I and II errors in statistical inference. Some interventions shift errors; others work to reduce or increase both.
Triangulating the Hacker: A Fiels Study of Hackers and Their Perceptions of Hacking
Many hackers confound the criminal justice system by failing to attempt to profit from their crimes. This has led to inflation of charges and some spectacular debacles in the pursuit of hackers. This paper seeks to establish the hacker understanding of hacking, thereby producing a workable criminological model of computer crime. Based on Jack Katz’s, The Seductions of Crime, this paper uses field observation, archival sources, and media accounts of hackers to establish the meaning and rewards of hacking. Katz’s construction of criminal motivation allows explanation of the sensual attractions of hacking. The formulation of deviant group recruitment and education of members in Becker’s Outsiders also informs this work. Beyond this, justification and nullification are discussed.
Types of Violence in Violent Property Crime: An Exploration
This contribution will take a close look at incidents of violent property crime, with the emphasis on the role and function of violence in these crimes. Data are taken from the qualitative part of the Criminal Justice Monitor (SRM) that consists of a sample of prosecuted cases in The Netherlands. Most of the literature on violent property crime is limited to one specific form, in particular robbery has received attention. However, there are other forms of crime that combine theft with violence. The first goal then, is to illustrate the diversity of violent property offenses. Because of the nature of the SRM, it is possible to reconstruct the sequence of events in each crime. This allows us to determine the moment violence occurs in the course of the offense. From that moment, information about the function of the violence can be deduced, which is the second goal of the study. Analysis shows that cases can be differentiated by 1) the initiation of the violence (by either offender, victim, or interaction between the two) and 2) the degree in which the violence was related to the theft. In two thirds of the cases, the violence was initiated by the offender and instrumental to the theft.
Typification Biases in the Pretrial Release of Criminal Offenders: Effects of Uncertainty in Legal Decision-Making
Prior research on criminal court decision-making–especially ethnographies of courts–show that the essence of the work of criminal court officials is to differentiate between offenders based on their backgrounds, prior criminal activity and the perceived likelihood of future criminal behavior. However, uncertainty about offenders, their problems and the likely consequences of organizational decisions complicates the classification and decision-making processes. Information available to decision-makers may often be limited and inaccurate. The resulting uncertainty compels decision-makers to rely heavily on their own subjective assessment of offenders and particularistic beliefs they may hold about them. Very few studies successfully identify the mechanisms by which information about offenders and their cases, subjective judgments of offenders, and uncertainty about information on offenders contribute to the outcomes of criminal court proceedings. This study focuses on officials’ uncertainty about adult criminal offenders and their cases, their subjective assessments of offenders, and courtroom working group recommendations in an analysis of pretrial releasee decisions. Using narrative written accounts prepared by personal recognizance screeners along with extensive quantitative information about offenders and their cases, we examine how uncertainty about defendants produces differential typifications of offenders and differential practices in pretrial release in criminal court proceedings.
Typifications and Culture: Teaching Race and Criminal Justice
The issues of race and crime are often closely intertwined. Students often come into criminal justice courses with deeply held assumptions about the relationship between race and crime. Students often assume that street crime means black crime. These assumptions are also sometimes part of criminal justice culture (especially police culture). Career oriented students want to learn the professional culture in order to become employable. Therefore, the issue of race in criminal justice education is important and difficult to address effectively. This paper will attempt to outline the issues involved in teaching race to undergraduates. We will attempt to outline theoretical and practical strategies in using race to teach about criminal justice. We will also outline strategies in using criminal justice to teach about race. We will rely on the teaching literature, as well as our own experiences in teaching courses in criminal justice, as well as race and ethnic relations.
Typologies of Recovery and Their Association With Recidivism
The NIJ-supported study (98-IJ-CX-0041) discussed in this paper uses observational and interview data from the Syracuse (New York) Community Treatment Court (SCTC) to increase our understanding of the process of recovery from chemical dependency. One of the drug courts supported by the Drug Courts Program Office, the SCTC seeks to reduce recidivism for nonviolent defendants through treatment for chemical dependency in conjunction with close judicial supervision and case management. We review the research concerning the connections among addiction, treatment, and involvement in the criminal justice system; report on the collection, preparation, and analysis of observational and interview data; and report on findings. Specifically, the research uses qualitative data from courtroom observation and interviews with participants to identify typologies of recovery; their demographic correlates; and the nature, number, chronicity, and severity of the problems and issues in those participants’ lives that affect the pattern of the recovery process and the likelihood of recidivism. Preliminary findings indicate that the problems most often encountered and discussed in court are those associated with jobs, housing, mental health, the receipt of Medicaid, children, physical health, legal needs, family and other relationships, and school/training.
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Unconditional Love” or “Tough Love”?: Perceptions of Social Support Among Imprisoned Women
This study explores the impact of prison life on women. More specifically, this study examines inmates’ perceptions of stability and change in their relationships with their family and friends outside the prison. Open-ended, unstructured interviews are used to explore the meaning these women make of their lives and the impact of imprisonment on their relationships. Perceptions of social support are examined through inmate accounts of family and friends” contact and visitation, reactions to imprisonment, and inmates’ plans for release and reunification. The degree to which relationships with loved ones met expectations for support may impact the future of these relationships.
Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Crime
The UCR shows that crimes in the United States decreased during the past two years. In light of this decrease, studies on the current public perceptions of crime need to be conducted. This exploratory study examines undergraduate students’ perceptions of crime. Open-end questionnaires were distributed at two liberal art college campuses in mid-Atlantic states. Findings of undergraduate students’ opinions toward the crime problem will be examined using content analysis. In addition to the open-end questions, demographic data were also collected.
Understanding and Explaining Crime and Criminality: Theories of Offending, Victimization, and Context Are Necessary
Research has shown that traditional criminological theories such as classical and positive school were offender-based theories. That is, they theories focused exclusively on offending as a mechanism for understanding crime and criminality (e.g., Williams and McShane, 1994; Fattah, 1994). The impact of victims and social context were ignored in this early efforts toward understanding crime and criminality. The role of victims and social context became significant when the theories of victimization emerged as a tool in conjunction with the theories of offending in an effort toward understanding crime and criminality. Factors that helped set the stage for the emergence of victimization theories include: self-report studies showing widespread commission of crime and delinquency exhibiting no divisions between “criminals” and “non-criminals”; awareness of white-collar crimes; failure of numerous attempts to explain crime by focusing on factors that supposedly differentiated between “criminals and “non-criminals.” By the late 1970s, there emerged two ground-breaking theories of victimization — lifestyle/exposure approach (Hinderlangg et al, 1978) and routine activity perspective (Cohen and Felson, 1979). Since their formation, the two theories have been reference points for subsequent victimization studies. The development of victimization theories led to the suggestion of the idea of victim/offender overlap, the notion that victims and offenders (at least for street crimes) share the same characteristics and often the same people. There seem to be patterns in which yesterday’s victims becomee today’s offenders, and today’s offenders become tomorrow’s victims (e.g., Clark and Felson, 1994; Fagan et al 1987; Gottfredson, 1981; Singer, 1981; Von hentig, 1948). The offender/victim overlap in turn, led to the development of more comprehensive heuristic theories, linking victims, offenders, and context into a union or integrated form (for example, Miethe and Meier, 1994; Clarke and Felson, 1994). All in all, this essay suggests that we can better understand and explain crime and criminality by putting the theories of offending, victimization and context into a union or integrated form.
