2001 ASC Annual Meeting Abstracts
Meeting | Author Index | Title Index
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3-1-1 and 9-1-1 Dispatches: Officer Perceptions of Non-Emergency Call Systems
This paper examines the perceptions of police officers in Dallas and Baltimore regarding the impact of the 3-1-1 non-emerency call system on their day-to-day work. We compare and contrast officer survey data from over 500 Dallas police officers and Baltimore police officers. We show that the Dallas officers, more than the Baltimore officers, feel that the 3-1-1 call system did not significantly reduce non-emergency and non-police related calls for service.
A
A Biological Evolutionary Theory of Retribution
The Harper theory of retribution seeks to explain humans’ felt need for retribution (revenge, pay-back, justice, etc.) and their satisfaction on obtaining it. The theory is based on the logic of game theory as applied to the biological evolution of behavior. The theory has important implications for further research and for policy.
A Collaborative Approach in Policing Domestic Violence
The Institute for Law and Justice has just completed the national evaluation of the Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies Program. Under this program, the Austin Police Department created the Family Violence Protection Team to address the problem of domestic violence. This centralized team also consists of the Travis County Sheriff, County Attorney, Legal Aid, Women’s Advocacy Project, and SafePlace.
A Community Policing Ethnography: How Police Talk About Police-Community Partnerships
Working in partnership with the community is a new experience for many police officers. Although police agencies have been experimenting with the philosophy of community policing and collaborative problem-solving for nearly 20 years, the relationships between officers and community members still fall into largely traditional patterns. Based on more than a decade of work in innovative police agencies, this paper discusses the evolution of police-community relationships from the point of view of the street-level police officers. Utilizing survey, interview, and focus group data, we will explore if-and, if so, to what extent- police have re-imagined their own roles vis-a-vis the community, made recommendations for re-shaping police agencies to better accommodate and support police-community partnerships, and changed their attitudes and expectations regarding their community partners.
A Comparative Analysis of Prosecutor Workload
The resources to address crime are not distributed evenly among regions, states or jurisdictions within states. Data from a series of prosecutor workload studies reveal the manner in which prosecutors, with differing levels of staff and other resources, manage to handle the array of cases presented to their office. Within- and across-state comparisons of the managment of prosecutor workoad are presented.
A Comparative Analysis of Race and Gang Affiliation: Is Race a Marginalizing Factor?
Despite the long trend of gang research, there is a paucity of literature that examines the connection between race and gangs which does not concentrate on particular gangs or specific sites. Utilizing self-report data from the national Evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program, this research seeks to examine the relationship between race and gang membership. Specifically, examination of a proposed model, employing Vigils’ theory of multiple marginality and social learning theory, attempts to address whether multiple marginality influences gang membership equally for different racial groups.
A Comparative Gender Analysis of Dispositioal Placements to Florida’s Secure Juvenile Residential Facilities
There has long existed the notion that girls are the beneficiaries of chivalrous treatment in juvenile justice processing. The current study evaluates gender differences within a population of youths who received severe sanctions to assess the accuracy of this notion. The study sample includes all youths in Florida sentenced to the state’s highest-security level programs for their first juvenile commitment between July 1, 1994 and June 30, 1998 (n=9, 380; 958 females and 8,442 males). Analyses focus on the extent to which girls are less serious offenders than boys similarly sanctioned. The findings support the study hypothesis that girls are not treated more leniently than boys. Girls were committed for significantly less serious offenses, had less extensive prior records, were more frequently perceived as above age level in maturity, and were perceived as more aggressive, despite the less serious nature of their committing offenses and prior records. A significantly greater proportion of the girls than boys were classified as runaway risks, were residing with families perceived to be functioning poorly, were not attending school, were perceived as aggressive in school, were abusing multiple substances, and had previously attempted or threatened to commit suicide.
A Comparison of Pre-Arraignment Court Detainees Identified as Mentally Ill by Police Versus Those Not Identified
While the population characteristics of mentally ill jail detainees are well documented, little has been written about this population at the pre-arraignment stage of criminal justice processing, and only anecdotal information is available regarding New York City. This paper presentation will briefly map the arrest to arraignment process and then focus on results from a study of two groups: 1) a random sample of 312 men and women who were pre-arraignment detainees prior to their appearance at a New York City evening arraignment court, and 2) a sample of 50 police identified “Emotionally Disturbed Persons”. Each subject completed a structured diagnostic interview, measures of alcohol and drug use, psychiatric symptom severity, and a comprehensive psychiatric, psychosocial, medical, legal, and service needs interview. Collateral police bookng and arrest information was also collected; prior to index arrest history, one year follow-up arrests, and court dispositions were analyzed. Building upon preliminary significant findings for group differences for a number of psychiatric, legal, and psychosocial variables, we will present results from analyses of the study’s sub-samples (those which psychiatric diagnoses who were police designated, those with psychiatric diagnoses who were not police designated, and those wsith no diagnosis). Implications for policy and mental health court diversion programs will be discussed.
A Content Analysis of Sports Entertainment: Why the WWF Stands for Why We Wound Females
The professional wrestler has become a cultural icon in the United States over the past few years and is often romanticized in the media, the public imagination, and by children. Professional wrestling, once viewed as low-income entertainment, has perforated popular culture and has become a multi-billion dollar industry. The target audience of this form of sports entertainment, televised over fifteen hours per week, is pre-teen and teenage males, who account for approximately fifteen million viewers. Particular focus is placed upon the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), the more popular of the wrestling associations, the role women play in sports entertainment, and the violence perpetrated against women. The researcher develops a typology of women’s roles and general male-female interaction scenarios present in the WWF. The researcher argues that this exploration is important due to the increased role of television in the socialization process and the desensitization and even normalization of violence against women in the media.
A Contingency Approach to Explaining Variation in the Implementation of Community Policing
The proliferation of community policing has been accompanied by a good deal of literature detailing “how to get started” and case-studies that attempt to gauge the process and effectiveness of community policing strategies. However, relatively little research has explored the contextual and structural factors that influence the way in which police organizations implement community policing on an aggregate level. Contingency theory is used to develop a theoretical model that illustrates how these factors influence each other as well as how they determine the structural type of implementation (i.e., specialized unit, designated officers, specific policy) and organizational commitment (i.e., devotion of human resources) to this form of policing. In addition, this model links the way in which the structural type of and devotion of human resources to community policing in turn influence day-to-day community policing activities conducted (e.g., train officers in problem-solving and use on patrol and as part of evaluation, meet with citizens groups, provide crime data to citizens, etc.). This model is tested using data on over 3,000 police organizations from the 1997 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS).
A Cost/Benefit Analysis of the Birmingham, AL Breaking the Cycle Program
An issue of growing concern about any new intervention is whether or not its benefits outweigh the costs of implementation. In other words, if the benefits, as expressed in terms of cost offsets, exceed the cost of a program, then the program can be said to represent a net-savings or be cost/beneficial. In this study, we performed a cost/benefit analysis on the Breaking the Cycle (BTC) project in Birmingham, Alabama. Cost offsets are described in terms of savings with respect to potential reduced costs of crime, as well as possible reductions in mental health and medical costs and in welfare expenditures. These cost savings were estimated from data collected using a modified version of the Addiction Severity Index which provided information in each of these domains for both the intervention and control group at baseline and follow-up. Comparing the two groups at follow-up, and adjusting for differences at baseline permitted estimates to be made of possible savings in each of these domains. Based on local reimbursement data as well as on national estimates of the costs of crime allowed cost savings, where they existed, to be imputed. The costs to the program are based on the total costs to the Birmingham T.A.S.C. program and to the local criminal justice system of implementing BTC.
A Crisis of Representation? The Prison Film Under Incapacitation
Many criminologists have argued that, since the 1970’s, the practice and philosophy of punishment has entered a period of crisis. The century’s dominant ideological frameworks for punishment – rehabilitation and reform – are widely thought to have failed in practice, culminating in a political and philosophical vacuum concerning the meaning and justifications for punishment. Some argue that this shift has led to the emergence of correctional discourses and practices centered upn custody and surveillance, a “new penology” whose managerialist/risk assessment approach to punishment is predicted upon the increased use of incarceration and incapacitation programs as well as a massive expansion of the modern prison system. This paper seeks to address how broadly this “crisis” is apparent in U.S. culture by surveying media representations of contemporary punishment. In order to access broader, cultural notions of imprisonment, I look to the places where the social constructions of imprisonment are most likely to be experienced with the highest degree of public access: film and television. Here, I plan to map transformations in prison and prisoner representations from the late 1960s through to the present in an attempt to evaluate whether this notion of “penological crisis” has achieved expression in American culture.
A Critical Examination of the Digital Music Phenomenon
Our project seeks to analyze the applicability of critical criminological theory to the digital music phenomenon. More specifically, we hope to ascertain whether the primary supporters and innovators (MP3 startups, technophiles, some recording artists, and other “elite” players in the MP3 scence) view the mustic industry and government as controlling agencies seeking to maintain their legitimacy and power by restricting information dissemination and reproduction that will benefit the masses. Additionally, insight into the role played by the current social and political-economic structure in the dynamic between the respective players is sought. Can this control be considered a form of “victimization” of society? Must we rethink our traditional notion of deviance being ascribed primarily to acts committed by an individual against a corporation, because in this case the corporation would be considered the transgressor? This is the primary issue we will discuss in our work.
A Critical Perspective on Freud’s Theory of Parricide and Crime in General
Parricide is often thought to be a psychoanalytic crime, with motives that can be reduced to psychological variables. Consequently, social structures such as class, race, gender, and general rate of violence are thought to be irrelevant in explaining parricide. The psychoanalytic theory of parricide (and crime) is best illustrated in the work of Freud who always turns the analytical lens inward. In this paper, I argue that by doing so, he misses a rudimentary lesson in crime and punishment: what gets defined as a crime and who gets defined as a criminal is not determined by an already existing, immutable, independent law of nature, but always a function of power. Crime, that is, what get defined as one, is more linked to economics, politics, and law than psychology. I argue that Freud has no theory of parricide in particular and crime in particular.
A Decade of Data: What Have We Learned About the Sentencing of Organizations in Federal Court?
Using the sentencing event as the unit of analysis, federally convicted organizations sentenced in U.S. District Courts from 1988 through 1999 are analyzed to see whether Chapter 8 of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines has been manifested in the actual sentencing of organizations. Many factors specified by Chapter 8 are supposed to impact the amount of organizational fining, and this paper examines the extent to which those factors are present in the actual sanctions imposed. If any single factor stands out as affecting the organizational fine, it is the aggravating factor of whether upper level management condoned or participated in the offense. The other major culpability justification for punishment was whether the organizational employees attempted to thwart their criminalization through an obstruction of justice. It is also noteworthy that several variables were not related to fining, such as recidivism and plea. Because plea was unrelated to the amount of the fine, it can be concluded that there is not trial penalty in the sentencing of organizations as is so pervasive in the sentencing of individuals. Theoretical and empirical backgrounds on the federal sentencing of organizations are also included in the discussion, as is an explanation of the implementation of Chapter 8 guidelines.
A Disparate Impact Standard for Police Stops and Searches
Recent studies of police stops and searches have their roots in litigation and legal scholarship, and they bear the imprint of those origins in their underlying conception of equity as the absence of discriminatory treatment. That conception, prominent in 14th amendment jurisprudence, prohibits government from treating individuals differently because of their race. This paper proposes a more demanding, disparate impact conception of equity that finds support in other areas of law and philosophy. I argue that morally-identital individuals should not run diffferent risk of being stopped or searched depending on their race–even if officers never directly use race to make stop and search decisions. Thus the risk that an innocent person will be stopped or searched should be equal across racial groups, and the same should be true for a person guilty of any particular crime (as well as for those guilty of equally-serious crimes). This standard offers a novel way for empirical research to assess the equity implications of specific police practices, such as focusing surveillance on particular thoroughfares or using certain (nonracial) characteristics as part of a “profile” of suspicious persons. The paper reports progress on a research project designed to assess police practices in that way.
A General Strain Theory Model of Community Level Drug Activity
In a recent article, Agnew (1999) argues that General StrainTheory offers an alternative to social control explanations of community crime rates. In this paper we empirically examine both aggregated levels of personal strain as well as strain occurring specifically in the neighborhood in relation to neighborhood level drug activity, an hypothesized response to strain. Using data from 66 neighborhoods in Kentucky, I find that, controlling for levels of disadvantage and stability, both the percent of residents experiencing strain specifically within their neighborhood are positively and significantly related to levels of neighborhood drug activity. Factors that are hypothesized to mediate the effect of strain on criminal behavior, such as values conducive to crime and low social control are also examined.
A Hierarchial Analysis of National Trends in Sentencing of Rape Offenders
Current research on the criminal justice system’s response to rape is nearly ten years old. Furthermore, many methodological problems exist within past research that makes it difficult to accurately compare findings across studies. This paper will address both gaps in the research on the criminal justice response to sexual assault, particularly in regards to how the system sanctions rapists. This paper will present analysis of ten years of data from a national representative sample of convicted felony offenders to address several questions that continue to surround the practice of sentencing rapists. First, we will describe the extent to which males convicted for rape are sentenced differently than other male-violent-felons; empirical research into this issue would provide an important test of the “leniency hypothesis.” Second, we will identify differences and patterns that exist between states in their application of sexual assault laws as they pertain to sentencing rapists. Finally, using hierarchical linear modeling, we will assess the extent to which individual offender charaacteristics and state level characteristics account for type and the length of sentence for rape. We will also explore the extent to which these two sets of factors interact with time.
A Life Course Analysis of the Relationship Between Military Service and Criminal Behavior
Historically, the military has played a major role in the lives of a large proportion of the U.S. population. To illustrate, it has served as one of the largest employers and educators of young men and women. Despite potential impact of military service in later life, little research attention has focused on this topic, particularly criminology. Joining the military interrupts the life course and may infuence the initiation, continuation, and cessation of offending. This study applies a life course framework to the question of how military service related to the process of criminal behavior. The main purpose of this research is to determine whether military service changes existing patterns of criminal behavior. For example, does military service increase criminal offending? Or conversely, does military service facilitate desistance from crime? Or finally, does the military merely provide another setting for the continuation of pre-military behavior.
A Life Course Dynamics Perspective on Comorbidity: Trajectories of Conduct Disorder and Substance Use
This paper uses a dynamic approach to modeling comorbidity using prospectively gathered data from multiple informants on youth conduct disorder and substance use. The resultant patterns of trajectories from these semi-parametric mixture models are described. We extend research specifying the influences of the frequency and quantity of substances used in comorbid relationships by examining how the duration of time spent in the disordered state, as indicated by the types of trajectories, affects subsequent functioning. Selected time varying and invariant risk factors are also examined for amplification effects on the joint trajectories by gender. Three cohorts of adolescents followed over time in the Great Smoky Mountains Study of Youth (GSMSd) data are used to examine these research objectives. This sample includes information on three ethnic groups in rural North Carolina from the baseline ages of nine, eleven, and thirteen through mid to late adolescence. Detailed information on risk trajectories and their amplification may facilitate more developmentally sensitive preventive interventions.
A Long Term Follow-Up of Serious Female Offenders
Most studies of the adolescent to adult transition have relied on cohort, neighborhood or school-based designs, and even those that select on standard “risk” criteria (e.g., residing in a low income neighborhood, evidence of conduct disorder in 5th grade) contain few youth whose delinquent involvement is serious and chronic. This low base rate problem is exacerbated when we focus on criminal behavior and aggression as exhibited by female adolescents. Yet every jurisdiction contains a small and growing number of young women whose behavior is sufficiently serious to warrant official intervention, and we know remarkably little about their long term prospects. In this paper, we present the results of the first contemporary long term follow-up of a sample of serious adolescent female offenders (n=127) and a similarly situated male comparison group (n=127). We initially conducted interviews in 1982 with the entire population of the state’s only institution for delinquent girls and a comparable sample of adolescent male offenders drawn from three male institutions. In 1995/1996 we were able to locate and re-interview 75% of these respondents (n=210), who at the follow-up averaged approximately thirty years of age. Prior analyses (see e.g., Giordano, Cernkovich and Rudolph, 2000; Cernkovich and Giordano, 2001) have focused on factors associated with variability in criminal involvement observed at the time of the follow-up interview. However, these analyses do not provide a comprehensive portrait of the central tendencies within these data. In this paper, we examine the well-being of male and female respondents using multiple indices of functioning. We compare male and female rates of arrest and incarceration, drug and alcohol impairment, and levels of psychological distress. We attempt to place these behaviors within a broader life course framework through an examination of the educational, occupational, and family formation experiences of these respondents. We also assess how race/ethnicity independently and an interaction with gender influences the success of the adult transitions of these highly marginal early starting delinquent youth.
A Longitudinal Test of Power-Control Theory
Hagan’s power-control theory posits that gender differences in delinquency and crime are at least partly attributed to the differential socialization processes that boys and girls receive within patriarchal versus egalitarian households. In patriarchal households, the gender ratio in delinquency should be larger because boys are encouraged to be risk takers while girls are socialized into more feminine roles. This gender ratio in delinquency should be less pronounced in egalitarian households where boys and girls are socialized more similarly. While studies using cross-sectional research designs have generally found support for Hagan’s hypotheses, longitudinal approaches attempting to understand these relationships have yet to be examined. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I examine how changes in the level of patriarchy within a household affect the changes in the gender-delinquency and crime distribution. The theoretical and policy implications of this research are discussed.
A Matter of Crime: Repeat Victimization in Canada
The probability of being criminally victimized in Canada is relatively small. At the same time, the risk of criminal victimization involves both spatial and temporal factors that vary according to type of crime. The risk of criminal re-victimization also varies according to type of crime, with revictimization apparently greater for crimes of violence than for property offenses. Using data from the 1999 Canadian General Social Survey (Cycle 13), the analysis undertaken here attempts to identify some of the spatial and temporarl factors at play that increase or decrease the probability of crime and various crime types, as well as factors that increase or decrease the probability of revictimization within particular crime types.
A Meta-Analysis of Use of Force Studies: Simulations vs. Observational Research
While there has been a significant amount of research conducted regarding police use of force, there has been less attention paid to how these various studies relate to one another. In the current work the intent is to conduct a meta-analysis of two different types of study on police use of force-observational research and use of stimulations. The use of force by police officers is a widely studied topic precisely because it can have severe negative consequences for police-community relations. In undertaking a meta-analysis, the object is to determine if observational research and the use of simulations identify the same variables as significant predictors. If these two types of study do indeed identify the same variables, these results can be considered to have increased validity and reliability, thereby allowing police departments to use this information in constructing policy.
A Model Family Violence Curriculum
Medical schools around the country have initiated adhoc teaching around family violence issues, especially child abuse and partner abuse. However, these activities typically are not integrated with other aspects of the curriculum or with each other. Consequently, students do not have the opportunity to learn the broader issues related to family violence, prevention and intervention. To address these concerns, students and faculty at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine developed a model family, violence curriculum encompassing child abuse, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), sexual assault, and elder abuse. The activities extensively use standardized patients and resource people including hotline and shelter staff, legal professionals, and law enforcement. The presentation will cover the principles guiding development of the model curriculum, the curriculum sequence, and an overview of the proposed patient cases and related activities. The presentation will be of interest to educators in social work, public health, law enforcement and law. If time allows, we will also discuss uses of this curriculum and of standardized learning experiences in other settings.
A Model of Community Reintegration
This paper will define a model of community reintegration, with special reference to women offenders. The paper is particularly concerned with the experiences of women who have been made subject to a community penalty. It is usual for community reintegration to be linked to employment and basic skills programmes. However, the authors are concerned with considering how social networks contribute to community reintegration and developing a model to include such networks in criminal justice interventions. The authors will draw upon findings from a recent research study.
A Multidisciplinary Approach to Teaching a Course on Computer Crime
A review of the literature suggests that in order to adequately address the computer crime problem, a multidisciplinary approach must be used. I would extend this to teaching about computer crime in the classroom setting. The best way for students to understand the problem of computer crime (and therefore be able to help combat the problem) is through the use of multidisciplinary approach, addressing the issue from a criminological/philosophical perspective, a criminal justice/law enforcement perspective, and a computer science perspective.
A Multiple Models Approach to Assessing Recidivism Risk: Implications for Judicial Decision Making
Public protection is a primary focal concern of judges. Thus, sentencing decisions are based, in part, on assessments of the likelihood of future criminal behavior. Yet, judges seldom use actuarial (or statistical) prediction tools in their work. This reluctance is due largely, to concerns about predictive accuracy. In this paper, we describe a newly developed, multiple models approach to recidivism prediction. We show how combining the predictions from a series of classification three models, enhances our ability to classify cases into groups that vary along a spectrum of risk. Given the judicial concern with public protection, we believe that our results justify renewed attention to the potential uses of actuarial tools within the context of judicial decision-making.
A Multiyear Statewide Analysis of Restitution Imposition in Pennsylvania
This study examined the effect of legal, extralegal, case processing, and contextual variables on the imposition of restitution. Data for the analyses which came from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, included more than 200,000 cases with identifiable victims decided during the years 1990-1994 and 1996-1998. Multivariate analysis indicated that offense severity, prior record, demographic characteristics, and trial type all significantly affected the imposition of restitution. Moreover, whether restitution was part of a sentence appeared to be influenced by county contextual variables, including political and social climate.
A One-Day Snapshot of Aboriginal Youth in Custody Across Canada
In many Canadian jurisdictions, the proportion of Aboriginal youth in custody far outstrips their representation within the overall population. Critics charge that the criminal justice system fails to meet the needs of these youth. The Youth Justice Policy Team (YJPT) at the Department of Justice Canada recognizes that strategcally targeted and community based programs are needed to reduce Aboriginal youths’ involvement in the system. To help facilitate this goal, the Research and Statistics Division at the Department of Justice Canada co-ordinated A One-Day Snapshot of Aboriginal Youth in Custody Across Canada. The goal of the Snapshot was to determine 1) where Aboriginal youth lived prior to being charged or committing their offence; 2) where they committed or allegedly committed their offence; 3) where they plan to relocate upon release from custody; 4) the number, age and gender of Aboriginal youth in custody on Snapshot day, and the nature of their charges or convictions. The Snapshot includes data on all Aboriginal youth in provincial and territorial facilities (open, secure and remand) on Snapshot Day. This presentation will discuss the results of this study and will contextualise the findings within the broader context of Aboriginal youth involvement with the criminal justice system.
A Problem in No-Problem-Policing in Germany: Confidence in the Police in Germany and U.S.
The literature of qualitative studies on the German police generally paints an image of professionalism, excellence, and public confidence. The published opinion polls toward the police within Germany also show general positive attitudes toward the police. The current study attempts to test this image with comparative data. The results from analyzing data in 1990 show that the public in the United States has higher confidence in the police than that of the German public. This result raises new questions of the seemingly problem-free German police and challenges the German police leadership and police academia to make innovative efforts to improve, forge, and renew a better relationship between the police and the public.
A Profile of Females in the Juvenile Justice System
The increasing volume of girls in the juvenile justice system has caused concern among system administrators and policy makers alike. The presentation will profile female offenders in the juvenile justice system and highlight recent trends. Using self-report, arrest, juvenile court case processing data, and data on juveniles in residential placement the flow of girls through the juvenile justice system will be addressed. Analysis will also explore girls’ patterns of victimization. This information provides a foundation for better understanding female offenders and the special issues they present to the juvenile justrice system.
A Qualitative and Quantitative Approach to Understanding Sexual Violence During Pregnancy
This paper explores women’s experiences of sexual violence during pregnancy. 625 women at a large obstetrics/gynecology practice completed a questionnaire about their experiences of violence and pregnancy. Findings include that 23% of the women had been physically, sexually, or emotionally victimized by their partners during pregnancy. 7% of the women in this study experiences sexual abuse during pregnancy. The types of sexual violence those women experiences and the effects of the violence on their pregnancy outcomes are discussed through an analysis of these data. In-depth interviews conducted with 10 women about their experiences of sexual violence provide more detailed information about how women experience changes in violence during pregnancy, how they respond to sexual violence, and the wide range of effects of sexual abuse on their lives.
A Racially Disaggregated Analysis of the Impact of Gender Equality on Rates of Honicide Victimization Defined by the Victim-Offender Relationship
A recent analysis by Vieraitis and Williams (2000) revealed support for the feminist backlash hypothesis that increased gender equality functions to increase violence against women as a result of increased perceptions of threat to the status quo. They reported a positive effect of gender equality on female homicide victimization in a sample of U.S. cities. Further analysis revealed that the backlash effect held for white female homicide victimization but not black female homicide victimization. In other words, the homicide rate for white women is higher in cities where their relative status is high. The same relationship was not evident for black women. In this paper, I extend that analysis to the study of rates of homicide defined by relationship between the victim and offender. Isuggest that an examination of the impact of gender equality on different forms of homicide (as defined by the victim-offender relationship) may clarify the apparent gender equality — race interaction. For example, I examine the extent to which the rate of intimate homicide is higher for black women in cities where they are doing better relative to black men. Using data from the Supplementary Homicide Reports, I examine the relationship between gender equality and intimate homicide using racially disaggregated measures of gender equality and homicide. My analyses are based on data for 1990 for a sample of 109 cities. I take steps to allocate missing values for the relationship between the victim and offender that are common in the SHR.
A Review of Best Practices in Treating Mentally Ill Juveniles in the Criminal Justice System
The population of juvenile offenders with mental illness is exploding. A collaboration among juvenile courts, community mental health boards, and treatment providers has identified a gap in services for this population of offenders. Serving individuals with mental health and behavioral problems presents special concerns for corrections. This population has unique needs to be addressed — especially in the instance of juvenile offenders. The incarceration of mentally ill juvenile offenders in facilities that fail to offer appropriate mental health services results in a cycle of continuing contact with the criminal justice system. Based upon a new, innovative program aimed at treating delinquent youth who have serious mental health issues, this presentation will provide a review of the best practices for such a program.
A Social Constructionist Perspective on Domestic Violence Units in Police Departments
This paper builds on the findings of a multi-year study of police departments in Massachusetts by offering a context for understanding Domestic Violence Units. Social constructionism offers a way to make sense of the data that has been collected about the composition of the units, their jurisdiction, and the reasons officers’ believe the units were begun. The question the paper attempts to address is what purpose do these units serve.
A Spatial and Temporal Analysis of the Impact of a Community Court
The presentation will show the impact of the community court in the North and Northeast (N/NE) precincts in Portland, Oregon. The Portland Community Courts (PCC) offer alternative sentences and services to offenders convicted of quality-of-life crimes, such as vandalism, theft, and prostitution. This evaluation is designed to measure the impact that community court interventions have on multiple indicators of the quality of life in the targeted communities. It will incorporate both a time series and spatial evaluation of the program’s effects, using data provided by the Portland Police Bureau for all arrests in Portland between January 1, 1996 and January 30, 2000. The hypothesis tested is that arrests for crimes eligible for participation in the N/NE Community Court will be lower in the period followng the implementation of the court, compared to the levels pre-implementation. Two methods will be employed to measure changes in arrests. First, ARIMA intervention models will be used to measure changes in the aggregate number of arrests over time, controlling for other factors, such as seasonal effects and general changes in policing during the full period of observation. Second, the PCC effects on the spatial dynamics of crime before and after implementation in areas with a high concentration of target crimes will be studied, to identify changes in the distribution of arrests.
A Specialized Juvenile Domestic and Family Violence Court
Juvenile domestic and family violence are serious social problems. In this paper, domestic violence refers to violence against a girlfriend/boyfriend, while family violence refers to violence against siblings and parents. States and jurisdictions vary widely in the way their legislation and juvenile courts react to such violence. This paper reviews the relevant research literature and law, and then describes a specialized juvenile court program aimed at early intervention for young offenders and their victims. The Santa Clara County Domestic and Family Violence Court program identifies all juvenile domestic violence cases at intake, refers minors to a specialized juvenile court calendar with intensive court supervision, and provides enhanced services to juvenile offenders, their victims and families. The background, interventions, and recidivism rates of a group of DV/FV juvenile offenders in the specialized program (N=112) are compared with a group of DV/FV juveile offenders prior to the initiation of the program (N=59). The data are taken from juvenile and adult probation and court records. We also discuss the offenders’ family history of child abuse and domestic violence, and the gender and interactive patterns of the violence. The paper concludes by providing an evaluation of this specialized juvenile court intervention program.
A Strategy for Evaluating the Impact of County-Level Programs: Communities That Care in Pennsylvania
Community level interventions have become increasingly popular in recent years, and evaluating these programs poses special methodological difficulties. Based on our evaluation of Communities that Care in Pennsylvania, we present a design and analysis strategy that addresses those difficulties and yields a strong estimate of program effectiveness. This strategy is applicable when the program is implemented in some proportion of a larger set of communities, as often happens when state government funds a limited number of counties to implement a program. The evaluation strategy is especially practical and cost effective when outcomes can be measured by routinely reported administrative data, such as county level crime data. The basic form of our analysis is Campbell and Stanley’s multiple interrupted time series. Rosenbaum and Rubin’s (1983) propensity socring method provides a useful approach for selecting a suitable group of comparison counties. The design is further strengthened by focusing the analysis on within-county change, before versus after the implementation of the program. We do so through a pooled-time-series regression model that controls for average time trends. We estimate this model using the Poisson version of hierarchical linear modeling, which also takes into account the limited accuracy of crime rates for small populations.
A Typology of Mass Disasters and the Victims That Are Produced
This paper analyzes three types of “Mass Disasters” and develops a typology of the victims produced by each disaster. The three types of disasters addressed are Corporate/Criminal, Terrorist and Natural. All of the disasters affected a specific community and were instantaneous in nature. Each had both survivors and non-survivors, injured and non-injured victims. The specific Corporate/Criminal disaster used in this paper is that of the 1988 Kentucky School Bus Crash with a drunk driver, which killed 27 people and injured numerous others. Similarly the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing and Hurricane Andrew are used to represent disasters caused by terrorism and nature.
A World of Dangers: How Youth Negotiate High-Crime Neighborhoods
This paper presents initial data from a long-term comparative study of youth living in high crime neighborhoods. The focus of this presentation will be on how youth in several Philadelphia neighborhoods navigate their way through the many dangers that they face on a daily basis. Data will be presented from participant observation and in-depth interviews with delinquent and non-delinquent youth, and will focus on cognitive maps of dangerous areas, daily experiences with crime and violence, and what young people do to control or avoid crime.
Abuse in Intimate Relationships as a Barrier to Work for Poor Women: Results From a Canadian Study
This paper examines the relationship between women’s employment status in a disadvantaged Canadian neighborhood, and experiences of intimate violence. We draw on data from the Quality of Neighborhood Life Survey (QNLS) of men and women living in a public housing estate in an urban center in Eastern Ontario, Canada. We examine the contention that women who have been victimized over the past year were more likely to be unemployed, or employed in part-time work than women who had not so been victimized. In the context of “workfare” policy transformations in the province of Ontario emphasizing the transition from welfare to work, the study addresses the question of whether some women may be unable to work (despite wanting to), because of experiences of violence at the hands of their intimate partners. Policy implications and suggestions for further reseach are discussed.
Accommodating the Needs of Individuals With Developmental Disabilities in the California Department of Corrections
During the past three years, the California Department of Corrections (CDC) has developed mechanisms to screen, assess, and identify all inmates with developmental disabilities and provide them with accommodations, services, and supports. The presentation will review legal entitlements, discuss the prevalence of developmental disabilities in the CDC, and discuss the implementation of plans to serve inmates with developmental disabilities. Implications for research and policy develop-meht will be explored.
Accounting for Fraud: Lessons From the Gokal/BCCI Schemes
This paper draws attention to the systematic and organized criminal acts committed by legitimate enterprises and professionals, focusing on accounting fraud. Firstly, the extent and consequences of ‘false accounting’ are considered, then a theoretical framework is outlined which focuses on structural issues commonly found in financial scandals around the world. The Gokal/BCCI fraud is summarized as a case study offering insights into the motives and modus operandi of accounting frauds. The analysis centers on theoretical and practical lessons to be learned from this case, which is placed in the context of evidence from other frauds around the world. The article points to the importance of strains and pressures perpetrators are subject to, the rationalizations they use, the organizational culture and anomie.
Acquaintance Versus Stranger Rape and Sexual Assault
Rapes and sexual assaults involving people who are acquainted with each other (AR) are characterized differently than offenses committed by strangers (SR). The typical AR supposedly occurs during dating activity and is fueled by alcohol. AR offenses are assumed to involve less physical injury beyond the assault itself and to be less likely to be reported to the police than SR offenses. It is also sometimes assumed that AR offenders have more varied demographic backgrounds. An examination of data from the National Crime Victimization Survey reveals a somewhat different picture. As predicted, AR offenders are less likely than SR offenders to use weapons and threaten the victim, while SR offenders are more likely to be young and African-American. However, AR offenders are less likely to be intoxicated than are SR offenders, and they are more likely to physically injure the victim. In addition, AR victims are just as likely to report the crime to the police. We argue that incidents involving acquaintances are more likely to produce injuries because they are more likely to involve grievances and a desire to harm the victim (rather than produce compliance). We also suggest that there are incentives for reporting these crimes to the police that offset inhibitory factors.
Action Research on Youth Gangs in Indian Country: Profiling the Problem and Seeking Solutions
An intensified focus by the U.S. Department of Justice on issues of crime and delinquency in Indian country from a research perspective has been emerging over the past several years. OJDP has taken a lead role in these activities. Following a multi-year study in which the authors of this paper led the effort to compile a profile of youth gangs and their activities on the Navajo reservation, a new project has been awarded by OJJDP to study youth gangs across a numer of settings in Indian Country, including reservations and metropolitan areas. This paper will focus on preliminary activities and results in that effort. Data collected through a combination of in-depth survey and ethnographic observation and targeting both gang members and communitiy stakeholders will allow a determination of tribal-specific as well as broad-based generalized factors and characteristics shaping origins, organization and activities of Native Americans youth involved in gangs on a number of reservations and in selected urban areas. This research effort will also ascertain those solutions that are being tried in the research sites as well as programmatic recommendations generated by the community-based respondents.
Addressing Family-Focused Prevention Implementation Issues Through Partnership-Based Prevention Trials
Among the family and youth interventions that have significant empirical support is a universal intervention called the Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14 (SFP 10-14). Like other universal interventions, this program offers a number of potential advantages in achieving public health impact. Despite the potential of programs like the SFP 10-14, a number of critical implementation-related issues must be addressed if a significant public health impact is to be accomplished. Central among these issues are those concerning effective community-university collaboration in large-scale program implementation. This presentation will summarize a program of prevention trials evaluating SFP 10-14 and other universal youth and family competency training interventions–trials that are guided by community-university partnerships. It will highlight how prevention research project trials can be used for further investigation of implementation issues. Following an overview of the community-university partnership project, findings concerning several implementation issues will be summarized, including: effectively recruiting and retaining families and schools, sustaining uniformly high levels of adherence to intervention protocols, examining implementation outcome relationships, and conducting economic analyses of implementation. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of the importance of investigating models for sustainable, quality implementation through community-university partnerships embedded in existing prevention program delivery systems.
Addressing the Unique Needs of Minority Female Juvenile Offenders Through Gender Specific and Cultural Programming as Alternatives to Incarceration
The gendered division of offenders in the American juvenile system is changing. Girls’ involvement in criminal activity is increasing, they are entering the system at younger ages, and minorities are disproportionately represented. Research on female juvenile offenders is scarce, but issues such as race, childhood trauma, pregnancy, substance abuse, poverty and academic failure arise in many studies. These observations suggest that we must pay more attention to female minority juveniles as a subgroup. This paper will discuss girls’ offending and examine in particular the potentials of alternatives to incarceration for these offenders which focus on their specific circumstances. This paper will focus on programs which combine gender specific and cultural progamming for minority female offenders. Gender specific programs comprehensively address the special needs of a particular gender group, providing services which cultivate self confidence, assertiveness, relationship-building, future orientation, and a connection with family and the community. Cultural programming integrates knowledge of and sensitivity to the cultural background of participants into program practices to encourage self esteem and a sense of relevance. This paper will show how the U.S. juvenile justice system inadequately serves females, minorities and juveniles, and how these alternative programs adequately approach this population and its unique needs.
Adolescent Perceptions of School Safety: The Role of Delinquent Peers and Television Media in a Post-Columbine Sample
School violence is a topic that has many Americans talking. Over the past few years academics, practitioners, and policy makers have been debating issues on how to maintain safe schools. While there are official reports showing a reduction in the number of weapons carried to school, there is still a substantial fear among students and teachers that violence may occur. This is not surprising since the television media is saturated with images of violent children and incidence of school violence. These images have the potential to create a “mean world” effect on the viewers, namely those young people who go to school everyday. Therefore, this study focuses on the perception of school safety by fifth and sixth graders in several Midewestern schools. These students were surveyed to determine how safe they feel in their schools, as well as those social, environmental, and familial factors that might contribute to their perceptions.
Adolescent Stress and Delinquency in Longitudinal Perspective
The association between adolescent stress and participation in delinquent activity is under-researched in criminology, despite rather consistent findings that stress is interlinked with a range of adolescent problems. Important questions about the relationship that call for further examination include a) the causal direction of this relationship), b) gender differences in reaction to stress, c) the impact of interpersonal versus other stressors, and d) the nature of mediating processes (such as anxiety and depressive symptoms) that may link stress and delinquency. This paper will address these issues with data from the Rochester Youth Development Study, a longitudinal investigation of the development of delinquent behavior in a high-risk urban sample of 1000 youths, from age 13 to adulthood. The sample is 73% male and 27% female, 68% are African American, 17% Hispanic, and 15% White. The current analysis uses data from Waves 2 through 9, when the subjects were 14-17 years old. Measures include an adolescent stress index, a family stress index, internalizing problems, depressive symptoms, self-reported delinquency, and official delinquency.
Adolescent Violence and the Great Debate Between Social Control Theory and Social Learning Theory
Drawing on Social Control Theory and Social Learning Theory, this study examines the effects of family and peer bonds on adolescent violence using data from waves one (1976) and six (1983) of the National Youth Survey. Twelve measures (nine of them are multiple item-scales) of Social Control and Socxial Learning Theories are constructed along with a nine-item scale measuring adolescent violence. At the bivariate level, three of the four cross-tabulations supported Social Control Theory, while one supported Social Learning Theory. At the multi-variate level, both theories appear to carry similar amounts of predictive power. Youth age, gender, intact family, parent’s attachment to peers, youth involvement with friends, youth exposure to delinquent peers, and youth’s attitude toward deviance are all significant predictors of adolescent violence.
Adolescent Violence Prevention: A Community and School Approach
Juvenile aggression, delinquency, violence, and crime have been identified by principals in a national survey as key problems in public schools. Many school systems, however, either have no violence prevention program currently operating or have programs that have been targeted for a particular incidence of violence that occurred within the school. Research has shown that attempts to stem violence in schools have been uneven at best. . A consortium of seven universities formed the Hamilton Fish National Institute on School and Community Violence. Florida State University (FSU), one of the consortium partners, was charged along with the others to develop a unique violence prevention program that targets at-risk eighth and ninth graders in urban Florida schools. Only eighth graders were participating at the time of this evaluation. The prevention program developed by FSU was based upon a model constructed at the Adams Middle School in Tampa, Florida wherein middle schoolers were paired with community-based intervention from an adult mentor. The current program is administered through these middle schools under the coordination of a half-time teacher, who serves as the program coordinator and mentor on-site at the school. The participant schools in this evaluation are located in Tampa, Jacksonville, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Results of this preliminary study demonstrate that the target population is benefiting from this intervention. Participants demonstrated significant positive changes in total number anfd days of suspensions, total days of sanction, and unexcused absences. This promising program is entering a period of information dissemination where final results will be explored.
Adult Substance Use — Causes and Consequences
While there exists a voluminous literature on the correlates of youth substance use and outcomes associated with use, comparatively little attention has been devoted to studying adult substance use. Using data from a household survey of approximately 800 adults in Washington state, this paper examines adult substance use, with a particular focus on racial/ethnic differences in use and abuse of both licit and illicit drugs. Multivariate analyses will examine risk and protective factors associated with adult substance use, and how these differ across racial/ethnic groups. The paper will conclude with analyses of outcomes (il.e., employment, arrest, etc.) associated with substance use.
Advances in Postmodern Social Theory and Critical Criminology: Rediscovering the “First Wave”
Postmodernist social theory has established itself as a viable intellectual tradition by which to examine varied and complex social phenomena. This is particularly the case within the domain of law, crime, and justice studies. This paper examines the origins of French postmodernist thought, mindful of important insights developed by those key figures who helped make possible new directions in law-society and criminological research. Along these lines, I review the contributions of Lanca, Foucault, Irigaray, Deleuze & Guattari, Barthes, Lyotard, Kristeva, and Baudrillard. I suggest where and how their respective ideas are suggestive for the future of critical criminology.
African American Perceptions of the Police: A Study of “In Group” Variation
Existing research on attitudes toward the police has identified demographic variables predicting citizen satisfaction with police services and performance. A common theme in this literature are the disparate rates of satisfaction reported by African American and Caucasian citizens. While it is generally understood that African American citizens express lower levels of satisfaction, to what degree is this reduced satisfaction consistent among African Americans and what factors might cause variation within this group. This study examines whether other demographic and attitudinal variables cause significant variation in the level of reported satisfaction within a group of African Americans. Specifically, the authors consider whether there is a relationship between an African American citizen’s evaluation of their local police and the citizen’s age, gender, income, education, marital status, self-reported fear of crime, neighborhood evaluation, and level of contact with the police. Data are taken from a survey of residents in a medium-sized Midwestern community.
Age, Work Quality, and Deviance: Addressing the Effects of Work Quality on Problem Behaviors in Adolescence
We examine the work and delinquency relationship in the early life course by addressing: (1) the effects of work quality on delinquency in adolescence, and (2) whether work quality can moderate the well-established positive correlation between work intensity and problem behaviors. We consider several dimensions of adolescent employment, including opportunities for learning and advancement, job security, earnings, job autonomy, work-derived status from peers, the demands and stress of work, and the perceived compatibility between work and school, to examine which components of work influence rates of substance use, school misconduct, and arrest among a sample of 12th grade students. We find that work quality has little effect on adolescent deviance, and that work quality does little to moderate the positive effects of work intensity on substance use and school misconduct. In contrast, the qualities of work that reduce arrest, recidivism, substance use, and depressed mood in adults (i.e. job autonomy, earnings, status, and security) increase substance use and minor delinquency in adolescence. More generally, this analysis suggests the effect of work quality on delinquency is conditional on the age of the worker.
Ain’t Got Long To Stay Here: AIDS-Infected Black and Latino Prisoners Doing Masculinity, Doing Illness and Dying
Aids is never an easy disease to endure within prison walls, as AIDS-infected black and Latino men, incarcerated in upstate New York prisons, will attest. When illness has devastated their bodies, they report that they are subjected to the intersection of suffering from the “pains of imprisonment” and even greater suffering from the AIDS virus. In particular, during the stage before dying, AIDS presents a formidable threat to their masculinitiy. My paper explores how physical and mental debilitation impacts upon how AIDS-infected prisoners cope with the conflict between definitions of manliness that pervade various prisons and their growing inability to live up to these prison definitions. Based on in-depth interviews with AIDS-infected and Latino men incarceated within various prisons’ general populations and infirmaries, I look at how these men renegotiate a sense of manliness. Preliminary findings point out a variety of ways of “doing masculinity.” Some prisoners draw upon elements of the traditional masculine role prevalent in prisons. Others, unable to lean on previous constructions of manliness, transform those aspects of traditional masculinity to make their lives manageable. Others formulate non-traditional conceptions of manhood to deal with illness and dying. How AIDS-infected black and Latino prisoners “do masculinity” has important consequences for their well being and for the kinds of treatment accorded them by prison medical staff and other prisoners.
Alcohol and Other Drug Use and Dependency in ADAM Arrestees
NIJ’s Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program recently introduced a new interview instrument that collects information from arrestees to assess their need for treatment for alcohol and other drug dependence and/or abuse. This paper will use that data to provide estimates of the percentage of arrestees who screen in as AOD dependent across the 35 data collection sites and describe their characteristics. The ADAM Year 2000 instrument contains a set of six items that screen respondents for dependence and abuse of drugs and alcohol. (The items were developed specifically for an arrestee population from tested clinical screens including CAGE and SUDDS-IV.) All self-reported drug-involved ADAM arrestees are now administered this brief screener. The data offer a reliable assessment of the need for treatment in the arrestee population in the extensive network of ADAM counties. This paper will describe the characteristics of arrestees across sites who meet the criteria for drug and alcohol abuse and dependence. These characteristics include age, sex, ethnicity, health insurance coverage status, employment status, type of drug most frequently used, and arrest charge.
Alcohol and Rape Among College Women: Implications for Prevention
The Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study has large national studies of drinking and other drug use amog college students. Surveys in 1997 and 1999 included questions about rape and its correlates. The data are used to examine the role that alcohol and other drug use plays in raising the risk of rape. Comparisons across campuses lead empirical suport to Sanday’s contention that campuses vary greatly in being “rape-prone” and “rape-free”. Strategies for reducing the risk of rape for individuals and for reducing the rate of rape across colleges and presented in the light of these findings.
Alcohol Consumption and the Spatial Distribution of Homicide Rates in Russia
The Russian homicide rate has been comparable to that of the United States for at least the last 35 years, and the rate increased dramatically during the transition of the 1990s. The Russian homicide victimization rate is now more than three times higher than in the U.S. but still varies widely throughout the country. Several sociologists, demographers, and public health researchers have partially attributed the increase and the wide range of variation to heightened levels of alcohol consumption. This study employs newly available mortality and socioeconomic data from Russia to test the cross-sectional aspect of this hypothesis. Specifically, data from the 89 Russian regions are employed to estimate the effects of aggregate levels of alcohol consumption on regional homicide rates, controlling for the commonly tested structural covariates of homicide. Contrary to findings from the United States, the results indicate a positive and significant relationship between alcohol consumption and homicide rates in Russia.
Alcohol Use Among Adolescents in Juvenile Detention: Findings From the Northwestern Juvenile Project
It is well documented that about half of U.S. adolescents are current alcohol users. Much less is known about the prevalence of alcohol use and patterns of alcohol use among adolescents in juvenile detention. The purpose of the current investigation is to examine the prevalence of alcohol consumption, problem drinking, and alcohol-related negative consequences in a random sample of adolescents who were newly detained in the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (CCJTDC) in Illinois, between 1995 and 1998. Data were collected by the Northwestern Juvenile Project and include detailed interviews from 1,832 youths (36% females; 64% males) between 10 and 17 years of age. The current investigation will report the age of first alcohol use, frequency of alcohol use, and the prevalence of binge drinking, problem drinking (e.g., drinking more than planned, could not stop drinking), and negative consequences from drinking (e.g., physical symptoms, missing school, engaging in physical fighting). Information from this investigation will help to determine the level of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems among detained youth and may increase our understanding of the need for alcohol-related treatment services in this high-risk group.
Alternative Dimensions to a Comparative Justice Syllabus
Based on the presenter’s experience of teaching comparative policing and comparative justice over the last 15 years, this paper addresses two dimensions to syllabus content. The first distinguishes between criminal justice systems in different countries and criminal justice issues addressed in a comparative context. The second distinguishes beteen countries that are considered ‘foreign’ and those that are generally ignored in comparative work as being ‘too close to home’. In the latter case, the paper focuses on other parts of the British Isles (Scotland; Northern Iteland; and the Channel Islands) that have their own distinctive criminal justice systems but are normally subsumed — by U.S. and many U.K. commentators — within a mythical ‘British’ model.
Alternatives to Incarceration for Felony Offenders in New York
The Vera Institute of Justice is evaluating ten New York City alternative to incarceration (ATI) programs for felony offenders. These programs work with mid-level offenders who are sentenced to day treatment programs instead of jail or prison. The programs serve four populations: general offenders, substance abusers, women, and youth. Results from the four-year research project will provide descriptive information and data on the programs and the ATI participants they serve (N>500). Findings include data on program outcomes, such as program attendance and retention, and on recidivism. Recidivism outcomes will be presented for both the study subjects and for a matched comparison group followed over the same time period. The presentation will discuss treatment and other needs of the study population, ATI service delivery, and the relationship between these variables and program and criminal justice outcomes.
An Analysis of the Personality Attributes of United Kingdom Police Officers in Relation to Rank and Time In-Service
The first cross-cultural research on the personalities of police confirmed the existence of a police personality, distinguishable from other personality types. This follow-up report stems from additional analysis of the personality attributes of a sample of United Kingdom police officers. The findings provide further evidence that it is their personality that is attracted to the law enforcement profession, rather than a personality that develops from training and role immersion. The personality profile revealed differences within shared personality attributes but failed to indicate a significant effect on personality in terms of rank and time in-service. The recommendation is made that the 16 PF can be a valuable asset to personnel administrators in the recruiting, selection, and training of law enforcement officers.
An Analysis of the Prevalence and Nature of Violent Offending by Women
Some scholars have suggested that the rising female prison population is due in part to an emerging violent female offender population. Are we seeing more violent female offenders in the criminal justice system? Critics of this argument would suggest no and point to evidence that female offending patterns have remained stable and that women continue to commit traditional offenses. While the arrest of women for violent crimes increased over the last decade by about fifty percent, the share of arrests for violent crimes by women still remains quite low. Much of the literature on women offenders focuses on the “typical” female offender by examining their nonviolent offenses and relating them to their life circumstances. In this paper we take a look at the “other” female offenders, violent female offenders. Our study analyzes data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) in order to determine the prevalence of violent offenses for women. Further, the nature of violent offending is explored in relation to characteristics of the offender, victim, and incident.
An Empirical Analysis of Packer: Public Attitudes for Crime Control vs. Due Process
Community notification statutes, compulsory medication laws for the mentally ill, and video surveillance of high crime neighborhoods suggest public support for movement toward crime control policies which emphasize public safety. We use random sample phone survey data (n-1800) to analyze support for specific crime control policies (random strip searches at airports and bus stations; random traffic stops or checkpoints to check for drunk drivers and drugs; keeping persons convicted of sex crimes who are still considered dangerous in prison past the time they should have been released; telling people when a sex offender moves into their neighborhood). This is compared to degrees of support for due process measures and individual rights (legal services for those who cannot afford them; support for high levels of individual freedom vs. goals of the community).
An Empirical Analysis of the Paternalism Hypothesis in Probation Supervision
Prior research notes that female offenders receive more favorable treatment at the time of sentencing than their male counterparts. The most common explanation for leniency is that decision-makers’ chivalrous or paternalistic views of females shape the choice of punishments. Feminist criminologists who refute the chivalry/paternalism hypothesis point out that paternalism effects diminish when more precise measures of offense seriousness and defendants’ familial circumstances (e.g., the need to care for dependents) are taken into account. This paper presents a new empirical examination of the chivalry/paternalism hypothesis. The new research differs from previous studies in two ways. First, it examines subjects already sentenced to probation supervision. Decisions regarding the disposition of offenders who violate community supervision are subject to greater discretion than are sentencing decisions. Second, because more elaborate classification of offenders occurs at the start of probation supervision than takes place prior to sentencing, probation decision-makers (who include both officers and judges) have access to much more information regarding the offender’s risk and needs than do judges at the time of sentencing. The sample used in this analysis consists of the entire cohort of 3,598 offenders who entered felony probation in Texas during October 1991, tracked over three years.
An Empirical Test of the General Strain Theory Approach to Neighborhoods and Violence
Researchers have yet to empirically examine Agnew’s extension of General Strain Theory (GST) which considers the community context in understanding individual exposure to strain, individual and community levels of anger, and factors that may encourage or mitigate criminal behavior. To begin to address this gap, I analyzed 1990 census block-group data linked with Wave 1 (1995) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, including detailed interviews with a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7-12. I performed descriptive and regression analyses examining how different levels of neighborhood disadvantage impact various strains (e.g., expecting to be killed by 21, witnessing violence and violent victimization), negative emotions, and violent behaviors (e.g., fighting behaviors, weapon-related violence). Also, I considered additional factors that may encourage violent behavior (deviant peers) or mitigate against such behavior (e.g., problem-solving skills). I found that the neighborhood context did impact the levels of some types of strain, the experience of negative emotions, and violent behavior. These results support Agnew’s extension of GST.
An Ethnographic Examination of Re-Integrative Shaming Capacities in the Indianapolis Juvenile Court
As restorative justice based dispute resolution programs continue to expand throughout criminal justice systems, proponents of re-integrative shaming argue from the theoretical perspective of wide reaching paradigm shifts. This paper attempts to assess to what degree re-integrative shaming capacities already exist within the formal juvenile justice system of the Marion County Juvenile Court. Using ethnographic observations of Juvenile Court proceedings, this paper analyzes dispute resolution processes of lower-level cases that would be well suited for restorative justice processes.
An Evaluation of a School Resource Officer Program in a Rural Midwestern County
During the past ten years, there has been heightened concern with school violence and student misbehavior. As a result, there has been a significant push for interventions to create safer and more orderly schools. One type of popular prevention strategy has been the creation and use of the School Resource Officers. School Resource Officers, sometimes referred to as School Liaison Officers, are sworn law enforcement officers who are assigned to work within schools. They are not undercover officers. Both school staff and students are aware that a law enforcement officer is stationed in the school. The School Resource Officer makes regular rounds in the school and frequently interacts with school staff and students. While most of the programs are located in urban and suburban communities, School Resource Officer programs exist in rural communities as well. Little attention has been paid to the effectiveness and problems of rural School Resource Officer programs. The results of an evaluation of a School Resource Officer program in a rural Midwestern county will be presented. Besides the perceived effectiveness, the unique issues and problems surroundng rural SRO programs will be presented and discussed.
An Evaluation of Community Policing in France (Toulouse) and in French Canada (Montreal)
This study compares the results of a comparative research on community policing in France (Toulouse) and in French Canada (Montreal). Public attitudes in both cities are tests on satisfaction with regard to policing, on victimization and fear of crime, “before and after” the introduction of community policing or “police to proximite (in French). Toulouse is a French city of 300,000 inhabitants (metropolis of about 650,000). Montreal is a city of 2 million (metropolis of 3.5 million).
An Evaluation of Inmate Treatment Performance Measures
Research has demonstrated that one way to reduce criminality and drug use following incarceration is to provide quality drug treatment to drug-involved offenders while they are in custody. Particularly within correctional settings, long-term residential treatment programs have been found to reduce post-incarceration drug use and criminal activity. Nevertheless, the majority of offenders with substance abuse problems continue to return to society untreated, and go back to a life of alcohol and drug use and criminal activity. Given the limited availability of treatment, therefore, it is critical that correctional programs know who can benefit the most from their treatment program and which components are having the greatest impact on effecting behavioral change. The primary purpose of this presentation is to describe an instrument developed by Texas Christian University researchers that is designed to help identify some of the essential components of the therapeutic treatment process that link with favorable during- and post-treatment outcomes. Specifically, an assessment of inmate treatment performance measures–called the TCU Client Evaluation of Self and Treatment (TCU CEST)–will be presented along with findings from a cross-sectional application of the instrument within several correctional treatment programs.
An Evaluation of Public Perception Regarding Private Correctional Facilities: Using the Conceptual Orientation of Radical Conflict Criminological Theories
A survey of 200 Texas residence revealed the public’s perception of correctional facilities, privatization, privatization of prisons, capitalism, and criminal justice in capitalism. These perceptions were examined based on the conceptual orientation of radical and conflict criminological theories. According to the literature, prisons cost the taxpayers in excess of $24.5 billion each year. The increase in prison population and prison expenditures is a phenomenon that, as some theorists believe, can be explained by theoretical concepts that purport to explain the causes of crime. However, a different approach is taken in this study in which the phenomenon is explained based on the radical and conflict theories.
An Evaluation of the Family Works Program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility: An Examination of the First Phase
The bond between parent and child can have a positive influence not only in the life of the child, but in the life of the parent as well. It has been suggested that both the development of parenting skills alone and the effects this may have on creating and maintaining ties between a parent and a child may be a factor in the development of a prison inmate’s self as well as that inmate’s recidivism rates. This paper explores the first phase of an evaluation of the Family Works program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, a men’s maximum-security prison located in New York State. The Family Works program is composed of three components: a 16-week introductory parenting course, individual counseling and a Children’s Center. The focus of the first phase of this evaluation was the parenting course. The course has several goals: it strives to improve family relations by teaching parenting skills; it attempts to help decrease inmate recidivism by encouraging stronger family ties between an inmate and his family; and it encourages anger reduction through the discussion of alternatives to violence in problem-solving. In the first phase of the evaluation of the Family Works program at Sing Sing, 46 men were surveyed on a variety of questions regarding their children, their prison-related conflicts, disciplinary techniques, and their reasons for wanting to be involved in Family Works. This paper will report the findings from these surveys.
An Evaluation of the Impact of Parole Supervision on Parolee Outcomes in Colorado
There was a great deal of interest during the 1990s in juvenile aftercare models of parolee supervision. While aftercare programs have varied significantly in their attention to assessment, case management, and service brokerage, among other areas, they have shared a common emphasis on combining intensive surveillance with the provision of treatment services. Yet the determination of an optimal length of parole supervision has been largely overlooked. This study seeks to understand how different parole supervision “packages” differentially impact parolee outcomes while holding length of time on parole constant. Drawing on a sample (n=278) of juveniles entering parole in 1998, this study examines the impact of parole supervision on reoffending outcomes controlloing for parolee risk and length of time on parole.
An Examination of Citizen Perceptions of Differential Treatment by the Police in Los Angeles, California
This paper examines citizen perceptions of differential treatment by the police in Los Angeles, California. We present findings from a study of citizen contacts with the police in Los Angeles conducted by the Police Foundation. To disentangle the effects of race, personal encounters with the police, and neighborhood context, we surveyed a stratified sample of 1,200 households from three distinct types of areas: census block groups containing mostly (more than 80%) black households, block groups containing mostly Hispanic households, and block groups containing mostly white households. The survey instrument was designed to collect information about the frequency and nature of citizen contacts with police, including both citizen and police initiated contact. Respondents were asked questions measuring their perceptions of whether police services are applied differentially to individuals and neighborhoods depending on race and wealth. Survey questions also examined views of police effectiveness in general. The survey did not ask respondents about their personal involvement in crime and victimization. The findings presented here focus on individual and neighborhood predictors of views of differential treatment.
An Examination of Possible Causes of Stress for United States Probation Officers: A Look at a Southeastern District
Information on Federal Probation Officers is lacking in the research literature. This study is aimed at narrowing that gap by focusing on United States Probation Officers and potential causes of their stress within a federal judicial district in the southeast, with plans of undertaking a more expansive study. On the basis of a 70 percent response rate a number of demographic variables are analyzed, as well as organizational factors, in an attempt to identify the primary predictors of stress for USPOs. Recommendations for future research will also be offered.
An Examination of Self-Control Theory: A General Theory of Crime?
This research explores whether Gottfredson and Hirschi’s self-control theory can account for racial differences in crime. In their presentation of A General Theory of Crime, Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990:117) contend that self-control theory explains “all crime, at all times.” They propose that low self-control, in interaction with opportunity, is the individual-level cause of crime. Furthermore, they suggest that the major cause of low self-control is ineffective child-rearing. Thus, this research explores the role of child-rearing practices in the development of self-control in accounting for racial differences in criminal offending. The implications of this research for self-control theory are discussed.
An Examination of Strategies for the Control of the Illicit Traffic in Plundered Antiquities
This paper examines the strategies available for the control of the flow of plundered archaeological material onto the major market centres such as London and New York. As an illicit trade, the market for antiquities is distinctive since while it is illegal at the point where the material originates (that is, source countries uniformly have regulations prohibiting the illicit extraction of archaeological objects), the sale in the demand countries is legal and carried out openly. It is argued that given the distinctive character of this trade (especially the fact that the purchasers are of exceptionally high social status, and the goods themselves are often extremely expensive) suggests a set of control strategies somewhat different than those proposed for other criminal markets. As is true of other illegal markets, given that demand in the destination countries remains high, control strategies based in attempts to prohibit sale of material in source countries have not been effective. It is suggested, then, that control must target the demand environment, and that a mix of deterrence and “persuasion” strategies will be needed to stem the flow of this illicit material.
An Examination of the Etiology of Domestic Assault
This paper reports on a preliminary study conducted to examine differential association and a modified power-control theory and their relationship to domestic assault. An interview protocol was used on a sample of men convicted of domestic assault. In addition, variables related to previous criminal activity of the respondents will be reviewed in order to gather more information on the nature of domestic assault and to evaluate whether the offense is unique in the behavior patterns of the offenders.
An Examination of the Impact of Extra-Legal Factors on Hate Crime Reporting
Hate crime is a relatively new crime category, thus, there has not been an extensive amount of research devoted to its study. Although the research on hate-motivated crimes is limited, there is a wealth of research on crime issues, allowing us to infer much of this research to hate crimes. For example, although extra-legal factors have been examined regarding their impact on crime statistics, they have not been examined for their effect on hate crime recording. Therefore, in the present study, we investigate issue salience as an extra-legal factor and whether it influences the recording of bias-motivated crimes. We use time series analysis to examine national data on both issue salience and hate crimes. As a result, we should be able to determine if hate crime reporting is affected by extra-legal factors such as issue salience, thus making a contribution to the growing literature on hate crimes.
An Examination of the Link Between Youth Violence and Violence Directed to Adult Partners
Research has shown that individuals who commit violent acts at one point in development are at higher risk than are others for violence perpetrated later in development. Several studies have now examined the continuation of violent behavior from early childhood to adolescdence. However, few studies have focused on the continuation of violence from adolescence to early adulthood. This study will examine the relation between violent behavior in adolescence (ages 13-18) and later violence will directed to an adult partner (at age 24). The study also will analyze social development factors that facilitate or interrupt this link. Both bivariate and multivariate models will be used. Data in the study are from the Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP). SSDP is a longitudinal study of youth development ad behavior that has followed prospetively a panel of Seattle public school students from age 10 to 24. Implications for the development of intervention programs will be addressed.
An Examination of the Theoretical Paradigms Supporting Juvenile Youth Accountability Boards
Youth Accountability Boards concentrate their efforts on non-serious, first-time, juvenile offenders with the expectation that early intervention will result in long-term deterrence from criminal activity. This paper will provide an exploration of the theoretical foundation that has inspired the conception of Youth Accountability Boards. An examination will be conducted to determine the philosophy behind the program. Assumptions of the Board administrators concerning the causes of juvenile crime and their position regarding proper intervention strategies will be reported.
An Experiment to Improve the Validity of Self-Report Drug Use Data by Arrestees
Previous works have consistently documented that responents underreport their recent use of illegal drugs. Despite this problem, few works have experimented with methods that might improve the validity of self-report drug use data. In the current study, arrestees surveyed through the Substance Abuse Need for Treatment among Arrestees (SANTA) study were randomly assigned to one of three manipulations. The first–the standard SANTA collection procedure–collected a urine specimen after the survey had been completed. The second condition required an instant urine test be administered and its results shared with the arrestee prior to administration of the survey. The third condition required an instant saliva test be administered and its results shared with the arrestee prior to administration of the survey. We hypothesized that respondents who were informed of their saliva specimen results prior to the administration of a drug use survey would be more likely to self-report illegal drug using behaviors, and be diagnosed dependent, than they would under the standard or instant urine procedures. Implications for the future of drug use research are assessed in light of the generated findings.
An Explanatory Study of Homicide Trends in Los Angeles City From 1950-1999
Fifty years of official Los Angeles police data on homicides will be used to study homicide trends in the city by month and year. Data will be separated into several time periods and analyzed during high risk social/political/disaster events (e.g., international conflicts, local domestic conflicts) and physical disasters (war, riots, political protests, earthquakes, etc.).
An Exploratory Analysis of Homicides in Washington, DC
This research is an exploratory data analysis of homicides that occurred in the time period 1990-2000 in Washington, D.C. The main objective of the research is to use spatial statistics to describe the patterns of all homicides and of several subsets of homicide. The subsets examined are homicides by race, sex and age of victim. Both point pattern and area level spatial techniques are used. Point pattern techniques are used to describe both the degree of clustering in the distributions and the spatial scale at which the clustering occurs. However, in order to provide a better understanding of homicide in its community context, it is essential to include the social structural charateristics of the areas. Spatial autocorrelation of homicide rates is computer and a regression tree model is developed to predict homicide rates. This study clearly indicates the significant clustering of homicides in general and by age, race and sex of victims. A regression tree analysis reveals that education is the most significant variable in predicting homicide rate at the blockgroup level.
An Exploratory Study of Rural Domestic Violence: Victim Experiences With Domestic Violence and With the Criminal Justice System
To date, research has well-documented the experiences of victims of domestic violence and the obstacles they face in trying to escape the abuse. However, there is very little research on the experiences of rural victims. What research is available indicates that rural victims face unique obstacles such as geographic and technological isolation, lack of resources and services and an anachronous socio-cultural milieu that further complicates their efforts to seek help. This study is based on interviews with 92 rural victims of violence. Victims were asked about both helps and hindrances to seeking help in their community, with special attention given to experiences with police and courts, and to issues addressing victim safety and offender accountability. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were completed.
An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Legal and Extra-Legal Factors on Rural Juvenile Justice Processing
To date little research has focused on the multiple states of the juvenile justice system, while also considering how extra-legal variables effect rural juvenile justice processing. While a few studies have examined the effects of extra-legal factors, such as size of the community, gender, school performance, gang affiliation, and psychiatric care, on juvenile justice decision-making, those studies did not look at the entire juvenile justice system. Further, those few existing studies were conducted n large metropolitan areas. This study examines the effects of legal and extra-legal factors on rural juvenile justice processing by using data collected from two different sources: police contact files and probation files. The final sample includes 338 cases from juveniles who had their first petition from 1995 to 1997. This exploratory study will examine: 1) which factors are relevant in determining juvenile case processing for different groups of juveniles; and 2) how those factors might suggest other types of sanctioning outcomes for those juveniles.
An Occupational-Exposure Model of Police Homicide Victimization
Theory and research on the structural determinants of homicides of police largely mirrors theory and research on homicide generally. A limitation of this work is that it does not fully consider how variation in the structure of police work impacts officer exposure to risk, net of broader community-level factors. Borrowing from the lifestyle-exposure and routine activity perspectives, a model is developed that considers jointly theories of criminality and theories of victimization. A model including both community-level and organization-level variables that affect opportunities for victimization of police should explain a greater amount of the variance in police homicides than previous models. Cross section and panel models for rare-event counts (generalized estimating equations) are used to assess the relative importance of the organizational and community-level factors explaining variation in police homicides across 200 large U.S. cities and over time.
Analysis and Assessment of Police/Business Empowerment Partnership (P/BEP) Program
The Police/Business Empowerment Partnership (P/BEP) program is based on the “purchase of service” concept whereby the Westminster Police Department provides additional hours of police patrol, above and beyond regular patrol hours, which is compensated as overtime hours for the officers by the businesses that receive this service. P/BEP was implemented in an area known as Little Saigon located in the city of Westminster, CA. The goals of P/BEP were to improve positive perception of public safety, to increase confidence of merchants and citizens with the area’s viability to conduct business, and to allow for the police to work with the community to develop and implement long-term, problem-solving strategies. In order to evaluate the program, two community-wide public opinion surveys were conducted in August 1999 and August 2000. The study evaluated the impact of the problem-oriented policing program across various safety factors, including community safety, business district safety, police activity, gang activity, auto theft, and fear of crime. Statistical analyses of collected data indicated that the program had a positive impact in creating an atmosphere that is favorable for businesses.
Analyzing Elderly Population Perception of Risk of Violent Crime Victimization and Corresponding Risk Limiting Actions
This public opinion survey asks how at risk elderly persons in Florida feel about being a victim of violent crime. Second we query as to manifestations of individual level of behavior based on their perceived risk. Using the elderly population we analyze what actions they engage in to mitigate their perceptions of risk. This includes both: behavior in public places (the times that you go shopping; avoiding certain neighborhoods; not wearing jewelry in public; keeping your car windows rolled up in certain neighborhoods) and personal context behavior (purchasing a weapon; installing a home security system).
Analyzing the Displacement Effects of Nuisance Abatement: A Pre/Post Hot Spot Analysis in Chicago
The authors recently completed an evaluation of the Chicago Police Department’s nuisance abatement program and found a positive effect using a quasi-experimental evaluation design. They reported reduced levels of offenses and arrests at multi-unit dwellings identified as ‘gang and drug houses’, as well as reduced levels in one-half block catchment areas surrounding the specific addresses. Further analysis of the data, using a spatial analysis methodology to identify ‘hot spots’ developed by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, provides evidence of a displacement effect. This paper presents the hot spot analysis and discusses the need to account for displacement in community policing and nuisance abatement evaluations.
Anomie, Organized Crime and Legal and Administrative Response in China
China’s economic reform, started more than two decades ago, has been producing rapid economic growth, which, in turn, has engendered massive social dislocation in the form of sharp disparity between the rich and poor, as well as rampant crime. This paper intends to discuss recent developments in Chinese organized crime and to offer a theoretical explanation for it. Official reports, academic research findings, newspaper accounts, and interviews with judicial and law enforcement professionals and legal scholars in China will be analyzed. The findings of this paper will expand the existing body of knowledge in organized crime in China and offer recommendations to policy makers in China.
Anomie and Skinhead Violence
Some researchers have characterized skinhead violence in the United States as a form of terrorism because of the extreme right-wing values that many skinheads embrace. However, skinhead violence is driven by different forces than is the violence of more traditional terrorist groups. Where terrorism based on racial, ethnic or religious identity might be most often conceived of as an altruistic act committed on the behalf of a certain group, the racial violence of the skinheads seems to be a reaction to the changing nature of society. This paper explores some of the reasons behind young peoples’ involvement in skinhead violence and contrasts these with the forces behind other racially, ethically or religiously motivated terrorist groups. The findings are based on 28 face-to-face interviews with current and former racist skinheads in the United States and Canada. The findings suggest that individual social disorientation and a disconnection from the larger society motivate skinhead violence. Unlike many other groups whose violence is based on racial, ethnic, or religious identity, skinheads do not seem to believe that they represent a larger population despite the fact that they often claim their acts are committed to defend the rights of white Americans.
Anthropological Reflections on Restoring Justice in Norway
In my recent anthropological analysis of a criminal law case in Norway I used a “theory of knowledge”-approach to profile and contrast the legal and medical professionals’ performances in the courtroom. One of my conclusions after fieldwork is that there seems to be a basic problem of randomness in the legal narrative – in spite of the objective and whole Truth-and-fact-approximation claimed by the legal professions, which is exacerbated by the hegemonic position of the presiding judges. The practical implications of my ethnography raise questions about criminal court-practice and contemporary Norwegian judicature. It is no coincidence that Michel Foucault focussed on the medico-legal complex as the crucial site of knowledge upon which Western society and its power structures are premised, nor is Pierre Bourdieu’s “The Force of Law” an arbitrary contribution in the discourse. By happenstance, a committee in the Norwegian Ministry of Justice recently asked me to evaluate a new approach to handling criminal cases of violence-with the use of restorative justice. Looking back at the history of law in Norway, restorative justice was used as a way of handling crime up to the 15th century. The professionalisation of conflicts evolved as a way for the Sovereign and the Church to increase their incomes. A closer look at the history of criminal law affords a background for understanding contemporary law-and-order problems and the reasons for re-introducing the principles of restorative justice.
Application of Situational Crime Prevention Techniques to a High Crime Area in Indianapolis
Efforts made to reduce criminal activity have benefited from a focus on the influence of environmental factors on inhibiting opportunities for the commission of crime. Recent tests of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) and situational prevention techiques have yielded favorable results such that the development and application of these strategies warrants further attention. This study investigates the benefits of a strategic application of practical crime prevention techniques to a high crime area in Indianapolis, IN. Consistent with situational crime prevention research, an examination of routine activities and crime patterns in this neighborhood was conducted. This problem analysis led to the development of strategies to counteract partiular types of offenses. Preliminary findings from an analysis of calls for police service and reported crime in this area after the implementation of environmental and policy changes are also discussed. The results of this study extend our understanding of the environmental impact on certain criminal behavior while adding empirical evidence for determining the utility of situational crime prevention strategies.
Are Special Education Students More Likely to Become Delinquent? Another Look at the Relationship Between Learning Disabilities and Delinquency
Research indicates that a large proportion of juvenile delinquents are school dropouts or youth in need of special education services. This paper will use data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students (1987 and 1993) to explore the debated relationship between delinquency and classification as learning disabled and/or severely emotionally disturbed. The analysis uses hierarchical multiple regression to test three competing hypotheses pertaining to learning disability and delinquency: 1) the school failure hypothesis; 2) the susceptibility hypothesis; and, 3) the differential treatment hypothesis.
Arrest Volume, System Capacity and Prison Sentences: Examining the Impact of Arrests for Quality of Life Offenses in New York City on Felong Arrest Dispositions
This paper argues that decision making in the criminal justice system following arrest and through sentencing is shaped largely by the dynamics of system behavior, more so than law, policy or individual discretion. In doing so it contends that it is the manner in which dynamic system forces influence the allocation of a system’s case processing capacity between the upper and lower court that largely determines the number of cases in which prison sentences are imposed. Furthermore, it contends that the allocation of this capacity can be affected by policing strategies that produced substantial and protracted increases in the volume of arrests. Specifically, it examines how changes in the volume of felony and misdemeanor arrests, particularly the enormous growth in misdemeanor “quality of life” crimes, have affected the likelihood of imprisonment in New York City’s criminal justice system.
Arrestee Mobility in Geographical and Social Space
An ADAM-NYC Policing Supplement conducted in 1999 asked 892 arrestees to provide geographic information regarding where they were arrested, lived, socialized, hung out, sold or used drugs, etc. This paper examines the prevalence and typical behaviors of several distinct offender types, which were developed based upon arrestee mobility patterns as they pertain to employment, social life, and criminal activities. “Local” offenders spend almost all their time near their home address with little movement outside that area. In New York City, the “Borough Crosser” regularly frequents other boroughs for social and drug using/selling activities. Several other mobility patterns are present as well. Policy implications are discussed regarding potential geographic displacement of criminal activity resulting from location-specific community-based policing initiatives.
Arrestee Mobility in Geographical and Social Space
An ADAM-NYC Policing Supplement conducted in 1999 asked 892 arrestees to provide geographic information regardng where they were arrested, lived, socialized, hung out, sold or used drugs, etc. This paper examines the prevalence and typical behaviors of several distinct offender types, which were developed based upon arrestee mobility patterns as they pertain to employment, social life, and criminal activities. “Local” offenders spend almost all their time near their home address with little movement outside that area. In New York City, the “Borough Crosser” regularly frequents other boroughs for social and drug using/selling activities. Several other mobility patterns are present as well. Policy implications are discussed regarding potential geographic displacement of criminal activity resulting from location-specific community-based policing initiatives.
Artificial Boundaries Between Criminology and Minority Groups: 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 especially true n the area of illegal drugs. This intersection that some see as very real has come to light outside the classroom in the State of New Jersey where the head of the State Police was recently fired as a result of 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 conection 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 MisconducPt on Correctional Treatment Units: Better Management or Better Inmates?
Prior research has indicated that correctional treatment units may be a useful management tool for correctional administrators. Treatment units have significantly lower rates of official misconduct and grievances, and score better on correctional environment scales than general population units. What remains unanswered is whether the difference is attributable to the unit or the type of offender occupying the unit. Utilizing data from the Delaware Department of Corrections, this research attempts to add to the literature by testing whether difference in misconduct rates across treatment and general population units hold when controlling for background characteristics such as age, race, prior record and current offense. The research also tests whether offenders with a history of prison misconduct who enter treatment show a decline in “offending” compared to like situtated offenders who do not enter treatment. (This research was supported by NIDA grant DA06124 and by the NIJ Cooperative Agreement #97-RT-VX-K004).
Assessing Pre and Post Educational Outcomes in a Statewide Assessment of Education for Delinquent utho
This paper explores the relationship between the increased prevalence of promising education practices and positive educational outcomes. Employing pre and post educational measures, the findings demonstrate that those education programs operating with more promising practices as compared to those programs operating with fewer promising practices produce higher educational gains related to academic achievement tests, credits earned, and pupil progression rates. The implications of this finding for the successful community reintegration of incarcerated delinquent youth is discussed.
Assessing Public Support for Rentry Courts
Transitioning offenders from prison into the community is one of the most important issues facing corrections professionals. Recently, funding was put aside by the Department of Justice for the Offender Reentry Program that will combine surveillance, sanctions, and support services in ways that afford increased protection to communities that experience unusually high returns of inmates. This new OJP initiative, which creates partnerships between law enforcement and community leaders, will prepare communities for the more successful return of offenders. In addition, the initiative will fund reentry courts where ex-inmates would appear regularly before judges to review their progress. With as many as 500,000 individuals leaving prison annually, it becomes imperative to investigate the receptiveness of these communities to this reentry initiative. This study surveyed citizens to measure their opinions on reentry programs.
Assessing Risk Among Young Offenders
The paper examines the use of risk assessment scales, in particular, the Youth Level of Supervision (YLSI), among the young offender population in Canada. In 1990, Ontario was the first Canadian province to use such scales with young offenders. Soon after, the popularity of the scales proliferated throughout the country. The main objectives of the paper are to a) examine the development and proliferation of such scales; b) explore the validity of the YLSI*; and c) examine how case managers make use of these scales in determining levels of supervision.
Assessing the Impact of Community Policing Interventions: An Analysis of the Martindale-Brightwood Initiative
Cities across the United States have implemented many different types of problem solving and community policing programs. This paper describes one such program, specifically a significant intervention in a neighborhood to rid the area of drug dealers and trafficking and the associated violence and crime. In April 1999, after a 10 month long multi-jurisdictional (FBI and Metro Drug Task Force) investigation, 33 search warrants were executed on April 5th and 21 defendants were arrested. The present paper will descibe the nature of the investigation (particularly the resources required) and evaluate the impact, if any, of this intervention project on the number of calls for service (for several different crime categories) in the Martindale-Brightwood area before and after the intervention of April 1999. Preliminary anecdotal evidence from residents and media portrayals project the image of a successful intevention (e.g., a safer neighborhood). Analysis of crime patterns for the year prior to and after the intervention is presented as well as preliminary discussion of the net gains and costs of such interventions.
Assessing the Relative Accuracy of Neural Network Models in Predicting Recidivism
Neural network models have been proposed to provide superior predictive estimates of recidivism and infractions compared to conventional statistical techniques. The relative merits of neural network techniques is currently being debated among social scientists. Predictions of recidivism can have implications for assigning supervision in the community and for assessing the level of security needed among inmates in correctional facilities. The current project was funded by the North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission in order to assess the relative accuracy of neural network models compared to logistic regression models in predicting recidivism among three types of offenders: young offenders released to the community, young inmates between the age of 16 and 24, and juvenile delinquents. Data were analyzed to determine whether neural networks provides superior accuracy over logistic regression models. We were able to determine the extent to which neural networks provide more accurate prediction over conventional methods for predicting recidivism. preliminary results show that neural networks may be more accurate in predicting recidivism among true positives, but less accurate for true negatives.
Assessing the Relative Strength of Macro-Level Predictors of Crime: A Meta-Analysis
Macro-level (or “ecological”) theory and research emerged (or “re-emerged”) and has since earned sustained criminological attention. Prompted by new empitical and theoretical developments, over 200 empirical studies have been conducted and published in academic journals in an effort to uncover the correlates of aggregate levels of crime. The present study subjected the body of macro-level criminological literature to a “meta-analysis” — or “quantitative synthesis” — to determine the relative effects of thirty-one macro-level predictors of crime assessed across empirical studies. The results indicate that macro-level indicators of “concentrated disadvantage” are among the strongest and most stable predictors of crime across empirical studies. These include racial heterogeneity (measured as the percent non-white and/or the percent black), poverty, and family disruption. Conversely, variables related to criminal justice system dynamics (e.g., policing effects, the effects of “get tough” policies) are among the most consistently weak predictors of crime. The implications of the analysis for future research and public policy development are discussed.
Assessing the Risk of Partner Assault Re-Offending: A Validation Study
This research is based on an 18 month tracking of approximately 1500 partner assaulters from four judicial districts in the state of Colorado. Risk assessments were conducted for all assaulters using the Domestic Violence Screening Inventory (DVSI) and again with the Spousal Assault Risk Assessment Guide (SARA) for a sub-sample of these assaulters. Behavioral outcome data were collected through official records checks and case manager interviews. Using these data, tests of concurrent and predictive validity were conducted. This paper presents the preliminary results of these tests and discusses the implications for criminal justice processing of partner assault cases.
Assessing the Role of Neighborhood Service Centers in Baltimore’s Non-Emergency Call System
This paper assesses the role that neighborhood service centers play in Baltimore’s 3-1-1 system. In Baltimore select 3-1-1 calls are forwarded to police sergeants assigned to neighborhood service centers in an effort to provide an alternative response to routine patrol dispatch. Using a sample of all 3-1-1 calls that were inferred to neighborhood service centers we examine the volume and nature of these calls and how they are processed by the neighborhood service center sergeants. Our analysis shows that only 2.4 percent of all 3-1-1 calls are referred to a neighborhood service center, and that these calls can be classified as one of six types. On average, the call processing time fo 3-1-1 calls referred to neighborhood service centers is 4.6 days. Our analysis also shows that 98 pecent of the 3-1-1 calls referred to neighborhood service centers were first dispatched to a patrol unit to respond to the call. This suggests that the neighborhood service centers may not be an alternate response to citizen non-emergency calls for service but rather an additional response.
Assessing the Validity of Self-Reported Drug Use Over Time
There is a large body of literature discussing the validity of self-reported measures of drug use; however, the large majority of these studies are cross-sectional in nature and have not addressed how untruthfulness in the reporting of drug use varies over time. Using data collected from the ADAM Program (Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring), we compare self-reported and urinalysis measures of drug use longitudinally. First, we analyze the relative relationship in the trends of positive drug urine tests and positive self-reporting between 1988 and 1999. Next, we disaggregate these relationships by both drug type and length of time covered by self-reports (24 to 40 hours, 72 hours, 30 days, and 12 month). Finally, we specify multivariate Hierarchical Linear Models of lying about drug use by drug types to estimate the distribution of liars across demographic and legal factors, and how these factors interact with time.
Asset Forfeiture: Effective Sanction or Government Thievery?
Civil asset forfeiture has come to be viewed as the weapon of choice in our national war on drugs. Police argue that the procedure allows them to combat drug crime by attacking the economic viability of drug trafficking operations while raising money for future law enforcement operations. Critics argue that the procedure distorts law enforcement priorities and violates a number of constitutional protections. This paper recounts the early history of the practice, it’s expansion, specific cases of abuse and recent attempts at reform (Civil Asset Forfeiture Act of 2000). The paper also explores the future implications of these reform attempts.
Associating Cause With Effect: Building Bridges to the Application of Criminological Research in Policy/Practice and the Lawmaking Process
One method that Criminologists have used to help discern the causes of crime is ethnography or partricipant observation. Obviously, the researchers do not participate directly in crime but they live in the communities where crime is taking place. The objective is to more closely associate effect with cause or vice versa. Research garnered from this process, has been utilized to create and enhance theory, but seldom has it been utilized to create effective policy. Recently, we have seen how the study regarding the “Broken Window Syndrome” has been utilized to justify aggressive style zero tolerance policy. This attempt at using research material to create policy has been lauded by police officials and some politicians. But, many community activists have complained of the police state that has been created based on this approach. The community activists argue that a policy has been placed upon them that was not created by them or with their input. This paper will examine the social distance between academicians, practitioners and elected officials that has led to gulfs of misunderstanding. Unless rectified these gaps will lead to explosive pockets of violent crime, which do not fit neatly into existing and ever increasing laws. This paper will also examine solutions, which address this problem using as a document, “The People’s Plan to Dramatically Reduce Crime in Baltimore City,” created by community activists in Baltimore City.
Attica Prison Riot of 1971: An Uprising Without Parallel or Just Another Riot With an Unusual Ending?
Popularly reported as the bloodiest one-day encounter between Americans since the Civil War, the Attica Prison Riot of September 9-12, 1971, ended with the deaths of forty-three people and the injury of more than eighty others. Although there have been other violent prison riots, none have captured research attention as enduringly as Attica. After thirty years, this tragedy remains the most discussed prison riot in U.S. history. Yet, in many ways, Attica followed the same riot script used in other prison riots across the country. A conflict between inmates and guards triggers violence; a group of prisoners goes on a rampage of destruction; hostages are taken and barricades created as negotiations begin with prison authorities. In this paper, I compare narrative accounts and official reports to demonstrate that the Attica uprising followed the typical pattern of other prison riots of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Furthermore, I argue that the Attica riot receives more emphasis in the riot literature than it warrants, because in terms of riot etiology it was not unique. The Attica incident is instructive in terms of understanding administrative strategies and tactics for ending riots, but it offers little new information about riot development.
Attitudes Toward Corruption Amongst Russian Police Officers and Trainees
One of the systemic problems facing transitional societies is the fact that corrupt income generation strategies and reciprocal networks continue to offer the greatest chance of individual and organizational economic survival. However, such strategies are also informed to some extent by cultural attitudes and norms. A survey of Russian police trainees and serving officers at a large higher education has probed police attitudes to use of position at work for one’s own ends. The data obtained by the survey suggest that although low pay is a key element in respondents’ justification of corrupt activities, other factors such as close family and friendship ties, organizational culture and notions of obligation are also important.
Attitudinal and Behavioral Change Among Participants in a Legislatively Mandated Domestic Violence Program
In this paper we present background characteristics of and attitudinal changes exhibited by participants in two Santa Clara County (California) domestic violence programs. All of the participants had been convicted of a domestic violence offense and participation in the 52 week program is legislatively mandated as part of the rehabilitative process. Background characteristics presented include employment history, living arrangements/familied status, substance use, criminal history, self-reported violent or controlling behavior, and exposure to family violence during childhood and adolescence. Identical pre- and post program participation questionnaires were administered to the participants. The instrument was designed to measure agreement or disagreement with statements about women in general (for example, “Women often do things behind a man’s back”) and the participant’s partner in specific (“I control the time and place we have sex”). Paired-sample t-tests are used to assess the effect of the program on the participants.
Attorneys, Psychiatrists, and Psychologists: Analyzing Attitudes Toward the Insanity Defense
Because the insanity defense involves a criminal defendant’s state of mind, expert opinion is generally required in the legal proceedings to establish, or to refute, the defendant’s “sanity”. The experts who provide such opinion evidence are usually psychiatrists or psychologists. Therefore, the major people involved in cases in which the insanity defense is an issue are the attorneys handling the criminal trial, psychiatrists, and psychologists. Noted differences in attitudes toward the insanity defense have been shown to exist between prosecutors and defense attorneys and also between psychiatrists and psychologists. These individual studies have shown significant findings for each of the populations of interest in each one’s respective study; however, it is difficult to draw conclusions about diverse populations that are based on different studies. There are three populations of interest for this research interest for this research: attorneys (assistant district attorneys and public defenders), psychiatrists, and psychologists, all working in a large metropolitan area. All of the assistant district attorneys and public defenders in their respective offices were issued a questionnaire in their mailboxes. The names of the psychiatrists and psychologists were chosen from the Yellow Pages phone book. The instrument that was used for data collection was a mailed questionnaire, designed by the reseacher.
Authentic Community Justice: The Role of Voice
Research on punishment has pervasively shown that punishment possesses neither a moral or deterrent effect for offenders. However, the process of punishment can be understood as merely a subset of a larger process of personal and group invalidation that commences well before entry in the criminal justice system. The “War on Crime” and the “War on Drugs” can be understood as the “War on the Poor.” From the point of view of many indigenous justice processes, the incidence of chaos, disorder, and deviance can be understood as providing the opportunity for healing. Justice processes can therefore provide validation to individuals who have known invalidation throughout their lives. Like many policing initiatives throughout the United States, justice can serve the purpose of problem solving. A problem solving approach may be used with crime and family disorder where all effected individuals are encouraged to voice their perceptions about a given situation. The ability to tell one’s story and having voice accorded relevance and importance to both the justice process and outcome is critical to the Satisfaction Model of justice.
Authoritarianism and Seriousness Perceptions of Hate Crime: A Factorial Survey Approach
While researchers have studied the frequency, incidence and motivation of hate crime, few have examined perceptions of hate crime incidents. Using a factorial survey approach, this research measures seriousness perceptions of hate crime vignettes under a variety of case circumstances. The sample was also measured on the demographics of gender and race while also indexing for Adorno’s Authoritarianism (F) Scale. The results are discussed in relation to the impact of subject demographics and authoritarianism scores on the perception of hate crime seriousness.
Automated Parole Risk-Assessment Instruments
Authors present their results of recidivism research conducted with over 10,000 offenders who completed parole supervision in Georgia between 1999 and 2000. Existing comprehensive state-operated prison and parole operations databases were linked to develop assessment instruments for two key decision points for parole officers. These empirically-based instruments are unique — in lieu of traditional “pencil and paper” assessments completed by parole officers they are computer-generated. Computer programs executed by the Parole Board’s Research Unit will utilize existing data to compute a probability score (ranging from 0 to 1, translated into predicting a 0% to 100% likelihood of arrest while on parole) for each offender existing prison and beginning parole. The “estimated risk level” will be made available to parole officers through the existing automated case management system for the purpose of informing key decisions. The project will not replace the need for more extensive assessments required for correctional treatment planning, but it will go a long way in demonstrating the possibilities that exist for informing correction practice with sound research.
B
Balancing Act: The Role of Cottage Staff in a State Training School
This paper is based on a qualitative study of a cottage of violent offenders in one state’s end-of-the-line training school. Cottage staff members were put in the difficult position of juggling their roles as enforcers, corrections officers, counselors, and care-takers. In order to effectively do their job, they had to find ways to balance the rhetoric of rehabilitation with the punitive reality of daily life in the institution. In real ways, the cottage staff defined the experience of being incarcerated for the “problem children” in their care. They took this responsibility to heart and did their best to model pro-social behavior and to give the kids examples of conforming values. In their role as caring surrogate parents, cottage staff members offered their “sons” practical advice, humor, and hope for the future.
Balancing Interests and Monitoring Performance: Encouraging Systemic Change to Serve Victims of Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment
How can child protection services work together with domestic violence service providers to enhance the safety of multiple victims in violent homes? How can courts protect children when their mothers are being battered without re-victimizing the mother? How can communities protect battered mothers and their children and hold batterers accountable for their violence? These issues have been challenging local courts and service providers for decades, and led to the development and release of a 1999 report, Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy and Practice, which provides principles and recommendations to guide interventions for battered women and their children who may be involved with three systems — child welfare agencies, domestic violence service providers, and dependency courts. The national evaluation of an initiative to implement these guidelines is underway, with goals including: increasing our understanding of the mechanisms by which system change is implemented and can bring about change at the family and individual levels, and building site commitment and capacity to use data to monitor and improve performance. This paper will address the evaluation strategy and progress in the initiative’s first six months.
Barriers to Inmate Education: Factors That Affect the Dynamics of a Prison Education Program
The dynamics affecting a prison education program that employed the combination of traditional instruction with computer-assisted instruction (CAI) were examined to identify and make recommendations about barriers to quality inmate education. Quantitative and qualitative evidence was acquired through testing of inmates and interviews with the inmates and staff. The quantitative evidence revealed no significant difference in inmate math and reading scores were found between subjects who received a CAI-plus-traditional instruction combination and subjects who received traditional-instruction only. The qualitative evidence was synthesized into five factors unique to inmate education that influenced the results and may assist with future research in this area. The factors included (1) inmate attitude toward testing and evaluations, (2) inmate motivation for participating, (3) lack of teacher support, (4) the dynamics of inmate interaction and prisonization, and (5) quality of instructional materials or software utilized.
Bars, Neighborhoods and Crime
Research testing social disorganization theory has focuses primarily on relatively large urban cities. A few recent articles have suggested that social disorganization theory is also relevant to rural areas but, to our knowledge, no research has focused on smaller cities and suburban neighborhoods. In this paper we use census and police data combined with data on local institutions (e.g., churches and bars) to assess the efficacy of social disorganization theory to explain crime rates in this largely unexplored context. Theoretical implications for the theory are discussed.
Battered Women as Offenders: In Their Own Words
A link between victimization and criminal offending for women and girls has been substantiated throughout criminological scholarship. However, research is just beginning to examine the possible connections between intimate partner victimization and female offending. The purpose of this paper is to further this line of scholarship by reporting the experiences of battered women who have commited non-lethal crimes within the context of their victimization. A qualitative, semi-structured, in-depth interviewing approach was utilized to gather topical life history narratives from 33 women who were either incarcerated or residing at a domestic violence shelter at the time of the interview. The life histories of these women are examined as are their experiences with other forms of victimization, help-seeking strategies and successes, and the contexts of offending in relation to their victimization.
Batterer Intervention Programs: How Successful is “Success”???
The paper describes a three year study of a court-mandated batterers’ intervention program. Offenders were randomly assigned to treatment of varying lengths (6 week, 12 week and 24 week sessions). The program based on cognitive behavioral techniques and feminist theory, was evaluated by various measures of success outcomes, including treatment completion and recidivism. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to address the various components of the program. The findings are discussed in terms of the relation between completion and recidivism rates, and suggestions for future policy are included.
Be Careful What You Wish For: Empirical Realities of Punishing Juveniles as Adults
Recent research suggests that adolescents transferred to the criminal courts have higher and more serious recidivism rates than those retained by juvenile courts. However, few studies have examined differences between juvenile and adult punishment to explain the apparent iatrogenic effects of adult punishment on recidivism rates. The distinction between juvenile and adult corrections is more than just a nominal difference between rehabilitation and retribution. There are critical differences in the composition and social organization of the inmate populations, in the organization and cultures of staff, and in the intensity and types of services. Accordingly, there are potentially important consequences of treating juveniles as adults that might evlevate risks of crime and other adverse developmental outcomes. This paper reports results of interviews with matched samples of N=250 adolescent offenders incarcerated in juvenile or adult correctional facilities. To assess differences in juvenile versus criminal correctional contexts, we compare their correctional experiences, including their ratings of procedural justice, educational and vocational services, therapeutic orientation, safety and physical danger, mental health functioning, and social networks.
Beating the Man: Detoxing as Subterfuge
As drug testing pervades employment and pre-employment application processes, a detox industry, manufacturing products and devices that aid individuals in passing the tests, has emerged. These products are designed to produce false negative urinalysis results. This case study, based on interviews with manufacturers, retailers, consumers and employers, focuses on this industry and the socially constructed mean ings product use. Manufacturers, who cautiously consent to interviews, rationalize their production of these goods by claiming they are designed to rid one’s body of impurities and toxins. Retailers, who are more candid, know full well who buys the products and why, and occasionally offer advice to customers. Consumers apparently are casual marijuana users who do not use drugs during working hours yet resist, through quiet subterfuge, what they define as employers’ intrusions into their private and public drug use and abuse. This paper describes the multiple meanings of drug use and containment from these various players and the political economy of this multi-million dollar industry’s success.
Behavioral Problems and Outcomes of Federal Offenders Under Community Supervision, 1995-2000
This presentation will examine the relationship between behavioral problems of Federal offenders under community supervision and outcomes of supervision (i.e., successful and unsuccessful terminations of supervision, including technical violations and the commission of a new crime). These behavioral problems, which are identified by the pretrial services officer, presentence investigator, judge, or probation officer at the outset of supervision, include: drug abuse,alcohol abuse, history of dangerous or violent behavior, educational and training needs, physical problems, and psychiatric problems. To test this relationship, a set of logistic regression models will be constructed which predict technical violations and/or the commission of a new crime while under Federal community supervision. The model will control for legal factors (criminal history and offense severity level), extra-legal factors (race, ethnicity, gender, and age), as well as employment status and the receipt of special conditions of supervision. Separate models will be constructed for each type of Federal community supervision: Probation, Parole, and Supervised Release. The data that will be used to conduct the analyses are the Federal Probation Supervision Information (FPSIS) standard analysis files for Fiscal Years 1995 through 2000, obtained from BJS’s Federal Justice Statistics Resource Center.
Behind the Booster: A Typology of Shoplifters
This paper presents a profile of shoplifters based on information from in-depth interviews with these offenders. Information regarding the techniques, motivations and duration and intensity were used to create this profile. The data is used to understand the typology of shoplifters by comparing previous typologies from prior literature to the unique experiences of this population. The purpose is to create a more accurate way to classify and understand the onset and continuance of shoplifting behavior.
Best Practices Model: The Use of “Courtesy Officers” in the Protection of Commercial Residential Property
There is a proliferation of civil suits related to premises liability involving third party criminal assaults against tenants residing in residential commercial properties such as apartment and condominiums. In an effort to reduce their liability, many of these property owners utilize the services of “courtesy officers” to protect their property but not their tenants. These individuals are usually off duty police officers who reside in a rent free apartment on the premises in lieu of a salary, those avoiding the status of employees. Apartment owners often stress to tenants verbally and in lease agreements that courtesy officers are not on the premises for tenants’ personal safety but rather are there to “monitor” the premises, and that tenants should contact public law enforcement if they perceive that they are in danger. Property owners operate under the false assumption that the use of unsalaried courtesy officers with no formal post orders or accountability as opposed to full time security somehow reduces their exposure to civil liability. We address best practices security recommendations as they relate to the use of courtesy officers and other physical security measures currently used in the residential commercial property management industry.
Beyond ‘Egulags Western Style’? A Reconsideration of Nils Christie’s Crime Control as Industry
Nils Christie in Crime Control as Industry has suggested that our spiraling prison populations, particularly in the United States, represent a move towards gulags Western Style.i. In much the same way that Zygmunt Bauman sees modernity itself as creating the possibility for the Holocaust, so for Christie the current egulagizationi of the West is not an aberration of modern society but is something that occurs naturally within it. While sympathetic to Christie, this paper seeks to extend some of the themes of his book. In particular, it suggests that we may already be moving into an area of penal control that takes us ebeyond the gulag.i The gulag itself may no longer be a sufficient modality of punishment to absorb the punitive sentiments now at work in modern societies. What we thus find is the supplementation of modern penal sanctions by new forms of legal and extra legal punishments that privilege community involvement and interests over those of bureaucratic rationalism, leading to an uncertain and fragmented penal terrain. While, for Christie, there is the hope that at some point the basic good sense of ordinary people will prevail and counter the trends that the forces of modernity have made possible, it is argued that there is no essentialized goodness to human values and public sentiment: unleashing them may only add to the spiral of penal control.
Beyond Political Culture: Community-Level Explanations of Police
Since Wilson’s initial suggestion that political culture and community factors influence the performance of police agencies, others have sought to explore this relationship. In this tradition, data from the systematic social observation of 20 small suburban and rural police departments are used to explore the relationship between a series of community characteristics and measures of police department and officer performance. Areas to be examined include police-citizen contacts, outcomes of these interactions, and time spent on police activities.
Beyond Stafford and Warr’s Reconceptualization of Deterrence: Personal and Vicarious Experiences, Impulsivity, and Offending Behavior
Deterrence is a process consisting of two links — one by which information known to the actor becomes a judgment about the sanction risk, and another by which such judgments influence behavior. Deterence research focuses nearly exclusively on this latter link, with the exception of the recent “re-conceptualization” of deterrence by Stafford and Warr. These authors identify four categories of experiences hypothesized to underlie judgments about the risk of legal sanctions: personal punishment experience, personal punishment avoidance, vicarious punishment experience, and vicarious punishment avoidance. We report here the first test of Stafford and Warr’s model with measures explicitly designed for this purpose. Several findings emerge from our effort. First, both personal and vicarious avoidance experiences relate positively to offending. Second, punishment and avoidance experiences affect behavior by influencing sanction risk perceptions. Third, the combination of low personal and vicarious punishment avoidance strongly dissuades offending. Fourth, prior offending conditions the influence of punishment and avoidance experiences in a manner consistent with Stafford and Warr’s theory. Fifth, while impulsive individuals are influenced primarily by their own experiences, individuals who are not as impulsive tend to attend more to the experiences of others. Finally, contrary to deterrence theory, punishment experiences appear to encourage rather than discourage future offending. We discuss how several judgmental biases from the psyhchology, economics, and decision-making literatures — the self-seving bias and the gambler’s fallacy — may help explain this latter, seemingly anomalous result.
Beyond the Walls of the Laboratory: Judge and Jury Interpretations, Perception, and Understanding of DNA Evidence
The development of new and controversial techniques, such as DNA analysis in criminal trials has turned courtrooms into scientific laboratory forums. Judges and jurors are often the ones attempting to understand sophisticated jargon and are unable to challenge the expert witnesses themselves. This paper examines the problems faced by judges and jurors in dealing with criminal cases involving DNA evidence. It also reports on the results of four separate focus groups consisting of Crown counsel, defence counsel, judges and members of the public. The findings suggest that judges and jurors (members of the public) find DNA evidence overwhelming, difficult to interpret, and difficult to understand and as a result tend to assign too much value to this type of evidence compared to all other evidence presented at trial. The paper concludes with recomendations on how to bridge the gap between science and the courtroom.
BLACKOUT: The Exclusion of White Offenders
The purpose of this paper is to examine the consequences of excluding white offenders from the dialogue on crime in America. Notwithstanding the fact that white offenders accounted for 68 percent of total arrests and 63 percent of arrests for index offenses in 1998, there has been little discussion of their contribution to the crime problem. However, these 1998 figures are not new but are representative of the contribution of white offenders to the arrest statistics that have been used to gauge crime in America for some time. In this paper we will look historically at the picture of the offender presented by our statistics. We will examine the political consequences of emphasizing the disproportionate arrest of Black offenders to the exclusion of considering the more frequent arrest of White offenders. We will also consider the impact that ignoring white offenders has had on discussions of criminal justice policies and programs, as well as on responses to crime problems occurring in predominately white communities.
Breach of Trust: Prospects for Restoring Public Confidence in the Colombian Police
Police-community relations in many developing countries are typically abysmally bad. Columbia is no exception. Relationships between many ordinary citizens and the police have been mediated by acts of police abuse, neglect, and corruption over many decades. An apparent historical inability of the police to ‘fight crime’ adds to the problems of legitimacy faced by Colombian police in the eyes of ordinary Colombians. Based on fieldwork observations, interviews, and documentary analysis, the paper looks at the reasons for low public-police trust before examining recent attempts to introduce community policing type schemes in Bogota and elsewhere among the major cities of Colombia. Measures of success for these programs are considered. The impact of the Colombian government’s commitment to combatting the illicit drug trade for improving public trust in the police is discussed.
Breaking Cycles: Preventing and Reducing Delinquency in San Diego County
Breaking Cycles is a multi-agency, geographically diverse project designed to prevent juveniles from becoming delinquent by focusing prevention programs on at-risk youth and their families and improving the juvenile justice and community response to juvenile offenders through a system of graduated sanctions. Based on the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP) Comprehensive Strategy, the program is predicated upon a philosophy of shared responsibility and coordinated action that prevents duplication of efforts, identifies system gaps, and creates a seamless web of integrated supervision, service, and support for at-risk youth. Findings from the final evaluation report will be presented during this session and will include results from both the process and impact evaluations of both program components.
Breaking the Cycle: Findings on Implementation and Impact
Breaking the Cycle (BTC) is a multi-site demonstration project designed to reduce substance abuse and criminal activity amongst drug-involved offenders. BTC is being demonstrated in three jurisdictions with support from the National Institute of Justice and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. BTC is designed to increase the early identification of drug-involved arrestees, place defendants in treatment shortly after entering the justice system, treat clients throughout their period of supervision, monitor clients progress, and sanction non-compliant defendants using structured sanctions. This paper will compare the implementation of BTC in Birmingham, Jacksonville, and Tacoma, presenting data on service delivery and lessons on collaboration among justice system agencies and treatment providers. The impact of BTC on multiple outcomes, including drug use, crime, health, employment, and family problems, will be compared using Addiction Severity Index measures from 9-month follow-up interviews with treatment and comparison samples in each site.
Bridgestone-Firestone, Ford and the FTA: State-Corporate Crime in the Tire Tread Separation Cases
In the past two years, media coverage of tire tread separations on Bridgestone-Firestone tires sold to Ford for use on the Explorer line of SUVs has been extensive. The media, and government, response has been to treat this as a “normal accident” per the works of Charles Perrow. The issue is presented as one of multiple contingencies coming together in an unpredictable fashion–tire design, temperature and vehicle design. However, it is clear from the examination of existing evidence that both corporations involved, as well as the federal regulatory agencies, were aware of the potential problems and ignored them. Both Bridgestone-Firestone and Ford were reluctant to issue appropriate recalls and when the media exposed the pervasiveness of the problem to the public, entered into a high stakes game of blame “hot potato” as to which corporation would take ultimate responsibility. All the while, the FTA stood idel refusing to use its regulatory power to enforce recalls or assign corporate responsibility (or even address the problem prior to media exposure). This essay will utilize state-corporate crime theory and concepts to analyze the actions of these three organizations to come to a broad understanding of how and why these crimes occurred.
Bring the Victim Back in? The Experiences of Victims of Juvenile Crime in Philadelphia
This paper presents data from a study of victims of juvenile crime in Philadelphia County. Recent legislation has attempted to focus more resources on including victims of crime, especially juvenile crime, in the process of prosecuting cases. The strategies range from providing victim support services to providing more information on the judicial process itself. This study of a cohort of victims of juvenile crime for the year from April 1999 to May 2000 surveyed a random sample of victims drawn from a database of over 3,000 victims and conducted telephone interviews with over 200 victims. Researchers also conducted a number of focus groups. The data presented illustrate the victim experience in Philadelphia County and assesses whether victims of juvenile crime are involved in the judicial process.
Bringing Back the Children: An Examination of Prenatal Factors on Life-Course Offending
Moffitt argues that certain prenatal risk factors, such as maternal drug use, may increase the probability of a child developing neuropsychological deficits. In turn, these deficits may establish a child on a pathway towards delinquency. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), we test Moffitt’s hypotheses that link prenatal risk factors to later life outcomes, including serious crime. With appropriate controls for environmental influences and time-stable individual differences, we examine the effect of prenatal risk factors on early behavioral problems and subsequent misbehavior. Findings from hierarchical linear analyses show that 1) prenatal risk factors strongly predict variation in early problem behavior; 2) that early behavioral problems are predictive of later delinquency and; 3) that early neuropsychological deficits predict persistent, serious delinquency later in life.
Bringing Incarcerated Juveniles and College Students Together: An Outcome and Process Evaluation of a Collaborative Course
For the last three years, Rowan University has been offering a semester-long course bringing together 12 university students and 12 incarcerated, juvenile offenders. The course is intended to achieve several goals related to the youth and the students. This paper presents the outcome and process evaluation of the course. Pr- and post-test data were collected for each cohort. Outcome data demonstrate that the youth: felt accepted by the students, did not feel labeled, were more likely to see college as a genuine goal, and saw themselves as substantially similar to the college students–in short, the course allowed them to feel that they belong in a college environment. For the students, the data show increased tolerance levels, a change in their feelings on the importance of rehabilitation, a lower degree of confidence in the system and a positive view of the educational impact of the course. Analysis also demonstrates that the youth and the students are similar in many respects, but differ significantly on several attitudinal factors related to the causes of juvenile offending. Reasons for these similarities and differences are discussed. Process evaluation is also discussed as it relates to the implementation of the course.
British Punitiveness and the Negation of Subjectivity
This presentation will bring to light the increasing negation of subjective particularity performed by the evermore represssive British criminal justice system. Indeed, over the last decade we have witnessed the development of an impressive array of repressive measures openly aiming at the incapacitation of the vaguely defined category of ‘persistent’ offenders, at the expense of a genuine engagement with the offender’s particular circumstances. British punitiveness being at its most striking when dealing with children and young offenders, I will outline some of the recent provisions enacted and implemented by New Labour in the sensitive area of youth justice. The multiplication of control devices at the disposal of law enforcement agencies, on the one hand, and the Government’s wish to ascribe the responsibility for juvenile offending solely to the offender and his family, illustrate once again the political convenience of the ‘Third Way’, the artful ethics of which combine formal justice and the individualisation of responsibility, thereby excusing the State from those forms of interventionism which do not exclusively concern the offender in question. Insights derived from psychoanalytic theory will then lead me to argue that a sense of personal responsibility rarely arises through imposed culpability, no more than control and containment are likely to provide a propitious framework for the emergence of each subject’s contingent solution to his problematic inscription in the contemporary social bond.
Broken Windows, Collective Efficacy, and Community Policing: An Ethnographic Study on Chicago’s South Side
This paper reports findings from a four year ethnographic study of community policing initiatives in a high crime district on Chicago’s South Side. Issues that relate to the challenge of community policing in mixed income gentrifying African American neighborhoods will be addressed. The principles of two competing theories (Broken Windows and Collective Efficacy) will be evaluated using ethnographic data. Extensions to both theories will be suggested.
“Broken Windows”: Probation
In cities all across America, Probation officials are coming to the realization that the real work of probation cannot be done from cubicles in large central offices. To be effective in promoting public safety, reducing crime and holding probationers accountable, Probation Officers must work in the communities where probationers live. Probation staff must know the needs of the community and the needs of the offender. This presentation describes the development of Neighborhood Shield, a collaborative effort in New York City focusing on at-risk, violence prone young probationers in two neighborhoods. Led by the Probation Department, this initiative involves more intensive, neighborhood-based supervision; joint probation/police enforcement teams; expanded treatment and employment services: a specialized court that jointly supervises probationers and handles violations expeditiously; and active participation of community residents via an advisory board, identification of community service projects and other community organizing activities.
Building a Curriculum for the 21st Century: Crime, Criminal Justice and Information Technology
A criminal justice curriculum for the 21st century must take into account advances in information technology and the impact of those advances upon crime and the criminal justice system. Currently, there seems an infinite variety of deviance made uniquely possible by modern information technology–and new forms of deviance evolve almost daily. The impact of this “new deviance” is already being felt throughout an already strained criminal justice system; that system is endeavoring to cope with this new influx. A modern criminal justice curriculum aimed at helping prepare new persons to take a place in this system will include courses examining the current state of crime related to information technology, including viruses, money laundering, identity theft, unauthorized penetration of information systems, sabotage of individual computers and networks, espionage, privacy infringement, copyright and intellectual property violations, comsumer fraud, transmitting harmful and/or illegal information related to drug dealing, illegal arms trade, terrorism, child pornography and obscenity, hate speech, and defamation. Additionally, courses dealing with law–its procedural and substantive aspect–related to cyberspace, policing cyberspace, ethics, research methods for studying cybercrime, and cybercrime theory would be important inclusions in the curriculum. Ideally, some courses of the curriculum might be cross-listed with computer science departments enabling an important cross-fertilization of ideas–a truly inderdisciplinary aspect of the curriculum.
Burglaries and CPTED: A Residence and neighborhood Assessment
The purpose of this paper is to examine the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) characteristics as they relate to reported incidents of burglaries in residences and neighborhoods of a mid-size city in Texas. Specifically, this study will identify and compare the presence of CPTED characteristics in residences and neighborhoods with high and low frequencies of reported burglaries. The findings suggest that certain CPTED characteristics are present, exclusively, in residences and neighborhoods where the reported number of burglaries is high.
C
California Department of Corrections and California Youth Authority Correctional Officers’ and Supervisors’ Assessment of In-Service – 7(k) Training
In 2000, the California Commission on Correctional Peace Officer Standards and Training (CPOST) contracted with California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) to conduct a comprehensive review of in-service training (IST/7(k) and on the job training (OJT) for rank and file correctional officers at adult and juvenile institutions, camps and parole regions. The research entailed five primary activities: review available information on IST and OJT; develop and administer an interview schedule for all training officers to solicit input regarding their perceptions of IST and OJT; survey all 7(k) employees to obtain their perceptions of and recommendations for IS and OJT; and conduct selected forcus group interviews with 7(k) employees at CDC and CYA institutions and facilities to gather more detailed and explanatory information regarding 7(k) training This paper will discuss the many findings from the research.
Campus Crime and Campus Policing: What is Known, What is Anticipated
Crimes committed on today’s college campuses have received considerable attention from the public, the media and various legislative bodies. Over the last 30 years many colleges have established their own responses to this serious issue. This presentation shares what is currently known about campus crime and campus police based on a limited but growing body of research. Suggestions are made as to the future trends in campus crime and responses to those crimes.
Campus Crime-Reporting Legislation: Does Disclosure Foster a Sense of Empowerment Among Campus Community Members?
The issue of reporting crime on college and university campuses has been of important concern particularly for schools in California in recent months. In September 2000, through an in-depth investigation, The Sacramento Bee reported that many University of California campuses were not complying with the federal campus crime reporting law, the Jeane Clery Act. In a recent lawsuit filed by the Bee concerning public disclosure of crimes n the UC Davis campus, a Sacramento Superior Court judge ruled that university officials are exempt from releasing public reports of crime. This paper will address the development and importance of reporting campus crime legislation and disclosure to the public. Specifically, the paper will investigate the issues of trust, empowerment, and fear of victimization on college campuses, analyzing whether having knowledge of these crimes among students, faculty, and staff will empower members of the campus community.
Can ‘School Vouchers’ Make Public Schools Less Safe and Undermine Their Academic Climates?
