2003 ASC Annual Meeting Abstracts
Meeting | Author Index | Title Index
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1-Year Return to Custody Rates of Men and Women Parolees From Prison-Based TC Treatment
The purpose of this study is to identify critical factors that are related to the reincarceration rates of men and women offenders who paroled from prison TC treatment programs. Extensive treatment intake interviewed data for 4,509 women and 3,595 men from 15 prison-based TCs in California was compared using chi-square analyses, t-tests, and logistic regression analyses. Intake data come from a five-year process and outcome evaluation of the California Department of Corrections’ Prison Treatment Expansion Initiative. The return-to-custody data come from the CDCs Offender Based Information System (OBIS). Logistic regression analyses were conducted separately for men and women to indicate which factors were associated with a return-to-custody within 12-months from parole. Results show that drug-dependent men and womdn differ with regard to their employment histories, substance abuse problems, criminal involvement, psychological functioning, and sexual and physical abuse histories prior to incarceration. After controlling for these baseline differences between men and women, preliminary regression findings showed that psychological impairment was the strongest predictor of recidivism for both men and women. Preliminary findings indicate the need for a more comprehensive psychological assessment at intake to assess the diverse psychological needs of drug-dependent offenders.
#13675-058 … But You Can Call Me Andrew: Doing Federal Time
Most Americans never see, let alone become ensnarled in, the nation’s vast correctional system. But the unprecedented prison boom is incurring unprecedented costs — economic, social, and ethical — that are being paid, one way or another, by everyone in this country. Despite the fact that over 160,000 people are locked up in federal correctional facilities, information about the Federal Bureau of Prison’s (FBOP or BOP) clientel — and otheir “inside” experiences — remains elusive. This paper is the second in a series in which the “coing time” story of a former law enforcement officer, recipient of a graduate degree, and “resident” of the federal prison system is shared with the “free” world.
18th Century Privacy, 21st Century Technology
The modern understanding of privacy is undergoing severe strain as advancing technology and rules of law diminish sphers formerly thought of as protected. Though as recently as Kyllo the Supreme Court anchored privacy expectations in the era of the American Constitutional Convention, emerging technological capabilities in both the public and private sector have eroded the practical expectation of privacy in many venues. The new authority of government to gather information and maintain it in the wake of the Patriot Act, the creation of DNA databases, the issues related to voluntary surrender of otherwise protected information in order to obtain services from the private sector, and the associated downstream uses of purchased data, all call into questions whether anything remotely resembling the Founding Fathers’ vision of privacy can be maintained in the 21st century. This paper explores those issues and their offshoots, such as identity theft, call sfor a national identity card, and whether or not there is any effective defense at law or in practice against an increasingly intrusive technological age.
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A Changing Drug Market: The Impact on Patterns of Heroin Use
This paper explores the changing drug market scence and its impact on heroin use patterns in a South Texas Mexican American urban community. This research is based on qualitative data gathered from a NIDA funded study examining 300 Mexican American non-injecting drug users in San Antonio, Texas. Selected contextual factors specific to Mexican Americans related to increased use of non-injecting heroin use and transitioning to injecting will be examined. This paper will focus on how distribution and retailing practices initiated by adult prison gangs made available powdered heroin as opposed to black tar. As well, discussed is how these practices changed the social perception of heroin use among non-heroin polydrug users. Findings reveal the importance ine xamining contextual variations in the risk of transitioning to injecting. This growth in NIUs in this community has serious consequences for controlling increases in IDU and the spread of HIV, and other blood born pathogens associated with injectors.
A Chinese Birth Cohort: Theoretical Implications
This is an analysis of a Chinese birth cohort born in 1973. Looking at basic demographic data, interviews and police report data on criminal and public security violations, this paper analyzes the results and puts them into a theoretical context of delinquency theory.
A Common Explanation of the Changing Age Distributions of Suicide and Homicide in the United States: 1930 to 2000
This paper addresses shifts in the age distributions of homicide deaths and suicides in the United States from 1930 to 2000. The data are disaggregated by race (white non-white) and sex. It is shown that shifts in the age distributions of suicide and homicide deaths over this period are closely related. Two characteristics of birth cohorts explain much of this relationship. We set our work within a Durkhemian framework and argue, contrary to Durkheim, but in agreement with most criminologists, that both suicide and homicide are positively related to “egoism.” The paper provides a bridge between the work of suicidologists and criminologists.
A Comparative Analysis of Commercial Sex: Implications for Theory and Policy
The goal of this paper is to provide a background to the various theories concerning commercial sex. Using a comparative perspective that examines differences in the Netherlands, United States and canada, I will examine policy and socio-cultural differences between the three. Of particular interest are issues of gender (young male hustlers), sexuality (transgender and queer individuals) and national origin and migration (both voluntary and forced). It is argued that a more dense theoretical perspective is needed to develop appropriate criminal justice responses.
A Comparative Study of the Implementation Process of the Comstat Approach Between the Newark Police Department, U.S. and the Military Police Department in Belo Horizonte, Brazil
The Comstat model has been identified as one of the most important reasons for the efficacy of the NYPD on crime reduction in New York City. As a result, the Comstat model has been implemented by many police departments in the U.S. and other countries. The current study aims at comparing the implementation of the Comstat approach between the Newark Police Department, New Jersey, U.S. and the Military Police Department in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The main goal is examine the effectiveness of the Comstat approach in crim prevention and problem solving and its impact on organizational behavior and police accountability at the police precinct ledvel. Belo Horizonte is the first city to adopt the Comstat approach from the United States in the Military Police Department in Brazil where it has been operating since 2000. Research data were collected from secondary sources, such as police records and crime reports. Additional data include systematic and ethnographic observations of police activity, regular attendance at the Comstat meetings, community meetings, and interviews with the command staff, patrol officers, and detectives in both police departments in the study. The impact of the Comstat model on police across culture, its strengths and weaknesses on crime prevention and reduction will be discussed. Police implications for both cities are recommended.
A Comparison of Prospective and Retrospective Reports of Child Abuse
Most studies of child abuse have not collected prospective data. Instead they have waited until adulthood to collect measures of abuse and neglect and have used these data to conduct analyses examining the effects of childhood victimization. The validity of the results from these retrospective studies is questionable and few prospective studies have assessed the accuracy of recall. In this study, we make use of unique data from a longitudinal study of adolescents and young adults to examine how well individuals can recollect parenting behavior, discipline practices, physical abuse and sexual experiences and abuse. Data were collected as part of the Rutgers Health and Human Development project, a prospective cohort-sequential, longitudinal study of adolescent development. The sample for the present analysis consists of 374 men and women who were interviewed five times between the ages of 12 years and 30/31 years. Overall, the data indicate weak reliability for recall of parenting behaviors and at best moderate reliability for recall of discipline practices and physical abuse. Reliability of recall of the timing of sexual experiences is high, although actual reports of sexual abuse have low reliability. Results from studies based on retrospective accounts of physical and sexual abuse should be interpreted with caution.
A Comparison of the Criminal Justice Systems of Malaysia and the United States
Although countries may differ in terms of their social, economic, and political institutions, it has been argued that their criminal justice systems are similarly structured. Regardless of the distinguishing and unique features of a given country’s culture, its criminal justice system is designed to accomplish the same goals: (1) protect society from criminal perpetrators; (2) punish those who have violated its criminal laws; (3) attempt to achieve the goals of general deterrence, specific deterrence, incapacitation, restitution, and retribution; and (4) provide offenders with opportunities to turn themselves into productive, law-abiding citizens. This study was conducted to determine whether the criminal justice system in Malaysia conformed to this idea concerning these so-called universal goals and practices. Malaysia is a developing country with a diverse population. In its bid for modernization, Malaysia has moved toward a market economy, an unfortunate byproduct of which has been increased criminal activity. The results indicated that despite numerous cultural differences between Malaysia and the United States, the criminal justice systems of both countries were remarkably similar, providing support for the contention that ciminal justice systems largely reflect universal goals and practices.
A Contest for Post-Colonial African Optimisin in Criminology
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of afro-optimism and afrenaisance regarding the practice of criminology, democracy, and justice in post-colonial Africa. In addition to defining and providing a context for new terms, the present work emphasizes the intellectual necessity to illuminate Africa’s reality in criminology in ways that counter colonial inaccuracies.
A Critical Evaluation of Routine Activities Theory
In the criminological discipline, the Routine Activities approach was originally set forth by Lawrence Cohen and Marcus Felson (1979) and his highly recognized by researchers and practitioners alike. Routine Activities is a theory of crime, which looks at the convergence of a motivated offender, suitable target, and a lack of guardianship coming together in space and time to produce a criminal act. This theory has transcended from basic to applied research and from empirical testing to implementation in the criminal justice system. Our research intends to critically evaluate this approach, concentrating on some of the gaps and inconsistencies in it.
A Critical Examination of Prescription and Illicit Drug Abuse Enforcement in America
Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic that is present in virtually every neighborhood across America. Although the effects can be physically and financially devastating, this problem is seldom discussed or addressed by the greater law enforcement community. While illicit drug addicts end up in prison for drug-related crimes, prescription drug abusers are typically wealthy or middle-class people who will most likely end up in rehab instead of in jail. The physical and psychological effects of prescription drugs and illicit drugs are almost identical, but these two groups are treated differently by law enforcement and by society in general. This paper is a critical examiunation of drug abuse enforcement, and the possible causes for differential treatment of various types of drugs, both historically and presently. The analysis of current enforcement patterns includes the use of GIS to illustrate the socio-economic characteristics of the areas of San Diego in which the two types of addicts reside.
A Deal With the Devil: Operation Underworld, Governor Dewey, Lucky Luciano, and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics
In the spring of 1954, while the nation’s attention was riveted to the nationally televised and emotionally charged Army-McCarthy hearings, another investigation, conducted in secrecy, was underway in Albany, New York. In response to continued criticism of his decision to commute Lucky Luciano’s 30-to-50-year sentence based on the gangster’s alleged cooperation with naval officials, Governor Thomas E. Dewey appointed the state commissioner of investigations to conduct a formal inquiry to determine the nature, extent, and value of Luciano’s contribution to the Navy’s “Operation Underworld” to protect the Brooklyn waterfront from possible sabotage attacks. Using recently declassified Federal Bureau of Narcotics files at the National Archives, testimony provided during the investigation, and other primary source material, this paper assesses the validity of Dewey’s allegation and the impact of the unprecedented secret collaboration between organized crime and the federal government.
A Further Understanding of School Disorder
Within recent years, the social perception of school violence as an epidemic has inspired school administrators to create and implement programs and curriculum to address this social problem (Kolbe, Kann and Brener, 2001). These programs have suggested that the key to reducing the dilemma of school violence is placed upon the school (i.e. teachers, counselors and administrators) to create safe, healthy and quality schools (Verdugo and Schneider, 1999). With that, school level factors have theoretically and empirically acquired more focus as influential upon level violence, deviance and crime within their school walls. Traditionally, the hypothesis has generally been upon the influence of the student or the broader institutional (e.g. conflict theorists) forces that help create unsafe schools. But, with the growing attention on schools themselves playing an important role that mediates between the insittution and individual, the characteristics of the school’s culture (Hoy and Miskel, 1991) and level of disorder (Welsh, 2000) have become increasingly important. Drawing from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS), this research will further investigate the influences of school climate upon high school students’ standardized test scores. The NELS data set is an ongoing longitudinal project of the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. NELS represents the educational experience of youth that spans from 1988 to 2000. The purpose of this research is to conduct a preliminary investigation of school disorder influencing the individual educational achievement (i.e., standardized test scores).
A Geographic and Contextual Analysis of Illegal Drug Sales
Drawing on the theoretical statements and empirical findings of Rengert (1989,1996), Eck (1994) and Weisburd and Green (1995), this research examines the interface between the built environment and its geographic context on the level of illegal drug sales. The analyses will build upon the understanding of how urban spatial structures and the location of facilities of a class are not equally innocuous or noxious within their geographic context and how these spatial elements may be realted to drug sales arrests. These relationships are explored using data from the Wilmington, Delaware Police Department’s arrest and call for service records for the years 1990, 1991, and 1992. The implications of these findings for the reduction of illegal drug markets and on urban planning are discussed.
A Good Place To Do Time
In the Oregon State Penitentiary of the 1970’s it was not uncommon to hear seasoned “cons” express the opinion that “Oregon was a good place to do time.” The meaning and implications of this quote is considered against the background of three decades of state and national corrections policy. The policy changes of three decades will be analyzed and critiqued.
A Human Rights Framework for Assessing Moral Bases of Law and Home-Land Defenses
No adequate consensus exists on two critical issues in our post-9-11-01 world: the moral bases of law and viable assessment criteria. In response to these fuzzy legal-moral conditions and their implications for U.S. and other nations’ homeland defenses, a human-rights frame conception of knowledge guides the advocacy of three assessment criteria. (a) Emerging but varied degrees of consensus within international and human rights law provide a basis for assessing the legality and fairness of any offensive or defensive actions. These rule-of-law standards are at least partially independent of national biases and the eroding doctrine of soverign immunity. (b) A full-person identity prototype of persons as neurobiological, social-civil, and mental-spiritual beings describes three universal human-identity dimensions that often can be assessed by verifiable empirical data. Baseline interdisciplinary knowledge about these human dimensions provides criteria for assessing identity-biased laws, actions, and ideologies that deviate from our shared genotypic identies and threaten human rights to existence, self-determination, and development. (c) Human-rights criticality addresses the need to motivate persons morally when democratic ideals require personal sacrifices or revolutionary changs in perceptions, values, and priorities. This criterion builds on an established criticality methodology: It can be used to discover and assess actions or moral beliefs that threaten the world-order ideals and priorities expressed in Article 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
A Kinder Gentler SWAT?
Special Weapons and Tactical Teams (SWAT) are militaristic units established within law enforcement agencies to handle high risk, crisis situations. Efforts to integrate community policing philosophies and displace ninja warrior perspectives often held by the public have resulted in new acronyms designed to soften the image. This research, however, shows that SWAT training and procedures have switched to a more proactive, aggressive approach. In light of the fallout from incidents like Colorado’s Columbine shooting and the World Trade Center incident many teams have shunned the idea that SWAT members could change expectations of their identity. The elite, masculine image has become reinforced as training standards have been heightened to emphasize rapid deployment, rigid physical fitness requirements, and weapon mastery. The bonding among officers is unique to the position and dominated by male imagery. This research presents qualitative data from interviews with active SWAT officers on the subculture, skills, and qualities necessary to perform the job.
A Legal and Policy Argument for Bail Denial and Preventative Treatment for Batterers
Historically, battering has been a culturally and legally accepted practice in the U.S. This has had an influence on the crimninal justice and social system’s approach to dealing with battering and its victims. Beginning in the mids 1800s, women fronm the women’s movement and the temmperance movement starting bring attention to the practice of battering and its ill effects on women and children. Their approach consisted mainly of unheeded calls for battering to be outlawed and scattered group efforts to provide shelter and medical care for victims. In the 1970s, when battering was finally criminalized in the U.S., our approach to dealing with this issue continued to involve piece meal efforts aimed at shelter and medical care. Today, battering is minimally a misdemeanor crime, however our approach to dealing with battering and its aftermath have not changed much. We still primarily rely on private and/or social helping agencies inadequately prepared but intended to hide and assist victims until the offender is incarcerated or at least adjudicated. The law enforcement approach has changed from verbal deescalation to arrest. However, research as yet does not support the efficacy of this auto arrest policy. This paper argues that it may be time to take a more proactive policy approach that spends more money on prevention and treatment than on housing and providing for victims whose lives are as disrupted by our solution as they are by this social problem. Removal of one batterer from the home is less expensive to the system than removal of multiple victims and this would be less disruptive to the lives of children involved in these unions. This could be done utilizing bail denial and providing batterers the option of awaiting case completion in jail or entering a batterer’s treatment program for four to six months. Potentially, an inpatient treatment program could be part of a diversionary agreement where the existing case is held in abeyance so they can be charged later if they fail treatment or recidivate. This paper presents a legal and policy argument for this approach to battering and its prevention.
A Life After Release
This paper presents the results of a follow-up study of twenty adult offenders released from Oregon Department of Corrections (prison) between 1986 and 1993, and first interviewed in the mid 1990s. We further explore the problems encountered by these offenders and how they negotiated various obstacles on the “outside.” Suggestions for future programs are included in our analysis of the data.
A Log-Linear Analysis of Sexual Crimes Reported in Official Statistics
Few issues are of greater concern, both to the public and to law enforcement, than that of rape and sexual assault. The meda covers it closely. It is a crime of violence of which anyone regardless of age, race, religion, sex, or size, can be a victim. The Uniform Crime Reporting Program has reported summary data on forcible rape for more than 70 years. The summary definition of forcible rape is “the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.” One major criticism of the FBI’s rape statistics is this definitional exclusion of male rape. With the National Incident-Based Reporting System the definition of rape is “the carnal knowledge of a person, forcibly and/or against that person’s will; or not incapable of giving consent because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.” The objective of this study is to examine the crime of forcible rape and other sex offenses in the United States. How have the numbers changed over time? Who are the victims-ages, sex, race, life circumstances? Are rapes associated with other crimes? Who are the offenders? What weapons are used? Where do these assaults occur? What are the differences between rapes reported to police and victimization studies? Data will come from the UCR data collections, both summary and the National Incident-Based Reporting system and from the National crime Victimization Survey.
A Longitudinal Analysis of Stress, Social Support and Violence by People With Mental Disorders
There has been a wealth of research on the causes of violence by people with mental disorders. These investigations have largely been confined to explorations of clinical variables, such as treatment non-adherence, substance use and abuse, and psychotic symptoms. In contrast a developing body of research investigates the social contexts of violence by people with mental disorders. This literature highlights the importance of stress and social support in both the etiology of mental illness and the expression of symptoms by people with mental disorders. In addition, Agenew’s general strain theory emphasizes the importance of social stressors for crime, generally and Cullen’s social support framework emphasizes the role that support plays in preventing crime and violence. Based on these perspectives, I hypothesize that high levels of stress and low levels of social support are important predictors of violence amonh people with mental disorders. I analyze data from the Mac Arthur Violence Risk Assessment Study, a longitudinal study of discharged psychiatric patients in the community. I utlize hierarchical growth curve modeling techniques that provide a within individual analysis of the predictors of violence.
A Measurement Model Approach to Estimating Community Policing Implementation
The primary objective of this research is to explore an alternative way to measure community policing implementation. Using large municipal police organizations as the unit of analysis (i.e., those with 100 or more FTE sworn employees), I develop and test using two waves (1997 and 1999) of LEMAS (Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics) data a measurement model of community policing implementation. As opposed to creating an index of implementation, this model provides an interval level estimate of implementation from various community policing activities measured on multiple scales.
A Multi-Factor Social Ecological Approach to Family Violence
Traditional family and domestic violece studies have utilized single-factor models to explain why men batter women (battering behavior) and whyt women do not leave their abusers (victim behaviors). Although studies using these theoretical perspectives have yielded important findings, the single-factor approach has not effectively nor fully explained these phenomena. More recently, researchers have shifted toward a multi-factor approach to understand the complexities of family and domestic violence. By examining interactions of factors within individual, social, political, and cultural arenas, a multi-factor social ecological model looks at human needs, problems, and behaviors as produced by the interaction between people and their environments. It considers not only how family and domestic violence situations arise but also how the criminal justice system responds to those problems in terms of legal and social intervention programs and processes. This paper will provide a review of the literature on multi-factor models and discuss the application of a social ecological approach to understanding family and domestic violence. Secondly, it will address the ways in which law enforcement can utilize multiple indicators of intimate violence–including family behavior and structure and the demographic, social, and economic characteristics of communities where this violence occurs in their prevention and intervention strategies.
A Multi-Level Analysis of Citizen Involvement in Community Policing
Results are presented from extensive survey and archival data analysis on the predictive capacity of community and individual factors on citizen involvement in community policing in Boston. The findings indicate that select individual and community factors are significant predictors of involvement as well as residents’ interest and knowledge of community policing.
A Multi-Method Psychometric Assessment of a Self-Control Scale: Does Gender Matter?
Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) theory has sparked an empirical debate surrounding the psychometric properties of the widely used Grasmick et al. self-control scale. Does this scale measure a unidimensional trait, a multidimensional trait, or do item responses depend on the individual’s level of self-control? While classical and objective measurement techniques have been employed resulting in conflicting answers, no study has thoroughly investigated this scale’s construct validity across gender. Using data collected from a sample of students attending a university in the southern U.S., the current study assesses the dimensionality of the scale using both second-order SEM measurement models and item response theory (IRT) rasch models to make comparisons across methods and gender groups. Implications for both theory and measurement are discussed.
A Multi-Site Process Evaluation of Juvenile Drug Courts
Like adult drug courts, juvenile drug courts have proliferated at astonishing rates over the past decade (Cooper, 2001), but serious study of this structured court-based intervention for youth with drug and alcohol problems has lagged (Belenko, 2001; Belenko & Logan, in press). Even a general understanding of how juvenile drug courts are structured and how they are implemented is lacking from the drug court research literature. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to describe a process evaluation of three juvenile drug courts in Kentucky. The structure and design of each program is discussed and detailed findings on the actual implementation of these programs in multiple content areas, including target population, therapeutic activities, available resources, initial and long-term goals, and other program concerns are presented. In addition to this, the during-program outcome data are presented, and findings are reported as a snapshot of what might be expected during one year in the operation of a juvenile drug court. Findings are discussed and may be useful as a reference for other juvenile drug court evaluations and for jurisdictions in which new juvenile drug courts are being developed or planned.
A Partial Test of Anderson’s Code of the Street Thesis
The current paper tests Anderson’s Code of the Stree Thesis across two waves of data for a sample of 720 African-American adolescents and their primary caregivers. Using Anderson’s Code of the Street Thesis, we investigate the merits of his arguments. The analyses incoprorate both community and family characteristics on individuals’ adoption of attitudes indicative of a street code. We further investigate whether adopting a street code mediates community and family characteristics in predicting adolescent violent behaviors. The results will be discussed at the annual criminology meetings.
A Path Analysis of Family Context, Opportunity, and Delinquency: Controlling for Self-Control
Using multiple waves of the National Youth Survey (NYS), a longitudinal data series, we examine the relationship between self-control and delinquency through changes in parental supervision. Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) general theory of crime predicts the relationship between low-self control and delinquency is conditioned by available opportunities for deviance. Low self-control has been shown to be a consistent predictor of delinquency and analogous behaviors. Additionally, social-learning theories suggest the likelihood of delinquency increases through association with delinquent peers (Akers, 1998). Previous research indicates that mixed models of delinquency, incorporating measures of self-control, may be preferential in explaining variations in delinquent behavior. The primary hypothesis is that reductions in parental supervision increase opportunities for associations with peers that, in turn, can increase delinquency net of the effects of low self-control. The NYS includes proxy measures of parental supervision, as well as self-reported delinquency and analogous behaviors, attitudes toward delinquency, and peer associations. In the context of family dynamics, we explore the impact of changes in the family environment over time on the association with delinquent peers, controlling for levels of self-control. The implications of complementary model specifications are explored.
A Proposal for Market-Based Policies for the Control of Crime Externalities
The study of crime externalities is in its early stages. It is barely on the policy agenda, perhaps at the stage that environmental pollution and climate change were at a few decades ago. Portney and Stavins (2000) noted that “In 1989, little serious attention was paid by U.S. government agencies to the possibility of global climate change as a result of the greenhouse effect.” Crime externalities occur where entities (including manufacturers, premises, persons, and environments) produce criminal opportunities, thereby producing costs to society that they do not bear. This study examines types of crime externalities, explores possibilities for market-based regulation, modes of delivery and issues relating to implementation.
A Proposal for Positive Change
This paper discusses various ideas for promoting change with8in a parole and probation office in Oregon, and critically distilling those ideas to determine that which works and that which fails to produce acceptable results. This paper examines the practice of punishment as a means of change by parole and probation officers, and offers a more progressive-minded philosophy which combines effective interventions with cognitive proramming.
A Qualitative Account of Program Development in a Demoralized Urban School
The first of two presentations on different aspects of a program of preventive intervention in a demoralized and disorganized inner city middle school describes the school in qualitative terms by providing an account of faculty and administration reactions to efforts to organize them to improve the school’s attendance, parent participation, school orderliness. Despite the clearly unpleasant aspects of working in a school characterized by lack of personal afetyk low morale, and high rates of student misconduct, faculty were initially openly hostile to efforts to involve them in planning to improve the school environment. A process of the gradual introduction of small changes was begun–focusing initially on parent and student involvement in building a sense of community. The process was characterized by a stair step program of a succession of small successes interrupted periodically by discouraging backslides that set the improvement program back. An interpretation of the group dynamic that caused attempts to identify and address problems suggets that such efforts are interpreted as threats or attacks rather than attempts to be helpful, so that planning and the setting of improvement goals was repeatedly thwarted. By a gradual accretion of small successes, faculty were eventually involved in planning and implementing steps to improve attendance–and attendance did increase. The school also became safer and morale improved over time, but progress eventually stagnated due to an unwillingness or inability of the principal to make decisions of exercie leadership. The nature of the problem and the process of improvement are described by reviewing a series of analyses using the critical incident technique and force-field analysis
A Quantitative Evaluation of Program Implementation and Outcome in a Demoralized Urban School
A second report on the intervention program in this school provides a quantitative account of the implementation and outcome evaluation of a social skills training intervention intended to reduce student problem behavior. Implementation data show that the program was only 68% implemented due to interruptions that characterized the school environment (and on which the qualitative study sheds light), and was implemented to different degrees in two successive semesters. Outcome data showed that the intervention nevertheless had some positive effects on student conduct, less victimization in school, and more positive peer associations and reduced the proportion of students who left school when data for the intervention group are compared with a comparison group i the same school net of statistical controls for initial student characteristics. Simple quantitative analyses revealed instances of teacher noncompliance with efforts to collect data, and that school disciplinary data lacked validity, so that it is necessary to rely on data specifically collected to make evaluation possible. Specific intervention programs may offer minimal benefits if the school environment makes implementation difficult.
A Rational Choice Model of Deterrence, Intentions, and Drug Use
This paper examines a rational choice theory of deterrence and drug use. It begins by testing a simple experiential learning theory of the formation of risk perceptions, in which standing beliefs about the probability of arrest are updated based on experience with offending and arrest. It then specifies a rational choice theory of drug use, emphasizing three factors: (1) the perceived risk of formal punishment weighted by subjective assessments of the severity of the punishment; (2) the perceived likelihood of psychic rewards drug use, including getting excitement and being seen as cool, weighted by subjective assessments of the value of those returns; and (3) the subjective assessments of drug use opportunities. We estimate models of drug intentions, and then, drawing on social psychological research on attitudes, intentions, and behavior, link intentions to behavior. We test these hypotheses using longitudinal data on 1,527 youth from the Denver Youth Survey. We estimate two equations. The first uses a random-effects tobit model to predict perceived risk of sanctions, which is measured on probability scale, bounded by zero and one. The second uses a random-effects negative binomial model to predict counts of delinquent behavior.
A Report of the State of Crime Prevention in the Memorial Villages: Expectations, Statistical Findings, and Recommendations for the Future
The fear of crime has become a major issue in todays society. The true question is whether that fear is warranted or is it just the perception of safety that is more important. Using geographic information system (GIS) technology, police reports data was mapped for 5 consecutive years. Recommendations were given to the police department as to how they can more effectively patrol areas to not only prevent crime, but improve perceptions of public safety.
A Selective View of Use of Force in America? An Insight Into Two Police Sub-Cultures
The use of force is a defining characteristic of the police. The concept of force, and the different actions that are subsumed by it, vary across time and place. The authors are part of an international team of researcher, who study comparative justifications for the use of force by police officers on three different continents. The focus of the study is on normative frameworks for the use of force, as they reflect potentially different conceptions of policing and may reveal important social and cultural variations in perceptions of police work. For the purpose of this cross-cultural comparison a questionnaire, including progressive scenarios, was developed by the researchers and administered to police officers in different countries. This paper presents an analysis of the findings from two police forces in the United States, with a specific focus on the comparative angle.
A Sociological Approach to Explaining Gender Disparity in Appellate Outcomes of Death Penalty Sentencing
The gender gap in sentencing outcomes is nowhere more apparent than in capital litigation, especially in the context of appellate court decisions. In particular, women’s death sentences are significantly more often reversed than those of men. The purpose of this study is to investigate the extra-legal factors that contribute to this discrepancy by pairing female and male cases that are legally similar (e.g., statutory sentencing factors, claimed trial errors) that have different outcomes. To do so, I utilize data from the state and federal appellate records of cases from 1973-2002. Preliminary analyses indicate that extra-legal factors play a part in explaining the discrepancy. I draw upon cultural definitions and differeing gender expectations to explain these findings.
A Spatial Analysis of the Mobility of Released Prisoners in Chicago, Illinois
This paper will examine the extent of residential mobility among prisoners released to Chicago, Illinois, neighborhoods within the first 45 days after release. This analysis is designed to measure the location, range, and frequency of residential movement of released prisoners, as well as the accuracy of Department of Corrections records. Having the correct address (or an accurate proxy) for returning prisoners has important policy implications for both improving the supervision and surveillance of returning prisoners, as well as for guiding resource allocation decisions made by organizations that provide employment, treatment, housing assistance, and other types of services for released prisoners. This analysis is conducted on a sample of 400 prisoners released from Illinois prisons to Chicago neighborhoods during 2002 and 2003. A comparison of DOC release address versus actual release address using Pearson Correlation Coefficients will be examined, as well as the measurement of spatial distance between DOC and actual release address through the use of GIS tools. Frequences of numbers of address changes and means for the sample will be calculated. In addition, distances between addresses and measurement of the extent to which inmates move within or across neighborhoods and jurisidctions will also be explored. Address data is supplied by the Illinois Department of Corrections and survey results from the “Returning Home: Understanding the Challenges of Prisoner Reentry” research project at the Urban Institute, Washington, D.C. The major research questions include: 1) Is DOC release address data an accurate proxy for the actual locations in which ex-prisoners end up living after release? 2) How transient are ex-prisoners? Does residential mobility typically occur within neighborhoods, throughout a city, or across larger jurisdictions? 3) Is the residential mobility of released prisoners influenced by socio-economic and/or contextual factors, such as employment status, substance abuse history, and strength of family ties? 4) How might observed patterns of residential mobility among released prisoners guide correctional programming and supervision, as well as the provision of community services?
A Study of Street Robbery
During the period 2000-2002 in the UK street robbery became the focus of increased government concern placing an emphasis on the role of police criminal intelligence in its prevention. The police had substantial information concerning trends and location of street robberies but very little knowledge of its social context or offeenders perspectives on their actions. This paper is based on research undertaken by the authors into street robbery involving candid interviews with offenders. The findings of this study point towards policy issues as well as strategic policing matters.
A Survival Analysis of Revictimisation
This study addresses the weaknesses of measuring the time between victimisations, conventionally called the time course of victimisation. Survival analysis — measuring the time until an event of interest — is presented as an alternative method for examining temporal patterns of victimisation. However, adopting statistical techniques developed in other fields requires careful scrutiny of the assumptions inherent with the technique. Most applications of survival analysis assume that subjects will eventually experience the event of interest. This is not a valid assumption for modelling the time until revictimisation because the majority of victims do not experience a second victimisation. Finally, a survival analysis model that utilises information about non-repeats is applied to a five year burglary dataset incorporating correlates.
A Systematic Review of Research on Court-Mandated Interventions for Individuals Convicted of Domestic Violence
As more communities are called upon to develop coordinated responses to the problem of domestic violence we will most likely see a continued increase in the number of court-mandated interventions. Understanding these programs’ effectiveness in reducing future violence, therefore, becomes increasingly important. Towards those ends, this study undertook a systematic review of all experimental or quasi-experimental research assessing the effects of post-arrest court-mandated interventions (including pre-trial diversion programs) for domestic violence offenders that targeted, in part or exclusively, batterers with the aim of reducing their future likelihood of re-assaulting. Studies had to use random assignment to a true no-treatment control group or a program intervention with a follow-up period of at least six months post-intervention using one or more objective outcome measures on repeat violence. Twenty-one databases, including published and non-published studies in and outside of the U.S., were searched. Results of the meta-analysis are discussed.
A Test of Social Control Theory in the Prediction of Crime on a College Campus
Previous research has found much support for Hirschi’s social control theory, which focuses on the social bond or link between individuals and society. The strength of support differs, however, for the four elements of the bond: attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. The paper will separately examine the ability of each element of the social bond to predict crime on a college campus. It is hypothesized that low attachment to peers, to parents, and to school, low commitment to conventional activities, low involvement in conventional activities, and low belief in conventional norms will all be predictors of delinquency. Data were obtained from a self-report survey given to undergraduates from a small liberal arts college in New Jersey. Correlational and regression analyses will be examined.
A Test of Social Control Versus Social Learning Theories in Predicting of Crime on a College Campus
A myriad of research exists assessing the validity of both social learning and social control theories in the explanation of criminal behavior. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the strengths and weaknessses of both theories as predictors of criminal behavior. The question set forth by this resarch is wehther crime on a college campus is better predicted by components of social control ro social learning theory. This question will be examined using data obtained through a two-wave longitudinal study composed of self-report questionnaires, administered to the student population of a small undergraduate liberal arts college in New Jersey. We will examine correlation and regression analysis involving social learning components, social control components, and crime. In addition a structural model will be constructed and analyzed using the EQS Structural Equations Program (version 5.7B for Windows; Bentler, 1995).
A Test of Social Learning Theory in the Prediction of Crime on a College Campus
Previous research has shown that a relationship exists between social learning elements and criminal behavior. Many studies have found that social learning best explains minor crimes and more general deviance rather than serious crime. The ability of the components of social learning theory (differential association, differential reinforcement, imitation/modeling, and definitions) to predict criminal behavior, both minor and more serious, will be tested. It is hypothesized that individuals with more criminal associations, positive reinforcement for criminal activities, more criminal models, and more criminal definitions will have a greater likelihood of being criminal. Data were obtained through a two-wave longitudinal study composed of self-report questionnaires administered to the student population of a small undergraduate liberal arts college in New Jersey. The results of correlational and regression analyses will be examined.
A Theory of Discretion in Criminal Justice Systems
Criminologists have long demonstrated interest in the factors influencing criminal justice decisions. Two of these issues central to this area of research are the extent to which individual actors exercise discretion (individual judgment) in decision-making, and the nature of that discretion. The majority of researchers interested in these issues have looked at discretion at one decision-making point (usually sentencing), trying to explain variations in decisions across individual offenders, decision-makers, and/or jurisdictions. I argue in this paper that it is critical at this particular juncture (in both the world of public policy and the academic world of criminology) to develop a theory that looks at the exercise of discretion across decision-making stages, and includes arguments about how changes in discretionary behavior at one stage will affect decision-making at other stages. The theory that I begin to develop in this paper does this, and also identifies both common factors affecting the availability and the exercise of discretion at different stages, and also organizational factors that explain differences in the nature of discretion at particular stages. Understanding the distribution and uses of discretion in criminal justice systems is important for two reasons. First, the way decision-makers exercise discretion has a significant impact on public perceptions about both the fairness and the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. Because discretionary power by definition allows individuals to exercise judgment in reacing decisions, decision-makers in the same position may consider different factors, resulting in different outcomes for similar cases. This raises concerns about fairness and equity, which, if unaddressed, can lead to public perceptions of systemic discrimination. A related concern arises from the possibility that, granted discretionary power, actors in the criminal justice system will make decisions that do not conform with the intent of policies or decisions made by earlier actors. For example, a judge may sentence an offender to a term shorter than that recommended by statutory guidelines (if the guidelines are not mandatory), or parole board may release an offender long before he or she has completed the sentence imposed by the judge. Such decisions are likely to undermine public confidence in the ability of the criminal justice system to effectively punish offenders.
A Zero Inflated Poisson Analysis of Spatial Units Created by a GIS: Illegal Drug Sales Arrests
Moving beyond census boundaries, a geographic information system is used to create new spatial units associated with elements of the built environment that are expected theoretically to attract illegal drug dealers. These features are classified into those that would be associated with the accessibility of a drug market place (transportation infrastructure), the susceptibility of the local population to drug use (census data on potential drug users), and infrastructure that are expected to be used on a routine basis by potential drug users (taverns, liquor stores and check cashing establishments). These new spatial units are examined using a zero inflated Poisson model since many of the spatial units are small and are associated with no drug sales arrests.
Academic Performance and Delinquency: Contemporaneous Effects
There is a growing body of work attempting to identify a causal relationship between academic performance and delinquent activity. While previous studies consistently find a relationship between academic performance and delinquency or later crime, causality is rarely estalished and numerous methodological problems persist. The current research will improve on previous studies of delinquency and schools by avoiding several commonly occurring methodological weaknesses: non-dynamic analysis, inadeqate controls for pre-existing differences, and reliance on self-report school and delinquency variables. Many studies examine later life outcoems of poor high school academic performance. This study will focus instead on the contemporaneous effect. Utilizing the richly detailed school transcript portion of the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97), this research will address the following question: Does poor school performance predic delinquency independent of pre-existing differences
Access to Handgun Among Urban Youth: Attitudinal and Behavioral Implications
The presence of handgungs among youth continues to be a threat to their weel-being, even with the downturn in youth handgun violence in recent years. This paper examines the influence of the gun safety behavior of parents on yout’s perceive access to handguns and its effect on their handgun attitudes and behaviors. Using a prospective study design a questionnaire was administered to 121 urban youth and their parents before entering a handgun violence prevention program, then again six months later. The findings indicate that youth yo have a perceived access to handguns are less likely to have anti-handgun attitudes and more likely to engage in handgun behavior.
Accomplices, Accessories, and Punishment Attitudes: The Role of Gender and Education
Laws of most states stipulate that accomplices and accessories be punished to the same degree as the offenders who actually commit the offense. According to some, these laws may be biased towards females who, when inovlved in crime, are more likely than males to serve as accomplicies and accessories. Moreover, criminological theory and punishment research suggests that individuals’ values are influenced by what they have learned. This study considers two areas: (1) whether there are gender differences regarding the way accomplice and accessory laws are perceived, and (21) whether exposure to the law influences indivduals’ attitudes about the penalties participants to a crime should get. A questionnaire was administered to students of a mid-size unviersity. Their responses to the question reveals mixed feelings regarding equal punishment for accomplices and principals. Females were more inclined to advocate punishment for all parties to a crime for deterrence, while males wanted punishment for protection. Implications are discussed.
Accounting for Spatial Relationships in Studies of Crime: An Example From Tucson, Arizona
The geographic context of crime must be better understood if research is to effectively inform crime prevention policy. Consequently, this research considers how the geographies of different crimes intersect with the geographies of social, economic, and demographic characteristics in urban places. Social disorganization and routine activity theories inform the project, guiding data collection and methodology. This research focuses on Tucson, AZ and analyses take place at the census block group level. The first stage of the project determines the degree to which urban neighborhoods specialize in crime, ascertaining whether certain types and combinations of crimes cluster together spatially. The techniques used to determine specialization include
Addressing Child Abuse in Jamaica
This paper addresses the present circumstances of child abuse in Jamaica. Presently, Jamaic has no official policy requiring health practitioners or educators to report suspected cases of child abuse. Nonetheless, indications are that physical and sexual abuse are cause for concern on the island. For 2003 legislation is planned to remedy the perceived reporting policy deficit. This paper describes Jamaica’s present situation in regards to child abuse per available data and anecdotal accounts.
Addressing Violence in a Middle School: Discovering the Forgotten Victim
Lengthy discussions about the victims and the assault scenarios generated by extensive data collected about the nature and extent of school violence at a Middle School and the surrounding community brought to light the fact that while there are a multitude of services in place for the perpetrators of school violence, there were NO sevices available for victims. Victims were simply sent back to class and had to deal with their issues associated with the victimization, possible PTSD, trauma, shame, etc. on their own. As a result, a system was designed to address an entire series of victim issues, while at the same time being sensitive to additional victimization. How this came about and was accomplished is described.
Adjudication of the Criminally Accused in Australia and U.S.: How Does the Absence of a Specific Due Process Clause in Australia’s Constitution Impact Fair Trial Concerns for the Criminal Offender?
The U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights and due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee fair trials to criminal offenders overriding other governmental actions. Australia’s Constitution has no Bill of Rights and no due process clause. The Australian High Court has used comjon law principles in lieu of these constitutional guarantees as the source of protections for the accused such as requiring assistance of counsel where it is deemed necessary to provide a fair trial. This paper explores the relative impact of these different approaches on these legal systems in ensuring fair trials for criminal offenders.
Adolescent Girls in Trouble: Community-Based Foster Care as an Alternative Placement Option
Adolescent girls are one of the fastest-growing segments in juvenile justice, with arrests accounting for 27% of total arrests during 1999. The majority of females in juvenile justice in 1997 were under age 16, and cases involving girls under 18 increased by 83% between 1989 and 1998, compared to a 35% increase for boys. Co-occurring mental health problems and substance use are frequent with studies reporting up to 75% of the girls in detention having psychiatric disorders, and up to 87% being in need of substance abuse treatment. Long-term negative outcomes for girls appear to be more diverse than for boys including a variety of adverse health outcomes. Despite girls’ increasing delinquency and associated health and mental health problems, services for girls are underdeveloped. In this presentation, we will describe an experimental intervention that compared the efficacy of two placement alternatives for girls with multiple previous criminal referrals (i.e.>10) ordered into out-of home placement. Girls were randomly assigned to Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) or to Group Care (GC) and assessed at regular intervals through 1-year follow up. Data will be presented on outcomes and on treatment variables hyupothesized to predict outcomes (i.e., mediators). Clinical considerations will be discussed.
Adolescent Mothers, Family Processes, and Delinquency
Although adolescent childbearing has decreased significantly in the United States in the past decade, American rates of teen births are still dramatically higher than rates in other developed nations. One of the common concerns voiced by policymakers and social commentators is that teen motherhood contributes to the American crime problem because relatively younger mothers are not prepared to properly socialize their children. We investigate the effefcts of maternal age on family processes and delinquency through a secondary data analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). Following an approach constructed by Nagin, Farrington, and Pogarsky (1997), we trace the influence of adolescent motherhood through three competing avenues that were hypothesized to increase the probability of criminal involvement in the children of young mothers. The first explanation, the life course-immaturity account, predicts that younger mothers produce antisocial behavior in their children due to their inability to be mature, sensitive, and effective parents. The second explanation, the persistent poor parenting-role modeling account, predicts that those who bear children in adolescence are likely to be those least suited to be good parents. Early fertility, it is assumed, is likely to be caused by a stable personality trait characterized by impulsivity, self-centeredness, and lack of foresight. The final approach–the diminished resources account–predicts that the children of adolescent mothers are more prone to criminal behavior because they are more likely to experience improverishment and lack of social and cultural resources. Our findings suggest that the criminal involvement in the offspring of adolescent mothers is best explained by a combination of family and economic factors.
Adolescent Predictors of Fear and Safety in the Public Schools
In the wake of the recent school shootings and the media hype concerning school violence, fear of crime and violence at school have become even more salient issues than ever before. Many studies have researched fear of crime among adults in a wide array of social settings and contexts, yet research on fear of criminal victimization in our public schools has been relatively sparse. Goodey (1994) contends that children have generally been neglected by researchers and Hale (1996) notes that researchers have neglected fear of criminal victimization among children and adolescence, calling it “an important research priority” (Hale 1996; 100). Using a large representative sample of junior high and high school students from across the nation, this study seeks to fill this void by exploring the factors within the school context that affect adolescents’ fear of crime. A total of 4595 students from 132 schools were surveyed for this study. The findings suggests that GPA, income level, and feelings of alienation do affect the perceptions of students’ level of safety at school. Overall, these findings suggest that there are a great deal of similarities between adolescent and adult determinants of fear of crime.
After-School Activities and Peers as a Socializing Mechanisms in the Development of Antisocial Behavior During Early Adolescence: A Test of a Nonrecursive Model
Stability in rank ordering of antisocial behavior from the elementary to high school developmental time periods have been explained with nonrecursive models that argue that antisocial behavior affects patterns of socialization that in turn lead to more delinquent and criminal behavior. Literature on routine after-school activities provides a concrete picture of socialization processes during early adolescence, pointing to the importance of after-school activities in leading to peer associations that, in turn, affect levels of delinquent behavior. This study uses annual survey data on 740 participants from Raising Health Children, a study of children recruited from a suburban Northwest school district. Cross-lagged models are used to examine relationships between teacher report of disruptive and aggressive behavior in grades 6 through 8, student report of after-school activities and peers in grades 6 through 9, and student report of delinquency and aggressive behavior in grade 9. The models test the extent to which antisocial behavior predicts levels of structured and unstructed after-school activities as well as negative and positive peer associations at the next time point, during transitions from elementary to high school. Conversely, the models assess the extent to which after-school activities and peer associations predict levels of antisocial behavior.
After the Shotgun Wedding: Criminal Justice and Treatment Collaborations Under California’s Prop 36 Drug Policy Reform
In 2001 California’s much-watched Proposition 36 significantly changed the state’s criminal justice sanctioning of persons convicted of felony or misdemeanor drug possession, by requiring that they be offered treatment as a condition of probation in lieu of incarceration. While it was clear that the popular voter-passed initiative’s intent was to encourage treatment instead of punishment, the language gave considerable leeway to state and county officials concerning procedural implementation. In order to identify local implementation issues, the authors conducted two waves of key informant interviews in a sample of eight counties just before and after the law took effect, and a third wave in a smaller sample one-and-a-half years after implementation. Drawing on these data, we describe the counties’ and organizational stakeholders’ approaches toward criminal justice agencies and community-based treatment providers collaborating, as required by Prop 36. We also discuss the underlying contexts for both the uniformities and the divergences found in collaborative procedures, and the perceived consequences for defendants and clients of these procedures. Findings include some noteworthy and unexpected results with respect to predicting which policy approaches might favor successful implementation of a drug law reform such as Prop 36.
Against Governmentality: Althusser and the Governance of Crime and Its Control
In recent years there has been a profliferation of criminological and socio-legal studies that employ notions of ‘governmentality’ to critically examine neo-liberal crime control strategies. Much of this neo-Foucauldian literature has shied away from more structural accounts of crime in favour of analyses that reveal ‘microphysics’ of power. This paper critically engages the governmentality literature, raising questions about whether it should revisit the relationships between state-law economy, as well as -gender and-race. The paper suggests that, despite the contributions of the governmentality literature to our understanding of how power is exercised through neo-liberal forms of governance, this literature unnecessarily avoids broader structural mechanisms that give rise to crime control in its current forms. The analytical lens for this analysis is the work of Louis Althusser and his attempts to develop a critical classicism. Several of Althusser’s concepts help to reveal the limitations of governmentality within the crime control literatures, and to suggest ways of embracing a deeper appreciation of the structural mechanisms that help characterize crime and its control — an antiessentialist appreciation that does not treat the economy as the determinant of these strategies.
Age and Social Bonding Theory
Hirschi’s social bonding theory is tested for 13-15, 16, and 17 years old high school students in terms of such delinquent behavior as assault, school delinquency, public disturbance, and misceallaneous minor offenses in the case of Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Data contain a two-stage stratified sample of 1,710 high school students. The findings of this study show that some of the elements of social bonding theory acount for 23 percent of the variance in assault for 13-15, 29 percent for 16, and 26 percent for 17-20 years old high school students. This finding indicates that the theory works best for the assaultive behavior of 16 years old high school students. Also, some components of social bonding theory account for 29 percent of the variation in school delinquency for 13-15, 41 percent for 15, 41 percent for 17-20 years old high school students. This suggests that social bonding theory works better for the middle and older adolescence. Moreover, social bonding variables explain 24 percent of the variance in public disturbance for 13-15, 23 percent in 16, and 26 percent in 17-20 years old high school students. This seems to imply that the theory works equally better for 13-15, 16, and 17-20 years old high school students. finally elements of social bonding theory explain more or less similar amount of the variation in miscellaneous minor offenses for both 16 and 17-20 years old adolescence (e.g., 16 percent). However, the accounted variance is 9 percent for 13-15 years old. The theory appears to have more explanatory power for the middle and late than early adoelscence. All in all, except for public disturbance in which the theory accounts for similar aount of the variance for 13-15, 16, 17-20 years old high school students, social bonding theory works better for middle and late adolescence.
Age of Onset of Criminal Behavior: Its Meaning and Significance
The positive association between past and future offending behavior is an enduring fact in criminology. Early onset of delinquent behavior, in particular, is predictive of more persistent offending in the future. What is the meaing of this relationship between the early initiation of a criminal career and its duration, seriousness, and persistence? Two explanations for the continuity of criminal behavior have emerged. Persistent population heterogeneity theories attribute variation in criminal behavior to time stable differences in individual’s criminal propensity. State dependence theories assert that past offending behavior can have causal implications for future offending. The Philadelphia Birth Cohort Data will be examined in order to address the question: Once criminal propensity is controlled, does age of onset make a difference in the course of the subsequent criminal career? Findings that point to a causal effect of early onset on subsequent offending would support a state dependence explanation for the continuity of criminal behavior over time. Evidence of a spurious relationship between early onset on subsequent offending would support a state dependence explanation for the continuity of criminal behavior over time. Evidence of a spurious relationship between early onset and subsequent offending would support the role of persistent population heterogeneity ine xplaining the relationship between past and future offending. The relative contributions of each will be assessed.
Age of Onset of Offending: Exploring the Validity of Self-Reports Across Time
Much of the research dedicated to the study of the onset of offending has focused on the impact of early onset on other criminal career parameters (i.e. frequency, versatility, seriousness, and duration); other studies have explored the factors predicting early versus later onset. In this study, age of onset is used to assess the validity of self-reports across time. This research throws light on the benefits of prospective versus retrospective longitudinal data. Finally, it seeks to compare self-reported and official age of onset for different types of offenses. This study uses data from the Cambridge Study in Deelinquent Development, a prospective longitudinal study of 411 London males. Teh offense categories were included in this paper: burglary, shoplifting, theft of vehicles, theft from vehicles, theft from machines, theft from work, assault, vandalism, drug use, and fraud. It is organized in three main sections. First, it presents the distribution of onset ages according to the ten offense types. Second, it compares the ages of onset (per offense type) reported by respondents at different periods of the life course, from ages 14 to 32. Finally, it contrasts these results with those of the onset of official offending (i.e., age at first conviction). In general, results seem to show that the age of onset reported at later ages rarely concurs with prior self-reports. Indeed, with time, respondents generally tend to either overestimate the age at which they first committed an offense or simply deny ever engaging in such acts. This lack of stability observed in age of onset results over time supports the relevance of prospective longitudinal studies.
Aggression and Violence in Girls: Understanding Rates, Risk Factors and Developmental Trajectories
Do we need to be concerned by trends in juvenile justice statistics and self-report information showing steadily increasing rates of aggression among girls? It is well-documented that boys outnumber girls as perpetrators of serious forms of aggressive behaviour. Over the last two decades, however, rates of official (Australian Institute of Criminology, 2002, OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book, 2000; Snyder & Sickmund, 1999; Statistics Canada, 2001) and self-report (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001) violent offending among female adolescents have increased significantly. In addition, changes in the conceptualisation of aggression to include indirect and relational forms, has resulted in the placement of adolescent females at the forefront of many research, policy and programming agendas. In this talk we will provide an overview of trends in crime statistics and self-report findings related to aggression and violence in girls. A developmental model, with particular emphasis on the role of attachment security, self-regulatory development, and victimization will be presented. Our current research program and future initiatives will be discussed.
Aggression of the Korean Inmate: A Validation Study of Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ)
Violence in the correctional facilities is one of the most serious problems (Camp & Camp, 2000). It is not an exception in the correctional facilities in Korea. Since violence in Korean correctional facilities also results in the increase of financial costs, including medical cots for injured victims, and inefficiency of the institutional management, risk assessment has been attempted based on empirically drive psychological measures (e.g. Lee & Eden, in press). The present study specifically focused on measuring aggression rather than other criminogenic needs of inmates in the Korean correctional facilities. In order to develop a comparative study ultimately, it was necessary to validate a widely used test inventory for a prospective population. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to collect validity indices for one of the most popular aggression measure, the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Perry, 1992) from Korean inmates. The samples were 114 inmates from three Korean correctional facilities with maximum level of security. The result of item and factor analyses confirmed the effectiveness of BPAQ to assess aggression among Korean inmates.
Alcohol, Colonialism and Crime
This research reviews the social, political, individual, cultural, criminological, and economic impact of European alcohol on Indigenous Peoples. There is little doubt that the introduction of alcohol by Europeans into Indigenous populations has had a lonb-term negative impact, not only on the social structures of Indigenous Peoples, but also on the European-based criminological theories that have been used in an often-failed attempt to explain the behavior of Indigenous Peoples. It is suggested in this research that, to some extent, alcohol was used by Europeans not only as a means of profit-making, but also as a means of colonization and subjugation. It is also argued in this research that, in some segments of the European-based population, alcohol continues to be used as a tool to demoralize, demean and disenfranchise Indigenous Peoples, while enriching whites.
Alcohol Use and Social Capital During the Transition From Adolescence Into Young Adulthood
Life course theorists have traditionally relied upon the “state dependence” hypothesis to examine the connection between prior and future offending behavior. This approach posits that prior criminal involvement has a genuine behavioral imipact that increases the likelihood of future criminal activity. Stated more precisely, Sampson and Laub maintain that involvement in criminal behavior has a systematic attenuating effect on the social and institutional bonds that link individuals to society. They argue that stability in offending behavior is explained via a dynamic process whereby prior criminal involvement intensifies future criminal involvement through the weakening of the social bond. Therefore, being aware of any factors, other than crime, that may weaken the social bond should contribute to our undetstanding of stability in offending behavior. Using data from the National Youth Survey, this study will examine the impact of alcohol use on social bonding during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. It is hypothesized that serious alcohol use will be negatively related to social onding and, consequently, a predictor of stable rates in offending behavior.
All the News Unfit to Print: A Content Analysis of Corporate Offense News Coverage
The purpose of this research study was to assess and measure the quantity and quality of news coverage on corporate offenses. A content analysis of corporate offense accounts covered in the New York Times was conducted to measure the newsworthiness of these stories and the extent to which the stories discussed serious harm resulting from corporate wrongdoingk the intent of the corporate actor and the criminal justice or regulatory response to the wrongdoing. A substantial number of stories were uncovered during the years under analysis, but overall, these stories were not very newsworth in terms of their page location, headline size, story length or pairing with a picture or chart. Regarding the content of the news stories, few suggested any indication of intent, present at the time of the corporate wrongdoing. Likewise, a smaller number of stories communicated serious harm other than simply illness, injury, or no harm whatsoever. From this research, it can be concluded that the content of corporate wrongdoing news stories does not parallel that presented in news stories of street crime. More resarch is necessary in order to specify the relationship between media coverage, the public’s perception of corporate wrongdoing and policies designed to regulate corporate offenses.
Alternative Designs for Multisite Reform
This panel addresses issues in the design, implementation, and interpretation of multisite research in criminology. Based on examples from their past and current research, presenters will describe the relationship between the number of sites, the role of local researchers and practitioners, and data collection and analysis. The strengths and weaknesses of alternative designs will be compared and suggestions for future multisite designs will be considered.
American Indians and the Death Penalty: A Case Study of Three Death Row Inmates in Arizona
This paper describes base-line data pertaining to due process and investigative matters arising in the conviction of three American Indian death row inmates in the state of Arizona. There are presently 41 American Indians on death row in the United States. This case study serves as a precursor to a larger and more extensive research project that will content analyze all 41 death row cases. My primary objective is creation of a composite picture of the conviction and sentencing of American Indians. This work is part of a national effort to produce post-mortum case review to identify and correct problems associated with due process. Among the issues discussed are: indigent defense, the role of eyewitnesses, police and prosecutorial behavior, the role of prison informants in convictions, and post-conviction review. This paper concludes with a statement relating to the relevance of Indian sovereignty rights with respect to capital punishment.
American Institutional Theories of Crime Causation and Juvenile Delinquency
American institutional theories of crime have previously focused on explaining macro-level violent crimes. This study extends earlier works by applying two theories, institutional legitimacy and institutional anomie, to lower level offenses. Findings indicate a strong relationship between delinquency and faith in American social institutions such as the family, the economy and the political system. The relationships, however, vary in direction by offense and institution suggesting partial support for both theories. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.
An Analysis of a National Survey of Juvenile Correctional Institutions in Taiwan
There are now in Taiwan four juvenile correctional institutions; two reformatory schools and two correctional schools. In July of 1999 two of the institutions were converted into “Correctional Schools” in an attempt to enhance the efficiency of Taiwan’s juvenile justice system. In order to evaluate these two categories of institutions, a national survey focusing on the comparative effectiveness of the two forms of juvenile corrections institutions was conducted in 2003. Based on official statistics, comparison of recidivism rates reveals no significant difference between these two forms of juvenile correctional institutions. However the cost per juvenile in the “Correctional Schools” (US $14,485/year) is far higher than in the Reformatory Schools (US $8,945/year). Findings from this study provide important information for planners in determining whether the other two reformatory schools should be converted to Correctional Schools. This random sampling has resulted in 180 juvenile subjects and 159 staff valid for the study’s analysis. The survey was also administered to students and staff in an attempt to identify which correctional model plays a more important role in Taiwan’s juvenile justice practice. Stratified sampling was the primary method used to select representative cases from all four juvenile institutions in Taiwan. The main variables included in the study were measures associated with juvenile’s perception of the institutional strain and social bonds.
An Analysis of a National Survey of School Dropouts in Taiwan
Between 1997 and 2001, more than 15 astonishing criminal incidents committed by school dropouts were highly publicized by media in Taiwan, and received enormous attention by government officials. In response to these serious incidents, a national survey focusing on school dropouts was conducted in 2001 to study social and demographic characteristics of these subjects. The survey was also administered to non-dropout students in an attempt to identify characteristics which may distinguish from those of the dropouts. Stratified sampling was the primary method to select respresentative cases from all 23 school districts in Taiwan. This random sampling has resulted in 1,049 non-dropout subjects and 477 dropouts valid for the study’s analysis. The main variables included in the study are measures associated with strain, social bonds, and criminal learning. Theanalysis would center on differences in these theoretical factors whose results on delinquency have been examined extensively in the United States. Findings of the study would shed lights on casues of school dropout from evidence of a non-U.S. society.
An Analysis of Club Drug Trends Among ADAM Arrestees
Abuse of synthetic drugs, including those commonly known as club drugs, has risen dramatically in many communities throughout the United Sttes. While ADAM data collection has covered the use of methamphetamine for several years, its coverage of other club drugs (such as ecstasy, MDMA, LSD, PCP, hallucinogens, Rohypnol) has been less standard. However, uncoded drug data, as well as urinalysis data, include a wealth of information not consistently analyzed to date. This study will investigate the use and trends of various club drugs nationally and regionally among ADAM arrestees from 1999 through 2002 as indicated by self-report for the last year and last two days, as well as results from urinalysis.
An Analysis of Intimate Partner Homicide in Southern California
In 1995 the California legislation authorized counties to establish an interagency team to assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing all domestic violence related deaths. Each county agency is responsible for compiling a report on such occurrences in order to implement strategies to reduce and ultimately prevent domestic violence realted deaths. This study compares the Orange County Domestic Violence Death Review Team’s 1997-2001 report findings to the reports for Los Angeles and San Diego counties. This paper focuses on situational and offender/victim characteristics, the coordination of systems and the accessibility of services. The results were analyzed in order to determine the trends and specific indicators or demographics and situational patterns in domestic violence homicides and suicides in Southern California. The paper concludes with policy and program recommendations that will assist the county in the reduction and prevention of domestic violence related deaths.
An Analysis of Scientific Sentencing and Its Impact on the Criminal Justice System
It is now a shared reality that the number of people under criminal justice regulation in this country has reached a record high. As a result, the sentencing policies driving that number, and the field of corrections, where the consequences are felt, have acquired unprecedented complexities. Although sentencing guidelines have introduced some uniformity int he way sentences have been handed out, the continuous implementation of these guidelines has led to a tremdous impact in the number of incarcerated individuals in the past ten (10) years. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of science on sentencing and court proceedings. Additionally, this paper will delineate the use of systematic science in this phase of the criminal justie system to show how it has removed judicial discretion and consequently minimized the roles judges perform. Sentencing disparity has not been eliminated as a result of these guidelines. In fact, minorities now comprise sixty (60)% of all incarcerated individuals. One of the central questions to be asked; Are sentencing policies, as implemented through correctional practices, achieving their intended purposes?
An Analysis of Survey 2003 in Texas: High School Criminal Educators
The impact of criminal justice and criminology courses in the high school curriculum in the United States is an interesting yet unexplored issue. Targeting on a sampling frame of 230 high school criminal justice educators in Texas, this research: (1) analyzes the high school criminal justice education in order to determine its impact on both students’ career path in the field of criminal justice and reduction in school crime; (2) examine the educational background, teaching conditions, and job satisfaction of high school criminal justice educators in Texas; and (3) discusses implications and policy ramifications.
An Assessment of First Responder Attitudes About the Nature of Transnational Organized Crime
This research attempts to assess the level of knowledge and understanding of transnational and organized crime of first responder members of the local law enforcement community. Using judgmental and snowball sampling techniques, a population of Chicago Police Department first responder personnel will be selected for in-depth interviewing in an effort to assess their level of knowledge and understanding regarding these international issues. Data gleaned from the interviews may have significant implications for the development of a variety of training initiatives for local law enforcement personnel.
An Economic Analysis of the Causes and Mechanisms of Juvenile Delinquency: An Empirical Study of the French Evidence
The published figures show that the population of juvenile delinquents in France has been steadily rising at an unprecedented rate since 1993. The economics of crime offers the tools to give a realistic and persuasive explanation as the basis for understanding and controlling the causes and mechanisms of the problem. This is an entirely new approach in France, and the body of work done in other specialised fields (sociology, criminology, psychology), as a serious demographic analysis has been drawn on to make the case for the basis of the proposed model development. The range of models developed in the 30-plus years since Becker (1968) now offers ways of factoring in a wide array of features and attributes. From this, two key propositions are put into sharp focus: that there are different forms of offending, and that risk factors act indirectly through a copycat mechanism on juvenile people not prima facie members of this risk group. Then, a ground-breaking “social interactions” econometric model adapted from EHRLICH (1973) and GLAESER’s (1996) model was then used to measure and rank the causes and mechanisms of youth crime using data from 242 municipalities in France. Data and Methods Used: Data from 242 municipalities in France during 5 years (1995 to 1999). Econometric method of two least squares (2LS) regression. Results: Results consists at first, in presenting an analysis of juvenile delinquency, and more precisely the weight of theoretical risk factors in each of the twelve French juvenile delinquency’s forms development. Otherwise, the analysis goes through different sorts of risk factors: those which never occur in our study (is there any explanation?), those which appear linked to one only or few forms of juvenile delinquency (what have they in common?). Then, risk factors which often take place in the juvenile delinquency’s mechanisms are, at their turn, interpreted. And, a last part treat of some conceivable political actions, depending to the risk factor’s nature and the juvenile delinquency’s form which seems to be fought as a priority.
An Empirical Analysis of Detention Decision Making in the Juvenile Justice System
This research examines the detention of youth in one county juvenile department in Oregon located in a predominantly White and Hispanic community. The sample (N=150) included Hispanic and White youth detained during July 2001-June 2002. Using quantitatibe analyses, the following independent variables were examined to assess what factors influence the decsion to detain youth: age, sex, race, whom the youth lives with, school involvement, gang involvement, current offense (misdemeanors, felonies, probation violations, and parole violations), prior offense (misdemeanors or felonies), and the number of prior adjudications and referrals. In addition to quantitative analyses, interviews were also conducted with juvenile probation officers and judges to supplement the official records. Similar to previous tudies, this research revealed that older youth were more likely to be detained than younger youth. Moreover, it was also found that males were more likely detained for new law violations; whereas, females were more likely to be detained for probation violations (i.e. noncompliance with court conditions, runaway status, or truancy). This research not only contributes to the understanding of the factors that influence detention decision making, but also to the literature of Hispanic youth involved in the juvenile justice system.
An Empirical and Legal Analysis of Police Handling of Persons With Psychopathologies
This paper will examine the current literature regarding police handling of persons with mental disorders. A focus will be on current legal rulings and associated standards. A second focus will include the current state of empirical and training literature regarding recommendations for handling mentally impaired persons. Lastly, legal interpretations of police related cases associated with the American with Disabilities Act will be included.
An Empirical Assessment of Juvenile Drug Use, Self-Medication and Violent Behavior
The majority of research predicts and finds a positive association between substance use and violence. However, some research has found that substance use decreases the likelihood of violence. It has been noted that some drugs assuage distressful feelings related to aggression. For example, many researchers have found that marijuana use suppresses the expression of aggressive impulses. In short, some researchers find that substance use predicts violence, while other find that substance use serves to moderate violent tendencies through self-medication. Using a sample of adolescents, this study examines the efficacy of both of these perspectives in explaining violent behavior.
An Empirical Assessment of the Affect of Crime Salience on Attitudes Toward Crime, Welfare and Immigration
As previous research has noted, the expected relationship between crime salience and punitive attitudes toward crime is rather straightforward. It is reasonable to expect that those who are most fearful of crime, more concerned about crime, and who have been criminally victimized in the past will express more punitive sentiments toward crime and criminals. The relationship between crime salience and punitiveness toward welfare and immigration may not be so apparent. It is reasonable to assume that there are many who associate the issues of crime, welfare, and immigration with similar populations, namely inner city minorities. Crime has long been associated with those perceived as alien and dangerous “others.” Immigrants and the “undeseerving poor,” for example, are often viewed as suffering from individual moral failings and as being disproportionately involved in criminal behavior. Using OLS and logistic regression, our study demonstrates that the affect of crime salience extends beyong attitudes toward crime.
An Empirical Examination of the 1990’s Church Burning Epidemic
The American South witnessed an increase in church burnings during the mid-1990s that was characterized by the national media as a function of resurgent racism. Official response included the creation of task forces, hate crime legislation and considerable funding for victim services and empowerment programs. Despite the scope of attention and resources allocated to the burnings, no empirial analysis of the phenomenon has yet been conducted. This study employs a social constuctionist framework to examine claims attributing the burnings to a racist conspiracy, while controlling for structural properties in a sample of churches burned in South Carolina (75) between 1990-2000. Results of a logit analysis indicated that only poverty and population density had a significant influence on the arsons. Implications of these findings are considered relative to the interests of stakeholders and race relations.
An Empirical Study of In-Car Camera Archives to Examine Racial Profiling
The controversy surrounding the police profiling of minority motorists has led to renewed calls to examine police patrol practices. One response has been to increase the use of video-cameras in patrol cars. It is argued that a videotaped record of patrol work would hold officers accountable as well as help settle questions of racial profiling both as a general issue and in any individual case. Though in-car camera technology may be useful in assessing, and pershaps constraining racial profiling, how officers use this technology in situ is important to consider. However, there are virtually no empirical studies of camera car archives that can illuminate just how helpful this technology really is for examining questions about racial profiling. In this paper, we report on our research which examines the in-car camera archives from two police departments and utilizes a corpus of over 1000 videotapes (representing approximately 8000 hours of patrol work). We present preliminary findings about officer compliance with organizational policies regarding camera and microphone use, the extent to which race and outcome data for traffic stops are possible to determine from such audio-visual records and identify problems facing researchers and departments who might want to undertake such research.
An Empirical Test of Moffitt’s Taxonomy: The Importance of Predictor Variables in Addition to Age of Onset
This study is an in-depth look at the variables that Terrie Moffitt (1993) uses to predict whether an individual is an adoelescence-limited offender or a life-course-persistent offender. More specifically, this project attempts to see if variables other than age of onset are of significant value in making this distinction. It seems as if many researchers when evaluating the utility of Moffitt’s theory (and most developmental theories of crime, for that matter), have effectively boiled down Moffitt’s list of independent variables to just age of onset. This seems less problematic when empirically testing Patterson and his colleagues (1989, 1993) distinction between early- and late-starters, for the obvious reason implied in the names given to the two groups of offenders. Moffitt, however, looks at much more than age of onset in differentiating between the two types of offenders. Moffitt also looks at neurological problems like cognitive and verbal deficits, parents reactions to adolescents with these deficits, social mimicry of life-course-persistent offenders by adolescence-limited offenders, etc. This study uses data from David Farrington’s Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (Great Britain, 19681-1981) to test Moffit’s hyupotheses about the differential predictor and outcome variables associated with adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent offenders. According to Moffitt (1993), the best predictor variables for the type of offending associated with life-course-persistent offenders are individual and family characteristics like cognitive ability, hyperactivity, and the type of upbringing in the family of origin. The best predictor variables for outcomes associated with adolescence-limited offenders are hypothesized to be age, delinquent peers, etc. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and multiple regression are used in this study to test these hypotheses.
An Evaluation of the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Program
This study, funded by the National Institute of Justice, will report on a national evaluation of the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant (LLEBG) program, focusing in particular on sites using these grants to support results-oriented programs. In addition to an overview of the evaluation, particular emphasis will be given to particularly innovative programs.
An Evaluation of Virginia’s Young Juvenile Offender Initiative: Preliminary Findings From the First Year of Implementation
Crime committed by young juvenile offenders and inadequate mechanisms available to intervene predictably and early with these youth have been identified as critical issues in the state of Virginia. In response, Virginia’s Department of Criminal Justice Services developed the Young Juvenile Offender initiative (YJO). The primary goal of this initiative is to reduce further penetration of first-time offending juveniles under the age of 14 into the criminal justice system. Secondary goals include improved interagency collaboration; development of a system of graduated sanctions and services; improved ability to match offenders with services and sanctions by creating a multi-disciplinary screening team; enhanced funding for service provision; and development of a mechanism for tracking youth and family outcomes. Virginia’s Department of Criminal Justice Services Research Center has been charged with evaluating both the implementation and impact of this initiative on youth, family, and system outcomes. This paper discusses this on-going evaluation process and addresses how well this initiative has been implemented across the state and within participating sites during the first year of existence; preliminary indications of program impact on youth, their families, and the criminal justice system; and recommendations for enhancing continued administration of the initiative.
An Evidence-Based Review of Sexual Assault Preventive Intervention Programs
Preventive interventions targeting both adults and children are an essential part of deterring rape and sexual assault in our society. Despite the many sexual assault prevention programs administered by service providers and a growing number of published studies evaluating various prevention efforts, collectively little is known about the effectiveness of sexual assault preventive interventions. To develop more systematic and well-informed studies and successful interventions, it is crucial that we know which sexual assault preventive interventions have been evaluated and the results of these evaluations. This presentation will report on an evidence-based review of evaluated rape and sexual assault preventive interventions that is being sponsored by the National Institute of Justice. Using the methodology developed by the Task Force on Community Preventive Services, this review is being conducted to assess what is known about rape and sexual assault preventive interventions, identify limitations and gaps in current knowledge, and make recommendations for future research and on promising sexual assault prevention programs for both researchers and practitioners. This presentation will describe the design and methodology of the project, discuss the types of programs being included within the review and the information being abstracted from the published evaluations, and examine preliminary findings.