Understanding Judges’ Views About Canada’s New ‘Intermediate’ Sanction: The Conditional Sentence of Imprisonment
The prison .has traditionally been seen as the way to accomplish the sentencing goals of denunciation and general deterrence — the expressive functions of punishment. The development of the conditional sentence of imprisonment ire 1996 in Canada poses a challenge to this tradition, as this new sanction can be imposed for a variety of offences, and to accomplish all sentencing goals. The conditional sentence of imprisonment allows the judge, after imposing a sentence of imprisonment, to order that it be served in the community under specified conditions. This paper examines the findings of a national survey of Provincial Court Judges and interviews with Court of Appeal judges in various provinces about their views on conditional sentences of imprisonment. As a new sentencing option for judges, there is interest in understanding their views and values about the substitution of a term of imprisonment to be served in the community for a traditional prison sentence. This paper will focus on a set of questions relating to judicial sensibilities about the conditional sentence of imprisonment. What is seen as the most important objective of this new sanction? for which offences do judges see &c conditional sentence as unacceptable and why? Is the nature of opposition to the conditional sentence for some offences (e-g., violent offences) related to the issue of effectively accomplishing denunciation and general deterrence? Finally, do judges view the conditional sentence as equivalent to imprisonment, or as an ‘intermediate’ sanction lying somewhere between prison and probation?
Understanding Men’s and Women’s Responses to Domestic Violence: An Interactionist Perspective
In this paper men’s and women’s constructions and understandings of intimate domination are explored through an examination of their responses to domestic violence. Whilst this is a well-developed field of inquiry, most studies have considered either men’s or women’s responses. Using data gathered from in-depth interviews with both partners of the 95 couples drawn from a wider evaluation project of Scottish male perpetrators programmes, we argue that developing response strategies is an interactive process. Conceptualisations of women’s responses as staged, as shifting and as strategies (of resistance) are employed, presenting a more sophisticated framework for understanding how women define and respond to violence and, importantly, how their responses are interactively connected to men’s responses. Using Goffman’s concept of ‘remedial work’, men’s responses to violence are analysed and their attempts to impose definitional hegemony revealed alongside the exculpatory and expiatory discourses which characterise their accounts. Women’s struggle to have their divergent voices heard in the context of men’s silence and resistance is highlighted as is the complexity of violent relationships and the need to further explore not only how men’s and women’s interactions are connected through resistance and counter resistance but also the processes by which ‘knowledge’ of and about violence relationships is interatively produced and re-produced. Such understanding we argue is an important (and often overlooked) constituent of prevention strategies.
Understanding the Treatment Needs of Prostitutes: A Preliminary Analysis
Some correctional treatment agencies are currently experiencing pressure – often from judges – to create treatment programs specifically for prostitutes. A review of the treatment literature, however, makes little reference to this group of offenders. When researchers do discuss programs for prostitutes, they are usually referring to outreach programs or drop-in centers for prostitutes. While these types of programs offer many services to prostitutes, they are typically geared toward reducing health risks and advocating for the rights of prostitutes, They are not correctional treatment programs. Consequently, this paper reviews the extant literature on prostitutes and attempts to outline those characteristics pertinent to correctional treatment planning. These characteristics include substance abuse, childhood sexual victimization, post traumatic stress disorder, and the relationship with a pimp. These characteristics will be discussed within the context of what we currently know about effective correctional interventions to suggest potential treatment strategies to be empirically tested in the future.
Understanding Women Prison Subcultures Using the Case Study Approach
The case study approach is used to explore and understand the inside of women’s prisons. Oral history and extensive, detailed written viewpoints were collected over a period of three years, from 1996 to 1999, from one woman offender during her incarceration in multiple state prisons. Topics explored include female institutional argot, codes of conduct, sub rosa economy, friendships, pseudo-families, sexual liaisons, and the recent emergence of female prison gangs.
Unpacking the American Crime Boom: Regional, Economic and Political Effects on Post-World War II Race-Specific Crime Trends
Using murder, robbery and burglary arrest data by race from 1960 to 1997, we examine differences in the length, shape and timing of African American and white crime trends across 79 large U.S. cities. We begin by considering the extent to which crime trends vary by race. We next consider how race-specific trends vary by region of the country, level of economic stress, and intensity of collective political action. This analysis is part of a larger ongoing project aimed at determining how major changes in American crime rates during the past half century have been shaped by racial differences, regional variations, and social structural factors such as economic stress, family disorganization, population structure, and political protest.
Urban Drug Courts: A New Alternative or “More of the Same”
In response to the increasing number of arrests for drug violations, the court system has recently developed alternative methods to process non-violent drug offenders. One popular alternative has been the development of a specialized court to address drug related issues. The current project presents research from a pilot Boston Drug Diversion Court developed in 1995. Designed as a three-year pilot effort that included four district courts, it was anticipated that if successful, this would be “institutionalized” within the Trial Court and Probation. The goals of this specialized court were two-fold: (1) to successfully divert the sentences of non-violent drug involved offenders, and (2) the second goal was to implement a drug treatment component into Boston’s district court. Findings from the three-year project will be presented.
Urban-Rural Differences in the Effects of Alcohol and Drug Use on Violence in a Sample of Incarcerated Offenders
Both victimization surveys and NIBRS report substantial numbers of violent offenders using alcohol or drugs at the time of their offense (Greenfeld 1998).These data sets, as well as others used to examine the relationship between alcohol or drugs and violence, are based largely on urban populations. This paper examines differences between urban and rural respondents in the effect of alcohol and drug use on prior year’s violence. The data are from interviews of 700 incarcerated offenders in a Midwest state. Pre-incarceration violence is measured using the Conflict Tactics Scale. The effects of alcohol, marijuana and cocaine are examined in relationship to both intimate partner and non-partner violence for metropolitan, urban and rural offenders.