Despite claims that vouchers would provide superior educational opportunities for poor children, especially racial minorities, we explore how vouchers could undermine school safety and academic climates of public high schools. Utilizing our ‘instrunental theory of delinquency’ and empirical data, we show how subcultures affect these two factors. After comparing subcultural compositions of private schools with compositions of public schools, we predict the massive employment of school vouchers would produce a ‘two-way street’ composed (1) of students who move from public schools into private schools and (2) students who move from private schools to public schools because they are ‘counseled out’ or expelled. Since the magnitudes of corner cultures mediate the undesirable effects on school safety and academic achievement, we propose that voucher programs could aggravate problems faced by public schools by contributing to the absolute or relative magnitude of corner cultures. Although proponents of ‘school vouchers’ have argued privatization of public schools for more than a decade, the 2000 presidential election has made their proposals a national issue. Criminologists have not lent their expertise to the voucher debate. Perhaps it’s time they should.
Can Graphs Advance the Comparative Analyses of Diffuse Networks?
Since the great majority of delinquent groups (called ‘gangs’ or not) belong to diffuse rather than formally organized networks, American, English, Norwegian, French, etc., studies tacitly rely on social-type metaphors to differentiate subcultural entities. Nevertheless, because some of these metaphors identify subcultural networks by their overriding ethnic or other demographic characteristics (e.g., Bloods, Paks, Somalis) rather than styles of life (e.g., homeboys, druggies, hot rodders, skinheads), they cannot by themselves help classify significant variations in network relations. The Schwendingers’ previous writings have proposed a ‘progessive research progran’ that employs sociometric graphs of large subcultural networks (e.g., see, for example, http://home.earthlink.net/~schwendh/). This paper focuses on the use of their research technology to advance the comparative study of micro and macrosociological relationships. This technology creates iconic models that can be employed in multilevel subcultural studies regardless of the country in which the study is made.
Can Self-Report Data Be Useful in Studying Racial Profiling?
Most of the study of racial profiling has relied on official record information to determine if there is evidence of racial disparity and racial discrimination. Such data are typically quite limited, however, because the data have not been collected independently of the organization being evaluated. Citizen self-reported data, on the other hand, represent an independent source of information, but the adequacy of such data has often been challenged on validity grounds. Data from the NC State Highway Patrol study were used to describe the strengths and weaknesses of self-reported highway related behaviors.
Capital Punishment: A New Perspective on Race and Ethnic Differences in Punishment and Death Sentence Outcomes: Empirical Analysis of Data on California, Florida and Texas, 1975-1985
A review of the existing literature on death sentence outcomes (DSO) shows evidence of differential treatment. Prior studies, however, have followed Caucasian/African American and/or execution/commutation approaches. Little is known about DSO for Latinos, whose experiences differ from those of African Americans and Caucasians, and little is known about other possible DSO: sentence declared unconstitutional, sentence overturned, and conviction overturned. Therefore, the objective of this study is to extend the analysis empirically by analyzing DSO data for California, Florida, and Texas between 1975 and 1995. In addition to race and ethnicity, this study also explores the effects of legal variables in DSO. Furthermore, in an attempt to enhance our understanding of race and ethnic differences in DSO, a theoretical typology of DSO is proposed. Logistic regression shows that disparities in death sentence dispositions are not a phenomenon of the past. The findings reveal that ethnicity and several legal variables still play a role in the legal decision-making process.
Career Choices and Characteristics of African American Undergraduates Majoring in Criminal Justice
African Americans have traditionally had negative views of the criminal justice system. Historically, this has resulted in their exclusion of criminal justice as an academic major and career choice. Recent research, however, has shown that African Americans at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have increasingly selected criminal justice/criminology as their field of study and career choice (Gabbidon and Penn, 1999). To explore this trend, the authors replicated the work of Krimmel and Tartaro (1999) by sending surveys to undergraduate criminal justice majors at several HBCUs to investigate whether their reasons for selecting criminal justice as a major and career choice were in line with those of the earlier study conducted at majority institutions. The implications of the survey results are also discussed.
Caring to Death: Health Care Professionals, Foucault, and Capital Punishment
The purpose of this paper is to describe the role of health care professionals in the capital punishment process. We intend to discuss the relationship between the protocol of capital punishment in the U.S. and the use of health care professionals to carry out that task. For some time, the operation of the medical sciences in prisons has been part of a disciplinary strategy and an integral part of the prison’s power relationship with condemned inmates. We discuss these topics with specific reference to the works of Michel Foucault, focusing on the role of power and resistance in capital punishment. Moreover, we address the role of state laws that declare that using health care professionals to carry out executions is not the practice of medicine.
Case Study Findings From the National Evaluation of SafeFutures
The national cross-site evaluation of the SafeFutures initiative uses multiple methods to measure program and client outcomes. In 2000, case studies involving selected SafeFutures youth and their caregiver(s) were conducted across the six SafeFutures communities. Initially, sites selected cases that reflected favorable outcomes with respect to client results or system enhancements. Subsequently, sites were asked to identify cases that had disappointing results for one reason or another. Data collected during the course of these interviews offer a detailed view of the type of problems/issues presented by Safe/Futures clients, the program’s response to these needs, the respondents’ perception of the outcomes, and the reasons for these outcomes. This paper presents findings from these case studies. Recommendations for program improvement are also discussed.
Casinos, Crime and Community Costs
This paper examines how casino openings affect crime rates. Since 1990, casino industry revenue has more than doubled, and in 1997 revenues accounted for more than $20 billion. In spite of recent casino growth and many important policy issues related to casinos, there is no consensus about their effect on crime. We discuss theoretical reasons why casinos may increase or decrease crime, and then estimate the effect empirically by using county-level data between 1977 and 1996. Unlike many studies, we do not focus on one location (most frequently Las Vegas, Atlantic City) or one crime, but instead examine every US county and all seven FBI Index I Offenses. Time series data, which are rarely used, allow us to study how effects change over time. We use time and county-level fixed effects to control for unobserved heterogeneity across time and locations. We argue that about 8% of crime in casino counties was attributable to casinos and that the average annual cost of increased crime due to casinos was $65 per adult per year. By studying neighboring counties, we also argue that crime was created and not merely moved from one location to another.
Castration as an Effective Deterrent to Sexual Violence
The oldest, cheapest, quickest and most effective way to stop sexual violence against women is castration (orchiectomy). We know because it has been used for thousands of years, currently costs only about $1600, takes about 1/2 hour and had a recidivism of only about 2.44% in over 5000 cases in a total of seven countries. It works best as a voluntary treatment rather than as a punishment when the violent man has learned the advantages and disadvantages and makes an informed consent. It greatly extends the average male’s life expectancy by alleviating the danger of heart attack, stroke and prostate cancer and also curbs addictions of all sorts.
Central Indiana Women Offenders Transition Project
This paper will discuss the development of a pilot project to assist women offenders transitioning from prison to the community in central Indiana. Concerned that gaps in services foster poor outcomes for ex-offenders, the Offender Reintegration Subcommittee of the United Way of Central Indiana’s Safety and Violence Impact Council conducted an assessment of offender reintegration needs in Central Indiana during the summer of 2000. This study, based on a review of archival information, focus groups with offenders and key informant interviews with service providers, pointed to the potential value of creating an intensive, individualized case management approach. This program, with the endorsement of a wide array of public and private stakeholders, will begin in the summer of 2001 as a supplement to the Department of Correction’s transition programming. While the women are still in prison, a community case manager will begin working with the offender and significant others in the community to develop a reintegration plan. Upon the women’s release, the case manager will complement regular probation or parole services and actively coordinate formal and informal services and resources to implement the reintegration plan. This paper will also discuss evaluation plans for this pilot program.
Central Problems in Deviant Organization Theory: Isolating the Criminogenic Aspects of Formal Organizations
Elite deviance or white-collar crime is primarily thought of as involving large organizations. Traditional criminological theory does not adequately explain crime among people bureaucratically linked to one another. This paper articulates the criminogenic features of formal organizations illustrating how bureaucratic structure contributes to illegal activites. Factors uncovered by existing research are brought together as a step toward a more general theory. Our understanding of the criminogenic aspects of organizational structure is limited to investigations of a few cases of crime primarily in corporations. A comparison of studies of organizational deviance and theoretical discourse is made noting how structural features can be criminogenic. The characteristics of deviant organizational structures are contrasted with legitimate ones. Many new hypotheses emerge. Currently theory of deviant organizations is based on a single or very few studies of a limited number of deviant organizations.
Challenge, Opportunity, Discipline and Ethics Program for High Risk Offenders: An Analysis of Key Outcome Measures
The four-phase Challenge, Opportunity, Discipline and Ethics residential treatment program (C.O.D.E.) was implemented to encourage better adjustment among high-security Federal offenders. C.O.D.E. recognizes the important link between what offenders think and how they behave. Special emphasis is placed on teacing participants of this voluntary program about prosocial values and the associated life skills that are required to maintain a non-criminal lifestyle. The theoretical and empirical bases, and treatment modality for this highly structured, intensive 9-month program are described. Those offenders who are waiting to participate in C.O.D.E., did not complete the program, or withdrew prior to participating are used as contrast groups to better assess the gains made by program graduates. Multiple institutional adjustment measures and self-report criminal history and attitude data are analyzed at several stages. Pre and post differences in criminal thinking variables as they relate to disciplinary incidents are of particular interest. Early results of the analyses are presented and indicate the C.O.D.E. is headed in a positive direction.
Challenging Placement Outcomes for ‘Difficult-to-Place’ Youth: Preliminary Results From a Placement Readiness Evaluation Program
Residential placement for adjudicated juvenile delinquents has become commonplace. This paper will present results from the evaluation of a Challenge Grant program established in a Southern California county to better prepare youth for placement. This program focuses on “difficult-to-place” juveniles who are identified using a list of criteria developed by probation officials and the Presley Center evaluation team. Once the juveniles are determined to be difficult-to-place, they are randomly selected into the control or treatment group; the latter receives two basic interventions. The first intervention involves transferring the minor from the larger Juvenile Hall setting into a small unit where they receive more staff guidance, more counseling, and a climiate more similar to most residential placements. The juveniles remain there for up to l-1/2 months just prior to being placed. The other intervention consists of a “family outreach team” that interfaces with the juveniles’ families and offers service referrals as well as providing an informational link between probation, placement, and the minor and his or her family. Hypothesized outcomes include decreased time in placement, increased placement completion rates, and lower recidivism among the treatment group. Offender profiles, key aspects of program implementation, and statistical outcome data will be presented.
Change Isn’t Painful, Resistance to Change is Painful: An Examination of the (Re)production of Organizational Structure in Criminal Justice
This paper explores, theoretically and operationally, the reproduction of organizational structure and form in the criminal justice system. Despite the many reforms and innovations in criminal justice, little has changed in terms of how the institutions that administer justice in the United States organize themselves, nor has their core behavior been significantly altered. From the perspective of institutional theory the criminal justice system’s aversion to change can be explained through a combination of organizational inertia, and environmental pressures for legitimacy. Such a perspective can be contrasted with ever-popular “rational choice” perspectives that theorize individual-level cost-benefit analyses in determining action, “resource constraint” models that utilize econometric analyses of social action and power theories that posit elite interests as the chief hindrance to organizational change. In order to evaluate the core assumptions of “neo-institutional” theory, particularly the assertion that newly developed organizations within a particular organizational field will, in short order, come to resemble in form and action the organizations that preceded them, data from several iterations of the LEMAS survey are analyzed. In particular, the data will be used to assess the development of a particular form of criminal justice organization that has taken shape in recent years: so-called “community policing” models.
Changes in Patterns of Career-Ending Police Misconduct
This is a study of the l,543 officers whose violations of the law and/or administrative policy caused them to be dismissed or forced to resign or retire from the New York City Police Department during 1975 through 1996. The paper analyzes changes over time in the personal characteristics and histories of involuntarily separated officers; in the nature of conduct leading to involuntary separation, and in the effects upon this disciplinary process of changes in the political, economic, and administrative environments of New York City and its police department.
Changes in Sentencing Patterns for White-Collar Criminals in Finland
The purpose of this study is to analyze the development of sentences which have been handed down for white-collar crimes in Finland. The court decisions that have been gathered at the beginning of the 1990s are being compared to the material of more than a thousand sentences from the years 1999-2000. The material consists of the sentences of both the lower courts of justice and the courts of appeal. The material comprises all the sentences of the period studied. In the study which took place about ten years ago the result was obtained that the sentences were either slight fines (about on the average 350 dollars) in the majority of cases or in about 10 per cent of the cases prison sentences of under a year. After this, the investigation of white-collar crimes has been intensified. For example, the number of police officers focusing on white-collar offences has been increased. However, according to the opinions of citizens, the punishments ought to be stricter. With the help of the current study it will be possible to clarify how the legal praxis has changed–if it has changed at all. An internatinal comparison will be made, too.
Characteristics and Effectiveness of the Police Investigation Process in Rural, Suburban, and Urban Contexts: National Surveys in the U.S. and South Korea
Although the bulk of research on policing has been conducted in the past three decades in the U.S., most of this has focused on urban settings and on the police patrol and service functions. Police investigation activities, even though it is an important aspect of police work, have not received attentions from researchers. Furthermore, the attention that researchers have given to police investigation function has been country specific. There is no research that has explored differences in the police investigative policies and practices between countries. To address this issue, we carried out mail surveys of representative samples of law enforcement agencies in the U.S. (n=1,746) and South Korea (n=224). In this paper we will highlight our findings on the characteristics of the police investigative process in rural, suburban, and urban contexts within both of those countries. The major emphasis will be on police investigative goals, management strategies, and police working relationships with other criminal justice agencies, and they will be evaluated with respect to their effectiveness in crime solving.
Chicago Area Project in the Modern Metropolis: The Continuing Relevance of the Neighborhood-Based Approach
Founded 68 years ago, the Chicago Area Project (CAP) manages the oldest community based juvenile delinquency prevention and rehabilitation program in the United States. The ideas and actions of CAP have contributed immensely to our understanding of juvenile delinquency in urban areas. However, for many years updates of CAP activities have almost completely disappeared from the academic scene. But CAP is alive and well. This paper attempts to refocus intellectual interest in CAP by reporting findings from a one-year recidivism assessment of its Juvenile Justice Diversion Project 1997 cohort. As the paper will indicate, CAP has maintained its classical protocols and has also integrated more recent concepts. The recidivism evaluation of the Chicago Area Project’s Juvenile Justice Diversion Program 1997, 1998 and 1999 cohorts will be presented. The theoretical, methodological and policy implications of CAP’s recent efforts will be discussed.
Chief Probation Officers in England and Wales and the ‘What Works’ Initiative
The probation service in England and Wales is currently undergoing the most significant changes since its inception in 1907. One of these changes is an attempt at the systematisation of probation practice based on so-called ‘What Works’ principles. It is clear that the success or otherwise of this programme will be a key factor in the future of the probation service. This paper examines the recent origins of the “What Works’ initiative and reports on the views and attitudes of Chief Probation Officers (CPOs) on the importance of this development. The data are taken from the first study of Chief Probation Officers ever carried out in England and Wales, involving detailed interviews with all CPO’s.
Child Advocacy Centers: A Coordinated Response to Child Sexual Victimization
Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) are multidisciplinary centers designed to improve the criminal justice processing of child sexual abuse cases. CACs have been in existence for 15 years. Recently, the National Children’s Alliance, the parent organization of CACs, adopted standards for membership that include eight core components that make up the CAC model. And yet no systematic examination of the CAC model exists. This paper presents the results of a survey assessing the extent to which these core components are adhered to in the field, and variations within these core components. Using a stratified random selection design, 117 CAC directors (71 member and 46 nonmember directors) were interviewed using a semi-structured inteview that was based on the NCA’s standards for membership. Results reveal the model has been widely adopted by both member and nonmember centers, although variations in its application exist. Future developments in the CAC model must include evaluation of the model.
Childhood Maltreatment, Alcohol Use, and Mental Health: Examining the Effects of Childhood Maltreatment on Alcohol Abuse, Mental Health Outcomes and Treatment Patterns Among Newly Incarcerated Females
The rising number of offenders with co-occurring alcohol abuse and mental health disorders has been widely documents and presents one of the most pressing issues facing correctional facilities today. Other mounting evidence reveals high rates of childhood abuse and neglect experiences among women offenders, yet the link between early childhood maltreatment and onset of alcohol use, abuse, and mental illness has not been explored among incarcerated populations. This study examines childhood maltreatment experiences, early onset of alcohol use, adult alcohol abuse, and mental health impairments among 1,198 newly incarcerated females in 1998-1999. We also examine alcohol and mental health treatment utilization patterns, completion patterns, and perception of effectiveness of these treatment programs by women offenders.
Childhood Predictors of Binge Drinking Trajectories in Adolescence
In a prior study (Hill, Hawkins & Catalano, 2000), four binge drinking trajectories were identified using semi-parametric group-based modeling: non bingers, late onsetters, increasers, and early highs. Adolescent binge drinking was significantly related to both fewer prosocial and more antisocial outcomes at age 21. Further,k these effects depended upon the particular pattern of binge drinking. As a follow-up, this paper examines what risk and protective factors in varilous domains (individual, family, peer, school, and neighborhood) predict membership in these different adolescent binge drinking trajectories. The sample is from the Seattle Social Development Project, a longitudinal panel study of 808 youths interviewed annually from 1985 (at approximately age 10 years) to 1991 (age 16), and again in 1993 (age 18). The sample, which was selected to over-represent students from schools serving high-crime and low-income neighborhoods, is gender-balanced, ethnically diverse, with high retention rates (94% of the original sample were interviewed at age 18). The outcome variable for this study is the four adolescent binge drinking trajectories identified through semi-parametric group-based modeling in Hill et al. (2000). Multinomial logistic regressions are used to examine the effect of childhood predictors (age 10-12) on these developmentally different patterns of binge drinking (age 13-18). This study provides an examination of the developmental etiology of binge drinking from early childhood to adolescence with a special emphasis on population heterogeneity. Knowledge of what acounts for distinctive binge drinking trajectories can lead to identification of new modifiable foci for providing children with developmentally-appropriate and effective early preventive intervention.
Childhood Temperament, Environmental Influences, and Pre-Adolescent Defiance: Continuity or Change in Anti-Social Behavior?
Continuity in antisoial behavior is one of the most consistent empirical findings in criminology. Most research in this area has focused on the relationship between prior and future crminal behavior, or between adolescent delinquency and adult offending. Recent theoretical and empirical statements, however, have sought to “push back” the etiology of delinquency into early to middle childhood. The present paper addresses the etiology of delinquency into early to middle childhood. The present paper addresses the issues of continuity and childhood precursors to delinquency by assessing the relationship between early childhood temperament, environmental influences, and pre-adolescent deviance. The sample is drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, Child-Mother data set. The theoretical and policy implications of this research are discussed.
Childhood Victimization among Incarcerated Juveniles in Japan: Results of a National Survey of Inmates in Juvenile Training Schools
Japanese Juvenile Training Schools provide treatment and education in secure facilities for juvenile offenders. This paper presents the results of a survey of juvenile inmates who were in Juvenile Training Schools and who have been victims of child abuse or neglect. The aims of the study were: to assess the extent of childhood victimization among all juvenile inmates; to examine possible links between childhood abuse and later delinquent and/or criminal behavior and to outlie the key difference between the group of inmates with a history of childhood victimization and those without it. The survey was carried out in 2000. In total, 2354 inmates (60% of all juvenile inmates) took part in the survey conducted by the Research and Training Institute of the Japanese Ministry of Justice. Overall, 50% of the sample reported physical abuse, sexual abuse and/or neglect in childhood. Also, results showed that the female respondents were more likely to find the reason of their childhood victimization in later delinquent and/or criminal behavior than males. We found there were not significant differences in subsequent offending patterns between abused and non-abused groups. However, we did find that a history of childhood victimization seems to have an impact on the personality development.
Childhood Victimization and Diversity of Problem Behavior in Adolescence
Childhood victimization has been associated with a variety of adolescent behavior problems, although few studies have examined risk for multiple forms of problem behavior. This presentation examines whether childhood victimization is a risk factor for multiple adolescent problem behaviors. Data are from a larger research project in which individuals with documented histories of childhood physical and sexual abuse and neglect were compared with a matched control group of individuals without such histories of maltreatment. As part of a follow-up interview approximately 20 years after the chilhood victimization incident, respondents were asked about their involvement in a variety of youthful problem behaviors. We hypothesize that abused and neglected children are involved in more types and more serious forms of adolescent problem behaviors compared to nonabused and nonneglected indivudals. We also examine the effect of gender and different types and combinations of types of childhood victimization in the association between childhood victimization and involvement in multiple and diverse forms of problem behavior in adolescence.
Citation and Arrest of Youth for Purchase and Possession of Alcohol: The Role of the OJJDP Enforceing Underage Drinking Laws Program
Youth alcohol use is a critical criminal justice, health, and social problem in the United States. The Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) Program was initiated in 1998. This program, which is administered by the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, provides financial support and technical assistance to the states to enforce underage drinking laws and prevent underage drinking. This paper will discuss how the EUDL program has impacted formal sanctioning of youth for alcohol use, and the extent to which the EUDL program has led to increases in the level of enforcement of laws prohibiting the purchase or possession of alcohol by persons under the age of 21. In addition, the authors discuss the program’s impact on (1) the perceptions of youth (age 17-21) about the probability of experiencing formal or informal sanctions for purchase or possession of alcohol, and (2) the prevalence of youth experiencing these sanctions. Data are from annual telephone surveys conducted in 1999 and 2000 of youth and local law enforcement agencies (N- 154 in 1999 and in 2000) in 104 study communities. The implications of these findings for the EUDL program and for trends in handling of status offenses are discussed.
Citizen and Police Perceptions oof Neighborhood Problems
This study examines citizen and police perceptions of neighborhood problems using data from 48 Cincinnati neighborhoods. Problem-solving should focus on those issues that are of mutual concern to both the police and the public. If police do not focus on problems that are of mutual concern to the police and public, citizen perceptions of police may be less than satisfactory. Therefore, it may be difficult to attain a sense of community cohesion within a neighborhood. The paper examines the consistency of police and citizen perceptions of problems regarding crime and disorder.
Citizen Attitudes Toward Police in Light of Community Policing
Police demeanor in interaction with citizens and their effectiveness in traditional and community policing roles are examined for the mid-sized Midwestern city of Racine, Wisconsin over four years. While most people give police high scores on their demeanor with citizens, African-Americans are least likely to rate police as being espectful, helpful, and fair in their interactions with the public. When we examine the nature of interactions with police, we find that people who converse informally with police are more satisfied with their interactions than those who are approached as suspects or accused of a crime. With regard to citizens’ assessment of the traditional policing role, people in Racine do not have much faith in the ability of police to prevent crime and keep order. Specifically, people who see youth hanging out in the streets, see police force as excessive, and come from neighborhoods in decline are most likely to rate police poorly on their ability to perform traditional policing tasks. Attitudes are relatively neutral with regard to police officer capabilities to perform such community policing tasks as responding to non-emergency situations and working with the community to solve local problems. People who feel crime is declining in their neighborhoods tend to rate police higher than those who say crime had remained stable or increased.
Citizen Calls to the Police: The Impact of 3-1-1
This paper examines the impact of introducing 3-1-1 non-emergency call systems on the nature and volume of citizen calls for police service. Using calls for service data to both 3-1-1 and 9-1-1 call systems in Dallas and Baltimore over five years, we show large reductions in 9-1-1 calls after the introduction of 3-1-1. We also show that the drop in 9-1-1 calls was somewhat offset by calls made to the 3-1-1 system. As expected some categories of citizen complaints migrated in large numbers from 9-1-1 to the 3-1-1 system. We examine the dispatch policies of the 9-1-1 and 3-1-1 systems and discuss how the introduction of 3-1-1 call systems impacted on officer time.
Citizen Experience With Police Use of Force: An Examination of National Survey Data
In 1999 the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) collected data from a nationally representative sample of nearly 100,000 persons age 16 or older regarding their face-to-face interaction with the police. This presentation specifically examines these incidents in which citizens reported that the police used force against them. Data are analyzed on the initial reason for the police contact, characteristics of the police officer(s) and citizen, and the type of force used against the citizen. A typology is proposed to identify and describe the different types of police ecounters under which the citizen reported being handcuffed, arrested, or charged with an offense. Information is also described regarding actions taken by the citizen involved in a police use of force incident, such as filing an official complaint. Respondents were asked to describe the incident including any specific actions or behaviors they may have taken to provoke the police. Analysis is done to examine citizen perceptions of their own behavior during the incident and whether they considered their own actions as being provocative. Findings from this national survey are placed in context of previous research conducted in specific locations.
Citizen Justice: Concerns and Motivations of Vermont Reparative Board Volunteers
This paper reports findings from a survey of Vermont Reparative Probation volunteers who serve on restorative justice boards. These boards meet with probationers to negotiate contracts to repair the harm of the crime and reintegrate the offenders back into the community. The survey examines board members’ demographics, motivations for volunteering, the effect of the program on their attitudes about criminal justice, and the partnership relationship between community volunteers and the Vermont Department of Corrections.
Citizen’s Guide to Private Prisons
As America’s imprisonment binge continues, more communities are considering entering into a contract with a private prison. This paper reviews the literature on cost savings and details the overhead costs of private prisons. We discuss performance measures, including recidivism, escapes and lawsuits. Community concerns about accountability and disclosure are discussed, along with details of how the corporate interest and public good conflict.
Citizenship, Race/Ethnicity, and Sentencing Outcomes in U.S. Federal Courts
Several recent studies that examine the effects of race and ethnicity on sentencing outcomes find that Hispanic and black defendants receive longer sentences and are more likely to receive incarceration sentences than white defendants after controlling for important legal factors. Using federal court data collected by the U.S. Sentencing Commission for the years 1995-1998, I extend prior research on white-black-Hispanic sentencing differences by the U.S. federal courts. An investigation of the influence of citizenship status on sentencing outcomes is important because (1) similar to race/ethnicity, under the federal sentencing guidelines it is unacceptable for prosecutors or judges to use citizenship status as a criterion in making sentencing decisions, (2) citizenship status and Hispanic ethnicity are strongly related extralegal factors that may serve to “doubly disadvantage” non-citizen Hispanic defendants relative to other citizenship status-racial/ethnic group defendants at the sentencing stage, and (3) attitudes toward and sentencing outcomes of non-citizens may have implications for the treatment of Hispanic citizens in the federal courts.
City Police Departments’ Focus on Crime Analysis: An Exploratory Study
Most law enforcement departments in the U.S. have the dual roles of providing public safety and a number of social services to the community. Moreover, for a majority of law enforcement departments across the county, the most crucial resource is the law enforcement officers that they employ. Law enforcement departments differ substantially, however, in the exact manner in which they use their officers. The present study concentrates on the changing nature of the duties of personnel across police departments, particularly with regards to the crime analyst position. Specifically, we surveyed 246 police departments in a 5 county area in New Jersey to examine the amount of manpower that they dedicate to crime analysis. The type of analysis each department engages in will also be scrutinized, as will their successes and failures with such strategies.
City Political Structures, Social Disorganization and Crime: A Study of 940 U.S. Cities in 1981 and 1991
Numerous studies have explored variation in crime rates across cities. Existing studies of city-level crime rates often rely on social disorganization theory, explicitly or implicitly. However, local institutional political structures are virtually absent from both city-level studies of crime and social disorganization theory. Drawing on insights from political resource theory, I propose a city-level model of crime that combines elements of social disorganization theory with research on local institutional politics, and addresses the role of local political structures in crime. Political resource theory focuses on how welfare policies result from actors pursuing their interests, based on the resources available to them. By identifying important actors and resources, this study begins to develop a theory of how city institutional politics affects social disorganization and crime. Demographic, political, and crime data were collected for cities with populations 25,000 or greater in 1981 and 1991. OLS techniques are used to test hypotheses regarding the interaction of local institutional political structures, social disorganization, and crime. Results suggest that social disorganization continues to be an important predictor of crime. However, the effect of structural indicators of social disorganization on crime depends on local institutional political structures.
Civil Society and Serious Juvenile Crime in Non-Metro Communities
Structural research on the correlates of serious juvenile crime has been limited by a nearly exclusive focus on urban communities, and a general replication of theoretical models traditionally applied to samples of urban communities. This research is designed to extend the structural tradition in two ways. First, we draw on the civil society and civic engagement literature to develop hypotheses suggesting that rates of serious juvenile crime will be lower in communities where religiously based civic engagement is more prevalent. Second, we test our theoretical model using a sample of non-metropolitan communities. The results highlight the importance of considering moral communities when explaining variation in serious juvenile crime rates outside of the metropolis, and lay the initial groundwork for potentially interesting directions for future research.
Classification of Problems for Police
The unit of analysis for problem-oriented is a problem. Advances in problem-oriented policing (as well as research on this subject) require a fuller understanding of what we mean by “problem”. In this paper, we describe an exploratory effort to develop a problem classification system using two dimensions: behavior and environment. The practical and research applications of this system are discussed.
Co-Offending and Low Status Offenders in White-Collar Crimes
Among the most powerful criticisms of offense-focused approaches to white collar crime is that a significant minority of the offenders they identify turn out to be of relatively low social status, to have extensive criminal histories, or to be unemployed. These characteristics are seemingly inconsistent with an understanding of white collar offenders as only those of elite or even middle class status and as starkly different from other offenders. A variety of explanations of this have been offered, however, little attention has been paid to who these offenders actually are and how they came to be involved in their crimes. For example, many low status offenders may, essentially, be hired to play marginal roles in crimes that are organized by higher status individuals. Unemployed persons involved in an offense may be the spouse, child or parent of an offender who does meet offender-based definitions of white collar criminals. Using qualitative and quantitative data from the Wheeler, Weisburd and Bode (Yale) study of white collar offenders, this paper explores the characteristics of these low status offenders, the roles they play in white collar offenses, and how they became involved in these crimes with a particular focus on the role played by co-offending networks.
Collaboration: The Key to Successful Jail Diversion
Jail diversion by its very nature requires extensive collaboration and cooperation between a variety of agencies and providers who often approach this issue with different philosophies and missions. An effective Jail Diversion program would not be possible without numerous preliminary activities that set the stage for the trust and cooperation which is necessary to create a successful program. While not minimizing the important role played by the Criminal Justice system in the jail diversion process, the most critical element in the diversion effort is the presence of an adequate array of responsive behavioral health services. Diversion efforts without adequate services to divert the person “to” produce very short term results and may prove harmful to the person and the community. This presentation describes the development of the wide variety of collaboration that is necessary to link health and correction services and the specific examples of collaboration created in the Arizona Jail Diversion Project.
Combating Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault in Our Schools
Because the incidence of rape is highest among young people and because most children have difficulty identifying sexual harassment and sexual assault, there is an urgent need for prevention education among school-age children and adolescents. Prevention education is crucial for protecting children and adolescents and for educating teachers with knowledge and skills to assist and protect student victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment. Rape crisis centers, police departments, and community organizations are developing innovative educational programs for children that increase their knowledge about gender roles, sexual aggression, and sexually abusive behavior. This paper describes the efforts of a rape crisis center in Philadelphia, Women Organized Against Rape (WOAR), to develop and implement a prevention program for boys and girls in grades (K-12 in the Philadelphia School District.
Communal School Organization and the Implementation Quality of School-Based Prevention Programs
Past research has shown the effectiveness of several types of delinquency prevention programs located in the school arena. In addition, past research has shown how the implementation quality of programs in schools influences the programs’ effectiveness. Little research, however, has examined the factors that influence this implementation quality. This paper examines how the “communal organization” of a school affects the implementation quality of delinquency prevention programs. This communal organization is characterized by a system of shared values and expectations, a sense of community within the school, high teacher-administrator cooperation, and good local school management. Also important is the way in which the prevention program is integrated into this organization. It is proposed that a school with high communal organization and highly integrated prevention programs will have programs that disiplay high implementation quality. Conversely, a school with low communal organization and poorly integrated prevention programs will have programs that display poor implementation quality. Using surveys from prevention activity coordinators and teachers from a national sample of schools, this study will assess the relationship between communal school organization and implementation quality of prevention programs.
Community, Strain, and Delinquency: A Test of a Multi-Level Model of General Strain Theory
Although general strain theory was initially advanced as a micro-social theory, Agnew (1999) has recently proposed a macro-social version or the theory. Agnew’s macro-social general strain theory predicts that community differences, including racial and economic inequality, influence levels of community strain, which may then lead to higher crime rates. However, Agnew’s explication of the macro-level model strongly suggests that a multi-level integrated theory of general strain is also appropriate. Using data collected from 1,674 students attending high school and middle school, this study investigates the degree to which community characteristics influence individual levels of strain, negative affect, and delinquency and whether the effects of strain on individual delinquency are more salient within communities characterized by higher levels of inequality.
Community Building, Collaborative Problem Solving and Community Justice as Social Movements That Increase Social Capital, Decrease Crime, and Improve Quality of Life
A great debate is taking place regarding why crime is dropping in America (e.g., Blumstein and Wallman, 2000). Invesigations of Baltimore City’s HotSpots, Empowerment Zones, and Comprehensive Communities have produced crime reductions that exceed citywide crime reduction by a factor of two to three. …Previous studies of Baltimore’s Comprehensive Communities (Hypke, forthcoming; Roth and Kelling, forthcoming) show similar findings. This finding of a forty percent crime reduction in these communities is consistent with the finding of Sampson, Raudenbush, and Clark (Science 277, August 15, 1997:1-7) that there is a 40 percent difference between neighborhoods scoring high and low on collective efficacy. Such findings are consistent with research that goes back to the 1920s that indicates that to prevent crime one has to “change the street.” The author has been hired by the Baltimore Mayor’s Office on Criminal Justice to document whether or not HotSpots are working and, if so, to determine why. The preliminary data shows that something is working. The attempt to uncover the why is proceeding on a number of fronts including observations, review of records, and a literature search. …This paper will flesh out, and illustrate, an emerging model that seems to show convergence between work on social movements, community building, community justice, and social capital as influences that decrease crime and improve quality of life. If empirical results validate this approach it has important implications for the crime prevention policy debate.
Community Context and Sentencing Outcomes
Prior research on sentencing has focused on the influence of offender, victim, and case characteristics. These studies generally have failed to consider the effect of the community context on sentencing outcomes. Using data on a sample of persons arrested for murder, in conjunction with data on the socio-demographic characteristics of the counties in which their cases were adjudicated, I explore whether specific county characteristics affect the severity of sentences imposed. In addition, this study examines whether these county characteristics moderate the effects of victim, defendant, and case characteristics on sentence severity. Drawing on recent research on punitiveness, I hypothesize that sanctions are more severe for murder defendants processed in communities with a relatively older age structure, a higher proportion of whites, an imbalanced sex ratio, and those located in the south.
Community Corrections Supervision: A Comparison of Neighborhood Based Supervision Officers With Traditional Community Corrections Officers
The Washington State Department of Corrections has implemented an innovative approach to community corrections, referred to as Neighborhood Based Supervision (NBS), in Spokane. This program geographically locates community corrections officers in community oriented police substations (COP-Shops) across the city. The goal of the program is to reduce recidivism and improve neighborhood safety by engaging law enforcement and community members in the monitoring and support of offenders living in the community. This qualitative study analyses the approach used by NBS officers to supervise offenders in the community and compares them to the approaches used by traditional community corrections officers.
Community Government: Examining the Cincinnati Experience
The Cincinnati Neighborhood Action Strategy (CNAS) is a program to help communities solve problems by having greater access to city agencies and represents a major shift toward community oriented government. Using data collected at team meetings and from a survey that was administered to all CNAS team members we examine team members’ motivations for involvement, organizational support, perceived outcomes and team problem solving processes. We conclude with issues surrounding program efficacy, participation of team members, and policy recommendations for implementing community-based programs.
Community Gun Prevalence as a Lure and Deterrent to Burglars
A common argument against gun control is that the widespread ownership of guns provides a deterrent to burglary, and especially to the burglary of occupied dwellings, in much the same way that Lojack provides a general deterrent to auto theft. The evidence in support of this assertion includes interviews with burglars and limited international comparisons. Widespread gun ownership may also provide an incentive that increases burglary rates, simply because stolen guns are easily and profitably fenced. In many cases guns are the only items stolen in a burglary. Thenet relationship between gun ownership and burglary can only be resolved empirically, but to date there has been no systematic empirical research on this issue. In this paper we estimate the relationship between gun prevalence and various measures of burglary using both the Uniform Crime Report data and the geocoded version of the National Crime Victimization Survey data.
Community Mobilization and Policing: Building Crime Control From the Inside Out
Research and policy currently is concentrated on community policing, and involving residents in crime control strategies. In line with the community policing philosophy are community mobilization programs. One such program, implemented through a state law enforcement agency, concentrates on very small scale community development, with the ultimate goal of reducing disorder, crime, and gang activity. A major focus of the program design is integration with the surroundng community, most notably the police department. This paper is based on an on-going evaluation of a state law enforcement agency’s community mobilization program. As a part of this evaluation, researchers have conducted periodic interviews with residents and police officers (including neighborhood relations, patrol, and gang and tactical officers). I first describe community mobilization and how it compares to community policing programs. Then I explain some of the strengths as well as problems and limitations inherent in community policing/mobilization approaches. While there is a largely positive view of the police among residents, there is still skepticism about the role and response of the police. In addition, police knowledge and involvement with mobilization rarely extends beyond community policing officers and beat officers. This often limits the effect that mobilization can have on the policing of gangs.
Community Policing and Crime: A National Assessment of the Effects of COPS Grants on Crime
Community oriented policing (COP) has become the dominant philosophy behind contemporary police innovations designed to reduce crime in the United States. Since the mid-1990s, COP has enjoyed widespread acceptance and adoption by law enforcement agencies. Coincidentally, national crime data indicate that crime rates, particularly for violent crimes, have decreased significantly during this same period. The implementation of federal COP programs through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) may have played an important role in producing this crime reduction. COPS efforts partially involve the addition of 100,000 community oriented police officers and the implementation of programs designed to encourage the COP philosophy nation wide. This research uses a multi-wave panel modeling technique to analyze four sources of existing data: Census, LEMAS, UCR and COPS office data. Approximately 8,000 jurisdictions that received COPS funding between 1994 and 1999 are examined. The impact additional police officers and other specific COPS programs have on crime reduction while controlling for a variety of demographic and regional effects is examined.
Community Policing and Organisational Readiness: Training and Policy Implications
This panel presents results from a survey of the entire police service of a Caribbean country (Trinidad and Tobago) and which is a follow up to a previous study on organisational readiness of this police service. The present survey examines the attitudes and dispositions towards community policing as a relatively new programme for police officers. Areas of strengths and weaknesses in terms of, for example, organizational rigidity, opposing attitudes for the law enforcement approach or other forms of psychological resistance are configured to form a basis for dealing with the general problem of organisational and personnel transformation. In other words, the study seeks to show that while community policing is widely supported by popular rhetoric, there are serious gaps within the police organisation itself in accompanying and implementing the major features of community policing. This gap needs to be treated as a matter of priority.
Community Policing and Successful Relations With Private Security
The ratio of private to public police has grown to 3:1 with expectations of further expansion in the private sector. Good working relationships between the public and private sector is critical for future success in policing, especially as it relates to community policing. Literature is reviewed that looks at other studies on public and private police relationships followed by field interviews and survey work at a busy station.
Community Policing and Youth: Innovative Practices
Crimes by, and against, juveniles are major concerns in communities across the country. In response to these problems, America’s law enforcement agencies have devised innovative and promising programs and strategies that address youth problem behavior and delinquency through a community policing approach. With support from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, COSMOS Corporation and the Police Executive Research Forum are identifying promising or innovative community policing strategies focused on and affecting youth delinquency. Based on extensive telephone interviews and site visits, the authors will produce a report providing detailed descriptions of the most innovative programs and strategies, as well as a description of the steps and tasks involved in a comprehensive, community-oriented planning approach that effectively addresses youth problem behavior and delinquency.
Community Policing in Florida: Factors Lead to Permanent Change
Paper is based upon an extended survey completed by 70 plus Florida county and municipal law enforcement agencies; reseach funded by the Regional Community Poling Institute in St. Petersburg, FL. Survey specifically targeted a number of factors, including training, partnerships, local funding, use of information technologies, and managerial and organizational change. Other factors for comparison include last 5-year crime rates and actual funding agencies received from COPS Office programs.
Community Policing in Poland – The PCP Formula
During the years 1999-2001, the researchers surveyed thousands of Polish police officers and hundreds of students, in an attempt to evaluate and establish the needs and desires of the police and the public. The surveys were supplemented with in-depth interviews with police officers, students, media representatives, and local politicians. The conclusions derived from the research point to a phenomenon the authors refer to as the PCP Formula. The PCP usually connotes an acronym for an illicit substance, a hallucinogen, whose users fequently exhibit an irrational and bizarre behavior, with a lessen ability to discriminate between fact and fantasy. The PCP in this paper represents the three entities probed by the researchers in Poland: the Police, the Community, and the Politicians. Similar to the illicit substance, the combination of these three produces an irrational and sometime erratic approach to policing, in a country where the path towards fully-fledged democratic policing still lacks a consistent and structural approach, one that would clearly differentiate between fact and fantasy.
Community Policing of Domestic Violence? The Turbulent History of an Inter-Agency Domestic Violence Coalition in a Large City, 1986-2001
Police agencies have given an increased emphasis to domestic violence in recent years. One strategy includes the police expanding their traditional working relationships to include the spectrum of agencies working on domestic violence in the local community. Such cooperative and partnership approaches are based on the notion that collaboration and exchange of information can lead to more informed and effective approaches to preventing domestic violence. This paper reports on the history of a large city police department’s relationship with a coalition of agencies working to address domestic violence in its city. Data were collected through observation and in-person interviews with representatives of agencies, including police personnel, working on domestic violence. Data were synthesized for a fifteen-year period including the time immediately prior to the development of the coalition group. It was found that the work of the coalition and its relationship with the police department has gone through various highs and lows. The analysis includes tracking changes in, and the trajectory of, the coalition over time, as well as the domestic violence work of the police department. The broader implications of the findings are identified in order that they may inform the work of inter-agency coalitions and police departments elsewhere in their efforts to tackle domestic violence.
Comorbidity Among Detained Females: Implications for Policy in the Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Systems
The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that there are 2.8 million juvenile arrests each year, and more than 108,000 youth are in custody in juvenile facilities. Female arrest and detention rates are growing faster than those for males. The literature suggests that many detained females have psychiatric disorders with most of these having comorbid substance abuse/dependence disorders as well. However, there are few empirical data on comorbidity among detained females. We will present data from the Northwestern Juvenile Project, a large-scale study of psychiatric disorders among detained youth. Our sample includes 1829 randomly selected juvenile detainees; 1172 males and 657 females, ages 10-18. The paper will compare rates of psychiatric disorders and comorbidity in male and female detainees. Data indicate that over two-thirds of the subjects have one or more psychiatric disorders. In general, females have higher rates of disturbance than males. As in the general population, rates of depression are higher among females than among males. Nearly 50% of the sample qualifies for a DSM-IIIR diagnosis of substance abuse or dependence. These findings, and others which will be presented, have profound implications for gender-specific services provided within the juvenile justice system and in the community.
Comparing and Contrasting St. Louis Hate Crimes With “Normal” Cime
Prior research has argued that hate crimes have the same characteristics as “normal” crime. This paper compares and contrasts hate crimes that were committed in St. Louis, Missouri with non-hate crimes committed at the national, state, and city level. Instead of using the UCR hate crime section which can only provide certain data, files from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department were used in order to understand the context in which these crimes occurred.
Comparison Between Japanese Crime Data and the UCR Concerning Validity and Reliability Problems
This paper attempts to compare Japanese police statistics with the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) concerning validity and reliability problems. Five major issues are examined as follows: (1) dark figure or underreporting of crime problem, (2) official counting process of crime, (3) the composition of the crime index, (4) law enforcement decision making and crime recording practices, and (5) the proper population base for computing crime rates. While comparative criminologists generally agree that Japanese crime statistics are high in quality or they are more accurate than the UCR, this author concludes that this general agreement is of dubious value. Consequently, in using official data for estimating the true extent of crime patterns, the comparative researcher should be cautious about the data interpretation.
Comparison of Anger Levels Between Correctional Officers and Inmates, and Other Variables
Literature on anger emotion describes how it can be a risk factor for violent behavior to occur. In three Puerto Rican correctional institutions the Fernandez Emotion Scale (FES) was given to inmates (IM) and correctional officers (CO) to compare anger. The FES is a validated instrument in Puerto Rican folklore composed of 64 items that measures anger emotion in two sub-scales, frequency and intensity. It also includes a Validity Scale that measures with 10 of its items, the honesty of the participants’ answers to the complete scale. Inmates also responded to a self-report of substance use and mental health while CO responded to a self-report on workng schedule and years of service. Social demographic variables such as gender, age, social status and education will be also compared in both groups with their anger data. The purpose in comparing anger levels in correctional settings is to discover empirically whether or not the Administration of Corrections in Puerto Rico should consider anger management intervention model for correctional officers, with inmates and/or/both as a promising practice for prevention of violence within corrections. The study results will be available by late March 2001.
Comparison of Crime and Public and Private Housing
The proposed project will study fear of crime in public housing neighborhoods. The project will be conducted in collaboration with two public housing developments. Each will allow verification and completion of records for assessing the differences in problems between elderly and mixed population high-rises and their respective surroundings. Data on offense location and calls-for-service for the high-rises and surrounding areas will be collected and used to map the different types of incidents in order to show their physical relationship to the high-rises and how such patterns differ between the mixed develoments and the elderly only developments.
Compliance, Coercion, and Procedural Justice: An Analysis of Police-Suspect Encounters
Police scholars hypothesize that police, in the era of community policing, are more reliant on citizens’ exercise of voluntary compliance and self control than punitive arrest in face to face encounters. This paper elaborates on and explores two potential mechanisms for achieving citizen compliance. First, coercive power in the forms of threats and physical and legal control are examined as tools for gaining citizen compliance. Second, literature in procedural justice is tapped to develop hypotheses regarding police use of “just” and “unjust” tactics in legitimizing (or delegitimizing) requests for self control or compliance. Data from the Project on Policing Neighborhoods collected through systematic social observation of face to face police-citizen encounters in St. Petersburg, FL and Indianapolis, IN, are used in our analyses.
Comprehensive Responses to Youth at Risk: Findings From the SafeFutures Initiative
SafeFutures is a five-year initiative supported by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). It is designed to further the existing efforts of selected communities in reducing delinquency and youth violence, using a continuum of care that includes prevention, intervention, treatment, and sanctioning programs or services. Six communities — Boston, MA; Contra Costa County, CA; Fort Belknap Indian Community, MT; Imperial County, CA; Seattle, WA; and St. Louis, MO — begain SafeFutures demonstrations in the spring of 1996. A national cross-site evaluation was implemented at the same time to determine the success of site-specific efforts. Most of these sites will conclude their demonstrations by fall of 2001, at which time SafeFutures services will be continued under other auspices or will have to cease. This paper describes the sites’ implementation of SafeFutures, including challenges and milestones, as well as the lessons learned. The discussion will highlight key findings about the design, implementation, operation, and sustainability of comprehensive community-based initiatives derived from the process evaluation of the participant communities. Such information is relevant to program planners, those involved in community-based collaboratives, and individuals involved in direct service provision to youth and their families.
Computer Crime: Comparing Police Officer Perceptions With Empirical Data
The rate of computer-related crime continues to escalate while the rate of most index crimes has modestly declined. Computer network intrusions such as DoS attacks and fraud perpetrated over the Internet annually cost American society significant sums of money. Municipal police responses to this modern crime problem are varied. Future responses remain uncertain except for the inexorable need to formulate more effective local law enforcement strategies. This article is a study of police officer perceptions of computer-related crime. Officers (N=251) from two medium and two large size municipal jurisdictions in a single state were surveyed to examine their perception of computer crime. Findings indicate that what police officers believe about computer crime reflects media driven stereotypes and may be influenced by oral considerations. Officer perceptions are inconsistent with the empirical facts on computer crime as reported in the literature on the subject.
Conducting Follow-Up Interviews With Offenders: How MNany Respondents Are Needed? At What Cost?
In planning and budgeting for follow-up studies that include individual interviews, researchers must balance their desire to interview as many subjects as possible against the high costs involved in tracking and locating as a high percentage of subjects. How many more follow-up interviews are necessary to reduce possible bias to an acceptable level? What are the average and marginal costs of conducting follow-up interviews? Do hard-to-find subjects differ from easy-to-find subjects in their characteristics and their outcomes? At what point should locating subjects for follow-up interview stop? Are there guidelines that can guide the decision? Using information on tracking logs used in a five-year follow-up study of participants in an evaluation of a prison-based drug treatment program, we describe the study’s tracking and locating procedures, develop profiles of hard-to-find and easy-to-find subjects using cluster analysis, and present data on differences in outcomes by tracking status. In addition, we identify the costs associated with tracking, locating, and interviewing subjects for follow-up, and cost out different types of follow-up studies. Possible ways to reduce follow-up interview costs will be discussed.
Conflict or Confusion in UK Youth Justice Provision
Recent Youth Justice legislation in the UK has resulted in a varied and extensive range of community penalties. ‘Punitive popularism’ sits side by side with restorative justice. The confusion over punishment and welfare of previous legislation continues despite the claims of the present government to have fundamentally reformed the youth justice system.
Constructing Ohio’s Female Initial and Reclassification Instruments
These two studies were designed to construct both Ohio’s female security initial and reclassification instruments. For the Initial Instrument study, the sample was drawn from a cohort of female inmates who were admitted and classified between February 1997 and December 1998. A random sample of female imates incarcerated as of July 1, 1998 was selected for the Reclassification study. The analysis examined a variety of static and dynamic variables internal and external to institutional life. The resulting instruments were based on statistical analysis that identified risk factors that were correlated with various types of institutional misbehavior (risk assessment). Variables that identified habitation needs were incorporated into the instruments as well (needs assessment).
Constructing the “Other” Within the Police Culture: An Analysis of Deviant Investigative Units Within the Police Organization
As a society, we aggregate and dichotomize ourselves by implying that sharing a master status effectively binds a set of people together. Dichotomization, in particular constructs an image of a mythical “Other” who is not at all like “us.” Dichotomization also constructs a vision of “them” as profoundly different and promotes the leveling of sanctions and stigmas against those who occupy the “other” status. Research has revealed a police culture that promotes a “we-they” paradox within the larger community. This research goes a step further in examining how police culture invokes this paradox within the police organization itself. In particular, it examines how police culture stigmatizes and sanctions female officers or officers who work within special investigative units labeled to be “women’s work,” specifically domestic violence and juvenile crime units. Such stigmas reflect images of laziness and social work roles, while sanctions include limited access to space, processes, and resources. Furthermore, these social constructs have major implications for citizens who are affected by this design.
Contests of Honor: Exploring the Situational Characteristics of Gang Motivated Homicides
Previous research has explored the concept of honor or character contests as a possible dimension of dispute related homicides. This study explores the similarities between gang-motivated homicides and non-gang homicides as they pertain to the concept of honor. The situational characteristics of gang-motivated homicides may not be intrinsically different from other forms of homicides; however, there may be some aspect of life in a gang that makes these type of honor initiated homicides more prevalent but not necessarily unique among all homicides. This study uses data collected from all St. Louis homicides between 1990-1995, and examines whether the characteristics surrounding participation in a gang facilitate the incidence of ‘honor contests’.
Context and Motives for Women’s and Men’s Use of Violence in Intimate Relationships
The Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS), one of the most widely used instruments to measure intimate partner violence (IPV), has received much criticism. One such critique is that it fails to properly contextualize men’s and women’s use of violence in intimate relationships, primarily because it fails to address issues of power and control, as well as possible gender differences in motives for IPV. This paper compares the contexts and motives for men’s and women’s use of violence as reported by a sample of female arrestees in Oklahoma. This population has a high rate of self-reported male-to-female (63.0% for any past year physical (IPV) and female-to-male (51.9%) IPV. In-person interviews were conducted with eligible women booked in the Oklahoma City/County Jail over 14 consecutive days during the 4th quarter of 2000 and each of the first three quarters of 2001. Violence measures included the CTS2, a multi-item power-control scale, and a multi-item measure of motives for IPV. Preliminary analyses suggest substantial gender differences in both the contexts and motives for IPV.
Context of Mexican Sex Workers Along the US/Mexico Border
This paper focuses on the motivations for entry into a career of prostitution among a population of Mexican sex workers. This research is part of a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) funded investigation based on 63 life history interviews with sex workers (male and female) in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. This study combined multiple methods in order to identify and examine this “hidden population” of sex workers. These methods included social mapping, ethnographic observations, and life history interviews. The paper presents a descriptive analysis of the sex worker population and a qualitative analysis of the respondents’ motivation for entry into prostitution. Findings reveal that becoming a sex worker is facilitated by the quasi-legalization of prostitution in Mexico and impoverished economic status of Mexican women along the U.S./Mexico border. Discussed is how the circumstances and motives for entry into this career among these women are distinct from U.S. sex workers. This results in different types of women entering sex work in Mexico and the U.S. This study contributes to the understanding of the social context of pathways to prostitution.
Continuities and Discontinuities in Internalizing and Externalizing Problems From Childhood to Early Adulthood: Depression, Anxiety and Violence
Research has suggested that adult disorders can be predicted from childhood symptoms of these disorders, as well as from other problem behaviors. Childhood internalizing problems, as well as conduct problems, have been linked to adult depression and anxiety. Similarly, childhood symptoms of ADHA have been linked to adult violence. This paper examines the continuity of internalizing and externalizing problems from childhood to adulthood. The extent to which unique versus common childhood behavior problems are linked to different adult outcomes is explored, as well as the role of co-occurring problems. The study examines the emergence of syndromes of symptoms and thresholds at which they have predictive power for adult outcomes. The Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP) is a multiethnic and gender-balanced urban panel of 808 participants constituted in 1985. The dataset consists of ten waves from ages 10 to 24, and includes measures from the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) during childhood and adolescence, and assessments based on the Diagnostic Interview Schedule in adulthood. Relationships between early behavior problems, including teacher and parent reports on the CBCL, and depression, anxiety and violence at ages 21 to 24 are examined, as well as the role of gender, ethnicity and possible interactions.
Continuity and Change in Personality From Adolescence to Midlife: A 25-Year Longitudinal Study Comparing Conventional and Adjudicated Men on Five-Factor Model Measures
Continuity and change in personality are documented but longitudinal evidence is scarce. The present study examined differential and absolute continuity with the Five-Factor Model. The continuity was tested using data from an ongoing prospective longitudinal study with two samples of French-speaking men: a representative sample of the general population and a sample of adjudicated adolescents. The two samples were assessed on four occasions from adolescence to midlife: 15, 17, 30, and 40 years of age. Correlational analyses showed that differential continuity estimates were comparable to those observed in previous studies. The coefficients were stronger as age increased and for adjudicated men. At the mean level, adjudicated men displayedf lower scores on Emotional stability, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Conventionality. For absolute continuity, signifiant increases in these FFM domains were osbserved for both samples. This result suggested a normative intrinsic maturational trend in psychologial adjustment, at about one standard deviation or more from adolescence to midlife. Although both samples showed a significant improvement in personality profiles from adolescence to midlife, adjudicated men displayed a less accelerated increase in mean level scores from age 17 to 30. From age 30 to 40, the rate of change was similar for both samples.
Control as a Form of Exchange: Power and Dependence Effects on Delinquency
The rational choice element common to control and exchange theories suggests that they are compatible theoretical approachees and that perhaps social control theory can be usefully thought of as a specific application of exchange theory. Starting from this point, exchange concepts of comparison alternatives and power/dependence and their application to modeling of delinquent behavior are explored. The focus on the power/dependence aspect of relationships increases the scope of the theoretical approach, and facilitates the inclusion of concepts formerly attached to other theories.
Controlled Drug Use and Controlled Drug Policy: The Example of Smoking
A number of studies have shown that most drugs can be used in a controlled way. Controlled use may be, for several reasons, the more difficult the better a drug is integrated into every day life. Consequently, smoking may be the most difficult drug habit to indulge in moderately. But even in this case, of the many informal control mechanisms a quite successful one seems to be the reduction of stimuli which are associated with drug use by classical conditioning (a method also applied in behavior therapy). The present official tobacco control policy in fact if not intentionally, relies on this method as well as de-conditioning spaces and situations from smoking. As long as it does not drift into outright prohibition and leaves the basic right of individual self-determination untouched, it might achieve a combination of paternalistic State control with the respect for a liberal rights perspective – two rationales for drug policy which have been hitherto regarded as irreconcilable. Thus, tobacco might be seen as an example on which to model future drug control policy in general.
Controversial Police Developments: Examining the Police Using Penological Lenses
Documenting macro-shifts in crime control and making sense of them theoretically should be a major preoccupation of the discipline. Unfortunately the bulk of attention in police scholarship has been devoted to promoting a community policing reform agenda along with a quest for determining “what works.” In the meantime there is growing, albeit undeveloped evidence, that emerging police practices are more controversial than the academic field acknowledges. This paper takes as its object of controversial police developments (CPD). Using survey and in-depth interview data, this research documents four CPDs: 1) the use of civil asset forfeiture; 2) police practices in public housing; 3) drug and crime enforcement in public schools; and 4) the use of video-surveillance systems in public places. These findings are filtered through the growng literature in penology which takes the task of theorizing crime control as seriously as the rest of the discipline theorizes crime itself. Our conclusion emphasizes how our findings coincide with several key features of late modern society–including, risk minimization and aversion, high rationality, and incoherent state policies.
Conversation and Re-Listening as a Means of Hearing One Another: Lawmakers, Practitioners and Criminologists
This paper discusses the results of ten gatherings in which participants from varying backgrounds met in a neutral setting, with rules of discussion in place to address violence, particularly murder in the community. After analysis by non-present others, the same participants met and reacted to their own recorded statements. Some of the findings include recognition of how quickly social and economic distance between persons becomes perceptual reality. Strain theory was used as means of explanation and possible clarification of some issues. For example a politician, who started out saying, “I grew up here,” later in the discussion, repeatedly made the statement, “You people.” This seed project will hopefully continue and be enhanced by further research.
Convicted Drunk Drivers in Home Retention and Day Reporting Center Programs: A Comparative Study
In Vigo County, Indiana, convicted drunk drivers are placed in Electronically Monitored Home Detention program as well as Day Reporting Center program. This comparative study will focus on the “exit status” of the offenders placed in these two programs. Data will be collected on all offenders who were placed in these two programs and completed or terminated from these programs during the calender years of 1998, 1999, and 2000.
Cooperative Criminal Justice Education: Experimenting With Combined Classes
The team teaching concept has served as a successful mechanism in many university settings. Educators have long experimented with team teaching wherein two or more professors participate jointly in teaching a given course. Such efforts provide coverage for diverse subject areas and serve to compensate for materials in which one educator may lack sufficient knowledge. Our paper focuses on a team teaching variant in which complementary courses were offered to students contained in the same classroom setting. One of the authors taught a course (classified as upper level) focusing on sex crimes and sexual victimization, while the second author taught a lower level in serial murder and murders. The combined course was coordinated with complementary materials, speakers, and videos related to both topics. Students received separate course syllabi and enrolled in separate courses but were considered part of the overall group. Our analysis will focus on the mechanics of this innovative teaching technique, an evaluation of the project with a discussion of sucesses and failures, and prospects for similar teaching efforts.
COPS: What is Really Being Televised?
The television show COPS has been broadcasting since 1989, and has been embraced as one of the pioneers in the reality television explosion. COPS appears to be a television network’s sensational ploy to boost ratings. However, I intend to demonstrate that COPS lends itself for an analysis of encounters between police officers and disputants. In this paper, by utilizing Lacanian Discourse Analysis, I will analyze the conversations of the participants on COPS. I will argue that each lexical choice is significant as for how individuals may gain insight into their personal biases and presuppositions as well as the opposing disputants’. Furthermore, I will argue that disputants feel the narratives they construct are significant for their interactional role in constructing and projecting a moral self. Through this analysis, I will demonstrate numberous instances in which personal biases become powerful elements within conversations between police officers and disputants, and how resolutions are actively pursued.
Cops and Stops: Race, Place and Social Control in North Carolina
Few issues have crystalized contemporary American race relations more than the phenomenon known as “Driving While Black”. Media accounts, anecdotal evidence and public opinion all suggest that racial profiling is a real problem. However, whether race-based stopping practices by police are a systematic characteristic of state and local police departments remains unclear. This paper seeks to answer the question of whether race increases the likelihood of being stopped in North Carolina using a combination of survey data and census data collected in 2000. Through self-report data about driving habits and stop experiences, we are better able to sort out the relative importance of legal versus extra-legal considerations in stops. The analysis is theoretically grounded in the racial competition/threat tradition. Policing, like all forms of social control, doesn’t occur in a social vacuum. There is reason to suspect that variation in organizational and social climate factors are an important part of any race-based stopping patterns. Therefore, the analysis distinguishes between stops by state highway patrol and local police departments. We model context effects of local structural factors through multi-level analysis using the same survey data combined with county-level census data. The basic idea is that “Driving While Black” is a different phenomena depending upon where one drives (for example, whether you reside and typically drive in an area with a high concentration of African American residents or not)..
Corporate Crime and Corporate Culture
The literature related to the explanation of corporate crime usually singles out three groups of endogenous factors (linked together by dynamic interrelations) supposed to influence corporations’ behaviour: Strategy, Structure and Culture. Between them, corporate culture is often described as “something that must have an influence somewhere” on corporate crime without more details. That are the reasons why our department led a research project that aimed at investigating the potential relationships between corporate crime and corporate culture. The methodology of this research was determined by one major problem: we needed corporations’ participation and we knew that a lot of corporations were going to be worried to engage in a research related to corporate crime. That explains why we worked on a big sample and illuminates the way used to contact corporations. Three tools were used to study the link between corporate culture and corporate crime: an organizational culture assessment instrument, a cohesion commitment exercise and a questionnaire we recreated related to situations of corporate crime. A cross-analysis of the data’s stemming from these tools is able to give interesting results about the potential relationship between corporate crime and corporate culture. That is the first result of this analysis we’d like to expose at the American Society Meetings.
Corporate Responsibility for Crime Prevention
Crime is a consequence of the social and business arrangements to which we subscribe and the produts and services we design and use (Pease 1998). The difficulty is that the ability to manipulate these arrangements, products and services rarely falls within the remit of traditional criminal justice system as a whole, or any one agency. Consequently significant reductions in crime can never be achieved unless the responsibility for crime prevention is widened beyond the criminal justice system. Present and future crime threats will requiire a response from industry both in the development of new tools to combat crime, and in the development of business practices that prevent the generation of criminal opportunities through the creation of criminogenic products and services. This paper aims to justify the widening of responsibility for crime prevention. It will also present some ideas on the way in which business can be encouraged to engage in and be assisted with the task of incorporating rime prevention into policy and practice.
Correctional Philosophy Changes in the 21st Century
The central task of administering large jails and state correctional institutions is an extremely challenging problem for criminologists. The prison is directed to incapacitate offenders, control and restrict their movements, change offenders’ value orientation and vocational skills, and deter future offenders from committing crimes. This paper will examine both the punitive and rehabilitative aspects of the prison. The paper will examine all aspects of the correctional field as part of the larger system of criminal justice. It will focus on correctional philosophy from a historical role, and the role of corrections in this new century. Included will be discussions of alternatives to incarceration and those problems to be faced. Aspects of punishment and treatment will be reviewed with suggestions for future policies.
Corrections-Parole Partnership in Drug Treatment: Targeting Technical Parole Violators in Pennsylvania
Findings from a three-year outcome evaluation of the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) program in Pennsylvania will be presented. The RSAT program is designed for technical parole violators (TPV), a population that accounts for an increasing percentage of the state correctional population, and is the first corrections-based program in the state. The three-phase program consists of six months of intensive treatment in a prison-based therapeutic community followed by six months community corrections living and intensive outpatient care, and, finally, six months of outpatient participation while on parole. Participants who fail to complete the program are returned to state custody to serve what remains of their original sentence. The evaluation includes both process and outcome findings for each phase of programming. Implementation findings include descriptive information on the treatment sample, the treatment programs and correctional parole supervision. Researchers will present data on RSAT participants for up to thirty months after release from state prison for return to custody. This treatment group (n >500) is compared with a matched group of technical parole violators who were not placed in RSAT (n>400) and were released from state incareration during the same period as the treatment group. Outcome findings will include rates of retention, rates of return to custody, period of time at risk and reason for return. Criminal trajectory will also be addressed. The data will structure a discussion of the benefits and obstacles involved in providing monitored drug treatment to technical parole violators.
Costs and Benefits of Crime: Examining the Traditional Scenario Design in Rational Choice Research
Many studies of rational choice theory over the last two decades have employed a design which asks subjects to consider their hypothetical likelihood of offending. These studies have used one of two hypothetical “intentions to offend” designs. While these measurement approaches have substantial benefits relative to longitudinal analyses, they still suffer important methodological shortcomings. The difficulty presented by asking subjects to consider the impact of theoretically or researcher-derived consequences (as opposed to subjects developing and reporting on their own list of potentially influential costs and benefits) is examined in this study. While the types of consequences developed by subjects in this sample behaved as the theory would predict (costs were negatively correlated with hypothetical offending and benefits were positively associated with self-reported offending likelihood), the consequence categories themselves did not always reflect the types of items commonly presented to subjects in previous studies. Implications for future tests of rational choice theory using scenario designs are discussed.
Counting Juveniles on Probation: Reports From the Development of a National Census and Survey
Record keeping on juveniles on probation is the prerogative of the local or state government administering probation. This means that there are vast differences as to the quality, scope anhd accessibility of data. Since probationers comprise the bulk of juveniles under the jurisdiction of justice agencies, it is critical to fill this gap in juvenile justice data. In response, The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has initiated a two-part standardized data collection effort on juvenile probation, including a census of juveniles on probation, and an indepth survey of juvenile probation. This paper reports results from two rounds of feasibility interviews across the nation. Impediments to the success of a uniform data collection will be discussed, as will the survey methods used, and aspect of the target population, reference day, and potential data elements.
Courthouses or Schoolhouses? Local Policy Makers and Their Priorites
Setting a priority between criminal justice and education has attracted a great deal of attention from government officials and the public. Despite this interest, little is known about the factors that influence priority preferences among policy-makers. This exploratory study examines government officials to determine if local contextual characteristics and/or personal characteristics are associated with criminal justice and education priority setting. The data for the study come from a national survey of elected and appointed governmental leaders in a random sample of U.S. counties. The results indicate that local contextual characteristics, rather than personal characteristics of the policy makers, are associated with criminal justice prioritization. Among the most important contextual predictors is the percentage of the county’s population 16 to 19 years of age that are not enrolled in high school and also not employed. The finding that local changes related to the prioritizing of criminal justice or education is also important.
Crack vs. Cocaine, Mandatory Minimums, and Racial Disparity in Sentencing
In 1986 Congress passed a federal law imposing a five-year mandatory minimum for an offender who possessed five grams of crack-cocaine (crack). That same offender would have to be caught with five hundred grams of cocaine hydrochloride (cocaine) in order to receive the same mandatory minimum. With unit dosing roughly the same, the hydrochloride form represents a one hundred fold increase over the crack-cocaine form in the number of doses available for use. Therein creating a sentencing disparity between the two drugs. Also surrounding the crack vs. cocaine issue is the issue of racial disparity. Crack offenders are typically poor, minorities, and offenders who use cocaine are typically not poor, and white. Jointly these two variables have been charged as a certain cause of sentencing disparity. For this study, 1996 data from an earlier study is utilized and ordinary least squares regression is employed to determine whether sentencing disparities exist for crack vs. cocaine, and racial, sentencing practices. Findings reveal that no disparities existed for either variable, that is neither the crack vs. cocaine variable nor the race variable had an influence on sentence length. Therefore the evidence of more uniform sentences, and disparity abatement racially is clearly demonstrated by the results of this study. Why then, is there still wide spread disparagement of the guidelines on grounds of racial disparity? I charge mandatory minimums for the continued aversion, especially in the case of narcotics offenses, where the minimums are attached to narcotics that are more widely used by minorities and the poor. These mandatory minimums were legislated prior to the implementation of the guidelines and need now to be abolished in order for the guidelines to complete their extermination of the disparity bug.
Creating an Effective Stalking Protocol
Responding to stalking effectively requires a multi-disciplinary, community oriented approach that places a premium on information sharing, collaborative problem-solving and coordination of a variety of stakeholders. This project developed a model protocol for how police throughout the United States can address stalking. The protocol was developed with the help of an advisory group of experts on stalking and domestic violence that included representatives from the fields of law enforcement, victim services and prosecutors. The protopcol was adapted in the Philadelphia Police Department of evaluation. The existing approach to stalking will first be documented and then surveys and focus groups will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the protocol implementation.
Credible Drug Testing in the Federal Probation System
A credible drug testing system is paramount to effectively supervising offenders who are under conditional release in the community. Without accurate drug testing programs, probation and pretrial services officers are ill-equipped to enforce court-ordered conditions and protect the community by intervening with a combination of least restrictive sanctions and drug treatment to arrest further drug use. The article explores the issue of intentional urine test manipulation by offenders who dilute their samples by ingesting large amounts of liquids prior to drug testing. The psysiological effects of dilution are explored and prior research is reviewed which suggests that dilution can temporarily mask illegal drug use, thus confounding drug test interpretation. The author identifies objective procedures which can detect drug test manipulation at the collection stage. The article also utilizes research from the Southern District of Iowa and Administrative Office of U.S. Courts that includes data on urine sample manipulation by Federal offenders and interviews with offenders who admitted to successfully manipulalting their urine test results to avoid drug use detection. Finally, the article explores the relationship between illegal drug use, crime, and recidivism and recommends a credible drug testing system in conjunction with intensive drug treatment programs as an effective intervention strategy.
Criers, Liars, and Manipulators: Probation Officers’ Views of Girls
This study examines the perceptions of girls and their families held by juvenile probation officers, psychologists, and others involved in juvenile court decision making. Through qualitative analysis of 200 probation case files of girls and in-depth interviews with juvenile probation officers in a metropolitan county of Arizona, we discuss the gendered, classed and racialized language of probation officers’ descriptions of juveniles and their families, particularly mothers. We conclude that juvenile probation serves a means of socially controlling delinquent girls and their families according to partriarchal, racist, involved gendered stereotypes and focused on sexual behavior. Probation officers expressed distaste and frustration in working with girls and had little knowledge of culturally or gender-specific programming. Based on our findings, we question whether the current structure and ideology of the juvenile court can create or nurture a community-based and/or restorative approach to justice for girls.
Crime, Disorder and the Fear of Crime: Assessing the Impact of the Incivility Thesis Across Twelve U.S. Cities
Fear of crime is frequently cited as a menace to the quality of public life in the United Sates and has been used to justify changes in crime control policy. However, despite the extensive research on fear of crime, it is unclear how the causes and consequences of fear of crime vary by city. Do previous findings, particularly ecological factors, remain significant when examined across different cities? According to the social disorganization theoretical perspective, fear of crime would tend to be higher for residents in neighborhoods plagued with high levels of crime, neighborhood deterioration and disorganization. Physical and social disorder or incivilities are considered “signs of crime” indicating that the social control mechanisms within the neighborhood have broken down which elevates feelings of anxiety which lead to higher feelings of fear (Skogan 1990; Wilson and KIelling 1982). Relying on the Bureau of Justice Statistics “Fear of Crime and Community Policing Survey” this project will be able to assess the impact of the incivility hypothesis across twelve U.S. cities through quantitative analysis. In an attempt to provide a fuller understanding of fear of ctime for urban residents this research has important implications for the vitality, safety, and future of urban neighborhoods.
Crime, Immigration and the Demonization of the Other
All over the Western world globalization is associated with mass migration and in the majority of instances social exclusion occurs accompanied by a cultural “othering”. A series of binaries are set up contrasting the law-abiding, virtuous majority with the criminal, deviant minority. This paper argues that an important element in such demonization is that the incidence of crime is exacerbated by assimilation into the host society accompanied by structural rejection just as the antipathy of the host increases as differences become minor. The process, in short, is bulimic rather simply exclusive.
Crime, Place, and Space: The Importance of the Spatial Dimension in Criminological Theory
The relationship between crime and space is widely recognized in a variety of spatial theories of crime. Among the most prominent spatial theories are social disorganization theory and routine activities theory. These theoretical approaches explicitly include a geographic component and attempt to address the importance of geographic location in the study of crime. However, a spatial dimension is also implicitly or explicitly incorporated into a number of other traditions, many of which are not widely recognized as spatial theories. This paper argues for an expaneded definition of spatial criminology and describes how a spatial dimension wasw included in a diverse range of theoretical approaches throughout the history of criminological theory.
Crime Analysis in the United States: Findings From a National Survey
The quality of police service is a function of the organization’s capacity to effectively collect, collate, analyze and disseminate relevant data. Our understanding about the general state of police crime analysis in the United States is limited. We have some data from the LEMAS survey and a good deal of anecdotal information about crime analysis operations. To date, researchers have not engaged in systematic, rigorous efforts to develop a comprehensive sense of various administrative, technological, and operational aspects of the police crime analysis function. In this study, a census of police departments with over 100 sworn personnel and a stratified random sample of all police departments with less than 100 sworn personnel was administered in the Summer of 2000. Preliminary findings of that survey are reported here. Results from this study will assist police departments in the development of “state-of-the-art” crime analysis units.
Crime and Poverty in the Delta
Much has been written over the years concerning the relationship between crime and some measure of economic deprivation (commonly measured as poverty). More recently, the U.S. Congress and the legislatures of several states along the lower Mississippi River have begun to focus attention and funds on the economic conditions of this area. A serious problem for crime and poverty research has been, and remains, that many of the poorest people and areas of the country have very low crime rates. The present research examines crime and economic conditions in nine counties in the Mississippi River delta region of Arkansas as they compare to three other control groups of counties in the State. The primary expectation of the research is that the degree of ruralness interacts positively with economic conditions in explaining crime. Economic conditions in primarily rural areas are not as strongly related to crime as the same level of conditions in more urbanized areas. Implications for policy and government assistance decisions will also be discussed.
Crime and Punishment: The Older Federal Offender
Each year approximately ten percent of offenders sentenced under the federal sentencing guidelines are older than age 50; one-quarter of these are over age 60. These percentages have remained stable for almost ten years. While these offenders are older, other differences in their characteristics compared to younger offenders sentenced for similar crimes are noteworthy: differing distribution of criminal offenses, as well as differing profiles on other demographic characteristics. This descriptive paper examines the older offender sentenced under the federal guidelines. Comparisons between older and younger offenders are made by offense types, characteristics of offense behavior, seriousness levels, and prior criminal history. The analysis links these variables with final sentencing outcomes, and examines the role of downward departures on sentencing practices. The analysis concludes with a discussion of whether the observed empirical relationships for older federal offenders are consistent with the four purposes of sentencing under the federal guidelines system: incapacitation, just punishment, deterrence, and rehabilitation. The paper uses original data tabulations from the offender datafiles of the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
Crime and the Racial Divide: Convergence and Divergence in City-Level Arrest Rates for African Americans and Whites, 1960 to 1998
The gap between African American and white arrest rates has long been one of the most troubling aspects of American life. In recent years, a racial minority that constitutes 12 percent of the United States population has accounted for more than half of total UCR arrests in several categories of street crime. Because of the importance of this issue, it has generated a good deal of research. However, nearly all of the research examining race and crime to date has been based on cross-sectional designs. In this paper we use econometric methods to test for convergence between black and white murder, robbery and burglary annual arrest trends in the 300 largest U.S. cities from 1960 to 1998. Despite substantial changes in black-white relationships during the past four decades, we find limited evidence of convergence between black and white arrest rates over time. We discuss the implications of the results for theory and social policy.
Crime-Catalyzing Places: The Role of Legitimate Enterprise in the Creation of Deviance
It has long been established that opportunity structures allow individual traits to exhibit deviant acts. Only in the presence of such opportunity structures can propensities result in deviant behavior. What is the origin of these opportunity structures and how do they interact with individual characteristics to produce crime? These questions are the subject of this paper. Using a diverse set of examples we will develop a framework that integrates theories of criminality, theories of crime places, and theories of white-collar crime. We suggest that under certain conditions legitimate organizations create crime catalytic environments. A catalyst is a substance that increases the speed of a chemical reaction without being consumed in the reaction. Crime catalytic environments behave in this manner and may be responsible for crime patterns and crime hot spots.
Crime.com: Using Victimization Data to Measure the Dimensions of Internet Fraud
This paper focuses on measuring the occurrences of Internet-facilitated fraud as reported to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC), a cooperative initiative of the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). With the widespread adoption of technology in the everyday activities of consumers come new opportunities to commit fraud and other forms of computer-related criminal activity. Little is known about the characteristics of Internet fraud, the offenders, or the victims. Official crime statistics, such as the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) have not yet evolved to address reports of Internet Fraud. Additionally, exponential changes in technology coupled with continuous shifts in the demographics of online users have often made it difficult to examine the dynamics between victims, perpetrators, and the fraud itself. This paper presents an analysis of thousands of complaints received and referred by the IFCC to hundreds of law enforcement or regulatory agencies. This information should enhance our general knowledge about the scope and prevalence of Internet fraud in the United States.
Crime Displacement and Diffusion of Crime Control Benefits: Findings From a Controlled Study
Crime displacement and the related phenomenon of diffusion of crime control benefits are seldom a primary subject of empirical study. Most evidence about displacement and diffusion comes as a byproduct of studying 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. This paper presents findings from a controlled study in which police strategies were implemented within defined geographic areas (crime hot spots) during specific time periods to measure potential displacement and diffusion effects. Three areas were examined, representing property, violent and consensual crimes. Data collection included ethnographies, resident surveys, official crime data, social observations, interviews and physical observations. We report on the overall findings regarding the magnitude and types of displacement and diffusion effects observed. We also develop a model for understanding displacement and diffusion in the context of crime hot spots.
Crime Displacement and the Elasticity of Substitution
Crime displacement is a form of substitution. When the risks of offending change, offeners substitute one form of activity for another. For example, offenders move from one place and target to the next or shift from one technique to another. Alternatively, offenders may substitute criminal behavior with non-criminal behavior. These choices are analogous to consumer behavior when prices change. This paper presents economic models of substitution transformed to criminal behavior. The six known types of displacement (spatial, temporal, tactical, crime type, target, offender) are examined in the economic framework relating to substitution. The role of the elasticity of substitution and its relationship to crime prevention is examined. Implications for the study of crime prevention, displacement and the diffusion of benefits are suggested.
Crime in New York City: The Impact of Compstat
By nearly all measures, New York City has become a safer place since the late 80s and early 90s. Nevertheless, disagreement as to the causes of the crime drop remains. Some argue that crime reduction in the city is the result of such factors as changing demography, changing drug use patterns, and/or the improved economy. Others claim that starting in the early 90s, changes within the New York Police Department had major impacts on crime rates. One of the police innovations credited with the crime drop is the implementation of the Compstat process. Compstat was designed as a management technique that combines measures of accountability with a problem-solving “theory of action–accurate and timely intelligence, rapid deployment effective tactics, and follow-up and assessment. This paper explores the NYPD “theory of action” and its effectiveness at reducing crime at the precinct level. In doing so, time series analyses of crime data, observations of crime strategy meetings, interviews with officers, and observations on police ride-alongs are utilized.
Crime on Campus: Repeat Criminal Victimization and Hot Spots of Crime
This study explores crime on a university campus. Specifically, we examine hot spots of crime, as indicated in police statistics, and repeat criminal victimizations reported by students, faculty, and staff.
Crime Prevention in Public Housing: CPTED and the Jersey City Project
The purpose of this paper is to present information regarding Jersey City’s public housing developments and the efforts to decrease crime through community oriented policing and crime prevention programs. With the use of government funding, the Jersey City Housing Authority and the Jersey City Police Department has worked closely together to deelop proactive strategies that would reduce and eliminate drug and violent crime. This paper will present the strategies developed and undertaken in several public housing sites in Jersey City. The success of these strategies will be highlighted, with a look toward the development of future programs.
Crime Prevention Politics as Governance of Risk
One of the most striking characteristics of European Welfare States over the last two decades is the retreat of the State as a provider of social welfare. Rather than ‘doing good’, State activity is currently concentrated on ‘limiting evil’. Crime prevention politics offer a good example of this tendency, in which traditional State-tasks are ‘contracted out’ to private enterprise, or left to citizen’s initiatives. This paper examines the consequences of this tendency for the actual content of community safety schemes.
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design: A Case Study of a Neighbourhood in Toronto, Canada
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) focusses on the spatial dimension of crime and examines how the built environment has the potential to increase or decrease opportunities for criminal activity. Environmental change can positively affect both real and perceived crime rates and hence, increase quality of life. This study explores key elements of ‘safety’ design and applies them to a high density, low-income neighborhood in Toronto. This involves spatial analysis of crime patterns, using GIS techniques. The data, including information from residents, police and members of community interest groups, are mapped to reveal areas commonly identified as safe or dangerous. These sites are physically assessed and safety audits are conducted in order to provide recommendations for redesigning danger zones. This intervention strategy is but one piece of the crime prevention puzzle. It is particularly appropriate in times of government cutbacks on social spending because it can be treated as a local economic development initiative and consequently, funded through public sector contributions. However, the public interest must be served and it is imperative that CPTED be applied with the participation and backing of community users in order to ensure the success of the project log after researchers and planners have withdrawn.
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED): An Analysis of Students’ Perceptions of Crime and Victimization
This paper will present data obtained from a two-stage study. This study replicated a previous study conducted during the Winter Quarter 1997. The first stage consisted of a survey given to students at Valdosta State University during the Spring Semester 2001. This stage examined students’ perceptions of crime on campus, their fear of being a victim of crime on campus, and their identification of specific areas on campus they avoid due to fear of being a victim of crime. The second stage involved a physical walk-through of the campus to determine the characteristics of the physical environment in the areas identified by the students as places to avoid. An analysis was completed to determine if the students’ avoidance of certain areas on campus could be explained by the CPTED Model.
Crime Profiles in Indian Country
Good crime data is difficult to obtain in Indian Country for a number of reasons, the primary being a reluctance by tribes to provide such data to government agencies. This study looks at the latest criminal, civil, and juvenile cases processed within the courts of the Navajo Nation — the largest Indian group within the United States residing on the largest reservation (25,000 square miles in three states — the size of West Virginia). This data is from October 1, 1998 to September 30, 1999 and includes Navajo District Court Criminal cases; Navajo District Court Civil cases; Navajo Family Court – Children’s cases; and Navajo Family Court – Domestic Relations cases. This data is compared with the latest (1995) BIA law enforcement data on crime in Indian country.
Criminal Detection and the Weight of the Past
This paper describes a theoretical framework for understanding historical and contemporary practices of criminal detection. Criminal detection practices are directed at the apprehension and conviction of the authors of unsolved crimes, hence their temporal orientation is retrospective. From the outset, these practices have played an important part in an emotive ‘war on crime’. Given the recent punitive turn observed across western jurisdictions, my work seeks to develop a set of concepts and arguments that elucidate both anxieties around catching criminals and the vengeful moralism seen in calls for harsh punishment. Instead of the future-orientated negative affect seen in ‘fear of crime’ debates and work on actuarial risk-assessment practices, I foreground the significance of resentment against the past, and develop a notion of ‘wounding justice.’
Criminal Embeddedness and Non-Criminal Adult Outcomes: Are the Effects of Embeddedness Indelible?
With his concept of criminal embeddedness, Hagan provides an important linkage between the stratification and criminological literatures. Hagan’s work demonstrates how contact with the criminal justice system impacts both criminal and non-criminal life domains. Nearly all research on this topic shows a continuous deleterious effect of criminal embeddeness on many adult outcomes including educational attainment, income, and occupational prestige. This effect is often described as “cumulative disadvantage.” However, the notion of cumulative disadvantage has been subjected only to limited empirical testing and existing studies rely almost exclusively on small, high-risk samples. Using data on 4,446 federal offenders, I investigate whether the effects of criminal embeddedness are indelible, or whether they decay with age and time free from the criminal justice stystem. Results provide only partial support for the notion of cumulative disadvantage. Specifically, the effects of age on onset decay with age, but total number of prior arrests and time incarcerated have continuous deleterious effects on financial well-being and occupational stability. These results are consistent for whites and blacks.
Criminal History, Substance Use, Health Problems, and Health Services Utilization Among Incarcerated Substance Abusers
Recent research shows that drug-involved offenders engage in many health-risky behaviors (Ilammett, Harmon, & Maruschak, 1999), but relatively little is known about the impact of criminal history on the health status of these individuals. As part of the NIDA-funded Health Services Use by Chronic Rural Drug Abusers project, 661 male prisoners completed a face-to-face baseline interview with research staff before their parole. Criminal history information also was abstracted from state official records databases. Findings showed that having a more serious criminal history was associated with higher rates of physical and mental health problems, including problems with the liver, circulatory system, and stomach. Dental problems and sexually transmitted diseases also were associated significantly with criminal history. Opitoid and amphetamine use was related positively to criminal history, and those with extensive criminal histories showed the highest rates of cocaine use prior to incarceration. In terms of health services utilization, offenders with more serious criminal histories were more likely to have received medical care in a hospital emergency room. Criminal history also was related to receiving treatment for drug and/or alcohol abuse. Implications of study findings for “graying” offender populations and public policy will be discussed.
Criminal Justice on the Public Agenda: Public Philosophies and Punctuated Equilibrium
This paper explores the social construction of crime control policy; it is intended to further a theoretical and practical understanding of agenda setting in criminal justice policy. The paper tests and affirms Theodore Lowi’s assertion that agenda setting reflects dominant public philosophies. A qualitative examination of the evolution of criminal codes demonstrates the interrelationship between crime control policy and the economic, political, and social milieu in which it is generated. This is further affirmed by an examination of changes in police practice, in the transition from patrol-based to community-based policing. Quantitative indicators signal a classic example of punctuation in policy equilibrium. This punctuation is again explained by economic, political, and social factors. The paper concludes by speculating about which crime-related public policy issues will be salient in the future, drawing upon the lessons learned from the analysis.
Criminalizing Attractions: Public and Policy Maker’s Perceptions of Stalking and the Stalker
In the late 1980s and early 1990s the conceptualization of the predatory stalker came to the forefront of the criminal concerns imagined by the American public. With this growing public concern and the associated media attention, creating legislation designed to enhance punishments against those who might stalk became a political asset and a significant plank for re-election campaigns. Adequate definition for the phenomena, however, has yet to be established and idiosyncratic application of the law at the policing level remains a problem. This study works toward providing better definition of the problem from the public’s and policy maker’s perspectives. Variables significant to the definition of the problem and the application of associated laws were identified in a literature review and used in survey work to assess their importance in the individual’s interpretation of the stalking label. Policy implications will be discussed.
Criminals as Stupid, Sick and Evil People: The Role of Reality TV, Distortion and Intolerance in the War on Crime
Since at least the publication of Cohen’s Folk Devils and Moral Panics, and many would argue long before, critical scholars have recognized the coonnection between RSAs and ISAs in the orchestration and execution of a “war on crime”. This paper focuses on the way in which police forces have utilized the television media to present themselves, often quite melodramatically, as the “thin blue line” which separates “order and civilization” from “mayhem and anarchy”. Particular attention is paid to the role of the media in marshalling public support for the police, and “pushing intolerance” and contempt for not only traditional folk devils, but a whole new category of highly stylized public enemies through the use of “reality programing”.
Criminologists in the Media: Just Another Kind of ‘Spin’?
What is the proper relationship between practicing social scientists and media professionals in reporting about research or soliciting opinions about crime? Criminologists welcome the opportunity to present their ideas to a broad public audience, but they often complain that reporters present their work simplistically or out of context — or, worse, inappropriately use it to advance a particular viewpoint. Reporters and editors welcome the insights that scholarly sources can provide, but they complain that social scientists insist on technical or involved explanations that do not resonate with the public. Moreover, both criminologists and media representatives fear that their work will beused politically to advance agendas that they might not necessarily support — in other words, that research gets transformed into just another piece of advocacy for “spinning” public perception. This roundtable discussion will explore the uneasy relationship between media and social science and conclude with a practical question: should the ASC develop a media relations coordinating capacity, in order for ASC to become a voice on public policy about crime and justice among the media and policymakers?
Criminology as Lovemaking: The Karma Sutra of Law
This paper explores the potential role of love in criminal justice and jurisprudence by excavating ancient and modern philosophy of justice to reveal the puzzling evasion of love in attempts by various philosophical traditions to engineer a solution to the wobbly foundations of justice exclusively on the quicksand of rationality, authority and truth but without love. The paper will adopt the format of Platonian philosophical dialogue by staging a breaking of bread between Jens A.B. Jacobsen (JJ), a business man who died seeking universal justice through nature than through love and Ifi Amadiume (IA), the Nigerian feminist theorist. As in the dramatic dialogues of Plato, the characters JJ and IA are not the actual persons Jacobsen and Amadiume but, to a large extent, ficitional characters for me to use in exploring the place of love in justice. The drama opens in Professor Amadiume’s dining room where she is about to eat dinner and suddenly a ghost appears at the dinner table reciting from Pushkin and she invites the ghost to join her in breaking bread.
Critical Interruptions in the Psycho-Legal Infrastructure: Toward an Epistemic Shift
Clinical endeavors to predict future dangerousness continue to be woefully inadequate, yet their subsequent application in the legal forum continues to effect thousands of individual lives. Comforts such as freedom, autonomy, and self-determination are necessarily imperiled as attempts to balance individual rights and community safety are brought to the forefront of the justice process. Negation of these comforts becomes justifiable to the extent that clinical predictions are based on sound clinical knowledge and that such knowledge can be effectively and accurately employed. In this paper, I argue that clinical prediction is not only erroneous, but that such errors are related to the prevailing Newtonian paradigm that informs the epistemological infrastructure of the behavioral sciences. Cause-effect relationships, linear logic, and absolute orer appear as misconceived and illusory conceptual foundations in the light of advances in the “new sciences” of quantum physics and chaos theory. Employing several principles from quantum physics and nonlinear dynamics, I pose a critical challenge to current psycho-legal practices. I conclude by exploring how the new sciences might further our regard for justice within the domain of psychology and law.
Critical Perspective in Psycho-Legal Research: New Directions in Citizen Justice and Social Change
The law-psychology movement emerged in the 1960s with an avowed commitment to humanizing the law and legal decision making, guided by psychological values and insights. Many observers note that this “critical” orientation has mostly failed to meet its objectives, unable to produce social change in any radical or otherwise sustainable way. One explanation for the movement’s disappointing results is that no systematic and thorough attempt has been made to explain what the “critical” paradigm embodies, especially in relation to idsentifying its core assumptions. This presentation describes five, cutting-edge approaches to contemporary psycholegal inquiry. These include the perspectives of: (1) political economy; (2) feminist jurisprudence; (3) anarchism; (4) postmodernism; and (5) chaology. individually, these orientations provide a clearer portrait of what critical scholarship in the academy has come to represent. Collectively, these approaches suggest a new and much needed direction in law-psychology research, especially for advancing the aims of justice in the legal sphere. Accordingly, this presentation concludes by discussing the implications of a critically-informed psychological jurisprudence for future theoretical investigations, empirical analyses, and policy formulations in the field.
Critical Reflections on Restorative Justice in Australia: Some Preliminary Thoughts
From January through June, 2001, I was in Australia as a Fulbright Scholar conducting research on community conferencing programs. In this presentation I discuss some of my observations, methods, and preliminary analyses from this researcfh. Of particular importance are class, race, and gender dynamics as they impacted various conferences I observed. With the Centenary of Federation and national dialogues surrounding Reconiliation, I attended a two-day deliberative poll as an observer and offer some preliminary analysis of these proceedings.
Cross-Cultural Research on Violence Against Women: The International Violence Against Women Survey
The International Violence Against Women Survey (IVAWS) is a multi-country, comparative survey specifically designed to target domestic violence and sexual assault against women. The objective of the IVAWS is to assess the level of victimization of women in a number of countries world-wide, on a repeatable basis, and to provide inputs for the development of criminal justice approaches. The project will rely on the network and infrastructure of the International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS) that has been successfully implemented in more than 65 countries, in particular: (1) obtaining good statistical data for the development of policies and tools to combat violence against women; (2) raising awareness among the public and authorities about the nature and extent of violence against women; (3) building local capacity in the art of survey taking and in the application of results to policy development; and, (4) providing opportunities for the participation of civil society in the policy making process, thereby strengthening democracy. This is a collaborative project that combines the expertise of Statistics Canada, UNICRI (United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute), HEUNI (the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control). This presentation will describe the methodology, data collection instrument and future plans for this survey.
Cross-Sex Supervision of Female Inmates: An Unintended Consequence of Employment Law Cases Brought by Women Working in Corrections
The supervision of female inmates by male guards in the early days of the American prison system led to widespread and routine sexual abuse, which was one of the reasons for the movement to create separate women’s prisons staffed entirely by women. However, a century after the first women-only prison was established in 1863, male correctional staff have not been reintegrated into women’s prisons in the United States as the result of case law decisions originally brought by women correctional staff seeking employment parity. In a number of women’s prisons today, the majority of correctional staff are now male. This paper traces the history of the case law and correctional policies in this area, and describes how the legal efforts to equalize the employment opportunities for women in corrections has led to unintended, often negative, consequences for women in prison.
Crossing Over the Edge: Designer Drug Use in the 21st Century
The purpose of this ethnographic study is to present a cultural portrait of the designer (e.g. Ecstasy, GHB, Special K, Nitrous Oxide and Rohypnol) drug user in Southwestern Florida. This study represents the first systematic examination of the contemporary designer drug user since the classic work of Drs. Marsha Rosenbaum and Jerome Beck. Data resulting from limited-participant observations and ethnographic interviews of one hundred participants are analyzed using NVIVO. Findings are presented in relation to new research and social policy initiatives.
CSAT’s Criminal Justice Treatment Networks: Systems-Level Impacts on the Criminal Justice System
In FY 1996, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) funded the Criminal Justice Treatment Networks (CJTN) demonstration program. CSAT envisioned that the CJTNs would develop comprehensive and substance abuse treatment models that coordinate criminal justice agencies and substance abuse treatment providers, expand service delivery, and facilitate access to culturally-relevant and gender-specific treatment with the goal of reducing costs and improving treatment outcomes. Four networks provide services to adult female offenders while they are still part of the criminal justice system. In all network communities, the presence of a network has increased communication and awareness: (a) Among criminal justice agencies, (b) Among treatment and other service providers, and (c) Across criminal justice agencies and treatment/service providers. This heightened communication and awareness has positively impacted the recovery process of the network population by streamlining service delivery and increasing efficiency of the criminal justice process. This presentation, drawing on a cross-site evaluation, will examine the impact of the networks on the criminal justice system, including Adult Probation, the courts, Sheriff’s Departments, and Pretrial Services. Data collected through focus groups and personal interviews, as well as individual network quarterly reports, will be used in this presentation..
Cultures of Police Integrity and Discourtesy, Excessive Force and Perjury
Earlier research efforts have demonstrated that it is possible to measure both absolute and relative dimensions of police integrity both within individual police agencies, between agencies, across cultures, and over time. However, these measures of integrity have largely been restricted to resistance to temptations to abuse the prerogatives of the police office for gain. More recently and on a somewhat more limited basis we have expanded measurement of the resistance of four particiular police cultures to other types of misconduct: discourtesy to citizens, use of excessive force, abuse of arrest discretion, and perjury. Based on our experience with measurng resistance to these types of misconduct, we argue that there is no reason why the measurement strategy we developed cannot be applied to an even wider array of types of misconduct.
Current Issues Related to the Administration of Electronic Monitoring Programs
Public expectations and administrative realities pose issues for intermediate sanction based program administrators and line officers that use electronic monitoring technologies. This paper examines the current debates surrounding electronic monitoring in an effort to provide an update on legal issues relative to the administration of programs using these techologies. The paper concludes with some policyand practice suggestions to address problems that may arise as the result of current trends in the law.
Custodial Arrest and the Proportionality Principle: Constitutional, State-Law, and Comparative Perspectives
In Atwater v. City of Lago Vista (argued Dec. 4, 2000), the Supreme Clourt will decide whether the Fourth Amendment places any limitations on police discretion to make custodial arrests (instead of issuing a citation or summons) for minor offenses. Ms. Atwater was handcuffed and taken to jail even though she was charged with a fine-only seat-belt violation, and there was no need for custody (e.g., to preserve evidence, prevent flight, or avoid imminent harm). A ruling in her favor will greatly strengthen the Fourth Amendment “proportionality principle” – intrusive police measures require a showing of substantial case-specific need and, in very minor cases, are prohibited. If the Court declines to impose Fourth Amendment limits, then the issue must be addressed under state laws, some of which (along with almost all model codes and rules) already limit or preclude custodial arrests for minor crimes. A number of European nations recognize similar limitations, and the concept of proportionality – in procedural and substantial law – is found in both domestic and international norms. This paper discusses evolving constitutional principles, state laws, model standards, and international norms, and also explores the important connections between the use of custody in the pre-conviction and sentencing stages.
Custodial Versus Noncustodial Sentences: A Comparison Among European Countries
Comparing countries on their use of imprisonment has traditionally relied on the rather crude rate that results from dividing the number of persons in prison by the total population of the country. More carefully constructed questionnaires distributed over a broader range of countries are now providing opportunities for alternative measures to the traditional imprisonment rate data. Examples include the information about specific sentences like imprisonment, probation, and suspension without supervision, that many countries are now making available. This paper highlights the problems inherent in using the standard imprisonment rate for county comparison and shows the increasing diversity in variables available for comparative research. With data from the Sixth United Nations Survey on Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems, variables relevant to both custodial and noncustodial sentences are used to compare European countries on their use of imprisonment versus community-based sentences.
D
Data Collection as an Answer to Racial Profiling: A Process Analysis of Traffic Stop Data Collection in Rhode Island
Within the last two years, hundreds of jurisdictions have begun to collect data on traffic stops as a way of addressing public allegations of racial profiling by police. The methodology employed to collect these data varies widely and the analytic approaches once these data are collected are even more disparate. This paper presents the results of a process evaluation for the traffic stop data collection in Rhode Island. Rhode Island began collecting information on the characteristics of each traffic stop made in the State on Jan 15, 2001. Rhode Island is one of very few States with legislation requiring all law enforcement agencies in the jurisdiction to collect traffic stop information. As the academic partner to the State Attorney General, the authors assisted in the design, implementation, and the analysis of the data. This paper will present a process evaluation of the effort to implement a traffic stop data collection system in an entire State and will present some preliminary results from the analysis of this data. In addition, this paper discusses the role of the community in the data collection efforts and the challenges faced by agencies who seek to include or exclude community members in the process.
Dating Violence Victimization: A Test of Social Learning Theory
Much of the research on violence in intimate relationships has focused on “learned aggression” through modeling of parental behavior observed during childhood. Indeed, the witnessing of parental violence has been found to be correlated with not only use of violence but also victimization in later intimate relationships. Nevertheless, the mechanisms by which such victimization is “learned” are not clearly understood. This study explores the ability of Akers’ social learning theory, which extends our understanding of learned behavior beyond modeling and imitation, to explain physical victimization in dating relationships. Using a sample of 1,260 college students involved in serious dating relationships, this study finds that imitation, reinforcement, and associations all play a significant role in predicting victimization among both male and female dating partners.
Dealing With the Multiple Testing Problem in Race and Sentencing Research: The Value of the Bootstrap Correction Method
The purpose of this paper is to examine the multiple testing problem in the race and sentencing literature. Specifically, this paper will address the use of interaction terms (both additive interactions and split-data methods) and how they may potentially alter interpretations of statistical significance in regression models. Resampling procedures will be described as an alternative to single step adjustments to adjusting for the multiple testing problem. The data that will be used come from the Federal Sentencing Guidelnes Dataset, specifically all cases of robbery will be included in this analysis. The initial dataset will be treated as a population and analyzed. Then a random sample of 5% of the population will be drawn and analyzed. Finally, the bootstrap resampling procedure will be used to calculate regression coefficients and adjusted p-values. The results of these different analyses will be compared to the results found in the population. Implications for research on race and sentencing will be discussed.
Decision-Making for Juvenile Offenders: The Tenacity of Parens Patriae
Existing research in the area of juvenile court decisions tends to simplify the decision-making process by focusing on racial/gender bias or by developing standaradized decision-making models. This paper examines the complexity of these decisions by focusing on one stage of the process–the dispositional recommendation. Through data collected during interviews and focus groups with probation officers and supervisors in Philadelphia’s Family Court, we explore the process of developing recommendations for specific program commitments. In particular, we focus on the manner in which BARJ (Balanced Approach/Restorative Justice) has been implemented by probation officers at various stages of the decision-making process and present some unintended consequences of the effort to incorporate a focus on victims. We discuss the court’s philosophy in light of a changing national approach to juvenile justice, as well as differences in philosophy among probation officers based on tenure and educational training. Finally, we highlight the manner in which probation officers collect and utilize information about juveniles and program commitments to formulate decisions.
Declining Cases of Sexual Abuse: Information From State Child Protection Agencies
After a fifteen-year increase, national data show that identified sexual abuse cases have declined approximately 31% nationwide from 1992 to 1998, according to estimates from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS). There are several competing hypotheses for this decline. The decreasing trend may reflect a real decline in the incidence of sexual abuse. Increased prosecution and incarceration of sexual offenders, as well as prevention and public awareness campaigns, may have resulted in declining rates of sexual offenses against children. It is also possible, that without any real change in incidence, fewer cases are being reported to CPS agencies and/or fewer cases accepted for investigation. Evidence for and against these hypotheses will be explored through detailed analyses of CPS data from four states, Oregon, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. Differential trends in sexual abuse will be examined for children of different ages, for different types of perpetrators, and for different levels of abuse severity, among other variables. The information from the state data systems will be summarized and compared and implications for our understanding of the decline discussed.
Declining Deviance, Expanding Law
Particular forms of deviance sometimes increase dramatically in incidence as happened, for example, in the 1980s when a new type of deviant behavior emerged and became popular among some sectors of the population – the consumption of crack cocaine. The crack epidemic led to a sharp expansion in penal law – in criminal legislation, arrests, prosecution, and sentencing. Paradoxically, though, the legal system can also expand when deviant behavior becomes less frequent. Racial violence, drunk driving, and smoking are examples of deviant behavior that appear to have declined over the past 50 years yet have, during the same period, attracted more legislation, prosecution, and punishment. Why is this? After empirically documenting several instances of the paradox of declining deviance and expanding law, the present paper argues that its explanation can be found in the theory of law proposed by Donald Black in The Behavior of Law. Black’s theory has the additional advantage of also being able, in principle, to predict and explain exceptions to the paradox, those instances in which law expands in response to increases in deviant behavior.
Defining and Clarifying the Organizational Typologies of Partnerships
What do we really know about community-agency partnerships? Although building such partnerships to address issues of public concern became increasingly popular in the 1980s and 1990s, many partners – and many evaluators – still struggle to define and clarify the structure and goals of their partnerships. By asking such fundamental questions as how long the partnership has been in place, whether it is an “organic” community-based partnership or a more goal-based partnership, whether its structure is more formal or informal, and how partnership decisions are made, both partners and evaluators can gain a better understanding of partnerships and partnership processes.
Delinquency During the Adolescent Life-Course: An Integrated, Developmental Theory
Developmental theories of juvenile delinquency and adult crime have become en vogue among criminologists since the 1980s. Much of the interest in these theories stems from a collective sentiment that previously developed theories lacked an appreciation for the complex relationships between past and current behavior in intra-individual change over the life span. Methodological (e.g., structural equation and multi-level modeling programs; availability of data from longitudinal research designs) and technological advances (i.e., the widespread availability of relatively-inexpensive, powerful personal microcomputers) now allow researchers the ability to empirically evaluate these complex social relationships. The current project uses data from a prospective longitudinal study of adolescents in six U.S. cities to test an integrated, developmental model of delinquency. Implications for criminological theory and public policy arising from the results are examined.
Delinquent Girls: Develpmental Considerations and Public Policy Implications
Although the overall juvenile crime rate has been falling for the past several years, the violent crime rate among adolescent females has grown faster and fallen more slowly than the rate among males (Snyder & Sickmund, 1999). The goal of the present paper is to provide a more detailed description of the female offender in comparison to both male offenders and non-incarcerated youth, and to examine the implications of these findings for both practice and policy. The data for the present study were obtained from adolescents attending public high schools in Northern California and adolescents incarcerated in the California Youth Authority. The youth ranged in age from 14 to 19; about half were female. Results frm this study indicate that among incarcerated populations, girls are more likely than boys to exhibit both internalizing and externalizing symptoms. In addition, female offenders appear to have experienced significantly more trauma than males. In this sample, 60% had been raped, and 90% had witnessed a murder. Findings from this study may help guide our understanding of female offenders, promote more effective, gender-appropriate interventions, and provide a scientific foundation for policy-makers debating the proper treatment of both male and female juvenile offenders.
Denial of Parole: An Inmate Perspective
Parole board members typically review an extensive array of information sources in arriving at their decisions, and empirical research has shown a wide variation in the decision-making process. The bulk of research on parole decision-making focuses almost exclusively on the discretion exercised by parole board members and the factors that affect their decisions to grant or deny parole. The present study seeks to advance the work on parole decision-making by considering the imate’s perspective; specifically, the point of view of those inmates who have had their release on parole denied. Based on a content analysis of 128 letters of appeal written by inmates to the Colorado parole board, we explore the nature of the problems inmates experienced before a paroling authority they perceive as arbitrary, capricious, and punitive.
Designing an Impact Evaluation for Demonstration Programs on Community Initiatives
As part of the national evaluation for the Safe Kids/Safe Streets Project (funded by the Office of Justice Programs), Westat designed an impact evaluation to assess the project’s status at several points in time. Some of the issues considered in developing the impact evaluation research design included the variations in program design, grant awards, rate of implementation, target areas, and collaboration backgrounds. The research design has five distinct data collection strategies: key informant interviews, stakeholders survey, survey of agency personnel, and case tracking. The key components of each strategy and how they inform and complement the process evaluation will be discussed. The case tracking component of the evaluation will be presented in greater detail. Specifically, we will discuss developing a sampling framework given limitations in the field, use of multiple agency files, approach to data collection, findings from the pilot tests, and revisions to the design based on the pilot test.
Designing Research Studies for Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders and Criminal Justice Involvement: Recruitment, Interviewing, and Tracking Strategies
There are many challenges inherent in designing a data collection protocol for longitudinal studies involving persons with co-occurring disorders and criminal justice involvement. Utilizing data collected from the Portland, Oregon site involved in a federal initiative of jail diversion programs for persons with co-occurring disorders, the author will present quantitative and qualitative data on the success of a recruitment, interviewing, and 12-month tracking protocol designed specifically for a population involved with the criminal justice system and suffering from both mental health and substance abuse disorders. These findings join a growing body of literature on not only the difficulties of doing research in this area, but also on the strategies that will yield a 95% recruitment and baseline interview rate and an 85% retention rate over 12 months.
Desistance From Serious and Violent Offending
While there continue to be many advances in understanding the development of serious and violent offending, much less is known about the longitudinal pattern and course leading to desistance. Desistancer is explored using longitudinal data from the oldest sample of the Pittsburgh Youth Study which extend to age 25. Desistance is defined as having committed serious or violent offending and subsequently reporting no serious or violent offending for at least three consequent years, based on self-report and official records. The present study addresses the following questions: (1) what is the prevalence of desistance by age 25? (2) does the age of onset of serious or violent offending differ between those who desist and those who do not? (3) is it possible to predict who will desist based on earlier offending patterns?
Determining the Mission of the Police
We explore the mission of American police as based on the history, tradition, and values of America. We note that the original vision of the American police was anchored in a few basic tenets of ideology. The sources of these value-shaping influences are primarily three: The Bill of Rights, the Metropolitan model of 1829, and the Service Tradition of Anglo-American police. Each of these historical landmarks has made its unique contribution to the philosophy, moral character and idealistic underpinning of American police. Therefore, these value-oriented dimensions can be regarded as the basic constructs of police ideals in America. We also observe that the formative influences on American police ideals are English and European in origin. Accordingly, our interest lies in examining the basis of police mission in other countries also. One of us is examining the tenets of English policing and we also compare these ideals with literature from France, Japan, India and some African countries. Hence our paper describes the mission of the American police in terms of the ideals of this country and then compares with those from some foreign countries.
Developing Logic Models for Police-Community and Multi-Agency Partnerships
Police-community and multi-agency partnerships are not only difficult to implement, they are especially difficult to evaluate. This paper will explore some of the key issues and challenges facing researchers as they attempt to evaluate such collaborative arrangements. The theory and measurement of public safety partnerships will be examined, and efforts to clarify partnership definitions and concepts, improve process documentation, and strengthen impact evaluation designs will be discussed. Particular attention will be paid to the role of logic model development in current local and national partnership-based demonstration projects.
Developmental Factors and Criminal History: A Comparison Between Rapists and Sexual Murderers
The aim of this paper is to compare developmental factors and criminal history of rapists and sexual murderers. Therefore, we compared rapists (n=178) and sexual murders (n=42) using K-Means cluster analysis. More than 300 variables related to the formative events that occurred during childhood and adolescence were operationalized in 6 scales and 3 binomials variables. Three distinct developmental pathways were identified. The three pathways were statistically different as to the following: physical and sexual abuse, developmental failure, academic achievement, alcohol/drug abuse and sexual fantasy. Results show that sexual murderers are characterized by a more disturbed developmental pathway whereas rapists were characterized by the least disturbed developmental pathway. As to the criminal career, sexual murderers show higher rate of violent offenses in comparison with rapists who present higher rate of property crimes.
Developmental Factors in Two Types of Marital Rapists
The aim of the current study was to investigate the developmental factors in two types of incarcerated marital rapists. Forty-five offenders who had committed at least one sexual aggression against their female partners were included in this study and were classified using cluster analysis. Most of the subjects using the Type 1 pathway (n = 18) were the ex-husband of the victim. They had planned their offence and used a weapon during the event. Those offenders were less likely to use physical coercion to initiate the aggression, inflict physical injuries, or humiliate their victims compared to the aggressors of the other pathway. Subjects using the Type 2 pathway (n = 27) were usually the husband of the victim and most of these offenders had not planned their offence. Most sexual aggressions happened during the evening and offenders used physical coercion to initiate the aggression. A high level of physical and verbal coercion was used as these offenders inflicted physical injuries and humiliated their victims during the assault.
Developmental Factors Related to Coercive and Non-Coercive Sexual Behaviors in Child Molesters
Deviant sexual peferences assessed phallometrically have been shown to be related to characteristics of the sexual offense of the child molesters. However, very few studies have investigated the relationship between deviant sexual preferences and developmental factors. A total of 147 child molesters were included in this study. All subjects were imprisoned in a penitentiary, permitting assessment of their correctional risk level and their treatment needs. The assessment was carried out at the institution and consisted of the following categories: 1) formative events such as physical and sexual abuse, family functioning and parental adjustment; 2) individual factors (such as the onset of sexuality, presence of deviant sexual fantasies prior to age 18, etc.); 3) modus operandi characteristics (premeditation, strategy to carry out the offense, etc.); 4) victim characteristics (age, gender, etc.). Moreover, sexual preferences were assessed phallometrically. Statistical analysis were performed to identify: 1) developmental factors related to a sexual preference for non-coercive sexual interactions involving a child; 2) developmental factors related to a sexual preference for coercive sexual interactions involving a child. The results of this study will be discussed in light of the theories of sexual aggression of children as recent literature regarding phallometric assessment of child molesters.
Developmental Trajectories in Delinquent Peer Associations
This research uses a latent class modeling approach to test for different trajectories of delinquent peer association through adolescence. These models are used to test predictions of social learning theory and of control theory about the timing of delinquent peer association and delinquent behavior. We use data from the first seven waves of the National Youth Survey and test for patterns of delinquent peer association by age cohort (indicated by age at the Wave 1 interview). Three key findings emerge from the analysis. First, there were three identifiable types of peer group association: non-delinquent, minor delinquent, and serious delinquent. Second, the type of peer group association appears to be stable over time. Third, the type of peer group association was predictive of the youth’s overall level of delinquency, but not generally predictive of changes in levels of delinquency through adolescence.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy in Correctional Settings: The Gendering of Cognitive Behavioralism
Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), a type of cognitive behaviouralism developed by Marsha Linehan, is increasingly being used within correctional settings. Originally designed as a treatment for borderline personality disorder, it is used most frequently with women. This paper provides a critical analysis of DBT. In order to provide the context within which DBT is rooted, we begin with a brief overview of key assumptions underlying cognitive behaviouralism. We then outline the main components of DBT and consider its use within and outside of coercive institutions. Finally, using documents and interviews, we will examine the strengths and limitations of specific DBT programmes within Canada and the United Kingdom. The ways in which DBT both enforces and resists gendered and racialized discourses will be emphasised.
Did “Breaking the Cycle” (BTC) Clients Receive Appropriate Treatment Services?