An Examination of Community Defined Assets and Deficits in High Incarceration Neighborhoods
In both the research and policy arenas, there is increasing attention to the role of community social capital in the process of successful prisoner reentry. Based on interviews with community representatives in two high incarceration neighborhoods in New York, this paper will examine how they frame community assets and deficits regarding social capital development. A discussion of the primary stumbling blocks to social capital generation in high incarceration neighborhoods will be discussed with the potential implications for successful prisoner reentry strategies.
An Examination of Perceptions and Beliefs Concerning School Safety Among School Principals and School Resource Officers in Kentucky
In recent years, many states have increased the presence of law enforcement at schools as a response to a perception that schools have become unsafe places for children. The data regarding the impact of school resource officers (SROs) on school safety are limited, however. Using survey data collected from over 100 SROs and principals, this paper examines the impact of SROs in Kentucky and compares their perceptions and beliefs about school safety with that of principals in Kentucky public schools. Preliminary findings indicate that most SROs in Kentucky are relatively new to the SRO job and are often responsible for providing service to two or more schools. Further, the comparision of data from both principals and SROs revealed that both principals and SROs feel that renewed funding is essential for the SRO program to be successful. The findings also reveal some level of disagreement between SROs and principals regarding the role of the SRO in the school setting and some level of lack of cooperation between SROs and principals. The implication of these findings and their impact on future policy is also discussed.
An Examination of Program Integrity for Juvenile Correctional Programs
The Correctional Program Assessment Inventory (CPAI) provides a standardized, objective way for assessing the quality of correctional programs against empirically based principles of effective intervention. These serve as the program template. The CPAI provides a method for determining if a good match exists between program concept, host organization, and the clientele targeted. The result is identification of programmatic areas requiring modification. This paper highlights important results of more than 100 CPAIs.
An Examination of Responses to Threats of Victimization: Is Fear of Crime the Best Answer?
This paper challenges the notion that fear of crime is the only or most likely response to the threat of victimization that an individual may choose. Although past research has widely discussed other potentially influential responses to the threat of victimization (such as perceived risk, constrained behaviors, incivilities, etc.), it typically assumes fear of crime is the dependent variable and any other responses merely causes or impacts fear of crime. This paper argues that there are many responses that an individual may choose from to cope with the potential threat of victimization, among them increases in fear of crime, an assssment of perceived risk, or an engagement in constrained behaviors. When looking at the phenomen in this new light, with fear of crime as only one possible response to the threat of victimization, the relationships between different responses to the threat of victimization may be compared. This comparison may render fear of crime, constrained behaviors, and perceived risk as working together in a reciprocal relationship instead of, as past research has often indicated, a causal one. This paper uses OLS regression nested models with three separate dependent variables to consider these claims. Analysis ane results are explored.
An Examination of Social Networks in Juvenile Drug Courts: Social Interactions and the Creation of Positive and Negative Social Capital
Recent studies of juvenile drug courts have primarily relied on examining the overall impact of these substance abuse treatment programs. While such studies inform public policy making, they provide relatively little insight into the social dynamics that lead to increased or reduced drug use and/or delinquency. In order to expand the focus of such research, we explore the social networks that develop among juveniles in one particular drug court. We rely on the concept of social capital as our theoretical framework to examine the exchange of information among youths. By using self-report data from 115 juveniles, we present how social interactions (i.e., inside and outside of mandatory drug court activities) produce both positive and negative social capital. Specifically, we identify how juveniles develop perceived notions of drug use, drug availability, delinquency, and drug court effectiveness.
An Examination of the Convergence Between Victim Reporting and Police Recording of Violent Crime, 1973-2002
This study uses data from the NC(V)S and the UCR for the years 1973-2002 to examine the recent covergence between victim reporting and police recording of serious violent crime. For much of this thirty-year period the total volume of crime measured by the victimization survey is nearly doubled that recorded by official statistics. Recently, however, these two trends have converged in a way that suggests that police are now recording all of these crimes reported to them by crime victims. This unprecedented convergence in the NC(V)S and UCR estimates raises important questions regarding public and official responses to crime over time. This study examines the possible explanations for the convergence, including the influence of changes in policing practice, the demographic composition of the population, changing social perceptions of crime, and the effects of re-designs in both the NC(V)S and UCR.
An Examination of the Impacts of CCTV Cameras in Drug Markets Areas in Jersey City, New Jersey
This paper considers the long-term impact of CCTV cameras on drug-related crimes and disorders in major drug market areas. We use time series analysis to examine trends in calls for service and arrests over a 5-year period in treatment and comparison areas. We also draw from place manager interviews to understand the environmental factors that facilitate or impair the effective use of cameras to control open-air drug activities. Ten CCTV cameras were simultaneously installed in drug market areas in Jersey City, New Jersey in August 2000. The cameras were present in the target sites for more than two years and were subject to regular maintenance. The drug markets were located at street intersections that had a history of generating large numbers of calls for service and arrests for drug-related crimes and disorders. In fact, many of the same intersections were examined in the NIJ sponsored drug market analysis program (DMAP) in 1992. Prior to the installation of the cameras, we matched each intersection with a comparison area that would not host a camera, but was similar in terms of its physical layout and calls for service and arrests for drug-related crimes and disorders. The findings compare crime trends in the camera locations to comparison areas and highlight environmental factors that affected the successeful implementation of CCTV cameras in the study sites.
An Experiential Learning Approach to Corrections for University Students
This paper provies an overview of methods used and explores the value of an experiential learning approach for an undergraduate course on correctional rehabilitation. In a class scheduled for one afternoon a week to facilitate field work, students alternate between sessions in the classroom and site visits to prisons, jails and detention centers, and community corrections programs where they interact with staff and residents. To help the students translate their off-campus experiences into easily accessible, generalizable knowledge, this pedagogy includes reflection, assessment/critical analysis, linkage to existing knowledge and theory, and evaluation of the experience. The paper will explore beliefs about ways in which this pedagogical approach can enhance learning and advance specific academic goals, including increasing competence (skills and knowledge), encouraging active student participation and empowerment, and building and nuturing student growth and relationships. In addition, it will consider how experiential learning can promote improved public policy and important social values, including commitment to service, social change and racial understanding.
An Experimental Analysis of Differential Perception Patterns Among Offenders and Non-Offenders
Although a variety of sociologically oriented theories in criminology (General Strain, Anomie, Social Disorganization, etc.) predict criminality as the result of one’s reaction to social and physical environmental forces there is very little research that explores the individual level psychological processes underpinning these reactions. we conducted a laboratory quasi-experiment comparing active (uncaught) violent street offenders, demographic controls (who hail from the same neighborhoods as offenders but don’t commit violent crimes), and college students, on a social perception task using Point light Display (PLD) video technology. PLDs depict brief interactions between two actors under degraded optical conditions. Subjects? Perceptions of the PLDs provided qualitative and quantitative data indicating significant differential perception patterns among the three experimental groups, supporting the notion that congruent cognitive processes underline the impact of larger sociological forces on criminal behavior. Results are discussed using Ecological Psychology theory as a conceptual bridge betwen larger macro-theories and the individual level criminal behaviors they purport to explain.
An Exploratory Analysis of Motivations for Use of Physical Aggression in Intimate Relationships
Research on intimate partner violence has lately begun to address the reasons or motivations behind the use of physical aggression. However, the exploration of gender differences in motivation for use of physical violence in intimate relationships has not been well developed. Most efforts have focused on self-defense as the primary motive of women and need for control as the primary motive of men. Using a sample of 526 students who have used physical aggression in current or previous marital or dating relationships, we investigate gender differences in both internal and external motivations for intimate partner violence and attempt to account for observed differences and similarities.
An Integrated Theoretical Examination of Gender-Specificity in Pathways to Serious and Violent Delinquency
In this paper, we test a theoretical framework that incorporates elements of social learning, self-control, and rountine activities theories to explain juvenile violence and serious delinquency. Of particular interest is assessing the extent to which this model accounts for variation in serious and violent offending by girls and boys. Considerable disagreement exists about whether there are different etiological paths to delinquency for girls and boys. Given the emphasis on developing “gender-specific” programs, it is important to determine if there in fact are different paths leading to delinquency.
An Introduction to the RESTORE Project
RESTORE (Responsibility and Equity for Sexual Transgressions Invoiving a Restorative Experience) is a collaboration of the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault, the Pima County Attorney’s office, and the University of Arizona College of Public Health. Together we have identified problems in community response to date and acquaintance rape and nonpenetration sexual offenses including: (1) these crimes are markers of a sexual offending career, yet many perpetrators exit the system with no preventive measures in place; (2) existing criminal justice sanctions are not highly effective at preventing reoffending; and (3) criminal justice system procedures often disappoint and traumatize victims and families. Out identified solution is an innovative, violence prevention program for first time perpetrators based on the community conferencing model of restorative justice. The RESTORE Program (funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) is the first of its kind outside of aboriginal settings to deal with selected sexual crimes pre-adjudication, and has the potential to become a national model. Our vision is Justice that Heals; Our mission is to facilitate a victim-centered, community-driven resolution of selected sex crimes that creates and carries out a plan for accountability, repair, and public safety. Our overall goals are to (a) implement the model, (b) gain buy- in from our partners in the community, and(c) evaluate RESTORE to document program implementation and outcomes, with sufficient detail to make replication in other communities possible. The purpose of this roundtable is to share the program and receive feedback from interested participants.
An Uneasy Alliance: Law Enforcement and Victim Advocates in a Rural Area
Interagency collaboration in rural areas serves as a way to maximize networks of professionals who could effectively respond to family violence. The ommunity Partnership Team is one such collaboration and includes representatives from law enforcement, victim advocacy, and child protection services. However, collaborations between law enforcement and victim advocates have met with mixed results because of diverse agendas and training protocols for personnel in these organizations. This study was undertaken to better understand the process of organizing a collaborative relationship between law enforcement agencies and two victim advocacy organizations in a rural area. Observations and interviews were conducted over an 18-month period to document obstacles to cooperation between police and victim advocates, changes in relationships between agencies, as well as changes in protocol as a result of collaboration. Results suggested continued strain between agencies as well as strategies for overcoming some of the barriers to a collaborative approach to family violence in rural areas.
An Update on Organized Crime in Africa
Since the 1970’s the crime problem, including organized crime, in Africa has becmoe more and more multidimensional and as such an increasing challenge to both scholars and administration of justice policymakers and practitioners. This development warrants an update in the literature on the crime problem in general and organized crime in particular, using historical and contemporary perspectives.
Analysis of Prison Scandals in Japan
In Japan some scandals in Nagoya Prisons was exposed in the winter, 2003. It drew peoples’ attention. I will explain the content of these scandals. Then, I’ll analyze such causes of these scandals as over-crowdedness since the late 1980s and the severe disciplinary system by using formal statistics and documents. To cope with the criticism, the government established the council for prison reform. By analyzing the discussion in this council, I would like to think about the future reform in Japanese prisons.
Analyzing NIBRS Drug Data From Local Agencies Using GIS Technology
This poster seeks to demonstrate the richness of detail available from the NIBRS data set by analyzing the drug offense information submitted from the agencies of a seven-county area in Tenneessee. The analysis focuses on differences between dealer-related drug activity and user-related drug activity in terms of offender characteristics, victim characteristics and offense information such as location type, time of day, and associated crimes. GIS technology available in such programs as ESRI ArcGIS are used to visualize and analyze the data.
Analyzing Spatial-Temporal Patterns of Racial Disparities of Police Vehicle Stops in Cincinnati
This paper aims to analyze the spatial-temporal patterns of police vehicle stops in Cincinnati, with a specific focus on the disparities of stops among different racial groups. Individual stops are aggregated to street segments, police reporting areas and neighborhoods for analysis. Three different base rates are used in the calculation of racial disparity index: the driging population, the geographically weighted driving population, and estimated drivers on individual street segments based on a traffic model. The temporal comparisons of the stops are made between day and night, rush hours and non-rush hours. Prelimiunary analysis indicates that racial disparities, including both over and under represntations of minorities, vary significantly over space. These disparities may be related to factors such as the need for police service, characteristics of the location, characteristics of the neighborhood, characteristics of the vehicle, in addition to the characteristics of the driver. A multivariate model is used to test the significance of these relations. Finally, the results and conclusions of these analyses are presented in this papaer.
And Justice for All?: Race, Ethnicity, and the Jury Selection Process
This paper examines the role of race in the selection of juries in the United States. The paper particularly reviews how state and federal courts have addressed the issue of race, ethnicity, and jury selection historically, and arguments regarding the importance of racial and ethnic diversity among jurors in the rendering of court verdicts. The promise of strategies for the reduction of racial and ethnic bias in jury selection and the realization of fair and impartial juries are also discussed.
Anti Death Penalty = Pro Vigilante? Exploring Nuances and Contradictions in Public Opinion About Criminal Justice
Public opinion about criminal justice issues is multifaceted, but surveys often employ simple questions (e.g., Do you support capital punishment?) to measure it. The current research attempts to explore the nuances and potential contradictions in criminal justice opinions. The Criminal Justice Values Survey was administered to 250 undergraduates at a large Midwestern university and 218 surveys were completed (87% response rate). The majority of respondents favored the use of capital punishment for a variety of crimes, including several sub-lethal offenses. Among death penalty opponents, 17% of respondents felt that the state should never have the authority to execute its citizens, however some death penalty opponents favorged vigilantism as a form of social control. Moreover, 33% of all respondents reported that they would be tempted to kill anyone who victimized their family and 80% reported that they would be tempted to injure the perpetrator who victimized their family. A sizable proportion of respondents is neutral or ambivalent about nearly all criminal justice issues. We conclude that death penalty opponents are not necessarily “soft on crime,” indeed many advocate punitive methods not currently practiced.
Application of Differential Social Support and Coercion Theory to an Understanding of Prison Organizational Change: The Case of the New Mexico Penitentiary
Colvin, Cullen and Vander Ven’s (2002) differential social support and coercion theory, published in the February 2002 issue of Criminology, offers a comprehensive explanation of criminal behavior. I argue that this theory also has important implications for understanding organizational change and deviance within prisons. Using the case study of the Penitentiary of New Mexico (Colvin 1992), I argue that organizational change and differences over time in forms of deviance within the prison are shaped by changes in both the levels and types of social support for prisoners and the levels of coercion experienced by prisoners. Specifically, the years 1968 to 1972 witnessed an array of legitimate social support actiities related to educational and other rehabilitation programs. By 1973, asd these programs ceased to grow, illegitimate forms of social support emerged as an important feature of the prison, including organized drug trafficking rings. During this period (1968 to 1975), violence and escapes were at very low levels. Partly as a response to the alarming level of drug trafficking, which helped to fuel a political scandal, a concerted effort was undertaken in late 1975 and early 1976 to eliminate not only the drugs but also most of the inmate programs. The resulting drop in social support activities (both legitimate and illegitimate) led to a peaceful organized strike by inmates in June 1976, in protest of the loss of legitimate social supports. This inmate action was responded to with measures designed to coerce inmates into compliance. As this drop in social supports and rise of coercion occurred, violence, escapes, and other forms of disorder increased in the prison, leading ultimately to the 1980 riot in which 34 inmates were killed. Differential social support and coercion theory can thus be useful for understanding compliance and deviance within organizations like the prison. Policy implications for prison management are discussed in light of this theory and its application to the New Mexico prison experience.
Applying Messner and Rosenfeld’s Institutional Anomie Theory: Homicide Rates at the Neighborhood Level
Messner and Rosenfeld’s institutional anomie theory makes the claim that serious crinme, particularly violent crime such as homicide, will be more prevalent when economic instituions overpower non-economic institutions. To date, only a handful of studies have examined their theory, and most of these have focused on larger contextual units such as states and nations. In this paper, we employ data from one large mid-western city to examine whether institutional anomie theory can explain variation in hgomicide rates at the local level. Specifically, we will test whether institutional imbalance of power significantly affects neighborhood homicide rates.
Applying Social Learning Theory to Police Misconduct
Although numerous studies have attempted to understand the causes of various forms of police misconduct, there still exists no clear theoretical explanation of police misbehavior. This research seeks to shed some light on that gap by applying a general theory of crime and deviance to the phenomenon of police misconduct. Akers social learning theory posits that peer associations, attitudes, reinforcement and modeling are predictors of delinquency and crime in general. Herein, we seek to determine if the theory can account for police deviance. Data from a random sample of Philadelphia police officers are used to examine how police officers attitudes and perceptions of peer behavior are related to citizen complaints of police misconduct. Findings suggest that social learning theory provides a useful explanation of police misconduct, but that definitions favorable to minor forms of misconduct are not necessarily determinant of citizen complaints.
Are We Facing Our Problems?: A Thematic Content Analysis
This paper presents the findings of a survey assessing the general state of theory in criminology. Two hundred forty-one respondents from a randomly selected sample of ASC members were asked, via an open-ended question, to identify the two or three biggest problems/shortcomings that you think exist relevant to the current state of theory in criminology. A thematic content analysis was conducted on the responses, and the top 3 major problems were identified. A second content analysis was then conducted, using the main problem times, looking at articles published in the top three journals *as rated by the survey respondents) to see if the published work in the discipline is addressing the problems that were identified.
Are Work and Crime Unrelated Life Spheres? A New Perspective on an Old Debate
The relationship between integration into the labor force and crime has been an almost classical topic for criminological analyses, with equivocal empirical results. New insights on that relationship may emerge by looking at longitudinal data. The data-set of the Bremen-School-to-Work-Cohort-Study (based on five interview waves between 1989 and 2000) includes data on the trajectory of work for 424 juveniles who exited school in 1989 for the 11 subssequent years, using a monthly calendar. In addition self-reported delinquency has been measured on annually basis as well as registered crimes, but also a variety of theoretically relevant variables. By analyzing that data-set using various types of statistical models, we consistently failed to find any significant relationship between work related variables and SRD (prevalence, frequency, changes) in multivariate analysis. In contrast we found effects of interventions by the juvenile or criminal justice system on the work life. The paper elaborates on the question whether the work-crime-relationship may be predominantly based on ideology rather than on facts.
‘Arms as Insurance,’ Revisited
A few years ago, I published “Arms as Insurance,” an essay arguing that gun ownership by private citizens is a politically relevant tool in preventing genocide by enabling meaningful citizen resistance, effectively raising the cost of genocidal policies to a level at which they are much less probable. I am now not so sure about this argument, given advances in technology. Those advances in technology make it likely that the “democratizing” effect of firearms, one techology that allows resistance and insurrection, may soon give way to a situation in which effective weaponry is only available to those with vast resources. It is beginning to seem likely to me that we are headed for a situation analogous to the age of chariots or that of mounted knights, where only wealthy elites could afford effective deadly force.
Arrest for Sexual Assault: A Test of Donald Black’s Relational Distance Theory
In his relational distance theory, Donald Black (1976) proposed a positive relationship between the level of relational distance among adversaries (or between the victim and the suspect) and the likelihood of the police or other third parties intervening in disputes. That is, the greater the relational distance between the suspect and victim in a case, the greater the likelihood of arrest. In a recent examination of assault data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, Felson and Ackerman (2001) found that the impact of relational distance was conditioned by level of seriousness of the assault. More specifically, these authors found that police were less likely to make an arrest in minor assault cases when the victim and suspect were intimate partners than when the suspect was an identifiable stranger. This study replicates and extends Felson and Ackerman’s (2001) research; we use data from the San Diego Police Department to examine whether the relational distance between victims and suspects affects the likelihood of arrest in sexual assault cases and if this effect is conditioned by case seriousness.
Assessing Citizen-Police Academies
This paper reports on the results of a survey of nearly 600 graduates of citizen-police academies from 17 communities throughout Ohio. Citizen-police academies are a recently adopted innovation among police agencies that represents a slow but continuous movement of American law enforcement toward a greater emphasis on community-based policing. This paper summarizes the specific assessment of citizen-police academy graduates and their sense of safety in the community.
Assessing Evaluation Partnerships for Female-Specific Programming in Juvenile Justice: Bridging Research and Practice
In 2002, the Juvenile Justice Evaluation Center (JJEC) of the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA) funded four state research agencies to work with their governor-appointed juvenile justice advisory groups toward the accomplishment of two goals. The first goal was to increase collaboration between researchers and the state’s juvenile justice advisory groups. The second goal was to encourage evaluation or to build the capacity to evaluate gender-specific juvenile justice programs. This presentation will report on the type and strength of the partnerships that developed between researchers and the advisory groups as well as the potential for a sustained working relationship; how the states chose to approach their evaluation-related activities; and consider how the results of the projects relate to recommendations from the academic literature regarding services for girls.
Assessing Hudson v. McMillan Ten Years Later
Claims of excessive force continue to be frequent prisoner allegations litigated in accordance with the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment. The United States Supreme Court in Hudson v. McMillan (1992) held that excessive physical force may violate a prisoner’s constitutional right despite the absence of a serious injury to the prisoner. Using a content analysis, this paper examines the trends and patterns of federal circuit court decisions in 1,000 cases from 1992 to 2002. Analysis of the impact of this case on correctional liability, five categories of force, agency management of force, and policy and training issues are presented. Future research concerns and strategies to reduce litigation are discussed.
Assessing Kentucky Police Corps Training Academy
As the public and political leaders have come to perceive law enforcement as both more important and more expensive, demand has grown for more officers on the street and for more rigorous training that produces a more professionalized and accountable police force. The response in part to that demand is the Police Corp Program. The Police Corps is a Federal program designed to adress violent crime by increasing the number of officers with advanced education and training who serve on community patrol. This paper presents the initial findings from the first phase of a 4-year assessment and research effort designed to: 1) develop tool and process to assess the quality of training; and 2) to investigate specific attitudinal changes overtime on two important aspects of Police Corps perspective: ethical and community policing as central frameworks for performing the job.
Assessing Police Officers Decision to Search a Vehicle: Analysis of Data From the Rhode Island Traffic Stops Statistics Act
Past research on police behavior has illuminated a number of factors that influence police officer decisions to stop, search and arrest individuals. These studies examined the relationship between attitudinal, organizational and situational variables in regards to a variety of officer actions. Past studies have primarily used observation data from several local police departments to assess issues of officer discretion. While observation data provides a great deal of richness to the analysis, the low number of departments and/or officers observed limits strength generalizations. The present study uses two years of traffic stop data collected from over forty locan and state law enforcement jurisdictions to determine the factors associated with officers’ decision to search a vehicle. Responding offers self report information about the reason for traffic stop, result of stop, and post stop activities such as searches. Characteristics of the stopped vehicle (driver race, gender, age), situations (time of day, location, basis for stop) and organizational characteristics are exmined using logistical regression techniques. The legal threshold of the search (i.e. probably cause) and the outcome of the search (i.e. finding contraband) are also considered to help inform the officer decision-making process. The study concludes by examining some of the similarities and differences between the present study’s findings and past research on officer behavior.
Assessing Punishment for Environmental Crime
Little is known about how the public views environmental crime and even less is known about what is perceived as an appropriate level of punishment for those who commit environmental crimes. We use data collected from a national telephone survey (N=876) to assess how demographic variables and perceptions of environmental threat influence punishment preferences. The perception of environmental threat is measured at the proximate level in terms of personal health and safety and at a more global level in terms of threat to the environment in general. Respondents were asked to rate a variety of punishment options (ranging from inspections to prison) in relation to several environmental crime scenarios. Multinomial regression is used to estimate the independent effects of perceived environmental threat on the selection of harsher punishment alternatives.
Assessing Racial Profiling by the Police: Overcoming Methodological Problems
Police departments across the country have come under rather severe scrutiny for racial profiling during traffic stops and searches of citizens. As a result of increasing concern over profiling expressed by citizen’s groups, especially minorities, a number of studies are currently attempting to assess the extent and nature of racial profiling throughout numerous police jurisdictions. However, profiling researchers have encountered a variety of serious methodological problems that have critics questioning the validity of research findings. This paper provides a discussion of the difficult methodological problems facing profiling researchers, including geographical sampling of areas to be studied, obtaining baseline data for comparisons with stops and searchers, overcoming officer resistance to being observed, minimizing study effects on officers, developing reliability and validity checks of data to insure adequate quality, the collection of stop and search data, assessing contextual effects of neighborhood characteristics, and estimating public attitudes toward racial profiling and citizen victimization. This paper discusses the methodological problems and workable solutions based upon research strategies employed in first generation racial profiling studies and a study currently underway in Miami-Dade County, Florida which employs diverse sources of data and multiple methodologies to allow empirical assessments of divergent research strategies. Findings indicate the inadequacy of many typical methodologies and the availability of some surprisngly efficient alternatives.
Assessing Suicide and Risk Behaviors in an Incarcerated American Indian Population: Investigating Culturally Sensitive Risk Assessment Instruments and Procedures
Objectives: To determine if a current suicide screening assessment tool was culturally appropriate for use with American Indians within a bordertown county jail population and whether the employment of different suicide screening protocols make a difference in the responses of detainees with regard to honest reports of suicide ideation and risk factors. Methods: Data were gathered utilizing two self-report surveys to ascertain validation data as well as honesty and comfortableness of protocol procedures. Additionally focus groups were convened to review item-level response to assessment tool as well as process issues. Results: Prevalence of suicide ideation was the same across Indian and nonIndian groups; a rate lower than expected. Validity concordance was low in sensitivity for suicide screening assessment tool, especially with American Indians. Focus group results point to nondisclosure of suicide ideation as well as risk factors due to both wording, and procedural and culturally specific issues. Timing of the assessment, wording of the assessment tool, building a trusting relationship, and a concerning demeanor were found to increase honesty as well as comfortableness for full disclosure. Indian-specific concepts of community, mental health, loss, respect, ghost illness, and direct negative questioning were found influential. Conclusions: There are many reasons why American Indian detainees hesitate to disclose suicide ideation and other personal information. Historical distrust of uniformed officers, multiple and complex histories of trauma, cultural mores and definitions around self-disclosure, the importance of relationship, and spirituality all have an impact onjail procedures that are the products of the dominant culture. Non-Indian detainees, however, also resist making honest self disclosures and voice interest in having a trusting and empathic interviewer as a pre-condition to their revealing personal information. Research findings carry many implications for the public and justice policy and regulatory demands currently made on detention centers, especially in areas where particular cultural groups are represented.
Assessing the Impact of a Police ‘Cite and Release’ Policy: A Natural Experiment
In April 2002, police agencies in a medium sized Mid-Western city eliminated an existing “must book” policy for certain minor nonviolent criminal offenses. The new policy directed police officers to issue a citation, along with summons to appear, and then release the individual without booking. This study assesses the extent of implementation and impact of this policy change on the local criminal justice system. The researchers selected all cases processed within the first six months of implementation o the new policy and a lagged comparison group of all cases of the same set of offenses processed during the same time frame in the preceding year. Measures of implementation include the proportion of eligible cases processed in compliance with various aspects of the new policy. Measures of outcome include: failure to appear rates, new arrests pending disposition, effects on the local lockup population, disposition, time to disposition, representation by counsel, and sentence. Interviews with field officers supplement the existing data.
Assessing the Impact of Functional Components of the Drug Court Model on Post-Program Recidivism
Research on the “black box” of the drug court intervention is limited, particularly regarding impacts of key functional components of the drug court model on participant level outcomm. The findings from the few well designed studies of drug courts confirm that there are variations in the delivery of key components of drug courts — treatment, testing and sanctions. However, there is little information on how the organization and the delivery of these components have an effect on client level outcomes. This paper presents findings from a national study of four mentor drug courts. It examines the impact of various components of the drug court model on offender recidivism outcomes during a one year post-program follow-up. An analysis of officially recorded information on 2,357 drug court participants was conducted as part of a larger study assessment the efficacy of treatment in the drug court context. The analysis of participant level data was used to examine the impact of drug court attendance, treatment participation, and drug testing on graduations rates and post-program arrests. Overall findings from the four drug courts indicate that 33% of the 2,357 participants successfully completed the program and graduated. Post program re-arrests rates vary by site but overall 9% of those who successfully completed the program and 41% of those who were expelled were re-arrested for a new offense within a 12 month post-program follow-up. The results of a series of logistic regression models indicate that program discharge status (graduation/termination) is the most consistent variable associated with post-program recidivism. In three of the four drug courts, graduation reduces the risk of recidivism. No other variable is consistent across the four sites. A number of logistic regressions and path analyses indicate program “successes” in terms of graduation are also “successful” post-program in terms of lower rates of re-arrests whereas program “failures” (participants expelled from the program) do not do as well after program discharge. The results of a series of path analyses support these findings. they indicate that participant compliance with key components of the drug court model operate through program completion thereby affecting post-program recidivism outcomes.
Assessing the Impact of Juvenile Justice Contact on High School Dropping Out: A Quasi-Experimental Strategy
A neglected topic in criminology is the impact of juvenile justice intervention on school performance. Utilizing a large sampling pool of inner-city youth and a quasi-experimental design known as staggered replication, the analysis compares the odds of dropping out of a first-time arrest population in grade nine to other ninth graders who are first arrested during the subsequent grade. The logistic regression results suggest that first arrests, especially when followed by subsequent arrests, greatly increases the odds of dropping out, net of selection factors. These findings provide further evidence that expanded criminal justice involvement may weaken the attachment of youth to conventional institutions and, consequently, the social control capacity of these institutions.
Assessing the Special Needs of Adolescent Girls in Educational Treatment Programs
In the last decade arrests for adolescent girls increased at ahigher rate than boys in most categories and the number of adolescent girls being placed in commitment programs has grown dramatically. While some scholars have identified pathways to offending that are unique to girls and women entering the criminal justice system, few have analyzed treatment needs. This research effort attempts to rectify this problem by studying possible gender-specific needs of adolescent female offenders in treatment programs. Here, adolescent girls and boys in commitment programs under the control of a private institute were studied. The data collected revealed significant reported differences in several categories. Findings indicated that girls reported they run-away from home significantly more often than boys, and experience more sexual and physical victimization. In contrast, boys reported significant differences in drinking and drug use than the patterns of behavior reported by girls. Both sexes reported having problems with anger although girls reported the problem at higher rates than boys. Girls expressed more interest in anger management classes and counseling. The findings support the need for a gender specific treatment approach in juvenile justice.
Assessing the Validity of the Life Event Calendar
Longitudinal research has increased dramatically in the past few decades, mainly as a result of heightened scholarly interest in life-course criminology. Some researchers have argued that the design of the Life Event Calendar (LEC) has the potential to enhance life-course research by facilitating the recall and recording of the occurrence, timing and duration of life events. Life-course crimiunology and LECs are an intuitive theoretical and methodological match, as both focus on capturing the dynamic nature of the life course. In this study we assess the validity of the LEC for capturing retrospective (3 year recall period, monthly self-reports) self-reported criminal history data. Using a sample of 350 incarcerated female offenders we answer the following questions: (1) what is the concordance rate between respondents’ self-reported accounts of official criminal involvement and official records of respondent criminal involvement, and (2) to what extent are errors in recall associated with certain respondent and event characteristics? In answering the first qauestion, we examine the relative and absolute levels of agreement between self-reports and official data for the prevalence, frequency and timing of arrest, conviction, probation/parole status, and incarceration data. To address the second question we identify the variables contributing to variation in reporting error.
At-Risk for a Cycle of Placement: An Examination of the Significance of Ideas and Practices Related to Risk in the Placement Process for Juvenile Delinquents
The number of delinquent youth being ordered into residential placements has increased greatly over the past few decades and continues to rise. Neither the outcomes of this growing trend for youth, nor its meaning in light of the underlying contradictions of juvenile justice practices are yet clear. The growing use of overwhelmingly private placements has been aligned with the juvenile justice system’s recurring swing between the goals of punishment and treatment. But it has also been theorized as reflective of a larger shift in penology toward practices aimed at identifying and managing potential risky individuals and groups. The aim of this study is to identify the meaning and significance of risk-based practices as they occur during the placement process. This research will build on an earlier study of placement outcomes which employed a new conceptualization of placement as a process shaped by the constraints of organizational dynamics. Examining the meanings of risk and the concrete ways in which risk-based practices enter into the placement process is useful in its own right. But this study may also help to reveal the relationship between growing placement rates for delinquent youth and larger shifts in philosophies of punishment and justice.
“Atanarjuat The Fast Runner” and Community Justice
This paper will focus on the firlm Atanarjuat-The Fast Runner and the community justice themes within it. Atanarjuat tells the story of two brothers whose lives have been shaped by family rivalries and the presence of an evil shaman. Ultimately, one brother is killed and another barely escapes death when the brothers are ambused while sleeping. In the movie, Atanarjuat is presented with an opportunity for venegeance which he refuses. The gift of Atanarjuat is that it takes the viewer back to pre-prison society and illustrates the realization of justice, without the backdrop of the penitentiary shaping choices and community outcomes. In breathtaking footage, Atanarjuat effectively demonstrates how individuals and communities can realize fairness by choosing foregiveness over vengeance.
Atlantic Crossings: The Emergence of the Sexual Offender Problem and Its Management on Both Sides of the Pond
Governments in both the USA and the UK have wrestled in recent years with ‘the problem’ of sexual offenders and how to control and manage such offenders. Over the last decade, policymakers have developed regulatory strategies to enhance public protection, ranging from registers and community notification to extended sentences of imprisonment. Often criminal justice regulation has been supplemented by civil law measures, and increasingly involves treatment programmes. On both sides of the Atlantic these developments have taken place against a backdrop of heightened mass media interest in sex crimes and a seeming public anxiety and intolerance of such offending. Debates about effectiveness and the civil liberties implications of policies are now widespread in the criminological literature. All the participants in this roundtable have researched and written extensively about policy and practice issues relating to the regulation of sexual offenders. The themes of the roundtable are twofold: a) To analyse, compare and discuss the nature and trajectory of policy developments in the USA and Europe. b) To reflect upon the broader social and cultural contexts within which these developments have taken place and seek to identify both the particularities and common issues across the Atlantic. The roundtable is organized to permit maximum time for discussion. There will be short introductory presentations by participants on the identified themes (10 minues per presentation), to be followed by roundtable discussions. It is hoped that the roundtable can act as an impetus for the development of a collaborative international research study.
AUTHOR MEETS HIS CRITICS: Can Gun Control Work? (Oxford University Press, 2002)
Unlike too many sessions int he ASC, this session involves scholars from both sides of the debate about guns, and should therefore be a lively exchange of views on a hardy perennial in criminology. Jim Jacobs approaches the topic of gun control as a problem in regulation rather than as a moral or constitutional issue. In his book, he examines the existing gun control laws in the United States, including the Brady law, as well as several proposed gun laws, e.g., closing the gun show loophole, regulating the secondary market, handgun licensing, and gun-free zones. He takes a non-ideological approach to evaluating the prospects of each law or proposed law. He has been criticized from both the ‘pro-gun’ side and the ‘anti-gun’ side of the debate.
AUTHOR MEETS READERS: Accountability in Restorative Justice (Clarendon Studies in Criminology Series, Oxford University Press, 2003) (Sponsored by the Division on Corrections and Sentencing)
In reviving the idea of an informal alternative, the Restorative Justice Movement tries to break out of the predominantly punitive thinking of modern criminal justice. Its proponents claim that its guiding ideals — personalism, participation, reparatio and reintegration – deliver a fairer, more effective and more humane justice than does the court system. However, a simplistic tendency to extol the virtues of restorative justice and denigrate all conventional formal approaches may well have blinded enthusiasts to both the dangers inherent in unchecked participant power and to the virtues of protection which State institutions can provide: institutional safeguards help narrow the gap between the ideal and the real. Examining the experiences of 25 programmes in six countries, it identifies a number of hitherto neglected, overlapping, incomplete kinds of informal accountability built into deliberations berween victims and offenders and their supporters. Such deliberative accountability can provide a rigorous check in regulating decision-making, holding state agencies accountable and monitoring completion of agreements. This book also considers the role played by formal kinds of accountability, such as external review. It suggests an alternative approach, in which judges become more involved in ensuring the effectiveness of conferences than with enforcing traditional sentencing principles.
“Bad Girls”: Women Lawbreakers, Law and Order “Commonsense”, and the Politics of Representation “Reality” Television
Drawing on Marxian theories of class, feminist conceptions of gender, and critical theories of race and ethnicity, this paper examines representations of women lawbreakers in both Canadian and American reality television programs. Specifically, this paper explores how these representations of women and their relationship to crime reinforce stereoypes in which women are pathologized, infantilized, demonized, and/or sexualized. In addition, emphasis is given to the manner in which women’s lawbreaking and criminality are racialized in such productions. Reality TV programs (such as Cops and To Serve and Protect) have been regarded as modern morality plays in which contemporary social life is portrayed as out of control, social anxieties and uncertainties about issues like security are high, and the lines between good and bad are clearly drawn. However, while they purport to show “raw reality”, such programs offer an intensely media processed and biased vision of crime and criminal justice that has strong political implications (for example, by fostering support among audiences for a law and order ideology and by displacing structural explanations for women’s lawbreaking, like poverty). Episodes from several Canadian and American reality-based law enforcement programs are analyzed with an eye towards differences between representations in American and Canadian productions.
B
Bars, Blocks, and Crimes Re-Revisited
Place-based factors are essential to theories of routine activities, environmental criminology, and to restatements of more traditional criminological perspectives such as social disorganization theory. In addition, recent efforts to integrate routine activities and social disorganization perspectives have demonstrated the importance of geography to current criminological thought. Two early studies of routine activities demonstrated the deleterious effect that recreational liquor establishments had on the number of criminal incidents across Cleveland city blocks (Roncek and Bell 1981; and Roncek and Maier 1991). The current study continues this line of research by testing whether concentrations of liquor establishments are associated with higher levels of crime across Cleveland city blocks. The current study will replicate and extend Roncek and Maier’s (1991) earlier work by examining the block-level effect of an integrated opportunity/social disorganization model.
Bars, Malls, Brawls, and Blocks
The neighborhood bar which was located either on a main or side street in a residential area is disappearing. The “malling” of America moved shopping away from downtown and neighborhoods. it also led to recreational establishments such as movie theaters and now even taverns and bars being located in medium to large malls. As a result, the past linkage between the presence of bars and crime can be changing because of the differences in the routine activities associated with a mall bar rather than a neighborhood bar and the differing levels of guardianship that the two environments provide. Using recent city-block level data for a medium-size Midwestern city, we compare the overall patterns of and effects on crime associated with the location of bars in malls resembles with those for bars located in residential areas. We focus on assaults and motor vehicle thefts because of the past connection of bars with assaults and because of the different environments in which vehicles will be parked between the two types of areas. We use count and censored data strategies to estimate the effects of bars on these crimes.
Batterer Accountability and Other Goals of the Greenbook Initiative: Interim Outcome Evaluation Results
The 1999 report Effective Intervention in Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment Cases: Guidelines for Policy and Practice (the Greenbook) provides practice principles to guide interventions for battered women and their children who may be involved with three systems — public child welfare agencies, domestic violence service providers, and dependency courts. Six federal demonstration communities were funded in 2001 to change practice in these systems providing services to these women and their children in a number ofg areas including case screening and assessment, information sharing across service systems, and case management, as well as ensuring the accountability of the batterers of these women and their children. This paper will provide preliminary outcome results from the national evaluation of the Initiative on many of these themes, and from various data sources including network analysis, system stakeholder surveys, surveys of the “direct service workers” (or line staff), and interviews with supervisors in each of the three systems.
Batterer Intervention Curricular: Examining Program Cultural Competence
The primary question posed by this study was whether Batterer Intervention and Prevention Programs (BIPPs) were culturally competent within the state of Texas. The definition for cultural competence for this study was drawn directly from an agency assessment tool entitled the Agency Cultural Competence Checklist. This study examined agency curricula for cultural competence rather than individual counselor behavior. The research design followed an evaluative-experimental model to determine the level of cultural competence inherent to the curriculum of most BIPP agencies. Amazingly, nearly forty-five percent of these agencies did not have assessments and interventions in their curriculum that met the culturally competent standards of the Agency Cultural Competence Checklist. Failure to meet this standard means that the structure of the therapeutic intervention itself is often lacking substantial ability to ensure that culturally specific issues are addressed for BIPP clients. Further research that compares the effectiveness of agencies that do have culturally specific assessments and interventions with those that do not would be beneficial. Recommendations for BIPP agencies that are interested in improving the cultural competence of their services are given by the researcher.
Becoming Dangerous in Canada: A Case Study of Regina v. Clark
Much of the managerial criminology focuses on the pathology of the convict and not on the process by which the individual is designated a Dangerous Offender. To assume that the process is not contested, or that we are all in agreement about just what “dangerousness” is about, is to engage in what Richard Quinney (2000) calls myth making., Any theoretical explanation, therefore, must take into consideration both the sociology of law and its application. In 1998, this author was involved as one of the defense experts in a Dangerous Offender application under the Canadian Criminal Code (Section 752, et. seq.). Based on field ethnography and access to the trial transcripts, a detailed case study of regina v. Eric Andrew Clark will be presented. One of the conclusions to emerge was that the Accused was not at particularly high risk for future criminal recidivism and yet was found to be dangerous. What then might be both the manifest and latent functions of this labeling process?
Benchmarking Escapes: Apples, Oranges and Politics
For adult correctional institutions and juvenile residential treatment facilities alike, one of the most basic and important critical indicators in risk management and evaluation of program quality is the rate of escape and absent without leave (AWOL) incidents. The rate of such incidents for a specific facility or group of facilities becomes particularly meaningful when it is compared against a benchmark, such as a national average for similar facilities. During a recent attempt to provide such a comparison for adult and juvenile facilities operated by Cornell Companies, we discovered that the available national sources apply significantly varying definitions to escape and AWOL incidents. In this paper, the authors review the definitions used by the sources and attempt to develop a common ground to facilitate such benchmarking. The authors then compare the national data to Cornell data and discuss the politics of benchmarking in the competitive and plemicized environment faced by providers of correctional services.
Better Living Through Chemistry: Deviant Subculture of Middle Class Recreational Drug Users
This study evaluates the drug histories and current drug use of middle-class Americans in an urban western city. The research shows that gainfully employed middle-class professionals can and do function productively in society while living a covert existence in the deviant culture of drugs. The research presents qualitative data from personal interviews. Participants shared their experiences and perspectives related to drug-affiliated habits. In many respects, the expansion of individual rights and the absence of behavioral restrictions have simplified the act of drug taking with the private realm. Availability and a change of cultural trends also have contributed to the acceptance of some drugs among unlikely individuals and groups. This research challenges the stereotypical images of drug users through the views of middle-class individuals who admit to regular participation within this deviant subculture.
Between Sex Differences: The Impact of Neighborhood Level Variables on Drug Arrest Rates
Research on the ecological level has focused primarily on male offending or has focused on offending/arrests in general without disaggregating by sex. In addition, little ecological research has tried to account for variation in rates of drug arrests. The present study attempts to fill gaps in both of these areas by comparing male and female drug arrest rates for census tracts in the city of Los Angeles. More specifically, this study looks at female and male drug arrest rates within census tracts to see if structural factors, at the census tract level, can predict female drug arrest rates as well as they can predict male drug arrest rates. Results and theoretical implications will be discussed.
Between Societal and Individual Drug Policies: The Malaysian Experience
Drug use prevention and treatment policies are generally pitched at either societal (border interdiction, zero tolerance, etc) or at the individual level (drug education, counseling, etc.). In this paper, Malaysia’s nearly three-decade experience with a semi-government organization (known by its acronym PEMADAM) that mediates between these two levels is examined for conclusions regarding its activities and effectiveness.
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Understanding Victim Experiences of Policing in Domestic Violence in the Singaporean Context
In understanding victim experiences of policing in domestic violence situations in Singapore, two extreme sets of responses have been witnessed. On one end of the continuum, criminal justice sanctions are strictly contingent upon victim preferences to initiate criminal proceedings against the perpetrator, and on the other, victims’ rights, needs and preferences seem to be ‘usurped’ by the criminal justice system irrespective of ‘victim choice’. Neither of these positions takes victims’ interest into account. No do they stem from an understanding of the socio-cultural, economic and structural circumstances in which victims experience violence, and continue to experience it, long after a police intervention. This is because, fundamentally, assumptions made by police reformers and feminist advocates about victims relationship with the police have been derived from an essentially problematic premise — that domestic assault should be treated the same as non-domestic assault. What has been obscured is the recognition that while the two types of assault are legally identical, they are sociologically distinct. Not only is the etiology of domestic assault different to that of other violent crimes but the response of, and consequences to, the victims are often very different too. This paper documents the views of victims of domestic violence in terms of their relationship with the criminal justice system in Singapore. It seeks to explore the neglected questions of why victims of domestic violence call the police, and how do victims perceive the utility of police intervention. What is the context within which victims make choices to involve the police? What are the consequences for both victims and offenders? What are the options available to such victims of violence?
Beyond Black and White: Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans
This research examines bias crimes against Asian Americans. Research findings are based on over forty in-depth interviews of Asian Americans who reside in the East Coast (New Jersey and New York). These narratives reveal individual and collective Asian American experiences through (1) definitions of community; (2) meanings of security and individual rights; (3) perceptions of fear and threat; and (4) understanding of bias crime and perceived victimization. These interviews also demonstrate how day-to-day experiences while living in the United States and/or in other countries, shape Asian American views and reactions to bias crime including coping mechanisms.
Beyond Mandatory Arrest: Developing a Comprehensive Response to Domestic Violence
Conventional wisdom about the appropriate police response to domestic violence has changed dramatically i recent years, characterized by an increasing move toward mandatory arrest. This paper examines an effort by the Vacaville, California Police Department to provide a more comprehensive response to domestic violence, through an innovative law enforcement, clinical and prosecutorial partnership (called FIRST). The paper employs interrupted time series analysis (ARIMA) with monthly domestic violence arrest data from 1990-2000 to investigate the impact of the program. ARIMA results are considered in the context of more general crime trends. Results suggest that the onset of the program coincided with an initial increase in arrests, followed by a longer-term decrease. Although other potential explanations could not be eliminated, findings indicate that the FIRST program played a contributing role in the reduction of domestic violence in Vacaville.
Bias Profiling in Policing: Analysis of Traffic Stop Data and the Search for a Benchmark
In many American cities and localities, the stop practices of police agencies are being called into question. Bias profiling involves the selection of individuals based solely on a common trait of a group such as race, religion, ethnic origin, and sex. The policy issues is whether police are using race in particular as an indicator or predictor of criminality and a pretext for traffic stops. Subsequently, minorities are more likely to be stopped and searched by the police. Using data on traffic stops from two cities, this analysis considers the question of bias in police practices. The analysis will feature comparisons between the findings of the two cities and the result of a national survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The major methodological issue of the appropriate benchmarks for such studies will also be considered.
Biased Information-Processing Styles of Afdolescents at Risk for Developing Problems With Aggression
Negative childhood experiences (i.e., maltreatment) are believed to influence the development of mental representations of the self and others (Bowlby, 1973), which may in turn contribute to the development of biased information processing styles and aggression (Dodge, Pettit, Bates, & Valente, 1995). The present study examines the influence of exposure to violence and maltreatment/rejection on perceptions of the self and others and the development of biased perceptual style and aggressive behavior in a sample of 200 adolescents.
Bicycle Theft: A Chinese Case of Criminal Victimization
China has been observed as a bicycle nation. Bicycles have been a major property as they have been used as a major transportation in China. Since the economic reform was carried out in the early 1980s, bicycles have become a major target of criminal activities because of their availability, utility, values, and poor security in China. Consequently, many people have experienced criminal victimization with bicycle theft. Bicycle victimization has become a common concern in general population and criminal agencies. The present study discusses the concern and explains the social and legal aspects of bicycle victimization. Using data collected from the International Crime Victim Surveys (ICVS) in 1994, the study further assesses the relevance of structural and individual factors to bicycle victimization in China. The results show that both community cohesiveness and individual routine activities significantly affected bicycle victimization when the effects of other demographic variables were held constant. Discussions of the implications of these findings are provided.
Blending Sentencing of Juveniles in Minnesota: On Target for Justice and Public Safety?
The National Center for State Courts and the Supreme Court of Minnesota evaluated the practice of juvenile-inclusive blended sentencing in Minnesota (called Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction or EJJ). An EJJ disposition imposes both a juvenile disposition and a stayed sentence to the adult correctional system, the latter becoming effective only if the juvenile fails to meet the conditions of the juvenile disposition. The research examined the decision-making process that result in dispositions of Adult Certification, EJJ, or strictly juvenile processing for juvenile offenders by determining the influence of legal and extralegal variables at critical stages of processing. Selection models and multinomial logistic regression models were used to identify the factors that influenced (1) the decision to motion for EJJ status or adult certification and (2) the final type of disposition (Juvenile, adult or blended). Four principal findings emerged from the study: (1) region within the state influenced the prosecutor’s motioning decision, (2) the offender’s race influenced the probability of motioning and the type of dispositional alternative received (adult certification, EJJ or juvenile), (3) the EJJ disposition and adult certification are not targeting their intended offender populations, and (4) the criteria at motioning were different and independent of the criteria at dispositition.
Body Control: The Politics of Substance Use in Women’s Prisons
Studies of women prisoners as ‘substance users’ have tended to concentrate on substances which could be regarded as ‘mind altering’ and/or ‘addictive’, particulary women’s use of illegal drugs. In part, this is understandable, given the significant increase in the number of women imprisoned for drugs-related crimes in recent years and the implications for ‘the system’ in terms of security and the maintenance of order. However, concentrating solely on female illegal drug use not only upholds traditional images of women prisoners as out of control, in need of control, it fails to consider women’s relationship to an array of substances, mind altering or otherwise. This paper, based on in-depth research conducted in three women’s prisons in England, explores the ways in which women prisoners experience problems with a whole variety of substances. The paper extends upon current theoretica models used to explain and modify women prisoners’ behaviour; provides insights on female prisoners’ roles useful for the development of effective intervention strategies; and suggests a form of data collection that uncovers the subject’s view of reality.
Boot Camp Offenders on Parole: An Examination of the Lasting Impact of Positive Changes Among Graduates of Pennsylvania’s Boot Camp Program
In 2000, the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, with assistance from Pennsylvania’s Department of Corrections and Board of Probation and Parole, undertook a multi-year, multi-stage (admission, graduation, and parole) survey of offenders attending the state Motivational Boot Camp Program. The Offender Survey, which is part of an on-going evaluation of Pennsylvania’s Boot Camp, consists of two parts. Part I, a Self-Report Survey, is designed to focus on factors found tobe related to criminal behavior, such as substance abuse, prior criminal activity, employment history, and family stability. Part II, a Boot Camp Evaluation Survey, measures attitudinal changes along several dimensions that are addressed through the programmatic features of the Boot Camp, such as self-control, motivation for change, and decision-making. Earlier findings indicated that offenders who graduated from Boot Camp felt that they had benefited from the program, becamse less impulsive, gained better decision-making skills, and were excited about ‘starting over’. This paper presents the initial findings from the parole phase to see whether these positive changes are enduring, and whether they translate into positive behavioral changes once they return to the community. In addition, we examine the relationship between recidivism and some of the factors included on the Offender Survey.
Bowling for Baghdad: The Interstices of Control, Violence, and Democracy
The documentary “Bowling for Columbine” highlights many of the social and structural factors that contribute to the high rates of homicide in the United States. While much of Moore’s analysis is concerned with individual level processes influencing the decision to commit violent acts, we contend that similarly identifiable processes are at work in the recent drive by the Bush administration to wage war against Iraq, As such, we explore the contours of these hegemonic state policies that run contrary to normative and/or legal social controls like international law and more abstract Enlightenment principles such as democracy, justice, and equality.
Bowling for Capital Punishment: Why Is It a Crime to Photograph an Execution?
COPS, CSI and Court-TV are ubiquitous, but there’s no genre involving penology — a surprising absence given widespread punitiveness and interest in ‘reality’ programming. The series ‘Survivor’ had good ratings from drama about who would be voted off the island, but no programs involving which potentially innocent inmates will be executed and which the judges will vote off death row. More powerful still might be to televise executions, an idea some support based on deterrence — call it Scared Straight Extreme TV. But even President Bush, who presidened over 150 Texas executions, balked at the chance to televise McVeigh’s legal injection as punishment for terrorism of Oklahoma City. The execution was broadcast to an auditorium of survivors in Oklahoma City, but could not be videotaped because of laws prohibiting photographic recording of executions. A judge further denied the wider public an ability to see the execution webcast, citing concern about the government’s interest in “preserving the solemnity of executions” and “inmates may well see the execution as ‘sport’ which dehumanizes them.” This paper critically examines issues arising out of this one and future problem, including the Marshall hypothesis, named after a conjecture by the late Supreme Court Justice that a fully informed public would oppose capital punishment.
Boys to Men: Comparing Juvenile and Adult Gang Activity Near Schools
Media coverage and its overrepresentation of youth crime have fueled a general social fear of today’s youth. Society seems to be most fearful of both gang violence and school violence. Policy makers and school officials have defined gang activity near schools more damaging as they have enhanced enforcement and policing, and they have enacted longer sentences and increased punishments. Police have indicated that schools present a high risk of gang activity because of the presence of large number of juveniles. Researcher, however, contend that the majority of gang activity is neither violent, nor committed by juveniles. We will analyze gang activity in Orange County, California to determine whether gang activity is in fact primarily violent and whether primarily juveniles commit gang activity; and utilizing GIS/geograpnic analysis, we will determine whether the majority of gang activity is committed near schools. We will utilize data from the Gang Incident Tracking System (GITS), which consists of police report data from all twenty-two law enforcement agencies in Orange County, California from 1996 to 2000.
Brady Gun Policy and Dissaggregated Homicide Rates
When the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act was implemented in 1994, it was intended to decreate the rate of gun violence by reducing availability of handguns to criminals and other potentially dangerous persons. This research investigates the success of the Brady law by measuring its effect on homicide rates, with particular attention to specific circumstances under which homicides are committed. The analyses exploit the fact that when Brady was signed into law, it changed the handgun purchasing procedures in the 32 states that did not already have laws requiring a waiting period and background check, and thus the implementation resembles a quasi-experimental design because the 18 states with existing Brady-like standards were unchanged by the new regulation. To measure changes in the rates of varios types of homicide, the proposed research uses data from 1989-1999 to conduct a difference-in differences-in differences analysis to compare changes in the rates of homicide in states required to implement the Brady standards with changes in homicide rates for states that had existing standards. This study advances our understanding of handgun violence in the United Sates and the extent to which Brady legislation may have contributed to decreasing specific types of homicide rates in recent years.
Bridging Community Strengths
Bridging Community Strengths seeks to explore staff perceptions of program developmental quality, or the ability of community programs serving youth to provide the necessary program characteristics shown to support positive youth development. The role of prevention-based programming, particularly youth violence prevention, looms large in programming for youth. I will highlight the potential relationship between youth violence prevention efforts and efforts toward positive youth development.
Bridging Research and Juvenile Justice Policy Using the Youth Level of Service Inventory
For several years, Nebraska’s juvenile justice system has struggled to improve juvenile justice processing by eliminating system framentation and duplication and improve the continuum of services available to address offender risks and needs. These efforts culminated in the use of the Youth Level of Service Inventory to compare agency populations and guide policy decisions surround the reorganization of juvenile justice statewide. The purpose of this presentation is to present the results of this study, demonstrate how research and policy were bridged using the YLSI, and discuss the implications of this process for improving juvenile justice processing nationwide.
‘Bringing It All Home’: Cultural Criminology and Everyday Life
The analysis of the connections between culture, crime and criminal justice has gathered momentum over the last 10 years gradually regaining interest from all fields within criminology. During the last year the question of culture and crime has become foregrounded in both the theoretical and empirical domains of contemporary criminology. This paper attempts to make some comment on the achievements and future directions of Cultural Criminology and its place in the continuing analysis of contemporary criminology and the lived experiences of everyday life and further claims that culture and crime are inextricably linked in the consciousness of contemporary society and are recognised as such by both criminal jsutice agencies and politicians and therefore Cultural Criminology has to be an essential element of any creative contemporary criminology.
Broken Windows and Neighborhood Gardens: Observable Social Capital Associated With Juvenile Substance Use?
Criminologists have long argued that the presence of active social networks and a strong sense of community within neighborhoods reduces undesirable behaviors such as crime (both violent and non-violent) and risky substance use. The concept of social capital has recently emerged as a way to understand both the negative and positive forces which diminish or enhance these community social networks. Various dimensions of social capital have been studied using questionnaires and interviews to explore the relationships between social disorganization–broken windows or abandoned neighborhood lots–anbd the presence of crime or other undesirable social behaviors. However, few studies have explored the visual presence of positive social capital at the community level. Researchers from the Bridging the Gap initiative will use correlation and multiple regression techniques to explore whether the presence of visual social capital is associated with juvenile substance use in 220 communities that participated in the 2001 Monitoring the Future (MTF) study. Social capital variable categories include community/recreational space, community social interaction, public events advertising, safety, and absence of informal social controls. Researchers will discuss the implications of these findings for substance use and crime prevention.
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California’s Substance Abuse Services Coordinating Agency System: A “Third-Party Coordination” Model for Ensuring Continuity of Care Among Parolees From Prison-Based Substance Abuse Treatment Programs
This paper presents an overview of the Substance Abuse Services Coordinating AGency (SASCA) system for transitioning parolees from prison- to community-based treatment. The SASCA network was established in 1998 and is funded by the California Department of Corrections (CDC). At its core are four agencies located in each of the state’s four parole regions, whose primary function is to provide a structured means of transitioning parolees from prison- to community-based substance abuse treatment and to monitor their participation and progress in aftercare, thus ensuring a seamless continuum of care. The SASCA system represents a “Third-Party Coordination” continuity of care model, where a third party acts as a broker of services and coordinates the parolee’s release and transition into aftercare (CSAT, 1998). In addition to presenting an overview of the sASCA system, this paper will highlight structural and operational issues relating to the model. Also, using data collected from a 5-year process evaluation of prison-based substance abuse treatment programs, data will be presented pertaining to the utilization of aftercare through the SASCA network by parolees from prison-based treatment programs, including rates of aftercare utilization, types of aftercare utilized, length of time spent in treatment, and its relationship to reincarceration rates.
Campus Riots and Policy Changes at Michigan State Univerity
This poster will present the changing policies at Michigan State University in response to campus riots. Recent occurrences of campus riots will be presented as well as the effects these riots have had on the University. More specifically, this poster will highlight changes made to policy to aid in the prevention of future riots. Additionally, how efforts by surrounding police agencies and the court system hope to affect the prevention of future riots will be addressed.
Canadian Judges’ Perceptions of Domestic Violence
To date, most of the research on the formal processing of domestic violence has centered on the police. This study of Canadian judges was funded by the Canadian Embassy and consisted of a 15-page survey with both open- and closed-ended items and a 12-item interview schedule. Twenty-eight judges completed the intensive interview, and of these, twenty-three completed the written survey. The goal of the study was to determine these judges’ attitudes about domestic violence victims and offenders and their beliefs about how domestic violence cases should be processed. The findings indicate a significant variation among the judges.
Capital Juror’s Acceptance of Mitigation Evidence and the Promise of Eddings v. Oklahoma
The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the constitutionality of modern capital sentencing statutes rests in large part on the jury’s ability to make an individualized sentencing determination. This individualized determination is informed by both aggravating and mitigating circumstances presented as evidence during the penalty phase of a capital trial. Recognizing the importance of mitigation evidence in particular, the defense’s ability to present a wide range of mitigating factors regarding the defendant’s life, psychological and psychiological attributes, and participation in the crime has been protected by the courts. However, research conducted on the penalty phase deliberation process suggests that there are a number of factors which may work to limit jurors’ actual consideration of mitigation evidence. These factors include: race, gender, premature decision-making, inability to correctly apply jury instructions, and deeply held beliefs about the criminal justice system. These impediments to consideration of mitigation evidence present a constitutional and practical dilemma to effective capital trial representation. This research will make use of the rich data collected by the Capital Jury Project to examine variation in juror’s consideration of mitigation evidence during penalty phase deliberations. The Capital Jury Project data contain quantitative and qualitative data from 1,202 in-depth interviews with persons who actually served on capital juries in the United States. The degree to which respondents reported considering various forms of mitigation evidence during penalty phase deliberations will be measured and variations based on demographic characteristics, criminal justice attitudes, factors relating to the severity of the crinme, and type of mitigation evidence presented will be presented.
Capital Sentencing in the American States After Furman
Recent years have seenb major advances in understanding the influence of social, political and economic conditions on imprisonment policy. We extend this body of research by examining whether the mechanisms that influence imprisonment also influence capital sentencing. Our analysis considers variation across American states in the use of the death penalty following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Furman v. Georgia.
Career Alternatives: Academia, Government and Research Organizations (Sponsored by the Division on Corrections and Sentencing)
Criminology and Criminal Justice offers a variety of career choices. The academic path is most common, providing, if not a comfortable extension of, at least a familiar continuation from student days. Government service provides an opportunity, at least in principle, to affect policy and to conduct meaningful research. Research firms that conduct grant and contract research and evaluation can provide wonderful opportunities to conduct large-scale projects and smaller projects that reflect individual interests. Downsides exist as well–the chase for tenure in academia and dwindling. This panel, which includes individuals who have worked in two or more these arenas, will discuss the pros and cons of different acareer options.
CeaseFire Outreach Workers Bridge the Gap Between High-Risk Youth and Services Agencies
Objective: (1) Educate participants about paucity of and barriers to existing services for high-risk youth Chicago; (2) Discuss CeaseFire outreach workers role of briding the gap between high-risk youth and services. Methods: (1) Conduct a needs assessment by contacting and interviewing all agencies that provide assistance to youth; (2) Survey high-risk youth, ages 15-24 years old, regarding services knowledge and utilization, and (3) Track CeaseFire outreach referrals and case notes to assess risk-level of and service agencies used by their high-risk clients. Results: (1) Many agencies had waiting lists (30%), were far (3 miles) away (83%), and/or had acceptance criteria (43%); (2) CeaseFire outreach forms relationships with neighborhood agencies and high-risk youth. They vouch for youth and many experience positive changes return to school, gainful employment and decreased risk levels. Conclusions: (1) CeaseFire outreach workers help youth access service agencies and reduce their risk level; (2) Outreach is integral to bridge disconnect between high-risk youth and community agencies.
Challenging Empire: Toward a Criminology of Corporate State Harms
In the pursuit of empire, the U.S. corporate state engages in many acts that cause various forms of social harm. Criminology can make a unique contribution to the project of challenging empire by studying these harms. As Bill Chambliss has argued: “If we begin our work today by researching and analyzing state crimes–we will be on the cutting edge of a revitalized science. If we fail to do so, we will have little relevance to the world of the 21st century” (SSSP Newsletter, Winter 1995). If our discipline is to have relevance in the coming years it must examine the harms committed by the corporate state. The traditional range of criminological questions can be applied to these harmful acts. What is the nature and extent of the harsm that corporations and the state engage in? What laws apply to these harms? Why are some of these harms called “crimes” while most are not? What theoretical explanations can we offer for these harms? How can the harms of the corporate state be prevented or controlled? By researching and analyzing these harms criminologists can contribute to the social movements that are challenging corporate led globalization and the emergent forms of the American empire.
Changes in Student Victimization, 1992-2002
Victimization is examined within and between two high school sophomore cohorts (surveyed in 1990 and 2002) to determine whether student-level predictors of victimization have changed over the last decade. Likelihood models of whether or not a student has been threatened with physical violence or has been in a fight are determined with demographic, socioeconomic, school placement and educational aptitude measures as predictors. As the Columbine shootings are an intervening event between the testing of these two cohorts, and one that involved the targeting of identifiable cliques, variables related to clique membership are also included as predictors.
“Changing up” at a Prostitution Stroll: Using Ethnographic Methods to Uncover Varieties of Crime Displacement and Adaptations by Drug-Addicted Prostitutes to Police Interventions
The study of “displacement” and “hotspots” has been one of great interest in crime prevention studies. This qualitative study uses ethnographic observations and in-depth interviews with 49 active prostitutes over ten months to uncover patterns of displacement in response to police crackdowns in a six-block area and adjacent “catchment areas.” Analyses will focus on coded narratives from 79 interviews that identify both displacement behaviours previously discussed in the literature and “street honed” adaptations that inclujde temporary ue of drug treatment and social services supports, and the conversion of sex clients into financial providers to weather police crackdowns. A hallmark of qualitative methods is discovery of new insights and patterns. This study sought to uncover “local causality” by focusing on perceptions of offenders to police crackdowns in real time. Discussion focuses on the influence of drug abuse on the sample’s propensity to learn from police interventions, and to adapt and calibrate responses rather than desist from offending. Also to be discussed is how the prostitutes perceived the environment of their offending spots, and made movement decisions based on “comfort zones” that followed their paths to typical daily activities.
Changing View of Justice: An Examination of Children’s Literature Over Time
This paper examines how justice has been portrayed in children’s lkiterature and how that definition has changed over time. This is part of a larger research project exploring the role of literature in shaping children’s perceptions of morality and justice; the different ways justice is portrayed among genres; and how literature helps children make distinctions between the importance of law-abiding behavior and those situations where the law must be broken in order to achieve a greater good.
Characteristics of Infanticide in Chicago, 1965-1995
This paper will discuss the patterns and circumstances of homicide victimization of infants (less than 2 years of age) in Chicago during the years 1965-1995. The patterns of victimization will be examined by sex of the victim, race/ethnicity of the victim, victim-offender relationship, and circumstances surrounding the death. Data on the characteristics of known offenders of infanticide cases will also be presented. The study finds that there are several unique characteristics of infancy that put infants at risk of victimization. As would be expected, the majority of infants are killed by their parents, but there are some important differences in the gender, victim-offender relationship, and the type of weapon used in infanticides. The relationship of the study findings to strategies for reducing infanticide will also be discussed.
Charging and Sentencing Decisions in Federal Court: An Analysis of the Interpretation and Application of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines in Three U.S. District Courts
Studies of the federal sentencing process focus on sentencing decisions at the national level. These studies ignore prosecutors’ charging and plea barbaining decisions and the effect of these decisions on sentence outcomes. They also assumne, either explicitly or implicitly, that there is little inter-district variation in case processing policies and procedures and that findings regarding sentence outcomes at the national level therefore reflect the reality of decision making in each of the U.S. District Courts. We use data on offenders sentenced in three U.S.District Courts to compare charging and plea bargaining practices in these three districts, to identify the predictors of charging and plea bargaining decisions, and to examine the effect of offender and case characteristics on sentence outcomes at the district level. Our objectives are to remove the “cloak of secrecy” that surrounds charging and plea bargaining in the federal criminal justice system and to untangle the complex inter-relationships among charging decisions, plea agreements, and sentence outcomes.
Child Homicides in California: 1990-1999
There are relatively few quantitative studies of homicides of child victims. The present study examines homicide victims under the age of 12. The source of data is the California linked homicide file which is a case-by-case linkage of Supplementary Homicide Reports and vital statistics data. As a result of computerized matching, 93% of all homicides reported to the California Criminal Justice Statistics Center from 1990 through 1999 are available. The study will focus on traditional law enforcement variable such as age, gender and race of victims and offenders, and victim/offender relationships. In addition, because of matching, the elaborate classification of injuries (International Classification of Diseases) used by medical examiners and coroners will permit detailed examination of lethal injuries to children. With the use of an additional data set of California homicides that extends from 1987 through 2001, an examination of trends will be done.
Child Maltreatment Histories and Adolescent-Parent Attachment as Predictors of Individual Differences in Psychological Symptoms Among Chronic Juvenile Offenders
The present study tested recent theory that certain child rearing variables predict individual differences in psychological symptoms and treatment needs among 140 male, chronic juvenile delinquents. The predictors tested were quality of adolescent-parent attachment and five types of maltreatment, i.e., child physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, witnessing parental domestic violence, and neglect. Each maltreatment type was assessed with four assessment strategigies: Child Protective Services records prior to first arrest; two types of self-report formats; and reports by professionals familiar with the adolescents and their families. Perceived attachment as well as depressive and posttraumatic symptoms were assessed with established, self-report measures. Consistent with previous literature, maltreatment rates among participants were substantially6 higher than general population rates. Elevated psychological symptoms were predicted by exposure to more types and greater severity of maltreatment. Unfavorable parental (especially paternal) attachment was also associated with elevated symptoms as well as with abuse indicators. However, associations of maltreatment indices to elevated symptoms were statistically independent of variation in attachment, with only a few exceptions. Discussion suggested that child maltreatment enters into the developmental pathway of highly symptomatic delinquents more than others. Abuse-specific psychological interventions should be tested for those delinquents who have severe maltreatment histories and elevated symptoms.
Child Victimization: Exploring the Victims and Offenders Connected With Children’s Advocacy Centers
Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) are playing a fundamental role in restructuring the community response to child abuse. CACs bring together multiple investigative agencies, such as law enforcement and child protective services, to conduct coordinated investigations of abuse in a child-friendly atmosphere. The number of registered CACs has increased seven-fold in six years. However, the research knowledge base about CACs is at an early stage. The proposed presentation will report initial results from a multi-year multi-site evaluation of CACs funded by the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. This presentation will examine the types of crimes investigated at CACs, chacteristics and characteristics of the multidisciplinary response will be examined. These include the types of abuse identified before and after investigation, the use of force and duration of abuse, sources of identification of the alleged offender, and agencies involved with the investigation. The implications for understanding the criminal justice response to child victimization, including recantation and the ability to prosecute, will be discussed.
Childhood Conduct Problems and Adult Depression: Understanding the Connection
Previous research has shown that childhood conduct problems put individuals at significantly higher risk for adult depression. Thus, it is important to understand depression as a possible consequence of risk factors often associated with crime, and to examine the developmental mechanisms linking early conduct problems with later depression. This paper assesses the degree to which growth in problem behaviors in adolescence mediate the relationship between childhood conduct problems and adult depression. We examine the role of problem behavior in general, as well as specific effects of growth in alcohol and substance use as potential mediators. Data are from the Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP), 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 of depression based on the Diagnostic Interview Schedule in adulthood. Substance use, delinquency, and other problem behaviors are assessed throughout. Analyses examine latent growth curve models for delinquency, alcohol use, other substance use, and other problem behaviors in adolescence, as well as higher-order problem behavior constructs, as mediators of the relationship between conduct problems at age 10 and depressive symptoms at age 24.
Children of Offenders in Canada: Scale of the Problem and Potential Interventions
There is little information about the number of children of offenders in Canada and their relationship with their parents prior to and during parental incarceration. Studies focusing on the direct experiences of children of offenders are also scant. What is known is that children of offenders have a higher likelihood of engaging in delinquent behavior. Steps toward prevention and intervention are difficult to take without a better understanding of the scale of the problem and of the experiences and difficulties the children face. This paper provides various estimates of the number of children of incarcerated offenders in Canada, including the rates of numbers of children broken down by gender and Aboriginal status. It also examines data concerning parental offender/child relationships prior to and during their incarceration. The findings suggest the need for greater attention to the impact of the loss of paternal offenders on children and their families and to disruption of family continuity experienced by children of Aboriginal offenders. It concludes with a series of recommendations for research and community-based interventions aimed at children of offenders in an attempt to impact the risk factors associated with delinquency and criminal behavior at both the individual and family levels (intergenerational criminality).
Childsaving in Juvenile Institutions: Reinventing the Past or Reinforcing the Present?