Using Content Analysis of Advertisements as a Measure of Private Sector Involvement in Criminal Justice
In recent years, multiple authors have argued that a corrections commercial complex exists which seeks to profit from social control pollicies: primarily in the corrections arena. These private sector corporations provide a plethora of goods and services to public sector criminal justice agencies. This corporate involvement in criminal justice may be problematic where the private sector interests begin to supersede those of the public sector. Proving the existence of this correctional compex is problematic as there are no established means to show the growth or trends in the corrections industry. This paper will discuss how content analysis of advertisements of correctional goods and services can be used as a measure of corporate interest in this marketplace and as a gauge of the growth of the corrections commercial complex.
Using General Strain Theory to Understand the Race-Violence Relationship
In this paper, I utilize Agnew’s General Strain Theory (GST) to understand the intervening processes between race and violence. Although many have examined the relationship between race and violence, few have offered explanations for racial disparities in the perpetration of violence. Thus, there is a need to focus on the causal mechanisms underlying the race-violence relationship. Because of its breadth and focus on negative relations and negative emotions, GST is well suited for understanding violence. In this paper, I expand the application of Agnew’s GST and expand our understanding of the race-violence relationship. I conducted analyses on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) which includes detailed interviews with a nationally representative sample of 6,504 students in grades 7-12. 1 examined the relationship between negative experiences, negative emotions, and violence while also examining factors that may condition this relationship. In general African-Americans are more likely to engage in fighting behaviors, but not weapon related violence. The same negative experiences affect violent behaviors for both African-Americans and Non-Hispanic whites, and both are conditioned by problem solving skills. However, the importance of negative emotions appears to differ by race. Implications for the race-violence relationship and for GST are discussed.
Using GIS for Identifying Hazardous Spaces for Patrol Officers
The most common application of geographic information system in policing has been for crime analysis. This paper demonstrates how the technology can be used for identifying, analyzing, and visualizing the spatial variation of hazardous spaces for patrol officers to work. Geographic layers of information pertaining to: on-the-job injuries to officers, officer use of force; officer requests for immediate help; emergency calls for service; and calls for service requiring more the four patrol cars are combined to define and delineate hazardous spaces. The site for this research is Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina
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Validating Promising Practices as Best Practices in Juvenile Justice Education
The Juvenile Justice Educational Enhancement Program (JJEEP) collects data on Flroida’s over 230 juvenile justice education programs. These data include indicators of student transitions in and out of programs, personnel competencies, service delivery, and program administration. In addition, various observations are accomplished to identify particular program philosophies, practices, and models toward the end of determining promising practices. Following identification of promising practices through this review process, a sample of those programs will be analyzed in greater detail to validate their overall effectiveness. Through the use of data from the Florida Department of Education, Floridat Department oof Juvenile Jsutice, community follow-up contacts, and other sources, these practices are avalidated through correlation with educational accomplishment (progress, standardized test scores, graduation rates, etc.) and rates of recidivism, as well as other community reintegration measures. This combination of qualitative and quantitative data analysis provides validation of promising practices as best practices in juvenile justice education.
Vancouver’s Needle Exchange Clinic and the Spatial/Temporal Evolution of Crime
Harm reduction policies developed following the emergence of AIDS remain at the centre of many a political battleground. None however persist in more controversy than the needle exchange program in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Institutions monitoring the effectiveness of this program on the spread of HIV among intravenous drug users have generally agreed that there seems to have been no positive impact. Moreover, concern has been expressed with respect to the effect this program has had on the region’s demographics and crime rates. Currently very little research has focused on the crime issue. Two perspectives are particularly relevant with respect to understanding crime relative to the needle exchange, crime pattern theory and the geography of the illicit retail marketplace. These approaches are mutually supportive and present powerful theoretical reasoning to suggest the needle exchange plays a significant role in the spatial and temporal evolution of crime. Research into the role of the needle exchange and the spatial evolution of crime is needed particularly prior to the implementation of plans to decentralize this institution. The results of such an inquiry optimistically, using the facilities at the Crime Prevention Analysis Laboratory (SFU), will function as a highly influential and potentially invaluable tool in the ongoing debate over the needle HIV-AIDS crisis in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
Variation in Case Management discharge Outcomes for Serious Delinquent Substance Abusing Juveniles as Explained by the Relationship Between Offender Presenting Problems and the Nature and Freuency of Treatment and Supervision Services Provided to Them
The paper examines (a) deviancy, substance abuse, mental health, school adjustment, and family functioning presenting problems for serious delinquent juvenile offenders, (b) quantitative and qualitative measures of treatment and supervisory services provided to these offenders in a case managed environment, and, (c) describes the case management discharge outcomes for the target population. The paper then statistically examines the relationship between presenting problems and services provided to target populations to determine the degree to which offender problem areas and levels are appropriately matched with treatment/supervision dosages provided through case management activities. The paper then goes on to determine whether varying degrees of appropriateness in the match of problems to services has a statistically significant impact on discharge from case management outcomes. The paper also examines which combination of problems and services has the greatest likelihood of changing offender behaviors in a positive manner.
Victimization, Offending, and Deviant Role Exits: A Replication and Extension of Power-Control Theory
In a 1990 article, Hagan examines the ability of power-control theory to explain gender differences in both vulnerability to crime and the search for deviant role exits. Our study provides a replication and extension of Hagan’s work in two ways. First, Hagan uses a composite measure of vulnerability to crime that combines both victimization and offending into a single construct. However, relational and instrumental controls may have differential effects on victimization and offending; our study thus examines gender differences in victimization and offending separately. Second, while Hagan analyzes the search for deviant role exits, our study focuses on the actual taking of deviant role exits such as truancy, running away from home, and curfew violations. Using a sample of 1,650 male and female students in a middle school and high school in a small city in Florida, this study thus explores the viability of the power-control model as a tool for understanding gender differences in victimization, offending, and the pursuit of deviant role exits.
Violence Against Animals and Serial Murder
It is not surprising that behaviours exhibited by some serial murderers are viewed as reprehensible by the majority of the North American population. However, the possible impact of the widespread cultural acceptance of violence toward other animals should not be overlooked when examining the behaviours associated with serial murder. Abhorrence is expressed in relation to the violence exhibited toward humans by those who would hunt and kill other humans, cannibalize them and/or utilize their body parts as trophies, while the practices which support violence toward other animals go relatively unquestioned. Although the expected counter-argument to the points presented in this paper would be that serial murder is taboo, while exploiting animals for their flesh (and other purposes) is culturally acceptable, this is essentially a speciesist argument-there are some members of North American society who are greatly disturbed by the killing, eating, and/or displaying as trophies of animals other than humans. Examining deeply-engrained cultural attitudes, arguments, and justifications which sustain an animal-abusing culture may help us to understand particular behaviours exhibited by some serial murderers. After all, the exploitative treatment of animals by humans, and the treatment of some serial murder victims by their aggressors, are not dissimilar.