We investigated whether BTC participants in Birmingham received appropriate treatment services given their identified clinical needs. Normative data on the Addiction Severity Index (ASCI) were derived from large, representative samples of non-substance abuse clients (N=9,398), outpatient substance abuse clients (N=2,707), and residential substance abuse clients (N=5,256), and were used to classify BTC participants as having “sub-threshold” (ASI drug composition score .094 and .24) drug abuse problems. In the BTC sample, 67% of participants were classified as sub-threshold, 29% were mild/moderate, and 4% were severe. Overall, 89% of BTC clients received appropriate substance abuse services given their ASI classification, and 84% of clients received appropriate services given their DSM-IV diagnostic status. However, relatively few clients reported receiving needed adjunctive services (2% of clients with serious employment problems, 12% of clients with serious psychiatric problems, 16% of clients with serious family problems, and 44% of clients with serious medical problems). These data suggest that BTC in Birmingham adequately addressed the substance abuse treatment needs of these felony offenders, but may have been insufficient at treating other service needs in this population.
Differential Association and Delinquency: An Examination of Multiple Ethnic Groups
This paper examines differential association as a general explanation of deviant behavior. The theory is thought to apply broadly, and the transmission of learned behavior is expected to be invariant across racial/ethnic groups. Assertions made by Chicano/Latino scholars challenge this notion. They suggest that traditional theories do not adequately explain Latino delinquency because they fail to consider the Latino perspective and were originally generated to describe the experience of White, European males. At the same time, empirical research has demonstrated ethnic differences in the social influences related to deviant behavior. This paper attempts to determine whether differential association provides a similar explanation of deviance across multiple ethnic groups, using data from the Rochester Youth Development Study. Separate models are estimated for Latinos, Whites, and African Americans to assess the universality of this theoretical perspective.
Differential Reinforcement, Drinking, and ‘Readiness to Change’: An Application of Social Learning Theory
This paper applied social learning principles from Burgess and Akers (1966b) differential reinforcement theory to predict ‘readiness to change’ drinking attitudes and behaviors in a group of Mississippi DUI offenders. The independent variables were grouped into six categories representing positive formal social, positive informal social, and positive nonsocial reinforcement, and negative formal social, negative informal social, and negative nonsocial reinforcement. Comparatively using OLS regression, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling, this research found that Mississippi DUI offenders who experience positive social and nonsocial reinforcement had less ‘readiness to change’ their current drinking and driving behaviors. Likewise, this study found that Mississippi DUI offenders who experience negative social and nonsocial reinforcement had more ‘readiness to change’ their current drinking and driving behaviors. Distinct contributions include: (1) Positive formal social reinforcers such as higher levels of education and sufficient income (assuming greater access and opportunity) reduce an individuals ‘readiness to change’ their drinking attitudes and behaviors. (2) Individuals who experience negative nonsocial reinforcement through drinking consequences associated with interference, guilt, and morning drinking were more likely to admit to being ‘ready to change’ their drinking attitudes and behaviors.
Dimensions of Low Self-Control Differ in Prediction of Property and Violent Crime
In the general theory of crine, there are six empirical dimensions of low self-control: risk-seeking, bad temper, preference fot simple tasks, preference for physical activity, impulsivity, and self-centeredness. Each dimension is said to reflect the same unitary construct (low self-control); none has any distinct explanatory role. In multivariate analyses controlling for background factors and criminal opportunity, I tested these six dimensions as predictors of property and violent crime among 522 adult parolees. Risk-seeking predicted property crime but not violent crime. Bad temper, preference for simple tasks, and preference for physical activity each predicted violent crime but not property crime. Impulsivity and self-centeredness predicted neither. While the construct of low self-control provides parsimony, it may obscure important difference in the explanatory power of specific dimensions in relation to specific types of crime. Criminological theory may be well served by treating these dimensions as autonomous constructs rather than as empirical indicators of the same construct.
Disaggregating Differences in the Intimate Partner Homicide Decline
This research describes the trends in intimate partner homicides in California from 1987 to 1998, disaggregated by the race and gender of victims. This descriptive information contributes to existing, albeit new, knowledge by providing a detailed understanding of changes in domestic homicide rates that have occurred within segments of the general population. The study tests specific hypotheses about theoretical- and policy-relevant factors believed to affect victim safety, and thus, rates of intimate partner homicide. The researchers use secondary data to test several hypotheses about three factors believed to at least partially explain victim safety, as measured by trends in domestic violence homicide rates; 1) domestic violence resources, 2) offender accountability, and 3) system accountability.
Distinctions With a Difference: Developing Gender-Appropriate Policy for Women in the Justice System
This paper discusses preliminary findings from a national policy study, “Gender-Responsive Research, Practice, and Guiding Principles for Women Offenders” in making the case for gender-appropriate policy and practice. The evidence for this approach is drawn from focus groups, literature review and policy analyses. Briefly summarizing the critical distinctions between female and male offenders, the paper then reviews the implications of gender across specific aspects of correctional policy and practice. The gender-based differences that affect behavioral outcomes of women offenders and the ability of the system to meet their needs and achieve its goals are described. The costs of gender-neutral approaches and legal implications are also discussed. The paper concludes in suggesting that systems should examine the ways in which gender-appropriate elements can be incorporated into policy in order to improve both system and individual outcomes in managing and supervising female offenders.
District Matters: An Analysis of Inter-District Variation in Federal Sentencing
The Federal Criminal Justice System (FCJS) offers extraordinary opportunities to advance theory in the fields of law and society and sociology. It applies a single set of federal statutes using identical rules of procedure through the joint interaction of a common set of officials and organizations. It does so in the full diversity that characterizes the people, culture, and politics of the United States. The following question frames our paper: to what extent does the FCJS constitute a national system dispensing uniform justice, as opposed to 94 federal court communities whose operations and decisions reflect the diversity found in their population, politics, and culture? If there are key differences between districts, what organizational, political, or cultural factors explain these differences, and how are they related to case processing and sentencing outcomes that affect defendants, and ultimately, the nature of justice in the federal system? On one hand, one might expect little inter-district variation in the federal criminal justice system. For example, organizational and cultural factors promoting uniformity in federal criminal justice might prevent local variation. The Department of Justice might monitor the decisions of U.S. attorneys’ offices to produce uniform prosecutorial activities, federal probation officers might fulfill their mission of ensuring faithful implementation of the Sentencing Guidelines, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines might promote uniformity, and federal judges might accept the Guidelines and appellate court decisions regarding their application. Furthermore, the literature shows that federal sentencing differences by race, gender, and ethnicity persist, but there is as yet no evidence that they can be attributed to differences among districts. On the other hand, local variation is a persistent theme in state-level research on criminal courts. Indeed, sentencing guidelines were adopted by many states in part to reduce such discrepancies. Since political, economic, social, and cultural differences among the 94 federal district courts exceed those found in any single state’s court, it is reasonable such differences emerge aong them as well. In fact, a handful of studies using federal data also suggest that substantial aggregate variation in sentencing outcomes may exist. We analyze aggregate- and individual-level data on case disposition and sentencing outcomes for all U.S. judicial districts, with a particular focus on inter-district variation in case disposition techniques and sentencing outcomes. These analyses use existing quantitative defendant and sentencing data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the Department of Justice, and the federal district-level combined data set recently created by The Urban Institute. The major methods of quantitative analysis are multivariate OLS, logistic, and HLM regression. Our major findings include significant inter-district differences in imprisonment, sentence length, and the likelihood of downward departures. Furthermore, these differences persist after controlling for district differences in caseload size and offense type composition, mode of conviction, offense severity, prior record, or defendant characteristics. We conclude by discussing our findings’ implications for future research, and implications for theoretical understanding of federal criminal justice, law and society, and sociology.
Divorce Mediation and Domestic Violence: Court Mandated Dispute Resolution Processes in Cases Involving Spousal Abuse Allegations
Mediation has become a standard practice in divorce, visitation, and child custody cases. A process involving couples sharing power in decision making (often revolving around child custody), mediation has been a successful alternative to court for many divorcing couples. However, serious problems remain. Research indicates that 50 to 80 percent of all divorce cases referred to mediation involve domestic violence. This study examines the use of existing data collected on divorce mediation and domestic violence, focusing on policies and procedures to identifying cases involving domestic violence among divorcing couples and mediation practices in cases involving allegations of spousal abuse. A survey was conducted in collaboration with the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC). A questionnaire was mailed to 200 institutional members of the AFCC. A total of 149 were completed.
Do Differences in Heart Rate Distinguish Early- From Later-Onset Offenders?
It is well known that low cardiac activity is associated with juvenile delinquency in resting conditions. However, it is not clear how a low heart rate relates to different subgroups of offenders and whether offenders differ in more controlled testing conditions. Do early-onset offenders have a lower heart rate than later-onset offenders? Is there a lower heart rate to be found for serious and violent offenders compared to less serious or non-offenders?: These issues are addressed in the youngest sample of the serious or non-offenders? These issues are addressed in the youngest sample of the Pittsburgh Youth Study. Biological measures were administered when the participants were about 16 years old. Self-reported data on their earlier career was used to distinguish between early- and later-onset offenders. The results are reviewed in the context of other known predictors of early onset offending and theories of attention and also related to what is known about the central nervous system functioning in humans.
Do Parents Matter? Testing Harris’s Group Socialization Theory of Youthful Misconduct
In a radical departure from traditional analyses of the socializing influence of families, numerous scholars how openly question whether parents “matter” in the behavior of their youth. Informed by research from behavioral genetics, critics maintain that beyond passing on inherited traits, parents do not have any appreciable influence on their youth. Using data from a large-scale study designed to take genetic effects into account,k we test the core hypotheses drawn from Judith Rich Harris’s controversial Group SocializationTheory–a theory that argues that peers and individual traits are the main sources of variation in youthful misconduct.
Do the Glueck and Glueck Data Better Support the Self-Control Versus the Social-Control Perspective?
CRIME IN THE MAKING (Sampson and Laub, 1993) pushed a A GENERAL THEORY OF CRIME (Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1990) off the pedestal by arguing that social control was more imporant that self-control in explaining careers in crime and other dysfunctional behavior. Our re-analysis of the Glueck and Glueck data suggests that the dismissal of self-control theory is premature. We argue that individual characteristics must be examined in understanding the creation of social capital in quantitative modelling, and that the qualitative evidence in Sampson and Laub suggests that careers of misconduct were owed significantly to alcoholism and mental illness. In our view, social capital should be construed as an outcome of self-control which suggests that the causal ordering which underlies CRIME IN THE MAKING is misspecified.
Does Community Policing Build Community?: Resident Perceptions of the Coproduction Process
Some proponents of community policing have argued that the coproduction aspect of this reform can enhance the capacity of neighborhood residents to organize around issues of public safety. Our ability to assess this claim has been limited by the paucity of theory and empirical research linking the process of community policing to neighborhood social capacity and collective behavior. In addition, there have been few attempts to assess these relationships from the perspective of the neighborhood resident. This paper will present a theoretical framework for understanding these relationships. We will test several hypotheses that link specific police-community interactions with neighborhood-level outcomes using data from a city-wide survey of neighborhood organizations.
Does Living in a Violent Neighborhood Increase Offenders’ Use of Violence?
This study examines the structural effect of living in a violent neighborhood on offender use of violence while controlling for other measures of neighborhood strain and disorganization. Using official arrest records from Prince George’s County, Maryland, offender residence is mapped to 1990 census tracts, which are in turn characterized by measures of neighborhood violence, poverty, residential instability, single-parent households, etc. All neighborhood variables are treated as exogenous factors in a structural equation model that examines their macro-level effects on individual offenders’ accumulation of violent arrests over a ten-year time span. Results are presented for all offenders in the sample (N=841) and for each race and gender subgroup.
Does Offender’s Ethnicity on Crime Scenarios Affect Public Perceptions of Crime Seriousness? A Survey Experiment
The great majority of research on public perceptions of crime seriousness is based on scenarios of criminal offenses. Many studies present the offenses in a highly summarized manner, with few or even no details on the corresponding offenders. However, a large body of literature shows that people in general and functionaries in the criminal justice system in particular hold crime stereotypes, in which the ethnicity/race of offenders plays an extremely important role in shaping their views on crime issues. Accordingly, the study reported here surveyed a large sample of Israeli citizens to examine whether the ethnicity of offenders included in such scenarios — Jewish or Arab as the independent variable — systematically affected their views on the seriousness of various offenses, taken as dependent variables. For the overall sample, these views were found to differ unpredictably only for the less serious offenses. However, when the Jewish and Arab respondents were analyzed separately, significant differences were found, especially around inter-ethnic offenses. The implications of the findings are discussed.
Does Parole Influence the Recidivism Rate of Juvenile Offenders?
Although parole is commonly ordered for juvenile offenders leaving state correctional institutions or training schools, little research has been done on the effect of parole on recidivism rates. This study describes the findings from a one-year policy change in the State of Washington where the majority of juvenile offenders leaving state institutions were not subject to parole conditions. In 1997, the Washington Legislature eliminated parole for all but sex offenders and the highest risk offenders leaving state juvenile correctional institutions; in 1999, parole was subsequently reinstated. Using a strong research design, the study compares the recidivism rates of those juveniles released without parole during FY 1999 to a similar group of offenders released to parole during FY 1998. The evaluation found no statistically significant difference in the recidivism rates between the two groups. After a 12-month follow-up, 32.7 of the parole group and 30.2 percent of the non-parole group had been reconvicted for a new felony crime. In addition to the lack of significance for overall recidivism rates, no differences were found for any sub-category of recidivism measures including violent, property, drug, or misdemeanor offenses. A multivariate analysis was conducted and confirmed the lack of statistical significance of juvenile parole in affecting the recidivism rates of lower-risk juveniles leaving state institutions.
Does Pennsylvania’s Motivational Boot Camp Program Reducing Recidivism?
Pennsylvania’s Motivational Boot Camp was established in 1992 with the intent of providing an alternative program of rehabilitation that would lead to a reduction in crime. This paper presents the findings from a study that assessed whether this goal is being accomplished. Our sample consisted of 508 offenders who graduated from the Boot Camp, but were released from traditional prison during those two years. We looked at both technical violations and new crime convictions as measures of recidivism with a tracking period consisting of a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years. Consistent with research conducted in other states, our bivariate analysis provided evidence that Boot Camp graduates were more likely than offenders released from prison to commit technical violations and less likely to commit new crimes. In our logistic regression analysis, however, we found no difference in the recidivism of offenders going to Boot Camp or prison. The most significant finding was that employed offenders were significantly less likely to recidivate than those who were unemployed.
Doing Time in the shadow of Death: Women Prisoners and HIV/AIDS
In the last decade, both the number of female inmates and the average length of their sentences have increased dramatically. A by-product of the recent “confinement era” within criminal justice is the influx of ill and generally unhealthy female offenders into this nation’s correctional institutions. In addition to tuberculosis (TB), one of the pressing public health concerns facing correctional systems today is human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Defiiency Syndrome (AIDS). While no segment of the incarcerated population is immune to this infection, an alarming number of female inmates have been shown to test positive for HIV at higher rates than male inmates (Maruschak, 1999). The high rates of HIV infection and AIDS among women offenders are essentially the result of intravenous drug use, trading sex for drugs and money, sexual abuse, living under conditions of poverty, and other gender-specific conditions of their lives, which make them more prone to HIV infection (DeGroot, Leibel, & Zierler, 1998). The problem of HIV infection and AIDS is especially serious for incarcerated women, who often receive the smallest piece of the resource pie. As women in prison have different treatment needs and problems than their male counterparts, their need for gender-specific services has prompted researchers and advocates to call for increased attention to correctional programming for women and increased use of community-based interventions and alternatives. This paper highlights the need for the corrections community to address the special needs of female inmates infected with the HIV/AIDS virus and to acknowledge the impact of HIV/AIDS on all imprisoned women in the United States.
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Victims: Helpseeking, Advocacy, and System Experiences
One of the most basic challenges to an effective response to violence against women is an accurate understanding of victimization and the appropriate community response. Limitations of official data are well known, and recent reports concur that multiple sources of data with direct relevance to policy and practice are needed. Studies of service delivery and efficacy have focused on domestic violence shelters or rape crisis centers, but the research is sparse and largely descriptive. Moreover, experiences with, and responses to, multiple forms of violence are often lost when sampling from either sexual assault or domestic violence programs. This paper presents data on women’s helpseeking strategies from the only electronic statewide data collection system used by both sexual assault crisis centers and domestic violence shelters. Data will highlight women’s experiences with violence, the help they report they need to achieve and maintain safety, and their experiences with formal and informal help systems. These data are the first to be collected from all women seeking help at centers and shelters, across metropolitahn and rural communities in any state.
Domestic Violence Court in Minneapolis: A Quasi-Experiment
Hennepin County District Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota began accepting cases into a newly formed downtown Domestic Violence Court in 2000. This paper will present the results of a quasi-experiment comparing processing and dispositional outcomes for three groups. One group contains cases moving through the Domestic Violence Court, the second group has similar cases and a similar timeframe but for different divisions of the county, and the third group consists of all domestic violence cases from the year before implementation.
Domestic Violence courts: An Evaluation of a Localized Court
In the past decade there has been a growing awareness that domestic violence is a serious social problem. One of the responses to this social problem has been changes in the justice system, including the creation of domestic violence courts. Through funding provided by the National Institute of Justice, the current study examines the effectiveness of a localized domestic violence court in Lexington County, South Carolna. Recidivism rates between defendants tried in the local domestic violence court and those in a historical control group are examined, controlling for both legal and extralegal factors. This research study helps fill the gap in the knowledge on the effectiveness of the domestic violence court option and the factors that increase the likelihood that prosecuted batterers will recidivate. The findings from this research will help increase the understanding of the role of localized domestic violence courts in enhancing victim safety.
Domestic Violence in Immigrant and Refugee Communities: The Role of the Criminal Justice System
The role of culture in the area of domestic and sexual violence is increasingly being recognized. It is generally accepted by researchers, service providers, and advocates that the dynamics of violence have both universal and culture-specific elements that can affect profoundly the effectiveness of interventions and programs and thus the safety of women and children. This presentation will explore the role of the criminal justice system as it pertains to the issue of violence in immigrant and refugee communities. Qualitative data gathered throughout more than a decade of work with immigrant populations will be used to illustrate the ways in which the criminal justice system can be an effective partner with these communities in addressing the phenomenon of violence against women.
Domestic Violence in Rural Areas: An Exploration of Mandatory vs. Preferred Arrest Policies
The handling domestic violence cases in rural communities is an issue that has garnered a significant amount of attention recently. The issue and appropriateness of mandatory versus preferred arrest policies in rural vs. urban jurisdictions is of great concern. A survey of law enforcement agencies (state, county, and local) in six rural counties in a Midwestern state was administered during summer 2000. This survey sought to ascertain whether or not training in rural communities impacted the arrest policies in these departments. Results from this study will be presented along with recommendations on handling domestic violence cases in rural communities.
Domestic Violence Paradox: Arrest of “Battered” Women
Mandatory and pre-arrest policies for domestic violence offenders may result in an unintended consequence: 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 presenttion explores these questions as well as the potential for acontextual decision-making that may facilitate female arrests, the consequences of gender-neutral law enforcement strategies, and the issues these actions raise for female offenders.
Domestic Violence Survivors and Satisfaction With the Criminal Justice System Response to Their Cases: What They want, What They Expect, and What They Actually Get
In the last two decades, most police jurisdictions across the United States have implemented mandatory or pro-arrest policies, and prosecutors in several areas have adopted mandatory (“no-drop”) policies regarding the prosecution of these cases. These policies have been shaped by several competing although not mutually exclusive assumptions: for example, (1) that victims want a more penal approach to domestic violence and/or (2) that a more punitive approach to domestic violence will result in greater survivor satisfaction. Despite the significance of these assumptions, we still have little information regarding their accuracy. This is a critical gap in knowlege; without an exploration of it, effective policies and interventions cannot be developed. The current study fills this gap in knowledge by providing important information on what domestic violence survivors want and expect out of the criminal justice system, what response(s) they believe will help them end the violence in their lives, and how these factors ultimately influence their satisfaction with the way the system handles their cases.
Drinking and Drift: an Empirical Application of Soft Determinism
In this paper, we pursue suggestions from previous research and apply the insights of soft determinism to the study of deterrence. We entertain the hypothesis–suggested by soft determinists–that sanctions may deter some individuals but not others. In particular, soft determinists anticipate that sanctions will have little or no deterrent effect on the behavior of individuals who are strongly constrained to either crime or conformity. To the extent that sanctions serve as meaningful deterrents, they should primarily deter individuals who are relatively unconstrained and enjoy more freedom of action and/or choice. In an effort to conduct an intial test of this hypothesis, we analyze data from a national sample of adolescents, and examine the effect of one type of informal saction–namely, perceived parental disapproval–on the drinking behavior of selected categories of youths. The results of cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses are generally consistent with the hypothesis, suggesting that future research in this area could be fruitful.
Driving While Black: Policing Changes in Response to Media Attention?
In recent years there has been a plethora of attention given to the ‘Driving While Black’ phenomenon. Police departments all over the United States have come under an enormous amount of scrutiny about their policing tactics. This study will examine preliminary evidence as to whether policing strategies change when departments are placed under intense political and media scrutiny regarding racial profiling. The data used in this study represents trends in citations/warnings and accidents in North Carolina from 1997 thru 2000.
Drug Court Clients’ Satisfaction With Treatment and the Court Experience
This paper examines client satisfaction with two primary components of a drug court program: the treatment process and monthly status hearings with the judge. We will present data from approximately 100 interviews with former drug court clients. Interviews were voluntary and both graduated and failed clients were eligible for participation. The interviews focused on the clients’ overall satisfaction with the drug court program. Information assessed includes general questions such as whether the client would recommend the program to others and whether the client felt the program improved their life. More specific questions asked whether clients are doing better at work and/or getting along better with their family as a result of treatment. Questions which focused on reasons for drug court entry, whether the judge treated the client with respect and whether praise or warnings from the judge were helpful were asked of all respondents. This data will be used to determine what factors are associated with completion and non completion of the drug court program.
Drug Courts as a Mechanism of Reintegrative Shaming: A Case Study in the Midwest
Braithwaite’s (1989) theory of reintegrative shaming attempts to explain how social control can result n conformity or deviance. Using reintegrative shaming theory as a framework, this study proposes to examine the effectiveness of a drug court in reducing recidivism. It also attempts to determine if the drug court is providing the tools and mechanisms that are necessary for offenders to reintegrate and reconnect into the community and sustain a drug-free and law-abiding lifestyle. Previous research applying reintegrative shaming to drug courts has been limited.
Drug-Crime Link in a Self-Control Perspective: An Empirical Test Among Swiss Juveniles
The General Theory of Crime (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990) provides a specific framework for the understanding of the empirically well documented link between substance abuse and crime. Our research is focused on juveniles attending school who are — if at all — at the onset of their “career” of substance abuse. The basic question we address is to know whether self-control can — as hypothesized in the GTC — account for the covariance between crime and substance abuse. We then investigate whether specific subdimensions of the self-control construct (i.e. risk-seeking, self-centeredness etc.) are related to specific types of deviant behavior (i.e., substance abuse, property crimes, violence). These issues will be tested on the basis of a representative sample of 2’700 15 years old pupils of the canton of Zurich (Switzerland) using a version of Longshore et al.’s (1996) adapted attitudinal self-control scale (Grasmick et al. 1993). First, we consider the validity of the scale (dimensionality, invariance over relevant groups) using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and then address the above mentioned core questions using structural equation modeling methods and logistic regression, depending on the nature of the deviance scales. Preliminary findings indicate that in order to achieve unidimensionality a second order factor has to be introduced into the model. Even in that case not all subdimensions are substantially loading on the second-order factor.
Drug Markets and Drug Enforcement: Some Applications of ADAM Data to Planning and Evaluating Drug Enforcement Initiatives
In this paper we analyze data collected as part of the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program to illustrate their potential utility in planning and evaluating drug enforcement initiatives. In 2000, a revised ADAM interview schedule was fielded, providing for the collection of data on drug markets. Building on previous research on drug markets, and on the hypothesized and estimated effects of street-level drug enforcement, we identify and empirically examine characteristics of drug markets that are of potential relevance to drug enforcement strategies and tactics.
Drug Testing Police Officers and Police Recruits: The Outcome of Urinalysis and Hair Analysis Compared
This paper reviews some general aspects of police drug behavior and drug related police corruption. It will evaluate the outcomes of drug testing programs carried out by two major police departments on both recruits for police positions as well as sworn officers. It will evaluate the extent of involvement of these two groups in drug use activities as indicated by both urinalysis testing and hair analysis, and compare their levels of use with other workplace testing outcomes. The paper will conclude with a discussion of the results and their implications for police administrative procedure.
Drug Use Among Among Female ande Juvenile Arrestees
Beginning in 2000, NIJ’s Arrestee Drug Abuse monitoring (ADAM) program began collecting detailed informatlion about the drug, alcohol, and mental health treatment experiences of respondents from probability-based samples of arrestees in counties around the U.S. Using a sophisticated calendar-based interview design, respondents were asked whether or not during the past year they had stayed at least one night in an inpatient or residential drug or alcohol treatment program, had been admitted to an outpatient drug or alcohol treatment program, and whether or not they had stayed for at least one night in a mental health treatment program. In addition to these and other self-report questions, respondents in each county were asked to provide a urine sample for drug testing. For selected ADAM communities, this analysis looks at drug and alcohol and mental health treatment experiences of local arrestees in terms of the different drugs that are most widely used by arrestees in those communities. For respondents and communities, the relationship between the use of particular drugs or drug use practices and varying patterns of treatment experience will be considered.
Drug Using, Dependency, and Treatment Among Adult Male Arrestees
As part of the ADAM interview instrument redesign, NIJ has expanded not only the illegal drug use measures, but now includes a brief set of items to screen for alcohol abuse and dependence, as well as questions about heavy alcohol use. Month-by-month levels of heavy drinking over the past 12 months are obtained from all arrestees. This presentation explores how patterns of heavy alcohol use among arrestees are related to their alcohol abuse and dependence as well as patterns of use of other drugs and life events including arrests, changes in residency, and drug treatment experience over the 12-month period. A fundamental question for this presentation is: How does the screen for alcohol abuse and dependence relate to the arrestee’s reports of heavy drinking? The presentation will also explore what other factors–such as homelessness, episodes of drug treatment, and episodes of other drug use–are related to arrestees’ alcohol abuse and dependence.
Drugs, Crime and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Among Juvenile Offenders
The importance of recognizing substance misuse, criminality, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as co-existing problems has been demonstrated empirically as essential in developing appropriate treatment intervention services. Despite research that indicates that bivariate relationships exist between substance misuse and criminial activity and PTSD, minimal research has been conducted on the extent of these conditions among juvenile offenders. This paper will report on substance misuse, criminal activities and PTSD among 427 juvenile offenders between the ages of 13 and 19, who were remanded to the care and custody of Department of Juvenile Justice in Maryland for violent and non-violent crimes. Results wll be analyzed in regard to the prior traumatic experiences of these youth. Data are derived from a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded study examining the relationships among drugs and violence with juvenile offenders. Implications for acknowledging and addressing PTSD in residential settings for juveniles will be highlighted for discussion.
Dwindling Parental Rights: A National Statutory Profile on Eroding Rights of Female Offenders
Historically female prisoners in the United States have not prevailed, when asserting their parental rights. With the exception of a few prison nursery programs, the women inmates and their children were separated with little regard to maintaining their relationships. In some cases this resulted in termination of parental rights. Today, however, female prisoners’ rights are jeopardized more than ever before because of recent federal and state legislation mandating permanency planning for children who are in foster care. Many states have also enacted foster care laws, as well as laws which take into account the nature of the offense. Clearly these newly enacted laws demanding permanency target inmate mothers due to the very nature of the women’s inability to provide their children with permanency. This paper provides an overview of both federal and state laws and data from a study conducted in a Minnesota women’s prison. Twenty-seven women were interviewed, in addition to reviewing their correctional files and interviewing correctional staff. The findings from this study reveal that the majority of the women were aware of the current permanency laws and the way these new laws are being used to sever their relationship with their children even if such termination is not in the children’s best interest.
Dynamics of Law Enforcement Perceptions of Gangs Over Time
In a number of ways, the National Youth Gang Surveys were intended as an effort to emulate the official records approach of the Uniform Crime Reports. Issues of validity and reliability for specific “official” measures over time are explored. An effort will be made to identify which measures from what kinds of jurisdictions can be used to draw conclusions about the scope and dynamics of gang crime problems for the U.S.
E
Ecological Co-Morbidity: The Spatial Clustering of Homicide and Adverse Health Outcomes in Chicago Neighborhoods
In their seminal work on neighborhood crime and social disorganization, Shaw and McKay (1941) argued that juvenile delinquency “is not an isolated phenomenon.” In fact, in their research they found that the structural characteristics associated with high crime–e.g., poverty, residential instability, and dilapidated housing–were also associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes, such as high rates of infant mortality, tuberculosis, physical abuse, and other factors detrimental to health (Shaw and McKay 1941: 106). Recent research reveals that the “co-morbidity” or spatial clustering of homicide, infant mortality, low birth weight, accidental injury, and suicide continues to the present day (Almgren et al. 1998; Wallace 1990). Yet, the evidence suggesting an association between community context and health does not explain why such an association exists. What it does suggest is that if seemingly disparate health outcomes are linked together empirically across communities and are predicted by similar structural characteristics, then there may be common underlyng causes or mediating mechanisms at the neighborhood level. This paper examines the neighborhood causes of ecological co-morbidity with data from Chicago neighborhoods. Outcomes include rates of homicide, infant death, low birth weight, suicide, and non-violent causes of death.
Economic Insecurity and Punitiveness Toward Welfare, Immigration, and Crime
Over the last thirty years, corporate strategies such as disinvestment, deskilling, and downsizing have created an atmosphere of economic insecurity among many American workers. This insecurity has the potential to result in a general climate of punitiveness toward “others.” The most visible targets include welfare recipients, immigrants, and criminals, groups who are seen as getting something for nothing. Two related forces may compel economically insecure workers to place blame on “others.” First, in an effort to divert attention from the structural causes of insecurity, superordinates employ ideological discourse that subtly, and at times not so subtly, lays the blame for economic stagnation at the feet of those who are deemed as not adhering to normative work values. Second, many white males, who were once guaranteed a decent living wage simply based on their race and sex, are now angry and struggling to determine responsibility for their econonmic circumstances. The “angry white male” thus becomes susceptible to discourse that scapegoats “others.” The present research surveys 2,250 Florida residents and uses OLS regression to test the hypothesis that individuals who experience greater economic insecurity will demonstrate more punitive attitudes toward welfare, immigration, and crime.
Educating for Peace and Social Justice: Intentional Learning in a Criminal Justice Classroom
This paper reports on work done within an undergraduate program in criminal justice where the focus is on creating an intentional learning environment that promotes principles of peace and social justice. The contention of the authors is that in order to effectively teach about peace and social justice, it is imperative that teachers create environments where such principles can be modeled and upheld. The work discussed in this paper is based on evaluation of several undergraduate courses where intentional practices are outlined, discussed and implemented. The evaluation consists of reflection on the part of teachers, plus feedback and reflection from the students themselves.
Effect of Job Access on Unemployment and Crime: A GIS Analysis of Cleveland, Ohio
In many urban areas there is a spatial mismatch between where people live and where the jobs are. In such cases, access to regular employment is difficult, expensive, and time-consuming, especially for those without personal vehicles. Under these conditions, crime may become a more attractive alternative to legitimate employment. Numerous theories and ethnogrpahic accounts have posited a relationship between employment access and crime rates, but the relationship has rarely been studied formally. Using data disaggregated to the census tract level, the present research examines the relationships between job access, unemployment, and crime rates in Cleveland, Ohio in 1980 and 1990. Preliminary analysis of these data has revealed an inverse bivariate relationship between job access and crime rates. In the present study we examine the relationships between job access, unemployment, and crime, controlling for a number of other demographic factors. The core question is whether job access exerts an independent effect on unemployment and crime, or whether it is an undifferentiated part of a general pattern of social disadvantage.
Effective Gender-Responsive Interventions in Juvenile Justice: Addressing the Lives of Delinquent Girls
After being disregarded for years, girls are no longer invisible in the juvenile justice system. Increases in girls’ arrests have surpassed those of boys for the last decade. Between 1989 and 1998, girls’ arrests increased over 50 percent compared to a 17 percent increase for boys, and girls currently account for one out of four arrests. The significant increase in girls in the juvenile justice system has called attention to their status and the particular circumstances they encounter within the system. Despite this increased attention, there is a lack of information about what types of programs and interventions work best with this population and few program evaluations have focused exclusively on girls. This paper will address the gendered differences in girls’ pathways into delinquency, their offense patterns, and their behavior and needs while in the juvenile justice system. We assert that the juvenile justice system’s reaction to these differences has not been gender-responsive policy and programming. For the most part, the system which was designed to deal with delinquent boys, has neglected the gender-specific program and treatment needs of girls. Based on research findings from several studies, we propose a framework for designing a continuum of care for girls which includes effective gender-responsive prevention and intevention approaches.
Effectiveness of Intermediate Sanctions in NSW Local Courts: A Natural Experiment
Are offenders given community work or probation less likely to re-offend than offenders sentenced to prison? Random allocation of offenders to prison and other penalties raises numerous ethical and logistical problems. This study uses a natural or indirect experiment, taking advantage of the random allocation of cases to magistrates in Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales. Cohorts of identical offenders received a different mix of prison, community work, probation, fines and good behavior bonds. There was also some variability in re-offending between cohorts; comparing the two sets of distributions allows conclusions to be draswn about the impact of different sanctions. This study concludes that, for serious offenses like burglary and auto theft, there were small but significant reductions in re-offending amongst cohorts with higher proportions of intermediate sanctions. For the least serious offences, such as public order offences, there were significant reductions in re-offending amongst those receiving no formal penalty at all, compared to those being fined. Some magistrates are using their discretion to minimize penal pain, and thereby increase public safety.
Effects of Belief in Token Resistance, Hypermasculinity, and Female Alcohol Consumption on Perceptions of Date Rape
The lack of overt force or threat in many sexually coercive and date rape incidents suggests that such victimization experiences often occur in circumstances that are ambiguous or confusing to sexual aggressors. Sexual aggressors may fail to identify correctly coercive and unwanted sexual interactions because of belief in token resistance or identification with hypermasculine traits. Limited research examines the relative importance of belief in token resistance and hypermasculinity in predicting perceptions of date rape. Researchers also speculate that situational factors such as alcohol consumption may moderate the effects of these factors on date rape perceptions. This study examines the role of victim alcohol consumption in moderating the impact of belief in token resistance and identification with hypermasculinity on perceptions of date rape. It is hypothesized that males who indicate a strong belief in token resistance or a strong belief in token resistance or a strong identification with hypermasculine traits will perceive less date rape than those with weaker beliefs or identification, especially in the alcohol consumption condition. Additionally, we expect that hypermasculinity will exert a greater influence on date rape perceptions than belief in token resistance. Using date rape scenarios, a randomized experiment is conducted with a sample of male college students to test these hypotheses.
Effects of Mass Media Interventions on Drug Abuse: Changes in Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavior
Mass media campaigns to prevent and reduce drug use among adolescents aim to change attitudes and knowledge in the expectation that positive changes in those domains, in turn, will lead to reduced use of harmful and illegal substances. Results from a meta-analysis of nearly 100 evaluation studies of media interventions show the magnitude of the effects on knowledge, attitudes, and behavior, the media approaches that produce the largest effects, and the relationship between changes in knowledge and attitudes with changes in actual substance use behavior.
Effects of Media on Perceived Risk, Fear of Gang Crime and Resulting Protective Behaviors
Fear of gang crime is an important policy problem in part because it may result in protective behaviors, which not only constrain lifestyles but therefore also may lead to less social control and consequently more disorder, community decline, crime and fear. Previous research indicates that when people look to the media for information about crime, they may feel more (or less) at risk and therefore more (or less) fearful depending on the source they use. Some studies indicate that these media effects also differ by ethnic group. We use data from a 1997 random digit dial survey of 1200 residents in Orange County, California to look one step further–examining behavioral precautions taken as a result of gang-related crime fears. Specifically, we disaggregate by ethnic group to see if the results are different for whites and Latinos and use structural equation models to examine the direct and indirect impacts of demographics and media sources of information about crime on perceived risk, fear of crime, and resulting protective behaviors.
Effects of School-Based Interventions on Risk for Antisocial Behavior: Results From Meta-Analysis
A promising approach to the prevention of antisocial behavior is to intervene early in the developmental trajectory and attempt to alter malleable risk factors that are associated with later antisocial behavior. Results will be presented from an ongoing meta-analysis on the effects of school-based interventions with children on important risk factors for antisocial behavior, including factors related to peer relationships, family functioning, psychological adjustment, and school achievement. Associations between pretest to posttest change among risk factors will be examined in relation to subsequent reductions in antisocial behavior. The analysis will identify those interventions that are most effective for altering important risk factors and the changes in risk factors that are most closely associated with reduced antisocial behavior.
Elderly Inmate Population Growth: Multiple Perspectives
As the eldest baby-boomers begin retirement, addressing associated problems with this large, and expanding age group has become salient in all areas of government. This is especially true for federal and state prison agencies. As the elderly population in the greater society continues to grow, the population of incarcerated elderly will grow as well. Between 1981 and 1990 the population of elderly inmates more than doubled. For the sixteen southernmost states of the U.S. it was reported that the number of inmates over the age of 50 increased by 480 percent between 1985 and 1997. In comparison, the total inmate population for these states increased by only 147 percent for the same time span. Currently, the population of inmates aged 50 or older is estimated at 125,000 with 35,000 over the age of 65. The problem that this growth presents are due to the particular requirements of this population. Like the aged in greater society, elderly prisoners have greater, more specialized needs than their younger counterparts. In addition to costly healthy care, diverse physical, psychological, and social needs of the elderly inmate must also be met. This study has been designed to examine current and proposed efforts at providing solutions to the problems that this growing population represents. Through personal interviews with security personnel, correctional administrators, state officials, and elderly inmates a unique perspective is presented that reflects concerns from all facets of the correctional system.
Empowering Communities: A Restorative Justice Approach
Restorative Justice is a different approach to the punish and incarerated policy of the criminal justice system in America. Through restorative justice, the community, the offender and the victim engage in a process of resolving intercommunity conflicts with the community. Restorative justice allows communities to have a voice in the reconstruction of justice within its borders. The proposed study seeks to examine restorative justice theory in practice. Restorative justice and the application of the theory would be significant because communities would be able to repair and address the problems that plague their communities. The methodology in the study will be conducted with a qualitative focus. The proposed study will examine the restorative justice program supported by the Resource Section of the Juvenile Justice and Child Protection Department of Cook County in Chicago, IL. I will conduct select interviews of individuals participating in the peer jury program and the victim impact panel program. The qualitative approach will provide a springboard for future research by identifying the themes and issues of the participants of the restorative justice programs in Chicago, IL. The anticipated results should find a correlation in the recidivism rates of individuals dropping due to participation in a restorative justice program.
Encounters of African-American and Hispanic Juveniles With Law Enforcement
In the aftermath of negative police-juvenile encounters it is often the perceptions of the officers involved that are published. In particular, Hispanics have largely been ignored in the latest studies on police-minority relations. Thus, the present study is an effort to fill in this “black box” of information. It addresses the following questions: What were the juveniles thinking at the time of their encounters? How did they behave as a result of such thoughts? What messages might they have communicated to the officers intentionally or not – to their advantage or to their disadvantage? The study is a qualitative project wherein 120 Hispanic youths and 120 African-American youths ages 18-25 were interviewed about their encounters and perceptions of law enforcement. It presents documentation on the nature of those encounters and an assessment of how perceptions of law enforcement are cultivated.
Environmental Extremists: An Examination of Eco-Terrorism
The purpose of this paper is to examine the latest trends in eco-terrorism. While often dedicated to environmental preservation, recent developments indicate that environmental extremists may pose a danger to society. The focus of the paper will include an operational definition of eco-terrorism a brief historical overview, motivational analysis, and prevention strategies. Particular attention will be devoted to law enforcement’s response to these environmental extremists.
Equal by Fiat: Dismantling Affirmative Action at the University of California
The Civil Rights Initiative (a.k.a. Proposition 209), approved by 54.6 percent of California voters in November of 1996, went into effect in 1997. Proposition 209 made it illegal for the University of California to “discriminate or grant preferential treatment to an individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin”, and thus forbids “discrimination” in the awarding of contracts, hiring, or school admissions. This paper is an effort to explore the adaptations that the University of California has made with respect to changes in affirmative action policies. Furthermore, this paper addresses how each campus has dealt with diversity and equity issues in the wake of the proposition. The data for this study comes from in-depth interviews with UC officials and through archival sources. Interview questions specifically addressed the concrete implementation and repercussions of the proposition. The dismantling of affirmative action has created a vacuum for the UC as they struggle to meet their goals for representing the diversity of California’s population. This paper will examine some of the adaptations that individuals and institutions have made within the UC system.
Errors in Justice: Nature, Sources and Remedies
Criminal justice policy scholars and practitioners have traditionally assessed policy in terms of crime and recidivism rates, arrests, fear of crime, evenhandedness, and costs, virtually ignoring errors in justice. As the number of innocent persons convicted increases, the criminal justice system loses due process legitimacy: citizens become more inclined to perceive injustices to the innocent. These errors may be inadvertent, such as with mistaken eyewitness testimony, or due to incompetent or unenthusiastic defense lawyers, or more sinister motives such as police tampering with or fabricating evidence to satisfy community passion or overzealous prosecutors withholding exculpatory evidence from the defense. As the number of culpable offenders set free increases, the criminal justice system loses crime control legitimacy: citizens become more inclined to perceive injustices to victims and threats to public safety and quality of life. The integrity of the justice system thus becomes threatened by the perception of ineffectualness. This paper attempts to catalogue both types of errors and develop frameworks for understanding how each is affected by various criminal justice policies and practices–including standards of evidence, police profiling, the use of forensic technology, prosecution screening standards, jury size and rules, and other factors–toward the reduction of justice errors.
Ethics Courses: Do the Values and Ethical Decisions of Criminal Justice Students Change?
Over the past several years there has been an increased interest in professional ethics. This increased attention has been mirrored in the academic community. Most universities and colleges have in some way incorporated an ethics component into their curricula. Typically, this means offering a course in ethics, frequently as an elective or attempting to interject a discussion of ethics into traditional course offerings. While many of the ethical issues facing criminal justice professionals are typical on other disciplines/fields, criminal justice practitioners are also likely to face a unique set of ethical dilemmas. Because employees in the criminal justice system are invested with both a great deal of authority and discretion, they are likely to face a number of original situations. As citizens we entrust criminal justice professionals with the awesome responsibility of enforcing laws and protecting us. We then empower them with the tools necessary to discharge this obligation. The current research examines the values of criminal justice students and their ethical decisions after completing a criminal justice ethics course. The findings are discussed in terms of theoretical and educational implications.
Evaluating Drug Courts: An Assessment of Outcomes
Despite the wide acceptance of the drug court model as an alternative to jail or prison as the method for providing monitoring and treating offenders who have been convicted for substance abuse problems, the effectiveness of this model has not been established. The drug court is a multi-disciplinary, outcome based, community justice initiative designed to alleviate the many problems associated with drug related offenses and correctional efforts therein. Thus the deficiencies of treating substance abuse and addiction are addressed in this model. This study examines one county’s drug court program in terms of multi-stage qualifyng criteria and decision making, participant selection and retention, and outcomes of Drug Court participants and a comparison group of non-participants. Variables derived from each step of the treatment program are used to predict success of failure as defined by relapse, program termination, program completion, and recidivism.
Evaluating Faith-Based Organizations
This study presents the results of a systematic review of research evaluating the effectiveness of various faith-based approaches to social problems. Moving beyond anecdotal accounts, the current study offers the first objective assessment of this literature. Implications for future research evaluations of faith-based organizations are offered.
Evaluating Inconsistencies and Irregularities in International Homicide Statistics
This study intends to evaluate the discrepancies between data reported by the International Crime Police Organization (Interpol) and United Nations Crime Survey (UNCS). Literature in cross-national analysis of crime has shown that some nations have reported their data inconsistently across crime indicators or erratically over years. But prior research has not established a systematic method to detect these inconsistencies and irregularities, and fails to examine the nature and pattern of these reporting discrepancies. The present study attempts to identify those nations which had reporting discrepancies in the two measurement systems. The study will also explore the causes of reporting discrepancies and offer suggestions to adjust for these reporting errors. Homicide data reported by Interpol and UNCS for the years 1975 to 1994 will be analyzed.
Evaluating Police-Sponsored Truancy Intervention: A Case Study in Expansion of the Law Enforcement Role in the Socialization and Social Control of Young People
Increasingly, juvenile justice and police agencies are becoming involved in non-criminal matters related to status offenses by juveniles. Despite two decades of policy initiatives to remove such behavior from the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, boundaries are being redrawn in many states, and criminal and juvenile justice agencies are again assuming responsibility for forms of deviance by young people through such vehicles as smoking courts, curfew enforcement centers, youth drug courts and various forms of truancy intervention. This paper presents findings from a recent evaluation of a local truancy intervention program in Broward County, Florida (Ft. Lauderdale) led by a local law enforcement agency (Broward Sheriffs Office) in partnership with the school board, the Department of Juvenile Justice, and various service provider organizations. Qualitative and quantitative data are presented to address issues of impact and implementation of the truancy reduction intervention. Findings have implications for the limits of the law enforcement and criminal justice role, as well as prospects for innovative policing and community responses to truancy and other problems in youth socialization and social control.
Evaluating the South Oxnard Challenge Project
The South Oxnard Challenge Project (SOCP) was developed as a 4-year demonstration project to test through a randomized experiment the practical applicability of Clear’s Corrections of Place concepts and to examine the results of a newly developed collaborative approach to administering juvenile justice in South Oxnard, California. A total of 540 youth were randomly assigned to SOCP or rountine juvenile probation by February 29, 2000. The evaluation design called for data collection at the end of the intervention period and at age 6, 12, and 18-months after program completion. The study examined youth characteristics and compared the experimental and control groups on legislatively-mandated outcomes; recidivism and completion of probation, community service and restitution. The reearch team also measured staff contacts with youths, families, victims, and community. This presentation will give a brief overview of the project design and the final outcome results.
Evaluation and Assessment of a Modified Correctional Therapeutic Community
Recent research has demonstrated the potential of corrections-based therapeutic communities (TC) in reducing recidivism and drug relapse among substance abusing offenders. Based upon modifications of original a long-term residential treatment modality, corrections-based TC programs emphasize a holistic treatment approach to changing cognitive, behavioral and emotional responses to create more pros-social and responsible individuals. The unique aspect of TC programs is their reliance on the use of the residential community as a vehicle for individual change and the view of substance abuse as a disorder of the whole person. A major gap in the literature concerns the effectiveness of TC programs with shorter residential periods. This paper is based upon a research project designed to evaluate the operations and effectiveness of the NorthWest Community Correctional Center, a short-term (maximum six month stay) TC program for felony offenders in Northwest Ohio. Research objectives include evaluating the impact of a recently added aftercare program, identifying characteristics most associated with positive outcomes, and comparing outcome measures among TC participants with a matched comparison group of felony offenders under community supervision.
Evaluation Facilitation for the Tribal Youth Program: A Preliminary Analysis of Juvenile Justice Systems in Native American/Alaska Native Communities
This presentation will provide a preliminary look at the current status of juvenile justice systems in five (5) Native American/Alaska Native communities. Discussion will address tribal juvenile justice system structure, operations and interactions with county, state and federal governments. The presentation will also explore historical and evolutionary factors that have impacted juvenile justice systems in tribal communities. The five tribal communities involved in this study receive funding under the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Tribal Youth Program (TYP). Tribes volunteered to participate in this study as part of a participatory evaluation of the TYP. Study methods include site visits, key stakeholder interviews, and review of community-level indicators. Initial and follow-up interviews were conducted from January to July 2001. Key stakeholders included tribal judges, prosecutors, law enforcement personnel, social services personnel, school personnel, tribal council members, tribal elders, and others. Findings are presented in terms of community level case studies. Where possible, issues and themes that cut across tribal communities are also summarized.
Evaluation of Cognitive Programs for Incarcerated Women Offenders
While the success of cognitive behavioral programs with male inmates has been well-documented, effectiveness with females is less clear. This study evaluates the effectiveness of two cognitive behavioral programs. “Pathfinders” and “Problem Solving Skills for Offenders,” for medium to high-security female offenders at a Southern institution. Subjects were randomly assigned to three groups: two experimental groups and one comparison group. The study tests the program’s effects on institutional behaviors, assessed coping skills (EQI) and stress (CESD).
Evaluation of Community Treatment Programs in Mississippi
This paper evaluates several popular community treatment programs in Mississippi. Those programs include intensive supervision, house arrest, shock probation, regular probation and parole. The study begins with historical background of the community treatment programs in Mississippi. Then, each program will be examined by the characteristics of clients, objectives of the program, management, and effectiveness. In addition, this study tries to point out the problem areas, issues, and future directions concerning community treatment programs in Mississippi.
Evaluation of Criminal Justice Diversion Programs: A Comparison of Short-Term Outcomes for Diverted Subjects Compared to Non-Diverted Subjects
The Criminal Justice Diversion Project (CJDP) is a multisite evaluation of criminal justice diversion programs in nine geographically diverse locations across the US. The purpose of the CJDP is to evaluate the impact on outcomes when individuals with serious mental disorders and co-occurring substance abuse disorders are diverted to community treatment programs rather than incarcerated. The principal components of the evaluation include: enrollment of treatment and comparison subjects; baseline subject interview at intake; 3-month follow-up subject interview; 12-month follow-up subject interview; process evaluation; cost-benefit study at four sites; and the study of service integration. Key research questions related to this paper include: (1) Do diverted subjects receive more treatment than non-diverted subjects? (2) What is the effect of services on mental health, substance abuse and criminal justice outcomes? For this paper, we analyze subject data collected at intake and the three month follow-up. Using linear and logistic regression, we test for significant differences between treatment and comparison subjects, while controlling for the effects of sociodemographic variables as well as other variables deemed important for this population. The presentation will include an overview of the CJDP, and a discussion of the methodology, results, and future analyses.
Evaluation of Geographic Profiling Search Strategies
Geographic profiling is a police investigative methodology that analyzes crime locations to determine the most probable area of offender residence. This is accomplished through a three-dimensional probability (jeopardy) surface generated by a computer system using the Criminal Geographic Targeting (CGT) algorithm. A jeopardy surface in effect produces an optimal search strategy for locating the offender’s residence. Its performance is measured by the hit score percentage, defined as the ratio of the area searched before the offender is located to the total area covered by the crimes. Data from the initial research project at Simon Fraser University, and results from the operational files of the Vancouver Police Department, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Ontario Provincial Police, and the United Kingdom National Crime Faculty are analyzed and the findings discussed.
Evaluation of the Juvenile Breaking the Cycle (JBTC) Program
The Juvenile Breaking the Cycle (JBTC) Program, a federally-funded initiative, is an ambitious effort to effect major changes in the lives of juvenile offenders in Lane County, Oregon. Extensive evidence suggests that juvenile offenders are often involved with alcohol and drugs, and that substance use is one of the etiological factors contributing to delinquent behavior. The JBTC Program is a comprehensive yet focused approach for dealing with juvenile offenders because it addresses substance use and other potential disorders, such as mental illness and familial problems. The evaluation of JBTC examines the implementation and effectiveness of the JBTC program as it relates to (1) program participants, (2) the program delivery system, and (3) the Lane County community. The evaluation includes a process evaluation, an outcome evaluation, and a cost/benefit analysis. Data for these evaluative components were gathered from four primary sources: (1) individual juvenile offenders; (2) key service providers and programmatic stakeholders; (3) program, county, and state management information sources; and (4) extant data that will provide aggregate community-level information for comparisons with other communities. This presentation paper covers the process and outcome evaluations of JBTC and presents some preliminary findings on program fidelity and intervention effectiveness.
Examination Methods and STD/Pregnancy Prevention Procedures for Sexual Assault Victims
One in six women will be sexually assaulted during their life; most victims do not report the assault to the authorities. Reporting rape generally requires a thorough examination that can be long and emotionally painful for the victim. The introduction of Sexual Assault Nurse examiners (SANE) has made the sexual assault examination easier for the victim. During an exam a doctor or SANE must check for physical injuries, take a patient history, collect evidence, and do a thorough physical exam. New technologies used during the examination include Florescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) and the Colposcope. Doctors also test for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s). There are new preventative medicines available for pregnancy and STD’s.
Examining Criminological Theory in the Rural Context
A preponderance of research testing criminological theory has focused on delinquency within metropolitan areas. Recent public and scholarly attention, however, has been paid to rural crime and its control. Some of this attention has hinted that traditional explanations of crime and deviance may not adequately address rural delinquency. To this end, this paper examines the efficacy of several traditional theories of crime within a rural context. Using the rich and complex AddHealth Survey data, we test whether the effects of disorganization; strain; learning; and control are enhanced or minimized in rural settings. Conclusions will suggest whether a rural paradigm is useful for criminological theory.
Examining Multi-Problem Juvenile Offenders in a Diversion Program
Juvenile justice agencies and other organizations that provide services to youth are increasingly challenged to provide comprehensive and integrated care. As research advances, it is becoming clear that justice-involved youth have multiple problems, including serious emotional disorders and substance addictions. A descriptive study examines the diagnoses, personal histories, and service needs of a group of youths involved in a diversion program in New York State (N=224). The Mental Health/Juvenile Justice Project targets and provides services for youth that have mental health and/or substance abuse problems. Based on intake and investigation records provided by project sites, analysis indicates that a significant number of juveniles have had prior contact with the juvenile justice or mental health system. Also, there is a substantial overlap of mental health problems, delinquent behavior, and substance use among youths. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed relative to these findings.
Examining Police Use of Force: The Breakdown of an Authority Maintenance Ritual
The purpose of this paper is to begin to develop a micro-level theory of police-citizen interactions by applying the concept of authority maintenance to a data set on police use of force from the Miami-Dade Police Department. Contrary to the majority of research on police use of force which has focused on attitudes, personality and demographic characteristics held or possessed by police officers and the suspects, the present approach focuses on the interactive process between and among the actors.
Examining the Effects of Social Disorganization and Commitment to Conventional Lifestyles on Delinquency
Research examining the causes of crime often has focused on one of two units of analysis: individuals or neighborhoods. Generally, these two units of analysis have been studied in isolatioln from one another, but in recent years, an increasing number of studies have integrated individual- and neighborhood-level analyses by considering the extent to which neighborhood-level dynamics affect individual-level crime and delinquency. This study considers this issue as well. Specifically, NYS data are used to examine whether living in a socially disorganized neighbohood effects individual-level delinquency by affecting an individual’s commitment to a conventional lifestyle. Since commitment to conventional lifestyle is a known predictor of delinquency it is argued that a significant relationship between social disorganization and commitment to conventional lifestyle identifies the indirect effects of social disorganization on delinquency. The final model is tested with structural equation modeling (LISREL). The findings suggest that there is a small indirect effect of social disorganization on individual delinquency.
Examining the Impacts of the Violence Against Women Act
This purpose of this panel is to discuss the state of knowledge from research attributable to the 1994 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). It focuses on the impacts of the justice components of VAWA to describe how the Act has helped to advance knowledge on effective controls. VAWA was enacted as a federal response to violent crimes against women, a response that lent national political and moral authority against gendered violence. The Act passed with confidence that there exist legal remedies to the problem of violence against women. In particular, by criminalizing certain actions, by calling for punishments and treatments, and by allowing funds for implementing local “promising practices”, policy makers assume that answers already exist for controlling violence against women. We assess criteria for and claims of impacts as researchers who share the popular and political desire to find policies that work to control violence against women. At the same time, we assume a skeptical attitude toward unwarranted claims of what works. We review the state of knowledge on VAWA impacts today and render an opinion informed by current knowledge and data on what we already know and what we can expect to learn from rigorous research. We address the following questions, in particular: How has VAWA helped to advance our knowledge on violence against women? What do we know with confidence today about the impacts of VAWA in preventing violence against women and what gaps in understanding persist? Given barely five years of activity under VAWA, what promise does VAWA research hold for further advances in knowledge on effective controls? What guidance can VAWA research to date give policy makers and practitioners for dedicating future resources to prevent violence against women? After the panelists comment on these questions, the session will be opened up for a “town-hall meeting” type discussion.
Examining the Micro Environment With GIS Technology: Testing Target Selection Preferences of Commercial Burglars
Studies of commercial burglary find that environmental cues significantly influence target selection; isolation from activity and residential dwellings, proximity to capable guardians, rear accessibility, business type, and visible security measures, consistently appear to be important factors affecting target choice. Building on “Hot Block Analysis” (Brantingham and Brantingham, 2000) and the “Blended Appraoch” (Bichler-Robertson and Johnson) this study contributes to this body of literature by introdicing a unique methodology to test the importance of these factors. The two-tiered approach uses Geographic Information System technology to identify crime concentration at the community-level and then, site analysis permits examination of these environmental cues at the contextual level. Using test sites in California and New Jersey, this research found only partial support for target selection factors identified in prior research.
Examining the Prevalence of “Prisonization” in Modern Corrections
Socialization into the inmate subculture in “total institutions” has typically been viewed as a systematic social process. That is, prisonization is believed to occur in all correctional facilities as a by-product of the deprivations associated with incarceration. Typically, individual characteristics such as length of sentence or phase of incarceration have been used to predict the degree of indoctrination into the inmate subculture. The present study examines the concept of prisonization and details the prevalence of this construct in modern correctional facilities. Key questions addressed by this research are whether prisonization varies across different correctional facilities or whether, in fact, it is a uniform, systematic process in all facilities. Data for this project come from a survey that was administered to almost 1,000 inmates in 30 different correctional institutions in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio. The statistical, analytic procedures consist of analysis of variance (ANOVA), ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, and hicrarchical linear modeling (HLM). Preliminary results suggest that prisonization appears to be a systematic social process. Advanced statistical analyses, such as HLM have failed to reveal any significant contextual effects on the phenomenon of prisonization.
Examining the Use of Prison and Jail Sentences in Large Urban Counties
This paper examines within-U.S. inter-jurisdictional differences in punitiveness–which commonly have been studied using states’ per capita imprisonment rates–by using archived data sets on felony court case processing in large urban counties. These data–for the years 1990, 1992, 1994 and 1996, are used to conduct individual-level analyses that examine the variations in the use of prison sentences, relative to jail sentences, while controlling for legal (e.g., instant charge, criminal history) and extralegal (e.g., race/ethnicity, sex, georgraphic region) factors. Findings from these multivariate analyses are discussed in relation to the results of prior research by the authors that used other data sets to examine variations in prison-use at the county level.
Examining Trends in the Spatial Distribution of Crime: An Analysis of Japanese Data With Kernel Density Estimation
This study examines trends in spatial distribution of crime in a large urban area of Japan. The data consist of over 950,000 Penal Code offenses knolwn to the police that occurred during a five-year period of January 1996 through December 2000 in the central 23 wards of Tokyo. These data were address-geocoded onto a large-scale digital map. Kernel density estimation was used to analyze the patterns in the location of offenses and to examine the trends in such spatial pattens of offenses during the five-year period. Preliminary analyses suggest that there has been spatial diffusion in the patterns of some offense types such as snatching and that the spatial diffusion has been accompanied by changes in the temporal patterns of offenses and the attributes of victims. Further analyses and the implication of findings will be discussed.
Examining Western-Based Explanations of Antisocial Behaviors in a Southeast Asian Country: Preliminary Results of a Longitudinal Study
While research on the etiology, consequences, and the prevention of delinquency has grown considerably in the last three decades, studies have primarily been conducted in Western societies, with the consequent application of research results in these same contexts. There is, however, a need to make delinquency theories and prevention measures relevant and applicable in wider social and cultural contexts. Driving this need are increases in crime and delinquency in many developing societies, where the need to proactively understand and control youth crime demands answers from the knowledge base of delinquency causation primarily developed in the United States. Additionally, the increasing diversity of American culture creates the need to verify the applicability of existing theories across a wide range of cultures and contexts. This study reports preliminary results of a longitudinal study of grade school students in the southern Philippines. Information domains representing competing explanations of delinquency in the United States such as peer influences, family influences, or the youth’s legal commitments are analyzed against the youth’s internalizing and eternalizing behaviors.
Executions and the Legacy of Race-Based Lethal Violence: Explaining Intra-Southern Variations in the Death Penalty
Though the use of the death penalty is widely recognized as occurring disproportionately in the south, there is quite substantial variation in the intensity of death penalty use within this region. Texas, Virginia, Florida, and more recently Oklahoma are widely recognized as quite active in their use of the death penalty. Less well known is that Tennessee, Georgia, and, especially, Mississippi, make less active use of the death penalty, especially executions. Likewise there are substantial intra-state variations in use of the death penalty. The present research explores county and state level variations in use of the death penalty in the south in an effort to explain these variations and identify their meanings. Findings suggest the continuing relevance of historical factors, particularly patterns of slavery and lynchings. These findings are used to suggest that post-Furman executions are distributed according to the social realizability of vengeance.
Experiencing Crime and Disorder — Lessons From “High-Crime” Communities in the UK
This paper reports on work which the author has completed as a researcher and a community safety practitioner in a number of “high crime” communities in the North of England. It explores the different paradigms which have dominated in crime prevention policy over the last decade, especially tracing their development and implementation in the British context. Using material gained from ethnographic study, victimisation surveys and interviews with practitioners, residents and community activists in three high crime neighbourhoods in the UK, the paper explores the reality of working and living in such areas and questions the efficacy of the solutions which the dominant policy discourses present. The paper concludes by arguing that not all areas of urban deprivation are responding to the changing climate of the late twentieth century in the same way although this fact is often ignored by the imperatives of centrally driven policies and targets. It further suggests that policy-makers and practitioners must appreciate the dynamism of communities in which crime prevention initiatives are to be implemented, and that they should be flexible enough to respond to the particular circumstances present in each local neighbourhood.
Explaining Juvenile Diversion Service Provision Through Program and Offender Characteristics: An Application of the Risk-Needs-Responsivity Model
Research on the effectiveness of correctional treatment indicates that the effectiveness of treatment interventions depends to a large extent on matching specific offenders with the appropriate number and type of services. Specifically, the “risk-needs-responsivity” model (Andrews et al., 1990) proposes that higher risk offenders tend to benefit more from treatment interventions (risk), that interventions should address offender-specific criminogenic factors that are subject to change (needs), and that interventions must be appropriate to the specific offender (responsivity) in order to be effective. Further, there is an increasing consensus that the answer to the question of “what works” in correctional treatment may depend on particular offender populations and justice settings. The present study applies a component of the risk-needs-responsivity model to a sample of 5865 juvenile offenders who participated in 34 system diversion programs in Colorado in fiscal year 1998-99. According to the model, higher-risk offenders should be assigned to more comprehensive programs, and should receive a larger number of treatment services. To determine if juvenile offenders in Colorado are being served based on this model, we hypothesize a structural equation model in which offender risk factors affect the number of services received both directly and indirectly through needs-based characteristics of the specific program to which they are assigned. Additional analysis is performed on race- and gender-based subsamples to see if there is variation in program assignment and interventions based on these characteristics. Based on findings, recommendations for improving the delivery of diversion services are presented.
Explaining Males’ and Females’ Delinquency: A Multi-Level Analysis of Individual and Contextual Factors
The applicability of “traditional” delinquency theories for explanations of female crime is a topic of continuing debate. Early feminist scholars contended that traditional, “male-centered,” theories could not adequately explain females’ delinquency. However, several recent studies have demonstrated that some traditional theories can explain female delinquency, and in fact may explain greater variation in females’ than males’ delinquency. This paper adds to the theoretical dialogue by examining the generalizability of a theoretical model that integrates elements of “traditional” theories. Individual- level data collected as part of the National Evaluation of the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program are merged with census data to allow for a multi-level analysis of both individual and contextual factors affecting boys’ and girls’ delinquency.
Explaining Non-Metropolitan Crime: A Test of Social Disorganization Theory on Crime in a Non-Urban Community
While considerable attention has been given to urban crime within criminology, rural and non-metropolitan crime has not been as thoroughly researched. We believe the criminal behavior that occurs in smaller communities, while being greatly underrepresented within the academic literature, offers a unique and fertile area for both empirical and theoretical development. This paper begins by examining what characteristics help to make rural and non-metropolitan communities unique from urban areas. We contend that academic researchers and policy makers are both in error of taking any research discoveries that have been made using urban data and applying these findings non-urban areas. While this may seem logical, we argue that non-urban communities are both distinct and divergent from urban areas thus requiring separate yet equal attention. Building upon this argument, we have taken property crime data from a non-metropolitan community and constructed a test of social disorganization. We have incorporated concepts from geographical information systems sciences (GIS) and data from the census bureau that has allowed us to investigate concepts that were once only testable upon urban areas. While this research is preliminary due to certain data constraints, we believe it offers a unique analysis of non-metropolitan crime by applying a theory and methods that until recently have been primarily reserved for the study of urban crime.
Explaining Racial Differences in Violent Behavior
Research examining the correlates of youth violence consistently reports disproportionate involvement among racial and ethnic minority group members. Theoretical explanation of these differences focuses on stratification processes and resultant inequalities. We test the hypothesis that racial differences in violent behavior can be explained by community, family well-being, and social capital disadvantages with regression models using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.
Explaining Spatial Patterns of Drug Crime in Portland, Oregon From 1990-1998
Crime and crime-related activities affect the quality of life of neighborhoods and can detrimentally interrupt the social contacts between residents of an area that are crucial to the maintenance of social control and growth. Drug crimes in particular are associated with the deterioration of a community or neighborood, and are often related to higher levels of reported violent crime in the same place. Drug markets impact negatively on the lives of law abiding citizens and pose serious threats to the health and safety of those same citizens. Using street address level arrest data and demographic and site level characteristics of block groups, this research describes the variation in spatial drug crime patterns in the city of Portland, Oregon over a nine-year period, from 1990 through 1998. Controlling for block level characteristics and police drug interdiction activities, the effects of Portland’s Drug Free Zones, as an example of a situational crime prevention measure, upon rates and locations of concentrations of drug sales are examined using a combination of techniques including a longitudinal growth curve multi-level model and local quotients.
Explaining Stability and Change in Antisocial Behavior From Adolescence to Young Adulthood
In support of their age-graded, social control theory, Sampson and Laub have provided evidence that adolescent delinquency increases the chances of adult crime because it reduces the probability of adult attachments to marriage and work. Recently, Warr has proffered a social learning explanation for their finding that marriage is associated with desistance from crime. Using a social learning framework, he argues that marriage discourages criminal behavior because it leads to less interaction with deviant friends. Using longitudinal data from a sample of 142 males and 194 females, we tested a model that integrates these social learning and control arguments with the idea of assortative mating. For both males and females, adolescent delinquency and affiliation with deviant peers predicted having an antisocial romantic partner as a young adult. Involvement with an antisocial romantic partner, in turn, had both a direct effect on crime as well as an indirect influence through adult peer affiliations. For females, quality of the romantic relationship also predicted crime. The analyses revealed several moderating influences in addition to these mediating effects. For females, a conventional romantic partner, strong job attachment, and conventional adult friends all served to moderate the chances that a woman with a delinquent history would graduate to adult crime. In contrast, only conventional adult friends served this function for males. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.
Explaining Suspect Disrespect Toward Police
The importance of suspects’ demeanor toward police officers has almost always been described in terms of its influence on police behavior. Given the centrality of citizen demeanor in the literature on police behavior, it is surprising that so little attention has been focused on explaining disrespect independent of its influence on police behavior. Guided by Tedeschi and Felson’s (1994) theory of violence, aggression, and coercive actions, this reseach examines the influence of suspect, situational, and officer characteristics on suspects’ displays of disrespect using systematic observation data collected in 24 police departments in 3 metropolitan areas. The findings show that contrary to expectations, the majority of suspect, situational, and officer characteristics do not have a significant influence over suspect disrespect. Furthermore, the factors that do significantly explain suspect disrespect vary by how demeanor is measured. Nonwhite suspects are more likely to be noncompliant, but are not more likely to show more aggressive forms of disrespect toward officers. These findings are discussed and the implications for future research are explored.
Explaining Violence in Places Left Behind in the New Economy
In this paper we examine homicide rates in four regions of the U.S.: Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, Indian Country, and the Colonia (the U.S. Mexico border). These regions constitute areas identified by HUD as economic “flat-liners,” or places that have been left behind in the new economy (i.e., the economic “boom” of the 1990s). Rurality and structural characteristics (e.g., poverty and unemployment) are analyzed as important delineators and antecedents of homicide in these areas.
Explanation of Desistance From Crime
Why do people desist from crime? Understanding how and why offenders desist from committing offense is important for the development of effective preventive strategies and rehabilitative initiatives for criminal justice practice. Scholars explain desistance from crime from the perspectives of physiological maturation, informal social control, or cognitive change. However, there is little or no research that targets or includes religiosity as part of the explanations of desistance from crime. Comparing the difference between extant theories that include explanation of desistance from crime and exploring the insufficiencies in their propositions, this paper aims to formulate a theoretical framework by including religiosity and structuration theory as a partial explanation of desistance from crime to strengthen the explanatory power of extant theories. Religiosity is incorporated as a part of informal social controls leading to conform people to conventional activity and a role contributed to the change of self-identity and self-concept. The perspectives of structuration further delineates how desistance and structural forces are interrelated in real life situation. Implications of future research were discussed.
Exploring Officers’ Acceptance of Community Policing
Previous studies have found mixed or conflicting results regarding the relationship of officers’ attributes and acceptance of community policing, as well as the relationship between officers’ attributes and job satisfaction. This research examined: (1) the factors which influence acceptance of the community policing philosophy, and (2) the factors which influence officers’ satisfaction with community policing activities. Surveys were which influence officers’ satisfaction with community policing activities. Surveys were administered at roll calls by researchers to a total of 445 officers of all departmental ranks. We found that officers who supported different problem solving tactics and officers who were non-white were more likely to support the concepts of community policing. However, engaging in community policing projects and rank were unrelated to garnering support for community policing on a department wide scale.
Exploring Police Behavior Through a Formal Authority Scale
Existing research on officer decision making during encounters with citizens has been dominated by dichotomous dependent measures (arrest/no arrest; force/no force), which fail to tap variation in the amount of law officers’ use. Using data collected through systematic social observations, we examine variation in the quatity of law officers’ use during encounters with citizens. Further, we examine the explanatory power of individual, situational, and community level variables on the quantity of law officers use when they interact with citizens.
Exploring Regional Variation in the Availability of Prison Programming for Minority Populations
This research examines the availability of programming resources for minority prison populations and is informed by the power threat perspective. The power threat hypothesis states that as threatening acts or minority populations increase in size, dominant groups react to maintain power differentials. However, criticisms of this perspective point out that powerful groups and minorities are not static entities. Using data from the 1995 Census of State and Federal Prisons, the present research attends to some of these criticisms by examining variation according to geographical region, characteristics of decision makers, and the minority population affected.
Exploring the Analytical Characteristics of Semi-Parametric Developmental Trajectory Models
With the advent of new software and tractable estimation procedures, semi-parametric developmental trajectory models have begun to see increased use in the social sciences. In an effort to obtain a better understanding of some of the analytical characteristics of these procedures, we undertake a series of Monte Carlo simulation studies focused on addressing the following questions: (1) how useful are the Bayesian and Akaike information criteria for identifying the proper order of a finite mixture and how sensitive is this conclusion to the sample size?; and (2) what is the impact of sample size on the ability of a finite mixture to adequately approximate a continuous mixing distribution? We conclude with an assessment of the implications of these results for future research on developmental trajectories of behavioral variables.
Exploring the Dimensionality of Community Capacity
The term “community capacity” is considered an important component for the sustainability and vitality of urban neighborhoods. This paper explores the dimensionality in existing conceptualizations of community capacity. Efforts are undertaken to clarify and quantify the dimensions of community capacity by examining survey data of neighborhood organization leaders. Models are developed that illustrate community capacity as a variable outcome that builds over time and as an important force that influences a variety of neighborhood outcomes, including public safety and quality of life.
Exploring the Effects of School and Work Experiences on Recidivism Rates for Juveniles in an Aftercare Program
The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of school and work experiences on recidivism rates. The study group will consist of juveniles who have been released from a Level 6 residential facility in the State of Florida and were under the supervision of an aftercare program. The authors will explore the effects of the following on recidivism: school type (vocational, drop out prevention, traditional); school demographic characteristics; school success; job type, and overall job performance.
Exploring the Relationship Between Quality and Quantity of Social Skills Activities and Risk and Protective Factors
The main goals of the Maryland After School Community Grant Program are to reduce drug use and delinquency. Theoretically, after-school programs that provide activities aimed at improving social skills and academic performance will impact risk and protective factors related to problem behaviors. Unfortunately, little is known regarding how much programming is necessary to change levels of risk and protective factors related to delinquency and drug use. During the 1999-2000 school year, the evaluation of the Maryland After School Community Grant Program showed that programs that reported above median levels of social skills activities and below median levels of academic achievement activities had more positive effects on targeted risk and protective factors than other programs. These findings must be interpreted with caution because the level of programming is based solely on data submitted by practitioners. This study attempts to verify previous findings on the relationship between implementation and change from pre- to post-test by utilizing structured observational data in addition to process data provided by the after-school programs. Additionally, we will explore the types of social skills programs that most influence change on risk and protective factors from pre- to post-test.
External Sanctions, Self-Regulation and the Iatrogenesis of Organizational Misconduct
This paper examines the impact of both external sanctions and internal sanctions on organizational offending. Incorporating a medical term to describe the development of disease introduced by a doctor’s own procedure, this paper explores the potential iatrogenic effects of self-imposed sanctions, often in response to the threat of external sanctions, that may serve to magnify rather than reduce organizational misconduct.
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Facilities as Crime Generators
This paper will look at the effects that facilities in urban environments have on increasing the potential for crime. Employing an innovate analysis using raster GIS tools, we will examine specifically how the location of schools, parking lots and other facilities are statistically related to the occurrence of crime. The discussion will review, as well, the implications of this approach for crime prevention.
Factors Associated With Dropout in an Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment Program in Baltimore County, Maryland
This paper presents preliminary findings on the factors related to unsuccessful discharge from adolescent substance abuse treatment programs in Baltimore County, Maryland. These factors include internal motivation for treatment, perceived external pressure to enter treatment, and precocity for deviant behavior. Gender and ethnicity are also examined. Although much is known about the variables associated with dropout in adult substance abuse treatment, research findings regarding the importance of specific facts in predicting adolescent treatment dropout are generally inconclusive. More specifically, while motivation has frequently been used to examine outcome of adult substance abuse treatment, it has been rarely explored in youth attending such programs. The extent to which interventions to increase internal motivation for treatment can enhance treatment outcome, and for various types of adolescents, is also largely unknown. These questions will be addressed in future analyses on this sample.
Factors Associated With Interpersonal Aggression
This research examines the factors associated with interpersonal aggression across two generations of a family. Factors of interest include family attachment, peer influence and neighborhood context among others. The data, collected by the Johns Hopkins Collaborative Perinatal Study (JHCPS) in Galtimore, Maryland, provides the opportunity to examine the impact of both macro-social effects and micro-social effects on individuals within the study, and whether there is evidence of stability of aggression over time.
Factors Related to Deviant Sexual Preferences in Rapists
The aim of this study was to investigate the factors related to deviant sexual preferences in sexual aggressors of women. A total of 85 sexual aggressors of women were included in this study. All subjects were imprisoned in a federal penitentiary, permitting assessment of their correctional risk level and their treatment needs. Assessment was carried out at the institution and consisted of the followng categories: personal history (sexuality, relationship, etc.), family history (victimization, etc.), modus operandi characteristics (premeditation, strategy to carry out the offence, etc.), victim characteristics (gender, familiarity between the aggressor and the victim, etc.), attitudes toward his crime and cognitive distortions. Moreover, sexual preferences were assessed phallometrically. Using logistic regression analysis, our results showed different factors related to deviant sexual preferences in sexual aggessors of women. Moreover, the factors identified through the above method allowed to correctly classify more than 80% of subjects according to whether they have deviant sexual preferences or not. These results will be discussed according to the theories of sexual aggession.
Fad, Fiction or Fantasy: Facing the Challenges to Postmodernism in Criminology
Postmodernism across various disciplines has been subject to charges that it is all about nothing, a fictional prose shared between a dying minority of esoteric cynics of modernism. The view is that now that this latest turn of the skeptical screw has been exposed as a dead end we can move back to dealing with reality and rationality. However, in criminology constitutive criminology, a position informed by the postmodernist critique, has taken hold, at least among a diversity of critical scholars. In this paper I review the criticisms of postmodernism in criminology and respond to their various challenges.
Family, Work, and Crime: An Examination of Labor Stratification in the Lives of Women
Crutchfield’s (1989, 1997) adaptation of dual labor market theory posits that neighborhoods in which a significant percentage of the population works in the secondary labor market will have higher crime rates. Crutchfield and Pitchford (1997) examine individuals and their personal work histories in order to make the connection between neighborhood characteristics and personal opportunities to be involved in a “situation of company”. They find that dual labor market theory is, indeed, supported at the micro level, too. However, in analyses not presented in their paper, Crutchfield and Pitchford (1997) find that the dual labor market theory as applied to criminal involvement is not as effective at predicting female crime, most specifically black female crime, as it is at predicting male involvement in crime. This presentation will address the differing ability of this theory to predict female criminality by extending dual labor market theory to include work measures specific to female work experiences. In addition, given the work/family interactions that exist for women, we will be examining the effect of family on female criminality. The data used in these analyses are from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (NLSY) Labor Market Experience.
Family Structure and Club Drugs: The Implications of Stepfamilies for 3, 4 Methlenedioxymethampetamine (MDMA ‘Ecstasy’) and Methamphetamine Use
While the effects of family structure on substance abuse have been well studied, increases in the United States divorce rate during the early 1990s and the skyrocketing popularity of MDMA use suggests that family influences play an important role in MDMA/methamphetamine prevention. Previous literature has implicated adolescent membership in a step-family in alcohol and other substance abuse, but the relationship between family structure, MDMA and other types of amphetamines primarily used in dance venues remains unexplored. This paper makes use of the 2000 wave of the Family Health Study, a longitudinal survey of 840 adolescents from the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. Bivariate analysis is conducted using contingency tables and Spearmans rank-order correlations. Multivariate logistic regression analysis is performed examining past year MDMA and methamphetamine use controlling for parental marital status, substance abuse, parent/child communication, parent/child drug use attitudes, educational expectations and demographic measures of both parents and children. Preliminary results indicate that users of MDMA have higher educational attainment expectations than users of amphetamines and that membership in a step-family is positively associated with use of MDMA.
Fear of Crime, Criminal Victimization, and Community Policing: An Assessment of Citizen Perceptions
Using the recent data available frm the BJS/NCVS study of Criminal Victimization and Perceptions of Community Safety in 12 Cities (1998), we examine a variety of traditional assumptions about the relationship between fear of crime and actual criminal victimization, in the context of community policing. Multi-variate analysis techniques are used to control for a variety of respondent attitudes and perceptions toward their neighborhoods, their city and their local police services. Convergence and divergence with existing findings are presented. New theoretical directions are proposed.
Fear of Crime and Social Control: A Community-Level Analysis Across 100 Neighborhoods
Using data from a national probability sample, fear of crime is examined at the community level. For 100 communities, the aggregated data file includes telephone surveys of local residents and police agencies, 1990 census data, and crime rates derived from the Uniform Crime Reports. A multivariate regression analysis will focus on testing a comprehensive model for predicting fear of crime, with special attention to the role of formal and informal social control mechanisms.
Fear of Crime in Western Industrialized Countries: A Multilevel Analysis
This paper examines the degree to which differences in fear of crime can be explained by differences in individual charateristics and by differences in the level of crime in the countries under investigation. It is assumed that individual characteristics indicating vulnerability are important explanatory variables as well as victimization experiences. Furthermore, it is assumed that the level in crime in a country can explain fear of crime. To test the hypotheses the Internatinal Crime Victims Survey 2000 hold in 16 western industrialized countries is used (approximately 35,000 respondents). Multilevel analyzes were applied to analyze the data. The study shows that fear of crime is mainly determined to individual charateristics and only to a small extent to the level of crime in a country.
Federal Courts, State Prisons: Theories of Judicial Review in Prison Reform Litigation
Interest in federalism and theories of judicial review recently revived with the publication of Malcolm Feeley and Edward Rubin, Judicial Policy Making and the Modern State. This paper explores the theoretical justifications for judicial review of state prison reform litigation offered by federal courts and the scholarly literature they cite and their context. A natural set of classifications of theoretical justifications for judicial review that emerged are analytically and separately discussed in the paper. These include: historical “classical” theory, various legal realism “hidden logic” theories (critical and economic), “neo-classical” proceduralisms, and “dramaturgical” social consciousness theories of judicial review. The analysis suggests that the “dramaturgical” justifications are ascendent among these approaches and discusses the implications for the future of federal court judicial review of criminal justice organizations.
Federal Money Laundering Offenders: An Examination of Offense, Behavior and Sentencing
Congress made money laundering a federal offense in October, 1986 in an effort to curb the use of criminally derived proceeds by criminal organizations. The United States Sentencing Commission responded by promulgating money laundering guidelines that established punishment levels consistent with the serious offenses of concern to Congress. In the course of evaluating the severity and operation of the money laundering guidelines, the U.S. Sentencing Commission has recently concluded a data collection effort with a representative sample of money laundering offenders. This presentation will summarize major findings from this data collection effort, highlighting the types and scope of offenses that produced the laundered funds, details about money laundering practices and procedures, and current sentencing outcomes for these offenders. Discussion will also include recently proposed changes to the money laundering sentencing guidelines and their effects on sentencing outcomes.
Federal Violent Offender and Truth-in-Sentencing Incentive Grants: A National Assessment of the Impact on State Correctional Management and Privatization
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 created two federal incentive grant programs intended to encourage states to increase the length of time violent offenders spend in prison (Violent Offender Incarceration) and ensure that offenders serve at least 85 percent of their sentences (Truth-In-Sentencing). Among other potential outcomes of these grants, increasing the number of inmates in prisons and the amount of time served may have impacts on prison management and state’s use of private facilities. The paper will present results from a national assessment of the impact of Violent Offender Incarceration and Truth-In-Sentencing (VOI/TIS) grants on state prison management and use of privatization. Several state-level case studies were also conducted to gather more detailed assessment of the impact of these grants within individual jurisdictions.
Female Genital Mutilation: Torture or Rite of Passage
Female Genital Mutilation is a procedure that effects approximately 2 million girls and women a year in over 30 countries. It is an invasive procedure with painful and lifelong physical and psychological effects. Practitioners view it as a necessary, cultural rite of passage. Others view it as medically unnecessary torture that is detrimental to women’s health. As knowledge of the procedure grows, more people seek to bring an end to the practice. Laws have been passed against the procedure, doctors have been trained to treat victims, and educational policies have been created, all with the goal to reduce and hopefully end the practice, while maintaining respect for cultural beliefs and practices.
Female Opportunities Creating Unlimited Success–Gender Specific Programming in Practice
Recent reviews of the literature on delinquent girls demonstrates a clear need for gender specific programming. Traditional services have failed to address the unique needs of adolescent female offenders. My research focuses on one program which has made attempts to close the gender gap in programming and services for adolescent female offenders, combining traditional intensive supervision program with community building, family strengthening models and mental health support. In addition, it contributes an educational curiculum designed to address the unique factors of female offenders such as substance abuse, domestic violence, physical and sexual health and independent living skills. In this paper, I highlight the evaluative aspects of the program as well as indicators on which factors are successful in reducing recidivism rates for female offenders in the juvenile court system.
Female Self-Mutilation
Based on in-depth interviews with an opportunistic sample of female college students, this research investigates the seemingly growing phenomenon of female self-mutilation. We begin by looking at the ways that young women hear about this practice and their initial reactions to it. We then examine some of the factors that lead them to overcome their early revulsion to the practice and think about experimenting with it. Rather than thinking of it as self-destructive, most participants regard it as empowering. They seek ways to gain control over forces in their lives that leave them feeling confused, upset, and frustrated. Cutting gives them a way to focus their emotional turmoil on a discretely physical act, location, and sensation. We explain the phenomenology of the cutting, and the decision to cut again. We then look at the consequences of cutting, at how people act to conceal the stigmatizing scars that result. Various stigma management strategies are discussed. We conclude by examining this trend in light of other destructive deviant practices in which young women engage in American society, especially eating disorders, that serve similar functions, and how these engage with the female gender role.
Female Victimization and Offending: Exploring the Link Within the Context of Gangs
Research on female offending has established, and continually focused on, the role that women’s victimization experiences play in their criminal offending. The tendency to emphasize victimization (both the role of previous victimization experiences and the effort to prevent current/future victimization) has led many researchers to minimize or discount female offenders’ agency. Using data from a qualitative study of female gang in Boston, this paper examines members’ involvement in violent acts, and explores the connections between their victimization and offending experiences. Findings reveal a link between some females’ prior victimization experiences and their subsequent involvement in, and thoughts about, violent offending. Yet findings also suggest that females’ acts of violence may serve a variety of functions and are not strictly about preventing victimization. Like males, females sometimes engage in violence for practical or emotional benefits such as acts could provide: money/material goods, excitement/thrills, power/domination, status and so forth.
Feminist Social Thought and Police Response to Violence Against Women
The current study critically evaluates police response to woman abuse by examining “domestic assault” rules, procedures and programs within two large police departments in the United States and Canada. What police departments define as effective, adequate or even progressive police response to woman abuse calls for an understanding of the occupational culture of policing which is shaped and influenced by both the police organizational structure and the social economic order. It is argued that in order to stop the violence, women must gain feminist consciousness by beginning to analyze their experiences as gendered and political bodies and gain an understanding of women’s collective condition.
Feminization of Serial Killing
This presentation analyzes the personal backgrounds, occupations and methods of murder of a sample of individuals charged and/or convicted of serial killing since 1999. These recent serialists are compared to the 1998 research of Patricia Kirby Ph.D. on male and female serial murderers in female-dominated occupations. Kirby’s original hypotheses states “the gender identity of serial murderers strongly influences role and occupational selection but their occupation will determine their methods of murder.” The original research explores the gender identity of serialists who used covert (poisoning, suffocation, lethal injection) methods of murder. Findings in this study indicate that gender identity influenced the serialists in the selection of female-dominated occupations. However, while engaged in these occupations, the males practiced masculinity and the females practiced feminninity. Because the victim selection and murderous behavior occurred while working in care-giver roles, the use of covert methods is more consistent with the feminine roles and occupations than the serialist’s gendered behavior. Analysis of this additional sample of eight serialists indicates support of the original hypothesis. It appears as though one’s occupation, not gender, influences the selection of methods of murder.
Field Observations of Vehicular Speeding: Assessing Variations Across Demographic Groups and Places
The study of possible racial profiling has been limited by few studies of actual citizen vehicular behavior. Field tests of 14 sites in which the speeds of approximately 7,000 vehicles were measured are analyzed to show the extent of variation in speeding across demographic groups and across geographic spaces. Results arae discussed in terms of the generalizability of the results across time and place.
Forecasting Juvenile Correctional Needs: New Directions
Credible forecasts of juvenile correctional needs are essential for developing cost-effective juvenile justice policies. To be credible, forecasts must be accurate and perceived as legitimate. Unfortunately, many states use forecast models that are based on unfounded assumptions and minimal empircal modeling. Others do not rely on the expertise of policymakers and practitioners. As a result, the resulting forecasts are likely to be inaccurate and to be viewed with skepticism and mistrust. This paper describes key problems with how forecasts typically are produced. It then highlights an “ideal” process for producing forecasts, including demonstration of how to improve empirical estimation of future juvenile correctional needs.
Fortuitous Presence in Drug Free School Zones and Liability Under State and Federal School Yard Statutes
Both the federal government and a number of states have enacted statutes which prohibit certain types of conduct involving illicit drugs in or near schools. These statutes vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction in terms of whether they stand alone as separate offenses or serve as sentencing enhancement, and in terms of the types of defenses available. These statutes have been subject to a number of challenges over the years. Chief among them are constitutional claims that such statutes violate due process, violates the eight amendments prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, violate double jeopardy provisions, are over broad, are an invalid exercise of police power, and violate equal protection guarantees. A number of other claims have been due to the allegedly vague and arbitrary nature of statues which punished persons who were found with drugs in their vehicles while passing through school zones. It is this last type of claim which is the focus of this article. Although there has been a great deal of uniformity throughout the jurisdictions in courts’ decision to uphold school yard statutes against a wide variety of challenges, a review of the cases involving happenstane or “fortuitous” presence in school zones suggests that courts may under particular circumstances be willing to void for vagueness those schoolyard statutes while passing through.
Fraser River Reds: The Black Market in Sockeye Salmon, and the Criminalization of Indigenous People
A pilot study about the impact of treaty and laws regulating Pacific salmon revealed that non-indigenous fishers and processors believed First Nations people were taking salmon in violation of the Pacific Salmon Commission’s regulations and that they were participants in a black market in salmon. These beliefs are reinforced by news stories that describe how members of a First Nation band were caught entering the US with a truck full of black market salmon. These accounts, do not specify the prevalence of the black market (which most likely is quite small) or its impact on the fishery. However, they contribute to the notion that management and fish supply problems are caused by Indians. Constructing native fishers as criminals helps to dilute their claims not only to the salmon, but also undermines their legal and political rights at this time when the Canadian government is negotiating treaties with First Nation bands in British Columbia. It also obscures what else may be wrong with the fishery in the context of corporate consolidation of fisheries and the increased global sockeye market.
From African-American to Latino: The Impact of the Desegregation of Schools and Public Housing on Patterns of Homicide in Watts, Los Angeles
An extensive body of research addresses the impact of race and ethnic succession on community levels of crime and violence. Few studies, however, have examined the relationship between crime and the movement of Latinos into African-American communities. Our research evaluates changes in homicide between 1980 and 1999 in the Southeast area of Los Angeles, an impoverished area with a history of chronic violence in which Latinos have supplanted African Americans as the majority group. Over this time period, local schools and public housing projects were desegregated through decisions made outside of the local community context. Using micro-level data from police case files, we assess changes in the level and charateristics of homicide in light of these demographic and policy developments. Within-group homicides are expected to decrease while between-group homicides are expected to increase during the period. We expect the most pronounced changes to occur in youth homicides in and around the schools and public housing, especially in events involving gangs.
From Violent Juvenile Offenders to Dangerous Violent Criminals: A Test of Athens’ Theory
This paper provides a test of Athens’ theory of the creation of dangerous violent criminals. Using qualitative data from life history interviews with 25 juvenile offenders serving time in a state-run correctional facility, we consider the utility of this theory for explaining the serious violent offending of youths aged 18 or 19 at the time of the interview. Through analysis of transcripts of the interviews, wer are able to classify the subjects along the experiences depicted in the four stages of Athens’ model: brutalization, belligerency, violent performances, and virulency. Theoretical and policy implications are offered.
Funding Community Based Treatment and Prevention Programs Through Parole Reform: A Case Study of the Technical Parole Violation Process
Since parole and probation violators are now in many states the primary driver of correctional populations and nationally have grown at almost 8 times the rate of new commitments to prison in the last 7 years, a good deal of policy attention is now beginning to be paid to the parole system. My paper will specifically concentrate on technical parole violations or condition violators, which, again, in many states are far greater in numbers than violations for new arrests. The process by which parole officers decide to technically violate parolees is one that is not only little understood by the public but to most criminal justice practitioners as well. Most state parole divisions lack any clear processes or rules that are standardized and uniform as to who to violate for what and when. This paper will focus on the impact of this process for those with substance abuse and mental illness, how many of the technical violations revolve around the issues of drug abuse and mental illness and the almost complete lack of treatment resources in prisons to address the issues that caused the violation in the first place. This paper will propose community-based strategies (such as diversion to treatment) for preventing and supervising technical violators and a concomitant political and budget strategy for shifting resources from institutional to community based corrections and funding more treatment for this population.
G
Gambling on Crime: Can Punishment Actually Encourage Offending?
Under deterrence theory, an individual punished for a crime should be less likely to offend in the future. One reason for such specific deterrence is that punishment makes the potential costs from offending more salient, causing the individual to update, and indeed increase, their perception of the punishment risk. Yet several recent studies have found precisely the opposite–namely, individuals who have been punished for drunk driving perceive the probaility of being apprehended for drunk driving in the future to be lower than do individuals who have not been punished (Piquero and Paternoster, 1998; Piquero and Pogarsky, 2001). Using the survey responses of several hundred University undergraduates, this study tests two competing explanations for the finding above. Under the first, having been punished serves simply to identify the most committed offenders who, not surprisingly, view the probability of apprehension to be low. The second is based on research from judgment and decision-making studies documenting a “gambler’s fallacy” in the way individuals perceive chance processes. Under this explanation, once an individual is punished, they reset (reduce) their assessment of the probability of future apprehension, apparently believing they would have to be exceedingly unlikely to be apprehended again.
Gang Membership and Substance Use in a Representative Sample of Arizona High Schools
In 1988, the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission began collecting data at high schools on adolescents’ substance use. Schools from each of the 15 counties throughout Arizona were selected for participation in the Arizona Public School Substance Use Survey. Around 5000 students responded to an anonymus survey n 1993, and again in 1995 and 1997. In addition to responding to questions about substance use, participants answer a few questions about gangs. About 8% of the sample self-reported gang membership in 1993. As would be expected, gang members were more likely to have used alcohol and marijuana in the last thirty days than non-gang members (65% vs. 31% vs. 13% respectively). We will present additional information regarding race differences in gang membership and substance use, as well as analyses examining these relationships over time.
Gang Participation in a National Sample of Secondary School Students
A national probability sample of 16,014 secondary students in 311 schools were asked if they had “belong[ed[ to a gang that has a name and engages in fighting, stealing, or selling drugs” in the last 12 months. Gang participants are far more likely to be threatened or victimized in school, and they are more often afraid of being hurt or bothered in school and away from the school than are other students. Statistical models of the likelihood of gang participation imply that being male, not being non-Hispanic White or Asian; having low commitment to education, low belief in conventional rules, or delinquent peers; and feeling unsafe or fearful in school are associated with gang involvement. Gang participants are more involved with drugs than are other students; 18% of male gang participants and 1% of nonparticipants report using heroin (23% and .6% of girls) in the last 12 months. Gang participants are much more likely than other students to have carried a hidden weapon other than a pocket knife. Carrying a concealed weapon is strongly associated not only with gang participation but also with use of crack, heroin, cocaine, and other drugs. Rates of gang participation are high in unsafe schools.
Gangs and Native Americans
Recent reports by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Alliance of Gang Investigators Associations state that gangs of varying levels of sophistication can now be found on most American Indian reservations and that these gangs are accountable for the dramatic increase in violent crimes in Indian country over the past decade. This paper will examine the nature and extent of gang activities among Native Americans and attempts to address this problem.
Gangs and Shootings in South Manchester, UK
Youth gangs and gang related violence is of growing concern for the police and policy makers in the United Kingdom. In particular, gang related shootings have been increasing in Manchester in recent years. This paper will describe findings from recent research funded by the UK Home Office into gangs in South Manchester. The research forms part of a problem-oriented approach aimed at reducing gang related shootings in Manchester and in part follows the methodology of Operation Ceasefire in Boston, Massachusetts (Braga, et.al., 1999). The paper will describe the characteristics of youth gangs and gang members in South Manchester, UK. Focusing on the charateristics of the offenders and victims, it will describe the nature and extent of gang related shootings in this area over the last three years. The paper will seek to draw broad comparisons between the characteristics of youth gangs in the UK and the USA. It will also describe recent UK policies to tackle the problem and examine the progress of their impact.
Gangs in the Hood: The Influence of Street Gangs on Fear of Crime
Fear of crime has received considerable attention by criminologists, but this literature rarely considers gang issues. Recent research suggests that the determinants of fear of gang crime differ form other forms of fear, but the topic of how gang presence in neighborhoods may influence levels of fear has not been examined. This presentation addresses this concern by reporting survey data from community residents in five neighborhoods, three of which were identified by police gang experts as active gang areas and two, although comparably economically distressed, as areas without substantial gang activity. Self-admnistered surveys and personal interviews were conducted with about 900 randomly sampled residents in these five neighborhoods in the winter of 2000. Analyses consider whether residents’ perceptions of gang presence and intimidation in their neighborhoods predict to fear of crime. We also consider the relative contribution of gang factors as compared with other neighborhood indicators, such as disorder and social cohesion, as well as demographics and criminal victimization..
Gangsta Rap Music and Violence
Rap music has emerged as one of the most predominant forms of musical expression in America’s history. What originally started out as an art form consumed by the African American community, rap music has crossed racial and cultural boundaries and infiltrated the suburbs where many white youth are now the consumers. The problem with this form of musical expression is the lyrical content, which exists within gansta rap music. Gangsta rap music is characterized by its extremely violent nature, misognistic lyrics, excessive materialism, profanity, and general disregard for authority figures. It has been criticized for its negative impact on its consumers. The nature of gansta rap and its possible impact on American society will be examined and discussed in great detail.
Gender, Delinquency and Social Control Theory: Addressing a Persistent Critique
Hirschi’s Social Control Theory is routinely criticized for its inability to predict female delinquency. Yet research in this area is limited. Only a handful of past research explicity tests Social Control Theory’s ability to predice female offending vis a vis male offending. Additionally, many of these tests inadequately measure the central concepts of Hirschi’s Social Control Theory. Using replicates of Hirschi’s measures of attachment, commitment, involvement and belief, we test a model that accurately reflects the theoretical framework of Social Control Theory and shows the differential impact that elements of the theory have for boys’ and girls’ non-violent and violent offending.
Gender, Labor Market Stratification, and Urban Violence: Assessing the Direct and Indirect Linkages
While there is evidence that the economic transformation created a highly polarized labor market structure, in that low-skilled workers in the manufacturing sector were not among those employed by the expanding service industry, research focusing on the consequences of this economic transformation on women and urban families has not been offered. The purpose of this paper is to explore the direct and indirect linkages between labor market stratification, concentrated disadvantages and family structure on homicide rates disaggregated by race and gender. The overall goal is to offer a study that incorporates the dynamic process in which the economic restructuring of urban areas influences race- and gender- specific homicide. Using structural equation modeling, we are able to determine whether industrial restructuring is mediated by structural conditions (such as poverty, racial residential segregation) and family constructs when impacting our disaggregated homicide rates. The result is a better understanding of the disparities these groups face in urban areas.
Gender and Community Influences in Lethal and Non-Lethal Violence: Recent Findings From Miami
This paper uses census tract information and official police data in the city of Miami to describe the interrelationships among victims and offenders in serious nonlethal and lethal violence. The models are used to explore differences at the census tract level for incidents involving female and male victims, and for incidents of serious assault versus homicide. The models will be used to address the following research question: 1) Are homicides similar in spatial concentration, alcohol distribution, and relationship type to assault-centered levels? 2) What features of assault-centered networks are associated with elevated risk for homicide? It is possible that the community characteristics associated with assaults are different than those associated with homicides, or that cases with female victims are more heavily associated with dilapidated neighborhood conditions, as those with male victims-both key empirical questions to be addressed in this paper.
Gender and Crime Among Young Adults: Modeling Differences in Level and Developmental Processes of Violent and Non-Violent Offending in Males and Females at Age 18
Gender is a consistent correlate of offending, indicating that males are more involved than females (Chesney-Lind, 1989; Giordano & Cernkovich, 1997; Tolan & Lober, 1993). This study seeks to account for gender differences in offending by examining the ways in which social developmental processes leading to adult crime differ or are similar for males and females. For example, the social development model (Catalano & Hawkins, 1996) indicate that males and females may experience different opportunity and reward structures, interact with different peer groups, and develop different normative structures. The sample is from the Seattle Social Development Project, a longitudinal study of 808 youths interviewed annually from 19085 (at approximately age 10 years) to 1991 (age 16), and again in 1993 (age 18). The sample, which was selected to over-represent students from schools serving high-crime and low-income neighborhoods, is gender-balanced, ethnically diverse, with high retention rates (94% of the original sample were interviewed at age 18). Using multivariate analysis of variance and multiple group structural equation modeling, this paper examines the social developmental mechanisms during adolescence through which gender may affect offending at age 18. Implications of the findings are discussed with reference to incorporating gender differences into prevention research and programs.
Gender and Diversity: Exploring New Entanglements in Prime Time Crime
This study examines selected images of race, class, and gender in two news television crimes series on cable networks, Arts and Entertainment and Lifetime Television. Within the stylized format assoicated with crime dramas, the research question is this: how are actors “doing gender” while also “doing race and class” and what impact does this have on images of crime and violence, especially as they involve women. The study focuses on staged interactions, e.g. black female detective interacting with a white male suspect, to provide the rich description required for systematic assessment. Findings include: secondary networks far more inclusive in the selection of actors to play leading roles in crime dramas, the resulting diversity has enriched gender images, making them far more complex, and while the basic crime drama format remains unchanged, these shows open up new ways of thinking about crime.
Gender and Homicide in Rural Areas
With few exceptions, prior macro level research has been limited in scope to explaining variation in rates of homicide across urban communities. Moreover, few studies in this tradition have disaggregated their analyses by gender, despite the fact that there are considerable discrepancies in rates of male and female participation in violent crime as both victims and offenders. This analysis addresses these two voids in the literature by investigating the covariates of female homicide rates in nonmetrpolitan communities. The objectives of this study are to determine if the predictors of metropolitan homicide rates are generalizable to rural areas, and to evaluate the extent to which these factors can explain variation in rural female homicide.
Gender and Intimate Partner Violence Among African American Youths
Based on surveys and in-depth interviews with approximately 100 African American youths, this paper examines both the prevalence and nature of violence in adolescent intimate partner relationships. We describe the contexts in which violence occurs, as well as young women and young men’s attitudes and responses to intimate partner violence. The sample includes both young women and young men from three categories: serious, violent or chronic offenders; at-risk youths who are not serious offenders, and youths nominated by teachers as “resilient.” Implications of the research for prevention and intervention efforts will be discussed.
Gender and Reactions to Strain: A Latent-Variable Modeling Test of General Strain Theory
Previous research on the application of Agnew’s general strain theory (GST) to gender differences in strain and deviant coping is limited not only in number but in model specification. First, previous researchers failed to include negative-emotional reactions to strain, the key variable distinguishing GST from other theories. Second, few sudies examined gender differences in interactions involving reactions to strain and conditioning factor, for which we focus on religiosity. Based on mental health and religiosity literatures as well as GST, we hypothesize that (1) women tend to experience more distress but engage in less deviance in reaction to strain then men; (2) this emotion-behavior inconsistency is partly explained by higher religiosity among women than men; and (3) the protective, main and interactive, effects of religiosity are greater for men given the lower prevalence of religious involvement among men than women. Data to test these hypotheses are drawn from a nationally representative survey of the adult African American population. Structural equation modeling is applied to estimate a latent-variable model of distress and deviant coping and to conduct multiple-sample covariance structure analysis, whereas two-stage least squares technique is employed to estimate interactions between two latent variables, distress and religiosity.
Gender and Sentencing: An Examination of Florida’s Truth in Sentencing Policy
Women comprise the fastest growing population of those being sentenced to prison. Many criminologists contend that increases in the population of incarcerated women are due, not to changes in criminal involvement, but to changes in criminal justice policies. They contend, for example, that the leniency or chivalry once afforded women in sentencing is no longer as prevalent as it once was. In particular, it is argued that the move away from indeterminate sentencing towards more determinate models has served to equalize the punishment of men and women, thereby leading to more pronounced increases in incarceration for women compared to men. The present study examines the impact of the statewide “truth in sentencing” legislation enacted in Florida in 1995 on the likelihood of incarceration, sentence length, as well as time served for both male and female offenders. The analysis for both groups will include an examination of the impact of race, offense type, prior record, and various county-level contextual characteristics, such as racial composition and crime rates, on sentencing outcomes.
Gender and the Stress Process: The Significance of Interpersonal Autonomy for Depression and Criminal Behavior
Drawing from social psychological theories of stress and strain, I use a representative sample of 1,800 young adults in Miami-Dade County, Florida, to investigate relationships between gender, stress, and two outcomes: depression ande criminal behavior. I also assess the extent to which interpersonal autonomy–a traditionally masculine attribute–is beneficial or damaging for social and psychological well-being. Findings suggest that women average higher depression, men average higher criminal behavior, ande stress exposure increases risk for both outcomes. Interpersonal autonomy reduces risk for depression among both young men and women, but its effect on criminal behavior is conditioned by gender. For men, autonomy increases the odds of participation in crime. For women, autonomy reduces engagement in crime until a thresholde level, at which autonomy elevates criminal behavior. The results speak to the limits of examining single stress outcomes and qualify conditions under which masculine attributes, like autonomy, may act as a psychosocial resources or detriments in the stress process.
Gender Differences in Delinquent Trajectories: The Mediating Roles of Family Relationships and Peer Influence
It is undeniable that girls and boys involved in the juvenile justice system share many of the same or similar characteristics, with considerable overlap in the causes/correlates of offending. Despite the similarities between male and female juvenile offenders, some scholars argue that the substantial developmental and social differences between females and males shape gender differnces in type, frequency, context, and pathways of delinquent behavior. Factors that have been identified as chief causes of female delinquent behavior include histories of victimization and severe family dysfunction. Female delinquency has been typically traced back to severe problems in intimate/family relationships and less often to outside family influences. This is not to say that boys are not vulnerable to family strain, but that other pressures (e.g. peer influence and opportunities for crime) are sufficiently strong to create alternate pathways to delinquency. Using a sample of boys and girls participating in a longitudinal study on the family, this paper examines gender differences in frequency and context of official reports of juvenile delinquency and investigates gender differences in delinquent trajectories through the mechanisms of attachment to family and peer influence.
Gender Differences in Deterrence: A Survey of Male and Female Inmates
While the literature on deterrence is well developed, cirtually no work addresses gender differences in deterrence dyanamics. Drawing on a survey of approximately 400 male and 400 female inmates currently serving time in a large state prison, we examine gender differences in perceived costs and benefits associated with committing crimes. Results indicate that women emphasize different costs associated with incarceration than men do. Specifically, women are more likely to identify costs associated with the loss of family, kin, and community support systems, as well as separation from children and family members for whom they may have been primary care-givers. Men are less likely to identify these “costs” as very important reasons for desisiting from crime. Women seem to view incarceration as more punitive than men, and this is partly due to the geographic separation from their home communities, as well as the possible loss of custody of children and reduction in family and home community contacts. As a consequence, women are more willing to serve community-based sanctions than are men, and are willing to serve longer durations of these sanctions. Findings have implications for deterrence and rational choice theories and correctional policy.
Gender Differences in Drug Use, Health, and Health Service Utilization Among Incarcerated Substance Abusers
While research in the past few years inplies women’s substance abuse issues may be different than men, a commonality is that drug and alcohol use are often linked to criminal justice involvement (Leukefeld & Tims, 1992). Limited research focusing on gender differences in substance abuse and related problems among criminal justice populations indicates that women more frequently report mental health problems, employment issues, history of sexual abuse, and a history of family problems (Peters, et al., 1997; Sheridan, 1996; Wallen, 1992). However, relatively little is kown about how health problems and service utilization differ among incarcerated male and female substance abusers. For this presentation, 120 prisoners sampled from the NIDA-funded Health Services (Use by Chronic Rural Drug Abusers project were selected for gender comparisons. The analysis includes 60 women interviewed for the project and a sample of 60 men. Preliminary analyses indicate that males engaged in substance abuse earlier than females, females reported increased use of cocaine during the 30 days prior to incarceration as well as more years of regular cocaine use. In general, females reported more health problems and more service utilization than men. Implications for developing gender specific services for incarcerated substance abusers will be discussed.
Gender Differences in Negative Affect and Behavioral Responses to Strain: A Test of General Strain Theory
Theoretical discussions of general strain theory have suggested that the model may operate differently for females and males. Previous research has already examined the effects of strain on delinquecy by gender. The present study builds on this research by expanding the general strain model to include negative affect and by predicting alternative behavioral responses in addition to delinquency. Using deata collected from 1,674 students attending high school and middle school, four models are assessed: the effects of strain and anger on delinquency, the effects of strain and depression on delinquency, the effects of strain and anger on eating disorders, and the effects of strain and depression on eating disorders. Each of these models examines females and males separately.
Gender Differences in Psychiatric Diagnosis in Incarcerated Youth
Mental health assessments in the juvenile justice system are generally not based on “best practices” for standardized, comprehensive assessment. In earlier work we determined that self-assessments via computerized structured diagnostic interviews (Voice C-DISC/TV) are feasible and yield meaningful prevalence rates for justice system youth. Our earlier work examined rates of psychiatric diagnosis in males at juvenile reception center facilities in Illinois and New Jersey, documenting high levels of mental health need. Current work examines the prevalence of psychiatric disorder in both males and females (125 of each) in South Carolina’s Northeast Orientation and Assessment Center. We present findings regarding the presence/absence of general differences in disorder, in diagnostic profiles, and in degree of comorbidity. We will relate diagnostic information to existing data on offense history and demographic features. The first step in developing gender-appropriate programming is determining the degree to which, and the ways in which, risks and needs differ or do not differ across sex. Meeting the mental health needs of youth of both sexes depends upon accurate identification.
Gender Differences in Resilience Among Abused and Neglected Children Grown-Up
An extensive literature has documented negative outcomes associated with childhood victimization. This presentation has three goals: (1) to operationalize the construct of resilience across a number of domains of functioning and time periods; (2) to determine the extent to which abused and neglected children grown-up demonstrate resilience; and (3) to determine whether there are gender differences in resilience among abused and neglected children grown-up. Substantiated cases of child abuse/neglect from 1967 to 1971 were matched on gender, age, race, and approximate family social class with non-abused and non-neglected children and followed prospectively into young adulthood. Between 1989 and 1995, 1,196 participants (676 abused and neglected and 520 controls) were administered a two-hour-in-person interview, including a psychiatric assessment. Resilience is assessed across six of eight domains of functioning using self-report and official record information. Results indicate that 22% of abused and neglected individuals meet the criteria for resilience. More females met the criteria for resilience and females were successful across a greater number of domains than males. We speculate on the meaning of these findings and discuss implications for the child maltreatment field. Limitations of the study are also acknowledged.
Gender Differences in the Criminal Consequences of Childhood Victimization in the Northwest
This presentation examines the extent to which there are gender differences in criminal consequences associated with early childhood victimization, using a cohort of abused and neglected children from the Northwest region of the country from 1980-1985 who were followed up through age 24 and compared with a matched comparison group of children. We will examine whether there are gender differences in the extent of increase in risk for delinquency, adult criminality, and violent criminal behavior in this new sample of abused and neglected children (n=877) and matched controls (n=877) and risk for specific types of crimes. Implications of these findings for the common assumption that males externalize and females internalize their pain and suffering will be discussed as well as implications for research and policy.
Gender Differences in the Criminal Consequences of Early Childhood Victimization in the Midwest
This presentation examines the extent to which there are gender differences in the criminal consequences of early childhood victimization. Data are from a prospective cohorts design study of the consequences of childhood abuse anhd neglect which involves a follow-up and comparison of official criminal histories for a large sample of physically and sexually abused and neglected children (n=908) and matched controls (n=667). These cases of child maltreatment are based on court substantiated cases during the years 1967-1971 and were located in a midwestern metropolitan county area. Gender differences will be examined to determine the extent to which males and females react differently to these early childhood experiences, while controlling for type of abuse or neglect, age, and race of the individual. Findings will be discussed in the context of the prevention and treatment implications.
Gender Differences in the Impact of Child Maltreatment on Early Adult Criminality in the Rochester Youth Development Study
Results from several longitudeinal studies converge in finding that childhood maltreatment is a risk factor for a range of problem outcomes including crime, violence and drug use. Previous investigations employing Rochester Youth Development Study data (RYDS) have investigated adolescent outcomes of official maltreatment, which affects 20% of study participants. In the current analysis, we investigate gender differences in young adult outcomes including arrest, self-reported offending, violence, and drug abuse. This paper will address these issues using data from RYDS, a longitudinal investigation of the development or delinquent behavior in a high-risk sample of 1,000 urban youth followed from age 13 to adulthood. The sample includes 73% male ane 27% female subjects. Subjects are 68% African American, 17% Hispanic, and 15% White. Subjects are interviewed at regular intervals through approximately age 22. We control for confounding variables, including gender, poverty, family structure, and race/ethnicity in our analyses, and discuss implications of the findings. Gender differences in patterns of maltreatment, as well as in outcomes will be presented, and further implications for research and intervention will be discussed.
Gender Differences in the Probability of Problem Cannabis Use: A Matter of Exposure or Vulnerability?