Platt and Odem, amongst others, have shown how the ‘child savers’ of the Progressive period helped to shape the new juvenile justice system, extended legal control over those judged to be ‘delinquent’ and advocated new forms of sexual regulation with the overall aim of transplanting middle class values into working class delinquents. The child savers of that period envisaged a juvenile justice system that was compassionate but imposed strict discipline, and in which training in the proper values would eradicate criminal tendencies and sexual promiscuity. The child savers of that period have arguably been succeeded in part by those who perform voluntary work in the juvenile system today. The author has been such a volunteer for a number of years, conducting classes in creative writing in juvenile institutions in two states. While exploring her experience reflexively in the juvenile justice system, the author asks questions such as: are volunteers in juvenile justice reinventing the past as they child save and seek to ameliorate some of the harsher aspects of the modern, managerial and bureaucratic system; what values do they seek to inculcate in delinquent youth and how do they relate in class terms to the mostly working class delinquents and to the institutional staff; might volunteers be complicit in enacting discipline and control within juvenile instituions when only juveniles who have earned the privilege are permitted to attend their classes, and if so, how does this complicity fit with their mission to save? These and other questions are the subject of an analysis of modern child saving in the juvenile justice system that interrogates past modes of saving and explores the tensions of class, race and gender in child saving today.
Chinese-American Youths’ Experiences With Delinquency and School Violence
Asian-Americans as a group are underrepresented in all areas of the criminal justice system from arrest through incarceration. This has led to stereotypes about the “model minority” (Wong, 1998; Toupin ^ Son, 1991) despite recent statistics that indicate more Asian-American juveniles becoming involved in school violence. Control theories suggest that Asian societies maintain relatively stronger social bonds that rely on informal protections against criminal and delinquent behaviors. This preliminary study explores the context of those bonds in surveys administered to 100 Chinese-American high school students from the Houston area. The analysis of the data gathered here represents only a first step in unraveling the relationship between culture conflict, bonds and insulation from deviance.
Citizen Review of Policing: Police Perceptions
Citizen involvement in police oversight and agendy administration is an area of growing debate and experimentation. Viewed in one way, ‘average’ citizens may not have sufficient knowledge to accurately judge police conduct and make informed policy recommendations. Alternativelyk principles of open democracy support the idea that police operations should be subject to public scrutiny and input. This paper reports the results of a patrol officer survey administered to personnel in two agencies serving adjacent jurisdictions. Data relate to officer views on police-community relations, the appropriate role of citizens input in police operations, and the ability of citizens to make meaningful contributions to the functioning of police agencies. Key findings are compared to the results of a citizen survey in the same city.
Citizen Review of Policing: Public Perceptions
Recent history has witnessed a trend to involve citizens in the operations of police organizations, including external mechanisms of police oversight. This trend is an extension of calls for greater citizen input into police operations in the spirit of open democracy and improved police-community relations. This paper examines citizen pcerceptions of police oversight procedures in a city that is creating a new mechanism for external oversight of police. Results are based on a survey of citizens about their attitudes toward police control of misconduct and the role of citizens in holding police accountable. Key findings are compared to the results of a police officer survey in the same city.
Civil and Socialist Law Traditions in Cuba: Direct Citizen Involvement in Crime Control
This paper presents a vew of cuba’s criminal justice system based on a recent visit to Cuba on a criminal justice delegation. Cuba is a centralist state organized occording to a Marxist-Lennist model. The impact of the association with the former Soviet Union has created a civil-socialist model that emphasizes the use of direct citizen involvement in the judicial and crime control procedures and informatl social counts as legal mechanism to resolve conflicts. This paper is based on the premise that it is important for criminal justice academicians and practitioner to become acquainted with other systems in order to truly understand and appreciate one’s respective system. Although there are major variations among crimnal justice systems in the world, these systems are undergoing important transformations. Cuba represents an example of a system in transition. The paper presents the Cuban system in the context of recent changes in the U.S. since 9-11, underscoring the importance of understanding the legal traditions of a country to truly evaluate the effectiveness of its legal system in addressing its crime reduction goal. Furthermore, the paper concludes that although the Cuban system has been portrayed as a repressive system, yet there appears to be a shift towards more lenient strategies.
Civilian Leadership and Law Reform in Nigeria
It has been 42 years since Nigeria became politically independent of Briain. Nonetheless, Nigeria’s official law and justice remain essentially extensions of British models. Scientific data supports the view that Nigeria’s native justice and law systems remain viable and effective social control instruments that could be officially discovered and strengthened for modern Nigeria. This paper examines the country’s civilian politics and leadership to determine the leaders’ philosophy and level of commitment, as well as other political obstacles, to reforming the country’s justice and law systems.
Class and Self-Reported Juvenile Delinquency: Evidence From Turkey
This study examines the relationship between class and self-reported various juvenile delinquent acts in the case of Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Data include 1,710 high school students through using a two-stage stratified sample. The indicators of latent variable class (e.g., income, education of mothers and fathers, occupation of fathers, students’ perception of theit class, and employment status of fathers and mothers) account for 3 percent of the variation in assault, 7 percent in school delinquency, 4 percent in public disturbance, and 3 percent in miscellaneous minor offenses. Also, age and gender (e.g., control variables) account for more variance in assault (12 percent) and school delinquency (12 percent) than class. Both class and control variables account for little variation in public disturbance and miscellaneous minor offenses, due to the low levels of alpha reliability of these two variables. Moreover, age and gender are more consistent than class in terms of assault, school delinquency, public disturbance, and various minor offenses. All of these findings seem to suggest that class is not an important predictor in relation to self reported some juvenile delinquent acts.
Classic Strain Theory and Gender: The Case of Turkey
Test of classic strain theory (including class variables) on gender in relation to assault, school delinquency, public disturbance, and minor offenses are investigated in the case of Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Data for the study involve a two-stage stratified sample of high school students. The findings show that male and female delinquency converges and diverges on the basis of type of juvenile delinquency and strain/class variables. Concerning the convergences, perception of blocked opportunity has similar positive impact on assault for both males and females. Log of income has a positive effect on school delinquency for both genders. State occupational high school (a structural indicator of class variable) is associated inversely with public disturbance for both males and females. As for the divergences, such variables as middle social standing district, the gap between monetary aspiration and education expectation, private high school, fathers with middle and high school education, non-working mother, mother with high school education, state (classic) high school, perceived blocked opportunity, low social standing district, and mother with primary school education are significant for one gender but not significant for the other on the basis of the types of delinquency.
Clients’ Perspectives on Policing: Service Quality, Justice, and Satisfaction
Policing is a service industry. Those who request assistance from police, as well as those who are involuntarily subjected to police authority, are its clients. Thse clients have varying opinions about the quality of the service they receive from police. They have varying opinions about the extent to which the encounter, the process, and the outcome they receive is just. They also have varying levels of overall satisfaction with the police. This paper combines these three largely separate traditions of theory and research both inside and outside of policing – service quality, justice, and overall satisfaction – to develop a firmer understanding of how citizens perceive the police. After conceptually mappingg these three bodies of research and theory, this paper outlines the results of a study that sought to measure these concepts in one police department. Finally, based on the results of the conceptual review and the pilot test, it outlines a vision for implementing a large-scale standardized measurement system for measuring service quality, perceptions of justice, and overall satisfaction with the American police.
Club Drugs: Users, Causes, and Consequences
While research has informed us about some aspects of club drugs, their various effects, and how prevalent their use is, we know very little about what factors affect club drug trends, the people using these substances, and exactly how they are used. This study involves interviewing drug-involved juvenile offenders in Oregon about their knowledge of, experiences with, and attitudes toward various club drugs, including LSD, Ecstasy, GHB, Ketamine, Rohypnol, Psilocybin (mushrooms), and methamphetamine. This poster session will graphically present some of the findings from the club dugs study. Preliminary data indicate that several club drugs, namely LSD, mushrooms, and Ecstasy, are easily obtained, more likely to be consumed than other club drugs, usually consumed with friends, and rarely consumed in “rave” environments. Ecstasy, GHB, Ketamine, and Rohypnol are viewed as being very harmful to consume, while LSD and mushrooms are deemed to be less dangerous. Interestingly, few youth report using club drugs, or other substances, simultaneously; and, most club drug users report experiencing some negative effects. Additional analyses will identify risk and protective factors, document reasons for using various club drugs, and make comparison with national data sources.
Cold Hits, Warm Hits and Hot Misses: Forensic DNA and Crime Investigation in the United Kingdom and Elsewhere
The development and use of DNA profiling and databasing in criminal investigation has been described as the greatest advance in forensic science since the introduction of fingerprinting in the early 20th Century. The UK National DNA Database is often depicted as the most significant innovation in what is now a world-wide process of technology diffusion. However the dominant framework for the analysis of police users of this new technology in the UK has been provided by the current government’s public policy reform programme, and in particular, the rhetoric of organisational accountability and cost effectiveness central to that programme. This paper suggests the usefulness of a more sociologically informed analysis of the use of DNA profiling and the NDNAD. This comprises the attempt to understand the conduct of criminal investigations as constituted in and through the work-oriented interactions amongst a range of individuals and groups and also between such individuals and crime scene circumstances and material artefacts.
Collateral Gains From the Military? A Cross-National Analysis of the Armed Forces-Crime Relationship
Research has repeatedly showed that males with age ranging between 16 and 24 years old account for a disproportionately large volume of crime. Armed forces are major employers of young males in their crime-prone ages and thus could play an esdsential role in crime prevention. The military is a highly structured and regimented total institution in which rigid behavioral norms and close monitoring are imposed on both soldiers and officers. All-voluntary armed forces (which heavily rely on lower-class individuals to fill their ranks(, in particular, subject a significant number of high-risk youths to strict social discipline and control. This study assesses the crime reduction function of the military by formulating and testing two hypotheses. First, the relative size of the military is hypothesized to negatively correlate with crime rates. Second, all-voluntary armed forces are theorized to yield greater crime reduction effects than armed forces based on mandatory draft. Data from 139 countries for the 1990-1999 period will be analyzed to evaluate the two hypotheses. Findings will inform on the efficacy of armed forces in crime reduction and shed light on the potential impact of the technological revolution in military affairs on public safety.
Collective Response to Subjective Crime in a Small Iowa Town: The Case of the River Park Neighborhood Association
This paper reports on the results of a qualitative community case study. We set out to gain some sort of interpretive understanding of a neighborhood watch group–the “River Park Neighborhood Association (RPNA)–in the small mid-western community of “River Park,” Iowa. Our original research question involved understanding how rural crime led to collective community action in a small rural community. We decided that it was unusual for a town like River Park, with low crime, to have a crime watch group. The total sample consists of 22 people–6 neighborhood association members, 9 “regular citizens,” and 7 city officials. Using semi-structured interviews, we found that both RPNA members and non-members were not very fearful of crime, nor did they perceive a high risk of being the victim of a crime in their town. however, the members were noticeably more generally concerned with crime. Official data shows a very low objective crime rate. Further, members seemed to have a heightened sensitivity to signs of incivility present in their town–run-down buildings, graffiti, children wearing “gang-colored” clothing, etc., and performed many community improvement activities. We explain the CLNA’s collective action as a defense of an ideal sense of place more than a direct effort to reduce crime.
College Students’ Perceptions of Female Police Officers: An Attitudinal Assessment
Through previous research conducted with male police officers, citizens, and college students, it has been discovered that the level of education an individual has attained directly affects their perceptions of female police officers. When studying college students, other variables, such as gender and having a family member in law enforcenent, were also found to have an effect on students’ perceptions. This research assessed the attitudes of 218 undergraduate students attending Indiana University of Pennsylvania toward women in the policing field. Students were given a self-administered survey which contained twenty questions for attitudinal assessment along with thirteen demographic questions. In selecting the sample, Criminology majors, as individuals who would possibly be entering the law enforcement field or interacting with individuals in the field of law enforcement, were the only major sampled within the university. These data were then analyzed using multiple linear regression and chi square analyses. Gender and having a family member in law enforcement were found to have a significant effect on students’ perceptions of female police officers. Class standing was not found to have a significant effect on students’ perceptions. These results were then discussed and possible explanations for the findings were then offered. Finally, conclusions were drawn regarding the present attitudes of future law enforcement personnel.
Commerce With Criminals: The New Colonialism in Criminal Justice
This article examines the reappearance of for-profit imprisonment in the United States by focusing specifically on the racial and colonialistic history of imprisonment for prive-profit in America. The article documents that during the two periods of American history in which corrections policy facilitated wholesale private profit through imprisonment, first during the proprietary operation of the convict lease system in the mid 1860s and again today (since the mid-1980s), incarceration of disproportionately-large numbers of AFrican-American men has been the industry’s chief source of revenue. The article demonstrates a renewed focus on African-American crime as the chief source of private profit in today’s second era of African-American mass imprisonment. The article notes the return of a transnational system of commerce capitalizing on economically and politically dispossessed prisoners for its coercive system of economic production.
Commitment to a Deviant Occupation: The Case of Exotic Dance
The current research on crime and deviance highlights the importance of understanding both continuity and change in deviant careers. Such research stresses that although some deviant propensities may be enduring, there is considerable evidence of the long-term impact of social bonds to criminal trajectories (Sampson and Laub, 1993), as well as the influence of “local life circumstances” on individual likelihood of offending (Horney, Osgood, and Marshall, 1995). Applying this criminological framework, I present findings from an ongoing qualitative study of commitment to deviant behavior. Based on ethnographic data from participant observation and open-ended, semi-structured interviews with approdximately 40 women involved in a deviant occupation, exotic dance, the current study compares changes in participants’ local life circumstances with the initiation, persistence, and desistance of deviant employment. Furthermore, I draw on a commitment framework (Johnson, 1973, 1991, 1999; Johnson, Caughlin, nd Huston, 1999) to discuss how such factors as personal employment, increasing investments, and decreasing available attractive alternatives act to explain the persistence and desistance of exotic dance work.
Common Themes in the Study of Rape and Stalking: Toward a Shared Etiology
Sociologists and criminologists have tended to examine different types of violence against women separately, and the subsequent research and theory reflect this differentiation. While starting with specific theories for specific types of offenses is necessary to build a body of knowledge, if we continue to look at behaviors in isolation, we may miss important insights into their common etiology. As we learn more about the correlates and causes of each type of violent behavior against women, it may become easier to create typologies and uncover common etiologies among them. To the extent that there are common causes of several types of violent behavior, we become closer to developing and testing a general explanation of such behavior. This paper examines the theoretical and empirical literature about two forms of violence against women, rape and stalking, and outlines the ways in which these behaviors might be linked. Specifically, rape and stalking behaviors are both gender-linked phenomena, extensions of normative behavior, share a variety of attitudinal correlates, and stem from similar perpetrator socialization. The results of this review suggest that more attention is needed toward theoretical integration so our models reflect common underlying causes.
Community Corrections in Colorado
We will present the results of an analysis of information on 3,054 community corrections offenders who terminated from 25 community corrections facilities in Colorado during FY98. The study explored issues related to success and failure in community corrections. We found that nearly 2,000 of these 3,054 offenders had successful terminations, and that success in community corrections was linked to participating in a wide variety of services offered by these programs. We then tracked successful termination cases for 24 months to obtain recidivism information about cases that were arrested and filed on in district court. We found that within 24 months of leaving the program successfully, 31 percent of those who completed community corrections had a new felony or misdemeanor crime filing. Nearly 38 percent of all recidivating offenses were for alcohol and drug offenses. We found that higher scores on Colorado’s battery of substance abuse assessment tools were more likely to recidivate with a substance abuse crime. Also, prior criminal history, young age, a high Level of Supervision Inventory (LSI) score, and a lack of post-release supervision statistically predicted recidivism. (The LSI measures a number of domains such as criminal history, education, financial, substance abuse, and other needs.) We found that women who successfully completed community corrections recidivated less often than men. Researchers complemented the quantitative research elements by conducting site visits to each of the 25 community corrections facilities and interviewing 206 staff and offenders. Results of the study provide important information relevant to policy decisions regarding types and quality of services provided in community corrections facilities; the needs of special populations, particularly females; issues surrounding hiring and retaining quality staff; and, the importance of post-release supervision in reducing recidivism.
Community Law Enforcement and Recovery (CLEAR) Anti-Gang Program Model in Los Angeles, California
The Community Law Enforcement and Recovery (CLEAR) Program Model was initiated to facilitate the recovery of gang-infested comunities in Los Angeles County. The mission of CLEAR is to facilitate the recovery of gang-infested communities. This is accomplished by an infusion of coordinated resources into targeted areas of high gang crimes in order to reduce gang violence and promote community recovery. CLEAR utilizes partnerships between CLEAR’s core collaborative and agencies, programs and individuals in the target communities. CLEAR’s Core Model members include: Mayors Office, County District Attorney, City Attorney, County Probation Department, Department of Corrections, Los Angeles Police and County Sheriff’s Departments. CLEAR is a unique experimental anti-gang model that is based on the following key elements: (1) Outcomes focused, (2) Inter-Agency Collaborations, (3) Community engagement, (4) Targeted areas, gangs, and activities, (5) Strategic operations, and (6) Accountability. In 2002 six CLEAR sites operate in Los Angeles County. CLEAR targets specific gangs operating within the target community. CLEAR targets all illegal gang-related activity: drug and firearm violations, parole and probation violations, prostitution, and court ordered injunctions. This paper will report on the program operations and outcomes from the CLEAR anti-gang program model.
Community Perspectives on Neighborhood Impacts of a Civil Gang Injunction
Southern California law enforcement agencies increasingly favor civil gang injunctions (CGIs) as a strategy to address street gang violence and crime, asserting their positive impact on neighborhood quality of life. Heretofore, assessments of the impact of CGIs have focused upon official crime rates. Indeed, one recent evaluation found a modest reduction in violent, although not property, crime. Here, we report findings from a quasi-experimental study of changes in community resident perspectives in one Southern California city that implemented an injunction in the fall of 2002. Four neighborhoods were surveyed in the winter of 2000, and again in 2003, regarding fear of crime and victimization, gang visibility and intimidation, and neighborhood disorder and social cohesion. This presentation examines evidence of a detectable impact of a GCI on these indicators. We conclude with an assessment of the implications of the study for law enforcement approaches to reduce gang activity and improve neighborhood environmnents.
Community Policing and Youth
This stud, funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, will report on a national survey of law enforcement agencies conducted to determine which of those agencies are using community policing techniques to address the prolems of youth. It will also present finding of case studies conducted of some of the more promising and innovative of those programs.
Community Response to Sex Offender Notification
Sex offender community notification statutues have been enacted to provide community members with relevant information for assessing risk of sexual victimization, and guiding social behavior. Prior research examining the relationship between sex offender notification and protective behavior has found that community members receiving notification are significantly more likely to engage in precautionary measures to prevent crime victimization to themselves and household members (Beck and Travis, 2002). Research has also indicated that sex offender notification is significantly related to self-fear of victimization (Beck and Travis, 2003). Research has not, however, taken into consideration the interrelationship between protective behavior, fear of victimization and perceived risk of victimization. This study expands the literature on notification statutes by comparing the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions of community members receiving sex offender notification with community members who have not received notification. Drawing upon survey analysis, the findings in this study indicate that receiving notification that a sex offender has moved into a community significantly influences the behaviors individuals engage in to protect household members from crime victimization, but does not produce a significant effect on fear of victimization or perceived risk of victimization.
Community Safety and Criminal Justice Reform: A Grassroots Perspective
The incarcerated population of the U.S. has grown to unprecedented levels, but are communities safer? Have “tough on crime” sentencing laws increased community safety or exxacerbated community vulnerabilities? Are some communities being sacrificed in order to give a false sense of security to other communities? Across the country, grassroots activits are confronting these issues as they work to develop popular support for reforms to America’s criminal justice system. This paper will offer an overview of the key arguments and strrategies of America’s grassroots criminal justice reform movement.
Comparative Phenomena: Policing Human Rights in Africa and the United States
Accounts–both historical and contemporary–of human rights violations are abundant in both Africa and the United States. Similarly, explanations which challenge such contentions persist, and which maintain that, in fact, such labels are, in reality, misnomers, and are erroneously or otherwise applied. This paper examines select phenomena involving police misconduct in both nations with the primary aim of contributing to the relevant literature. A critical objective is to impart practical information which either confirms or refutes suggestions that at one or more times in those nations’ histories that conditions actually existed that are conducive to a police state.
Comparing Intervention Programs for Juvenile Offenders: UK and USA Experiences
Diversion and other forms of juvenile intervention, may take a variety of forms in terms of policies and consequent interventions. These interventions can range fro a simple supervisory and/or warning function by authorities, to ones involving formal meetings between the offender, the victim, their respetive families and members of the community. In terms of comparative studies the understanding of such interventions are complicated by cultural factors, judicial practices, and corrective procedure. Upon considering the complexities of such a comparison, the present study explains and evaluates both process and outcome of juvenile intervention programs in Akron, Ohio (U.S.) and Portsmouth (U.K.). Particular attention is paid to the demographics of the offenders, types of offenses, primary referral procedure, intervention activities, and predictors of recidivism.
Comparing NIBRS and SHR Data on Stranger and Unknown Victim/Offender Relationship
Information about victim/offender relationship is always highly interesting for it provides a better understanding of the dynamics of the offense. Unfortunately, it is a fairly difficult notion to grasp, in that it requires precisely defined categories and involves individual decision making. The emergence of the National Incident Based Reporting System, allows the researcher to test for the reliability of the formerly existing data source, the Supplementary Homicide Reports, as well as potentially triangulate in order to get as close as possible to the true estimates of the population. This paper will compare NIBRS and SHR data, chosen on the basis of availability, regarding two categories of the victim/offender relationship in homicide (stranger and unknown), at the state as well as the local level. Preliminary findings indicate that variation at the state level between the two sources can be explained at the local level. Future research developments include international comparative data analysis leading to interpretations concerning the meaning of homicide rates, from a social construction point of view.
Comparison of Four Ecstasy Screening Assays
The need for analytical screening tests that are more reliable and valid when testing for ecstasy (MDMA) is becoming important due to increased use. The most common procedure to detect MDMA is to quantify its concentration using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GCMS). However, due to its high costs and long running time, the use of this methodology is limited. On the other hand, screening procedures based on immunoassays provide a number of advantages, including low cost, easy of use, and minimal testing time. This presentation will compare four commercially available screening assays specifically designed to test for MDMA assessing the specificity and sensitivity against MDMA in urine samples. Approximately 1,000 urine specimens collected from six Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) sites were screened by all four MDMA screening assays. Positive specimens were confirmed by GCMS. Blank urine samples spiked with known amounts of amphetamine (AM), methylamphetamine (MA), methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), methylenedioxymnethylamphetamine (MDMA), methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA) and methylenedioxyphenyl-N-methyl-2-butanamine (MBDB) were also included. Results were analyzed to determine the specificity and sensitivity of the MDMA screening assays.
Complaint-Prone Officers and Their Use of Coercion in Encounters With the Public
Recently there has been increased attention on officer complaints and their utility as a performance indicator. Citizen complaints have, however, received limited testing in terms of a predictor of how officers distribute force. Using data from the Project on Policing Neighborhoods, in St. Petersburg, Florida, the authors examine approximately 1,500 police-suspect encounters to determine whether complaint prone officers use coercion differently from non-complaint prone officers in everyday encounters with the public.
Compliance With a Smoke-Free Air Act: Bars in New York City
On March 30, 2003, New York City began the enactment and enforcement of the “New York City Smoke-Free Air Act of 2002.” This law prohibits smoking in virtually all businesses and establishemts including bars, restaurants, and sports arenas. Compliance with such a law is especially problematic in NYCs’ many alcohol-serving bars where tobacco (and sometimes marijuana) smoking is a prevalent behavior of many patrons. Based on systematic-observations (before and after enactment of the law) and ethnographic interviews in bars on the Lower East Side of Manhattan this paper will investigate: (1) Changes in smoking behaviors of bar patrons (frequency, cessation, sharing rituals). (2) Whether or not bar owners choose to comply or circumvent the new law. (3) Adaptive changes in bar environments (separately ventilated enclosed smoking rooms, addition of outdoor areas).
Concentrated Disadvantage: The Influence of Social and Economic Change on the Epidemic of Youth Violence
There was an epidemic of youth violence that peaked in the early 1990s. Explanations for this epidemic have focused predominately on period effects related to the introduction of crack-cocaine and the proliferation of high caliber firearms. Less research has examined whether changes in structural correlates of crime in inner cities also contributed to this epidemic. This paper examines how the change in city-level family disruption and joblessness, as well as illicit drug markets, contributed to race and age-specific changes in youth homicide between the 1980s and early 1990s in 155 large U.S. cities. The results show that increasing concentrations of black family instability and joblessness explained a significant portion of the rise in youth homicide, especially for blacks. These effects are independent of drug arrest rates, ethnic heterogeneity, region, and population density. Changes in drug arrest rates also substantially increases the rates of youth homicides for blacks and whites. These results suggest that the period effects of drugs and guns associated with the epidemic of youth violence stem from structural linkages to family disruption and economic deprivation experienced most pronoucedly in black communities.
Conceptualization vs Operationalization: A Gendered Analysis
This paper deals with the efficacy of using General Strain Theory to predict deviant behaviors using a gendered analysis. It is our contention that much of the research confuses conceptualization with operationalization. In this study, we operationalize broad concepts in order to explore gender differences in behavior. Males and females are considered separately, to illuminate the differing paths to involvement in deviance. By taking a gendered focus, rather than controlling for gender, we provide significantly more information about both male and female deviance. The study focuses on delinquent behaviors and sexual behaviors among a sample of college students. We anticipate that different stressors will be salient for males and females. Stressor related to interpersonal relationships should be more salient for females. Additionally, we anticipate that males and females will respond differently to stress, with males more likely to report anger and females more likely to report depression. Finally, we anticipate that these differences help explain gender differences in deviant behavior.
Conceptualizing Criminal Justice Theory and Beyond
Theoretical development in the field of criminal justice has lagged behind that in the field of criminology. Utilizing the framework for examining theoretical development in the field of criminal justice developed by Bernard and Engel (2000), this paper asserts that the criminal justice system must be viewed from three distinct levels. These levels are described as: (1) an overarching system, (1) a network of organizations, and (3) individual actors. The criminal justice system has traditionally been divided into the functional groups of police, courts, and corrections. These traditional distinctions must still be analyzed, but should be done so within the framework of the levels. In this paper, the interactions between the actors and organizations within the field of criminal justice are explored, and recommendations for future theoretical development are described.
Concordance of Self-Reported Versus Court-Reported Cases of Child Maltreatment: Findings From the Northwestern Juvenile Project
While the prevalence of either self-reported or court-reported cases of child maltreatment has been documented, much less is known about the concordance of self-reported and court-reported cases. The purpose of the current investigation was to examine the concordance of self-reported and court-reported cases of child maltreatment 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 1,829 youths (36% females; 64% males) betweeen 10 and 18 years of age. Self-reported cases of child maltreatment (physical and sexual abuse) were compared to court reported cases in the Child Abuse and Neglect Court of the Cook County Judicial System. Preliminary analyses suggest that the concordance between self-reported and court-reported cases of child maltreatment for research, as well as to further our understanding of the factors that may influence the concurrence or discrepancy between the two sources.
Conflicts Between the Use of Scientific Knowledge in Treatment Practice and Human Subjects Protections: Unexpected Difficulties in Practice/Research Partnerships
Translating research findings into practice can be done in a variety of ways. One of the most direct is to integrate research and practice in a process that is generally called action research. In this form of research, the typical rsearch-development-dissemination-adoption sequence is foreshortened and research takes place continuously on practice rather than being applied after it is conducted. When the practice in question is juvenile treatment, the application of action research becomes complicated by regulations that are established to protect involuntary and vulnerable subjects. In some treatment research centers these tensions will be present but solutions may be built in. However, many juvenile treatment agencies have no research capacity of their own and seek assistance of unviersity partners. This paper traces the conflicts beetween human subjects protection in research and the implementation of a research-practice partnership among two large juvenile treatment agencies and a nearby university research team. These partnerships do not fit well within the assumptions of human subjects protections in research and the implementation of a research-practice partnership among two large juvenile treatment agencies and a nearby university research team. These partnerships do not fit well within the assumptions of human subjects research policy, and conflicts arise between gathering high quality information and gaining access to the information.
Confusion, Frustration, and Conflict: The Social Construction of Felony Probation Orders
In this research, we focus on how probation officers perceive felony probation orders and the way these legal documents impact the term of supervision. The probation order is an important tool for both the offender and probation officer during this process, as the probation officer’s job requires that s/he follow this document in supervising individuals, while the offender must follow the specific provisions of the order in order to remain in compliance. We are relying on the social constructionist perspective as a theoretical framework in which to ground our research. We believe that both probation officers and offenders perceive this term of supervision very differently based on differing socially constructed meanings and interpretations of the probation order. Therefore, by comparing and contrasting the different perspectives, we hope to address the dis-juncture between what is written in the actual probation order and how the interaction between probation officer and offender influences this socially constructed process. This research incorporates the use of narratives of both researchers who have experience working with the adult felony probation system, textual analysis of probation orders, and in-depth interviews of five adult probation officers. In conclusion, we will discuss our findings and address specific policy implications.
Consequences of Bullying: Student Responses to “Direct” and “Indirect” Bullying at School
Olweus (1993) suggests a student is being bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly to negative actions on the part of one or more other students. He goes on to suggest that distinguishing between “direct bullying” — or open and physical attacks upon the victim — and “indirect bullying” in the form of social isolation and exclusion from groups is important when understanding and defining bullying. The purpose of this paper is to examine the differential responses of students to these direct and indirect forms of bullying. Bullying victimization reported by students aged 12 through 18 in the 2001 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey will be examined as it relates to victim behaviors such as weapon carrying, fear and avoidance. The hypothesis is that students who are directly bullied may respond to with different “defensive” or “self-protective” mechanisms including carrying weapons, skipping classes and being truant from school than students who are bullied indirectly. Students who reported being bullied both directly and indirectly will also be compared to students who were victims of one or the other form of bullyng victimization. Other consequencs of bullying including fear and self-reported academic grades will also be discussed.
Consequences of Federal Restrictions of Economic Benefits on Drug Offenders
The proposed paper will explore sanctions that have been placed against convicted drug offenders, particularly those that restrict access to financial assistance. There are two major laws that have been passed in the 1990s that will be a central focus of this paper. The first is section 115 of Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, which requires any individual convicted of a felony drug charge to be barred permanently from receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Fammilies or food stamps. The second restriction is the Drug Free Student Loans Act of 1998, which denies federal grants, loans and work study to college students who have been convicted of any drug offense. These laws unfairly targeted a portion of our population which is the most in need of these programs which can move them from a life of habitual offending to a law-abiding future. This paper will critically assess these programs and examine other substantive issues such as future policy concerns and alternative solutions to the problem.
Consequences of Long-Term Prison Sentences on Inmate Fatalities in State and Federal Prisons, 1993-1998
Prison violence has become a rising concern as the growth of prison populations continues to increase at an alarming rate. In the face of harsh state sentencing policies mandating long prison terms for many non-violent crimes, correctional institutions are confronting the ramifications of inmate overcrowding. Furthermore, inmates and their families are facing the realities of prison violence. This paper proposes to examine inmate deaths caused by other inmates in each of the fifty states and the federal system over a period of six years. Specifically, it seeks to understand how increases in the proportion of state inmate populations with sentences over one year affect the number of assault-related deaths each year.
Constructing the ‘Insane’ Violent Offender Over Time
Only a small percentage of criminal defendants are found to be legally insane although many may suffer from some type of of mental disorder. Despite this, the use of what is commonly referred to as the insanity defence in cases of violent crime continues to generate debate. Little information exists, however, about whom the typical defendants are, the frequency of such verdicts, or the severity of punishments that result. This study examines the total population of homicide cases resolved through the courts in one urban Canadian jurisdiction from 1974-1996 to determine: 1) What proportion of defendants are found ‘not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder’; 2) what types of homicides are most likely to result in this verdict; 3) Who are the typical defendants; and, finally 4) What changes, if any, have occurred over time in the legal construction of the ‘insane’ violent offender. An examination of the total sample of homicides will identify factors that distinguish between those found ‘not criminally responsible’ and those subject to other types of convictions. A sub-sample of cases, matched according to legal and extra-legal criteria, will be used to examine what contextual differences might exist between insanity cases and other types of killings.
Contextual Analysis of Factors Associated With the Lethality of Violence Against Children
This study examines the influence of various offender/victim and situational characteristics as they relate to the lethality of violence involving a child (victim). Using data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) of the Uniform Crime Reports for the years of 1995-2000, the impact of factors such as age, race, and gender of the victim/offender, as well as situational and contextual variables such as location and weapon choice will be examined. Results will be discussed in relation to policy implications.
Continuity and Change in Criminal Behavior: Examining the Role of Adult Social Bonds in the Stability of Criminal Behavior
This work replicates the findings of Sampson and Laub in their re-analysis of the classic Glueck and Glueck data. However, rather than concluding that social capital factors mediate the role of structural background as was argued in Crime in the Making, the introduction of self-control measures from the original Glueck and Glueck study suggests that these individual level traits are the most important determinants of adult crime. Evidence suggests further that the ability to create and exploit social capital may be a result of such individual-level traits. These results are more consistent with the findings of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s self-control theory than the life-course perspective associated with social capital models.
Continuity and Change in Police Policy: Police Departments’ Domestic Violence Policies and Practices
During the late 1980s and through the 1990s, many police departments rewrote their policies and changed their practices in domestic violence cases. However, change was far from universal, and lahtough “model policies” proliferated, many departments retained traditional approaches to responding to these cases. By 1990, formal policy as well as established practices varied widely across communities. This study has three objectives. The first is to explore the dimensionality of police department policies, based on survey data from 250 departs in New York state, conducted in 1995. The second is to examine political, economic, community, and organizational correlates of those policy dimensions. The third is to assess the nature, degree, and direction of policy changes over the subsequent five years, based on surveys of the same departments in 2000.
Control and Intimate Partner Violence: The Gender Symmetry Debate
One of the biggest debates in the field of intimate partner violence is the issue of gender symmetry, in particular,. the extent and nature of violence by women. Much of the research indicating high levels of violence by women has used the Conflict Tactics Scales a research instrument criticized by many feminist researchers for its lack of context and simplicity. In contrast, data from emergency rooms, victimization surveys, shelter interviews, and police arrests suggests that women are the victims in 90-95% of cases. Johnson (1995) has argued that the discrepancy is a result of different types of violence (patriarchal terrorism vs. common couple violence) and different samples used (shelter samples vs. national surveys). The current study uses data from the National Violence Against Women Survey to examine reports of intimate partner victimization in an effort to further explore the relationship between gender, power, control and intimate partner violence in a national sample.
Control Tactics and Binge Drinking in Relation to Intimate Partner Violence Against Native American Women: Findings From a Statewide Telephone Survey
Empirical data on prevalence and correlates of intimate partner violence (IPV) against Native American women are severely limited. This paper examines partner’s control tactics and partner’s and respondent’s binge drinking in relation to past-year IPV against Native American women. We also assess variability in IPV by race/ethnicity. As part of a substance abuse needs assessment survey, telephone interviews were conducted with a random sample of adult Oklahoma women in November 1996 through January 1999. Data on past-year physical and sexual IPV victimization were collected from 650 Native American and 2,187 White women who were married or living in a marriage-like relationship. Five questions assessed partner’s use of control tactics. Reported IPV prevalence was 4.3% (95% CI: 2.9, 6.2) for Native American and 3.6% (95% CI: 2.8, 4.5) for White women. In logistic regression analyses, number of control tactics (odds ration [1 vs, 0] = 5.8; OR [>1 vs. 0] = 26.1), binge drinking (OR [both partners binged vs. neither binged] = 7.1), and respondent’s age (OR [18-36 vs. > 36 years] = 3.1) remained strongly associated with IPV against Native American women. The same three factors were associated with IPV against White women. Findings underscore the importance of control tactics as a risk factor for IPV in the general population.
Cool Cultures and Mediocre Messages: Differential Impact of the Media on Delinquency
This presentation examines the different levels of accommodation/resistance that youths negotiate with various media (eg internet, electronic, print, etc.) Based on data collected on the use of the media by street and school youth, it is argued that youth cultures adopt prevailing cultural values regarding “coolness” to an extreme–a finding that contradicts extant youth research on resistance and suggests more critical directions for delionquency theorizing.
Cops, Crooks and Books: “Line-of-Duty” Deaths, Violent Crime Rates, and Survivor’s State Education Benefits
The numerous law enforcement deaths associated with the events surrounding 9/11 resulted in an increased awareness by the public and need for legislative changes in survivor’s benefits due to a law enforcement officer’s untimely death in the line-of-duty. The past decade has historically shown an increase by states in providing financial assistance programs for those families of law enforcement officers killed in the line-of-duty. Yet, one area of family survivor assistance appears to have been neglected; the issuance of benefits related to secondary education assistance. The author suggests the disparity in survivor’s state education assistance benefits may be due to other “social compensations” in response to a law enforcement officer’s line-of-duty death. This paper will examine and analyze various “social compensations” e.g., the state’s legal sanction or implementation of capital punishment, reputation and recognition as a law enforcement mecca of organized labor activity, number and types of officer line-of-duty deaths, and violent crime rates with respect to the disparity of survivor’s state education assistance benefits nationwide.
Corporate Characteristics and Environmental Noncompliance: Distinguishing “Good” and “Bad” Corporate Citizens
The most common explanation of corporate offending in the literature is poor economic performance; firms violate the law because it is in their economic interest. However, other literature suggests that the relationship between economic performance and offending may be more complex. Organizational characteristics, such as offending history, size, and single versus multi-site ownership, may also be linked to the likelihood of offending. Further work is necessary to understand the nature of the relationship between these characteristics and firm compliance. This work will build on existing literature by examining whether corporate characteristics can be used to classify firms into different levels of compliance. Unlike prior research that utilized a broad dependent variable, this work will examine organizational characteristics in relation to environmental water violations in four industries: pulp, paper, oil, and steel. Using organizational data on 61 firms linked to Environmental Protection Agency compliance and enforcement records, this paper will explore whether there are certain characteristics of companies that are associated with differing levels of compliance. Firms will be classified into three categories: those that typically exceed compliance standards; those that typically meet compliance standards; and those that typically fail to meet compliance standards. Implications for enforcement practices will be discussed.
Correctional Industries: Who Gets Hired and Other Issues of Full Employment?
In 2001, over 1.1 million inmates were housed in state prisons in the United States. Only a fraction of these inmates, approximately 4,000 Prison Industries Enhancement Certification Program workers and 59,000 traditional Correctional Industry workers, obtained job skills through industry work experience while incarcerated. Some policy makers are interested in a full employment model for correction populations, which requires substantial increases in the number of inmates employed. If more industry moved into prisons, is there a sufficient workforce available? Who is eligible to work? Who gets hired? The purpose of this paper is to discuss the demographic and legal descriptors of inmate populations compared to the characteristics of those inmates actually employed. This comparison is based on data collected across five states spanning a five-year period and is part of a national evaluation of the Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
Correlates of Carrying Weapons to School
Schools are places for learning. however, int he 1990s, several high-profile school shooting incidences shocked the nation, which indicated that schools could be infiltrated by potentially violent conflicts. Existing research on student weeapons possession are severely limited to sample size, using either a single school sample or citywide samples. In addition, there is a paucity of research that is focused on both the prevalence and the correlates of carrying weapons to schools. Our study is intended to fill this void in the literature. we anlayze the latest wave of School Crime Supplement (NCVS-SCS, 2001) data consisting of a nationally representative sample of shcool youth frome age 12 to 18. Policy implications are discussed.
Correlates of Post-Assault Self-Defense/Assertiveness Training Participation for Sexual Assault Survivors
Past research has shown that self-defense/assertiveness training may have positive implications for sexual assault survivors. However, little is known about the correlates of self-defense/assertiveness participation for sexually victimized women. The present study examined the assault characteristics and experienes that relate to women’s enrollment in post-assault training using data from 3,187 female college students. Victims with and without post-assault training were compared on assault characteristics (e.g., sexual victimization severity, offender aggression, victim resistance), victim perceptions of their assault experience (e.g., effect of resistance, feelings of fear and anger during incident), and post-assault experiences (e.g., disclosure, suicidal ideation). In addition, logistic regression analyses were run predicting whether or not victims took self-defense/assertiveness training after their assaults. Suggestions for the development of self-defense training programs for sexual assault suvivors are presented.
Correlates of Prison Infractions in North Carolina
This paper focuses on what influences whether or not an inmate will misbehave at the individual level and if commonalities exist among those imates who do misbehave. I use logistic regression models to analyze prison data obtained from North Carolina’s correctional facilities from July 1997 to June 1998. The majority of the findings yielded in the present study fall in line with those of previous studies of prison infractions. However, there are some notable exceptions in regard to the effects of race and gender on inmate misbehavior. While most research has found blacks and males are more likely to break prison rules compared to non-blacks and females, the present analysis shows that the effects of both race and gender are conditional, and are reduced to insignificance with the inclusion of other control variables. Implications of the findings and directions for further research are discussed.
Correlates of Violent Injury in a Population of Arrestees With Substance Abuse Histories
Criminal offenders and detainees may be at high risk for violence and the physical sequelae of altercations. Those with substance abuse issues may face a higher prevalence of violence-related injuries as a result of involvement in drug use and trafficking. This paper aims to identify the charcteristics common to those offenders with a history of substance abuse problems who have been victims of violent events. With this information, a better understanding the antecedents and correlates of violence within this population can be achieved. One-on-one interviews were conducted with 360 detainees with substance abuse histories in the Cook County jail. Along with questions regarding their drug use history and medical background, subjects were asked about injuries they had sustained as a result of violent acts. Of the sample, 59% had been injured due to violence at least once in their life and 19% had been hurt within the last 12 months.* Specific characteristics common to those with injuries are discussed and strategies for prevention are presented. *At this time, the data has been collected but only partially entered into our database. Therefore, these numbers may change. This is also the reason for the lack of further results included in the abstract. By November, a more thorough analysis will be complete.
Correlates to Police Use of Non-Lethal Force: A Statistical Analysis in a Midwestern City
This study examined police officer use of non-lethal force in a Midwestern jurisdiction from October 1, 2001 through december 21, 2002. Police officers completed a custodial situation form each time non-lethal force occurred in a police-citizen enounter. Officers documented subject variables (e.g. subject age, race, intoxication, and conduct), the type of force used, the type of incident responded to, if the encounter was initiated by an officer or by a citizen, and whether or not an arrest was made as a result of the encounter. this study analyzed 2,059 cases where non-lethal force occurred in police-citizen encounters. Subject and situational variables were analyzed to determine if they impacted the use of non-lethal force during a police-citizen encounter.
Corrupt Influence by Organized Crime on Law Enforcement and the Justice System in Poland in Light of Research Results
Organized criminal groups in Poland try to influence law enforcement and the justice system in a variety of ways. Their ability to influence public officials is also at times characterized by a high degree of planning. This paper presents the results of a nationwide survey research conducted in 2000 and 2001 among police officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (Centraline Biuro Sledcze), which also covered prosecutors dealing with organized crime cases, judges adjudicating criminal cases, and witnesses for the prosecution. The results of this research, when supplemented by data from the Central Bureau of Investigation both demonstrate the size of the problem and allow for the possibility of formulating conclusions aimed at counteracting this phenomenon. Judges and prosecutors themselves point, among others, to a need for introducing mechanisms of self-policing among public prosecutors’ offices, courts, and especially among defense attorneys. Other recommendations include increasing the number of disciplinary tribunals, making disciplinary procedures quicker, and making sure that verdicts of those courts are always public. The paper also talks about the issue of the so-called consultants of organized criminal groups, that is to say people who give the activities of those groups direction and who secure both legal and technological interests of those groups.
Corruption and Integrity in the British Police
This paper presents the findings from a survey of British police officers who were asked about their attitudes towards police corruption, unethical behaviour and minor violations of police rules. It reveals that officers regard certain actions, such as those involving the acquisition of goods or money as much worse than behaviour involving unnecessary brutality or bending of the rules in order to protect colleagues from criminal proceedings. It also reveals that officers who responded to the survey are relatively unwilling to report misdemeanours by colleagues unless there is some sort of acquisitive motive or outcome predicted. Overall the findings confirm the ‘blue code’ and ‘Dirty Harry’ assumptions about police misconduct but also provide an initial study of a small sample (n=275) that point to the value of further investigation.
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Criminal Justice Programs: What Role Does it Play in Policy? What Role Should it Play?
This paper will review the “state-of-the-art” in conducting cost-benefit analysis of criminal jujstice programs and its growing use and acceptance as a policy tool in the U.S. and the UK. Since cost-benefit analysis is relatively new in the criminal justice arena, there are no agreed upon methodologies for valuing crime reduction benefits. Thus, it is common for different researchers to arrive at entirely different conclusions due to differences in what and/or how they are measuing costs and benefits. This paper will explore the various methods that are being used, their limitations (both theoretically and empirically), and discuss recent attempts to standardize the methodology. Finally, it will consider the role that cost-benefit analysis should play in the criminal justice policy arena.
Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Impact of Pro Se Litigants
The right to counsel is constitutionally guaranteed in most criminal proceedings. No similar provisions are in place to provide counsel in civil matters. However, the Maryland Constitution contains language that may guarantee counsel in civil trials, and in particular cases involving eviction and child custody. Interpretation of this provision is the subject of current litigation. Regardless of the outcome of the legal proceedings, there may be important policy consequences resulting from pro se litigants in these types of cases. This paper explores these policy consequences, and in particular, investigates the extent to which civil litigants who are not represented by counsel may differentially use court resources and may have differential case outcomes. In addition to developing measures of change in net social welfare, the paper investigates whether the standard model for evaluating these outcomes, cost-benefit analysis, is appropriate for this type of policy problem.
Costs of Career Criminals: A Victimization Perspective
Although criminal career research is a dominant paradigm in the discipline, virtually no research of the victimization costs of habitual offenders exists. The current study eseeks to fill this void using a population fo 500 offenders who qualified for habitual offender status (minimum of 30 arrests) upon booking into an urban jail in the western United States. An array of dependent variables were used to assess victimization costs, including medical care, mental health care, quality of life, and future earnings; governmental costs such as police, judicial and correctional expenditures; and indirect or intangible costs such as fear of crime. On average, the lfietime costs wrought by an individual career criminal are approimately $5 million. Moreover, the direct and collateral consequences of the assorted victimization cased by habitual offenders are inclalculable. We conclude that, per capita, career criminals are among the most socially costly individuals in American society.
Could Publicising Phantom Crime Prevention Activity Reduce Crime?
In this paper we discuss the power of publicity in crime prevention. Using evidence from a variety of crime prevention schemes we demonstrate that reductions in crime are often realized even before implementation commences, an effect referred to as an anticipatory benefit. We hypothesize that it is the publicity of crime prevention activity that causes this effect. In support of this, we will also show that, for 21 burglary reduction schemes, reductions in burglary were coincident with incidents of publicity and, that schemes that used publicity as a primary intervention were more successful than those that did not. The implications of these findings for crime prevention and evaluation will be discussed.
Counter-Terrorism Policies for Law Enforcement: Graduate Level Training for the N.Y.P.D.
Post 9/11 events, the authors developed a customized, graduate level, course for the N.Y.P.D. officers delaing with the aftermath of the disaster. This course gives present and future law enforcement manages an overview of counter-terrorism policies in the context of current events and directions. The topics include emergency response to disaster scenes, the identification of terrorists and terrorist groups, and the assessment of vulnerability and risk for population and infrastructure. the course covers preventive law enforcement strategies and tactics, as well as methods to improve information sharing and coordination between agencies. Evolving federal and state policies are considered in light of recent anti-terrorism legislation, new and existing approaches to immigration monitoring and control, as well as how these responses impact on civil liberties and issues related to privacy and profiling. A major theme is the changing definition and the uses of discretion by criminal justice peresonnel, influenced by the culture and various subcultures developed and maintained by the law enforcement agencies, by outside forces, and by legal developments. This paper will discuss evaluations, assessments, and lessons learned by the authors from the three semesters or trials and tribulations.
Court Responses to Domestic Violence
Currently, states recognize that a coordinated community response is crucial to ensure domestic violence victim safety and offender accountability. Magistrates, the decision-makers in local town and village courts in New York State, are the cornerstones in a coordinated community response to domestic violence in rural New York. This paper reports findings from a qualitative study based on face-to-face interviews with rural magistrates in upstate New York. The paper will explore the courts response to domestic violence and how judicial attitudes and decision-making styles explain case processing and the repercussions for victim safety and offender accountability. After describing the court responses, the paper will discuss how training effots and policies can be modified to effectively reach rural magistrates.
‘Cracked’ and Ineffective Trials in England and Wales
Cracked and ineffective trials are a major source of inefficiency in the criminal justice system of England and Wales. The finanhcial cost alone of ineffective hearings in the magistrates court and Crown Court is estimated to be in excess of 80 million, without considering the further effects on the capacity of the crimninal justice system to deliver justice and maintain public confidence. research by government, including the National Audit Office, the CPS Inspectorate and the LCD has established that there are various reasons for ‘cracked’ and ineffective trials but the research rarely or never talks to multiple players in cases. Thus these ‘reasons’ are really categories e.g. ‘witnesses fail to appear’ without any explanation about why did did not appear. This paper discusses what some of these reasons may be and what steps need to be taken to reduce the number of ‘cracked’ and ineffective trials.
Creating Alcohol and Drug Treatment for Juveniles: Recent Efforts and Ongoing Challenges
All studies to date suggest that a large number of youth in the juvenile justice system have alcohol or other drug (AOD) problems that might require treatment. Studies also suggest that a minority of these youth actually receive services to address these problems, either in the juvenile justice system or through referral to community-based treatment. At the same time, however, there is evidence that a majority of youth in the existing publicly funded treatment sector are in fact mandated juvenile justice referrals. This underscores how much more capacity and capability are required for adolescent AOD-oriented services. This paper describes recent policy initiatives in California to initiate such services on a statewide basis with which the author was centrally involved through needs assessment, evaluation, and standards development facilitation. The focus is on identifying and explaining the systemic existing challenges encountered in these initiatives. These inclujde dilemmas related to inadequate or inappropriate funding, conflicts over target populations and needed services, and ambivalence about standards of practice based on recognizing knowledge of effectiveness.
Creating Feminist Informed Sexual Assault Policy in a Small Rural College: The Clery Act and Beyond
This paper presents an ethnographic case study of the development of sexual assacult policy and procedures in a small rural college. The authors were part of a Task Force created to recommend policy revisions after a controversial student survey found high rates of under reporting and a general lack of knowledge of policy among the campus community. The roadblocks encountered in developing feminist informed recommendations and the tensions around Clery Act compliance issues are discussed. These discussions are situated within the specific challenges faced in a small rural setting and connected to wider issues found across the discipline (definitional) problems; victim-blaming discourses; and patriarchal cultural supports).
Crime, Media Logic, and the Discourse of Fear
The mass media and popular culture help shape our symbolic environments. Geographic borders are pentrated by electronic formats that are shared worldwide. In this age of global communications, significant news coverage of events in one specific location have implications for the entire city and country, as well as the world. Increasingly, major media. especially electronic communications, “work” with media logic, or the rationale, emphasis,and orientation promoted by media production, processes, and messages–tends to be evocative, encapsulated, highly thematic, and perhaps above all, quite familiar to audiences and easy to use. As bnews media throughout the world have adapted “entertainment formats” to attract audiences, crime in particular, and fear in general, has become a major part of the message. One consequence of this emphasis is to promote a discourse of fear, or the pervasive communication, symbolic awareness, and expectation that danger and risk are a central feature of everyday life. As this discourse becomes more common and taken for granted it influences many aspects of everyday life including the rapidly expanding popular culture. National and international priorities are influenced by this discourse, as in the United States, where “terrorism” reports are strongly influenced by a long history of crime reports.
Crime, Punishment, and Mental Illness
This poster session will focus on a critical examination of current policy regarding criminalizing the seriously mentally ill. It will present data on incarceration of seriously mentally ill and will depict key contemporary cases that illustrate the problems with current policy. The goal of the poster session is to promote dialogue concerning the need to change current policy and to discuss innovative changes already in place with those attending the conference who are involved in this area.
Crime and Cohort Size in North America (US and Canada), 1970-2000
In both Canada and United States index crimes declined in the 1990s. Many commentators propose demographic explanations for the crime drop centering around age composition effects, in particular, cohort size effects As set forth by Easterlin, comparatively large cohorts are disadvantaged in two important ways: (1) they are less well off economically than relatively small cohorts in terms of employment rates and relative income; and (2) they may overload society’s institutions of social control. Unfortunately, very little empirical research has addressed the relationship between changes in population structure and recent declines in the crime rate. Thus, to address this gap in the research literature, our analysis provides an empirical test of the Easterlin cohort-size hypothesis using both U.S. and Canadian data on crime and population trends. Importantly, our analysis also provides a timely comparison of U.S. and Canadian crime trends.
Crime and Justice in Nigeria: An Experiment in Democracy
Nigeria introduced its most recent contitution in 1999, which was followed by national elections that resulted in the current experiment with democracy. In 2000 the elected civilian regime introduced the anti-corruption law. The two documents purported to become the beacons of the nation’s political and bureaucratic institutions. at the occasion of the signing into law of the bill on June 13, 2000, the president, Olusegun Obasanjo, expressed a firm hope that the Law will mark a turning point in all major aspects of the lives of Nigerians. The authors examine the national efforts against crime and corruption problems in Nigeria by looking at available data on reported rates of violent crime and corruption between 1999 and 2003, and on the criminal justice system by looking at the organization and administration of the national police force, courts and correctional institutions. The authors find that violent crime continues to be a major problem in Nigeria. They also find limited organizational and administrative capacity in the fight against crime. The authors conclude that Nigera will have to do much more to educate citizens and support those charged with responsibility for law and order.
Crime and Justice Research and Evaluation on American Indian and Alaska Native Issues at the National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
The National Institute of Justice is the research and development agency of the U. S. Department of Justice. In the mid-1990’s, NIJ began building a crime and jjstice research and evaluation portfolio related to American Indian and Alaska Native issues. This poster session will provide an overview of NIJ’s approach to this research, the major areas of research, partners, publications, and plans. It will also provide an opportunity for discussion and interaction with NIJ staff on these and related issues such as applying for NIJ grants.
Crime and Victimization on a College Campus: The Extent, the Correlates, and the Offending-Victimization Link
Much research has shown that characteristics such as age, gender, and socio-economic status are related to crime and victimization. In addition, research has demonstrated a link between an individual’s likelihood of offending and victimization. This paper uses a sample of undergraduates from a small liberal arts college in New Jersey to further examine these relationships as related specifically to the college-age population. This paper will address the following questions: (1) What is the extent of crime and victimization at the college?, (2) How are crime and victimization related to gender?, (3) How are crime and victimization related to age?, (4) How are crime and victimization related to race?, and (5) To what extent are offending and victimization patterns linked? Results of correlationa and regression analyses will be examined to answer these questions.
Crime Clearance Using Linked National Incident Reporting System (NIBRS) Data and Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS) Data
To improve crime clearance rates, it is important to better understand individual and aggregate level influences on crime clearance. Individual level factors include victim characteristics, circumstances of the crime incident, and victim-offender relationship. Aggregate level factors include the level of police agency resources and activities, including the number of police and expenditures per served population, and whether the agency has community policing or advanced crime lab units. Previous quantitative studies on crime clearance have not simultaneously investigated the effects of both aggregate and individual level factors. The current research examine the effects of both aggregate and individual level factors on violent crime clearance using linked National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data and Law Enforcement Management and Administratibe Statistics (LEMAS) data. NIBRS data provide individual level information on characteristics of the crime and victim, while LEMAS data provide aggregate level information on police agency charcteristics. The first part of the study willuse logistic regression to examine how aggregate and individual level factors influence crime clearance, defined as whether or not the crime was cleared within a specified time interval. For the second part, survival (event hitory) analysis will be used to investigate the effect of aggregate and individual factors on the length of time from incident to clearance.
Crime Drop in Chicago
The great drop in crime that begain in the United States in 1991 was one of the most significant — and unanticipated — criminological events of the 20th Century. The reasons for the drop are ill-explored, to say the least. Almost everyone who discusses the issue interprets the drop to fit their favorite theory of crime, but empirical studies of the issues are harder to come by. Chicago has been no exception to the crime drop story: since 1991 there has been a steady decline in virtually every category. The largest has been in robbery, which dropped by 58 percent between 1991 and 2001; robberies with a gun went down by 62 percent. Serious assault and battery declined by 40 percent, motor vehicle theft was down by 42 percent, and burglary dropped 50 percent. While crime rates were dropping nationally during the same period, the drop in crime in Chicago was noticeably greater in most categories. This paper examines the reasons for this drop in crime, using data for small areas of the city. It tests claims about the role of drugs and gangs in the crime drop, the deterrent effect of traditional police practices and community policing, and the salutary effects of fixing broken windows. Because it is based on local-area time series, many important “macro” theories of crime causation, and perhaps drop, cannot be addressed. But “all crime is local,” and this study has the advantage of disaggregating the analysis to the level at which it occurs and must be dealt with.
Crime Gun Indicators: Dealer, Firearm, and Transaction Characteristics
Gun violence presents a significant threat to public health in America. A few contemporary policy responses are based on the notions that particular handgun makes and models used frequently in crime (i.e., Saturday night specials) are more suitable for criminal than lawful purposes, that gun dealer who sell many crime guns are suspect, and that buyers who attempt to purchase more than one handgun per month are likely to be illegal traffickers. However, the evidence underlyinh these policies is unclear. Are “crime gun” models simply those that are most widely owned, particularly by lawful users in low income, high crime areas? Are “problem dealers” merely those that have high sales volumes, have been in business for many years, and/or are accessible from high crime areas? And are guns gold in multiple purchase transactions more likely to be used in crime than other guns? Using multi-year gun sales data from one state and national and local data on guns used in crime, this study will examine the likelihood that a gun sold at retail will be subsequently used in crime and whether that likelihood is influenced by characteristics of the gun, the gun dealer, or the transaction. Implications for gun legislation and enforcement will be considered.
Crime Prevention ‘Hit Rates’: The Study of Efficiency in Resource Allocation for Crime Prevention
Crime prevention has two principal requirements (1) knowing what prevention tactic to put in place, and (2) knowing where and when to put it. The study of the former is the field of situational crime prevention. The study of the latter is that of the allocation of scarce resources. A ‘hit rate’ standard is proposed which should allow comparison of allocative efficiency across different aspects of risk-focused policing and crime prevention. Victim survey data are used to determine hit rates for crime prevention that targets repeat victimization.
Crimes of the Rich and Poor: The Need for a Critical Comparative Analysis
Working from the perspective of critical criminology, this paper asks us to rethink not only the ways we define crime, but how we as criminologists organize our study and presentation of the field. Treating conventional crime and the crimes of the powerful as separate categories of analysis has serious and detrimental implications. It reinforces stereotypes of crime as the actions of the poort, it hinders a more sociological analysis of crime in general, and it minimizes the underlying role of social inequality in the definition and treatment of criminal offenses. This social inequality includes not only differences of class, but also race and gender. I will also argue that unless we broaden our categories and offer a more comparative analysis of conventional and elite crime, we will continue to be stymied in our efforts to curg the varied forms of crime including conventional crime, domestic violence, and white collar crime.
Criminal Activities and Other Life Consequences: A Test of the General Theory of Crime With High-Risk Juveniles
Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) argue that the level of self-control is formed through parental practices during the early years of development, self control, in turn, affects an individual’s propensity to engage in criminal behavior. According to their theory, people who have a lower level of self-control are risk-takers, impulsive, and have difficulties establishing close interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, they tend to be involved in criminal activities as well as analogous behaviors, which lead to negative life consequences. In a secondary analysis of data obtained from surveys of juveniles in correctional facilities, this study will examine the relationship between self-control, criminal involvements and other types of life consequences. Previous studies tested The General Theory of Crime on conventional populations and hence were criticized for producing inadequate variation within the dependent variable (Hirschi and Gottfredson, 1993). In view of this, the current paper tests The General Theory of Crime using a high-risk juvenile population. This will enable us to capture the variability between self-control and delinquent behavior.
Criminal Circumstance and School Victimization
In Criminal Circumstance: A Dynamic Multicontextual Criminal Opportunity Theory, Wilcox Land and Hunt put forth an integrative, multilevel theory for understanding criminal acts in spatio-temporal context. These authors integrate micro and macro versions of routine activities theory with micro and macro social control theories in order to establish a multilevel theoretical explanation suggesting that criminal acts result from criminal opportunity at multiple levels of analysis–motivated offender exposure, target attractiveness, and ineffective guardianship at both individual and environmental levels. Throughout their exposition, they discuss neighborhoods and schools as two particularly important environmental contexts for the exertionof main effects of opportunity, above and beyond individual-level effects of opportunity. Perhaps most importantly, these authors also put forth specific multilevel theoretical propositions regarding the ways in which environmental-level opportunity conditions or moderates the effects of individual-level criminal opportunity. The present study is an empirical test of the theory put forth by Wilcox et al. In particular, this research tests main and moderating effects on victimization of opportuhnity at both individual and environmental levels. The analysis uses data from over 3600 students within 60 Kentucky middle-school contexts. The surevey data were collected in 2001 and 2002 as Wave I and Wave 2 of a longitudinal research effort entitled the “Rural Substance Abuse and Violence Project” (RSVP).
Criminal Justice, Social Justice, and Illocutionary Discourse
Illocutionary discourse is discourse in which people come together to try to understand each other’s positions. They agree to listen in good faith to what the other has to say. And they agree to use their expertise to help the other clarify what his/her position is. Their willingness to help one another to understand the basis and goals of each others’ validity claims does not mean that they actually agree with what the other is saying. It means that they are trying in good faith to understand, so that they can respect each other in their differences and construct an environment for themselves in which they can live with one another without violence, hated, and killing. The Dear Habermas community (www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas) provides criminological, sociological, and philosophical discussions of peace and justice, and our role in the creation of texts, and narrative in an attempt to understand peace and social justice through praxis.
Criminal Justice System Experience and the Transition to Adulthood: Victims, Offenders and Turning Points
This paper analyzes the experiences of young adults as they come into contact with the criminal justice system during the transition to adulthood. The authors utilize data from a five site qualitative study of young adults to examine encounters of young people with the criminal justice system. The authors focus on two main categories of criminal justice experience, those of young adults as victims and/or offenders, and they explore the effects that these experiences have had on the lives of young adults. For example, being the victim of a serious crime can have severe and lasting effects that manifest themselves in many areas of a young adult’s life. Similarly, arrest and/or incarceration are major events in the lives of offenders. The authors conclude as to what effect victim and offender encounters with the criminal justice system have on the transition to adulthood, and in what circumstances such experiences serve as turning-points.
Criminal Victimization in South Korea
This paper begins an examination of criminal victimization in South Korea utilizing the year 2000 sweep of the International Crime and Victimization Survey (CVS). Victimization patterns based on respondent age, educational background, gender, and other variables ar explored. This paper also examines information on the precursors and aftermath of victimization events. Implications of the findings, as well as potential directions for future research, are discussed.
Criminalising Marginality and Resistance: Marilyn Manson, Columbine and Cultural Criminology
Despite lofty sentiments existing in archival sources and some contemporary rhetorical flourishes, America has never been particularly tolerant of dissent, dissenters or others who are unwilling/unable to march in lockstep to the hemogonic cadence. While the foci of this intolerance are numerous, this paper addresses one set of domestic cultural targets; youth music culture, with particular attention to Marilyn Manson and their young fans. As such, the paper examines the ways in which epistemic bricoleurs transform discontent, alienation, and isociologicali critiques embedded in style, imagery and artistic production into criminality through mass-mediated delegitimisation strategies and Othering.
Criminalization of Terrorism or the Politicization of Fear? U.S. Responses to Terrorism From the Palmer Raids to September 11, 2001
Immediately following the terrorist incidents of September 11, 2001, the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government went into overdrive in an attempt to fashion an approrpriate set of responses. This is not the first time that the White House and Congress have had to react to acts of terrorism, both domestic and international. The purpose of this paper is to examine four distinct instances in which the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government have dealt with acts of terrorism. While the responses have changed over time: from the Palmer Raids of the 1920s to the emergence of international terrorism in the 1970s, as well as from the bombings of the Murrah Federal Building and the first World Trade Center attacks to September 11th, they have all shared one characteristic — initial panic and overreaction. Through a detailed look at the government response using primary and secondary sources in combination with interviews with members of the executive bureaucracy, we examine why the government has a history of overreaction to terrorist activities. We then analyze the previous responses to terrorism. Finally, we suggest how the lessons from these earlier responses can improve future governmental policy to acts of terrorism.
Criminogenic Crime Prevention
This paper will discuss crime prevention initiatives that actually create crime, either on the part of their immediate target or secondarily, in the form of what might be termed “collateral criminal damage.” It will provide an overview of generic forms of criminogenic crime pfevention, present some concrete examples of the phenomenon, relate it to routine activity theory, and suggest some safeguards that crime prevention professionals may wish to heed.
Criminology on the Left and the Latino Experience of Crime and Punishment
This paper develops two distinct contributions. The first task is the development of a theoretical discourse introducing a theory of Criminology on the Left. The theory of Criminology on the Left is an attempt to isolate the important and often shared distinctions of Radical/Critical Criminology, Marxist Criminology, Postmodern Criminology, Anarchist Criminology, Constitutive Criminology and Peacemaking Criminology. The second task of this paper is to examine how effectively a Criminology on the Left could explain the Latino experience of crime and punishment. The first study is based on a review and synthesis of the body of literature highlighting the theoretical emphases of the above-mentioned criminological theories. The second study is based on the application of these theoretical emphases on another body of literature highlighting the Latino experience of crime and punishment in modern U.S. society. In sum, this paper examines how well the criminogenetic theoretical insights and worldview of a Left Criminology explain the Latino experience of crime and punishment in the U.S.
Crisis and Emergency Management by Police
Major crisis come in many forms such as terrorism (the horrible attacks on September 11, 2001 World Trade Center and Pentagon), natural disasters (Hurricane Andrew, Earthquake in India), nuclear plant accidents (3 Mile Island and Chernobyl), riots (Los Angeles riot and Paris riot of 1968). Most crisis pose severe threat or loss of lives and property, and brutally paralyze human lives and government operations. Major crisis have trigger points so critical to leave historial marks on nations, groups, and individual lives. Emergency management of a crisis is one of the greatest challenges that face police. Police serve as the visible arm of government in most public crisis or disasters. Police provide a basis of support and assistance in any public crisis. Police, fire department, and other public safety agencies lead the actions carried out by the government in a crisis. In order to successfully manage and resolve a crisis, police must understand the definition of a crisis and the principles of effective crisis management.
Crisis Intervention Teams in Colorado: Police Officer and Community Response to Persons With Mental Illness
Introduction Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT), which began in Memphis, TN in 1987, is an innovative training and community response approach to intervening with persons with mental illness. CIT has proliferated to several cities around the country within the last five years. The program begins with a 40-hour intensive training for police officers and continues with crisis and triage services in the community. Two counties in Colorado adopted the CIT model in the fall of 2000 and trained its first officers in May of 2002. 240 officers have been trained to date in Jefferson and Denver Counties, and the City of Fountain. Panel discussion will take place illustrating the implementation and procedural issues and stragegies in the development of CIT. Ongoing evaluation results reflecting community, officer and police department impact, policy and program implications, and the future of CIT in Colorado will also be discussed.
Critical Criminology and the Individual Life
In a new reader on critical criminology (Carrington & Hogg, 2002) Tony Jefferson criticizes radical criminologists for ignoring the individual. While we have made significant contributions to the understanding of the impact of macro-economic and cultural forces on criminal behavior, criminologists of a critial bent have largely avoided discussing the psychology of the individual involved in crime or corrections (except to dismiss such research as inherently reactionary). For individuals caught up in the criminal justice system, then, critical criminology can be liberating in that it provides an alternative interpretation of their lives to the assumption that they are inherently evil or deranged. On the other hand, precisely because of the lack of focus on individual lives, critical criminology provides little by way of hope for personal transformation. Indeed, the suggestion is that in the face of powerful soci-economic and cultural forces, there is little than an individual (especially a disadvantaged or marginalized individual) can do. This paper will ask whether it is possible to imagine a more liberating psychology of crime and personal transformation within the framework of critical criminology. Examples will be drawn from on-going research using life story narratives of persons who are desisting from criminal behavior and resisting the life narratives that society expects of them.
Culpability and Capital Punishment: Implications of Atkins for Executing Juveniles
In Stanford v. Kentucky (1989), a plurality of the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty for sixteen- and seventeen-year old youths. Subsequently, in Atkins v. Virginia (2002), the Court barred the use of the death penalty for mentally retarded offenders. Atkins reasoned that mentally retarded offenders lacked the culpability required to justify the death penalty and ran a special risk of wrongful conviction and execution. Many of the developmental limitations associated with mental retardation also characterize the diminished culpability of adolescents. While typical adolescents may have greater cognitive capacity than the mentally retarded, developmental psychological research indicates that adolescents differ significantly from adults in terms of attitudes toward and perceptions of risk, temporal perspecitve, prudential judgment, self-control, and susceptibility to peer-group influences. Neuroscience indicates that young people’s brains still are developing into their early 20s. Tothe extent that Atkins’ rejection of the death penalty rested on offenders’ diminished responsibility, it sis appropriate for the Court and state legislatures to reconsider the eligibility of juveniles for the death penalty.
Cultural Criminology, or the Conscientious Withdrawal of Efficiency
The development of cultural criminology over the past decade or so has generated a series of distinct counter-practices to the enterprise of official criminology. Cultural criminology’s emphasis on representation, style, and contested meaning problematizes much of the taken-for-granted subject matter of official criminology. Its commitment to unearthing buried accounts and promoting subaltern understandings interrupts officvial criminology’s pervasive public claimsmaking. Perhaps the more literary style of writing and reporting favored by cultural criminologists has even served to seduce some away from the abstract parsimony of official criminological accounts. Most interestingly, cultural criminology’s tendency toward deep engagement with its subjects of study has defined it as a sdoundly inefficient undertaking, and thus by its own pace and practice placed cultural criminology in opposition to the bureaucratic machinery of official criminology–a machinery designed for the efficient conversion of human experience into statistical residue.
Cultural Criminology, the City and the Irrational Actor
This paper sets out to critique (from the perspective of cultural criminology) the various ways in which the discourse of situational crime prevention homogenizes and rationalizes urban space. It will be argued that so-called ‘situational spaces’ exist only as uncomplicated, unconnected, solipsistic islands in the sea of the city. As a consequence, the lived reality of urban space — the complex micro processes and cultural specificities that occur at street level — is stripped of its diversity and inherent serendipity. What remains are building and streets occupied only by individuals whose spatial and temporal trajectories are assumed and who have the characteristics of ‘situational (wo)man’ (both victim and offender) projected onto them. This paper will attempt to challenge the situational approach to crime prevention, arguing that such strategies are of little use when it comes to the control and reduction of the growing number of crimes that can be understood as ‘urban edgework’. Might it not be the case that in our world of risks and extremes, of excess and insecurity, we are now entering the world of the ‘irrational actor’?