Violence Against Objects and Other Youth Problem Behaviors in a Three Country Study (England and Wales, The Netherlands, and Spain)
Acts of violence against objects (arson, graffiti and vandalism) are a set of behaviors with common characteristics. The age of onset is quite early (12 years), but participation in this activities starts to decline when other violent acts against persons become a part of youths’ repertory. These tendencies are the same in three countries studied. Youth problem behaviors (running away, truancy, faredodging, driving with a license or insurance, and alcohol consumption) are more country-specific. For example, although the levels of alcohol consumption are quite high in the three countries, the prediction of this behavior depends on the differences in family relations among the three countries. Age and gender, variables which are traditionally associated with these kinds of crimes, also behave differentially in the three countries studied. At the age when driving without a license or insurance declines in Span and the Netherlands, this behavior starts to occur among youth in England and Wales; young women drink more alcohol than men in England and Wales. The results of these analyses suggest that informal social control is essential for explaining the differences in these three countries.
Violence and Juvenile Offenders: Couple and Parental Conflicts
Previous research shows relationships between child maltreatment and adolescent delinquency (Smith and Thornberry 1995), child abuse and adult domestic violence (Straus 1990), and child abuse and adult violent behavior toward strangers (Hotaling and Sugarman 1986). Criminology and family violence research lacks explicit explorations between juvenile offending, dating violence, and child-parent violence. We investigate possible violent relationships for juvenile offenders across social contexts; the extent of dating and parental violence juvenile offenders experience and perpetuate. This research explores how juveniles’ experiences with violence interact with one another. Two main questions we examine are (1) do juvenile offenders victimize dating partners and parents, and (2) juvenile offenders victimized by dating partners and parents? We present preliminary findings of interviews conducted with juvenile offenders that address violent relationships across social contexts. The interview instrument consists of questions designed to measure violence experienced in childhood, legitimacy of family violence, the extent of the balance of power between men and women, and violent behavior perpetrated and experienced. A revised version of the Conflict Tactics Scales (Straus, 1979) measure violent behaviors between juvenile offenders, and parents and dating partners.
Violence in Schools: A French and European Approach
Our research is based on a 25,000 pupils and students sample who were surveyed through a 4 years longitudinal work. The methodology we used was a questionnaire survey, completed with individual and group interviews as well as direct observation during fieldwork. The results show the evolution of the phenomenon as far as crime and bullying are concerned but also taking into account facts that would affect the schools’ climate and effectiveness i.e. incivilities, interactions, insecurity feeling, victimisation and the different representations involved in such process. This evolution has lead public institutions to set up some action schemes and policies that our research team (European observatory of violence in school) has assessed on demand of the French government. Our paper aims at presenting an assessment of the issue not only in France but also in some other European countries (Germany, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, U.K.) as a result of a comparative research we carried out for the European Union. We shall emphasise the importance of the cultural background and national specificity in the way violence in schools is perceived as well as in the different approach – whether repressive or preventive – to try and tackle the problem according to the countries. This will drive us to a multifactorial interpretation of violence and bullying in schools.
Violent Behavior Among Youth: The Effect of Social Control and Subculture
Violence among youth creuates an environment of intimidation and fear and questions the basic right to safety of young people in their natural environments such as school. This study investigates the differential contribution of social control theory and subculture of violence theory to the explanation of violent behavior. The data was obtained from a national representative sample of the adolescent population of the State of Israel (n=900). Findings show that while both approaches found support, the model stemming from the subcultural approach has a higher explanatory power than the model based on social control theory. Implications for future research are discussed.
Violent Crime and Immigration Patterns in New York City Communities, 1980-1990
Reported violent crime (murder, robbery, rape and felonious assaults) statistics in New York City from1980 to 1990 and socioeconomic data of New York City communities (N=56) were analyzed using a longitudinal design to examine any relationships between immigrant neighborhoods and reported violent crime. Communities with a large of influx of immigrants in the 1980’s were compared (defined as “unstable resident communities”) with communities with very little change (“stable resident communities”) to quantify assumptions of the early Chicago School, ecological social disorganization theories. Consistent with social disorganization theories, violent crime rates rose throughout the 1980’s in unstable of the Chicago School, violent crime rates rose throughout the 1980’s in unstable communities, however, crime also rose, albeit at a slower rate, in stable communities. These preliminary findings suggest that relationships between immigration patterns and violent crime are more complicated than earlier ecological explanations of the Chicago School.
Violent Victimization and Offending Among Mexican American Male Gang Members
This study will explore violent victimization and offending among Mexican American gang members in San Antonio. This research is based on a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) study on drug related gang violence among Mexican American males. Data was collected from active youth gang members from 26 gangs in San Antonio, Texas. The sample (chosen randomly) consisted of 160 male gang members ranging in age between 14 to 25 years. Data collection methods for this three-year study included fieldwork, focus groups and n life history/intensive interview. Subjects reported being involved in a wide array of violence incidences as either victims or offenders. Data reveal that approximately 75 percent of the respondents were involved in a violent incident within the last three months which included shootings and killings. In the analysis individual, situational and community factors are explored, Only a small percentage of these youth revealed any psychological behavior problems. The analysis also found that drugs and alcohol are a mediating factor in the severity of violence rather than independent factors. Discussed is how violence is an adaptation to social structural conditions. Implications for prevention, intervention and rehabilitation are discussed.
Virtually Deviant: One-Line Victimization and Related Anxiety
The paper is concerned with Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), an increasing pastime for a growing number of individuals world-wide. Via forms of electronic communication new and arguably unprecedented forms of interaction have developed. Indeed, these , unfamiliar, forms of interaction, aided and encouraged by fast moving technological advancements, have left behind their nascent past. on-line communities are no longer typified by textual interaction. Advanced graphical interfaces now allow computer users to visually interact with other members of on-line communities. Such advances have increased the possibilities of Internet interactions, so much so that on-line deviance and on-line harassment are becoming increasingly prevalent. It is these kinds of interaction, crime and deviance, that will form the nexus of the paper. Through multiple on-line interviewing methods the aetiology of virtual deviance is examined in combination with its effects upon members of a virtual community. Preliminary findings indicate that the prevalence of petty deviance is highest amounts those communities where emphasis is placed on sexual discourse. In contradiction, however, fear of on
Voluntary Prison After-Care in England and Wales
In this paper we describe a Home Office commissioned study of the current state of the prison voluntary after-care system in England and Wales. It concerns those prisoners who have served sentences of less than twelve months and whom the probation supervises on a voluntary basis, an activity that has been aligned closely to the rehabilitative tradition of the Probation Service. However, in recent years it has been accorded less and less priority in contrast to the burgeoning systems of automatic and discretionary conditional release and an accompanying concentration of resources. This has left a gap in provision which, we argue, not only raises questions about the management of risk and public protection but also about the legitimacy of the Criminal Justice System in so far as that legitimacy is based on its ability to provide people who offend with the opportunity to reform. A core argument of this paper is that the uncertainty about the status and future of voluntary after-care is, therefore, a matter of concern.