Although overall rates of adolescent cannabis use have risen in the Ontario, the pattern of use appears to differ by gender. While preliminary analyses of the 1997 wave of the Ontario Student Drug Use Survey (OSDUS) reveal no significant gender difference in the probability of cannabis use, a significant difference is observed in the progression to problem cannabis use. Male adolescents are significantly more likely to indicate problem cannabis use than females. This paper examines to what extent this gender difference can be explained in terms of exposure or vulnerability. Drawing on these concepts from the mental health literature, I examine whether male adolescents are exposed to a greater number of stressors than females or if they are more vulnerable to their effects. The implications of these findings and suggestions for intervention are discussed.
Gender Patterns in Youth Homicide Victimization in the United States, 1993-1998
This paper examines state-to-state variation in the rates of male and female race-specific youth (12-21) homicide victmization for the time period 1993-1998. Data from the National Center for Health Statistics, Vital Statistics (death certificates) are used to create gender and race-specific rates for the fifty U.S. states. Social-structural inequality is used as the theoretical framework to explain state-to-state variation in male and female youth homicide victimization. Recent literature assessing changes in the youth homicide victimization rate will be reviewed. This paper will pay particular attention to recent changes in the rate of female youth homicide victimization and the most recent literature that has attempted to explain these changes.
Gender Role and Ideology and Male Violence Against Women
A number of explanations have been offered to explain male violence against women. Cultural norms supporting unequal family power structures or traditional gender roles play a key role in many of these explanations and may help explain some of the variation in patterns of male violence. This study uses data from the first and second waves of the National Survey of Families and Households to examine the relationship between attitudes about appropriate gender roles and patterns of male physical violence in a sample of approximately 3,000 married and cohabiting couples. The results revealed that couples in which the female partner held more egalitarian attitudes and the male partner held less egalitarian attitudes were more likely to be persistently violent.
Gendered Application of Contempt as a Justification for Securely Detaining Juveniles
Several theorists have hypothesized that juvenile court judges are circumventing the proscription of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (“JJDPA”), which prohibits the secure confinement of status offenders, by securely detaining status offenders for contempt. It has also been suggested that girls may be especially likely to be securely detained as a result of violating a valid court order. This study uses descriptive and multivariate techniques to examine the demographic and legal variables associated with receiving secure detention for violating a valid court order and to assess the degree to which the spirit, if not the letter, of the JJDPA’s core requirement of deinstitutionalizing status offenders is being violated because of the exemption permitting juvenile court judges to securely detain children found in contempt.
Gendered Perceptions of Relationship Violence Among Urban Youth: The Effects of Domestic Violence Prevention Education
A growing awareness of physical, sexual, and emotional violence among urban youth has created the need for community partnerships to combat domestic violence. These collaborations attempt to provide teenagers with the necessary tools to make positive relationship decisions. Statistics suggest that one in four teenagers will experience violence in dating relationships. Research indicates youth perceptions of domestic violence are gendered. Early intervention in junior and senior high school settings provide the best opportunity to educate youth about relationship violence. Domestic violence education should use various learning styles to reach as many students as possible. Emergent strategies should be proactive, holistic, and ongoing. Our paper examines the unique collaboration between a domestic violence shelter and the city’s police department to develop domestic violence prevention education in local schools. These agencies created PAVE (Preventing Abuse and Violence through Education), a relationship violence education program for youth. Seeking more effective ways to provide education, PAVE sought the help of the city’s Parks and Recreation and a local university. The effort centered on the production of No Rhyme or Reason, a play created to address issues surrounding relationship violence including potential warning signs, types of abuse, and key aspects of healthy interpersonal relationships. The data are drawn from observations, interviews, and surveys conducted over a six-month period. Interviews were conducted with the actors prior to reading the play’s script and receiving domestic violence prevention education, and again at the end of the production. Surveys were completed by 1200 youth following performances at local junior and senior high schools. Our analysis explores the gendered perceptions of healthy and abusive relationships, and examines how perceptions varied according to age, race/ethnicity and the impact of previous exposure to domestic violence prevention education.
General Strain, Delinquency, and Gang Membership
Until recently, research examining risk factors for delinquency and gang membership has been dominated by either the social control or the social learning school, thus our knowledge of risk factors at the micro level remains more limited, particularly in institutionalized juvenile populations. To date, no research has been conducted on incarcerated youths utilizing the tenets of general strain theory. As such, this represents a gap in the literature. To that end, the purpose of this study is a partial test of general strain theory to examine the issues of delinquency and gang membership in a group of juvenile offenders institutionalized in the Texas Youth Commission.
Getting Randomized Field Trials Done: The USA, U.K., and Australian Experience
The support for randomized controlled experiments in criminology has waxed and waned over the past 30 years. The reasons in the US appear to be linked to social networks attached to key policymakers, such as the IJ Directors. The reasons in the UK, for example, appear to be linked more directly to government policy, and the influence of the Treasury (their OMB) on the way the government spends its money. As one who has sought funding for experimental criminology on three continents, the author offers several hypotheses to explain recent history and predict the near-run future of funding for RCTS in crime prevention.
Getting Tough on Probationers: Back to Basics
Recently, there has been much discussion about the “reinvention of probation”. The number of probation programs specifically aimed at greater offender accountability has increased as a result. Zero-tolerance probation, as a strictly enforced form of graduated sanctions, is analyzed to assess program efficacy. Individual level data on participants of a zero-tolerance program are analyzed to determine the deterrent effect of such programs on recidivism. Results from a preliminary analyses are presented. Policy implications of the findings are discussed with recommendations for probation agencies interested in such an approach.
Girl Fight: Female Against Female Violence and Victimization Among Mexican American Adolescents
This paper is part of a Center for Disease Control (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control funded study, based on 150 life history interviews and field observations of females associated with 27 different male gangs. Of significant note of this study, is the sampling methodology based upon random community sampling which sets it apart from previous investigations of violence and delinquency among adolescents. In addition, this study is unique in that it exclusively involves young Mexican American women (ages 14-18), a population that has been generally excluded from the literature. Contrary to some studies that depict females’ perpetration of violence as a response to their own victimization, this study portrays women as both the aggressors and the victims of violent episodes. The study examines the factors involved in female against female violence including victim-offender relationships and weapon use as well as extenuating (e.g. drug-use or self-defense) and precipitating circumstances. Using qualitative and quantitative data, the study focuses on and describes the situational and contextual elements of female perpetrated violence in schools and neighborhoods. We argue that in order to better understand female perpetrators of violence, we must consider the impact of peer relationships and community characteristics within the violent situations. The study contributes to the investigation of the motives and origins of female violent behavior.
Girls’ Delinquency and Violence: Making the Case for Gender-Responsive Programming
Increases in girls’ arrests have dramatically outstripped those of boys for most of the last decade. Girls now account for one out of four arrests, and attention is being called to the fact that their arrests for non-traditional, even violent, offenses are among those showing the greatest increases. These shifts and changes all bring into sharp focus the need to better understand the dynamics involved in female delinquency and the need to tailor responses to the unique circumstances of girls growing up in the new millennium. This paper examines the prevalence of female juvenile delinquency and reviews the literature from a sociological and practice perspective. Specifically, we focus attention on girls’ aggression and violence and argue that close analysis of the data indicates that changes in arrests of girls for certain violent offenses reflect complex changes in the policing of girl’s aggression (including the arrest of girl’s for minor forms of family violence) rather than actual changes in girls’ behavior. We compare what’s happening to girls in the United States to the experiences of delinquent girls in Canada. Finally, we briefly review trends in the treatment of girls by the juvenile justice system, and we discuss the emerging literature on promising interventions with girls.
Girls, Their Children and Delinquency
This work reviews teenage pregnancy and its real and perceived relationship to delinquent behavior. An analysis of previous studies examining this relationship is provided in order to assess the merit of established claims that teenage pregnancy plays a role in youthful offending. A series of questions will be addressed, such as: Are teens who get pregnant more delinquent that those who do not? Are the children with teenage mothers more delinquent than those born to older females?: The study will place the findings in the context of a gendered society which maintains a sexual double standard for females and males.
Girls in Trouble in Georgia: Who They Are, What They Need, and How the Systems Set Up to Help Them Often Set Them Up to Fail
The media, politicians and what has become a “common knowledge” promote the image of female juvenile delinquents as more numerous and more violent than in the past. While arrest and court data support the fact that the number of girls being processed through the juvenile justice system has increased in recent years, the numbers alone fail to present an accurate picture of these girls and their lives. This paper will provide a comprehensive profile of female juvenile delinquents in Georgia, including offense trends over the past 25 years and changes in the systems set up to respond. Information will be gathered from statistical files, case files, visits to programs, interviews with staff from the Department of Juvenile Justice and other programs that serve girls, and from the girls themselves. The question of whether the problem is due to more “bad apples” (girls) or inadequate baskets (support and response systems) will be addressed. Girls’ special needs and suggestions for more effective interventions will be discussed.
“Go and Sin No More”: Therapy and Exorcism in the Contemporary Rhetoric of Deviance
Since the enlightenment, supernatural notions of demonic intervention in human affairs have largely been rendered obsolete by developments in social and behavioral science, and these ideas are commonly derided. In modern thought, acts once regarded as sinful are rather to be treated as personal or social dysfunctions. yet despite a change in rhetoric, and a shift to medical language, older views of evil remain clearly in view. In this paper, I will discuss the survival, and indeed revival, or revival of older demonic concepts of evil in modern discussions of wrongdoing. I will concentrate on the traditionally conceived sin of lust, and its modern manifestation in sex crime. I will suggest that much contemporary rhetoric about sex crime resembles older ideas of possession, in that the acts are seen not merely as isolated phenomena but as conditions integral to the individual, which can probably never be cured. In addition, affected individuals are believed to suffer from an overwhelming compulsion to repeat their misdeed with great frequency. This is especially true of crimes like child molestation, rape, and sexual murder. In many ways, we are dealing here with a thought-world reminiscent of ancient notions of possession — and that notion itself has enjoyued a substantial revival through theories of multiple personalityl In summary, I argue that the supposed secularization of attitudes to wrongdoing is largely illusory, and modern notions retain what are clearly pwoerful and widespread intuitive beliefs about the nature and causation of evil.
Gun Suicide and Homicide, Young Black Males
This is a study of the relationship between suicide and homicide of black males 15-24 years old over the past 20 years. Although homicides outnumber suicides ten to one, the two death types had almost identical trends. They rose through the mid-1990s and have dropped since then. The rise and fall are due almost solely to gun homicides and suicides. The purpose of the research is to sort out the reasons for the similarity in trends. There are many possibilities: a general increase in gun availability might have caused both to rise, guns obtained to commit murder might have been used for suicides, the rise in suicides might have been due to misclassifications of gun homicides as gun suicides, or the apparent relationship might be coincidence.
H
Handgun Purchase as a Risk Factor for Death Injury
Fear of crime and the need for protection are the most common reasons for the purchase of a handgun in the U.S. Several small case control studies have suggested that handgun ownership is a risk factor for violent death. We report the results of a study of recent handgun purchase, as opposed to handgun ownership, as a risk factor for violent death. The study population consists of all persons 21 years of age or older dying in California in 1998 (221,317 persons). Cases are defined as all persons dying from an external cause. Controls are all persons dying from a non-external cause. The critical exposure is the purchase of a handgun within three years prior to death. Logistic regression will be used to calculate odds ratios, adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, and urban/rural location. Study hypotheses are that recent handgun purchasers will be at selectively increased risk for violent death, and that risk will be greatest for death involving firearms. Data will be presented on the proportion of persons dying from seleted causes n 1998, particularly firearm suicide and homicide, who purchased handguns within three years of death.
Hate Crimes in Pennsylvania 1984-1999: Case Characteristics and Police Responsive Action
In order to better understand factors related to the occurrence and processing of hate crimes, we examined all 2,075 reports of hate crimes incidents to the Pennsylvania Human relations Commission during the 15-year period, 1984-1998. Of particular interest is how victim, offender, and offense characteristics affect the involvement of local police and other law enforcement agencies in response to hate crimes. In addition, this study explores how county-level contextual factors, such as poverty, ethnic heterogeneity, and education level, might moderate the occurrence and processing of hate crimes.
Hate Crimes of the Old West
The legends of the Old West have produced a mythology which has been accepted as fact by many. The genocidal treatment of the Native Americans has been examined by several authors and forced a new look at such “history”. Other groups (Chinese, Irish, African-descended) have been subjected to hate crimes and genocidal treatment during the same period. Some of these incidents and their “sanitzation” will be examined.
He’s Not My Brother… He’s My Friend: A Qualitative Examination of Inmate Friendship
This study investigates the friendship networks of inmates. In-depth, open-ended questions examined the formation and maintenance of inmate social networks. Both external and internal friendships were discussed. Factors that contribute to the formation of inmate friendships relate to the inmates’ hometown, type of crime convicted of, institutional programs, age, and inmate activities. Maintenance of friendships relates to the inmates’ hometown, inmate activities, age, and social status within the institution. Several maxims were discussed and might suggest the existence of an inmate code and prison culture. The effects of race were downplayed by inmates as a central feature in the prison culture. The inmates offered that a new culture revolves around popular culture.
Head Injury and Criminal History Among Substance-Abusing Prisoners
As part of the NIDA-funded Health Services Use by Chronic Rural Drug Abusers project, 661 male prisoners completed a face-to-face baseline interview with research staff before their parole. Criminal history information was abstracted from state official records databases. One-third of the sample (33%) received prison-based substance abuse treatment prior to their release. The majority of the prisoners (68%) had a history of closed-head injury, and about one-third (30%) of them had sustained more than one injury. The primary causes of these injuries included, auto accidents (32%), fights (28%), and accidents at work (22%). Head injury was significantly associated with more extensive criminal histories. Specifically, higher rates of property crime were evident among those with head injuries. For example, 37% of those who reported 1 injury and 47% of those reporting 2 or more injuries. Higher rates theft, criminal mischief, and wanton endangerment also were evident among those who reported 2 or more injuries. Substance abuse treatment for incarcerated substance users may need to be tailored to meet the needs of prisoners with histories of brain injury.
Health Realization: A Principle-Based Positive Psychology of Youth Development
While we have numerous research-based programs for youth aimed at curbing drug-use, violence, suicide, teen pregnancy, and other problem behaviors, we lack a rigorous principle-based applied psychology of positive youth development. Instead of focusing on fixing what is assumed to be missing or broken in at-risk youth, we need theoretical models that reveal pathways whereby children and adolescents become motivated, directed, socially competent, compassionate, and psychologically vigorous adults. While the emerging field of positive psychology is attempting to shift the field’s emphasis from understanding and treating dysfundtion to facilitating well-being and resiliency, it appears to lack a principle based foundation and thus, continues to emphasize external causes of positive affect and behavior. This paper offers, for the field’s consideration, a principle-based positive psychology commonly referred to in the literature as health realization (HR). The underlying principles of HR are delineated, contemporary research evidence in support of its major assumptions cited, and results of applied HR research with at-risk youth in clinical, educational, and community empowerment settings described.
Hiding in the Adaptive Landscape: The Five-Factor Model and the Criminal Personality
Although the Five Factor Model, or the “Big Five,” is often thought to constitute a comprehensive model of the human personality, it does not explain a great deal of variance in offending. This creates a conundrum: a theory of personality that fails to address one of the most salient features of human social existence whether a person can be trusted can hardly be considered “comprehensive.” A solution might be found by examining the nature of both the Five Factor Model and crime itself. David Buss has suggested that dimensions representing the Big Five attributes form the “adaptive landscape”: they allow a person to participate in, and benefit from, reciprocal social interactions. People predict whether others can be trusted by assessing their personality attributes, and will avoid the untrustworthy. A persistent cheater who can deceive others (as well as the self) as to his or her true scores on the Big Five dimensions will retain the opportunity to cheat others. Therefore, attributes beyond the Big Five may improve the prediction of offending. The present exploratory research adds measures of attributes more closely related to an overtly deceptive adaptive strategy (approach to life) to the Big Five in order to predict offending.
Hirschi and Religion: An Expansion of Social Control Theory
Travis Hirschi’s social control theory has been one of the most frequently tested in the criminological literature. However, the most recent tests fail to include an important indicator of the social bond, namely religion. In an attempt to add to that specific body of research as well highlight my effort at expanding Hirschi’s theory; I have included religion as an additional arena in which to measure the social bond. Reported results address the effects of Time 1 bonding on Time 2 delinquency utilizing a path analysis and two waves of data.
Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Homicide: A Comparison of Offender, Victim, and Situational Factors Over Time
Using data from the Supplemental Homicide Reports (SHR), the current paper explores the offender, victim, and situational characteristics that underlie Hispanic and non-Hispanic homicide. Comparisons are made over time and across age groups, focusing on the differences and similarities between Hispanic and non-Hispanic youth. Unique and common profiles are found among each group. The results are then discussed in terms of their implications for theoretical development and public policy.
Hispanic Crime in Texas, California, and New Mexico: Similarities and Differences With Anglo and African American Crime
Studies examining Mexican-American crime trends are lacking in the current literature. Data that delineate ethnic identity are not readily available. This study offers an analysis of state level Uniform Crime Report data in an attempt to identify Hispanic crime trends in Texas, California, and New Mexico. Although all persons identified as Hispanic in these data will not necessarily be of Mexican-American descent an examination of general demographic data suggest that most will. Just as each ethnic group in the United States has its own experience, the Mexican-American experience is unique. While many Mexican-Americans did not immigrate to the United States, but were instead enveloped into the United States following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), many others have since immigrated. The oppression of Mexican-Americans has depended on many factors throughout U.S. history including immigration and geographic location. This work tests a previously developed critical theory of Mexican-American crime that considers the history and geography of Mexican-American oppression. The theory suggests that the criminal behavior of Hispanics in New Mexico will more closely resemble that of Anglos in that state while the criminal behavior of Hispanics in Texas and California will more closely resemble African Americans in those states.
Historical Child Abuse Investigations: The Experiences of the Survivors
During recent years police forces throughout the United Kingdom have launched investigations into historical cases of abuse in residential, group and foster homes for children and youth. Indeed, all but two of the 49 mainland forces have completed or are working on such inquiries. This paper is based on an analysis of one such investigation, which involved both the Police and Social Service Departments. It draws on interviews conducted of a sample of victims/survivors who were involved in the investigation. Rather than focusing on their experience of the abuse, the interviews concentrated on the effect upon them of the process of the investigation itself, including making the complaint, giving statements and evidence, and support from both police and social workers. The authors review the implications of the victim/survivors’ stories, and identify a number of lessons for future investigations of this kind.
Homosexual Homicide and Arson: Is There a Connection?
Criminal justice professionals have often asked if arson attacks were in any way associated with the victim having a homosexual orientation. Previous research has indicated there is a connection. This paper focuses on examining what is known about arson-homicide, and explores the symbolic role fire plays during attacks on homosexual, bisexual and transexual victims and its shared meanings. Arson, an extremely prevalent crime in Minnesota, was recently labeled the number one cause of fire in the state and is sometimes associated with death in heterosexuals. But arson is also implicated as an element in cases of homosexual homicide, along with overkill, or body mutilation. Sadism, the inflicting of pain for sexual arousal or sexual pleasure is a paraphilia that may help link the fire and homosexual connection. Mutilation by burning is commonly associated with “hate-arson” assaults. The literature has been searched to examine the prevalence of anti-gay arson cases and associated articles on this topic. Several cases will be offered as examples. The result shows a clear correlation between fire and homosexual homicide.
Hoosiers Hoosegows: Jails in the Heartland
This paper focuses on the current state of the 92 jails in the state of Indiana. State jail inspection reports are analyzed to provide information about law enforcement, jail and judicial policies and their relationship to the incarceration rate, the number of beds per thousand population, the amount of overcrowding, the number of waived juveniles, and the number and kind of jail programs available to the inmate population. The authors examine the theoretical positions and attitudes of local justice practitioners which might result in such policies and practices.
Hot Spots of Lead (Pb) and Crime: An Empirical Examination of the Association Between High Lead Index Concentrations and High Homicide Areas in Chicago, 1989-1991
Sufficient medical evidence exists to suggest that exposure to lead (Pb) increases aggressive and violent behavior at the individual level. In this paper, we expand upon this finding by examining whether there is a broader geographic association between lead hot spots (areas with high lead concentrations) and homicide hot spots (areas with high levels of homicide). We perform this analysis to determine whether evidence of a relationship between lead and violence at the individual level is evident at higher levels of aggregation. The data for this study includes all census tracts in the city of Chicago. Homicide hot spots were estimated using three year totals (1989-1991). Lead hot spots were eestimated employing the lead concentration index developed in the epidemiological literature. Relevant crime correlates were added to the model. The sociological and radical implications of this research are discussed.
How American Law and the Internet Shaped Domestic Right Wing Extremism
Over the past two decades certain white supremacists and right-wing extremists have been particularly effective at incorporating new technology into their tactical regimen. The Internet, in particular, has played an important role for extremists eager to adapt to changing ideologies, membership, economics, and legal realities. This paper will analyze how the Internet emerged as a tool of choice for far right extremists at a time when they were faced with declining membership and recruitment opportunities, civil lawsuits, hate speech laws (outside the United States), increasing operational costs, and difficulties in promoting their rhetoric and strategies to potential allies through other media.
How Far Down the Rabbit Hole Are You Willing to Go?
There has been a new research area generated by recent designer drug use in the United States. Most notably, individuals taking “dance drugs” such as ecsasy (MDMA) have become increasing targets of law enforcement and anti-drug campaigns. However, despite all the political rhetoric there has been very little systematic research concerning this type of substance user. This particular phenomenon poses a new challenge for verteran substance abuse researchers in the field. This paper examines exactly what those challenges are in relation to subject recruitment, subject retention, ethical boundaries/dilemmas, and the guise of research confidentiality as it applies to qualitative drug research.
Human Experimentation in the Canadian Federal Penitentiary System
From the late 1950 through to the mid-1970s, hundreds of Canadian federal prisoners were used as subjects in a variety of experiments. These included clinical trials of pharmaceuticals such as penicillin, sedatives and LSD as well as anti-bacterial agents and pesticides. Other studies focused on sensory deprivation, pain tolerance, electroshock and narcoanalysis (drug induced hypnosis). While pharmaceutical companies funded many of these research projects, financial support was also received from the federal government. Despite the fact that some of these experiments were reported in scholarly journals and autobiographical accounts, the general public remained largely unaware or uninterested. However, in the wake of recent legal action, much interest and controversy surrounds these prison experiments. Using archival data, correspondence, reports, newspaper accounts and interviews, this presentation critically examines the experiments. It will be argued that the prison experimentation resulted from the intersection of penal, scientific and political interests including: the dominance of a rehabilitative philosophy and medical model within the penitentiary system; advances in and the heavy promotion of pharmaceuticals; academic arrogance; and the Cold War. The gendered, racialized, classist and homophobic nature of the experiments will be emphasised and parallels to current penal practices will be drawn.
Hung Juries: An Empirical Look
Why juries are sometimes unable to reach a verdict is an issue along on anecdote and short on research. Hung juries are said to be the product of the jury’s racial or class incompatibility or the conspiracy theories, hostility to police, irrationality, and religiosity of the holdout jurors. Yet, surprisngly, very little empirical data are available on the frequency and reasons for hung juries. The paper reports findings from the second stage of a National Institute of Justice-sponsored research project designed to examine the frequency and causes of hung juries in the USA. The paper analyzes juror questionnaire data, comparing juries who reached a verdict with those who were unable to reach a verdict. Compared to verdict jurors, hung jurors reported that the evidence was more difficult, that the evidence and skill of the attorneys were more evenly balanced between prosecution and defense, and that the crime victim elicited less sympathy. Hung jurors also had more concerns about the fairness of the law in the case. The results support some theories about why juries hang and refute others.
Hustling the Faithfully Departed: A Case Study of Fraud and Deceptive Practices in the Funeral and Cemetery Industries
When Jessica Mitford published her groundbreaking study in the early 1960s of what today is euphemistically labeled as the “death care” industry, she essentially argued as an industry outsider that fraud, criminal misconduct, excessive profiteering and misappropriation of funds had become endemic within the industry at the expense of bereaved families. In her recent follow-study published posthumously, she documents the continuance of scandalous practices resulting from crass commercialism and excessive exploitation of the bereaved which continue to infect this industry. In spite of, or perhaps because of recent Federal Trade Commission regulations, both the cemetery and funeral industries are considered to be presently “out of control” according to an industry insider. This present study documents an interview with one industry insider as to the existence of professional deviance and criminality as well as to unethical, fraudulent and deceptive practices plaguing the death care industry. Additionally, this interview addresses the problem of increase in corporate takeovers, monopolization of the industry, and a goal of maximization of profit which result in the “manipulation of the bereaved,” corporate profiteering by preying on the grief, remorse and guilt of the loved ones’ survivors.
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I Don’t Like Mondays: A Routine Activities Approach to Examining Mass Murder
There has been considerable attention given to incidents of mass murder over the last several years. Research on the topic has tended to focus on differentiating between various types of mass murder, or on issues related to the context or outcome of these events. To date, there has been little attention given to theoretically explain the distribution of mass murder incidents. The present study attempts to address this deficiency by examining mass murder using a routine activities approach. As originally formulated by Cohen and Felson (1979), routine activities suggests that the distribution of predatory crime can be explained by the convergence of suitable targets, motivated offenders, and a lack of guardianship. The present study examines incidents of mass murder occuring within the United States between 1980 and 2000 to determine whether the routine activities model can be used to explain this phenomenon.
I’m a Twenty-First Century Woman Living With a Twentieth Century Man
Many studies of a predominantly quantitative nature have been conducted about men’s batter’s programs. Although some of these studies include both male and female partners as respondents, most investigate the program’s impact upon the male partner (Austin & Dankwort, 1999). In addition, there are few qualitative studies about women’s perceptions of male batterer’s programs and the impact of this programming on women’s lives. This presentation presents results from a pilot study conducted in Toronto, Ontario which investigated the impact of court mandated batterer’s treatment programs from the perspective of female partners. Using qualitative methodology, including in depth interviews and focus groups, women’s perspectives, experiences and recommendations were gathered in order to evaluate current practicer in dealing with men’s battering behaviour.
Identifying Thresholds of Substance Use and Their Relationship to Criminal Involvement
This paper examines the general question of the relationship between substance use and criminal involvement. In order to address this question a sample of adolescents between the ages of 13 and 22 are analyzed, looking specifically at their various patterns and subpatterns of substance use and criminal involvement. These subpatterns of substance use situate individuals within particular thresholds of behaviour. The term “threshold” is used to denote distinct frequencies and intensities of substance using and criminal behaviour. Thresholds range from low (individuals who do not use substances at all, associate with very few individuals who do, and hold attitudes strongly against substance use), moderate (individuals who are involved in substance use in which casual experimentation is the norm) and high threshold substance users (Individuals who are frequent users of a wide array of harmful substances, who associate with other user, who have family whom are involved in substance use, and who have positive attitudes towards substance use). Threshold levels, beyond acting as a typology for current behaviour, represents a cut-off for identifying individuals who are likely to be involved in high levels of substance use or criminal involvement later in the life course. Research suggests that individual tendencies towards high involvement in substance using behaviours are influenced by a number of factors, including: age of onset, parental and peer behaviours, history of similar behaviour patterns, attitudes and opinions in favour of such behaviours, and so forth. These factors will be used to examine how thresholds of substance use behaviour relate to various types of criminal involvement. Are particular substance use thresholds associated with distinct forms of criminal involvement? Are high threshold substance users also involved in the most extreme forms of crime and deviance? And does the intensity of substance use hold any relevance in the explanation of involvement in crime and the type criminal behaviour? Data for this project comes from the “Toronto Area Youth Survey”, a survey administered to over 3,500 high school students and street youth in the city of Toronto between the Fall of 1998 and the Spring of 2000. Thresholds of substance use are constructed using Factor analysis. Meanwhile a multinomial logit regression is employed to regress substance use threshold, as well as a set of additional predictor variables, on various forms of criminal involvement.
Ideology and Etiology in Twentieth Century Criminology
In his classic book, Ideology and Crime, Radzinowicz relates penal practice to historical social and ideological conditions. While the issue of ideology and crime was a prominent topic in the 1960’s and 1970’s, it has subsequently given way to more “practical” concerns. This survey looks at criminology textbooks in the United States and their respective theories throughout the twentieth century. Using a sociology of knowledge approach, various theories and perspectives are discussed in the context of social change, including the “new” criminologies and the rise of the criminal justice field.
Idle Hands: The Effects of Unstructured Time on the Frequency and Severity of Spousal Violence
Scholars have ascertained that routine activity patterns typified by high levels of unstructured time are related to both offending (Osgood et al., 1996) and victimization (Wooldredge, 1998). The current study examines whether the increased risk resulting from unstructured time extends to victimization by a spouse. Data from the female sample of the Violence and Threats of Violence against women and men in the U.S., 1994-1996 were used to examine the relationship between unstructured time and the frequency and severity of violence among identified victims of spousal violence. The findings indicated that the higher levels of unstructured time available to both victims and their spouses were related to more frequent and severe violence, although these effects differed according to the level of coercive control in the relationship. Implications for routine activity theory and intimate partner violence are discussed.
If Our Students Could Choose, Would They Go for Criminological/Criminal Justice Research Methods?
It seems that many Criminal Justice (“CJ”) students doubt the usefulness of scientific research methods courses in the study and practice of CJ. If this notion exists, it is very unfortunate. By means of written, self-administered questionnaires completed by 171 CJ majors and minors at Western Caroling University (“WCU”) (a mid-sized comprehensive university), the extent of this notion is empirically examined. The questionnaire items are designed to, among other things, allow the CJ student-subjects to offer suggestions for making research methods course more relevant and significant to their present and future needs. Based on the findings, the author offers suggestsions for improved scientific research courses more relevant and significant to the students’ present and future needs.
Illegal Southern Culture: Moonshining in the Hills of North Georgia
The purpose of this paper is to examine specific aspects of illegally distilling liquor. It will explore the history of this activity, as well as ascertaining to what extent it is still occurring. The report will be a regional investigation that features Lumpkin County, historically considered to be a principle area for making moonshine. An aspect included in the overview will focus on immorality versus illegality.
Illegal Video Poker Machines and Small Business Crime Deterrence in Pennsylvania
In general, this study examines the effectiveness of small business crime deterrence in Pennsylvania. Specifically, I will study how and if the State of Pennsylvania is effective in deterring public bars and private social clubs from the crime of gambling, via the illegal use of video poker machines, in Lehigh County. This situation is unique in that, Pennsylvania has created a specific law enforcement agency whose sole purpose is to deal with law violations committed by public bars and private social clubs, the Liquor Control Enforcement Agency. This agency has sole jurisdiction in dealing with any liquor code violations–of which gambling is one–occurring in these establishments. Is the Liquor Control Enforcement Agency for the State of Pennsylvania effectively deterring the crime of illegal gambling via video poker machines, in Lehigh County? Do the perceived costs of the certainty and severity of sanctions outweigh the benefits derived from illegal gambling in these establishments? This study will attempt to answer these questions.
Immigration Restrictionism, Minority Visibility and Incarceration: Germany 1970-1997
This paper examines the extent to which minority visibility increased in Germany during the restrictionist immigration period of the 1980s and 1990s, resulting in greater incarceration rates for the foreign population despite the relative stability of their numbers in the population as a whole. Based on data from official government sources, the findings indicate that between 1985 the percentage of foreigners among the prisoner population increased by 13 percent, while their percentage in the overall population grew by less than two percent. After the ban on recruitment of foreign guestworkers in 1973, Turks in Germany became an increasingly large proportion of those foreigners incaracerated, while the proportion of the foreign population that was Turkish declined slightly. The vast majority of offenses for which foreigners were incarcerated involved violations of asylum procedures, immigration law and illegal or irregular documents. The other offenses for which foreigners in Germany were most typically convicted were nonviolent, involving gambling, drugs and organized crime. For foreigners, from 1989-1997 there was a dramatic reduction in the proportion of young offenders (18-21) convicted according to the youth law, rather than the more severe general criminal law, while there was no noticeable change in the proportion of German young offenders convicted according to the youth law. The results are interpreted in the context of the economic, social and political changes in Germany during this time period, and compared to similar outcomes of restrictionism found in France and the United States.
Impact of Changing Dynamics of Inmates Serving Life Sentence in Texas
Since 1977 legislative changes in the meaning of a life sentence in Texas has influenced the number and characteristics of inmates serving life sentences. Legislative mandates enacted during the past decade in the minimum number of years that must be served before an inmate can be considered for release is affecting the normal pattern of standard inflow and outflow of the percentage of inmates serving a life sentence. This paper examines the effect these changes have had on the demographic characteristics of this inmate populaltion, as well as projected changes in the demographic characteristics of this population. The paper also projects the impact these changes will have on the number and percentage of inmates serving life sentences. Included, also, are observations regarding the effect these changes will have on special services that will have to be provided for this inmate population in the future.
Impact of Community Characteristics on Gang Related Activity Near Schools
As media coverage has increased on the incidents of school violence, the academic analysis of school violence has also increased. However, most analysis has consisted of student self-report surveys and police report data. Last year we presented analysis of the gang related activity near schools from the Orange County Gang Incident Tracking System (GITS). This database includes police report data for all 22 law enforcement agencies. This previous analysis was limited to factors describing the criminal activity itself. This paper utilizes the same data, but includes analysis of community and school characteristics and their relationship to gang related activities near schools. School characteristics such as middle school vs. high school, schools with resource/police officers, class size, public vs. private schools vs. alternate schools, percentage of economic disadvantage students at school, school test scores, etc. will be considered. Community characteristics such as unemployment, household income, population density, etc. will be cosidered. This paper will conclude spatial and geographic analysis of gang related activity within safe school zones.
Impact of Correction Boot Camps on Recidivism: A Systematic Review
Correctional boot camps were opened in adult correctional systems in 1983. Since that time they have rapidly grown in both the adult and juvenile correction systems. The programs are modeled after basic training in the military and typically require inmates to follow a strict daily schedule of activities including drill and ceremony, physical labor, and physical training. This systematic review conducted for the Campbell Collaborative examined the extant literature on the effectiveness of correctional boot camps. The overall finding was a near zero average effect of boot camps relative to alternative correctional programs on recidivism across the 28 studies identified for this review. Programs differed, however, in the emphasis placed on physical activity, military training or therapeutic programming. The moderating effects of these programmatic elements and study design features on the recidivism effects were explored.
Impact of Crime on Mixed and Elderly Housing
The proposed project will assess variations in aspects of crime, fear of crime, and disorder in Omaha’s high-rise public housing for mixed populations and the elderly. The project will be conducted in partnership with the Omaha Police Department and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The immediate goals of the project are to understand: (1) the differences in the crime experiences and fear of crime in high-rise housing used for elderly from those found in high-rises with substantially mixed elderly-disabled-handicapped residents; (2) the relationship between the mixing of these different populations to both drug- and alcohol use-related problems in and around the high-rises; and (3) the effectiveness and conequences of the use of the housing authority’s “banned and barred” and “one strike and you’re out” policies on illegal drug activity in and nearby the high-rise developments. The longer-term goal is to provide the housing authority with improved capability for monitoring both drug-related (including alcohol) and non-drug-related problems including crime in all of its public housing and then to develop strategies for reducing these problems. The proposed research will employ a multi-site longitudinal design to evaluate the impact of the use of high-rise towers for mixed populations and for the elderly on crime, victimization, and fear of crime while focusing on the relationships of these to drug and alcohol use in and around the developments. Two high-rises for the elderly and two high-rises for mixed populations will be the subjects of the study. The project will create a computerized database of incidents of crime and other disorders that includes indicators of drug and alcohol abuse known to the housing authority for three years prior to the beginning of the study. This database will provide the context of problems in and around the high-rises in the recent past and evaluate the quality of recorded information. A similar database of incidents reported to the housing authority and police will be created for a one year period after the conversion of the two high-rises to elderly occupancy.
Impact of Parental Incarceration on Children
As the nation’s sentencing policies increasingly emphasized incarceration and the prison population has grown, one consequence has been an increase in the number of children with a parent in prison. A recent report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in fact extimated that there are now l.5 million children in this situation. Depsite the size of this population, relatively little is known about the impact of parental incarceration on children’s lives except as reported by their parents. This paper will report preliminary findings from an observational study of children of prison inmataes, which is being conducted to further our understanding of the collateral consequences of our sentencing policies. Observations of the children will begin before the paraent is incarcerated – following arrest,
Impact of State Differences in Sentencing Instructions on Juror Confusion in Capital Cases
Prior research consistently demonstrates that capital jurors often do not understand the sentencing instructions they are supposed to follow when deciding whether a defendant deserves the death penalty. States are free to design their own capital punishment statutes as long as they meet constitutional requirements; and have adopted variations on three different types of statutes called “balancing,” “threshold,” and “directed” statutes. After overviewing the legal requirements, this paper examines whether comprehension is affected by differences in statutes and jury instructions. The quantitative and qualitative data were obtained from 3-4 hour structured interviews of jurors who had actually decided death penalty cases collected by the Capital Jury Project (CJP), a fifteen-state, multi-disciplinary study funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Pennsylvania statute is a balancing statute with very strong language that has withstood prior legal challenges. Comparing the results in Pennsylvania with other CJP states with different statutes reveals statistically significant differences regarding jurors understanding of the standards they are supposed to apply and the role of mitigating evidence.
Impact of Substance Use on Criminal Behavior Over the Life Course
The work of Sampson and Laub has brought the life course perspective to the fore in criminololgy. Their Age-Graded theory accounts for both continuity and change in offending. Stability occurs via a state dependence process, whereby involvement in criminal behavior produces a “cumultive continuity of disadvantage,” creating a direct causal link between prior and future offending. On the other hand, change is made possible via the accumulation of “social capital,” resulting in strong social bonding in adulthood. Building on the work of Sampson and Laub, this research examines the impact of substance abuse on the involvement in criminal behavior over the life course. Using data from the National Youth Survey, structural equation modeling is used to assess the impact of substance abuse on both stability and change in criminal behavior over time. It is hypothesized that substance abuse is positively related to criminal behavior for two main reasons. First, individuals who abuse drugs are more likely to be seriously involved in criminal activity, than individuals who do not have substance abuse problems. Second, individuals who abuse drugs are less likely to have strong bonds to work and marriage, than individuals who do not abuse drugs. Taken together, substance abuse promotes stability in offending behavior by heightening involvement in criminal behavior and weakening social bonds, thus serving to exacerbate the “cumulative continuity of disadvantage” central to Sampson and Laub’s theory.
Impact of Tenant Patrols on Crime
The proposed project will evaluate the housing authority’s Public Housing Drug Elimination Program (PHDEP). The goals of the project are to: (1) evaluate the overall impact of PHDEP components, with emphasis on the use of tenant partrols to reduce drug-related crime and the effects of acculturation on use of drug elimination programs and services by Hispanic residents; and (2) establish and institutionalize research and analytic capabilities within the housing authority to support future programmatic decision-making. The proposed research will employ a multiple perspectives approach and use focus group discussions to involve broad-based participation from housing authority officials, residents, and local police. Face-to-face interviews will be conducted with a panel of approximately 400 housing residents before and after a 12 month period of program operation. Interviews will measure crime activity, victimization, knowledge of PHDEP components, use of program components, police/tenant patrol contacts, attitudes toward police and tenant patrols, acculturation, language ability, and perceptions of program performance. Official crime reports from the police and incident reports on crime activity from the housing authority will be collected. A quasi-experimental design will be used to assess the impact of tenant patrols. Pre/post data will be analyzed to identify changes in outcomes, and comparisons between experimental and control groups will be made.
Implementation of the Extended Willard Drug Treatment Program in New York
The Willard Drug Treatment Program is a prison diversion program for nonviolent, substance-abusing, second felony offenders in New York State. Offenders sentenced to Willard participate in a 90-day boot camp-like program, after which they attend an outpatient treatment program and are on intensive parole supervision. Although the program has been in existence since 1995, the state recently created a new “Extended Willard” model, which adds a 6-month stay in a community residential treatment program following the initial 90-day phase. The Vera Institute of Justice is currently evaluating this Extended Willard program, as it is being pilot-tested in two New York City counties. Findings from the first year of the project will focus on process issues involved in implementing this new version of the program. Subjects covered by the process evaluation include selection criteria, treatment phases, and monitoring/reporting issues. The research design for an outcome evaluation will also be discussed; topics include the selection of comparison groups and outcome measures.
Implementing a Comprehensive Database for Statewide Research on the Education of Delinquent Youth
A fundamental component of large-scale reseach is an organized and well-maintained database. This paper describes the ongoing development of a major database containing numerous variables related to Florida’s delivery of education services to delinquent youth in over 200 institutional programs, involving more than 30,000 youth annually. The described database has evolved into a comprehensive research tool that has enabled assessment of many important questions concerning effective educational practices for delinquent youth. Examples of several of these various assessments are provided to demonstrate the usefulness of the database for addressing educational policy and practices, issues and questions. The paper concludes with discussion of how this database is expected to grow over the next several years enabling comprehensive program descriptions, explanations, and predictions concerning the validation of promising practices as best practices for the education of delinquent youth.
Implementing a Family Skills Training Program in Out-Patient Substance Abuse Treatment: The Philadelphia Strengthening Families ProjecP
Among the family and yuouth interventions that have significant empirical support is a universal intervention called the Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14 (SFP 10-14). Like other universal interventions, this program offers a number of potential advantages in achieving public health impact. Despite the potential of programs like the SFP 10-14, a number of critical implementation-related issues must be addressed if a significant public health impact is to be accomplished. A key issue is the development of models for effective community-university collaboration in large-scale program implementation. This presentation will summarize a program of prevention trials that evaluate SEP 10-14 and other universal youth and family competency training interventions, guided by community-university partnerships. It will highlight how such prevention trials can be used to further the investigation of quality implementation on a large scale. Following an overview of the program of research, findings concerning several implementation issues will be summarized, including: effectively recruiting and retaining families and schools, sustaining uniformly high levels of adherence to intervention protocols, examining implementation outcome relationships, and conducting economic analyses of implementation. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of the importance of investigating models for sustainable, quality implementation through community-university partnerships embedded in existing prevention program delivery systems.
Implementing Concept Mapping Techniques in the Evaluation of Comprehensive Community Initiatives
One of the key challenges in the evaluations of comprehensive community initiatives is incorporating the diversity of goals among the varied stakeholders. We describe the utility of concept mapping techniques to develop an outcome measurement framework. Such a framework examines the differences in stakeholder perceptions both within and across the multiple sites. Multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis methods are used in the generation of the concept maps. We demonstrate the utility of concept mapping in evaluations of community initiatives using two examples: first, we demonstrate how concept mapping techniques can be used inductively to develop a logic model. In the second, we show how these techniques can be used to transition from process to impact analysis. Methodological extensions to the concept mapping techniques include methods to incorporate the linkages between the various concepts.
Implementing Sentencing Reform Under Guidelines: A Test of the Hydraulic Displacement Thesis
A fundamental criticism of sentencing guidelines is that discretion shifts from judges to prosecutors because the sentencing options available to judges depend on the charges filed by prosecutors. Consequently, the goals of sentencing reforms may be circumvented by prosecutors’ manipulating charges and through plea-bargaining. Specifically, the hydraulic displacement of discretion thesis predicts that changes in sentencing laws under guidelines will result in changes in prosecutorial behavior that neutralize, mitigate or otherwise distort the effects of sentencing reforms. This research tests, directly, the displacement hypothesis by examining the implementation of a major sentencing reform bill passed in Washington State in 1999 that significantly alters sentencing options for felony drug offenders. We test the hypothesis with quantitative data on charging decisions in felony drug cases, and through interviews with court actors, before and after the sentencing options were changed. Our findings indicate that, in this instance, charging practices were largely unaffected by the changes in sentencing laws.
Importance of Group Differences in Measuring and Testing General Strain Theory
In his formulation of General Strain Theory, Agnew (1992) admonished criminologists to consider the role group differences might play in the types of strain individuals frequently encounter. While prior research has examined variation in strain effects across groups, empirical assessments of GST have negleted to investigate group differences in the types of strain linked to crime and delinquency. The former approach relies on the assumption that perceptions of what is strainful are similar for disparate groups and, more importantly, it fails to address the possibility that certain groups are likely to experience particular types of strain the referent group is not likely to encounter. Groups are commonly distinguished according to ascribed status and one of the most important categorizations hypothesized to have a direct bearing on the type of strain an individual is exposed to is race/ethnicity. The present work draws on socio-cultural research, particularly in the area of acculturation, to identify the types of strain most likely to be related to antisocial behavior among Hispanic adolescents. Specifically, data analysis will: (1) assess the comparability of traditional measurement models of GST across Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites; and, (2) test the impact of measures of “acculturative” strain on delinquency for the Hispanic group.
Impression Management and Voir Dire: The Effect of Individual Versus Group Questioning Upon Impression Management Strategies of Potential Jurors
Trial attorneys have used both scientific and unscientific selection techniques unsuccessfully to empanel a jury. This ineffectiveness may be due, in part, to a false assumption about the passivity of prospective jurors during questioning. However, this qualitative research project, using detailed interviews, observations and surveys examining the jury selection process in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, finds that some perspective jurors actively alter their presentations of self so they can be seen as fit or unfit for jury service. These potential jurors plan an active role in jury selection as the impressions they give off become a factor in determining whether they will be selected on a jury. These strategic presentations of self can be aided or hindered by the manner in which questions are posed to a potential juror. Questions asked of the entire panel are shown to aid the presentational efforts of some potential jurors while one-on-one questioning makes a non-genuine presentation of self more difficult for them to manage. This demonstrates one’s presentational strategies are mediated by the context the questions are given to potential jurors. Therefore, it is suggested that individual questioning is a much more effective way to empanel a jury.
Improving Mental Health Service Delivery to Juvenile Offenders: Does Profession Influence Perceptions?
Mental health service delivery has been the focus of a great deal of literature in recent years. Model programs have been described and recommendations have been made to improve service delivery. This study focuses on mental health and substance abuse service provision to juvenile offenders. Using data from surveys and focus groups in a Midwestern state, we examine the differences in recommendations for improving the current system from the viewpoints of human services officials (mental health and juvenile justice), judges, probation officers and private practitioners.
In the Presence of One’s Peers: Blue Swarming and Its Implications for Everyday Patrol Work
Contemporary police patrol work is often characterized as low visibility work, where officers operate individually, engaging the public in encounters by themselves. While this may have been an accurate characterization of patrol work at one time, recent systematic field observations of officers in Indianapolis and St. Petersburg suggest that even when officers are working alone, it is a common occurrence for two or more officers to appear at the scene of an encounter with the public. This paper descibes patterns in “blue swarming” and discusses its implications for certain aspects of the exercise of police authority.
Incarcerated Women and Role Strain: The Importance of Doing Mothering
Women in prison are particularly vulnerable to role strain because research suggests that the maternal role is so closely tied to a woman’s primary sense of identity (Simon, 1992). This study gathers data from 102 incarcerated mothers at a minimum-security prison to determine if race, length of incarceration, age, type of crime committed, educational level, drug/alcohol use, or commitment to the maternal role had a significant effect on the role strain scores of incarcerated mothers. Interestingly, we find that women who are able to “do” mothering experience less role strain than those who are only allowed to “be” mothers. We argue that mothering, like gender, is a social status which is actively created and re-created in daily social interactions. Policies which allow women in prison to actively engage in the process of doing motherhood then will experience less role strain which may, in turn, allow these mothers to maintain better family ties with their children.
Individual, Group and Contextual Indicators of Crime and Victimization at an Historically Black College and University
Scholarly research on campus crime and victimization generally concludes relatively little is known about its nature, extent and cause. However, the Uniform Crime Statistics consistently report disproportionately higher rates of crime on our Nation’s Black College Campuses. Particularly among those located in major urban areas. An exploratory study focuses on one of the largest Historically Black Colleges and Universities, located in a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of a Southwestern Coastal State. Baseline data establish differential rates of self-reported crime and victimization and perceptions of crime and victim experiences of others. Survey responses, official crime and victim trends suggest individual and sub-group activities, situations and circumstances, and campus (milieu) and MSA (ecological) patterns are illustrative of the types of crime and differential rates of victimization found. A description of the characteristics of crime and victimization in this unique setting is discussed.
Individual and Organizational Factors Influencing Police Perceptions of Persons With Mental Illness
Police officer attitude toward persons with mental illnesses generally mirror those of the public. Mentally ill individuals are believed to be potentially dangerous, lacking in believability, and unable to manage their daily affairs. This study uses a three minute videotape of a person manifesting symptoms of severe mental illness and a 40-item survey instrument to examine perceptions of the dangerousness, credibility, and self-sufficiency of persons with mental illnesses. Data collected from 276 police officers attending in-service classes at five police academies indicate that both individual and organizational factors influence police officer perceptions of persons with mental illnesses.
Industrial Composition, Employment Opportunity, and County Crime Rates: Examining the Beginning of the Causal Process
There is a long history in criminology of studies that examine the influence of joblessness, labor force involvement, poverty and other community level measures of economic wellbeing on crime. Yet less attention has been given to the precursors of these characteristics. De-industrialization, increased labor market segmentation, and other macro-economic forces have been explored in the economics and stratification literatures, and the mechanisms by which they may influence crime have been discussed, but few empirical analyses have examined the influence of these processes on aggregate rates of criminal behavior. This paper draws on data from the U.S. Census, County Business Pattern Data, and the Uniform Crime Reports to examine how industrial composition and labor market segmentation influence rates of violent and propety crime, both directly and indirectly through local employment patterns, racial segregation, family disruption, and mobility. The findings suggest that including macro-level forces such as industrial composition and de-industri8alization can add substantially to our understanding of the economic causes of criminal behavior.
Informal Sanctions and White-Collar Offenders: Does Corporate Status Affect Offending Decisions?
The present work will seek to answer the following two questions in relation to white-collar criminals and the threat of informal sanction threats. (1) Individuals will indeed be mindful of informal sanctions threats in the form of losing the respect of friends, colleagues, and family if their illegal acts would be discovered. This will occur over and above any formal sanction threats that the firm might face if caught. (2) Individuals in the higher levels of management will be more strongly impacted than those individuals in either the middle or lower levels of management as a result of their increased status within both their personal and professional communities, leaving them with more to lose should any deviance be discovered. The sample is derived from a factorial designed vignette study collected by Sally Simpson on MBA students (N=102) and corporate executives (N=132) in an executive education program and asks individuals to respond to a situation in which a corporate manager commits a crime and asks whether the individual would commit the same crime. Initial results indicate support for both research questions.
Institutional Segregation: The “New” American Apartheid?
Using data from the National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) for the years 1987 to 1997, this analysis uses time series methods to forecast the growth of minority members of the U.S. prison population into the years 2010 and 2020. For the purposes of modeling, multivariate Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) models were used. These models allowed us to account for autocorrelation, while controlling for factors that predict population growth among prisoners. The ability to specify disaggregating variables, such as race or age, can greatly increase forecast accuracy. Thus, causal rather than extrapolative models were used, which provide better estimates in times of relatively stable demographic trends. ARIMA models are exceptionally useful for this sort of analysis because they can be used to predict not only annual trends, but can also account for seasonal fluctuations. Results indicate that by the year 2010 an inordinate amount of African American males will be under supervision of U.S. jails and prisons and by the year 2020 nearly two thirds of all young African American males will be incarcerated.
Integrated Treatment Approaches for Prison Inmates With Co-Occurring Disorders
The increase in jail and prison populations over the past 15 years has focused greater attention on the needs of mentally ill and substance abusing inmates. An estimated 3-11% of prison inmates have co-occurring mental health (e.g., psychotic and major mood) disorders and substance abuse disorders, which has led to an increasing awareness of the unique treatment needs of this population. Despite the growing population of prisoners with co-occurring disorders, there are only a few existing ‘dual diagnosis’ treatment programs in prisons. This presentation will highlight findings from a recent survey of treatment initiatives in state and federal prisons for inmates with co-occurring disorders and will describe current trends in providing services for this population. Key components of prison-based dual diagnosis programs will be examined, including the following: (a) program admission procedures, (b) treatment strategies and special program adaptations provided for this population, (c) program staffing, (d) coordination and linkage with other prison services and reentry/aftercare services in the community, and (e) program evaluation. The presentation will identify guidelines for the implementation of integrated dual diagnosis treatment programs in prisons and suggestions for the adaptation of these services within substance abuse or mental health treatment settings.
Integrating Learning and Control: The Learning of Conformity
Theories of social control state that social bonds produce a stake in conformity, which deters individuals from engaging in delinquency. However, such theories take for granted the transmission of cultural norms, and fail to specify the fundamental processes through which conforming and deviant behaviors are socialized. Social learning theories, on the other hand, overly emphasize the cultural transmission and learning of deviant beliefs and behavior, at the expense of explaining the soialization of conformity. Drawing on Patterson and others, the present study provides a theoretical model integrating learning and control perspectives to explain how socialization plays a crucial role in the development of a stake in conformity, which ultimately dissuades individuals from developing delinquent beliefs and consequently engaging in delinquent behavior. Using cross-sectional data from a near complete census of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in Montana conducted in 1998, structural equation modeling is used to assess the overall fit of the proposed theoretical model. Empirical support for the model is provided, and implications for findings are discussed.
Integrating Social Disorganization and Routine Activities Theories: The Importance of School-Level Time Use for Explaining Individual-Level Delinquency
The current research integrates the social disorganization and routine activities perspective. Specifically, we focus on unstructured socializing as an emergent property of a school, examining whether it can explain differences between schools in adolescents’ risks for delinquency. Given the importance of social control in predicting delinquency in the social disorganization literature, results of the current study may provide a link between social disorganization and delinquency. Whereas social disorganization generally focuses on the social control by adults, routine activities theory focuses on the opportunities available to adolescents. We test to see whether the mean level of routine activities (unstructured socializing) mediates the relationship between social disorganization and adolescent delinquency. Additionally, the use of schools as a relevant context is an additional way of thinking about contextual effects on delinquency: the activity of school pulls together same-aged children who then can become aware of the routine activities and unstructured socializing of other children. We use multilevel modeling to analyze data from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The method allows us to separate the individual level effect of time use from school contextual effect in order to focus on the between-school relationship.
Integrating Traditional and Critical Theories: Gendered, Raced, and Classed Pathways Towards Crime, Substance Abuse, and Desistance
A variety of paradigms partially explain pathways leading toward crime, substance abuse, and desistance. While some of this work differentiates these pathways by class, gender and race, most traditional research relegates these lived contexts to simple dummy coded variables. This paper focuses on the extant work substantiating the existence of separate pathways to crime among distinctive gendered, raced, and classed groups. Additionally, recent theoretical work by Laub and Sampson reveals that regardless of the paradigm or discipline used, the transformation of identity is pivotal in leading toward desistance from crime and substance abuse. Thus this paper uses Laub and Sampson’s argument to integrate disparate theories to explain the transformation of identity within the context of Messerschmidt’s conceptualization that pathways to crime are clearly gendered, raced, and classed. This paper posits that pathways toward desistance from criminal behavior involves identity transformation within the context of changes in the gendered, raced and classed social structure, social networks, and neighborhoods, resulting in individual cognitive and emotional change, new attachments or bonds to pro-social others, and access to legitimate job training and opportunities by separately analyzing racial, gendered, and classed groups using the National Educational Longitudinal Study.
Inter-RaterAgreement and the Use of Level of Service Inventory-Revised
Over the last several years offender assessment and classification has become an increasingly important part of effective correctional processing on the systemic level and case planning and treatment intervention on the individual level. While standardized offender assessment has been part of criminal justice processing for over 70 years, “dynamic” standardized interview-based assessment has been proven to be the most effective method. One potential drawback to this method however is inter-rater reliability. This paper examines inter-rater agreement on pairs of raters using the Level of Servce Inventory-Revised to assess the same offender. The paper focuses on examining agreement by item as well as area of the LSI-R.
Interagency Coordination of Services Through a Social Support Network
An overview of the components of safe school planning as outlined in the Safe Community-Safe Schools model is presented. The focus is on the necessity of implementing strategies that are a combination of both prevention and intervention — one specifically addressing the needs of students at risk by identifying and managing individual student cases. It serves as an information gathering and decision-making mechanism that is extremely valuable to a school community’s ability to meet the emotional needs of its students. The discussion will compare the existing variations of the Social Support Team concept that schools and districts currently utilize. We will also explore practical ways of adapting existing teams to serve the purpose of early intervention and identification of at-risk behaviors within students.
Intergenerational Transmission of Problem Behavior: Effects of Parent’s Prior Adolescent Substance Use on Late Behavior Problems in Their Children
This study seeks to identify possible residential effects of adolescent substance use of parents on the development of their children, both for parents who have desisted and for those who have not desisted from that use. Second, we examine the social developmental mechanisms of these effects (for example, through continued substance use or social and occupational problems). Data are drawn from the Seattle Social Development Project, a 15-year longitudinal study that has followed 808 youths from elementary school to adulthood. The panel members are now aged 24 and are having and raising children of their own: 211 of the 808 are currently living with their biologial children. Using regression analysis and structural equation modeling, this paper examines the effects of substance use during the ages of 13 to 18 on subsequent develolpmental problems in their children when the primary sample is age 24. Several mechanisms linking prior adolescent substance use and their childeren’s outcomes are tested, including: adult drug use, family management practices, family and partner conflict, social support, educational attainment, and employment. Child developmental problems examined include aggression, oppositionality and hgyperactivity. Significance of the findings are discussed with reference to incorporating multigenerational studies into prevention research and programs.
Intermediate Outcomes of a Brief Intervention With Probationers: Probation With an Attitude! Change?
A major risk group for HIV infection is drug-involved offenders. Not only do they have much higher than average rates of injection drug use, but also higher rates of risky sexual behaviors and combinations of both drug and sexual risk behaviors. A number of studies have examined HIV risk behaviors in prisoner populations, but relatively few have examined such behaviors in probationer populations. This paper examines a sample of over 300 newly assigned probationers. Though not a strictly random sample, the sample is selected to be representative of the supervised probationer population in Delaware. The sample respondents receive a baseline interview, then they are randomly selected to receive either the NIDA standarad HIV intervention or a focused intervention based on a cognitive thought-mapping model. Intervention boosters are offered at two follow-up intervals, and participants are reinterviewed subsequently. In this paper, we first describe demographic, criminal history, drug history, sexual behavior, and seropositivity characteristics of the entire sample. Then, we examine putative predictors of change in attitudes and behavior in a series of stepwise OLS and logistic regression models. Discussion centers on the baseline predictors of relative risks and the impact of the interventions in changing attitudes and behaviors of the probationers related to both HIV risk and to criminal behaviors.
International Comparative Survey Methodology: Public Opinion of the Courts – The Mongolia Challenge
Public opinion surveys are frequently used in the U.S. and abroad to gauge the public’s satisfaction and perception of various justice system operations, including the courts. Particularly in emerging democracies such surveys are often used to measure how well the courts reflect democratic changes. Considering the high political importance and implications attached to the survey results selecting the right survey methodology is as sensible as the analysis. The challenge of selecting the appropriate methodology is further heightened when the results are used in comparison to other countries as measure of democratization. This paper discusses the approach applied and initial results of a public opinion survey of perceptions of court oeprations in Mongolia. The methodologies were developed based on U.S. and European surveys, adjusting for the particular Mongolian situation.
Interpersonal Communication in Homicide: The Important of Scripts
Socialization and learning theories need to be more sensitive to the importance of language, cognition, coercion, and interpersonal communication in explaining various types of multiple offender/victim homicide. Many of the conceptual categories generated for one-on-one homicide incidents (e.g. instrumental/expressive) are ineffective when applied to the distinctive nature of multiple offender/victims incidents. Drawing on one type of multiple offender homicide, murder for hire, we will examine ways to refine the conceptual clarity of script theory as a basis for understanding sequences of interactions in multiple offender contexts. Our presentation focuses on interaction sequences in script tracks, evoking contexts, and action rules and policies affecting participants in multiple offender homicide. Theoretical clarification in these areas will enable us to more sharply delineate the interplay between coercion and persuasion and to approach motives in ways suited to the interactive features of multiple-participant homicide.
Interpersonal Conflict ManagemInterpersonal Conflict Management Interventions in Schools: Exploring Moderators and Mediators of Program Effectiveness
Rising public concern about aggressive behavior among school-age youth has led to increased interest in programs that teach conflict management skills. These programs address interpersonal behaviors and cognitions related to self-control and impulsivity, social problem solving, interpersonal attributions, and communication skills. Previous research has suggested that the effectiveness of these programs is moderated by cognitive development (age/maturity) and individual risk level, as well as by the various combinations of program elements. This meta-analysis examines over 200 conflict management interventions such as anger management, social skills training, and dispute mediation. The analysis identifies key moderating variables, explores mediating processes linking changes in different outcome variables, and highlights the characteristics of promising programs for a range of youth populations.
Intersectionality and Juvenile Offending
Previous research has found that racial variation exists among adult females in variables theoretically predictive of crime. Utilizing the first two waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, Hill and Crawford (1990) found that macro-level variables (e.g., urban/rural, education, strain) were better predictors of African-American female crime while micro-level variables (e.g., bonding, attitudes, maturation) were better predictors of white female crime. The present paper expands on this work by increasing the breadth of theoretical predictors to include elements of both mainstream and feminist perspectives. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, this analysis explores the degree to which key concepts from competing theoretical perspectives explain juvenile delinquency, as well as whether similar macro/micro patterns exist for male and female youths of different race/ethnicity. The analysis is informed by an intersectionality approach to the study of crime. Analyses are conducted by sex among white, African American, and Hispanic youths.
Interviewing Violent Offenders: Factors Related to Participation in Research and Reliability
Interviewing violent offenders in prison offers a valuable data collection strategy, but also poses several challenges. The current research draws on data from a larger project to examine two empirical questions: (1) What factors predict whether an inmate will agree to participate in research? (2) Are inmates’ responses reliable? The results suggest that inmates from rural settings and those with higher levels of education are more likely to participate in research, but years until parole, age, and race do not influence participation. The results suggest that reliability depends on the nature of the question: responses to non-threatening questions are reliable, but in the case of potentially threatening questions respondents reported much more criminal behavior to the researcher than to representatives of the criminal justice system. The current research also considers more general lessons from the field that cannot be systematically evaluated, but are nonetheless important. Implications for collecting data through interviews with violent offenders are discussed.
Interwoven Trajectories of Delinquent Peer Networks and Delinquent Behavior: Testing Interactional Theory
There are substantial changes in delinquent careers over the course of adolescence. Some people who are frequent offenders during early adolescence slow down considerably or desist entirely by late adolescence. Others who are relative prosocial during early adolescence initiate offending at later ages, often reaching very high levels of offending by early adulthood. Understanding the social forces that lead to these behavioral changes is a fundametally important criminological topic. Life-course approaches to crime, for example, interactional theory, posit that these behavioral changes are less likely to be explained by stable characteristics or early risk factors and more likely to be explained by developmental variables that also unfold with age. Specifically, interactional theory emphasizes the causal importance of peer associations during adolescence. We hypothesize that increasing delinquent peer associations will be followed by increasing trajectories of offending, while disengagement from delinquent peer networks will be followed by decreasing trajectories. Previous work in this area examined the correlation between period to period changes in peer relationships and period to period changes in offending. Also it focused almost exclusively on investigation the escalation of offending, ignoring the counter-trend of de-escalation or desistance. In this paper we take a different analytic approach, linking long term patterns of peer relationships with long term offending trajectories. We also systematically investigate the role of delinquent peers in explaining -both escalation and de-escalation. The advantages and disadvantages of this new approach are explored within the context of interactional theory.
Intimate Partner Homicide in Chicago, Updated
A 1995 Crime and Delinquency article, “Intimate Partner Homicide in Chicago Over 29 Years,” described high rates of suicide for men homicide offenders, long-term declines in liquor-use homicides and in victimization rates for men and women, an apparent increase in death rates for Latina women, similarities between men victims and men offenders in their arrest history and evidence that leaving the relationship was a risk factor for the women victims. The Chicago Women’s Health Risk Study has now gathered detailed data on all intimate partner homicides that occured in Chicago in 1995 and 1996, including poxy interviews of people who knew the couple before the homicide. The CWHRS also has comparable non-lethal data, from detailed longitudinal interviews with 500 abused and 200 comparison women. This unique resources contains a wealth of information about the risk of an intimate violence incident becoming fatal. The present study draws upon both datasets. It first extends the “Chicago Intimate Partner Homicide” dataset to 31 years, from 1965 to 1996, and discusses whether the patterns and trends noted in the 29-year time series continued through 1996. Second, it discusses the key findings of the CWHRS in light of trends over 31 years. Third, it uses the detailed and extensive CWHRS data to place the police-level Chicago Homicide Dataset trends in perspective and to examine implications for public policy.
Intimate Violence and the Laws of Marriage and Family Relationships
Changes in contemporary society have brought about serious changes within the institution of the family (Ewing, 1997; Minow, 1993). These changes have in turn resulted in changes in laws that govern marriage and family relationships (Alexander, 1975). While these laws do not reflect all the changes that have taken place within the family yet, some of the legal changes are said to exacerbate some forms of family problems including intimate violence (Alexander, 1975). This study examines the laws governing marriage and family relationships in an effort to understand whether such laws affect the incidence of intimate violence. A review of state and federal legislative and case laws relating to marriage and family relationships indicate that many of such laws are gender-biased but are moving toward gender neutrality and a definition of marriage as a type of partnership of equals. Although the literature indicates that it is easier to get a divorce nowadays than four decades ago, majority of the states still have fault divorce laws which force couples to wash their dirty linens in public. Based on these findings the author concludes that the incidence of intimate violence is partly a function of a disparity between the law and changes in family relationships and suggests that the law be changed to accommodate the needs of the contemporary family.
Intra-Individual Variability in Crime and Its Relation to Local Life Circumstances: A Comparison of Three Causal Models
Horney et al (1995) examined how short-term intra-individual variations in criminal behavior were related to local life circumstances. Their analyses showed that changes in criminal behavior were “strongly related to variation in local life circumstances.” Their results, however, fell short of establishing causality. Given that a non-spurious association between crime and life events exists, there are three possible forms for this association. First, life events may cause crime. Second, crime may cause life events. Third, life events and crime may have a reciprocal relationship. We do not deny the existence of a non-spurious relationship between life events and crime, but simply question the form of this relationship. While social bonds may affect criminal activity, it is also possible that criminal activity prevents the construction of social bonds. These different causal models are theoretically and empirically compared in a re-analysis of Horney et al.’s (1995) data.
Intraprison HIV Transmission and the Prison Subculture
Two theoretical models have been employed to explain the prison subculture and inmate behavior. The prisonization model postulates that inmates react/adapt to the deprivations of imprisonment by forming the inmate subculture and behaving accordingly. The importation model, on the other hand, contends that inmates import their social system with them when they enter prison. While these models have traditionally competed for support, a number of researchers have called for theoretical integration and have successfully documented its appropriateness. In this study of intraprison HIV transmission, the theoretical models are tested in the context of behaviors that facilitate HIV transmission in prison, namely, sex, intravenous drug use, and tatooing. Inmate responses to a survey indicate that both theoretical models play a role in explaining the behaviors that facilitate intraprison HIV transmission. Support for prisonization and importation, however, is not uniformly distributed across all three high-risk behaviors. While both models explain high-risk HIV transmission behavior in general, certain behaviors are explained largely by individual models. Prison sex, for example, appears to be largely the result of prisonization (deprivation of heterosexual relationships), whereas intravenous drug use seems to be largely a product of importation. While theoretical integration has its place in explaining the universe of inmate behavior and the prison subculture, wholesale integration may not be necessary when attempting to explain specific behaviors.
Investigating the Contextual Effects of Campus Victimization: Results of a National Sample
Recent investigations into the factors that are associated with criminal victimization have employed models that include both aggregate-level and individual-level predictors. These multi-level models are based on the premise that characteristics at both levels contribute to explaining variation in victimization. Although results are mixed, there is evidence that aggregate-level factors (i.e., neighborhood ethnic heterogeneity and incivilities) condition the effects of individual-level characteristics. Though informative, research has not investigated the effects that these aggregate and individual-level characteristics have on college student victimization. Using a national sample of 4,446 female college students, we use hierarchical linear modeling to estimate the effects that individual-level and contextual-level characteristics have on the risk of different types of on-campus sexual victimization. The theoretical and policy implications of this research are discussed.
Investigating the Generality of General Strain Theory: Strained Cops and Their Violent Responses
Agnew’s (1992) General Strain Theory (GST) is one of the more recent advances in criminological theory. While there has been a growth of empirical evidence supporting key propositions of GST, the findings have been mostly limited to adolescent and college student populations. The current study explores the generality of GST by testing key hypotheses on a sample of 673 Baltimore, Maryland police officers that disproportionately report engaging in domestic violence. Using structural equation modeling, our study concludes that job-related strains lead to “negative affects,” which, in turn, increases the likelihood for officers to engage in domestic violence. Moreover, support for the theory still exists when known correlates of domestic violence are statistically controlled. Implications for future research on GST and police officer strain is discussed.
Investigation of the Relationship Between Women’s Incarceration and Male Intimate Partner Violence: Implications for System Response and Prevention
Since 1980, the number of female inmates in U.S. prisons has increased more than 500%. In Georgia, a woman’s likelihood of going to prison is two times the national average. To address the rapid growth rate of women in prison and ways to prevent women’s criminal involvement, it is critical to examine factors involved in their incarceration. High numbers of incarcerated women have histories of male intimate partner violence and, although other crimes are decreasing, male violence against women is increasing. Victims of intimate partner violence interact with the criminal justice systems at initial police contact, requests for protective orders, during prosecution, and in regard to their own criminal involvement. This qualitative study investigates incarcerated Georgia women’s experiences of male intimate partner violence and the situational context of their crime. Current charges and the role of male intimate partners in the crime are examined in 400 women’s prison records, their reports to the criminal justice system and in semi-structured interviews. Findings will be discussed in terms of the criminal justice system’s responses to victims prior to their incarceration and the influences of male intimate partner violence on women’s criminal behavior. Implications for policy and preventive interventions are described.
Involuntary Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders in New Jersey: How Does it Compare to Other States?
Sex Offender civil commitment laws are the result of a galvanized movement of legislatures to prevent future acts of sexual violence. This legislation provides for the indefinite civil commitment of sexual offenders who have completed a criminal sentence but who still pose a threat to the general community. These controversial statutes have repeatedly been brought before the courts in a series of legal challenges, yet they continue to thrive. Despite a literary foundation grounded in the constitutionality and practicality of commitment statutes, few studies have explored these statutes on a state-by-state level. This paper seeks to explore the creation and application of involuntary commitment and the debate between treatment and punishment of civillly committed sex offenders at a facility in New Jersey. Constitutional issues, including due process protections, procedural safeguards, and specific legal challenges will be examined. Comparisons between New Jersey and other states with civil commitment statutes will be explored.
Irony of Patriarchy: Women Offend Women
The paper is a part of my dissertation project on women prisoners in India. “Women in Prison” is one of the most under-researched areas in sociology. Scholars have attributed the relative invisibility of women in prison (compared to their male counterparts) to a number of factors: women constitute a small proportion (typically around 5 percent) of the total prison and jail population, generally women are incarcerated for less dangerous and serious crimes than men, and incarcerated women are less likely than incarcerated men to “riot, destroy property and make reform demands” (Belknap 1996:92). The field site for this project is the Chanchalguda women’s state prison. The research design is a case study. This research is based on the data I collected from May 17th 2000 to August 15th 2000. The nature of crime, its causes, and its prevalence must be fully understood. My research question on the nature of crime will examine the determinants of violence and also the relevant economic, social and cultural factors. The data I collected shows an overwhelming presence of women convicted for dowry-related deaths. It is this aspect that I shall focus in this paper. Interestingly, dowry-related crimes are crimes against women. Thus, in this case, both the offenders and victims are women. This raises the larger issue of the rapid rise of dowry deaths and bride burning as an indication of the growing exertion of patriarchal power and cruelty on women in India.
Is Ecstasy Really Different? Investigating the Risk and Protective Factors of Ecstasy Use Vis-aVis Other Drugs Among Public School Students
Recent reports indicate an increase in the use of the drug ecstasy. Accompanying the reported increase has been a number of media accounts suggesting that the population of ecstasy users may differ in significant ways from other drug users. This research utilizes data frjom a 2001 survey of Delaware public school students to investigate the prevalence of ecstasy use, whether ecstasy users are involved in other drug use and delinquent activities, and to what extent risk and protective factors associated with other drug use are the same for ecstasy users. (This research was supported by HHS Cooperative Agreement number U1F SP08192
Is Marriage a Turning Point in Deviant Life Courses? Endogeneity, Marital Quality, and Involvement in Crime and Deviance in Early Adulthood
The idea that life course transitions can be “turning points” in deviant life courses is an increasingly important idea in contemporary criminology. From this perspective, some argue that marriages can be important sources of social capital that deflect deviant trajectories. Others suggest that underlying propensities and processes of self-selection render marriages, both good or bad, substantively unimportant for criminal offending. This paper draws upon theory and research on marital formation to conceptualize marriage and participation in crime as a jointly determined process. From this perspective, prior attempts to statistically estimate the effects of marriage on offending have typically failed to account for their endogenous relationship and may present a misleading view of the role of marriages in offending over the life course. The present research further examines the effects of marriage using latent class analysis and endogenous switching regression techniques that account for the contingent relationship of marital quality and involvement in crime and deviance. Results suggest limits to traditional statistical approaches for examining the effects of marriage on offending and highlight the importance of underlying propensities for understanding links between deviant and normative activities over the life course.
Is Terrorism Learned? A Subcultural Learning Theory Perspective of Terrorism
The literature on terrorism makes many references to the states of mind of the terrorist, his ability to adaptively choose from among a limited range of tactics, and her willingness to make strategic choices that form the basis of political violence as a wholly instrumental act. The purpose of this paper is to explore the subcultural basis and learning dynamics of terrorism. I define terrorism and then examine the social learning basis of crime and deviance. I then discuss subcultural characteristics and subculturally based theories of conflict. After integrating subcultural approaches with Akers’ conceptualization of learning: differential association definitions, imitation, and reinforcement I derive four hypotheses and subject them to empirical analysis. The data suggest some limited support for the thesis that terrorism is learned from the subcultural milieu.
Is Transfer the “Capital Punishment of the Juvenile Justice System?”
Zimring (1991: 279) asserts that the waiver of juveniles to criminal court is “the capital punishment of the juvenile justice system.” This paper pushes the transfer-as-capital-punishment metaphor to sharpen the policy debate over the waiver of juveniles by subjecting transfer laws and practices to the legal standards associated with capital punishment law. The social science evidence about transfer amassed in Florida over the years is applied in a substantive due process analysis like that suggested by Eighth Amendment capital punishment law. Does the evidence indicate that transfer law and practices are essentially standardless? Does it show that existing standards are too indiscriminant? Are the data used for making decisions too unreliable and invalid? Does the pattern of transfer outcomes indicate that Florida practices are arbitrary and capricious?
Issue Voting and the American Electorate: The Special Case of Fear of Crime
We examine the linkages between perceptions of crime and voting, providing what we believe to be first use of fear of crime as an independent variable on predicting the vote. Fear of crime, and perceptions of crime as an important problem facing the country and/or the county are tested for an impact on whether, and for whom, one votes. We look specifically at citizens in Leon County, FL, who were eligible to vote in the presential election of 1996. Using logistic regression, we found that fear of crime does not predict whether, nor for whom, one votes. Our data comport with all standard expectations for voting and demographic variables and indicate that fear of crime is not significant in predicting electoral behavior.
Issues in the Availability of Health Care for Women Prisoners
In 1998, more than three million women were arrested and nearly one million were under supervision of the correctional system. Whereas women comprised just three percent (about 6,000) of the prison population in the 1970s, they comprised closer to 7% (or 84,000) in 1998. A little over ten years ago (1990), there were 71 facilities to house women. By 1995, there were 104. The continued investment in punitive criminal justice policies promises, at the very least, to preserve the size of this population. A reasonable question to ask, therefore, is if the correctional system is prepared to handle a female population of this size and the social, psychological, and health problems they commonly possess. There is little evidence that the correctional system is ready for this challenge. The unique issues female prisoners present have either been over-looked completely or taken for granted by a state that has traditionally focused on male offenders. Although female inmates’ preeminent issues might be child care, their physical and psychological health problems are not far behind. Female prisoners suffer considerable drug and alcohol addiction, gynecological disease (e.g., cervical cancer), and terminal or chronic health problems such HIV, Hepatitis C, hypertension, diabetes, and epilepsy. Research shows a higher rate of HIV infection among females in prison than males. Considerable mental illness has also been documented with this population. The purpose of this paper is to explore the health problems female inmates experience and how the correctional system has addressed them in the past and plans to do so in the future. The paper adopts a structural focus. It considers how extant institutional policies and resource allocation shape the types of health care provided, who receives it, and under what conditions. It is criticially important to investigate the state’s ability to provide healthcare to female prisoners. Currently, a continuum of care to meet female prisoner’s medical and mental health problems is missing. Persistent inattention to the unique healthcare needs of women offenders will result in a lack of understanding on important illnesses and conditions not commonly experienced by men. This impact would have great economic and social costs on society for more than one generation, i.e., through the birth of female inmates’ children.
‘It’s Just Part of the Game’: Toward a Typology of Sports Crime
Following Smith’s (1983) groundbreaking typology of sports violence, few sociologists have critically examined the ways in which crime occurs in and through the sports process (cf. Dunning 1999; Young 2001). While criminological research continues to attend to a wide range of formal rule-breaking behaviours, and subsequently classify such behaviours into conceptual categories like ‘white collar crimes,’ ‘hate crimes,’ sex crimes,’ and ‘race crimes,’ an empirical analyses of ‘sports crimes’ has yet to be pursued. Even though athletes’ criminal activities off the playing field i.e., sexual assault, violence, murder) have been well documented and meticulously analysed (cf. Coakley 2001), academics have been curiously reluctant to interrogate rule-breaking behaviours on the field as ‘crime.’ In this paper, we undertake an analysis of criminal behaviour on the field, and develop a working classification system of ‘sports crime.’ By citing several well-known cross-national case examples of ‘criminal behaviour’ in professional sport (e.g. ice hockey, baseball, American football, rugby, and soccer) an explanation of dominant discourses and policies relating to the control of criminal behaviour in sports is offered. Dominant arguments for and against increased criminal prosecution in sports are offered, alongside mainstay theoretical interpretations of sports violence.
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Judicial Decision-Making: Is the Divorce Between Politics and Judicial Decision-Making Purely Rhetorical?
Judicial decision-making has long been fodder for discussion. The 2000 election in which the U.S. Supreme Court became intimately involved, has heightened both our awareness of judicial discretion in decision-making and the influence that individual and collective decisions have upon us. Should we have been surprised that individuals tend to make decisions in accord with their politicial values and beliefs? Perhaps more to the point, is avoidance of “politics” within judicial making merely a matter of rhetoric without solid foundation in reality, or can it and should it be ultimately and realistically achieved? This presentation will focus upon these and other questions, in the context of decisions made surrounding the 2000 election. By examining decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as the Florida Supreme Court and the Florida Circuit Courts, during the course of the contested 2000 election, we may be able to shed some further light upon the disconnect between our lofty judicial rhetoric and our less lofty judicial realities. Beyond an examination of the decisions themselves, and consideration of the historical context concerning those decisions, the study will also assess many works concerning judicial decision-making including the highly controversial work Closed Chambers, by Edward Lazarus.
Judicial Decision-Making and Domestic Violence Cases: Sentencing and the Victim-Offender Relationship
It is commonly argued that cases of domestic violence are treated more leniently in the courts than violent crimes that do not involve intimates. The primary research emphasis, then, has been to compare the criminal justice treatment of domestic and non-domestic violent acts. As a result, there has been little empirical research that has systematically examined sentence variation within a sample of domestic violence cases. This analysis examines this issue by drawing on unique data from a specialized domestic violence court. The purpose of our analysis is twofold. First, we examine the likelihood of a defendant receiving a custodial sentence and, second, if a custodial sentence is handed down, we examine the length of that sentence. Guiding our research is the common assumption that the primary goal of criminal justice officials has historically and continues to be to keep famjilies together when faced with domestic violence. A key focus of our analysis, then, is comparing the treatment of domestic violence cases that involve couples who are estranged to the treatment of victims and offenders who are still in a relationship. We hypothesize that offenders who victimize partners from whom they are estranged will be more likely to receive custodial sentences and receive longer sentences than those offenders who victimize a current partner.
Judicial Decisions in Wife Assault Cases in Ontario: 1970-2000
This paper presents the findings of a research project that explored judicial decisions in cases of wife assault. Data were drawn from Quick Law- a data base of Canadian legal decisions. Over 300 cases, covering 1970-2000 were analyzed. This paper describes the cases, the types of sentences that were delivered and the general tone of the decisions. The research reveals that much has changed in 30 years. The judicial decisions clearly reflect changes in social norms surrounding wife assault. In more recent decisions, the sentences are harsher and the tone is more condemming. Having said that, this research also reveals that sexist presumptions linger in very subtle ways. The paper provides examples and argues that we must look under the layers of discourse revealed in judicial decisions.
Judicial Discretion and Guidelie Departures: The Conditioning Effects of Modes of Conviction
Recent analyses of guideline sentencing practices have demonstrated that judicial departures from the guidelines serve as a significant locus of unwarranted disparity. The authority of judges to depart from guideline recommendations risks the reintroduction of the types of unwarranted disparity that sentencing guidelines were designed to eliminate. Using recent data from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, I analyze the overall effects of various factors on judicial decisions to depart both above and below the standard guideline range, and then I reexamine these relationships according to modes of conviction. I argue that there are fundamental differences in the types and amounts of individual discretion exercised across different modes of conviction. When cases are pled, judges often rely on prosecutorial recommendations, limiting the amount of judicial discretion they are free to exercise. When cases go to trial, however, judges remain free to exercise significant judicial discretion. This difference in the amount of judicial discretion exercised, I argue, conditions the influence of multiple factors across cases convicted in different ways.
Judicial Discretion Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines: The Effect of Guidelines Departurues on Sentence Severity
This research examines the direct and indirect effects of defendant characteristics and Guideline-defined legally relevant variables on sentence severity under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, judicial discretion was to be substantially reduced in an effort to eliminate sentence disparity linked to extra-legal variables such as defendant’s ethnicity, gender and educational attainment. To date studies have not explored the indirect effect of offender characteristics on length of imprisonment via an effect on the probablility of receiving a guidelines departure. The present research seeks to contribute to an understanding of judicial discretion by estimating two regression equations. The first equation is a logistic equation of the probability of receiving a guidelines departure. The second equation is a tobit model that regresses defendant characteristics, legally relevant variables, guilty pleas and departures on length of imprisonment. A finding from this research indicates the significant and non-trivial mediating role of guidelines departures in the relationship between defendant characteristics and length of imprisonment.
Judicial Oversight Demonstration Initiative: Assessing Implementation ! The
This paper will describe the Judicial Oversight Demonstration (JOD) Initiative as it is being implemented in three sites: Milwaukee, Washtenaw County, Michigan (Ann Arbor), and Dorchester County, Massachusetts (Boston) and provide some preliminary data on its implementation. This Initiative is funded by the Violence Against Women Office and has been designed to answer the quesion: Can a coordinated community response, a focused judicial response, and a systemic criminal justice response to domestic violence improve victim safety and service provision, as well as offender accountability? Both quantitative and qualitative process data are being collected at each site. In order to track and monitor system changes in response to the implementation of JOD, the sites are collecting aggregate monthly data on law enforcement, court, and service system responses to domestic violence victims and offenders, for example: number of arrests, cases charged, cases dismissed, probation revocations, and services provided. The paper will present preliminary data from the 3 sites and discuss the overall process and evaluation model for JOD.
Justice for Juveniles in Juvenile and Criminal Court Settings: A Comparative Analysis of Case Processing
This paper explores procedural justice issues with respect to the processing of adolescent offenders, comparing cases handled in juvenile court with a matched sample of cases transferred to criminal court. Police and court file data are examined for 900 cases handled in several Florida counties. Using the Sellin-Wolfgang Index, we score the seriousness of offenses based on information recorded in police incident reports and arrest narratives. We then examine how similar cases fare across the two justice systems in terms of prosecutorial charging, plea negotiations, and final conviction. We explore differentials in charging, “overcharging,”: charge reduction, and conviction offenses. Drawing upon interviews with adolescent offenders, we discuss the implications of the findings in light of adolescents’ abilities to understand the nature of the offenses with which they are charged and the nature and consequences of the plea decisions they are asked to make.
Juvenile Cop Killers
Between 1980 and 1998, 1,417 law enforcement officers were killed while on duty in the United States. Juvenile offenders were involvede in more than 10% of these cases. Detailed information about the victim officers, the offenders, and the circumstances surrounding these murders is collected by the FBI as part of a national program known as LEOKA (for Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted). In this paper the authors present a comprehensive analysis of the LEOKA data, focusing primarily on the juvenile offenders. The paper examines significant trends in juvenile offending between the years 1980 and 1998. The analysis includes characteristics of the juvenile offender, circumstances under which the murders occurred, characteristics of the victim officer, temporal factors, type of weapon, region of the United States, and more. The authors also point out similarities and differences between police homicides committed by adults and those committed by juveniles. The public policy implications resulting from this analysis are also considered.
Juvenile Court Workgroups: Examining Their Formation and Impact
As juvenile justice reform has become more punitive, researchers have examined the impact on juvenile court sanctioning. Researchers have applied little theory, however, to juvenile court decision making. To address this issue, the present study uses Eisenstein and Jacob’s theory of the informal court workigroup to examine three diverse juvenile courts. The theory is tested using qualitative and quantitative data. The results are consistent with workgroup theory: legal and extra-legal factors show varied impact on sanctioning across the three courts. The due process courts are the more cohesive workgroups with consistent output standards. The parens patriae oriented court is a less cohesive workgroup where a single factor predicts an out-of-home placement. The implications for workgroup theory applied to the juvenile court and justice by geography are discussed.
Juvenile Crime Victims and Their Incarcerated Offenders
This paper examines data from the 1997 Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities for information about adults incarcerated for victimizations of children and youth. These offenders against juveniles are very different from offenders against adults in a number of ways. Most incarcerated offenders against juveniles (65%) are sex offenders, while by contrast sex offenders comprise only a small portion (7%) of the offenders against of adults. Most incarcerated offenders against juveniles victimized someone in their own family or household (48%) or an acquaintance (34%), while the majority of offenders against of adults victimized a stranger (54%). The majority of incarcerated offenders against juveniles are white (64%), over 30 years of age (51%) and have been married (56%), while the majority of offenders against of adults are non-white (59%), under 30 (66%) and have never been married (60%). There is no evidence that State prison inmates who committed crimes against pre-adolescent children received lighter sentences than other inmates, while those who offended against teenage victims appear to have received typically less severe sentences than other offenders (even after controlling for the major factors that can influence sentence length like crime seriousness and recidivism).
Juvenile Delinquency and Adolescent Depression: Gendered Responses to Gendered Stresses
This paper unites arguments from Agnew’s strain theory with arguments from the sociology of mental health to explore the role of gender in the stress process. The main argument is that the stress process is gendered in the following ways: (1) females and males are exposed to different types of stresses; (2) females and males are vulnerable/reactive to different types of stresses; and (3) females and males respond to stress in different ways. Specifically, I propose that females are more exposed and/or vulnerable than males to interpersonal stresses, or stresses that involve another person (e.g., arguments with friends or parents); whereas, males are more exposed and/or vulnerable than females to intrapersonal stresses, or stresses that hold meaning with regard to personal competence (e.g., failing an exam). In addition, females are more likely than males to respond to stress with depression, and males are more likely to respond with delinquency. I test arguments about the relative importance of differential exposure versus diffrential vulnerability to various types of stresses for understanding the gender gaps in delinquency and depression using the National Youth Survey, OLS regression, Chow-tests, and Kessler’s methods for decomposing differences in exposure and vulnerability to stress. The results demonstrate that female vulnerability to interpersonal stresses is important for undetrstanding the gender gap in depression. However, greater exposure to intrapersonal stresses among males proves to be important for understanding the gender gap in delinquency.
Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Through Family and Community Violence Prevention Programs
This paper examines the effect of family and communitiy violence prevention and empowerment programs on juvenile delinquency control and prevention. Using survey methodology 210 high and middle school students who participated in family and community violence programs are surveyed. Results indicate that students who participated in the program had lower rate of referral for violent and other disruptive behavior. However, the program participation did not seem to have any effect on the academic achievement or grades.
Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Through Family and Community Violence Prevention Programs
This paper examines the effect of family and community violence prevention and empowerment programs on juvenile delinquency control and prevention. Using survey methodology 210 high and middle school students who participated in family and community violence programs are surveyed. Results indicate that students who participated in the program had lower rate of referral for violent and other disruptive behavior. However, the program participation did not seem to have any effect on the academic achievement or grades.
Juvenile Detention Decision-Making: Discriminatory or the Case of No Alternative?
Pre-adjudicatory detention is considered to be a crucial stage in the juvenile justice process. It is a point at which juveniles’ freedom can be restricted, and it is a critical variable in the ultimate disposition of cases. Specifically, youth who are detained are more likely to be sentenced to secure facilities. Certain groups, such as minorities, face disproportionate detention confinement thereby compounding the issue. Over the last several years, detention screening tools haave emerged to assist juvenile justice officials in making appropriate detention placement decisions. This study examines factors associated with detention decision-making in four counties of a Northeastern U.S. state. Two of the counties use a screening tool, and two do not. Differential decision-making and discrepancies with the use of the instrument are analyzed through the use of quantitative and qualitative methods. Implications for alternative practices and policy changes are discussed.
Juvenile Explosion, Abrupt Violence and Jump/Leap in Behavior Development: Crime and Delinquency in Postmodern Era
In recent years a series of serious murders commited by juveniles have intermittently happened in Japan. Although many specialists and experts have tried, it is very difficult to clear causal relationships. As such these cases are expressed as “Explosions of Juveniles”. It is thought that social surroundings in postmodern (cyber) era exert some influence on juveniles implicitly and explicitly. With a development of postmodern (cyber) era, not only behavior patterns of juveniles have changed in general, but also problematic situation of crime and delinquency have changed in particular. In my presentation what kinds of influence and change have occurred and how they are interrelated are focused and considered. In this way a series of juvenile explosion are explained from postmodern, chaos and complexity perspectives.
Juvenile Justice: A Study of Student Attitudes
This paper examines student responses to a survey recently administered on three different campuses in the Northeast. Analysis of student perceptions of the juvenile justice system suggest that studying criminology and criminal justice does not significantly affect their views. In addition, students may be more likely to support punitive rather than treatment policies in responding to juvenile crime. The authors consider what implications these data have for students contemplating careers in criminal justice.
Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Interventions for Juveniles Who Eventually Commit Homicide
Most studies on juvenile homicide offenders have been based on retrospective rather than prospective information. Consequently, both the history of problem behavior/offending and earlier juvenile justice and mental health interventions are not always well documented. Prospectively collected information in the Pittsburgh Youth Study identified 19 homicide offenders. The paper shows that most of the offenders had received a wide variety of services because of their problem behavior, including juvenile justice interventions. The fact that, eventually, these individuals escalated to homicide, calls into question the effectiveness of the interventions.
Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center (JJEC) Web Site
The Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA) is working with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Pevention (OJJDP) to enhance juvenile justice evaluation capacity in the States through the Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center (JJEC) project. The goal of the JJEC is to provide training, technical assistance and other resources to the States to help them enhance their capacity to evaluate juvenile justice programs. The JJEC recently launched its Web site www.jrsa.org/jjec. The site was created to assist a variety of people in the juvenile justice field who need information on assessing program effectiveness. Users can find information related to various juvenile justice program areas, including performance measures, evaluation designs, evaluation instruments, and publications. Users will also find juvenile justice resources related to Federal programs and initiatives. In addition, the site contains information for State planners, including State reports, contracts, and other forms that can assist States in sharing evaluation information.
Juvenile Murderers and Post-Release Success
Increased interest has focused on juvenile homicide offenders since the mid 1980s when juvenile arrests for murder increased dramatically in the United States. Although studies have suggested that many young killers will be released from confinement, a review of the existing literature indicated that very little is known about the characteristics of juvenile murderers that are correlated with post-release success and failure. This paper provides follow-up data on 43 offenders who were released after serving time in adult prison for one or more counts of murder, attempted murder, or in a few cases, of manslaughter. Hypotheses designed to explore the relationships between select characteristics of juvenile homicide offenders and recidivism were tested using interview and agency record data across eight areas: family, peers and social environment, dependency history, school, substance use, delinquency history, incarceration behavior, and personality development. This paper examines to what extent,if any, these variables were related to post-release success among sample subjects.
Juvenile Murders and Suicides: A Comparison of Characteristics
Any proposed explanation of the recent trends in juvenile violence should consider both interpersonal and self-directed violence. To support this work, a descriptive study of juvenile homicide and suicide characeristics and trends will be presented. Using mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics (CDC), the demographic characteristics of homicide and suicide victims and the use of weapons in these violence incidents will be presented for the period from 1981 through 1998. Comparisons and differences between these two types of juvenile violence (homicide and suicide) will be highlighted. Implications for the development of explanations of recent juvenile violence trends will be discussed.
Juvenile vs. Criminal Courts: Comparing Recidivism of Adolescent Felony Offenders Across Court Contexts
This presentation will report the final analyses of a replication and extension of research by Fagan (1996) that compared the outcomes and impacts of juvenile and criminal court sanctions on recidivism among adolescent felony offenders. In this study we have compared the rates of recidivism between two similar groups of adolescents, both consisting of 15 and 16-year-olds who were, in 1992 or 1993, charged with either robbery, burglary, or aggravated assault. The matched sample consists of 2,400 adolescents — 1,200 from New York’s criminal courts and 1,200 from New Jersey’s juvenile courts. A two-factor natural experment tested the effects of court jurisdiction (juvenile versus adult) and sanction severity on recidivism. We explore the effects of criminalizing adolescent crime, the effect of jurisdictional context on recidivism, and the policy implications of this research. We also contrast these results ot the results of previous research, and question the effect of changes among juvenile justice policy and practice over time.
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Keeping Friends Close and Enemies Closer: The Importance of Group Processes in Contributing to the Maintenance of Peer Victimizations
The literature on sociometric status suggests that aggressive adolescents are rejected by peers. In contrast, literature on peer victimization suggests that aggressive adolescents are often nominated by peers as being well liked and leaders. Recent work has also emphasized that many adolescent victimizers are victimized themselves. This study tries to reconcile these inconsistent views of aggressive adolescents by examining variability in the perception of peers by people who differ in sociometric statuses: Do different types of adolescents describe their peers in the same way? Specifically, we examine nominations for best and least liked, aggression, leadership and helpfulness by sociometric status of nominator and nominee. Using data collected from 6th-8th graders in the Cornell Social Networks Survey (N-579), preliminary analyses reveal that children of almost all status groups choose Popular children as most liked and helpful and Rejected children as disliked and aggressive. One main exception is that Neglected children are more likely to perceive Controversial children, rather than Rejected children, as most disliked and aggressive. Further analyses will examine values and perceptions of acceptable behavior among self and peer group in order to gain further insight into these variations and to help highlight the importance of group processes in causing and maintaining peer rejection and victimization.
‘Keeping the Peace’: The Interaction of Race and Motherhood in the Context of Confinement
Criminologists have focused much of their energy in recent years on erupting race relations within male correctional institutions. Concurrently, prison administrations have taken drastic steps to segregate prisons in an effort to curb violence. Surprisingly, most female correctional institutions have not experienced the racial hostility that is common in male institutions. However, it is not clear why women are focused more on “keeping the peace” during their sentence than on controversies linked to race. Our research attempts to answer this question. We posit that because the majority of women in prison are mothers, the concomitant desire to reunite with their children upon release from prison acts as a deterrent to tense, and often, violent race relations. Using data from two large-scale surveys of women’s prisons in California, we test whether motherhood affects the prevalence of racial hostility.
Kennedy, Hundley and Their Trojan Horse: Joseph Valachi’s “(In)Significance to the Study of Organized Crime”
In 1963, Americans learned about “La Cosa Nostra” for the first time. This hitherto unknown name for Italian-American organized crime was the product of both the fertile mind of racketeer Joseph Valachi, and a political strategy fathered by Attorney General Robert Kennedy. The Attorney General wanted Americans to become more deeply disturbed about organized crime’s conspiratorial and corporate nature and thus used Valachi and his discovery “La Cosa Nostra” as a tool both to educate citizens and to concentrate federal law enforcement’s efforts upon the “great conspiracy.” A number of distinguished academic researchers bought into this “new” interpretation of organized crime though none bothered to check on what Valachi actually said over months of intereviews with the FBI and the Bureau of Narcotics. Our paper, which explains Robert Kennedy’s political effort, also concludes that Valachi could not, and did not, verify a nation-wide organized crime conspiracy called “La Cosa Nostra.” Hence, the criminology of organized crime as immeasurably impoverished.
Killed in the Act: A Descriptive Analysis of Crime-Precipitated Homicide
Aggregate level homicide rates are subject to significant limitations. Disaggregating homicide into group-specific measures provides insight into the constellation of factors implicated in the nature and causes of lethal violence (Hawkins 1999; Flewelling and Willilams 1999). The current paper provides a descriptive analysis of “crime-precipated” homicides. Crime-precipitate homicides are those in which the victim was killed while participating in illegal behavior. We categorize illegal behavior into predatory crimes, vice crimes, and narcotics dealing and utilize the Chicago Homicide Data Set (Block and Block 1998) to determine the demographic characteristics of victims, offenders, and the event. We found that crime-precipitated homicides differ significantly from homicides in general. We also find considerable variation among the types of victim-precipitated homicides. The results of this study indicate some interesting insights into the nature of lethal violence as well as illustrate the continuing utility of disaggregating homicide data.
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Labeling, Life-Chances, and Adult Crime: Direct and Indirect Effect of Official Intervention in Adolescence on Delinquent Behavior in Early Adulthood
The purpose of the present study is to assess recent efforts to revitalize labeling theory as a developmental theory of structural disadvantage. Structural labeling theory argues that official intervention increases the probability of involvement in subsequent delinquency and deviance because intervention triggers exclusionary processes that have negative consequences for conventional opportunities. The theory predicts that official intervention in adolescence increases involvement in delinquency in early adulthood due to the negative effect of intervention on educational attainment and employment stability. Using panel design data that spans early adolescence through early adulthood, we find considerable support for this revised labeling approach. Official intervention in youth has significant, positive effect on delinquency in early adulthood, and this effect is partly mediated by educational attainment and employment instability.
Language and Violence Against Women and Girls: Patriarchal Control Over Language and Sexual Terrorism
This paper grew out of a literature review I conducted for a presentation I gave for “Stamp Out Sexism Day” on the campus at which I currently teach criminal justice. Using Sheffield’s (1987) work on “sexual terrorism” as my theoretical foundation in radical feminism, I focus on examples and available data to examine whether patriarchal control over language is related to male violence against women and girls. For example, words like “bitch” and “whore” are gender-specific, acceptable language in our society used to negatively describe females who are assertive and/or who are sexually experienced. Males are expected to be assertive and sexually experienced, thus there are no blatantly negative gender-specific terms to describe them as such. Futher, an expression such as “who wears the pants in the family?” implies that males (i.e., the traditional wearer of “pants”) are to be the “heads of households” and/or “king of their castles”. Females who exert power within the nuclear family structure often face this question (as do their husbands/partners) in the form of a criticism, insult and/or, in some cases, violence.
Latino Police Officers: Negotiating the Police Role
Civil rights leaders and community groups argue that the increased employment of Latino police officers will improve the quality of police services to Latino communities. This claim is based on the assumption that Latino officers are more supportive of, and better qualified to meet the needs of the Latino community, and that they share a unified vision of their role in the Latino community. Through in-depth interviews with the complete population (100%) of sworn Latino officers in Omaha, NE (N=34) this study investigates the officers’ attitudes regarding their ethnic identification and their experiences policing in the Latino community. Contrary to public policy assumptions, the officers do not share a common ethnic identity. While a majority of the officers express a strong Latino identity, approximately one in five identify with both Latinos and Anglos, and a small number identify exclusively as “white.” Socio-demographic factors relevant to identity formation are examined and assessed for their explanatory value. Also contrary to public policy assumptions, the officers do not share a common vision of their role in the Latino community. About half of the officers integrate their cultural knowledge and sensitivities into their police role, while the other half enacts a primarily traditional police role.
Law: Influenced by a Select Few or the Consensual Belief of Society as a Whole?
Even as the year 2000 comes to an end, theoretical debates concerning the origins of law are alive and well. Depates concerning the criminal law formation process traditionally and continue to involve two competing theoretical paradigms. These paradigms include the functional/consensus and conflict paradigms. Briefly, functional theories of criminal law development suggest that laws result from consensual societal beliefs that are codified into law, whereas conflict theories suggest that laws result from codification of ruling-class interests. Beginning with a conventional definition of law provided by Sutherland and Cressey (1978), this paper intends to address, through the systematic investigation of the major theories, empirical evidence, and criticisms associated with each paradigm, whether law is influenced by a select few or the consensual belief of society as a whole?
Law Enforcement Executive Development: An Assessment of an International Training Program
A university-based law enforcement executive development program offers international training for command staff from several countries. Training is provided by peers in a two-week intense program in a host country that focuses on a variety of administrative, strategic, tactical and logistical aspects of policing. An in-depth survey of 20 executive from Georgia and Utah who participated in a summer program in Israel provides insight into participants’ perceptions as to the effectiveness and efficiency of this program. Participants provided rich quantitative and qualitative data as to program content, program management, value of content areas, field visits, training sessions and program accountability. The results will be presented along with suggestions for replication.
Law Enforcement or Natural Law: A Critical Analysis of Project Exile
In February 1997, Richmond, Virginia unveiled Project Exile; hailed as an innovative, efficient, and aggressive interagency approach to combating gun-related violence and homicide. Project Exile combines the resources of several local, state, and federal law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies; targeting violent felons who violate firearm laws and seeking the most stringent penalties possible, often through the use of federal courts. The program has been cited as the preeminent factor in Richmond’s declining homicide and gun-related crime rates in recent years and many are applauding it’s success. In fact, several cities and states nationwide have implemented similar programs based on the Project Exile model. Others, however, have questioned the effectiveness of Project Exile as a reduction strategy for gun-related violence and homicide and decried the subsequent programs as “cookie cutter” law enforcement policy based on a program whose impact has not been systematically examined. This paper will take a critical approach toward Project Exile; exploring whether the reduction in Richmond’s gun-related violence and homicide may be better attributed to the influence of various structural- and community-level variables concurrent to the inception of Project Exile. Specifically, we will explore whether the crime rate in Richmond would have indeed declined under the given temporal social conditions, such as a prosperous economy, low unemployment rates, shifting patterns of drug use, and a changing demographic structure.
Leadership Protocol to Address Minority Trust and Confidence in the Police
The purpose of this research is to gain a better understanding of the issues that give rise to ongoing tensions in the relationship between the police and membes of the minority community. To achieve that objective, the authors intend to conduct research in four communities. The research is intended to elicit data which will be used to produce at least four protocols aimed at increasing the level of trust and confidence while reducing persistent sources of tension that exist in the police-minority community relationship. The primary method of data collection will occur through the use of focus groups. Four key informants that are critical to understanding the nature of the problem are members of the minority community; youth; rank and file police officers; and police management staff. The focus groups will be held in each of the four communities and dedicated to each of the previously targeted source groups. Input will be sought in assessing the respective issues and eliciting solutions for the protocol. Three main products will be developed: leadership protocols to reduce police/community tensions (Tucker), developing model focus groups strategies (Ryan), and case studies focusing on entrenched police/community tensions (DeBrovner).
Learning to Hate: Conceptualizing Anti-Gay and Lesbian Violence
This research examines the possibility of using Akers’ social learning theory to explain anti-gay and lesbian violence. The first section examines the role of learning mechanisms in explaining anti-gay and lesbian violence. The second section investigates how learning constructs can be utilized to describe the transmission and pereptuation of homophobia. The construction of homophobic definitions is critical as it forms the ideological base upon which anti-gay and lesbian violence hinges. This research concludes with a discussion of how concepts developed here may be empirically tested. The findings suggest that, indeed, social learning theory would be a valid tool for both the explanation of anti-gay and lesbian violence, and for the perpetuation of homophobia.
Legal and Cultural Influences on Violence and Coercion in Sri Lanka’s Commercial Sex Industry
Based on a two-year ethnographic study of Sri Lanka’s commercial sex industry, this paper discusses legal and cultural factors contributing to violence and coercion against women sex workers. We examine legal statutes governing prostitution and discretionary law enforcement practices, as well as cultural definitions of appropriate gendered behavior and sexual practices for women and men. We focus on how these combine to heighten the risks and dangers faced by women in the commercial sex industry, and to violate sex workers’ human rights.
Legal and Media Enmeshments: Criticizing “Objectivity” Through High Profile Crime Cases
This paper draws on an ongoing research project concerning individual cases swell into social causes, because perceived as having general and symbolic implications, can and does the law still operate under “business as usual” conditions? In order to probe what I call a problem of enmeshment — one which also puts legal ‘objectivity’ into question — I interviewed judges, lawyers and jurors in seven high profile crime cases. These ranged from the 1989 Central Park Jogger case to the 1995 O.J. Simpson case. The paper argues that high profile crime cases present an opportunity for analyzing how social problems in the American context are often thought about legalistically. At the same time, this analysis suggests that in reverse, the legal system starts to process symbolic high profile crimes as though social problems.
Legal Issues Concerning Extradition as a Tool to Fight International Terrorism
This paper delineates the salient issues surrounding the role of extradiction in preventing and responding to international terrorism from a U.S. perspective. The first issue addressed is definitional concerns in codifying international terrorism. Additionally, the political offense exception clause that circumscribes extradition in cases involving politically motivated crimes and prosecutions that have historically been the most controversial, and drawn the most attention from policy makers, will also be considered in this review. The use of the Internet as a means of communication between terrorists and legal deficiencies in international law related to technological advances that enable cyber terrorists to operate without fear of legal reprisal will also be addressed. An analysis of case studies that have impacted precedence in U.S. courts and the impact of legislative decisions following major terrorist incidents directed against Americans will also be conducted. Future considerations for international policiy makers concerning the role of extradition as a legitimate tool to bring international terrorists to justice are also explored.
Legal Protection of Children and Adolescents as Research Subjects
This paper expands and revises a previous examination of several issues concerning the protection of youth as research subjects. The nature of federal and state regulations and their chronology are outlined. The role of local institutional review boards and journal editors and reviewers is analyzed. Research not funded by federal agencies is given special attention. Articles from a variety of journals are reviewed in terms of whether they are consistent with statutes regulating research on youth.
Legitimizing Genocidal Scholarship: Delineating a Research Agenda for the 21st Century
The last six decades have witnessed an extraordinary proliferation of white-collar crime research. Criminal offenses once viewed as either not researchable or practically insignificant are now considered invaluable to the future of criminology. Unfortunately, however, the study of genocide–an offense falling under the white-collar crime domain–continues to be ignored by scholars devoted to the discipline of criminology. This is an unfortunate exclusion. In the current essay, the crime of genocide is explored for its potential contributions to criminological scholarship. Theoretical and empirical evidence links genocidal behavior to four major components of criminology–criminological theory, corrections/sentencing, policing, and victimology. The analysis suggests that the study of genocidal behavior is worthy of criminological exploration and that criminologists would be well advised to pursue genocidal scholarship during the 21st century.
Lessons About Justice From the ‘Laboratory’ of Wrongful Convictions: Informants, Confessions, and Tunnel Vision
The prosecution of criminal cases is premised on a series of ideologically grounded but otherwise untested assumptions, such as the value of judicial instructions to jurors about permitted uses of prejudicial evidence, and the efficacy of procedural and evidentiary rules about the presentation of evidence and the conduct of trials. The product of the vagaries of the common law, or the politicized venue of the legislature, the value of these rules and procedures is largely a matter of faith. That faith has been challenged by a recognition that the system is fraught with error brought about by recent acknowledgement of significant numbers of wrongful convictions. Many of these miscarriages of justice have been subjected to close scrutiny by commissions of inquiry and the like. For the first time it is possible to test the rules of procedure and evidence against known outcomes — and the lessons are disturbing. This paper explores a number of basic principles of criminal trials against the lessons learned from acknowledged wrongful convictions.
Lessons Learned From the Evaluation of Batterer Intervention Programs in Pennsylvania Counties
This paper discusses the role of the evaluator in determining the impact of one approach to domestic violence in local communities, namely, batterer intervention programs. The overall purpose of batterer intervention programming is to hold the batterer responsible for his/her behavior. One of the major concerns, however, of researchers involved in the evaluation of such programs is how to keep the victim safe from further battering that might result from providing information to the research team. Further, other problems arise in the area of obtaining information, critical to an outcome evaluation, from probation police, the courts, and/or from the civil court. This paper addresses how these issues were handled in a five-county evaluation of batterer intervention programs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Preliminary findings from that evaluation are included as well.
Life Course Turning Points: A Case Study of the Effect of School Failure on Interpersonal Violence
The linkage of school failure and delinquency is well established. This research examines this linkage from a developental perspective and has three principal objectives. The first is to test whether the impact of school failure, as measured by being held back in school, depends on the timing of the event. The second is to test whether the magnitude and direction of the impact depends on the child’s developmental history. The third is to demonstrate an enhancement of a semi-parametric, group-based methodology for identifying distinctive developmental trajectories of some behavior of interest, in this case violence. This enhance provides capacity for measuring the impact of an event like school failure on developmental trajectories. The analyses are based on a large prospective longitudinal study of males from Montreal, Canada.
Lifestyles of Male and Female Adolescent Crime Victims
Gender differences in the experience of criminal victimization are fairly well established. With the notable exception of sexual assault, males are more likely to experience criminal victimization than are females. Among the primary approaches to explaining criminal victimization generally are routine activities and lifestyle theories, both of which predict an increased likelihood of victimization associated with involvement in certain activities, or lifestyles. These theories have, in fact, been used to explain differences in the quality of male and female victimization. Efforts at examining differences and similarities in the lifestyles and activities of males and females who do become victims is more rare. This paper examines the ways in which lifestyle and activities (with a special emphasis on criminal offending) impact differentially on the victimization experiences of a sample of male and female adolescents.
Little Voices: Characteristics of Child Victims of Maltreatment/Abuse and Neglect
Many victims of abuse and neglect are not ever categorized as crime victims, as the crimes against them may never have been documented or prosecuted; nevertheless, children are referred for treatment to address reactive issues of the offenses done to them. This paper examines the characteristics of children in foster care who are brought into treatment at the University California Davis, Child and Adolescent Resource (CAARE) Diagnostic and Treatment Center at UC Davis Medical Center. The database of children is examined to determine common characteristics of children and their environmental backgrounds. Early analyses show common elements of medical illnesses, mental health problems, developmental delays and emotional and/or behavioral problems.
Local Crime and Disorder Partnerships in Liverpool
The main response in Liverpool to the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act was to set up a partnership group (CitySafe) to oversee the response to the Act. CitySafe was envisaged as part of a tripartite structure, with CitySafe 2 groups covering regions of the city while CitySafe 3 groups were planned to operate at the local level. While CitySafe 2 groups did not come into existence, there are many CitySafe 3 groups in Liverpool. This paper reports on a research project intended to explore the origins, development and practice of these local partnership groups. CitySafe 3 groups appear to have been set up without any formal guidelines about aims and objectives and with no formal structures of accountability, yet they could carry out a great deal of local work on crime and disorder issues. As a result of recent changes in the organisation of policing in Liverpool, it is likely that further changes will take place in local partnership groups and these will also be discussed.
Local Trends in School Delinquency: An Analysis of Aggregate-Level Data
Violence at school has increasingly become an important social concern in recent years. As such, many contemporary researchers are attempting to disentangle the many causes and correlates of anti-social behavior in this environment. For this paper, aggregate-level school delinquency data will be analyzed in an effort to examine emerging trends and significant correlations. Data were obtained from incident reports at approximately 40 schools in a large midwestern school district. Relevant theoretical ideologies will be employed in this endeavor, including social control, differential association, and fear of victimization frameworks. Findings will be discussed and limitations to this type of analysis will be acknowledged.
Locational Dependence and School Violence: A GIS Mapping Analysis
The prevalence of violent incidents occurring in and around nation schools has brought much attention by policy makers, government officials, and academics alike. In the study of violence in general and school violence in particular, the location of such incidents has represented a considerable focal point of investigation. For example, some have concluded that violence found in schools is a representation of more general problems of violence exhibited in the surrounding community and neighborhoods in which the school is positioned. As such, it is held that higher rates of school violence will be found in inner city, urban schools where levels of violence are disproportionately higher in general. Another example of locational reference to violence can be found in the ‘subculture of violence’ theory, which has been offered in explanation of heightened levels of violence found in urban areas and regions of the southern United States. Through the use of GIS mapping techniques this paper seeks to examine the relationship of violent school incidents and surrounding areas through the analysis of nationwide incidents of school associated violent deaths occurring between the school years of 1992-1993 and 2000-2001.