Cultural Implications for Intimate Partner Violence Against African American Women
African American women have been found to sustain higher rates of intimate partner violence than white women, yet they have sporadically been included in research on violence against women. As discovered in the research that does exist regarding this population, various cultural identities have been recognized to enlighten the significance culture has on African American women, to establish possible causes for intimate violence in the black community, and to determine black women’s responses to intimate partner violence. Using in-depth interviews of African American women who have been subjected to domestic violence, this study further examines the effect of black culture on the incidence of intimate partner violence against these women, also identifying variations among socioeconomic levels, age, and education of the participants, and race and sex of the abusers.
Cultural Variations in Childhood Victimisation: A Preliminary Study of the Experiences of British and Greek College Students
There is a growing interest in violence against children but there is a gap in the literature regarding comparative studies looking at the cultural variations of how this violence is perceived as well as what constitutes violence per se. Violence is usually accepted as universally similar among different cultures without questioning the extent of cultural variations in the prioritisation of acts of violence, the general attitude to violence, and the ways that violence is being portrayed. However in an age of globalisation where there is ever increasing demand of co-operation betweeen national organisations to target cime and victimisation the overall picture must be understood. The aims and objectives of this study are to investigate childhood victimisation in the domestic context, as this constitutes a subsequent result of their parents’ violence between each other, or a result of parents’ violent behaviour towards children (e.g. smacking, etc.) aiming at children’s discipline using acceptable ways of growing up. Being academics both of the authors, we were astonished to realise the high percentage of students in our departments, particularly those attending the courses on criminology and domestic violence that we respectively teach, who were revealing us painful experiences of victimisation during their childhood as those were taking place both at home and at school context. This realisation together with the subsequent discusions that we had as a result of our concern, made us come to the conclusion that we wanted to research the probelem properly.
Curious Rehabilitation: Assessing Risk and Treatment in Sex Offender Civil Commitment
Sex offender civil commitment (SOCC), which has been implemented in sixteen states, represents the most vigilant of sexual violence interventions to date. SOCC embodies the extremes of treatment and surveillance, by subjecting offenders to the repercussions of the prison and the mental health system when commitment to prison alone has been the presumptive sentence for offenders deemed competnent to stand trial. Based on the assumption that certain sex offenders are different from non-sexual offenders and other sex offenders (i.e., more recidivistic), and that the factors accounting for this difference can be readily identified, SOCC calls for indeterminate custody in a mental health facility following prison incarceration. The success of SOCC, then, depends on two [presumably antihetical] conventions of criminal justice practice, namely risk assessment and treatment. Despite the weighty costs associated with SOCC–in Minnesota the total cost of the commitment law has exceeded $15.5 million–little is known about the operational processes and effectiveness of SOCC. Using Florida as a study site, this paper examines the nature of treatment in the civil custody setting and whether the risk assessment process associated with entry into and exit from civil commitment is specific and sensitive enough to justify release or continued custody.
Current Perspectives and Support for Parental Responsibility Laws
Parental responsibility laws have developed as a proposed answer to juvenile delinquency. Little empirical work has been conducted involving these laws or the public’s perception of the laws. A series of three individual studies and a combination study were conducted to examine the lay and legal perceptions of parental responsibility. In the combination study, a fractional factorial design was employed in order to examine the main effects of a large number of independent variables and a select number of interactions, while still maintaining appropriate power levels for the sample size. The independent variables of interest included type of crime (person or property), premeditation of crime (yes or no), seriousness (high or low), age (16 or 9), juvenile’s mental capabilities (low functioning or normal functioning), gender (male or female), and ethnicity (same as respondent’s or different). We examined perceptions and support by using scales constructed to measure notions of parental blame, responsibility, and punishment. Implications of the public’s apparent lack of support will be discussed in relation to the current state statutory trends.
Cyber Crime Investigation
On June 19, 2002, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller approved the organizational structure of the FBI’s new Cyber Division. The cyber investigative resources were restructured to implement a new integrated approach to National Security Cyber Threats and Criminal Activity in order to protect the United States in Cyber based attacks and high tech crimes. This presentation will provide insights into the FBI’s cyber mission of investigating Federal violations in which the Internet, computer systems or networks are exploited as the principal instruments or targets of terrorist organizations, foreign government sponsored intelligence operations or criminal activity.
Cybercrimes: What We Know and What We Don’t Know
Although the importance and prevalence of cybercrimes is increasing within the field of law enforcement, its academic counterpart is not progressing in the same manner. U.S. vs. Morris (1991) brought cybercrimes to the attention of law enforcement, but not necessarily to criminology. Computer science continues to lead the study of computer and cyber crimes. This study examines existing journal articles and books, within the social sciences (speciifically criminal justice and criminology); to connect what is known about these crimes, areas of interest in cybercrimes, terminology for academic searchers, and research methods. The consistencies and divergent aspects of cybercrimes will be reported. Cybercrimes will position itself within criminology, though its emergence is fragmented and technical for most criminologists in the U.S.
Cyberstalking: Preliminary Findings of Predatory Behavior and Characteristics
The advent and profileration of the Internet has given rise to a new and form of criminal behavior: cyberstalking. Generally defined, cyberstalking entails the use of a computer to pursue, harass and intimidate another. It is a phenomenon that has only recently been recognized as a serious problem, although it is clear that the incidence of such cases has been growing exponentially over the course of the last few years. With little to no empirical research to inform the public, policy makers, legislators and law enforcement officials, the need to conduct rigorous scientific examination is manifest. This study measures a variety of individual and situational variables related to the crime, resulting in a model that predicts the type of individual most likely to offend, the circumstances of the offense and the prototypical victim. The findings are discussed in terms of their theoretical and policy implications.
Cyborgs and Surveillance in the Digital Age: Globalization and Technologies of (In)Justice
Globalization is often historically located within the technological revolution of the digital age (Rifkin, 2000). The rise of new computer technologies, the Internet, and virtual business transactions, has clearly facilitated globalization as a historic transformation. This paper examines the implications of the digital age for criminologists. It addresses three key changes that have broad implications for criminological theory and practice. First, the paper discusses the changing character of the individual in the digital age, particularly the shift from the concept of the geographically situated “citizen,” (a concept which has played a key role in the development of Western law and jurisprudence), to the concept of the “cyborg”. Drawing on the work of cyberfeminists and others (Hawthorne and Klein, 1999; Kolko, Nakamura and rodman, 2000), the paper examines the challenges virtual identities pose for criminological theory, rights discourses and the administration of justice in the contemporary period. Second, the paper explores how globalized technologies in the digital age are reforging the character of inequality. Many have argued that this is the age of access, with Internet technologies permeating the lives of a growing number of the world’s citizens (Rifkin, 2000). However, the growing international dependence on the Internet is just as rapidly creating a digital divide that reflects and reinforces many existing inequalities of race, class and gender. These inequalities are likely to create new injustices as citizens are increasingly urged (and sometimes forced) to rely on e-government anbd e-commerce to negotiate everyday life, from paying traffic tickets to voting. Finally, the paper explores how technological change is challenging traditional conceptions of privacy and security. As public space becomes saturated with cameras, scanners, and electronic identification devices, it is clear that some citizens will be able to afford more privacy and freedom than others. Freedom and privacy are being redefined in ways that will profoundly impact how we conceive of and administer justice. Although many of these new technologies have, ironically, been developed and distributed as stragegies to keep citizens safe, this paper explores the very real risk and dangers they pose for all of us.
D
Dead Wrong: Capital Prosecutions and the Interests of Justice
This paper evaluates the errors behind wrongful capital convictions, seeking both to identify common factors and to evaluate their effect on the overall fairness of capital prosecutions. The research draws a sample from the nearly 100 cases in which an innocent defendant has been freed from death row and, relying on a variety of qualitative research techniques, seeks to identify the factors that led to wrongful convictions. Comparing these cases to our understanding of how most criminal prosecutions operate, the paper asks whether the errors were isolated but unfortunate or whether in fact they reflect more serious failings in the ability of the criminal justice system to achieve justice. The paper closes with a proposal for routine empirical evaluation to assess the fairness of capital prosecutions.
Dealing With Disproportionate Minority Confinement: Afrocentric Restorative Justice
Approaches under the Afrocentric Theory have been proposed as positive means to deal with the social ills and disenfranchisement that plagues the African-American community. One of the major problems in the African American community is crime. Minorities overall, and specifically African Americans, are over-represented in correctional facilities and a disproportionate number of African-Americans are under the supervision of probation and parole authorities. In addition, minorities are over-represented as victims of crime and delinquency. Over the past few years, restorative justice has been proposed as a more effective way to deal with crime and delinquency overall. This article explores whether a culturally specific Afrocentric Restorative Justice approach could be viable alternative response to crime and delinquency within the African-American community.
Death Qualifying Teens in U.S. Courts: Clinical/Legal Considerations
A current controversy in U.S. juvenile justice is the increaseed practice of certifying juveniles as adults for the purpsoe of criminal adjudication — including those crimes that qualify for the death penalty. At the same time we have learned volumes about child and adolescent neurodevelopment within the last twenty years with the advent of the combined MRI and PET scans. Incredibly the gap between the justice and clinical fields have expanded instead of converged relevant to this new knowledge. Part of this problem is the contravening methodologies employed by these two fields with the dichotomous judicial forced-choice method versus the clinical continuum process. A significant contributing factor here is the public sentiment issue which the courts, notably the U.S. Supreme Court, takes into consideration in determining which offenders are fully-culpable under the law. Significant new knowledge in neurodevelopment pertains to the nature of impulsive behaviors — those behaviors most likely to be involved in sensational crimes involving minors. Another factor is a better understanding of the development of the frontal lobe and its corresponding role in executive functioning. This paper looks at these new findings and how they impact the adjudication of minors, especially those charged as adults for serious crimes.
Debating the Death Penalty: Facts, Opinion, and Ideology
Although empirical research supports the goals of those trying to abolish capital punishment, attempts to utilize this research in efforts to end the death penalty are typically met with resistance. The battle to translate death penalty research into policy change has taken place on several fronts. This research examines efforts to sway courts, legislatures, and public opinion. The United States Supreme Court has been reluctant to consider empirical evidence regarding capital punishment. Similarly, legislative efforts are often frustrated as individuals choose to reject empirical evidence. Much of the public appears to be equally immune to “fact-based” arguments that are offered in opposition to capital punishment. This research outlines the history of this debate and examines various reasons for the failure to effectively translate death penalty research into policy and practice.
Decarcerating Mentally Ill Offenders: A Collision Between Corrections and Mental Health Policies
The current system of delivering mental health services to the elderly is complex and inadeuqate, and it may soon get more complicated. As the number of individuals in the crime prone ages of 14-24 is about to increase dramatically, prison officials are looking for ways to increase capacity and minimize costs. Older inmates pose the least amount of risk of recidivism and are more costly to house than younger inmates. However, decarcerating the elderly, especially those with a mental illness, will pose enormous problems to already overburdened community mental health systems. What is needed is a thorough review of the policies that will inform and address this potential problems. This paper has three main objectives. The first objective is to produce a comparative analysis of current public health policies as they relate to elderly, mentally ill inmates who are released from prison either on parole or after completing the terms of their sentence in those six states. The second objective is to produce a gap analysis to assess whether these policies are adequate to address a large scale deinstitutionalization of the elderly, mentally ill from the states’ correctional facilities. The third objective is to produce a set of “best practices” recommendations for addressing the decarceration of the elderly who have a mentla illness, with a focus on public-private partnerships. This research is expected to make two important contributions. First, there is a compelling need to raise awareness among policy makers about the potential for a large scale deinstitionalizationof elderly, mentally ill inmates, and the potential effects of such actions. Second, there is a great need to analyze and evaluate the current corrections and public health policies that might inform and provide for a second deinstitutionalization movement. Given the experiences that resulted from the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill from state hospitals beginning in the 1950s, it is important from both a humanitarian and economic point of view to be better prepared should a second movement occur.
Defining “Too Close for Comfort”: Individual and Structural Determinants of Variations in Perceptions of Crowding Among a Sample of Federal Inmates
Overcrowding has been a serious problem for almost as long as prisons have existed. The crisis was exacerbated in the 80’s with the rapid increase of the priso population brought about by changes in sentencing policy. Given the extent of the problem, a large body of literatur exists on the topic of prison overcrowding. The majority of the prior research on prison overcrowding, however, has focused on the detrimental effect of these situations by examining institutional measures of crowding such as spatial or social density. Less commonly examined are the perceptions of the inmates living in these overcrowded environments. This study examines the perceptions of crowding for 950 inmates residing in 10 low-security federla correctional institutions. The extent to which individiau level variables affect perceptions of crowding is explored. Further, hierarchical linear modeling is used to investigate the extent to which institutional and individual level variables interact with one another and effect inmates’ perceptions of crowding. Results, including policy implications, are discussed.
Delinquency and Youth At-Risk Prevention Through Families and Communities
This article evaluates the role of family and neighborhood empowerment in preventing crime, particularly among juveniles. Some scholars have taken the position that families and communities play a vital role in preparing children for future. Existing research suggests that familiies are one of the strongest socializing agents that transmit social norms and mores to children. They teach children to distinguish acceptable behavior from unacceptable behavior, vanquish unacceptable behavior, defer gratification, respect the rights and property of others. The family is perceived to be encompassing both the physiological and socio-psychological aspects of a child’s development. Antithetically, families can also teach children aggressive, antisocial, and violent behavior. If this is true, then families and neighborhood communities appear to be crucial, potenhtially productive, points of intervention at which to control and prevent delinquency. Providing parents with knowledge and skills about adequate child-rearing techniques, individual characteristics of the child and the neighborhood helps them prepare their children for future. This paper presents preliminary results of the evaluation of intervention through family and neighborhood empowerment in controlling and preventing juvenile crime. The results show that intervention through families and communities can be effective.
Delinquency and Youth At-Risk Prevention Through Families and Communities
This article evalutes the role of family and neighborhood empowerment in preventing crime, particularly among juveniles. Some scholars have taken the position that families and communities play a vital role in preparing children for future. Existing research suggests that families are one of the strongest socializing agents that transmit social norms qand mores to children. They teach children to distinguish acceptable behavior from unacceptable behavior, vanquish unacceptable behavior, defer gratification, respect the rights and property of others. The family is perceived to be encompassing both the physiological and socio-psychological aspects of a child’s development. Antithetically, families can also teach children aggressive, antisocial, and violent behavior. If this is true, then families and neighborhood communities appear to be crucial, potentially productive, points of intervention at which to control and prevent delinquency. Providing parents with knowledge and skills about adequate child-rearing techniques, individual characteristics of the child and the neighborhood helps them prepare their children for future. This paper presents preliminary results of the evaluation of intervention through family and neighborhood empowerment in controlling and preventing juvenile crime. The results show that intervention through families and communities can be effective.
Delinquency Theories: Integrating Sociological and Social Psychological Models
In teaching theoretical perspectives to undergraduates on juvenile delinquency, it becomes evident that there is always a step missing in the theory process. Some say the root cause of crime is in the decision to commit the act. How is this decision made? Traditional theories of crime include factors such as socio-economic factors, state policies, the organization of institutions, the role of race and gender, socialization, biological factors, personality factors, self-control, and rational choice. Every factor has a single or very limited set of explanatory power. Utilizing Ajzen’s (1991) theory of planned behavior can help fill in the gap where other theories have been lacking. Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior has emerged as one of the dominant social cognitive frameworks for understanding motivation and behavior. Perceived behavioral control, along with attitudes and subjective norms are intergraded with other perspectives to develop a model of delinquent behavior.
Demand on Police Resources: Spatial Assessment of Suicide-Related Calls in a Concentrated Urban Setting
With the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill over the last 30 years, the police have emerged as front-line mental health workers. The use of police rather than health professionals increases demand on law enforcement agencies to provide management of individuals in crisis. Using epidemiological and spatial approaches this research examines the differential demand in suicide-related calls across police divisions. Data include all calls for suicide-related incidents received and responded to in 16 police divisions located in Canada’s largest city. Preliminary findings suggest that police response to suicide calls rose substantially over the period of study with a greater increase for females than males. Results also suggest increased calls for specific age-sex groups (males age 16 to 20 and females age 46 to 55). Methods of suicide that place greater demand on police time (e.g., pills and barbiturates, narcotics) or require diffusion of volatile situations (e.g. weapons) show spatial patterns across divisions. The increased demand on police resources to manage the mentally ill is an important issue for urban policy-planners and for police managers responsible for the mental health of their front-line officers.
Democratic Policing Ideologies and Practices: A Source for Afro-Optimism
The ideologies and practice of democracy offer many lessons, especially for the policing occupation. Such lessons can successfully be put into effect in Africa. The administrative and management practice of bureaucratization, decentralization of decision-making practices, lessons in multi-cultural acceptance, especially as it applies to community policing/problem solving ideologies are all worthy of serious consideration and application. This paper will explore the benefits of such practices.
Departures and the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines: Departing From the Mandate to Reduce Disparity?
This study looks at gender differences in departure reasons for federal offenders sentenced under the guidelines established by the United States Sentencing Commission. Offenders convicted of federal crimes may receive downward or upward departures based on mitigating or aggravating circumstances of the crime not covered within the sentencing guidelines themselves. When a federal judge departs outside of the guidelines sentencing range, he must delineate the reasons. Some of the reasons appear to be gendered. For example, a common reason given by federal judges is, “family ties and responsibilities.” Both the methodology and findings will be discussed, as well as implications for future sentencing policy.
Departures From Florida’s 10-20-Life Sentence Enhancement: Policy Recommendations for Reporting Across Judicial Circuits
The purpose of this research originally was to identify and describe offenders who were departures from the State of Florida’s 10-20-Life sentence enhancement. This enhancement provides mandatory terms of imprisonment for avarying uses of firearms during the commission of specific enumerated offenses. Prosecutors are required to report to the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association (FPAA) any offenders who were eligible for the enhancement, but were not be charged or prosecuted under that enhancement. The data were collected from the reports filed by prosecutors to the FPAA. As the data were analyzed, it became evident that there were no policies or procedures in place governing the consistency with which prosecutors were reporting this information. Further, in the process of trying to verify missing or ambiguous data, the researchers found that information reported to the FPAA was contradictory to information provided by the Florida Department of Corrections. This research specifically focuses on the problems of reporting and makes policy recommendations to allow for and require consistent reporting across judicial circuits.
Descriptive Examination of the Pre-Treatment Illegal Activities of a Nationwide Sample of Adolescent Substance Abuse Clients
While much is known about the criminal behavior patterns of general population youth, seriously delinquent, “street” adolescent substance abusers, poor urban youth, and incarcerated adolescents, little is known about the pre-treatment criminality of adolescent substance abuse treatment clients. This information is important because of substantial increases in the number of youth attending substance abuse treatment programs and because adolescents who use substances regularly are substantially more likely than non-users to be involved in non-drug illegal activity. This paper presents descriptive information on the lifetime, past year, and past 90 day patterns of criminal activity and justice system involvement of 1,596 adolescents admitted to 17 treatment programs in 10 locations throughout the United States. Implications for future research and treatment planning are discussed.
Detective or Detecting: Mythology of Detective Work
Police criminal investigation is a process which can be broadly defined as the information gathering efforts by law enforcement to construct a suspects’ crime related past. Jajor participants in this process are victims, suspects, witnesses, patrol officers, informant, detectives, supervisors, forensic scientist, and prosecutors. Based on a content analysis of prime time criminal justice related shows on TV, this paper will examine how their characteristics and interactions are portrayed and what differences exist between virtual and actual detective work.
Determinants of College Students’ Attitudes Toward Private Police
College students in large mid-Western school were surveyed concerning their attitudes toward private security officers. Responses were received from 631 undergraduate students (of 750 distributed surveys) and are summarized in this article. More specifically we examined if students’ views about the nature of security work, security goals, and security professionalism influences their positive or negative attitudes toward security officers. The findings suggest that respondent views about the nature, goals, and professionalism of private security directly influences their attitudes toward private security officers.
Determining the Rate at Which Legal Handgun Purchasers Become Ineligible to Possess the Weapon They Purchased
The California Department of Justice estimates 170,000 firearms are in the hands of individuals who legally purchased them and because of subsequent criminal activity, become ineligible to possess these weapons. Using a retrospective cohort study we determine the rate of ineligibility for gun ownership among handgun purchasers. We identifed 7257 individuals age 21-49 who legally purchased a handgun in California in 1991; 2,762 with a criminal record at the time of purchase and 4,495 without. Cohort members were followed for 5 years after purchase for subsequent criminal activity that would disqualify them from firearm ownership. We calculated incidence rates and conducted a survival analysis. Among those with a criminal history at the time of purchase, 6.9% (189) people became ineligible to own a firearm within 5 years of purchasing a handgun. Of the individuals with no history of criminal activity at the time of purchase, 1.2% (46 people) became ineligible. The rate of new ineligibility was 2.32 per 100,000 person years for those with a criminal history and 0.40 per 100,000 person years for those without. Roughly 8% of our study subjects who legally purchase a handgun become ineligible to possess that weapon with 5 years of purchase.
Developing Performance Measures for OJJDP’s Part C Earmarks That Are Useful at the Agency and Grantee Levels
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has a Part C discretionary grant program that funded approximately 100 programs in the FY2002 appropriation. These programs are diverse in size and scope (e.g., research, training and technical assistance, service delivery, and other activities). The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has made a commitment to a performance-based, outcone-oriented strategic budgeting process. In support of that commitment, OJJDP is developing a performance measurement system to use in monitoring the performance of the Parc C grants. This paper offers an overview of the performance measurement project including its usefulness to OJJDP and the expected products.
Developing Performance Measures From the Bottom-Up
This paper explains the process used for developing performance measures for OJJDP’s Part C grants from the “bottom-up” based on grantee goals and data collection capacity. It describes the (1) Development of an initial list of performance measures for each of the Part C grantees based on a review of their goals and activities: (2) Elimination of redundant measures through a restructuring of the initial list of performance measures; and (3) Creation of a flexible performance measure database that is searchable, expandable and easily revised. It concludes with a discussion about the use of site visits to test the applicability of the performance measures to the “real” world and identify sites’ technical assistance needs.
Developing Performance Measures From the Top-Down
This paper discusses the method used to develop performance measures for OJJDP’s Parc C grants in the context of the agency’s strategic plan and Federal reporting requirements. Specifically, this “top-down” analysis ensures that the performance measures developed meet OJJDP’s legislative, administrative, and management requirements. It also makes certain that the measures developed are (1) Grounded in current performance-based government literature; (2) Consistent with GPRA legislation; (3) Reflective of the priorities of the President’s Management Agenda’ (4) Sufficient to meet OMB requiirements; (5) Directly linked to (or aligned with) OJP and DOJ’s planning goals and strategies; and (6) Integrated into OJP’s broader needs for a performance measurement system. It concludes with a discussion of how abstract agency goals were translated into mutually exclusive categories useful for linking with concrete measures of grantee performance.
Developing Public Safety Standards and Curricula for Georgia High Schools
With an increasing demqand for workers in the public safety arena, including law enforcement officers, private security officers, fire persons, and emergency medical personnel, several states have begun initiatives to develop public safety standards and curricula in their high schools. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods this paper will explore the process for developing such a curricula in the state of Georgia. Particular attention will focus on the use of focus groups to elicit information from key stakeholders including: high school, public safety educators, industry representatives from law enforcement, fire rescue and EMS agencies, and state Department of Education representatives. Additionally, we will present findings from a web-based evaluation of the actual standards and curricula, as well as a process evaluation.
Developmental Trajectories of Delinquency Seriousness and Their Predictors: A Cross-Site Study
This study explores the developmental aspects or delinquency seriousness in two sites: Montreal and Pittsburgh. We used a semi-parametric mixture model to identify developmental trajectories of delinquency seriousness from age 11 through 17 based on self-report data. Following this analysis, we investigated parental and child predictors at ages 6 and 7 that can discriminate chronic serious offenders from adoelscent onset and non-offenders. Examples of parental predictors are mother and father criminality, teenage motherhood, and SES. Physical aggression, opposition and hyperactivity are examples of child predictors. Differences and similarities are discused from a cross-cultural perspective.
Deviant Behavior: Ethnography of a Death Penalty Trial
Peyton Tuthill was raped and murdered in Denver, Colorado on February 24, 1999. Donta Page confessed to the crime. The Page v. Colorado trial began in November of 2000 and the District Attorney sought the death penalty. During the trial, the defense argued that Mr. Page was the victim of physical, mental, and sexual abuse that impaired his judgement and damaged his brain (mitigation). The prosecution argued that Mr. Page was a selfish, cold-blooded murderer who deserved to die for the crime (aggravation). Numerous experts were called to testify on Mr. Page’s behalf about the relationship between child abuse and later violence. The victim’s family testified about the tragic end to her life. Donta Page received life without the possibility of parole and he is currently serving that sentence at the Colorado State Penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado. Participant observation of the trial and content analysis of the trial transcripts raised issues about the images constructed by attorneys of the defendant, jury deliberations, resources allocated to death penalty defendants, and guided discretion.
Deviant Lifestyles, Social Guardianship, and Social Isolation: Explaining Violent Victimization of Rural Adolescents Living in Poverty
Victimization research has focused predominantly on urban samples while neglecting in-depth study of rural youth. This study examines trends in robbery victimization over a 13 year time petiod and the applicability of lifestyle/routine activity theory to a sample of rural adolescents living in poverty in Alabama. Results indicate that robbery victimization is fairly stable over time, but males are less likely to be victimized then females. Race effects are incosistent over time. Multivate analyses of robbery and assault victimization indicate that blacks and males are less likely to be robbery victims after controlling for deviant lifestyles and social guardianship Social isolation is also a strong risk factor for both robbery and assault victimization. The theoretical implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are also discussed.
Devoted Moms and Deadbeat Dads: The Gendering of Parenthood in Parole Hearings
How does the status of family relationships, primarily parenthood, affect case dispositions in parole hearings? A recent study of the parole process contends that positive and engative family relationships have a marked impact on the decision to release an offender. This paper examines not only the direction of this influence, but the gender of this influence. Specifically, this paper addresses how parole board members and offenders seeking parole release collaboratively construct identities and portraits of offenders’ familial relationships and how these constructions are gendered. Based on ethnographic observations and a conversation analysis of 438 parole hearings, I contend that the identitied of devoted moms and deadbeat dads are co-constructed in and through the types of quyestions, accusations, and statements board members issue to inmates. These constructions represent an underlying gendered quality to parole hearings insofar as they reflect a valuation of motherhood and a devaluation of fatherhood.
Diagnosing Drunken, Drug-Induced Disorder: An Exploratory Analysis of Patrol Officers’ Determinations of Alcohol and Drug Involvement in Incidents
Recent research of police workload in Anchorage, Alaska has shown that patrol officers were able to detect the general contours of alcohol-crime and drug-crime assocations for incidents to which they responded (Myrstol, Schafer and Giblin 2003). Patrol officer expectations that violent incidents were more likely to be alcohol-related than drug-related were supported. Supplementary incidents logs completed by patrol officers also lent support to patrol officers’ perceptions that property offenses were more likely to e linked with illicit drugs than with alcohol. However, the magnitude of alcohol’s association with violent incidencts, and drugs’ relationship with property offense calls, was shown to be significantly less than what officers expected. That is, the group of patrol officers studied by Myrstol et al. was found to have fairly exaggerated views of the link between alcohol, rugs, and crime. The perceptual “gap” shown to exist between patrol officer perceptions of alcohol and drug involvement in problems of crime and social disorder and the empirical (observed) reality of patrol work raises several theoretical, operational, and policy questions, one of which is “How do officers decide that alcohol or drugs are involved in an incident?” This paper builds on the exploratory study conducted by Myrstol, Schafer and Giblin. For each alcohol- and/or drug-related incident recorded during the study period, officers recorded how they came to that determination: a) direct observation; b) visible impairment; c) detectable odor; d) third-party information; e) prior knowledge of involved party; f) paraphernalia present; g) direct inquiry; h) breath/sobriety test administration; i) other. An attempt is made to statistically model the dimensions of these patrol officers’ determinations of alcohol and/or drug involvement, and the impacts of such determinations on the decision to arrest.
Dialectics at a Standstill: Transforming Critical Discourse on American Gun Violence
The current level of gun violence in this country threatens the mental and physical health of individuals, families and the communities in which we live. Proliferation of firearms by the gun industry has occurred through a veil of misinformation and distortion that creates a false consciousness. Through social work research in this area, a critical theory of gun control could be developed and subsequently used to provide information and generate public discourse. For the purposes of this paper, critical theory refers to a school of thought that challenges conventional beliefs and social arrangements. A basic scheme of critical social science developed by Brian Fay will be used to explore: A theory of false consciousness; a theory of crisis; a theory of education; and a theory of transformative action. A program of research and action strategies will be suggested.
Difference Between Saying and Hearing “No”: A Study of the Importance of Consent and Communication in Date Rape Situations
This study examines the importance of consent and communication as it pertains to a date rape situation. The difference between what the offender perceives, what the situation allows to be socially expected, and what the victim actually consents to is of principal interest. The effectiveness of the communication involved, and whether or not the consent is actually given, expected, or just perceived, are important factors in determining criminality as well as identifying and defining victims. Using a working definition of date rape as “nonconsensual sexual intercourse (penetration) between nonfamilial acquaintances over the age of sixteen, in a social setting”, an analysis of the statements of thirty sexual assault complainants who reported their attack to police was conducted. Included in these case files are the additional accounts of either the offender and/or witnesses. Through the testimonies of those involved and the information surrounding the event of each date rape, a better understanding of the dynamics of a ‘typical’ date rape situation is explored. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Differences Between Adolescent Sex Offenders: Specialists Versus Generalists
Using psychological screening reports on juvenile sex offenders (N=142) we compare offenders who specialize in sex offenses with offenders who have committed other offenses as well. Furthermore, we contrast these two groups with first (sex) offenders. Using latent class analysis, we compare these types of offenders with respect to their demographic and personality characteristics, with respect to their family background, and criminal career. We discuss implications for theory and treatment.
Differences Between Convicted Violent Offenders: Completed and Attempted Homicides, and Serious Assault
Starting from the 1998 Dutch homicide database (Smit et al., 2001), we study differences between offenders who have been convicted for homicide, attempted homicide or serious assault. We contrast these three groups regarding their demographic characteristics and criminal career. So far, those who have been convicted for attempted homicide appear to have the most active and serious criminal career. We expand on explanations for our findings, as well as a number of questions the findings raise.
Differential Deployment, Violent Environments and Police Incidents: An Exploratory Investigation
A growing body of scholarly literature attempts to explain the nature and distribution of police incidents ranging from police coercive encounters to injuries suffered by the police themselves. Drawing on both conflict and opportunity perspectives, this study examines the determinants of police “incidents” on the badses of police deployment practices, community level violent events, and a set of relevant control factors. The analyses employ individual level data measuring police incidents nested in community level environments which include relevant socioeconomic indicators and police deployment levels. Conclusions drawn from the findings of this study will have implications for the management of potentially hazardous police incidents.
Differential Influences of Neighborhood Dangerousness on Individual Violence
Numerous studies find links between various social influences and illegal acquisition, carrying and use of guns. Involvement in high-risk criminal enterprises–notably gangs and illicit drug markets–emerges as an especially strong factor among central city youth (i.e., adoelscents and young adults). Dangerous neighborhoods have also been implicated as factors in the spread of gun involvement beyond criminally involved youth. Combining cohort data from the Pittsburgh Youth Study with police information on reported offenses and 911 reports of shots fired, this study will explore differential mechanisms influencing youth’s illegal involvement with guns and participation in gun violence, and how these change with age. In the presence of strong parental/family influences at younger ages, neighborhoods are expected to become more influential in later stages of adolescence and carry greater weight among non-criminal youth.
Differential Labeling Theory
Many criminologists reject labeling theory becase of limited quantitative support. Qualitative research, however, has supported labeling theory. We argue that self-identity influences deviant behavior and should be integrated into general theories of crime. We attempt to formalize labeling theory by recasting it in terms of differential association theory. Essentially, we argue that deviant self-identities are influenced by social interaction, primarily within primary groups. Both positive and negative labeling processes (reinforcements and punishments) are associated with specific self-identities (e.g., exotic dancer) and general self-identities (e.g., delinquent). Individuals will have a deviant self-identity when they have an excess of definitions (accepted labels) favorable to a deviant self-identity over definitions unfaborable to a self-identity. In addition, differential label varies in frequency, duration, priority, and intensity. The process of acquiring a deviant identity is the same as the process of acquiring any type of self-identity. Integrating labeling theory and differential association theory is appropriate since the roots of each theory are symbolic interactionism. We explore a number of important issues (e.g., self-labeling, self-identity vs. social identity, manipulating social identity, and others) including how self-identity is considered in current dominant criminological theories. Finally,w e recommend integrating our proposed “differential labeling theory” with Akers’ social learning theory.
Differential Pathways to Violence: Comparing Boys and Girls in the Juvenile Justice System
Despite official statistics regarding the aggregate decreases in violent crime throughout the 1990s, concern over juvenile violence has continued. Violence committed by youth has also remained an important interest of the criminological research community (see for example the literature review by Jenson and Howard, 1999). The current paper investigates the individual pathways to violent behavior for both girls and boys who are system-involved. Using a sample of incarcerated boys and girls, comparisons are made between these two sub-populations as to the major correlates of violent behavior. All 444 subjects in the current study were interviewed using an in-depth survey instrument designed to measure many aspects of the youths’ lives. Bivariate and multivariate analyses are used to determine the significant correlates of violent behavior, while at the same time making comparisons between boys and girls regarding their individual pathways to violent behavior.
Differentiating Among Female Juvenile Offenders to Facilitate Treatment Planning
This presentation will focus on the development and description of a typology of female juvenile offenders that may be useful in facilitating treatment planning. To examine the interaction between youth type and intervention on outcomes, programs were classified by activities provided. Discussion will center on the interaction between youth type and program type on recidivism. The analyses use data from an outcome evaluation system that tracks juvenile offenders in Philadelphia.
Dimensions of Local Organization: From Theory to Measurement in Neighborhood and Crime Studies
Crime is differentially distributed across neighborhoods in urban areas, related to residential stability, poverty, race and ethnicity. Criminologists have long sought to find a mechanism for this relationship, resulting in numerous studies employing social disorganization, social capital and collective efficacy frameworks. While the studies have been similar in their orientation to the relations between neighbors, the studies have identifed (from theory) operationalized and tested very different dimensions of neighborhood organization. Furthermore, most studies have identified only a single dimension of neighborhood organization, and rarely has a single study tried to identify or compare more than one dimension. Recent studies that do attempt to identify more than one dimension of neighborhood organization (Sampson, Raudenbush and Earls 1997; Samspson, Morenoff and Earls 1999) have found high correlations between the dimensions. A review of the various dimensions identified through studies and their comparison within the ‘Project on Human development in Chicago Neighborhoods’ data set will allow a more clear view of the relationship between the variously identified dimensions, which in turn will shed light on the question of a single or multiple dimensions of local organization.
Disasters’ Impact on Modern Societies: A Critical Analysis of Predictions, Prevention, and Preparedness for the Twenty-First Century
With so many threats to human life, it appears that most people choose to ignore the more remote possibilities of nature’s furry or or acts of terrorism under the belief that “it won’t happen here.” More real is the threat of criminal activity such as rape, robbery, or an automobile accident. Even when disaster is imminent, such as the government’s raising of the terrorist threat levels, many people tend not to worry. Instead, they become fatalistic: life is irrational, nature malicious, and all disasters are random phenomena impossible to predict, prevent, or avoid. This denial of disasters’ threat is pervasive throughout all modern societies, but the American culture has some unique features. For example, Americans strongly reject all anxious or worrisome behavior. Even children are taught not to be “fraidy-cats.” Calmness and coolness in times of trouble characterize America’s own brand of machismo. Laughing off danger, ignoring warning signals, and taking risks are considered positive reactions, somehow mature (“All life is a gamble!”) and even patriotic (“This country was founded by people willing to take chances!”). Moreover, Americans tend to have little anticipation of hazards; there is a “show me” mentalty. Taking flight or making preparations for an uncertain calamity are all rejected for fear of seeming cowardly or weak-kneed. Americans also tend to be overly optimistic, sometimes fatally, with a typical response to crisis: “Things must get better; they can’t get any worse.” This study investigates possible cause-and-effect relationships by observing the existing consequences of various disasters and their impact on society, similarities and differences of people’s response to those impacts, and plausible contributory factors. The study identifies the following stages for study, which are currently contained within the Federal Emergency Management Agency “All Hazard Model:” mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Additionally, the study identifies for comparison the “World War II Model” which includes the following phases: the warning, the threat, the impact, the inventory, the rescue, the remedy, and the recovery.
Discretion or Direction: An Analysis of Patrol Officer Activities
Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, numerous movements in police reform and crime prevention have surfaced which are directed at making policing more proactive. Strategies and philosophies such as directed deterrent patrol, hot spot policing, and Compstat, generally place the responsibility for planning and implementing patrol activities on commanders, lieutenants, or other supervisory personnel. Community policing and problem-oriented policing stress decision making by line officers. All of these strategies have been proposed to use patrol time more productively for crime prevention, yet it has been suggestewd that random preventive patrol remains the predominant operational strategy of policing in terms of time spent. Using data collected from systematic social observations of police officers, this research examines the activities that officers engage in during the time that they are not responding to calls for service and the catalysts for officer mobilizations (i.e. are activities self-initiated or directed?). The research is an effort to assess whether proactive policing strategies from the numerous movements in police reform and crime prevention have made it past administrative implementation to the front lines of policing.
Discretionary Decision Making in Partner Violence Cases: Situational and Contextual Influences
Our understanding of the legal processing of partner violence cases has been shaped, appropriately, by concerns about discretionary decisions in the early stages (arrest), as well as concerns about the impact of court decisions on offenders’ future behavior. With a few important exceptions, studies of discretionary decision making in the courts have been limited to single-jurisdiction studies, and to explanations based on variables that are readily retrieved from archived court data. The proposed study examiunes the choices of prosecutors and judges in pretrial, interstitial decisions, including bail/pretrial release, issuance of protective orders, decisions to dismiss or reduce charges, and decisions to conditionally dismiss charges. Analyses will include tests of two general hypotheses: first, that court actors base these decisions on conventional legal criteria (strength of evidence, likelihood of flight); and second, that court actors base these decisions on judgements of the blameworthiness of victims as well as offenders. The decisions of approximately fifteen judges, in five jurisidctions, will be assessed.
Disentangling Belief and Self-Control
Gottfredson and Hirschi’s self-control theory has been criticized for its neglect of variables important to Hirschi’s social control theory. This paper examines the theoretical and empirical overlap between the concepts obelief and self-control. Analysis of survey data collected in Fayetteville, Arkansas show a substantial empirical relationship between measures of belief and self-control. This suggests that the omission of belief in self-control theory is not an important weakness, as the processes that lead to the acquisition of both belief and self-control are essentially the same from a control theory perspective. Further, it is argued that these findings are difficult to reconcile with competing theoretical perspectives such as strain and differential association theories.
Disentangling Selection From Causation in the Empirical Association Between Crime and Adolescent Work
An extensive literature finds that youths who work intensively (particularly those that work intensively while in high school) are more likely to engage in a variety of problem behaviors such as minor and serious delinquency, substance use, and school misconduct. Although there is widespread agreement about the presence of this adverse “work effect” on problem behavior, there remains considerable ambiguity about its causal significance. What complicates research on the effect of adolescent work on problem behavior is the fact that youth employment is driven, in part, by individual choices. For this readon, analysts must confront the problem that adolescents are not randomly allocated into the youth labor market. Consequently, there exists the possibility that the estimate of the “work effect” is biased in the absence of rigorous controls for enduring differences between youths in the likelihood of being employed. In this paper, we explore in greater detail the nature of the association between youth employment and problem behavior. We rely on methods that directly confront the endogeneity of youth employment by estimateing two-stage selectivity and instrumental variable models.
Disparity in Homicide Sentencing
A vast literature details inequities and extralegal disparities in criminal sentencing in the United States. Surprisingly, very little is known about whether such disparity exists in the sentencing of homicide cases. What research exists to address this question tends to focus on only a limnited subset of homicide cases, such as capital murder and intimate partner homicide, leaving unanswered the question of whether or not sentencing disparities exist generally among individuals convicted of this serious crime. On the one hand, it might be expected that disparities would be minimized relative to other crime types, owing to the greater seriousness of homicide; however, the specialized literatures have found evidence of patterned disparity arising from gender, racial, and victimn-offender relationship characteristics. The present research seeks to describe the nature and extent of disparities in a general sample of homicide defendants. Preliminary descriptive findings from a multi-city analysis of homicide sentences are presented.
Diverse Trajectories of Cocaine Use Through Early Adulthood Among Rebellious and Socially Conforming Youth
This paper tests predictions of continuity and change in antisocial behavior over time as derived from self-control and life-course perspectives. These predictions are assessed with respect to a rarely studied form of delinquent/criminal behavior, cocaine use during the late-teenage and young adult years. We first examine the extent to which differential propensities toward antisocial behavior can be detected in a nationally representative sample of youth aged 14 to 16 in 1979. Based on self-reported delinquent and criminal activities in late adolescence, latent-cluster analysis identifies three groups of antisocial/rebellious respondents and a group of non-offenders. We than follow these groups into early adulthood, examining trajectories of cocaine usage between 1984 and 1998. Latent-class trajectory models identify groups of respondents who show similar age trajectories of cocaine use over time and provide parameter estimates that predict membership in those clusters. In support of the self-control perspective, we find that antisocial/rebellious youth have higher probabilities of cocaine use throughout early adulthood than non-offending youth. There is, however, much variation in drug use patterns among the groups as they aged. In support of a life-course perspective, we find that social ties to schools, families, religion, and the labor market help differentiate youth who refrain from, maintain, or desist from using cocaine through early adulthood.
Diversion Vs In-Jail Services: Enhancing Surveillance?
BACKGROUND: This paper examines the jail incarceration rates for clients with co-occurring serious mental illness and substance use disorders. Clients were recruited from two mental health services in adjoining counties. One program diverts people from jail to community services and the other provides in-jail behavioral health service. To what extent are these different service strategies linked to increased chance of arrest in the future? METHODS: Data from a quasi-experimental study of these service strategies were analyzed to explain the probability of arrest at three months following police contact. RESULTS: Of 107 participants, 20 were arrested by the three-month interview. Results of a complimentary log-log analysis of the probability of arrest at three months showed that being in the diversion treatment condition, having fewer symptoms at baseline, being supervised by probation or parole during the three-month period, and greater psychiatric hospital days were associated with arrest at three months. CONCLUSION: These findings do not support the hypothesis that diversion reduces the probability of arrest. In fact, a strong effect in the opposite direction (odds ratio=8.87) raises concern that diversion programs may increase surveilance of people with behavioral health problems and thus enhance their chances for arrest in the future. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration funded this research.
Diversity Program Implementation in a Large Southern State Correctional System
Recent authors on diversity have argued that diversity programs now enjoy a greater degree of centrality in many private sector organizations. Although there seems to be a greater recognition of the importance of both category and functional diversity within and among public criminal justice organizations, many lag far behind in the implementation of effective policies, programs, training or education. Interestingly, this is in spite of unequivocal support for, and clear dedication to the ends of diversity at some of the very highest levels of state and agency leadership. This effort shall present some of the varying issues regarding the implementation of a diversity program in a large state correctional system.
DNA and Fingerprint Identification: Rhetorics of Reliability and Credibility
Legislative frameworks for the establishment and governance of forensic DNA databases exist in an increasing number of criminal jurisdictions. This paper considers the way in which such frameworks and the discussions surrounding their establishment rely on and reiterate a range of symbolic representations and cultural understandings of genetic material. Ethical and policy arguments concerning values or privacy, confidentiality and liberty are given their particular texture by reference to these representations. This paper examines the issues raised for police uses of DNA — especially in the UK — by the assertion that DNA occupies a unique ontological status as a distinctive form of personal identification.
Do Career Criminals Exist in Rural America?
The criminal career paradigm has virtually ignored investigating offenders in rural areas. The current study seeks to fill this void in the literature by empirically examining the prevalence of career criminals in rural America. A retrospective, cross-sectional design sampled 351 adult correctional clients from the department of corrections in a rural Midwestern state. Self-report and official records indicate that rural career offenders are less dangerous and less chronic than those from urban areas. However, like their urban peers, rural career criminals commit an array of offenses, have an early onset of antisocial behavior, and are plagued by overlapping contemporaneous problems such as alcoholism, substance abuse, and mental health difficulties. Demographically, nearly all career criminals in rural settings are White males. Implications for criminal career-oriented theory are provided.
Do Citizen Complaints Encourage Uniformed Police Officers to Carry Micro Tape Recorders?
The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes, opinions and practices of uniformed police officers as to whether the threat of frivolous citizen complaints motivated them to carry micro tape recorders to surreptitiously record citizen contacts. Little research exists in this area of officers using tape recorders on patrol. This study utilized a survey instrument and informal interviews to measure attitudes and opinions. Data collection is ongoing, howver preliminary findings show officers in several different agencies have been using hidden tape recorders in the field for several years. Redsearch findings will contribute to creating better practices in law enforcement. Tape recorders carried in the field by officers have the potential of limiting frivolous complaints and instilling confidence in law enforcement. The growing use of recorders can limit the liability city and county governments are exposed to and build trust between law enforcement and the public.
Do Emotional Contexts Moderate the Effect of Risks and Rewards on Violence?
Rational choice scholars have long been interested in the relationship between risk and rewards and criminal offending. At the same time, criminologists have also been interested in the relationship between different emotional contexts and criminal offending. With a few exceptions, rational choice researchers have neglected would-be offenders’ emotional states. In this paper, we integrate the study of emotions into the rational choice model and examine how risk and rewards influence criminal offending (violence in particular) across the emotional context of anger.
Do Offenders Recognize Fair Treatment When They Receive It? The Effect of Objectively Fair Procedures on Perceptions of Fairness in Diversionary Conferences and Court
The question of why people obey the law is of interest not only to law enforcement officials, but also to members of society in general. Knowing what motivates individuals to comply with regulations will ultimately enable communities to reduce crime and increase safety. Tyler (1990) presents a normative theory of compliance in which obedience is based on an individual’s sense of legitimacy for the law. Legitimacy, defined as a person’s obligation to obey authorities even if he thinks they are wrong, is in turn influenced by the person’s experiences with the law. The most important influence is his perception of how fairly he has been treated. Tyler’s normative theory rests on the assumption that there is a relationship between fair treatment of individuals, or objective procedural justice, and perceptions of fair treatent. In this paper, I will test this relationship with respect to one particular subgroup of society — criminal offenders.
Do Pro-Social Ties Predict Probation Success or Failure?
Approximately 60% of probationers successfully complete their sentence. Deterrence theories do not adequately explain why some probationers succeed and others are rearrested, reconvicted, and reincarcerated. This study suggests that informal controls such as ties to conventional society increase the likelihood of probation success. According to Hirschi’s (1969) social control/bond theory, social bonds to conventional society including marriage, education, and employment decrease the likelihood of crime and other forms of deviant behavior. Among probationers, these pro-social ties may translate into fewer violations of probation, successful completion of a probation sentence, or desistence from criminal behavior. Preliminary results of this study reveal thgat probationers who are unmarried or who have less than a high school education are significantly less likely to experience succesfful probation outcoems. Probationers with less than a high school education also have a significantly greater number of positive drug test results. Employment status was not found to significantly affect probation success. The implications of the findings for criminological theory,c rime-control policy, and probation practices are discussed.
Do Program Differences Matter in the Treatment of Alcoholism? A Contextual Analysis of Treatment Programs
In the substance abuse literature, there are contradictory findings regarding the relationship between the length of stay int reatment and successful outcomes. Some studies find that the longer an individual participates in treatment, the higher likelihood of better outcomes, while other studies find no differences for varying lengths of time in treatment. In addition, the literature also debates whether the type of treatment modalities (e.g., outpatient versus inpatient) results in differential treatment outcomes. The purpose of this study is to conduct a contextual analysis of treatment programs to ascertain if differing program components have a differential effect on outcomes by using data from the National Treatment Improvement Education Study (NTIES). Conducting the analysis with Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) and controlling for individual differences such as gender, age, race, addiction severity and how clients were referred to treatment, this study examines differences between the treatment programs on outcomes. Program differences compared include dropout rates, the frequency of individual counseling, and emphasis placed on stresing environmental change, enhanced self-image and attendance at 12 step meetings. Outcome measures are based on a 12-month follow-up interview and include relapse, attendance at 12 step meetings, and crime measures including shoplifting, burglary, robbery and assault.
Do Transferred Juveniles Remain in Adult Criminal Court?: Understanding Legislative Waiver and Decertification
There has been a great deal of research surrounding transferring juvenile offenders to adult court. However, many transferred offenders are decertified, meaning they are transferred back to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. To date, there has been no known empirical research on the decertification process. This paper will review the literature on juvenile transfer and present a proposal for gaining an empirical understanding of the decertification process, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. More specifically, he presentation will focus on three areas. First, the study will attempt to identify the key predictors of decertification to juvenile court. Second, case outcomes will be compared between decertified offenders and those who remain in criminal court. Finally, the study will assess differences in recidivism between the two groups. County level data from Pennsylvania will be employed, where a 1996 legislative waiver law set the stage for decertification to become an important area for research.
Do Weapons Increase or Decrease the Probability of Injury During Assault: An Offender Based Analysis
Previous research has shown that the use of weapons during assaults decreases the probability of injury but increases the chances that those injuries will be serious. Armed offenders can gain compliance by threatening the use of force while unarmed offenders usually have to hurt their victims to gain compliance. However, if an armed offender actually uses force, the consequences for the victim tend to be more serious. These findings are based primarily on victimization studies. To date, only one study has investigated this issue using offender data. The differences between the victim’s and the offender’s perspectives are important. Offenders who are secretly carrying weapons may behave differently than offenders who are unarmed. However, victimization surveys have no way of distinguishing between these groups. The present study will investigate the relationship between the presence of a weapon during an assault and the probability of injury from the offfender’s perspective. Initial analysis of 1,221 incidents from the Rochester Youth Development Study shows that offenders armed with firearms, knives and clubs are less likely to injure victims; however, those armed with firearms and clubs are more likely to inflict severe injuries. These relationships hold controlling for a large number of potential confounding factors.
Doctoral Experiences: A National Survey
Ph.D. students of criminology/criminal justice face a road few have traveled. The issues and factors that are part of the pursuit can be overwhelming for some. By understanding the issues faced by students, faculty and institutins may be able to increase matriculation and graduation rates. Through a national survey of Ph.D. students in criminology and criminal justice, data is presented pertaining to variables such as future aspirations, financial costs, living arrangements, family and emotional support, race, gender and age.
Does Identity Come From Labeling?: A Look at the Identity Standards of Mentally Ill Criminal Offenders and the Impact of Internalizing Labels on Their Formation
Identity Control theory offers a mechanism by which Labeling theory can be tested in the criminal offender. Essentially, if labels are internalized by the individual, they become part of the individual’s identity standard which serves as a guide for the individual’s behavior. This paper combines the two theories to offer an explanation for a potentially “alternative” identity standard or hierarchy of identity standards for the criminal versus the non-criminal. Using self-esteem as an indi8cator of identity, the Rosenberg self-esteem scale is administered to mentally ill offenders participating in the Riverside County Mental Health Court and assessed to test the theory of an “alternative” identity for criminals.
Does Protocol Compliance Make a Difference? Contrasting Non Compliant Treatment Providers With Those in Compliance With the Illinois’ Battering Protocol
Fom its inception the battered women’s movement recognized the need to assist not only the victim of intimate partner violence but also the male aggressor. By the mid-1980’s batterer intervention progrms had spread across the United States. With the increase in the number of batterer programs there has been a general consensus that there is a need to not only professionalize these programs but also to hold them accountable to the communities within which they operate. It is with this aim in mid that states have developed standards which serve as a guide to the provision of services. In Illinois compliance to the Illinois protocol is voluntary. Illinois therefore has two sets of providers: those in compliance with the protocol and those that choose not to be in compliance. This study proposes to study and contrast these two groups. The aim of the study is to determine how these two groups view the Illinois Protocol and how these standards have affected the provision of services.
Does Religion Help Cope With Distress? A Multilevel Test of General Strain Theory
Although Agnew’s (1992) general strain theory (GST) has received empirical support, previous research has rarely tested GST in a community context. This is somewhat surprising given that Agnew (1999) already proposed a macro-level GST to emphasize the role of community in generating strain. To fill this gap in knowledge, we construct a multilevel model to examine relationships among strain, distress, religiosity, and deviant coping in two theoretically distinct community contexts, community disorganization and “moral community.” Specifically, we hypothesize that (1) the effects of county-level community variables on individual deviant coping behavior are partly mediated by individual-level variables of strain and distress, and (2) the distress-buffering effects of religiosity on deviant coping are conditioned by the two community contexts. Data to test hypotheses are drawn from a nationally representative survey of the adult African American population as well as the U.S. Census, the Uniform Crime Reports, and the Churches and Church Membership in the United States. We apply hierarchial linearl models (HLM) to estimate our model.
Does Required Release Make a Difference?
This paper will compare a group of offenders released under an Emergency Release Program with a similar group of offenders released prior to the program requiring emergency release of certain offenders. This study will focus on the prior criminal history of both groups of offenders as well as criminal involvement subsequent to release under the emergency program and regular release.
Does the Experiential Effect Operate Differently Across Gender?
Deterrence research shows that successful criminal episodes tend to erode the effect of sanction risks. In particular, experience with offending–especially offending without punishment–is believed to cause individuals to lower their unrealistically high expectations of sanction risks. This experiential effect is believed to account for the negative association between contemporaneous measures of risk perceptions and behavior. One un-answered question is the extent to which the experiential effect operates differently across gender. We employ self-reported survey information on over 2,000 high school sophomores to examine whether the experiential effect varies across gender.
Domestic Violence: Predictors of Victim Support for Arrest and Prosecution in a Court Sample
Utilizing a sample of 5,272 domestic violence cases processed through the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office between July 1, 1999 and December 31, 2000, this paper analyzes the predictors of victim support for arrest and prosecution. Cohabitation status, victim substance use, suspectinjury, males, and victim of Asian-American descent, are all variables negatively associated with support for the precipitating arrest. Conversely, severity of attach and prior perpetrator violence are positively related to this outcome. Predictors of support for prosecution include severity of attack, prior violence, victim need for medical attention, and victim age (older). Cohabitation status, victim substance use, and victim of African-American descent, all significantly reduced the odds of support for prosecution. Of particular importance from a policy perspective, prosecutor charging behavior significantly influenced victim support for prosecution. Charging a defendant with a misdemeanor or violation of probation (in contrast to a felony) was strongly associated with increased levels of support for prosecution.
Domestic Violence Abusers: A Descriptive Study of the Characteristics of Defendants in Protection From Abuse Orders in Sedgwick County Kansas
Protection from abuse orders have been presented in the contemporary literature as one of many tools in protecting battered women. While protection from abuse orders provides legal protection from abuse, abusers violate many of these court orders. The current study describes the characteristics of 1,873 alleged domestic violence abusers in Sedgwick County Kansas. Data was collected from protection from abuse filings over a 12-month time frame. The data was used to examine the demographics of offenders as well as to assess the relationship between prior arrests of offenders and the prevalence of domestic violence.
Domestic Violence and Stalking: An Analysis Using Police Data
Research contines on the link between domestic violence and stalking. Many cases involving stalking continue to be charged as domestic violence by the criminal justice system. This study analyzes a years worth of domestic violence police reports for a large Western city. The goal is to explore how many domestic violence cases carrying stalking charges when there is evidence of stalking in order to determne how the state is utilizing new stalking laws; to compare domestic violence cases that involve stalking but do not carry stalking charges to stalking cases (i.e. are there different relationships between the parties, different levels of violence or seriousness, different typexs of stalking, and so on); and finally, to compare quantitative and qualitative police data regarding domestic violence and stalking.
Domestic Violence in the Military: Challenges to Establishing Collaboration Between Military Installations and Civil Communities
The issue of domestic violence involving active duty military personnel, both as victims and perpetrators, is complex and understudied. The presentation focuses on the results of a pilot study assessing issues surrounding the implementation of one recommendation of the Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence. This recommendation calls on the Department of Defense (DoD) to direct installation commanders to establish Memorandums of Understanding with surrounding civilian communities for the handling of service member-involved domestic violence incidents. Given the great variation between and within U.S. states in laws and local practices in responding to domestic violence, implementing this recommendation across all U.S. based installations is likely to be quite challenging. The study is a preliminary assessment of the variation between state level domestic violence laws and local law enforcement practice in 16 states with a major military presence. The findings will be interpreted within the context of the need for a single organization (the DoD) to provide guidane to hundreds of installation commanders, each situated within a relatively unique local environment.
Domestic Violence in Welfare States: A Comparative Analysis of Welfare State Typologies Within a Power Resources Framework
The prevalence and impact of domestic violence has been actively addressed in western democracies, especially since the early 1990s. Although almost all western countries have responded to this form of violence, little work has studied the issue comparatively on a state or societal level. Comparing the variations of state responses to domestic violence allows for a better understanding of how governments, and their respective agencies such as the police and judiciary, differ in terms of how social provisions are provided. This paper addresses this issue through a content analysis of related domestic violence legislation in the United States and Sweden. Specifically, this paper will argue that differences in how the United States and Sweden respond to domestic violence is best understood when variations of welfare state regimes are examined (needs-based versus universal-based) through a Power Resources perspective based on de-commodification, full employment, and full citizenship that incorporate a gendered experience. Finally, based on the theoretical framework of the current paper, proposed hypotheses are discussed for analysis of the International Violence Against Women Survey which should be released sometime next year.
“Drug” Subcultures: An Overview of Theories, Case Studies and Policy Responses
Most of our information on illicit drug use is obtained through the survey method technique (see ADAM, NHSDA, MTF). This data collection method fails to permit effective theorizing of those drug users who are more often systematically left out of those surveys — “drug” subcultures. Furthermore, this method provides prevalence and incidence of use, however it is extremely limited in understanding the context associated with use. Within these subcultures, the illicit drug using behavior is just one aspect of their subculture, and is not central to their self-identity (Hamid, 2002; Redhead, 1993; Sifaneck and HNeaigus, 2001). Without a more thorough understanding of the other aspects of the subculture, the more difficult it is for criminologists to develop effective theories and prevention programs (Sifaneck et al, 2003; Sifaneck and Neaigus, 2001). This paper presents an overview of the literature regarding subcultures that use drugs. It discusses the conceptual and definitional issues surrounding “drug” subcultures and the theoretical reasons for their use. Most importantly, it describes ethnographic works to develop an understanding of the social meanings of illicit use. Finally, this paper provides an overview of media, public and policy responses towards drug subcultures, and future policy proposals.
Drug Buying Behavior Among Chicago Arrestees
Several police departments utilize drug hot spot as a tool to focus their law enforcement efforts. The present research in the field has limited knowledge of the effectiveness of this trend. The goal of this research was to examine the differences in drug buying behavior among Chicago arrestees by race and zip code. Individuals were interviewed through the Chicago Arrestee drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program. Participants were recruited for a personal interview in which they were asked questions regarding their level of drug use and characteristics regarding how those drugs were obtained. Specifically, this study looks at how respondents contacted their drug source, the place the respondent purchased: marijuana, crack cocaine and powder cocaine, and whether these drugs were purchased within the respondent’s neighborhood. Implications for law enforcement practices will also be discussed.
Drug Court Treatment Programs: Predictors of Successful Completion
The extant literature often utilizes retention ([total number of graduates + total active clients]/total ever enrolled in the program) to predict success in criminal justice based treatment programs. It has been found that programs with higher rates of retention have higher rates of successful completion. However, drug court often give clients multiple chances for success — clients who struggle through the program are likely sanctioned with more time in drug court treatment. Quite often, these clients are eventually terminated. Consequentially, retention rates can be misleading when used in predicting rates of success. Rather than looking at how long clients are retained in the program, this research proposes using a more comprehensive engagement rate, which accounts for the total treatment attendance as well as lenmgth of stay in the drug court program. This paper will demonstrate the empirical difference between using retention and engagement rates to predict drug court completion. Using a sample of 284 drug court clients, client and program characteristics will be examined to predict successful completion. Both the standard measure of retention and the proposed engagement rate will be used in the analysis.
Drug Courts as a Mechanism of Expand and Control: A Case Study in the Midwest
Drug courts are a relatively recent movement in the United States judicial system. Evaluations examining the effectiveness of these specialized courts have found them to be effective at reducing recidivism rates. However, research has neglected to examine the possible consequences of drug courts that increase requirements for graduation once a participant has begun the program. This study will attempt to explore the expansion of control over participants in a drug court using a case study methodology encompassing three years.
Drug Markets 2001: The Total Dollar Value Contributed by Arrestees and the Market Conditions Surrounding Arrestees’ Acquisition of Drugs
This presentation reports (for the year 2001) the total dollars contributed to three different drug markets (cocaine, heroin and marijuana) by arrestees within county-leel catchment areas surrounding several major U.S. cities. Using the ADAM probability sample and weighting methodology, one can impute the total dollars from the data provided by the arrestees interviewed. This session will also present for discussion, several key market variables that can inform market patterns within ADAM catchment areas and geographic regions. These variables include buyer characteristics, market characteristics, and means of acquisition and frequency of market involvement.
Drug Reform and Prosecution: Prop 36
Under drug policy initiatives passed in Arizona (Prop 200) and California (Prop 36), drug offenders who mneet the relevant eligibility criteria can be placed in community supervision with treatment instead of either supervision without treatment or incarceration. Observers in both states predicted that passage of the initiatives might influence the charging practices of prosecutors. For example, prosecutors might become less willing to drop secondary charges that would render a defendant ineligible for community supervision/treatment or less willing to accept pleas under which a defendant is eligible for community supervision/treatment. In this paper, the authors will report findings from analyses of case processing before and and after passage of these initiatives and interviews with prosecutors in selected Arizona dn California counties. The purpose of the analyses is to determine whether any apparent discontinuity between pre- and post-initiative charging practices is related to prosecutors’ exercise of discretion in such practices.
Drug Use and Drug Markets in the Southwest: A Tale of Two Cities, Phoenix and Tucson
Regional differences in drug use patterns have been documented using data from the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program. However, these same data demonstrate substantial within-region variation exists. The research reported here examines the differences between two Southwestern cities, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. ADAM data collected in these two cities over the past several years indicates that the prevalence of methamphetamine use among the arrestee populations varies substantially even though the cities are in close geographic proximity and share many of the same population characteristics. The analyses in this paper explore this inter-city difference in the prevalence of methamphetamine use by focusing on individual arrestee characteristics, contextual dimensions (i.e., social structure indicators), and drug market dynamnics that have potential for explaining the inter-city difference.
Drugs and Violence in Neighborhoods: Causal Relationship or Common Causes?
Numerous theories link drugs to violence and gun-related violence in particular. In two previous analyses we tested the hypothesis that gun related violence was related to drug activity in Norfolk, Virginia. First, using offense data from the local police we found that guns were rarely found in crimes characterized as predominately drug related and that drugs were rarely obtained by officers in gun related offenses. Limitations in the data led to the second set of analyses where we used prosecutor case files to look for evidence of drugs in violent crime (homicide and robbery) and gun use/presence in drug crimes. Again,w e found little support for a drug-violence link. In this paper we use multivariate analyses to re-examine offense data and assess a potential drug-violence relationship at the neighborhood level (block-groups). Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.
Durkheim’s Theory of Gender and Homicide: A Precursor to the Liberal Feminist Perspective on Crime?
Emile Durkheim generally neglected the concept of gender in his discussions of law, crime, and punishment, but he did provide a few noteworthy comments on the relationship between gender and homicide. He argued that women commit more intentional homicides than is commonly acknowledged, and he offered a partial explanation of why women, nonetheless, tend to commit fewer homicides than men. In this paper, I outline Durkheim’s comments on gender and homicide and examine whether or not his viewpoint can be regarded as a precursor to the liberal feminist perspective on crime.
E
Early Childbearing Patterns and Their Consequences Across Three Generations of the Rochester Youth Development Study
This abstract examines the early childbearing patterns and consequences therefrom across three generations of the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS). We report findings from several analyses. First, we examine the association between a mother’s age at onset of childbearing and several criminal and non-criminal life outcoems for her children. Second, we investigate the mediating mechanisms that help explain why the children of young mother suffer adverse life outcomes. Third, we test whether children born to young mothers are disproportionately likely to become young parents themselves. Finally, we investigate whether a mother’s early onset of childbearing also places her grandchildren at greater risk for several adverse life outcoems. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for developing a theoretical understanding of the intergenerational aspects of early childbrearing.
Early Childhood Predictors of Antisocial Behavior: A Multiethnic Assessment of Pathways to Child Psychopathology
Antisocial behavior in childhood has been identified as a risk factor for developmental problems in adolescence, including substance use and serious juvenile delinquency. Given the potential for negative outcomes, it is important that risk factors for child antisocial behavior be identified. To date, findings have been largely derived from general population samples and literature on child behavior problems and ethnicity is limited. Although some studies have attempted to include minority populations, it is unclear whether the etiology of child psychopathology is consistent across racial and ethnic groups. To address thia question, data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth are utilized to examine a variety of risk factors for child antisocial behavior. Risk factors are examioned across developmental stages and include family background, environmental characteristics, prenatal health, early childhood health, child cognitive functioning, and temperament. Multiple ethnic groups are included in the analysis and structural equation modeling is used to identify pathways to childhood antisocial behavior.
Early Intervention Programs: Too Little Too Late
Early intervention as a crime prevention mechanism has received widespread support from the public. Americans seem more than willing to provide money for programs designed to keep youth off of the street and away from a life of crime. The assumption has been that if we can target problems early on, then children will not grow up to be offenders. We have not, however, asked adult offenders if they support early intervention as a significant weapon in the fight against crime. This research project explores the perceptions of over 430 inmates in a Midwestern prison on whether early intervention programs decrease criminal involvement. The study also examines the characteristics of inmates who do not believe that early intervention programs reduce future offending.
Early Sexual Onset and Its Influence on Later Delinquency
Prior research on adolescent sexual initiation focuses primarily on how various behaviors lead to, or are antecents of, early sexual onset. Although many factors have been linked to early sexual debut, littel research has examined whether early sexual initiation is linked to a range of later outcomes. This is surprising since developmental and life course theories emphasize the importance of timing for the progression of individuals through age-graded life events. Of primary interest, the literature demonstrates that sexual debut is an important age-graded life event for adolescents, and we argue that if the transition to non-virgin status is made “off-time,” it can have negative consequences for youth, including initiating or eascalating delinquency. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examines the interconnections between sexual debut and the differential effects early sexual activity can have on boys’ and girls’ involvement in delinquency.
Ecological Jurisprudence and the Implications of Social Learning Theory for Judging Criminal Responsibility
Historically, the legal system has been highly skeptical about the value of the behavioral sciences in informing legal decision making. One relatively recent exception has been the law’s open embrace of economic theory and that discipline’s underlying assumptions about human nature (i.e., that individuals are autonomous, rational actors whose dominant motive is the pursuit of self-interest). Over the past two decades, the field of jurisprudence has been captured and powerfully influenced by the law and economics movement. This paper will present an alternative, ecological jurisprudence (Fondacaro, 2000) which is rooted in behavioral science research (rather than economic assumptions) about the causes and consequences of human behavior. Ecological jurisprudence attempts to bring legal assumptions about human behavior in line with modern behavioral science research, especially work grounded in social learning theory (Akers, 1998, 2000), demonstrating the powerful influences that situational factors have on guiding and directing human behavior. This paper will conclude by apply concepts and research evidence drawn from social learning theory to critically analyze the manner in which our legal system, misguided by assumptions about autonomous individualism, presently addresses issues of criminal responsibility for both juveniles and adults. Suggestions for future research and fundamental legal reform are provided.
Ecological Labeling: Towards an Understanding of Its Development and Impacts
All communities, be they urban or rural, large cities or small towns, have areas that residents feel are the “bad areas” or “high crime” neighborhoods. This process, termned ecological labeling, refers to the labels that people place on areas (dangerous, safe, high crimne) and the impact thaqt these labels in turn have on the actions of people. Research dating back to the 1800’s has consistently confirmed the process of ecological labeling within most communities, yet little research has been undertaken to determine either the genesis or the impacts of these labels. Specifically, almost no research exists as to why residents view these areas as high crimne or what the impact these labels have on the labeled communities and the residents of the commnunity. This research seeks to fill this void. Using a comprehensive survey analysis, the present research delves into questions concerning the impact of prior victimization, medua civeragem actual crime rates, and friendship networks on the ecological labeling process. In addition to research findings implications for the research will be explored.
Editorial Vision of The Angolite: Women at Angola in the 1950s
Louisiana’s now famous prison news magazine, The Angolite, was first published in 1953. The early issues of The Angolite are rich in details of prison life not found in any other sources to date and chronicle a variety of subjects. Coverage includes medical care and experiments, escapes, high-school and university students tours, prisoners’ clubs, the daily work grind, especially the different harvest seasons, and the women in “The Forbidden City,” just to name a few. This paper is an exploratory analysis of the women at Angola as revealed in the pages of The Angolite during the early 1950s. Male editors report Angola’s women’s lives, but the women’s voices also are heard in the columns they write for the paper. Issues of race, class, and gender permeate the discussions of women’s health care, recreational activities, the construction of the first new women’s dorm since 1901 and new jobs for the women during the penal reforms of the 1950s.
Education in Prison: Does it Reduce Recidivism?
Recent federal legislation has denied Pell Grant funding to all state and federal inmates. While some studies have found no significant difference in recidivism rates of those who receive college education while in prison, numerous other studies have found that college education reduces recidivism. However, because numerous prisons have taken away college programs due to recent legislation, inmates are left with basic programs such as vocational training and GED instruction. Because this is the case, this study will compare those who receive these forms of education to those who receive the higher education still offered in some prisons. Specifically, I hypothesize that inmates who receive college education are less likely to recidivate when compared to inmates who receive the basic education alternatives. The findings of this study should support this hypothesis. Further, the findings of this study will suggest policy implications with regard to the denial of Pell Grants in prisons.
Educational Deficiencies of Delinquent Youth
The prior literature addressing deliquency and education while diverse consistently documents the relationship between poor school performance and delinquent behavior. However, the specific causes for the poor school performance of delinquent youth remain ambiguous at best. Stated differently, we do not know precisely why delinquent youth perform poorly in school. This paper addresses this question by examining the differences in educational deficiencies between delinquent youth and a matched sample of nondelinquent youth. The findings document that delinquent youth are more likely to have lower GPA, poorer attendance records, more likely to be retained in the same grade, and receive more disciplinary actions while in school. Moreover, delinquent youth are found to be disproportionately diagnosed as ESE, namely 44% of the delinquent sample compared to only 12% of the nondelinquent comparison group. The paper closes with discussion of the policy implication of these findings particularly in relation to remedying these identified educational deficiencies in the attempt to alter the life course of delinquent youth.
Edwin Sutherland: The First Victimologist?