Volunteers and Parole Services: An Analysis of the Massachusetts Community Assistance Program for Developmentally Disabled Parolees
Since 1974 the Massachusetts Division of Parole has used volunteers, working closely with professional staff, to help meet the needs of mentally retarded and learning disabled parolees. The agency provides specialized supervision, weekly counseling groups, weekly resource meetings and regular meetings with community assistant volunteers. This paper describes the Massachusetts Community Assistance Parole Program (MASSCAPP), reviews some of the difficulties encountered in initiating and maintaining the program, and relates the results to recent literature in the areas of volunteerism and restorative justice.
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Was That a Threat or a Warning? Interpreting Narratives of Violence Across a Worldview Divide
This paper examines the difficulty the Branch Davidians in Waco Texas and FBI negotiators each had when trying to interpret and weigh the “violence narratives” of the other party. I will explain the source of these difficulties and look at the way this problem complicated and helped derail the efforts to resolve the standoff peacefully.
Web-Based Course Preparation and Delivery: Promises and Pitfalls
Findings relating to the design and delivery of a web-based Certificate Program in Criminology are presented. The data analysis is based on a recent pilot project (January 1997-1999) carried out at a large Canadian university. The paper’s findings were derived from the use of several research methodologies including personal experience (one author served as the project’s content expert), selected interviews carried out with several interested groups (university administrators, educational technicians), and by an analysis of secondary documents. Findings are presented on the reasons for the development of this distance education project, the main tasks completed by the course developer, and the “valued-added” web-based components of the courses prepared. Problem areas relating to computer upgrades, funding, the recruitment of part-time web-based instructors for delivery purposes, romance with technology, and, in particular, the relevance of web course development with respect to achieving a tenured position are outlined.
What About Recidivism and Drug Use at Eighteen Months? Post-Release Outcomes for Residential Drug Treatment Programs in the Federal Bureau of Prisons
Eighteen-month outcomes are reported for a mufti-site evaluation of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ residential drug abuse treatment programs. We conducted separate analyses by gender for approximately 1,800 men and 450 women. Treatment subjects were sampled from 20 different institutions and comparison subjects from 40 different institutions. These institutions represented all security levels, except maximum security. The treatment programs consisted of two levels of intensity: 500-hour, 9-month programs and 1,000-hour, 12-month programs. Comparison subjects consisted of individuals who had a history of previous drug use. Post-release outcome measures include arrests for a new offense, revocations and drug use. Our multivariate analyses of outcomes control for factors previously found to be related to recidivism or drug use. The control factors include background characteristics – criminal history, drug use history, employment history, drug treatment history, mental health diagnoses and demographic characteristics – , variables characterizing treatment received after release, post-release supervision variables and post-release behaviors such as marital status and employment. In addition, our analyses address selection bias issues through the use of propensity scores.
What About the Learning Disability Juvenile Delinquency Link
Annually over 500 million children and youth (male and female) are processed through the: juvenile justice system for all indices of crimes: rape, robbery, murder, aggravated assault, larceny, theft, burglary, automobile theft, drugs, etc. When analyzing case history reviews and clinical observation reports a large percentage of these individuals are shown to have learning disabilities, leading those (criminologists, sociologists, etc.) concerned about America’s delinquency problem to believe and support a strong connection between delinquency and learning disabilities. Children and youth with learning disability problems have a myriad of problems associated with their specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia, aphasia, hyperactivity, social perceptions, etc, The intent of this presentation is to provide a research update relevant to the link between learning disabilities and juvenile delinquency. Also featured will be a suggested research focus.
What Happened to Deterrence Theory?
Has deterrence theory disappeared? This paper reviews allo of the available literature on deterrence theory and locates the theory within the context of current criminology. We consider all studies that look at the relationship between arrest rates or clearance rates and the crime rates of SMSAs, cities, neighborhoods, and states. This once popular and hotly debated theory now rarely receives more than a passing mention in current discussions of crime rates and crime control in journal articles and current criminology texts. The deterrence perspective is based on the assessments persons make of the potential costs and benefits fromj performing a particular act. This is also true of rational choice theory, routine activity theory, learning theory and control theory but they rarely focus on the issue of deterrence. Based on our literature review, we conclude that a reexamination of deterrence theory is necessary to develop a more complete understanding of the relationship between the criminal justice system and criminal behavior.
What Might Have Happened and What Persists
The paper initially examines mainstream responses to radical criminology in the context of the shifting ideological judgments of tenure denial and the School closing by administrative authorities and counter-reformist faculty networks in 1974 at UC, Berkeley. Then, as part of a review of its theoretical origins, radical criminology’s linkage to American Constitutional materials and McCarthyism is examined. Finally, as a practical matter, the paper examines what contributions radical criminology could have made had it been allowed to flourish at Berkeley, and at other sites genuinely protected under the banner of academic freedom. The paper contrasts these possibilities with mainstream developments in criminology which, at best, have provided orientations that handle low level or mid-range explanations of crime. When they have risen to the level of marcosocial explanation, their domain assumptions and metatheoretical categories have produced distortions that fall into the realm of natural law or external mediation.
What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like this? Reflections on Gender and Research in Prison
This paper discusses gender dynamics and the merits of developing aspects of feminist methodology when researching sensitive subjects and vulnerable groups in an institutional setting. Using unstructured interviews with inmates in a male young offenders institution in the United Kingdom, the research focused on their use of illicit drugs while in custody. The qualitative approach facilitated my reflexivity allowing me to recognise the prominence of my gender when developing relationships in the prison. Interactions with staff and inmates were defined in terms of my ‘femaleness’ based on their perceptions of me, my age, appearance and approach to the research, rather than my gender alone. A willingness to empathise compensated for my inability to share the actual life experiences of the inmates. The adoption of a reciprocal research relationship and the flexibility of unstructured interviews provided a context in which the inmates felt able to discuss a broad range of issues. This resulted in a greater understanding of the patterns of drug use in prison not previously revealed by quantitative methods.