Looking for the Driving While Black Phenomena: Conceptualizing Racial Bias Processes and Their Associated Distributions
This paper establishes four central racially biased mechanisms which might produce the Driving While Black phenomena. Two of the mechanisms are about the decision making of individual officers. On the one hand some officers, mostly majority one would assume, may be racially prejudiced and so consciously target minority drivers. It may also be the case that many officers, both majority and minority, have access to cultural stereotypes and their associated cognitive biases and that this produces a diffuse tendency to stop minorities at higher rates than majority drivers. There are two organizational mechanisms as well. Racial profiling, the practice of stopping individuals because they “fit” the profile will produce racial bias in stops at very high rates among both majority and minority officers. This is an example of institutional racism. Finally, if the police are deployed more heavily in minority communities this will also produce racial bias in outcomes, although it need not reflect any bias in officer or organizational intent. A major contribution of this paper is to produce descriptions of the expected distributions across officers if these four processes are at work. A distribution of the joint occurance of cognitive bias and bad apples is also presented, since this seems a highly likely combination.
Losing Confidence in its Safety: Is Japan Still the Safest Country in the Industrialized World?
Japan has enjoyed the reputation of the safest country in the world for a long time and crime was never an issue on the political agenda until very recently. However, since 1990, the persistent slump seems to have shaken the Japanese public’s confidence in both economic security and public safety. There is increasing media concentrartion on stories about the risng tide of youth violence, presenting young offenders as almost a new breed of young criminals. Accordingly, the Japanese public’s perception seems to be that violent crime is rising. As a consequence, they are increasingly asking the government to take the necessary measures to protect them, especially by getting tough with criminals. Recognizing the importance of establishing the real level of victimization and fear of crime, in 2000, the Ministry of Justice therefore conducted the first Japanese victimization survey, as part of the International Crime Victims Survey (ICVS). This paper compares the results of the Japanese survey with those of other participating industrialized countries. In addition, and using analyses of both ICVS and official Japanese recorded crime data, the paper also examines why, even though the Japanese victimization rate is the lowest, the associated fear of crime is relatively high.
Loss of Self: A Fundamental ‘Pain of Imprisonment’ for Women?
In prison, women are subject to a regime not only directed at behavioural practices but also at the very constitution of the self. Here, personalities, subjectivities and relationships with others are governed so that even aspects of the self deemed intimate are severely challenged. Experiencing imprisonment thus poses questions about, as well as an asssault upon, the self. This paper, based on data drawn from a qualitative study of three women’s prisons in England, explores the main deprivations and sources of suffering for women in prison. As a consequence of imprisonment, these individuals suffer from (1) leading a regulated and restricted life, (2) experiencing isolation and (3) encountering social discreditation. Each of these three sources of suffering is analysed in relation to its impact on women’s sense of self. it is argued that a fundamental ‘pain of imprisonment’ is the loss of self in women who observe their former identities and self-images crumbling away, often without the simultaneous development of equally valued new ones.
Low Crime Rates in Amish Counties: A Test of Institutional Anomie Theory
Amish people are well known for their unique lifestyle in the U.S. Literature shows that they preserve collectivist, non-material, separatist norms, and maintain well-integrated social institutions. They are considered as the only people who have successfully resisted the cultural and social mainstream of the American society. Their criminal experience, however, has rarely been investigated. Although they are known as the most law-abiding people in the United States, major collective-level criminological theories have never been applied to explain low crime rates of Amish communities. The present paper, using 1990 county-level Census and UCR data of the three most Amish populated states (Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania), attempts to test the institutional anomie theory. Institutional anomie theory posits that the cultural over-emphasis on individual achievement for material success, coupled with unbalanced institutional arrangement, causes high crime rates. Drawing on the theory, the level of Amish presence is hypothesized to be negatively associated with crime or arrest rates, because Amish people are not influenced by criminogenic American dream and their institutional arrangement seems well balanced. For the analysis, controlling for other baseline control variables, county-level crime and arrest rates for index, property,and violent crimes are regressed on the proportion of German language (including Pennsylvania Dutch) users at home, the approximate measure of the level of Amish presence in each County. Analysis of arrest rates provides consistent support for the institutional anomie theory, while evidence from the analysis of crime rates is mixed. Limitations of the study including the lack of precise measure of key variables are discussed, and strategies for further tests of institutional anomie theory are suggested.
Low Self Control and Corporate Crime: A Test of a General Theory
A recent exchange in Criminology debated the merits of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime as applied to organizational crime (Reed and Yeager, 1996; Herbert, Green, and Larragoite, 1998; Yeager and Reed, 1998). While the debate was provacative, the empirical evidence brought to bear was an insufficient test of competing theoretical claims. In this paper, we subject the general and organizational theories to a theoretical competition. Using data drawn from a factorial survey administered a group of corporate managers and managers in training, we find that the anticipated correlation between offending propensity and behavioral indicators of low self-control is not sustained. Instead, perceptual indicators of low self-control (e.g., perceived self-interest) and organizational factors predict manager’s offendng intentions. The implications for general and organizational theories of corporate offending are discussed.
Lower Court Judges: Do Men and Women View the Law Differently?
Past studies of gender differences among members of the judiciary have focused on the trial and appellate level (Steffensmeier & Herbert 1999, Gruhl, Spohn & Welch 1981, Cook 1979, Kritzer & Uhlman 1977). This paper extends the study of general differences to members of the lower judiciary. In particular, it examines whether the gender-of-judge affects their attitudes towards sentencing and the law. Two models are considered: the gender model and the job model. Accoding to the gender model, there are important differences between men and women in their approaches to work. It assumes men and women are fundamentally different, and women will relate to work “as women.” According to the job model, the job itself is central in molding attitudes and beliefs of workers. Men and women may seem different due to constraints and opportunities associated with gender, but those differences are overcome by the common constraints and experiences of the job. Analysis draws frm a study of members of the lower court judiciary in Pennsylvania. The full population of women justices was interviewed along with a random selection of men justices in the same counties. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, courtroom observations, questionnaires and archival sources.
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Mainstreaming Comparative Methodology in Criminal Justice/Criminology Research Methods Courses
Although the offering of comparative/international criminology and criminal justice courses is a fairly longstanding tradition in the field, it is still relatively unusual for criminal justice research methods courses to include topics relating to comparative methodology. This is essential if we aim to train students to be globally competent. This paper will outline the essentials of teaching comparative methodology, suggest how the area might be mainstreamed into our research methods courses, and comment on appropriate materials and projects that might be introduced to further student learning in this area.
Male Entitlements, Sexual Jealousy and Intimate Partner Violence
Two key issues motivate the present research. First, because the majority of research on male-perpetrated intimate partner violence has been conducted on small, clinical samples of assaultive men, there is a general need to identify the predictors of battering on less selective samples. Second, despite the range of theories and risk factors for intimate partner violence that have been identified previously, an under-explored area concerns male attitudes of entitlement. In the current project, male entitlement attitudes are explored to examine their relationship to male-perpetrated intimate partner violence. Using data from over 350 recent male arrestees participating in the Omaha Intimate Partner Violence Project, this project examines whether measures gauging male entitlement attitudes (i.e., male dominance, male preferences, etc) as well as other risk factors such as sexual jealousy, sex role attitudes, and prior exposure to violence during childhood are related to intimate partner violence net of other predictors. Directions for future research on male-perpetrated intimate partnher violence are discussed.
Maltreated Girls and Delinquency: What is the Relationship?
As we enter the twenty-first century, it is becoming an evermore accepted premise that a direct connection between child maltreatment and delinquency exists. However, this connection is not well defined or examined in the present day literature. More specifically little research has sought to ascertain what factors increase the likelihood that a maltreated youth, particiularly girls, will participate in later delinquent or criminal activity. This study fills a void in the literature by addressing this issue. Using official data from a mid-western city, 237 maltreated girls ages six through nine during 1990-1992 were selected for inclusion in the study. Police and court records were checked to see if these youth had committed any official acts of delinquency. Preliminary results suggest that approximately half of all girls appearing in the court for maltreatment have committed at least one delinquent act. A multivariate analysis will be conducted to assess the impact of both individual and family level factors in delinquent activity. Results from this study will be presented as well as recommendations for future research.
Managed Care and Juvenile Sex Offenders: Identifying Outcomes and Concerns of Community Based Treatment
Managed care policies and practices are increasingly governing court dispositions, client treatment, and efforts at correction and rehabilitation. These initiatives are designed to improve client outcome while simultaneously utilizing cost-efficient strategies of service provision. The full impact of managed care practices on correctional counseling and treatment is not known, however, juveniles within the correctional system are particularly at risk given their relatively powerles position. The focus of the present study is to identify and examine the effects of managed care on a population of juvenile sex offenders receiving community based treatment. Utilizing the field methods of intensive interviews, open-ended questionnaires, document analysis, and participant observation; various client concerns, treatment issues, and purported outcomes are identified and discussed with various professionals in the field.
Management and Care of Sex Offenders in the Community: Experiences and Challenges in the U.S.
There are few comprehensive, locally tailored programs for the management of sex offenders in the community. Legislation such as Megan’s Law allows for the monitoring of all convicted sex offenders, though it does not have an impact on recidivism, treatment or care for offenders. Additionally, it is not a victim-centered approach which takes into consideration the needs of all community members. Sex offenders constitute a heterogeneous population requiring different strategies and programs depending on the nature of their offenses, demographics of the community, and the resources available for management of this population. In order to implement an effective management strategy, a detailed needs assessment of the community and the sex offenders living in the community is essential. This paper will describe the current movement within the United States for developing comprehensive plans for the management of sex offenders.
Mandatory Sentencing and Adjudication MOutcomes: Examining the Role of Extralegal Defendant Characteristics
Mandatory sentencing has been proposed not only as a means by which to incapacitate criminals and to deter crime through inflexible and tough penalties, but also as a way of equalizing sentencing outcomes across defendants. The concern of critics, however, is that mandatory penalties do not eliminate discretion, but instead shift it to an earlier, less visible stage in the criminal justice process. There has been much debate as to the extent to which such practices increase the unpredictability of adjudication outcomes. Little is known, however, about how specific legal or extralegal factors might influence the processing of mandatory minimum sentence cases. It is conceivable that, just as sentencing research in general has discussed disparate outcomes in regards to the gender, race or socioeconomic status of the defendant, the outcomes of charges involving a mandatory minimum sentence may also be linked with extralegal characteristics, particularly at the plea bargaining stage. The purpose of this research is to use court data collected for the Bureau of Justice Statistics by the National Pretrial Reporting Program to examine patterns of defendant extralegal characteristics and adjudication outcomes in cases involving a primary charge that is a mandatory minimum offense.
Mapping Domestic Violence in a Large City
Domestic violence was one of the crimes examined in early studies of crime hot-spots. Those studies concentrated upon repeat victimization and repeat calls to the same addresses (subsequently termed hot-dots) rather than the spatial distribution of domestic violence over larger areas. This may reflect an expectation, or hypothesis, that spatial variation is not of particular relevance due to the nature of domestic violence. This study aims to test that hypothesis by examining spatial variation in domestic violence reported to the police in a large city. The extent to which domestic violence clusters in certain neighborhoods and areas is examined in order to determine to what extent the distribution is due to routine activities – more calls expected in densely populated areas, police practices in responding to calls, geographic factors such as victim/suspect residence locations, or type of location, e.g. single family, multi family, or commercial. The implications for the future study of domestic violence and police responses are developed.
Mapping the Field of Criminal Justice Employment
Criminology and criminal justice and related fields represent a relatively new area of professional education in Australian universities. Obviously, these courses are designed to provide qualified professionals to work in the criminal justice system. However, the “criminal justice system” is an extremely complex and amorphous construct. The components of the system are divers and its boundaries unclear. In addition, some programs that have been established here over the past decade grew out of crises involving official corruption in the various jurisdictions. Hence, the university programs were intended to produce some “new” type of criminal justice professional. These factors present an enormous challenge for those designing criminal justice courses. In truth, little is known in Australia about the employment destinations of graduates, or how they reach those destinations. The paper reports on a project that explores the career outcomes for graduates from one of the earliest baccalaureates established in 1991. We wanted to find out not only what careers graduates moved into, but how they got there, and how (if at all) their degree contributed to this outcome–and hence the title of the project which entails the mapping of these pathways.
Masculine Ideologies, Institutional Sexism, and the Denial of Justice: The Unfounding of Rape
Consistent with other large cities, Philadelphia experienced a decline in violent crime during the 1990’s. The declining violent crime rate in Philadelphia was partially due to the unfounding of a large number of rape complaints. This research suggests the unfounding of rape reports in the Philadelphia Police Department represents a common approach to the policing of rape and was most likely influenced by traditionally “masculine” belief systems permeating policing, including: 1) the sexualized workplace environment, 2) the persistence of rape myths, and 3) the prevailing belief that police are solely responsible for fluctuating crime rates and social control. It is suggested here that these beliefs synthesize to prevent effective rape policing. Further, this research suggest the ineffective policing of rape may not be random, but many demonstrate particular patterns. This research will utilize data obtained through the Philadelphia Police Department’s special investigation into the unfounded rapes. Patterns present in the unfounded rapes will be explored in an attempt to determine if the unfounded rapes were limited to particular groups of women or geographical locations in the city.
Maturing Out of Drug Use: Age or Duration Effect?
Survey data of the Israel adult (18-40) population were used to estimate multivariate models for the probability of mature drug use termination for cannabis and “hard” drugs. The termination probabilities were highest in the case of “hard” drugs and lowest in the case of cigarettes. The great majority of illicit drug users terminate their use naturally. We distinguished between life-cycle phenomena and duration of use as determinents of termination. We have found that the termination of cannabis use was entirely duration dependent, whereas terminating “hard” drugs is entitely a life-cycle dependent. The termination probability is determined by demographic factors in the case of cannabis, but not in the case of “hard” drugs. In both cases heavier drug users find it more difficult to stop.
Measurement Issues in Studying Victimization Among Adolescents: Results of a Pilot Study
Despite the growing interest in empirically studying victimization experiences among minority adolescents careful attention to measure problems in this area. This paper describes efforts to develop appropriate survey-based measures in preparation for a large-scale survey of adolescent victims by employing several recommended strategies: a review of existent literature and survey instruments, focus groups with potential research respondents, “think-aloud” interviews with 15 respondents, and field pretesting of the survey instrument with a sample of 60 adolescent victims (Fowler, 1995). The survey instrument includes both closed- and open-ended questions selected from over forty available instruments and interview protocols published in criminology, public health, sociology, and psychology. The paper will document the development processes in detail.
Measuring Change in the Metropolitan Police of the District of Columbia: Measuring Member Attitude
In April 1998, Chief Ramsey took command of the Metropolitan Police of the District of Columbia (MPDC). Shortly thereafter, he announced plans to restructure MPDC, to revitalize its facilities and operations, and to reorient its approach to policing. The Urban Institute followed this process closely, via surveys, interviews, and field observations. One method, the MPDC member survey, taking place in December 1998 and July 2000, yielded the opportunity to look at member attitude and perceptions during the restructuring. This paper will focus on placing these MPDC member surveys into the context of the restructuring. Using factor analysis, we will tap constructs captured by the member opinion section of the instrument, and create and test attitudinal measurement scales. Member topic questions include satisfaction with physical environment, satisfaction with work environment, morale/fairness, perceived relationship with the community and other agencies, and member expectations. This paper will look at the change in officer, civilian, and management perceptions and attitudes within the department at two points during the restructuring.
Measuring Citizen Satisfaction With Police Services: A Multivariate Analysis
As many police departments move toward implementing the philosophy and strategies of community policing, measuring citizen satisfaction with police services has become more and more important. This study measures citizen satisfaction with the Pleasanton, CA Police Department, focusing on issues of victimization, willingness to report crimes, fear of crime, perceived and real rates or crime and disorder, citizen knowledge of police service, public information efforts and community policing initiatives. The findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical and policy implications.
Measuring Drug Use and Medication Adherence Among Mentally Ill Parolees
Among the seriously mentally ill, substance abuse, psychotic symptoms, and insufficient contact with appropriate mental health service have been shown to be significant predictors of adult-lifetime violence (Swanson et al., 1997). Moreover, the combination of psychiatric medication nonadherence and substance abuse is significantly associated with the likelihood of committing a serious violent act, given after controlling for other demographic and clinical variables (Swartz et al, 1998). Given its clinical and societal implications, medication adherence and co-occurring substance abuse among seriously mentally ill offenders must be closely monitored. While there are advantages (e.g., non-invasive, inexpensive, etc.) to using self-report data to monitor the use of prescription drugs and illicit substances while on parole, it is likely that such measures will result in positively biased estimates for this population. To assess the validity of self-report data concerning these behaviors, the present study compares self-reported anti-psychotic medication adherence and substance use with urinalyses and hair assays provided by a sample of mentally ill parolees. As expected, positive concordance levels were quite low. However, a number of individual differences emerged as predictors of veracity.
Measuring the Risk for Future Adolescent Violent Behavior
Over the past few years a large body of literature on violent behavior in adolescents and young adults has reflected an ever increasing interest in this subject by mental health professionals, educators, social scientists and members of the legal community alike. Yet prediction of human destructive and violent behavior remains notoriously inaccurate. The presentation will be covering major risk factors of violence in adolescents and their predictive value in larger populations evaluated by Family Physician. A newly developed screening instrument, the Youth Violence Screening System (YVSS) will be presented. The authors are members of the CDC funded Southern California Developing Center for Youth Violence Prevention and The Presley Center of Youth Violence Prevention at the University of California Riverside. The YVSS is based on a variety of instruments that are currently available. The presentation will also highlight the importance of traumatic stress in the antecedents of the index population. References to adolescent psychopathology and its rank among predictors of violence will be made. Finally, an empirical classification of the types of violence will be offered.
Measuring Violence Against Women With Emergency Department Data: Using the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System
The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program is a collaborative effort between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Comission. Since July 2000, nationally representative data has been collected on injuries treated in a stratified probability sample of 66 U.S. hospital emergency departments. Data will be collected on more than 600,000 injury-related cases annually. For each violence-related case, data include the victim-perpetrator relationship and a narrative description of the injury circumstances. Pilot data suggest that at least 5% of cases will be identified as violence-related. However, the system’s capability for correctly detecting violence-related injuries, particularly those involving intimate patner violence or sexual assault, is unknown. We discuss some of the methodological strengths (representatives, timeliness, large sample size) and limitations (under-identification of cases; mis-classification) of these data for identifying intimate partner violence and sexual assault, and we explore the utility of this data source for public health surveillance and research on violence against women.
Media Consumption and Support for Harsh Punitive Policies
The explosive growth of prison populations, the proliferation of mandatory sentencing statutes, and the expanded use of the death penalty are among the indicators of an apparent surge in punitiveness in our culture. As manifest in the criminal justice system, that punitiveness has disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minorities. It has been hypothesized that some portion of this punitive sentiment may be linked to media coverage of crime that disproportionately emphasizes violence and purported minority involvement. Using survey data (N = 2,526) collected in Orlando, Florida during 1998, we assess whether people who are exposed to local television news, crime news stories in particular, and “reality” police programming endorse more punitive policies in relation to adult crime. We also assess whether TV crime consumption is related to the perception that crime is disproportionately violent and disproportionately involves non-whites. Finally, we assess whether these perceptions about the violence of crime and the involvement of minorities mediates the relationship between TV crime consumption and punitive attitudes toward crime.
Media Images, Mental Health Law, and Justice: A Constitutive Response to the “Competency” of Theodore Kaczynski
Constitutive criminology is largely recognized as a postmodern approach to reconceptualizing the way in which society envisions crime. The perspective broadens the definition of crime to include the many forms of harm resulting from the unequal distribution of power. This unique approach provides a prism through which one can analyze and understand the Theodore Kaczynski case and the complex issues it presents for the forensic mental health arena. The constitutive framework provides insight into the way in which media agencies, law enforcement organizations, and the court system have informed and misinformed one another resulting in an aura of “injustice.” Furthermore, the paper explores the way in which Kaczynski has been marginalized and subsequently denied his opportunity to express himself through self-representation. Finally, the analysis concludes with an exploration of the implications for future cases of similar high profile status.
Media Images of Criminal Justice: We’ve Heard It All Before on the Radio”
The belief that the current views of the criminal justice system presented in the entertainment media represent a group of genres developed relatively recently in the visual media – movies and TV – ignores the contribution of radio. Long before television, and with greater saturation than motion pictures, the radio emerged as a significant media affecting America’s perceptions of and attitudes toward the Criminal Justice System. All of the significant themes, genres, and formats that exist in television and film were present in some form on the radio. As a consequence, a true mass media impact on America’s view – or sound – of the criminal justice system probably existed long before we commonly acknowledge. Most of the sub-genres dominating the 21st century media image of crime and the criminal justice system developed in the first half of the 20th century, including reality programs, info-tainment programs, the outsider cop, the technology whiz kids, the dedicated prosecutor, the sleuth, and others. The modern police force and media in the form of the radio grew up together, being born from much of the same technology. The relationship between crime, criminal justice, and the media is thus much older and more basic than we often recognize.
Medicalization of Female Deviance? Gender, Crime and Pychiatric Referrals for Felony Defendants
Female deviance tends to elicit a different response than the equivalent behavior in men. This research is focused on exploring the nature of this response and the process of court psychiatric referrals for criminal defendants. Relative to crime committed by men, female crime is still rare. One hypothesized consequence of this rarity is a tendency for such female crimes to be perceived as abnormal in a psychological or biological sense and deviant behavior on the part of women is thus interpreted within a pathological framework. From this perspective, legal and psychiatric professionals view women’s criminal behavior as so radically opposed to typical female behavior that it must be considered irrational or insane. In this project, I test whether sex-specific expectations of “normal” behavior govern perceptions of the appropriateness or rationality of criminal actions. In working toward this goal, I gathered demographc, familial, psychiatric, and legal data on felony defendants referred for a psychiatric evaluation in Hennepin County (Minneapolis), Minnesota. These cases are compared to a control group of felony defendants who were not referred for a psychiatric evaluation. Using logistic regression, I model predictors of psychiatric evaluations and predictors of various case outcomes. From these models, I explore the extent to which different treatment of female offenders is due to gender role expectations.
Medicalizing the Seven Deadly Sins
Crime is one metaphor for constructing deviance and social problems, but it must compete with other metaphors. At an earlier stage in Western history, sin offered a dominant metaphor for interpreting deviance. Over the past century, disease has emerged as an important rival interpretive scheme. This paper examines the rhetoric by which behaviors once constructed as sins as reinterpreted as medical problems.
Mentally Ill Offenders: The Effectiveness of Court Ordered Treatment for Violent Misdemeanant Defendants
In 1998, the Washington State Legislature significantly revised public safety and treatment policy for mentally ill offenders by extending the criminal competency restoration treatment to misdemeanant defendants determined to be a public safety threat. Under past law, defendants charged with a misdemeanor crime who were determined to be incompetent to stand trial simply had charges dismissed. A public task force recommended changes after a random stabbing death by a mentally ill offender, whose charges were dismissed despite evaluator warnings of past violence and dangerousness. This study, required by the legislation, follows the implementatin of this new law. Using a quasi-experimental design, mental health and criminal outcomes for defendants who received competency restoration treatment under the new law and a matched comparison group are analyzed, focusing on the following questions: (1) What is the effect of court-ordered treatment on criminal competency?, (2) Were offenders who received court-ordered treatment more or less likely to engage in subsequent community treatment programs?, (3) What is the effect of court-order treatment on general and violent criminal recidivism?
Meta Analysis: The Effect of Community Policing on Crime Rate
Purpose: Summarize and analyze empirical findings on the effect of community policing. Method: Meta analysis based on 15-20 empirical studies on community policing. COPS office gave out multi-millions of money to agencies to encourage them to adopt community policing philosophy. However, there are not many empirical studies examining the crime deterrent effect of the community policing. On the other hand, there are debate on the reason for initiation of establishing community policing. For example, resource dependency theory asserts that it is not community policing philosophy but resource (e.g., grant money for community policing) that drives law enforcement agencies to adopt new organizational structure (Worrall and Zhao, paper presented at 2000 ACS conference). It will be useful to summarize previous findings and reanalyse the results employing basic meta-analysis technique.
Meta-Theoretical Resolution for the Contradictions of Shaw and McKay’s Social Disorganization Theory
Shaw and McKay’s original conception of social disorganization theory has suffered from three major criticisms. First, the theory borrows from several different theoretical traditions without closely adhering to an underlying theoretical orientation. The indiscriminate inclusion of these theories has resulted in contradictory and theoretically inconsistent theoretical propositions. Second, the theory has been criticized for focusing on areas to the exclusion of individuals, since only individuals commit crimes. Third, the theory seems to focus entirely on spatial characteristics of neighborhoods as causal factors while ignoring the possibility that communities may attract different types of individuals with different probabilities of committing crimes. I argue that these three criticisms represent three corresponding dualities: 1) A causal versus an action approach, 2) a rational choice model versus a socialization model, and 3) contextual effects versus compositional effects. The reformulation of social disorganization theory within the framework of Anthony Giddens’ structuration meta-theory resolves these dualisms and subsequently eliminates the contradictions for which the theory has previously been criticized. The dissolution of these dualisms helps to specify the micro-macro linkages of social disorganization theory without reducing the theory to the network/control model it has taken in recent literature. This more inclusive model of the theory is said to be more representative of the complex realities of social influences and individual action.
Methodological and Practical Issues in Evaluating Community Involvement in Public Safety Partnerships
Evaluating community involvement in public safety partnerships is one of the most challenging issues facing evaluators today. Community is, by definition, a broader, more diverse, and more amorphous group to reach, identify, and assess than their criminal justice system and local government partners. Notions of what does and does not constitute community “involvement” also varies from city to city, neighborhood to neighborhood, and is often shaped by the particular problem or situation addressed. Effectively assessing community involvement in such partnerships can, therefore, compel an evaluator to employ multiple quatitative and qualitative methods, as well as assessing and re-evaluating the traditional relationship between her/himself and her/his subject(s). This paper discusses how evaluators in the field are currently addressing these methodological and practical challenges.
Methodological Issues in Evaluating the Impact of Juvenile Curfew Laws
This presentation reviews the available research evaluating the impact of juvenile curfew laws. Methodological issues concerning the types of quasi-experimental designs typically used as well as the types of data typically available are discussed. Suggestions for future research are made.
Methodologies for Internet Crime Research
In addition to the novel enforcement and prosecution challenges posed by internet crime, researchers are confronted with an equally daunting set of new research questions. Some traditional approaches to data collection and measurement can be applied to studying this new media, but others are inappropriate, unreliable or simply ineffective. This presentation considers many of the operational parameters within which such research must be conducted and contrasts different methodological strategies for examining internet crime and deviance.
Micro-Macro Transitions in the Elaboration of Social Learning Theory
Three major types of sociological theories were elaborated in the twentieth century, purporting to explain societal and individual level variations in crime–structural-strain, anomie theory, cultural deviance-differential association theory, and social disorganization-social control theory. One of the reasons Hirschi’s Causes of Delinquency (1969) became the most quoted work in criminology in that century was its attempts to specify crucial differences among the three theories, differences that are most apparent when the contrasts draw on theorists who proposed their perspectives while also rejecting alternatives. For example, Robert Merton (1957) rejected theories emphasizing social and personal pathology and advocated an alternative, stressing the criminogenic effects of disjunctions between widely shared cultural goals and available means. Walter Miller (1958) rejected anomie-strain theories and proposed a type of cultural deviance theory as an alternative. Hirschi challenged versions of strain and cultural deviance theory and sought to resurrect social disorganization-social control theory, explaining delinquency by the absence of constraints while specifically rejecting the need for any form or source of cultural or subcultural motivation in the explanation. When Hirschi’s work was published, a nascent “social learning theory” was under construction by Ronald Akers, elaborating on Burgess and Aker’s (1966) reformulation of Sutherland’s “differential association” theory. Initially presented as an operant restatement of Sutherland’s basic propositions, Akers’ specifications of a more general social learning theory elaborated new ideas that distinguished the theory from its predecessors, including cultural deviance theory and some interpretations of differential association theory. However, since social learning theory did not emerge as a repudiation of alternatives, issues that distinguished it from prior theories were not intially addressed. Akers has addressed the relation to other theories in recent works (1994, 2000) and has been elaborating the relevance of the theory to “macro” issues in criminology as well (1998). Yet, while the basic model is well-elaborated at the micro-level, the transition to a more macro-level version has not been completed. This paper takes additional steps in that direction by addressing the implications of micro characteristics of the theory for macro-level conceptions of the role of structure and culture in the generation of crime.
Missing Data in Supplementary Homicide Reports: An Application of QCA to Explore Patterns of Change and Stability Over Tine
The Supplemental Homicide Reports (SHR) are the most widely used data on U.S. homicides. These reports, however, are severely affected by missing data. Drawing upon two recent studies (Pampel and Williams, 2000; Regoeczi and Riedel 2000), the current study uses SHR data and the method of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to explore the structure of missing data across combinations of offender, victim, and situational factors. Comparisons of SHR data in the 1976-79 and 1990-98 time periods are conducted to evaluate the nature of change and stablility in the empirical profile of missing data over time. The results are then discussed in terms of their implications on missing data estimation models and further research on the characteristics of homicide trends over time.
Missing Persons — Missing Homicide Data?
Thousands of persons, both children and adults, are reported missing every year. The vast majority of these cases are solved by the return of the person within a relatively short period of time. However, a substantial number of cases remain unsolved. The assumed primary reason for children is clandestine residence with a non-custodial parent; for adults, a common assumption is voluntary relocation. Nevertheless, a number of these cases, especially among adults, are troubling because they defy logical explanations or, have characteristics that lead authorities to suspect foul play. Using several estimates of missing persons, and extrapolating from studies of selected data basis in Florida, this presentation considers the potential impact of “undiscovered” murder victims on homicide victimization statistics in the United States.
Mobility Triangles Revisited: An Ecological Analysis of a Spatial Typology of Homicide
This research explores the usefulness of a spatial typology of homicide based upon the location of the event and the residences of victim and offender. Relying on several theoretical frameworks, notably social disorganization and routine activities, the research examines whether there are important differences in structural and econological factors of neighborhoods that produce victims offenders and incidents. Using micro-level homicide from several cities, we also examine the spatial distribution of homicide – categorized by the typology – to determine if certain “types” of homicides occur in ecologically distinct neighborhoods. The extent to which other defining features of homicides such as motive, victim-offender relationship, gang-involvement and drug-involvement overlap with the typology will also be reported.
Modeling the Relative Contribution of Routine Activities and Peers to Present and Future Delinquency and Crime
Early on Tarde and Sutherland theorized on the learning process involved in delinquent behavior. Since then, there has been an enormous quantity of empirical studies on the role of delinquent peers in the initiation and development of offending. In this paper, we will extend the delinquent peers concept to the general notion of modelling, the existence of patterns that shape conformity, such as opportunities, rountine activities, peers bonding, and peer affiliation (prosocial and antisocial) that are available to individuals. Using representative and adjudicated samples and longitudinal data, we test the construct validity of the modeling concept using confirmatory factor analysis. In addition, we use path analysis to assess the relative direct and indirect importance ot its components to explain actual and future self-reported adolescent and adult offending. Results indicate that routine activities display a stronger effect on current offending, while delinquent peers show an enduring impact on future offending.
Models for Developmental Trajectories: An Application to the Development of Conduct Problems
Theories of development in psychology often posit the existence of sub-groups which follow distinct developmental profiles or trajectories. For example, Moffitt (1993), has proposed that antisocial conduct problems, such as fighting, bullying and criminal activities, show three primary developmental trajectories from early childhood to middle life. Along with a large group who consistently show low levels of antisocial behaviors, Moffitt proposed the existence of two groups who show high levels of antisocial behaviour: a “life-course persistent” group and an “adolescent limited” group. We use the methods introduced to psychology by Nagin (1999) which apply a mixture model approach to developmental trajectories to investigate the validity of this theory using data from the Dunedin Multi-disciplinary Cohort Study (Silva & Stanton, 1996). The Dunedin Study provides repeated measurements from age 7 to 26 on a cohort of approxdimately 1000 individuals and has multiple data collection instruments. Model fitting indicated that the theory of Moffitt (1993) was validated in this data as the hypothesised population groups and their trajectory profiles were found in the best fitting model. Further more, the relationship of the trajectory groups with other measures through the life-span gave further credibility to the groups found using the mixture model approach.
Mortgaging Futures: Social Support and Life-Course Outcomes
The utility of parental social support in the etiology of offending has been well supported within the criminological literature. Thus far, the research indicates that the more parental support available to the child, the lower the likelihood of the child engaging in delinquent behaviors. However, the impact of parent social support over life course has been left largely unexamined. Using data from the National Youth Survey (NYS), we examine the relationship between parental support, and later life outcomes, such as education and socioeconomic status attainment. With appropriate controls for the demographic characteristics of the sample and environmental influences, we further examine the possibility that changes in parental social support will affect the direction of offending trajectories.
Mothering From the Inside: Incarcerated Women’s Relationships With Children
Incarceration forcibly severs mothers from their children. There are very few prisons, and even fewer jails, which make adequate accommodation for mothering. Based on 32 narratives collected from jailed women, this paper examines the relationships which women continue to maintain despite the lack of support from the jail. Although many jailed women have lost custody of their children, they continue to consider mothering a central aspect of their identities. Other women maintain a parenting role through letters, visits, and phone calls. The identity of mother is the one hopeful aspect of many women’s lives, and provides a positive focus for the future. Even women who have lost contact and custody descibe their children as a central aspect of their identities. For women with no hope of ever seeing their children again, depression and alcohol and drug dependency are extremely difficult to overcome. The centrality of mothering to women’s identities, the strategies women use to maintain connections to their children, and the complexities of women’s experiences as incarcerated mothers are described through narrative data.
Motivation and the Effectiveness of Prison-Based Substance Abuse Treatment Programs
The presentation focuses on raising the effectiveness of prison-based substance abuse treatment programs by increasing the levels of client motivation, satisfaction and participation. Data from a large meta-analysis is reviewed showing that relatively low levels of motivation and readiness for treatment among admissions to prison-based substance abuse treatment programs. Additional evidence shows the negative effects of low motivation on engaging in the treatment process and post-prison aftercare. Procedures are discussed for raising the level of motivation as a means of increasing participation in the treatment process. However, a study of the quality-of-care in prison-based programs suggests an alternative interpretation of the usual treatment model, which may be better suited to prison-based programs. In his approach, improved program organization and treatment implementation is utilized to improve the organizational culture and increase client satisfaction and in the program. The increased satisfation, in turn, is believed to lead to higher levels of client participation and motivation that sustain engagement in the treatment process and entry into aftercare programs.
Motivations and Rewards in Young Women’s Violence
Based on a study of girls’ experiences of violence conducted in Scotland, UK, this paper explores some of the motivations for ‘doing violence’ towards other girls. Whilst it recognises that gender is a key organising principle in girls’ lives and is therefore integral to any understanding of the role of violence, this paper also considers other, broader, incentives for girls’ involvement in violence. it examines specific (strategic, societal and spatial) contexts and relational configurations in girls’ own accounts of violence; explores particular motivations for violence (e.g. frustration, disaffection, anger, resistance, humiliation, gain, accusation), and; considers the significance of violence, for girls, in terms of status, respect and identity and the rewards that it brings.
Mug Shots: A Content Analysis of Crime Representations
This study examines images of crime and criminals in Mug Shots, a popular reality-based television program. A content analysis is utilized to identify demographic characteristics of offenders and to describe the crimes of offenders features in the shows under review. The overriding purpose of the work is to garner information to determine if television images of crime and criminals reflect dominant ideologies and subsequent stereotypes that exist in our society. Findings indicate that violent crimes and, in many cases, minority offenders are overrepresented in Mug Shots and similar programs. This feeds a hegemonic ideology, which causes the public to focus on street crimes and disadvantaged offenders.
Multilevel Analysis of Sentencing Outcomes Under Federal Determinate Sentencing
Prior sentencing research makes clear that factors beyond case and offender attributes such as environmental, contextual, and court actor characteristics all affect sentencing outcomes. Yet, research on federal level criminal sentencing since the federal sentencing guidelines (hereafter Guidelines) focuses almost exclusively on case and offender level influences. Of the studies that examine Guidelines sentencing, the few that control for contextual and environmental factors do so only cursorily–including only a series of dummy variables representing either circuit or district to account for such influences. Of these, many find circuit or district-level variation in sentencing outcomes. In addition, Congressional testimony and federal reports suggest that differences in circuit and district practices may account for the persistence of racial disparity in federal sentencing outcomes. Despite this, to date, no study has focused primarily on racial differences in Guidelines sentencing outcomes by circuit or district–even though available data permit the construction and analysis of multilevel models of federal criminal sentencing. This research seeks to remedy the aforementioned deficiency by focusing specifically on the impact of the local court environment and context on racial differences in criminal sentencing outcomes while controllng for case level factors through the use of miltilevel modeling techniques.
Multilevel Causes of Racial Bias in Police Statistics of Stops, Citations, and Warnings
Research on racial disparity in policing often focuses of one level of analysis (community, police organization, or individual police officer characteristics). This study will investigate multilevel causes of racial bias in police statistics of stops, citations, and warnings. The two levels under investigation are the individual level and the troop district level, which will consider both organizational and community charactaeristics. This research analyzes North Carolna State Highway Patrol stop, citation, and warning data and census data to test for multilevel causes of racial dispaity in policing.
Multiple Identities and Desistance: An Analysis of Gender, Race, and Social Class Differences
Within some of the feminist criminology literature, it has been suggested that it is important to look beyond gender differences in our criminological studies by considering other ways in which people differ, such as by race and social class. The intersection of gender, race, and social class has been referred to as multiple identities or as Daly (1993) calls it multiple inequalities. These multiple identities shape our day-to-day lives and are, therefore, an important consideration in our criminological research. This study on desistance from crime takes multiple identities into consideration. Using Wheeler et al.’s (1998) and Weisburd et al.’s (2000) data on white-collar criminals convicted in Federal court, this study examines the influence of social stability on desistance from crime. More specifically, it examines how the influence of marriage, parenthood and employment on desistance varies based on the gender, race, and social class of the offender. It is believed that since these multiple identities shape life experiences, marriage, parenthood and employment will not have a uniform effect on desistance for all offenders.
Multiple Perspectives on the Risk of Victimization of People With Developmental Disabilities
The purpose of this research project is to develop a better understanding of the risk of victimization faced by people with developmental disabilities. The research on the victimization of people with developmental disabilities is very limited. What little research has been conducted indicates that victimization of this population may be a serious problem. However, the lack of substantial research makes it difficult to know what the risk of victimization is for people with developmental disabilities. This research project assesses the risk of victimization of people with developmental disabilities by interviewing key stakeholders including victims, family members, service providers, and law enforcement. Through these interviews it is possible to better understand the extent of crimes encountered by this population and to bring insight into the context of victimization.
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National Cross-Site Evaluation of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment Strategies for Criminal Justice Populations
Research shows that offenders have an increasingly higher rate of substance abuse and mental health problems than nonoffenders. The movement toward providing a wide range of treatment services to complex criminal justice populations requires a closer examination of treatment strategies and outcomes. In order to provide effective services, we need to recognize that this population is not a homogenous group. This national cross-site study was conducted in an effort to better understand client and programmatic characteristics associated with treatment retention and successful outcomes. The research examines both qualitative and quantitative baseline and discharge data from twelve substance abuse and mental health treatment programs servicing criminal justice populations. Discussion will focus on the variation in client and program characteristics across programs, the predictors of program retention and program failure, and the implications of program outcome management.
National Evaluation of Juvenile Boot Camps: A Matter of Race?
Despite the proliferation of juvenile boot camps throughout the nation over the last decade, researchers have produced little research examining individual differences in the experience of the camps. This research examines differences in adjustment, perception, and change among African-American and Caucasian inmates. Utilizing secondary data from 27 juvenile boot camps across the nation, this study will address the intervention’s impact on anti-social attitudes, and the disparity in this impact between African American and Caucasian males.
National Review of Community Policing Partnerships for Domestic Violence
The Police Executive Research Forum received funds from the Community Oriented Policing Services Office to conduct a national review of promising practices in three types of police-community partnerships that address domestic violence: Multi-jurisdictional Task Forces, Coordinated Community Responses and Partnerships to Respond. Our national survey of COPS grantees and others identified through a snowball sample explores the nature function and impact of these police-community partnerships. Specifically, for each partnership type, the presentation will address present roles and functions of participant agencies; the goals of the partnerships and how well they have been achieved; and barriers and solutions that influence and effect progress toward these goals.
National Youth Gang Survey Trends
Findings will be presented from the National Youth Gang Survey, a survey of a nationally representative sample of more than 3,000 law enforcement agencies across the United States which investigates key issues surrounding youth gang activity. These agencies vary by type of jurisdiction served, which include: large cities, suburban counties, small cities, and rural counties. These agencies have been surveyed annually from 1996 through 2000 allowing for a discussion of emerging trends in prevalence of gang activity, demographic characteristics of gang members, levels and types of criminal activity, and changes in perception of the gang problem. In addition, findings covering topics unique to the 2000 survey will also be presented, including structural issues and characteristics of violent offenses committed by gang members such as location, choice of victinm, and level of gang participation.
Native American Offenders Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines
Native American criminal offenders are in unique situations throughout this nation. For Native Americans residing on reservations, there are three possible jurisdictions for handling criminal cases because of the laws governing the reservations they inhabit; federal, state, and tribal courts. Offenders who are subject to being sentenced under federal jurisdiction are in a unique circumstance because they are often sentenced under rules and guidelines that were, for the most part, created to handle different types of offenders. This study will look at the effect of the federal sentencing guidelines on the sentencing of Native American offenders. Specifically, the affect of Congressional directives on the sentencing of Native Americans under the Sexual Abuse Guidelines will be examined.
NCVS Analysis of Threats and the Elderly
There has been very little research conducted on threats and the impact they have on those who experience them. This paper utilizes the NCVS data regarding threats in an attempt to answer a three-fold question. First, are threats made in one sweep of the NCVS realized in subsequent sweeps. Second, how do threats effect the routine activities of those threatened and their feelings of fear. Finally, are those age 50 and older more likely to experience threats than others and is their reaction to threats different from others who are threatened. Answers to these questions will be drawn from an investigation of the NCVS from January, 1994 to June, 1995.
NCVS.com
The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) design, sampling and estimating schemes are among the most complex used in a research effort of this scale. As a result of this complexity, some researchers have misused the NCVS, while others have avoided using it entirely. To ameliorate this situation, the authors offer a guide designed to demystify NCVS data and its use. Topics include: downloading data, weighting procedures, variance estimates, generating rates and analyzing relationships. In addition, parameters needed for calculations and programs necessary for hypothesis testing are made available. The objective of this guide (and later, internet site) is to provide a user-friendly document with research and educational applications.
Need/Greed: A Preliminary Examination Into an Economic Theory of Crime
This paper examines economic need in a sample population of criminal women. Further exploration is made into how baseline economic need leads to a growing desire for increasing resources well beyond baseline need (greed) and the resources used to attain both. Legal and illegal employment, physical and social environment, as well as basic opportunity structure will be examined using both qualitative and quantitative data from criminal women in Illinjois. Utilizing samples of women from both incarcerative and street settings, a preliminary theory of need and greed is created.
Negligence in Nursing: Victims and Legal Proceedings
Primary legal issues in nursing negligence include medication errors, breach the standard of care, ad vicarious liabiliy. Nursing negligence is a troublesome issue but legal determination of negligence quite often becomes bothersome to the victims. By employing a variety of cases, this study intends to illlustrate the types of nursing negligence and legal standards in determining legal liability of nursing negligence.
Negotiating Anomie: Women Who Save Skinheards
While strain and anomie have been shown to be motivating factors for young men to join hate groups, the same forces can keep women out. This research shows that women’s understanding that the normlessness that hate crime victims suffer becuase of their targeted catagory is similar to the randomness of crimes against women. This empathy gives women a wider definition of hate crimes and basis in opposition to hate crimes. Further, men who leave hate groups generally do so because the women in their lives convince them of this connection. Women, speaking in terms of block opportunities and alienation serve to rescue men from hate group activity.
Neighborhood Based Dispute Resolution: An Evaluation of the Indianapolis Community Court Project
This paper provides an initial process evaluation of the Marion County Community Court. A description of the program and defendant processing issues are discussed. Also, included in this evaluation are community, defendant, and criminal justice agents’ perceptions of the program gleaned from focus groups, surveys, and individual interviews.
Neighborhood Institutions: The Effect on Neighborhood Crime Rates
Since its development by Shaw and McKay, the theory of Social Disorganization has led criminologists to consider the important role neighborhood based institutions have on crime. Through the years a number of theorists have continued to develop ideas on the characteristics of effective neighborhood based institutions and just how these institutions work to control crime. As of yet, research in this area remains relatively sparse both because of a need for further theoretical development and the difficulties inherent in testing existing ideas. The purpose of this paper is to outline a framework for further development and teting of ideas on the importance on neighborhood based institutions.l
Neighborhood Structure and Homicide Trends: An Analysis of Differing Types of Homicide
This research examines the relationship between neighborhood structure and trends of various types of homicide using 14 years of sequential data. Latent class analysis is used to differentiate categories of homicide that vary along a number of dimensions. Hierarchical growth-curve modeling is used to determine first, the extent to which the trends of the different types of homicide vary, and second, whether the same neighborhood factors associated with changes in one type of homicide are associated with changes in the other homicide categories. The findings reveal that despite similar trends in the homicide types, the neighborhood factors that significantly influence the rate of change in homicide level depend upon the type of homicide under consideration.
Neighborhood Structure and Race-Specific Rates of Intimate Assault
Wilson (1987) and Sampson and Wilson (1995) suggest that higher violent crime rates for blacks compared to whites may not be due to cultural differences between predominantly black and predominantly white neighborhoods, but instead may be due to differences in the structural characteristics of communities aside from racial composition, in which they reside. If their thesis is correct, then the effects of neighborhood disadvantage, instability, and age structure on rates of violence by blacks should be at least as strong as those effects on rates for whites, while neighborhood racial composition should maintain the same effect on either rate. We apply this thesis to an understanding of differences in race-specific rates of assault on intimates by adult males in Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Ohio. Miles-Doan (1998) demonstrated the relevance of neighborhood structural effects on rates of intimate assault in Duval County, Florida. We extend the approach of Miles-Doan in order to test the ideas of Wilson and Sampson.
Neighborhoods and the Police: An Ecological Theory of Formal Social Control
Common sense suggests that neighborhoods are important when studying police behavior, yet there have been only a few studies in this area. These studies have not found strong support for neighborhood influence on police officer behavior The current research project examines the extent to which neighborhood characteristics (i.e., how the land-use is distributed, multi-family dwellings versus single family residences, etc.) influence officer behavior. A unique data set is constructed that incorporates calls-for-service data from several urban police departments, census data, and urban infrastructure data. The current research examines the data using three complementary methodological approaches: GIS technologies, spatial statistics, and Hierarchical Linear Modeling. Theoretical, methodological, and policy implications are examined.
New Transit Systems and Crime Generator Development
Past research suggests that transit stops may serve as crime generators, particularly regarding violent crimes such as robbery and assault. However, most of the existing research examines transit systems long entrenched in their service area — and within the awareness space of offenders. Recently, a new light rail system began operation in northeastern New Jersey. What impact has this system had on local crime patterns? How long does it take for a crime generator to develop? Toward answering these questions, this paper will examine crime patterns in the areas near this rail system, pre- and post-system inception using GIS analysis. Further development of this project will also be discussed.
Non-Consensual Sexual Activity Among Inmates and Between Inmates and Staff Members in Female Prisons
There are few studies that discuss the amount of non-consensual sexual activity among inmates and staff members in female prisons. Data for the current study were collected in a Mid-Atlantic prison for women. Short mail surveys were distributed to all inmates in the instiutution (n = approximately 600). Questions address the inmates’ perception of consensual and non-consensual sexual activity in that facility as well as their personal experiences while incarcerated there. In addition to obtaining information about the amount of sexual coercion in prison, the instrument also includes questions about violence that erupts as a result of concensual sex. Respondents are also asked for suggestions concerning methods to avoid becoming sexually victimized inside prisons.
Non-Lethal Weapons: The Training Paradox
To view deployment of non-lethal weapons as isolates without considering the context for their use is to ignore a major “paradigm shift that has fostered consideration of the economic and environmental consequences of law enforcement actions. In considering “area denial,” for example, through use of “non-lethal” technology in the form of slippery substances, rigid foam or laser barriers, demonstrators can be deprived of access to a locale without risk of pollution or damage to the surrounding neighborhood. Yet, given the magnitude of this paradigm shift, law enforcement proponents of non-lethal weapons call for “brief individual and unit-level training that does not seriously distract units from other training tasks.” Complicating this paradox, are requirements for conceptual integration of this technology into “use of force” policies which poses a challenge given the continuing treatment of non-lethals as an “add on” technology. Introduction of non-lethal technology is not simply the deployment of a new weapon but is the introduction of a dramatically different perspective on “use of force” which has complicated definitions of appropriate and reasonably necessary force and measurement of that which is deemed “excessive.” As such, the author advocates extensive retraining in lieu of the “brief” training provided by most departments..
Normal Vice: The Evolution of Gambling
At different historial periods, those who merchandised or participated in alcohol consumption or gambling, were considered “deviant” and even criminal. Like other victimless but “wicked” pleasures–i.e. vices–these activities never entirely lost their stigma. Yet with wide participation, plus a set of other factors to be discussed, achieved the status of what I shall call “normal vice.” Eventually, these vices were widely legalized. Focusing on the social transformation of gambling as a model of normal and legalized vice, I shall explore factors affecting the social and legal acceptability of vices in general, and especially the model’s application to marijuana sale and use.
Not Just Bringing Home the Bacon, But Deciding How It Is Spent: Labor-Force Participation and Risk of Intimate Partner Violence and Financial Abuse
This paper explores the relationship between employment and two forms of intimate partner abuse, physical violence and financial abuse. Research by Macmillan and Gartner (1999) has examined the relationship between men’s and women’s participation in the labor force and risk of spousal violence against women by treating employment as a symbolic, rather than simply a socioeconomic resource. They find that the effect of a woman’s employment on her risk of spousal violence is conditioned by the employment status of her current male partner. They suggest that to some extent, these effects reflect efforts by men to coercively control their female partners. In this paper we examine the relationship between financial abuse and physical violence in intimate partner relationships and explore the direct and conditional effects of men’s and women’s employment status on these two distinct types of abuse. Using victimization data from the recently released, 1999 Canadian General Social Survey, Personal Risk (N=25 876), we examine the effects of gender, labor-force participation and relationship status (spousal versus cohabitating relationships) on financial abuse and physical violence.
Nurses as Evidence Gatherers: “We’ll Just Hold Your Pain Medication Until You Tell Us What Really Happened”
In a society that is constantly encouraged to view all its “ills” in terms of the “criminal element,” it is perhaps not surprising that we go to great lengths to develop new and innovative strategies to “get the bad guys.” One such innovation is the co-optation of nurses as evidence gatherers, euphemistically termed forensic nursing. Initially, forensic nurses were sexual assault nurse examiners. In this role, and perhaps others, it could be argued that nursing’s tradition of caring was focused upon the victims of crime, where the careful gathering of evidence by a competent and caring professional nurse could positively affect a victim’s personal experience of the crime in terms of their own well being and the subsequent adjudication of the crime(s) against them. Currently, however, there is the growing idea that all nurses, in all contexts, should be educated about forensics and continually sustain an index of suspicion, thus being ever-ready to collect and preserve evidence. Health care may never be the same.
NYPD and Quality of Life Policing: Construction of Controversy
Quality of life policing, in its current form and as it has come to be known in New York City, has been a policy initiative of the New York City Police Department since 1994 (although its antecedents were present in various forms before). This type of policing focuses resources on the enforcement of minor criminal offenses in an effort to decrease violent crime. Quality of life policing fuses the proactive elements of community policing (the productive relationship between the police and the community) and broken windows theory (if less serious crimes are allowed to continue, more serious crimes will begin to appear, causing a breakdown in the community and increased crime rates) with the reactive response of aggressive police tactics and procedures. This policy will be analyzed, searching for its formative roots, as well as its crime control and societal effects. Quality of life policing has salience as both an issue of justice and public policy both now and well into the 21st century.
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Oakeshott, the Economists, and Criminology
Although Michael Oakeshott (1901-1990) is known as a political philosopher, he has a great deal to say to criminology. His concepts of political activity, civil association, the rule of law, taken within his general theory of moral conduct, provide a moral theory of crime. Oakeshott’s approach shares with the economic/rational choice approach to crime but also differs in significant ways because of his view of human beings as free moral agents and the rule of law as non-purposive.
Observations and Judicial Opinions of Voir Dire
Speculation about voi dire must be grounded in accurate description so the process. This paper first presents judicial responses to a questionnaire that is based on a similar survey conducted in Kentucky two decades ago. Second, the paper reports on in-court observations of voir dire indicating, among other things, the demographic characteristics of the original and replacement jurors.
Observing Restraining Order Hearings: Could a Dedicated Domestic Violence Court Do Any Better?
As part of a citizen’s Courtwatch Program, we collected data from evey court hearing on domestic violence allegations in a local Family Court over a period of approximately a year. The hearings were on motions for temporary restraining orders against abusers, motions for permanent orders, motions to modify orders, and motions to dismiss. For each hearing, courtwatches recorded data about the judge and what was said at the hearing, the nature of the case and its evidence, the characteristics of the parties, and the outcomes. This paper describes the people and events that ended up in court. We found that allegations of domestic violence are considerably more varied than the prototypical cases between spouses. Judges generally treated petitioners fairly in determining what to do about incidents of violence, but they would not inquire into the issue of monetary support even though the law required it. Petitioners were mostly poor, and what they needed most was monetary support to enable them to escape the abusive environment. Furthermore, almost all the petitioners came to court alone. Police responded to domestic violence by telling victims to go to family court to get restraining orders, and those who did so were unsupported by police witnesses and unrepresented by attorneys. A high percentage had children, who accompanied them to court. If these cases were heard in a court specializing in domestic violence, would the outcomes have been any better? The data are matched to the model of an integrated domestic violence court. The conclusion is that some features of a specialized court, particularly access to social workers, monetary resources, and coordination with criminal court prosecutors, would improve the outcomes for these victims. However, providing lawyers or encouraging more police involvement would not.
Obtaining Entry Into Juvenile Facilities for the Purpose of Interviewing Detainees
In early 2000, as part of a study on the connection between youth, drugs, and violence, the Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies of the University of Delaware sought permission to interview juvenile detainees at five randomly chosen juvenile facilities located in the greater Philadelphia area. This paper is a chronology of the difficulties and pitfalls encountered in attempting to gain that permission. It starts with the study’s emphasis on confidentiality and concern for human subjects and continues through our contacts with the various juvenile facilities and our successes and failures. Discussion covers such topics as timing, the economic cost involved, what worked and didn’t work in the research protocol and concludes with lessons learned from the experience.
Occupational Crime, Occupational Deviance, and Workplace Crime: Sorting Out the Differences
The concept of occupational crime has been quite familiar and widely invoked since the publication of Clinard and Quinney’s (19967); 1973) influential Criminal Behavior Systems: A Typology. In the recent era, however, the term occupational crime has been applied to activities quite removed from the original meaning of white collar crime, and it has been used interchangeably with such terms as occupational deviance and workplace crime. In the interest of greater conceptual clarity within the field of white collar crime the argument is made here for restricting the terms occupational crime to illegal and unethical activities committed for individual financial gain – or to avoid financial loss – in the context of a legitimate occupation; the term occupational deviance is better reserved for deviation from occupational norms (e.g., drinking on the job; sexual harassment), and the term workplace crime is better reserved for conventional forms of crime committed in the workplace (e.g., rape; assault). A typological scheme is used to demonstrate the validity of the case made in this paper. The conflation of fundamentally dissimilar activities hinders progress in white collar crime scholarship and research.
Offenders in the Age of the Internet: Does Crime Have a New Face?
Past research has demonstrated that differences in social cues and levels of anonymity affect behavior. The internet can be expected to have an impact on who commits crime by masking the social cues and changing the levels of anonymity associated with traditional means of communcation. These changes could produce a state of normlessness in cyberspace whereby those less likely to commit criminal acts while communicating in traditional ways will be more likely to commit crimes when using the Internet. This paper compares sex, age, and socio-economic status of offenders who commit harassment or fraud using the Internet with those who commit these crimes using a telephone or a face-to-face method of interaction. Data have been collected from official records in a large metropolitan police department of the northeast region of the United States. Differences will be interpreted in the light of several psychologial theories.
Offenders Speak: Accounting for Hate Crime
This paper presents preliminary findings from interviews with a sample of incarcerated hate crime offenders. The research study empirically tests my theoretical hypothesis that violence against women, gays, lesbians, and racial, ethnic and religious minority groups serve as a resource for “doing difference,” in other words, for constructing relational identities. Participants were intervewed for on issues ranging from descriptive accounts of their offenses, to the four key concepts of the theoretical model employed: labor, power, sexuality and culture as they relate to the offenders’ perceptions of members of minority groups.
On Finding Theoretical Insights: Some Illustrations From the Study of Organized Crime
This paper deals with the nature of theories and the process of theory construction in relation to the study of organized crime. Our understanding of organized crime can be enhanced by a consideration of several methatheoretical issues and a recognition that some work that does not fall under the rubric of criminology can still provide concepts/ideas that can be quite useful for theoretical purposes. For example, the paper shows how Norton Long’s notice of “The Local Community as an Ecology of Games” can function as a theoretical “lead” for conceptualizing corruption as an “ecology of games”. Also, and most importantly for the purposes of this paper, Robert Nisbet’s work on Sociology as an Art Form” provides several insights on theory and the process of theory construction (the ‘logic of discovery” as opposed to the “logic of demonstration”) that can help to develop both a holistic and heuristic understanding of organized crime. Nisbet’s work on the sources of theoretical imagination, themes and styles, landscapes, portraits, and motion are discussed in terms of their applicability to the theoretical understanding of organized crime.
On Measuring Family Violence From a Systems Perspective: NIBRS Data Revisited
This presentation will focus on some of the dimensions of family violence that are collected under the National Incident-Based Reporting System as reported to the Federal Bureau of investigation. Specific focus will be devoted to analysis of 1999 NIBRS data in comparison with earlier NIBRS data on victims, offenders, and offenses associated with these incidents. Contrasts with these earlier findings and prospective future research directions will also be discussed. Implications for policy and procedures regarding official reports of domestic violence and law enforcement response will be considered.
Onset of Alcohol Use: Profiling Adolescents Characterized as “Early Drinkers”
Although drinking during adolescence is normative, early onset has been described as a potential indicator of more serious and underlying problems. In this study, we explore the differences between early drinkers and their nondrinker peers among a group of adolescent children of alcoholics and an ecologically comparable group of adolescents from families without alcoholic parents. Child-related and family-related factors will be examined using data from the prospective Michigan State University–Universiity of Michigan Longitudinal Study. Analyses describe charcteristics of early drinkers, and the degree to which their profiles are distinct from their peers in both drinking and nondrinking domains. Directions for future research on onset will be discussed.
Ordinary Business: State-Corporate Crime in Nazi Germany
Vareties of state-corporate crime have almost exclusively been analyzed by using contemporary examples (e.g., the crash of ValuJet Flight 592; the fire in Hamlet, NC). Such crimes have generally been defined as the outcome of normative state practices and corporate goals. In this paper we examine the relationship(s) between corporations and the criminal state (i.e., Nazi Germany) in an attempt to assess what differences exist between normative states and criminal states in regard to their relationship(s) with corporations.
Organizational Change in the Washington, D.C. Police Department
A major organizational change initiative began in April 1998 in the Metropolitan Police of the District of Columbia. The initiative was intended to streamline and strengthen support functions, to upgrade the department’s policing capacity, to strengthen geographic accountability, and to build police-community problem-solving partnerships. This paper describes the initiative and presents findings on how it changed measures of communication patterns among senior command staff, staff morale, policing stylels, and community perceptions of the police department.
Organizational Deviance: An Examination of Academic Administration
Definitions of deviance are widely debated with many dozens appearing in the literature. This paper will examine definitions of deviance and follow lines that others have pursued in examining organizational deviance. It will do so in the context of one specific arena that has been neglected in the literature. While deviance among both university faculty and students has been explored, the delivery of services within academic institutions are divided into faculty and administrative roles. Prior conceptualization of campus deviance will be extended into the administrative realm, with an attempt to develop a typology. The relationship of deviance within this segment of the university and other portions of the organization will be considered.
Organizational Feature as Facilitators for Youth Gang Member Offending
Longitudinal prospective studies of at risk youth find that offending is significantly elevated during youth gang membership. This facilitation effect is generally attributed to group level processes that influence individual behavior during membership. Although group processes in youth have received much attention from gang researchers, it remains unclear how organizational arrangements influence individual offending. The past two decades have seen much debate about the level of organization present in youth gangs. Most research suggests that youth gangs tend to be loosely affiliated groups with low levels of organization. However, there remains evidence of considerable variation in the presence of organizational features across youth gangs. In this study, multivariate techiques were used to examine the relationship between organizational features of youth gangs and individeual gang member offending patterns. Interview data from 140 gang members in Colorado and Florida were used to examine the following organizational features in relation to various forms of offending: the presence of gang leaders, codes of conduct, role differentiation, gang sets, initiation rituals, use of symbols, and regular meetings. Findings support a proposed framework for understanding group facilitation of gang member offending.
Organizational Specialization in Law Enforcement
Various organizational theories assert that bureaucracies become more specialized over time. This paper discusses the implications of this assertion for the organizational structure and functioning of modern American police departments. It then uses LEMAS data to empirically trace the development of specialized law enforcement units in an attempt to assess the validity of the claims of organizational theorists about the nature and structure of bureaucratic growth. The paper concludes with a discussion of the utility of using organizational theory and other explanatory frameworks for understanding recent trends in American law enforcement.
Organizing Community Action Programs for Victims of Crime and Restorative Justice in a Developing Country
In Mexico, despite concerted efforts by the federal, local and the municipal governments, criminality is a national security problem. The capacity to govern every day is a challenge because organized crime and corruption practices have increased. The government in Mexico has changed the law, hardened the sanctions for many crimes, yet the insecurity and the anxiety over crime has increased. The citizens are reacting in some places by making their own justice because they no longer believe in the institutions. The government tried to resolve part of the problem by creating the National Council for Public Security, which includes 5 ministers, the 32 governors and the 32 attorneys-general of the states. This was created with a new law that had given the strategies that will facilitate the coordinated actions of all the institutions. This law mentions the importance of having the community in interaction on that level. The responsibility lies with the National committee of Consult and Community Participation. The paradigm of the Committee is to promote justice and to have security. The Government’s objective is to have security and to have justice. The objectives of both the National Committee and the Government can be integrated and balanced.
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Parent-Child Affective Quality and Affiliation With Deviant Peers Influences on Adolescent Oppositional Behaviors: A Replication and Extension of a Protective Process Model in an Intervention Trial
A Structural Equation Modeling study replicated and extended a protective process model tested in an earlier family-focused intervention trial (Spoth, Redmond, Shin, & Huck, 1999) by examining the effects of protective parenting (i.e. parent-child affective quality) and affiliation with deviant peers on oppositional behaviors, using three waves of the in-home assessment data (pretest, posttest, and 1-1/2 year follow-up). Results were largely consistent with earlier findings. Parent-child affective quality at pretest displayed a negative total effect at posttest on the focal child’s oppositional behaviors. Parent-child afective quality at posttest had a significant inverse effect on affiliation with deviant peers at posttest. In addition, both parent-child affective quality and affiliation with deviant peers at posttest had a significant effect on oppositional behaviors at the 1-1/2 year past baseline follow-up.
Parental Modernity and Relational Forms of Delinquency and Control
I examine how a shift in parental attitudes towards children accounts for variation in delinquent behavior. In particular, I draw on the concept of parental modernity to distinguish those households which emphasize instrumental and relational forms of social control. Parental attitudes towards youth that stress self-reliance and independence, I expect to reproduce relational forms of control. I expect that the greater autonomy youth experienced in households characterized by parental modernity will increase the likelihood of relational forms of deviance. In contrast, traditional households which are characterized by parental attitudes that stress an obedience model of behavior I expect to reproduce instrumental forms of deviance. Survey data from a sample of high school youth and their parents are analyzed to test the significance of the hypothesized effects of parental modernity.
Participation as an Indicator of Success: The Role of Citizens’ Groups in Predicting the Efficacy of Community Policing Programs
Despite widespread political and financial support, many evaluations of community policing initiatives offer little evidence that these programs have an impact on crime and other quality of life indicators. In addition, these evaluations often overlook the level of community participation Since COP philosophy is constructed around the basic premise that both community members and police officers must participate in the law enforcement function, it stands tro reason that the greater the level of community involvement, the more effective the community policing program. Furthermore, research in the public policy arena indicates that ambiguous policies, such as many of the unstructured community policing initiatives, need an intermediary to succeed. One intermediary, and measure of community involvement, is the number of crime-and/or justice-oriented interest groups active within a jurisdiction. It is hypothesized that cities with a larger number of these interest groups will experience greater success in implementng effective COP programs and initiatives than cities with fewer groups. This research will also attempt to determine whether the success of a program is contingent upon the participation of a particular number of groups or if the successful participation of citizens’ groups is dependent upon the jurisdiction.
Patterns of Rural Homicide
In the study of homocide one common research finding is the strong association between urbanization and homicide rates. Understanding differences between rural and urban homicide has the potential to contribute to our understanding of homicide more generally. The strength of this association should have led to a large body of research comparing rural and urban homicide, but it has not. This is an exploratory study using the FBI’s Supplemental Homocide Data with data from the U.S. Bureau of Census to: (1) compare the profiles of rural and urban homocide, (2) identify county-level characteristics associated with variations in rural homicide, and (3 consider the implications of our findings for a more general understanding of homicide.
PBA Cards and Police Discretion: Does Membership Have Its Privileges?
Some level of police discretion is an inevitable consequence of the numerous decisions a police officer faces daily. In light of recent cases of police abuse of force and racial profiling, most scholarly inquiry has focused on whether police have exercised their discretion fairly/justly. Unexplored in the literature, however, has been consideration of how affiliation with a police association in the form of a membership card (or P.B.A. card) distributed to police officers and their family and friends may favorably influence the outcome of interactions with police. This paper addresses the extent to which the use of the PBA card has resulted in law enforcement agents ignoring criminal or traffic infractions because of the offender’s association with a fellow officer. In particular, this paper will examine the history, distribution, function, and public awareness of the membership card. Specific examples of the use of these cards as well as the largest issues associated with their existence will be examined. This paper will argue that the promotion and use of these cards by police associations is one of the largest and least studied threats to a democratic state.
Peacemaking Criminology: Applications in Policing
As community policing and the research and literature regarding its implementation has matured and evolved, it has become evident that the successful implementation of true community policing is more complex and problematic than originally envisioned. This is especially true when, as in Northern Ireland, it is a main plank in developing sustainable peace and relationships between the police and certain sections of the community. Community policing rests upon the twin dynamics of appeals to the community and inter-agency partnerships. Community policing requires the integration of cultural, structural and systemic changes to police forces, alongside the development of relationships between the police and their communities. However in a previous work, Pearl and Campbell have laid out a series of power differentials that exist in partnerships that impact such development between the police and the community. This paper suggests that peacemaking criminology may have the potential to be used as a mechanism to move to full implementation of community policing and from there to a more full definition of peace. This is particularly so when peacemaking criminology is wedded to strategic leadership and management techniques to improve the implementation of community policing, and community police problem solving.
Peers and Delinquency: Results From the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
This paper reports findings pertaining to school level contextual effects related to the peer-delinquency/respondent-delinquency relationship using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Interpretations and research implications are discussed.
Penal Harm Medicine: State Tort Remedies for Inappropriate and Inadequate Health Care to Prisoners
This paper focuses on the harm that can befall prisoners who seek out correctional medical services during their incarceration. It analyzes civil actions in state courts where correctional medical personnel and prison officials are found liable for providing inadequate health care to prisoners. Cases involve administration of inadequate medication, performance of inappropriate medical procedures, inappropriate diagnosis of serious medical conditions, and under treatment of serious medical problems. The paper details the circunstances and situations under which state tort liability attaches and calls for more research on correctional health care systems.
Perceptions of Substance Use and Substance Use Prevention Programming: An Iowa Latino Immigrant Family Perspective
The majority of the literature on Latinos/as and substance use focuses on Latino populations in regions of historical concentration due to initial modes of U.S. incorporation–i.e., Mexican Southwest, Puerto Rican Northeast, and Cuban Miami. In this paper, separate parent and youth focus group interviews are conducted with Iowa Latino immigrant families to explore perceptions of substance use and substance use prevention programming within a contemporary developing Latino community. Both parents and children perceive substance use as a problem within the Latino community, which lends to their favorable view towards substance use prevention programs. What’s more, parents and youth see bilingualism and biculturalism as a useful preventive strategy in combating the negative consequences of substance use. Findings indicate the urgency for future research that better determines the nature and scope of substance use among Latino immigrant families outside of historical residential concentrations. From this, culturally and regionally appropriate substance use prevention progrms can be designed and implemented.
Performance Measurement in a Juvenile Residential Treatment Setting
Service providers at all levels are facing demands from funding agencies to demonstrate program results and effectiveness. In response to these demands, many public agencies are turning to performance measurement. Broadly defined, performance measurement involves the identification of measurable agency outcomes, the tracking of those outcomes over time, and the modification of practice based upon those outcomes. In this study, the early experience with performance measurement in two juvenile residential treatment facilities is analyzed. The process of selecting and measuring outcomes is first described. Second, an analysis of interviews and surveys with staff members about the process is presented. Third, the unique concerns of performance measurement in a treatment setting are explored. Finally, the relationship between organizational characteristics and performance measurement are discussed.
Performance Measures and Juvenile Corrections: The Alabama Experience
Increasingly states are employing quantitative measures to assess the performancde of their juvenile justice systems. Alabama has recently joined this trend with the governor mandating that the Department of Youth Services develop performance measures and the legislature actually specifying measures in legislation. This paper will discuss the ways that other states and localities have iomplemented performance measures and suggest the best ways that performance measurement can be used. The paper will briefly discuss how successful the Alabama Department of Youth Services has been in actually implementing these measures.
Perpetrators of Street Sexual Victimization Among Homeless and Runaway Youth
Based on structural choice theory, the current study looks at predictors of friend versus stranger sexual victimization among 372 homeless and runaway youth in Seattle. Results revealed that youth who engaged in deviant subsistence strategies and survival sex were more likely to be sexually victimized by a friend whereas spending time in the street environment (e.g., sleeping on the street) was associated with being sexually victimized by a stranger. Older youth and those with a kept physical appearance were more likely to be sexually victimized by a friend. The interaction of gender x deviant subsistence strategies was significant indicating that a young woman’s chances of being a victim of friend sexual victimization elevated significantly as her participation in deviant subsistence strategies increased. Age x deviant subsistence strategy was also significant suggesting that 19-year-olds had the highest rates of friend sexual victimization. No significant interactions were found for the stranger sexual victimization model. These results support the structural choice theory of victimization among homeless and runaway youth such that engaging in high-risk behaviors predisposes some people to greater risks but it is the combination of these behaviors with gender and/or age that determines who will be victimized.
Personality, School Climate, and Aggression: Exploring the Interaction Between Individuals and Their Environments
The field of sociology has contributed considerably to the study of crime. Decades of research produced from this tradition have demonstrated the importance of contextual factors involved in crime. Yet, the discipline of psychology has also contributed a great deal to our understanding of crime. In this paper, we draw upon both fields to better understand adolescent antisocial behavior. Specifically, we are examining the role of personality in aggressive behaviors, and whether that effect is the same across different contexts. From the psychological literature, we utilize personality traits that appear to display strong relations to antisocial and aggressive behaviors. From the sociological literature, we are examining the effect of school climate. School climate, as conceptualized here, refers to school structure, school capital, and school deficits. The data utilized in this study are taken from the Kentucky Youth Survey (KYS), which contains approximately 26,000 students across 40 middle and high schools. Because of the nested nature of the individuals within schools, we employ hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to explore the effect of personality across different contexts.
Personality and Crime: Can Psychological Factors Add to our Understanding of Persistence?
Traditionally, criminological theories neglect to recognize personality as a major correlate of criminal behavior or include it, but only tangentially. Further, although personality is used as a responsivity consideration in correctional settings, few studies have used classification models as measures of personality, developmental, or behavioral contributors to models of crime causation. Drawing on a number of perspectives, this study will offer an empirical and theoretical understanding of the crime-personality link. Moreover, the study will utilize event history analysis to explore the full extent or potential of the typological scales, and in particular the Jesness Inventory, have in predicting persistent criminal behavior.
Perspectives on Delinquency, Justice and Research in One American Nation: Context and Collaboration
National arrest and victimization data are insufficient for analyses of delinquency and juvenile justice in reservation communities. Nevertheless, recent national reports have been picked up by news media as evidence that youth crime and violence in “Indian Country” is out of control. In recognition of significant differences across American Indian nations and the importance of community-based research, this study was one of those funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in an effort to understand delinquency and juvenile justice in the unique historical, cultural, social, and legal contexts of a given reservation community. We analyzed arrest, detention, and court data in one nation in the Four Corners area of the southwestern U.S. over the eleven-year period between 1988 and 1999. Working in collaboration with tribal officials and a community advisory board, we also developed research questions of interest to tribal policymakers and community members. These questions formed the basis for in depth interviews with juvenile justice officials and focus groups with communitiy representatives. The results of the quantitative analysis will be placed in the context of the perspectives and concerns of community members and in the larger historical, cultural and social contexts of the reservation community.
Petitioned Status Offense Cases in Juvenile Courts, 1989-1998
This presentation will focus on formally processed status offense cases disposed by courts with juvenile jurisdiction. The primary emphasis will be to examine national estimates in the demographic and case processing trends for runaway, truancy, liquor, and ungovernability offense cases disposed between 1989 and 1998.
Physical Environment and Crime in Kentucky Schools
Ecological theories of crime suggest that both social and physical characteristics of a community affect crime by altering the administration of resident-based social control. Scholars in the social disorganization tradition purport that community structural characteristics such as poverty, ethnic heterogeneity, and residential mobility diminish the coehesiveness among neighbors thereby affecting their supervision and intervention behavior. Others emphasize the role that the physical environment plays in social control, suggesting that facets of physical space such as street layout, building-street proximity, level of lighting presence of physical decay, and presence of boundary markers can affect informal crime control. In short, aspects of the physical environment indicating territoriality, l surveillance, and image/milieu are thought to affect the ability of residents to supervise and intervene in crime. To date, ecological approaches–particularly those emphasizing the role of the physical environment–have been studied primarily at the community level. This paper tests this theoretical approach with regard to crime in Kentucky schools. More specifically, we estimate OLS models using data on the physical environment in approximately 75 Kentucky schools in order to discern the extent to which measures of territoriality, surveillance, and image/milieu affect school-level rates of crime. Observational data are used to supplement quantitative results.
Police, Prostitutes, and Perpetrators: Putting the Sting On
Law enforcement agencies rarely view prostitution as a victimless crime. In fact, they often associate the fact with a variety of street crimes that contribute to and perpetuate the victimization of the community and family. Police prostitution stings primarily target the “johns” by using female decoys. Although the arrest results in a misdemeanor charge, authorities use nuisance abatement laws to further punish the so-called offenders. This paper presents participant observation research involving police sting operations that, while attempting to control crime, may actually create and exacerbate problems for those involved; including, for example, female police officers, family members, and illegal immigrants.
Police Chiefs’ Perceptions About Miranda: An Analysis of Survey Data
Debate about the Miranda warnings has been ongoing since the Miranda case was decided over three decades ago. The debate became timely with the Supreme Court’s decision late last year to revisit the warniings. The Supreme Court on June 26, 2000 arrived at a 7-2 decision to uphold the Miranda warnings. In this paper, we report on a survey asking 95 police chiefs from the Commonwealth of Virginia about their perceptions concerning Miranda. Factors contributing to their perceptions are examined. Results indicate that the chiefs are slightly mixed regarding their perceptions about Miranda, though a majority support continued use of the warnings. Demographic factors played a small role in their beliefs. Perceived experiences with Miranda influenced their beliefs in several cases. Implications of the study are: as administrators who direct policy, the opinions of police chiefs may impact on the actions of officers. Their perceptions of Miranda if favorable, informs whether drastic changes would be chaotic for law enforcement. As administrators of the justice system’s gatekeepers, it is necessary that attention be given to their opinion.
Police Corruption in the United States
Police corruption is a worldwide problem. The degree to which many city and state police officers has gotten involved in corrupt activities requires some documentation and analysis. There are many cases of police corruption in the United States. This paper will focus on forms of police corruption in the United States and the theories of police corruption. The data are collected based on review of literature and ethnographic observations in American police operations. The data show that police corruption in the United States is motivated, in the main, by the “drug war” policy.
Police Culture and Coercion
According to the conventional wisdom, the police culture consists of a set of values, attitudes, and norms that are widely shared among officers, who find in the culture a way to cope with the strains of their working environment. Recent evidence suggests that some attitudes are shared across groups of officers, while others are more fragmented across groups. Using survey and observational data collected in two cities, this paper examines the relationship between attitudinal dispositions and behavior. More specifically, the extent to which there is concordance and discordance between officer attitudes (e.g., attitudes toward citizens, supervisors, legal restrictions, role, tactics) and behavior is investigated within the context of police coercion.
Police Data Sources for Identifying Repeat Victimization
Identification of repeat victimization locations can be useful for police strategic and tactical response to crime. The identification of repeat address victimization requires a data system that includes both accurate address and crime specific details. However, most police department data systems are not specifically designed to address the issue of repeat victimization. This paper examines police data from four different jurisdictions and its utility for identifying repeat victimization. Procedures for cleaning and restructuring the data as well as the software tools used for identification of repeat addresses are examined.
Police Decision-Rules in Classifying Home Invasion Incidents
Experts in the security industry, some police officials, and the media suggest that home invasion crime is increasing and is of great concern to citizens. However, research on this crime is scant. Home invasion appears to be a hybrid crime that can involve a myriad of property and violent offenses. Some criminal justice practitioners suggest that home invasion is routinely misclassified as either robbery or burglary by law enforcement. What rules are used by police to classify incidents of home invasion crime? Police may use an informal weighing system to decide how to classify this offense. Factors thought to influence their decisions include: method and mode of entry, level of confrontation, relationship between victim/offender, extent of victim injury (seriousness), use and type of weapon, value of property taken, if any, sex of victim and offender, number of victims and offenders, and domicile status. Actual news reports of home invasion incidents, which vary in terms of the factors described above, will be used as scenarios for police to classify based on their law enforcement knowledge and experiences. Officer’s characteristics (sex, age, tenure) will also be included to clarify their classification decisions. The social policy implications of this work will be discussed.
Police Killings of Civilians: Does Community Policing Make a Difference?
The connection between police use of deadly force and community characteristics has long been recognized in the literature. Research suggests that both political and structural aspects of communities play a role in the application of deadly force by the police. Studies, however, have neglected to examine the relationship between variations in police organizations and the use of deadly force. Given the advent of community policing during the past decade this presents an important area of social science inquiry. The present study examines this issue through an analysis of police killings of civilians in 198 U.S. cities. The relationship between police use of deadly force and police organizational factors is examined, controlling for community characteristics and disaggregated felony homicides. Implications for a theory of police use of violence are discussed.
Police-Medical Collaborations to Prevent Intentional Injury and Homicide
In several pioneering communities, medical professionals such as emergency room physicians, EMS providers, and forensic nurses are pairing with law enforcement to shift the community’s crime prevention focus from “broken windows” to “broken bones.” Research on various types of abuse, including child abuse, domestic violence, and elder abuse, suggests that many victims present to health care facilities for less seious injury prior to future, more serious victimization or death. The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), is exploring the benefits of these collaborative efforts and their potential to prevent serious injury and homicide. The presenter will review literature on intentional injury and prevention, and current programs involving law enforcement and medical personnel collaboration. Three localities that offer innovative police-medical collaborative programs will be highlighted. Discussion will include steps to program initiation, and the direct and indirect impacts of the collaboration. Recommendations for initiating these collaborative efforts will be offered.
Police Misconduct in Los Angeles: Comparative Observations From Plant-Eating Japan
This paper proceeds from the premise that cross-national comparisons of police misconduct can help reveal what is distinctive and problematic about police misconduct in the United States. The empirical foci are Los Angeles and Japan, to locales that have experienced serious police scandals in the last few years. Police in Los Angeles and Japan share several common features that are widely considered key causes of police misconduct: closed, secretive police cultures; defective systems of internal discipline; and a mere absence of accountability to external authorities. Nevertheless, the problem of police misconduct seems far less serious in “plant-eating” Japan then in “meet-eating” Los Angeles. This paper explores the causes of this “gap” in police misconduct and the policy implications that arise therefrom.
Police Officer Perceptions of Rape
Police officer attitudes have long been linked to both social and professional behaviors. In a survey of police officers in the state of Nevada, attitudes toward rape and rape victims were compared with the professional history of the officer, as well as the officer’s personal demographic information. Differences related to age, education, and training were noted, and suggestions regarding the demographic characteristics of officers assigned such cases are proposed.
Police Officers Personal and Professional Background and its Relationship to Organizational Change: The Case of Community Policing in Israel
In 1995 the Israeli police began implementing community policing nationwide, with a strong component of POP. The original program was targeted mainly at street level police officers and over time shifted its emphasis to higher-ranking police officers at headquarters. A three-year national evaluation that was conducted by the Institute of Criminology of the Hebrew University found that among survivors, support of community policing was stronger than among street-level officers. This paper examines street-level police officers’ personal and professional backgrounds and compares it to supervisors’ backgrounds. Significant differences in personal and professional background between rank-and file and supervisors were found. The discussion suggests possible explanations for the relationship between those findings and the paramilitary organizational culture; organizational change and resistance to change; and their influence on the implementation of community policing in Israel.
Police Responses to Graffiti
Graffiti is a common problem for police in many jurisdictions. However, there is little information about the scope of the problem and responses to graffiti. This paper describes the nature of graffiti, the range of responses to graffiti, and an assessment of effective approaches.
Police Training in the New Millennium: A Comparative Study of Training Delivery Methods
A variety of training methods are currently being used by law enforcement training agencies/academies. This research, funded by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), was designed to evaluate three types of training delivery methods. On-site, train the trainer, and distance delivery training were evaluated to determine their effectiveness. Training using each delivery method was delivered to law enforcement officers in the Northern Plains States (North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming). Pre- and post-training was conducted to measure officer expectations of, reactions to, and value perceptions of the training and the method of training delivery. Follow-up interviews, surveys, and observations were conducted after training to determine whether there was any differences in how or when officers began to practically apply the material presented during training.
Police Use of Civilian Complaint Mediation: An Analysis of an Emerging U.S. Trend
This paper will examine the increasing use of mediation by civilian complaint review boards in the United States. Mediation provides civilians and police officers with an opportunity to share perspectives about the complaint. By drawing on emerging research and literature, this paper will analyze the history of the evolution of mediation as an innovative form of handling police complaints.
Policing Black Milwaukee: Newspaper Accounts of a Community Policing Pioneer of the 1930s and 1940s
The history of police in the United States is integrally interconnected with the history of African American struggles for freedom and equality. Beginning with the earliest slave patrols, police have been charged with maintaining a social order built upon unequal relations of power based in large part on race, gender and class. As in most large U.S. cities, the history of relations between police and African Americans in Milwaukee is a history in which the contradictions inherent in the role of police result in complaints of both underpolicing and overpolicing. The paper presented here explores these themes within an analysis of newspaper articles on complaints against police in Milwaukee newspapers in the 1930s and 1940s, a period in which the Milwaukee Police Department was led by an early pioneer of community policing.
Policing Domestic Violence: Victim’s Perceptions
The STOP program encourages jurisdictions to implement mandatory or pro-arrest policies as an effective domestic violence intervention that is part of a coordinated community response. The Institute for Law and Justice evaluated these projects and the data will be used to explore victim/survivor satisfaction with police in one Midwestern jurisdiction. Surveys were conducted of victims of domestic violence served by the County Sheriff’s Office and the City Police in order to address victim’s experiences with the policing of domestic violence upon implementation of programs funded by STOP grants. More specifically, this paper discusses the impact of creating a specialized unit of domestic violence detectives on victim satisfaction with police response. Victim/survivors reported on the treatment they received from the initial responding officers and specialized detectives as well as a number of factors that could influence their decision to contact the authorities in the future.
Policing Juveniles: Current Issues in Policy, Practice and Research
This paper reviews the limited theoretical and empirical literature examining contemporary law enforcement responses to juvenile delinquency and draws upon statuters, case law, standards, policy statements, instructional materials and other sources to establish a framework for examining the police function as it pertains to interactions with juvenile offenders. Ways in which contemporary police-juvenile encounters differ from those involving adults are highlighted, as are the multiplicity of normative, legal and empirically-derived perspectives concerning activities of juvenile officers/units and approaches taken by law enforcement officials in decisions related to arrest, interrogation, search and seizure, and surveillance of juveniles.
Policing Masculinities
It has been suggested that male police officers are the purveyors of a unique form of occupational masculinity. Publicised cases of sexual harmment and discrimination, which have come to light in the past few years in the UK, tend to support this assumption. Substantial out of court settlements seem to suggest that despite numerous attempts to reform what has been described as police ‘canteen culture’, a solutlion appears elusive. In this paper therefore, evidence will be presented from fieldwork with two British police forces to explore this supposedly masculinist culture. Various ways of explaining the interrelationships between men, power and identities will be analysed by theorising about maintenance of masculinities.
Policing Misconduct and the Rule of Administrative Law in North American Universities
The social concerns over the prevalence of harassment (individual, sexual and racial) in contemporary universities has created an administrative regime of policing and control. While this may effectively achieve the goal of restorative justice at the individual level through informal dispute resolution, it raises grave questions in respect of individual culpability, personal conscience and social policy when pursued in the context of formal university policies. We argue that the goals of restorative and transformative justice may be inconsistent, and that the levels of analysis (individual versus collective) may subvert the relative autonomy of the legal order.
Policing Race and Gender: An Analysis of Prime Suspect 2
“Prime Suspect,” which features the life and exploits of Jane Tennison, a fictional Detective Chief Inspector with the London police, is one of public television’s most successful film series. The award winning series has been praised for its accurate and trenchant treatment of women professionals, policewomen ever. Others, however, see Tennison and “Prime Suspect” as a failed, if valiant attempt, to transcend the stereotypes common to women in this television genre. In this paper, we consider the second film in the “Prime Suspect” oeuvre, “Prime Suspect 2.” We focus first on the film’s treatment of race (in terms of individual vs. institutional-level racism). Second, we consider Tennison’s increasing charaterization as a lonely, isolated figure in a postfeminist narrative.
Popularising Restorative Justice: How Relevant is the Critique of Informalism in Transforming Societies?
Given its origins as an alternative to traditional retributive justice practices and consequent emphasis on a range of informal dispute resolution techniques, this paper explores how restorative justice stands up to the traditional critique of informal justice practices in a jurisdiction in transformation. Concerns such as “net-widening” and the co-option of community based programmes by the formal justice system, the “professionalisation” of indigenous community practice, a tendency to eulogise either revolutionary or traditional “pre-capitalist” tribal forms of justice, the obfuscation of power and structural inbalances in offender\victim\justice system relationships and so forth did much to undermine progressive advocacy of informal justice in the 1970s and 1980s. This paper will examine the range of critiques advanced and relate them to data gleaned from a range of community based restorative justice programmes in Northern Ireland.
Portable Adolescent Therapy (PAT) for the Juvenile Justice System
The Vera Institute of Justice and the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice have developed a model of portable drug treatment designed to begin treating the most serious drug abusers as soon as they enter detention and provide care without interruption. By identifying heavy users and giving detention authorities a new treatment option, Vera hopes to overcome obstacles to starting treatment at the earliest possible moment. And by creating a treatment provider with authority to follow adolescents from agency to agency and into the community, we hope to eliminate the breaks in treatment that usually coincide with these transitions. The model combines elements of the most promising cognitive-behavioral and family-centered therapies–approaches shown to be effective with young drug abusers. Vera is testing this approach in a three-year demonstration program serving approximately 130 juveniles each year. We hope to demonstrate significant reductions in substance abuse; prevent delinquent and criminal behavior; and improve the physical, mental, social, and educational well-being of the adolescents we serve. Research suggests that appropriate drug treatment provided without interruption should have a positive impact on the most serious drug abusers in the juvenile justice system. Vera aims to demonstrate how that promise can be made real.
Positive Deviance: Using a New Typology to Expand Merton’s Anomie Theory
We have synthesized both normative (or objectivist) and reactivist (or subjectivist) conceptualizations of deviance to create a new typology; (1) classic (negative) deviance refers to behaviors that involve underconformity or nonconformity to normative expectations that are negatively evaluated; (2) rate-busting denotes overconformity to normative expectations that is negatively evaluated; (3) criminal worship suggests underconformity or nonconformity that is positvely evaluated; and (4) positive deviance subsumes overconformity that is positvely evaluated. This typology has been utilized to illuminate a potential way that Merton’s theory of anomie could be expanded. For Merton, the four potential deviant adaptations to anomie are innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion. Since Merton did not consider social reactions and their importance in understanding deviance, we propose to analyze social reactions and their significance in understanding his deviance types. As an example, innovation can be negatively evaluated and can be considered deviant in the classic sense; nevertheless, innovation can also be positively evaluated. Merton’s other deviant types will be analyzed in this way as well. In essence, our typology will be examined in relation to Merton’s seminal typology to demonstrate the potentiality and importance of considering social reactions–and overconformity to normative expectations–when explaining deviance.
Postmodern Dispute Resolution: Historicity, Identity, and the Master Discourse
Global and domestic dispute resolution privileges expressions of political, economic, and cultural events that are consistent with prevailing hegemonic discourse. In international conflicts, efforts to reach agreements between disputants typically involve high-level negotiations between elected, appointed, or declared representatives of “the people.” A similar process characterizes domestic dispute resolution in that mediators and negotiators privilege discursive expressions of events consistent with prevailing dominant cultural values. By way of contrast, a conflict intervention strategy informed by postmodernism and chaos theory exposes weaknesses in hegemonic dispute resolution practices, while identifying the complicated matrix of positions held by subjects at the level of the lifeword. Recognition of the considerable fluidity of positions and passions held by subjects provides new possibilities for recognition of both the ephemeral nature of any negotiated agreement, and the possibility that the real concerns of subjects will be heard.
Predicting Women’s Perceptions of Safety on a College Campus
Women report feeling unsafe on college campuses, particularly in certain locations. The first purpose of the study is to determine whether college students’ perceptions of safety vary depending on the campus location or are they more global. The second purpose is to determine the factors that predict perceptions of safety. 417 college women completed a questionnaire in which they answered demographic questions and questions about perceptions of safety in different locations both on and off campus, unwanted sexual experiences in the last seven months, and alcohol consumption. Three factors emerged from participants’ perceptions of safety: safety where students live (e.g. dorm, apartment), safety off campus (e.g. car, date), and safety in social situations (e.g., party, sorority, fraternity). Different variables predicted the safety factors. Perceptions of safety where students live is predicted by membership in intramural teams and belief that unwanted sexual experiences are a problem on campus. Perceptions of safety in social situations is predicted by membership in intramural teams, frequency of drinking and belief that unwanted sexual experiences are a problem on campus. The implications for making women on college campus feel safe is discussed.
Predictors of Appropriate Modality for Participants in Court-Mandated Treatment: Findings at the Brooklyn Treatment Court
A critical dilemma facing court-mandated treatment programs is how to determine the appropriate modality for each participant. A literature has begun to emerge on what factors predict a greater risk of treatment dropout, but little research has tested whether these same factors predict a greater need for a more intensive inpatient modality. Such research could inform court-mandated programs and the larger treatment community. Results were analyzed at the Brooklyn Treatment Court (BTC). Measures of treatment modality were: (1) initial assignment to inpatient or outpatient, (2) proportion of treatment days spent inpatient, (3) any long-term inpatient stay (e.g., at least one year), (4) ever switched from outpatient to inpatient, and (5) ever switched from outpatient to inpatient. Analyses were supplemented by qualitative interviews with onsite clinical staff. Multivariate analyses indicated that the following consistently predicted requiring the more intensive inpatient services: higher addiction severity, primary drug of heroin, more prior treatment episodes, younger age, unstable work situation, and female sex. Although the drug use factors of addiction severity, primary drug, and treatment history were significant, these factors were weak or insignificant predictors in an earlier analysis on the predictors of dropout. Also, criminal justice factors were not significant predictors of modality needs, although they were among the strongest predictors of overall treatment outcomes.
Predictors of Miscarriages of Justice in Capital Cases
Prior research on wrongful convictions in capital cases has focused primarily on qualitative methods designed to provide in-depth descriptive analyses of these cases. In contrast, this study involves a quantitative comparison between seventy-six documented cases from 1970-1998 in which prisoners were released from death row because of “doubts about their guilt” and inmates who were executed. Through the utilization of a logistic regression model, significant predictors of cases that result in a release from death row as opposed to an execution were identified. The final section of this study focuses on policy implications that may decrease the risk of error in capital cases. Additional research is suggested in an effort to increase understanding of the problem of miscarriages of justice in capital cases.
Predictors of Offending at a Young Age
Very few longitudinal studies have examined pedictors of offending during childhood. These predictors are importrant because onset of offending at a young age, compared to onset at a later age, is associated with more serious offending and a longer delinquency career. The paper present data from the Pittsburgh Youth Study and the Denver Youth Survey for males who started offending prior to age 13. Predictors included are factors linked to the child, family, peer group, school, and neighborhood. The findings are viewed from the point of view how to enhance interventions with very young offenders.
Predictors of Sexual Harassment and Coercion Victimization Among College Students: The Role of Gender, Child Abuse, Alcohol Expectancy, and Victim-Perpetration Link
Research on sexual victimization consistently finds that childhood abuse (Koss & Dinero, 1989; Messman & Long, 1996) and alcohol consumption (Schwartz & Pitts, 1995) increase the risk of victimization. The present study investigated risk factors in the prediction of sexual harassment and coercion victimization among 426 college students. Results based on hierarchical linear and logistic regression indicate that sexual harassment victimization is predicted by gender, childhood abuse, alcohol expectancy and sexual harassment. That is, females, with a history of child sexual abuse and neglect, who themselves harass others are more likely to be the victims of sexual harassment. Moreover, the latter relationship is mediated by alcohol expectancy. Sexual coercion victimization is predicted by gender, childhood neglect, alcohol expectancy and sexual coercion. That is, females with a history of childhood neglect, high scores on alcohol expectancy and who themselves are coercive are more likely to be victimized. In addition, there was a significant gender by childhood neglect interaction with neglected females more likely to be victimized. The role of childhood abuse on the victim-perpetrator link will be explored.
Preliminary Findings From the SafeFutures Youth and Caregiver Surveys
This paper examines baseline self-report survey data collected from youth and caregivers in several SafeFutures communities. The youth survey collects information on a range of individual factors including self-reported delinquency; victimization; peer associations; school involvement; commitment to pro-social norms; and the use of alcohol and drugs. In contrast, the caregiver survey seeks information about family composition; family involvement in pro-social activities; the problems and service needs of youth and other household members; and, services received through SafeFutures and other sources. Both surveys ask respondents about community characteristics, including mapping respondents’ perceptions of local hot spots. Together, these data may be used to construct in-depth profiles of client and community needs.
Preliminary Findings From Youth Handgun Violence Prevention Programs in Colorado
Youth and handguns has been a pressing issue since epidemic of lethal violence from the mid-1980’s through the early 1990’s. Even with the downturn in such violence in recent years, the presence of handguns among teenagers continues to be a threat to their well-being. Several center and school based violence prevention programs in Colorado have responded to this problem by incorporating handgun violence components into their prevention strategies; these strategies are currently being evaluated through a quasi-experimental design over a two-year period. This paper presents preliminary findings on handgun carrying and use as well as attitudes about handguns collected during the early stages of the interventions.
Preliminary Findings on Battered Women’s Agency in Their Negotiations With the Criminal Justice System
A recent approach in feminist scholarship involves the notion of agency, which examines how forces such as power and resistance work in women’s everyday lives. Acknowledging that women’s experiences and activities are often limited by unequal power relations, researchers from this perspective attempt to determine how–and to what extent–women are able to actively and knowledgeably resist power structures and construct their own paths of action. This paper will constitute an application of this approach to battered women. I will present preliminary findings of in-depth interviews with 30 women who have been involved with the court system as victims in misdemeanor domestic violence cases. This paper will explore how the criminal justice system’s responses to domestic violence impact battered women’s agency. I will examine how battered women are able to move beyond the role of “victim” and employ strategies to make the system work best for them. I will also explore the extent to which battered women’s voices and decisions are heard and respected (or ignored and limited) by the criminal justice system. Finally, I will examine how battered women are able to confront and resist restrictive criminal justice policies and/or stereotypical depictions of themselves.
Preliminary Findings on the Interaction Among Community Policing, Community Prosecution and Community Courts
The findings presented from this research are from an exploratory case study in Portland, Oregon that sought to answer the following question: If community policing, community prosecution and community court programs coexist in the same city, how do they interact with each other. Prior to this study, no research has looked at whether or not these three community oriented programs worked toward coordinating their activities while operating within the same geographical space. Portland, Oregon has the unique distinction of having all three of these programs operating simultaneously within its city. Preliminary evidence indicates that interaction does occur among both the front line personnel of these three agencies and the supervisory personnel of these agencies; at this time, “direct” interaction is more common among the supervisory personnel of these three agencies; community prosecutors play a significant role in facilitating interaction; low-level quality of life crimes also facilitate interaction; interaction among these three agencies is evolving due in large measure to constant joint consideration of new ways to improve the quality of neighborhood life.
Preliminary Results From the Breaking the Cycle Demonstration Project: Tacoma, WA
Breaking the Cycle (BTC) is a multi-site demonstration project designed to reduce substance abuse and criminal activity amongst drug-involved offenders. BTC is being demonstrated in three jurisdictions with support from the National Institute of Justice and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. BTC is designed to increase the early identification of drug-involved arrestees, place defendants in treatment shortly after entering the justice system, treat clients throughout their period of supervision, monitor clients progress, and sanction non-compliant defendants using structured sanctions. This presentation reports the preliminary findings from the quasi-experimental impact evaluation of BTC in Tacoma, Washington (N=815). Outcomes analyzed include drug use and recidivism. Particular attention is given to explicating the statistical methods used to overcome sample selection bias, and the results from various models are contrasted.
Preliminary Results From the Violence Againt People With Disabilities Pretest
In the Fall of 2001, the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Census Bureau pretested questions to be added to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS( to measure the incidence and characteristics of crimes against people with disabilities. These questions are being added to the NCVS to meet a mandate of the 1998 Crime Victims with Disabilities Awareness Act. The Act required that the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) modify the NCVS to “include statistics relating to (1) the nature of crimes against individuals with developmental disabilities; and (2) the specific characteristics of the victims of those crimes.” The pretest was conducted using a sample of 200 people with developmental disabilities receiving services from the State of California, along with a control group of 100 people drawn from the general population. The purpose of the pretest was to determine the viability of questions designed to identify types of disabilities, and to identify modifications to survey procedures and questionnaires that may facilitate interviewing people with various types of disabilities. This paper discusses the issues addressed in the pretest and provides some preliminary findings.
Presentation of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Girls Study Group Project
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) issued a solicitation for applications from public or private agencies and organizations to assemble and convene the Girls Study Group to develop a sound theoretical and empirical foundation to guide future development, testing and dissemination of strategies to effectively prevent and reduce girls’ involvement in delinquency and violence and their subsequent consequences. It is anticipated that the Girls Study Group Project will provide State and local policymakers and practitioners with theoretically sound, culturally and developmentally appropriate, and empirically grounded strategies (program elements, principals and policies) to prevent and reduce female delinquency and its consequences. The award for this project will be announced in June, 2001. It is planned that the “Chair” of the Girls Study Group will present on this panel. Specifically, the presenter will provide: (1) a history of the challenges affecting researchers and practitioners in examining and addressing the needs of females in the juvenile justice system, (2) OJJDP’s response, and call for a Girls Study Group, and (3) an overview of the framework/strategy/makeup of the Study Group.
Pretrial Release and Misconduct: Felony Defendants in the 75 Largest Counties
Using data from the BJS State Court Processing Statistics program for the years 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, and 1998, this study examines factors related to the pretrial release and detention of felony defendants in the 75 largest counties. Factors related to the probability of release such as type of offense, criminal justice status, prior arrests and convictions, and court appearance history are examined. Also studied are the types of release used, bail amounts, and defendant conduct while in a release status. Instances of pretrial misconduct such as missed court appearances and rearrests are examined as they relate to factors such as defendant characteristics, type of pretrial release, and length of time in a release status.
Prevalence of Youth With Disabilities in the Juvenile Justice System: A National Survey
Youth with disabilities are over-represented in the Juvenile Justice System, however, the actual prevalence is not known or understood. This presentation will report on a national survey conducted early this year by staff of the National Center on Education, Disability, and Juvenile Justice (EDJJ) at the American Institutes for Research. The presentation includes data from the state department of education and juvenile justice, as well as from juvenile and adult correctional facilities across the country. Implications for prevention, service delivery, and community services will be explored.
Preventing Parolee Crime Program: A Prospective Study of Selected California Parole Programs
The Preventing Parolee Crime Program consists of five programs thought to counteract the negative effects substance abuse, low educational levels and joblessness are thought to have on successful completion of parole. The programs are substance abuse treatment programs (residential and outpatient), computerized literacy centers, employment services and residential multi-services. parolees may receive services on demand, on recommendation by a parole agent and as an alternative to return to custody. The current evaluation compares the parole experience in four prospectively sampled cohorts of parolees: parolees released to parole units without programs, parolees released to parole units with programs, parolees already enrolled in programs and two comparison groups for parolees already enrolled in programs. One comparison group is a concurrent group of parolees with a similar parole and criminal history but from parole units without programs, the other group consists of a historical cohort from the same units as the parolees in programs. Outcomes studied include return to custody, types of crimes committed and substance abuse while on parole among others. Survival analysis and other regression models are employed in studying outcomes. Aspects of study design will also be discussed.
Preying on the Young: Sex Offender Victimization and the Impact of Legislative Efforts
Sex offenders attract noticeable media focus and criminal justice response. The plight of Megan Kanka and other young children is a prime concern as noted by law enforcement authorities and community residents. Organized community efforts, fueled by media attention and close law enforcement scrutiny, have prompted promulgation of child protective legislation. Passage of Megan’s Law in New Jersey and similar sex offender legislation in locales around the country stimulated related federal legislative efforts. These efforts have culminated in a target hardening approach toward child molesters and a focus on protecting their potential victims. This paper addresses victimization issues related to the formation of legislative remedies. A profile of several important cases will be offered along with discussion of the followng issues: 1) sex offenders and the plight of child victims prior to the 1980s; 2) passage of Megan’s Law and parallel Federal initiatives; 3) impact of legal measures directed toward sex offenders as assessed according to community concern and criminal justice response; and 4) overall evaluation of policy initiatives dedicated to dealing with sexual offender and their victims.
Prison Adjustment Patterns of Offenders in Federal Correctional Institutions
Prison adjustment is of obvious importance in correctional environments. Demographic and criminal history indicators have helped to identify some differences between those inmates who are more likely to encounter problems in coping with confinement and those who are more likely to successfully adapt. One particular perspective of adjustment involves classifying offenders as “advantaged” and “nonadvantaged” according to certain personal preprison characteristics. This idea is studied for offenders housed in Federal correctional facilities of varying security levels. The adjustment patterns of these groups are analyzed to determine if any experience differences exist. Also, a comparison of male and female adjustment patterns is made. An additional effort of this research determines how self-reported inmate perceptions and attributes (including criminal sentiments and attitudes) relate to adjustment criteria: use of psychological services and official disciplinary data. The results are discussed within the context of coping styles and life skills development. Possible future research questions are also posed.
Prison and Substance Abuse Treatment: Exploring Different Career Models
The relationship between treatment-employment-criminal careers has seldom been addressed. Generally the perception is that the substance-abusing offender is unlikely to be employable. Using data on a small sample of offenders, the researchers outlined a conceptual framework for different types of offenders and career paths. An examination of the treatment-employment-criminal careers will identify the varying programmatic needs of offenders. These paths have certain implications for different types of prison-based programs focused on improving the livelihood of offenders in the community.
Prison-Based Therapeutic Community Treatment: Participant Outcomes
This paper presents and discusses parole and return to custody (RTC) data on inmates who received prison-based therapeutic community treatment and were subsequently released to parole. Currently, the California state prison system has approximately 9,000 beds devoted to therapeutic community (TC) substance abuse treatment, which are spread over 35 programs in 19 state prisons and two Community Correctional Facilities. Under two contracts with the California Department of Corrections (CDC), the UCLA Drug Abuse Research Center is conducting 5-year process and outcome evaluations on 15 of these programs at ten state prisons, totaling 3,300 beds. Since they commenced operations in 1998 and 1999 over 6,800 inmates (male and female) have been classified into these 15 TC programs to receive substance abuse treatment services. Using data collected from CDC’s Offender-Based Information System (OBIS), we will examine differences in RTC rates, length of time until reincarceration, and current parole status based on selected independent measures collected at intake into the prison-based TC programs (i.e., relating to personal background, drug and alcohol use history, and involvement with the criminal justice system), length of time in prison-based treatment, discharge reason (i.e., completers vs. non-completers), and participation in community-based treatment following release to parole.
Probing the Developmental Relationship Between Adolescent Employment and Crime Using the NLSY97
Prior research using the NLSY97 has shown that youth who begin to work or increase their work intensity from one school year to the next show no increase either in the prevalence or the frequency of their criminal or delinquent behavior. This result directly contradicts a large body of research using cross-sectional analysis. To expand this analysis further, in this paper we examine trajectories of monthly work pattern over the entire high school career for two cohorts in the NLSY97. This application of the semi-parametric trajectory method to work are correlated with different offending patterns and lifestyle choices at age 18. Based on our earlier work, we hypothesize that individuals with substantially different patterns of work behavior during their high school years will have essentially the same offending behavior upon the completion of high school. Furthermore, we predict that individuals who worked during high school will have life outcomes at age 18 that are predictive of a successful transition to adult roles.
Problem Behavior, Job Performance, and Social Relationships: Psychosocial Functioning of Young Men as a Consequence of Different Offender Trajectories
In the present study it is examined whether psychosocial functioning of young adult men (i.e., at ages 23-24) is a consequence of different offending trajectories from late childhood through early adulthood, controlling for early precursors of the outcome in question and other relevant variables. Three areas of young adult functioning are explored: Problem behavior, job performance, and social relations. Results will illuminate whether different offender trajectory groups show similar detrimental long-term outcomes of their engagement in delinquency during adolescence. The men filled out the Elliott Delinquency Scale (Elliott et al., 1983) at twelve annual assessment waves (mean age at first wave= 12.85, SD= 41). Using the growth mixture modeling method (M-PLUS 2.0), five trajectories of delinquency were identified: major offenders, moderate offenders, decreasing moderate offenders, decreasing major offenders, and abstainers. Psychosocial functioning in young adulthood was predicted by delinquency trajectory groups, controlling for age, family income and SES, criminal behavior of parents and association with delinquent friends in childhood, and childhood/adolescent proxies of the outcome in question. Preliminary results suggested better psychosocial functioning of all groups relative to the major offenders (i.e., the group with the worst offending trajectory) for several young adult outcomes.
Problem Children in Elementary School: Can We Make a Difference?
Most serious delinquent acts are committed by a relatively small group of chronic offenders. These individuals need to be targeted by prevention and intervention efforts early in life, perhaps during elementary school. However, identifying these children is often difficult as predictors and criterion lack independence. The purpose of the current investigation was to compare the effect of the universal school-based PeaceBuilders youth violence prevention program (Embray et al, 1996) on elementary school children (grades K-5) identified as “problem kids” by official school records (suspensions) versus “nonproblem children.” More specifically, the study longitudinal data on teacher rate social competence and aggression were examined. The sample was ethnically diverse (50% Hispanic, 29% Caucasian, 15% Native American, 5% African American and 1% Asian/Pacific Islander) drawn from a metropolitan area in the Southwest. At Time 1, data were collected on N=3,103 children based on teacher reports; however, archival records were only available for N=2,750 students (89%). Approximately 6% (n=174) of the sample has been suspended from school during the study period. About 76% of the identified “problem kids” were male and 22% were female. Preliminary analyses evaluating the impact of PeaceBuilders on social competence and aggression indicated that problem children reported significantly higher levels of initial aggression and lower levels of social competence than nonproblem children; program effects were mixed and appeared more effective for on problem children.
Problem-Oriented Guides for Police
This paper describes findings from the Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services-sponsored Problem-Oriented Policing Guides project, which has developed guides to improve the police capacity to address specific crime and disorder problems. Guides describe specific problems, summarize research and practice, and describe measures to determine effectiveness. A central objective of the series is to better connect reseach on crime and disorder with police practice. The guides are the product of extensive review and summary of available international research literature, situational crime prevention initiatives, and police problem-solving efforts. These guides should be useful to police officers in all democratic societies since they draw on international research. Even though the laws, customs, and police practices vary from country to country, it is apparent that the police experience common problems.
Problem Solving Approaches to the Issue of Inmate Re-Entry
One of the bi-products of the growth of the nation’s prison population is the increasing number of inmates being returned to the community. Historically former inmates have experienced high rates of recidivism thus generating a threat to public safety and imposing costs as former inmates continue to be entangled in the criminal justice system. This paper presents findings from a study of a problem solving approach to the issue of inmate re-entry. Corrections officials, service providers, and community groups in Indianapolis have begun to study problems associated with inmate re-entry, craft transitional services, and assess the impact of these services. Data are presented on the general profile of inmates returning to the community and on the perceived barriers to successful transition. The pilot re-entry projects are described and initial findings on the impact of these efforts are presented.
Process-Sociology as ‘The Hinge’: Toward Integrated Theories of Crime and Deviance
While occasionally referred to as a ‘contemporary’ sociologist of growing influence (Burkitt 1991; Layder 1986, 1994), the work of Norbert Elias has been generally under appreciated in most sociologicaL sub-disciplines. Save for the exploration of Elias’ work within the sociology of sport (cf. Dunning 1999; Maguire 1999; Sheard 1997), the tenets of Elias’ process-sociology have only begun to be critically examined through empirical research. In this discussion, I make a case for exploring theoretical insights on crime, criminality, and deviance tacitly contained within Elias’ work. While his writings were not intentionally geared toward the advancement of a general theory of crime, his interpretations of ‘civilising processes’ (Elias 1978, 1983), his research of figurational power relations (Elias & Scotson 1965), and his conceptualisations of interdependency (Elias 1981, 1991) contain core elements required for a theoretical explanation of crime and deviance–such as, the explanation of individual crime, the explanation of societal crime rates, the exploration of the reactive components involved in crime, and, the functions of formal and informal social control. It is argued here that a process-sociological framework is well-suited for bridging seemingly dissonant existing theories of crime into a conceptually comprehensive and unified theory of rule-breakiing behaviour.
Profiles and Predictors of Reoffending Among Juvenile Delinquents With Concomitant Mental Health and Substance Abuse Problems
Results from a longitudinal investigation of mental health and substance abuse problems among 250 incarcerated juvenile delinquents are presented. Offender profiles are constructed on the basis of individual traits, social history charateristics, mental health problem symptoms, substance use, and delinquent conduct. Survival analysis is used to identify factors associated with reoffending two years following intervention in the juvenile justice system. Results reveal three distinct youth clusters, one characterized by high levels of mental health problem symptoms and two characterized by high to moderate delinquency and substance abuse. Participation in family counseling, male gender, and mental health problem symptoms of anxiety and phobia were related to the hazard rate for official indicators of recidivism at two-year follow-up. Implications for treating juvenile offenders with mental health and substance abuse problems are noted.
Profiles of Co-Disordered Drug Offenders and Sex Offenders in Prison-Based TC Treatment
The extent to which traditional therapeutic community (TC) methods meet the specialized treatment needs of co-disordered men and women, including drug-dependent sex offenders, in prison is largely unknown. Very little research has been conducted specifically with these populations. The purposes of this study are to generate profiles of co-disordered drug offenders and drug-dependent sex offenders entering TC treatment in prison and to explore their post-release reincarceration rates, compared with non-disordered drug offenders in the same TCs. Extensive intake interview data for over 7,000 men and women who have received treatment in one of 16 prison-based TCs in California will be analyzed to produce profiles of co-disordered and sex-offending program participants. Intake data come from a five-year process and outcome evaluation of the California Department of Corrections’ (CDC) Treatment expansion initiative. Post-release return to custody rates come from the CDC’s Offender Based Information System (IS). Future exploration from this study will provide valuable information on the types of services and approaches that should be emphasized when treating co-disordered drug offenders and drug-dependent sex offenders in prison-based TCs.
Profiling of Suspected Criminals: Appropriate Response or Constitutional Error?