The poster presentation will examine the contents of Sutherland’s 1924 and 1934 publications “Criminology” and “Principles of Criminology” as they relate to the field of Victimology. Sutherland’s 1924 book, “Criminology” includes a chapter on Victims of Crime. This is the first known study of crime victimization and the impact of crime upon individuals recorded within a criminology textbook. The examination of Sutherland’s writings will provide an historical foundation for the field of victimology.
Effectiveness of Civil and Criminal Orders of Protection as Remedies of Domestic Violence Victims in a Midwestern County
In the last decade, researchers have assessed whether shelters, victim advocacy program, mandatory arrests of abusers, and criminal orders of protection prvent abuse/reabuse. However, they have relatively neglected civil orders of protection. This study will identify the actual processes by which domestic violence victims receive orders of protection, evaluate the effectiveness of order enforcement, and determine whether civil and criminal orders of protection are equally effective in preventing reabuse.
Effects of a Residential Faith-Based Program for Inmates Nearing Release
Inmates nearing release are faced with a host of problems that not only affect the inmates themselves (e.g., where to live, how to secure employment), but also their families, their communities, and a number of Federal, state, and local agencies/institutions. The current evaluation examines a faith-based program operating in a state correctional system that has cut a great deal of in-prison programming in recent years. The program not only promotes faith among the inmates, but also addresses a number of re-entry issues, including family ties, employability, and access to needed resources outside of the prison. Begun in 1999, the objectives of the yearlong residential program are to increae person responsibility, family responsibility and employability, particularly among those nearing release. The evaluation will focus on the in-prison and post-prison effects of the program on its participants, their families the community, and relevant agencies/institutions. Program participants will be assessed against a comparison sample of inmates on measures gathered from prison records; the inmates and their families; and official records of recidivism, employment, and reliance on public aid.
Effects of Alcohol and Other Drug Use and Incarceration on Child Care
Data from the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program (ADAM) have been used to assess relationships between alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and many issues important to researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. However, little research has used ADAM data to investigate the impact of AOD use and criminal justice involvement on the children of arrestees. This presentation will highlight findings from a pilot project developed to identify the needs of arrestees’ children, to better understand criminal justice involvement as a family event, and to identify points of intervention for children at risk. This presentation will report rates of arrestees with children, home AOD use, types of childcare, missed school days, and children’s involvement with the juvenile justice system, as well as regression analysis of demographics, AOD use, and parental criminal justice involvement on children’s involvement with juvenile justice. Implications for policy and practice will also be discussed.
Effects of Environmental Policy and Colonization on American Indians’ Involvement in Crime, Law and Society
Present criminal justice literature does not recognize the connection between the environment and criminal justice issues as these pertain to American Indian people. This chapter is an essential piece that fills a void in understanding native issues relating to criminal justice, law and society. For the most part, Native peoples as a whole have been denied equal access to economic power in the past throughout the United States and Canada. Indigenous peoples have not been included in the passage of laws or decision making concerning the environmental impact of corporate intrusion upon their lands. When laws are passed and decisions made which adversely impact native lands, resistance by native people occurs. In times passt, native resistance to this intrusion has had violent consequences, including victimization through loss of land base, autonomy, and resulting poverty. When native people resist, often times they are arrested and experience the odyssey of a journe through the criminal justice system.
Effects of Ethnicity, Drinking History, and Family Drinking History on Perceptions of Causes of Heavy Drinking
This study looks at the effects of respondent’s ethnicity, respondent’s drinkiong history and respondent’s family drinking history, on beliefs about the causes of drinking problems. This study uses survey data from a non-random sample of 75 students from a traditionally Native American University including 19 Native Americans, 17 African Americans, and 39 Whites. Drinking problem causes considered in the study include influences of family upbringing, physiology, culture, advertising, bad judgement, personal decisions, low intelligence, bad luck, friends with problems, weak moral character, genetics, and stress.
Effects of Federal Firearms Transfer Restrictions on State-Level Homicide Rates
Several Federal laws were enacted in 1994 to limit firearm availability and, in turn, to decrease firearm-related violence. The few studies that have examined the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act have been strongly criticized for their data and methodology. The potential effects of the Brady Act and other Federal restrictions on firearms transfers, including the Assault Weapons Ban and increased restrictions on Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL’s), have yet to be fully analyzed. In order to address this gap in the research, the author conducted an interrupted time series (ARIMA) analysis of Federal firearms transfer restrictions on monthly state-level homicide rates, using Uniform Crime Report data for 1989 through 1999. The efficacy of the restrictions are examined and policy recommendations are suggested.
Effects of Incarceration on Employment and Earnings of Offenders Released From Ohio’s State Prisons During 1999 and 2000
We used individual level data on offenders released from Ohio state prisons during 1999 and 2000 that we linked to unemployment insurance records to provide up to 8 quarters of data on pre- and post-prison employment and earnings. We estimated employment and earnings equations to examine the effects of participation in vocational training programs and post-release supervision on these outcomes, controlling for local labor market conditions.
Effects of Individual and Contextual Characteristics on Preadjudication Detention of Juvenile Delinquents
This study examined individual and contextual factors affecting preadjudication detention of juvenile delinquents in 65 counties of a Northeastern State. Results demonstrated that while individual characteristics of the juvenile delinquents were important predictors, a significant amount of variation in preadjudication detention decisions was further explained when contextual factors of the counties were included a two level hierarchial linear model. Specifically, in addition to the statistically significant legal and extralegal juvenile characteristics, our study found ethnically heterogeneous counties were more likely to detain juvenile delinquents prior to adjudication. These findings demonstrate the importance of considering both individual and contextual factors of jurisdictions when examining the adjudication process.
Elaborating Toward a General Theory on Violent Victimization
Policy research has previously been designed to examine how intervention strategies impact a person’s risk of future victimization. However, that research assumes that the target population will choose to pursue available policy options. This research considers ideas found in theoretical perspectives such as routine activities, rational choice, and feminist theory to outline a dynamic, yet general, theoretical approach to explain differences in victimization risk across cultures and types of violent offenses. It focuses on the target’s choice to pursue options that alter his or her dangerous rountine activities. It outlines a choice process used by potential targets that not only depends on the pereived costs and benefits of a change, but also relies on the targets preferences, historical and cultural norms described in feminist theory. Our ideas move further beyond those delineated in routine activities by considering the enhanced risk of retaliation once the target chooses to alter dangerous routines. For instance, we propose that the closer the relationship between the victim and offender, the greater the risk for retaliatory violence. Finally, we use data from the National Crime Victimization Survey to examine the consistency of patterns of victimization with the new elaborative theoretical approach.
Employment, Neighborhoods, Labor Markets, and Crime: A Test of the Labor Stratification Thesis
While many expect that labor market experience will influence criminality, the empirical literature has not always affirmed this relationship. Recent research suggests that one reason for ambiguous findings in studies of employment and crime is that the affects are conditioned by other factors. The labor stratification thesis suggests that one important set of factors is local labor market characteristics and conditions. This paper uses the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97 to examine the influence of labor market participation on young adult criminal behavior. We find that the influence of employment on crime is stronger in urban areas than in suburban and non-metrpolitan areas. This paper will examine the interaction of individual and neighborhood characteristics in these three types of settings.
Employment and Mental Health Histories at Drug Court Entry in a Rural State
Employment has been identified as an important factor in decreasing drug use and crime among substance abusers (Platt, 1995). Mental health has been shown to be a correlate of several employment-related issues. Limited research has focused on employment and mental health in rural criminal justice samples. The purpose of this paper is to profile employment and mental health histories for a sample of drug-involved offenders from the rural state of Kentucky. As part of the NIDA-funded Enhancing Drug Court Retention in a Rural State project, 500 drug court participants completed a face-to-face interview during which employment and mental health histories were collected. Implications for assessment practices and vocational-rehabilitation programs are discussed.
Employment Quality and Delinquent Peers: Do Good Jobs Moderate Bad Friends?
Prior delinquent peer associations are one of the most consistent [redictors of both current criminality and present delinquent peer associations. Adolescents with strong ties to delinquent peers are likely to enter social trajectoris that maintain those ties into adulthood, absent some transition altering that path. I examine a TOBIT model using date from multiple waves of the National Youth Survey to determine whether the quality of employment in young adulthood moderates the strength of present delinquent peer associations, controlling for cumulative disadvantage and other relevant control variables.
Enhancing the Protective Capacity of Mentoring Relationships
Recent studies have offered evidence of mentoring’s potential for preventing crime and other antisocial behaviors. By providing youth with a one-on-one relationship with a supportive adult, mentoring programs can buffer the effects of high risk environments and help youth avoid involvement in delinquency. They are, perhaps, the best example of programs that are designed to develop a social bond and bolster a youth’s stake in conformity. The promise of mentoring, however, is being impeded by an insufficient number of mentors and a high rate of attrituion in mentoring relationships. This paper reports on research that explored ways to formulate effective mentoring relationships that are capable of serving a protective function for youth and reduce their likelihood of delinquency. It identifies mentor, youth, and organizational factors that were found to contribute to the development of a strong social bond, and examines the relationship between the strength of the social bond and youths’ self-reported delinquency.
Environmental Attributes and the Changing Dynamics in Female Officer Employment
Increasing percentage of female police officers has led to noteworthy organizational change in American policing. This paper examines internal and external environmental attributes hyupothesized to predict the employment of female police officers in the U.S. municipal agencies. Three waves of national surveys (1993, 1996, and 2000) based on a random sample of municipal police departments were used. The panel data set affords us a rare opportunity to examine the relationship between environmental factors (e.g., city size, minority representation, geographic location, municipal government structure, affirmative action program,a nd sworn personnel) and the employment of female police officers in the 1990s. Unlike most research that treats female officers as a single aggregrate group, we probe for possible cross-racial and ethnic differences. Implications for policy are discussed.
Environmental Risk: Considering the Distribution of EPA Violations Across Geo-Political Boundaries
Recently, a body of research has developed that focuses on environmental justice. Environmental justice refers to a concern with the unequal risk of exposure to hazardous material across geo-political boundaries. Some research indicates that siting of hazard waste treatment, storage, or disposal facilities (TSDFs) may be driven, in part, by the racial composition, social class, or level of political organization of the area. The same may be true for exposure to hazardous materials from Toxin Release Inventory (TRI) facilities. Although the issue of environmental crime continues to receive attention among criminologists, much of this research does not utilize the environmental justice framework for examining exposure to hazardous waste. Instead the focus tends to be on defining environmental crime, exploring enforcement complexities, and considering links between hazardous waste disposal and organized crime. In this paper we combine concerns raised in environmental justice research with regulatory, civil, or criminal actions for violation of federal statutes. Using data from the EPA Integrated Data for Enforcement Analysis (IDEA) database and U.S. census data, we examine whether violations of environmental statutes across a region of urban areas in upstate New York vary in any predictable way by social class and racial composition of the areas.
Estimating Spatial Displacement of Drug Dealing in Response to Street Level Drug Enforcement: The Effect of Varying Risk Settings
This analysis investigates geographic displacement effects in street level drug dealing that occur in response to police interventions. In an important departure from prior research I examine wehther varying risk settings in target and displacement areas affect displacement activity. land use and population attributes are used to characterize the risk settings in likely displacement areas. These measures of risk are used to explicity examine whether areas with high risk are more likely to facilitate displacement than those with low risk. The analysis also explicitly models the dynamics of displacement effects to examine how soon after an inmtervention displacement effects occur and how long they last.
Estimating the Prevalence of Illicit Drug Use and High-Risk Sexual Behaviors Among Club Attendees
The “rave” phenomenon has been a major element in the resurgence of psychedelic drug use in Western society. Purportedly central to raves is the use of “club drugs,” such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or “ecstasy”). To date, however, few studies have examined the prevalence of ecstasy use and dependence among rave attendees in the United States. In the current study, we collected self-report drug use information and oral fluid (OF) specimens from a sample of adult “club rave” attendees in Baltimore City and Washington, D.C. The prevalence of ecstasy use and dependence is estimated. Twelve-month ecstasy users are compared to non-users across a host of demographic, drug use, and attitudinal variables. Logistic regression is used to identify predictors of ecstasy dependence. Policy implications are discussed.
ESUBA: Juvenile Prevention Project
The authors of this study suggestion that childhood trauma including sexual victimization and family violence contribute to low self-esteem which leads to criminal behavior. There are few group prevention programs conducted with juvenile offenders dealing with past trauma experience and victimization linked with improving coping and decision making skills. This study will present results of a group intervention program provided to female juvenile offenders in a North Florida juvenile residential facility. The presentation will consist of an overview of the ESUBA:ABUSE Prevention Project, the intervention and an analysis of the pre/post-test scores from the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC) and the Rosenberg Scale. The ESUBA: Juvenile Prevention Program was adapted from a structurec curriculum that has been used for over ten years with adult offenders in Florida prisons with promising results (Bedard, Pate, & Rose-Sepowitz, 2003).
Ethical Decision-Making in the Court System: Creating Bias-Free Courts
This article is a qualitative analysis of ethical decision-making training for creating bias-free courts. The presentation of state-mandated training for court clerks, justices of the peace, and district judges is analyzed to present the intent of the state, the impact on participants, and the potential implications for creating bias-free courts.
Ethnic Differences in the Consequences of Adolescent Substance Use
This study seeks to identify possible differential consequences of adolescent substance use on adult crime and other outcomes for different racial/ethnic groups. Prior work by this group (Hill, Newcomb, Hawkins & Catalano, 1998; Hill, Hawkins, Chung, Abbot & Newcomb, 2001; and Hill, White, Chung, Hawkins & Catalano, 2000) has examined the consequences of adolescent substance use on adult functioning. A number of studies have reported that the consequences associated with substance use may be more pronounced for African Americans and Hispanics as compared to European Americans (e.g., Ellickson et al, 1996; Prendergast, Hser & Rivas, 1998). The present study examines whether consequences of adolescent substance use differ for African American, Asian American and European American participants, and if so, what are the mechanisms of these differences. 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 differential consequences of adolescent substance use on adult outcomes for different racial/ethnic groups are examined through regression and multiple-group structural equation modeling. Ad with other papers in this panel, the Social Development Model is used as an explanatory framework.
Europol and the Policing of International Terrorism
This presentation reports from research on the organization of counter-terroris policing strategies in the European Police Office (Europol). Data are based on interviews with personnel at the Europol headqauatyers in The Hague in the Spring of 2003 and additional analysis of relevant archival sources. In 1998, the Council of European Union Ministers formally approved an extension of Duropol’s mandate to include counter-terrorism. A separate Task Force Terrorism was consequently set up, which since 9/11 has taken on special significance. Based on a theoretical model developed in my prior work on international policing, I argue that Europol’s TaskForce Terrorism is characterized by a high degree of institutional autonomy to determine the means and objectives of its anti-terrorist programs ont he basis of professional expertise. The objectives of anti-terrorist policing are thereby (re-)defined in a language that can be shared among various police institutions. Moreover, I argue that despite the fact that international police work involves cooperation with police of other nations and relies on shared standards of policing, nationally and, more broadly, regionally variable concerns of police agencies remain paramount. In the context of Europol, this persistence of nationality/regionalism implies that anti-terrorist objectives will harmonize with distinctly European interests in the global fight against terrorism and, furthermore, that there may eist variation in stated objectives among the participating police forces of the EU nations.
Evaluating a Pilot Project on Conferencing for Juvenile Delinquents
In this paper, we describe the action-research on a pilot project on conferencing for juvenile delinquents, which runs November 2000-November 2003. The youth judge refers youngsters to a conference, if they do not deny the serious facts. In the conference, the youngster and his support people, the victim and her support, as well as a police officer come together under the guidance of a facilitator to come to a solution for the crime and its consequences. The researcher observes all conferences and uses an observation scheme to obtain some standardised information. The victim as well as the youngster and his parents are interviewed after the conference: are they satisfied with the proceedings and the outcome of the conference? Were their rights respected? Interviews are also held with youth judges, lawyers, social services of the youth court, police and facilitators. This leads to an overall view of the project, as well as the evaluation of the possible extension of the project throughout the whole of Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of belgium). We discuss the idea of action-research, the research methods used as well as the results of the research.
Evaluating Juvenile Drug Courts: A New Direction
Previous evaluations of adult drug courts have demonstrated positive outcoems for drug treatment participants but have been limited becuase of the inadequate comparison groups and the use official reports of new arrests and drug use. Additionally, there is limited research available on the effectiveness of juvenile drug courts. The purpose of this presentation is to present the results from a tri-county juvnile drug court evaluation study conducted in Nebraska. The research presented will expand the evaluation discussion to juvenile drug courts and improve upon previous drug court evaluations by (1) using a matched comparison group drawn from eligible (but not placed) offenders; (2) using pre- and post-program self-reports of delinquency and drug use; and (3) examining the role of individual and social factors (e.g., level of substance abuse, living situation, school status/performance, mental health problems, risk level) on program outcomes.
Evaluating Official Data From a Municipal Police Force to Assess the Question of the Prevalence of Racial Profiling: Evidence From North Carolina
Research on the presence and extent of racial profiling by municipal police forces has revealed a conflicting set of findings. Various methodological issues in the assessment of possible racial profiling are discussed as possibly accounting for the varying results. In addition empirical evidence is evaluated for a large urban police force in North Carolina. Stop and citation data are analyzed to determine if the deployment of police forces is a possible source of bias in police statistics and to determine if individual level attributes of officers can account for variation in the stops and citations of citizens, controlling for charcteristics of the patrol area and shift. Results are discussed and implications drawn for future research on possible racial profiling.
Evaluating Police Professional Status
Current and future implementations in policing need to recognize and react to how officers attain professional status. The rank and file will not easily adopt police initiatives that hinder their overall attainment of status. New implementations that focus on developing the officers intellectually may falter, since purity of knowledge seems to be less important than status gained by becoming involved in risky situations and providing backup to the fellow officers. Hands-dirty status attainment appears central to the law enforcement profession. This intraprofessional status attainment type seems to provide officers with a way of effectively interacting with the public, while providing them with status from their peer officers. Since hands-dirty status is not yet recognized in the new police implementations, officers are not fully afforded the status made available through hands on approaches to policing. By recognizing hands-dirty status, police administrators may be able to take advantage of this status attainment type to develop methods to motivate patrol officers. The future direction of policing should look to find ways to implement new policing models that will reduce crime, while recognizing the status motive as a tool to generate change in police practices leading to improvements in the quality of police service.
Evaluating the Defense of Indigent Offenders in Northwest Louisiana: A Preliminary Assessment
The purpose of this study is to systemically examine the provision of legal defense services to indigents in Northwest Louisiana and to recommend changes where warranted. Specifically, this study assesses the funding, staffing and caseload of the Caddo Parish Public Defenders Office (PDO), the amount of contact the public defenders have with their clients, and the resources available to the PDO vis-a-vis the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office (DAO). This research adresses whether the PDO receives adequate resources and access to expertise to carry out its public defense mission. Data collection instruments include indigent client inmate surveys; public and financial records from the PDO; computerized criminal case file records from the DAO as well as public records containing financial budgetary information; arrest and booking records and public records on the systematic screening for indigency requests from the Clerk of Court; attorney/investigator jail visitation records from the local Correctional Center; and a survey of local private criminal defense lawyers to compare private client with public defender outcomes. Analysis of data that has been provided to date indicates that resources to, and services by, the PDO are woefully inadequate for it to carry outs its public defense mission.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Pet-Facilitated Therapy Program for Incarcerated Female Offenders
A substantial body of research suggests that pet-facilitated therapy can result in numerous benefits for diverse clinical populations. Pet-facilitated therapy has proven to be effective with children, adults, and the elderly in terms of enhancing self-esteem and alleviating symptoms of anxiety and depression. A few studies have reported similar positive effects for juvenile and adult male offenders. This present study evaluated the short-term effectiveness of a pet-facilitated therapy program for incarcerated female offenders. Program participants were given the responsibility of caring for an animal from a local humane shelter, preparing it to be adopted as a pet. Using a Solomon Four-Group quasi-experimental design, the results indicated that program participation had positive effects on the self-esteem of the offenders, with concomitant decreases in anger, anxiety, and depression. The theoretical and practical implications of this study were discussed, framing them in terms of Reckless’ Containment Theory and Hirschi’s Social Control Theory. The authors conclude that pet-facilitated therapy holds great promise for fostering the development of prosocial attitudes and behaviors among offenders, and, during the current period of declining revenues, can easily be implemented at minimal expense.
Evaluating the Impact of Indiana Area Communities That Care
Communities That Care (CTC) is a research-based operating system designed to help communities promote the positive development of children and prevent adolescent problem behaviors, through the identification and reduction of risk factors and the enhancement of protective factors. Indiana, PA, is one of approximately 125 Pennsylvania communities that have adopted the CTC approach to prevention. This paper will examine the impact of Indiana Area CTC, int erms of risk factor and problem behavior reduction, protective factor enhancement, and the general effectiveness of specific programs implemented in the past 3 years at the family, school, and community levels.
Evaluation in Real Time: The Action Research Model
In recent years, many Federally-funded programs have included research as an integral part of the design and implementation process. This has created a new role for a research and evaluation partner in multi-agency problem-solving efforts, differing significantly from the traditional experimental model requiring an assessment by an independent body with no involvement in the program itself. Instead, an action research partner participates in the program throughout all stages, as follows: o Problem Identification. The research partner collects and analyzes data as part of the interagency team to help define the specific local problem to be addressed, its origins, and particular aspects requiring attention; o Strategy Design. The research partner participates with practitioner agencies in the design of strategies to target the problem as defined by the data collection/problem identification stage; o Program Implementation and Refinement. The researcher moniutors strategy implementation by the practitioner agencies and provides immediate feedback to implementors so that program elements can be refined and improved, where not achieving desired effects; and o Program Evaluation. When refined program has been implemented, research partner conducts an impact evaluation to measure its effects on reducing the target problem. This intensive involvement of the researcher as a partner in such problem-solving programs has brought significant benefits to the process, resulting in a number of well-publicized success stories. At the same time, however, this new role of the action researcher has raised special problems for both research and practitioner agencies involved, including data confidentiality and privacy concerns, ethical issues involving separation of research from law enforcement functions, data ownership and sharing, and IRB approval issues. This panel presentation will discuss the advantages and limitations of action research and will highlight successful exmples in several current and recent Federal initiatives, such as Strategic Approaches to Community Safety Initiative (SACSI) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
Evaluation of an Integrated Domestic Violence Court
This study examines the adjudication of domestic violence cases in a domestic violence court and an integrated domestic violence court operating in the same jurisdiction. Particular attention is given to the process used to resolve the cases in each court, the factors that influence case outcomes and a comparison of the outcomes (e.g., issuance of temporary and permanent orders of protection, pre-adjudication and post-adjudication sanctions of the defendants/offenders). The principle court actors (prosecutors, judges, court clerks and defense attorneys) will be interviewed regarding their perceptions of the integrated court process and whether in their opinion, the court is meeting its stated goals. Additional interviews will be conducted with victims and defendants to assess their level of satisfaction with the integrated domestic violence court.
Evaluation of the Deschutes County Community Youth Investment Program
The Deschutes County Community Youth Investment Program (CYIP) represents an innovative approach to developing and financing local, community-based programs for improving community safety. Under this arrangement the county is reimbursed by the state for every eligible juvenile that it elects to retain and treat locally. Some of the reimbursement funding is used to provide programs for the diverted youth. The remainder is invested in early intervention programs to reduce the number of juveniles coming into the juvenile justice system. This paper describes a cost-benefit analysis of the CYIP that kust deal with the problem that no outcome evaluations were available for any of the local prevention programs.
Evaluation of the Imact of a Policy Change on Diversion Program Recidivism and Justice Agency Costs: One Year Follow Up
Recent Florida legislation changes have resulted in policy modifications reflecting a “get tough” approach to juvenile crime. In 2000, buget cuts by the Florida legislature eliminated oen of the state’s primary community service oriented juvenile diversion programs, the Juvenile Alternative Services Program (JASP). JASP was subsequently replaced with other diversion programs, two of which (the Walker Plan and an expanded Arbitration Program) permitted greater penetration into the juvenile justice system. This event provided an opportunity for a natural experiment evaluating the impact of potential net-widening effects of these replacement programs compared to those with less justice system contact (JASP and two other diversion programs). In a first set of analyses, youth participant recidivism was examined based on new arrests and new arrest charges during an in-program period (from date of program enrollment to exit) and a six-month post program period; and the direct cost impact of the youths’ recidivism on justice system agencies was estimated. Stepwise multiple regression analyses predicting diversion program recidivism rates, and direct justice system costs, for the six-month period found that youths place in the JASP program had significantly lower rates of enw arrests and new arrest charges, than the other four diversion programs. Further, the direct justice system costs of the youths’ recidivism, resulting mainly from their incarceration, were much less for JASP than for the other diversion programs. These results suggested a potential net-widening effect for the JASP replacement programs. The present paper extends the recidivism and cost impact analyses to a 12 month post-program period. The results are expected to have important implications for theory and policy, which will be discussed.
Evaluation of the Juvenile Breaking the Cycle (JBTC) Program
The Juvenile Breaking the Cycle (JBTC) Program, a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) funded initiative,is an ambitious effort to effect major changes in the lives of juvenile offenders in Lane County (Eugene), 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 delinquency. The JBTC program is a comprehensive yet focused approach for dealing with drug-involved juvenile offenders, as it addresses substance use and other potential disorders, such as mental illness and familial problems. The evaluation of JBTC, which is funded by NIJ, includes a process evaluation, an outcome evaluation, and a cost/benefit analysis. Data for these evaluative components are gathered from three primary sources: (1) individual juvenile offenders; (2) key service providers and programmatic stakeholders; and, (3) program, county, and state management information sources. This paper presents (6 month) outcome data on the relationships between key outcome variables, namely substance use and delinquency, and various juvenile offender characteristics, such as demographics, substance abuse and mental health treatment utilization, risk assessment, substance use, victimization, educational involvement, and mental health diagnoses. These data suggest that participation in the JBTC program substantially reduces substance use and recidivism among juvenile offenders, while controlling for relevant factors that typically produce selection bias and therefore threaten the validity of outcome data.
Evaluation of the St. Louis Weed and Seed Initiative
Operation Weed and Seed is a major federal initiative with the goal to prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity in designated neighborhoods through a blend of “weeding” (law enforcement/policing and prosecution) and “seeding” (social service programs) efforts. Although the National Evaluation of Weed and Seed found support for Weed and Seed, it did not use control neighborhoods. In this paper, the author presents the findings from the evaluation of the St. Louis Weed and Seed Initiative which compared crime trend data of the seven treatment neighborhoods with that of the city, contiguous, and control neighborhoods. Four main conclusions were found. First, Weed and Seed was found to have had an effect on certain crime rates for certain treatment neighborhoods. Second, Weed and Seed had a stronger effect on violent crimes than on property crimes. Third, Weed and Seed had a stronger effect on the northern treatment neighborhoods than on the southern treatment neighborhoods. Finally, many of the Weed and Seed effects were discovered in the later mature years of the initiative.
Event Structures and Violent Outcomes
Sociological explanations of violence often focus on uncovering factors that make one social group more violent than another. Such explanations assume that violent events, fights for instance, occur as a direct result of a group’s proclivity to violence. In contrast, recent theorizing in both sociology and criminology has recast the violent event as a social interaction structured by the relationships between the parties involved. In order to examine how the relationship structure of an event might promote or mediate violence, I used qualitative interview data from 32 in-depth, face-to-face interviews with current and former racist skinheads in the eastern United States and in eastern Canada. The subjects in the sample were, or had been, members of five separate skinhead gangs. Detailed accounts of conflicts were used to create models of events with violent outcomes and events with nonviolent outcomes. By comparing across cases, I was able to identify some relationship structures that seemed to mediate violence and others that seemed to promote violent outcomes.
Everything But the Girl: A Comparative Study of Rehabilitation and Socialization in Juvenile Treatment Facilities
This study examines the goals, belief systems, and institutional models of one male-only and one co-ed juvenile correctional facility to determine whether gender socialization occurs during rehabilitation. Using an institutional model cotinuum created by Davide Street et al, each facility was assigned a number between one and ten (one being obedience/conformity and ten being treatment) based on the goals and belief systems of each facility. The deconstruction of Street’s model created four parallel continuums (treatment, social control, power and gender), all of which relate to each other based on feminist theory of gender socialization. The coeductional facility, receiving a number seven on the scale, treats youth utilizing much less social control and power, thus does not conform to hegemonic gender socialization comparable to the male-only facility, receiving a four on the same scale.
Evidence-Based Delinquency Prevention Programming in Local Communities
Implementation of evidence-based delinquency prevention programs is being required more frequently in order for local communities to receive Federal funding. The newly passed Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (amended 2002) requires communities to implement model programs. This paper will explore the development of a unique on-line searchable database of exemplary, effective and promising research-based prevention programs that enables communities to use a risk and protection-focused model to select appropriate resarch-based programs to fill their identified gaps. This paper also presents the benefits of comprehensive delinquency plan development on the local level. Through th Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preventions’ Title V Community Prevention Grants Program, communities are trained to perform multidisciplinary assessments of the risk and resources specific to their communities, and to subsequently develop community-wide, collaborative plans to prevent delinquency through evidence-based programs. This careful, systematic, stragegic planning process increases the efficacy of prevention efforts and reduces service duplication. This process improves collaboration and coordination between and among agencies, increases a community’s capacity to make insightful program decisions, and results iun a tool which gives communities a great advantage when applying for a wide variety of funding streams.
Examination of Methods, Statistics, and Topics in Criminal Justice Scholarship: A Ten-Year Review of Justice Quarterly and Criminology
The purpose of this paper is to examine ten years of publications in Justice Quarterly and Criminology as to types of studies conducted: qualitative vs. quantitative, method of study conducted, and the type of statistical analyses used in the studies, in an effort to capture a broad-based look at the research being conducted and published in the two major journals of the leading professional organizations withing criminal jsutice, namely, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and the American Society of Criminology. The paper will give basic descriptive information about the types of studies published, including major topics covered across the ten-year period, and it will track any changes in the field’s approach to research from time one of this periot to time two.
Examination of Situational Characteristics, Resistance Strategies, and Sexual Assault Outcomes: Results From a National-Level Study
Given the seriousness of violence against women and its attending negative consequences, researchers have attempted to identify ways in which women can minimize the risk of assault completion and physical injury. Within this broader investigation, specific attention has been given to the efficacy of resistance strategies used by women during a sexual victimization. Although research has shown that resistance strategies are often used by victims of rape, it is less clear to what extent women who are victims of other forms of sexual victimization use self-protective measures. Also uncertain is the nature of the relationship between different types of resistance and the outcome of the sexual victimization incident. Using data from a national-level study of 4,446 female college students, we investigate these issues. We further explore the resistance-outcome nexus by examining individual factors and contextual characteristics that may influence the use and outcome of resistance strategies. The policy implications of our findings as well as directions for future research are also discussed.
Examining Arrest Probabilities Among Female and Male Offenders Using Incident Based Arrest Reports (NIBRS) for Violent Crime
This paper examines the gender-crime gap by analyzing the probability of arrest for female and male offenders arrested for violent crime using NIBRS data. For several decades there has been an ongoing debate in criminology (as well as the popular press) about changes in the nature and extent of female criminality. The data typically used for examining this debate based on UCR arrest data. One of the biggest shortcomings with UCR data has been that they cannot be disaggregated simultaneously by age, sex, and race, and thus cannot be used to predict the probability of arrest among specific offenders over time. The FBI’s NIBRS system represents a sharp improvement over UCR limitations. As an incident-based reporting system, NIBRS data are collected on each single crime occurrence within 22 offense categories and are include detailed information about each crime. The addition of more comprehensive information, particularly information about the sex, age, and race of the offender for each incident allows for the calculation of arrest probabilities for specified groups arrested for specific crimes. Data are now available from 21 states (representing some 900 originating agencies) reporting consistently from 1996 through 2000. Although this 21-state sample is not sufficient to produce estimates of national trends, the data set does contain detailed records representing a census of aggravated assault and robbery incidents known to this set of law enforcement agencies and can potentially be valuable in addressing the ongoing debate in criminology about the convergence of crime rates for females and males. In preliminary analyses, offer some surprising findings. For example, the strongest predictor of arrest among females for robbery is offenders age–rather than for example offender’s race, weapon, victim’s race. The strongest predictor of arrest among males for robbery is whether there was an injury to the victim. To our knowledge, NIBRS data have not been used to examine the gender-crime gap, and our analyses raise a number of interesting issues about relevance of age for females.
Examining Comprehensive Community Collaboratives: The Safe Kids/Safe Streets Experience
The Safe Kinds/Safe Streets Initiatyive (SK/SS) is a 5* year demonstration program, sponsored by the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Violence Against Women Office, and the Executive Office of Weed and Seed. Five communities–three urban, one rural, one Tribal-developed comprehensive community collaboraties to address child abuse and neglect, a key risk factor for delinquency and criminal behavior. Projects incorporated foru program components-system reform, services, data collection and evaluation, and prevention education. The session will address the following: * What was the SK/SS vision and theory of change? * What did the SK/SS collaborations look like (e.g., membership, organization, functions) and what were their developmental stages? * Did the four program components work as a unified whole, complete with each other, or function independently? * What were the program accomplishments and are they sustainable? * What factors impeded or facilitated project success? * What other SK/SS lessons were learned (i.e., lessons exportable to other communities and evaluations of comprehensive collaboratives)? The presentation will draw on the process evaluation findings and observations and outcome data collected since spring 1997 by Westat, the national evaluators.
Examining Desistance by Race: Are There Differences Between Whites and Non-Whites?
Despite an increased interest in the study of desistance from crime, most empirical studies have used only male samples. This research uses self-report data to determine if there are any differences in desistance from violence between males and females using a nationally representative sample. In addition, because little theoretical attention has been given to the subject, this analysis will also evaluate whether self-control, social control theory or social learning theory best explains desistance from violence. Furthermore, variables such as children and victimization are introduced to determine if they have an impact on desistance. The results largely support Hirschi’s self-control theory. Factors such as marriage and employment stability, typically associate with desistance are not significantly related to desistance.
Examining Measurement Characteristics of Linked Data on Violent Deaths
This paper presents recent data from the Maryland Violent Death Reporting System. This system links multiple existing electronic sources of information with data abstracted from paper records on the same violent events. Linking multiple sources allows one to compute estimates of underreporting from individual data dsources as well as estimates of error in indicators that are common across sources.
Examining Stability and Change in Criminal Offending: A Life-Course Approach
This research focuses on the stability and change in offending over developmental transitions throughout the life course. While there is considerable stability at successive stages of the life course, within-individual change is also apparent. What factors affect these patterns of offending in the same individuals over time? This research will draw on longitudinal data from the classic study of juvenile delinquency and adult crime by Sheldon and Eleanor Blueck and subsequent follow-up to age 70 conducted by John Laub and Robert Sampson. The overarching goal of the paper is to examine and explicate stability and change in offending trajectories over the life course. Theories such as Thornberry’s life-course interactional theory, Farrington’s developmental life course theory, and Sampson and Laub’s age-graded theory of informal social control will be assessed in light of the findings.
Examining the Effectiveness of Vouchers in Changing Behaviors of Drug Court and Prop 36 Clients
Drug Courts make use of close judicial supervision and treatment and a combination of sanctions and incentives to promote desired behavior. Proposition 36 allows convicted nonviolent drug possession offenders, if they choose, to be sentenced to community supervision and treatment instead of either community supervision without treatment or incarceration. Supervision and monitoring are less intensive than in drug courts. At the same treatment program, in two ongoing randomized studies, one with drug court clients and the other with Proposition 36 clients, we are assessing the effectiveness of using well-established contingency management procedures (using vouchers) to reinforce abstinence and compliance with treatment plans. Assessments are conducted at baseline, at the end of treatment, and at 12 months following treatment discharge. Outcome measures include drug use during and after treatment, incarceration during and after treatment, and compliance with program guidelines. The presentation will summarize preliminary data ont he relative effectiveness of vouchers to promote abstinence among these two offender populations subject to different levels of supervision and monitoring.
Examining the Factors that Influence the Duration and Seriousness of the Stalking Experience
Until recently, research on stalking has remained minimal. However, in the past several decades more and more scholars have examined this type of crime. What has been given less attention in the academic literature is how such social characteristics as: stalking strategies used by offenders, the victim and offender relationship, the responses and methods of coping of the victim influence the duration and severeity of the stalking experience. Many practical guides about stalking suggest various strategies for victims to engage in if/when they are stalked (e.g., having no contact with stalker). But, how do these strategies impact the stalking experience? For example, do victims who call the police tend to have a stalking experience that is shorter than victims who do not call the police? Using the Violence Against Women survey (Tjaden and Thoennes, 1998), the present research examines how the reactions and avoidance/coping strategies of stalking victims, the techniques of ofenders, and the relationship between and past behavior of the victim and offender influence the duration and seriousness of stalking victimization experiences.
Examining Victimization, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptomatology, and Participation in Violent Activities in a Sample of Justice Offenders
Despite growing evidence that a relationship exists between victimization and developing subsequent problems such as PTSD symptomatology and participating in violent illegal activities, there continues to be minimal research that examines these issues among juvenile offenders. Findings from a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) — funded study examining the link between drugs and violence among juvenile offenders are presented. Results from interviews with 359 juvenile offenders in the state of Maryland demonstrate that: 49% had full PTSD symptomatology and 31% had partial PTSD symptomatology. Results also suggest PTSD symptoms are associated with an increased participation in violent illegal activities. Discussion of these findings, implication for intervention, and recommendations for future research are highlighted.
Execution Protocol: A Comparative Overview
This paper will contrast the diverse procedures used to prepare prisoners for execution around the world. These procedures include forms of execution; organ harvesting; last meals; counseling; who witnesses the execution; where they are kept the night/day before the execution; administrative oversights; public or private; the executioner’s protocol and other topics. Because some nations such as Cuba and Japan are secretive about execution procedures, information is sometimes sketchy and anecdotal. Research has been conducted through several interviews with administrators and practitioners, media reports, reports by human rights organizations, prison memoirs, and secondary sources.
Explaining Corrections: The Theory Beyond the Treatment
Correctional programs have been greatly neglected by criminal justice theories thus far. Typically, criminal justice theories tend to focus on the front end of the system, but rarely explain the underlying theoretical perspectives of the correctional system. This paper will examine the correctional system using Packer’s Due Process Model and Crime Control Model to understand the theoretical constructs that underlie correctional programming. In addition, the implications for future research and theoretical development will be explored.
Explaining Criminal Justice Growth: Detailing the Growth-Complex Framework
They have warned us. Max Weber, Robert Merton, the Frankfurt School, scholars studying the Holocaust, and a numerous sociologists and public administrative theorists have cautioned us about the propensity of bureaucracies, whether public or private, to lose sight of their original purpose and pursue their own self-serving ends of survival, growth, and power. In our discipline’s quest to understand the behavior of criminal justice and trends in crime control, the “industrial-complex” thesis has recently garnered a good deal of attention. This paper details what it labels the “growth complex” theoretical framework, focusing on organizing concepts such as “technical rationality,” “moral indifference,” and “neo-liberalism.”
Explaining Police Arresting and Charging Behavior in Cases of Spousal Violence
Family violence is a major social problem that police forces began to deal with over the last two decades. Most research and policy on this subject has focused on the effect of police action on the prevention of violence against women. This is a study of police arrest and charging behaviour in spousal violence cases that includes both genders and so allows the analysis of police response to violence against men as well as women. Factors affecting the likelihood of an arrest or charge in spousal violence cases are analyzed using a two-year sample of spousal violence police cases (N-2,935) from a medium-sized Canadian city. Three models were developed investigating the effects of marital status, intoxication, degree of injury to either the man or woman, use of a weapon and a repeat call to the same address on the odds of an arrest, the odds of a charge being lad and if charged, the seriousness of the charge. Results indicate differential effects of intoxication and injury by gender of the victim on all dependent variables. These results are compared with population studies of spousal violence in both Canada and the United States.
Explaining Public Attitudes Toward Punishment
Several perspectives have been employed in research directed at explaining public attitudes toward the punishment of criminal offenders. These perspectives include the instrumental, the subcultural, and the ideological. They hypothesize support for punishment, respectively, as a means for responding to public fear and concern about crime; as a reflection of differences among groupsl or as an expression of particular societal values and beliefs. The latter can be further differentiated into socio-political values, economic values, and beliefs concerning crime and criminals. However, these perspectives are unlikely to be completely independent. For example, fear of crime is known to be higher in some categories of the population; and particular socio-political values may correlate with specific economic values and/or beliefs concerning crime and criminals. This paper will further develop theoretical arguments for the potential links among these perspectives and test the hypothesized interaction effects with data from a survey of adult residents of the Province of Alberta.
Explaining Racial Differences in Adolescent Violence
Explanation of black-white differences in street violence remains an unresolved and heavily contested issue in the social sciences. Two prominent and competing hypotheses dominate discourse on racial differences. In The Bell Curve, Herrnstein and Murray (1994) assert that disproportionate involvement among blacks is best understood to be a function of diminished cognitive ability. Most sociological approaches vigorously contest this explanation, positing instead that racial differences in street violence are primarily attributable to family and community-level socio-economic disadvantage. We estimate models designed to adjudicate between cognitive ability and socio-economic disadvantage using data drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent.
Explaining Racial/Ethnic Differences in Substance Abuse
While there is a fairly extensive literature examining the patterns and correlates of substance use across minority youth populations, comparitively little attention has been devoted to adults. Drawing on data derived from a household sample of 7,000 adults in Washington state, this paper provides multivariate analyses of the correlates of substance use across five racial/ethnic groups. Analyses indicate that differences in substance use and abuse between groups largely disappear when socio-demographic and individual level risk/protective factors are taken into account.
Exploratory Spatial Analyses of Sexual Assaults of White and Native Victims
The spatial patterning of sexual assaults is examined using police data collected in 2000 and 2001 from an urban and ethnically diverse community. Maps are utilized to describe the spatial relationships between offenders’ and victims’ residences and the location of pick-ups, assaults, drop-offs, and reports. Race differences in these spatial relationships are also graphically depicted. Exploratory Spatial Data Analyses are subsequently used to assess whether sexual assaults are significantly concentrated in specific locations and whether these geographical concentrations vary by race. Finally, preliminary explanations for the spatial patterning of sexual assaults are offered.
Exploring Gender in Cases of School-Associated Violent Death
In their 2001 paper, Danner and Carmody critiqued both the research and media coverage of infamous cases of schools shootings for their lack of focus on the gendered nature of much of this violence. Drawing on their study and feminist perspectives, we examine issues of masculinities, bullying, and male violence against women using a unique dataset of the population and school-associated violence deaths in the United States from 1994-1999. This data was collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from media databases, state and local agencies, and police and school officials. We focus our analysis of gender issues on 172 cases of homicide and 30 cases of suicide where deaths occurred while the victim was on school property, on the way to or from school, or at on the way to or from a school-sponsored event. Our results will be discussed in light of suggestions for violence prevention programs.
Exploring Retention and Persistence Among Undergraduate Criminal Justice and Criminology Students
Findings are presented from the first two years of a five-year longitudinal study of student retention, academic performance, and persistence toward graduation. The population of interest is undergraduate criminal justice and criminology majors and minors at Ball State University (N=600). The data on a wide range of possible correlates currently under study result from the investigators’ development and administration of a 37-item instrument (n=350). This survey probed students’ reading, studying, writing, and examination preparation habits; absenteeism; use of faculty advising; living, working, and college lives; living arrangements and support systems; as well as their and parental demographic information. Additional University data, sucha s University, academic jajor, and semester GPAs, were merged with these data. The present cross-sectional examination therefore provides a preliminary view of correlates of academic performance. Of particular interest is the tracking of sophomore majors and minors with GPAs below 2.00 and thus “at-risk” for not graduating. This provides for numerous useful comparisons and contrasts with their peers who achieve varying degrees of academic success. Findings also help in identifying potential strategies for successfully intervening with students and maximizing their academic experiences.
Exploring the Context of Adolescent Drug Use: Does Social Learning Theory Mediate the Impact of Social Structure
This paper explores the relationship between social structure and adolescent drug use by testing Akers Social Structure-Social Learning (SSSL) model. The SSSL model posits that while social structural characteristics (differential location in the social structure, differential social organization, theoretically defined structural correlates and differential location in primary and secondary groups) influence criminal and delinquent behavior, they do so mainly by effecting the nature and extent of associations, reinforcements, behavioral models and definitions to which an inidividual is exposed. In other words, structural effects on behavior are wholly or partially mediated by social learning concepts. To test this model individual drug use and social learning data are drawn from the Boys Town Study conducted in 1978 by Akers et al. Structural measures, population density, concentrated disadvantage, residential mobility and population at risk, were taken from the 1980 census. Multilevel modeling was employed to account for the nested structure of the data. Results reveal varying levels of support for the SSSL model, depending on drug type.
Exploring the Drugs-Homicide Connection
Researchers have noted a connection between drugs and homicide for some period of time. Although the drug-homicide connection remains apparent, the relationship remains rather vague. drug associated homicide is a multi-faceted concept covering a variety of indicators of association. For example, victim use, perpetrator drug sales, paraphernalia on scene and so on, can classify a homicide as “drug related.” An in-depth study of the connection between homicide and drugs has in many cases been left undocumented. This has resulted in little systematic growth in knowledge about this relationship (Parker and Auerhahn, 1999). Our paper attempts to chart the “drug related” dimensions of homicide that appear most frequently and assess the proximity of various indicators to officially identified drug hotspots. Homicide file data on approximately 120 homicides, occurring between 2000-2002, were collected from a metropolitan homicide unit serving a densely populated urban center. The purpose of this research is to gain a better understanding as to the connection between homicide patterns and various sub-types of drug-related characteristics.
Exploring the Effects of Offender and County Characteristics Across Conviction Type: A Multi-Level Model
Much of the research on the severity of sentencing decisions includes dummy variables to statistically control for the type and severity of conviction offense. More recently, some research, in an attempt to test for variation in the effects of such characteristics as the race and sex of the offender, has estimated separate models for drug and non-drug offenders. To build on prior research and more fully explicate whether individual and contextual factors vary in their impact across offenses, we perform two sets of analyses using multi-level modeling strategies. First, we test for variatio in offender and case characteristics across different types of conviction offense (violent, property, drug, other). We then add a third level to the statistical model to determine if differential effects of offender and case characteristics are contingent on the county in which the offender is sentenced. Using data from more than 50,000 cases included in the State Court Processing Statistics database, preliminary results yield differential effects of ofefender and case characteristics on sentence severity across offense type.
Exploring the Goals and Impacts of Supermax Prisons
Despite the cost and increasing use of supermax prisons, there remains little empirical research on their precise goals and impacts. Without such research, there is a risk that policymakers will use anecdotal evidence on which to base their decisions or will over- or mis-generalize the relevance of particular impacts identified by researchers. To address such issues, this paper draws on an ongoing study to explore the range of goals and impacts, both intended and unintended, potentially associated with supermax prisons. The findings are based on a comprehensive analysis of existing research, site visits to three facilities, interviews with over 50 corrections policymakers and practitioners, and a national survey of wardens. We conclude with a discussion of the research and policy implications of the study.
Exploring the Legacy of Comprehensive Community-Based Initiatives: Taking a Closer Look at SafeFutures
The SafeFutures Partnership to reduce Delinquency and Youth Violence was supported by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and designed to further the existing efforts of select communities in reducing delinquency and youth violence, using a continuum of care that included prevention, intervention, treatment, and graduated sanctions. Six communities (Boston, MA; Contra Costa County, CA; Fort Belknap Indian Community, MT; Imperial County, CA; Seattle, WA; and st. Louis, MO) began SafeFutures demonstrations in the spring of 1996, and most concluded in the summer of 2001. The Urban Institute conducted the national evaluation of SafeFutures. UI’s evaluation efforts focused on measuring the success of site-specific efforts across several domains. This paper describes the efforts of these communities to sustain SafeFuture in the months following the demonstration’s end, and discusses the legacy of this comprehensive juvenile justice initiative.
Exploring the Multiple Levels of Police Authority in Police-Citizen Encounters
Policing scholars frequently conceptualize distinct police actions like executing full-custody arrests as the exercise of coercive control or formal authority. The empirical research on police-citizen encounters has treated arrest as a high degree of social control by the police and, for the most part, arrest outcoems are compared to an officer doing “nothing.” The coercive actions officers take to deal with citizens are not necessarily limited to a single set of dichotomous choices: the no-arrest/arrest outcome measure. Unfortunately, the extant research in this area rearely examines the exercise of formal authority that is more than “nothing” but less than arrest. Using data from systematic social observations of police-citizen encounters, this paper explores the actions that officers take against citizens that are quantifiable and that lie somewhere betwen doing “nothing” and an officer making an arrest. The results have implications for sociological theories of law, theories of officer discretion and administrators seeking to understand how officers interact with citizens.
Exploring the Relation Between Driver and Officer Characteristics in Traffic Stops
The past three years have revealed a growth in data collection efforts to monitor police traffic stops. Only in a handful of these cases, however, has there been an examination of the relationship between driver and officer characteristics. Using data on 27,701 traffic stops conducted in 2001 by a large police department in the Midwest, this paper examines the patterns of driver and officer characteristics in traffic stops and subsequent stop activity. Overall, African American and White drivers were stopped at a rate relative to their representation in the city. However, once officer assignment was taken into account disproportional patterns emerged for both racial groups. White drivers were more likely to be stopped by officers working traffic assignments and African American drivers were more likely to be stopped by district patrol officers. In addition, though the rates for stops, searches and arrests were higher for African American drivers stopped by district parol officers, this pattern was similar for AFrican American and White Officers. Discussion is given to the findings and future research endeavors.
Exploring the Sources of Non-Response in the Uniform Crime Reports
The Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) has been one of the two major indicators of crime over the past 30 years. As in any data collection, non-response is an important source of error in the UCR. There are indications that amount of missing data in the UCR has increased dramatically in the last decade. This paper examines non-response in the UCR from 1990 to 1999 and attempts to explain why that non-response occurs and why it has increased. By merging the UCR Return A data and the arrest data with the information from the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics (LEMAS), we are able to test whether non-reporting is driven by attributes of police agencies, such as the sophistication of their information systems, or factors in the environment of these police agencies such as the implementation of the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS), the presence of state UCR programs or mandatory reporting laws.
Exploring White Collar Crime and the American Dream
Institutional Anomie Theory (IAT) suggests that high crime rates in America can be attributed to the commitment to the goal of material success. In this regard, particular emphasis is placed on the motivations derived from the profit goal of economic institutions that dominant the American culture. While IAT has been applied to property and violent crime, it has yet to be used to explain white collar crime. In this paper, we use Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and Census Bureau data to examine the applicability of IAT to conventional forms of white collar crime.
Exposure to Violence: Analysis of Patterns and Consequences of Exposure to Family Violence Among Incarcerated Youth
This paper investigates the patterns and consequences of exposure to family violence among a sample of 1,082 incarcerated youth. Specifically, the study examines the prevalence of exposure to family violence among 874 boys and 208 girls incarcerated in the Texas Youth Commission in 2000. It also tests the hypotheses that youth who are exposed to family violence: 1) are more likely to engage in violent offending behavior and; 2) have earlier age of onset for delinquent behavior than youth not exposed to family violence. Gender differences in levels of exposure to family violence, violent and non-violent (property and drug) offending, and age of onset for delinquent behavior are examined.
Extremists or Believers?: Religious Salience, Literalness, Attribution Styles and Attitudes Toward the Death Penalty: An Empirical Examination of Main and Moderating Effects
This study examines the relationships between religious salience, religious literalness, attribution styles and attitudes toward the death penalty. We also examine the moderating effects that religion has on the relationship between attribution and attitudes toward the death penalty. Control variables examined are previous victimization, political affiliation, race, gender, and education. Data for the study were collected from a sample of National Rifle Association members and university students. All sample members resided in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Results indicate that religious literalness has a direct effect on attitudes as does attribution. Further, the relationship between attribution and attitudes is moderated by religious salience. This study was conducted during the aftermath of the sniper shootings, and the impact that these events had on the study and the respondents are also discussed.
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Facilitating Confessions of Suspects Interrogated for Sexual Offenses
Research and the practice in the field of the police interrogation show that several factors influence the course of an interview with a suspect, beginning with the attitudes of the investigator and police interviewing techniques. Certain characteristics of the suspect, such as age, ethnic origins, IQ, past experience with the criminal justice system, and personality, can also influence the propensity to make or not make a confession. The nature and the severity of the crime are also impottant factors, in particular concerning sexual crimes.
Fact or Fiction?: The Nexus Between Terrorism and Organized Crime
Through globalization, organized crime groups have begun to perpetrate criminal activities on other countries and continents, resulting in diversified and nontraditional criminal enterprises that are increasingly transnational in nature. This has caused some groups to forge working relationships with other organized crime groups — even those that have traditionally never cooperated. Since 9/11, there has been speculation that organized crime groups formed working relationships with terrorist organizations, although no definitive evidence has been provided. This study attempts to determine whether such relationships exist by analyzing 15 years of open source data collected by the Office of International Criminal Justice (OICJ) on both terrorist and organized crime groups.
Factors Affecting Sentencing Outcomes in Criminal Cases: A Multilevel Analysis
The present research uses data on felony defendants in a nationally representative sample of large urban counties, in conjunction with data on the characteristics of the counties in which the cases were adjuciated, to examine both the individual and contextual factors that influence sentencing outcomes. Drawing on prior theory and research, multilevel models are estimated to determine whether various contextual factors (e.g., racial composition, age structure, sex ratio, and religious and political affiliations) affect the type (e.g., prison, jail, probation, fine) and length of sentences received, net of other factors associated with sentencing outcomes. Additionally, this research examines whether the contextual characteristics condition the effects of several defendant characteristicxs on sentencing outcomes. The results of this research will broaden our understanding of the influence of defendant and case characteristics on sentencing outcomes, especially the contextual nature of those effects, and greatly expand our knowledge of how contextual factors affect a variety of sentencing outcomes. In addition, this research will proivide valuable information to criminal justice policymakers about the factors associated with variation across jurisdictions in the nature and severity of sentencing outcomes.
Family and Intimate Violence Among Females in Gangs
While some literature has examined delinquent involvement among female gang members, much less has focused on their victimization. Reasons for this include limited research on females and gangs in general and the notion that such girls “deserve” to be victims since they have “chosen” to hang out with the wrong crowd. However, victimization often is associated with subsequent criminal behavior and encompasses both social and public health consequences. This research examines the nature, level and extent of family and intimate partner violence among Mexican American adolescent females involved with gangs compared to those not associated with gangs. Results include both qualitative and quantitative analysis and include comparisons of various psychometric instruments, including the Conflict Tactics Scale and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.
Family as Moral Community: Does the Effect of Youth Religiosity on Delinquency Depend on the Religiosity of Parents?
This study examines the “moral communities” hypothesis, which suggests that an individual’s religious commitment will only inhibit delinquent behavior if that individual lives in an area with a strong religious community. In contrast, if an individual lives in an area in which religion does not permeate the culture, his/her religious commitment will not have a significant impact on delinquency. Previous research on the moral communities hypothesis has examined the religiosity of individuals within the context of macro-level units, such as entire communities and within the contex of schools. This paper tests the moral communities hypothesis in a heretofore unexamined proximal context-the family. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), this study brings the moral communities hypothesis to a micro-level by examining whether the effect of a youth’s religious commitment on delinquency depends upon the religious commitment of his/her parents.
Family Strain, Negative Emotion, and Delinquency: Forwarding General Strain Theory as an Explanation of the Gender Gap
The disparity in the level of delinquency committed by male and female offenders is a topic of much empirical interest. This article examines the utility of Robert Agnew’s general strain theory (GST) as a framework for explaining the differing levels of delinquency between males and females. The focus of the current attempt is to test the hypotheses stated in Broidy and Agnew’s (1997) theoretical analysis of GST and to build upon an initial test of these hypotheses in a recent paper by Hay (2003). This research suggest that GST can account for gender differences by positing that males and females differ (1) in the types of strain they experience; (2) in their emotional responses to strain; (3) due to differences in coping, social support, opportunities, social control and the disposition to commit crime. Results of the study show promise in the use of GST as a means to assess the consistency of the gender gap. Limitations of the current study and implications for future research are presented.
Family Structure, Gender and Juvenile Crime Processing
This study examines gender differences and similarities among a racially and ethnically diverse population of nearly 10,000 recent juvenile cases referred to a large metropolitan court. With substantial information about the families, living arrangements, parental employment, substance abuse, and mental health problems for a large number of youths, these data provide unique opportunities for within and across gender comparisons to enhance our understanding of family influence and other risk factors for delinquency, court processing, treatment, and out of home placement.
Fear of Crime: A Comparison of Male Victims of Sexual Assault With Non-Victims
Men are victimized by sexual assault, but are often ignored by researchers, service providers, and the criminal justice system. Based on the National Crime Victimization Survey, males accounted for 11% of attempted and completed rapes and sexual assaults reported to the poice from 1992 through 2000. Researchers have found that male victims of sexual assault have a heightened sense of vulnerability in their everyday lives. Using data from the Violence Against Women Survey (collected between November 1995 and May 1996), I have compared male victims with non-victims to test the following hypotheses: male victims of sexual assault have a greater fear of violence than non-victims; male victims of sexual assault are more likely than non-victims to believe that personal safety for men in this country has gotten worse; male victims of sexual assault are more likely than non-victims to carry something to defend themselves; and the types of weapons that victims of sexual assault are different from non-victims.
Fear of Crime Among Whites and Latinos: Testing Previous Theoretical Findings
Gang crime and resulting public fear became a major policy focus during the 1990s and recent numbers indicate that gang homicides may again be on the rise; yet, there are few studies specifically focusing on fear of gangs. Most research is guided by social disorganization theory and tests the effects of perceptions about community diversity, disorder, and/or decline on fear of crime. In a prior qualitative study (Lane, 2002), we found that residents of the city of Santa Ana in Orange County, California believed that diversity, especially undocumented immigrants, brought disorder, which caused the community to decline and therefore made them afraid of gangs. In this paper we test the qualitative findings with quantitative data from a 1997 random digit dial survey of Orange County residents.l Using structural equation modeling, we examine models for the entire sample and for Whites and Latinos separately.
Felonious Killings of and Assaults Upon Law Enforcement Officers, 1960-1999
Violence against U.S. police influences researcher, = practitioner, and popular notions about the phyusical hazards of American policing. The most common official source of such information, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) Uniform Crime Report (UCR) program, is used by police to provide officer safety information to trainees, formulate policies and field procedures, as well as devise and emphasize various skills training activities. Perceptions of the relative risk associated with various assaults–e.g., with regard to assailant use of firearms, cutting instruments, blunt instruments, or physical weapons–play a role in shaping police and thus trainers’ priorities regarding instructional priorities and scenario-based experiences. Therefore, the utility of such government information is tied to the accuracy, completeness, and representativeness of its portrayal of violent police-citizen interactions. The UCR and related reports are examined in this paper by way of (1) a vareity of trends in assaults and felonious killings for the period 1969-1999, as well as (2) gauging the type and level of department participation in reporting assaults and assaults with injuries. Participation stability over this period is a potentially important factor in interpreting reported descriptive findings of the nature and extent of violence against police.
Female Correctional Subcultures: Resulting Institutional and Staff Management Challenges
The literature on the sexual and non-sexual relationships among pseudofamily groups and dyads in woman’s prisons indicate that these relationships cause many of the problems encountered by correctional staff. The staff’s management styles and biases often create an atmosphere that leads the staff and other inmates to overreact to women who participate in these relationships. This frequently results in staff and non-involved inmates being drawn into the manipulation of those who are in these relationships which instigate bouts of jealousy, anger, and confrontation within the pseudofamilies/dyads. This paper offers insight into the pseudofamily units, dyads, inmates not involveds in either type of relationship, and correctional staff by describing the nature of these relationships and how various individuals within the prison setting cope with both the inferred and authentic problems these create.
Female Drug Offenders: A Quantitative Analysis of Recidivism
This research focuses upon the lives of women inmates and whether female prisoners’ recidivism differs by demographic charcteristics, personal background and pre-prison experiences. The gender entrapment model shows that abuse, lack of education, motherhood, and unemployment are strong predictors of female inmates’ recidivism. However, this explorative work shows that dependence to illegal substances is the most significant variable in the analysis of female inmates’ recidivism. Multivariate statistical analysis of the data set “Survey of Inmates of U.S. Federal and State Correctional Facilities, 1997” shows that female inmates who suffer from heroin drug addictio are those with highest level of recidivism. The aim of this research is to explain how women pre-prison experiences and personal backgrounds shape female inmates’ pathways to prison and recidivism. This might suggest that a large group of women who are incarcerated need treatments more than punishments. By comparing their lives before incarceration these papers aim to suggest that most often women’s pathways to prison show that women are marginalized in our societies and that incarceration is often the result of their marginalization.
Female Juvenile Offender Involvement in Domestic Violence-Related Offending
The increase in girls’ arrests for violent offenses over the last decade has garnered the attention of scholars as well as of the media. While some have characterized the increase in girls’ violent offenses as an indication of a new wave of “bad girls” and a substantive behavioral change on the part of young women in America, others have focused on the etiology and circumstances surrounding girls’ violent offending. The extent to which violence impacts girls’ lives and their own involvement in violent offending has only recently gained attention. Domestic violence and the role it plays in the violent offending of girls is a topic warranting further empirical inquiry. Of particular interest is whether domestic violence incidents result in the criminalization of girls’ survival techniques, whether it increases their likelihood of involvement in the juvenile justice system, and whether this differs significantly from that of boys. The current study attempts to explore these issues through the analysis of juvenile cases involving male and female domestic violence offenders in the state of Florida. The study sample consists of 20,118 cases referred to the juvenile justice system. The intent of the research is to explore the situational contexts underlying recent increases in girls’ violent offending and to examine whether gender differences emerge in the processing of juvenile cases and placement of youths in detention. The findings include a descriptive profile of the male and female offenders in the sample as well as multivariate analyses of gender differences in the likelihood of being detained solely for a domestic violence offense.
Female Persistence in Criminal Offending Patterns: A Theoretical and Empirical Examination
Developmental criminologists posit that dimensions of offending such as persistence in criminal offending patterns are important in understanding criminality and should be examined. However, patterns of persistence have been largely ignored in criminololgical research. The little empirical research that has been conducted on persistence has focused primarily on males. Therefore, much of the understanding researchers have about persistence in offending patterns cents on male persistence. The research seeks to close this gap. Using data on a sample of females collected from a wothwestern prison, this investigation advances previous research by examining female persistence patterns in crime. The theoretical, research, and policy implications of this study will be discussed.
Fightling Like a Girl: How ‘At-Risk’ Inner-City Girls Use and Experience Violence
In this paper I present findings from a qualitative research project designed to explore how “at risk” youth enrolled in a city hospital-based violence intervention project use, experience, and manage violence in their everyday lives. Specifically, I discuss the context of violence in the lives of the girls and young women in this project, most of whom are African-American and reside in some of the mist distressed neighborhoods in a large Northeastern city. The paper is divided into two sections. In the first part of this paper I briefly introduce a developing typology of the violence present in the lives of the young women who are enrolled in this violence intervention project. This typology includes the perceived origin of particular conflicts and with whom each type of conflict tends to occur. I then provide an in-depth discussion of one of the several themes that have emereged in this study regarding how the girls and young women in this project use, experience and manage various forms of violence intheir lives.
Filling in the Gap in the Causal Link of Deterrence
The primary purpose of the paper is probing the role of critical intervening variable (i.e., the individual’s perceived threat of punishment) in deterrence research. Using official data (county level) and survey data (individual level), the authors examine the critical causal link of deterrence theory with HLM (Hierarchical Linear Modeling) technique.
Findings From a Process and Outcome Evaluation of a Prison Sex Offender Treatment Program and the Link to Program Management and Public Policy
This paper reports the findings from a comprehensive program evaluation that incorporated the concepts described in Paper #1. Funded by a grant from the U. S. Bureauof Justice Assistance, the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, Office of Research and Statistics, conducted a formal evaluation of the Sex Offender Therapeutic Community (TC) within the Colorado Department of Corrections. While Paper #2 described the comprehensive research design, this paper will discuss the process and outcome evaluation findings in the context of the strategies employed to feed back information to program managers, correctional administrators and state policy makers during a time of severe budget cuts (recognizing that the program was extremely vulnerable to staff reductions). Gaps in programming were identified and program managers immediately responded to the information by making adjustments to the program, reflecting the inherent relationship between program development (which is dynamic and ongoing), performance measures and formal evaluation. The authors also will review the recidivism analysis of over 3,000 sex offenders released from Colorado prisons since 1993. This aspect of the study examined differences between offenders who had and had not participated int reatment. The finding that sex offenders not participating iun the TC component of treatment were significantly more likely to be arrested for a violent crime within one year of release to parole supervision will be discussed. Treatment effects appear to last over six years. A discussion of the difficulties encountered when examining recidivism with this population, and how this complicates our confidence in the outcome findings, will set the stage for questions and audience interaction.
Firearms, Crime and the UK Gun Debate
Since the handgun ban introduced in Great Britain following the Dunblane School Shooting in March 1996, firearm related crime has risen sharply, especially since 1998. Overall recorded gun crime has more than doubled and there have been almost 350 firearm homicides. Not surprisinly, such unprecedent figures have led to shooting lobby commentators to declare the gun control measures (a ban on the private possession of handguns) introduced in 1997 to be a failure. The New Year’s Day shooting of two young girls in a gang-related incident in Birmiungham dramatically reignited the debates about gun control in the UK, prompting the Blair Government to respond to an offence trend that was, seemingly, out of control. In this ananlysis, however, I attemp to develop a more sophisticated assessment of the UK’s emerging problem of firearm-related crime in part as a way of distinguishing the UK firearm related crime problem from that of the USA. This will draw particular attention to the role of replica firearms distorting the statistical recording of firearm incidents; the very tight connection between firearm involvement and trafficking and organised and drug-related criminal activity and finally the impact of intelligence-led policing operations against gun-involved criminal activity. In the context of these emerging crime and enforcement trends the politics of gun control has begun to take a new shape. During the UK gun debate in 1996097, representatives of the UK shooting lobby argued vehemently (not not entirely accurately) against any relationship pertaining between the legal ownership of firearms, sports shooting, and the criminal uste of firearms. In more recent years a newer and more assertive (US inflected?) ideology of firearm rights has begun to emerge arguing, inter-alia, the right to possess firearms and the related right to armed self-defence. The paper moves on to consider these issues in the context of a wider discussion of the politics of firearms.
Firearms and Homicide — A State-Level Analysis
This study examines the relationships between the numbers of firearms in circulation, firearms regulations, and state homicide rates. While national-level studies generally have found a non-significant association between the number of firearms and homicides, this research reveals that net of other factors, there were three consistent sources of state murder rates and firearms homicides in 2000: economic deprivation, firearms density, and less stringent state background checks on firearms purchases. Examination of the conditioning effects of firearms density on urban populations revealed that murder rates were highest in states with high levels of urbanization and firearms density. While the significance of these findings may be tempered by the fact that proxy measures for firearms density — the firearms suicide rate, and stole firearems rate — were estimated, two broad criminal justice policy implications are discussed: First, developing law enforcement strategies that target reductions in the number of illegally carried or owned firearms in urban areas. Second, stricter background checks, rather than stringent state-firearms regulations, might be a more effective method of reducing state murder rates.
Flexible Evaluability Assessments Applications to Adult and Juvenile Interventions
Evaluability assessments are activities that help an evaluator gauge the likelihood that an evaluation will be successful. The information derived from these assessments can avert large investments in “unevaluable” programs, identify and correct program blind spots, and inform the scope and structure of ensuing evaluation efforts. This information is particularly important to an agency like the National Institute of Justice because it is called upon to evaluate the programs of other federal agencies and rarely has first-hand knowledge of the program’s operations. Assessments can apply any of a wide spectrum of investigative methods depending on the problem at hand, the resources available, and the size and complexity of the program to be evaluated. Evaluators can conduct modest assessments of a program’s logic simply by reading descriptive reports at a desk. With a few telephone calls to the project site, an evaluator can learn about staff qualifications to operate the program and, with a little more time, receive sample records from the project’s data systems. The National Institute of Justice has recently adopted a policy to assess the evaluability of all programs that it expects to evaluate. This presentation reports on the application of this policy to a portfolio of 175 adult and juvenile justice programs that NIJ was required to evaluate.
Focus on Family and Fatherhood: Lessons From Fairfax County’s Responsible Fatherhood Program for Incarcerated Dads
Current research estimates that some 10 million children will have an incarcerated father before reaching age 18 (DOJ, 2003). Research suggests that children who grow up without a father are five to six times more likely to live below the poverty line, or at risk of substance abuse, physical and emotional abuse, and are more likely to become involved in the justice system themselves (Anderson, Kohler and Leciecq, 2002). In an effort to re-connect children with estranged or absent fathers, Responsible Fatherhood programs have been implemented in prisons and communities around the country. In March of 2002, Fairfax County implemented a Responsible Fatherhood program for incarcerated Dads. This article presents quantitative and qualitative results from an evaluation of the first six cohorts to complete the program. The program’s effectiveness in building family relationships is discussed, along with other program benefits and recommendations for future programs.
Formal and Informal Resource Utilization Among Rural and Urban Women: A Protective Order Sample
A significant proportion of women are affected by intimate partner violence each year. In order to cope with intimate partner violence women may utilize a variety of resources. In addition to their informal support networks, it is critical that women utilize health, mental health, and criminal justice services in response to the violence. However, there has been limited systematic examination of resource utilization among women experiencing intimate partner victimization. Moreover, there has been limited examination of formal and informal resource utilization among rural amd irbam wp,em/ Tjos stidu ised a [rptectove prder sa,[;e pf rira; )n=250) and urban (n=300) women to examine similarities and differences in formal and informal resource utilization in response to the violence and their overall satisfaction with the experience. Implications for policy, practice, and future research will be discussed.
Fraud in the American Healthcare System
The paper focuses on the losses to fraud and efforts to stem the flow of money from an already expensive system. A review of recent investigations and prosecutions, schemes aimed at defrauding Medicare and Medicaid, as well as private health insurers.
Freshmen Learning Communities in Criminology and Criminal Justice: An Effective Tool for Enhancing Student Recruitment and Learning Outcomes
A freshman Learning Community (FLC) is a cohort of 20-25 incoming freshmen who are enrolled in the same 5 courses for their first semester of college. Each FLC takes on a topical focus with a department-level representative in charge of course selection and the supervision of a mandotory class on new student orientation. Through careful curricular design and collaboration, FLCs in Criminal Justice can pay significant dividens in the way of recruiting undergraduate majors, enhancing writing and analytical skills, and increasing student retention rates. This paper describes in depth the FLC initiative and its implementation at one Criminal Justice department.