What’s So Great About G.R.E.A.T.?
In 1991, a local gang prevention program was implemented in Phoenix. By 1993, the school-based program was being adopted by law enforcement agencies and school districts across the country. By January 1999, almost 4,000 officers were certified G.R.E.A.T. instructors and over 2,000,000 students had been exposed to this program. In this presentation, we report results from the National Evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training program. A quasiexperimental design was implemented in six cities during the 1995-1996 school year. The sample consists of middle school students attending 22 different schools: 1,852 students in 76 G.R.E.A.T. classrooms and 1,716 students in 72 non-G.R.E.A.T. classrooms. Pre- and post-tests were administered during the year the program was delivered and annual follow up surveys have been administered each fall (1996 through 1998). Here we report on both short (post-tests) and long-term (three year follow up) program effects on student attitudes and behavior.
What You Don’t Know Could Get You Hurt: Using Television to Educate the Public About How to Interact With the Police
This study analyzes the impact of four televised public service announcements (PSAs) that aired for three months in a medium sized city. The instructive PSAs, developed from focus groups with police officers, address frequently occurring issues, problems, and behaviors that may trigger an aggressive police response- The specific addition to existing research examined in this study is whether PSAs can be used to effectively provide information to citizens about the police and whether PSAs can change citizen attitudes toward the police. A quasi-experimental design in conjunction with telephone surveys (n = 1,541) is used to answer research questions and test related hypotheses. The results find that the PSAs had a minimal impact on knowledge and virtually no impact on attitudes. These findings are discussed and issues are raised for future research. This project was supported under award number 95-IJ-CK-OOSS from the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice- Points of view in this document arc those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Department of Justice
When Children are Executed: An Historical Overview of the Capital Punishment of Youthful Offenders
Following recent sensationalized shootings at a Jonesboro, Arkansas schoolyard, Texas State Rep. Jim Pitts announced he would lead the push to change Texas law to allow children as young as eleven to he sentenced to death. In one of the most drastic changes to the juvenile justice since the founding of the first family court, most states are revamping their laws to allow juveniles to be tried as adults. This paper is an historical overview of the capital punishment of youthful offenders over the past 400 years. Although the emphasis is on capital punishment in America, executions of children in other cultures will also be examined to provide a comparative framework. My methodology is qualitative and occasionally anecdotal, but will partake of historical research methods using newspapers, government reports, primary and secondary resources, as well as first-hand accounts by executioners and prison officials.
When Push Comes to Shove: A Case Study of the Effects of College Alcohol Policy Changes on Student Attitudes and Student Drinking
Excessive, irresponsible and illegal drinking by college students has a long standing history, but only recently have colleges come to publicly recognize the problem and attempted to change their policies to reduce binge drinking and its consequences. One such effort is taking place at the University of Delaware, one of ten sites nationally that are participating in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s “A Matter of Degree” (AMOD) Program. The effects of significant campus policy changes at Delaware in Summer 1997 are reviewed using results from local administrations of the Harvard School of Public Health Student Survey in Spring 1997, 1998 and 1999 and of the CORE College Student Survey in Fall 1996 and 1998. Results indicate sizeable changes in students’ perceptions of a stricter school alcohol policy and increased enforcement of the rules. Survey results also show much more modest but still significant reductions in some indicators of student drinking. Subgroup analyses, however, suggest the changes are not occurring in the new cohorts of entering freshmen but with upperclass drinking. Moreover, data suggest a polarizing of attitudes and drinking behaviors among students, with increases in abstainers and heavy drinkers among some subgroups. These results are discussed in terms of potential unanticipated consequences of current college policy initiatives.
When the Law Gets in the Way: The Adverse Effects of Medical Malpractice Litigation
Recent investigations in medical malpractice litigation have disclosed adverse effects of the litigation process that have not previously been well understood. It has been known for some time that money judgments serve only as surrogates, and sometimes poorly so, for the actual objectives of the injured patients. Even a “win” at trial is therefore often unsatisfying. What has come to light more recently is that certain features of the legal process may also be responsible for physicians making more errors in the future rather than fewer. The mechanism seems in part to be a personal disintegration attributable to the conflictual nature of the claims process. The case of medical malpractice litigation may be suggestive for studies of the litigation system more generally.
When Their Motive is Men: Using the Evolutionary Paradigm for Understanding Female Aggression
This paper will examine female aggression from the perspective of evolutionary psychology. Drawing heavily on the work of noted evolutionary psychologists such as Margo Wilson, Martin Daly, and Anne Campbell, this paper will argue that one way to understand female aggression is to see female violence, which is predominantly intrasex, as an extreme form of female competition over men. Such observations have implications for the law in terms of both the admissibility of syndrome evidence and sentencing. Currently, much of feminist theory in the law suggests that when women are violent, they are acting out against violent men, such as when a woman kills her abusers. While this is true sometimes, most female violence is directed at other women, with the underlying motive being competition for men. This paper will challenge feminist analyses of female violence, which is strong influenced by social constructionism and critical theory, and suggest that female violence has its roots in biologically based behaviors. This paper is a follow-up on my earlier work on girl gangs and female violence. I will expand upon the context of female violence outside of organized female outlaws and examine some current cases in which courts have been ambivalent about motives and rational behaviors on the part of female defendants accused of murder. The paper will conclude by arguing that the trend to pathologize and excuse female violence is both intellectually and politically misguided, and that legal scholars could greatly benefit from a model of human behavior which incorporates both biology and social constructionist points of view.
When Weather Matters: The Cumulative Effects of Temperature on Violent Crime
We combined previously published data on assaults and domestic violence and unpublished data on complaints about disorderly conduct in Minneapolis, MN to learn more about the long-term effect of temperature on violence. Distributed lag (Box-Jenkins) analyses indicated that variations in temperature were associated with violence, In addition, we found that high temperatures preceded domestic violence by 12 hours, assaults by 36 hours, and disorderly conduct investigations by 48 hours, Curvilinear relations predicted by the negative affect escape model also attained significance in analyses that controlled for diurnal (day-night)
Who Killed the School of Criminology? Round Up the Usual Suspects!