Recent public clamor concerning profiling containing a racial component has filled both newspapers and the broadcast media while generating almost universal revulsion. Criminal profiles constitute useful and appropriate tools for law enforcement from the drug courier profile used at airports and interstate highways to the descriptive profile of an urban drug purveyor of recreational pharmaceuticals. Properly devised and implemented, criminal profiles must be constructed to avoid improper racial stereotyping while providing an appropriate response to potential criminal activity.
Program Bonding: A Measure of Responsivity to Treatment
In order to test the relationship between youths success in delinquency prevention programs and their bonding to the program, the Program Bonding Scale was developed. The scale is intended to tap youths program attachment, attachment/connection to staff, caring and trust from staff, staff attention, and staff support. It is believed that the Program Bonding Scale serves as a measure of youths responsivity to treatment. The paper describes the scale development process as well as a pilot test conducted to test the relationship between bonding and outcomes. Outcome data from a system that tracks youths who receive delinquency prevention services in Philadelphia were examined to identify whether strong program bonding was related to youths success at the program.
Promising Education Practices forDelinquent Youth: A Review of the Evidence
During the past decade there has emerged a growing national reform movement to improve the quality of education for delinquent youth. This reform movement reflects an increasing recognition of the role of effective education in reducing subsequent delinquent behavior. Some of the major reform initiatives that have emerged include the use of technology in the classroom, smaller class sizes, and more highly trained teachers. However, empirical validation of what constitutes effective educational practices and successful delivery of quality education services to delinquent youth remains incomplete. This paper reviews the relevant literature toward the end of identifying specific “promising education practices” for delinquent youth.
Proposition 36: Implementation and Accommodation of a Drug Crime Initiative by Criminal Justice Officials in California
Proposition 36, California’s Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act, was passed in November, 2000 on California’s Popular Initiative Ballot. It is a post-conviction program that offers first and second time non-violent drug offenders the opportunity to participate in community based substance abuse treatment in lieu of prison terms. Upon successful completion of a year-long treatment program, offenders may petition the court to have the conviction charges dismissed and the arrest is deemed never to have occurred. Taken as a sign of public disenchantment with the failed war on drugs, it is uncertain how effectively Proposition 36 procedures will be incorporated into existing procedure by the actors in the criminal justice system. The language of the proposition allows for the possibility of discretionary application by judges, prosecutors, probationary personnel and substance abuse treatment counselors. Proposition 36 will also interact with laws and procedures already established. How the system incorporates or rejects aspects of Proposition 36 in its daily interactions will be indicative of the success of the initiative. The present study will focus on the procedural implementation of proposition 36 in Los Angelels, Orange and San Diego counties in Southern California.
Prosecutorial Justifications for Sexual Assault Case Rejection
The decision to charge is a critical stage in sexual assault cases, as few cases survive this process. Frohmann (1991) examined proseutorial accounts for case rejection and purported that prosecutors construct typifications of credible victims and rape relevant behavior in deciding whether to charge or not in sexual assault cases. This analysis replicates and extends Frohmann’s (1991) work in two jurisdictions.
Protecting Youth Online: Family Use of Filtering and Blocking Software
Filtering and blocking software has been one of the most recommended means of protecting youth from Internet victimization. This paper explores characteristics associated with the adoption of filtering and blocking software in households with youth (10 and 17 years) who use the Internet regularly. Thirty-three percent of parents reported current use of filtering/blocking software with an additional 5% having discontinued its use within the past year. Parents were more likely to adopt filtering software if they had younger children (10-15 years), a high level of concern about exposure to sexual material on the Internet, low trust in the child’s ability to use the Internet responsibly, more extensive knowledge of what their child does online, and if the child used American Online. Use of the Internet for school assignments was associated with not using filtering software. Findings suggest 1) the need for evaluation research of filter programs used in a real-family context; and 2) the development of prevention strategies against Internet victimization for youth of different ages.
Providing Gender-Responsive Services to Delinquent Girls: WINGS
The WINGS program (Working to Insure and Nurture Girls’ Success) targets young females in San Diego County who have recently entered the justice system. The program is based on a home-visiting model in which service providers engage the girls and their families in a mutual effort to increase family communication, competency, and understanding of resources within the community. Using a classic experimental design, the impact evaluation involves documenting the girls’ initial risk factors, their progress in the program, and the interventions provided, and measuring recidivist behavior and other outcomes of interest. In addition the research will identify factors that impeded or enhanced program implementation and how they affected outcomes. The current paper will describe preliminary findings from the process and impact evaluatrion approximately one year after randomization of clients began.
Public Beliefs About Partner Violence and the Law: Modeling the Effects of Social Background, Experience, and Community
Domestic violence has been the target of policy reforms and program initiatives over the past two decades. While most of these initiatives have focused on changing offenders, or providing help to victims, a long-term objective of many reformers has been to improve the public’s understanding of the nature and causes of violence, and to increase public awareness of, and support for, more effective social and legal interventions. This paper reports the findings of a multi-site study of public attitudes about domestic violence. The research will address the following questions: (1) Are attitudes about the nature and causes of domestic violence associated with individual characteristics (such as respondent’s age, gender, race, or ethnicity), or with individual life experiences (education, social class, personal experience in abusive or violent relationships)? (2) At the aggregate level, do public beliefs about violence vary across rural and urban areas? Is the level of public understanding of violence correlated with comunity-level practices, policies, and outreach efforts directed toward domestic violence? (3) How do people’s beliefs about the causes of violence shape their attitudes about what sorts of behaviors should, and should not, be criminalized?
Public Support for White-Collar Crime Prevention Strategies in the Workplace
Using public opinion survey data (n-1800) we examine support for measures to combat white collar crime. Specifically we analyze differences between crime control measures toward customers (cameras in dressing rooms and surveillance cameras) vs. measures targeted toward employees (listening in on employee telephone calls; using security cameras to monitor employees; and, requiring drug testing as a condition of employment). We examine perceptions of white collar crime as a cost of business, underscoring collective harm and thus diminishing public identification of such conduct as criminal. The impersonal framing as a diffuse and communally dispersed harm is likely to result in support for prevention based reactions. The lack of emphasis on individual level responsibiliy that is commonly associated with criminality may lead to higher levels of tolerance for this behavior.
Punishing Identities: Legal Consciousness Among European and African American Capital Jurors
Focusing on post-trial interviews with some 67 white and African American jurors who served on 15 capital trials in which a black defendant received the death sentence, this article investigates the legal consciousness of ordinary citizens enlisted to make extraordinary decisions as jurors in death penalty trials. Findings reveal two competing narratives in jurors’ descriptions of the defendant or their sentencing decisions. Whites rely on an underlying tale of “black inferiority as heard in the following three themes: cultural inferiority, racial justification, and a tale of a cold and callous black brute. Moreover, such variations on the tale of black inferiority are found to enable many whites to make sense of their decisions to impose the death sentence in cases involving black defendants. On the other hand, black jurors’ opened-ended answers to questions regarding the jury’s punishment decision are found to articulate a tale of “contesting white racism.” Such a narrative is found to both represent whites as too culturally remote and thus unable to meaningfully judge an African American defendant’s life at the same time that it may express more global concerns contesting white privilege and the need for racial empowerment and reform, including calls for greater inclusion of racial minorities in the jury system. These findings demonstrate the pervasiveness of race in the micro-dynamics of capital sentencing not readily apparent in prior analyses of capital jurors’ perspectives of their capital sentencing decisions nor in prior analyses of the influence of race on death sentencing outcomes.
Punishing Parents?: Parenting Programmes and the Prevention of Offending Among Children and Young People
A controversial new area of work introduced by the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act (England and Wales, UK) is that of Parenting Orders which aim to prevent offending, anti-social behaviour and non-attendance of school by children and young people. The Parenting Order combines two elements: the first — a cumpulsory element — requires parents to attend counselling or guidance sessions for up to a period three months and the second — a discretionary element — may require parents to exercise control over their child’s behaviour for a period of up to 12 months. The hybrid nature of the Parenting Order combining compulsion with a supportive approach is viewed by many as problematic and thus practitioners have tried to persuade the courts to allow parents to access services on a voluntary basis. This paper will reflect on the ongoing evaluation of two Parenting Projects in Liverpool, Merseyside, UK. In particular it will contextualise the parenting services provided, present findings on the impact of the parenting programmes, including qualitative data on parents’s and their children’s experiences and views, and discuss the strengths and limiations of this provision wiyhin the youth justice context in the UK.
Punishment, Crime and Migration in Italy (1863-1998)
I evaluate the impact of migratory movements in crime and imprisonment rates in Italy, using long-term historical time series. I particularly discuss the results of considering the influence of historical e-migratory movements out of Italy and recent im-migratory movements into Italy.
Putting Behavior in Context: a Multilevel Test of Social Structure-Social Learning
This paper provides a test of the Social Structure-Social Learning (SSSL) Model. Recent tests of the model find support for the contention that Social Learning variables mediate the effects of structural characteristics on delinquent behavior. These studies, however, have relied on aggregated self-reported demographics as measures of social structure. This paper contributes to the literature on SSSL by combining structural measures obtained from the 1970 Census with self-reported social learning and substance use measures from Akers’ Boys Town Study. Multilevel modeling techniques are used to test the hypothesis that the social learning variables of differential association, definitions, and differential reinforcement mediate the effects of a variety of structural predictors of substance use. Findings and implications for future research are discussed.
Putting Methamphetamine in Context
Methamphetamine (meth) has taken many communities by storm in recent years–especially those communities in the Western part of the US. As a result of its unique effects on the body, its dangerous chemical makeup, and its highly volatile production methods, meth makes for a very newsworthy topic. In fact, stories about child neglect, chemical explosions, and extreme violent behavior are not uncommon. As part of a larger project conducted for the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), the Institute for Law and Justice directed a content analysis of articles from a major local newspaper (The Salt Lake Tribune). The analysis covers a six year period (1995-2000) and included more than 500 articles. The purpose of the analysis is to document emergent themes, analyze them according to their contextual meaning, and compare and contrast them with other meth-related themes and relevant issues of the time. A longitudinal analysis of the articles is also discussed. Where relevant, these themes are analyzed alongside available quantitative data (e.g., police arrest data, etc.) to provide a more complete picture of the effect that methamphetamine has had on Salt Lake City and its immediate surrounding communities.
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Quasi-Experimental Outcomes From the Brooklyn Treatment Court’s Women’s Criminal Justice/Treatment Network
This paper will present findings from the outcome evaluation of female offenders participating in the Brooklyn Treatment Court (BTC). The King’s County Supreme Court (NY) began the 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. The evaluation uses a quasi-experimental design, using a modified Addiction Severity Index, to model behavioral changes, including heatlh status, employment and other indicators, with particular attention to changes in drug use and recidivism. Outcomes are modeled using a contemporaneous comparison group drawn from female offenders arrested in Brooklyn in zones that were not eligible for participation in BTC.
Questioning the Inevitability of Violence Among Drug Sellers: A Situational Analysis
Past research on the social context of drug selling has shown that its every component feature, from ecological characteristics of the areas where selling occurs, to aspects of the selling situation, to certain attributes of the seller himself, creates a high potential for violent outcomes. Yet it strains credulity to assume that every conflict faced by a seller would result in violence, and in fact, disputes may be resolved without any violence at all. The current paper examines the context of both violent and non-violent conflicts among drug sellers by exploring dispute accounts related by 25 New York City dealers. With situation-based theories of violence as a back drop, the data will be analyzed using a relatively novel analytical technique: qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). Developed by Charles Ragin (1987) and based on Boolean algebra, QCA allows the isolation of the different combinations of conditions associated with specific outcomes. Thus, dispute conflicts will be treated in a historical fashion; that is, as process. The knowledge obtained through this study will be useful for refining theories of drug/violence interactions as well as those of violent situations in general.
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Race, Place and Racial Profiling: Using Mobile Data Terminal Data to Analyze Racial Profiling
Controversy over racial profiling of minority motorists by the police has called fror the examination of police practices in this area. Several studies, limited in scope and methodology, suggest that police target minority motorists for traffic stops and searches. We argue that the current research focus on recorded stops underestimates the extent of profiling resulting from police surveillance not associated with recorded stops. We propose that an examination of police surveillance is possible through an analysis of officer’s mobile data terminals (MDT) queries. We examine proactiver computer queries from seven days over a two-week period, during which time a Roadway Observation Study was also conducted in a medium-size, predominantly white (98 percent), suburban community with an all-white police force of more than 200 sworn officers and bordering a predominantly African-American city. We find systematic evidence of profiling, as measured by officer’s queries about African-American’s vehicle and/or person. This effect is also significantly shaped by place: the likelihood of profiling increases the farther an African-American is from the City or “out of place.” Interestingly, this query behavior does not lead to disproportionately more recorded stops or ticketing of African Americans with the exception of a small group of high-MDT users, representing about 10 percent of the total patrol force, whose query behavior and recorded stops are different significantly from their colleagues. Implications are discussed for sensitivity training, structuring discretion through mandatory traffic stop recording, and the role of MDT technology in facilitating profiling behavior.
Race, Single-Mother Households, and Deliquency: A Further Test of Power-Control Theory
Power-control theory attempts to explain the gender gap in delinquency by linking work-place authority to parental socialization and supervision of sons and daughters in the home. While research has produced some support for power-control theory, questions remain concerning the validity of the perspective to explain the gender-gap in delinquency among African Americans and youth that reside in single-parent households. Data from Add Health is used to determine if the power-control theory is race-specific and applicable to two-parent households. The implications of the findings for power-control theory will be discussed.
Race and Death Sentencing in Florida and Illinois: Some Recenmt Findings
In this paper, we will present the results from two ongoing projects that examine the relationship between victim’s race, defendant’s race, and death sentencing. The first project updates the work that we did in Florida, which examined race and death sentencing patterns through 1987. This work, funded by the Florida Bar, will focus on death sentencing from January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2000. The second project uses data from Illinois. This study is being conducted for a special commission to study the death penalty that was named by Governor George Ryan when he announced a moratorium on executions in Illinois in January, 2000. In this project, we use data from the Supplemental Homicide Reports, the Illinois Department of Corrections, and an extensive data base on Chicago homicides developed by the Chicago Police Department.
Race and General Strain Theory
In his general strain theory, Agnew (1992) has stated that there may be group differences in the types of negative relations that give rise to delinquency. In addition, Mazerolle and Piquero (1998) have stated that there is insufficient knowledge about the ability of general strain theory to explain variations in delinquency across gender, age, and ethnicity. In this paper, we therefore examine the relationship between race and general strain theory using National Youth Survey data. Our focus is on group differences in delinquency rates, rather than on individual differences. In particular, we examine whether certain structural factors mediate the group effects of strain on delinquency. Agnew (1999) argues that several community characteristics, such as severe economic deprivation, contribute to strain and thus to delinquency, since youths in these communities relieve strain by gravitating toward delinquency. We examine the importance of these structural characteristics in explaining group differences in strain, and thus group differences in delinquency, for African-American and European-American youth.
Race and the Jurisprudence of Juvenile Justice: A Tale in Two Parts, 1950-2000
This paper analyzes the legal history and jurisprudence of juvenile justice over the past half-century. It argues that the issue of race has had two distinct and contradictory impacts on juvenile justice law and policy during this period. Initially, concerns about racial discrimination and civil rights motivated the Supreme Court to require “due process” in juvenile court delinquency and waiver hearings. Subsequently, the increase in youth homicide and the racial characteristics of violent young offenders provided the political incentive to “get tough” on youth crime through the modification of juvenile court sentencing and transfer laws. The ensuing “crack down” has transformed juvenile courts’ jurisprudence and disproportionately affected minority males.
Race Differences in Life-Course Persistent Offending
Race differences in criminal behavior have been detected via both official and self-reported protocols. In this study, we attempt to understand these differences within the context of an integrated individual, familial, and neighborhood model of life-course-persistent offending. Using recent theoretical frameworks outlined by Sampson and Moffitt, we employ data from the Baltimore portion of the National Collaborative Perinatal Project to study race differences in both etiological and outcome variables. Our results show that several variables help distinguish between white and nonwhite patterns of chronic offending, but that the differences appear to lie in the level of risk factors as opposed to the developmental processes among groups defined by race. In accord with Moffitt’s biosocial hypothesis, we found that, among nonwhites, low birth weight met with adverse familial environments (measured at birth) predicted chronic offending by age 27/33. When the interaction was estimated across groups defined by race and neighborhood disadvantage (low/high), it was only predictive of chronic offending for nonwhites reared in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Race/Ethnicity and the Juvenile Justice System: An Analysis of Research
This paper seeks to synthesize the best and most recent research bearing on the issue of disproportionate minority representation in the juvenile justice system. Evidence of race disparity is presented with respect to arrest, formal processing, secure detention, adjudication, confinement, correctional placement, and transfer to criminal court. This is followed by a review of theory and research bearing on explanations for these results: race differentials in patterns of offending, overt or intentional discrimination by justice sytstem decision-makers, institutionalized discrimination flowing from “racially neutral” justice system policies, organizational sources of variation in policies that impact disproportionately on minorities, social structural sources of variation in organizational response, and disparities that emanate from the political climate and the process of law-making itself. Challenges for theory and policy are discussed in view of the multiplicity of contributing factors identified in the review.
Race Specific Fear of Teenagers and Support for Harsh Measures to Deal With Juvenile Crime
The “get tough” philosophy that characterizes the treatment of adult criminals has extended to youthful offenders as well. In Florida, as elsewhere, juveniles are more often waived to adult court, locked up for longer periods of time, and locked in facilities that resemble adult institutions. Recent years have also been characterized by an increasingly racialized image of crime. That is, popular and media discourse on crime and punishment commonly connects race with the threat of crime. It has been suggested that one reason for the strong support for punitive policies is the popular belief that crime is a predominantly black male phenomenon. This study examines the link between race specific crime fears and support for punitive measures for dealing with juvenile offenders. Using a 1997 statewide sample of 2250 Florida residents, we hypothesize that the more worry respondents express about the prospect of being approached by black or Hispanic teenagers at night, the more support they will have for harsh measures to deal with juvenile crime. Regression estimates will control for fear of crime, whether or not the respondent has children, racial prejudice, demographic variables, and other factors related to punitive attitudes.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Juvenile Justice Decisions: The Role of Community and Court Characteristics
A notable conclusion of research on race and ethnic disparities in sentencing has been inconsistent race effects. As pointed at by Chricos and Crawford (1995), inconsistent findings themselves may be indicative of the contextual nature of race effects in criminal justice processing. This study explores the interaction of community and court characteristics to identify under what conditions race makes a difference in legal decision-making. Using juvenile justice and census data across 39 counties in Washington State, this study estimates a multilevel model to assess the influence of race on within and between jurisdiction differences in the decision to detain before trial, and the decision to imprison. As there is much discretion in the juvenile justic system, we may expect these contextual effects to be more apparen.
Racial Disparities in Minnesota: The Point of Arrest
This study by the Racial Disparity Initiative of the Council on Crime and Justice examines what factors contribute to the higher arrest rates for people of color compared to whites in Minnesota, and especially in the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The study includes several research components. First, a secondary analysis of arrest data for Minnesota’s 87 counties examines racial disparities in arrests by location. Second, a victimization survey in Minneapolis and St. Paul produces estimates of the frequency of crimes committed against persons by race of the offender. Third, a drug use survey in Minneapolis and St. Paul produces estimates of the frequency of drug-related offenses by race of the respondent. Fourth, an analysis of police incident reports examines differences across racial groups in offenses cleared by arrest and arrests initiated by police. The main goal is to compare actual involvement in personal crimes and drug offenses by race to arrests for these crimes by race. In addition, the study analyzes racial differences in the factors that affect reporting to police or clearance by an arrest, e.g., victim-offender relationship, location of the crime, and drug use habits.
Racial Disparity: Is It Due to “Justice by Geography?”
Despite consensus that the over-representation of racial minorities within juvenile facilities is a problem, there has been no effective response because of ongoing debate over whether race-specific patterns of offending or differential treatment deserve greater “blame” for the problem. It is time to stop exchanging blame and instead focus our attention on the complex relationships at the individual-, contextual-, and structural-level that are most apt to help improve our understanding of racial disparity. In this paper, we follow recent suggestions that the way to make advances in this area is to use multi-level data and techniques of spatial analyses. We analyze data from all juvenile court case files that were processed in one state during a recent six-year period. We incorporate contextual measures of the courts and local communities and multi-level analyses to examine what previously has been primarily ad hoc speculation of “justice by geography” and its relationship with race. We look at the rural/urban schism that Feld and others have suggested as important, the nature and distribution of typical cases (Emerson, 1983); we also test the multidimensional aspects of segreation offered by Massey and Denton (1988; 200).
Racial Disparity in the Police Selection Process
The application of a variety of behavioral and psychological testing in police recruitment practices has invoked controversies regarding racial disparity in the selection process. The common argument is that African American candidates tend to perform poorly on the psychological testing due to their socio-economic status. Such race-related adverse impact of recruitment-related testing has not yet sufficiently researched in the criminology arena. By employing police recruitment data, this study intends to examine contributing factors in determining racial disparity in the police selection process.
Racial Integration in a Total Institution
The purpose of this paper is to examine racial integration in a total institution–the prison. Over 40 years ago Erving Goffman introduced his thesis on total institutions, though there was scant mention of race in his discussion. This fact remains today as comparatively little is known about the impact of racially integrating offenders in prison–how they adapt in the prison setting to forced integration in cells. This paper examines 10 years of institutional data on inmate-on-inmate assaults in a large Southern prison system. Results of the analysis indicate that forced racial integration did not produce disproportionate rates of incidents compared to non-integrated inmates over 10 years.
Racial Profiling and the Collection of Traffic Stop Data
One of the key issues in the current debate about racial profilng is the collection of traffic stop race data. While many organizations support such collection, there is still fairly widespread resistance among law enforcement leaders. This paper examines this issue, focusing on the role of data collection in efforts to ameliorate racial profiling.
Racial Profiling in Connecticut: A Summary of the Statewide Traffic Stops Statistics
Public Act No. 99-198 of the Connecticut General Assembly was signed into law by Governor John Rowland on June 28, 1999 and went into effect on October 1, 1999. This act defined the concept of racial profiling and instructed the Chief State’s Attorney to collect information on all police-initiated traffic stops in Connecticut. Over 600,000 traffic stops were recorded during the first year of this legislation across 92 police agencies. This paper presents the first year findings of these data. Besides performing the comparison of traffic stops’ race and ethnic population to town race and ethnic population, we created a measure of traffic stop disparity for each police jurisdiction and used a regression analysis to explain disparities across towns in the stop decision, reason for the stop, disposition of the traffic stop, and motor vehicle searches.
Racial Segregation and Crime in Urban Neighborhoods
Recent research has noted the importance of racial segregation for predictions of violent crime (Parker and McCall, 1999; Peterson and Krivo 1993) but the relationship between segregation and other forms of crime has not been addressed by empirical analyses. Additionally, the relationship of segregation and crime has yet to be examined among communities, perhaps the most theoretically salient unit of analysis. This study examines the association of segregation and multiple forms of crime among communities n Portland, Oregon, using census data and community-level crime data collected frm the Portland Police Department.
Rape as a Product of Gender Norms: Synthesizing Brownmiller’s Reconceputalization of Sexual Assault With Tenets of Phenomenology
Susan Brownmiller’s seminal 1975 work, Against Our Will, shifted the conceptual landscape of rape theory and forced the criminological discipline to be more sensitive to the role that social factors play in the creation and perpetuation of pro-rape sentiments and behaviors. The present paper presents a historical analysis of the contours of post-Brownmiller rape theory. This is followed by a theoretical exercise aimed at synthesizing Brownmiller’s learning-based model with the tenets of phenomenology. Namely, the ideas set forth by Messerschmidt (2000) and Katz (1988) are used to argue that pro-rape ideals and sentiments are firmly grounded in the everyday practices of “doing” masculinity. In short, rape-based learning takes place within the context of normal, everyday masculinity wherein messages of aggressivity coexist with messages of sexuality. Over time, some men distort and combine these seemingly mundane social tests to produce and reinforce rape-based ideas and behaviors.
Rape Context and Resistance
Most research finds that physical defense strategies are most effective for avoiding rape and that physical self-defense does not increase risk of injury. Few studies have explored, however, what contextual factors may affect a woman’s decision to resist, as well as her choice of self-defense strategies. Using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey we conduct a discriminant function analysis to determine what situational and demographic factors are related to physical, forceful verbal, and non-forceful verbal resistance. We argue that situational factors are strong predictors of a woman’s choice of resistance strategy and urge rape prevention programs to recognize the effects of situational variables on women’s resistance.
Re-Engineering the Police: A Process for Organizational Transformation in Law Enforcement
In recent years, much has been discussed and written on ways to improve policing in the United States. Police agencies large and small have begun initiatives to practice community oriented policing, problem oriented policing, and the latest area of interest, an adaptation of New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) Compstat. Often the plans to practice these strategies have resulted in add-on programs to an agency operating much as it has for many years. Organizational philosophies, management paradigms, operational procedures, and officer attitudes and behaviors are often largely unchanged by the adoption of these strategies. In addition to NYPD, several other large departments (Chicago, Washington D.C., New Orleans, and Philadelphia) have also experienced major reform designed to improve effectiveness. Such organizational transformation requires a process of critical assessment of strengths and weaknesses, along with rethinking and redesign of the basic methods and structure of the agency. This paper discusses current problems in America policing and outlines a re-engineering process developed by the Columbus, Ohio Division of Police that might serve as a model for innovative reform.
Re-Entry Success, Social Support and Social Networks Among Ex-Prisoners
Past research suggests that most adult offenders will be rearrested subsequent to their release from prison. Some suggest that a social systems perspective be used to accommodate the content and structure of traditional and often conflicting theories of criminal behavior and better explain the interaction of individuals and society, criminal behavior and recidivism. Social systems involving social support and social networks is evident in a number of studies concerning offenders, and especially those re-entering society after imprisonment. Although seldom measured or controlled, researchers have recognized the relationship of these social systems variables and the problems of criminal behavior and recidivism. Social support and social network surveys were administered to 60 inmates recently transferred from prison to a minimum security community corrections center in preparation for parole. Multiple regression analyses explore the relationship of aspects of social support, social networks and return to prison. Survey results appear to support current theory regarding the relationship of social systems and recidivism.
Re-Examining the Age, Peer, and Delinquency Relationship
Despite longstanding understanding of the strong relationship between delinquency and age and delinquent peer association, examination of the interrelationship between these three factors remains largely unaddressed. Drawing on research on the age/peer link and the significance of peer relations for specific offenses, we employ data from the National Youth Survey (NYS) to examine the interactive relationship between age and peer associations on delinquency. Specifically, we hypothesize that there is a differential effect of delinquent peer associations among older versus younger youths, but that this effect will be present only for substance abuse-related offenses due to the importance and “stickiness” of peer associations for these types of offending. The authors call for greater attention to theoretically specifying and explaining the age/peer relationship and its link to specific types of delinquency.
Re-Integrative Shaming Theory and Crime: a Tale of Two Rural Australian Communities
This paper examines Re-Integrative Shaming Theory within Australian rural communities, whose diversity provide a unique laboratory for investigating theoretical and methodological issues about the relationship between community characteristics and crime. Case studies were conduted in four rural communities in New South Wales (Australia) to examine the relationship between community cohesiveness and crime. Residents’ perceptions of the incidence and types of crime and other social problems experienced in each community were compared. Factors that intervened between the success or failure of the residents to cope with crime were explored. More cohesive and integrated communities experienced less crime. Conversely, more fragmented communities had more crime and other social problems. One highly cohesive community had a low crime rate, yet also had a large Aboriginal population. There was a strong unity of opinion and lifestyle, and a common belief in the close relationship between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities. Control over crime was maintained through strong social controls that demonstrated Braithwaite’s (1989) concept of “re-integrative shaming.” In contrast, another community also had a high Aboriginal population, but experienced more difficulty in controlling crime because there was a lack of cohesion between various groups in the community anbd no consensus regarding acceptable social behavior.
Re-Thinking the Police Response to the Mentally Ill and Chronic Substance-Abusing Population: The Santa Fe, New Mexico Jail Diversion Program
Because of their responsibility to protect the public as well as those who suffer from disabilities (i.e., parens patrie), police are frequently the agency called upon to handle disturbances involving mentally ill or irrational individuals. Recent research demonstrating that a large proportion of individuals housed in jails and prisons in the United States suffer from mental illness suggests that police are increasingly relying on formal responses such as arrest to resolve such encounters. The growing body of evidence suggesting that mental illness is being criminalized raises serious concerns for both criminal justice and mental health systems. This paper examines a joint effort by the Santa Fe, New Mexico Police Department and Crisis Response of Santa Fe, a city-sponsored mental to the filing of criminal charges. Through assessment and referral to appropriate services, the Jail Diversion program seeks to more adequately meet the needs of this population and thereby reduce the likelihood of recidivism. The paper examines the overall prevalence of mental illness and chronic substance abuse in Santa Fe and considers the impact of the program on both individuals’ subsequent behavior, as well as on the criminal justice system overall.
Reaching Generation D: How to Cultivate Digital Literacy in the Criminal Justice Classroom
Each day of our lives has become increasingly digitalized. As the ubiquity of digital technolgy grows, so does the need for digital literacy. Around the world, institutions of higher learning are struggling to keep pace with the challenges that the digital revolution poses. Each year the number of college freshmen who are digitally literate grows, and their expertise expands. Despite these trends, the demand for digital literacy within the criminal justice system greatly outpaces the pool of knowledge criminal justice workers possess. This paper decribes the problem of digital illiteracy within criminal justice agencies and highlights areas where expertise in digital technology is in especially high demand. It explores ideas for recruiting and retaining digitally savvy students into criminal justice classrooms and provides suggestions for remediating digital illiteracy due to digital-phobia or digital poverty.
Reading the Thermometer: Hate Incidents Against Asian Students on Campus
Safety is a shared concern among students, parents, and college officials. Although personal safety is a warranted issue, college reports on crime and victimization focus on a limited number of offenses. For example, important data on hate crime are often left out or ignored. This is particularly problematic given how easily hate can be fueled in a college campus environment and the ease with which victims can be targeted. Forging ahead, this paper examines the nature and frequency of hate incidents against Asian students on a prominent Big Ten university campus.
Rearrest Rates Among Drug Court Participants: A Suburban Experience
This study presents findings from an outcome evaluation conducted on a drug court in a large jurisdiction. The court targets adult offenders who have been convicted of misdemeanor or felony drug-motivated offenses. Potential clients are screened for eligibility using both the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Instrument (SASSI) and the Offender Profile Index (OPI). Once accepted into the court, participants move through four phases of treatment, appear at bi-weekly program review hearings, and must submit to random drug screens. A quasi-experimental design was used to compare drug court participants with a matched group of probationers. Groups were matched with regard to selected demographic characteristics as well as the presence of a substance abuse problem. In addition to basic demographics, data were collected on offense and disposition, prior criminal history, drug use and treatment history, current treatment needs, treatment placement and outcome, court reported violations, satisfaction with the drug court and its process, and termination status of drug court participants. Recidivism data will be collected during March and April of 2001. Logistic regression will be utilized to estimate the probability of rearrest.
Recent Developments of Restorative Justice Philosophy and Practice in Germany
The paper will examine on the one hand the theoretical discussion about restorative justice in Germany and then analyze data on victim-offender mediation collected from 1993 until 1998. While restorative justice philosophy has for a long time been part of the Germany legal culture, the concepts of restorative justice have only been marginally implemented in the German criminal justice system. While it is praised in theory, the only form of restorative justice in practice is victim-offender mediation. The collected data reveal that we experience a constant increase in victim-offender mediation cases in Germany and that most of those cases handled by victim-offender mediation are violent offenses (typically simple and aggravated assaults). However, we are far away to reach the great potentials restorative justice has to offer and new and more innovative concepts such as peace circles and family group conferences are largely unknown in Germany.
Recidivism in the Intensive Aftercare Program (IAP) Demonstration Sites
Since 1995, the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) has been conducting a multi-site process and outcome evaluation of the OJJDP-sponsored Intensive Aftercare Program. The IAP is based on a comprehensive, theory-driven model that focses on high-risk incarcerated juvenile offenders. It emphasizes the need for comprehensive, reintegration-oriented services during the period of institutional confinement; a highly structured and gradual transition process between the institutional and comunity settings; and the delivery of intensive supervision and services during the aftercare period. The primary goal of the project is to reduce recidivism among high risk parolees. Three sites (Colorado, Nedvada and Virginia) implemented the model beginning in mid-1995. In each site, NCCD randomly assigned committed youth who were assessed as high risk either to the experimental IAP intervention or to a control group that received traditional services. Across all sites, a total of 517 male juveniles were involved in the evaluation. An interim process evaluation found that each of the sites implemented the model in a way that was congruent with program design. Moreover, the IAP-involved youth received a level of service that, on several measures, was qualitatively and quantitatively different from that provided to the control groups. This paper will explore whether and to what extent the IAP had an impact on subsequent offending among program participants. The evaluation examined – by site – the officially-recorded recidivism events of the IAP and control youth during a standardized 12 month period following their institutional release. Recidivism was defined in multiple ways including subsequent arrests for delinquent/criminal charges, technical violations, new adjudications/convictions; and re-incarceration. The analyses examined prevalence, severity and rates of offending while controlling for time at risk. Additional analyses focused on recidivism among selected sub-groups of offenders to determine whether the IAP intervention may have had an impact for certain youth under certain circumstances.
Recidivism Rates of Participants in Oklahoma’s Nighttime Incarceration: Was it Worth the Effort?
Recidivism rates and costs associated with offenders participating in an intermediate sanction in the state of Oklahoma known as The Nighttime Incarceration Program will be examined. This intermediate sanction was intended to increase the capacity of nonviolent, repeat offenders to cope with daily life and enhance the likelihood of their successful reintegration back into their communities. The program was unique in that offenders who participated in it were not eligible for probation and would have been incarcerated in a state prison had this type of intermediate sanction not been in place. Recidivism outcomes will be assessed across a range of demographic, criminal history, and case characteristics variables and compared to recidivism rates of offenders placed in prison during the same time period.
Recognizing Corporate Crime Victims in the Framework of Human Rights
Powerless victims of corporate crime are a neglected and underdeveloped category in criminological discourse. People suffering physical damage because of economical politics lack a remedy to settle the conflict or to ask compensation. We put this down to the criminal definition of corporate crime and the maladjustment of the criminal system to the power of corporations. The failure of this locally oriented criminal justice system to control a global economy, leads us to the question if the standards of economic human rights don’t give a better answer to the harm victims suffer because of corporate misconduct. We develop this hypothesis based on a case study of pharmaceutical industries’ patent law and the victims of this economic regulation. The legality of this economic rule bumps into the declaration of human rights that provides basic medical care. At the same time the economic system obliges the obedience of countries to economic rules with possibly a victimization of its own population. We explore a human rights based criminal policy and the adjustment of criminal laws’ ideology to the rights of corporate crime victims.
Reconsidering Neutralization
The development, modifications, and displacement of the concept of techniques of neutralization are presented in a historical representation along with details of the literature and a comprehensive review of research bearing on the subject. In assessing the modality of the concept, neutralization is localized within particular theoretical frameworks while necessarily dislodging it from others. When aligning the conception, answers to assumptive questions are provided and challenges to extant research are issued. Finally, testable propositions are deduced and explored in defending the relevance of this framework in contemporary criminology and results from an empirical assessment of these propositions are presented.
Reducing Bullying in the Schools: An Evaluation of Modes of Intervention
This paper presents the findings of a two-year COPS grant research project to examine the reasons, incidence and prevalence of school-based violence and bullying behavior, as well as the creation of intervention modes to reduce the violence. Vaious quantitative and qualitative techniques to measure violence and the effectiveness of interventions were used. Specific strategies deveoped by the schools-police partnership, including use of a mapping program, teacher training, security changes and parental education, and an assessment of their effectiveness are discussed. The findings which suggest a reduction of bullying are discussed and policy recommendations for reducing bullying are offered.
Reflecting on Computer Crime in Hong Kong: A Critical Review of the Working Group on Computer-Related Crime Report of 2000
In September 2000, the Inter-departmental Working Group on Computer Related Crime (Working Group) released its long awaited and much anticipated work report — Inter-departmental Working Group on Computer Related Crime Report (Report) with an invitation for public comments. The Report is the first comprehensive effort by the Hong Kong government to study computer and related crime — problems and response — in Hong Kong. Particularly, the Report details the issues identified, difficulties confronted, and challenges raised in dealing with computer crime problems in Hong Kong. This paper provides an independent review of the Report. It offers critical analysis and constructive commentaries to the Report. In so doing, the paper assesses the Report for its relevancy, contributions and limitations. The paper has a larger goal. It is hoped that through the review exercise, we can improve upon our understanding of computer crime problems in Hong Kong and fine-tune our response to them.
Reforming Parole: Strategies for Stemming the Flow of Technical Violators to State Prison
This paper will examine the extent to which technical parole violators are driving the national growth in correctional populations both in terms of admissions and costs. It will offer strategies to significantly reduce the numbers of parolees admitted to state prison for technical or condition violations through reforming the “back-end” of parole. Over the last seven years the numbers of parole violators admitted to state prisons have increased at a rate of almost eight times that for new prison commitments. In many states the numbers of parole violators who are sent back to prison for technical violations far outnumber those parolees who are convicted of new crimes. The reasons for and processes by which parole agencies and officers violate parolees is little understood even by those in the criminal justice system. In many ways the filing of technical violations by parole officers is a rational response in attempting to cope with huge caseloads and a simultaneous lack of access to any other sanction for violators other than prison. In addition parole agencies rarely have uniform standards or guidelines for violations and state legislatures have little understanding of the tremendous impact this process has on their prison systems. As a result, the technical violation process occurs with almost no extenal oversight and management. The paper will provide a series of policy recommendations including the creation of a system of intermediate sanctions at the back end of parole to divert violators from prison as well as budget strategies to reduce correctional expenditures in order to fund re-entry programs.
Reframing Domestic Violence
This paper critiques our understanding of violence against women and girls within domestic contexts. Theories and methods used in the field do not address questions that need to be answered to develop adequate ways of reducing harm, notably how do these families persist over many years despite attempts to stop violence. Narratives told by women and girls illuminate how violent interactions are perpetuated by internal and external collusion to deny violence in the name of love and loyalty. Telling and reframing scenes allows a survivor to retain an alternative way of understandng “what happened.” Absent this reframing a person subject to violence as well as one she tells about it, participates in perpetuating denial and harm within the family. A feminist qualitative method allows understandng of how we might better address domestic violence as it persists over many years.
Regulating the City: The Social Control Imperatives of Contemporary Policing Practices
Racial profiling has become the term-of-art for discussing race-based police discretionary decisions. Research on and policy responses to racial profiling have primarily focused on developing methods for empirically testing whether police intentially use race in decision-making. However what is often missing from empirical accounts is a broader understanding of the role race has played in the development of American policing and the policing function. This paper will briefly discuss the roots of race-based decision-making in policing functions. This paper will briefly discuss the roots of race-based decision-making in policing and argue that race-based social control has been at the core of American policing since its inception. Focusing narrowly on the intentions of individual police officers, misses the broader institutional factors that affect ordinary police practices and behavior. The paper will then turn to a discussion of current policing practices as contemporary examples of these historically imbedded institutional imperatives.
Rehabilitation and Reclamation of Women: Enhancing the Dialogue Between Criminologists, Practitioners, and Lawmakers
Politicians are people. People who give of their time and their intellectual resources to public service. The very nature of their existence as politicians depends to some extent upon their communication with others. Electronic miracles have given us the ability to transfer information instantly. Yet, avenues of communication between Criminologist, Politicians, and Practitioners often seem to be blocked. Criminologist and Practitioners research and practice clarifies and offers solutions to social problems. While everyone sincerely seeks to cure, the groups findings get lost on the roads of communication. Access to one another is, in many cases neither freely available nor ethically purchasable. Theories and laws affect funding choices and life chances. Congress passed a bill in 1996, now very familiar to us as: Aid to Families With Children (AFDC). This bill placed a five-year life-time limitation on benefits and ended a program which supplied aid to dependent children. This draconian measure required that all Mothers who accepted AFDC has a job within two years after applying for AFDC eligibility. Social workers and policy professionals anticipation of the impact of the absence of Mothers from very young children has been realized. After human beings are born, The Quality of the humanization process has to do with the nature of Mothering. This paper addresses some documented results of the welfare to work program and examines social interactions. The transition of youthful behavior labeled juvenile delinquency to behavior which meets all criteria as violent even vicious crime is a part of our daily media dosage. The Criminologist had done the research, the Practitioners had cried out, and the politicians meant well. The threat to children that they will be punished as adults has not prevented anti-social behavior if their Mothers have not instilled them with basic humanity, which crosses all Socio-economic and other demographic boundaries.
Rehabilitative Justice: Does It Work for Women in Oklahoma?
This study looks at the effectiveness of the rehabiliative model within the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. It explores the GED and Vo-Tech programs found in the Oklahoma prison system. Data for the study are from the records of the Department of Corrections and include all women released from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections between 1991 and 1994. The dependent variable for this study is the number of months the offender has stayed out of prison (survival times) for those released from the department with GED program completion and those released with a Vo-Tech program completion. These groups are compared to those who were released without the program completions. The results indicate mixed success for the programs studied. GED ws found to increase the number of months offenders were able to survive after release, while Vo-Tech program completers were found to suffer from lower months of survival. The results indicate tht Oklahoma is providing the minimum requirements of rehabilitation to its offenders, but the results also indicate that offenders do not automatically gain survival times from the programs.
Reintegrating the Releasee: Project WAR a Year Later
With the massive movement to build more prison cells, little thought is given to the fact that about 40% of the inmates will be released in a given year, with 95% of the offenders eventually released. Little is known about what happens to inmates when they enter the work force with little or no training or skills. However, workforce skills alone will not result in an inmate’s successful reintegration into society. What is required is a focus on educating the “whole” person by providing the critical thinking and social processing skills needed for a releasee to successfully function in today’s highly competitive society. The focus of this paper is on Project WAR, a collaborative effort between Texas Correctional Industries, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Windham School District. Discussion will focus on the followup of inmates who successfully completed the program during its first year of operation.
Reintegrative Shaming in Drug Court
Drug courts propose to hold users of illegal drugs accountable for their behavior. They also, however include program elements intended to reward drug users for compliance. Further, many drug courts include a ceremony to symbolically express support for successful completion of the drug court regimen. As such, drug courts appear to utilize principles of Braithwaite’s theory of reintegrative shaming. This study, based on observations of drug court proceedings and interviews with defendants, explores the extent to which messages of reintegrative shaming are included in drug court. Implications regarding our understanding of reintegrative shaming as well as policy iplications for drug courts are discussed.
Relation Between Trust and Tolerance for Crime: Does Institutional Trust Increase Compliance With the Law?
Institutions play an important role in limiting crime, and enforcing social and legal norms. Previous research indicates that individuals who view their existing legal structure as legitimate are more likely to comply with the law than individuals who report lower levels of legitimacy (Tyler, 1990). Aggregate level research also indicates that institutional legitimacy is negatively related to crime rates (LaFree, 1998). The current research explores the relation between institutional legitimacy and attitudes towards crime in a cross-national sample of individuals. Using data from the 1993 World Values Survey, we examine the impact of measures of political legitimacyand generalized trust on tolerance for crime. The sample consists of 59,161 individual interviews completed in 43 countries. We test the hypothesis that compared to individuals who report low levels of institutional legitimacy, individuals who report high levels of legitimacy will have lower tolerance for crime. Implications for theory, policy and future research are discussed.
Religiosity, Delinquency and Adolescent Drug Use
This paper examines the relevance of individual religiosity to the juvenile delinquency and drug use given the inconsistent and inconclusive evidence found in the literature. Using self-report data from a sample of 274 Korean-American adolescents attending Catholic Church in Southern California, we test whether the effects of religiosity on delinquency and drug use are spurious or indirect via social constraints. We control for measurement errors in estimating the structural effects of religiosity on delinquency and drug use by applying a latent variable model and a bivariate regression model utilizing LISREL. Results show that there is indirect relationship between religiosity and the overall delinquency through social constraints. However, individual religiosity has direct effects on adolescent drug use. Possible implications for adolescent religious commitment are considered.
Research in Criminal Justice and Criminology: An Analysis of Factors, Antecedents, and Associates of Significant Research
Research advancements in Criminology and Criminal Justice have lead to the continuing expansion of our field. Despite the growth in the discipline, litte research has been conducted on the individual characteristics and organizational processes assoiated with successful research in the field. Three models will be developed to differentiate significant research outcomes. The first model examines conditions preceding the research project, the second assesses the resarch process itself, and the final analyzes research outcomes. Measures of success will not be limited to ‘tradition’ measures of success (e.g. type of journal publication). Instead, we will also include measures of originality in design, method and outcome as measures of success. Data for this analysis will be obtained from a survey of faculty who hold positions at institutions with Ph.D. programs in criminology and/or criminal justice. Additional data will be obtained from content analyses of research identified as ‘successful’ and ‘not so successful’.
Responding to Hate: Police, Prosecutor and Victim Decision-Making in Hate Crime Cases
This study employs qualitative methods in an effort to understand what factors affect case decision-making for hate crimes in a major Midwestern city. More specifically, this research will examine what factors determine victim reporting of hate crimes, officer identification of hate crimes, police arrest for hate crimes and state’s attorney decisions to charge for a hate crime. Qualitative analysis is used to explore case files of all hate crimes in 2000 as well as interviews of law enforcement personnel, state’s attorneys, city employees, and community group leaders and activists. Through the use of analytic induction of these sources, emerging patterns in the data suggest factors that play a role in the outcome hate crime cases from the reporting stage to the charging stage.
Restorative Justice: What do Offenders Perceive?
While there exists an extensive literature on the theoretical underpinnings of restorative justice, researchers have not yet explored in any detail the effectiveness of restorative justice programs that are not based on victim-offender mediation. Using data collected on a restorative justice program in a medium-sized city in the Pacific Northwest, this paper reports on offender’s perceptions of the effectiveness of the program. Multivariate analyses explore the relationships between offenders’ perceptions and a number of background variables, including offense history and type of current offense, gender, race, and age.
Restorative Justice and Armed Conflict
Both the restorative justice and responsive regulation paradigms are useful for reconfiguring how to struggle for world peace. It is argued that this is especially true of the conditions since 1989, where war has been widespread but not about confrontations between major powers. While it remains true that major powers can use their clout to mediate disputes in the shadow of a pyramid of coercive interventions, this rarely solves the underlying sources of late modern wars. We find the sources of these wars are often the fragmentation and low legitimacy of weak states, ethnic divisions that are prised open by warmongers who seek to plunder weak states as much as to rule them. The capacity of bottom-up restorative justice to build state legitimacy, heal ethnic division and undercut hatemongers has a distinctive relevance to these new geopolitical conditions. However, a responsive global regulatory strategy is also needed to complement and connect restorative peacemaking to top-down preventive diplomacy and negotiated cessation of hostilities.
Restorative Justice and Correction Institutions: A Case Study of Applying a Restorative Justice Filter to Decision Making
Restorative justice is an approach to justice that is interested in repairing the harms caused by crime. Whereas criminal justice is offender driven, the focus of restorative justice is on victims, offenders and communities. This alternative paradigm is interested in “making things right” by healing victims, offenders and communities as well as holding offenders accountability to make amends and to develop prosocial competency skills. Restorative justice is increasing being used by police, the courts, and community corrections in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Western Europe. Its use in institutional corrections, however, has been limited. This research reports on the efforts of a key group of staff in a medium security prison to envision, develop and implement a restorative justice filter in decision making which affects victims, offenders and comunities both within and outside of the institutions. The presentation focuses on the difficulties of instituting such a change as well as the implications for its use in other correctional systems.
Restorative Justice Conferences and Youth Re-Offending
The Hudson Institute, in collaboration with Indiana University-Bloomington has been conducting a multi-year experiment in the use of restorative justice conferences as an alternative response to juvenile crime. The primary aim of the project is to determine the effectiveness of the restorative justice conferencing program compared with other types of juvenile court diversion programs. While this study employs both process and outcome measures, the focus of this paper will be on the impact of restorative justice conferencing on future offending. Specifically, recidivism rates of restorative justice conference participants will be compared to youths that were eligible for, but not assigned to, the restorative justice program. The relationshiup between messages of reintegrative shaming abd re-offending is also analyzed.
Restorative Justice Conferencing in a Large Urban Setting–Perceptions of Justice
The Indianapolis Restorative Justice Conference Project is currently being implemented as a diversion program within the Marion County (Indianapolis) Juvenile Court. The Hudson Institute, in collaboration with Indiana University-Bloomington, is conducting an evaluation of the effectiveness of Restorative Justice conferencing as an alternative to the other diversion programs sponsored by the court. A significant part of this study is to assess how victmis, offenders, and respective supporters feel about restorative justice conferencing as an alternative to traditional court-ordered programs. In this paper, we will assess how perceptions of conferencing compare to perceptions of other diversion programs. These perceptions, particularly perceptions of justice, will be considered in relation to Braithwaite’s notions of reintegrative shaming.
Restorative Justice in Vermont: Addressing Risk and Reintegration
Like traditional criminal justice and treatment policies, restorative justice is concerned with the risks an offender poses, or may pose, to himself and to the community. What differentiates restorative justice is that it actively seeks to identify what these risks are and how they can best be addressed. An answer to the question, “What needs to be done to reintegrate the offender into the community?” is sought. It is not known how effective restorative practices are at identifying risk factors and answering this question. This paper provides an exploratory analysis of risk and reintegration in a sample of reparative probation cases in Vermont.
Restorative Justice Theory Validation
Restorative justice is a process involving the direct stakeholders in determining how best to repair the harm of offending behavior. McCold (2000) proposed a Restorative Practices Typology based on three direct stakeholder groups: victims, offenders and their comunities of care. The degree to which all three are involved in meaningful emotional exchange and decision-making is the degree to which any program can be termed fully restorative. The Restorative Practices Typology asserts that outcomes from partly, mostly and fully restorative practices should be progressively better, on average as they involve more direct stakeholder groups, and that all restorative practices should produce better outcomes than non-restorative practices. Program participant satisfaction and fairness are compared across conferencng and mediation evaluation studies where victims and offenders were surveyed. Results strongly support the categorical and hierarchical relations predicted by the Restorative Practices Typology. Fully restorative programs (conferences) were rated as more satisfying and fair for both victims and offenders than mostly restorative programs (victim-offender mediation) and both conferencing and victim-offender mediation were rated as more satisfying and fair than court.
Restorative Justice Through Community Sanctioning Panels
Restorative community justice calls for victim, offender and community participation in responding to crime. Community sanctioning panels are a promising example of how the restorative justice model can be put into practice. In this presenttion, we discuss the implementation and evaluation of a restorative justice project that utilized community sanctioning panels for young offenders. Using our case example — the Southside Restorative Justice Project in Tallahassee, Florida — we will focus on numerous issues and challenges that arise when attempting to move from vision to practice.
Results of a National Survey of Community-Based Prosecution Practices
Results from a national survey of community-based practices in prosecutors’ offices are presented. Claims that community-based prosecution may not lead to increased community outreach or may lead to increased law enforcement coordination are examined. Additionally, the manner in which community-based prosecution practices are implemented is examined.
Retention of Adolescents Participating in Outpatient Drug/Alcohol Treatment
The following study will examine retention rates, drug use, and criminal activity of adolescents attending outpatient drug/alcohol treatment in five facilities in Baltimore County. The study will utilize Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem scale, and numerous predictor variables (e.g., referral source, criminal activity, arrests, age, gender, etc.) in assessing factors associated with treatment compliance. Subjects of different referral sources will be compared on retention rates overall as well as substance use and crime at six-month follow-up. Future analyses will address retention rates, criminal activity, and drug use over longer time intervals.
Rethinking Reintegration: Women and Parole
Based on interviews and analysis of recent Canadian National Parole Board decisions, I argue that we need to reassess our approaches to the reintegration of women in prison. Rather than the traditional focus on recidivism, this paper examines the factors that are seen to contribute the “successful” reintegration of women parolees. It challenges some of the taken for granted assumptions implicit in parole and reintegration policies.
Review of Healthcare Policies of Incarcerated Women in NCCHC Accredited Facilities
The National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) is a non-profit organization working to improve the quality of health care in our nation’s jails, prisons and juvenile detention facilities. This organization provides accreditation of health services and quality assurance reviews. It is presumed that the accredited facilities housing female inmates will have policies and procedures providing a higher standard of both general and obstetric/gynecologic care than non-accredited facilities. Probably the most pressing health care needs of incarcerated women are obstetric and/or gynecologic. However, in spite of the fact the NCCHC is currently supported by thirty-five national organizations representing the fields of health, law, and corrections, there are no representatives from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) currently serving on the NCCHC board. In this paper I will be reviewing the women’s healthcare policies and procedures for inmates in NCCHC accredited facilities. The NCCHC policies will be compared with the ACOG “Guidelines for Routine Assessment – Primary and Preventive Care.” In addition, the CDC guidelines for routine voluntary HIV testing in increased behavioral risk populations will be considered. It is expected that concrete policy recommendations will be made with this review conducted from a feminist perspective.
Revision of the Juvenile Law Toward Partial Criminalization in Japan
In Japan the juvenile justice system has functioned under the rehabilitation model prescribed by the Juvenile Law. In the late 1990s the Juvenile Law was criticized as a law for spoiling juvenile delinquents. In the conservative climate the Juvenile Law was revised toward partial criminalization in November in 2000. I’ll analyze this process of revising the Juvenile Law. Then, I’ll consider whether our juvenile justice system can maintain the rehabilitation model in spite of the partial criminalization in 2000.
Revisiting Empirical Analyses of Strain: A Test of GST Specifications
Despite numerous tests of General StrainTheory (GST) over the past fifteen years, support for the theory has varied according to the types of strains tested. It is still somewhat unclear as to which strains are the most important predictors of delinquency. To overcome lack of specificity, Agnew writes that four conditions will affect whether strain will be related to delinquency: 1) when the strain is unjust; 2) when the strain is high in magnitude; 3) when the strain is associated with low social control; and 4) when the strain creates pressure for criminal adaptation (2000-p.1). Prior to this work, Agnew had maintained that an individual’s adaptation to strain would influence the likeliholod of delinquency (1985; 1992). This paper tests Agnew’s specification of GST with data taken from the 1999 Monitoring the Future Study of American Youth. Initial analyses provide empirical support for Agnew’s specification of strain, indicating that unjust strains may play the most important role in prediction of delinquency.
Revisiting the “Definitive” Test of Self-Control Theory
Nearly a decade after its publication, Grasmick, Bursik & Tittle’s (1993) article still stands among the hallmark empirical tests of Gottfredson & Hirschi’s (1990) “general theory of crime.” When referencing the theory, textbook authors and policy-makers alike draw heavily upon what is described by many as the “definitive” test of theory. in this paper, we subject this respected test of the theory to close criticism observing that the data were not well suited to the OLS regression analysis that was employed. Namely, we begin with the premise that a truncated distribution int he depe4ndent variable significantly jeopardized the validity of the findings. We access the same data set and enlist the same measures that were used in the 1993 article. However, our replication effort is built around the use of a more suitable Ordinal Logistic model. Our findings provide significantly less support for the theory’s central assertion that the interactive effect of low self-control and criminal opportunity predict deviant outcomes. Theoretical implications of this replication are presented and a series of new conceptual directions are forwarded.
Revitalization Theory, Cultic Belief, and Militia Violence: The Case of the West Virginia Mountaineer Militia
This paper examines and applies Anthony F.G. Wallace’s theory of social movement “revitalization” to the mobilization of some violent-prone militia groups. Although drawn from the field of cultural anthropology and normally applied to “nativist” movements in combat with the larger, environing society, Wallace’s theory is underexamined and may shed light on the way that countercultural, anti-statist groups develop and construct their belief systems. The historical record of a one-time, high-profile militia organization (The West Virginia Mountaineer Militia) is used as a case study outlining aspects of Wallace’s revitalization theory. The paper is based on field research and interviews with militia members.
Ride-Alongs in California: Shortcomings and Suggestions
There is no standard policy in California regarding ride-alongs. This study sought to determine the percentage of police and sheriff agencies in California that have a policy for allowing citizens to ride with a police officer. Data were also gathered from each agency regarding their requirements for going on a ride-along. This paper presents the findings from this study and contains several suggestions for improving ride-along policies.
Risk Assessment in Sentencing: An Evaluation of the Virginia Experiment
In 1994, Virginia abolished parole and developed truth-in-sentencing guidelines for all persons convicted of felonies. As art of this reform package, the General Assembly required the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission (VCSC) to recommend a method for diverting 25 percent of non-violent, prison bound offenders into alternative sanction programs using risk assessment to identify offenders posing the lowest risk to public safety. The VCSC created a risk assessment instrument for use by judges at the sentencig stage and initiated a pilot test of the tool in six judicial circuits. This paper will be an overview of an evaluation conducted by the National Center for State Courts in conjunction with the VCSC. It will address the following issues: (1) the validity and reliability of the instrument; (2) methodology for measuring recidivism (survival analysis); (3) predictive covariates related to recidivism, and; (4) risk assessment versus needs assessment. We will use the results from this evaluation to better understand the factors associated with recidivism, the judicial response to risk instruments, and the policy implications of using assessment instruments at sentencing to divert non-violent offenders from incarceration.
Risk Factors and Prevention for Suicide and Suicide Attempts by Adolesscents
The number of adolescent deaths from suicide in the United States has increased dramatically during the past few decades. The National Center for Health Statistics reports that suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people age 15 to 24 years. In 1997, there were 4,186 suicides among people 15 to 24 years old. Among those aged 15 to 24, suicide accounted for 13% of all deaths in 1997. This presentation examines risk factors and prevention methods for adolescent suicide and suicide attempts. Risk factors for suicide and suicide attempts among ethnic groups will also be examined.
Risk-Factors for Later Reassaults by Court-Referred Batterer Program Participants
Research on batterer program participants has attempted to identify risk factors for reassault in order to develop appropriate treatment, containment, and surveillance. Nearly all of these efforts have focused on reassault within a year or so of program intake. The de-escalating trend of reassaults suggests, however, that this early reassault may be an extension of a previous unchecked pattern (e.g., previous abuse and criminality) and that later reassaults may be associated with situational changes (e.g., relationshp status, employment). A four-year follow-up with the victims of batterer program participants from four cities (n=618 with a 60% response rate) was used to identify risk factors for later reassaults (16-48 months) and earlier reassaults (0-15 months). Demographic, personality, prior behavior, and mediating situational variables were analyzed with logistic regressions for reassault in the respective time frames. The predictive power of the regressions is very weak, but previous severe assault, other prior arrests and severe psychopathology are associated with early reassault; and partner contact, continued severe assault, and program attendance are associated with later reassault. The inconsistent risk factors raise caution about the stability and measurement of risk factors, and suggest that later reassault may be more situationally based. Prevention of later reassault may require different interventions than prevention of earlier reassault.
Risk for Delinquent Peer Group Joining: Religious Involvement as a Mediating Mechanism
This study presents Wave 1 findings from a US Department of Education Field Initiated Studies grant designed to examine school strategies that protect youth from joining gangs and other delinquent peer groups (including tagger crews and party crews). In this presentation, we investigate the role of religious involvement and commitment in helping youth negotiate the community risk that places them at greater odds for delinquent peer group joining. This study utilizes interviews with 7th and 8th grade Latino boys from six Los Angeles area middle schools located in high gang activity areas of the city to examie the extent to which religious involvement represents a source of support for these youth. The analytic strategy examines religiosity as a mediator of known risk variables associated with delinquent peer group joining by testing for interactive effects wherein religious involvement reduces the probability of delinquent peer group joining. These relationships will be examined for both immigrant and nonimmigrant youth.
Risk for Violence and Recidivism Among Diverted and Non-Diverted Mentally Ill Substance Using Jail Detainees With co-Morbid Trauma and Psychopathy: Preliminary Results From a 12-Month Follow-Up Study
This presentation focuses on risk for violence and recidivism for a severely persistently mentally ill substance using criminal justice involved urban population who have co-morbid trauma and psychopathy, under study as part of a four year evaluation of New York City’s Department of Mental Health post-booking comprehensive case management jail and court-based diversion models. The presentation begins with a description of the intervention and the baseline legal, psychiatric, and psychosocial characteristics of 108 post-booking pre-sentenced diverted experimental research participants and 130 non-diverted matched comparison jail detainees. Then preliminary analyses of 12-month follow-up data as compared to baseline and three-month follow-up, within and between groups, will be presented focusing on childhood abuse history, adult history of being victimized and of victimizing, PTSD, trauma symptoms, general psychiatric symptoms, substance use, psychopathy, and risk for violence, along with collateral recidivism and services data. This data analysis builds upon previous significant findings at three-month follow-up regarding the relationship between trauma, psychopathy and baseline risk. Discussion will focus on population characteristics and the implication regarding differential supervision and treatment matching.
Risk Management: Applying the Public Safety Philosophy to the Supervision of High Risk Offenders in Washington State
The Washington State Offender Accountability Act (OAA) is the driving force behind the shift from a sentence-based classification system to a risk management classification scheme used by the Washington State Department of Corrections. The public safety philosophy in community corrections calls for the allocation or resources to offenders who may bring about the highest level of harm in the community. After a review of the offender population and the various measures used to identify high-risk offenders, this paper will analyze additional offender characteristics used to assist Department personnel in the identification of high-risk offenders. Next, this paper examines the various methods in which resources are being targeted toward those offenders. The paper closes with a discussion of the outcomes being evaluated concerning the risk management of offenders in the State of Washington.
Risk Management of Sex Offenders in the Community: Challenges for the Police
Drawing on police file data and interviews with serving police officers, this paper explores the challenges faced by the UK Police Service in dealing with the risk management of sex offenders in the community. Although existing legislation requires most sex offenders to register with local police, no uniform approach to the management of these individuals has been developed across the Service. At present, most forces rely on an unwieldy combination of risk classification algorithms, individual assessments and police intelligence to determine the level of risk posed by particular offenders. The efficacy of current arrangements is widely disputed, with criticisms relating to the over-inclusiveness of the sex offender register combining with claims that actuarial risk instruments are incapable of providing reliable assessments of offence risk. Fresh challenges are ahead in the form of new legislation, drawn up in response to increasing public concern and requiring the police to formalise joint working with the Probation Service in the assessment and management of sexual and violent offenders in the local area.
Risk Society: Social Exclusion and the re-Integration of Offenders
This paper focuses on resistance to the inclusion/integration of marginalized people, particularly ex-offenders and the disreputable poor. The analysis draws on traditions of critical criminology, in particular the ideas of Henry/Milovanovic (replacement discourse) and J. Young (exclusive society), but also the critical sociology of A. Giddens and U. Beck (risk society). Methodologically, this work breaks ground in the use of GIS mapping of sited social facilities and community attitudes.
Roadside Safety Checkpoints as Social Control
Roadside safety checkpoints signify internsification of state-based control efforts. While earlier precedents are relevant and will be addressed in this paper, Supreme Court rulings beginning with the Sitz (1990) decision paved the way for roadside safety checks by balancing the motorists interest in privacy with the state’s interest in assuring lawful activity. Questions raised in this paper include: a) the legitimacy of the Supreme Court’s reliance on the balancing test established in Brown v. Texas (1979), b) the Court’s interpretation of social scientific data relating to DUI to legitimate the necessity for checkpoints, and c) the impact roadside safety checkpoints have on personal liberty. I will also discuss the implications of the November, 2000 Supreme Court ruling in the City of Indianapolis v. Edmonson (2000). While this ruling does not invalidate roadside safety checkpoints as they have been established under Sitz, it does thro aspects of roadside safety checkpoints into question.
Rogue Cops and Wild Dogs: An Analysis of Media Representation of Police Canines Units
The use of police dogs gained notoriety during civil unrest during the 1960’s. Since then the news media have played a continuing and vital role in the information the public receives about the use or misuse of police canine units. Does the news media more frequently report on the successful use of police canine units in “fighting” crime or is there a tendency, as some police experts maintain, to paint these specialized units as a band of lawless officers who are roaming the streets, allowing innocent or unsuspecting parties to be furiously attacked by their vicious four legged partners. This paper reports on the findings of a content analysis of regional news coverage of the amount and type of “positive” or “negative” reports involving the use of police dogs or canine units.
Role of Effective Education in Community Integration of Delinquent Youth
A fundamental question in the education of delinquent youth is whether effective education programs that produce positive education outcome gains do indeed result in more successful measures of community reintegration. To address this question, this paper presents a series of logitudinal data involving both official and self report data on the community reintegration of delinquent youth. The findings indicate that education programs operating with a higher number of promising education practices that produce higher education outcome gains have more students returning to school and avoiding recidivism compared to those programs operating with fewer promising education practices and educational outcomes gains. The paper concluded with discussion of the policy mandates that can be derived from these research findings.
Role of Fear of Crime in Community Participation
While hundreds of articles have explored fear of crime as a dependent variable, only a handful of studies have begun to include measures of fear in models that predict political participation, punitive attitudes, attitudes toward the police and community participation. In contrast, much of the theoretical work dealing with fear of crime focuses on the possible social control function that fear plays in shaping both individual behavior and public policy. To test these possibilities, it is necessary to examine the consequences of fear of crime. Using a random telephone survey of 2,545 individuals living in the 22 counties that compose the greater Metro Atlanta area we explore fear of crime, both as a dependent variable using basic demographics and county level contextual variables from the 2000 census (percentage black, percentage poverty, etc…) and fear of crime as an independent variable in models of community participation.
Role Strain, Role Learning, and Role Control: The Application of Identity Theory to the Study of Delinquency
Social Psychological theory has advanced well beyond that currently applied in the study of delinquency. Particularly, advances in identity theories have allowed social psychologists to make accurate predictions regarding specific behaviors. Identities, as either social roles or categories, are conceived as powerful meanings that motivate action and situate the individual within social contexts. Delinquency theories that employ psychological strain, social learning, or rationality assumkptions as causal mechanisms can all be subsumed under identity theory. This paper presents a comprehensive model of delinquency production resulting from the acquisition and practice of identities and provides some preliminary supportive evidence from the National Youth Survey.
Routine Activities and Violence in the Workplace
This paper will present the findings of a current research project that examines violence in the workplace. The study provides another test of routine activities theory utilizing a domain-specific victimization model. The data was collected from victimization surveys given to employees working in the field of mental health.
Routine Activities Theory and Farm Crime
Agriculture remains the largest segment of the economy in most rural communities of Australia. Unfortunately, the problem of property crime on Australian farms is widespread, and can involve serious financial and personal losses. The isolation of many rural areas, the ease of access to most properties and the portable nature of livestock and equipment, means farms are inviting targets for thieves. This paper presents the findings of a study that investigated the extent and impact of property-related victimisation on farms within a Routine Activities theoretical framework. Crimes such as the theft of stock, chemical, fuel, machinery and equipment, as well as vandalism and arson were investigated. Data for this research comes from a survey mailed to 1,000 randomly selected farmers in rural New South Wales. Telephone interviews were held with farmers who had been victims of crime, police, and agricultural professionals, such as stock and station agents and sale-yard managers. The results highlighted the problems of policing and preventing agricultural crimes due to difficulties in maintaining security on farms and the widespread under-reporting of agricultural crimes. The fit of Routine Activities Theory to farm crime and suggestions for further research and theoretical development are discussed.
Routine Exposures to Crime Risk: Are They Individual or Communal?
Individual exposures to crime risk include personal life styles that are risky or safe. Communal exposurs include dark streets near home, abandoned properties, autos easily stolen, and the like. The two categories intersect if individuals select risky communal settings when they could go elsewhere. Thus the topic challenges us all. This paper tries to make sense of it in theoretical terms.
Rural Magistrates and Domestic Violence: An Exploratory Study of How Magistrate Attitudes Affect Judicial Decision Making
Little is known about judicial decision making and attitudes surroundng the handling of misdemeanor domestic violence cases. Given that magistrates play a key role in the handling of such cases and implementing current reforms, it is critical to better understand attitudes and other factors that contribute to their decision making. This paper reports the preliminary findings from a qualitative study based on face to face interviews with rural magistrates in upstate New York. The paper will explore magistrate attitudes surroundng the cause of domestic violence and the courts’ role in handling such cases. The study will examine what factors and attitudes influence judicial decision making. The study is supported by the Department of Criminal Justice Services in New York State.
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School Based Youth Violence Prevention
This paper reports on the independent evaluation of the Healthy People/Healthy Places Initiative in Riverside, California. This three-year study funded by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration is a joint project between the Riverside Unified School District, the Riverside County Department of Mental Health, the Riverside Police Department, and the Riverside County Probation Department. Working together, the aforementioned organizations have established Wellness Centers on five school campuses throughout the Riverside school district. The Wellness Centers provide comprehensive after-school programs with various activities designed to encourage a safe school environment and offer positive alternatives to substance abuse and violence. The evaluators have constructed a Wellness Survey to measure pre/post student attitudes towards aggression as well as to ascertain levels of victimization, aggression, and violence on the five target school campuses. Preliminary findings will be presented and implications for youth violence prevention will be discussed.
School Social Bonds, School Climate, and School Delinquency: A Multilevel Analysis
While there is considerable evidence that links school-related variables to delinquency, few studies have simultaneously considered the joint influences of individual- and school-level factors on school delinquency. The purpose of this research is to examine the extent to which individual- abd scgiik-level influences explain variations in school delinquency among 10,578 students nested in5 28 schools. Using social control and school climate perspectives, the results were largely supportive of social control theory and showed limited support for school climate theory. In particular, the hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) results revealed that higher levels of school attachment, school commitment, and belief in school rules were associated with lower levels of school delinquency, net of family and peer influences. Contrary to expectations, school involvement was relatively unimportant in explaining variations in school delinquency. With regard to school climate theory, the following school-level predictors of school delinquency were examined: school heterogeneity, school size, school poverty, and a control for school location. The results showed limited support for school climate theory. The only school climate variable that was significant was school size. Also, the control for school location was significant. In other words, school-level characteristics revealed that larger schools in urban locations were imporant in explaining variation in school delinquency. However, the results showed that individual-level factors were relatively more important at explaining variation in school delinquency than school-level factors. Overall, the results suggest that a comprehensive explanation for school delinquency should include the combined effects of individual- and school-level factors.
School Violence Prevention and School-Based Partnerships in New York State
The New York State Police (NYSP) have taken a proactive role in the prevention of school violence in the state of New York with their Safe School Program and School-Based Partnership grant. The Safe Schools Program was designed to assist school personnel to intervene with appropriate violence prevention techniques, manage violent situations, and develop crisis plans for individual schools. The School-Based Patnership (SBP) project is a federally funded case-study to examine bullying, intimidation and threatening behavior in one large suburban New York state school district. The case-study provides in-depth information to describe the bullying behaviors that are found within the school, based upon data collected from both students (N=2300) and faculty, staff and administrators (N=156). Preliminary results from the surveys will be discussed. The results show that approximately 60% of staff find bullying to be a moderate to big problem in the school and 63% of students (based on pilot data) felt this way. Five percent of staff fear harm for themselves often or most of the time and 13% of staff fear a major violent episode at the school. The Partnership and Safe Schools Program recently collaborated to combine efforts toward school violence prevention. Prevention measures combining resources from both programs will be discussed, including the development of a summer program with at-risk youth along with the production of a series of instructional video tapes utilizing some of the very youth targeted as concerns for these behaviors.
Schools and Youth Violence: An Examination of Local Incidents and Trends
This paper reports on the results of a five year project examining incidents of violent and disruptive behavior within the local school system of a large Midwestern city. Data collection efforts focused on a target high school and middle school and two non-equivalent comparison schools. The study involved an evalution of violence reduction programs in the two target schools. The methodology included an analysis of school reported incidents, municipal citations and arrests as reported by school squad police officers, surveys of both student and teachers as well as student and teacher focus groups. The results demonstrate that school incidents are not as violent nor serious as public and political perceptions would lead one to believe. Further, police response is an effective strategy for dealing with delinquent behaviors which do occur within or near schools.
Searching for Validation: The Elusive Addition Severity Index (ASI) Form
Correctional systems throughout the United States have been searching for a scientifically based instrument to assess levels of addiction severity among inmates in order to correctly classify and assign them to therapeutic communities (TCs) or to other less intensive drug treatment programs in the general population. Validating these instruments has been an elusive project. The focus of this paper is a discussion of what has been used for this purpose over the past decade and the impact misclassification has had on residential substance abuse treatment (RAST) programs. The paper uses research developed from a recent process evaluation of the New Jersey Department of Correction’s RSAT prograns as a case in point.
Segregation, Social Control and Social Justice: An Analysis of the HOPE VI Project
Massey and Denton’s research into the spatial segregation of American cities, and the causes and consequences of segregation has had a major impact on sociological discussions of race in the U.S. The process of racial segregation has clear social justice implications. It also has implications for understanding social control processes in our society. This paper reviews the relationship between social justice, social control and segregation. Further, we analyze the spatial-racial relocation patterns of over 1000 residents of a federally subsidized housing project in Tampa, Florida moved under the auspices of the HOPE VI project. Using Massey and Denston’s work as a guide, we hypothesize that these residents, who are overwhelmingly Black, will be more likely to be moved into racially homogeneous neighborhoods with high concentrations of Black residents than to racially heterogeneous neighborhoods. In this way, federally subsidized community rehabilitation and relocation projects continue to contribute to maintaing spatial racial segregation in Tampa.
Selection, Retention, and Recidivism in Community-Based Residential Alternatives in New York City
Some of the longest-running treatment alternatives for substance-abusing offenders in New York make use of the city’s extensive network of long term therapeutic communities. This paper presents final results from a multiyear study of justice-based programs that employ different coercive strategies to compel attendance and retention in TCs. Using findings from multivariate analyses, we will examine the relationship between selection factors, retention, and recidivism in these programs and discuss the trade offs of employing custodial sanctions and other responses for treatment failure. Discussion will also focus on the role of long-term residential programs in the city’s panoply of treatment alternatives, particularly for use with serious, repeat felony defendants.
Self-Concept and Delinquency: The Effects of Reflected Appraisals by Parents and Peers
In this paper, we empirically assess selected aspects of symbolic interactionist theory, with a focus on identity as measured by the individual’s self-concept and by reflected appraisals by parents and peers. Prior research has found that having a deviant identity is strongly correlated with delinquent behavior. Self-concept and reflected appraisal measures that we use include items on sociability and propensity for trouble-making. The influence of reflected appraisals on self-concept or identity is also assessed.
Self-Control, Cultural Discontinuity, and Delinquency Among Native Americans
Based on a survey conducted in six Oklahoma public schools, we examine the predictors of self-control and delinquency among 328 Native American and approximately 1000 white high school students. Specifically, we examine racial differences in self-control using the Grasmick et al self-control scale, and determine whether measures of attachment to Native American culture and socialization into the dominant Anglo culture significantly influence levels of self-control among Native Americans. Finally, using multivariate analysis, we evaluate whether attachment to Native American culture accounts for significant variation in Native American self-control and delinquency above and beyond that accounted for by traditional predictors. Results shed new light on the cultural discontinuity explanation for Native American involvement in juveniole delinquency, as well as racial differences in self-control.
Self-Control, Risky Sexual Behavior and Partner Battering
Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) self-control theory is a general theory of crime and analogous behavior. In the past 10 years, there are numerous operationalization of the self-control measurements and generally it has been found that self-control is negatively predicting problem behavior, including crime, delinquency, drunk driving and substance use. This paper will extend the range of problem behaviors examined to include two interpersonal behaviors with significant potential for harm to an individual and to his romantic partner: risky sexual behaviors and domestic violence. We recruited a random sample of 500 urban heterosexual adult men, between the age of 18-40, from a metropolitan area in the Northwest United States. Audio CASI technology was used to ask men about their ecent sexual practice and recent experience with domestic violence. Men were also administered the 24 item Grasmick scale for measuring self-control. We hypothesize that men with lower levels of self-control will be more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors and to be abusive toward their female partners.
Self-Identified Problems Among Drug-Involved Offenders Receiving Prison-Based Substance Abuse Treatment
As part of the NIDA-funded Health Services Use by Chronic Rural Drug Abusers project, 661 prisoners completed a face-to-face baseline interview with reseach staff before their parole. For this study, incarcerated substance users receiving residential treatment (n-233) were compared with general prison population prisoners who were not in treatment (n-428) to examine differences in their self-reported drug use, health problems, criminal justice problems, mental health problems, HIV risks, and previous use of health/mental health/substance abuse treatment services. It was expected that male prisoners receiving substance abuse treatment would present more problems which was not the case for multiple drug use before incarceration, use of alcohol anhd marijuana thirty days before incarceration, 11of 16 health problems, 8 of the 8 mental health problems examined, and the number of times in previous health/mental health/substance abuse treatment. Regressions were used to identify which problems were most predictive for males receiving drug treatment and for males not receiving drug abuse treatment in order to better understand prison substance abuse treatment. Implications are presented.
Sending “Sophisticated” Children “Upstairs”: The Social, Legal and Organizational Context of Contemporary Juvenile Waiver Proceedings
The focus of this research is on the assessments and decision-making involved in legally certifying children as adults, and transferring them from the juvenile system to the adult criminal justice system. A key research question is: What are the key legal, social, and organizational factors that affect juvenile court officials’ decision-making during the transfer of youth from the juvenile justice system to the adult criminal system? The current project uses descriptive statistics and statistical analysis of official files from the juvenile and adult court to explore decision-making stages during the juvenile court waiver process. Data from 1998 were collected and analyzed to compare the salience of factors affecting the decision to transfer minors to the criminal system. Approximately 433 minors were transferred from the juvenile system to the adult criminal system in 1998. These minors’ files were pulled from the adult record archive and a coding sheet was used to identify key variables involved in the transfer decision. Similarly, a sample of minors retained within the juvenile system during 1998 were selected based on offenses charged. This set of retained minors, approximately 400, were identified, their files were pulled from the juvenile archive, and a coding sheet was used to identify key variables. A closer analysis of juvenile court waiver procdesses provides key insight to the workings of contemporary juvenile courts; the power relations among key court officials; how decision-making occurs; factors which play into assessments of childhood; and key organizational realities faced by today’s juvenile court officials.
Senior Citizen Crime — Going Up or Going Down? An Analysis of 1970-2000 Trends
Using arrest statistics from the Uniform Crime Reports for the years 1970-2000, this paper evaluates whether the level and seriousness of senior-citizen crime is escalating, as some commentators have suggested. Our analysis addresses (1) whether the rate of increase in elderly crime is greater than the increase in the elderly population, (2) whether the rate of increase among the elderly is greater than for other age groups, and (3) whether the profile of the elderly offender has changed to reflect more serious involvement in crime. We also examine gender differences in elderly crime trends.
Sensitivity of Differences in Survey Conditions on Estimates of Criminal Victimization
Periodically, changes to the way the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is conducted are suggested, mostly to reduce cost and increase flexibility. Some recent suggestions have included eliminating the bounding interview, switching to an all-telephone model of administration, and lengthening the reference period. While one can hypothesize about the general effects of such changes, opportunities to measure them are rare. The availability of area-identified NCVS and the 12-city telephone surveys sponsored by the Justice Department’s COPS office provide such an opportunity. The COPS surveys were based on the NCVS questionnaire and were fielded by the Census Bureau, but they differed from the standard NCVS design in terms of sampling design, initial contact, administration mode, reference period and founding procedure. While the effects of each of these differences cannot be separately measured, taken collectively, they offer an important chance to compare the effects of major design differences on recent victimization estimates.
Sentencing and Punishment Justification: Has the Public Cooled Off?
Some commentators have attributed the high prison poipulation to punitive attitudes of the public suggesting that society must separate offenders, particularly drug offenders, from law-abiding citizens for lengthy periods of time. Based on this premise, Virginia Governor James Gilmore recently proposed legislation mandating life imprisonment for drug traffickers. In this research, we examine how 840 residents of Virginia recommend sanctioning six different offense types. Attention is given to whether there are differences regading the respondents’ punitiveness towards drug offenses versus non-drug offenses. In addition, the relationship between the respondents’ recommended sanctions and traditional punishment justifications is considered. Results suggest that it is important to analyze the predictors of punitiveness separately for different demographic groups. Implications are provided.
Sentencing Differences Among Individual Judges: Another Look at the Focal Concerns Perspective
This study examines differences in sentencing outcomes within the individual judge and between individual judges for certain types of offenders. Framed within the focal concerns perspective, this study represents a different look at the punishment penalty paid by young, Black, males.
Sentencing of Drug Offenders: Legislative Reforms and Organizational Imperatives
There is widespread agreement, both among the general public and among criminal justice professionals, that drug offenses have not been handled effectively by the criminal justice system over the past twenty years. During this time, drug offenders have come to occupy an increasingly large proportion of prison space, while at the same time not receiving what they need most–treatment for their addictions. In response, legislative reforms have arisen to provide treatment options for non-violent drug offenders. We examine one such reform in Washington State, in which the legislature introduced an incarcerative drug treatment option for non-violent drug offenders. By conducting interviews with criminal justice personnel and collecting sentencing data both before and after the reforms, we are able to assess not only the influence of these reforms on sentencing practices, but also the impact of organizational imperatives on the success of such reforms. Our results suggest that the success of reforms depends not only on whether or not lawmakers and rule enforcers agree with the values or goals embodied in those reforms, but also on the effect that they have on the process of charging and negotiating pleas with defendants.
Sentencing Outcomes Under Conditions of Weak Sentencing Guidelines: Maryland, 1987-1996
Most recent research on sentencing outcomes, including the study of racial disparity in sentencing, searches for clues to the times and places in which race/ethnicity, age, and gender affect sentencing outcome. Previous research on Maryland sentencing practice has focused on statewide results with limited sensitivity to local and temporal context. This paper examines the role of race-gender-age factors on sentencing outcomes under conditions of weak sentencing guidelines. In addition to examining sentencing outcomes for offenders with specific race-gender-age features, the study will examine regional and temporal variations along with other possible explanatory factors, such as offense seriousness and prior record. Maryland has weak sentencing guidelines in effect during this period. Given these weak procedural constraints, I look to other procedural and substantive concerns, including the targeting of offenders perceived as presenting a clear threat to the social order (Steffensmeier, et. al., 1998; Smith and Damphouse, 1998), to provide possible explanations for regional and temporal differences in Maryland sentencing outcomes.
Sentencing Practices in the District of Columbia: Comparisons With Other Jurisdictions, 1993-2000
The District of Columbia’s criminal justice system was restructured following congress’ enactment of the National Capital Revitalization Act of 1997, which governs sentencing of all felony offenses committed on or after August 5, 2000. On this date, the D.C. sentencing structure went from one of indeterminate sentencing with parole to determine sentencing with a system of supervised release. The Advisory Commission on Sentencing is required to 1) study the indeterminate sentencing system and 2) track future changes in sentencing practices. This paper discusses the result of the former. The paper describes the indeterminate sentencing practices in D.C. between 1993 and 2000, including the number of offenders sentenced, type of sentencer, the length of sentence imposed, and variables affecting sentencing decisions. Additionally, the paper compares these practices and factors in D.C. with selected Maryland Counties. Based on this analysis, policy implications will be discussed.
Serial Killing of Prostitutes: Changes in Media Coverage and Legal Responses
When the issue of violence against prostitutes arises, most scholarship on prostitution repeats the common argument that crimes against prostitutes are not taken seriously by media or by law enforcement, and are reported to the public, if at all, only for their titillation and “sleaze” value. It is also part of the common wisdom that serial killers “practice” on prostitutes before moving on to other victims, and that such killers do so in part because no one cares what happens to prostitute homicide victims. This paper critically reexamines these claims in light of recent coverage of serial prostitute homicides in Chicago, New York, and Oregon, among other locations. Based on a content analysis of newspaper articles appearing in the last three years, this paper argues that although sensationalism has not disappeared, and though prostitute victimization is often still discounted, the response of both the media and law enforcement are more complex than the traditional account suggests.
Serious and Violent Offending From Age 7 to Age 20
In the Pittsburgh Youth Study, information about offending was obtained from boys, mothers, and teachers, initially every 6 months and then every 12 months. This information was analyzed between ages 7 and 14 for the 500 boys in the youngest sample and between ages 13 and 20 for the 500 boys in the oldest sample. The information from the two samples was combined to investigate offending from age 7 to age 20. This paper reports on: (a) ages of onset of serious and violent offending; (b) prevalence of serious and violent offending at different ages; (c) frequency of serious and violent offending at different ages; and (d) the persistence of serious and violent offending.
Sex Differences in Verbal Versus Nonverbal Conceptions of Consent: It Depends How You Ask the Question
Some men misinterpret a woman’s friendly behavior as consent to sexual activity. The first purpose of the current study was to determine whether men and women differ in perceiving consent as verbal or nonverbal. The second purpose was to investigate whether men and women differ in their perception of the nonverbal behaviors that convey consent. The final purpose was to determine whether men and women differ in the extent of alcohol-related behavior that still allows the person to give consent. 417 college women completed a questionnaire in which they answered demographic questions and questions about verbal and nonverbal consent. Contrary to expectations, men and women had similar ideas about consent being verbal (50% for both), nonverbal (29% for both), or not responding (20% for both) when they were asked directly about how they know they have someone’s consent. In contrast, men were more likely than women to interpret nonverbal behaviors (e.g., taking off one’s clothes) as implying consent and to assume consent despite one’s alcoholic state. The sex differences in interpreting consent from nonverbal behaviors and alcohol-related behaviors may help explain why men and women view acquaintance rape so differently. The findings have implications for rape prevention programs.
Sex Offenders in the Parole Systemn: Risk or Myth
This paper reports on a study of parole recidivism done through the California Department of Corrections using a large data set with selected subsamples targeting specific offense groups such as sex offenders. The authors examine whether sex offenders are at a higher risk of recidivism as some literature and popular media accounts suggest. The findings have implications for policy initiatives as well as case work loads within parole agencies.
Sexual Assault: The Convergence of Offender, Victim, and Situational Elements of the Criminal Event
Existing Canadian research on sexual violence tends to focus on the prevalence of the crime rather than the components and inner dynamics of the sexual assault event. Using a routine activities and criminal event perspective (Sacco and Kennedy, 1996), this research focuses on offender, victim, and situational characteristics of the sexual assault event extracted from a sample of Canadian police files. In conceptualizing sexual assault as a criminal event that occurs at certain times and places, the interaction of both behavioural and situational elements of the crime are explored. Life circumstances and the presence of opportunity, as well as offender and victim characteristics and behaviors, are investigated in relation to how these factors facilitate or hinder sexual assault. The results of the study contribute to a broader understanding of how major elements of the sexual assault event converge and identify particular characteristics that may play a role in more serious sexual assaults.
Sexual Assault and Abuse: Changes in Spirituality and Well-Being Among Victims
Literature suggests that religious faith can enhance a person’s ability to cope with negative life events and that negative life events can cause enhanced religious faith. This study examines the extent to which victims of sexual assault report changed role for spirituality in their lives after asssault and the extent this tendency is related to change in subjective well-being, recovery or coping from assault. Questionnaires were sent to forty sexual assault centers throughout the State of Georgia, and data are being analyzed, but preliminary results show some confirmation that negative life event such as sexual assault can cause increased reliance on religious faith for coping and recovery process.
Sexual Assault and Alcohol: A Review of Results From National Surveys
This presentation will review recent results from several national surveys evaluating the role of offender and victim alcohol use in the outcomes of sexual assaults. Studies reviewed include: the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the National Health and Life Experiences of Women Survey (NHLEWS), the National Violence Against Women (NVAWS) survey, and the nationwide survey of college men and women conducted by Koss. Results across studies show that alcohol plays a role in the outcomes of these assaults, but that offender drinking appears to play a stronger role than victim drinking, particularly in predicting the likelihood of a sexual assault being completed. Offender aggression appears to be the strongest predictor of victim physical injury and medical care, even when other situational and behavioral correlates of assault outcome are controlled. Finally, evidence does not appear to support disinhibition arguments of the role of drinking in offender violence, because offender use of violence and alcohol appear to be separate strategies employed in commission of sexual assault, with little evidence of a synergistic role of aggression and drinking in precipitating more deleterious assault outcomes to women. Recommendations for future research and prevention efforts in the area of alcohol and sexual assault are given based on the results of this review.
Sexual Assault Charging Decisions in Three Jurisdictions: Does a Specialized Charging Unit Make a Difference?
During the past two decades, a number of jurisdictions have established specialized units for the prosecution of sexual assault cases. This reform was motivated by a belief that some types of cases are more difficult to prosecute, coupled with a belief that prosecutors assigned to specialized units will handle cases more effectively and treat victims more sympathetically. This paper tests these assumptions. We compare sexual assault case outcomes in one jurisdiction (Dade County, Florida) without a specialized unit for prosecuting sexual assaults involving adults, one jurisdiction (Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania) with a specialized unit that receives cases after a charging decision has been made, and one jurisdiction (Jackson County, Missouri) with a specialized unit that makes the decision to charge and uses vertical prosecution from screening through disposition. We compare case outcomes to determine if there are variations in the likelihood of charging or the criteria used in making the decision to charge or not.
Sheriff’s Deputies Versus Police Officers in the South: Examining Their Effects on Crime
Over the past two decades, there has been no shortage of studies focusing on the relationship between police force size and the crime rate. Indeed, such studies have been performed on a number of different units of analyses, including states, cities, counties, suburbs and neighborhoods. Moreover, researchers studying this area have disaggregated the measure of police force size into sworn officers, civilian officers, patrol officers, and so on. One idea that has been neglected, however, is the possibility that different types of law enforcement agencies may have different impacts on the crime rate. The present study will examine if county crime rates are influenced by the different percentages of police and sheriff’s deputies across counties. The study will examine 140 counties in the South, and will focus only on the impact of the patrol officers of both agencies. Policy implications of the study will also be discussed.
Shocking? Perhaps, But How Does It Work?
Don’t Fall Down In the Hood is an experiential/educational program for first-time, non-violent gun offenders who have been adjudicated delinquent by Philadelphia Family Court. Besides attempting to teach the juvenile life skills and conflict resolution to prevent future violence, the program also seeks to teach the individual accountability and apathy through the Trends Seminar. The Trends program aims to shock the juveniles through field trips to different settings: morgue, cemetery, rehabilitation hospital, and halfway house. Even though the literature shows that shock programs generally do not work (Petrosino, Turpin-Petrosino, and Finchkenauer, 2000; Finchkenauer, 1982), the visionaries of this program are convinced of the strategies utility and effectiveness. Through participant observation and in-depth interviewing, researchers will explore the effects of the experiences on approximately 15 juvenile offenders over a six-month period (Lofland & Lofland, 1995). The study will examine the issues from the viewpont of both the staff and the participants. Although this study will not assess the long-term impact of the Trends Seminar, it will give a glimpse of how the youths feel when confronted with the potential consequences of violent behavior as part of the intensive probation program.
Sibling Delinquency Revisited: In the Shadows of Mutual and Unique Friendship Effects?
Using a standard behavioral genetic model, the DeFries-Fulker regression equation (1985), this study draws on a large sample of genetically related pairs of adolescents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine the influence of sibling deviance on adolescents participation in smoking, drinking, truancy, and fighting. This study goes beyond prior research by comparing sibling influence to influence from mutual friends shared between siblings and influence from unique friends that differentiate siblings. This allows for consideration of both unique and shared peer effects that have been unexamined. Combining sibling data with friendship nomination data provided by each adolescent allows for an examination of whether mutual and unique friends’ deviance, parental relationship, or sibling relationship factors mediate or moderate sibling influence. Findings from this study indicate that sibling deviance is associated with an adolescent’s deviance ( r=.35), with mutual friends’ deviance (r=.19), and with unique friends’ deviance (r=.42). Further, when siblings nominate mutual best friends (37% of the sample), the bivariate association between mutual friends’ deviance and respondents’ increase (r=.38) as does the correlation between siblings’ deviance (r=.50). A similar increase is noted when respondents’ nominate their sibling as being part of their friendship network. Multivariate analyses that control for genetic relatedness indicates that sibling deviance remains associated with self-reported deviance after mutual friends’ deviance and unique friends’ deviance are accounted for. This suggests that all three sources of influence operate independently. Parent-relationship factors do not mediate these relationships, although there is evidence that sibling affection somewhat mediates the effect of sibling deviance. Moreover, having stronger friendships with siblings conditions the sibling-deviance association so that friendship-like relationships between siblings increase sibling influences. Sibling influence is also strengthened when adolescents’ are enmeshed in a friendship network comprised of deviant peers.
Sins of the Father: Patriarchal Domination and Feminist Righteousness
While the seven deadlin sins are well-known, particularly to Roman Catholics, less well-known are the seven virtues which are marred by each of the sins. While the Roman Catholic Church has never officially pronounced such a list of parallel virtues, many lay traditions of spiritual counseling do offer such a list (e.g., humility instead of pride, generosity instead of avarice, lvoe instead of envy, kindness insread of wrath, self control instead of lust, temperance instead of gluttony, and zeal instead of sloth). But what kind of a human — what kind of a woman — would radical obedience to these virtues create? I will examine feminist literature to understand how feminists would critique these virtues as constructing a passive, unassertive woman who takes care of others and never herself. In other words, a “virtuous woman” would be a woman partriarchally oppressed. In conclusion, the paper will contemplate what a set of feminist virtues might be.
Siting the Death Penalty Internationally
We examine the criminological, socio-demographic, cultural and political sources of variation among the U.S. states in the use of the death penalty.
Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other: The Issue of ‘False Positives’ and ‘False Negatives’ in the Development of a Risk Classification Tool for a Juvenile Justice Population
The increased use of risk-assessment tools in the juvenile justice system has brought about many changes in the way in which cases are processed and how individual offenders are handled. Yet, the development of these instruments continues to prove to be one of the most difficult research endeavors. Despite the great deal of diversity found within the juvenile justice population, agencies have often adopted a ‘one-size fits all’ approach when developing risk-assessment instruments. Unfortunately, such practices often produce a significant proportion of misclassified youth. Some who are predicted to fail don’t (‘[false positives’), while others who are predicted to not fail do (‘false negatives’). While the first error is of greater concern to those interested in the de-institutionalization of the juvenile justice populatioln the latter poses significant concerns from a public-safety perspective. These issues are explored further within the context of a risk-assessment study presently underway for the Maryland Department of Juvenile Justice.
Slave Codes of Tennessee
Tennessee, like other slave states, passed laws governing the lives of slaves and free blacks. The 1858 Slave Code contained extensive provisions concerning slave patrols, runaways, permits for slaves to move around, to assemble, and to carry weapons, as well as specifying criminal offenses and punishments. Tennessee law before the Civil War made two offenses capital for whites and 124 capital for slaves and free blacks. For non-capital crimes, slaves were frequently subject to corporal punishments such as whipping or confinement in the pillory. This paper explores the Tennessee Slave Codes in depth. We examine the statutes and their interpretation by the Tennessee Supreme Court in three major areas. First, we compare criminal offenses to which slaves and free blacks were liable. Secondly, we describe the laws that made some violent acts against slaves illegal, and discuss the exceptions to that protection, such as the exemption of whites from prosecution for killing a slave, in the act of resistance to his lawful owner or master, or, under moderate correction. Lastly, we explore the central irony of the Slave Codes, their treatment of slaves both as property and as persons with free will who could be held responsible for criminal actions.
Smoke and Mirrors: Justice Administration as Symbolic Reassurance
This paper takes a social constructionist approach in assessing the administration of justice within America. The authors examine why laws are made and how they are enforced in making the argument that the criminal justice system was not designed to punish, deter or treat lawbreakers but to “symbolically reassure” law abiding members of society. Most citizens are seen as conforming to society’s rules, not because they fear punishment, but because they believe in the system. Therefore, the authors conclude that what constitutes “justice” is determined by what political elites view the sentiments of the middle class to be. Trends in justice issues are decided based upon what elites think that the conforming masses are needing to observe in order to feel good about their own compliance. The making of laws and administration of punishments are seen as being arbitrary acts that are designed to demonstrate to conformists that their compliance is appreciated by the ruling elites.
Social and Psychological Profile of Adjudicated Girls Involved in Prostitution
The prinmary goal of this paper is to invesigate the interrelationship between prostitution and delinquency among adolescent girls, and to identify the risk factors that predict this behavior. Data have been collected from 150 girls who were convicted by the juvenile court of Montreal during 1992 and 1993. These girls had been inteviewed a first time in 1992-1993 and a second time two years later. In our sample of adjudicated girls, 32% (n = 48) reported having been involved in prostitution during their adolescence. Results suggest that involvement in prostitution is grounded in a general propensity to engage in risky behavior, as proposed by Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990). The contribution of this study is significant because, although there have been many studies of prostitution, very few have used quantitative methods and most of those that did were limited by the absence of a control group.
Social Capital, Probation Supervision and Desistance From Crime
In recent years increasing attention has been given to the later stages of ‘criminal careers’, and in particular to the reasons why people stop offending. From initial and subsequent explorations a number of factors have emerged as being related to the ending of offending careers. For serious persistent offenders, betrayal by co-offenders, experiencing traumatic events during the commission of crimes and finding prison increasingly hard to cope with have been found to be related to desistance. For those less committed to a criminal lifestyle, other factors – including leaving home, ‘settling down’ with a partner, entry into the labor market and disassociation from delinquent peers – are amongst the key correlates of desistance. The purpose of the current presentation is to explore the most salient of these feelings in theoretical terms, and in particular to explore desistance in relation to an emerging concept in criminology – social capital. Examples of the processes associated with social capital and the continuation (or otherwise) of offending careers are drawn from a recently completed study of probation supervision undertaken in the UK.
Social Causation, Self-Selection, and Desistance From Offending: Disentangling the Marriage-Crime Relationship
While most criminologists assume a causal connection between marriage and desistance, there is little consensus on whether this relationship is conditional verus unconditional, or direct versus indirect. All of these perspectives do, however, share the common assumption that marriage has some genuine causal effect on reducing offending. Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) have challenged this assumption by arguing that the relationship between “positive” life events, such as marriage, and desistance is spurious, and that their statistical association is attributable to time-stable characteristics of the individual. The current article uses seven waves of panel data from the National Youth Survey (N=1,725); ages 11-17) to explore the relationship between marriage and desistance with special attention to interaction, mediation, and causal attribution. Pooled-wave fixed effects models provide estimates for the influence of time-varying, independent variables while controlling for all stable individual differences between subjects. The cumulative results of these analyses speak not only to the specifics of the marriage-crime relationship, but also to the much broader question of whether life events can ever influence criminal trajectories.
Social Class and Social Control: An Examination of the Homeless
This study examines the mechanisms of informal and formal social control among homeless persons living in downtown St. Louis. The data were derived from semi-structured interviews–conducted with a small sample of homeless people, security officers, and business owners living and working in downtown St. Louis, observations, and interactions with the subject population. The relationship between class, environment, individual culpability, and decision-making (specifically, the decision whether to invoke informal or formal control when rules are violated) is discussed.
Social Constructionism Comes to Japan: Revision of the Juvenile Law
The Juvenile Law of Japan, enacted in 1947, is a prime example of one version of the juvenile justice policy: to provide guidance, care, and protection to juvenile offenders no matter the seriousness of their offense. A number of violent offenses by Japanese juveniles has stirred a “moral panic” resembling the recent experiences in the United States. Using press reports, this paper traces the construction of a perceived public crisis culminating in the hardening of the Juvenile Law. That action appears to be symptomatic of changes underway in Japanese society at large.
Social Disorganisation Theory and Rural Crime
This paper extends research on rural crime beyond North America by analysing associations between census measures of community structures and officially reported crime in rural New South Wales (Australia) within the framework of Social Disorganisation theory. Data were draw from 122 geographic regions that conform closely to non-metropolitan rural areas that are not adjacent to SMSAs. Cluster analyses further indicated that those clusters have distinct patterns of crime. The distributions of crime are explained through a social disorganisation orientation. More cohesive and integrated community structures had less crime. One highly disorganised type of small community had extremely high crime. These analyses demonstrate how specific social structures are highly linked to rural crime. The paper concludes with a discussion of Social Disorganization theory as a heuristic for understanding the relationship between social change and crime in rural areas of developed countries.
Social Disorganization and Arrestees’ Cocaine Use: A Test of a Multilevel Model
Using data from the 1991 and 1992 Drug Use Forecasting projects, the present study hypothesized that certain social disorganization factors–population density, poverty, residential instability, and racial heterogeneity–characterized the urban areas in which the U.S. crack cocaine market was most fully developed. The prevalence of cocaine use among arrestees interviewed for the DUF at 24 urban sites was employed to indicate the size of the crack cocaine market in these areas. Using hierarchical nonlinear modeling techniques, this study explored whether social control and demographic factors were effective predictors of arrestees’ cocaine use, and whether the effects of these factors on cocaine use varied with the degree of social disorganization. Overall, the present study obtained support for the ability of other contextual social disorganization factors, as well as social control factors, to explain arrestees’ cocaine use. The results of the present study imply that 1) the most-developed crack cocaine markets are located in those areas demonstrating the most structural disadvantage/social disorganization; (2) lack of commitment to marriage or full-time employment or both is linked to arrestees’ cocaine use, and 3) the relationship between age and the likelihood of cocaine use varied across areas with different levels of structural disadvantage/social disorganization.
Social Disorganization and Violent Crime in “the Burbs”
Research testing social disorganization theory has focuses primarily on relatively large urban cities. A few recent articles have suggested that social disorganization theory is also relevant to rural areas but, to our knowledge, no research has focused on smaller cities and suburban neighborhoods. In this paper we use census and police data combined with data on local institutions (e.g., churches and bars) to assess the efficacy of social disorganization theory to explain crime rates in this largely unexplored context. Theoretical implications for the theory are discussed.
Social Disorganization Theory and Intimate Partner Homicide
Social Disorganization theory has recently been amended by a number of noted researchers including Robert Bursik in order to develop a systemic model. Returning to the original mode of Shaw and McKay, and additionally the new systemic model, one would expect there to be some linkage between social environment and levels of violent crimes, especially homicide events. Relationships between homicide and poverty, heterogeneity, and mobility are significant when one controls for other portions of the new systemic model. To test the linkage between homicide and social environment, I utilize structural equation modeling. I use the 1998 NIBRS data, aggregating by reporting agency/city and make comparisons by population size of location to investigate differences in levels of intimate partner homicide. While large segments of missing data have been suggested to be a major issue in using the NIBRS, I incorporate multiple imputation models, rather than mean imputation, to alleviate this deficiency. The latter tends to increase distribution peaks as well as truncating standard errors and variance estimations.
Social Exclusion and Criminal Justice: Policing in North London
This is a report of a study of stop and search practices by the police in North London. It documents the focus on Irish and African Caribbean youth, examines the degree which this can be explained by class and age demographics and questions the conventional black-white categorization. The nature and basis of instutitonalised racism is examined and a much honed down, information-led policing policy is advocated.
Social Network Characteristics and Violent Behavior Among Dually Diagnosed Women in a Rural Jail Diversion Program: A Pilot Study
While there is much concern about the potential for violent behavior on the part of severely mentally ill individuals within the community, much of our current information base is derived from studies that have focused on men. There is a need for more information about women with severe mental illnesses, their risks for violent behavior and victimization, and the factors that drive these. One important set of factors is the characteristics of social networks, particularly the involvement of individuals with active alcohol and drug use, as well as the protective role that the presence of abstinent or recovering individuals may play. This pilot study presents data from a longitudinal study of 30 women with severe mental illnesses and co-occurring substance use disorders who have been participating in a rural jail diversion program. The women were re-interviewed at three-month intervals for nine months. We collected data on the structural and functional characteristics of their social networks (including changes in the networks) as well as information on involvement in violent behavior via a modified version of the MacArthur Community Violence instrument. These data are used to examine how changes in network structure and composition affect changes in exposure to violence.
Social Order, Male Supremacy, and the Support of Legal Prostitution
Although prostitution remains legal in Taiwan, there are only 23 whorehouses and 118 practicing prostitutes throughout the island. Prostitution is illegal in most of the places in Taiwan. The paper intends to address the public attitude toward the support for the sex zone in Taiwan. Data are drawn from a public opinion research of 1,038 samples in Taipei. The paper concludes that: (1) most people do not welcome sex zone in their own residential communities. Citizens are concerned with the deterioration of moral standards and public safety. (2) The sex zone is needed to satisfy the biological needs of the powerful groups. We found that male, middle ages, businessmen, and people of the high income are the most supportive groups of sex zone. In general, prostitution is perceived to be associated with organized crime, rape, violence, and exploitation among the public mind. Besides, male supremacy seems to dominate the reason behind the support of sex zone.
Social Structure, Crime, Cultural Values and Punishment: A National Analysis of Adult Imprisonment Trends
Rusche-Kirchheimer proposed that there is a direct positive association between unemployment and imprisonment. Empirical tests of the Rusche-Kirchheimer hypothesis, however, have resulted in inconsistent outcomes. This research tests the proposition that economic instability, represented by a factor comprised of changes in the consumer price index, bankruptcies, long-term unemployment and income inequality is a better predictor of the use of imprisonment. Controlling for violent crime, economic instability is used as a baseline model to test the ability of the social threat and conflict models to explain the expansion in American prison admissions from 1972 to 2000. Self-report data from the National Election Studies Survey and the General Social Survey are used as measures of attitudes towards race, punitive ideology and cultural stability.
Social Support, Inequality, and Violent Crime
The social support (also known as social altruism) perspective in criminological theory has begun to emerge as a potentially important explanation of aggregate levels of crime. Recent studies have tested the theory’s ability to predict levels of property crimes, yet formal tests of the theory using violent offenses as the dependent variable have not been conducted. This article draws on insights from social support theory in a cross-national context. Consistent with social support theory, the analyses show that, net of statistical controls, (1) measures of social support are inversely related to rates of violent crime (measured by homicides), and (2) measures of social support significantly condition the effect of inequality on violent crime.
Social Ties, Collective Efficacy, and Urban Crime
A foudation assumption of the systemic reformulation of the social disorganization perspective links dense kin networks with increased community capacity to regulate crime. This research examines the unique contribution of kin networks to collective efficacy–a community’s level of social cohesion and informal social control–and neighborhood crime rates. Using Hierarchical Linear Models on data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (in combination with census and official crime data), I find that 1) the density of kin networks is not strongly correlated with the density of friendship ties in urban communities, 2) kin network density is not associated with collective efficacy when controlling for the level of friendship ties, and 3) kin network density interacts with collective efficacy in their association with crime rates such that kin networks have a positive effect on crime rates at higher levels of collective efficacy. The latter effect is interpreted as a product of the protective effect for offenders of social capital provided by dense kin networks in neighborhoods with higher overall levels of social organization.
Some Impacts of Integrated Case Planning for Rural Juveniles
Service integration is an expanding policy area for the juvenile justice system. The measurement of this topic is often difficult, particularly in an applied, criminal justice caseworker level. This paper will examine the implementation of a recent state Byrne grant, focusing on improving service integration among partners including county Juvenile Departments, state Department of Human Resources agencies, and the Oregon Youth Authority. The catchment area for this project was a seventeen county juvenile justice consortium in a rural area of Oregon over a recent four-year period. The population served was serious, chronic and violent juvenile offenders. Issues of service integration measurement will be covered, in addition to a review of recidivism rates after project implementation.
Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Repeat Domestic Burglary Victimisation and Offending in North Sheffield 1995-2000
This paper examines recorded domestic burglary patterns in North Sheffield over a 72-month period (1/1/95-12/31/00), particularly with regard to patterns of repeat victimisation. Of particular importance is the finding that the risk of re-victimisation lasts for a considerable period after victimisation (years) and that the vast majority of re-victimisations occur over 12 months after the first event.
Spatial Temporal Patterns of Street Robbery in Chicago 1991-1999
In Chicago, the spatial distribution of street crime has changed over time. Neighborhoods that were plagued with street robberies in the early 1990’s have become relatively crime free later in the decade. Places that were free of crime have suffered increases. This presentation depicts the nature of these changes in police reported street robberies in Chicago from 1991 thru 1999 and the micro-environments in which they occur. The presentation will go beyond “hot spots” and will consider block by block variation in patterns of rime. Methods of describing overall crime patterns and changes in these patterns will be discussed. A geo-archive of census and community information is used to describe street robberies micro environment.
Specialization Over the Criminal Career: Change or Stability
Evidence for specialization is strongest in samples of juveile offenders and weaker in samples of adult offenders (Cohen, 1986, Britt 1996). This study tests whether or not the tendency of samples of adult offenders to provide stronger edvidence for specialization is attributable to a selection process or to a developmental process in which offenders learn to repeat crimes that they are proficient at. In order to test these competing explanations data containing information on juvenile and adult offending were necessary. This allowed the comparison of the tendency to specialize early in the criminal career to the tendency to specialize later in the criminal career.
Specifying Crime as an Opportunity Structure for Police Misconduct
In a previous study, we linked the antecedents of social disorganization to police midconduct by New York City Police precincts. Drawing on elements of social disorganization and opportunity theories, the present study expands our prior work by specifying crime categories as mediating influences on police misconduct in the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Using U.S. Census data, and data from NYPD official records, the present longitudinal study tests whether communities that are characterized by differential crime patterns (e.g., combinations of drug, property, vice, and/or violent crimes) create opportunity structures favoring differential types of police misdonduct.
Specifying the Relationship Between Crime and Criminal Embeddedness During Adolescnce: A Longitudinal Analysis
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the inter-relationship between delinquency and criminal embeddedness/criminal capital during adolescence. Hagan defines criminal embeddedness as immersion, or embeddedness, in ongoing criminal networks consisting of deviant family members, peers, or other acquaintances. Criminal capital is basically defined as knowledge and technical skills that promote criminal activity, as well as beliefs or definitions that legitimize offending. The main question is whether delinquency leads to criminal embeddedness/capital, criminal embeddedness/capital leads to delinquency, or the two are reciprocally related over time. Each position has theoretical justification, and discerning the appropriate causal direction has important implications for theory specification and testing. A secondary issue to be examined involves those cases that do not ‘fit the pattern.’ Specifically, assuming there is a relationship between criminal embeddedness/capital and delinquency, it would be interesting to further study those subjects who are embedded in a criminal network but who do not engage in much delinquency. Perhaps there are certain ‘protective factors’ that help break this link between network membership and behavior. The analyses will be based on data from the Rochester Youth Development Study, a longitudinal study of primarily at-risk youth in an urban environment.
Specifying the Relationship Between Cumulative Poverty and Delinquency
Most scholars agree that extreme economic deprivation is predictive of criminal behavior. Criminal behavior is higher in economically disadvantaged individuals and rates of crime are higher in poor neighborhoods. Criminologists do not agree, however, on the causal ralationship between poverty and crime. A common argument is that poverty creates criminogenic strains and contrains the poor to living in high crime neighborhoods. An alternative perspective is that both poverty and criminality are related effects of a set of underlying cultural factors that reproduce multiple social pathologies. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data, we examine these assumptions by tracing the effects of cumulative poverty through three pathways to crime. The three pathways include one representing social stress (maternal mental health), one representing cultural deviance (self-control), and one representing neighborhood disadvantage (i.e., joblessness, structural deterioration, community crime). We find that the effects of cumulative poverty on crime operate through the neighborhood disadvantage pathway. Thus, our study suggests that the relationship between poverty and crime is a structural problem rather than a cultural one.l
Sport and Crime Revisited: Participation, Capitalization, and Risk of Arrest Over the Life Course
This research proposes and assesses a “capitalization” model of sport participation and involvement in crime and deviance. While sport participation has beeh a constant theme in criminological work, results have shown variable effects. This research begins by examining sport within the context of life course capitalization processes. Specifically, we consider how sport participation facilitates or inhibits the accumulation of human, social, and cultural capital that characterize normative trajectories through life yet also serve as resources in the control of criminal and antisocial behavior. Using data from a prospective longitudinal survey, our research involves two parts. First, we create a typology of sport participation that emphasizes the degree to which involvement was part of more general life course capitalization processes. Second, we examine the degree to which different types of sport participation influence risk of arrest over the life course. In doing so, our research emphasizes the larger institutional embeddedness of sport participation in adolescence and furthers understanding of sport as an aspect of adolescent development that has important implications for involvement in crime and deviance over the life course.
SSRI’s and Crime
Selective Sertonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) , a class of medications including the prescription drugs Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft, have received rapid and widespread acceptance among medical and treatment personnel. For instance, Prozac was introduced in 1989 and by 1991, 5.5 million people had been prescribed this medication. SSRI’s are prescribed for a variety of problem behaviors, including addiction, aggression, and depression. However, little is known about the use of these medications by offenders. As part of a larger study of SSRI use and recidivism among offenders in a court ordered treatment program, this paper presents results of a survey of selected pharmaceutical representatives, physicians and treatment personnel regarding their attitudes and perceptions concerning this class of medications.
Stalking in the Context of Domestic Violence: Findings on the Criminal Justice System
Little research has examined the criminal justice system and the problem of stalking. Stalking and domestic violence are intricately linked and, thus, so is the criminal justice response to these two problems. Using longitudinal data collected from battered women whose domestic violence cases have gone through the criminal justice system, this paper explores the relationship between stalking in the context of domestic violence and the criminal justice system. Specifically, this paper will look at the effect of criminal justice outcome and sentence in domestic violence cases on subsequent stalking; the relationship between stalking and victim cooperation with the system (e.g., if victims who cooperate are more or less likely to experience stalking and are domestic violence victims who are stalked more or less likely to cooperate with the system); and the effect of stalking on whether stalking victims choose to continue to use the system if needed.