From Badness to Meanness: Popular Constructions of Contemporary Childhood
This paper discusses of popular constructions of contemporary girlhood and, more specifically, with a vivid account of the “alpha girl” and “queen bee” stereotype that has recently dominated popular discussions of girlhood. While attracting readers with a summary of popular constructions of girls’ meanness, the chapter offers a carefully constructed critique of these perspectives by suggesting that journalists, psychologists, and popular non-fiction writers have failed to address the issue of social power. We attempt to correct this void in current debates by comparing the current mean girl scare to past constructions of bad girls. We highlight our argument of social power by outlining the way that historic images of bad girls are often racialized and steeped in class conflicts. Thus, the stereotype of violent, lower-class, black and Latina gangbangers of the 1980s and 90s is traced to the mean girl construction of the clique oriented, white and middle class girl of the early twenty-first century.
From Science to Effective Community Practice: The Nurse Family Partnership Experience
This talk will outline a program of research aimed at improving the outcomes of pregancy, child health and development, and maternal life-course with a program of prenatal and infancy home visiting by nurses for low-income mothers having first babies. We present the theoretical and epidemiologic foundations of the program, the major findings from the randomized controlled trials employed to test the program, and our efforts to translate these findings into effective community nurse home visitor programs. Particular attention is given to our development of the National Center for Children, Families, and Communities, which serves as the organization devoted to replicating the program, now called the Nurse-Family Partnership, in new communities with fidelity to the model tested in the trials. Our national replication work resolves around three major functions: helping organizations and communities become prepared to conduct and sustain the program over time; training nurses and providing them with structured guidelines to enable them to conduct the program with a high level of clinical excellence; and research, evaluation, and quality improvement activities designed to continuously improve the program and its implementation as it is offered to a large number of communities over time.
From Welfare Queens to Docile Women: The Discipline and Control of Poor Women
In this paper I use the work of both Foucault (1995) and Garland (1990; 2001) to explore the ways in which the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and its supporters construct welfare recipients as deviant and in need of surveillance and control. The welfare reforms passed in 1996, and recently reauthorized in the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2003, represented drastic changes for welfare law and welfare recipients. The new welfare laws seek to regulate women economically, productively, socially and sexually by imposint work requirements, time limits, family caps on funding and marriage initiatives. These welfare reforms have introduced multiple methods to regulate poor single women’s behavior and align it with what conservative groups consider more legitimate or appropriate behavior for women overall. Foucault’s work on the role of power and surveillance in society is used in this paper to examine how women receiving welfare are deemed in need of discipline and are placed under multiple methods of surveillance and control. Garland’s framework for examining the political, economic, historical, and social context for a particular policy or institution in society is another lens used to explore the larger context and implications of policy reforms such as those embodied in welfare law.
Future Uncertainty and Offending: Individual Differences and Context Effects
Various researchers from anthropological, psychological, Darwinian, and criminological traditions have focused on the role of individual beliefs in an uncertain future as a correlate of self-centered, antisocial, and present-oriented behavior. If the future is unpredictable, or predictably unrewarding, there is no compelling reason to delay gratification, or prioritize the needs of others over the needs of the self. The present study seeks to, first, confirm the construct of future uncertainty as an individual-level predictor of delinquency and other self-centered behavior and, second, to examine the effects of various contexts, such as schools and neighborhoods, on future uncertainty itself. The data used for this investigation come from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally-representative (US) sample of adolescents that allows analysis by school, neighborhood, peer group, and family.
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Gender, Culture, and Drugs: An Assessment of Juvenile Court Responses to Drug Use by Male and Female Adolescents
A reading of girls’ juvenile court social files points to the strong linkages among victimization, drug use, and offending. Consistent with research that addresses the unique dimensions of girls’ delinquency, we propose toe xamine these connections through a systematic analysis of qualitative (i.e., psychological reports; probation officer assessments; commentary by and about parents, teachers, and youths) and quantitative (i.e., official court records) data from the Maricopa County (Phoenix, AZ) Juvenile Court. We will supplement these data with analysis of a matched sam0ple of boys’ files. We are particularly interested in capturing how probation officers, psychologists, and other juvenile court staff differently perceive drug use by girls and boys, as well as their proposals for how best to respond to that drug use. We examine the court’s recommendations and outcomes for treatment of drug use and explore what we call “court endorsed” drug use (e.g., court orders for youths to be on anti-depresssants as a means of curbinh marijuana and alcohol use).
Gender, Economic Marginalization and the Gender Gap in Arrests: An Examination of U.S. Cities, 1960-2000
Although there is a substantial gender gap between women’s and men’s criminal offending, this difference has diminished somewhat over the past four decades. Existing research on this trend has mainly centered on national-level analyses, which can obscure important patterns that may emerge at the local level. Furthermore, rather than pushing forward into new theoretical territory existing research has focused primarily on the liberation explanations that emerged in the 1970s. The present paper targets these two limitations in previous research. First, we examine female-to-male patterns of arrest across a sample of 100 olarge U.S. cities, from 1960 to 2000, assessing whether the city-level trends mirror the national-level trends. Second, we present an economic marginalization perspective on the gender gap in crime that synthesizes economic arguments from criminology and feminist theory and research on crime as well as poverty. The basic tenet of such a perspective is that there will be a reduction in the gender gap in criminal offending in times and cities where poverty is “feminized” and the differences between women’s and men’s economic well-being are great. We next test predictions derived from the economoic marginalization perspective using city-level from the U.S. Census for 1960 through 2000. Finally, we discuss the usefulness of an economic marginalization theory for understanding changes in the gender gap in crime over time and differences across cities.
Gender, Economics, and Crime: Exploring the Effect of Women’s Relative Economic Marginalization on the Gender Gap in Offending
Recent research documenting a convergence in male and female offending over past decades has offered women’s economic marginalization as an important explanation of this convergence. We build on this previous work by further exploring the utility of women’s economic marginalization in the study of gender differences in crime. Using poisson regression we estimate the effect of multiple dimensions of women’s relative economic status on the gender gap in offending across both property and violent offending in U.S. cities for the time period 1990-2000. Change models detailing shifts in this relationship over the decade are provided to further elucidate the nature of this association. Overall, study results offer insight into the unique impact of women’s economic marginalization on the gender gap in offending.
Gender, Self-Regulation and Delinquency: The Role of Delinquent Peers and Social Bonds
One of the most consistent findings in the criminological literature is the presence of a gender gap in crime and delinquency (Steffensmeier and Allan 1996). One possible explanation for the gender difference in delinquent offending is a gender differences in self-regulation (Baumeister et al. 1994). These differences are not only biological, but develop through differential gender socialization. An individual child’s gender involves societal gender role expectations (or type-scripts–Harris 1977). These gender expectations shape that child’s interactions with normative institutions, such as the family, church and schools, as well as influencing peer interactions and social opportunities outside the home. Girls are defined to be dmore domestic and familial, and therefore they are socialized to have different levels of parental bonding. Additionally, these gender definitions and differential socialization affect girls’ likelihood of having delinquent peers outside the home. Social bonding and engagement with delinquent peers further shape self-regulation, which affects the likelihood of the commission fo delinquent acts. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adoelscent Health (AddHealth) data, I examine the mediational effect of self-regulation on the gender difference in delinquency. I also examine the direct and indirect effects of parental bonding and delinquent peers on delinquency and self-regulation.
Gender, Social Bonding, and Peer Influence: A Conceptual Framework and Analysis
This paper will present a conceptual framework for a study that focuses on Hirschi’s social bonding theory as an explanation for juvenile drug use. Specifically, this conceptual model examines whether gender influences one’s bonds of attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief. The relationship between gender and juvenile drug use will also be explored. The roles of such control variables as race, community, peer influence, and grade level will also be assessed in the conceptual model. A large nationally representative data set of eight and tenth grade juveniles in the United States serves as the method for assessing the theoretical model, and prelimninary findings will be reported and discussed.
Gender, Streetlife and Violence: An Ethnographic Analysis
Recent feminist ethnography has documented the strongly patriarchal nature of streetlife (e.g., Joe Laider and Hunt 2001; Maher 1997; Miller 2001), clearly showing that men’s and women’s experiences of crime, and the social relationships in which offending is embedded, are highly gender stratified. While much of the data for this work has been collected with gender issues in mind, some studies have shown the utility of secondary analysis of existing data sets to examine these structures (e.g., Miller 1998; Mullins and Wright in press). This paper presents preliminary results from a secondary analysis of 290 interviews collected in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Interviews from seven separate studies are used to create a gender-diverse sample which is used to explore how men’s and women’s lived experiences with violence and streetlife are structured (and not structured) by gender.
Gender and Delinquency: Using General Strain Theory and the Gendered Theory of Offending to Explore Differences in Male and Female Delinquency
Drawing upon Robert Agnew’s general strain theory, this study expands upon past research by examining whether the strains, emotional responses, and negative behavioral outcomes experienced by adolescents are gender-specific. Although recent extensions of Agnew’s general strain theory suggest that gender can shape the types of strains one experiences and the responses one has to various strains, these studies generally do not offer theoretical explanations of gender differences, and they focus on a rather narrow range of strains and responses to strains. To address limitations, I incorporate the gendered theory of offending offered by Steffensmeier and Allan (1995, 1996) and examine a much broader array of strains, negative emotions, and negative behavioral outcomes. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a nationally representative sample of school-aged adolescents, this study will expand upon general strain theory by emphasizing gender differences and employing comprehensive measures of strain, negative emotions, and negative behavioral outcomes. Consistent with theoretical expectations, preliminary findings indicate that males and females do indeed experience different strains and react to them with a range of negative emotions and negative behavioral outcomes.
Gender and General Strain Theory: An Exploration Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
The purpose of the current study is to provide a preliminary examination and potential explanation for gender differences delinquency, using arguments from general strain theory. Following this approach, I hypothesize that differences in strains and psychosocial resources control for the effect of gender on delinquency, and that gender interacts with these factors to impact delinquency. Analyses are based on the first wave of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health. Results offer tentative support for these hypotheses. Notably, educational strain and trouble relating in school interact with gender in affecting delinquency. Also, distress predicts delinquency for girls but not boys. Thus, general strain theory offers an intriguing starting point, but more theoretical and exploratory work is necessary to account for the relationship between gender and delinquency.
Gender and Sentencing in Florida
Women comprise the fastest growing population of offenders sentenced to prison. Many criminologists have contended that this increase in the population of incarcerated women is due primarily to changes in criminal justice policies, rather than to changes in the criminal involvement of women. 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 to determinate sentencing structures has served to equalize the treatment of men and women, thereby leading to a more pronounced increase in the incarceration of women compared to men. The present study examines the impact of Florida’s move from an indeterminate to a more determinate sentencing model on sentencing outcomes for female offenders compared to male offenders.
Gender Differences in Childhood Risk Factors for Violent and Nonviolent Crime Among Persons Incarcerated in the United States
This paper investigates gender differences in childhood risks for violent and nonviolent offending in a nationally representative sample of incarcerated men and women. It also gests the hypothesis that women experience higher levels of childhood risk prior to their involvement in criminal offending than men. Most existing studies of the relationship of childhood and other variables to involvement in illegal activities by women and girls rely on relatively small sample sizes and/or do not make direct comparisons to men, making it difficult to identify risk clusters and trajectories unique to women. These analyses are based on data from the 1997 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Prisons, a sample of 18,000 incarcerated women and men. Family risk factors (including childhood physical and sexual abuse, parental drug and alcohol abuse, and parental criminality) and sociodemographic risks (i.e. poverty) are examined in relation to men and women’s juvenile and adult offending patterns. Analyses focus on types of offending (property crimes, violent crimes, drug offenses), patterns of offending (none vs. chronic), and age of first offense.
Gender Differences in Psychosocial Functioning Among Probationers Mandated to a Substance Abuse Treatment Facility
The recognition that women substance abusers are a unique population with unique needs is widespread in the substance abuse treatment literature. Among other differences, previous research also suggests that changes in psychosocial functioning vary among the sexes. The present study investigated gender differences in psychosocial changes over the course of treatment. Participants included 210 probationers (147 males and 63 females) admitted to the Tarrant County Substance Abuse Treatment Facility in Mansfield, Texas. Information on psychosocial functioning was gathered at three time points in treatment (at Intake, Month 2, and Month 4). Psychosocial factors were created based on previous work and new factor analyses. Data analyses were then conducted using growth curve models, which examined gender differences in psychsocial change over time. Significant improvements were obtained for probationers’ ratings of anxiety, depression, decision making, self esteem, life beliefs, role modeling, and cooperation across time. More importantly, significant differences were found between men’s and women’s rate of change of psychsocial functioning with women showing greater changes in decision making, self-esteem, role modeling, life beliefs, and AIDS risk behavior in contrast to their male counterparts. These findings suggest that psychosocial functioning improves significantly over the course of treatment, and more so for women.
Gender Differences in Risk Factors for Offending: Implications for Risk-Focused Prevention
This research compares childhood risk factors for convictions of 494 brothers and 519 sisters of the London males followed up in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, which is a prospective longitudinal survey of the develpment of offending. Socio-economic risk factors such as low family income, poor housing and large family size predicted convictions more strongly for sisters than for brothers. Similarly, child-rearing risk factors such as poor parental supervision, harsh or erraic parental discipline, parental conflict and low praise by the parents were stronger predictors for sisters. However, convicted fathers and mothers were equally important predictors for brothers and sisters. The fact that convicted sisters were a more extreme fraction of the cohort than convicted brothers accounted for part of the gender difference in predictive accuracy, but not for all of it. It may be that the strength of causal influence of family risk factors on offending is greater for females and that risk assessment using family risk factors is more accurate for females. Also, intervention techniques targeting family risk factors may have proportionally more impact on female offending.
Gender Differences in Sentencing: From Arrest to Disposition
The present study seeks to clarify the role that offender’s gender plays at various stages of the criminal justice process. Gender differentials are explored from arrest offense to disposition and whether or not to incarcerate offenders. The data derives from a stratified representative sample of 7,729 criminal dispositions in Texas during 1991.
Gender Differences in the Development of Crime and Delinquency: The Effects of Marriage on Criminal Involvement by Men and Women
Previous research has offered evidence that a successful transition to marriage tends to reduce an individual’s involvement in crime and deviance. As adolescents enter adulthood they spend less time with peers and more time at work and with spouses. This research examines intra-individual changes in the rate of criminal involvement by men and women after marriage. The results of gender disaggregated growth cuve analyses are presented. The evidence presented indicates that while men’s involvement in crime decreases after marriage, women’s involvement actually increases. This research introduces evidence that marriage does not serve the same function for women that it does for men. While marriage is a conventional institution, it appears to expose women to greater risk of involvement in criminal behavior.
Gender Inequality and Other Macro-Social Effects on Femicide Rates
This theoretical paper examines several macro-social structural theories of femicide (homicide of women). It looks at research that has examined gender inequality as a possible motivating factor for the femicide rate and proposes the intersectionality theory as an alternative. Intersectionality argues that gender, race, and class disparities affect violence against women of color. Can that same theory be ued to explain violence against white women? Also, using community instability as a possible moderating factor will be discussed.
Gendered Justice: The Impact of Attributions in the Processing of Juvenile Offenders
Attribution theory focuses on the interpretative meanings of offending behaviors that is, what observers believe causes a person to engage in crime, and the perceived culpability of the offender. The current study focuses on the application of attribution theory to understand whether, how and why differential treatment by gender occurs in the processing of juvenile offenders. This paper addresses (1) whether differences in probation officers’ descriptions of male and female offenders exist that cannot be explained by the seriousness of the crime or the criminal history of the offender; and (2) how these descriptions affect sentencing recommendations and outcomes for males and females.
Genotype Environment Interaction: An Examination of the Caspi Hypothesis for the Etiology of Antisocial Behavior in a Nationally Representative Sampe of the U.S.
Childhood victimizatyion is associated with the risk for antisocial behavior in adolescence and adulthood. It has also been reported that some genetic polymorphisms are associated with aggressive behavior in both animal models and human families. Recently, it has been proposed that a genotype X environment interaction may occur such that some genetic influences on antisocial behavior may be especially important when paired with adverse environments. In this paper, we will examine the specific hypothesis that a polymorphism in an X-linked monomine oxidase gene (MAOA) is associated with antisocial behavior in individuals subjected to the stress of victimization, including maltreatment, in childhood. The hypothesis was suggested by Caspi et al (2002) who provided empirical support for it in a population-based longitudinal study of boys in Dunedin, New Zealand. Using the National Youth Survey sample, we will provide the first partial replication test of the hypothesis in a nationally representative sample of the U.S. population.
Geography, Polydrug Use, and Criminal Involvement of Arrested MDMA Users
Reports of 34 methylenedioxymethamphetamiune (MDMA, “ecstasy”) use have increased dramatically in recent years in the United States. However, relatively little research is available on the extent of MDMA use among criminal justice populations, correlates with other drug use in these populations, and potential implications for criminal justice and related agencies. This analysis will use approximately 75,000 completed interviews and urinalyses from the 2000 through 2003 Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring program (ADAM). We will compare the age, ethnic composition, geographic distributions of use, alcohol and polydrug use, criminal justice history and involvement, and drug market roles and participation of arrested MDMA and non MDMA drug users.
Getting in is Half the Fun: IRB Gatekeeping and Prison Research
Prisons keep people out just as they keep people in. This, of course, makes it difficult for researchers to probe the darker corners of prison life, especially prison culture. Ethnographers — researchers who study prison culture from the point of view of prisoners through qualitative interviewing or participant observation — have an especially difficult time. Not only must we navigate and negotiate prison administrators’ concerns for security and public image to obtain their permission for access, but we also face a more recent, and in some ways more formidable, gatekeeper: The Institutional Review Board (IRB) of our schools. IRBs are charged with assuring that research protocols do not endanger human subjects. However, IRBs often seem to work at cross-purposes with academic freedom and free inquiry. Ironically, even as they assess research in order to protect human subjects, they not only subvert rigorous scholarship, but can — through incompetence, ignorance, or over-zealous moral entrepreneuralism – put both subjects *and* researchers at risk. In this paper, I provide a few examples of IRB proceedings to illustrate recent difficulties that scholars have faced in a variety of both ethnographic and survey research projects. I suggest that, in some ways, the IRBs have created for themselves an image of star chamber inquisitors. I conclude by offering several stratgies for presenting prison research proposals to the IRB.
Getting Published
Panelists will discuss writing for publication in both refereed journals and books. The review and submission process, the revision process, the ethics of publishing, and securing publishing contracts, as well as other publication issues will be discussed.
Getting Serious About ‘Never Again’ Guns, Democide, and the United Nations
In the wake of World War II and the Nazi Holocaust, the United Nations adopted measures to prevent and punish the perpetrators of genocide. In practical terms, the United Nations has been an abysmal failure with respect to saving actual lives, and tens of millions have since been killed because of their membership in some racial, religious, or ethnic group. One common factor in most of these genocidal acts is that the group targeted for genocide was effectively disarmed prior to their murder — whether by happenstance, national policy, or, as in the case of Bosnia, by United Nations arms embargo. Civilian disarmament facilitates acts of genocide by lowering the cost of predation, and making the disarmed group more vulnerable to their would-be killers. Unfortunately, experience suggests that the international community cannot be relied upon to stop acts of genocide in progress. The responsibility of defending against acts of genocide, then, falls squarely on the shoulders of the potential victims. Although it is not a perfect solution, the proper course of action is to allow individuals to arm and defend themselves against their genocidal aggressors, and for the international community to guard this right scrupulously.
Global Criminology, Human Rights and Social Justice: A Recipe for Resisting Empire
Whether at home or abroad, domestically or internationally, the linkages or various connections between global, national community, and personal spheres of interaction require that a criminology strong enough to confront the U.S. empire will have to nuture a criminology that, first and foremost, revolves around human rights and social justice as fundamental to its epistemological orientation, and secondly strives to develop local, national, and international policies of social change and control that facilitate maximum potential and growth of all human beings.
Global Paradigm Shifts: Implications for a Shift in Justice to a Restorative Justice Paradigm
Recent paradigm shifts in the power structures of Venezuela and Rwanda provide real-world examples of how such shifts can occur in the current global climate. populist presidency in Venezuela that is, so far, standing up for a more equitable distribution of power against U.S. dislike and against internal, upper-class strikes and demonstrations provides one example of a political paradigm shift that promotes justice. In Rwanda, a devastating genocide resulted in a political blow to patriarchy. Since women how outnumber men, women’s grassroots movements are invigorating democracy. Again, a paradign shift opens doors to justice when a former power structure collapses. Both examples indicate, however, that restorative justice itself cannot affect a paradign shift IN THE CURRENT GLOBAL CLIMATE but stands ready as a well-articulated and viable alternative to justice ONCE there IS a shift in power.
Globalization, Gendered Labor Regimes, and the Potential for State/Corporate Criminality
This paper examines the ways that global corporate expansion has promoted a re/gendering of labor regimes, particularly in developing nations. Globalization is not abstract. It is the evolving outcome of state/corporate strategies that rely, among other things, on finding or creating labor regimes that will maximize profits by minimizing the return of corporate revenue to workers and their families as wages, benefits, or public capital. Key among these re/gendering strategies in many developing countries has been the liberation of women from traditional role constraints and their reconstitution as free subjects in the labor market. The apparent liberation and freedom of women in the global labor market, however, is both partial and contingent. Global corporations and host-states utilize a variety of exploitative practices and traditional role expectations to keep newly industrialized female workers from challenging the conditions and risks of their labor. The consequence has been the emergence of labor regimes in which worker rights, worker safety, and worker freedom approximate more closely those of the 19th rather than the 21st century workers.
Globalization, Sovereignty and Criminology: The Case of Forced Migration
Conditions of late modernity and globalisation have prompted a renegotiation and even realignment of the field of criminology. As the discipline re-examines its traditional terrain as well as the vast spaces it has moved into, the intellectual questions that come to be posed redefine the focus, if not the craft, of doing criminology. In parallel, the territorially sovereign state, which has sustained various assaults on its power, grants dominion to those able to secure personal safety and mobility which comes with that secure (non-suspect) identity. To those unable to secure/afford their own personal safety their mobility becomes itself suspect. Their forced territoriality to home/prison is in contrasxt to what Bauman identifies as the mobility and safety of the extra-territorial elite. Those that seek territorial protection, through their suspicious mobility challenges the few territorially rooted functions of the state in an anxious condition and sees the refugee designated with the forced territorially of the unsafe and immobile. But this is to tempt an analysis that locates the deviant as actor and the state as merely responder (from misguided to malicious). However, deviance rarely precedes regulation and rather regulation often creates the conditions upon which the other is created and then censured, produced and then excluded. The drive to regulate, to control, to impose order/norms, to discipline the flow of forced migration creates and engages categories that upon application can only be failed and thus have regulatory subjects designated dangerous.
Going to the Other Side: Towards a Life Course Explanation of Desistance
Research on recidivism has identified those offenders who fail to desist from criminal offending as these youth make the transition to adulthood. What do we know about those youth who do not recidivate? What do we know about those youth who make it or desist from criminality and successfully enter adulthood? This paper explores desistance from criminal behavior among 2,500 youth released from incarceration in 1997-1998. We examine individual, family, and community level variables to understand differences in desistance between released youth with histories of maltreatment and those with no history of maltreatment. It is imperative that research systematically examines those youth who do not offend. The criminal justice system invests heavily on front=end programs and back-end programs for high-risk offenders. Yet, one way to slow the incidence of re-offending by delinquent youth is to better understand those who desist from criminality. Armed with this information, intervention specialists can devise release plans to assist high risk youth adjust to the free community over the long term.
Good Ol’ Boys: Severe and Pervasive Conduct of Sexual Harassment in Criminal Justice Agencies
Sexual harassment in criminal justice agencies is a persistent problem that stems from the male-dominated realities of the workplace. In 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court in Harris v. Forklift Systems articulated a non-exclusive list of factors to determine if a workplace is so permeated with sexual harassswment to raise a Title VII claim. These included: (1) the frequency of the discriminatory conduct; (2) its severity; (3) whether the conduct was physically threatening or humiliating, or a mere offensive utterance; (4) whether the conduct unreasonably interfered with plaintiff’s work; and (5) what psychological harm, if any, resulted. This paper will explore lower court opinions in the U.S. District Courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals, focusing on case law dealing with these issues within criminal justice agencies.
Governing Crime in the Countryside
Post Foucaultian theory in criminology, developed by Garland, O’Malley and others has focussed on general trends in the governing of crime and criminals in the advanced liberal democracies, with a particular emphasis on governing beyond the state in a range of sites of governance and through sophisticated technologies of risk assessment and management. However, recent theory in this field, including that developed by this author, has tried to go beyond the grand narratives by focussing more on local differences through the undertaking of empirical research on the interaction of formal and informal sites governance. This paper explores some of these theoretical issues by reference to attempts by state and related agencies to control crime and foster community development in a socially divided rural community in southern England, in which informal patterns of governance and ‘risk management’ compete strongly with official strategies and tactics.
Group Threat, Community Cohesion, and Punitive Attitudes
This paper explores the interplay of macro- and micro-level factors on punitive attitudes, and how race conditions this relationship. Theoretically, this analysis draws from two prominent traditions in the ares of prejudice and punitive attitudes. On the one hand, group threat theory (Blalock 1967; Blumer 1958) suggests prejudice is associated with community demographic characteristics, such as the size of “subordinate groups” relative to the “dominant group,” and perceptions of competition in employment and politics. Yet, research applying this perspective to punitive attitudes and perceptions of the courts is scant. We juxtapose this approach with a Durkheimian explanation of punitive attitudes, which suggests feelings of social cohesion and community identity should mediate the effect of demographic change in the community and perceptions of competition and threat. To test these theoretical ideas we proceed by (1) drawing specific hypotheses from these theoretical perspectives, (2) testing the relative influence of macro- and micro-level factors on punitive attitudes, and (3) examining how race conditions this relationship. Our analysis and results are based on a new and innovative survey on prejudice and punitive attitudes (The American Mosaic Survey).
Gun Control in Canada: Problems and Prospects
Canada’s universal gun registration legislation (Bill C-68), passed in December 1995, has been plagued by a variety of problems: delays in coming into force, huge cost overruns, lack of public cooperation, need to cut fees to encourage registration, massive problems with its computer systems, stubborn resistance by anti-control groups, and the refusal of six of 10 provinces to participate int he administration of the new law. A recent examination by the Auditor General discovered that the Canadian Department of Justice had misled Parliament and attempted to hide the cost overruns by resorting to “back door” financing. While the latest deadline for registration of all long guns and hand guns is July 1, 2003, it is not clear that it will take another decade to register a substantial proportion of firearms in the country. The officoal estimate of the gunstock is far below independent estimates of the actual number of guns in private hands. We explain that, like previous gun control legislation in Canada, Bill C-68 reflects opportunistic behavior by politicians, founded on a kultur kampf, rather than being developed as a policy for solving a specific problem
Gun Control in England: The Tarnished ‘Gold Standard’
Firearms restrictions in England, now the strictest of any democracy, are often cited as proof that strict gun controls produce low rates of armed and violent crime. There are two basic problems with that model: before 1920, when there were no serious gun restrictions in England, gun crime was astonishly low. Secondly, as the government circumscribed the right of individuals to have guns, or any device, for their protection, violent crime began to spiral out of control while gun crime, never a problem, has becone one. A recent UN study of crime in 18 developed countries put England at the top for “most serious offences”. This paper will briefly track the English policy of disarming the public and examine the modern impact.
Gun Ownership, Gang Membership, Drug Dealing and Male Juvenile Homicide
Based on logistic regression model, this study examines the causal impact of gun ownership, gang membership and drug dealing on male juvenile’s committing homicide. The sources of the data are surveys collected by Sheley, Wright and Smith in ten inner cities in the states of California, Illinois, Louisiana, and New Jersey, in year 1991. The data set consists of information on 835 male inmates and 758 male students. Consistent with expectation, gun ownership, gang membership and drug dealing are found to greatly increase male juveniles’ probability of committing homicide. The author finds that low education, arrest history, and suspension from school are also risk factors for committing homicide.
Gun-Related Crime in North Dakota: Results From PSN Research
This paper deals with results from most of the first year of research conducted by a team of researchers at Minot State University’s Rural Crime and Justice Center as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. With its low crime rates and largely rural nature, the state of North Dakota poses unique challenges for researchers. The paper describes the methodology used, research limitations, preliminary results, and possible recommendations coming from the research. even though Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide initiative, the research being conducted in the North Dakota district once again underlines the need for flexibility in adapting PSN’s core components to different local circumstances. The nature of both gun violence per se and violations of gun laws reflect North Dakota’s profile against the background of other, more populous and more urbanized states.
Gun Type Risks in Battered Spouse and Police Shooting Scenarios
Weapons appearance may influence jury simulations in gun usage situations. Assault rifles have led to stiffer recommended sentences than other types of firearms. We termed this a gun type risk. These effects may vary by gender of shooter and subject. we test two scenarios. First, a woman, seemingly suffering from Battered Wife’s Syndrome, uses various weapons to kill her husband. The question of interest was whether the type of weapon used would influence the jury decision. we found that unlike our previous scenarios, weapons type and gender were not significant factors in verdict, sentence or juror confidence. The premeditated action seems to outweigh the weapons factor. A second scenario was based on a real police shooting. An officer arrived at a convenience story robbery where shots were fired. As the three victims fled from the store, the officer mistakenly shot them. We investigated whether the gender of the officer and the weapon used influenced several hypothetical decisions: a criminal verdict and sentence, department sanctions and confidence in the subjects’ decisions. Both college students and police officers were subjects. Of interest is the comparison of the layperson and the profession as well as officer gender, subject gender and gun type.
Guns, Drugs, and Violence: A Lethal Combination Among Youth in Michigan
This poster session will present the dilemma of guns and drugs, and when combined, their association to crime. The relationship between drugs and illegal gun-carrying offenders between 18 to 23 years of age and their levels of association to gun violence and homicides will be addressed. Specifically, certain drugs may be linked to violent and gun-related crimes more so than others, and this association between crime and behavior will be discussed. Data for this study were obtained from a sample of incarcerated males from the State of Michigan. The nexus between guns and drugs and criminality will be explained using social disorganization and ecological thories, based specifically in urban areas with excessive rates of heterogeneity and transiency. Based on empirical findings and statistics, policy recommendations will be made for future implementation.
Gurney Conversions or Genuine Contrition: Expressions of Remorse in Death Row Inmates
The last statements of over two hundred cases of inmates who were executed in Texas from 1986 to the present form the data for this paper. We have identified two types of remorse in the last statements, one is a “reparative remorse” the other is a “restrictive remorse”. This paper elaborates on these conceptual categories and their relationship to factors such as race of the offender, relationship to the victim, gender of the victim, presence of witnesses at the execution, and length of time on death row.
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Hackers, Cyberculture, and Context: Gaining Perspective on an Emerging Criminal Group
Criminological interest in computer crimes has expanded greatly over the past ten years, as has the research on these crimes. By comparison, the study of the actors responsible for these crimes, specifically computer hackers, is rather limited and aging. Prior research suggests that hackers and hacker groups may resemble street gangs in patterns of behavior (Mann and Sutton, 1998; Skinner and Fream, 1997; Slatalla and Quittner, 1995). Such a potentially important finding has been given only a cursory examination in the literature. As a result, the understanding of these criminal actors is underdeveloped and potentially incorrect. This research attempts to conceptualize hackers and hacker groups in the current literature on street gangs to examine the accuracy of previous claims and determine new paths for future research. Difficulties in performing this research and the potential policy implications will also be considered.
Harassment in the Workplace: Individual and Organizational Effects
This paper will examine different levels of workplace harassment as well as the effects it has on both employees and employers. Harassment will be addresssed as a form of physical and/or psychological violence. In any case, victims sustain some degree of discomfort, ranging from annoyance to trauma in accordance with their personal history and the severity of the experience. The cultural climate of the organization and the way in which it deals with such issues is critical. Discussion about appropriate ways to address harassment/violence will also be discussed.
Harry Blackmum and the Fourth Amendment
When Harry Blackmum was first nominated to serve on the United States Supreme Court there was a general assumption that he would act as a “clone” of his boyhodd friend, the Chief Justice. In many areas of the law, however, Blackmum changed his ideological moorings (e.g., the death penalty and abortion). This paper will examine the degree to which Blackmum my have changed in the area of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. The implications of this change (if any) for the understanding of the behavior of appellate court judges will be examined.
Hate Crimes in California: Elements That Increase Their Likelihood of Prosecution
In the year 2001 California law enforcement agencies reported 2,261 hate crime “events” to the state’s Department of Justice (DOJ). Investigators referred 481 cases to local district and city attorneys for prosecution, of which 314 were prosecuted under California hate crime statutes. This study looks at variables that may increase the likelihood that hate crime cases are prosecuted, such as victim’s race, ethnicity, sexual orientation — versus that of the perpetrator, and common elements that prosecuted cases may have. In addition, I look at the subjective decisions made by investigators and prosecutors with regard to the cases they pursue and ultimately select for prosecution under the added burden of proof that hate crime law demands. Using California DOJ data, along with interviews with investigators and prosecutors, I identify some common elements of hate crimes that increase the likelihood of their eventual acceptance into the criminal justice system.
He Said/She Said: The Effects of Victim Resistance and Perpetrator Reaction on Attributions and Responsibility on Date Rape
Different factors affect how people attribute victim and perpetrator blame in date rape scenarios. The first purpose of the present study is to determine if the kind of resistance the woman uses will affect the amount of responsibility attributed to the female victim and the male perpetrator. The second purpose is to determine if the male perpetrator’s response to the resistance affects the amount of responsibility attributed to the female victim and the male perpetrator. Participants were 204 undergraduates (129 women, 75 men) who watched one of seven videos which varied the kind of resistance shown by the victim (verbal, physical, verbal and physical, none) and the reaction of the perpetrator (anger, none). Then they answered two scales which assessed attributions of responsibility to the victim and the perpetrator. The perpetrator was held significantly less responsible when the victim did not resist and the perpetrator did not react. The perpetrator was held significantly more responsible when he reacted in an angry way at the victim and she resisted verbally, physically or both verbally and physically or when the victim resisted verbally without a reaction from the perpetrator. Men held the victim more responsible for the rape than did women.
Healing Through and Beyond the Bars
Women Embracing Freedom Together (WEFT) is a non-profit grassroots organization that emerged from classes taught through the Women’s Studies Department of Portland State University. Today, WEFT is operating several transition houses to assist former women prisoners reintegrate back into their families and into society. This paper addresses the problems and successes of healing through and beyond the bars. At the heart of the WEFT program rests the philosophy that formerly incarcerated women are the real leaders of criminal justice reform. Because of their personal eperience as prisoners and defendants they are best suited to provide services to women making the transition from prison and doing time to mainstream society.
Healthcatraz: The Changing Landscape of School Security
Security cameras, wire fences, drug dogs, metal detectors, random searchers, mirrors, ID cards…a description of a post 9/11 airport or a prison? Maybe. But more precisely this is a description of the current and future trends in crime prevention for junior and senior high schools. Why are schools turning more into prisons than educational facilities? I propose that as a result of recent mass schools shootings, America’s schools are becoming increasingly more restricted and militarized to try and prevent future incidents. This paper will analyze the issues surrounding this recent increase in school security by examining the system that influences the school system and how schools have changed policies in response to these tragedies. First, I will examine the overarching criminal justice system with its biases and how it attempts to prevent and punish crime. Next I will explore the school shootings that have created this shift in policy within schools and how this mirrors the overall system. As a conclusion, I will discuss how these new measures can cause further alienation, violence and distrust among youth and how there are better approaches to the problem of school shootings rather than turning our schools into mini-prisons.
Helping Hand of Police During Incidents of Domestic Violence
Most research on policing domestic violence has focused on two questions: what factors predict whether police make an arrest; and, whether arrest produces a deterrent effect. Prior research has neglected other actions that police might take for or against persons at the scene, such as providing advice, warning or threatening someone, making someone leave, writing a report, or making an arrest. Specifically, it is unclear whether factors that influence the arrest decision also similarly impact other decisions that officers take at the scene. This study will draw upon data from field observations conducted in Indianapolis, Indiana and St. Petersburg, Florida. To determine what combination of factors influence officers’ decisions to grant or deny citizens’ most restrictive requests, police actions at the scene are modeled additively and interactively. Variables analyzed include the nature of the citizens’ relationships (intimate vs non-iuntimate and cohabitants vs non-cohabitants), legal considerations (offense seriousness, level of evidence), and personal characteristics of the officers and citizens. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of theory and practice.
Here’s to Your Health…Or Not: Women Prisoners’ Health Care Needs
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. As women in prison have different treatment needs and problems than ther male counterparts, there is a need for gender-appropriate programs. The impact of such inmates on correctional health care services represents a potentially critical issue confronting correctional managers and correctional health service administrators. This paper highlights the need for correctional policy to address the health care needs of women prisoners.
High Anxiety Offenders in Correctional Settings: It’s Time for Another Look
This paper reviews four studies with respect to findings pertaining to high anxiety/neurotic, offenders: (a) a 1985-1986 study of fedeal prison inmates; (b) a 10-year follow-up study of the same cohort; (c) an experimental study of state parolees in a cognitive-behavioral study, and (d) a correlational study of sex-offenders. All four studies note clear distinctions between the neurotic offenders and offenders with different personality traits. Specifically: (a) thjey experienced more stress in prison settings; (b) had higher long-term recidivism rates than other types of offenders, including those with antisocial personality traits; (c) were harmed by the cognitive intervention tested; and (d) demonstrated very different motives and styles of sex offending behavior. A case is made for renewed attention to correctional interventions for these offenders.
Homicide and Violent Offenders Identified in the Court and Their Delinquency Trajectories in Adolescence and Early Adulthood
rajectory analyses based on self-reports or on multiple-informant reports are inheritently limited by the fact that they do not deal well with low base-rate events, such as homicide. Also, it remains to be seen to what extent homicide offenders and index violent offenders, as identified from court records, map on trajectories of delinquency based on information from multiple informants. The present paper presents the results of trajectory analyses on the oldest sample of the Pittsburgh Youth Study (N = 506). Trajectories were based on information from the youth, parent, and teacher. Severity scaling of serious delinquency and violence formed the basis for these analyses. The results show that homicide offenders were positioned mostly on the most deviant trajectories of serious offending. This also applied to violent index offenders. However, the homicide and index violent offenders were more spread over the serious and less serious violent trajectories. The findings are discussed in terms of future trajectory analyses, characteristics of individuals’ development toward homicide and violence, and the timing of preventive interventions.
Homophobic or Racist? An Attitudinal Study of the Public Perception of Hate Crime
There have been a number of studies which have examined public perceptions of crime (see especially, Warr, 1980; 1989). However, most of these studies have focused on more conventional types of crime. In the past several years, hate crime has increasingly garnered attention in the media, and yet, very little is known about the public perception of this form of crime. The present study explores current attitudes about hate crime, as well as the perceived prevalence of this type of crime. Additionally, we examine the impact of various demographic indicators (e.g., gender, race, sexual preference) on the perception of the extent and nature of hate crime. The results are discussed within the context of possible policy implications.
How Can Epistemology and Philosophy of Science Strengthen Criminological Research and Theorizing?
Almost as if they were talisman, some criminological scholars trot out the constructs, ‘epistemology,’ and to a lesser extent, ‘philosophy of science,’ as if to achieve instant intellectual and ideological sanctioning. Indeed, it was pointed out a few years ago that in a content analysis of journals in critical criminology and feminist criminology, some authors mentioned epistemology up to ten times using the term in almost as many different ways. A more scholarly mature use was reflected in an insightful article by a pre-eminent theorist in THE CRIMINOLOGIST (July/August 2003) and in another discussion between Francis Cullen and Michael Braswell. Both emphasize the necessity of philosophy of science to illuminate criminological research and theory. Yet none of these discussions tell us exactly what either epistemology or philosophy of science are. Nor are they particularly specific about how the criminologist in the street can use either term in her research and/or teaching. This discussion will compare the possible heuristic value of both constructs with other theory/research related terms such as meta-analysis, destructuration, and the sociology of knowledge (the latter and philosophy of science are subsets of the broader term, epistemology). The perceived value of these terms for research, theory, and teaching will be identified after some of the definitional groundwork is completed.
How Courtroom Interactions Affect the Issuance and Denial of Civil or Criminal Orders of Protection?
Prior studies of courtroom observations ov victims, abusers, and the judges in orders of protection cases showed that victims who encountered good-natured judges were more willing to cooperate with prosecutors and were more likely to report their abuses to authorities. The current study will observe 15 civil and 15 criminal orders of protection cases in order to determine how those courtroom interactions determine the issuance of orders and the nature of judicial remedies provided.
How Much Do Manhattan-Arrestees Spend on Drugs?
In 2000, the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) progam added an extensive section of questions regarding drug market participation, allowing for more precise calculations of the size and expense of arrestees’ drug habits. This paper examines how size and expense vary across ADAM-Manhattan 2000-02 arrestees according to drugs used, frequency of use, and various demographic characteristics as well as current arrest charge, number of prior arrests, history of incarceration, and history of drug treatment. The conclusion examines the policy implications for New York City’s persistent offender program as well as its coordination of drug abuse treatment and criminal justice programs.
How Restorative Justice Can Confront and Help Heal Contemporary Criminology
In spite of the emerging popularity of restorative justice perspectives and programs–typically in the form of Victim-Offender Mediation based out of county probation departments–these efforts are often viewed with cynicism by students, practitioners, and academics. Devout proponents of restorative justice, that is, the “true believers” vehemently support its principles of reconciliation and redemption while those who are athesists, hat is, the “non-belieers” are baffled and do not and cannot support such a polemically opposite philosophy. Ths is the arena restorative justice confronts in contemporary criminology. Criminology has already capitulated and become criminal justice; the hope is that discourse which examines the contemporary human conditions outlined in a restorative/transformative conversation can influence critical thinking and thus effectively reintroduce the ideals of people as people, not of people as data.
How to Reduce the Incidence of Wrongful Conviction? Opinions of Ohio Judges, Prosecutors, Police Officers, and Defense Attorneys
A survey of 798 Ohio criminal jsutice professionals (police officers, prrosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges) was conducted in 2002, asking respondents to offer their perceptions regarding the causes and extent of wrongful conviction. Respondents offered written sugggestions regarding how the incidence of wrongful conviction could be reduced. In general, respondents believe increased leadership, professionalism, and training could result in less system error. System inequities and overload is also frequently criticized as a source of error.
How Violent Are American Schools? An Analysis of the 2000 School Survey on Crime and Safety
Schools are entrusted with the safety of students and staff, as well as providing an environment in which students can learn. Previous research suggests that most American schools experience some form of violence or crime during the school year (Heaviside et al., 1998). However, measuring the prevalence of violence does not indicate whether some schools are experiencing more incidents than others. The 2000 School Survey on Crime and Safety collects information from elementary and secondary school principals about incidents of violence and crime occurring at school during the 1999-2000 school year. This report will focus on the distribution of incidents of violence and crime across all schools. The characteristics of the schools that account for a disproportionate amount of crime and violence also will be explored. These characteristics include items related to the school demographics, student population, school practices, and school climate. The analysis will help to provide a picture of the types of schools that are struggling with problems ov violence and crime.
Human Rights, Social Capital and Juvenile Justice
This paper will develop a social capital perspective and apply it to the juvenile justice issues. It will be based on an expanding conception of human rights as applied to juveniles.
Human Trafficking in the United States: A Criminal Market Analysis
It may seem callous to view human trafficking from an economic perspective. Victims of trafficking often suffer horribly, both physically and mentally, at the hands of their traffickers. However, the unfortunate reality is that the foremost goal of trafficking operations is to maximize profits — in the same way that commercial enterprises do so in the legitimate economic sphere. The human trade is in many ways like any other international trade, except that it is illegal. Thus, in order to raise profit potential, traffickers mimic the operational structure of their legal counterparts. Like most other economic markets, it is largely driven by demand. And like any other trade, it is an enterpreneurial activity that requires organization and planning. This paper will examine the increasingly lucrative phenomenon of human trafficking in the United States from a market perspective — based on the economic truths of supply and demand. Further, it will argue that approaching the problem as an economic, albeit clandestine, reality will enable a clearer understanding of its structure and operation. Ultimately, this can help tailor anti-trafficking strategies to deter, disrupt and dismantle trafficking networks by identifying the necessary and critical stages in their operation and making them vulnerable.
Hypersegregation Testing the Effects of Extreme Social Isolation on Crime Rates
Criminologists have long been interested in understanding how the structural characteristics of an area influence patterns of criminal offending. In the classical literature, Shaw and McKay’s social disorganization theory highlights how neighborhood structure and levels of crime are inextricably linked. Following in this tradition, a recent series of articles examines the effects of residential segregation on the crime rates of cities or metropolitan areas. In the majority of these studies, a strong and positive relationship between residential segregation and crime is reported. However, previous research fails to examine the issue of hypersegregation, the condition that exists when an area is highly segregated along multiple dimensions of segregation simultaneously. The purpose of this paper is to test whether conditions of hypersegregation are associated with increased rates of crime. Using U.S. Census data for metro areas and measures of violent and non-violent crime, there is evidence to suggest that hypersegregated areas do have higher levels of some types of criminally deviant behavior.
“I’m Named a Bully:” Violent Girls’ Description of Self and World
This paper examines data generated over a ten year period from transcribed interviews with key informants who participated in an ethnographic study of violent school girls (Artz, 1996, 1998), in violence prevention research conducted over a five-year period in a school district on Vancouver Island (Artz, 2000), in qualitative research conducted with female young offenders residing in Vancouver Island Custody Center (Artz, Blais & Nicholson, 2000), and with four adolescent females interviewed in making a documentary on girls who use violence (Artz 2002). Girls’ narratives of self and world are presented and analyzed inlight of their realms of action, their discourse and the shared meanings that especially those girls who participated in group interviews provided. The overwhelmingly negative self-representations are highlighted not only for their surface value as indicators of low self-worth but also for their resistance potential.
‘I Wasn’t Really Bonded With My Family’: A Framework for Understanding Violent Female Offending
Feminist research, however, has long suggested a link between child victimization and later delinquency and has urged the development of theory that incorporates girl’s victimization experiences. Using a grounded theory approach, this study analyzed semi-structured interviews conducted with 24 adolescent girls adjudicated and remanded to custody in New York State for assault or robbery. The data suggest a framework that supports the critical affect of early childhood trauma, particularly losses and victimizations, on the later development of violent behaviors. The cumulative effect of traumatic events, combined with a disruption of parental attachment and deficient social supports, contributed to the young women’s use of maladaptive, primarily avoidant, coping strategies. When those measures were insufficient in defending against emotional distress, violence became an alternative course. While the research sought a better understanding of violence perpetrated by young women, its findings have important implications for youth violence in general.
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Identifying Factors Associated With Drug Treatment Court Completion and Recidivism: Some Challenges to Measuring the Intervention in the Real World
Drug courts face major barriers to producing data for monitoring and evaluation. In particular, management information systems (MIS) are often inadequate for development of measures of program participation and compliance. This paper uses information gathered for the statewide process and outcome evaluation of the North Carolina Drug Treatment Court program to frame a discussion of the development of such evaluation measures. It also addresses the challenges of incorporation fo evaluation and accountability measures into information systems designed primarily for client case management.
Identity Management Among Incarcerated Fathers
This research examines how incarcerated fathers address their dueling identities of inmate and father. Twenty-five fathers were interviewed at a jail in North Central Florida. The semi-structured interviews asked men to talk about their families and how they have adjusted to their current incarceration. Overall, these men described incarceration as detrimental to their father identity. However, most of the men maintained a strong attachment to their father identity, and displayed few signs of prisonization. Future research should examine the ways in which incarcerated fathers differ from other men in correctional facilities.
Ignoring Warnings, I Became a Criminologist
Criminology is a vast and changing field, and there are many niches within it. Consequently, giving advice runs the risk of being irrelevant. Nevertheless, I have learned a few lessons that may be useful. First, it seems to me that a criminologist who wishes to do academically respectable research should be deeply rooted intellectually in an academic discipline. I have always considered myself a sociologist first and a criminologist second. It is true that nowadays there are schools of criminal justice and departments of criminal justice; they present a temptation to regard oneself as a specialst in criminal justice rather than in sociology or psychology or law. I think that losing a strong disciplinary identity diminishes creativity. It is more difficult to maintain a disciplinary identity when one is employed in such a school or department, but it is possible and ultimately beneficial to one’s career. Second, it seems to me that a comparative emphasis enhances our understanding or crime: comparative ethnically, by gender, by race, by country, by age, by type of offense, by type of offender.
Images and Consequences of Crime Victims in the Media
Images of victims can be found in our cultural values and can affect the treatment of victims by the criminal justice system. Common images of victims have labeled some as “deserving” and others as “undeserving” and have influenced formal and informal criminal justice policies and procedures. Societal reaction to these common images of “undeserving” victims has led to pressures for the reformation of the various agencies of the criminal justice system. To understand these images it is vital to look to places that touch society at large: the media. Research on crime in the media has examined perceptions of criminals, professionals, women, and other minority groups. However, images of victims, specifically female victims, in the media have been neglected. This study examines the common images of female victims of violent crime in the media, images that members of society perceive to be reality. In order to examine media constructions of images of victims I conducted analyses of approximately 90 currently running television drama crime show episodes from 20 television crime show series and 100 newspaper crime stories from 2 major newspapers within large urban cities. This study examines images of victims by sex, race, age, and crime type.
Impact Analyses of Three New York State Adult Drug Courts: Results From Quasi-Experimental Designs
Results will be presented from a multi-site impact evaluation of three large and diverse adult drug courts in New York State — the Suffolk, Syracuse, and Rochester Treatment Courts. All three include several commond rug court components: a dedicated drug court judge, regular court appearances, intermediate rewards and sanctions, and jail or prison in the event of failure. They all accept defendants arrested on drug and non-drug misdemeanors and felonies, as well as probation violators and those with a prior felony conviction. Suffolk is a suburban court located outside of New York City, whereas Syracuse and Rochester are medium-sized city courts, located in upsate New York. Syracuse and Rochester have both pre- and post-plea adjudication, while Suffolk is strictly post-plea. Syracuse has the most demographically diverse population and Suffolk has the most socioeconomically advantaged participants. Suffolk has the largest percentage of participants claiming heroin as the primary drug of choice. All three evaluations will employ quasi-experimental designs that match comparison group defendants on charges and criminal history. The Suffolk and Syracuse comparison groups will be “pre-post,” drawing on defendants arrested in the year before the programs’ start-up. Rochester, however, employs a unique rotating arraignment judge model. For this reason, as well as the historical staunch lack of support for the drug court by most arraignment judges, the comparison group in Rochester will be drawn from a contemporaneous sample of defendants who were not arraigned by either of the Judges who have shown continued support for the drug court. In all three analyses, propensity score matching techniques will be utilized to assure the drug court and comparison group samples are comparable on criminal history, arrest charge, and basic demographic measures. Recidivism rates will be compared for post-arrest and post-program recidivism. Two- and three-year post arrest time periods will be reported; a one-year time frame will be used for the post-program analysis. Results will also be presented for a survival analysis extending over the three-year post-arrest period. Lastly, results will be presented on an analysis of drug court impact on various key offender subgroups, based on prior misdemeanor convictions, prior felony convictions, current charge type, age, gender, and race/ethnicity.
Impact of Blunts/Marijuana on Markets for Low-Cost Cigars
The use of blunts (marijuana wrapped in shells of low cost cigars) has become so widespread in New York City (and elsewhere) that one aspect of the tobacco market is being strongly affected–that for low cost cigars and wraps. Several preliminary findings from a NIDA-funded study of blunts suggest the following. Most specialty cigar stores sell higher cost ()usually $3 or more) tobacco leaf cigar and usually do not display or sell low cost cigars–and are usually not patronized by blunt smokers. On the other hand, blunt smokers constitute a significant share of the purchasers of low cost (~$1) cigars and cigarillos. Blunt users prefer Philly Blunt, Dutch Master, White Owl (preferred brands) to cut open, insert marijuana, and smoke bia deep inhalation (like joints). Low-cost cigars or cigarillos are often subsequently used as “chasers” to enhance the high following blunt consumption. In addition, a new product has energed: Blunt Wraps are literally a shell composed of tobacco/paper/glue and sold in a more limited range of stores. Often manufactured in foreign countries, many low cost cigars and blunt wraps are flavored (chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, cognac) to appeal to younger smokers. In am important way, the current sustained popularity for blunts has become a market of considerable importance to producers of low-cost cigar tobacco products. Interestingly, increased taxes imposed upon cigarettes in New York City have not been specifically imposed upon such low-cost cigars or blunt wraps.
Impact of Drug Treatment on Florida Drug-Involved Probationers: A Propensity Score Analysis
This paper provides findings from analyses that examined the impact of drug treatment on recidivism among a population of nearly 140,000 drug-involved probationers in Florida. These analyses are part of a NIDA-funded study of the impact of drug courts. Administrative data were provided by the Florida Department of Correction for all offenders committed to supervision between FY 1996 to FY 2000 (July 1, 1995 – June 30, 2000). Outcome data, including probation revocatio and commitment to prison, for these offenders have been acquired through September 2001, as have arrest data from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The study is strengthened by the inclusion of an entire State’s probationer population over a 5-year period, by the use of multiple data sources to track offenders over time and provide details on treatment and supervision, and by the use of multiple indicators for recidivism outcomes (i.e., arrest, incarceration, drug use). This paper provides findings from a propensity score analysis that examined the effectiveness of drug treatment. Propensity score models were estimated with a logit model in which appearance at treatment was the outcome and a variety of factors hypothesized to be related to treatment were included as independent variables (e.g., race, age, current offense, UA screening required, type of supervision). Subjects were then grouped by the probability of receiving treatment generated by the estimated model (the “p-hat”). With 140,000 subjects, we grouped subjects by percentile (e.g., those with a likelihood of receiving treatment of between 25% and 26%). Analyses were then conducted within these percentile groupings to identify whether those who received treatment did better than those who did not (conditioned on equal lielihood of having been assigned to treatment). Results suggest that drug treatment reduced felony arrests and that the reduction was greater for those who received more than 90 days of treatment.
Impact of Key Policies and Management Decisions on Case Outcomes
Despite the tremendous amount of discretionary power and influence of the prosecutor in the criminal justice system, there has been relatively little empirical or quantiotative study of the prosecutorial function. This paper presents recent research and findings in this area, using detailed time, activity, and disposition information from more than 1,000 prosecutors across the country. In particular, the impact of various plea policies, prosecutorial strategies, and organizational structures on case processing and outcomes will be discussed.
Impact on Offending Behaviour
This paper presents some of the findings from the evaluation of a recent UK police led multi-agency initiative which aims to reduce offending behaviour of a targeted group of class A drug-related offenders. This project is based upon an assertive and intensive supervision model that combines drug treatment and lifestyle support with police disruption and targeting tactics. This poster presentation compares the criminality of a sample group of clients both prior and post the initiative onset.
Implementation and Outcomes for CYSA/TANF in California’s Probation Departments
California’s Welare-to-Work Act of 1997 created two new programs, one of which was the Comprehensive Youth Services Act (CYSA). The CYSA provided county probation departments with federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) funds to be used to help attain overarching federal TANF goals by providing services to youths and their families. The intent of the legislation was to allow county probation departments to “provide a continnum of family-focused, case-specific services in a community-based setting, that addresses the full spectrum of child and family needs, including services provided in county-operated residential care facilities.” RAND was selected to conduct a three-year process and impact evaluation of CYSA/TANF by the Chief Probation Officers of California. This paper presents finding on the types of programs and services provided to youth and their families, the factors that facilitated and hindered planning and implementation; as well as the impact CYSA/TANF had on probation department operations across the state. In addition, we present the results of outcome studies in four selected counties.
Implementing School-Based Prevention/Intervention Services for At-Risk Youth
Six communities — Boston, MA; Contra Costa County, CA; Fort Belknap, MO; Imperial County, CA; Seattle, WA; and St. Louis, MO — began implementing SafeFutures demonstrations in 1996 and concluded their efforts in 2001 or 2002. Several sites chose to implement prevention or intervention programmin in local school systems. The general model for this approach was to deploy staff from community-based organizations to school sites to provide a variety of serves after schook, or sometimes during school hours. Schools appear to be a logical venue for providing prevention and intervention services, since youth are generally requjired to attend school (unless they are in other institutions). However, establishing services different from those typically provided by a given school poses a variety of challenges. This paper describes the SafeFutures sites’ implementation of such school-based services. It will discuss challenges encountered providing services to at risk youth in school settings, and measures taken to address these challenges. Such information is relevant to program planners, those involved in community-based collaboratives, and individuals involved in direct services provision to youth and their families.
Importance of Family Support for the Long-Term Survivial of HIV/AIDS-Infected African-American and Latino Prisoners and Parolees
Within both New York State prison communities and New York City’s impoverished communities, the HIV/AIDS virus has a powerful influence over convicted offenders whose daily lives are shaped by imprisonment and parole. Given this, my paper explores (1) the importance of HIV/AIDS-infected AFrican-American and Latino prisoners and parolees maintaining contact with their important women (e.g. female partners, mothers, sisters, etc.) and (2) in turn, how these contacts have a powerful effect upon these convicted offenders’ capacities to endure and sustain the deadly effects of the virus. Since my paper concerns men’s subjective perceptions and assessments of their relationships with their significant women, it is based on the administration of in-depth , unstructured interviews to HIV/AIDS-infected AFrican-American and Latino prisoners incarcerated in New York State Prison systems and to HIV/AIDS-infected African-American and Latino parolees residing in New York City and Albany, New Yolrk. Preliminary findings focus upon how the kinds of contacts between convicted offenders and their significant women have not only significant consdquences for the offenders to achieve the long-term status of long-term survivors but for these men handling the virus in a manner beneficial to their significant women. Lastly, findings suggest that convicted offenders and their women’s patterns of interaction vary according to prisons release to outside communities, the progression of the virus and successful parole performance.
Improving Drug Courts: Ask the Experts–The Clients!
The purpose of this poster is to display the comments and suggestions of approimately four hundred adults who participated in the Delaware Superior Court Drug Court Program between 2000 and 2003. Upon graduation or termination from Drug Court, respondents were questioned about their experience in the program and asked how this experience could have been more beneficial to them. Responses were divided into two categories: comments about the treatment facility and comments about the courtroom/judicial interaction. Using a grounded theory approach, clients’ feedback was further dichotomized into 1) negative comments/suggestions for improvement and 2) positive comments/no need for improvement. In general study participants favorably evaluated the counselors and believed the educational component of the treatment program to be informative and helpful. Clients desired more individual counseling and preferred counselors and staff who were former addicts. The drug court judges received high ratings as well; they were found to be respectful, fair, and trustworthy. Respondents suggested that more convenient status hearings (morning/evening) would help alleviate conflicts with work schedules and childcare responsibilities.
Improving Investigative Performance Through the Murder Review Process: An Analysis
This research forms part of the Serious Crime Research Programme undertaken by the Crime and Policing Group at the Centre for Policing Excellence, Bramshill. One of the ways in which the police service in England and Wales has tried to address issues of investigative performance in major crime enquiries is by conducting reviews. Reviews aim to identify and develop investigative opportunities that will progress an investigation, to act as a form of quality assurance in relation to both the content and process of an investigation, and to identify, develop and disseminate good investigative practice. The main aim of this research were to identify recurrent themes within reviews of unsolved murder investigations, and to assess the role of the murder review in improving investigative performance. Qualitative research techniques were used to examine in depth the findings of 34 28-day progress review documents for murder investigations which had undergone review since 1999. The results of this research and recommendations for practice are discussed.
Impulsivity and Offending: The Conditioning Effect of Neighborhood Processes
The psychological and sociological literatures within criminology both suggest that inhibitory forces are important in understanding juvenile offending. Psychological criminology places the focus of control within the individual and has demonstrated the importance of impulsivity. Sociological criminology emphasizes external control, and this is particularly true of studies drawing from the social disorganization framework. However, these different aspects of control have rarely been used in conjunction. What little empirical evidence that does exist suggests that impulsivity and neighborhood context are important. However, no study to date has examined whether impulsivity has differential effects on juvenile offending across neighborhoods that vary in informal social control. The current study seeks to address this void in the literature by employing measures of impulsivity and neighborhood processes and examining their independent and interactive effects on juvenile offending. Preliminary analyses suggest that impulsivity has strong effects on juvenile offending, while some neighborhood processes have significant, but weak effects. More interestingly, the effects of impulsivity on offending are stronger in neighborhoods characterized by weaker informal social control. These findings demonstrate the need to examine both the direct and interactive effects of individual and community factors to fully understand juvenile offending.
In Search of Security
In fall 2003, the Law Commission of Canada will release In Search of Security, a report to the federal Parliament of Canada that explores the emerging relationship between public police and private security agencies. The Report examines the provision of security services in Canada. While the state remains a significant player in the delivery and regulation of policing, it is no longer the only institution involved in offering guarantees of security to citizens. There is now a range of private policing organizations that include, for example, private security firms, insurance companies, forensic accounts and private in-house corporate security. Given the evolving nature of private and public policing, does the public/private distinction make sense any longer? To what extend does the current law refelect the reality of policing in Canada? The presentation will provide a critical commentary on the Commission’s report to Parliament and will examine the extent to which the Commission’s diagnosis of the problem and recommendations for law reform are likely to improve the delivery of policing services.
In Support of Qualitative Methodology in Criminal Justice
This essay argues a preference for qualitative methodology, in order to empower individual subjects of criminal justice investigation, and to better implement fundamental change in criminal justice institutions. Philosophical and religious issues regarding punishment are not just at the heart of criminology. These issues are also at the heart of methodological choices. A search for law-like relations between causative agents in human affairs, by quantitative measurement of a limited number of specified variables, may fail to challenge those political institutions whose primary function is the preservation of order through external, institutional controls, rather than through the empowerment of individuals. The essay concludes that the complexity, philosophical and religious content, inherent contradictions in, and intractable nature of criminal justice institutions suggest the need for greater reliance on qualitative methods for criminal justice research.
In Their Own Words: Parolees Identify What Works and What Doesn’t
As the number of parolees has grown in recent years, so has a renewed interest in parolees among criminologists. California has approximately 120,000 parolees; more than one-half will return to prison within the first two years of their release. Current literature documents a parole system strained by increased caseloads with a corresponding decrease in resources, and few programs are initiated with the actual needs of parolees in mind. Although the demographic profile of parolees has not changed much over the past twenty years they are less likely to have received pre-release preparation while in prison, more likely to need drug treatment, and more likely to have mental health problems. Due to mandatory sentencing policies, such as the Three-Strikes Law, they are also more likely to have spent more time incarcerated thus less likely to have family and other social support networks available to them upon release. Very little research has interviewed parolees about their needs. Drawing from 150 unstructured in-depth interviews with parolees in California, we have found parolee needs vary by length of their time in prison, criminal history, educational attainment, employment history, and connection to family. We will also discuss the disjuncture between available services and parolee needs.
Incarceration and its Prevention: A Comparative Cost-Benefit Analysis
This paper discusses a cost-benefit model, with common inputs and assumptions, used to estimate the economics of two crime control strategies: imprisonment for different types of offenders, and various kinds of crime prevention and rehabilitation programs. The economics of these different strategies vary from one location to another; this paper presents esimates for Washington State.
Incarceration of Drug Offenders: Race, Gender, and Culpability
This paper examines racial and gender disparities in the imprisonment of drug offenders in state and federal prisons. because sentencing of drug offenders is largely based on the weight of the drug, critics of this sentencing scheme argue that lower-level offenders such as couriers or mules receive disproportionate punishment compared to organizers and leaders of drug trafficking operations. Anecdotal evidence suggests that women tend to be used as low-level couriers and mules because they do not fit the drug trafficker profile. Other sentencing laws, such as the 100:1 powder/crack cocaine sentencing disparity, result in disproportionate imprisonment of blacks. The present study goes beyond previous research that has established race and gender inequities in the sanctioning of drug offenders to examine offenders by the type of drug involved, weapons involvement, and the role played in the offense (e.g., importer, dealer, courier, mule). These indicators will be used to generate estimates of the number of drug offenders in U.S. prisons by level of culpability, race, and gender. The present study uses the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 1997. The dataset is uniquely situated to address the above issues because it is a random sample of currently incarcerated state and federal inmates and contains an array of information on drug offense characteristics, including drug weight, role in the offense, and firearms use. In sum, the present study will aim to determine estimates of the number of incarcerated drug offenders by level of culpability, race,a nd gender. To the extent that unwarranted disparities exists, the policy implications include designs for more equitable sentencing of drug offenders.
Income Inequality and Crime: Examining Past Research
Recently, increased attention has been given to the growing income inequality present in this country. One viewpoint is that the relative period of equality of the 1950s to the 1970s was the exception in between two periods of vast income inequality. This paper analyzes prior data on the relationship between increased income inequality and ctime, controlling for each era, in an effort to establish whether the relationship varies between periods.
Incorporating Race and Crime in Criminal Justice/Criminology
This study examines course offerings in race and crime among North America’s 25 doctoral-level programs in Criminal Justice/Criminology. Each program was surveyed regarding their course offerings and program requirements in race and crime. As has been found with undergraduate textbooks and curriculum, our results indicate a general neglect of race and crime. Various pedagogical approaches for incorporating race and crime in doctoral program curriculum will be discussed.
Incorporating Racism Into Domestic Violence Trainings for Police Officers: Problems and Solutions
Teaching about domestic violence and racism is a dunting task that requires the inclusion of material that challenges dominant ideologies about race and gender. A recent training for police officers about domestic violence and racism serves as a good example of how challenging the task can be. Drawing from this one-day police training, from existing pedagogical literature, and from our collective experiences teaching about these issues, we address problems encountered and propose strategies to mitigate them. Some of problems addressed are embedded in the structure of society such as institutional racism and sexism and inadequate funding for trainings. Some stem from practices and policies within police departments, and others are rooted in the legacy of tension between police officers and feminist advocates. We propose a multi-level approach to implementing strategies to address these problems, which includes ongoing involvement during three stages of the training: pre-training, training, and post-training.
Incorporating Socio-Historical Context and Temporal Variation Into Quantitative Cross-National Criminology
Quantitative analyses of crime data are often hindered by data limitations. In order to maximize sample size to utilize certain analytical techniques, researchers have often used cross-sectional research Quantitative analyses of crime data are often hindred by data limitations. In order to maximize sample size to utilize certain analytical techniques, researchers have often used cross-sectional research designs based on convenience samples of all countries that participate in a particular data collection. This approach has been criticized for two main reasons: (1) cross-sectional designs are often used to test theories of temporal variation, and (2) sample size is maximized at the expense of theoretical relevance and socio-historical context. One response to these critiques is a longitudinal analysis of a smaller, theoretically meaningful sample that allows for comparisons both across time and countries. This paper discusses the methodological issues involved in analyzing such a sample, including compiling crime data from a variety of official records sources, operationalizing independent variables, integrating qualitative and quantitative data, adopting an interdisciplinary approach to account for socio-historical context, and choosing appropriate quantitative methods to analyze time-series-cross-sectional data for a relatively small sample. This paper illustrates the benfits and limitations of analyzing a small sample of countries selected purposively rather than conveniently. Examples are provided from a longitudinal study of social change and crime in Central Eastern Europe.
Increasing the Role of Faith Leaders in Violence Prevention
In 1977, 70 Chicago faith leaders led by Francis Cardinal George, in collaboration with the Chicago Project for Violence Prevention, founded the Religious Leadership Taskforce. The purpose of the Taskforce was to bolster faith leaders’ participation in CeaseFire violence prevention activities. Taskforce faith leaders pledged to engage in violence prevention activities to reduce shooting and killings in their communities such as exhorting their congregations to participate in violence prevention activities (e.g., responses to shootings), organizing and conducting night marches and vigils, and offering safe havens to youth. A study was done comparing anti-violence activities of Taskforce members and other Faith Leaders matched by neighborhood. Questions were posed to 55 Taskforce members, and 83 non-Taskforce members. Taskforce members were significantly more likely to engage in violence prevention activities such as organizing walks and vigils (80% vs. 31%**), offering youth activities (89% vs. 61%**), gang mediation (33% vs. 17%*), and distributing violence pfevention materials (73% vs. 46%**). Preliminary analysis suggests that collaboration enhances faith leaders commitment to anti-violence activities. *p
Increasing Transaction Costs: Criminology Research and Human Subjects Review
Over the past two decades, the cost of criminology research has risen dramatically. One major influence is the increasingly difficult nature of the human subjects review process. Criminological research focuses on issues that require strict confidentiality and anonymity in order to prevent adverse impacts on human subjects. However, has human subjects review gone too far and viewed by scholars as just another bureaucratic hoop through which they must jump? How will this growing cynicism impact the future criminology research. The author reviews personal experience in the conduct of in-school surveys of substance use, focus group studies of drugs courts, and victimization surveys to examine the transaction costs of human subjects review. Included is a consideration of practical approaches to meeting both the goals of research and regulations of university-based human subject committees.
Indeterminate, Determinate, Early Release, and Truth-in-Sentencing Penal Policies: An Empirical Test of the Impact on Public Safety
Florida, like numerous other states, has implemented major policy shifts in the method of sentencing and punishing felony offenders over the past 25 years. While many have theorized about the intended and unintended consequences of these types of changes in punishment policies and their relative impact on public safety, only narrowly focused empirical studies have been conducted on these issues. This paper will examine Florida’s penal policies over the past 25 years during which it has progressed from an indeterminate parole system to a deterministic system requiring all offenders to serve a minimum of 85% of their sentences. Between these two extremes in penal policy, periods of sentencing guidelines with liberal gaintime, massive early release mechanisms resultsing from prison overcrowding, and minimal gaintime policies have existed. Multi-variate Logit models and Survival Analysis will be used to determine the unique effect of each of the five major penal policies on various recidivism outcomes including re-arrest, re-conviction, and re-incarceration. Additionally, the severity of re-offenses will be examined across the different punishment policies. This research will inform the academic community and criminal justice policymakers as to the effectiveness of the nation’s mass imprisonment shift since the 1970’s in terms of public safety. Recommnendations for further research relating to the effect these shifts in penal policy have had on minorities, crime rates, and other outcomes will be discussed.
Individual Difference and Subject-Generated Consequences in Rational Choice Research Using Hypothetical Offending Scenarios
Recently, research has demonstrated that using “subject-generated consequences” (SGC) of hypothetical offending behavior is a viable alternative to the traditional use of “researcher-derived consequence” (RDC) items in studies of Rational Choice theory that employ hypothetical scenarios. In fact these SGC behave similarly to the results of past rational choice studies of hypothetical offending which have relied on RDC, while arguably providing more accurate reflections of an individual’s decision-making process. However, the use of SGC raises the possibility that individual characteristics may influence the type of potential cost and benefit items to which subject’s attend. While Rational Choice theory has traditionally assumed that diverse individuals attend to and are influenced by similar consequences, independent of individual or group level characteristics, the current study examines whether this assujption is tenable. Approximately 200 undergraduate students were presented with four hypothetical offending scenarios. Comparisons are made between the types of consequences they developed and various demographic and other individual-level factors. Implications for future tests of rational choice theory are discussed, as are policy considerations stemming from this line of inquiry.