Various explanations are offered about the closing of the famous UC Berkley School of Criminology in 1974. When assessing blame for schoolslaughter, Gilbert Geis’ autopsy, for instance, makes radical democrats at the School the ,usual suspects’ even though he wasn’t at the scene of the crime at that time and the corpse had decomposed so he couldn’t put it under his knife. After conducting our own criminal investigation, we uncovered a counter-reformist alliance opposed to an umbrella egalitarian and anti-war movement created at the School by radical democrats. By examining evidence concerning Berkeley administrators and faculty who played key roles in such an alliance, we conclude that the ‘usual suspects’ theory implicitly blames the victims. It mistakenly uses reductionist reasoning and ideological premises to identify the perps. By reducing conflicts between social movements to conflicts between personalities, this theory implicitly discounts the causal importance of the overr iding aims of the radical democrats.. Simultaneously, it ignores the role played by conservative networks in both universities and civil society, especially when the failure of spontaneous consent by citizens at large, creates a national crisis in command and direction by state officials.
Whose Reality? Religious Cults in the Mass Media
Activities involving crime and deviance are often the focus of the media. These events and phenomena are portrayed in the news and these portrayals often serve as contexts people use to understand and logically explain the world around them. Sometimes events filtered through the media relate to occurrences near the individual. As such, they are easily understood. However, most news coverage deals with events far removed from the actual happenings of personal life, thereby serving to transfer understanding and create sympathy for or against groups of people with which most viewers will not have personal contact. Of interest in the current research is the change in coverage of religious cults over a ten-year period. The analysis includes five years preceding the events surrounding the religious cult in Waco, Texas and five years after these events. Data from the Vanderbilt Television news archive will be used to compare the two groups. The analysis will focus on the length, position, type of story and tone of the broadcast. Each are hypothesized to measure the change in emphasis and importance given to religious cult stories during the ten-year period.
Why I Study Prisons: My Twenty Year Personal and Professional Odessy
Marianne Fisher-Giorlando discusses how her first teaching position in a prison college education program, nearly twenty years ago, resulted in a career studying conditions of confinement. She credits her professional and personal commitment to prisoners as the basis for many of her academic accomplishments. She includes a description of Fisher-Giorlando’s early teaching experiences in both men’s and women’s prisons in Ohio, the teaching, research and community service agenda which emerged, and her years of experience inside “infamous” Angola and other state correctional institutions in Louisiana. A brief history of southern plantation model prisons with an emphasis on Louisiana is included, illustrating the uniquely different development of prisons in the South, a subject rarely included in corrections, histories (Carleton, 1971; Rideau and Wikberg, 1992; Taylor, 1993; Mancini, 1996; Oshinsky, 1996). Based upon a feminist model of teaching, Fisher-Giorlando discusses the multiple tasks and issues involved in conducting research inside prisons, teaching academic classes about prisons, introducing students to prisons through trips and research projects, and encouraging friends, students, and colleagues to visit prisons and participate in prison programs (Fisher-Giorlando and Jiang, forthcoming). She concludes with an invitation and challenge to criminologists, and penologists especially, to visit prisons in order to make their research endeavors an honest and realistic picture of prisons, and the people who live and work there.
Why Men Commit Crime (and Why They Desist)
Hirschi and Gottfredson (1983) claim that the relationship between age and crime is invariant in all social and cultural conditions and that no current sociological or criminological theory can account for this invariance. We introduce the new field of evolutionary psychology and extend Daly and Wilson”s (1988) work on homicide to construct a general theory of male criminality, which can explain the invariant age curve. We hypothesize that: 1) males commit an overwhelming majority of all serious violent and property crimes worldwide; 2) Hirschi and Gottfredson”s invariant age curve holds in all human societies; 3) sexual competition for mates increases crime rates; and 4) prevalence of marriage decreases crime. Our international data, which include virtually all nations and territories in the world, largely support our hypotheses. Our theory might also account for some empirical anomalies such as why physically smaller boys are more delinquent, and why violent criminals desist more slowly.
Women, Men and Imprisonment: Some Reflections on ‘Mixed’ Prisons
The imbalance in the numbers of women and men appearing before the courts presents grave difficulties for the administration of criminal justice in all countries. A major difficulty is that the small number of women imprisoned results in many women being accommodated at great distances from their homes; often in prisons which rarely offer the same opportunities as those provided for men. One solution to this dilemma has been to advocate the development of ‘mixed’ prisons. Whilst countries such as the United States have a tradition of using such facilities, any discussion of such practice in England and Wales has been viewed as highly controversial, even being described as ‘misogynistic and misguided’ (Tchaikovsky 1994). In stark contrast to the traditional tendency to segregate females and males in the criminal justice system, the Probation Service currently has responsibility for forty-six ‘mixed’ hostels which reserve a small number of beds for women in accommodation which is predominantly for men. Recent inspection reports have questioned the appropriateness of this practice. This paper explores the views of hostel workers and female hostel residents to argue that mixed provision presents a number of challenges in guaranteeing privacy, safety and equality of opportunity for women who appear before the courts.
Women, Policing and Resistance in Northern Ireland
Increasingly discussions of victim/agent dichotomisation promote understandings of women’s lived experience in terms of resistance. In the case of politically active women in Northern Ireland readings of resistance bring us closer to understanding their experiences and perceptions of policing over the past thirty years of conflict. In particular, resistance invites us to examine the multiple and varying ways some women have challenged the nature and forms of the state and the ways that has been mediated by policing. It also highlights the contradictory ways women’s dissent has sometimes aligned them with aspects of repressive regimes and projects of the state. From a qualitative study of 100 women this paper will examine some of the different ways ‘resistance’ helps us to understand women’s experiences of policing in Northern Ireland.
Women and Drug Courts: Prevention or Punishment
This paper explores the nature of criminal justice court processing of women offenders, especially the treatment of substance using women. The study elucidates the processing of 478 women offenders in two neighboring, urban criminal courts, one a drug court and the other, a traditional court. The study develops models which describe women’s treatment in relation to legal considerations, such as their criminal charges and criminal history, and extra-legal factors, such as substance use, age, race/ethnicity, SES, parental status and other factors. Predictors of incarceration and alternative sentences are developed. In the court comparison, the study examines whether the drug court meets expectations related to enhanced knowledge of individual defendants, case continuity and speed of processing, and diversion. Contextual factors are explored, such as the length of time to disposition, the time to discovery of substance use, use of community resources as alternatives. Discriminant models are developed which portray some women as deserving of treatment and others, of punishment.
Women Political Activists and Human Rights Discourse in South East Asia
As intersections between social justice groups, criminology and international human rights law become increasingly relevant to criminology as a discipline, if not well defined, so to do the ways we talk about human rights in both academic and activist environments. This paper will make a feminist exploration of the uses) of human rights discourse in SE Asia in order to elucidate the varying and changing ways women have used, rejected and subverted traditional constructs of human rights. This paper is based on an ongoing study of women advocates for social change in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia.