Stalking Victims: Empowerment, Self-Efficacy, and Experiences With the Court
This paper examines the experiences of stalking victims with the criminal courts and examines changes in their levels of empowerment and self-efficacy as a result of those experiences. The sample (n=15) consists of adult female victims of stalking perpetrated by an intimate partner in two urban counties. A quasi-experimental longitudinal design examines changes in victims’ levels of empowerment and self-efficacy at court intake (Time 1) at court disposition (Time 2) and six months after court disposition (Time 3) as a function of the type of prosecutorial strategy employed (no drop versus traditional), victims’ prior experiences with the criminal justice system and with intimate partner violence, and case outcome.
State-Corporate Crime in a Globalized Political-Economy
The driving engine behind the political-economic transformations typically that, taken together, have come to be termed “globalization,” has been a dramatic expansion in the transborder power of capitalist corporations that were once based in the nations of the North. This expansion has been facilitated by compliant states in both the North and the South, with the former seeking to enrich their economic base through repartriated profits, while the latter, desperate for foreign investments struggle to create climates “hospitable” to business. These conditions have resulted in state-initiated and state-facilitated forms of corporate harm that exceed even the great destruction of environments, peoples, and cultures resulting from the 19th century era of globalization–the era of “colonization.” This paper explores the how the intersection of the corporate need to expand areas of operation, the desire of powerful states to promote corporate insertion into less powerful states, and the growing necessity among poorer nations to accept the political-economic terms trade offered by the North, have produced grave potential for sharp rises in state-corporate crimes worldwide.
State Crime Victim Compensation Programs: Clients’ Perceptions of Policies, Processes and Outcomes
State Compensation Programs, funded in part by the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), provide financial assistance to victims of crime for losses not covered by other sources of payment. As part of an ongoing project evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of VOCA-funded services, researchers at the Urban Institute and SANDAG surveyed 500 compensation claimants across six states. This paper presents the overall findings from the survey, and assess state specific findings in relation to various state policies. This research provides a better understanding of the general effectiveness of state compensation programs and the specific effects of state policy on compensation programs. The implications for future policy are discussed.
Staying in Drug Treatment: How Much Difference is There From Prison to Prison?
Until recently, multi-site studies of treatment retention did not pay much attention to the effects of differences between programs. The limited studies conducted in community-based programs found variation in program retention which was not attributable to individual charateristics but to program characteristics. Although some of the program content of the Bureau of Prisons drug treatment programs is standardized, there is variation in program maturity, staff experience, program length and other factors. The purpose of this paper is to determine the extent to which differences in prison-based drugs treatment program retention can be attributed to such program charateristics. The sample studied included more than 1,600 male and female treatment participants, 75 percent of whom completed the in-prison residential drug treatment program. Subjects were from 20 prisons, 16 from male institutions and four from female institutions. This paper uses a hierarchical linear model approach to determine whether there is variation in program completion after statistically controlling for individual characteristics.
Strain, Hate, and Christianity in White Supremacist Web Sites
Organized white supremacy movements have existed in the U.S. since just after the Civil War, and have survived into the Twenty-first Century. With the explosition of the computer age and the revolutionary incorporation of the Internet in peoples lives, the subculture of hate has adopted a new medium to propagate rhetoric to a wider audience than ever before. Using the Internet to evaluate the content of recognized hate sites, I examine how hate groups reinforce and promote group ideology using Christianity on the Internet. Using Strain Theory, I explore how supremacists express strain in the content of their web sites. I also evaluate to what extent Christianity, or Christian Identity, is incorporated into the rhetoric and ideology of the various groups using the Internet.
Strain and Opportunity Structures
Classic depictions of strain theory posit a conditional pathway to delinquency that depends on opportunity structures. Cloward and Ohlin, for example, proposed that strain led to delinquent behavior in the presence of illegitimate opportunity structures, such as proximate gang activity. In the absence of illegitimate opportunities, strain presumably leads to other adaptations such as withdrawl or low school achievement. In this paper, we revist this classic delineation of the path from strain to delinquency using linked school- and individual-level data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS) and a survey of high school students in Utah. The outcome variables include delinquency, self-concept, and academic achievement. Strain is operationalized at the individual level, while opportunity structures are measured at the school level. A multilevel statistical model provides an explicit test of whether the impact of strain on delinquency and other outcomes is conditioned by opportunities provided by the school context. The results indicate modest support for the proposed relationships, yet also show the importance of the school context as an opportunity structure
Strain and the Conditioning Effects of Social Support: A Test of Gender Differences Among African Americans
Social support has received a great deal of attention in the stress literature, yet only a few researchers have examined it in their empirical tests of Agnew’s general strain theory (GST). This study focuses on the constraints to deviant coping by examining social support as a conditioning factor of deviance. Four hypotheses are derived from GST and social support literature: (1) Strain has a positive, direct effect on deviance and a positive, indirect effect on deviance through negative affective states; (2) Social support has a direct negative effect on deviant coping and also negatively interacts with negative affective states to produce less deviance; (3) The direct and indirect effects of strain are not significantly different between males and females; and (4) The direct and indirect effects of social support are greater for males than females. The data from a nationally representative survey of African American adults is used in this study. OLS regression will be used to test these hypotheses.
Strategic Evolution in a Police Gang Violence Unit
The paper is a case study that explores the response of the Boston Police Department to gang violence and juvenile homicide in the years 1990-1994, years of historically high rates of reported violent crime in the United States, particularly among juveniles. The paper focuses on the operation of the Anti Gang Violence Unit (AGVU), which the department formed in 1990 and gave primary responsibility for controlling juvenile and gang-related violent crime. The paper examines the approaches the AGVU took toward the control of violent juvenile crime, and pays particular attention to the evolution of the unit’s strategic policies. Early in the period, the unit’s strategic policy was intended to produce incapacitation through such traditional methods of enforcement as zero tolerance policies, saturation patrolling, and sweeps. While the goal during the entire period remained oriented toward arrests, later in the period strategic implementation expanded to include sophisticated intelligence gathering, intelligence exchange, and cooperation with such non-police persons and entities as probation officers, street-workers, and coalitions of clergy. The paper’s narrative is presented through media accounts, public records, and interviews with participants. The paper is oriented theoretically within the emerging literature examining the rationalization of police services.
Strict Enforcement of Firearm-Related Violence: Studying the Strategies of a Federal Task Force in Wilmington, North Carolina
The systemic violence surrounding drug activity in Wilmington, North Carolina, as in many communities, inordinately effects high poverty areas that often include public housing. In this community during a recent six month period 66 percent of all aggravated assaults, robberies, and homicides occurred in public housing or in nearby residential neighborhoods. The “Wilmington Partnership” is a special task force composed of local, state, and federal agencies including police and prosecutors with the primary goals to reduce the level of violent crime overall and within specific offenders in the community and then seek to maximize the likelihood of apprehension, with special prosecution in either state or federal courts. Research on the effectiveness of this project evaluates whether once targeted offenders are convicted, their prosecution has deterred former associates and reduces violent crime within specific community areas. Interviews with police, probation officers and offenders, along with the results of a community study provides contextual data to detemine the effectiveness of this enforcement strategy. Finally, implications for various theories, including social disorganization, deterrence, and social control, are discussed.
Structural Covariates or Arrest Rates: Does Crime Begat Crime?
Why do some areas have higher or lower crime rates than others? Previous resarch has answered this question by examining the relationship between structural covariates and arrest rates over time, pointing to the cumulative effect of these economic and social conditions on future crime rates. Often missing from the analysis is an investigation of the perpetuating nature of crime itself. To better undertstand the role of crime in concentration effects we examine the relationship of arrests for nuisance crimes (e.g. public drunkienness, vagrancy and others) and relatively organized crimes on future crime rates controlling for commonly used structural covariates. Census, offense and arrest data from four decennial census years (1960, 19670, 1980, 1990) for 100 MSAs are used to address questions such as: do different types of crimes predict future index crime rates better than economic or social indicators? Preliminary findings show that certain public order and nuisance crimes and crimes that indicate the presence of a criminal infrastructure affect change in violent and property crime in subsequent decades.
Structural Location, Social Support, and Adolescent Youths
Social support theory suggests that supportive relationships buffer the effects of stressful life events and/or reduce the probability of adverse symptoms or behaviors. Although studies show that social support is negatively correlated with adolescent crime and deviance, our knowledge regarding the impact of structural location on support provisions remain limited. This paper reviews the empirical and qualitative literature to examine the cultural and social contexts of African-American and Mexican American youths to understand how race, class, and gender may affect how social support is given and received. Implications for adolescent crime, crime prevention strategies and research are discussed.
Structured Professional Guidelines for Spousal Assault Risk Assessment: The SARA
Dr. Kropp will briefly describe the Spousal Assault Risk Assessment Guide, or SARA, a comprehensive approach for assessing risk for repeated spousal violence. He will comment on the appropriate uses and potential misuses of the “professional judgement” approach to risk assessment. He will then summarize reliability and validity research by the authors of the SARA. Implications for the criminal justice system including police, courts, and corrections agencies will be discussed.
Student Perception of Police: Findings From One Midwestern School and Implications
While much work has been done regarding adult perception of police and their general feelings of safety in their community, little has been done to apply this to students. Even those works that do address the perceptions of young people typically begin with the 18-25 age group. Unfortunately, as Peter Elikann points out in his book Superpredators: The Demonization of Our Children By the Law, this is probably due to the fact that this group cannot vote. However, we know that victimization rates for people in this age group are among the fastest growing. Thus, students have just as much reason to be concerned about whether the police in their community do their jobs well. Further, as the entire community is affected if students choose to engage in crime. it is important to find out whether attitudes towards police play any role in student behavior. The 1990’s brought much media attention to the perceived lack of school safety, prompting many districts to establish closer ties with police. However, these moves have been made with little or no consideration for the way students feel. Students already have less rights than adults. In addition, we mandate by law that they stay in school until age 16. As students see their lives ever more intruded upon by law enforcement officials we may see a new sort of rebellion. We will also likely see even more resistance to authority of all kinds. This could not only impact the learning that takes place in a school, but could also increase the number of delinquent acts school officials and the criminal justice system must deal with. Approximately 120 ninth through twelfth grade students at a medium sized (approximately 1000 student) high school were surveyed in regards to their perceptions of police efficacy and image in the community, in their school, and in general. Students of all ability levels, socioeconomic status, and gender were included. Data will be analyzed and compared to actual crime rates in the community as well as delinquency rates within the school.
Studying Disparity Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines
Researchers from the U.S. Sentencing Commission have previously reported several methodological problems with existing studies of disparity under the federal sentencing guidelines. In a recent issue of Criminology (Vol. 38, No. 4, p. 1207), Engen and Gainey propose a “presumptive sentence” method for controlling for legally relevant variables in a multivariate analysis, which can address some of the problems with the existing research. Commission staff have re-analyzed federal sentencing data using this approach. Our results are in several important respects different from the conclusions in previously published research. These differences have implications for whether discrimination affects federal sentences, and for identifying where and how any unfairness arises. This panel brings together government and academic scholars to discuss how best to study disparity under the federal guidelines, how to interpret the variation in results, and how much we can expect to learn by pursuing this and similar approaches further. The Commission’s critique of the existing research and its re-analysis of federal data using the presumptive sentence approach will be presented, and panelists will then discuss the results and have the opportunity to present any alternative interpretations or to argue for a different approach.
Substance Abuse Treatment Outcomes for African American, Hispanic, and White Federal Prisoners: Results From the TRIAD Study
Little is known about minority substance abusers, whether they benefit from treatment in general, and/or how their treatment outcomes compare with those of white substance abusers. This gap in the literature may be attributed to a number of issues including access to treatment, research sample selection, and the way in which results are reported. The purpose of this study is to provide information about minority substance abusers and their treatment outcomes. The paper will describe and compare background and pre-incarceration characteristics (e.g. psychosocial history, criminal history, and drug use history) and 3-year post-release outcomes (e.g. recidivism and drug use) for mail African American (n=343), Hispanic (n=84), and white (n=612) Federal prisoners who were treated in the Federal Bureau of Prison’s Drug Abuse Program (DAP) from 1991-1997. Subjects were surveyed and interviewed prior to treatment and when treatment ended. Information on post-release behaviors was obtained from U.S. Probation officers and electronic databases.
Substance Use and the Trajectory of Delinquency Among Young Males
Using data from three waves of the Buffalo Longitudinal Study of Young Men with a probability sample of 625 males aged 16-19, the impact of substance use on adolescent maturing out of delinquency is assessed. Specifically, the study focuses on the effect of substance use on delinquency desistance and delinquency reduction. The findings indicate that the prevalence and the level of substance use significantly and negatively affect delinquency desistance and delinquency reduction, which implies that substance use significantly impairs adolescent ability to mature out of delinquency and merge into the mainstream of society as they grow up.
Substance Use as a Factor in Serious and Violent Offending
Many studies have shown an association between juveniles’ substance use, particularly alcohol, and their delinquent offending. It remains to be seen, however, to what extent juveniles’ delinquency is preceded and activated by the consumption of substances immediately prior to the commission of delinquent acts. It is also unclear whether such assoication is already apparent at a young age, and whether the association particularly applies to serious and violent acts. The paper addresses these issues through analyses of the youngest and oldest samples in the Pittsburgh Youth Study.
Supervision and Service Delivery in the IAP Initiative: How Intense Has the Intensive Experience Been?
During the assessment phase of the IAP research and development project it was ascertained on the basis of prior research that certain dynamic risk-related need factors were prominent in the profiles of serious juvenile offenders in confinement and were clearly correlated with patterns of chronic recidivism in this population. Especially pronounced was a set of factors including substance abuse and dependency, family conflict and dysfunction, school disruption, and negative peer influence. Further, existing research indicated that if delinquency remediation and long-term, positive normalization of behavior are to be achieved, these key areas of difficulty must be precisely and adequately addressed. The intent of the IAP model from a comprehensive intervention perspective, i.e., one incorporating elements of both social control and treatment, was to provide a balance, or mix, of strategies to reduce the level of reoffending behavior. Through the imposition of a highly structured framework of social control and surveillance it was hoped that sufficient time could be bought to stabilize and begin working with these youth upon return to the community in rehabilitative fashion. This paper examines the extent to which and the intensity with which (duration and dosage) serves and treatment relevant for responding to specifried problem behaviors were delivered to the experimental group in the project as opposed to yuth in the control group..
Supervisory Challenges in Racial Profiling Training
In the wake of several high-profile cases alleging “racial profiling” of minority motorists, numerous states have adopted racial profiling data collection laws. Both the media handling of the issue and the mandates of data collection laws create additional burdens for police supervisors. Using the new Massachusetts law as an example, this paper discusses several of the issues that are specific to supervisory positions. They include (1) selling the program, (2) equipping their officers for the new demands on their duty life; (3) dealing with potential monkey-wrenching (various kind of work dereliction and defiance, ghosting, bad-mouthing to the public, etc.); (4) dealing with problem cases and morale; (5) the problem of “managing up” in a politically charged arena; (6) mediation of disputes and handling citizen complaints; and other potential problems.
Supports of and Barriers to Women’s Participation in the Prosecution of Their Batterers
The terms “reluctant” and “uncooperative” are applied to battered women more than any other category of victim. Indeed, it is often assumed that battered women will not testify against their batterers or “cooperate” with the police or prosecutors. Unfortunately, little scholarly effort has been made to determine what barriers women face in the prosecution of their domestic violence victimization. Additionally, research has not adequately addressed what supports women to pursue the cases against their intimate abusers. This NIJ funded study involves almost 200 women interviewed 3 times at 6-month intervals after their court cases have closed. The interview schedule included detailed items addressing the women’s reported barriers to and support for their participation in the prosecution process.
Survey of Restorative Conferencing Practices in the United States
Restorative conferencing encompasses a variety of different processes in which those most affected Restorative conferencing encompases a variety of different processes in which those most affected by a specific crime come together in a direct dialogue to discuss how to repair the harm caused by an offense. They are designed to bring together all the parties affected by a criminal event (including the victim, the offender and often community representatives as well) to discuss its impact of the crime and what should be done about it. Such processes are part of a juvenile justice system movement away from responses to crime that tend to alienate and disenfranchise youth and towards interventions that stress accountability to those harmed by the crime, as well as integration, competency development and community ownership and participation. There has been, however, a disconcerting lack of research on the nature, scope and effectiveness of such programs. This paper offers an overview of restorative conferencing/dialogue initiatives across the United States nation. Although it does not examine program effectiveness, it is designed to provide a basic summary of the extent to which conferencing/dialogue programs are operating nationwide, the types of models being used and the distribution of these models/programs. This report is intended to address some of the most basic questions about where, how and to what extent restorative conferencing/dialogue is occurring in the United States.
Survey of Youth Gangs in Indian Country
Survey development, methodology, and preliminary findings on the scope of the gang problem in Indian country will be discussed. Data were collected from the first-ever gang survey of all federally recognized tribes in the United States. This project is funded by OJJDP in support of the Tribal Youth Program which is part of the Indian Country law Enforcement Initiative. Topics addressed from the survey include: year of onset of gang activity, demographic characteristics of gang members, types and levels of criminal activity, and factors influencing the origin, growth, and persistence of gang activity in Indian Country. This imformation will: (1) supplement localized research examining gang activity in Indian country; (2) provide a baseline assessment to guide future research and response; and (3) permit comparison to results from the National Youth Gang Survey, a nationally representative survey of over 3,000 law enforcement agencies.
Survive vs. Thrive: Ex-Offenders Struggle to Overcome Stigma and Lead Conventional Lives
Despite the focus on America’s massive prison building and incarceration crusade, the barriers that must be overcome by ex-offenders attempting to conform to society and not merely survive but to thrive upon release from prison, has remained largely unaddressed. The plight faced by ex-offenders as they reenter society can be examined within the framework of Goffman’s (1963), Stigma: Notes on Management of Spoiled Identity. The current trend indicating a shift to increase the “discrediting” of ex-offenders through the symbolic restatement in legal terms that they are “the enemy” and that the stigma they bear is appropriate, suggests that many ex-offenders will be recycled through the system or at best lead menial and derelict lives. Specific manifestations of stigma, including the recent nationwide increase in civil disabilities (employment, criminal registration, and voting), essentially assign ex-offenders to a permanent subservient citizenship status. To assess the apparent increase in stigmatization, a series of interviews will be completed with recently released ex-offenders and an analysis of their perceptions and experiences conducted.
Sustainability and Community-Based Policing
One of the challenges facing law enforcement agencies that engage in various community-based policing efforts is sustainability. It is difficult for most community-based police programs to show tangible results in the short-run, and officers who volunteer (or are assigned) to these efforts can often feel as if they have become marginal to their agency. The purpose of this paper is to describe the results from a statewide study of sustainability among officers involved in a community-based substance abuse prevention education program. Sustainability is defined as officers’ estimation of the probability that they will remain in their present position for two more years. The independent variables include: 1) background characteristics, including age, gender, years of experience and years until retirement; 2) continuing involvement in attending annual re-trainers and other training related to community based policing; and 3) perceptions of support for the prevention program among other officers in the agency and among key constituencies in the community. Results indicate that there are four basic types of officers: 1) those who will not remain in their present position because of promotion or retirement; 2) those who will not remain in their present position because they feel marginalized within their agency; (3 those who will remain in their present position despite feeling marginalized within their own agency; and 4) those who will remain in their present position and who perceive widespread support for their involvement in the program.
T
Taking Time Off for Misbehavior: Truancy as Self-Regulation
The purpose of this paper is to examine truancy as a form of self-regulation among a group of adolescent boys and girls located in New City, Florida. A series of 30 semi-structure (qualitative) interviews were conducted with juveniles referred to a local truancy interdiction program and their respective parent(s) and/or guardian(s). Using the softeware package, NVIVO, the data are analyzed for common patterns and themes as they relate to notions of risk, identity enhancement, and maintenance. Overall findings are presented along with implications for future research initiatives.
“Tapping” One Behavioral Domain: Self-Reported vs. Official Measures of Delinquency
In 1979, Hindelang, Hirschi, and Weis concluded that the apparent discrepancy between self-report and official records on delinquent behavior was a result of each method “tapping” different domains of behavior. With exceptions, this conclusion has been accepted with subsequent studies using one method over the other. However, using data from the RISE (ReIntegrative Shaming Experiments) experiments in Canberra Australia, we are in a position to use these methods of delinquency reporting tapping the same domain of behavior. As such, we can examine the ability of one method over the other to provide adequate indicators of demographic variables as well as predicting further criminal behavior. We will conclude with caveats and directions for future study.
Targeting Repeats: Communities, Communication and Compromise
Focusing on repeats has shown that it can be an effective way of targeting resources. It concentrates effort and can yield both prevention and detection success. It has however, in recent years, challenged the services of the police, who with support from other agencies such as local housing, probation and victim support have developed multi-agency strategies to deal with different types of crimes. Communication between the police forces themselves, and their partner agencies has in the past been fragmented and often relies upon personal contact between individuals rather than being formalised organisationally. The Crime and Disorder Act (1998) has gone some way to develop this working relationship and Section 17 states: ‘it shall be the duty of each authority…to do all that it reasonably can to preven involved, and perhaps, more importantly, for the numerous police departments to develop a closer working relationship with each other. This paper seeks to review the needs of the ‘community’, discuss the issues that hamper communication, and debate whether compromise is the only solution.
TBA
The Chippewa people (also known as Ojibwa) of Wisconsin have been waging a battle against huge multinational corporations for years. Indian tribes and grassroots organizations have been resisting corporate and governmental pressures to transform Wisconsin into yet another new resource colony. Treaty rights have been paramount in stopping, or at least slowing down, corporate and government intrustion on Indian lands. The political assault against Indian treaties has resulted in Chippewa people being arrested and criminalized for exercising guaranteed treaty rights. Native people are using their treaty rights to challenge the most powerful institutions within the North American continent. Indigenous peoples are on the frontline of contemporary colonial struggles against banks, corporations, speculators, government, development agencies, and foreign powers. They are sitting on resources the rest of the world wants at the lowest possible cost. This paper examines how the Chippewa are challenging the power structure of multinational corporations and the state, asserting their sovereignty rights as First Nations to control the natural resources within their territories by utilizing
TBA
This paper represents the findings of a two-year COPS grant research project to understand the incidence and prevalence of school-based violence and bullying behavior as well as create interventions to reduce this violence. Specific strategies developed by a school – police partnership, included the use of a mapping program, teacher training, security changes and parental education. An assessment of the intervention effectiveness is discussed.
TCU Personal Piower Series: Motivating Probationers to Engage in Substance Abuse Treatment
This presentation will describe a set of group activities designed to motivate “clients” who have been mandated to substance abuse treatment in the criminal justice system. This overview will also include the conceptual basis of the program, previous research data for components, and any available research findings for both the complete program and selected components. This series of activities have been completed by over 200 probationers during the fourth and, for some, the tenth week of a 16-week judge-mandated, residential treatment program; an equal number of probationers have completed the standard treatment program with no spedial motivation component. All or part of the 6-hour (3 2-hr sessions) program can be easily incorporated into group-oriented counseling, although some modifications would be needed for use in individual counseling. The series is designed for use with large groups (18-35) and incorporates content not heavily emphasized in traditional treatment programs, such as preparing clients for their roles in treatment and teaching personal management strategies that can enhance treatment effects. Previous research findings indicate the value of these activities in increasing client motivation, confidence, and involvement in treatment, especially for individuals with limited education.
Teaching Comparative Criminal Justice in the 21st Century
With innovations such as the INTERNET and the globalization of organized crime it has become more important for criminal justice programs to integrate comparative criminal justice into the curriculum. Unfortunately, professors face many obstacles in teaching such courses. Chief among them is the dearth of knowledge among today’s students (and faculty) about other legal traditions (besides common law) and other criminal justice systems. This paper examines the more positive aspects of incorporating a comparative approach to criminal justice education whenever possible and suggests several techniques for teaching such courses. In addition it will address methods for teaching courses to students by incorporating the INTERNET and group projects.
Teaching Criminal Justicew in Liberal Arts Education: A Sociologist’s Confessions
The teaching of criminal justice is typically caught in between a demand for scholarly substantiated instruction on the one hand, and students’ wishes for practically oriented training on the other. My presentation reports on my own experiences in teaching criminal justice as part of an explicitly academically oriented Law and Society program in a Sociology Department that offers major and minor undergraduate degrees. Prior experiences in teaching the course and student feedback inspired me to redirect the course and no longer teach it as a specifically sociological contribution, but as a more broadly oriented inter-disciplinary course that seeks to meet both (my) social scientific standards and (students’) professional goals. Various innovative, more or less traditional teaching techniques were sued in combination to meet these two, typically held conflicting ambitions. This involved, amongst other things. The extensive use of online materials, selected video presentations, and guest speakers from various agencies across the criminal justice spectrum. Results of a class survey are used to evaluate this experience and draw lessons for the teaching of criminal justice in the settings that many of us face.
Teaching Deviance, Criminology and Delinquency as Distinct Courses in Sociology Department at a University That Also Houses a Criminal Justice Department
Some sociologists have wrestled with the problem of teaching distinct criminology and deviance courses in the same academic department (Kunkel 1999); Bader, Becker and Desmond 1996). Serious issues arise in course development involving course content similarity, theoretical overlap, and reading and writing assignment redundancy. What about those of us who must teach delinquency in addition to criminology and deviance? What if those courses must be taught in a sociology department at a university that also houses a criminal justice department? Criminal justice departments usually offer courses that can have large amounts of content overlap and assignment redundancy with the aforementioned sociology courses. This situation is problematic because many criminal justice students who need sociology credits often choose to crime and deviance-oriented sociology courses. Sociology majors interested in crime and deviance are likely to take more than one of these sociology courses as well. The paper offers ideas for developing distinct deviance, delinquency, and criminology courses in order to help professors manage these problems.
Techniques of Neutralization in the Prison Context: Theory of Attitude Suspension Among Correctional Officers
Although the use of excessive force by correctional officers is a serious issue within the present system, little research has been conducted in this area, particularly outside the context of agency policy or administrative discipline. A limited body of research, however, does explore the factors contributing to such violence. Utilizing these sources, this paper will outline a theory relating Sykes and Matza’s five techniques of neutralization to the use of excessive force by correctional officers. It will also outline a research model with which to test the application of this theory to the behavior and issues discussed.
Teen Court Outcomes With Young Offenders
Growing from a handful of programs in the 1960s, the number of teen courts (or youth courts) now operating in the United States has been estimated to be more than 700. Communities embrace teen courts as a cost-effective alternative to the traditional juvenile court process for some young offenders, particularly those charged with relatively minor offenses and few prior arrests. This paper will report the findings of the Evaluation of Teen Courts Project, which was funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and conducted by the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center. The study examines teen court outcomes in four jurisdictions: Maricopa County, Arizona; Montgomery County, Maryland; Independence, Missouri; and Anchorage, Alaska.
Testing the Nature and Limits of Informal Social Control: Extending the Systemic Model of Social Disorganization
The systemic model of social disorganization posits neighborhood-level effects of social networks on victimization levels. In particular this theoretical model proposes that the informal social control emanating from these networks accounts for varying crime levels. Although some research supports this hypothesis, recent evidence has refined our understanding of how social networks affect crime, highlighted the importance of non-linear relationships, and has, in some cases, cast doubt on this control hypothesis by suggesting that other factors (such as strain) may operate at the neighborhood level. This study uses three waves of the British Crime Survey to estimate reciprocal models that test whether control or inequality contributes to victimization levels. The results are discussed in terms of the light they shed on the nature of informal csocial control and the implications for the theory’s scope and structure are explored.
Testing Tittle’s Control Balance Theory: Results From the National Youth Survey
Control is a conceptual core of criminology. Recently, there has been renewed interest in how control is related to deviance and how individual and situational power differentials affect control. In his pioneering control balance theory, Charles Tittle incorporates power and control into a general theory of deviance. The theory states that deviant acts are the outcome of insufficient and excessive control. The form that deviance takes is dependent on control ratios–the level of control individuals receive and exert. Control balance theory is largely untested. Data from the National Youth Study (n=1,725) is used to test control balance theory. We investigate the affects of control imbalances at work and in relationships on autonomous and repressive forms of deviance. Findings are consistent with previous research. Control imbalances are significant predictors of deviance although not always as the intial statement of control balance theory predicts. We discuss the implications of our findings for control balance theory and future research.
The “Ecstasy Experience”: A Case Study of the Contextual Components of Dance Clubs and Club Drug Use
Research as far back as Howard S. Becker’s The Outsiders has shown that the perceived effects of drugs are not only derived from the pharmacological properties of the drug themselves, but also from the social settings in which they are consumed. Recently, there has been concern about the increase in Ecstasy (MDMA) use and its association with dance clubs. However, we have very little knowledge about this phenomenon. This paper investigates the relationship between the contextual components of dance clubs and Ecstasy use, and argues that the drug, Ecstasy, is just one component of this dance club culture. This paper explores how the dance club design, and the interactions between the DJ, the dance club performers, the bouncers and the club patrons create the “Ecstasy experience.” Qualitative data was obtained through interviews and a series of observations at a New York City “mainstream” dance club.
The Age-Crime Curve and First Principles
Crime is a social activity. This means that it is 1) an activity; and 2) socially defined. Every action carries the potential moniker of “criminal”. We begin with the cross-culturally defensible premise that nothing is inherently criminal. Even the act of killing another human being can be contextually justified within every culture. Criminal proceedings virtually always require two elements to be present in order for a person to have committed a “crime”: The act itself, and some form of culpability. We demonstrate that the age-crime curve is the result of the interplay of these two factors. When people begin life, they commit hundreds of acts that are contrary to law; however, it is the fact that they are not culpable that prevents prosecution. It is our contention that the age-crime curve is in a rising phase when culpability increases at a faster rate than behavioral control, and that the curve subsequently is in a falling phase when behavioral control is sufficiently high to match high levels of culpability. In other words, infants are deviant at very high rates, but are not prosecuted as such. Teens, however, are deviant at sufficiently high rates and are deemed culpable enough to result in high rates of prosecution. Older persons are deemed fully culpable, and also have high levels of self-control, and hence low levels of prosecution.
The Attitudes of Young Adults Toward Internet Related Crime and Abuse
The Internet is still growing at a rapid pace. Alongside this vast international and anonymous communications system, the incidence of computer and network crime is rising continuously. Somewhat surprisingly, people’s attitudes toward Internet crime have been under-researched and discussed. The present study will attempt to fill in that gap by collecting and analyzing data on college students’ attitudes toward Internet crime and ethical abuses. The present paper is going to analyze young adults’ attitudes toward Internet-related abuse and crime by controlling for their academic major, demographic factors, and familiarity of the Internet. The result of this study might give a framework for further research in perception of seriousness of computer crime and related issues. Additionally, the direction of further research and theoretical explanation will be discussed.
The Birth of the Post-Rehabilitative Prison: A Case Study of Arizona’s Penal System
Through a case study of the recent, rapid development of Arizona’s correctional system, the proposed paper explores the contours, impacts, and practical operations of a state penal system which has largely developed in the post-rehabilitative age of the new penology. The case study is grounded in a broader question which asks: What happens when a state penal system has in essence been born in the post-rehabilitative age of penal crisis? Using secondary data sources, interview data, and primary archival materials related to the development and rapid expansion of Arizona’s prison system over the past several decades. I examine state legislative action on criminal sentencing, authorization of penal funding, and administrative and physical expansion of the system itself, including the decision to create a formal state corrections department in 1968. I look at how the geographical and historical roots of the jurisdiction’s penal system, as it developed in its particular social, cultural, and political context, may have shaped its present incarnation. Because Arizona’s Department of Corrections has in many ways grown up in a “tough on crime” political environment (both in terms of timing and particular state politics), an explicitly punitive (and incapacitative) approach, unmediated by any “old” penological ideals like rehabilitation, appears to underlie the general mission and philosophy, priorities in resource allocations, and actual institutional operations in the state.
The Body Brokers: Organized Crime and Organ Trafficking
This paper outlines a 21st century phenomenon: the global trade in human bodies and body parts. With the advent of organ transplantation more than three decades ago, the human body has quickly become a commodity for replacement parts. There are some who maintain that organized crime and other criminal elements are exploiting this area. Illicit organ transplants take place transnationally and involve surgeons, patients, organ donors, and brokers. The global demand for organs has surpassed organ donation in most cases, thus creating a market economy. Indisputably, poverty, social injustice and high profitability are important factors that explain the context in which illegal organ harvesting arises in several countries.
The California Youth Authority and Randomized Field Trials
During the 1960s and 1970s, the California Youth Authority embarked on a series of randomized field trials to test interventions for juvenile and young adult offenders. This paper examines the institutional and political reasons why rigorous tests were adopted for such interventions as the Community Treatment Program. It also describes what impact these trials had on the agency and California justice. In the end, the experimental method became less frequently used in the Youth Authority and we explore some general reasons why this happened.
The Call of Disquiet: Naming Critique Without Certainty
There are many who thrash, almost involuntarily, at any talk of the “postmodern”. They mourn the passing of a familiar ethos. The Left once knew its place, critique was critique and progressive political engagement was sure to lead to emancipation. The revolution’s justice was always just around the corner. Dreams of emancipation for all were shattered by an unexpected crisis in the ways that radical thinking–in sociology and criminology–legitimated itself. Fragmentations in definitions of oppressed identities, beyond the working class, left many in a state of political disarray. Anything ‘postmodern’ provided a convenient whipping post to deflect attention away from the woes of ensconced thinking that refused to confront its unexamined orthodoxies. One such orthodoxy rested on the requirement that critique operate as normatively grounded judgement. Firmly rooted within modern disciplinary horizons, this image of critique faces unique and fundamental challenges in contexts that question the privilege once granted to disciplinary power-knowledge relations. Current, perhaps postmodern, conditions invite very different images of critique to witness and frame opposition political activities. This paper names an alternative grammar of critique, thereby seeking a concept of the critical that wrests legitimacy from–whilst also contesting–the uncertain conditions before us.
The Campbell Collaboration: A New Model for Producing Evidence on What Works
Evidence-based policy requires the synthesis of prior evaluation studies. Unfortunately, despite the development of a “science of reviewing,” obstacles in providing up-to-date evidence on what works still exists. These include the lack of a single-source for such evidence, the failure of reviews to be updated in light of new studies or methodological developments, the lag time and uncertain dissemination of journals, and the limitation of reviews to Anglophone studies. We describe an international organization known as the Campbell Collaboration that will help address these and other problems. Named after the influential psychologist Donald Campbell, the Collaboration will conduct, prepare, periodically update, and make rapidly accessible systematic reviews of high-quality evidence on what works in areas like criminal justice, social work, and education. Other groups have been created to address methodological developments, as well as communication channels. The paper discusses the Campbell Collaboration’s first two years of operation.
The Changing Face of Community Policing: a Comparison of 1993 and 1997 National Survey Results
Macro International, Inc. (ORC Macro) with the assistance of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), conducted a large-scale survey of law enforcement agencies which was designed to update and build upon information collected in a 1993 study of community policing strategies. Over 1600 local agencies responded to the survey. In this paper, the authors will present the highlights of the study, focusing on the changes that have occurred between 1992 and 1997, with regard to: the extent to which community policing has been adopted nationally; executives’ perspectives of community policing; and the characteristics, organizational arrangements, programs and practices of community policing agencies. Authors will also compare agencies with and without community policing on various programs, practices and outcomes.
The Changing Face of Crime: The Internet and Child Pornography
Technological advances in recent years have impacted significantly on the lives of Canadians. One example of these advances is the Internet, its accessibility and its use by the general public. Statistics Canada reports a steady increase in regular Internet use amongst Canadian families in recent years, 16% in 1997, 22.6% in 1998 and 28.7% in 1999. Widespread use of the Internet has resulted in both positive and negative impacts. The ease with which people can communicate globally whether it is for personal (e.g., money management, interacting with friends, learning about a variety of new topics, etc.) or business (e.g., advertising, communicating with customers, telework by employees, etc.) purposes demonstrates the positive effect of the Internet. However, there are also negative effects associated with the ubiquity of the Internet, for example its use in conducting illicit activities. One such usage involves the exchange of child pornography. A survey of Canadian police was conducted in order to examine the impact the Internet has had on the exchange of child pornography. The findings will be discussed in terms of number of investigations, search and seizures, charges and convictions related to the exchange of child pornography via the Internet and the challenges this presents.
The Chosen Few
Prosecutors can motion any juvenile between the ages of 14 to 17 that have been charged with a felony under MN Blended Sentencing to face the possibility of adult criminal sanctions. However, only about one-quarter of the potential candidates are motioned. This research attempts to determine the differences between those youth prosecutors chose to motion and those they decide to treat as ordinary juveniles. Youth that have faced transfer to adult court under Bended Sentencing (1995 forward) will be matched with juveniles who prosecutors have not motioned. Matching will be done based on the criteria that are used for motioning (age, type of offense, prior delinquency). Muiltivariate analysis will be used to determine what differentiates these youth.
The Co-Production of Experimental Criminology
This paper examines the federal role in the implementation of crime and justice field experiments in the last 20 years. Data are collected on the number and type of experiments funded by the National Institute of Justice in selected years. These data are supplemented by interviews of agency in management and researchers to ascertain the factors involved in the initiation, funding, and successful implementation of experiments. The paper addresses researchers’ decisions to choose this research design, the willingness of operational criminal justice agencies to participate in experiments, and the role of the scientific review and funding process.
The Code of Silence in a Comparative Perspective
The code of silence is an informal prohibition in the police culture against reporting misconduct by fellow officers. By learning about the extent and nature of the code in their agency, the administrators take one of the crucial steps toward curtailing culture tolerant of misconduct. The methodological approach we developed allows us to provide an insight into the contours of the code of silence in a particular police force. We compare the perceived extent and nature of the code using the samples from five countries – Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, and the United States. In addition, we also examine the potential differences between the line officers’ and supervisors’ code in these five countries.
The Collateral Effects Project: Analyzing Prison Mobility and Prisoner Reentry in Minnesota Neighborhoods
This study by the Racial Disparity Initiative of the Council on Crime and Justice focuses on two areas among collateral effects of imprisonment: concentration of residents who enter and exit prison in one neighborhood (prison mobilitiy) and release from prison to family and society (prisoner reentry). Prison mobility, prisoner reentry, and their effects on families and communities are examined within the same neighborhood. This paper presents results from the first research component of the project: selection of six neighborhoods from Hennepin and Ramsey counties in Minnesota (including cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul) by mapping techniques. The selection criteria are a high proportion of people of color, high arrest rates, and high prison mobility. Data are analyzed by GIS software and the variables include: 1999 arrests for selected Index Crimes, 1999 admissions to Minnesota state prisons, 1999 releases from Minnesota state prisons and population data by race and ethnicity from the 2000 U.S. Census. All variables are analyzed and mapped by location or address in Hennepin and Ramsey counties.
The Community Context of Gang Homicide: Comparing Latino and African-American Gang Homicides in Two Los Angeles Neighborhoods
This research examines the social organization of gang homicides in two policing areas (precincts) within the City of Los Angeles. The first area, Hollenbeck, represents a stable, traditional Latino community with a long and storied gang history. The second area, Southeast, contains the neighborhood of Watts and has many long-standing African American gangs. However, Southeast has experienced dramatic changes in the racial/ethnic composition of the populace as Latinos have displaced African-American residents. This has lead to a rise in the number of Latino gangs in Southeast. Using data collected directly for LAPD homicide files (1990-2000), we compare homicides involving gang members across the two neighborhoods. Does the role of drugs, turf and/or honor play different roles in motivating gang violence in the different settings? How do victims and offenders differ with regard to demographic features? Are there distinct patterns of inter-gang versus intra-gang violence across neighborhoods? In addition to focusing on gang homicide across the two locations, we also examine whether homicides involving Latino gang members in Southeast resemble those involving Latinos in Hollenbeck, or whether they are more closely related to the homicides committed in Southeast that involve African-American gangs.
The Comparative Approach in the Teaching of Criminology
From the outset criminology has been a discipline in which the international and comparative approach gained full attention. Although continental European Criminology has been developed and mostly still operates within the institutional borders of the Faculties of Law, at least in some countries, full fledged independent teaching programs (1st, 2nd and 3rd degree) are available. These programs reflect the fundamental encounter between behavioral, normative and ethical approaches of crime and crime policies. The international and comparative dimensions of these approaches are a strong component. This is especially true for theory and teaching and more difficult to achieve in research projects.
The Constitutional Issues and Civil Liability Implications for Strip Searchers Performed on Pretrial Detainees and Suspects
The purpose of this paper is to discuss Constitutional issues and the civil liability of law enforcement for strip searches performed on pretrial detainees and suspects. Recently, there has been a substantial amount of litigation concerning the constitutional parameters of strip searches performed on citizens who are detained, arrested or jailed prior to making bail. Various courts have construed what constitutes an “unreasonable” search differently. What is “justification” for such a search and under what circumstances a strip search can be conducted are issues that remained unsettled by case law. This paper will analyze what appear to be the common considerations of courts on these issues and propose law enforcement policies and guidelines that will comply with the Constitution as well as limit civil legal liability for the actions of law enforcement. In addition this paper will discuss the extent of civil legal liability for unconstitutional strip searches and how such liability can be avoided.
The Contextual Importance of Socio-Structural Variables and Family Processes in Adolescent Deviance
A number of theoretical perspectives in criminology have identified the family as key in understanding crime and deviance (e.g., Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990, Hirschi, 1969; Sampson & Laub, 1993). Empirical investigations have documented the importance of both distal or structural-contextual family characteristics (e.g., family size) as well as proximal family processes (e.g., parental monitoring) in understanding crime and deviance. Yet, few investigations have followed Sampson and Laub’s important work which documented that most of the variability in deviance explained by distal processes were mediated by the proximal family processes. The current investigation attempts to extend this line of work in three important ways: (1) By re-examining the relationships between distal family characteristics, proximal family processes, and adolescent deviance; (2) by testing these relationships on a sample of over N = 8,000 adolescents from four different national contexts (Hungary, Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States); and (3) by more comprehensively examining distal family charactaeristics, proximal family processes, and adolescent deviance. Preliminary results indicate that distal family characteristics accounted for between 4% and 6% of the variance in deviance, while proximal family processes accounted for approximately 13% to 16% of the variance in deviance across all groups.
The Correlates of Diversity Among Campus Police Officers: Results From a National Sample of Agencies
Although police departments on college and university campuses have existed since the middle of the 20th century, only during the past 20 years have researchers begun examining the structure and the function of these organizations. One recent trend in campus law enforcement has been the “professionalization” of these agencies and personnel in terms of training, duties, and organizational goals. However, the extent to which the “professionalization” of campus law enforcement has promoted diversity in the characteristics of sworn agency personnel remains an empirical question. This paper explores the issue of diversity among campus police officers using LEMAS data compiled by BJS in 1997 from a nationally representative sample of campus police agencies at post-secondary institutions enrolling 2,500 or more students. Both descriptive and multivariate analyses are used to examine potential correlates of diversity among sworn agency personnel, including variables relating to organizational characteristics (e.g., starting salary, hiring standards, agency membership in IACLEA, size, and mandate) and contextual variables (e.g., institutional control, student enrollment, location of the campus, and region of the country). Implications of the study’s findings for the future of diversity in campus law enforcement personnel are also discussed.
The Correlates of Homicide: A Case Study of Atlanta
The city of Atlanta is an anomaly. While most southern cities have experienced significant population increases, the city of Atlanta has experienced a population decline. Atlanta has suffered a double out migration: white flight in the 1960s and black middle class flight in the 1980s. What results is an increasing core of “the people left behind” which contributes to high levels of crime. Atlanta is taking on certain characteristics of a “rust belt” city. Patterns of residential segregation mirror homicide rates, and the advent of cocaine and the proliferation of handguns have compounded the homicide problem.
The Cost of Disclosure by Victims of Sexual Abuse: Clinical and Cultural Perspectives
Many women in the mental health and criminal justice systems have been targets of violence, often of incest and other forms of childhood sexual abuse. Many sequelae of childhood maltreatment have been documented including high risk for continued victimization, substance abuse, and inability to develop and sustain healthy relationships. The authors explore three areas that have not been extensively studied: (1) attempts to disclose abuse during childhood and adolescence; (2) the cost of disclosure by survivors of child sexual abuse in adulthood; and (3) the role that our culture/society has in maintaining secrecy regarding sexual abuse and other forms of violence against women. The authors discuss clinical and self-report data indicating that women with histories of sexual abuse typically attempted to seek help by disclosing the abuse. In doing so, they broke the rule of silence that protects family secrets. Their experience suggests that our culture protects family secrets, and that family secrets may reflect cultural secrets. The authors explore the role of this cultural support of violence against children and women and its impact on victims and survivors. They discuss measures for changing the current cultural/societal support for secrecy which allows violence against children and women.
The Criminal Careers of Murderers, Rapists, and Kidnappers
Although murder, rape, and kidnapping are considered the most serious crimes, little criminal career research has investigated offenders who commit these offenses. This study uses a population of 500 habitual offenders with at least 30 arrests to compare the criminal careers of murderers, rapists, and kidnappers to other chronic recidivists. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and negative binomial regression analyses indicated that murderers, rapists, and kidnappers totaled more violent Index arrests, netted more felony convictions and prison sentences, and offended for a longer span than their recidivist peers. Murderers, rapists, and kidnappers were disproportionately male and middle-aged. No differences were found regarding property Index arrests. Murderers, rapists, and kidnappers were also indistinguishable from other career criminals in terms of race/ethnicity and age of onset of arrest. Given the policy relevance of criminal career research, more scholarly attention should focus on murderers, rapists, and kidnappers.
The Criminalization of Pregnancy and Public Policy
Policies aimed at criminalizing women who use drugs while pregnant were developed as a result of the war on drugs. The effects of policies to criminalize pregnant drug users are explored in this paper. These policies were developed and implemented as a means to protect unborn children, however, the outcome has been vastly different. Reseach indicates that policies to criminalize pregnant drug users have resulted in more harm to women and their unborn children than benefit. One impact of mandatory reporting policies is that pregnant drug users are not obtaining the prenatal care they need due to their fear of being arrested. Furthermore, the mandatory reporting policies are often implemented in hospitals and clinics that serve primarily poor minority women. More specifically, the policies are geared toward criminalizing women who are pregnant and use crack. These women are more likely to be poor and Black. These policies are not achieving their intended goals; they are in essence criminalizing “blackness” and “women.” In this sense, the criminalization of pregnancy is both racialized and gendered. Our paper outlines these issues and addresses the policy implications of the criminalization of pregnancy for poor Black women. Policy suggestions are provided.
The Curious Omission of Environmental Justice in Criminological and Criminal Justice Literature: A Content Analysis of 12 Major Criminology and Criminal Justice Journals From 1990-2000
The relationship between environmental justice and many broad areas of criminological study are replete in the environmental, medical, public health/epidemiological, legal, sociological, and public policy literature. While the near absence of criminological attention to environmental justice might reflect the lack of fit within the discipline, a closer examination reveals that environmental justice relates to the following criminological literatures: community, environment, and ecology, critical theories, law and society, criminal justice education, public policy, criminal justice sanctions, globalization, media, white-collar crime, race, class, and gender. This paper seeks to draw attention to these intersections by first examining the presence of environmental justice within the criminological literature and then examining the frequency with which these articles synthesize one or more of these related criminological areas.
The Danger Assessment Instrument: Modifications Based on Findings From the Intimate Partner Femicide Study
This paper will present new findings on the psychometric properties of the Danger Assessment (DA) intimate partner homicide risk assessment instrument from the NIJ/NIH/CDC funded 12 City case control study of risk factors for intimate partner femicide. A sample of femicide/attempted femicide (380) victims (cases) were recruited from police, medical examiner, shelter and trauma center records with interviews conducted with proxies for the actual femicides and the victims of attempted femicide. Abused controls (N = 384) and non-abused Controls (376) were recruited by telephone survey. Internal consistency reliability for the DA was .72 in the cases and .74 in the abused controls with a significant mean difference between the two groups (6.3 vs. 3.2). Risk factors for femicide from the DA supported by bivariate analysis were increased severity and frequency of physical violence, threats to kill, perception of capability of killing, choking, gun in house, forced sex, abuse during prenancy, extreme controlling behaviors, extreme jealousy, perpetrator suicidality, violence outside of home, and child abuse. Adjusted multivariate analysis resulted in major risk factors of: increased severity and frequency, threats to kill, gun access, forced sex and extreme controlling and jealousy in situations of estrangement (interaction effect). At a score of 8 or more on the original DA, Positive Predictive Value (PPV) was 90% but Negative Predictive Value was less acceptable. ROC analysis demonstrated good specificity at a score of 8 or more and acceptable sensitivity at a score of 4. Based on these findings, a modified DA will be presented with scoring instructions to weight the strongest risk factors and to take into account stalking and estrangement as risk factors under certain conditions.
The Development of Research Problems in the Study of Anti-Social and Criminal Behavior
The paper summarizes the findings and conclusions of a two-year theoretical research project regarding theories of individual level anti-social and criminal behavior. Background of the study is the debate in criminology regarding the large number of theories, by some seen as an indicator for limited theoretical progress in the field. The purpose of the study was to provide overview and insight, by making the content of theories from different disciplines explicit and by focusing on the research problems that the theories are addressing. By analyzing the content of theories, and by relating research problems and theories, the developent of research problems in this field of criminology could be tracked. The results of the study help clarify the discussion on criminological theory development by making the content of theories explicit, by addressing the number of theories in relation to the research problem, and by offering a heuristic to deal with the ‘levels problem’ in criminology. The development of research problems within five groups of explanatory mechanisms at different levels of explanation is presented. Further implications for future theory development are discussed.
The Dichotomy of Domestic Violence: Evaluating the Efficacy of Protection Orders for Women Experiencing Common Couple Violence Verus Patriarchal Terrorism
The purpose of this study is to gauge the efficacy of protection orders for victims of domestic violence. The theoretical basis for this analysis lies in Johnson’s theory that there exist two distinct forms of interpersonal violence “common couple violence”; which consists of low-grade, mild violence that is equally perpetrated by both men and women, and “patriarchal terrorism”, which involves severe mental and physical abuse that is primarily used by men to control their female partners. Based on Johnson’s dichotomous theory, it is hypothesized that orders of protection will be less effective for women who experience patriarchal terrorism than for women who experience common couple violence.
The Diffusion of Community Policing: A Further Exploration
In a presentation delivered at the 2000 Annual Meeting I reported that community policing policies, programs, and activities are more prevalent in departments (1) that serve larger jurisdictions with more mobile populations, (2) whose chief’s definition of community policing includes community linkages, and (3) where the chief’s goals include increasing citizen participation and influence in their neighborhoods. Further, police chief’s are somewhat more likely to express these attitudes and goals when they see a model department, and when their department seves a larger, disadvantaged, and mobile population. In a paper for the 2001 Meeting I will build on these results to include tests for whether jurisdiction crime rates and receipt of COPS Office funding serve to further explain engagement in community policing activities.
The Drug-Crime Link in a Self-Control Perspective: An Empirical Test Among Swiss Juveniles
The General Theory of Crime (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990) provides a specific framework for the understanding of the empirically well documented link between substance abuse and crime. Our research is focused on juveniles attending school who are — if at all — at the onset of their “career” of substance abuse. The basic question we address is to know whether self-control can — as hypothesized in the GTC — account for the covariance between crine and substance abuse. We then investigate whether specific subdimensions of the self-control construct (i.e. risk-seeking, self-centeredness etc.) are related to specific types of deviant behavior (i.e. substance abuse, property crimes, violence). These issues will be tested on the basis of a representative sample of 2,700 15 years old pupils of the canton of Zurick (Switzerland) using a version of Longshore et al.’s (1996) adapted attitudinal self-control scale (Grasmick et al 1989). First, we consider the validity of the scale (dimensionality, invariance over relevant groups) using exploratory and confirmatory factory analysis and then address the above mentioned core questions using structural equation modeling methods and logisticx regression, depending on the nature of the deviance scales. Preliminary findings indicate that in order to achieve unidimensionality a second order factor has to be introduced into the model. Even in that case not all subdimensions are substantially loading on the second-order factor.
The Early and Rocky Transition to Adulthood in Severely Distressed Households
It is well established that youths growing up in distressed inner-city households are at elevated risk for drug abuse and criminal behavior. This paper adds to growing insights into the detailed mechanics surrounding early emergence of deviant (as constructed from a mainstream and legal perspective) adult behaviors in adolescence. Data comes from an ongoing eight-year ethnographic study in which 60 [severly-distressed] families and approximately 140 persons [from inner-city New York] have been followed longitudinally. In these households, youths transition into major adult-like roles at early ages (14-18), even though they are not [legally] independent of their parents or guardians. These behaviors include early and regular sexual relationships, early child-bearing/parenting, acquisition of street language, dropping out of school, intermittent employment in drug markets and other criminal activities. The ethnographic accounts presented provide insight into the conduct norms behind the behavior patterns associated with the rocky transition into adulthood of youths struggling with the challenges of growing up under highly strained circumstances.
The Effect of Downward Shifts in Maximum Jurisdictional Age of Juvenile Court on the Age Distribution of Arrests: Reports on Some National Samples
Over a century after its birth, the juvenile court now operates in the shadow of intense concern about adolescent violence. This presentation addresses the effects of legislation passed in that shadow for the theory and practice of juvenile justice. We estimate the comparative deterrence effects of juvenile versus criminal court sanctions for violent and other serious young offenders. The research examines age-specific offending rates for a critical age range of adolescents and young adults under different sanctioning contexts and court jurisdictions, using age progression as the primary tool to assess age-graded crime control policies. We will present the results of three tests of such policies and their effects on age-specific arrest rates: a test of the effect of different states’ general jurisdictional ages, a test of the impact of Wisconsin’s changing general jurisdiction age, and a test of the effect of New York and Florida’s policies excluding youth from juvenile court.
The Effect of Gang Membership on Prison Rule Violations
This paper explores the role of gang membership in the commission of prison rule violations. It has been reported that gangs account for a substantial proportion of disciplinary problems within prisons today. This study compares a sample of 200 identified gang inmates and 200 identified non-gang inmates in a midwest state. The samples are analyzed using a weighting procedure which allows gang membership to be entered as an independent variable in a tobit analysis. The two samples are then analyzed separately, with the respective coefficients compared across the samples to determine if the effect of independent variables are different for gang members than non-gang members.
The Effect of Negative Emotion on Drug Use Among High School Dropouts: An Empirical Test of General Strain Theory
While classic strain theory has been applied to the problem of dropout and delinquency, general strain theory has been largely absent from this body of research. Given the barriers to economic and social advancement faced by many high school dropouts, leaving high school before graduation definitely serves as a negative life event capable of drawing negative parental reactions. These negative reactions are a likely source of strain for the dropout, creating negative emotions and possibly leading to drug use. The following study uses a cohort of dropouts from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1998 (NELS:88) to examine the associations between parental reactions to dropping out of high school, negative emotion, and drug use. The relationship between these three variables is assessed net of social bonds and delinquent peer associations, two other factors affecting adolescent drug use. Preliminary results support the causal chain articulated by general strain theory.
The Effect of Neighborhood Culture on Crime and Policing Efforts
Recently, more attention has been given to developing a better understanding of the role neighborhood culture has in the development and maintenance of criminal behavior. Moreover, the ability of police to develop productive partnerships with neighborhood areas appears to be related to the culture of the area. In an effort to build upon existing research, the current study focuses on the relationship between neighborhood culture (i.e., sense of community, social cohesion, social capital), levels and types of criminal behavior, and policing efforts. Along with census data and official crime reports, surveys were administered to residents throughout neighborhoods in Reno, Nevada. Results and policy implications are discussed.
The Effect of Perceptions of Sanctions on Offenders in the Breaking the Cycle Demonstration Project: Tacoma, WA and Jacksonville, FL
This paper examines the effect of experience on perceptions of sanction certainty and the detererent effect of sanctions on program compliance for a group of felony offenders in the Breaking the Cycle (BTC) program. Deterrence research has found that an offender’s prior experience in the justice system or receiving sanctions can affect (a) perceptions that sanctions are likely to follow current programmatic infractions and (b) compliance with programmatic mandates. This paper analyzes responses to a deterrence questionnaire administered to nearly 1000 felony defendants in the comparison and treatment groups of the evaluation of Breaking the Cycle (a drug intervention strategy that involves judicial and programmatic sanctions). Perceptions of sanctions were measured at baseline and nine months after recruitment. For all sample members, responses are analyzed, first, to determine if perceptions of sanction certainty were affected by whether the defendants (or someone they knew) had ever received a sanction. Second, the relationship between certainty and severity of sanctions and outcomes and compliance was examined.
The Effect of Social Capital on Jury Attendance Rates: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
In recent years there has been a decline in the rate of individuals who respond when summoned for jury duty. Micro-level studies that have examined reasons behind individuals’ refusals to report to jury duty have reported varying reasons for these actions. This paper examines jury summons response rates at the macro-level. Specifically, using data from fifty jurisdictions, the relationship btween the rate at which individuals report to jury duty in a jurisdiction and the jurisdiction’s social capital is examined. An analysis of the phenomena involved in this relationship is presented and implications for the justice system are discussed.
The Effectiveness of School Resource Officers: A Longitudinal Analysis
Analyses are provided of a two-year longitudinal study of school resource officer programs in nine high schools in a Northern New England state. Because none of these schools previously had a SRO program, a pre-post evaluation was conducted. A voluntary, confidential, self-administered questionnaire was given to random samples of sophomores, juniors and seniors in each high school, and to a random sample of their fulll-time teachers. The surveys were conducted at the beginning and at the end of the 1999-2000 academic year. Perceptions of their school’s safety and learning environment, and the extent of delinquent behaviors were considered. The findings show that students and teachers who were favorable toward having a School Resource Officer in their school continued to do so at the end of the first year. Students and teachers who were initially not in favor of a SRO, thought the safety and learning environment of the school had markedly improved, and advocated the retention of the SRO. In addition, students who engaged in delinquent behaviors in school prior to the arrival of the SRO were significantly less likely to do so at the end of the academic year.
The Effects of Alcohol Intoxication and Anger on the Robustness of the Rational Choice Model
Experimental research indicates that alcohol has a causal influence on aggressive behavior, especially when the drinker is provoked or angered. Using a rational choice framework, this study further examines the effects of alcohol and anger on violent decision-making. Male subjects of legal drinking age participated in a randomized experiment in which intoxication and anger levels were manipulated. Subjects then read a “bar fight” scenario and completed a series of questions measuring subjects’ aggressive intentions and the perceived consequences of violence. Results indicate that alcohol and anger interacted to increase one measure of aggressivity, but the perceived costs/benefits of violence were unaffected. As this alcohol-x-anger interaction was not mediated by perceived consequences, findings suggest the rational choice model does not adequately model intoxicated, angry violence. Finally, exploratory analyses call into question the robustness of the rational choice model, suggesting that the perspective may not be the general explanation for crime it is proclaimed to be.
The Effects of Crime-Related Media on Californians’ Opinions About Crime and Three Strikes Sentencing
This paper examines the effects of various forms of crime-related media on Californians’ support for “Three Strikes” using results from a 1999 statewide random CATI survey of 4,245 California households. Employing a matrix of possible offense triads, the survey was able to discern support for three strikes laws at a greater specificity than has been previously been examined. The sampling stratification scheme allowed for a groups comparison of African-Americans, Latinos, and whites in a structural equation model. The effects of various forms of crime related media were examined on support for three strikes and on other opinions and beliefs about crime, such as crime seriousness, the purpose of imprisonment, the perceived level of crime in the community and in the state, and fear of crime. Results indicate that media do not directly influence support for three strikes, but significantly effect other opinions and beliefs about crime which are strong determinants of support for three strikes. In general, crime-related media consumption is positively related to punitive attitudes; the effects are particularly strong for local television news and crime-based reality programs such as COPS. Equality constraints suggest that although there are sigificant differences in crime-related media consumption across race/ethnic groups, the effects of media appear to work similarly.
The Effects of Gender on Sentencing Outcome for Embezzlement Under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines
This study takes an in-depth look at how gender influences the adjudication decisions of male and female offenders convicted of embezzlement under the federal guidelines system during fiscal year 1999. Specifically, it is a test of whether females are treated more leniently in a system that supposedly refuses to take such factors into account. The major questions are whether women convicted of embezzlement receive downward departures outside of the guideline range more often, whether their sentences will reflect more lenient options such as probation, and whether those women sentenced to prison would receive shorter terms than their male counterparts. The study finds that final offense level as determined by the court is more influential in the adjudication decision than gender. Possible explanations for this finding are explicated and future research questions are posed for the study of gender effects under a guidelines system.
The Effects of Head Start and Juvenile Delinquency
Very little is currently known about the effects of the Head Start program on later criminal activity. We re-examine this question using the National Education Longitudinal Survey (NELS), which provides longitudinal data on a nationally representative sample of teens interviewed between 1988 and 1994. The parents of sampled students are asked whether their children participated in Head Start or other pre-school programs prior to enrolling in elementary school. The students themselves are asked to report on their involvement as adolescents in behaviors such as drinking, smoking, drug use, sexual activity, and criminal behavior. We address the problem raised by family self-selection into the Head Start program by controlling for family, student and school characteristics. We also provide instrumental variables (IV) estimates that identify the effects of Head Start using plausibly exogenous variation across states in the criteria through which income-eligible children are chosen to participate in the program, as well as across-state variation in local, state and Federal funding. The paper concludes by comparing the average per-student cost of Head Start with the program’s benefits, as measured by the dollar value of changes in non-academic outcomes reported in our study together with the value of academic improvements from previous research.
The Effects of Neighborhood and Family Resources on Adolescent Violence and Depression: An Examination by Gender
This study investigates the effects of neighborhood and family resources on violence and depression among adolescent boys and girls. Specifically, we examine the extent to which resource effects are mediated by variables drawn from the social stress/strain and social integration/control literatures in criminology and mental health. We hypothesize that the effects of resource deprivation (both family and neighborhood) on violence and depression will be mediated by the effects of strain/stress and social control/integration. To investigate these issues, we use data from two waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (AddHealth; n=12909). Preliminary results show that both neighborhood and family resources have significant effects on depression and violence, but the effects appear to be stronger for girls. Strain/stress and control/integration variables mediate a substantial amount of the effects of neighborhood and family resources on depression and violence.
The Effects of Personal Characteristics on Offender Success in a Therapeutic Community
The literature on correctional rehabilitation suggests that if certain “principles of effective intervention” are followed, reductions in recidivism should result. The least developed of these principles is the idea that certain personal characteristics of offenders may interfere with the ability to be successful in correctional programming. This reponsivity principle then, suggests that characteristics such as gender, personality, and intelligence may be important in determining whether offenders succeed or not. This study seeks to address this issue of responsivity in a therapeutic community.
The Effects of Prenatal Problems, Family Functioning and Neighborhood Disadvantage in Predicting Violent Offending: Results From a National Sample
Studies investigating the link between individual level risk factors and violent offending have recently explored the interplay between biological turned to the impact of those factors manifest emerging early in the life course (i.e., pre and perinatal factors) and childhood social factors combined with those in childhood (i.e., family disadvantages, structure and processes) in the etiology of delinquency and crime. For example, Moffitt’s theoretical articulation suggests that individuals who experience experiencing neuropsychological deficits and who are raised in disadvantaged familial and neighborhood environments have a greater propensity to begin offending early in the life course and persist through adulthood. In addition, and perhaps more importantly, Moffitt suggests that these individuals have the highest propensity to engage in violent offending. While some research has cofirmed this relationship between pre/perinatal factors, structural disadvantage, and subsequent offending, much of the recent work used restricted samples been primarily based on samples composed of minorities, measured disadvantage only in terms of family structure, and relied on officially reported behavioral outcomes, and has failed to examine the processes within the family influencing violent offending. Using a subsample of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we extend previous work by through investigating the additive and interactive interaction effects of that pre/perinatal prenatal complications (e.g., maternal alcohol use during pregnancy, smoking during pregancy, ande child’s low birth weight), disadvantaged family structure and process, and neighborhood context environments have on predicting self-reported violent offending. The thyeoretical and pollicy implications of this research are discussed.
The Effects of School Structure and Disorganization on Violent Crime in Kentucky Schools
Urban ecology theories of crime are one of the most frequently used maco-theoretical perspectives in examining crime and delinquency. The social disorganization position, in particular, posits that structural factors of poverty, ethnic heterogeneity, and residential mobility create disorganization and render certain neighborhoods incapable of providing adequate supervision or intervention of their residents. The result is a neighborhood lacking in formal and informal defenses against crime. Research supports that community racial composition, residential mobility, and poverty affect the crime rate, yet until recently most previous research invoking this perspective has assumed that these structural characteristics are proxies of disorganization and have failed to actually measure social (dis) organization or control itself. Furthermore, social disorganization has traditionally been applied to community-based explanations of crime and delinquency rather than school-based explanations. This paper applies this theoretical approach to violent delinquency in Kentucky schools. Specifically, I examine OLS models using structural data from the Kentucky Department of Education as well as social (dis)organization data on the supervision and intervention practices of teachers aggregated from a self-administered questionnaire. Results will determine the extent to which the school structural and (dis)organization characteristics affect the school-level rates of violent crime.
The Effects of Sensation Seeking on Peer Relations, Parental Attachment, and Deviant Inclinations
This study examines the effects of sensation seeking on peer relations, parental attachment and deviant inclinations among different racial and gender groups. Data for the analysis are collected in a national survey of over 700 college students.
The Efficacy of Community Oriented Policing in Reducing Domestic Violence
The notion that the rise of community policing initiatives may reduce domestic violence, domestic homicide, or both, warrants careful investigation. This paper presents the results of our interviews with victims, focus groups, police ride-alongs, and ethnographic research conducted in partnership with the Nashville Police Department’s domestic violence intervention initiative. The research draws upon data sources from law enforcement, courts corrections, probation, parole and domestic violence shelters. Implications for community policing initiatives are presented with consideration given to the complex relationship between race, poverty, housing, and employment.
The Emotional Salience of ‘War’ for Ex-Political Prisoners in Northern Ireland
This paper is concerned to describe how ‘war’ discourse has shaped the experience of politically motivated prisoners in Northern Ireland. it examines how the theme of ‘war’ is reproduced through (paramilitary) social structures within prison and serves to organise political prisoners’ experience of long-term imprisonment and resettlement. It considers the ways in which political prisoners’ accounts of prison live diverge from, and therefore problematise, many of the received criminological understandings of the ‘social world’ of the prison (and its effects).
The Empirical Research on Crime Control Policy: Taiwan Experience
Good social order is an imporrtant condition for human living. People are happy to live in the circumstances of no (or less) fear of victimization. This research, sponsored by Taipei County Government, is conducted to establish an appropriate crime control policy for local government and citizens. Located in northern Taiwan, Taipei County is the largest county both in terms of overall population and population density (population: 3.5 million, population density: 1,666 per Sq. Km) in the country. The purpose of this research is to explore an evidence-oriented and feasible crime control policy. Data, including qualitative and quantitative data, are collected from following approaches: official crime statistics, focus group interviews, analysis of 109,351 calls from year 1999 to 2000 to the Taipei County Police Department, and questionnaire survey. According to the empirical data collected in this research, the crime control policy includes the following terms. 1) Short-term policy: Increasing police patrol density; Imposing stronger control on hot spots of crime; More law enforcement for traffic order; Promoting police service quality. 2) Mid-term policy: Implementing community policing; Enhancing the management function of community and apartment; Increasing the numbers of police, updating police equipment and facilities; Promoting police training and education quality; 3) Long-term policy: Advocating legal and moral education; Promoting media’s social accountability; Persisting in fair and rigid law enforcement.
The Evaluation of OJJDP’s Truancy Reduction Demonstration Program
Truancy is recognized as a serious problem that has multiple causes, correlates and negative consequences for youth, families and communities. Delinquent youth and students who drop out of school before graduating often have a history of truant behavior. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is funding the development, implementation and evaluation of seven community-based truancy reduction demonstration programs across the nation. The purpose of the evaluation is to identify effective strategies for reducing truancy that can be replicated at the local community level. This presentation gives the history behind the project, an overview of the evaluation thus far, and preliminary outcome data. Additionally, implications for the replication of promising practices that keep youth in school are suggested.
The Evolution and Ecology of Black Street Gangs: The Case of the Gangster Disciples
Since the earliest research on the subject, gangs have been wed to the “interstitial” areas of urban life, both geographically and demogaphically. Neighborhood characteristics and organization have been the subject of venerable ethnographies that have described many facets of the complex gang-community relationship. Yet in recent years, studies of the gang-community relationship en totol have been sidestepped in favor of snap-shot studies of a particular aspect of gang life, and perhaps dangerously so. Just as many of the larger social forces in the Post-War era were responsible for the etiology of the gangs of that period, so are the larger social and economic force of the current period responsible for the shape and function of modern street gangs. Using ethnographic data taken from one Chicago neighborhood, this paper will examine a pattern of evolution that has developed among black street gangs and how this evolution unfolds in the larger ecological context. In short, the evolution of “corporate” street gangs is influenced by both internal neighborhood and gang dynamics, as well as, exogenous social forces. In this brief case study, certain patterns of gang evolution and ecology emerge that not only address the form and function of modern street gangs but also highlight some of the complexity of the gang-community relationship.
The Expected Utility of Sex Offenses: Testing Perceptual Deterrence and Rational Choice Theories on a Population of Convicted Sex Offenders
Deterrence and rational choice theories are rarely employed to explain sexual violence because the prevailing wisdom is that this class of offenders suffer from a medical abnormality or psychopathological condition that render them powerless to their sexually aggressive tendencies. The hypothesis set forth in this research challenges this assumption. Rather, perceptual deterrence and rational choice ideologies are employed to test their explanatory power on the criminal decision-making processes of sexually violent men. Convicted offenders were presented with surveys depicting hypothetical sexual assaults that most closely resembled their own offending behavior. Subjects were asked to assess the level of risk they perceived associated with the act, the severity of potential consequences from legal and extralegal sources, morality-based perceptions of the particular behavior, and the level of pleasure they perceived associated with the act. In addition, subjects were asked to assess their own likelihood of committing additional sex crimes. Preliminary results support a utility-based explanation for this type of offending behavior.
The Eye of the Painter and the Eye of the Police: What the Criminal Justice System Can Learn From Manet
Police officers constantly find themselves facing lonely, dejected people, who are an all-too-common feature of the late modern social landscape. One of the most poignant and evocative depictions of such a person is found in Edouard Manet’s painting, A Bar at the Folies Bergeres (1881-1882). This famous image of a youg woman working at a Parisian bar gives powerful expression to what might literally be called the “face of modern life.” It is a face characterized by an uncanny look of ennui, isolation, and calculated detachment. Taking Manet’s painting as its point of departure, this paper contrasts the “eye of the police” with the “eye of the painter” in order to examine some essential differences between the bureaucratic objectification of human predicaments by the late modern criminal justice system, and the representation of those same predicaments in art. While the artist sees the entire person, the officer, as such, sees “a problem.” Using a phenomenological analysis of some of his own experiences as a police officer, the author examines how the criminal justice system’s response to human crises programmatically excludes from consideration the very dimensions of life that must be engaged in order to truly ameliorate misfortune and suffering.
The Factors Affecting the Recovery Process of Sexual Assault Survivors
This paper explores the literature on the factors that affect a victim’s recovery process after rape. Rape myths, the nature of the assault, and a victim’s support network can have a significant impact on the survivor’s recovery process. In order to recover, the survivor must understand the various types of rape, the different types of rapists, and the nature of this violent crime. Receiving supportive behavior from friends, family members, and the victim’s significant other can increase the chances of recovery. The victim’s significant other must deal with negative attitudes about the assault toward the victim, and address the emotions involving their own recovery process. If negative attitudes surface concerning the rape, the result may repress the victim eliminating the progress previously achieved.
The Fit of Theories of Women Criminality With Women’s Characteristics
This paper considers the fit between characteristics and background factors hypothesized from several contemporary theories of women’s criminality to be causes of women’s criminality. Extensive data were collected through available court records and in depth interviews with 403 women who had committed felonies. Cluster analysis was used to examine the possible applicability of various theories to subgroups of women offenders. The potential applicability of selected theories to large as well as unique groups of women is highlighted, and implications for needed theoretical development and refinement are discussed.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978: Congressional Efforts to Balance the Competing Interests of Personal Privacy and National Security
Transnational crimes such as drug trafficking, terrorism, and trading in weapons of mass destruction, have blurred the once distinct lines of investigation and reponsibility for gathering intelligence and evidence for criminal prosecution. While intelligence and criminal investigations raise concerns regarding the protection of the constitutionally guaranteed right to personal privacy, intelligence investigations also raise a competing concern for preservation of the national security. Since 1978, intelligence gathering, through electronic surveillance and, as later amended, physical searches has been governed by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) (P.L. 95-511 and 103-359). This legistlation provides for processes and procedures for conducting intelligence investigations, usually directed against foreign citizens or foreign governments, that are less restrictive than those governing the gathering of criminal evidence. It also provides a special FIS Court to process FISA applications. The question remains, however, was this legislation enacted in response to pressure from interest groups concerned with the violation of rights in the 1970s, as a symbolic act to reassure the public that the rights of American citizens were protected from excesses of federal law enforcement, or was there another explanation? This paper seeks to explain why campuses enacted these special procedures of intelligence of investigation.
The Future of Parole
Public pressure on legislators and criminal justice professionals to control crime has required that crime be analyzed in novel, dynamic ways such as an interdisciplinary approach. Disciplines like history have helped reshape discussions in crime and criminal justice, especially those related to parole. Because historical analysis is grounded in archival research, it is necessary to carefully consider the risks and benefits of using such information to make claims and draw conclusions. There are benefits and limitations to utilizing historical documents. While they offer insight into situations not previously understood, they also require that you are cognizant of inconsistencies in the data that may be a function of shifts in philosophical thought or social and economic influences. As legislators and policymakers consider the future of parole, they must do so in light of what these programs were originally meant to do, what we expect them to do, whether these expectations are realistic, and whether these programs are somehow limited by their purpose. Keeping historical context in mind as we design parole policy will not only help minimize these economic and politically costly mistakes, but allow us to design better and more efficacious programs.
The Future of Policing: A Strategic Managment Initiative
This paper looks at whether the culture and subcultures of policing prevents management from changing the vocation for the future. A chronicled story of law enforcement’s history and structure is examined to see how the profession continues to foster the idea of being isolated from the public. This includes the focus on training police officers for violent confrontations with the public in a closed environment. Moreover, the repeated theme that it is “we vs. them” and the need to be ready for the big altercation shows that this belief is still present and works against the idea of community policing. Evidence is presented, in this regard, at a conference that talked about long range planning for an outright assault response to civil disobedience.
The Gap Between Research and Training in the Detection of Deception
The purpose of this paper is to review what research has revealed about the behavior of truthful and deceptive subjects during interviews and compare this research to what is currently taught to law enforcement and private security investigators throughout the country. The behavioral profiles taught by John E. Reid and Associates (The Reid Technique) and Stan B. Walters and Associates (Kinesic Interviewing) will be critiqued. Research does not fully support these models. Public policy implications will be discussed.
The Help Seeking of Intimate Violence Victims: Making Distinctions Between Common Couple Violence and Intimate Terrorism
In recent efforts to make distinctions in the study of intimate violence, some researchers suggest that there are two distinct types of intimate violence: intimate terriorism and common couple violence. The distinguishing feature between these two types of violence is the general context of intimate violence, particularly whether the violence is accompanied by systematic controlling behavior. Recent findings suggest that the effects of intimate violence vary depending on the type of violence experienced. This study seeks to extend this research by examining whether reactions to intimate violence similarly vary. Utilizing data from the National Violence Against Women Survey, it is hypothesized that victims of common couple violence and intimate terrorism will differ in their types of formal help-seeking behavior. Constraining and facilitating variables are examined for their ability to predict different types of help seeking. Implications for theoretical models of help-seeking behavior are discussed, as is the importance of making distinctions between these types of violence for the purposes of public policy and intervention.
The History of Rape
Legislative reform and court decisions have made a dramatic change in the way we as a society look at the crime of rape. In early times rape was considered a property crime, where the woman was not the victim, the man to whom she belonged was the victim. As time passed, the laws of rape began to change and it no longer was considered a property crime, but a violent crime against women. While the court systems began to look at women as the victim, it was not until the 1990’s that the law included both men and women as victims of this crime. Rape laws have changed, but there is still significant reform to be done.
The Home Office and Randomized Field Trials
Since 1957 the Home Office Research Unit has been the largest and most prolific criminological research institute in the United Kingdom. The paper will analyze the rise and fall of the use of randomized experiments in the late 1960s and the early 1970s. It will show how the fashion or “nothing works” affected research in the UK even though the contextual conditions in Britain were completely different from Martinson’s America.
The Identification and Protection of Vulnerable and Intimidated Witnesses in England and Wales
A key aim of the Criminal Justice Strategic Plan 1999-2000 for England and Wales criminal justice system is ‘to meet the needs of victims, witnesses and jurors within the system’. The Home Office report Speaking up for Justice recognises that vulnerable and intimidated witnesses in particular may have special needs. It sets out 78 recommendations to improve their treatment within the CJS and to enable them to give best evidence in criminal proceedings. This paper reports work in progress on a Home Office funded research project to evaluate special measures to assist vulnerable and intimidated witnesses and to survey their level of satisfaction. One main component of the research consists of a national survey of the police, the crown prosecution service, victims support and court witness service co-ordinators and court managers in order to ascertain their views on the difficulties they may have in identifying vulnerable and intimiated witnesses and the effectiveness of the services that they provide. The national survey is used to select four areas for more detailed study before and after the implementation of the special measures. The other main component of the research consists of a national survey of the level of satisfaction of vulnerable and intimidated witnesses with the treatment that they have received.
The Impact of a “Weed” Program on Minority Residents’ Attitudes Towards the Police
It is assumed that more negative attitudes towards the police among minority members of the community are the result of mistreatment by the police. This may not be the case. Data collected from interviews with residents of Santa Ana, CA has suggested that neighborhood, and not ethnicity, is the primary indicator of all ethnicities’ attitudes toward the police. Focusing on data collected during 1999 and 2000, this paper reports the impact of the “weed” portion of an Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) funded “weed and seed” program on ethnic groups’ attitudes toward the police. The findings add weight to the argument that perceptions of one’s neighborhood is an important predictor of attitudes towards the police.
The Impact of Baltimore’s 3-1-1 Call System on Street Level Officer Work Routines
This paper examines the impact of the introduction of a 3-1-1 non-emergency call system on the activities of patrol officers. Using data collected through systematic social observations of Baltimore city policy officers the paper assesses the quantity and quality of 3-1-1 calls and the effect on these calls on officer work routines. In general, it was found that when compared to self-initiated and 9-1-1 mobilizations, officers spend considerably less time on 3-1-1; that many of these calls could be handled by alternative responses; and that the contextual characteristics surrounding 3-1-1 calls differed from those of other officer mobilizations.
The Impact of Community Policing Practices and Policies on Citizen’s Attitudes and Perceptions
Among the putative goals of community policing is the creation of a more positive relationship between police and community residents as well as an improvement in the sense of public safety experienced by those residents. The present study examines which Community Policing practices and policies impact attitudes toward law enforcement, quality of life, risk of victimization and perceived safety the most. We use interviews with agency heads (chiefs and sheriffs) from 325 law enforcement departments in Florida to assess the extent to which 44 specific community policing practices and policies have been implemented and are considered important to the agency. We use interviews with 4,000 Florida citizens to determine which law enforcement agency they most closely identify with. This link of individual citizen with a particular agency is the basis of a HLM analyses which examines which practices and policies are most influential in individual’s attitudes and perceptions. We do the estimates separately for agencies of different size and in places wiht different levels of crime.
The Impact of Different Forms of Knowledge in Attitudes to Sentencing
Pevious research in the United Kingdom and other countries has found that public knowledge of crime and sentencing is poor, with widely held views that sentencing is more lenient than is the case. This associated with punitive attitudes and lack of confidence in the criminal justice system. This paper will report the findings of a project that was commissioned by the Home Office to explore how information can be disseminated and what effects this can have on confidence and attitudes towards crime and sentencing. A large survey exploring attitudes to sentencing and sentencing purposes was carried out (n-1022). Groups of the participants in the survey were then exposed to information about crime and sentencing via either a booklet, video, or attending a seminar. Respondents were then re-interviewed and change in attitudes and reactions to the types of media explored. This paper will discuss the impact of knowledge on attitudes, the differeing effects of the different media types, and the reception to them. It will draw conclusions about how information can best be used to inform the public and reduce punitiveness.
The Impact of First Juvenile Arrests on School Attendance and Performance
Juvenile justice intervention may fail in its mission to rehabilitate youth if it hinders their attendance and performance in school. Labeling, defiance, and social capital theories and the spread of exclusionary school policies each portend such effects, especially for first arrests. A staggered replication design will assess the impact of the first arrests between 1992 and 1999 of 517 youth black and Latino youth who were enrolled in seventh (n=95), eighth (n=154), ninth (n=178) or tenth (n=90) grades when they were arrested. The subsequent educational performance of first-time arrestees from each grade seven through nine will be compared, separately, to that of youth from the same grade who are first arrested during the subsequent grade. Propensity score methods control for remaining selection differences such as involvement in delinquency and neighborhood differences. Hierarchical models (that account for school or neighborhood clustering) of changes in test scores, in GPA, credits, and truancy as well as the odds of dropping out and grade retention will be computed for appropriate grades. The findings will suggest individual and social factors as well as educational (e.g. alternative school enrollment) and juvenile justice inputs (days in pre-trial detention) that shape educational outcomes for juvenile offenders.
The Impact of Gender Inequality on Rape Rates in U.S. Cities: A Racially Disaggregated Analysis
While most criminological theories predict that general economic inequality and racial inequality should produce higher rape rates, there is little consensus among theories as to the direction of the effect of gender inequality. According to the feminist perspective, both gender inequality and gender equality could increase rape rates, the former increasing the structural disadvantage of women, and the latter representing a “backlash” effect. In addition, rape is known to be primarily an intraracial crime, but the impact of race-specific gender inequality has never been tested. In order to fill the gap left by previous research, the present study measures the impact of race-specific gender inequality, measured along economic, educational, and occupational dimensions, on race-specific rape rates using city-level data from 1990.
The Impact of Medical Resources Upon Criminally Induced Lethality: A Cross-National Assessment
There is some indication that the differential distribution of medical resources affects the production of homicide rates. Proponents suggest that timely and appropriate medical intervention can influence patient survival which, in turn, determines whether the authorities classify the event as a homicide or a battery. Previous empirical examinations of this linkage suffer from imprecise operationalizations and limited generalizability. As a result, the current study assesses the viability of this perspective with cross-national data.
The Impact of Multiple Transitions on Delinquency and Substance Use Among Native American Adolescents
The impact of positive and negative life-event changes on child well-being should be considered in the context of normative transitions in the life course. This paper investigates the relationship between transitions and behavioral adjustment in 220 Native American 5th-8th graders (M=12-year-old, range = 9-16-years-old) from three reservations in the upper Midwest. Specifically, we looked at the influence of multiple changes in the adolescent’s environment, including residential moves, school moves, having a close relative die, starting to date, and having a close friend move away, on participation in delinquent behaviors and use of substances. Multivariate regression models showed that girls use more drugs than boys and that peer changes (starting to date and having a friend move away) significantly increase delinquency and drug use. Family instability, family structure, and an index of the total number of changes experienced were also significant predictors of higher levels of both problem behaviors. Attending a reservation school reduced the number of drugs used but did not have a similar protective effect on delinquent behavior.
The Impact of NIBRS on the Quality of Homicide Data
This paper will compare homicide data reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting System using the Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) format with that reported using the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) format to judge the impact NIBRS reporting has on the nature and quality of homicide data.
The Impact of Population Caps on Community Policing
In a 1982 Atlantic Monthly article, James Q. Wilson and George Kelling introduced the concepts of “broken windows” and community policing. These concepts posit that if petty crimes and acts of delinquency (such as graffiti or vandalized windows) are not addressed, they will develop into larger, more serious criminal behaviors. Put in other terms, a neighbohood left unkept portrays an uncaring attitude–an attitude which leads to the erosion of the neighborhood, and thus toward greater crime. These concepts, then, were a burgeoning philosophical response to the issue of rising crime rates. We test the broken windows hypothesis using the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) database for the 3,141 counties located in the U.S. The UCR data is merged with the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) National Survey of Jails database, which contains information on court-ordered jail population caps. The analysis covers the period of 1977 through 1992. We then examine the impact of court orders on the arrest rates for petty crimes. Using court orders as our instrument for the severity of punishment for petty crimes, we estimate the impact of a court order on UCR index crimes, and thus, indirectly, the impact on the strategy of community policing.
The Impact of Pre-Dispositional Detention on Subsequent Case Processing Outcomes of Violent Youths in Juvenile and Adult Court
Past research suggests that the pre-dispositional detention of juvenile offenders produces significant adverse consequences on case processing outcomes. Using data pertaining to 557 violent youthful offenders from Pennsylvania, this study will further examine the impact of pre-dispositional detention on the subsequent case processing of both the 419 youths who were retained in juvenile, court and the 138 offenders who were transferred to adult court. Quantative analyses will focus on whether pre-dispositional detention increases the likelihood of conviction, the likelihood of incarceration, and the length of incarceration, while controlling for a variety of legal and social factors. Separate models will be utilized to consider if different factors play a greater or lesser role in juvenile versus adult court.
The Impact of Sentencing Reform on the Trends and Nature of Probation Revocations Throughout the United States
The United States prison population began to increase rapidly in the early 1970s. While research has failed to show that demographic changes or crime rates have strong influences on the growth of the prison population, factors like the ‘get tough’ sentencing reforms are attributed as the critical reason. Many of these reforms included increasing probation supervision, increasing the certainty of probation revocation, and increasing the severity of sanctions after a revocation. Many have speculated and some have shown in a number of states that these changes account for a sizable percent of the overall increases in the prison population. This paper will present an analysis of the 1983 through 1998 National Correctional Reporting Program Admission databases using HLM to assess in a growth-curve format the impact of changes in sentencing structures on the trends and the nature of probation revocation across the entire United States. The paper will then test whether the changes in the revocation practices have impacted the overall prison population, and whether this impact varies by legal and social characteristics of the states.
The Impact of Structural Variables on Juvenile Crime: Does Gender Matter?
This paper examines whether the impact of structural factors varies by gender. I will examine the effects of unemployment and underemployment along with other structural variables (o/o poverty, o/o black, income inequality, o/o female headed households) on male and female juvenile arrest rates for index crimes at the aggregatre, SMSA level. The majority of the literature in this area examines total crime rates, which are heavily weighted by male rates. Very little research exists that examines whether structural variables are similarly related to female offending. UCR arrest rates for index crimes for juvenile females will be compared to rates for juvenile males at the SMSA level. Census Bureau estimates will be used to estimate the inpact of structural variables.
The Impact of Violence on Neighborhood Business Activity
The proposed research will investigate the impact of violence on non-victims. We will combine geo-coded homicide data from five cities over ten years with a longitudinal data set containing all business establishments in these cities to determine whether localized surges in homicide activity have an impact on neighborhood busiess districts. If, after controlling for prior trends in business activity, homicide surges are followed by closings of retail and personal services business establishments, this will provide evidence that non-victims such as customers and employees are changing their behavior and thereby incurring a cost from increases in violence.
The Imposition and Effects of Restitution in Four Pennsylvania Counties
A sentence of restitution attempts to return victims to their pre-crime state and to make offenders aware of and responsible for correcting the harm they caused. Using data from court and probation records from four Pennsylvania counties (Centre, Blair, Dauphin, and Erie) from the years 1994 and 1996, the present research examines (a) factors related to judges’ imposition of restitution, (b) factors relating to offenders’ likelihood of paying the ordered restitution, and (c) the effect of restitution payment on recidivism. In addition, the study also examines the effects of a 1995 statutory change that made restitution mandatory in Pennsylvania regardless of offenders’ ability to pay.
The Incidence of Repeat Victimization for Commercial Burglary and Robbbery
Non-residential crime is an understudied phenomenon. Commercial burglaries account for approximately 7 percent of all reported crime while commercial robberies account for up to 60 percent of robberies in large cities. A large proportion of commercial burglaries and robberies occur at addresses which are repeatedly victimized. This paper examines commercial burglaries and robberies in four large jurisdictions, identifying the prevalence of multiple victimization by type of business. In addition, the paper examines implications of repeat victimization for police policy and practice.
The Influence of Parents of Children’s Delinquency: An Examination of Neutralization Theory
The innfluence of parents on the juvenile delinquency of their children was examined through Neutralization theory. University students and their parents completed questionnaires concerning the extent to which they endorsed moral absolute, situational ethic, and neutralization norms concerning 13 illegal behaviors (N=431) parent/child pairs). Results indicated little agreement between parent and child on normative endorsement. Among those with agreement, however, accepting neutralizations related to reporting more delinquency. As parents tended to make exceptions to moral absolutes, their youngsters also tended to make exceptions, although not usually the same exceptions, to justify the delinqueent acts they reported committing.
The Influence of Race/Ethnicity on the Development of Negative Adult Consequences of Childhood Victimization: Violence, Depression, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Recent literature has suggested that there may be differences between African-Americans and Whites in terms of the predictors of violence and/or risk and protective factors. This research examines the influence of race and/or ethnicity on the developmental, social, and environmental processes that contribute to the development of three negative adult outcomes typically associated with a history of childhood abuse and/or neglect; violence, depression, and generalized anxiety disorder. The data are based on a prospective cohorts design, using court substantiated cases of physical and sexual abuse and neglect from the years 1967 to 1971 were matched on the basis of race, sex, age and approximate family social class to a group of non-abused and non-neglected individuals and followed up into young adulthood. In-person interviews were conducted durng the years 1989-1995 (N=l,196). Multivariate statistical analyses will be used as well as descriptive statistics. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed.
The Influence of Stereotypes on Vocational Programming for Women Inmates
Within Western cultures, women have been stereotyped into dichotomized images of “good” or “bad”. They have also been stereotyped as having limitations or negative traits due to their gender. Several criminologists have argued that these cultural stereotypes of women have been reflected and perpetuated by the criminal justice system as well. In this vein, the criminal justice system is a system of social control. If the criminal justice system is an agent of social control, and stereotypes have permeated the criminal justice system, then to what extent are stereotypes a form of social control over female inmates? This paper explores how these stereotypes can influence women in the criminal justice system. The discussion specifically focuses on how these stereotypes can influence the types of vocational programs offered to women prisoners.
The Institutional Context of Substance-Abuse Treatment Programs and Treatment Outcomes: Results From the Federal TRIAD Study
Until fairly recently, evaluations of multi-site substance abuse treatment programs based their conclusions on the predictors of program outcomes using data aggregated across units of treatment delivery. Little attention has been paid in the prior research to more systematically separate the effects of individual characteristics and treatment environment on treatment outcomes. This study investigates whether there are differences between sites in treatment effectiveness after controlling for differences in individual characteristics of participants. Effectiveness is measured by post-release arrests and detected drug use three years after release. The present study uses data from the TRIADD Drug Treatment Evaluation Project, a comprehensive evaluation of the Drug Abuse Program (DAP) delivered in 20 sites within the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The sample contains approximately 950 subjects who participated in drug treatment at low, minimum, and medium security level institutions from 1992-1997. Predictors include individual characteristics (eg., demographics, substance use history, psychiatric diagnoses, program completion status, and aftercare services received). In order to test for variations in treatment outcomes by institution, we use event history allowing for random effects.
The International Court of Justice and the Control of State Crime
The International Court of Justice may be a significant achievement in the control of state crime. However its creation is a product of politics. The most powerful states are using their influence to reduce its power over their actions. The paper discusses the power of the court; jurisdiction, members, and procedure and describes some of the attempts to lessen its power and authority. Lastly, the paper briefly describes is potential for the control of state violence.
The Issue of Social Justice in Indian Country
The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and Elouise Cobell, a Blackfoot Indian banker, filed suit against the United States government, notably the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and U.S. Department of the Treasury, for the mismanagement and loss of some 10 billions of dollars of Indian trust monies relevant to the leasing of Indian lands to non-Indians for the purpose of grazing, logging, mining and oil drilling. Corruption and exploitation were presented as the main reason for this breach of trust and the resulting harm it has done to Indian people for more than a century. John Echohawk, spokesperson for NARF, noted: “The Bureau of Indian Affairs has spent more than 100 years mismanaging, diverting and losing money that belongs to Indians”. This paper looks at this phenomenon and the on-going legal battle.
The Justifiable Homicide Ratio as a Measure of Violent Cultural Orientation
Williams and Flewelling proposed the use of the ratio of the number of justifiable homicides to murders and nonnegligent manslaughters as a measure of violent cultural orientation or, at least, the extent to which official justification of intentional killing expresses the cultural approval of violence. This paper presents an assessment of the validity of the justifiable homicide ratio as a measure of violent cultural orientation.
The Juvenile Defense Attorney: Friend or Foe
The findings of research examining the influence of defense attorneys in juvenile court are inconsistent. Some studies focusing on juvenile court outcomes find that youth represented by private attorneys are more likely than those represented by public defenders to have their cases dismissed and are less likely to be placed in secure confinement following adjudication. In addition, youth appearing with counsel receive more severe outcomes than those appearing without counsel. This study is an expansion of previous research that examined the influence of defense attorneys on juvenile court outcomes. This study utilizes the “formal rationality”, “bounded rationality”, “focal concerns”, ande “attributional” theories of sentencing to assess the interaction of race and type of legal counsel on juvenile court outcomes.
The Lack of Specialization of Homicide Offenders
Past popular and scholarly conceptions of homicide offenders view them as distinct and more specialized than other types of offenders. Control theory suggests that homicide offenders have criminal records that are versatile in the types of offenses committed, but that they tend to have lower recidivism rates because they spend more time incarcerated. This study examines offense versatility and the victim-offender relationship of a sample of incarcerated and convicted homicide offenders (N=122) and compares their past criminal records with 219 incarcerated and convicted non-homicide violent offenders. The results indicate that homicide offenders have criminal records that are comparable to other violent offenders. Lastly, homicide offenders with a relationship to the victim are as versatile in their rap sheets as are stranger offenders. The implications of the results for theory, research, and legal treatment of homicide offenders are discussed.
The Latent Structure of Offending in Adolescence
The possibility of qualitatively distinct types of deviance remains a controversial issue in contemporary criminology, in part because it suggests multiple forms of deviance, each with a potentially different etiology. Using data from wave one of the National Youth Survey, this work revisits the issue by identifying the latent structure of deviance in adolescence using latent class analysis. The results indicate that adolescent delinquency has four latent classes. Furthermore, this research identifies factors that differentially predict particular forms of deviance. The analysis offers insight to parental and respondent factors indicative of more serious delinquency in adolescence. Implications for criminololgical theory and future research are discussed.
The Limits and Potential of Restorative Justice Decision-Making: Preliminary Findings From Case Studies in a National Study of Conferencing in Juvenile Justice
Restorative decision-making, models–including family group conferencing, reparative boards. victim-offender dialogue and peacemaking circles–have emerged in the past five years as popular alternatives to adversarial procedures in juvenile courts. Using a variety of qualitative data from two intensive case studies in two states currently implementing a wide array of these programs, as well as interview and focus group data from six states implementing one or more of these practices, this paper examines the “restorativeness” of restorative justice conferencing and considers its community-building potential. Restorativeness is assessed using a principle-based model for qualitative evaluation of conferencing based on the normative theory of restorative justice centered on repair, stakeholder involvement, and transformation of the community/government role and relationship. The more difficult question of community-building is examined at the micro level based on program vision and practice directed at strengthening capacity for sustained responses to youth crime and conflict in informal community settings. Implications for various models of conferencing and prospects for future implementation are presented.
The Limits and Potential of Restorative Justice Decision-Making: Preliminary Findings From Case Studies in a National Study of Conferencing in Juvenile Justice
Restorative decision-making models–including family group conferencing, reparative boards, victim-offender dialogue and peacemaking circles–have emerged in the past five years as popular alternatives to adversarial procedures in juvenile courts. Using a variety of qualitative data from two intensive case studies in two states currently implementing a wide array of these programs, as well as interview and focus group data from six states implementing one or more of these practices, this paper examines the “restorativeness” of restorative justice conferencing and considers its community-building potential. Restorativeness is assessed using a principle-based model for qualitative evaluation of conferencing based on the normative theory of restorative justice centered on repair, stakeholder involvement, and transformation of the community/government role and relationship. The more difficult question of community-building is examined at the micro level based on program vision and practice directed at strengthening capacity for sustained responses to youth crime and conflict in informal community settings. Implications for various models of conferencing and prospects for future implementation are presented.
The Link Between Mandatory Arrest and Community Involvement in Reducing Domestic Violence Recidivism
Policies advocating mandatory arrest of domestic violence offenders continue to create controversy among police, domestic violence advocates, and researchers. Because field experiments testng the efficacy of mandatory arrest policies seem to suggest that such policies may not work well with certain offenders, some have suggested limiting or changing these policies. However, few rigorous studies have examined whether it is offender characteristics or other factors, such as a lack of informal social controls and coordinated responses to domestic violence, that leads to the failure of mandatory arrest policies. This study uses survival analysis of 531 cases of men arrested for domestic violence offenses over a two-year period, comparing the recidivism rates for those who were arrested with those who were arrested and were exposed to community-level and individual-level interventions. The results of the analysis revealed that the community-level variable, though less specific in its target of intervention, had a significant influence on reduced recidivism when used in conjunction with arrest.
The Link Between Parental Attachment, Monitoring, Delinquent Peers and Delinquent Behavior: A Causal Examination
The link between parental factors, delinquent peers and delinquent behavior is a well-discussed topic within modern criminology. This work builds upon the 1993 article “Parents, Peers, and Delinquency” by Mark Warr. The purpose of the paper is to further investigate the findings reported by Warr and supplement them with an examination of the conditioning effects of parental monitoring. In additional, this paper will go one step further into the causal process regarding attachment to parents and monitoring to provide a causal explanation of their effects on delinquent peers and delinquent behavior. Using cross-sectional data from a near complete census of 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students in Montana public schools during the 1997-1998 academic year, structural equation modeling is used to evaluate the accuracy of competing approaches in order to further investigate the causal relationship among these factors. Empirical support for the model is presented, and implications for the findings are discussed.
The Link Between Routine Activities and Offending in Different Community Contexts
This paper explores the link between a wide range of routine leisure activities and involvement in violence through the analysis of monthly patterns of behavior for a sample of 717 incarcerated male offenders. Patterns are compared across rural and urban contexts and for neighborhoods with varying degrees of safety.
The Littlest Victims: An Examination of the Tragic Impact of Violence and Drug Abuse on Pregnant Women and Their Children
This presentation will address the far-reaching ramifications of the recent finding in the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health (Feb. 20, 2001) that homicide is the number one cause of death for pregnant women. Intimate partner violence, drug abuse and the drug abuse-maternal aggression link will be examined as factors placing unborn and infant children at high risk for physical harm, developmental delay and future violence. A review of nursing research directed at identification and remediation of these issues and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists guidelines for perinatal screening and interventrion will be presented.
The Mafia and the Building Trades: The Current Problem of Case Abusive in Sicily
Among the more unusual Mafia endeavors today in southern Italy is the ongoing problem of case abusive, or abusive houses. Since the end of World War II, the illegal construction of houses has become epidemic throughout the Mezzogiorno. Most authorities believe that the Mafia is behind the construction, which is used to launder money from the drug trade. The author of this paper will examine this phenomenon, using Mafia involvement in the building trades as a historical backdrop. On a recent visit to Sicily the author visited the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento and was present when the first demolition of abusive housing began in January 2001. Although the government in Rome has promised to eradicate this problem since the 1960’s, it has not been until rather recently that any action has been taken. This paper will examine the role of the Mafia in the building trades in both America and Sicily during the second half of the twentieth century.
The Marijuana Crackdown in Maryland: Who’s Getting Caught and the Consequences
During the 1990’s various police agencies throughout the United Stataes launched a crackdown on marijuana offenses. In Maryland “zero tolerance” approaches to marijuana are often touted as strategies to curb serious crime, drugs, and/or disorder in urban neighborhoods. This paper focuses on three Maryland counties that experienced a surge in marijuana possession arrests. More specifically, the present research investigates the extent to which marijuana arrests durng the crackdown tageted offenders who are likely to be a source of crime and disorder in neighborhoods. A combination of arrest and court records provide recent criminal histories of arrestees. Additional relevant information for various sub-populations includes the weight of marijuana confiscated from, and the circumstances leading to marijuana possession arrests. This data, together with information from Maryland jails and drug treatment centers, suggest that a disproportionate share of the costs of the marijuana crackdown fall on petty, and minority offenders.
The Measurement of Family Conflict and Its Effect on Adolescent Antisocial Behavior
This paper will examine the independent effects of several measures of family conflict (e.g., conflict between parent and child or parent and partner) on adolescent antisocial behaviors. In addition, a family conflict index will be created and its predictive power compared to the independent measures. It is hypothesized that an index of these various measures would enhance predictive power and eliminate the need for separate measures of family conflict. Creating an index will not only enable multiple dimensions of family conflict to be captured, but it will produce a more reliable measure. Data from the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS) will be used. RYDS is a longitudinal study of urban youth at high risk for serious delinquency and drug use. The hypothesis will be tested longitudinally, controlling for relevant variables, such as parent SES, gender and family structure.
The Missing Link: Community Context, Individual Characteristics, Individual Routines and Juvenile Delinquency
Our lack of kinowledge of the link between youth routines in different community contexts and risk of offending and victimisation may be described as a “black hole” in criminological research. A greater understanding on how youth routines in different neighbourhood contexts relates to the characteristics of their neighbourhood context, and to their individual characteristics, may have important implications for theory and research development in this area, and also for the development of more effective crime prevention strategies, particularly in more disadvantaged neighbourhoods, where we so far have had little success with crime prevention initiaives. This paper presents some key findings from a study designed to further our knowledge about the role of individual routines for juvenile delinquency in different community contexts and for different groups of juveniles by their individual characteristics. A questionnaire was distributed to about 2000 14 years old subjects in the city of Peterborough (UK), of whom about 400 (randomly selected) also was subjected to an in-depth interview about their (last-week) routines using a time-budget approach.
The Monetary Costs to Society of Male Juvenile Offending in an Urban Setting
The monetary costs of juvenile offending are wide ranging. There are tangible costs to victims, such as replacing stolen goods and repairing damage, and intangible costs such as pain, suffering, and lost quality of life. There are costs to the government or taxpayer for police, courts, prisons, crime prevention activities, and so on. There are also costs to offenders, for example, those associated with personal victimization. Prior studies have been based on officially identified offenders rather than the much larger population of offenders as evident from juvenile offending in an urban setting. The sample comprises the youngest cohort of boys in the Pittsburgh Youth Study. Using self-reports of offending, estimates are produced on the monetary costs to society of male juvenile offending by this cohort. Key issues investigated include: the level of resources expended by the juvenile justice system to process offenders; the monetary costs of tangible and intangible losses to crime victims; and the monetary burden of crime imposed by different categories of offenders (i.e., early versus late onset).
The New Culture of Crime Control
Drawing upon US and UK materials, this paper describes how the field of crime control and criminal justice has been transformed in the last 25 years. It suggests that this transformation – itself an adaptation to broader economic, social and cultural changes – is less a matter of structural than of cultural change. Although the institutional structures of crime control and criminal justice have been transformed in important respects, the most significant change is at the level of the cultural commitments and sensibilities that enliven these structures, orders their use and shapes their meaning. The paper will describe that new culture of control, and specifically its three central elements: (i) a re-coded penal-welfarism (ii) a criminology of control (iii) an economic style of reasoning.
The New South African Police Service: A Study in Change
Countless well-meaning people have made recommendations as to what the police should do to improve. Sometimes it is not a matter of knowing what to do so much as a matter of how to bring about that desired change in the police. The South African police force had a history and reputation as being among the most oppressive and brutal in the world. Since South Africa’s first all-races democratic elections in 1994, the official end of apartheid that same year, and the South African Police Act of 1995 the new South African Police Service (SAPS) has become a model for police scholars interested in how police can and do affect change. This paper describes the SAPS, and some of the many sweeping changes, mostly positive, the SAPS struggles to incorporate in order to better serve South Africa, a country in transition and an emerging democracy.
The Ontario Rural Women Abuse Study
The purpose of the ORWAS project was twofold: First, to obtain a better understanding of the unique challenges confronting rural women experiencing domestic violence; and second, to identify the most appropriate supports and interventions that were effective for rural women living with abuse, with the hope to facilitate constructive community discussion or action around the issue. Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were employed. Community researchers conducted interviews in six sites with survivors of woman abuse, and held focus groups with community residents, service providers and community leaders. The ORWAS project represents a unique type of research methodology, “Research through Empowerment”. In addition, the words and experiences of the survivors were central to the research method, findings and final reports. Six key findings distinguished woman abuse in rural areas from woman abuse generally: Geography, Rural ethics and character, Community complacency, Limited access to services and information; Lack of anonymity, and Safety issues. The complexity of rural areas indicates that responses to urban abuse require a rural-specific lens. The significance of the contribution of ORWAS to the literature on domestic violence in rural settings lies in the objectives of the project, the preferred methods and the feminist perspective.
The Origins and Developent of the Concept of State-Corporate Crime
The concept of state-corporate crime has been advanced to draw attention to the fact that corporations and government agencies can act together to produce serious criminal behavior. The concept was created by Kramer and Michalowski in 1990 out of their ongoing research into organizational crime. They define state-corporate crime as criminal acts that occur when one or more institutions of political governance pursue a goal in direct cooperation with one or more institutions of economic production and distribution. The creation of this concept has directed attention to a neglected form of organizational crime and inspired numerous empirical case studies and theoretical refinements.
The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant: A Case Study Into State Corporate Crime
Between 1953 and 1976, approximately 103,000 metric tons of irradiated uranium was processed at the Paducah Gaseous plant in Paducah, Kentucky. The plant was only designed to handle low levels of uranium, therefore exposing unsuspecting workers to dangerous levels of radiation. During the cold war, radioactive and toxic materials were secretly processed in private and government owned companies throughout the United States for the nuclear weapons program. This paper, using one of those companies, will present a case study into state initiated corporate crime. How the story was discovered, the impact on the workers and the community, the ongoing legal and medical issues, and how this case ties in with the larger picture nationally will be some of the topics addressed. This study will make an important contribution to the growing awareness of the role of the state in corporate crime and deviance.
The Pattern of Relationships Between the Effects of Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention on the Recidivism of Offenders and the Effects in Other Outcome Domains
Research reviews and mata-analyses have often identified cognitive-behavioral programs among those most effective for reducing the recidivism of offenders. This paper presents the results of a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of such programs for juvenile and adult offenders. The analysis examines a range of outcome variables extending beyond recidivism, including academic and vocational achievement, psychological variables, and social skills. This study assesses the impact of cognitive-behavioral interventions on these outcomes and identifies the pattern of relationships between recidivism effects and changes in these other outcome domains.
The Person in Context: The Effect of Early Onset Criminality on Conflict Scenario Responses
This paper examines the utility of typology of offender theories (e.g., Moffitt, 1993; Patterson et al., 1989) in the study of violent situations. The purpose of this research is to examine what salient diferences exist between individuals whose onset of criminal behavior is early (as opposed to late) with regard to their responses to a variety of conflict scenarios. In doing so, this study expands on previous violence research by exploring important individual- and situational-level factors that might influence a subject’s responses. The data used for this paper were collected from over 700 male inmates. An early onset measurement was constructed based upon each subject’s accounts of their age at first involvement in crime and their age at first arrest. Subject’s were presented with 12 hypothetical conflict scenarios and asked to rate both how angry the scenario made them and what they would do if actually in the situation. For each scenario important situational factors (i.e., presence of others, relationship) were coded. Hierarchial linear modeling was used in the analysis. Preliminary results suggest that subjects with an earlier onset chose more violent responses to the scenarios that those with a later onset.
The Prevalence and Characteristics of Youth Gangs in Schools
Two databases are used to examine the prevalence and characteristics of youth gangs in schools in the United States. The 2000 National Youth Gang Survey included questions regarding law enforcement’s perceptions of youth gangs in schools, including gang presence in elementary, intermediate, and high schools, and a measure of how much illegal activity in these schools involves gang members. The 1989, 1995, and 1999 School Crime Supplements to the National Crime Victim Survey (NCVS) included questions regarding the prevalence and characteristics of youth gangs in schools. This paper compares and contrasts law enforcrement and student perceptions of youth gangs in schools using data from the two surveys.
The Prison Novel: A Case for Literary Analysis in Criminology
The quest for understanding in the field of criminology has historically been an interdisciplinary endeavor. In recent years, this interdisciplinary dialogue has shifted towards, for example, biology, biochemistry, and psychology. Despite this welcome interdisciplinary contribution, criminology has failed to create a meaningful dialogue with a major intellectual field: literature. There are various reasons for this but it most likely stems from the modern aim to “scientize, systematize, and professionalize”–aims that necessarily draw criminology towards the sciences rather than the arts. The paper makes a case for literary analysis in criminology and, specifically, calls for the qualitative analysis of the prison novel. Three main reasons are posited. First, conceptualized as an instance of case study and life history, the prison novel provides a subjective and descriptive understanding of prison life that complements current quantitative studies. Second, the study of the prison novel fosters a much-needed humanism in the field. Finally, this study also helps establish a new epistemology that can inform penal inquiry and penal reform. The paper also examines two problematic issues of literary analysis–veracity and interpretation—suggesting that these can be addressed by relying on the study of hemeneutics and test analysis.
The Problems of Caring for Pregnant Prisoners
The effect of incarceration on pregnancy and the needs of pregnant inmates are a growing concern with the increase in the population of incarcerated females. Some argue that incarceration has a negative impact on pregnant inmates and their fetuses, while others argue that inmates may receive better pre-natal care, nutrition, and housing than if they remained on the streets during their pregnancy. While pregnant inmates theoretically are not currently exposed to alcohol, illicit drugs, physical and sexual abuse, and unhealthy living conditions, possible past exposure must be addressed. This review of the literature explores the special health care, case management, nutritional, and mental health needs of pregnant prisoners.
The Professional Orientation and Perceived Needs of Texas Parole Officers
Data from 559 officers is used to examine the relationship between officer’s traits, work situation and perceived needs. The results show an overwhelming desire for more treatment resources that challenge some established typologies of community supervision officers. Trends in officer activity are also reviewed in the context if evolving agency policies. Placed in a context of attempts to rapidly and radically privatize mental health and substance abuse service in Texas, the interpretation of the data is of heuristic interest to national corrections planning.
The Prosecution and Punishment of International Terrorists Under Federal Statutues
This paper examines patterns of prosecution and punishment of International terrorists convicted under federal law since 1980. These changes are noted in light of significant shifts in investigatory authority, prosecutorial focus, and punishment strategies during this period. Domestic terrorists convicted under federal law during this period provides a “comparison group.” Data were compiled from Smith’s study of 1980s terrorist groups and supplemented with 1990s data from NIJ’s and the Oklahoma City National MIPT’s “American Terrorism Study.” Statistical results provided include: a comparison of the types of federal charges against domestic and international terrorists; success rates for types of charges and strategies; a comparison of international terrorists convicted as a result of the 1987 “extra-territorial jurisdiction act” with those arrested in the United States; and analyses of sentencing severity for this class of offenders.
The Regional Subculture of Violence Revisited: Further Specification to the Context of Homicide
There has been a substantial body of literature attempting to address the historically higher rates of homicide found in the South compared to other regions in the United States. This has led some to conclude that higher Southern homicide rates may be influenced by cultural differences in that region– more specifically, that Southern culture may provide greater normative support for violence in upholding values such as honor, courage, and manliness. However, many studies exploring regional differences in homicide have employed techniques which are not consistent with the Southern subculture thesis, such as failing to disaggregate specific types of homicide, or making use of inappropriate units of aggregation. The present study examines regional patterns in hoimicide at the county level using disaggregated homicide counts based upon race, gender, and the context of the lethal encounter, focusing in particular on white male-on-male argument-based homicides. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the study of regional differences in homicide.
The Rehtoric of Hackers’ Justifications
Hacking is a widely spread international phenomenon. Every now and than hackers’ actions reach the media headlines. Researching the hacking phenomenon encompass the interesting relationship between new technology, identity and deviance. This study was designed to explore hackers’ accounts. Understanding the concept of accounts in itself is important, because it enables us to comprehend how people view themselves in their cultural context. The study was based on unstructured, in-depth, face to face interviews wih 54 different kind of Israeli hackers, who were asked to tell their life stories. The interviewees were located by “snowball” or chain referral”, sampling strategy. Studying the personal accounts given by computer hackers to explain their deviant behavior can teach us more than simply the justifications that hackers use in order to structure a coherent and positive image of themselves. Their accounts also reflect the cultural milieu in which these justifications develop and are accepted as valid explanations of behaviors. Hackers do not live in a vacuum. They reside in and take part in mainstream society, accepting its normative values and operating within them, as it was seen from their unique accounts.