Influence of Interscholastic Athletic Participation on the Use of Illicit Drugs
This paper examines the influence of interscholastic athletic participation on the use of illicit drugs using panel data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS). The central component of this research uses regression analysis to examine the hypothesis. Specifically, it uses an instrumental variable approach to analyze the influence of interscholastic athletic participation on illicit drug use by obtaining the predicted values of athletic participation as a function of the background variables and the identification variables in the first stage of the analysis. The second stage uses the predicted values of athletic participation and the background variables to estimate its effect on the measures of illicit drug use. Moreover, it focuses on the influence of particular sports — football, basketball, baseball, swimming, diving, etc. — as well as the group dynamic effects (i.e. team vs. individual sports) of athletic participation on substance use.
Information Technology and Labeling: Are Community Responses Necessary?
With the rapid expansion of information technology, this paper contends that secondary responses, as proposed by Lemert, from the community are no longer necessary in acquiring a criminal label. With the proliferation of information available to government agencies (law enforcement and a host of others), private industries, and via the internet, it is possible to be labeled an offender (rather than deviant in general) and to be subjected to the harsh collateral consequences of a criminal stigma without being deviant at all or only deviant in isolated situations than in the past. Using examples of routine traffic enforcement practices and street level drug arrests, it is contended that labeling is creating “offenders” at a much higher rate than in the past. In addition, methods by which the crimninal justice system attempts to justify or blame the labeled victim are discussed.
Informing Opinions About the Death Penalty: Another Test of the Marshall Hypothesis
This paper examines the Marshall hypothesis, posited by Justice Thurgood Marshall, in Furman v. Georgia (1972) and Gregg v. Georgia (1976). A test of this hypothesis examines “not whether a substantial proportion of American citizens would today, if polled, opine that capital punishment is barbarously cruel, but whether they would find it to be so in the light of all information presently available.” Marshall suggested that the American people, if fully informed as to the purposes of the death penalty and its liabilities, would reject it as morally unacceptable. This paper provides findings of another test of this hypothesis, using pre-test, post-test data from a death penalty class offered at a comprehensive university in the south. Students were surveyed on the first and last days of class after discussing numerous capital punishment issues for a semester.
Initiating Restorative Practices in a District Attorney’s Office
The role of prosecutors is pivotal in how criminal cases proceed. Experiencing conflicting pressures and goals from a variety of constitutencies, prosecutors tend to innovative carefully in responding to criminal cases. Political fallout is always on the horizon for these public officials. Restorative justice represents an approach to crime that is quite different from the traditional way of doing business. Its principles and practices are seen as both “woft” and “hard” on crime, resulting in public confusion and suspicion. This paper reports on the application of restorative practices in a relatively small jurisdiction which has both urban and rural characteristics. The research addresses the challenges, obstacles and rewards of crafting a restorative initiative centered in a district attorney’s office. Examined are issues of organization, personal, funding as well as the role of the community and other agencies in instituting, supporting and sustaining restorative prosecutions
Inmate Hierarchies and Social Status in a Juvenile Prison
Criminologists have long been interested in prison culture, but with a focus on the adult system. Juvenile prison culture has been addressed infrequently in the literature. It is important to correct this imbalance: juvenile prisons have unique features that impact their general culture, as well as their social stratification systems. These features include relatively short sentence lengths, wide diversity in the developmental stages of inmates, and rules that tend to be extremely stringent. Drawing on forty in-depth interviews with male first-time admissions to the juvenile correctional system in Ohio, the author discusses how inmates develop hierarchies and social systems within the institution. Her findings suggest that social status within the institution is often based on influences from outside the prison itself.
Innovations in Gun Violence Prosecution Strategies
Local prosecutors across the country are responding to the plague of gun violence by adopting a variety of innovative prosecution strategies, many of them influenced by the federal government’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative. The presentation will summarize recent research on how these gun violence prosecution strategies are evolving. An analysis of the major types of new gun prosecution strategies that local prosecutors are generating will be described. In addition, initial survey data from a longitudinal study olf gun violence prosecution strategies will be presented. How such strategies are implemented, how they change over time, the typical barriers encountered by local prosecutors in their use, and possible outcomes will be summarized.
Inside Out: Prison Culture and Anticipatory Resocialization
This research uses data from the 1997 Survey of Inmates to test Stanton Wheeler’s hypothesis (1961) that state inmates will be most conforming in the early and late phases of their sentences, and most “prisonized” in the middle stretch of their confinement. In particular, contact with the outside community is compared in an attempt to see whether anticipatory resocialization takes place as inmates conclude their sentences and prepare to leave prison. The findings suggest that women and men prioritize different things as they face reentry; these gender differences in the results will be discussed.
Inside the Gate: Re-Examining the Role of Marijuana in the Drug Use Career
Marijuana is often referred to as a gateway drug because of its placement in the progession of drug use. It is typically the first illicit drug initiated. Few studies have examined why people who try marijuana may be more likely to initiate other illi it drug use or the role marijuana plays in changes in drug use in later stages of the drug use career. Drawing on qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted between 2000-2002 with 51 adult current and ex-users of marijuana, this paper discusses how the drug careers of these adults evolved over time. Complete drug history data was systematically collected for participants. Individuals were asked about their perceptions of marijuana as a gateway drug. Interviewer data were transcribed and analyzed with the assistance of a qualitative software program. It will be demonstrated that the role of marijuana in the later stages of drug use is different from what is proposed by models that focus on initiation. The majority of individuals tried illicit drugs other than marijuana. While few continued to use other illicit substances in the later stages of their drug use career, a number continued to use marijuana. This paper critically examined this gateway perspective.
Institutional, Individual, and Subjective Experiences as Predictors of Prison Misconduct
Debate over whether prison behavior is a reflection of inmate characteristics upon entry or of prison conditions has been settled by compromise. In recent years, the discussion takes place only in criminology textbooks. The debate is no less theoretically or practically important and many questions surrounding the transference of extra-institutional characteristics into prisons remain unanswered. This paper draws on data collected from 209 male parolees in a Mid-Western state to test a developmental, path model of prison behavior using inmate characteristics and objective and subjective institutional variables. Preliminary results indicate that inmate characteristics predict exposure to situations, particularly participation in the inmate economy, that contribute to offending in prison.
Institutional Racism: Using Law as a Tool to Perpetuate Racial Inequality
Law is a mechanism we use to instigate social change and bring about equality. It is also the tool that has been and is still used to institutionalize, legitimize and perpetuate inequality. In the past beliefs of racial inferiority and savagery have resulted in legislation designed to perpetuate a group’s subordinate status. Utilization of law as a tool to perpetuate racial inequality used to be overt and blatant; however, with the changing political climate and the passage of antidiscrimination laws, it’s now covert, not easily recognized, and at times even unintentional. Regardless of intention, discrimination is the outcome. Laws and public policy are created within a historical and political context. In this paper, Marxist and Weberian perspectives are applied to the role of the economy, politics and the state to foster understanding of drug laws and their racial consequences. Additionally, internal colonialism, specifically control over minority group governance and restriction of racial minority’s freedom of movement, and Blalock’s theory of minority group relations are utilized to examine institutional racism and drug laws. It is hypothesized that a historical analysis of drug laws will illustrate that competition and threat, economic and political, were present prior to the enactment of the laws.
Institutionalized Feminism? The Case of a Domestic Violence Court
The presentation explores the structure and ideology of an institutionalized organization that addresses an issue first identified and addressed by a social movement. Sociological studies in recent years have examined the potential for social movement organizations to persist and continue to promote the goals of the social movements of the 1960s. This study examines what happens when social movements and their organizations are successful at pressuring institutions to recognize and address their issues, and the extent to which instituionalized responses can retain links to social movement ideology and goals. Domestic violence courts are a specific example of institutionalized organizations that address an issue first conceptualized by the feminist movement in the 1960s. This dissertation closely examines the process and ideology of a felony-level domestic violence court in New York City in order to assess its relationship to the feminist and battered women’s movement. The method of field research, including in-depth interviews with those involved in the planning and work of the court, as well non-participant, onsite courtroom observations, is utilized in an effort to unearth the politics and ideology embedded in the structure and practice of the organization. This study details the origins of domestic violence courts in the feminist and battered women’s movements, and present findings from analyses of court publications and evaluations, courtroom observations, and structured, in-depth interviews with court staff. Additionally, conclusions about the impact of institutionalization on social movement ideology, and asseses the potential for institutionalized organizations to effectively promote social movement goals.
Instrumental Gain or Expressive Rage: Characteristics of Robbery in Homosexual Homicides
Researchers and law enforcement personnel allege homosexual homicide victims are frequently victimized by robbery. Using the FBI’s Supplemental Homicide Reports, a quantitative analysis is undertaken to describe victim and offender characteristics and to compare heterosexual and homosexual robbery-homicide incidents. For greater detail and as a comparison, data is also extracted from the Homicides in Chicago 1965-1995 dataset. Key questions will be addressed about the high rate of robbery-related death in homosexual cases and about the unusual role those robberies might play. Problematic conceptual issues and questions for future research will be presented.
Integrated Theory Explaining Violence by Students Against Teachers
During the summers of 1966 and 1968, Chinese schools erupted in violence spawned by the ideology of the cultural revolution. Teachers and school administrators were routinely attacked, beaten, humiliated, tortured and killed. Although the movement was organized by the government, the killings and torture often occurred spontaneously and was initiated by students. There has been very little research on this topic, and it is unlikely that current individualistic theories of violence can be applied to the study of this phenomenon. Thus, the proposed paper will expound possible frameworks and perspectives that can explain this collective form of violence. Using Black’s crime as social control theory (1983), other research on social and collective behavior, as well as extensive research on religious-based crime and youth violence we will construct an integrated theory to explain the extensive violence that occurred during the cultural revolution. The theory would be applicable to not only violent events of the cultural revolution, but also other types of crtimes against humanity in the world.
Integrative Exploration of General and Specific Attitudes Toward the Police
The public’s attitudes and satisfaction with the police have long been discussed. A number of research questions that have been answered throughout the extant research are how the public satisfaction or perceptions toward the police would vary across individuals. How would neighborhood-related factors influence the way in which citizens perceive the police? How would citizens differ in their satisfaction or perceptions toward the police by different types of police contact? In the present study, those research questions are examined in an integrated framework in which the public’s satisfaction with the police is examined with both individual and contextual factors whilst the nature of police contact is taken into account. Having employed the data collected in a study of Chicago’s community policing program, the author postulates a hierarchical model that addresses the effects of both individual and contextual factors on the variation of citizens’ attitudes towards the police.
Intensive Aftercare Programming for Juvenile Offenders: A Review of Current Program Developments
The OJJDP-funded Intensive Aftercare Programs (IAP) intervention model for high-risk youth features an overarching case management framework within a reintegrative continuum that promotes individual case planning, graduated responses, and continuity of care and support in the community. The model is purposely generic in nature and can be readily adapted to the circumstances and needs of any particular jurisdiction. This paper will review and discuss both program development activities and evaluation findings from sites nationwide that have implemented structured intensive aftercare consistent with the IAP model, with a focus on Washington State and California. Suggestions for future research and program development will be discussed in the context of these findings.
Intensive Supervision of First-Time Probationers: Lessons From an Experimental Outcome Evaluation
Over the last several years, the California Legislature has challenged county departments of probation to develop innovative solutions to gaps in service identified by local action plans. To address a lack of programming for mid risk youth, a large southern California county designed a community-based intensive supervision program for first time probationers. Eligible youth were randomly assigned to the new program or to regular probation beginning January 2000 through December of 2001. Outcomes were coded from official records and by self-report for the 1800 youth participating in the experiment. This presentation analyzes the impact of the program six months after the yearlong intervention vis-a-vis the youths’ further offending and further insertion in the juvenile justice or adult correction system. Differential impact of the program for youth at low, mid and high risk levels is investigated. We conclude with an assessment of the implications of the experiment for programs to help reduce further offending by youth at various risk levels.
Interagency Priorities at the Crossroads: Aftercare Among Drug Users
There has been considerable discussion in the literature of the need to provide aftercare services for individuals who receive drug treatment while incarcerated. Because some prison systems operate within a context where post-prison responsibilities fall to an agency other than the agency responsible for an individual during incarceration, the issues surrounding continuity of care are oftentimes unknown. Drug treatment services and level of supervision are examined among a cohort of approximately 25,000 individuals released in 1999 from the Federal Bureau of Prisons to supervision by a U.S. Probation officer. The tracking of treatment received during and after incarceration was facilitated by data sharing among two federal agencies. Information on drug treatment services includes prison-based residential treatment, outpatient drug treatment during halfway house placements and drug treatment provided while under post-release supervision. Models are developed to predict drug aftercare and the analyses include an assessment of the extent to which aftercare is prioritized for those who completed residential drug treatment while incarcerated. Recommendations for interagency information sharing and service planning will be discussed.
International and Internet Cases of Child Sexual Abuse Work in Progress
There has, in recent years, been a dramatic increase in the awareness of, and concern over, child sexual abuse and the exploitation that involves an international dimension or the Internet. What literature there is in this area suggests that these cases constitute a small but significant problem, yet one that is expanding rapidly. This paper will present emerging issues from the first major UK study of Internet and international cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation. The study examines the extent and nature of known cases and is aimed at improving practice and policy in respect of these cases.
International Law Enforcement Training: Does it Make a Difference?
This paper presents an evaluation of the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) – Bangkok’;s Supervisor Criminal Investigation training program. The ILEA-Bangkok was established in 1998 to provide training to personnel in criminal justice in Southeast Asia. The major objective of the training evaluation was to provide policy relevant results to the U.S. State Department and to ILEA-Bangkok. We used a pre-post follow-up intervention group only design with repeated measures for the evaluation. Training outcomes included changes in knowledge, commitment to using the training, on-the-job behavior, organizational adoption, and collabortation. Questionnaire data were collected from 214 criminal justice mid-managers at baseline and post-training. Eight percent of original sample (171 trainees) responded to a six-month follow-up questionnaire. In addition to average group changes, we conducted subgroup analyses to ascertain the extent to which overall average changes in outcoems were greater in some subgroups than others (e.g., trainees from English speaking countries vs. non-English speaking countries). These data were analyzed using ordinary least squares multiple regression, hierarchical linear modeling, and structural equation modeling procedures. Preliminary results show that the training had small to large size effects on knowledge, on-the-job behaviors, and collaboration inside and outside the trainee’s organization.
International Model of Policing
Policing is a local phenomenon and a product of the local culture. It is interesting to note that the United Nations has developed an international model of policing. This is being used by several non-democratic regimes which are now emerging democracies to reform their police. My paper will examine if the police can be reformed following an international model. It will be a discussion of the challenges and strategies of police reform based on the UN model.
International Police Cooperation and Management: A Theoretical Typology of Structure, Organization, Practice, and Adaptive Process Within Dynamic Social Systems
International police cooperation and organizational development has occupied the minds and time of comparative criminal justice researchers, as they have attempted to identify salient characteristics, operational procedures, and organizational structures that could possibly lend themselves to an overarching static policing theory that is not bound in culture. These attempts have identified complicating issues (in the guise of short and long term pressures) confronting every policing agency, particularly those seeking international cooperative arrangements. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that such an overarching theory can be posited, but it must simultaneously be both dynamic (responsive to cultural pressures), and bound in no single culture but applicable to all. Such a theory would: postulate characteristics of ideal policing practice, identify both short and long term factors that affect this ideal policing approach, and lastly consider implicxations for measurement and practical development.
International Public Health Literature on Firearms and Genocide: A Study in Omission
Dubiously reliable data indicate that ordinary murders may have taken as many as 8 million lives worldwide during the 20th Century. in contrast, government-orchestrated genocide against civilian populations took over 170 million lives. Insofar as these killings were not perpetrated by military and police formations, they were perpetrated by civilians organized and led in the killings by the military or police. It is the view of the International Society for the Prevention of Genocide that “Prompt defensive measures are the most effective means for the prevention of genocide.” Oddly, without ever discussing genocide per se, or defense against it, the public health literature on firearms recommends their worldwide prohibition to, and confiscation from, civilian populations (excepting only those civilians whose firearms ownership is approved by the military or police). Equally odd is that insofar as the international public health literature on firearms treats the mass murder of civilians it is described as something that occurs because firearm possession is not limited to the military, the police, and those civilians whose firearms ownership they approve. [NOTE: As used here the term genocide includes all instances of knowing and intentional murder of civilians whether for racial-ethnic, regligious or political reasons, and without regard to whether the purpose was to exterminate an entire sub-group of the population or simply to weaken, frighten or coerce that group.]
Internet-Related Child Pornography and Sexual Exploitation Crimes: Characteristics of Offenders
The emergence of Internet-related crimes against minors involving child pornography and child sexual exploitation has raised questions regarding the characteristics of perpetrators of these cases. While some perpetrators interact with and offend against specific identified juvenile victims, others are discovered as a result of online undercover operations or commit offenses involving the possession of contrabad (child pornograph). This paper will describe the characteristics of these three groups of offenders, including prior arrests and other evidence of prior sex crimes, sexual deviance, history of violence, drug or alcohol abuse and mental illness, marital and family history and other demographic information. The data come from the Juvenile Online Victimization Incidence Study, which used a national sample of over 2500 law enforcement agencies to gather data about Internet-related child pornography and sexual ezpolitation crimes. This study is funded by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the U.S. Department of Justice, OJJDP.
Interpreting Age, Period and Cohort Effects in Juvenile Delinquency: Predicting County Level Offending
The Pittsburgh Youth Study is a longitudinal study of three cohorts of Pittsburgh children followed from 1987 to 2001. The database tracks changes in juvenile crime trends as well as risk and protective factors. These data provide a valuable opportunity to develop a predictive model for offending based on a large amount of individual data of separate cohorst collected over many years. We plan to use these data to develop a predictive model of juvenile offending utilizing as predictors risk factors publicly available data at the county level and data specific to the PYS. This approach allows us to test whether Pittsburgh juveniles’ offending behavior is best explained by trends in the prevalence of risk factors (period effects), changes in children’s behavioral responses to risk factors (cohort effects), or both. we can also test the utility of this model in predicting county level offending. This will provide important information to aid in public policy decisions on whether currently available data is sufficient to predict offending. We can also improve the power to predict turning points in offending by improving estimates the lags between the emergence of risk factors and precursor behaviors as well as offending behavior.
Interpreting Trends in Street Crime: A New Approach?
Street Crime in London and other major British cities has again become a major cause of concern for politicians, the media and the criminal justice agencies. This paper will report on findings from research commissioned by the U.K. Youth Justice Board into the involvement of young people in street crime. The research was designed to further understanding of why young people get involved in street crime and what might prevent them from further offending. It looked at reasons for recent trends and focussed on differences by age, gender, ethnicity and area. It also considered the factors that heightened a young person’s risk of becoming a victim of street crime. The research employed a range of research strategies and data sources, both qualitative and quantitative. As well as London wide statistical modelling of crime against local socio-demographic factors using police and other data it focussed in depth on four London boroughs that between them captured a range of experiences of young people involved in street crime. This in depth work involved interviews and focus groups with young offenders and their families, police, teachers and youth workers. This paper will present preliminary findings and draw out their wider implications.
Intervention Work With the Perpetrators of Domestic Violence in the UK
This paper reflects upon the importation of the Duluth model of Domestic Abuse Intervention into the UK, and the subsequent simplification of this model in the British Home Office’s Pathfinder Programmes. The paper questions whether standardized cognitive-behavioural programmes can deliver a sufficiently responsive approach to tackling men’s violence. The need for intervention work capable of adequately addressing the meaning of domestic violence for individual men is illustrated through an analysis of one perpetrator’s life-story account.
Investigating Continuity and Change in Longitudinal Studies With subject Attrition
Criminologists conducting longitudinal research are often faced with the problem of developing estimates from a sample with two groups of people: those who are retained over the course of the entire study and others who drop out before the study is completed. This attrition of subjects over time in longitudinal research can lead to difficulties in estimating basic quantities. One such quantity is the prevalence of continuity and change in criminal behavior over extended periods of time. In this paper, we examine simulation evidence and an empirical application which formalize the key issues that arise in investigations with subject attrition.
Investigating Internet-Related Sex Crimes With Juvenile Victims: Law Enforcement Dilemmas
Internet-related sex crimes against minors may cause problems for law enforcement agencies that are different from the problems encountered in sex crimes that do not involve the Internet. This paper focuses on three types of law enforcement dilemmas in Internet-related sex crimes: 1) legal factors such as gaps in statutues, 2) availability of resources such as the capacity to do computer forensic examinations and 3) issues of social structure. The paper uses qualitative and quantitative data that was collected from investigators in 68 cases where Internet-related sex crimes against minors were reported, but no arrests were made. This research is a component of the Juvenile Online Victimization Incidence Study, funded by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the U. S. Department of Justice, OJJDP.
Investigating the Relationship Between Local Politics, Segregation and Crime in 100 Large U.S. Cities, 1970-1990
This study is the second part of a larger project designed to explore the relationship between characteristics of city government and crime rates. The first study found that city government characteristics were associated with variation in crime rates in a cross-sectional study of 958 cities with 25,000 or more residents in 1991 (Stucky, 2001). That study found that certain city government characteristics hypothesized to enhance governmental responsiveness were associated with lower city violent crime rates. In addition, the effect of social structural factors such as poverty, unemployment and single-parent families on violent crime rates depended on the number of what I term responsiveness-enhancing local governmental structures. The second study explores whether residential segregation affects the relationship between city governmental structures and crime rates over time using multiple time series data on 100 large U.S. cities in 1970, 1980, and 1990 using the Urban Underclass Database.
Is a Living Death Worse Than a Dying Life? Or Vice Versa
Ironically, the Marquis De Sade can be interpreted as saying that if we have authenticity we can be a (Utopian?) “family” to ourselves, thus escaping from the abuses, tortures, etc. of family, and entering into an alternative form of “kinship” namely “kinship” of the self. This can be accomplished by willingness to become awareness-risk takers, beginning with an individuals awareness of the uniqueness of self instead of settling for the anonymity (relatively speaking not settling for our relatives, etc.) of the comparisons of groups be they family, gender, race, class, etc.
Is Marijuana a “Gateway” Drug?: A Preliminary Empirical Analysis
ebate surrounds the influence of so called “gateway” drugs, like marijuana, on subsequent problems with more dangerous illicit drugs. Thus, we use longitudinal data from representative cohort of south Florida young adults (N=1,683) to assess the extent to which adolescent marijuana use predicts young adult use of, and/or DSM-IV abuse or dependence on, illicit drugs other than marijuana. Preliminary findings suggest that adolescent marijuana use increases risk for illicit drug use in young adulthood when controlling for prior drug use, gang membership, stress exposure, and sociodemographic variables. However, older (over 21) and working young adults appear to be less affected by this gateway effect. Moreover, it appears that adolescent marijuana use does not influence adult abuse or dependence on other illicit drugs when controls are applied.,
Is the Development of Gender-Specific Programs Warranted?
Do adolescent males and females have different needs? Is the development of gender-specific programs warranted? This research aims to answer these questions. Youths’ needs were assessed with two samples. The first one is composed of 121 adolescent males and 154 adolescent females who were sentenced to a placement in a youth institution for their seriuous problem behavior. The second sample is composed of 165 practitioners working with these youths. The sampling strategy used in the present study allows a match between the results of youths and the results of their practitioners. Questionnaire administration took an average of one hour. This questionnaire evaluates the programmatic and the non-programmatic needs of youths. The first dimension refers to youths’ need of participating in programs that aim to develop social skills, to facilitate a successful transition to adulthood, or to prevent or stop alcohol and drug use and victimization. The second dimension concerns youths’ needs in terms of their relationships with their practitioners. Comparisons between the programmatic needs of males and females reveal more similarities than differences. However, more sex differences were observed for relational needs. These results offer guidelines that will help shape interventions.
Is Your Rap Sheet Protected Health Information?
The presenter is a youth crime researcher who is also a member of a biomedical IRB. The presentation will focus on the relationship between regulations designed to prevent abuses in biomedial research and the results that occur when they are applied in areas such as criminology, sociology, or psychology.
Issues in the Practical Application of Cost-Benefit Analysis
Cost-benefit analysis can offer a rich source of information about the effects of programs and policies. Unless carefully applied, this approach can lead to misleading policy conclusions. This paper will present a few of the questions that should be considered before undertaking such an analysis. Is the key goal of the program to maximize efficiency? Are costs and benefits counted for equivalent groups? Can the demand for the program be articulated? Are there potential principal-agent problems? Are future costs and benefits appopriately discounted? Does the program lead to actual or theoretical benefits? How are program effects isolated? How are costs identified and counted? What proportions of benefits (and costs can and should be monetized?
It’s a Rave New World: Realizing the Importance of Population-Specific Ecstasy Interventions
Anecdotal reports have suggested that the use of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or “ecstasy”) is a prodigious problem across the United States. As the use of ecstasy increases, the implementation of prevention interventions is critical to combating its proliferation. In the current study, we review the literature on ecstasy prevalence to identify the populations most in need of ecstasy-related prevention interventions. The prevalence of ecstasy use among grade school students, high school students, household respondents, juvenile offenders, and rave attendees is explored. Our meta-analysis overwhelmingly suggests that rave attendees compose the primary population at high risk for ecstasy use and dependence. These findings suggest that prevention interventions and interdiction efforts should be tailored exclusively to this population.
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John Augustus Meets La Cosa Nostra: Community Corrections Supervision in Organized Crime
Much organized crime research focuses on law enforcement and the courts. To date, little or no research has examined the role of community corrections in dealing with organized crime. The United States Probation Office in the Eastern District of New York has a 6-8-officer task force called the Special Offender Unit (SOU), which specializes in supervising members of criminal organizations. These organizations include the five traditional LCN families, plus Russian, Asian, Outlaw Biker, and Hispanic organized crime groups. Most of the offenders under supervision by the SOU are former prison inmates under parole or post-release supervision. Based on interviews with officers and official USPO records, this paper examines strategies employed by the SOU in supervising the organized crime offender.
Judicial Discretion and Sentencing Guidelines Systems: Beyond the Voluntary/Presumptive Dichotomy
Since 1980, roughly twenty states and the federal government have implemented sentencing guidelines. Such systems have been categorized as either voluntary or presumptive, depending on the extent to which gujidelines curtail judicial discretion. Voluntary guidelines have included those systems that merely provide suggestions to trial courts, allowing judges unconstrained discretion to depart from guidelines recommendations. Presumptive guidelines have included those systems that set specific requirements on trial courts, allowing judges little or no discretion to depart from guidelines recommendations. However, this dichotomization of guidelines systems as either voluntary or presumptive masks the variation among similarly “presumptive” states in the allocation of judicial discretion and has led academics and policymakers to largely overlook the way states have allocated these varying levels of discretion through legislation, judicial rule, or appellate review. This paper examines the construction of sentencing guidelines, comparing the ways guidelines states constrain judicial discretion. Through analysis of case law and enabling legislation, the paper evaluates state-level mechanisms employed to retain or restrict judicial discretion under sentencing guidelines, the role of appellate review in maintaing judicial discretion, and the goals of guidelines commissions in allocating discretion. The paper presents a new typology of sentencing guidelines systems, moving beyond the voluntary/presumptive dichotomy and presenting a cross-state comparison of the jurisprudence of sentencing departures
Just Another Analogous Behavior? Testing Links Between Theories of Crime and Injection Drug Using Practices
While some criminology theories focus on explaining specific crimes, other theories offer broader approaches often including explanations for behaviors that are analogous to crime. Within this body of research one of the more commonly used analogous behaviors has been drug and/or alcohol use, yet none have gone beyond volume of drug use to examine the continuum of drug using practices. Perhaps for those primarily interested in criminal behavior, health behavior may not seem relevant to criminology theory. However in light of the high percentage of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C rates related to injection drug use, the public health initiative harm reduction asserts that variation in injection behaviors are a critical element in need of explanation. Using data from the Cooperative AGreement for AIDS Community-Based Outreach/Intervention research Program 1992-1998, this research will test three theoretical concepts in criminological theory, self-control, cultural capital, and opportunity to examine their utility in explaining the variation in injection drug using practices. Preliminary analyses suggest that all else constant, volume of use is the strongest indicator of injection drug using practices.
Just Another Murdered Girl in Another Killed Community
This paper will attempt to illustrate the idea of “killed community” by analyzing a controversial murder case in a small Northeastern town. The ways in which the words “criminal justice system,” “Neighborhood,” “gender,” “family,” “race,” “age,” “drugs,” and “prostitution” were defined by the various secondary victims of this crime will be addressed. The possibility of a criminological challenge to empire as it existed in one town oat one time will be critiqued.
Justice and the Grassroots: The Community Justice Movement in Milwaukee
In the last two and a half decades, the war on drugs, systemic racial discrimination in criminal jujstice, and mass imprisonment have added insult to the devastating injury experienced by Milwaukee neighborhoods struggling with the effects of deindustrialization, racial and ethnic marginalization, and the deconcentration of employment. Growing recognition among citizens, community leaders and advocacy groups that formal criminal justice creates more problems than it solves in this context has given rise to a grassroots movement to develop Community Justice Centers, designed to improve community safety and achieve justice priorities identified by neighborhood residents. This paper repots on the Community Justice Movement in Milwaukee.
Justice by Geography Revisited: An Empirical Analysis of Structural Factors and the Social Control of Juveniles
While it is well established that juvenile case processing varies from place to place, few studies have tried to empirically establish which geographic structural factors influence this type of social control. The brunt of the literature continues to focus on case-level factors in processing, despite the growing concern about incorporating structural factors into analyses. According to 1985 Pennsylvania juvenile sentencing data, there is substantial variation in the percentage of juveniles adjudicated delinquent at the county level. This study intends to determine what it is about where a youth lives that disadvantages him/her in the juvenile justice system. Using a statewide sample of approximately 12,227 youths processed in Pennsylvania in 1985, we will conduct a contextual analysis using hierarchical linear modeling to determine which structural-level factors influence the amount of control the justice system holds over juveniles, controlling for both legal and extralegal individual-level characteristics.
Justice in Memoriam
‘Everyone I know is distraught by your news’: this message, posted to an internet book of condolence, signals the need to rethink questions of justice in the light of teletechnologies, those technologies of the afar that are disruptive of earlier ontologies. The message is emblematic of the public mourning for highly publicised murders, the impromptu shrines, the televised funerals and, later, the memorial laws, laws named in memory of the deceased. Phenomena like these attest to a persuasive model of being-with-othersm, within which criminal injury is ‘experienced,’ through which it is deeply and personally felt, and thought of as a shockingly familiar part of everyday life, as here with us here and now, and here to stay. This new vernacular particularly arises as a mediated experience of ‘tragic murders’, encountered in and through flows of image and information. In the publicness of the public grief displayed, a particular master-script is affirmed as the imagination and memory of crime. At the same time, the ‘impact’ of those crimes deemed to be tragedies is imaginately experienced as traumatic. In this way, the space of public mourning is constituted in the intimacy of bereavement. Generic dramas of loss, grief, and pain are established as familiar, and ground a memorial justice of criminal injury, its co-mmemoration, and its vindication.
Juvenile Correctional Facility Recidivism: A Three State Comparison
This research compared Kansas, Iowa, and North Carolina rates of recidivism among reintegrating juvenile offenders from 1997 through 2002. Two of the three states studied have undergone juvenile justice reform during the study period. Graphics compare admission rates for the three states, including admission rates in key geographic areas. The number of admissions for each juvenile offender revealed some juveniles returned to juvenile correctional facilities as many as six times during the study period. The two states with juvenile justice reform in place showed reductions in recidivism following implementation of reform, including sentencing guidelines. The three states showed substantially different recieivism rates, and discussion suggested some possible explanations for the different rates.
Juvenile Offenders: News From the States
The Colorado Youthful Offender System (YOS) represented a new sentencing option for juvenile cases that the District Attorney filed in adult court. It was at the DA’s discretion that juvenile cases were filed in adult court. Officials at the governor’s office, along with legislators with expertie in the area of juvenile and criminal justice, mental health experts, administrators from the Colorado Department of Corrections (DCOD) and the Division of Youth Corrections (DYC), and juvenile and district court judges worked together to accomplish two things: 1) Greatly expand the ability of the DAs to prosecute youth as adults, and 2) Provide a sentencing option that recognized concerns that the youth were still rehabilitative. During an evaluation of the Youthful Offender System, researchers sought to answer several questions regarding program implementation, recidivism, the amount of funding spent per offender, whether the correct population was being sentenced to YOS, and what issues were impacting the program. This presentation will address two findings from this evaluation: 1) It appeared that the correct population was, indeed, being sentenced to YOS. Without this sentencing option, YOS offenders would have very likely received a direct sentence to adult prison. Youth sented to YOS in calendar year 2000 had the largest proportion (98 percent) of persons with convictions that are most likely to be defined as crimes of violence (murder, kidnap, robbery, assault and burglary). This proportion was nearly twice as large compared to offenders sentenced to CDOC. 2) During the time of this evaluation, researchers found no evidence of specialized services targeting female youthful offenders. In fact, “equitable” treatment was being implemented as “equal” treatment, meaning that the females receive the same treatment as the males. The distractions caused by the presence of opposite-gender youth are likely to have undermined treatment efforts for at least two reasons. First, YOS residents can be distracted from working in their treatment program, a natural consequence of their age and adolescent development. Second, the important efforts implemented to increase security at YOS require that, of course, ongoing resources be directed toward security. This focus, while currently extremely appropriate, likely occurs at the expense of focusing equal resources on programmatic activities.
Juvenile Waiver: Differences in Black and White
The increasing use of juvenile waiver indicates that juveniles are considered to be more culpable and less suited for rehabilitation. The purpose of this study is to explore if there are racial differences in how waiver is applied. Specifically, Juvenile Courts’ Judges Commission (JCJC) data from 1996 to 2001 for all counties in Pennsylvania will be used to determine extent of waiver for all counties in Pennsylvania will be used to determine extent of waiver and which juveniles are being transferred to the adult court. This data was also supported by county level contextual and demographic data from the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and U.S.Census. Additionally, questionnaires were given to a sample of juvenile court judges about the rationales they give for the use of waiver. Three broad conclusions are drawn: 1) Waiver is used to punish African-American youth and is not used as a deterrent to future criminal offending; 2) Waiver is used to increase the number of African-American youth involved with the crimninal justice system, chiefly by allowing entry into the system (net-widening) at a younger age for this ethnic group; and 3) Because of the net-widening effect, more Arican-American males, who are the main targets of criminal justice control, become less available in their communities, thereby, further weakening already disadvantaged communities.
Juvenile Waiver: The Elusive Definition of Rehabilitation
Until 2000, New Jersey remained an exception to the national trend towards transferring many juveniles to adult court. Waiver to adult court could be made only after an individualized rehabilitation hearing with judicial review. The law allowed demonstration of the probability of his rehabilitation “prior to the juvenile reaching the age of 19” as an exemption from prosecutorial initiated waiver. But exactly how is rehabilitation defined in a county juvenile court in New Jersey? Does this legal statement rest upon any standard criteria? Is there an explanation or predictable pattern of why some juvenile offenders are transferred to adult court while others are retained in juvenile court? What variables significantly distinguish those juveniles transferred to adult court from those youth who are retained in the juvenile justice systemn? These are fundamental questions this research explores. The population for this study included over 400 juvenile charges for whom the Hudson County Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office sought a waiver motion between the years 1997-2001, comprising 327 individuals. All cases involve juveniles who were between the ages of 14-17 at the time of the offenses for which they were charged. Data was gathered, between January 2002-2003, from the Hudson County Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office internal data base PASCACK, as well as from juvenile records maintained in the prosecutor’s office. Juvenile Court files and Adult Probation files were additional sources of data. This analysis will answer the question, “Which legal, extralegal, or rheabilitation factors, if any, are most predictive of the probability of being transferred to Adult Court or being retained in Juvenile Court?” Follow-up data will compare conviction charges and sentence length between the two groups.
Juvenile Waiver Decision Making in Courts: Rehabilitation vs Punishment
Societal angst with crime, fear of the rise in youth violence, and the dangerous characteristics of violent young offenders have provided the political impetus to prosecute larger numbers of youths as adults. During the past several decades, nearly every state has amended its juvenile code in response to perceived increases in serious, persistent, and violent youth crime. These waiver legislation changes appear to provide an indicator of the jurisprudential shift in emphasis from rehabilitation to retribution, with the focus on characteristics of the offense rather than the offender. The current study attempts to discern whether state court judicial opinions reflect a shift toward punishment or remain committed to the rehabilitation of youth through affirmation or reversal of waiver decisions. Through an examination of several hundred case records from courts across the country, a number of concepts discussed within judicial opinions were coded and analyzed. These factors include a juvenile’s age, social background, intellectual development, psychological maturity, nature of the offense, prior record, among other factors related to the youth’s amenability to rehabilitation. Logistic regression analysis assessed the factors considered when reversing or affirming a waiver decision, and whether the judicial opinion reflected an inclination towards punishment or a rehabilitative ideal.
Juveniles and the Police: An Examination of Middle and High School Students
Using data gathered from students enrolled in a public middle school and high school, juvenile attitudes toward the police are examined. Relationships beteen various demographic characteristics (including race, gender, social class), leel of victimization, self reported delinquency involvement, and the students’ perception of police attitudes, behavior, and effectiveness will be explored.
Juveniles and the Police in Ireland and New York
This paper compares the administration of juvenile justice in two very different jurisdictions–New York and Ireland–by examining a particularly understudied topic–the relationship between juveniles and the police. Recent discussions of the Central Park Jogger case have focused attention on the treatment of children in custody. In New York, like most other jurisdictions in the United Sates, juveniles are not treated substantially differently to adults when questioned by police officers. This has been criticized by many commentators as ignoring significant differences in cognitive development and understanding between juveniles and adults. I argue that safeguards recently instituted in Ireland, including the requirement that no child be questioned outside the presence of a parent or other adult, could be adopted in New York. This would address some of the concerns about the prevalence of coerced confessions.
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Kenneth Hatt: What is a Crime?
In March 2003, the Law Commission of Canada released What is a Crime? Challenges and Alternatives, a discussion paper that explores why certain behaviour is defined as “unwanted” or “criminal”, as well as the implications of choosing one or more intervention strategies to deal with various behaviour. In the document, the Commission recognizes that the ways in which behaviours are understood and defined will affect whether or not they are deemed to be unwanted, and wehther one or more intervention strategies will be used to deal with them. Why is some behaviour considered unwanted? Why do we consider that some behaviour warrnts the label of “crime”? Why do we use criminal law to respond to some types of behaviour and not others? This presentation will critically examine these and other questions that are raised in What is a Crime? Challenges and Alternatibes, as well as more general issues relating to the nature of crime and its control in contemporary society.
Kids at Hope: Is There an Effective Alternative Paradigm to “Kids at Risk”?
Kids at Hope is a non-profit agency, located in Maricopa County, that espouses “all children are capable of success — no exceptions.” This philosophy posits that children are “at hope” — not “at risk” — regardless of any impediments that they may face while they are young. To evaluate the ability of a community to shift from a paradigm that views youth as deviant, troubled, and without hope to a paradigm that views youth as full of hope and promise is a daunting task. For the Kids at Hope paradigm shift to be successful, adults must believe that kids can be a success “no matter what,” adults must serve as positive role models for youth and, adults must provide multiple avenues and definitions of success. Kids at Hope trains persons who come into contact with youth and helps them develop and implement the paradigm change from ‘youth at risk’ to ‘youth at hope’. We will discuss how a paradigm shift can occur within a community and discuss results from a pilot study that evaluated Kids at Hope within one school district.
Knowledge-building for Penal Policy
A recent paper in Criminology and Public Policy titled “Faith and Social Science” raises some interesting questions about whether faith can be studied. This sessionl jointly sponsored by Criminology and Public Policy and the Division on Corrections and Sentencing begins with a presentation by the author. Participants will provide differing perspectives on the questions raised in the article.
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Language Barriers in the Wisconsin Court System: The Latino/a Experience
Over the years reformers have tried to address the many challenges facing the criminal court system. However, while many improvements have been made, there are areas that not only need improving but that need immediate attention. In particular, equal access to the law is being denied to many non-English speaking Latinos/as in our nations courts due to poor court interpreting. Untrained court interpreters are being sworn in to interpret although they lack the necessary skills in interpretation. These unqualified interpreters often omit testimony, or add to it, encourage clients to plea guilty, or make up words to mask their language deficiency. At times they do not interpret at all, leaving the defendant in the dark as to what is actually transpiring during the legal proceedings. Given the fact that Latinos/as are now the largest minority group in the country, I think that this matter is of almost importance, especially in jurisdictions with high concentrations of Latinos/as. The first objective of this project is to explore the matter in depth (via observations and interviews with practitioners) in one particular state, Wisconsin. The second objective is to propose possible remedies to the existing shortcomings of court interpretation in the Wisconsin court system.
Latent Structure of Psychopathy: A Taxometric Investigation
Questions about the structure of criminological constructs have led researchers to develop specific methods to examine theoretical latent structures. In this short presentation, a general introduction to Meehl’s taxometrics is presented, and MAMBAC, MAXCOV-Hitmax, MAXEIG-Hitmax, and L-Mode analyses are presented. The author examined the latent structure of psychopathy in a large sample of violent non-sex offenders and serious sex offenders. In this case, confidence in the inference to taxonic or dimensional structures was provided by multiple consistency tests as well as by iterative simulation techniques. Implications for future research on the uses of taxometrics are discussed.
Leader Behaviors That Affect Job Satisfaction and Extra Effort in Policing
This research attempted to measure the relationship of perceived leader styles and the effect on police officer job satisfaction and exertion of “extra effort.” Using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), a group of New England sworn police officers were surveyed. A return rate of 38% indicated strong support for the use of transformational leder behaviors.
Learning Lessons and Lessons Learned: The National Institute of Justices’ Research Demonstration Project Strategy
In recent years, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has been experimenting with the use of Research Demonstration Projects in an attempt to facilitate the transfer of research findings into applications in Criminal Justice. The approach is designed to use theory based models that build upon the available research and to implement those models as demonstration projects integrated with a qusi-experimental research design intended to demonstrate program’s effects. The strategy involves a strong collaboration between NIJ, the researchers on the project, and practitioners at the sites in which all three share responsibilities for ensuring program implementation integrity and operational consistency. One of the projects NIJ has carried out with this strategy has been the Braking the Cycle program, a pretrial diversion program for drug involved offenders that has been implemented at three adult sites and one juvenile site. These demonstrations are now nearing completion and the research has begun producing results on the programs effects on drug use, recidivism, and other measures of well-being. This provides an opportunity for a critical assessment of the strategy itself and its effectiveness as a means of encouraging research-based practices.
Leaving Childhood Behind: An Exploration of Michigan’s Prosecutorial Waiver Statute
Since the mid-1980’s, many states have reconsidered the manner in which their respective juvenile justice systems should deal with violent and serious juvenile offenders. One such state was Michigan which in 1988 revised its waiver statute in order that prosecutors would be given greater authority to make waiver decisions. This change in the statute was a dramatic departure in that the state previously utilized judicial waiver as the mechanism through which violent and serious juvenile offenders could gain entry into the adult criminal court system. This system of judicial waiver was criticized in that it was believed that too much discretion was given to judges and also judges were prone to use extra-legal factors when making waiver decisions. While this change was hailed as an important step toward making juveniles more accountable for their actions, there was no empirical research that would suggest that sjuvenile offenders were treated too leniently under the judicial waiver system. This study will examine Michigan’s waiver system since 1988. More specifically, this current study will explore whether prosecutors are more likely to waive juvenile offenders to criminal court in light of the crimes that they commit. Further, this study will examine wehther legal factors exert a greater influence on the waiver decision or whether extra-legal factors continue to predominate waiver decisions.
Legal and Extra-Legal Variables Influencing Police Discretion During Traffic Stops
There are a growing number of studies of racial profiling by law enforcement agencies. However, most of these studies have adopted rather simplistic (often bivariate) statistical approaches in attempting to assess the existence and extent of racial profiling. Using data from over 1.8 million traffic stops by the Washington State Patrol, this study examines the impact of both legal (number of violations, seriousness of violations), extra-legal (race/ethnicity, gender, age of person stopped), and context variables on officers’ decisions to warn or issue citations to individuals they contact. Findings reveal that, while extra-legal variables have an impact on officers’ decisions to issue citations, inclusion of legal and contextual variables in multivariate variate analyses tend to reduce or eliminate the effects of the extra-legal variables.
Lessons Learned From the New York State Drug Court Evaluation
This paper synthesizes major findings and policy implications of a statewide evaluation of New York’s adult drug courts. The evaluation analyzed court policies, participant characteristics, and performance measures at eleven sites and included impact evaluations of effects on case outcomes and recidivism at six sites. The drug courts showed substantial variation across nearly all policy-related and descriptive measures, including criminal jsutice eligibility; severeity of the underlying drug problem; other participant demogrtaphics; the organization of relationships with local treatment providers; and judicial sanctioning practices. Although it is often assumed that drug courts use a “graduated santions” model, where successive infractions incur increasingly severe sanctions, none of the courts analyzed strictly followed such an approach. Eight of the eleven courts retained more than 60% of participants after one year, exceeding what is believed to be the national average for drug courts. With respect to program effectiveness, four of the six courts invovled in impact evaluations were studied with a pre-post design, comparing drug court participants to matched samples of defendants arrested just before the drug court opened. Due to unique features in the early implementation of two programs, the final two could be studied with matched comparison groups arrested during a contemporaneous time period. All of the courts analyzed showed reductions in recidivism up to three years after the initial arrest and up to one year after program completion. However, effect sizes varied substantially. One program, Queens, nearly cut recidivism levels in half at the three-year post-arrest mark and by more than half at the one-year post-program mark. Other programs showed smaller effects, not consistently reaching significance on all measures. Additional findings will be discussed on which program factors and participant characteristics prediced a greater or lesser impact on recidivism.
Life Strain, Coping, and Delinquency: An Empirical Test of General Strain Theory in the People’s Republic of China
Using a sample of 615 middle- and high-school students from both rural and urban areas of the People’s Republic of China, this study gests the effects of coping strategies predicted by Agnew’s (1992) general strain theory (GST), in which the impact of strain on delinquency is condititioned by adolescents’ personal and social resources. The analyses represent a more comprehensive test focusing on the mechanisms through which adolescents’ social control, social learning, and self-coping moderate the relationship between adolescents’ negative interpersonal relations and delinquency. Results provide support to the “coping strategies” hypotheses, as posited by GST in a non-western culture. Negative interpersonal relations have a positive effect on delinquency among those low in conventional attachment, moral beliefs and self-efficacy, and high in delinquent peers The discussion includes an interpretation of the findings, their implications in conventional sources of social support and social control, and their relevance to cross-cultural comparisons.
Life Stressors, Anger, and Substance Abuse Among American Indian Adolescents in Midwest: An Empirical Test of General Strain Theory
Agnew’s general strain theory (1985, 1989, 1992) has been tested since its development in the last decade. This theory, however, has seldom been applied to minority groups, such as American Indian adolescents. Using a sample of American Indian 5 to 8 grade adolescents, this analysis will attempt to test general strain theory by tracing the linkage among the measures of perceived discrimination, negative life events, family conflict, anger and depression, and early onset of substance abuse. Mediating effects of anger and depression was tested using structural equation models. High prevalence of life stressors, such as negative life events and perceived discrimination were found among these American Indian adolescents. Multiple indicators of life stressors were found to have positive effects on early onset of substance abuse directly or indirectly through expression of anger. Specifically, effects of inconsistent parenting on adolescents substance abuse were completely mediated through expression of anger; negative life events affected directly on substance abuse and indirectly through expression of anger; perceived discrimination, though resulted in negative affects such as depression, did not have significant effects on substance abuse. This study provided partial support to general strain theory.
Lines and Shadows: Perceptions of Racial Profiling and the Hispanic Experience
Despite a longstanding research tradition examining the intersection of policing and race, extant research has focused almost exclusively on race and ethnicity in black and white terms. As such, our knowledge of the Hispanic experience remains opaque. In this study, we use data from a random sample of New York City residents to compare the perceptions of racial profiling among Hispanic and non-Hispanic citizens. In particular, we examine the factors that relate to the perception that racial profiling is widespread, justified, and personally experienced. Findings are grounded within the literature on police-citizen relations and racial profiling.
Locating the Vanguard in Rising and Falling Homicide and Robbery Rates
The purpose of this paper is to examine the trends in homicide and robbery rates for major cities during the 1979-2001 period. Using UCR data for cities with populations of 250,000 or more in 1975, we apply polynomial spline regression techniques to locate the number and timing of “knots” that signify structural breaks. Our substantive focus is to identify cities that first experienced the rising violent crime rates associated with the well-known boom in the 1980s and those that first exhibited the declining crime rates signalling the “bust” in the 1990s. Consistent with past research, we hypothesize that the structural breaks appeared earlier in the larger cities, especially those with populations of a million and more. We also search for additional characteristics of cities that distinguish vanguard cities from “followers,” including geographic location and socio-economic and demographic characteristics. Finally, we explore whether the location of the structural breaks are similar for these two types of violent offenses.
Looking Inward: An Examination of the Internal Manifestation of Oppression in Adolescents
Differential oppression theory is a relatively new theory of juvenile delinquency, first offered in 1996 by Bob Regoli & John Hewitt. The basic premise of this critical theory is that children are oppresesed through their relationships with adults from the time they are born. This oppression, when optimal levels are reached, results in the utilization of adaptive reactions. The adaptive reactions are based on delinquent behaviors and involve external, as well as internal manifestations of oppression. Internal manifestations often lead to a repressed hatred for adults, which becomes internalized by adolescents, resulting in alcohol and drug use, as well as low self-esteem. This paper fwill focus on the internal manifestations as measured through alcohol and drug use and emotions, such as isolation and self-esteem. Primarily, the paper will discuss the ability of differential oppression theory to explain the internalization of oppression by adoelscents, since empirical research regarding its effectiveness is very limited. Data were originally collected in an attempt to understand the role of oppression in the commission of non-fatal school. Therefore, implications for policies relating to school violence will also be discussed, if time permits.
Losing Ground: Gender, Responsibility, and Parole Risk
I examine how the many of the gains made by federally sentenced women in Canada in relation to the recognition of women’s experiences (including ethnocultural sensitivity) and holistic correctional approaches are compromised, and subtly undermined by generic and seemingly neutal risk management practices. Using 251 parole case files, I show how structural and social context factors are reconfigured as risk factors (histories of abuse, parental responsibilities, self injury, poverty), which women are responsible for managing in custody and upon release.
Low Self-Control, Opportunity/Vulnerability and Victimization: A Spurious Relationship?
A ‘general theory of crime’ would suggest that individuals characterized by low self-control will be more likely to commit both crime and analogous acts. Varying levels of self-control, it is maintained, work in conjunction with opportunity, yet what is defined as opportune (or not) is a product of self-control. Low self-control may contribute not only to creating the conditions of opportunity, but may also contribute to creating the conditions of vulnerability. Victimization may therefore be as likely to result from low self-control as it is to result in offending. According to general theory, however, the relationship between opportunity/vulnerability and victimization may be spurious, given that both are theorized to be the product of of low self-control. We consider this possibility through various path regression analyses by examining survey data from 1200 adult respondents and their respective levels of self-control, their opportunity and vulnerability as measured via self-protective behaviours with respect to crime, health and finances, and their reported levels of criminal victimization, ill-health and financial well-being.
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Macro and Micro-Level Explainations of Racial Differences in Personal Victimization
Serious violent victimization rates have been higher for minority groups especially for blacks and Native Americans in comparison to whites, at least since the 1950s. For the past two decades, research examining the patterns and differences of victimization across demographic groups has been focused on variations of routine activity and lifestyle with emphases on microlevel factors such as target attractiveness, exposure to risk environments and guardianship. The macrolevel factors reflecting ecological contexts, in which different demographic groups reside, have long been overlooked. Following Sampson and Wilson’s structural and cultural analysis on macrolevel relationships between race and crime, this study examines the relative contributions of community level phenomenon to the risk of the personal victimization through violent crime. Multilevel analysis of NCVS data at individual level and community level is employed in this study.
Major Life Events and Monthly Patterns of Crime
Existing literature has identified a relationship between the assumptionm of adult roles and declining criminal behavior during early adulthood (e.g., Sampson & Laub, 1990. The majority of work in this area, however, uses a broad-bushed approach and focuses on change over relatively large time intervals of a year or more. This syrategy precludes a more fine analysis of the timing and duration of change in criminal behavior associated with assumption of or change in adult roles. This study examines the covariation of criminal behavior and major life events on a month-by-month level, and addresses the issues of timing and duration with regard to change. The sample is from the Seattle Social Development Project, a longitudinal panel study of 808 individuals recruited in 1985 from elementary schools servinh high-crime neighborhoods. The present analyses make use of retrospective calendar data spanning the ages of 21-24 that were obtained when participants were aged 24 years. As in Horney, Osgood, and Marshall (1995), Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling is used to assess the effects of major life events, such as marriage, divorce, birth of a child, and job loss, on the month-by-month probability of engagement in crime. The Social Development Model is used as an explanatory framework, and mediators suggested by the model are tested.
Making Distinctions: A Multiple Models Approach to Assessing Risk of Repeat Domestic Violence
The standard procedure in domestic violence recidivism research is to develop a single prediction model that can be used to assess risk of future violent behavior. However, most of these models are based on an additive main effects regression approach (e.g. logistic regression) and do not adequately reflect the contingent and interactive nature of the assessment processes. Further, the use of single models applies the belief that a single risk assessment model can capture the essential information needed to predict recidivism. I question this standard procedure by suggesting that the interactive complexities inherent in the prediction of violent behavior are such that no single risk assessment model is sufficient for the task. By combining statistically the predictions of several classification tree-based assessment models, I will demonstrate that this multiple models approach will increase the accuracy in assessing the risk of 2 types of violence: 1) situational couple violence; and 2) intimate terrorism.
Making Distinctions: A Multiple Models Approach to Assessing Risk of Repeat Domestic Violence
The standard procedure in domestic violence recidivism research is to develop a single prediction model that can be used to assess risk of future violent behavior. However, most of these models are based on an additive main effects regression approach (e.g. logistic regression) and do not adequately reflect the contingent and interactive nature of the assessment processes. Further, the use of single models applies the belief that a single risk assessment model can capture the essential information needed to predict recidivism. I question this standard procedure by suggesting that the interactive complexities inherent in the prediction of violent behavior are such that no single risk assessment model is sufficient for the task. By combining statistically the predictions of several classification tree-based assessment models, I will demonstrate that this multiple models approach will increase the accuracy in assessing the risk of 2 types of violence: 1) situational couple violence; and 2) intimate terrorism.
Making Meaningful Correctional Training to Prevent Staff Sexual Misconduct: The Gender Component
Providing meaningful training to combat staff sexual misconduct requires helping staff to understand the gender dynamics involved. Such understanding requires the kind of training often conceptualized as “gender sensitization” and therefore is frequently thought of by correctional staff as unrelated to “real” correctional training because it does not seem to have any immediate and direct application to the management of female offenders. Administrators and training staff often question its inclusion in a training curriculum (and are often unfamiliar with the material and therefore uncomfortable teaching it), and staff sometimes initially resist the training–thought not always. However, without a firm grounding in basic gender dynamics, staff are left with essentially admonitions and threats against staff sexual misconduct, not insights on how their previous life experiences might be turned against them or their best instics to help might backfire.
Making Religious and Secular Crime Attributions: An Examination of the Effect of Religion and Attribution Style on Correctional Orientation
Numnerous historians and contemporary observers have noted that religious beliefs play an important role in shaping crime attributions and preferences for punishment. Researchers have yet to consider, however, the extent to which crime is attributed to supernatural or religious forces. This study examines religious and secular crime attributions and explores the effect of religion and attribution style on correctional orientation. Results of a national survey of prison chaplains revealed that the lack of a good religious background was seen as an important contributor to criminal offending. Attributing crime to a lack of religion, however, was unrelated to support for punishment, the death penalty, or rehabilitation. In contrast, religious beliefs such as fundamentalism, belief in religious forgiveness, and punitive religious dogma were related to the participants’ correctional orientations, especially their preferences for punishment and the death penalty.
Making the Magic Circle: Gendering Youth Violence Through Interaction, Opportunity, and Cultural Milieu
George Venn, in his book Marking the Magic Circle (1987), commands attention to the importance of space: “Space is organized around a scaral center…through every human being, unique space, intimate space, opens up to the world” (3; 15). Space is also gendered; that is, social structures, including the institutions and interaction that dwell therein, are organized around various constructions of masculinities and feminities. This study examines the gendered nature of youth violence within various spatial contexts: three high schools, each of which exhibits distinct characteristics based on opportunity structure (e.g., economic didsadvantage), cultural milieu (reflecting local values), and interaction styles. Each of the components–interaction, opportunity, and cultural milieu–are based in part on local gender arrangements. For example, students construct relationships somewhat differently in a small school than in a large urban school, and rural and urban communities define violence and weapons use differently. Using survey, interview, and observation data from a study of three high schools int he Midwest, this paper reports three primary findings about the gendered nature of violence and contextual influences. First, violence itself is gendered. By gendered violence, I mean harmful acts or structural arrangements that are organized around or depend upon socially constructed masculinities and femininities. Weaps use, for instance, is a particularly strong muasculine marker. Secondm violence is a resource for “doing masculinity,” and youths may seek power through doing violence (such as fighting). Finally, the relationship between gender and violence varies within various school contexts, depending upon a variety of social influences including conventional gender attitudes. For example, the relationship between gighting and gender attitudes caries from school to school. This study depends on a gendered theory of violence that also incorporates structural dimensions of a locl gender regime. Doing violence is gendered, but in ways specific to local customs. Especially in the rural context, fewer differences appear between girls and boys in how gender influences violence. Opportunity is also important: The normative presence of weapons, which is a particularly masculine marker, is one of the strongest predictors of individual instances of violence. And local cultural milieu remains significant, as the relationship between doing gender/doing violence and the context within which it takes place is unique from place to place. In addition, the cultural milieu of a particular gender regime–here measured in part by gender traditional attitudes–influences the extent to which boys will fight, irrespective of the school context. Of course, the pulling apart into separate spheres is somewhat artificial; in essence, the three components are interactive parts of a dynamic social system.
Male and Female Team Serial Killing: A Right of Entitlement?
This paper will explore a possible explanation(s) of serial homicide, particularly, male and female teram serial murder. Although there appears to be a lack of consensus concerning the definition of serial murder (Egger, 1997), for the purpose of this paper the following definition will be utilized. A serial murderer can be defined as one or more individual(s) who kills three or more victims, strangers, relatives, and acquaintances over a period of time (must exceed thirty days) i which the perpetrator(s) overwhelmingly attempt to avoid capture for which the motivation may be intrinsic (e.g., power-motivated) or extrinsic (e.g., monetary-gain) (Gunn, 1999). Despite a dearth of literature, team serial killers share some commonalities: he or she is generally Caucasian, with partical or completed high school, employed as a blue-collar worker, mid-twenties, targeting strangers, that is, no prior contact, choosing a personal approach (strangulation or suffocation), retain trophies or souveniers from the victims (video-recording, personal items), and appear to display extreme cruelty toward the victim (tortue, dismemberment) (Gunn, 2003). In contrast to serial killers acting alone, team killers are unique in that they share (or appear to) a folie a deux, that is, “two minds with one single psyche” (Brady, 2001, p. 253). Another possible explanation (perhaps in conjunction with a folie a deux) is a right of entitlement, that is, males are socialized to externalize their feelings of anger and/or rage through acts of aggression (Skrapec, 1994). in the case of male and female team serial murderers, it appears that the right of entitlement is transferred and traditional gender roles become blurred. In other words, the female offender participates in traditional [male] acts of aggression. Particularly, married female and male team serial killers and sexual acts of aggression.
Mangling the Myth: The Minority Community’s ‘Real’ Perception of Police Presence
It is a popular misconception that minorities communities do not welcome a significant police presence in their neighborhood. A study of COP in the Pacific Northwest over the past five years presents data contrary to that popular notion. The myth, the contradicting data, and a discussion of the possible explanatory hypotheses are the topics of this paper.
Mapping ADAM With Zip Codes vs. Census Block Groups
This paper describes the challenges faced by researchers who conduct GIS mapping analyses using ADAM data where address information has been limited to the zip code level. A recent Oklahoma City ADAM addendum on domestic violence collected more specific address information about the female arrestees participating in the regular ADAM project. The addendum data set stores the address information at the block level to protect the confidentiality of the participants. The paper presents maps based on residential address information using the ADAM zip code data and the more precise block level data contained in the addendum. The authors compare the differences and similarities in the findings. They also address the issues surrounding the protection of human subjects while collecting such sensitive information.
Marital Status Variations in Canadian Public Housing Woman Abuse
As many feminist scholars correctly point out, male-to-female physical and sexual abuse cuts across all socio-demographic groups. However, a growing body of empirical work demonstrates that women who are socially and economically marginalized, such as those who live in public housing, suffer from such abuse at a greater rate than their more affluent counterparts. However, which groups of women living under conditions of poverty are at the most risk of being assaulted by male partners? So far, there have been very few attempts to empirically answer this question, especially in Canada. We hypothesize that separated or divorced women residing in impoverished Canadian public housing estates are more likely to be victimized by intimate violence than those who are married/cohabiting. Guided by Ellis and DeKeseredy’s (1997) challenge model of intimate femicide and using data elicited by the Quality of Neighborhood Life Survey, we tested this hypothesis and the main objective of this paper is to describe our results and the policy implications of our findings. We found that separated or divorced women report much higher rates of severe violence than those who are married/cohabiting, and there is a small statistical relationship between estrangement, welfare, and violence.
Martyrdom and Terrorism: The Road to Predatory Suicide
In a recent issue of The Criminologist, Richard Rosenfeld argues that “poverty of intellectual imagination” has prevented criminologists from studying terrorism “right alongside other forms of predatory or justice-oriented violence.” The study of terrorism will enrich criminology, he asserts. I agree, and I propose to start the search for enlightenment by studying the antecedents of what made 9-11 so shocking to much of the world: predatory suicide. In this paper I trace the historical roots of this phenomenon, beginning with the emergence of a cult of martyrdom during the Roman era. I show that martyrdom became an important mechanism of social control, later to be refined and further reified with the spread of Islam and the Christian backlash. By the time of the Crusades, martyrdom had become a form of military strategy, with policy implications. On another continent, the Sikhs of Northern India embraced the ethic and practice of martyrdom, and understood its potential as a proactive mechanism of control. The Twentieth Century witnessed a further refinement of the martyr concept, one that includes its military value by extends its reach. The Japanese Kamikaze pilots of World War II showed how a combination of technology, core values, and legend could be turned into a proactive and predatory military policy, while, more recently, Palestinian freedom fighters and militant Islamic fundamentalists have shown that predatory suicide has become a weapon of choice in the terrorist arsenal.
Masculinities, Femininities, and Varieties of Violence by Girls
This paper reports partial results of a life history study on girls, gender, and violence. The sampe of the larger study consists of twenty-four white New England working-class girls, age 15-18: eight “sex offenders,” eight “assaultive offenders,” and eight “nonviolent girls.” The chief questions addressed in the broader study are: Why do some girls engage in violence and some girls do not? Why do girls who engage in violence commit diffferent types? In this paper I focus on the second question, discussing why some girls specifically engage in different types of violence. The goal is to grasp each girl’s uniqaue viewpoint–her personal vision of why she engaged in a particular type of violence. Each interview, then, is an attempt to disclose the situational accomplishment of gender and eventual use of violence as a result of personal life history. The life history data shows that diffgerent types of violence are accountable practices for “doing” masculinity and/or femininity, depending upon the particular social setting in which the violence occurs.
Matching Kids to Programs: Using Program Performance Information to Improve Juvenile Court disposition Decisions
The juvenile court disposition decision has been the subject of study largely with regard to investigations of racial discrimination or in terms of how specific categories of offenders are treated. It has not been examined in terms of its effectiveness in matching youths to programs that fit their needs. From a correctional perspective, the concept of differential treatment or responsivity has a long history of research and acceptance. That is, it is known that all youths do not respond to the same program in the same way and that responsivity is. This view has been applied to programming decisions but not to judicial decisions. This paper reports on a study of one court’s attempt to match youths to programs, using nine years of program outcome data as well as information about program target populations. The information on program performance did not supplant other information; it was added to information already known to the court. This innovation was pilot tested in one probation district of a large metropolitan area, in order to determine if improvements could be achieved in program completion, recidivism and decision maker confidence in the disposition decision.
Maternal Cigarette Smoking and Deviant/Criminal Behavior: A Meta-Analysis
A growing body of empirical literature has emerged that examines the relationship between maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy and children’s subsequent antisocial behavior. Typically couched in the language of life-course/developmental criminological perspectives, the results of these studies are inconsistent. To help clarify what existing studies do, and do not, tell us about whether criminologists should continue to treat maternal cigarette smoking as a serious criminogenic risk factor, we subjected this body of literature on the subject to a meta-analysis or quantitative synthesis. In particular, our analysis reveals: (1) the overall magnitude of the relationship between mothers’ cigarette smoking and the likelihood their children will engage in deviant/criminal behavior, and (2) the degree to which this relationship is conditioned by methodological differences across empirical studies. The implications for future research on this subject are discussed.
Maternal Employment, Family Structure, Family Processes, and Adolescent Problems
Criminological and mental health theories long have recognized the family as an important context for understanding adolescent problems, emphasizing the relevance of family structural positions (e.g., family income and female headship) and family processes (e.g., parenting practices and familial interactions). Despite this general interest in family structure and family processes, research on adolescents has focused little attention on one of the most marked changes that has faced American families in recent decades. Specifically, little attention has been focused on the role of maternal employment in the development and/or control of adolescent problems. The present paper addresses this gap in the literature by developing a theoretical model that links the gendered ideologies and work and family roles of mothers to the delinquency and depression of their adolescent children. The theoretical models posits the following causal links: (1) the gendered ideologies and roles (work and family roles) of mothers coalesce to influence maternal distress; (2) maternal distress, in turn, influences parenting practices, which affect peer relationships; and (3) parenting practices and peer relationships combine to predict the likelihood of delinquency and depression during adolescence. My discussion of this theoretical model emphasizes the ways in which the model addresses recent critiques of power-control theory (Hagan, Simpson, and Gillis 1985), which arguably is the most well-developed theory dealing with the relationship between maternal employment and the adolescent problems of delinquency and depression. I test the theoretical model using data from the National Survey of Children (Zill, Furstenberg, Peterson, and Moore 1976; 1981; 1987) and covariance structure analysis. The results of the empirical analysis lend general support to the proposed arguments and contribute to the limited understanding of both the conditions under which maternal employment and/or nonemployment influences adolescent problems as well as the processes through which maternal employment and/or nonemployment influence such problems.
Maturity of Judgment in Delinquent Youth
A major argument for both child advocates and penal reformers surrounds the merging of the criminal justice and the juvenile justice systems (Scott & Grisso, 1998). States currently transfer juvenile offenders to adult court based on age, severity of offense, or mitigating circumstances (Juvenile Offenders & Victims, 1999). This move presumes that adolescents are equally competent as adults and are thus equally culpable for their crimes. Yet the juvenile justice system was founded on a different assumption: adolescents are less mature than adults (Scott & Grisso, 1998). Research has shown that adolescent decision making is less mature than adult decision making and that maturity of judgment is a better predictor of anti-social decision-making than age (Cauffman & Steinberg, 2000). The current study utilzied a sample of delinquent adolescents enrolled in an Outward Bound program and in a diversion program, as well as a control sample of high school students, to invedtigate the relation between maturity of judgment and delinquent behavior. We tested a model of delinquency, predicted by decision making maturity, and mediated by Belief in a Just World (Rubin & Peplau, 1975) and Primary versus Secondary locus of control (Rothbaum, Weisz, & Snyder, 1982).
Measurement of Theoretical Constructs and the Use of Data Drawn From the National Youth Survey
The analysis of self-reported data began to emerge as a popular means to investigate the etiology of crime and delinquency during the 1960s. The National Youth Survey (NYS) has become a prominent example of a large-scale collection of self-reported data and has been used to support or refute many criminological theories. The public availability of several waves of annual data from the NYS via the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research has added to the prolific use of these data. Along with measuring specific (e.g., violent, property, drug, status) and general (i.e., scaled) forms of delinquency, these data have been used to construct a wide array of independent variables that seek to measure and test the theoretical constructs related to a variety of individual and integrated criminological theories (e.g., developmental/life course, differential association/social learning, labeling, social control, strain). This analysis reviews nearly 100 empirical assessments of data drawn from the NYS in an attempt to clarify the reliability and validity of theoretical constructs as measured by individual and scaled survey items. Our argument is that the extensive use of these data has led to an imprecision in measurement and, subsequently, empirical conclusions that could be, at times, diluted, less than reliable, and invalid. Implications for further analyses of these and other publicly available data are discussed.
Measures of Goodness of Fit for Group-Based Trajectory Models
This paper describes a series of diagnostics for measuring the adequacy of model fit for a group-based trajectory model. While much has been written on the determination of the optimal number groups in finite mixture modeling, which forms the analytical basis for group-based trajectory modeling, little attention has been given to developing criteria for judging the adequacy of the selected model. Based on simulated data, this paper proposes four diagnostics for judging model adequacy. The diagnostics focus on the accuracy of the estimates of the probability of group membership and the precision of assignments of population members to their correct group.
Measuring and Explaining Criminal Justice
The study of criminal justice has for the most part ignored the most important questions for this field. How much justice is there? What accounts for the delivery of more justice? Of less justice? Most criminal justice research concerns itself with how the justice system operates, why it operates that way, and what effect it has on crime and disorder. How much punishment or social control the justice system delivers is, of course, a legitimate issue, but it begs the more difficult question of how much criminal justice it produces. This paper sets forth an agenda for scholarly measurement of justice and practical evaluations of justice processes — evaluations that focus on promoting more justice and less injustice. This is accomplished by first considering several ways in which criminal justice might be conceptualized. It turns to some measurement issues. Next it sets forth a few sample propositions, the testing of which would advance our understanding of the circumstances under which more or less justice can be expected. The paper concludes by imagining systems of routine evaluation that would make the amount of criminal justice delivered in a system more transparent to the public and policy makers.
Measuring Cross-National Convergence/Divergence of Homicide Victimization Rates for Males and Females, 1956 to 2000
Since the 1970s, a large body of literature has speculated on whether female and male crimes rates are converging over time. While most of this research has been applied to male and female offending rates in the United States, in this paper we instead examine evidence for convergence in homicide victimization rates for women and men in a sample of nations. A gender equality thesis argues that gradual changes in women’s social position should result in broad convergence between women and men in many areas, including criminal victimization. By contrast, a gender backlash argument suggests that female victimization rates may have actually further diverged from male rates as a result of the increasing friction caused by changes in social roles for men and women in the second half of the twentieth century. We contrast both of these views against a null hypothesis of little change in homicide victimization rates of women vis a vis men over time. We use econometric methods to test for convergence and divergence in male and female homicide victimization rates for 35 nations from 1956 to 2000. One results show weak support for both the gender equality and the gender backlast perspectives. We consider the implications of the results for theory and future research.