Wrong Side of the Tracks: Exploring the Role of Newspaper Coverage of Homicide in Socially Constructing Dangerous Places
Every city has its dangerous places where local residents are hesitant to travel for fear of criminal victimization. These dangerous places are socially constructed locations, created through a combination of personal experience, word of mouth, and media coverage of crime. While much research has been conducted concerning the coverage of crime by the media, little is known about the spatial aspect of this coverage. Specifically, media research has failed to determine whether the coverage of crime by the media is truly representative of where crime occurs, or whether media coverage presents crime as occurring disproportionately in certain areas of a city. This exploratory research uses a data set consisting of official homicide records for Houston Texas from 1986-1994(4980 cases) and newspaper accounts of all homicides for the same time period. Utilizing Geographic Information Systems(GIS) technology and advanced spatial statistics, the research attempts to determine the degree to which newspaper coverage of homicide is spatially representative of the true homicide picture. In addition to trends in the spatial coverage of homicides, important social implications will be discussed.
Wrongs Without Remedy: Institutional Resistance to Recognizing Wrongful Convictions
In the wake of wrongful conviction scandals throughout the common law world, the institutions of criminal justice (the courts, the police, prosecution services and the defence bar) increasingly are being held to account. However, these institutions change slowly and very reluctantly. It remains extremely difficult to reopen a conviction post appeal for example, in all jurisdictions where no independent review process exists. Even in the United Kingdom, where a review process has been implemented, delays and difficulties remain. Of equal importance, in review of the goal of reducing the incidence of wrongful conviction, investigative and prosecutorial agencies remain highly resistant to reform. The institutional factors that lead to the conviction of the innocent in the first place appear to serve interests of sufficient importance that absent very substantial pressure, changes occur in few ways if at all.
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Young Adults, Self-Control, Deviance, and Victimization
This research tests Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime as an explanation for deviance and criminal victimization. Using a sample of approximately 800 students from a medium sized urban college in the midwest, the relationship between self-control and criminal behavior was tested using a multivariate OLS analyses. Following Grasmick et al. (1993) we constructed a scale combining survey questions regarding the respondents’ selfishness, risk seeking tendencies, frustration control, and inclination toward instant gratification based on principle component factor analyses. This scale was analyzed with scales measuring self-reported deviance and victimization with controls on age, race and gender. The OLS analyses revealed a moderate statistically significant relationship between self-control and both the crime and victimization measures in the direction predicted by Gottfredson and Hirschi. Further analyses will explore the degree to which the self-control measure remains significant after the addition of predictors from other criminological theories such as social bond theory and social learning theory.
Youth, Social Exclusion and Crime in Northeast England
This paper will provide the first discussion of the preliminary findings of two, related research projects on youth, social exclusion and crime. The projects are qualitative in approach and funded by two of the main social scientific and policy research bodies in the UK (the Economic and Social Research Council and Joseph Rowntree Foundation). The research explores processes of social exclusion for young people in Middlesborough, in Northeast England. This is a place that has experienced high levels of unemployment, crime and single-parenthood and which has been described by Charles Murray as an archetypal underclass locale. The research investigates underclass debates and issues of social exclusion in relationship to young people and crime in two ways. Firstly, by delineating the range of licit and illicit ‘careers’ developed by young people in the context of constrained local opportunities and, secondly, by exploring the values and activities of young people in respect of the core domains of underclass theory (work, the family and crime). One key question for the research is how it is that some young people from the same socio-economic and physical location evolve mainstream transitions ‘against the odds’ (e.g. of full-time, regular employment) whilst others develop ‘criminal careers’ leading to further social exclusion.
Youth Gang Drug Trafficking: Results From the 1996 NYGS
The National Youth Gang Survey, conducted by the National Youth Gang Center, surveyed a representative national sample of more than 3,000 law enforcement agencies regarding youth gang problems in 1996. Data were gathered from respondents to this survey on two measures of youth gang drug trafficking: gang member involvement in drug sales and youth gang control of drug distribution. Survey responses on the age, gender, and race/ethnicity of youth gang members in responding jurisdictions were correlated with the drug trafficking measures. The context of drug trafficking was also examined, including population size, geographical region, and the year of gang problem onset. In addition, the interrelationship of youth gang drug trafficking and involvement in other crimes was examined.
Youth Violence: A Global Perspective
Background: This presentation is a descriptive study to provide a global perspective on youth violence as it exists in selected countries throughout the world. This presentation will address the issue of youth violence in regard to the extent, how it is viewed and the social issues it causes, the effects this violence has on schools, and what has been done by government and other organizations to prevent and/or alleviate the problem. This presentation includes a historical commentary on which interventions were effective or successful and which were not. Methods: This study examined youth crime statistics, government documents and materials. Among the countries studied are Russia, Jamaica, Canada, Brazil, Great Britain, Thailand, South Africa, Cambodia, St. Lucia, and United States. A secondary team of international scholars contributed to this study by providing research and translation services. All research and program materials were reviewed in context of their respective languages and the countries social structure.
Youth Violence in the Media: Examining the Emergence of “Wilding” as an Invention of Print Journalism
The role of the media in shaping popular images of crime continues to interest scholars and researchers in the social sciences. Indeed, the media possess a unique ability to perpetuate criminal stereotypes, thereby reinforcing “pictures in our head.” Among the key aspects of criminal stereotyping is race and social class; in particular, minorities and the impoverished are characterized disproportionately by the media as lawless and dangerous. Whereas the media reproduces traditional criminal stereotypes, it also resorts to sensationalism whereby “new” forms of threat and menace are invented. This dynamic feature of newsmaking further illuminates the social construction process. In our research, we embark on a context analysis of youth violence in print journalism. Specifically, we attend to the emergence of “wilding” in four New York City daily newspapers beginning in 1989 when the term first appeared in relation to the Central Park jogger case. Our study tracks the media’s use of this term through 1998 and reveals elements of racism and classism imbedded in prevailing criminal stereotypes.
Youthful Offenders From Different Ethnic Backgrounds
This paper seeks to shed new light on the over-representation of certain ethnic minority groups in the criminal justice system by presenting the findings of in-depth interviews with young offenders from different ethnic backgrounds. Firstly, the paper focuses on the background and lifestyle factors that are associated with the involvement of young people in crime, exploring both similarities and differences between ethnic groups. Secondly, it exploresw the offenders’ experience of the criminal justice system, again identifying any variations across ethnic groups. The implications of emergent patterns are discussed, along with theiir implications for the prevention of offending and the treatment of ethnic minorities by the criminal justice system.