The Relation Among Substance Abuse, Comorbid Psychopathology, and Reported Violence in a Multiethnic Sample
This study investigated the relation among substance abuse/dependence, comorbid psychopathology, and violence among Puerto Ricans and African Americans living in urban areas of New Haven (CT). Participants were recruited either from clinic sources (outpatient substance/mental health facilities) or households within neighborhoods inhabited by clinic-recruited subjects. A total of 313 Puerto Rican and 116 African American adults were interviewed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview to producer psychiatric diagnoses according to DSM-IV criteria. Six types of self-reported violence (partner violence, partner victimization, stranger violence, witness to violence, sexual violence, and threat of violence) were ascertained from various questionnaires. Results indicate that, for both the Puerto Rican and African American samples, individuals with substance abuse/dependence reported elevated rates of both intra- and extra-familial violence, and were more likely to meet criteria for several psychiatric disorders, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder and antisocial personality disorder. Logistic analyses indicated that individuals with substance abuse/dependence, compared to those without, were at significantly greater risk of violence, even after adjusting for psychiatric comorbidity and demographic indicators. Findings underscore a link between substance abuse/dependence and violence that is not explained by co-occurring psychiatric disorders. The current study is the first to demonstrate this relation among ethnic minorities.
The Relationship Between Child Abuse and Adolescent Substance Use and Abuse
The last few decades have seen increased research in the area of child abuse, its causes, and its consequences. Studies have emerged that have centered on how child victimization is connected to deviant behavior in juveniles or juvenile delinquency. Recently, there is literature coming forth about the effect of child abuse on a certrain type of delinquency: adolescent substance use and abuse. These studies usually do not consider all aspects of this relationship such as whether or not it varies across and within certain groups. Using the 1995 National Survey of Adolescents, this study will analyze the connection between child abuse and adolescent substance use and abuse within racial groups or across several race/gender combinations such as Black male and White female.
The Relationship Between Domestic Violence Case Disposition and Women’s Long-Term Safety
Relatively little scholarly work has focused on battered women’s experiences with the criminal prosecution of their assailants. However, as jurisdictions take steps to increase the number of criminal prosecutions in woman-battering cases, the impact of different prosecution outcomes (e.g., conviction, dismissal) on women’s long-term safety must be examined. Such an examination is necessary to develop policies which will hold assailants accountable and increase women’s safety. Women recruited from three different jurisdictions in the United States were interviewed shortly after an intimate partner violence case closed and again one year later. This paper will examine the long-term effects of different prosecution outcomes on subsequent violence. Implications for improving the criminal legal system response to intimate partner violence cases will be discussed.
The Relationship Between Drugs and Violence Among Detained Youth
This paper explores the relationship between alcohol and other drugs and violence among a samp;le of 200 detained youth in the greater Philadelphia area. Youth between the ages of 14 and 17 were recruited from a random sample of juvenile detention centers in the Philadelphia area. Half the sample was male and half female. Using a structured questionnaire, youth were asked about their participation in up to 3 violent incidents in the past year–either as the perpetrator or as the victim. They were questioned about how drug use and/or drug dealing were related to the violent incident. Youth were also questioned about the involvement of weapons in the violent incidents. Using Goldstein’s tripartite framework, the analyses suggest that pyschopharmacological violence is the most prominent type of drug related violence among this subpopulation of youth. Although about a quarter of the sample (primarily males) reported they were involved in drug selling, and they frequently armed themselves with weapons when conducting drug business, coparatively little violence was reported while selling drugs. Few reported ever using a weapon while conducting drug business. Based on the youth’s self-report, marijuana was the drug most likely to be involved in violent incidents, but it was also the drug that was most frequently used by youth. The relationship between marijuana and violence, as well as between other specific drugs and violence, will be further explored using logistic regression analyses. Analyses will also focus on gender differences.
The Relationship Between Victimization and Offending in Juveniles
This study examined the relationships between offending and violent victimization across a two-year period using data from juveniles who participated in the Adolescent Health Study. Specifically, the study used cross-lag logistic regression techniques to examine how offending and violent victimization relate over time, whether the relationships between offending and violent victimization vary depending on the type of offending (e.g., property versus violent offending), and what factors might explain the relationships between violent victimization and offending. Results indicated that, controlling for other known risk fators, violent victimization in Year 1 predicted violent offending in Year 2 and that, violent offending in Year 1 predicted violent victimization in Year 2. In general, juveniles were at greater risk of both violent victimization and violent offending if they reported using drugs, alcohol, or tobacco, if they reported being depressed, and they were more physically mature. Overall, the results suggest that violent victimization can serve as a signal of heightened risk of violent offending and that protecting juveniles against violent victimization may reduce youth violence.
The Relationship of Juvenile Homicide Offense Characteristics to Post-Release Success: A Follow-Up Study
The escalation in juvenile homicide arrests beginning in the mid 1980s in the United States sparked national debate about how best to deal with juvenile murderers following their apprehension and conviction. Legislation was introduced in virtually all states to allow prosecutors and judges to take tougher measures with juveniles. In negotiating pleas and in sentencing young killers, prosecutors and judges typically focus on characteristics closely associated with the offense and its aftermath in their decision making process. Interestingly, deals are made and sentences are handed down in the absence of empirical data that these variables are related to post-release outcome. This study examines the relationship, if any, between variables closely associated with the homicidal event, including the offender’s intent or motive in committing the crime, specific characteristics of the crime, the nature and extent of victim injury, and the offender’s reaction afterwards to his behavior, among a sample of 43 juvenile homicide offenders who were released from adult prison. Data pertinent to the homicidal event were obtained from in depth interviews with sample subjects when they were serving time for one or more counts of murder, attempted murder, or in a few cases, of manslaughter.
The Relationship of Treatment Retention of Severely Mentally Ill Substance Abusing Individuals, in a Jail Diversion Program, to Insight, Level of Coercion and Type of Treatment Received
This presentation focuses on data obtained from a study of jail detainees dually diagnosed as severely and persistently mentally ill and substance abusing, that have either volunteered or been mandated by the court to community based treatment through a jail diversion program compared to those not diverted. The presentation will begin with a description of the participant’s demographics, baseline mental health, substance abuse and criminal justice service use, and level of insight and perceived coercion at the time of entrance to the study (N=230). Then data on differential changes in insight into mental health and substance abuse problems and treatment needs, and perceived coercion collected at three month and 12 month follow-up will be presented, along with type of diversion received (mandated versus not), type of treatment services received and criminal justice recidivism data. Discussion will focus on whether insight into one’s illness and treatment needs and perceived coercion contribute to successful one-year outcomes for this population, within the context of the treatment received (e.g., degree of integration and degree of coercive setting), the level of coercion of the diversion program and the presenting substance use and psychiatric disorders.
The Relative Effects of Age, Sex and Family Characteristics on Self-Control
Since its publication in 1990, Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime has been empirically tested with a variety of populations. As an independent variable predicting crime, delinquency, and a variety of analogous behaviors, the concept of self-control has performed well. What has not been studied as often is self-control as a dependent variable. This research seeks to further understand the predictors of self-control. Specifically we test the relative effects of the traditional correlates of crime (i.e., age, sex, race) and family variables such as attachment, supervision and parental deviance on self-control.
The Relative Impact of Self-Image on Academic Performance, School Disciplinary Problems and Delinquency
In explanations and tests of juvenile delinquency, schools often play a vital role. It has been suggested that measures of academic performance and intelligence can be used to predict involvement in delinquency. Schools also provide an atmosphere in which adolescents can learn delinquent behavior and have their delinquency rewarded by their peers. Additionally, the school setting has been identified as a possible source of strain as well as social control. Using a sample of adolescent students drawn from urban areas, this paper examines the relationship that the school setting and academic performance have on a student’s self-image. Self-image is then used to predict drug use and other official measures of delinquency as well as subsequent academic performance and disciplinary problems. The relative strength of this model is then compared to other competing theoretical explanations.
The Responsible Woman: Constructions of Female Offending in Rehabilitation Programmes
This paper explores constructions of female offending in professional accounts of women entering a residential programme, with particular focus on perceptions of their responsibility for crime. It finds that attributions of responsibility and blameworthiness vary according to the type and circumstances of the offence, its relational context and victim identity, a woman’s mental condition, and her own perception of her culpability. Implications for designing rehabilitative programmes which take account of these variations are considered.
The Rhetoric of Reintegration: A Discourse Analysis of Reparative Probation Practices
In fact, in “Conditions of Successful Reintegration Ceremonies,” Braithwaite and Mugford (1994) provide a succinct method for differentiating between shaming that is stigmatizing and shaming that is reintegrative: “A useful way of thinkng about ceremonies for dealing with rule breakers is in terms of the ratio of stigmatic to reintegrative meanings during the ceremony.” When that ratio is high, we have a degradation ceremony; when low, a reintegration ceremony” (p. 166). In a content analysis of 52 reparative probation conferences, the authors use this formula to determine what factors may fascilitate or impede the achievement of a reintegration ritual. Particular attention is paid to gendered theories of justice, parallels to cognitive therapy, and the role of apology.
The Road to Delinquency: Familial Discord as a Precursor to Juvenile Female Offending
In today’s rapidly evolving and growing criminal justice and corrections spheres, new insights are needed for specialized populations, especially women and girls. Past criminological research has concentrated largely on the delinquency patterns and needs of male offenders. Today, theoretical and practical concerns are shifting toward women and girls and their unique position in the criminological discussion. Despite the apparent increasing “feminization” of the justice system, decisions for programming and policy are still being made based on the male model of delinquency and crime. This research is based on Owen and Bloom’s profile assesssment of the needs and charactaristics of incarcerated young women in the California Youth Authority. Using OLS regression, it examines the relationships between certain measures of familial discord and an earlier onset of criminal offending. By analyzing girls’ pathways to delinquent behavior, perhaps policy makers and practitioners can more adequately address their unique needs, both before and during incarceration.
The Road to Reintegration: Practitioner Understandings and Experiences
Over the last two decades, individual-centered models of juvenile treatment have given way to reintegration-oriented models, shifting the focus from the adolescent to the larager context of the adolescent’s family and community. Despite this shift in orientation, many of the methods for achieving these goals remain the same (e.g., education or therapy targets at the adolescent.) Little is known about the processes involved in promoting positive family and community outcomes with young people in trouble. This paper describes the findings of an on-going research project designed to measure the processes and their connection to adolescent outcomes in two large-scale agencies serving the needs of delinquent youth and families in Upstate New York. This preliminary analysis includes the results of an open-ended survey and a series of focus groups and interviews involving 55 staff and administrative personnel at the two agencies, and detailing their beliefs about the most effective processes for achieving successful reintegration and family reunification. Comparative differences between line staff and administration are outlined, as are the discrepancies in the theoretical models of clinicians versus childcare personnel and community workers. Finally, the various staff models are compared to the research literature on “what works” in delinquency treatrment.
The Role Males Play in the “Dating Game” With Street-Level Sex Workers
Most prostitution studies have focused on the sex workers with little attention given to the male clients who regularly and illegally purchase commercial sex on public streets. However, as one sex worker stated in an interview, “there wouldn’t be a supply if there wasn’t a demand”. The purpose of this study was to learn more about the impression management techniques of the males who compose the street-level sex worker clients. Through field observations of a prostitution prone location in New York City, referred to as a “track” over the course of one year, conversations with sex workers, their clients, and prospective clients on the street and a combination of detailed semi-structured and unstructured interviews of thirty sex workers, eight typologies of the clients of street-level sex workers are fleshed out. The utilities of examining the conduct of prostitution clients are twofold: (1) law enforcdement initiatives against prostitution can direct more attention towards the demand end of this business; and (2) this study provides another example of the gender-based double standards in society that continue to exploit women as most law enforcement initiatives are focused on arresting the female sex worker and not her client.
The Role of Culture in Designing Preventive Intervention
Overall, adolescents of color report higher levels of exposure to violence, victimization, and racial injustice; higher rates of delinquency and youth violence; and substantially higher levels of emotional distress than their White counterparts. However, the manner in which culturally mediated beliefs, behaviors, and expectations effect the enactment or rejection of antisocial behavior remains largely unexamined. Some interventions targeting aggression and violence have begun to explicitly consider how attention to cultural influences can enhance program efficacy. Two such ongoing intervention projects have joined the Presley Center and CDC Developing Center Projects on Youth Violence Prevention. This paper will present descriptive information and preliminary data on intervention efficacy for those two projects.
The Role of Gender in Conflict-Related Intimate Partner Homicide
This paper presents a discussion of the role of gender in partner homicide using Black’s self-help conceptual framework. This analysis is based on data from 228 intimate partner homicides committed in St. Louis between 1980 and 1995. Quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to examine sex, race, and marital status differences in homicide patterns from a self-help perspective. Only sex emerged as having a significant role in predicting the likelihood and character of lethal social control employed by and against intimates. The complex role of sex in marital status and its possible attenuation of marriage as a clear indicator of positioning in social space is also discussed. Finally, the policy ramifications of these findings will be considered, along with some of the broader methodological and substantive issues arising from this research.
The Role of Law as a Mechanism for Dispute Resolution: An Analysis of The Election Controversy in Guyanha
This paper will discuss the controversies surrounding the 1998 general elections in Guyana and the disputes concerning the election results. Each of the two major political parties, the People’s Progressive Party, and the People’s National Congress, claimed to have won the election and the former currently holds office under the disputed results. After massive popular protests and disturbances immediately following the results, the People’s National Congress contested the election results in court, and a judgement was recently handed down invalidating the alleged victory of the People’s Progressive Party. Electoral law and practice as well as the circumstances surrounding the disputed election will be reviewed to explain the causes of the disputes and the contest of the validity of the results. The court case will be analysed to explain the reasons for the decision, and the impact of the decision on the political parties involved, the electoral process, and the society at large.
The Role of Terror in Ethnic Cleansing: Israeli State Violence and Population Movemenb
Elimination of human life is not assigned primacy in the analysis of fatal terrorist acts. On the contrary, intense fear must be generated as at least one result of the violence, and must be directed towards and felt by a particular audience, for the violence to be considered “terrorist”. Such audience(s), in turn, are expected to exhibit fear responses desired by the perpetrators themselves. The ‘reach’ of terrorism, therefore, can be found as much in reactive human behaviors as it can in the bodies of the mortal victims. I will argue that the Israeli state and the violence it systematically generates against the militarily-occupied population is a fertile source of criminological/victimological data in the field of state terror study. Using first-hand accounts and secondary data analyses, I portray population movement of the native population as reactive behavior to Jewish violence, and the concentration and growth of settler populations as related to the state violence itself. The destruction, and driving off of, the land is seen by the native population, Palestinian Arabs, as a central purpose behind the employment of Israeli violence. Such perceptions may be especially prevalent in researching Palestinian and Palestinian-American attitudes on the events characterizing the second, or Al Aqsa, Intifada.
The Role of the Media as an Influence on Police Integrity in Poland
Accountability for police misconduct can be achieved by, both, external and internal control of a given force. The Polish National Police Force is subjected to a number of internal and external mechanisms of control. The focus of this paper is on the external mechanisms, which include the office of the Ombudsman, the office of the Attorney General and, third informal mechanism, the Media. The pervasive influence of daily and weekly newspapers and the pressure they exert on investigations of police misconduct are analyzed and discussed, with specific examples from three cities experiencing instances of police corruption.
The Roles of Victim and Offender Alcohol Use in Sexual Assaults: Results From the National Violence Against Women Survey
Objective: The roles of victim and offender alcohol use in the outcomes of sexual assault incidents (rape completion, injury, and medical care) were studied. Method: 859 female sexual assault victims identifed from National Violence Against Women Survey data were exmained. Results: Logistic regression analyses demonstrated that offender drinking was associated with greater likelihood of rape completion, but was unrelated to injury or medical care when victim demographics and assault characteristics were controlled. However, offender aggression was the strongest predictor of both victim injury and medical care outcomes (but not rape completion) in these analyses. Furthermore, neither victim drinking at the time of the incident nor drinking frequency in general were significantly related to assault outcomes in the logistic regression analyses. Conclusions: Rape prevention programs would clearly benefit by adding segments on the roles of offender and victim drinking, offender aggression, and other situational factors in sexual assault outcomes.
The Routine Activities of Youth: The Importance of Place and Time in Understanding Violence in and Around Schools
The study of places has recently gained prominence as a subject for study by criminologists. Routine activities theory and rational choice theory suggest where there is opportunity, there can be crime. This paper will summarize the findings of a research study designed to test whether temporal aspects of youth activities mediate the relationship between opportunity factors and personal victimization in and around schools. Victimization was examined by time of day and day of week for a 168 hour week (within the periods of the school commute, school day, late night, and weekends). The dependent variable was defined as the victimization rate for person crimes on the blocks where the schools are located. The rates were derived using incident-based data for all person offenses recorded by the Prince George’s County Police Department for the school year 1999-2000. Independent variables included indicators to represent three main constructs: physical place, human guardianship, and potential offenders.
The SafeFutures Client Indicator Database: what Have We Learned?
In the summer of 1998, as part of the national evaluation of the initiative, each community began pilot testing a performance indicator system. Designed to track the cumulative–as well as comparative–results of community-based efforts including system and participant outcomes, the SafeFutures Client Indicator Database (CID) captures information about youth and family clients, service referral and use, as well as education and juvenile justice outcomes. The CID was intended to serve the performance-focused informational needs of the six SafeFutures communities. This paper examines the extent to which the CID achieved this purpose from both a program management and evaluation perspective. Factors precluding or contributing to the overall efficacy of the CID are also examined.
The Safety of America’s Schools: Data From the 2000 School Survey of Crime and Safety
The 2000 School Survey on Crime and Safety is a cross-sectional survey of 3,000 school administrators from public elementary and secondary schools across the country. Data from this survey will be presented that cover several topics. Examples of these topics include the frequency of and types of incidents; disciplinary actions for specified incidents; perceptions of disciplinary problems, such as bullying, verbal abuse and disorder; and, descriptions of school policies and programs designed to prevent or reduce school crime and violence that involve students, parents and teachers. This paper will show that this data provides a rich source of information for anyone interested in national estimates regarding school safety from the perspective of school principals and administratiors. The data will be analyzed within and between instructional level by focusing on the different experiences in elementary, middle and secondary schools. Within instructional, the data will be analyzed in order to isolate the school and community characteristics that effect numbers of incidents. Limitations of the data will be discussed as well as areas for future investigation.
The Salience of Mitigating Evidence for Capital Jurors
In a line of decisions dealing with “mitigating evidence” in capital cases, the Supreme Court has ruled that “the sentencer may not refuse to consider or be precluded from considering “any relevant mitigating evidence” (Skipper v. South Carolina, 476 U.S. 1,4 (1986), quoting Eddings v. Oklahoma, 455 U.S. 104, 114 (1982). Accordingly, defense counsel introduce mitigating evidence at capital sentencing hearings in an attempt to obtain “a sentence less than death” (Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586, 604 (1978) for their clients. However, attorneys cannot predict with certainty how such evidence will be received and subsequently treated by jurors during their sentencing deliberations. This study will confront these issues by exploring the reflections of capital jurors on the mitigating evidence introduced at trials where they decided the sentence for defendants convicted of capital murder. The data for this study were based on interviews with actual capital jurors; death penalty sentencing trial transcripts were used in the analysis as well.
The Second Responders Program: Evaluation of a Coordinated Police/Social Service Approach to Domestic Violence
Police have been encouraged to collaborate in interagency approaches to domestic violence. Typically, such programs introduce a social service or police/social service team some time after the incident for which police were initially called. In Richmond, Virginia, the Second Responders program involves social service workers based in the precincts and on call throughout the night. Second Responders respond to domestic violence calls as soon as the scenes are secured by police. Upon arrival, they offer immediate and future services to the victim. We present final results of an evalualtion of the Second Responders program, supported by the National Institute of Justice. Using a quasi-experimental design, we assess the impacts of the intervention on whether the experimental and control groups reported differences in repeat abuse, follow-through with legal remedies, follow-through with obtaining social services, attitudes toward police, and life-changes made. Data on attitudes and experiences of victims are drawn from interviews with victims in the experimental precincts where the Second Responders program was implemented and in the control precincts where the Second Responders program was not implemented, within days of the incident, and again six months later. Official court data are examined to track the outcomes of cases in the sample.
The Social Construction of Militias in the News Media
The Oklahoma City bombing demonstrated the public’s vulnerability to domestic terrorism and introduced us to militias. The bombing, the search for suspects, the trials, and the execution of Timothy McVeigh have generated an unbelievable amount of media coverage. This paper will examine how militias were presented in the media before and after the bombing. Three issues will be explored. First, I will provide a theoretical framework to analyze the presentation of crime and celebrated cases in the news media. Second, the concerns, structures, and ideology of the 1990s militia movement will be discussed. Third, I will examine how militias evolved into an important social problem, and how they have been presented in the news. Data includes quantitative content analysis, frame analysis, and interviews with active militia members.
The Social Construction of Skinhead Identity
This paper uses the social learning theories of differential association, differential identification and differential reinforcement to examine the impact of interpersonal networks and the mass media on the identity formation of skinheads in the USA. I argue that neo-Nazi skinheads recruit new members primarily through such mass contact means as pamphlets and flyers, rather than through personal contact, and because of this rely heavily on media representation to create their own identity. Since the media present only the violent, neo-Nazi side of the skinhead movement, these neo-Nazi skinheads remain ignorant of the broader skinhead movement, including its history and non-violent form. In this paper, I contrast this essentially media-based construction of identity with other types of skinheads whose identity develops out of interpersonal contacts and network connections. Twenty-seven skinheads from eleven states were recruited via the Internet and interviewed for this study, including both women (29.6%) and men (70.4%) as well as racist (18.5%) and non-racist (81.5%) skinheads. Results from this study show support for the social learning theories of differential association, differential identification and differential reinforcement and implications for the theory of identity construction are drawn.
The Social Ecology of Violence: An Exploration of Contextual Factors in Cases of Youth Victimization
This research takes an ecological approach to exploring violent victimization among juveniles. Using data from the 1998 National Incidence Based Reporting System, this research examines the situational context and dynamics of youth victimization in order to identify those characteristics salient to explaining these violent incidences. Theoretically important contextual variables arr drawn from both social disorganization and routine activities will be examined as they affect varying forms of serious juvenile victimization. Specifically, factors such as economic disadvantage, teen employmenht, racial heterogeneity, time and place of the offense, drug or alcohol use, ties to gang activity, among others, are addressed in regards to youth victimization. Study findings and implications for future research will be discussed.
The Spatial Dynamics of Immigration and Homicide: San Diego Since 1980
This study will examine ethnicity and homicide incidents at the community level in San Diego. The primary objective of this study is to examine the nature and extent of homicide within a multiethnic population (White, Latino, African American and Asian) in the city of San Diego, California. The focus is on what dimensions of community context help to limit the extent of homicide? What kinds of immigrant communities influence the homicide rate over and above well-established covariates such as economic deprivation and family structure? Does ethnicity similarly influence various types of non-lethal violence (e.g. acquaintance, family, stranger and intimate)? In sum, does ethnicity matter? While much research has been conducted on the nature and extent of the relationship between race and violent behavior, few studies have explored the nature and extent of this relationship among Latinos and even fewer have done so in an Asian population. Therefore, the proposed research seeks to address one of the major research gaps in the criminological literature by investigating violence among Latino and Asian populations.
The Spread of Community Policing During the COPS Office Era: Measuring the Impact of a Federally Funded Program on the Adoption of Community Policing Tactics
Title I of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of1994 (Crime Act 1994) provided the basis for the creation of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (CPS Office) and authorized grant funds to increase the number and presence of officers on the streets. Explicit in the authorizing legislation and consistently promoted by the COPS Office was the message that these grant funds were to facilitate the adoption of community policing. The COPS Office operationalized community policing as four components: community partnership building, problem-solving, prevention programs, and organizational support for community policing. Despite this explicit operationalization of community policing, agencies were not instructed on how to implement their programs. Instead, each agency operationalized its community policing program in a manner consistent with local political interests and public safety needs.
The Stability of Threats of Violence Based on Child and Teacher-Report of Threats
There is some evidence that a relationship between threats of violence and actual violent behavior exists for children. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the field’s growing understanding of the relationship between threats of violence and violent behavior by examining the stability of threats over time based on children’s self-reports of making threats and their teachers’ ratings of children’s use of threats. The data for this study was part of a longitudinal effort to evaluate Peacebuilders, a schoolwide violence-prevention program. In this study, Time 1 was data collected in 1997 and Time 2 was data collected in 1998. Based on student self-reports and teacher reports, data was obtained for 1,920 students for both Times 1 and 2. A significant association existed between threats made at Time 1 and Time 2 for both children’s self-reports and teacher ratings. However, about 27% of children who reported not threatening others at Time 1, reported making threats at Time 2. And about 19% of children who reported making threats at Time 1 reported that they did not threaten others at Time 2. More research needs to be done on the stability of threats and their association with violent behavior.
The State of Probation in Europe a Decade After the Fall of Communism
With the demise of Communism came a new optimism for the former Central and Eastern European bloc and the newly created nation states of the former USSR. Amongst the things hoped for was the creation of democratic institutions, including the criminal justice sector. This paper will synthesize the existing literature, report on overtures made and activities undertaken within the newly expanded European community, and distill this information into a contemporary picture of the status of probation as a correctional measure now almost a decade later. Suggestions will be offered on how the criminal justice research, practitioner, and policymaking sectors could contribute to the situation and offer suggestions on why their previous efforts have not born the expected fruit. Due consideration will be given to the obligations of member states and the roles of inter-governmental and professional organizations, as well as private foundations, in the development of the institution of community-based sanctions.
The State Police: Organization and Function
Since their very beginnings, the state police have faced an identity crisis. Indeed, though the police have claimed a variety of organizational missions over the years, at present there is little agreement about what troopers do. In particular, the critical patrol tasks that troopers perform on the job remains a mystery. Exacerbating matters, the state police have eluded the attention of social scientists. Indeed, no systematic empirical studies focus on the state police. Current municipal police literature and initial observation indicate that there are major differences between municipal and state police departments. In addition to these differences, state policing varies by state. To understand the state police in relation to other policing forms, it is important to compare them to (1) municipal departments and (2) other state police departments. To broaden the police research literature and aid in professional innovation, this work focuses on the state police as a specific policing form. First the state police organization is examined, with attention to its bureaucratic features and paramilitary structure. Moving outside the police organization, this paper also focuses on how traffic demand, the rural landscape, and history affect trooper work and the state police identity.
The Story of Their Lives: Gang-Involved Girls in Chicago
This research involves comparative analyses of gang and non-gang involved female adolescents who reside in an established gang city. Those not gang involved will have been exposed to gang activity via their neighborhood. This examination concerns the impact of a myriad of conditions on gang membership, criminality and gender. The life courses of respondents will be specifically examined in an attempt to identify variables or events which may have influenced gang membership. Likewise, the project will attempt to locate those factors that account for those who do not report gang involvement employing dissimilar options. This approach is cognizant that different individuals may have experienced different events and may therefore require unique variables to interpret their subsequent behavior or life choices. The use of individual time-line trajectories might help explain a wide range of behaviors. This approach may enable policy makers to determine when to introduce intervention(s) as well as identifying the appropriate prevention strategies.
The Strengthening Washington D.C. Families Project: Description and Process Evaluation
The Strengthening Families Program (SFP; Kumpfer, DeMarsh, and Child, 1989) has been disseminated as an effective family-based program targeting several family and child risk factors for substance use. This program consists of fourteen hour-long sessions delivered to children aged 7-11, fourteen hour-long sessions delivered to the parents of these children, and fourteen hour-long family sessions during which the children and parents come together to practice their new skills. This paper reports on an ongoing randomized study of the effectiveness for reducing substance use and its precursors among children from 800 primarily African American families residing in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. To date, 442 families have been enrolled in the study by five different program sites in the D.C. area. Process data indicate recruitment and retention of families present major challenges: Twenty-seven percent (27%) of families drop out immediately, and the average number of the fourteen sessions attended among those who attend at least one session is eight. However, the program is being delivered with fidelity to the program design, and tests of SFP-related knowledge administered at the end of each session indicate that parents correctly answer most questions related to the program content. This paper will report on efforts to recruit and retain subjects in the study. Implementation fidelity will also be discussed.
The Strengthening Washington D.C. Families Project: Early Outcome Results From a Randomized Clinical Trial
This paper reports on an ongoing randomized study of the effectiveness of The Strengthening Washington D.C. Families Project (described in the previous paper). The study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, randomly assigns families of children between the ages of seven and eleven to one of four conditions: parent’s skills training, children’s skills training, family skills training, or minimal contact. The study compares the effects of each of the three training conditions on measures of child self control, rebellious behavior, attitudes about substance use, and academic performance as well as on family bonding and management and substance use of parents and children. Results of an early analysis based upon the first 113 families enrolled in the study indicated significant positive effects on several precursors of adolescent substance use. For example, parents in all three experimental conditions reported improved perceptions of their own parenting skills and improved family organization compared with parents in the minimal condition. On the other hand, a negative effect on child antisocial behavior was uncovered for children assigned to the child-only condition. This presentation will report on both process and outcome evaluation results from the project based on the first 318 families included in the study.
The Systemic Model of Social Disorganization–Assessing Public Controls With Hierarchial Modeling Techniques
The systemic model of social disorganization theory holds that a community’s ability to control criminal behavior within its borders is, in part, effected by its ability to draw on the resources of the larger community in which it is situated — so-called public controls. This paper will evaluate the effects of public controls, working within this systemic framework of social disorganization theory, and seeks to explore the following questions: To what extent do public resources available in larger spatial aggregates (e.g., socially defined neighborhoods) exert protective or aggravating effects which suppress or exacerbate the effects of homicide of typical social disorganization covariates within the smaller spatial aggregates (e.g., census defined block groups) which comprise them? The analyses employed to investigate this question will be performed in the socially defined neighborhoods of St. Louis, using homicide data taken from the St. Louis homicide project and sociodemographic information taken from the 1990 United States Census. Additional data are taken from the St. Louis Public Schools and the St. Louis Community Development Agency data on community development block grants (CDBG) disbursements. Community attachment is measured through the turnout of registered voters for biennial school board elections.
The Temporal Trajectory of Self-Reported Drug Use: A Comparison of Self-Reports and Urinalysis
In this paper we analyze data collected for the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program to compare the results of urinalysis with self-reported drug use, with particular attention to the time frame of self-reported use. We find that many respondents who test positive for a drug report the use of that drug, if not within the preceding 48 hours, then within the last week, month, or year. We examine this variation the temporal trajectory of self-reported use in terms of respondents’ backgrounds, characteristics, and other variables.
The Theory of Andragogy Applied to Police Training
Police training is an important tool in the process of facilitating change within police organizations. With the further implementation of community oriented policing strategies in many American police agencies, the transaction of training becomes a critical centerpiece. Traditionally, the majority of subjects in the police-training classroom have been taught utilizing behavioral approaches which may not be effective when teaching evolving police curriculum which has been presented under the axiom of community oriented policing. Police trainers have also relied heavily on lecture-centered approaches when teaching both neophyte and veteran officers. Police trainers might benefit from a more student-centered instructional format when teaching many police related subjects. This manuscript examines incorporating the theory of andragogy in police training. Furthermore, the manuscript will identify particular characteristics about the learning transaction in the police-training classroom. Andragogical approaches applied in the police training classroom may help officers become more self-directed and in so doing reflect the trend towards community oriented policing.
The Use of Prosecutorial Discretion in Disposing Domestic Violence Cases
This paper investigates the phenomenon of prosecutorial discretion in the context of the disposition of domestic violence cases. Pursuant to the institution of mandatory arrest laws in domestic violence calls, the police no longer possess the level of discretion previously held when deciding whether to make arrests. The result has been the displacement of discretion to prosecutors’ offices. It is hypothesized that extralegal, rather than evidentiary, factors determine prosecutors’ decisions to proceed with convictions against defendants.
The Use of Supplemental Readings in Comparative Criminology Courses
With the growing interest in comparative criminal justice and criminology has come a significant increase in the publication of written materials within the subject area. Although there are now a core number of solid textbooks to ground students in a comparative course, even the best texts are unable to cover many of the key contemporary issues. One way to augment text material is through the use of supplemental readings. This paper will explore three kinds of supplemental readings–edited texts/monographs, government documents, and novels. The paper will include a discussion of their benefits and limits, and how they can best be implemented in the comparative criminology classroom.
The Utility of Institutional Anomie Theory for Predicting Homicide Rates Across Macrosocial Units of Analysis Within the United States
Messner and Rosenfeld’s institutional anomie theory is grounded in the assumption that relatively higher crime rates in the United States are due to 1) the overbearing influence of economic motives and institutions in society, and 2) the subjugation of all other institutions to cultural economic interests (e.g., the American Dream). The goal of converting this theory into a viable research agenda has proved challenging, but initial tests suggest the theory deserves further research attention. Our purposes in this challenging, but initial tests suggest the theory deserves further research attention. Our purposes in this paper are twofold. First, we seek to test the utility of institutional anomie theory for predicting crime rates across aggregate units within the U.S. (e.g., cities); in particular, the theory’s emphasis on instrumental crime will be put to the test by comparing instrumental and expressive homicides. We will employ data from the FBI’s Supplemental Homicide Reports to differentiate homicides by type, as well as a number of other data sources relevant to economic and non-economic local institutions. A seconde purpose will be to explore whether the theory might usefully be integrated with other macro-criminological theories, as well as neo-institutional theory, to expedite further tests of the theory.
The Victimization Gap: Do Male and Female Risk Factors Differ?
Victimization statistics consistently report that overall males have a much higher likelihood of becoming crime victims than females. Although some victimization theory and research attempts to account for this gender differential, there is relatively little information about why males are at greater risk. Unlike many previous empirical investigations assessing risk of victimization that did not conduct separate analyses by gender, our research attempts to identify the salient risk factors associated with violent victimization of both males and females. Our causal model emphasizes four risk factors: unsupervised and unstructured leisure activity with peers, delinquent peers, self-control, and social bonds. Our analysis uses data from a sample of high school students collected in Fayetteville, Arkansas. To estimate the extensiveness and nature of gender differentials, if any exist, we employ structural equation modeling.
The Winston-Salem/Police Foundation Safe Schools Partnership
The Police Foundation, in cooperation with the Winston-Salem Police Department and the Winston-Salem Board of Education, has developed a partnership with the goal of improving information sharing and responses to school safety issues in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Funding for this objective was obtained through the Safe Schools Technology Solicitation which was sponsored by the National Institute of Justice in 1999. The first goal of this project is developing a cuting-edge geographic information system to analyze criminal activity and school incidents in and around Winston-Salem schools that can be used by individuals with little computer mapping experience. The second goal is to strengthen the partnership between the police department and the school district by encouraging them to share data and engage in cooperative problem-solving while using this software application. The geographic information system relies both on traditional data sources such as crime and school incident data as well as non-traditional qualitative data such as student pathways to and from school and known afterschool hangouts. The initial site for this partnership was Jersey City, New Jersey; however, the project was relocated to Winston-Salem when one of the partners in Jersey City withdrew their support. During our presentation, we plan to discuss our experiences with these two partnerships and what we have learned about facilitating a successful collaboration between police departments and school districts.
The World Wide Web and Criminal Justice: What Has Been Done and What Has Been Missed?
The operation of criminal justice organizations is taking on a new meaning in the age of the World Wide Web. Criminal justice organizations world-wide, particularly law enforcement agencies, are benefiting from the increasing use of the Internet as a way to conduct business in both the public and private sector. A number of agencies around the world are enabling the public to register their complaints regarding criminal victimizations via the Internet, and some allow the use of this medium to also submit complaints against their officers or employees. Citizen satisfaction with police is registered through web based surveys, and some agencies, for example Berkeley, California, permits Internet surfers to see who is assigned to patrol a particular Berkeley neighborhood at any given time of day. The Chicago Police Department Web Site allows users to check crime statistics for various parts of the city, and the Portland, Oregon Police Bureau only accepts police employment applications over the Internet. The Maricopa County (AZ) Sheriff’s Office has web cams inside the county jail with live pictures broadcast over the Internet.
Theoretical Integration: Has It Worked?
Since the Albany Conference of 1987, debate over the feasibility or utility of integrating theories has waned. Several notable integrations have been offered by theorists across the range of intellectual and political orientations. Review of these efforts shows that while they have been stimulating, (1) the distinction between theories and models has been ignored, blurred, or transcended (depending on one’s perspective), and (2) integrations have been within rather than across orientations differing in how criminality is defined and studied. Whether theoretical issues have been resolved by integrating theories is still debatable.
Theoretical Studies of the Prison Subculture: Contemporary Explanations for Female Inmates
The first models of the prison subculture, such as those purported by Clemmer and Sykes, were rooted in the structural-functionalist paradigm of criminological thought. However, alternative explanations, such as the importation model developed by Irwin theorize that the subculture of prison may not be centered around common norms and values. Recent, yet vague attempts have been made to integrate these perspectives. Does integration have theoretical explanatory power when examining the contemporary prison subculture? Furthermore, can an integrated approach inform penologists as to how females serve time? The present paper seeks to answer these questions, form a sketch for further theoretical sophistication, and propose ideas for future research.
Thinking About Intervention Through People’s Use of Police: An Exploratory Project on Violent Hate Crime in London’s Metropolitan Police
This paper explores the lessons from the first 10 months of a 22-month project on understanding and responding to violent hate crime in London. Funded under the UK’s Reducing Crime Initiative, this action research is premised on an approach that explores first the use of the police by those who request help because of domestic violence, racist violence or homophobic violence. Located in the high profile Diversity Unit of the Metropolitan Police, the project offers an innovative look at understanding the nature of crime and conceptualising the prevention of violence.
Thinking and Doing: Male and Female Victimization
Sex as both predictor and correlate of involvement in crime and victimization is a mainstay of criminological research and theorizing. Official statistics and self-reports indicate that a greater proportion of men are involved in crime than are women, and that men tend also to report greater levels of victimization than women. In comparison to their male peers, what are women doing which may inhibit offending and/or prevent victimization? We examine differences not only in what women and men “do”, but also how men and women “think”. For example, as suggested by a lifestyles perspective, we examine monthly outings and precautions taken to protect self and property from crime. We also consider, for example, perceptions of safety, as well as perceptions of the police and courts. Using data from the Canadian General Social Surveys, we compare male and female respondents in an attempt to determine why it is that women are less likely to be victimized, but may also be less likely to offend than their male counterparts.
Threatened Egotism and Delinquent Behavior: A Preliminary Test
A recent work by Baumeister, Smart, and Boden (1996) suggested that “threatened egotism” is an important cause of violent behavior. Challenging the view that low self-esteem causes vioence, Baumeister et al. hold that those with inflated levels of self-esteem are likely to react violently when faced with ego threats. This work discusses the theoretical connection between Baumeister’s work and self-control theory, social control theory and general strain theory. We present a preliminary test of the threatened egotism hypothesis with a sample of junior high and high-school students in a small Southern city. The results show that egotism is positively associated with violent and nonviolent delinquency, and that this relationship holds when a number of important predictors of delinquency are controlled. These results provide some support for the threatened egotism hypothesis and suggest that further research in this area is warranted.
Through the Lenses of Minority Female Officers: An Attitudinal Analysis
The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of minority female officers towards their colleagues and police-related issues. This research is part of a survey of women in policing in Texas conducted in Spring 2000. Specifically, this study examines the attitudes of minority female officers in the state of Texas towards community policing, racism, and work-related stress. The analysis controls for female representation in police agencies to determine its affect, if any. The findings suggest that minority female officers in Texas law enforcement agencies have attitudinal differences when compared to white female officers.
Time After Divorce, Family Structure, and Delinquency
Past studies have looked at divorce and delinquency and drug use among adolescents. However, few of these studies have looked at the timing of delinquency and drug use compared to the timing of the divorce of an adolescent’s parents. In addition, few studies have gone into detail in distinguishing different types of “boken homes.” This paper will use the 1997 and 1998 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and will use hierarchical linear modeling to examine the relationship between time of divorce and amount of delinquency and drug use, and the effects of various family structures on delinquency and drug use.
Time to Relapse and Recidivism Associated With Participation in Therapeutic Community Treatment Programs
The overall efficacy of correctional-based therapeutic community (TC) treatment programs for drug-involved offenders in Delaware has been consistently supported. This paper focuses more specifically upon the impact of the specific component programs on the time to recidivism and relapse. All possible combinations of program participation are included, as well as controls for individual demographics, and criminal, drug use, family, and employment histories. Particular interest is in the relationship between the different programs. The programs effects could function independently and have relative simple additive effects, or represent a more complex interactive relationship where the effects of one program are different depending upon participation in one or more of the other programs. The same questions are also examined in the relationship between characteristics of the participants and the programs’ impacts.
To Punish the Punishers: The Animal Rights Advocates’ Dilemma
The usefulness of oppressing oppressors is not a new question. It has long been recognized among social control scholars that punishment often does not operate in the commonly-accepted deterrence fashion. Plus, punishment of bad behavior may appear contradictory to the purpose of setting social standards for good behavior. Recently, there has been a move to increase criminal penalties for nonhuman animal abuse, a move, not unexpectedly, supported by animal rights (AR) advocates but a move which also causes strain among some advocates. On the one hand, heightened criminal punishment of AR offenses strongly symbolizes that the wrongdoing is indeed wrong and punishment-worthy. On the other hand, AR advocates, being for the most part educated, socially progressive members of the public, fully understand that punishing AR violations may be selectively applied and therefore (mis)targeted. Moreover, the highly emotional desire for vengeance against those who perpetrate horrific acts against helpless beings cannot be dismissed; punishment for vengeance sake is not necessarily wrong but does elicit questions of objectivity and effectiveness. Less-formalized punishmentsmay create less strain for AR advocates. These include intentional and direct punishments inflicted by AR advocates (such as verbal confrontations, letter-writing campaigns, and boycotting of animal-violating corporations) and punishments self-inflicted upon AR offenders (such as death and diseases from industrially-farm animal products). This paper does not conclude that criminal punishments for animal abuse are unwarranted but does untangle the meanings of social control for AR violations, such as the legal rationale for punishment and the similarities between the sanctioning of human and nonhuman rights abuses.
Tomorrow’s Tobacco Addicts: Examining Age and Sex Differences in Predictors of Increased Smoking Regularity Among Juvenile Smokers
This study examines pedictors of increased regularity of smoking among youth who have already initiated smoking. If we can determine what leads these juveniles to escalated levels of smoking, we may be able to develop more effective stop smoking campaigns. Our data is drawn from a survey of 7,521 students from middle and high schools in Tucson, AZ. Results indicate that there are different predictors of regular smoking by sex that also vary by age. Although various peer influences are important for all age and sex groups, among 7th and 8th graders, very few other predictors of smoking initiation are significant predictors of increased smoking regularity. Increased smoking among boys for both age groups appears to be part of a pattern of general deviance. For younger girls, smoking regularity is largely predicted by exposure to tobacco promotion and older girls are influenced by the belief that smoking will control their weight. Due to the differences in predictors of smoking regularity for the different ages and sexes, it is argued that different smoking cessation programs are needed for boys and girls.
Tony Sporano and the American Dream
The Sopranos is a television series about a mobster who goes to a psychiatrist. He does so because he suffers from an endless series of conflicts and contradictions. These contradictions are the same conflicts that mirror those that characterize the crimeogenic nature of American culture and society in the 21st century. This paper examines these conflicts in depth: our familial and sexual dysfunctions, our upperworld and underworld uses of violence, the maldistributions of power and wealth, and pandemic corruption, as well as the numerous interconnections that characterize the overall crime system that makes up the American crime problem. The paper concludes with some policy recommendations aimed at making inroads into the entire problem of crime.
Top Criminals/Top Criminologists: The Most-Cited Authors and Works in White-Collar Crime
Numerous studies recently have appeared that identify the most-cited authors and works in the general criminology and criminal justice literature and in several research specialty areas, although no previous citation study has specifically examined the white-collar crime literature. Through an analysis of 46 articles and textbooks appearing from 1991 to 1999 in the area of white-collar crime, we list the 62 most-cited authors and the 21 most-cited works. The lists of the most-cited authors and works in white-collar crime are compared to general lists taken from leading criminology and crimnal justice journals and introductory textbooks. Our analysis shows that numerous influential authors and works in the specialty of white-collar crime have been overlooked by general citations studies of leading journals and textbooks.
Toward a Contextual Understanding of the Connection Between Race and Domestic Violence
National surveys often report higher rates of domestic violence in African-American families. However, little effort has been devoted to understanding the correlation between race and domestic violence. In particular, insufficient attention has been paid to the possibility that the correlation of race and domestic violence is systematically confounded with important differences in community contexts. Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households and tract-level data from the 1990 U.S. Census, this paper investigates whether the higher rate of domestic violence in African-American families is due to their disproportionate residency in disadvantaged neighborhoods and also to high levels of economic distress in African-American families.
Toward a Political Economy of Dangerousness
Early 18th and 19th century criminologists–many of whom were lawyers and physicians–saw crime as a threat to the social order and the resulting “natural” laws of society. In their search for these “laws of society,” existing social and economic arrangements were favored (the transition from feudalism to capitalism, for example) and behavior which threatened that order was deemed “criminal.” Our current conception of the “dangerous offender” in Canada and the popularity of “Three Strikes” legislation and mandatory prison sentences in North American reflects a long historical trend. The popular origin of the dangerous classes originated in France by H.A. Fregier, who authored On the Misery of the Working Classes in England and France (1840). Historically, “those who have been seen as dangerous or potentially dangerous have been Christians, slaves, vagabonds, strangers, gypsies, beggars, students, Catholics, Protestants, atheists, nationalists, demobilized soldiers and sailors, witches, Freemasons, labor leaders, and social revolutionaries” (Rennie, 1978:31). Since the turn of the 20th century, the dominant ideology of dangerousness sees these offenders as pathological examples of sin and evil. Cast in Gramscian terms, this may have hegemonic implications. Dangerousness is, in fact, a “socially constructed reality…subject to social, political, and ideological influences.” (Jenkins, 1998:4). Indeed, Frank Pearce (1973:15,17) has argued that “if the criminals are also the social failures…,then their criminality is caused by their inadequacies…and the major social institutions are not exposed to critical assessment…[B]y defining them as non-citizens, with no rights to employment, education, etc., the system’s failure to provide these for them…is obscured. The question addressed in this paper is as follows: does this ideology of “dangerousness” in market societies reinforce notions about criminals that justify the repression of the lower classes, and thereby reaffirm the class structure of capitalism?
Toward a Prosecutorial “Civil Service”: A Wisconsin Case Study
The traditional view of the Prosecutor’s office is that it is a temporary position, one that is used as a stepping stone to either private practice or a political career. There is some evidence (anecdotal and otherwise) that there may be some changes in this situation, at least in the state of Wisconsin. In this paper the author proposes to examine data on the tenure and career paths of Prosecutors and ADA’s in order to determine if there have been basic changes in this picture. If the evidence suggests a change, possible reasons therefore and consequences thereof will be discussed.
Toward an Elaborated (and More Powerful) Control Theory of Delinquency
A commonly-recognized problem with criminological theory is that although most theories receive some empirical support, the explanatory power of any single theory tends to be rather linited. One proposed emedy for this problem is theoretical elaboration, a stragegy for improving explanatory power that involves more fully developing our existing theories in ways that preserve their basic assumptions about human nature and the social order. The purpose of this paper is to show how theoretical elaboration can be used to produce a more powerful version of control theory in particular. Control theory currently is seen principally in terms of Hirschi (1969) and Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990. Each of these theories conceives of control rather narrowly, and thus, each excludes potentially important sources of control (including some of those found in the other). The control theory presented here corrects for this problem by conceiving of control more broadly, thereby incorporating all of the explanatory variables found in prior control theories, as well as a few other variables that are not. The end result is an elaborated control theory that should have greater explanatory power than any of the single control theories from which it draws.
Toward an Integrated Theory of Post-Separation Woman Abuse in Canadian Public Housting
Survey research shows that the incidence rate of intimate physical violence against women living in Canadian public housing is markedly higher than those uncovered by most other North American women abuse surveys that used similar measures. Most of the Canadian female public housing residents victimized by such violence are either separated or divorced. To explain this phenomenon, we offer a model that integrates three distinct perspectives on the linkage between gender and victimization in intimate heterosexual relationships: social exclusion theory, DeKeseredy and Schwartz’s male peer support model, and Ellis and DeKeseredy’s challenge model of intimate femicide.
Toward the Development of a Culture of Human Rights in the Police Service of Northern Ireland
In this paper I argue that the proposed reforms of the police in Northern Ireland have the potential of pointing toward a new model of ethnic conflict resolution. In particular, the reforms place human rights at the core of policing in Northern Ireland. Human rights has generally been ignored as a macro-level approach to conflict resolution. While the reform process is still uncertain at present, the proposals themselves offer enough interesting material for analysis. Two particular aspects of the reforms emerge as interesting: 1) a shift in the training of police towards a concern with human rights, and 2 the implementation of multiple oversight bodies for the police. The results of this research provide not only the opportunity to better understand ethnic conflict resolution but also the role of human rights in policing a divided society.
Towards a Phenomenology of Violence
Through bracketing explanations which relate violence to a matter of existential choice or which consider it an expression of other prior determining causes, this paper explores violence through an examination of its phenomenology. By methodologically conceding to violence a sui-generic existence the paper will consider violence a language which, whilst admitting of syntactical variation, is characterised by a deep grammar whose paper will suggest that, far from seeing in violence something we, as humans, make, it is perhaps more accurate to consider it as something that makes the world and us in its own particular image. The paper will conclude by examining the implications of this conception both for the way we conceive of violence in its relation to culture and to masculinity.
Tracking Offender Residence and Crime Locations: An Analysis of Auto Theft Data in a Northeastern City
Advancements in GIS technology have prompted researchers to return focus to environmental characteristics and crime. However, with any analytical procedure, preliminary hypothesizing and theorizing lend necessary guidance to the process of empirical investigation. Some researchers have suggested that offenders do not venture far from their point of residence to commit crime. Using this as a theoretical framework, we investigated auto theft data in a large east coast cite in the year 2000. Mapping software not only allowed us to visually display the points of residence, points of theft, and points of recovery, but also to gauge the distance between these points, and to investigate possible networks of travel between them. After reviewing the findings, we will discuss them within the context of current literature.
Traditional Organized Criminals, Hackers, Corporate Spies and Terrorists: The Coming Unification of International Organized Crime Groups in Their Quest for World Domination
There is a war going on, a complex war taking place in the shadows where the criminals of the world hide and work. Terrorists, criminal hackers, and corporate spies have joined forces with traditional organized criminals to spin a web of cooperation based upon continuously changing but mutually – supporting patron-client relationships. These groups mock the efforts of governmental intelligence agencies as well as the efforts of international law enforcement agencies that seek to keep them under control. All too often, these criminals have technology and equipment that is equal too or, sometimes, superior to that of law enforcement agencies. These criminal networks now threaten the secure functioning of governments around the world as the criminals themselves seek to become the political functionaries of governments. It has already happened in Russia; it can happen throughout the world. This paper seeks to describe the process of this criminal interaction and offers suggestions as to how this process can be curbed and, hopefully, stopped.
Traffic Stops and Racial/Ethnic Profiling in Southern California
The issue of racial and ethnic profiling by police officersm has become an important topic for research, media, and policy makers in the US Federal government and in a variety of state and local governments. In California, recently passed legislation outlaws racial profiling by law enforcement officers, and the California Highway Patrol was mandated by the state to collect demographic data on all traffic stops. The City of Riverside, a community with a troubled community/police relationship, and under a negotiated settlement with the California Attorney, provides a unique set of circumstances within which to examine racial and ethnic profiling. The Riverside Police Department uses a citation form for traffic stops that contains the Officer’s attribution of the race and/or ethnicity of the driver. Combined with a diverse population with significant number of African-Americans and Latinos in a population of about 250,000, makes this a very interesting site to undertake such research. Approximately 20,000 paper citations from 1998 were obtained from the department; these were sorted and a random sample of 4,000 citations were selected. Data on police deployment and demographic composition was also obtained to control for police activity and composition effects. Data was also available for time of day, day of the week, type of vehicle, and the nature of the citation, and these data were linked in a geospatial file for analysis. Results indicate a clear pattern of racial, but little ethnic profiling, with certain combinations of neighborhood population race of the driver, and time of day being especially prominent.
Training Health Care Providers to Prevent Yoth Violence
The Surgeon General has defined youth violence as a critical public health problem in the US. As such, health care providers have an important role to play in a coordinated national response to prevent youth violence. The Southern California Developing Center on Youth Violence Prevention is working with healthcare providers across the country to define the roles that health care providers should play in addressing youth violence, and to develop training curriculum that will prepare them to fill these roles. This presentation will describe progress on the Health Care Provider Curriculum Project and will discuss how health care providers can work effectively with communitities and with other disciplines to prevent violence in youth.
Trajectories of Self-Control and Deviance From Adolescence to Midlife, Representative and Adjudicated Men
Self-control is postulated stable by control theorists. The development of personality is now better known through a variable-centered approach with longitudinal studies undertaken with different kind of samples. Research must now turn to the tsk of identifying different trajectories of development of self-control through person-centered analyses. In this paper, we report developmental types of self-control derived through longitudinal cluster analysis with Five-Factor Model measures. Data from an ongoing 25 years prospective longitudinal study comparing conventional and adjudicated men from adolescence to midlife are used. Different clustering algorithms were tested and internal validation measures were calculated in order to identify the adequate number of clusters in each sample. Four developmental types of self-control were derived in the conventional men sample, which were named Normative maturation, Progressive maturation, Delayed maturation, and Blocked maturation. Four developmental types were also identified in the adjudicated men sampl: Normative maturation, Accelerated maturation, Maladjusted-Blocked maturation, and Cyclical maturation. In order to assess the external validity of these developmental types, they were compared on measures of antisocial behavior (general delinquency, serious/violent delinquency, and substance abuse). Each trajectory has specific and graduated antisocial outcomes at 15, 17, 30, and 40 years old/
Transcending the Boundary Between Health and Delinquency: Multiple Outcomes of Childhood Risk
Do risks experienced by youths in their social and structural environment cascade to create children who are less resilient or more susceptible to a multitude of adverse outcomes? Moving beyond the usual discipline-specific focus on consequences of victimization, we examine whether childhood risk factors predict a broad range of health and delinquency outcomes and examine to what extent these outcomes are associated to each other. To this end, we employ the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health on a sample of 4,834 youths that were sampled across two waves. Results indicate that delinquent behaviors such as violence, aggression, property damage are similarly predicted by the same risk factors as are health outcomes and behaviors such as depression, perceived health, tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and hard drug use. Moreover, all outcomes were associated with one another suggesting they may be comorbid manifestations of risk exposure. These findings suggest that there may be an underlying commonality between discipline-specific phenomena usually perceived of as distinct and independent due to the underlying exposure to risk.
Translating Macro-Level Social Structure Into National Crime Rates Using Akers’ Social Structure Social Learning Theory to Empirically Evaluate LaFree’s Institutional Legitimacy Theory
Like many macro-/meso-level explanations of crime, the initial promise of LaFree’s Institutional Legitimacy Theory initial diminishes as one attempts to develop a testable model and valid measures directly from his original concepts. Using Akers’ cross-level integrated Social Structure Social Learning Theory, however, LaFree’s explanation can be reformulated to fit an existing model which presents a credible mechanism suggesting the causal order, direction of variation and strength of effect LaFree suggests. This presentation illustrates one approach theorists can consider for bridging the stubborn gap between social structures and social processes.
Transnational Crimes in Africa
The decades of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s emerged with explosion of various forms of transnational crimes. The continent of Africa was not an exception. Traditionally, African countries have very porous borders which made transnational crimes very easy to consummate. This paper concentrates on the etiologies of transnational crime in Africa, the regional structure of the crimes, the typologies of such crimes, the national, regional, and continental approaches to control of transnational crime including “All African Police Chiefs” (AAPC), EUROPOL, and INTERPOL strategies in monitoring transnational crimes in Africa. The paper analyzes the Asian and European connections to transnational crime in Africa.
Treating Perpetrators of Domestic Violence
This paper discusses the role of the evaluator in determining the impact of one approach to domestic violence in local communities, namely, batterer intervention programs. The overall purpose of batterer intervention programming is to hold the batterer responsible for his/her behavior. One of the major concerns, however, of researchers involved in the evaluation of such programs is how to keep the victim safe from further battering that might result from providing information to the research team. Further, other problems arise in the area of obtaining information, critical to an outcome evaluation, from probation police, the courts, and/or from the civil court. This paper addresses how these issues were handled in a five-county evaluation of batterer intervention programs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Preliminary findings from that evaluation are included as well.
Treating Sticky-Fingers: An Evaluation of a Treatment Program for Shoplifters
This paper presents preliminary results of a research evaluation of STOP–a classroom-based treatment and education program for misdemeanor adult shoplifters on probation in Texas. The evaluation involves a treatment group of shoplifters ordered to the program over a twelve-month period and a comparison group of shoplifters that did not attend the program. Various types of data were collected including background and criminal history information, offense and sentencing information, program-related information, and probation-related information. The research addresses the performance of the treatment group in the program and the impact of program participation on probation completion and reoffending.
Treatment Motivation and Engagement Among Incarcerated Substance Abusers
Studies of community-based substance abuse treatment indicate that motivation for treatment is critical for retaining clients in the program and for their becoming therapeutically engaged in the recovery process. Relatively little work, however, has examined the impact of motivation on therapeutic engagement in criminal justice settings. As part of the NIDA-funded Health Services Use by Chronic Rural Drug Abusers project, 220 male prisoners in a prison-based treatment program completed a face-to-face interview with research staff before their parole. Findings shows that problem recognition and desire for help were associated with indicators of therapeutic engagement (including desire to be in the program and belief that the program could help them), even after statistically controlling for additional factors that could have confounded these relationships. Targeted readiness and induction interventions are therefore recommended for offenders with low motivation who are remanded to treatment in correctional settings.
Treatment or Punishment? Examining the Reality of Residential Placement for Delinquent Youth
The use of residential placement as a disposition for delinquent wards has increased greatly over the last three decades. While this change is generally believed to benefit youth there are reasons for concern from a critical perspective. This paper will frame this trend in a socio-historical context that acknowledges it as one aspect of the continuous cycles or shifts in juvenile justice policy. These policy shifts reflect the underlying contradiction between the goal of treating youth and the goal of protecting the public from youthful deviance embedded within the everyday practices and discourse of juvenile justice since the Court’s inception. From a critical perspective, the paper seeks to highlight how this treatment-punishment contradiction characterizes the experiences of delinquent youth court-ordered into residential placement. Drawing on interviews with youth before and after their placement experience it then compares these experiences with the official discourse regarding the aims and outcomes of residential placement as reflected in case files and in interviews with probation department officials. The contrast between the official and the experiential portrayals of residential placement will be presented and utilized to further shed light on why the use of residential placement continues to grow and how it affects troubled youth.
Trends and Examples of Crime Analysis and Crime Mapping
Crime analysis is the process of using data, technology, and analytical techniques to provide information that informs and assists crime control activity in law enforcement. Crime mapping is a process in which crime analysis techniques are used along with specific tools to analyze the prevalence and patterns of crime and other activity geographically. Technological advances in crime analysis and crime mapping as well as the focus on analyzing data for more effective policing and crime prevention have brought crime analysis and crime mapping to the center of law enforcement practice and policy. This paper will cover the current trends and selected examples of crime analysis and crime mapping in law enforcement, focusing on examples of tactical, strategic, and administrative crime analysis. It will also include a critique of how select methods of spatial analysis are used by law enforcement professionals and researchers.
Trends in Juvenile Offending: The Victim’s Perspective
Our understanding of juvenile offending nationally comes primarily from the arrest rates compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). These data provide a highly selective view of offenders, making it very difficult to interpret arrest rates as offending rates. This report provides another perspective on offending nationally by using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). This report presents offending rates from the NCVS for serious violent offending by juveniles from 1980 through 1998, and compares these trends to those from the UCR. This comparison suggests that; 1) racial disproportionality in offending is some what greater in arrest statistics compared to the survey data, (2) females are over represented in the arrest data, 3) that co-offending is much more prevalent among black juveniles than white and more prevalent among males than females, 4) co-offending with adults also occurs more among black offenders than white offenders and 5) that the decreases in black offending between 1993 and 1998 have been greater than those for whites and that decreases in co-offending have been greater than the decrease in lone offending over the period.
Trends in Punishment: Racial Disparities, Imprisonment, and the Context of Time
Context is generally conceived in terms of community or other structural characteristics. However, another aspect of the macrosocial context is time. This paper focuses on how time conditions racial disparities in imprisonment. Using 10 years of juvenile justice decisions for 39 counties in Washington State, this study explores the ways in which changes in communities and courts have influenced racial differences in the decision to imprison.
Trends in the Relationship of Alcohol Use and Crime: 1989-1999
Although the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) has found consistently that alcohol is more likely than other drugs to be involved in substance-related violence, the popular conception is that violent crime is strongly linked to drug use by offenders. To address this controversy, the National Institute of Justice created a data system, called ADAM, which tracks the presence of various drugs including alcohol amog arrestees. This presentation examines the relationship between trends in alcohol and drug use from 1989 through 1999, using ADAM data from arrestees in 22 cities, and trends in violent and property crime rates based on UCR data for those cities. Using White and Gorman’s (2000) methodology, we examine correlations among drug use, alcohol use, and property and violent crime to see if there is a consistent association between alcohol use and either type of crime across these various cities. The data suggest that recent alcohol use is more highly correlated with violent than property crime over the 10 year period. Compared to the marked declines in drug use, alcohol use among arrestees has declined only slightly although rates vary widely among cities. The presentation will examine possible sources of variation among cities and theoretical explanations for these findings.
Tribal Sovereignty, Individual Rights, and the Myth of Special Privileges
Before the European invasion, tribal governments had little need for a theory of individual rights. Governmental structures varied widely, but most cultures recognized the tribe’s right to exile a dissenter or the dissenter’s right to go his own way. Subject to these minor disruptions, most tribal cultures were homogeneous. Indian Reorganization Act governments are based upon prior U.S. government before sunshine laws and the due process revolution. They have remained frozen while the U.S. government has changed. As a result, individual Indians’ ability to deal with corruption in tribal government is severely limited. Policies that empower individual Indians do so at the expense of tribal sovereignty, which is why few Indians endorse expansion of remedies under the Indian Civil Rights Act. Corruption in tribal governments obstructs attempts to attract capital to Indian Country and feeds the myth of Indian “special privileges” at the center of attacks on sovereign immunity, gaming, and treaty rights. The solution is an Indian theory of individual rights enforceable against tribal governments without resort to state or federal courts. Unless Indians bind themselves to a code of fairness enforced by Indian laws, public opinion will lead Congress to invoke its plenary powers in ways that will further marginalize tribal governments on their remaining lands.
Truancy and Delinquency: A Community-Based Intervention
In June 2000, the Memphis City Schools implemented a “truancy assessment center” (TAC). A multi-agency data sharing project was initiated to evaluate the impact of the TAC. This paper examines process and impact indicators to assess onset, persistence, and desistance of truancy and its relationships with school performance and delinquency.
Truancy Intervention: How Does it Affect the Special Education Students?
Although considerable research has been done on truant children, causes of truancy, and the ramifications incurred by the minor and society, little attention has been paid to truant students who are receiving or are enrolled in special education programs. Numerous studies have found a link between truancy and juvenile delinquency. Likewise, there are studies that link disabilities (that would require special education) with delinquency. However, rarely is the intersection of these phenomena (truancy, special education, and delinquency) looked at. This study focuses on those students who are considered at-risk for delinquency because they are both truant and in special education. Specifically, I attempt to answer the question: Does a truancy program aimed at an inclusive eduational setting address the issues of truancy by increasing attendance for special education students the same as it does for students in the regular curriculum? Attendance data and parent interviews were used to assess the progress of chronically truant students involved in a truancy intervention program in central Illinois. The findings indicate that (1) parents of special education students are more likely to get involved in bettering the attendance of their child(ren) and (2) special education students’ attendance rates increased more dramatically than those of the regular curriculum students.
Trying to Relate: Victims, Offenders, and Their Classification in Homicide Research
Victim-offender relationships may be central to explaining homicide. The disaggregation of homicides by type has salience for both testing theory and public policy. However, the classification of victim-offender relationships in widely available homicide data sets such as the Supplementary Homicide Reports or the Homicides in Chicago data file include numerous detailed categories designed to cover the broad spectrum of relationships that may exist between the victim and the perpetrator of a homicide. Researchers tend to find the analysis of such classifications far too unwieldy and consequently they are inclined to collapse them into a more manageable number of categories. The problem with this aggregation is that it often occurs haphazardly, with little use of theory for direction. This has led to tremendous variation across studies in what kinds of relationships are considered “acquaintances,” “family,” or “friends,” making comparisons of findings difficult and applications to policy problematic. In this paper we propose using clustering methods to create a classification of victim-offender relationships using variables identified as important on the basis of theory or previous research, with the ultimate goal of developing a widely applicable classification of victim-offender relationships. Analyses are based on homicide data for California covering the years 1994-1999.
Tuberculosis Among Correctional Workers and Inmates in the United States
Tuberculosis (TB) is a public health concern in correctional facilities in the United States. This paper reviews the prevalence of new TB infection, active TB cases, and risk factors among correctional workers and inmates reported in the literature from 1990 to 2001. The increasing incidence of TB in incarcerated populations in various geographic locations has been observed in recent years. The tuberculin skin test positivity in correctional workers and inmates ranges from 6% to 38%. Correctional facilities have particular problems with transmission of TB, including multidrug-resistant strains. The spread of multidrug-resistant TB among prisoners in State prisons and City jails can provoke great concern for the employees of those institutions. Crowding and poor ventilation, combined with a particularly high-risk population (HIV infected), are associated with elevated risk of TB in the correctional facilitiers. Prisons and jails should fully implement infection control guidelines to prevent TB transmission. Based on this study, future need for effective strategies to prevent and control TB among correctional population is apparent. Recommendations for further research on TB prevention and control will be offered.
Two Assassins: Psychiatric Discourse and the Rise of Criminology, 1882-1901
This paper will explore the role of medical jurisprudence in the U.S. toward the end of the nineteeth century, paying specific attention to the medical profession’s analyses of two presidential assassins: Charles Guiteau, who shot Garfield, and Leon Czolgosz, who shot McKinley. In particular, I will analyze aned contrast the Guiteau and Czolgosz trials in the context of changes in fin de siecle forensic psychiatry and the developing criminological discourse used against immigrants and anarchists. In the Guiteau trial, the medical profession took an active role in the debate over Guiteau’s sanity. Twenty years later, the medical profession concluded that Czolgosz’s silence at his trial was a form of the disease “anarchism,” which promotes silence among its members, and abandoned any interest in trying to explain psychologically Czolgosz’s crime. I want to describe the political changes that were taking place in the twenty years that separate the two assassinations, for example, the rise of anarchism at the Haymarket Riots in Chicago and the celebration of America’s overseas successes at the Pan-American Exposition, where McKinley was shot, and relate those developments to the medical profession’s changing understanding of insanity at the beginning of the century.
U
Understanding and Addressing the Needs of Abused Female Inmates
Numerous studies have shown that the majority of female inmates have suffered some form of abuse before they were incarcerated. Many have experienced more than one type of violence, and have been abused both as children and adults. Violence against women can leave them with a myriad of psychological problems that require treatment. This paper will examine the types of violence women inmates have experienced and the resulting psychological problems they now face. We will also explore the types of treatment that are available to them in prison, and discuss the pros and cons of prison-based treatment for abuse issues.
Understanding Firesetting and Animal Cruelty: Risk Fctors and Consequences
This study investigates familial and behavioral corelates of childhood firesetting and animal cruelty and the relationship of these behaviors to later delinquency. In a sample of battered and nonbattered women and children, we identified children who exhibited firesetting (n=32) and animal cruelty (n=21) behaviors. We examined the link between family violence background and firesetting. We found that 12% of the children exposed to family violence engaged in firesetting, compared to 5% of comparison group children. Similar rates were found for animal cruelty behaviors. We will present additional information regarding the famiial correlates of firesetting and animal crueltly. Furthermore, we will discuss the relationship between these behaviors and other childhood problems, such as conduct disorder, attention deficit disorder, and depression. Finally, we will examine whether childhood firesetting and animal cruelty were risk factors for juvenile delinquency, as measured by self-reported and court-documented offenses ten years later.
Understanding Offense Specialization and Versatility: A Re-Application of Rational Choice Theory
Early efforts toward understanding whether offenders specialize in types of criminal behavior or partake in general offending patterns applied Cornish and Clarke’s rational choice theory with the improper assumption that it predicts crime type specialization among offending populations. Moreover, research findings on this issue have led some to conclude that a small degree of specialization exits within a larger backdrop of offending versatility. However, previous methodology is limited in its ability to clearly assess the amount of specialization within specific crime types. Somewhat recently logistic regression has been proposed as a means to more clearly evaluate the extent of specialization. This paper seeks to clarify the application of rational choice theory in understanding offense specialization/generality through the use of a multi-nominal logistic regression method.
Understanding the Causal Pathways of Violent Behavior: The Contribution of Prenatal Factors, Cognitive Functioning, and Behavior Problems to Violent Offending
While important information has been gleaned about the risk factors associated with violence, the causal process that links early life events to violence in late adolescence is not well understood. Research investigating this issue has generally been restricted to a focus on one gender, one racial group, non high-risk settings, and oftentimes does not capture a significant portion of the life course linking infancy to late adolescence. Moreover, previous efforts have focused on collecting measures of violence from official sources; therefore, information from self-reports of violent offending have been absent in this line of research. To overcome these limitations, we build and extend previous research findings by utilizing data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The data we examine contain key predictors that are presumed to form the causal process linking early prenatal events to violent offending in late adolescence. To model the causal process, we employ structural equation modeling and also perform a series of multiple-group estimations to assess the extent to which the causal process operates in a similar manner across groups defined by race and gender. The theoretical and policy implications of this research are discussed.
Understanding the Needs of Female Juvenile Offenders: An Evaluation of the G.I.R.L.S. (Gaining Insight Into Relationships for Lifelong Success) Project
The purpose of this presentation will be to discuss the G.I.R.L.S. (Gaining Insight into Relationships for Lifelong Success) Project. The gender specific treatment intervention program utilizes a relational group intervention model for females adjudicated delinquent in Georgia’s Clarke County Juvenile Court. Research suggests a relational model is necessary to understand female development and as such may be helpful in conceptualizing the issues pertaining to adolescent female offenders. Such conceptualizations are particularly salient for females in the juvenile justice system, whose first offenses typically include running away, truancy, and substance abuse. These types of delinquent activities often stem from difficulty with familial, school, and peer relationships. Evaluation of this project to determine its relevance and efficaciousness examines girls in relation to l. self, 2. family, 3. peers, and 4. school. Preliminary results indicate support for continued intervention utilizing the relational model.
Understanding the Role of “Witness” in Sexual Assault Cases Reported to Police
When police investigate crime, often they look to witnesses in gathering evidence to build their case against an offender, with the goal of apprehension and obtaining a conviction. In the specific crime of sexual assault, often the victim is the only witness who can speak to the crimes committed against her/him. This research relays information collected on sexual assault cases (N=115) reported to police, and relays the results of an analysis of “witness” statements gathered in sexual asssault allegations. This research reveals that many “witnesses” to sexual assault, unlike in other criminal events, did not directly observe the assault. Instead, many witness statements serve to attest to the emotional state, and other victim characteristics, both before and after the sexual assault has occurred. Circumstances under which witnesses come to be identified are discussed, and their role in evidence collection in sexual assault cases will be examined.
Understanding Walkerton: Corporate Crime, Deregulation and the Neo-Liberal State
This paper is a case study and theoretical examination of the contamination of the water supply in Walkerton, Ontario Canada. In the spring of 2000 it was discovered that one of the wells supplying drinking water for the town of Walkerton had been contaminated by a deadly strain of e coli bacteria. While an immediate ban on drinking the water was issued, 11 people died and thousands of others became ill before the water was certified as drinkable once more. Several political inquiries and dozens of law suits followed and continue to this day. The privince of Ontario came late to neo-liberal downsizing, with the election of the Progressive Conservative government in 1995. Once in power the Conservatives immediately launched a programme of privatizing, deregulating and downsizing all government departments and services. The Ontario Ministry of the Environment was one of the hardest hit: its annual operating budget fell 45% from 1995 to 1997 the capital budget fell 81%, staff levels declined by 32% and the number of annual charges laid dropped from 263 in 1992 to 943 in 1997 (Globe & Mail, June 22, 1998: A1). The paper examines the links between government downsizing and environmental crime, the creation of the nonculpable corporate subject, and the theoretical implications of this for understanding and conceptualizing corporate crime.
Unfairness in the Adjudication of Abused Women Who Kill
My research concerns women incarcerated for the death of their abusive partners. This paper presents information on the adjudication processes that systematically disallowed these defendants from receiving fair trials. Of the 42 women in my study, all but 2 received some form of life sentence. My paper on their demographics was presented at last year’s ASC and is in press with The Prison Journal.
Unraveling Fear of Crime Among College Women
Ferraro (1995) and Warr (1984) have argued that women’s fear of crime may be driven by fear of “perceptually contemporaneous offenses,” primarily rape or sexual assault. Fear of rape may operate as a “master offense” among women, which heightens their fear of other offenses and multiple studies have cofirmed the relationship between fear of crime and fear of rape. However, researchers have rarely assessed the extent, nature, and level of fear of crime among college women, who, theoretically, should have higher levels of fear because young women have higher rates of rape victimization than do older women. Using college student victimization data from a nationally representative sample, this study explores fear of crime among college women by focusing on the extent their fear of crime is actually fear of rape. In doing so, we assess factors — personal, lifestyle, and contextual — that may affect young women’s fear of crime.
Update on the National Evaluation of the Safe Start Initiative: Successes and Challenges From the Field
The goal of the Safe Start initiative is to create a comprehensive service delivery system that prevents and reduces the impact of family and community violence on young children from birth to six years of age. The initiative seeks to improve service delivery by expanding partnerships among service providers, including early childhood development, health, mental health, family support, domestic violence, substance abuse prevention, crisis intervention, child welfare, law enforcement, and the court/legal system. As the national evaluator, Caliber Associates is tracking progress and impacts in each site through a cross-site process evaluation and a cross-site impact evaluation. Successful evaluation of Safe Start requires collaboration with OJJDP, stakeholders in each of the Safe Start sites, and the technical assistance providers. We will discuss some of the challenges encountered in working with multiple stakeholders to develop the evaluation framework and the ways in which we overcame these challenges. Findings from the process evaluation of the Safe Start planning phase will also be presented. Finally, we will discuss our use of concept mapping techniques to develop a measurement framework that examines the commonalties and differences in key outcomes among and within the sites.
Updated Estimates of the Comparative Costs and Benefits of Programs to Reduce Crime
This paper will present the latest results and methodological improvements of an economic model developed to estimate the costs and benefits of programs that attempt to reduce crime. The model was developed for, and it is being used by, the Washington State Legislature to improve the way resources are allocated among crime prevention, intervention, and incapacitation policies and programs. For a wide range of programs–from prevention programs designed for infants or young children to correctional programs for juvenile and adult offenders–the paper examines whether a program’s benefits are likely to outweigh its costs. The estimates are based on a common methodological approach–an approach that might be labeled an “economic meta-analysis” of what is known about the effectiveness of programs to reduce crime. This approach allows an “apples-to-apples” comparison of the economics of programs aimed at very different age groups. Similar to a financial analysis an investment advisor might use to study rates on return on mutual funds, bonds, real estate, or other diverse investments, the focus is on the comparative economic bottom line.
Urban Inequality and Homicide: An Examination of the Impact of Gender Inequality on Female Offending
This research examines the impact of gender inequality on the homicide offending of females across U.S. cities for 1990. Previous studies in the feminist literature have suggested that women’s status affects their involvement in lethal violence. The present research fuses feminist and urban disadvantage literature in order to further explore the relationship betwen the status of women and female homicide offending. Therefore, specific attention is given to factors such as gender disparities in labor market opportunities, educational and occupational attainment, as well as measures of political and legal dimensions of inequality. The overall findings suggest that dimensions of gender inequality in urban areas should be expanded to further explore its affect on female homicide offending.
Use of Force by Correctional Officers: A Comparison of Public and Private Correctional Facilties
This paper examines and compares the level of inappropriate use of force between public and private juvenile correctional facilities. Data collected from over 4,500 juveniles and l,300 correctional staff at residential faciltiies throughout the United States were analyzed.
Using Attribution Theory to Explain the Bases of Public Support Toward the Death Penalty for Juveniles, the Mentally Ill, and the Mentally Retarded
Previous research on the death penalty typically assesses public support for capital punishment while ignoring the relevance of various offender, victim, and offense characteristics which capital juries are required to consider. As such, public opinion research on capital punishment is greatly and unnecessarily abstracted from reality. Therefore, the present study utilizes attribution theory, a leading theoretical rubric exploring the lay perspectives on the causes of crime, to explain respondents’ support levels toward the death penalty for juveniles, the mentally ill, and the mentally retarded via the administration of a quasi-experimental factorial survey to 697 subject called for jury service in Hillsborough County, Florida. Ordinary Least Squares and logistic regression models are employed to estimate the effects of respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics, vignette characteristics, and variables derived from attribution theory on the level of death penalty support. The substantive, theoretical, methodological, and policy implications of the studey are discussed.
Using High-Definition Geographic Information Systems for Situational Crime Control
Modern police agencies are using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to record crime incidents, identify hot spots, and monitor change in crime patterns over time. In these applications of GIS, crime is mapped on a street network depicted by center lines. Clusters of crime can be identified, but there is no indication of what is clustered about. High definition GIS identifies the site characteristics about which crime is clustered and allows analysts to measure the degree to which crime is spatially aggregated about environmental features and displaced by situational crime control. In this analysis, campus crime, characteristics of the community surrounding the campus, and the impact of situational crime control efforts to control crime on and near campus are evaluated using high definition GIS.
Using Law as Social Control: Applying Black’s Theory of Law to Predict the Presence of a Legal Response to Police Use of Excessive Force
Most of the previous literature on police use of excessive force focuses on individual officer deviance, victims of excessive force, and perceptions of misconduct. However, there is a gap in the literature concerning the discipline of police officers. This research intends to examine how the structure of a police department influences the likelihood of law being used as a method of social control at the organizational level. Donald Black’s theory of law provides a framework with which to analyze this issue. His theory posits that law varies with the stratification, morphology, culture, organization and other social control within an organization. The purpose of the paper is to examine the impact of these variables on the legal discipline of police officers. Data from “Police Use of Force: Official Reports, Citizen Complaints and Legal Consequences, 1991-1992” will be used to test Black’s propositions. The data provide a nationally representative organizational-level sample of 1,697 police departments. The implications of this research for the police literature and for Black’s theory will be discussed, as well as recommendations for future research.
Using the System: Incorporating Methadone Treatment as a Temporary Adaptation to Tough Times on a Prostitution Stroll
The intermittent use of methadone by heroin-addicted sex workers in times of scant resources (few sex customers) is explored within a context of sample members’ multiple adaptations to intensive police crackdowns and other pressures. Among tactics: using “smuggled out” methadone and enrolling in programs for short respites until good times return to the prostitution stroll. Methadone misuse is considered among multiple tactics, including sharing resources, “dosing down” on heroin; engaging in less detectable styles of prostitution; and developing “new” short-term” hustles to ride out tough times on the prostitution stroll. Methadone misuse is discussed within a larger discussion of coping with police crackdowns and other obstacles to a committed “drug lifestyle”. Data is from three years of field research involving observation and in-depth interview techniques with 90 sample members who are heavy drug users and regular sex workers on an urban New Jersey prostitution stroll located in an area of multiple drug markets. Implication for effective use of police crackdowns and more effective treatment options in such contexts will be discussed.
Using Women’s Perceptions to Predict Reassault Among Batterer Program Participants
There have been increasing efforts to predict reassault among batterers who attend batterer programs. Risk markers include substance use, previous criminality, severe personality disorders, and program dropout. One study found women’s perceptions of safety helped predict reassault. Risk assessment inventories have shown modest predictive ability. Previous research, however, has used small databases with limited follow-up and a dichotomous outcome of reassault. We use multinomial logistic regression to explore whether women’s perceptions of the likelihood of reassaults and their perceptions of safety are predictive of multiple outcomes (no abuse, emotional abuse, threats, one-time physical reassault, and repeat reassault) over 15 months. The data are drawn from a multi-site evaluation of four batterer programs. The analysis is based on approximately 500 cases drawn from 840 men and 688 female partners recruited at program intake. Our findings confirm that women’s perceptions, measured soon after intake, are modest predictors of reassault, including repeat reassault. In fact, women’s perceptions alone were more predictive of repeat reassault than simulated versions of two popular risk assessment instruments. Future prediction of reassault by batterer program participants may be improved by incorporating women’s perceptions into risk assessment instruments.
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Validating Orange County’s Contribution to the National Youth Gang Survey Using the Gang Incident Tracking System
The NYGS (National Youth Gang Survey) represents the best current efforts to track gang crime across the nation from 1996 to 2000. This study represents an attempt to validate this survey with an independent law enforcement database. Orange County, California has been involved in a cooperative effort to collect data on gang incidents from 1994 to date (GITS, Gang Incident Tracking System). Police departments in 17 cities and the County Sheriff’s Department have been participating in GITS and the NYGS. This study will analyze the trends indicated by the two databases to explore their similarities and differences.
Variables That Lead to Attribution of Blame or Responsibility to Victims of Rape
Research conducted using college students shows that the gender of the victim, race of the victim, dress of the victim, relationship to the perpetrator, and the length of resistance are contributing factors in the attribution of blame or responsibility to the victim of rape. Research also shows that the age, race, gender, and rape myth acceptance of the participants influence their views toward responsibility for rape. Although rape is a violent criminal act, it is not always the perpetrator of the crime that is held responsible in our society.
Variation in the Gender Gap in Imprisonment in the U.S.
Rates of imprisonment in the United States have increased dramatically over recent decades. This increase has been even more pronounced in the imprisonment of women than men. The media has suggested that this trend results from criminal justice policy changes, particularly mandatory penalties for drug crimes. However, empirical research has not yet tested this explanation vis-a-vis other possible explanations. In this paper, we first document the gender gap in imprisonment, assessing variation across states as well as over time. We then assess several potential explanations for variation in the gender gap in imprisonment, including the changes in women’s and men’s crime rates, the changing economic circumstances of women, and changing penalties for drug offending. We use pooled cross-sectional time-series data from a sample of states and mixed models for estimating random and fixed effects.
Victim’s Perceptions of tje Effects of No-Drop Prosecutorial Strategies on the Empowerment and Self-Efficacy of Victims
This paper examines the effects of prosecutorial strategies (no-drop versus traditional) on the empowerment and self-efficacy of adult female victims of intimate partner violence and on the re-occurence of violence in victims’ lives. The sample (n=150) consists of adult female victims of misdemeanor acts of family violence perpetrated by an intimate partner in two urban counties. A quasi-experimental longitudinal design examines changes in victims’ levels of empowerment and self-efficacy at court intake (Time 1) at court disposition (Time 2) and six months after court disposition (Time 3) as a function of the type of prosecutorial strategy employed, victims’ prior experiences with the criminal justice system and with intimate partner violence, and case outcome.
Victim Support Programs: A Comparison of the West and Japan
Beginning in the mid-1960’s, concern and support for crime victims has been rising, especially in the United States and England. Restorative justice programs have been an important tool for this support, not only in the United States and England, but in many other western countries as well. The same cannot be said, however, of Japan. In Japan, the legal system is not well set up for such programs, and the result is that the interests and concerns of victims and bereaved families generally are neglected. This paper provides a brief history of victim support programs in the United States and contrasts that history with what has occurred in Japan. Legal aspects of victim support, including the Victim’s Charter, also will be discussed as part of the comparison between Western countries and Japan.
Victimization and Punitiveness: Findings From a Statewide Victimization Survey
Public attitudes toward appropriate criminal sanctions were studied to examine the relationship between respondents’ recent victimization histories and their attitudes toward punitive severity in sentencing. A sample of 2036 Iowans was randomly selected to participate in the Iowa Adult Crime Victimization Survey. The respondents answered questions about their own experiences as victims of crime. Respondents were then read two randomly varied scenarios depicting hypothical crimes, and asked which sanctions would be appropriate for each type of criminal. Respondent victimization experience was not found to predict punitiveness. Age and prior criminal history of the offender were associated with respondents’ endorsement of more severe sanctions. The influence of gender, employment history, marital status, education level, race, income, prior arrest record and frequency of using drugs/alcohol on punitiveness was also examined.
Victims and Lost Causes: Official Responses to Youth Prostitution in England and Wales
In March 2000, the British government issued guidance to all criminal justice and welfare agencies directing them to treat young people involved in prostitution as victims of the exploitative and abusive behavior of adults. Until this point, British criminal law and public policy did not distinguish between those under the age of 18 who were involved in prostitution and adult prostitutes. This created the situation in which children under the age of sexual consent could be (and were) prosecuted for prostitution-related offences. Instead, young prostitutes are now officially defined as being, in the first instance, appropriate subjects for social welfare interventions, rather than criminalisation. Statutory welfare agencies and the police are enjoined to safeguard these young people from abuse and exploitation instead of punish them. Drawing on in-depth interview materials collected from Local Authority, voluntary agencies and policed officials tasked with implementing the March 2000 guidance, this paper asks the question of how and in what ways these organisations work with young people in prostitution and to what effect. Using qualitative data analysis, this paper seeks to understand the ways in which those claiming to help young prostitutes construct them and the impact such constructions have on official practice.
Violence, Gender, and Race: The Supreme Court and the Violence Against Women Act
Last year, in United States v. Morrison, the United States Supreme Court invalidated a provision of the Violence Against Women Act. This was only the second anti-discrimination law to be held unconstitutional since Reconstruction. A majority of the Court found that the statute was beyond the reach of Congress’s power under both the interstate commerce clause and the Fourteenth Amendment. This paper focuses on the Fourteenth Amendment issue and considers the nature of the “state action” requirement for federal legislation under the amendment, a requirement the Court said was missing in the Morrison case. The paper then compares the current problem of violence against women with the problem of violence against newly freed African-Americans during and after Reconstruction. The paper concludes that the Court’s interpretation of the amendment is at odds with the amendment’s text and, more importantly, its historical context and legislative intent. The situation women currently face with respect to violence is parallel to that faced by African-Americans during Reconstruction. The systematic failure of the states’ criminal justice systems to adequately protect women from acts of violence is precisely the type of circumstance that would justify federal legislation such as the Violence Against Women Act.
‘Violent’ Aboriginal Women Offenders and the Canadian Correctional System
Selective research attention has been allotted to the area of “violent” women offenders in Canada. Research in the area largely portrays women involved in “violent” offences as “unnatural/evil”. This identification is further upheld in the limited existing theoretical and empirical inquiry into “violent” conduct by Aboriginal women. The findings of this study support that the portrayal of Aboriginal women involved in “violent” conduct as “unnatural/evil” is based on a mythical social creation rather than valid and reliable research. This study’s specific focus on the federal imprisonment phase of the Canadian criminal justice process, the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), reveals that the identifification, and ensuing control and treatment of “violent” Aboriginal women is deeply embedded within CSC’s oppressive historic structure. This finding is used as a benchmark to compare and contrast with the current ideological and material operation of the new regional federal correctional facilities for women in Canada.
Violent Crime Maps of Savannah, 1993-1997
Some 48,000 violent offenses known to the police in Savannah, Georgia between 1993 and 2000 were used to establish an address-based database in the mapping program, ArcView. These events were summarized by Census Block and combined with land use map layers in order to analyze the spatial characteristics of violence in Savannah. During this period of time, rates of violence went up in many Savannah Census Blocks. Areas with particularly high rates of violence tended to be African-American residential neighborhoods and districts of the City with retail, entertainment, and office land uses.
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Ways of Doing Integration: Integrating Theories and Bodies of Criminological Knowledge
Over the past couple of decades, theories of crime and punishment have blossomed in their diversity. Not only has the study of crime and punishment broadened throughout the behavioral and social sciences, but, increasingly criminologists have adopted perspectives that are no longer grounded in “classical” versus “positivist” views of human nature and social interaction. In today’s multicultural worlds of criminology and criminal justice characterized by post-structuralism, post-Marxism, post-affirmative action, and post-feminism, criminologists from a variety of schools of thought have come to appreciate the value of doing integrative criminology. This paper provides an overview of modernist, post-modernist, and hyper post-modernist integrations.
‘We Have to Prove We Are Not Just Women’: Women in Criminal Justice in Papua New Guinea
A considerable amount of research has been conducted in the West to examine gender relations within the criminal justice workplace. Little or no research has been produced concernng the complex position of women in developing countries who choose a career within the criminal justice system. Research was conducted with the aim of exploring gender in the criminal justice system in the South Pacific country of Papua New Guinea through interviews with women police officers, women correctional officers, women magistrates, women lawyers and women probation officers. The research is located within and contrasted with western discourses of gender relations in criminal justice systems in the United States and England and elaborated within the specificity of the general Melanesian discourse on gender. Themes and issues which emerge include the notion that the women believe they need to exceed gender boundaries in order to succeed as professionals, but that they are nevertheless convinced of their greater competence in their work.
We Played the Race Card for 35 Years: Presidential Contests and Fear of Crime
Conventional wisdom holds that 1960s’ riots stoked crime concerns among white Americans. These crime concerns, in turn, are believed to have played a pivotal role in helping Richard Nixon defeat Hubert Humphrey in the 1968 presidential race. Systematic review of riot incidence and polling data indicate, however, that the presumed linkage between crime concerns and riots was endorsed by very few among those polled. Rather, this linkage of riots to crime was a social construct. This paper tracks the role of polling organizations, “law and order” candidates, and media outlets in the creation of this social construct.
Web of Deviance: Using the Internet to Explore Issues in Criminological Research
The purpose of this paper is to explore alternative avenues for original data collection in criminological research. Drawing on previous ‘cyber’ studies, the authors examine both the pros and cons of conducting survey research on the Internet. The existence of the Internet and the ever-growing popularity of the World Wide Web clearly offer new avenues of exploration for the researcher. While online research techniques do not entirely eliminate cost, the benefits can be substantial. Individuals and groups may be more easily reached than ever before without the burden of geographical restraints. Some of these groups might be considered deviant because of their involvement with the Internet itself. The widespread use of electronic mail allows for the instantaneous transmission to potential respondents, while web-based technology enables researchers to develop secure, anonymous studies online. Despite the apparent ease by which researchers can gather data from Internet-based studies, sampling bias, privacy concerns, and other methodological issues come into play. The information from this paper should provide a foundation for any individual interested in utilizing the Internet as a medium for conducting criminal justice research.
What Are the Chances? A Look at the Similarities and Differences Between Predictors of Juvenile Substance Abuse and Juvenile Problem Gambling Behavior and Their Relationship to Predictors of Adult Problem Gambling Behavior
Growth of the gaming industry has led to new awareness of gambling addiction among adults, parallels with substance abuse and dependency, and attempts to define populations at risk. More recently, problematic gambling behavior among juveniles has become an issue. This research, utilizing data froma 2001 survey of Delaware public middle and high school students, investigates the similarities and differences in the relationships between youth gambling and youth substance abuse and relevant risk/resiliency factors, including parental relationships and school involvement. Predictors of juvenile problem gambling behavior are compared with predictors of adult problem gambling behavior in the same geographic region. (This research was supported by HHS Cooperative Agreement number (U1F SPO8192.)
What Do Guns Have to Do With It? Firearms Availability and Homicides in U.S. Counties
The focus of our research is the relationship between firearms availability and homicides. Although existing studies in this area are numerous, their findings and conclusions are limited by researchers’ use of questionable proxy measures for firearms availability and choice of metropolitan areas or cities as units of analysis. The current research adopts U.S. countries as units of analysis, employs the number of Type 1 and Type 2 Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs) per capita as a measure of firearms availability, and uses negative binomial regression to estimate models. The results show a positive relationship between FFLKs and homicides at the county level.
What Do Schools Have to Do With School Violence? Dis- and Re-Entangling Person, Organization, and Community Factors
Recent research on school violence has raised a number of questions regarding the relative roles played by the school organization, the composition of the student body, and characteristics of surrounding and feeder neighborhoods in generating, preventing, and controlling violence. Limitations of existing research are its paucity, measurement validity, and the tendency of additive statistical models to neglect processes and mechanisms linking person, organization, and the environment in which the organization is embedded. In such a situation, qualitative analyses of field data can be useful for interpreting existing research findings and generating analytic categories and strategies for subsequent research. Comparative ethnographic data from three school/community settings are employed here for these purposes. Findings suggest that measures and analytic strategies used in research to date may mistakenly classify episodes and correlates of violent behavior with respect to whether or to what extent they are organizational, compositional, or external to the school in origin. Implications of these findings for various approaches to the prevention and control of violence are discussed.
What Does Drug Quanity Measure
The two primary purposes of sentencing under the federal guidelines are 1) to punish offenders proportionately to the seriousness of their offense, and 2) protect the public from offenders who are likely to commit additional crimes if left free. Drug trafficking offenders constitute over 40 percent of the people sentenced in federal court, and the primary determinant of sentences in these cases is the quantity of drugs involved in their offense. This research uses a random sample of 1995 drug offenders to assess how well drug quantity serves as a measure of offense seriousness and offender dangerousness. The relationships between drug quantity and the offender’s role in the offense, his position within the criminal organization, the nature of these organizations, and other measures of culpability are examined. In addition, independent measures of offender dangerousness are used to determine whether drug quantity accurately targets the right offenders for lengthy imprisonment.
What Gender is the Maturity Gap?
A long tradition in criminological theory attributes delinquency to problems of adjustment ocasioned by the lengthy adolescence typical of industrialized societies. But less attention has been paid to the role of gender in this process. This paper addresses the following questions: Can the “maturity gap” also account for differences in male and female delinquency? Do gender differences in the adult roles to which teens aspire, and in the relationship between adults and juveniles shape the nature of the maturity gap?
What Impact Will an Aging Inmate Population Have on Local Detention Facilities in 2003?
There has been a increase in the number of older inmates confined in both local detention facilities and prisons in the United States. Older inmates present different challenges to those operating the nation’s jails and this paper initiates thinking for the practitioner who will be expected to meet those challenges. Included in the paper are discussions as to why a greater number of inmates of advanced years are being confined and how they must be dealt with. Physical plant issues, recreation, diet, medical care, work assignments, restraint devices, and even commissary lists are considered. This paper was prepared by the author as original research in connection with the California Command College Program. While directed at the practitioner, it will raise questions of academia and provide areas of interest for additional research.
What is Justice Studies?
The legends of the Old West have produced a mythology which has been accepted as fact by many. The genocidal treatment of the Native Americans has been examined by several authors and forced a new look at such “history”. Other groups, (Chinese, Irish, African-descended) have been subjected to hate crimes and genocidal treatment during the same period. Some of these incidents and their “sanitization” will be examined.
What is the Purpose of Short Sentences of Imprisonment? A Canadian Perspective
Short sentences of imprisonment of less than 30 days for adults across different provinces make up a relatively large proportion (about 30-35% in 1998-99) of the total number of sentenced admissions to provincial institutions. Some past research suggests that judges impose short periods of custody for young offenders–usually in combination with other ‘intermediate’ sanctions–because ‘intermediate’ sanctions alone are viewed as not being effective in accomplishing denunciation for some offences. The offences that were viewed as requiring denunciation included violence. In the adult system, offenders can be sentenced to imprisonment for non-payment of fines, as well as in Ontario, there are mandatory minimum sentences of 14 days for second convictions of drunk driving. Apart from these, we are not aware of the range of specific offences for which sentences of 30 days or less are being handed down for adults. We also do not know what judges are tryng to accomplish with these short sentences. This study includes an analysis of unpublished data on different lengths of imprisonment, and attempts to understand the range of possible reasons for short custodial sentences. In addition, interviews with judges will be conducted to understand the purposes of these sentences.
What Makes Treatment Effective: A Qualitative Analysis of Drug Treatment in a Prison-Based Setting
In his analysis of treatment outcomes, Simpson (1997) argued that there is a need for research that establishes key components in the effectiveness of correctional-based drug treatment. While studies have focused mainly on the charateristics of the patient, the attributes of both the counselor and the institutional setting have been mostly ignored. Additionally, the large majority of the research that has been completed thus far has focused on quantitative measures to determine the patient-treatment relationship. The purpose of this paper is to provide a qualitative examination of the relationship between the patient, the staff, and the institution at which the drug treatment occurs. This is accomplished through the analysis of 48 inmate interviews completed at five state correctional institutions throughout Pennsylvania. By studying inmates from each of the therapeutic communities, it is evident that the will of the offender is not the only motivating factor in therapeutic engagement. More specifically, the results suggest that the effectiveness of drug treatment constitutes more than the relationship between the patient and the treatment progfram, but a combination of both individual inmate factors as well as program characteristics as evaluated by the inmate, which include peer support, program structure, counselor rapport and counselor competence.
What’s the Matter With RICO…and Other Criminal Association Legislation?
Three decades have passed since the passing of the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) statute in 1970. Although the judicial and law literature has consistently addressed the evolution of this law with a considerable amount of critical and advocating attention, empirically-based analysis of this unique piece of legislation has remained largely absent. Some of the key issues surrounding RICO will be discussed (i.e. ambiguous conceptualization of central terms and legislative expansionism). Results from an analysis of a controversial history of the law will also be presented.
What Traffic Stop Data Can Tell Us About Possible Racial Bias in Policing: Results From the North Carolina State Highway Patrol Study
Data on police traffic stops have recently been collected across a variety of jurisdictions. North Carolina is the first state to systematially collect and make available to researchers data on traffic stops. Traffic stops by the partrol for the year 2000 for the entire state are analyzed and the results discussed in terms of patterns of possible racial disparity and bias.
What Works: Examining Juvenile Corrections Programs
This paper reviews existing literature on juvenile correctional programs and assesses the most effective methods for reducing future criminal behavior of adjudicated delinquents. Existing meta-analyses of juvenile correctional programs are discussed, and the findings will be compared with those generated by this review. Types of treatments assessed include wilderness/challenge programs, waiver to adult criminal court, educational programs, substance abuse programs, intensive supervision and aftercare, deterrence programs, boot camps, and cognitive behavioral or multicomponent treatments implemented in both residential and community settings. The paper concludes with general findings as to what works, what doesn’t, what’s promising, and what we don’t know based on an assessment of the quality of the research and the significance and direction of effects.
When Mandatory Sentences Are No Longer Mandatory: Evaluating the Impact of Discretion on the California “Three Strikes” Law
In 1994 California implemented its version of the “three-strikes law” which called for a mandatory minimum sentence of 25-years-to-life for all offenders with three qualifying felonies. Despite the mandatory provision, prosecutors were given the discretion to dismiss a prior strike offense when it was determined to be “in the furtherance of justice.” This discretion was extended to judges as well by the California Supreme Court in the case People v. Superior Court (Romero) (53 Cal.Rptr.2d 789 (Cal. 1996). Although the use of discretion was initially expected to be limited in its application, a study of this discretion in San Diego County reveals that fewer than one-half of all eligible three-strike cases are actually sentenced to the full mandatory minimum of 25-years-to-life. In this paper I will discuss the reasons underlying this surprising finding and the potential implications that this finding has for the California criminal justice system.
Where Do They Come From: Early Childhood Risk Factors for Adolescent Violence and Gang Membership
This pesentation examines the relationship of early childhood risk factors to involvement in serious deliquency and gang membership during adolescence. Childhood family, school, and peer experiences and individual characteristics are explored. The magnatude of the relationship between childhood experience and later problem behavior remains an open issue, and may depend on interpretations made of empirical/statistical findings, an issue explored in the presentation. The data used are from the Denver Youth Survey, a longitudinal develomental study of problem and successful behavior over the 7-26 year old age range.
Which Way Did They Go? — Exploring What We Know (and Don’t Know) About Public and Private Prison Escapes in the United States
This paper presents findings of a study of escapes from public and private prisons in the United States during 1997 and 1998. Existing criminal justice system databases provide conflicting and incomplete information about the overall frequency and specific characeristics of prison escapes in the United States. An innovative database of escapes was created using a comprehensive search of national and regional news sources. Validity of news media-derived data was checked by comparison with existing databases. Using a heuristic model to classify the severity of escape incidents, the study focused on a sample of eight-eight (88) of the most serious prison escapes that occurred during the biennium, including seventy-seven (77) public prison escapes and eleven (11) escapes from private facilities. The study examines substantive information derived from news accounts, investigative documents, and interviews with officials regarding these individual escape incidents. Findings discussed include: the frequency of prison escapes in the U.S., the extent of news media coverage of escapes, differences between the public and private sector prisons, state-by-state differences, characteristics of escapees, and the variety of means employed by inmates in escaping from prison.
White-Collar Crime: An Exploration of Diversity and Similarity Across Nations
This paper examines white collar in a comparative perspective. Only fairly recently has systematic information about these kinds of illegal activities become available, mostly in the industrialized nations. These sources–some of which are criminological research studies, others are case studies, news paper accounts, and government reports–suggest that, despite considerable cross-national variation in the prevalence and seriousness of such behavior–there are certain international commonalities in the phenomenon of white collar crime. Commonalities are found in (1) the employed criminological and popular explanations; (2) the typical social response to this form of illegal behavior; and (3) the positive social-economic functions which are served by certain forms of white collar crime (i.e., it fills voids in government policy). International differences in white collar crime are diminishing as a result of new technology (in particular information and communication technology). International corporations play a role of growing importance.
White Collar Crime: Russian Organized Crime’s Money Laundering
This paper addresses a facet of White Collar Crime, Money Laundering. Money Laundering is taking money made from criminal activity, usually cash, and moving it through a sequence of transactions until its origins are obscured. Often this involves the use of shell companies formed in bank secrecy-havens. Once the trail has been blurred, the money is withdrawn and used for further criminal activities. The most popular money laundering case in the U.S. history was “Operation Casablanca” in 1998. This case involved approximately 150 million dollars in drug money. Many of the more recent cases of money laundering have been against various Russian individuals and/or groups. The Russian cases represent a sobering advance from “Operation Casablanca” on a number of fronts, most notably the amounts involved are higher and the fact that the art of money laundering has migrated from drug traffickers to white-collar criminals. Numerous cases, mainly against Russians, were examined in reference to their commonalities in structure and enforcement.
Who Gets What, Where and How? State and Federal Criminal Criminal Prosecution and the Impact of Federalization of Crime Control
In the past decade, legal scholars have explored the trend towards federalization of crime control. The focus is typically on Congessional jurisdiction, federalism, the historical development of federal crime policy and anecdotal perspectives of judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys on the state-federal nexus. However, very little systematic research has been done by socio-legal studies scholars interested in understanding the impact of the growing federal role in crime control on state and local prosecution and law enforcement. Federal prosecutors prosecute only a fraction of the cases over which they currently have jurisdiction. Furthermore, there is significant inter-district variation in relationships between U.S. Attorneys offices, local prosecutors and local law enforcement and those variations result in different types of prosecutions and sentencing outcomes. This paper is the preliminary piece of a larger project pursuing the following questions: how and why are defendants prosecuted in state or federal court? What is the impact of the growing federal role on local law enforcement policy? This paper explores the existing literature on federalization, identifies key questions for research and presents some preliminary findings from interviews with U.S. District Attorneys and local prosecutors on the nexus between federal and local crime fighting efforts.
Why Not Ask the Experts: Juvenile Probation Officers’ Explanations for Juvenile Delinquency
This study investigates the explanations given by juvenile probation officers for juvenile delinquency. Over 150 probation officers responded to a closed ended type survey that inquired about the officer’s belief that juvenile delinquency could be explained by eight or more sociological theories. In addition to their explanations of juvenile delinquency the officers responded to items pertaining to job satisfaction and provided other pertinent demographic information. This study presents a detailed impression of the probation officers, and it considers their degree of job satisfaction as it analyzes their reactions to the theoretical framework created for this study.
Witness Satisfaction: Findings From the Witness Survey 2000
The increasing trend towards performance measurement in government and public services in England and Wales has included the criminal justice system within its ambit. The first national Witness Satisfaction Survey was designed to measure witnesses’ satisfaction with their treatment by the different CJ agencies including: the police; the CPS/prosecution lawyers; defence lawyers; court staff; judges and magistrates; Victim Support (offers information, help and support to victims of crime and their families); and the Witness Service (which provides support to all witnesses). The survey covered both the prosecution and defence witnesses. About three-quarters (76%) of witnesses said they were very or fairly satisfied with their overall experience at court. Satisfaction with individual agencies was generally higher. Levels of overall satisfaction were strongly related to the amount of information given to witnesses, feelings of intimidation (personal and process), facilities at court, and waiting times. All agencies have a role to play in helping increase witness satisfaction, both with the individual agency involved, but also overall. While the experience of giving evidence will probably never be a pleasant one, there are a range of ways inw hich witnesses could be dealt with differently which may go a long way towards removing some of the factors which frighten or intimidate them.
Witnessing Good Mothering: Experts and Expertise in Family Law Decisions
Within judicial discourse surrounding good mothering is a value-laden reliance upon the status and perceived expertise of experts–those individuals defined by the court as knowledgeable enough to make claims about the issues before the court. These experts, a vastly diverse group of individuals, serve an important role in the evaluation of mothers and mothering and in the incorporation of motherhood ideals into case law. Utilizing a content analysis of case law from 1980-1996 I will focus on two primary aspects of the experts’ role: 1) the definitional activities of experts, particularly their establishment of standards which mothers before the court are expected to meet; and 2) their evaluative activities, by which they judge mothers and their behaviors. Both of these activities essentially provide the court with a perceived objective interpretation of mothers, mothering, and motherhood that then serves as a piece of the foundation upon which judicial decision-making rests.
Woman to Woman Sexual Violence
Based on a nationwide study using questionnaires and phone interview of lesbians, and bisexual women who have experienced sexual violence by a female perpetrator, this paper will discuss the difficulty in discussing this violence. Foremost is the silencing most survivors face from both the lesbian community and the broader society — as lesbians and as women. Denial that women are perpetrators is one aspect of the deep denial. Heterosexism in law has an enormous impact that also silences these women. The development of a feminist analysis that battering and rape are male behaviors has led to a lack of needed services by domestic violence and rape crisis agencies for lesbians. Even the lack of appropriate language to label these acts has hindered survivors in identifying what has happened to them. Case stories will be presented to demonstrate the different problems we have in facing woman to woman sexual violence.
Women, Crime and the Risk Society
This article offers a gender analysis of risk theorizing for criminology. Current theoretical discussions of ‘risk society’ and governmentality are critically appraised with reference to gender, raising questions about the nature of risk for various social groups. Theories of risk taking and risk-management in late-modernity have assumed a general universality of application and effect. Yet, women’s negotiation of risk – both in terms of risk taking and risk avoidance – point to an understanding of risk as inherently gendered and not easily universalized. Moreover, theorizing risk from a gendered perspective highlights its political nature, challenging the idea of risk as a neutral concept and risk assessment as an intended apolitical actuarial practice of late modernity. Instead, we contend that how women experience risk and how we view such experiences are shaped by the politics of gender. Formulations of risk are deeply embedded in gender, race and class politics. The narrow conception of risk taken in criminological writings and the failure to acknowledge what constitutes ‘risk’ for women has consequently excluded women’s experiences of crime.
Women, Wefare and Crime
This paper will critically review and analyze twenty-three empirical studies that examine the relationship between the welfare and crime. As a whole, the research supports a conclusion that Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) is negatively correlated with crime rates at both the state and city levels. Additionally, new city level data will be introduced to examine the relationship between rates of welfare participation (as opposed to AFDC payments) and property crime. These findings as well as the findings from prior research will be examined in relation to several theoretical linkages that have been developed to explain the relationship between welfare and crime.
Women in Tribal Policing: An Examination of Their Status and Experiences
Extensive research has been done on the role of women in policing. Studies have found that women in policing are somewhat disconnected from the traditional power structure within mainstream policing, and are viewed by police administrations and by themselves as bringing different values and gifts to the role of policing. Research has also found that women are generally outside power structures within policing and view themselves as hampered in their chosen profession. This study focuses on the role of women in tribal policing. It will present the integration of women within tribal police departments, the manner in which they are viewed by police administration and colleagues, and the view they have of themselves within the organization. A comparison with research on women in mainstream and tribal policing will be done.
Women’s Experiences of Violent Victimization in Public Housing: Does Collective Efficacy Make a Difference?
Economically disadvantaged women who live in public housing developments face an elevated risk of violent victimization, especially by intimates and acquaintances. Criminological research in disadvantaged neighborhoods, however, has found that the level of collective efficacy in the neighborhood lowers rates of violent victimization. This theory has not been tested in public housing nor with regard to women’s violent victimization by intimates and acquaintances. The present paper reports on research that tests the hypothesis that in public housing developments characterized by high collective efficacy female residents have lower rates of violent victimization, including victimization by intimates and acquaintances. Data were collected through structured interviews with female residents of two public housing developments in Philadelphia characterized by high collective and female residents of two public housing develoment in the same city characterized by low collective efficacy. The implications of the study in terms of women’s safety and crime control in public housing are discussed.
Worklife Quality in a State Department of Corrections: A Study of Organizational Structure, Work Stress and the Coping Adaptations of Employees
The social structure and organizational climate of large bureaucratic agencies often create environmental factors at work that can negatively affect the quality of life in the workplace. Excessive workload demands, ambiguous expectations, lack of control over the work and low levels of social support are chronic stressors which can lead to heightened levels of stress among employees, who then adopt coping strategies to manage or reduce the stress. Correctional organizations are characterized by stress-producing environmental factors, but little is known about the relationship between work stressors and the coping adjustments made by correctional workers. We use heirarchical regression procedures to test for main and interaction effects of job stressors on job stress and coping adjustments among a sample of employees of the Arizona Department of Corrections. The findings are discussed in terms of the current literature on organizational stress and in terms of their implications for the organization.
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You Are What You Do: A Cross-National Study of Routine Activities and Deviance
Social scientists have become increasingly interested in the link between adolescent leisure time and deviant behavior (Agnew & Petersen, 1989; Junger & Polder, 1922; Junger & Wiegersma, 1995; McQuoid, 1996; Riley, 1987). Few researchers have extended this line of work to test whether differences in rates of leisure activities can be used to explain existing cross-cultural differences in deviance (cf. Osgood, Wilson, Omally, Bachman & Johnson, 1996). The current study 1) examined differences in leisure and deviance by country and sex, and 2) tested whether cross-national differences in leisure time could account for cross-national differences in deviant behavior. Self-report data were collected from N=6,914 adolescents from four different countries (Hungary, Netherlands, Switzerland, United States; Vazsonyiu, Pickering, Junger, & Hessing, in press). Measures included demographic variables, leisure (11 items in 4 domains), and lifetime deviance (the Normative Deviance Scale [NDS; Vazsonyiu & Pickering, 2000] contains 55 items in 7 subscales). Results indicated that when residualized using leisure domains, mean level differences in deviance by country and sex were significantly reduced. These results seem to indicate that cross-national differences in rates of deviant behavior can be explained by differences in leisure activities. Additional analyses in this area will focus on the specific nature of these differences.
Youth, Violent Crime, and Labor Market Conditions
Economic disadvantage is widely considered as critical for explaining variation in levels of criminal violence. Consistent with this view, a long tadition of research examining rates of crime has demonstrated that poverty is an essential macrostructural source of higher levels of violence. Extending this literature, some recent scholars have focused attention on the role of labor market opportunities, and not just poverty, as a critical cause of delinquency and violent crime. For example, Wilson (1996) considers the loss of work in the legal economy, particularly in stable high-paying jobs, as central to the increases in community social dislocation observed in many urban neighborhoods. Crutchfield and his colleagues (Crutchfield 1989; Crutchfield and Pitchford 1997; Crutchfield, Glusker, and Bridges 1999) and Bellair and Roscigno (2000) also argue that weak labor market opportunities are more fundamental than poverty in generating crime. In this paper, we draw on these recent works to explore the role of labor market conditions in neighborhood rates of violent crime. Specifically, we extend prior work by examining whether distinct aspects of labor market opportunity have varying effects on violent crime rates for youth, young adults, and older adults. Youth have weaker attachments to the labor market and tend to work in lower paying and less stable jobs than their older counterparts. We, therefore, explore whether low-wage jobs and secondary sector employment levels have stronger effects on violent crime among youth than other age groups. We also consider whether overall joblessness has a more important effect on criminal violence among the older age group that should have a stronger attachment to the labor market. Results for census tracts in Cleveland, Ohio demonstrate that joblessness and low-wage jobs are significant predictors of neighborhood rates of violent crime. However the influence of low wage jobs is significant only for those under 25 years of age, while the effect of joblessness is significant only for groups 20 and over.