Measuring Institutional Strength: Examining the Role of Neighborhood-Based Institutions in Understanding Neighborhood Rates of Crime
Recently, social disorganization theorists have begun to pay increasing attention to the role of institutions in understanding neighborhood rates of crime. For example, in his 2002 Presidential address to the American Society of Criminology, Sampson stressed the importance of institutions. He argued that, institutions matter because they are “keys to generating social goods…and collective efficacy.” Of central concern in this new area is the question of how best to capture the important characteristics of institutions that shape neighborhood rates of crime. Triplett, Gainey and Sun (forthcoming), recently proposed a model of instituional strength and neighborhood crime rates which argued that institutional strength is captured by stability, resources, a clear delineation of roles and statuses, and interconnectedness. In this paper, a preliminary test of the model is examined using data collected from three Virginia cities. The first part of the analysis uses data on neighborhood-based organizations to test a measurement model of institutional strength. The second part of the analysis examines the role institutional strength in shaping neighborhood levels of information social control and rates of crime.
Measuring the Prison Contribution to Inmate Misconduct Over Time: A Multilevel Investigation of Prison Performance
Criminologists and correctional practitioners have been conviced for some time that prison operations have an impact upon inmate participation in misconduct. The problem is that the measures of “good” and “bad” prisons have been fairly simplistic, while at the same time very demanding of the data. Most often, the measure of the quality of prison operations has been the rate of misconduct (defined in various ways) observed for some period of time with the rates for different prisons serving as the point of comparison. The present study proposes to first generate monthly performance measures using inmate misconduct data and multilevel models for a period of 24-36 months. In the second step of the analysis, the trends in the monthly measures will be examined using graphs and statistical models to determine whether differences in prison performance are systematic over time. Data from All Bureau of Prisons (BOP) institutions will be used to generate the performance measures, but attention will focus upon three specific BOP prisons and one private prison.
Media Coverage of Incarceration: Recurring Themes and Common Sources
While much research into media coverage of criminal justice topics has already been conducted, little has been done in the area of incarceration coverage. A preliminary content analysis of stories in smaller Illinois daily newspapers suggests that institutional issues, such as staffing patterns, and construction plans are among the most frequent in newspapers. Matters concerning inmates are less frequently discussed. More stories about jails appeared than did stories about prisons. Sources used in stories were most frequently officials, especially from law enforcement and local government. About one-quarter of stories, however, presented material with no clear source.
Media Representations of Male and Female Crime
Claims about increasing rates of female as compared to male crime have been made in both academic journals and popular media. While scholarly analysis of rates of offending and changes in male as compared to female rates are being undertaken, the reporting of crime in the popular media has only been addressed anecdotally and has not been systematically examined. We assess representations of crime committed by males and females in popular media by performing a content analysis of articles about crime, which include a reference to the sex-of-the-offender. Four major newspapers in Pennsylvania, in addition to the New York Times and Miami Herald, were examined for a three month period. In addition to sex-of-the-offender and type of crime, information on some crime circumstances including presence of a weapon, number of offenders, relationship among offenders, and the roles of offender were collected. Our main objectives are to: (i) assess the picture of female as compared to male crime portrayed in popular print media and to (ii) gain a fuller understanding of female (and male) criminality since the newspaper reports often provide information on the “gestalt” of crime not available in other published sources.
Medical Murder, Munchausen and Control: An Analysis of Homicides in Medical Settings
Homicide in medical settings by employees (e.g. doctors, nurses) and/or clients (e.g. Munchausen) is difficult to define, track and quantify. This paper summarizes the different types of known homicides that have occurred in medial settings, where and how and how often these homicides have occurred and discusses the shared variable of control across the different types of medical murders.
Medicate to Executive: Should we be Allowed to Force Inmates to Take Medicine in Order to Execute Them?
In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the execution of an insane inmate violated the U.S. Const. amend. VIII. The Court has also held that inmates may be forced to take anti psychotic medications in some situations, e.g., to ensure they are competent to stand trial. The Court has not ruled on whether prisoners may be medicated for the sole purpose of making them competent to be executed. The paper discusses the legal and ethical issues involved in forcing inmates on death row to take anti psychotic medications. The paper will also look at the ramifications of the February 2003 U.S. Court of Appeals case involving the 6-5 decision of that court which was the first by a federal appeals court to allow such medication.
Meeting the Challenge of Computer Crime: Taking Situational Crime Prevention Into the Virtual Environment
Situational crime prevention has long served as a valuable framework for researchers and practitioners alike in tackling crime in a variety of environments. This paper, in discussing the results of a UK Home Office Delphi study, will seek to illustrate how the SCP’s techniques continue to offer guidance in dealing with emergent criminal and malicious behaviours. A multi-disciplinary Delphi panel were asked what they believed to be the future forms of criminal activity, technology challenge and crime prevention measures associated with the increasingly ubiquitous computing and communication environment we now face. Numerous preventive measures were generated for a range of Internet-mediated offences and malicious behavior. By applying the situational crime prevention framework to these diverse findings, the author has sought to arrive at a coherent package of measures in a language familiar to both the non-technical criminological and policing community, as well as the technology oriented computer security practitioners.
Members of the Community: Life Experiences of Drug Offenders Incarcerated in New York
The paper describes research conducted by Physicians for Human Rights, an international advocacy organization in coordination with the Fortune Society, a direct-service organization for offenders and ex-offenders based in New York. The findings are from 50 qualitative interviews conducted with former inmates incarcerated in state prison under New York State’s Rockefeller drug laws. The New York laws mandate minimum sentences for drug offences based on weight of drugs involved and couple with second felony offender provisions to make sentences for drug-related offences among the highest in the country. The paper discusses respondent life experiences prior to incarceration including narrative accounts of entry into drug use and criminal activity. The paper also discusses prison experiences and respondent perception of the impact of incarceration. Finally, the paper presents reentry narratives including circumstances related to housing, employment, drug treatment and recovery and parole responsibilities. Findings are dontextualized in current debate about the efficacy and impact of the Rockefeller laws.
Mental Health Needs of Juvenile Offenders: Practice and Public Opinion
Public opinion survey results regarding mental health needs of juvenile offenders are presented in the context of current trends in juvenile justice practie and policy. Specifically, questions were asked gauging attitudes regarding juvenile offenders with mental health problems and the criminal justice response to such offenders. Public attitudes about the degree of accountability, level of supervision, and mental health treatment for juvenile offenders with mental health problems are assessed. Questions ascertain wehther or not respondents favor mental health treatment for such offenders and at what level of supervision treatment should be implemented. Implications for juvenile justice policy and potential legislation are considered.
Mental Illness and Capital Punishment: A Case Anaysis
This paper will explore how the United States Supreme Court has addressed mental illness and capital punishment over the past thirty-five years. How do courts assure that mental illness is appropriately considered in death penalty determinations? How have these mandates, in theory and in practice, changed and developed over time? Does this provide any insight as to where the Court is heading? By using case analysis techniques the paper will explore how individual justices may have developed unique angles to these questions and what impact new Supreme Court appointees may have on future case law that addresses mental illness in capital punishment procedure.
‘Merton With Energy – Katz With Structure’: The Criminology of Transgression and the Sociology of Vindictiveness
This paper involves a critique of neo-liberal notions of crime and punishment pointing to the similar existential dynamics of transgression and vindictiveness. It insists on placing such a phenomenology in the structural context of late modernity which gives rise to pressing crises and transformations in the First World/American Dream. Such a process revolves around the concept of bulimia where people are subject to inordinate cultural incorporation but face enormous structural barriers to the realization of their dreams, desires, fantasies. This involves not only frustration at their exclusion from meritocratic rewards but more crucially where their desire for secure identity and lives of meaning, excitement and self-fulfilment are constantly thwarted. The unequal material society has now its more showy counterpart in the spectacle of spotlight and celebrity. In these circumstances widespread resentment occurs throughout the social structure leading both to transgressive crime and penal vindictiveness.
Meta-Analysis on the Relationship Between the Police Levels and Crime Rates
Most research on the relationships between the police levels and crime rates show that there are no effcts of increased number of police officers or police budget on crime rates. But recently adopting new control variables some study results demonstrate that police levels and outlays have significant effects on crime deterrence. I reviewed more than 15 articles about these studies since 1980 and revisited the police and crime relations using meta-analysisl My finding is that the relationships vary due to the units of analysis and existence of conditioning variables, and if we adopt more detailed unit of analysis and control more variables it is possible to conclude that increased police levels decrease the crime rates.
Methamphetamine Arrests and Deprivation Cases: Correlational Trends and Qualitative Evidence
This paper provides quantitative and qualitative evidence regarding the nexus between methamphetamine arrests in a state and the level of child deprivation cases. Methamphetamine activity was measured by examining arrest data and methamphetamine laboratory confiscation counts over time. Deprivation data was gathered from the state’s social service counts during the same time period. The data show a relatively clear connection between methamphetamine arrests and deprivation cases. Qualitative interviews with social service investigators and law enforcement agents confirm the direct correspondence between these variables. Social service and juvenile court practices and caseloads are clearly impacted by methamphetamine use and have the potential to shift and strain resources markedly in these offices.
Methamphetamine Production in the Heartland
Although it has been a problem in the West for some time, the manufacture of methamphetamine in the Midwest has surged in recent years. This study examines patterns and correlates of methamphetamine production in one Midwestern state, Illinois. Illinois provides an excellent illustration of this phenomenon. The number of laboratories seized in Illinois rose from 24 in 1997 to 666 in 2001. In the Midwest most methamphetamine laboratories are found in rural and suburban areas, and this is true for Illinois as well. Cook County (Chicago) and the five counties adjacent to it account for over 65 percent of the states population, but in 2001 only 1 of the 666 seized laboratories was located in these highly urbanized counties. The paper describes the problem in Illinois and considers social and economic correlates of methamphetamine production.
Methamphetamine Use in Santa Clara County, California
Rates of methamphetamine use are extremely high in Santa Clara County, as they are for the entire state of California. Recent ADAM results indicate positive test results in the range of 40% for female arrestees and 30% for males. In an effort to better understand local patterns of methamphetamine use, we used 2001-02 ADQAM data to calculate logistic regression analyses of methamphetamine use and self-reported drug dependency. The full range of available demographic variables was studied, as well as treatment history, insurance status, type of charge, and alcohol use. Among male arrestees, significant predictors of recent methamphetamine include African American (negative) Hispanic, U.S. citizen, not working full time, hospitalization for mental health treatment (negative), drug and domestic violence charges, and age under 25. For women, predictors include African American (negative), U.S. citizen, not employed full time, previous arrest, and drug charges. Including the full range of control variables, recent methamphetamine use by men strongly predicts reported drug dependence (of the other NIDA-5 drugs, only marijuana predicts dependence). This relationship was also evident among women for methamphetamine only. Implications for policy and treatment will be discussed.
Michigan’s Welfare to Work Program: Silver Linings and Storm Clouds
A major goal of welfare reform is to replace public assistance with earnings. However, lurking just below the surface of these programs are serious problems and structural impediments; low pay, job readiness and difficulties in securing supports like transportation and adequate child care. In Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine we are confronted with the story of a mother, who under Michigan’s welfare to work program was forced to accept 2 part-time low wage jobs (both more than an hour bus ride from home) and left her son to be supervised by a relative. Her son later took a loaded handgun and killed one of his first grade classmates. In March 2002 Congress approved and President Bush signed into law the economic stimulus package. While much ado has been made about the extension of unemployment benefits, there has been an eerie silence surrounding the reauthorization of the Work Opportunity, Welfare to Work and Work First Tax Credits. The focus of this paper is to bring to light the (often destructive) relationship between social inequality, corporate, state and special interest entanglemenets of Michigan’s welfare to work programs.
Migrant Death and the INS’ Border Safety Initiative: An Impact Evaluation
In response to concerns over an apparent increase in death among migrants attempting unauthorized entry into the United Sates under treacherous conditions, the Immigration and Naturalization Service in a joine effort with the Mexican government created the Border Safety Initiative (BSI) to increase safety along the U.S.-Mexico border. In performance of this mandate, the U.S. Border Patrol began a series of life saving measures in June of 1998. To date, however, there have been no systematic evaluations of BSI operational effectiveness. Using data from the U.S. Border Patrol’s Incident Tracking System and U.S. vital statistics this paper analyzes the impact of Border Patrol operations on levels of migrant death.
Minority and Immigrant Perceptions of Policing: A Comparison of Vietnamese and Latino Communities
This paper presents findings from two related community surveys of minority residents in California, taken at two points in time. The common experience of minority residents, especially immigrants, with a range of criminal justice and legal system issues is explored. Key analyses involve the experience of residents with the legal system and with police, attitudes toward the police, and willingness to participate with the criminal justice system. Particular attention is paid to contradictory positive attitudes toward the police and simultaneous desire to not engage them. The paper also analyses the responses in the context of current police practices, community debate, and certain cultural variables.
Minority and Immigrant Perceptions of Policing: Analysis of a Latino Community
This paper presents findings from a community survey of minority, largely immigrant Latino resients, and informant interviews with Latino community leaders in a California community. The experience of minority residents, especially immigrants, with a range of criminal justice and legal system issues is explored. Key analyses involve the experience of residents with the legal system and with police, attitudes toward the police, and willingness to participate with the criminal justice system. The paper also analyses the responses int he context of current police practices, community debate, and certaincultural variables. The paper also compares the attitudes and experiences of the Latino sample with that of an Anglo sample from the same community.
Miscarriages of Justice From a Comparative Legal Perspective
Drawing on studies from Great Britain and The Netherlands, this paper will address the question of whether there are systemic factors that render miscarriages of justice in the one country more likely than in the other. It is often thought in Continental Europe that the adversarial system, with its reliance on two party procedure and trial by jury, is more likely to produce a miscarriage than an inquisitorial system, which relies on a non-partisan public prosecutor or magistrate to gather, and on a professional judiciary to evaluate, the evidence. Certainly at first sight, there seem to have been relatively fewer miscarriages of justice in the Netherlands than in Great Britain (although, for a number of reasons, that is not necessarily the case). There does, however, seem to be pattern to why wrongful convictions occur in the way that they do that is differenbt in the two countries — differences that can be attributed to a number of factors deriving from socio-political arrangements, legal culture, specific features of criminal procedure and the relationship between them.
Missing in Action: Handling Agency Nonresponse in the UCR
Nonresponse of police agencies has been a problem with the UCR since its inception. In order to obtain state and national estimates, the FBI uses a cross-sectional method of imputation to fill in the missing data points. This has been the standard procedure since 1958 and has not been tested against other imputation methods. We have been working on thoroughly cleaning and examining the agency-level files from 1977-2000, and have been putting together longitudinal files for monthly offenses-known crime data. Using this file we are testing the current cross-sectional imputation method against a longitudinal procedure that takes into account an agency’s past crime counts and the type of “missingness” it experiences.
Mixture Experiments in Social Science: Ideal Methodology for Testing Criminological Theory Within and Between
New methodologies for examining the performance of criminological theory are presented in this project. Mixture experiments, a broad category of statistical modeling that is predominately used within industry for optimizing product, can hypothetically analye the performance of measures of criminological theory as well as having the power to compare theories’ performances against each other. The analysis generates a visual output that allows researchers to easily diagnose the strengths and weaknesses within and between ciminological theory’s measures. Social learning theory is analyzed individually and social learning, social bonding, and deterrence theories together are presented in this manner as illustration of this technique. The data used within this project includes self report measures that have been exemplified in prior research as accepted measures for testing these theories. The advantages of this technique are: it is relatively simple using basic statistical modeling techniques, it yields easily interpretive outputs, and it can diagnose strengths and weaknesses within and between theories with extreme precision. These analyses can provide insight into the drafting of new theory and integrating theories with optimal results.
Modeling Collaborative Initiatives: Processes and Outcomes in Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships
Despite a multitude of research findings stemming from partnerships between researchers and practitioners, little attention has been devoted to explaining how these collaborative efforts operate on a theoretical level. The research reported here addresses the question, “How do researcher-practitioner collaborations operate?” Examining an on-going collaborative project, three areas are investigated. First, the research examines the structural characteristics, work processes that occur in a collaborative project. Second, the research addresses the mechanisms of collaboration that lead to changes in how practitioners understand and perceive themselves and their roles. Finally, the potential for such collaborations to change organizations is explored. Results suggest that these collaborations can be conceived of as team-based interventions with considerable potential to effect change in organizations.
Modeling Punitiveness: Assessing State-Level Variations in Punishment
In this paper, I assess the punitiveness of the firty states in several ways to determine whether differnet ways of modeling punitiveness produce different rankings. The most obvious way of comparing the relative punitiveness of the states is to use their incarceration rates per 100,000 residents (while controlling for their crime rates). The incarceration rate however takes into account only the quantity of punishment, and then only in terms of numbers incarcerated, with no measure of the quality of punishmnent. State-level variations in punitiveness can also be assessed by measuring what the law allows in each of the states (e.g. the sentences allowed for a given crimne by statute). Finally, punitiveness could be measured as the distance between what the law allows in theory (sentencing guidelines) and what the state does in practice (time served), or in other words what the state does in relation to what it could do. If the various ways of measuring punitiveness produce significantly different rankings, it would seem that one would need to theoretically justify the use of one measure of punitiveness over another. If they produce similar rankings, then presumably it does not matter which measure you use because any one measure would serve as a proxy for the others.
Modeling Relationships Between Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse and Problem Drinking in a Non-Clinical Sample
Data from a statewide substance abuse treatment needs survey are used to model the relationships between childhood and adult physical abuse, childhood and adult sexual abuse and adult problem drinking. Multivariate analyses are used to examine whether different models fit the patterns of relationships for men and women.
Modified Census Benchmarking for Traffic Stop Statistics Analysis
In response to allegations of racial profiling some state and local agencies have begun to track the race, ethnicity, and gender of those who are stopped and/or searched by police officers. By themselves, however, demographics of traffic stops are difficult to interpret. To remedy this problem researchers have begun to utilize external benchmarks such as census population data, driving population data, and road or violator surveys as a comparison for traffic stop data. Unfortunately, both residential population data based on the U.S. Census and driging population data gathered from road surveys have significant limitations. Residential population data may not always be an appropriate measure of the driving population in all jurisdictions. Although driving population data gathered from road surveys may more accurately represnt the driving demographics of a community such studies are often expensive, time consuming and subject to various interpretations. To remedy these weaknesses we have created a modified census population that weights the residential population data of a jurisdiction based on the demogrraphics and characteristics of surrounding communities. This paper presnts data from two communities in Rhode Island comparing the modified census benchmark results to other accepted benchmarks of driving demographics such as stationary observations.
Modus Operandi of Sexual Offenders Working or Doing Voluntary Work With Children and Adolescents: A Descriptive Study
The current study provide the first empirical description of the modus operandi of sexual offenders working or doing voluntary work with children and adolescents across all aspects of offender-victim interactions. The modus operandi is studied along the offense continuum that includes strategies used for gaining victim trust, getting victim to participate in sexual activity and keeping victim from telling someone about the sexual contact. Twenty-three offenders (English-speaking and French-speaking) agreed to participate in this study. They were recruited from prisons, probation, parole offices, penitentiaries and treatment programs. Three sources of information were used. The most important one was the administration of the Modus Operandi Questionnaire (MOQ) developed by Kaufman (1991). Data were also obtained from a semi-structured interview conducted with offenders and from official sources of information like arrest reports and victim statements. Our results suggest that the modus operandi of these sexual offenders depends on their position of trust in relation to their victim. In fact, they can use non coercive strategies to achieve victim compliance. Implications for prevention strategies are highlighted.
Moments of Control in a Women’s Prison: Refletions From India
My purpose in this paper is to examine the daily life of women prisoners and various moments of control they encounter some of which, are gender-specific intheir nature. The daily lives of women in any prison need to be understood in conjunction with control since control is the most defining moment in any prison. Prisons are part of a larger societdcal network, and prisons in many ways replicate the larger societal ideologies of defining control of women. When I use the term control I refer to a gender-specific/gendered control that is exercised on women for being women. The term control merely does not refer to an authority from above. It also means creating a certain moment or rather various moments for women prisoners–each of these moments confines them to the conventional and patriarchal wisdom on how women should be. This paper is based on the field study I conducted in a women’s prison in India during May-August 2000.
Money Laundering Offenders in the Federal Criminal Justice System
Federal money laundering statutes differentiate between monetary record and reporting offenses (Title 31, U.S.C. 5311-5330) which require financial institutions to maintain reports and records of financial transactions involving more than $10,000 (originating from the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970) and laundering/racketeering offenses (Title 18, U.S.C. 1957 & 1957) where financial transactions involve the proceeds of specified unlawful activities (originating from the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986). This paper uses eight years of data (1994-2001) from the Federal Justice Statistics Program to describe money laundering defendants across prosecution, adjudication, and sentencing stages in the Federal criminal justice system. The analysis includes a description of the demographic characteristics of money laundering defendants, geographic differences in case processing, and a comparison of the rates of prosecution, conviction and imprisonment in the context of changing Federal legislation across the same period.
Motivation in the Community Policing Era: Application of Expectancy Model
This study starts with a fundamental question: why don’t we pay much attention to police officers who take charge of the actualization of the ideas of community policing on the street? Even though there is no doubt that the successful implementation of community policing depend much on performances achieved by individual police officers in the field, agencies tend to take it granted that officers are ready to accept and accomplish any new policy if it is well constructed and provided. In other words, an officer fully motivated to conduct community policing tasks are regarded as a constant rather than a variable. In this study, “the expectancy model” is applied to explain the various elements that have an effect on community policing officers’ motivation. The focus is centered on how differs the motivation of community policing officers from that of traditional policing officers. Finally, this study suggests several strategies to enhance officers’ motivation in accordance with the community policing era.
Motivation of Becoming Corrections Officers in South Korea
Corrections officers play crucial roles in correctional institutions. They create, maintai, and influence the prison environment and have significant insight into the problems of prisons of inmates through their daily contact with inmates. Therefore, it is important to recruit individuals who are educated and motivated so that they can effectively perform their duties. As a first step to develop effective strategies to recruit highly educated and motivated individuals, motivation of choosing the correction and the value and pride these corrections officers have toward their career should be undestood. However, few studies have ever examined the reasons of joining the correction among corrections officers in Korea. The study, therefore, attempts to examine the reasons of choosing the correction as a career, sampling around 400 corrections officers in Korea.
Motivational Interventions With Probationers: A Consideration of Outcome Effects in Terms of Drug Use, New Criminal Activity and HIV Risk Behaviors
Motivational interviewing has become popular in intervention and treatment programs as a means of raising clients’ awareness of risk and protective factors in a variety of areas. In this paper we examine a sample of 600 probationers 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 standard HIV/drug intervention or a focused intervention based on a cognitive thought-mapping model that addresses criminal behavior as well. Intervention boosters are offered at two follow-up intervals in the following 3 months, and all participants are reinterviewed at 6 months. Analyses focus on the interventions’ effectiveness in changing attitudes and behaviors at the 6-month interview related to drug use, sexual risk behaviors, and criminal activity. The data support the conclusion that the focused intervention produces more risk reduction than the NIDA standard, but there are differences in the effects in each of the domains of drug, sex, and criminal risk activity. Discussion centers on examining the correlates that seem to specify the impact of the interventions and the need to consider such factors in selecting the appropriate interventions for probationers. New strategies for intervening with probationers are particularly important. Recent work by our group has found that probationers in Delaware have levels of injection drug use, other serious drug use, rates of risky sexual behaviors, combinations of both drug and sexual risk behaviors, and past arrest history — all virtually equivalent to those in our prison populations. Since probationers have more opportunities to engage in drug, sex, and crime risk behaviors than do prisoners, the importance of interventions with probationers is readily apparent.
Moving Evidence-Based Family Treatments Programs Into Community Settings: Principles and Protocols of a Successful Dissemination Project
Given the wide spread adoption of evidencer-based family treatments in community settings it is critical to understand the necessary mechanisms that lead to successful community dissemination. Understanding these mechanisms will help ensure that local communities can successfully adopt successful family-based treatments into everyday clinic practice so that communities and families benefit from the many efficacious treatment programs currently available. This presentation will identify the critical elements identified in multiyear, national dissemination effort of Functional Family Therapy. The project involves over 100 dissemination sites in diverse organizational settings, at different levels (local and state), with culturally diverse therapists and clients, in a variety of settings (rural and urban). Lessons from this project suggest that successful community dissemination of evidence-based programs is complex and requires multidimensional approach based on well-articulated principles and specific protocols to guide the dissemination process. Principles of successful national dissemination involve a primary focus on: a) treatment fidelity; b) local sustainability, and c) community/implementer partnerships
Moving on the Travelers and Tolerating the Water Bombers: Varying Approaches to Policing Temporary Populations
Populations in most Western democracies are becoming increasingly mobile due to travel being easier and relatively cheaper than ever before. Indeed the fact that we have freedom of movement is celebrated as a defining feature of our society. Such ability to be movile in large numbers had led to the staging of a number of special, often recurring, events that draw large numbers of people into specific locations for short periods of time. It is often the case that these temporary populations generate event-specific cultures that are at odds with the day-to-day life of the host area. In the main, the police and local residents see these types of ‘travellers’ as a short-term nuisance that can be accommodated. However, in the UK, ‘travellers’ — a group of people who seek and promote an alternative lifestyle — also create a temporary population that promotes an alternative culture to that of the host area. In contrast to the above, these travellers are often viewed by the police and local residents as a short-term risk that cannot be tolerated. Drawing on empirical data, this paper explores the varying approaches to policing different types of temporary populations by examining the effects of perceptions of risk, the needs of the business community and the social construction of space.
Multi-Level Context of School Crime: An Analysis of Individual, School and Community Level Factors
This study employs multi-level modelng techniques to explore the relative contributions of individual, school and community factors on levels of school crime in a longitudinal nationally representative sample. While developmental theory suggests that individual characteristic determine propensity for offending whether within or outside of school, sociological theories such as social disorganization and routine activities suggest that particular environments may increase delinquency rates above and beyond consideration of individual characteristics. To date, studies of school crime have not utilized sufficient samples or analysis techniques to disengage the possible relative contributions of the school environment from that of the surrounding community. Utilizing data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey for the years 1988 to 1994, individual and school level variables are obtained from tbe student and school administrator surveys respectively. Identifiers for each school are then used to bring in community level characteristics computed from the 1990 census. Analyses also consider the possibility of alternative causal patterns for different types of delinquency (misconduct, substance abuse, property crime and interpersonal violence). Findings from this research are important in further specifying the causal mechanisms behind various types of school disorder and crime as well as for informing school safety policies and programs.
Multi-Level Model of School and Individual Influences on Delinquent Behavior
The contribution of school organizational characteristics on school crime and disorder was illustrated in School Climate Predictors of School Disorder: Results from the National Study of delinquency Prevention in Schools (Golttfredson, Gottfredson, Payne, and Gottfredson, 2002). Controlling for community factors and student composition factors within the school, the results of this school-level study indicate that student delinquency and teacher victimization is largely attributed to school climate characteristics as opposed to community or aggregate student factors. In contrast, student victimization is largely attributed to community and student factors as opposed to the school climate characteristics. The objective of this project is to extend the results of Gottfredson, et al.’s (2002) paper and focus on predictors of student delinquency in a multi-level model. We will examine the contribution of school and community factors, the amount of prevention programming, and individual exposure to prevention programs on individual delinquency. We will examine the amount of student exposure to different types of prevention programs and their effects on risk and protective factors such as peer influence, attachment to school, perceptions of fairness of rules, perceptions of the clarity of rules, belief in conventional rules, and commitment to education. hierrarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) will be used.
My Life in Crime
When I entered college in 1957 I had no intentions of studying sociology or criminology, nor of becoming a criminologist. It was not only my deviant past that caused me to be more interested in criminology, but my intense curiosity about the lives of people I encountered, particularly people who were different. here at the end of my career, reviewing my experiences in research and social activism, my accompliishments and disappointments, I have learned to cherish one professional virtue above all others: intellectural integrity. Our primary mission, I believe is to find the truth, which is not an easy task. We must hone the skills required to see the truth, including a variety of research skills. I have learned that, when it comes to human subjects, empathy, intuition, and appreciations are crucial, as well as a heightened capacity to see through sham, dogma, and illusion.
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Naming the “Object” of Criminology: Phenomenological Remarks on the Unity of Theory and Practice
This paper argues for the need to bring an explicitly philosophical voice to criminology, one that seeks to contribute to dialogue on criminology’s disciplinary self-conception, and to the development of novel approaches to topics of immediate interest to criminological research. Nearly half a century ago, Herman Bianchi warned that criminology’s intellectual future would be gravely compromised if it failed to nuture and develop its philosophical roots, so much so that “it would cause its own euthanasia (Bianchi 1956:4).” Using Bianchi’s words to argue for the present-day relevance of philosophy for criminological inquiry may seem hopelessly impractical, or at least anachronistic, in an age when criminology has become a massive and powerful interdisciplinary enterprise, one that is intertwined with governance, social administration, and, indeed, with the everyday sociopolitical, moral, cultural, and psychological self-reflections of modernity. In response to such skepticism, the suggestion is made that the very act of dismissing philosophy’s significance for criminology testifies to an erroneous conception of the relationship between theory and practice. Drawing from phenomenological analyses of the presuppositional foundations of social science, I consider how criminological praxis proceeds from and enacts largely unconsidered theoretical notions about the nature and meaning of human existence.
Nathalie Des Rosiers: What is a Crime?
In March 2003, the Law Commission of Canada released What is a Crime? Challenges and Alternatives, a discussion paper that explores why certain behaviour is defined as “unwanted” or “criminal”l, as well as the implications of choosing one or more intervention strategies to deal with various behaviour. The document recognizes that the ways in which behaviours are understood and defined will affect whether or not they are deemed to be unwanted, and whether one or more intervention straegies will be used to deal with them. Why is some behaviour considered unwanted? Why do we consider that some behaviour warrnts the label of “crime”? Why do we use criminal law to respond to some types of behaviour and not others? This presentation will examine these and other questions that are raised in What is a Crime? Challenges and Alternatives, as well as more general information about the Commission’s What is a Crime?” project.
Needs and Services Received Reported by Women Released to Parole From the Forever Free Treatment Program
The likelihood that women offenders, particularly those with substance abuse problems, will successfully complete parole depends largely on whether social and psychological needs that may be related to recidivism are met. Identifying such needs and providing appropriate services may improve women’s parole performance. Using data from a twelve-month outcome evaluation of the Forever Free Substance Abuse Treatment Program at the California Institution for Women, this paper examines the service needs reported by women after they were released to parole and whether those needs were met (at least to the satisfaction of the women). Preliminary analysis indicates that, once releaseed to parole, women in the comparison group had greater service needs than women who had participated in the Forever Free treatment program, but that the comparison group women received services at a lower rate than women in the Forever Free group. The greatest unmet need for both groups was in the area of vocational and educational services, with nearly 40% reporting that they did not receive the vocational services they needed. Findings on needs and services from this study will be compared with those from an earlier evaluation of the Forever Free program that asked the same questions.
Negotiating Probation Work: Process and Structure in the Construction of Probation Officer Recommendations
Despite an impressive body of research and a great deal of agreement on the factors associated with legal outcomes, relatively few studies have focused on the interplay of organizational directives and day-to-day realities that probation officers must negotiate when handling cases and recommending sanctions. Past research regarding the organization of juvenile court was typically guided by rational-bureaucratic theories and positivst methodologies, and proceeded on the assumption that conceptions of the organization’s purpose are uncritically accepted and reproduced by the organization’s members, including probation officers. Using data derived from a two year ethnographic study of a juvenile court, my research pays particulat attention to the institutional context in which meanings of delinquency are constructed and understood by probation officers, and how these meanings shape the probation officers’ recommendations to the court. Rather than following the traditional rational[bureaucratic models, I draw on Strauss’ “negotiated order” perspective to address questions of how organizational demands are constructed and implemented in the face of ambiguity and competing requirements.
Negotiating Safety on Dangerous Streets: The Role of Female Peer Groups
This study examines how young women manage the dangerous environment of a high crime neighborhood. By integrating information from interviews, field observations, and crime and demographic data sources, the study illuminates key events in the lives of young women in an inner city Chicago neighborhood. More specifically, this paper examines how three distinct groups of African American female respondents (clique-involved, delinquent but not clique-involved, and non-delinquent) negotiate daily life within their community. By examining how these young women differentiated between cliques, gangs and other adolescent peer groups, this study explores their adaptations to: gangs in the neighborhood, family members with criminal histories, gang-involved friends and boyfriends, and conflict within schools.
Neighborhod Characteristics and the Nature of the Police Response to Victims’ Reports of Crime
This research uses data from the Area-Identified National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and the U.S. Census to examine the influence of neighborhood characteristics on the nature of police response to victims’ reports of crime. By examining this issue, the study seeks to broaden our understanding of the dynamic process of formal control and produce findings that inform policymaking aimed at the pursuit of an equitable allocation of criminal justide resources. With regard to selection effects that may result from systematically biased police response, it is anticipated that the study’s results will hold valuable implications for both macro-level theory testing and research examining disparate outcomes at a variety of stages of the criminal justice process.
Neighborhood Conditions and Adolescent Psychological Well-Being: The Mediating Effects of Individual Perception, Family Processes, and Peer Group Association
This paper presents empirical findings from a study on the relationship between heighborhood conditions and individual variation in adoledscent psychological well being. Census and crime data were used to operationalize various aggreagate level variables, as suggested by social disorganization theory, which were then attached to geo-coded adolescents who provided individual level data. The goal of the study was to identify the degree to which the adolescents’ perceptions of their neighborhood mediated its effects on their psychological wellness. It was hypothesized that adolescent psychological outcomes would be affected by the shaping of their subjective perceptions of both the physical and social conditions of their neighborhoods as being ordered or disordered. The more disordered the neighborhood was perceived to be the more common would be the symptoms of low self-esteem, depression, aniety and rejection, which characterize a poor state of psychological well being. It was further hypothesized that family processes and peer group associations would also mediate the effects of neighborhood conditions and would also influence the adolescents’ perceptions of their neighborhood. Issues of contextual and compositional effects are discussed and limitations of the study are addressed.
Neighborhood Context, Routine Activities, and Intimate Violence: An Investigation of the Interplay of Individual and Contextual Risk Factors for Spousal Violence
The current project extends previous work regarding the routine activities of intimate partner violence by examining the larger contextual factors conditioning the effects of guardianship and target suitability. Previous work (Rountree et al., 1994) has reported interactions between routine activity and social disorganization factors, but only examined non-intimate violence. Further, contextual work on intimate partner violence has not combined the micro- and macro-level contextual analyses to gain a more complete picture. In order to provide a more complete ecological analysis, it seems important to examine not only the family context, but the neighborhood context as well. Specifically, the current project uses the Violence and Threats of Violence against women and men in the U.S., 1994-1996 survey (Tjaden and Thoennes, 1998), paired with census data based on county codes, to simultaneously examine the social disorganization and routine activity factors related to intimate partner violence. Implications for research and theory are discussed.
Neighborhood Context and Television News Viewers’ Fear of Crime: An Exploration of Social Threat
Recent work in the area of media and fear of crime suggest that program content, audience traits and contextual variables all influence the relationship between local television news watching and viewers’ fear of crime. Using variable content from three different local news programs, we examine whether respondents’ perception of racial composition of their neighborhood, perception of crime in their neighborhood and actual victimization experience provides a mediating context for the local television new/fear relationship. This study utilizes a random telephone survey (with a deliberate over sampling of respondents who did not watch television news) of 2526 adults in the Orlando/Orange County area of Florida. Results are discussed in terms of “social threat.”
Neighborhood Development and Crime: Implications for Situational Policing
The Broken Windows version of social disorganization theory has had a significant impact on law enforcement practices in the United States over the past two decades. Contemporary sociologists, however, have demonstrated that neighborhood-level collective efficacy is a more signifiant predictor of violent crime than is physical disorder (i.e., broken windows). Collective efficacy is viewed here as an evolving neighborhood-level property. The authors posit that neighborhoods pass through, regress to, or get stuck in identifiable stages of development as they move toward (or away from) higher levels of collective efficacy. Giving consideration to both (a) stage of neighborhood development and (b) level of neighborhood crime and disorder, the authors construct four neighborhood types: Strong, Vulnerable, Anomic, and Responsive. The concept of situational policing, then, is introduced as a way to effectively address both the development of collective efficacy and the occurrence of crime and disorder in each neighborhood type.
Neighborhood Disadvantage and Delinquency in Canada: A Multilevel Analysis
In recent Canadian studies, researchers have used the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) to examine the effect of neighbourhood context on early childhood problem behaviours (Boyle and Lipman 1998; Tremblay et al. 2001). Applying multilevel modeling techniques, this study extens earlier work on the NLSCY to include older youth and more serious delinquent behaviours. The study examines the effect of neighbourhood context on youth delinquency in Canada among a sample of 12-17 year olds, and in particular, assesses the impact of family versus neighbourhood socio-economic disadvantage on youth delinquency. Questions to be addressed include: What contribution does neighbourhood disadvantage in Canadian communities make toward self-reported delinquency, over and above either family disadvantage or individual characteritics? Is the effect of family disadvantage made worse when the neighbourhood is also disadvantaged?
Neighborhood Disadvantage and Utilization of Police Resources
This research examines the influence of neighborhood characteristics ont he frequency, timing, and nature of calls for police services. Data are taken from all calls received and responded to in a single department in a medium-sized, Midwestern city that has a high proportion of economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, and a significant minority population. Neighborhood characteristics including percent of residents below the poverty line, percent single-parent households, percent receiving public assistance, percent unemployed, and percent black are taken from the most recent census. These characteristics are used as predictors to assess whether residents from disadvantaged neighborhoods are less likely to call police for assistance, as implied by Black’s community stratification hypothesis; or whether residents of such areas are more likely to use the formal social control provided by police, as suggested by social disorganization theory.
Neighborhood Risks of Violence Against Women
Research on the social epidemiology of violence against women has focused primarily on individual characteristics of victims or offenders, or event-level or situational characteristics. Although theory and research on interpersonal violence has long been concerned with social structural explanations and dynamic theories of neighborhood social organization, only recently has there been attention to the spatial dimensions of violence against women. Additionally, there is virtually no research that compares social or neighborhood risks of violence against women with violence against males. Nor has there been research that examines the links between the two patterns of victimization in a broader analysis of the spatial ecology of violence. The research will examine violence in New York City neighborhoods from 1985-2000. Data from the Injury Surveillance System of the New York City Department of Health have been geocoded into new homogeneous neighborhood units. These recently developed spatial boundaries define 330 neighborhoods in New York City, areas that were identified based on survey methods where residents perceptually the boundaries of their residential and commercial neighborhoods. The data were aggregated to construct measures of violence against men, violence against women, intimate partner femicideslethal violence against women and non-lethal violence against women. The analyses will have several unique features. First, we will use data sets that permit estimates of violence over time. Second, we will estimate separate models for lethal and non-lethal injuries. Data on fatalities is available for the entire study period; data on non-fatal injuries are available beginning in 1990. Third, we will estimate separate models for gun and non-gun violence, an important feature of the epidemiology of gun violence in New York over the past two decades. Fourth, we will include measures of spatial autocorrelation to estimate the extent to which spatial dynamics affect patterns of violence. Fifth, because of the changing acharacter of New York City neighborhoods over the nearly two decades in this project, we will estimate neighborhood risks using time-varying covariates to determine how neighborhood change alters both the general and gender-specific risks of violence. All models will estimated using mixed-effects Poisson regressions with overdispersion components and controlling for spatial autocorrelation.
Neighborhoods and Delinquency: Do Family Processes Condition the Impact of Neighborhoods on Delinquency?
Guided by social disorganization theory (and thge “systemic model” of neighborhoods), much of the research on neighborhoods and delinquency has focused on the macro- and micro-level processes that “mediate” the influence of eighborhood structure on the delinquency of adolescents. Researchers have, for example, investigated how structural characteristics (e.g., poverty, residential stability, and ethnic heterogeneity) affect delinquency indirectly through “intervening” mechanisms; such as social ties, collective efficacy, social capital, peer associations, and family-level management strategies. Although there has been a great deal of attention focused on the “indirect” effects of neighborhood characteristics, researchers have rarely examined how other factors might “moderate” or “condition” the impact of nighborhoods. In other words, neighborhoods could have more of an impact under some conditions and less of an impact under other conditions. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add HGealthg), I examine how family level processes, including parental attachment and parental supervision, moderate or condition the influence of neighborhood structural characteristics. I hypothesize, for example, that neighborhoods will have less of an effect on delinquency when adolescents are attached to their parents and/or closely supervised. In contrast, neighborhood characteristics will have a stronger effect ond elinquency when adolescents are not attached to their parents and/or parental supervision is low.
Neighbourhood Effects on Criminal Careers: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study
The focus is part of a larger study about youth transitions and social exclusion in poor areas. 180 16-25 year olds were interviewed in-depth about work/education/training, family, crime and drug use, housing and area, and social networks and leisure in 1999. From this sample individuals having significant involvement in crime and/or drug use were identified as a sub sample. They were followed up, recontacted and where possible reinterviewed five years later in 2003 to see what had happened to them. This study of continuity and change in the lives of career criminals and/or drug users demonstrates the effects of interacting factors and critical moments on persistence and desistence at the individual and neighbourhood level.
Neurocognitive Function in High Risk Adolescents
Several programs for adolescent substance abuse are reportedly “effective” for a significant number of participants; however, there is invariably a substantial subgroup that does not respond favorably. It is critical that underlying mechanisms for these differences are identified in order to improve prevention efficacy. Integrity of executive cognitive function (ECF) and its modulation of emotional arousal levels may represent significant dimensions of regulatory progresses related to risk for substance abuse and may play a principle role in differential responses to programming. Deficits in ECF have been associated with both liability to substance abuse and relapse. The premise behind the present study is that differences in these neurocognitive-emotive processes also contribute to differential responses to preventive interventions. This study is being conducted in conjunction with the ongoing preventive intervention study at the John Hopkins University Prevention Intervention Research Center (JHUPIRC), which involves children in the Baltimore City Public Schools. Longitudinal data are available on school achievement, family background, and risk behaviors. Two groups of adolescents from the PIRCV study were selected for the present study (N=150), one with a diagnosis of conduct disorder and the other with an absence of any diagnosis and risk behavior. During the first of two sessions, subjects receive an IQ test, three developmentally appropriate ECF tasks, a test of emotional perception, and simultaneous monitoring of heart rate and skin conductance. The ECF tasks measure risky decision-making, sensitivity to consequences, delay of gratification, and impulsivity. We will provide an overview of the project, including a description of an innovative computer-based interactive virtual reality tool with vignettes developed to assess adolescents’ social/cognitive skills, emotional control, and decision-making ability. We also will present results of analyses conducted to assess the relative strength of association between specific ECF measures and risk behaviors (e.g., drug use, aggression) measured longitudinally and concurrently. Results form initial analyses will help to identify specific underlying neurocognitive components of psychosocial risk factors related to adoelescent drug abuse.
Neuroimaging Studies of Aggressive and Violent Behavior: Implications for Criminology and Criminal Justice
With the availability of new functional and structural neuroimaging techniques, researchers have begun to localize which brain areas may be dysfunctional in aggressive and violent offenders. Our review of 18 neuroimaging studies reveals that the areas associated with aggressive and violent behavioral histories are located in the prefrontal cortext and the medial temporal regions. We suggest ways in which such findings may impact future theoretical frameworks in criminology, crime prevention efforts, and the functioning of the criminal justice system.
New Faculty Workshop (Sponsored by the Division on Women and Crime)
This workshop is intended to provide a space for open discussions of the myriad of concerns and issues faced by new faculty members in academe. The idea for this workshop arose from concerns noted by new faculty at last year’s Division on Women and Crime Business Meeting. Among the topics to be addressed are academic socialization; isoltation/marginalization; work environments/social support networks; personal and political identifies; research/publishing; pedogogy and self-presentation; and time management (balancing service, teaching and research). A diverse and experienced set of panelists will be present to share their perspectives on negotiating the academic terrain, field questions, and engage in conversation with attendees.
Newspaper Coverage of Death Sentences in Ohio: A Comparison of Cities
Media coverage of issues involving the death penalty typically focus on executions; however, there is a walth of information that can be gathered by analyzing coverage of the implementation of death sentences. This study focused on newspaper coverage of death sentences in Ohio and variables that were associated with the reporting of a story. In addition, this study compared the coverage between two of the largest newspapers in the state to gauge whether variables associated with coverage were consistent across newspaper outlets.
NIJ International Center Hopes to Link U.S. and Non-U.S. Researchers
This poster session is of special interest to those who conduct comparative/international crime and justice research. Although the growth of crime and justice research on the international, national and private levels in recent years is encouraging, there is still a tremendous source of additional research that has to this point been largely untapped. That untapped source is collaborative research between private and academic researchers from different countries. This source has been largely untapped because at this time no formal mechanism exists that allows individual researchers to locate, and then develop working relationships with, those of similar research interests. To address this issue, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) International Center has funded a project to determine the best strategy to link U.S. and non-U.S. researchers on particular topics of interest in crime and criminal justice. Members of the ASC International Section are invited to participate. This poster session will introduce this project and invite ASC conference attendees to participate. For more information at the ASC Conference in Denver see Harry Dammer or see www.crjinterlink.org.
Notes on the Birthing of a Field of Study
This paper reviews the conditions surrounding the recent establishment of a new field of research investigation: ethics in science or, by another name, research misconduct. The impressive launching of this research into another form of what criminologists might refer to as ‘elite deviance’ invites comparisons with the ‘stunted launching’ of white collar crime studies by the federal government almost three decades ago. The paper compares some of the conditions underlying the development of support for research in both areas and, in marking the decline of federal support for white collar crime research, speculates on the future of research into research ethics and misconduct.
Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained: The Impact of the Court Supervised Probation Program on Select Juvenile Offenders in Duval County
Juvenile Court Judges frequently express dismay over the limited recourse available for addressing concerns of juvenile offenders appearing in court. In this paper, we examine the Court Supervised Probation Program (CSP) established by Judge Jack Schemer in response to his experiences as Juvenile Court Judge in Duval County Florida. Modeled loosely on Drug Courts, the program targests foster children and children from single parent homes who are “front end” offenders, and links the juveniles with two (2) local intervention programs. Meetings between the Judge and the juveniles occur in the courtroom. However the atmosphere is more interactive than normally encountered in court, with the juvenile and the Judge discussing family dynamics, school activities, and a wide range of informal topics, as well as the child’s progress in his probation plan. In this paper we review how ujuveniles in the program fare by examining school records as well as recidivism rates. Comparisons are also made with non-CSP juveniles in similar intervention programs.
“Obeying the Commandments”: Religion, the Social Bond, and Drug Use
The hypothesized effects of religion on various forms of deviance have a long history in both sociology and criminology. However, much of the literature that examines this relationship from a criminological perspective does so in a theoretical vacuum. To address that problem, the current study eseeks to incorporate measures of religion into social control theory. The primary question addressed is whether or not those variables are significant contributors to the social bond in the explanation of drug use. Reported results indicate that religious variables have important value within the context of social control theory.
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Observing the Control of a Social Underclass–An Ethnographic Study of an Urban Parole Unit
The “tough on crime” stance, popular among all politicians in California, has brought about expensive consequences. Close to 160,000 inmates are currently held in state prisons and about 120,000 felons are on parole. For those who are out on parole, well over half will return to prison within the first two years of their release. In an effoprt to reduce the high recidivism rate, the State Parole initiated the Second Striker Program to concentrate resources on those at risk of being returned to prison for 25 years to life (on a third strike). In the course of our evaluation of this program, we attempt to utilize several qualitative techniques to examine parole supervision and service referral practices, including face-to-face interviews, direct observation, and audio and video recording of agent-parolee interactions. These different data collection techniques reveal significant discrepancies and variation in parole agents’ supervision and referral practices. Although all parole agents welcome the reduced caseload and the resultant increase in supervision intensity, few are making serious efforts to fulfill the true intent of the program-increased service referrals and follow-ups to encourage treatment by program participants. This paper discusses the benefits and challenges of employing multiple field strategies to uncover patterns of correctional practices that may not reveal themselves under any singular data collection method.
Observing the Control of a Social Underclass–An Ethnographic Study of an Urban Parole Unit
The “tough on crime” stance, popular among all politicians in California, has brought about expensive consequences. Close to 160,000 inmates are currently held in state prisons and about 120,000 felons are on parole. For those who are out on parole, well over half will return to prison within the first two years of their release. In an effort to reduce the high recidivism rate, the State Parole initiated the Second Striker Program to concentrate resources on those at risk of being returned to prison for 25 years to life (on a third strike). In the course of our evaluation of this program, we attempt to utilize several qualitative techniques to examine parole supervision and service referral practices, including face-to-face interviews, direct observation, and audio and video recording of agent-parolee interactions. These different data collection techniques reveal significant discrepancies and variation in parole agents’ supervision and referral practices. Although all parole agents welcome the reduced caseload and the resultant increase in supervision intensity, few are making serious efforts to fulfill the true intent of the program–increased service referrals and follow-ups to encourage treatment by program participants. This paper discusses the benefits and challenges of employing multiple field strategies to uncover patterns of correctional practices that may not reveal themselves under any singular data colledtion method.
Obtaining Sensitive Information From a Wary Population: A Comparison of Telephone and Face-to-Face Surveys
This study evaluates the feasibility and utility of employing telephone and face-to-face surveys to identify substance abuse and treatment needs among welfare recipients. Estimating levels of drug and alcohol abuse and assessing the need for treatment services requires asking individuals about sensitive and socially undesirable behavior. The potential response bias is exacerbated when the population under study might be wary — because of their status with the government — of providing truthful information about illegal behavior. While computer-assisted telephone interviewing may be more efficient than face-to-face interviewing, undertaking surveys in person can be advantageous in this situation. One key benefit is that it may be easier to create a rapport between the interviewer and the respondent, thereby establishing the greater level of trust necessary when asking sensitive questions of waryt subjects. Here, we present the differences by mode of survey administration in sensitive questions related to drug use and need for treatment. Results are discussed in terms of their importance to survey methodology and to obtaining sensitive information from wary populations.
Ocean’s Eleven or Seven-Eleven: Does Rational Thought Process Occur in the Selection of Robbery Targets?
There is an assumption of rationality by robbery offenders as it concerns target selection. This assujmption of rationality is further extended to the implementation of the commonly utilized robbery countermeasures. If the assumed degree of rationality is higher than the actual amount of rational thought expended by a robbery offender the effectiveness of certain countermeasures comes into question. This research utilized both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to determine the amount of rational thought utilized by some robbery offenders. The findings indicated that a range of rationality existed among robbery offenders that was identified as a rationality-crime deterrence continuum.
Of Fragmentation and Ferment: State Sentencing and Corrections Reforms, 1975-2002
After 25 years, the fragmentation in sentencing and correctionhs policies across states has created a complex array of approaches to the use of imprisonment. Practitioners continue to lament the absence of a comprehensive survey of states’ reforms. As a result, few understand the variability of sentencing systems in the U.S., the state-level changes in those systems, or the connections between policies and prison population growth. The Vera Institute of Justice is conducting a comprehensive survey and evaluation of state-level sentencing and corrections reforms between 1975 and 2002. The objective is to build a conceptual framework for understanding the types and variability of state-level policies, to develop individual historical descriptions and analyses of each state’s reforms, and to examine the ways in which various policies affect prison populations. A historical examination of reform allows for a critical evaluation of the reforms themselves and their impacts on prison populations within and across states. Findings would help policy makers understand the variety and ramifications of policies within and across other states, examine the impacts of past policy reforms within their own states, place their sentencing structures in a national context, and use the experiences of other states to guide decision making.
Offender Reentry: New Jersey’s New Way of Doing Business
Offender reentry has become the paramount concern for most if not all state correctional and paroling agencies in the nation. Reentry is important for a variety of reasons, but primarily because more than 600,000 offenders are reentering communities across the nationa, potentially impacting public safety. This research will highlight New Jersey’s Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative, including our multifaceted, holistic approach to offender Reentry, and will provide an analysis of the offenders participating in this program. As a result of this initiative, the state correctional and paroling authorities are fundamentally changing the ‘way in which they do business,’ blending traditional correctional policy with ‘cutting-edge’ approaches to offender release and treatment.
Offenders, Victims and Crime-Mapping in the City of Lisbon, Portugal
In 1999, the Centre of Public Opinion Surveys (CESOP) of the Portuguese Catholic University, in collaboration with the Mayor of Lisbon’s Security Department formed the Lisbon Safety Observatory–LSO. The Centre was to conduct a series of annual surveys aimed at assessing victimization and safety issues in the city of Lisbon. Methodological advancements during the following years incorporated into the surveys a detailed section on the crimes identified thus capturing information pertaining to location, time, season, perceived offender characteristics. In an attempt to broaden the knowledge collated on crime in the city, a crimne location system was also included whereby victims precisely identified the place whether they had been victimized. Through this location system and the subsequent geographical identification of crime points, researchers were able to employ spatial analyses on the data obtained, leading to the implementation of a crime-mapping unit. The present paper examines the findings of the 2001 victimization surveys and resulting crime-mapping. Evidence is presented concerning not only cross-national differences in victimcharacteristics, but also the location fo crime events. Results show that on average approximately 40-50% of victims are victimized within their community, but analyses also demonstrate that there is a relationship between crime location, crime type and victim.
Office of Justice Programs Web Site Focus Group
The Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is working on a redesign of their Web site to improve functionality to better serve users looking for criminal justice information. The office is looking for feedback from users to ensure the redesign corresponds with how the site is currently being used. This interactive focus group session is your opportunity to give direct feedback on how the OJP Web site can and should be improved to better enable you to find information on grants, programs, statistics, and training.
On Historical Criminology: Criminology and Criminal Justice Between Modern and Late-Modern Culture
This paper attempts to work out the historical roots of the paradoxical situation which is characteristic for post- or late-modern criminology and criminal justice. It addresses the epistemological and historical conditions of its intelligence and the reasons that might explain it. In post- or late-modernity criminology and criminal justice are disconnected one from each other. This figure is closed to the contradiction which results from the post-modern condition of the criminal justice, on the one hand, and criminological culture which is still a part of modern culture, on the other. This figure is the key that opens the door to a new understanding of modern criminology and its history: The history of criminology is the history of its normative and axiological taboo, its efficiency and its artificial nature, but its also the history of criminology’s original project and its failure. With the end of criminology’s illusion: the absolute belief in both the possibility to construct crime as a real fact without referring to its normative and ethical dimension and to explain it by referring exclusively either to the formal social reaction or the personality of the offender, starts a new program which places criminology at the heart of one of the less considered and most unsolved problems of our times, the problem of common morals and supra-individual values.
On Mapping the U.S. Gun Culture
Policy debates over gun control in the U.S. often assume that most people possess firearms for self-defense and that their commitment to owning a firearm is weak. This paper begins a project of mapping the status of firearms in American society by identifying and carrying out a content analysis of 84 “gun magazines” commercially available in the U.S. An Examination of these gun magazines (1 issue for each magazine) the breadth of interest in firearms and the kinds of stories and information to which firearms owners and potential owners are exposed to.
On the Relationship Between Age, Age-at-Onset, and Offending in Early Adulthood
Although much is known about aggregate and individual level patterns of criminal behavior over the life course, littel research has explored the inter-relationships between age, ate-at-onset, and offending. In this study, we build upon Loeber and Snyder’s examination of offense frequency during the teenabe years in several ways. First, we examine early adulthood patterns of offending. Second, we explore whether these variations vary across violent and non-violent crime types. Third, we examine these issues across race. To study these questions, we employ data on several hundred serious offenders paroled from the California Youth Authority and followed for seven consecutive years post-parole.
Once a Criminal, Always a Criminal : “Redeemability” and the Psychology of Punitive Public Attitudes
An alleged “punitive public” is blamed for the spread of harsh “law and order” sentencing and correctional policies in the United Kingdom and the United States. The psychology of these punitive attitudes has been the subject of some of the most famous works in social theory (e.g., Durkheim, Mead, Garland), but little empirical research (relative to this body of theoretical work). Several studies have sought to link punitive attitudes to attribution style and/or lay theories of crime. The hypothesis here is that those who believe criminal acts are the result of freely chosen and willful behavior are more likely to be punitive than those who feel crime is the result of external circumstances and constraints. In this analysis, we test this assukmption but add in a further dimension of “redeemability” (or beliefs about the ability of deviants to change their ways). Our hypothesis is that this dimension, rather than one’s views about the origins of crime, is critical in explaining support for highly punitive criminal justice policies. We explore this possibility in a postal survey of residents of London and two rural English towns.
Once a Thief, Always a Thief? The Effects of Prior Offending and Routine Activities on Criminal Offending Over the Life Course
This study focuses on the effects of prior criminal offending and patterns of routine actiities on the risk of committing crimes in two types of crime: personal and property crimes. It is examined to what extent individuals who have once been an offender suffer a higher risk of subsequent offending and to what extent this relationship can be explained by a real effect of prior offending (state dependence) or by patterns of routine activities (heterogeneity). Where earlier studies usually tested these hypotheses by comparing persons over a small period, the present paper tests them by looking at the changes during the course of life histories. Two datasets are analysed: data from a nationally representative self-report survey administered in the Netherlands in 1996 to 1,939 individuals aged 15 years or older and official data on criminal histories of a nationally representative sample of 4,000 people convicted in the Netherlands in 1977. Both datasets contain data on marital, fertility, residential, and employment histories — indicating patterns of routine activities — and histories of criminal offending. Logistic multilevel models were used in the analysis of the data. The results of the analyses suggest that the relationship between prior and future offending is partly due to state dependence, but more largely to heterogeneity in the population.
One of the Gang: Concerning the Theoretical Salience of Identity Work in Explaining Peer-Associated Ofending
Research on peer association and offending reveals that the presence of delinquent peers is positively correlated with an increased risk in delinquent behavior of individuals. With the exception of research on competing hypotheses between strain/control theories and those of differential association and/or social learning theories, as well as research on issues of identity within delinquent peer networks, the particular mechanisms which could account for such behavior remain largely unexplored. Specifically, this paper seeks to lay a theoretical foundation for the inclusion of the social psychological concept of identity work as a means to explain micro-interactions that occur within delinquent peer groups. Extending the concept of identity work to current theory is discussed, and possible avenues for research are presented.
One-Year Relapse and Recidivism Outcomes for Delaware Drug Court
Preliminary follow-up results for respondents 12 months after being discharged from drug court treatment programs are examined as a function of treatment retention, the level of treatment completion, and drug court supervision, as compared to treatment participants not supervised by the drug courts. Criminal activity, substance use, employment status and family/social relationships are examined using a modified ASI, in conjunction with urinalyses for proximal drug use. Repeated measures analyses focus upon changes from baseline (treatment entry) compared both within and across groups. Comparisons of the timing of relapse and recidivism between groups are made using survival analyses.
Opportunistic Auto Theft: Diverting Juvenile Offenders
Despite recent declines, auto theft remains a chronic problem in many large conurbations in the United States, Australia and England. Limited available research indicates that most auto thefts in these nations are opportunistic crimes, in which young thieves steal cars for thrill-seeking or temporary transportation. Experimental programs in England and selected Australian states have targeted juveniles who are believed to be responsible for most opportunistic thefts. The most promising approaches combine scientific realism and situational crime prevention to understand the mechanims of opportunistic auto theft, together with principles of effective intervention with offenders that target the specific needs of opportunistic young offenders. Drawing on opportunity theories of offending as described by Clarke, and principles of effective intervention developed by Cullen, Gendreau, and Latessa, this paper pursues three related objectives: (1) summarize rationale and results for pilot programs targeting auto thieves in Australia, Canada, and England; (2) assess potential applications and obstacles for adapting such interventions in community corrections and probation agencies in U.S. cities; and (3) present the results of an action research project in which researchers and justice professionals develop a pilot program for juvenile auto thieves in New Jersey.
‘Order Maintenance’ Versus ‘Zero-Tolerance’
The NYPD ‘order-maintenance’ stragegy, which draws on the ‘broken windows’ hypothesis, involves police enforcement of minor offenses as a method of preventing more serious criminal activity from occurring. Proponents of ‘order-maintenance’ claim that the strategy has played a key role in crime reduction in New York City. Critics of the strrategy, however, claim that ‘order-maintenance’ policing has led to a policy where minor offenses are zealously enforced regardless of the circumstances or consequences surrounding the offense — a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach that essentially removes officer discretion from decision-making scenarios and effectively criminalizes marginally inappropriate behavior. Despire this charge, few have examined the extent to which ‘order-maintenance’ policing, as performed by NYPD, involves the ‘zero-tolerance,’ full-enforcement approach that critics claim. Drawing on observational data from police ride-alongs, this paper challenges critics’ assumptions and argues that it is erroneous to use the termds ‘order-maintenance’ and ‘zero-tolerance’ interchangeably when describing policing in New York City.
Organizational Management of Offender Reentry: Do More Effective Change Models Exist?
Offender reentry is a recently recognized phenomenon that requires criminal justice and select community organizations to individually and collectively assess their role is reentry, and change or modify their activities accordingly. There is limited research on contemporary, collaborative reentry strategies, and no research on how organizations effectively manage a new focus on offender reentry and community safety. This poster presentation details dissertation research currently underway, examining organizational factors that lead to more effective offender reentry strategies. The focus is on constructs of change and performance measurement, as a linked process for policy formation and implementation. Theories of change and action research provide the basis for this research. A multi-method approach is being employed in this comparative case study. Baseline data on reentry success were gathered in Massachusetts communities, and adjusted for external factors that predict reentry success (local employment rates, demographics, and so on). One “rank-ordered”, several communities (or cases) are selected for more in-depth examination. Interviews will be conducted with organizational leaders and staff, and complemented with documents and project materials to understand how and why organizations in some communities have facilitated the progression towards successful reintegration, focusing on how they have achieved organizational change. Data will help to understand whether or not there are more effective organizational change models to achieve reentry success.
Organized Crime and Terrorism: The Case of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia
Since the 1950s when Colombia experienced a period of violence known as “La Violencia,” the country has served as a base of operations for a number of terrorist and organized crime groups. The Revolutionary Armed Forced of Columbia (FARC), one of the world’s oldest terrorist groups, owes its survivability, at least in part, to organized criminal activity that has served to fund the group, as well as provide access to other groups and their resources. This paper will examine FARC terrorism and the ineluctable connection between organized crime and terrorism in Colombia. Additionally, this paper will discuss some strategies that can be used to combat the organized crime — terrorism nexus.
Organized Crime in America: Why it is Widely Misunderstood
This paper investigates why the emergence of organized crime in America is widely misunderstood. The author aims to provide a rigorous renewed analysis of the social problem than has previously been achieved. Central to this analysis are two contradictory perspectives on the emergence of organized crime in America. These perspectives are: a) an importation model, and b) a deprivation model. Unlike most studies on the subject, this analysis raises important, but previously undiscussed questions, makes greater efforts to address th questions, and provides serious lessons learned in the process. These lessons are too important, and too costly, to ignore in the study of organized crime in the United States.
Outcome Evaluation of Drug Courts and Traditional, Probation-Based Supervision
In order to determine whether drug courts are more effective than traditional, probation-based programs in promoting recovery and preventing recidivism, we are conducting a longitudinal study of drug involved offenders in two counties in Florida (Broward and Hillsborough). The primary purpose of our outcome evaluation is to identify differences in the receipt of treatment services, extent of drug use (measured by self-reports and administrative Urinalysis Assessment results), and recidivism (measured by self-reports and state administrative crime records) between drug court participants and drug-involved offenders supervised by traditional probation. Study participants were identifed from the Florida Department of Corrections database and interviewed in person, using Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) technology. This presentation outlines the methodology used in our outcome study, provides baseline differences between drug court and comparison subjects, and presents preliminary findings from the follow-up interviews. We collected baseline data from 750 respondents and are in the process of administering nine month follow-up interviews, of which we have conducted approimately 175 and expect to have all completed by August 2003.
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Parent Involvement and Perspective on Gang Prevention Programs and School Safety
This presentation reports findings from a study funded by the U. S. Department of Education to investigate school-based protection of youth at-risk for joining gangs and other delinquent peer groups. The study was located in five school areas of the city of Los Angeles that evidence high rates of gang activity. A caregiver (usually a parent) was interviewed for each study subject regatding their knowledge of and participation in school and neighborhood programs and services that address gang joining (n=376). At the completion of the brief survey, parents were asked to provide additional comments. This presentation reports the results of the coding of the open-ended responses as a complement to structured interview items in order to highlight the importance of gathering unstructured information. We conclude with a discussion of the utility of a supplemental parent interview for garnering study cooperation and providing additional perspective for a youth study.
Parental Alienation or Child Abuse? An Empirical Study of Children’s Rejection of a Parent After Divorce
The dilemma posed by a child’s strident rejection of one parent after divorce, generally accompanied by strong resistance or refusal to visit, has increasingly troubled family courts. Fierce controversy, without the benefit of empirical data, has waged between those who view the problem as the outcome of “parental alienation” by a malicious ex-spouse and those who believe it is the child’s expectable response to an abusive parent. This study of family relationships examines the frequency and extent of child-parent alignments and correlates of children’s rejection of a parent. The sample consists of 215 children (aged 5-14 years) drawn from the family courts and general community 2-3 years after parental separation. Measures were developed largely from clinical ratings of detailed interviews, standardized psychological measures and parent-child observations, together with some parent ratings. The findings support a continuum of children’s attitudes toward their parents, ranging from positive to negative with relatively few extremely rejecting. Children’s rejection of a parent is multi-determined: both alienation by the aligned parent and poor parenting skills of the rejected parent contribute to the problem, in addition to vulnerabilities within children themselves. Substantiated abuse by a parent does not appear to be a consistent predictor of children’s rejection.
Parental Involvement in Juvenile Justice
Juvenile justice policy is currently a topic of considerable debate and we have seen many recent changes in practice. An important policy of concern involves parental accountability and involvement in justice processes. Descriptions about the current use of parental accountability and critical analyses of these and potential future practices are very few in number. Both academics and practitioners would benefit from a better understanding of these policies and their subsequent implications for juvenile justice and juvenile delinquency. This research consists of an in-depth analysis of parental accountability and involvement in the Florida and Georgia juvenile justice systems. Relevant laws and practices were identified, surveys were administered to juvenile justice personnel (including judges, attorneys, and Department of Juvenile Justice personnel), interviews were conducted with juvenile justice personnel, and observations were made during visits to key juvenile justice sites. In this paper, we describe findings regarding perceptions about parental accountability and involvement in the juvenile justice system.
Parental Responsibility Legislation and the Cycle of Juvenile Justice
Possible sources and effects of the cycle of juvenile justice are explored in the context of parental responsibility legislation. Juvenile justice began with the concept of parental responsibility, and the juvenile court was initially presented in the form of a substitute parental authority. This paper traces how recent attempts to increase parental participation and responsibility have become part of the cycle of juvenile justice reforms. Such reforms attempt to provide parents with increased incentives to avoid the juvenile court and to seek its treatment-services. Cross-state comparison data are presented to relate current parental responsibility legislation to a cycle of earlier juvenile justice reforms.
Parental Status and Parenting Responsibilities as Predictors of Relapse and Recidivism Among Drug-Involved Prison Releasees
Many drug-involved prisoners are parents and have important parental roles with minor children before, during, and after incarceration. It is likely that parental roles and responsibilities have an impact on the likelihood of successful reentry to the community. Yet the effects of parental status and parental participation have not been extensively examined in predicting the likelihood of relapse or recidivism. In this paper we examine a sample of 250 female and 750 male prisoners in Delaware who have been released from prison and followed for over three years. The sample respondents receive a baseline interview at the time of prison release, and they are followed up at 6 months, 18 months, and 42 months after release from prison. Some of these men and women participated in drug treatment programs while in custody, and the effects of program participation are also considered in the analyses. In this paper, we first describe and contrast the parental status and roles of these male and female offenders at the time of prison release. The baseline data support the conclusion that most women releasees and many male releasees do have parental roles and expectations for providing care when they are out of prison. Multivariate logistic and OLS regression models utilizing the panel data suggest that active involvement in parenting roles has effects on long term success in avoiding relapse and recidivism, net of any effects of treatment participation, post-prison living arrangements, and employment. Discussion centers on a consideration of variables that seem to specify or moderate the role of parental status and involvement in predicting likelihood of remaining drug free and arrest free.
Parenthood and Criminal Offending
Currently,a bout 1.5 million children in the United States have at least one incarcerated parent and 22% of these children are under the age of five. About 600,000 inmates emerge from prisons each year and family reunification is often the first adjustment they face as they reenter the community. There are relatively few programs dedicated to successful family reintegration for offenders yet debates about the wisdom of reuniting children with criminally-involved parents are common. Theoretical work in criminology suggests a number of ways in which the preseence of children may impact the criminal offending of their parents. Children mnay reduce parental crime if their presence helps to strengthen family attachments and reinforce prosocial role adoption. Alternatively, children may increase criminal involvement of parents by adding stress and financial strain to individuals who already experience a wide variety of disadvantages. This study of recidivism examines these propositions by analyzing the impact of having or living with a child on the criminal offending of their parents. Additionally, our analyses explore gender differenbdes in the impact of changing family status of criminal offending.
Parenting Practices and Health Outcomes for Adolescents
This research uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to investigate the impact of parental attachment and supervision on adolescent’s health, independent of the risky behaviors of the adolescent. Theoretical basis for the research includes Gottfredson and Hirschi’s Self-Control Theory and Jessor and Jessor’s Problem Behavior Theory. Past research has shown a relationship between parenting and delinquency, accidents, and other analogous behaviors. The goal of the study is to add to the existing literature by determining the impact of parenting on the health of the child. Findings include support for both theories and show that parenting has an impact on adolescent health even when one takes into consideration social class and other adolescent behaviors that can be potentially health damaging (i.e. delinquency, smoking, sexual activity).
Parenting Practices and the Course of Pre-Adolescent Antisocial Behaviors
Evidence for the early manifestation and stability of antisocial behaviors has been widely documented in the sociological, criminological, psychiatric, and psychological literature. If there is a tendency for such antisocial and disruptive traits to be stable once inculcated, it is important to identify the developmental processes in the child’s social-structural and family environments that precede these behaviors. Past reviews suggest a complex relationship between socio-economic disadvantage, poor parent-child relations and children’s behavior problems and delinquency. This perspective suggests a cascading of risk factors where the familial environment, specifically parenting practices, mediates the social-structural background risks such as economic disadvantage. In this analysis, we contribute new population-based empirical evidence towards these debates regarding the stability and malleability of pre-adolescent antisocial behavior and the social-structural coneitions and family processes that predict change. We position our analysis within the social and family perspectives of developmental theories of antisocial behavior while having due regard for the role of uniquely individual characteristics of the child. We used data from the first three waves (1994, 1996 and 1998) of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) conducted by Statistics Canada. A cluster analysis permitted the identification of sub-samples of children most vulnerable to behavioral and other problems (int he areas of education, health, and mental health). Regression methods are subsequently employed toidentify the factors associated with movement into and out of the highest risk clusters over the three waves of the survey.
Parents, Peers and Punks: Social and Self-Control Predictors of Multiple Forms of Deviance
Social control theory has traditionally examined the effects of external bonds to conventional others. Self-control theory focuses on internal sources of control as an explanation for general forms of deviance. Although it seems reasonable to assume that both forms of control affect involvement in deviance, criminologists have rarely examined the effects of both in the same analysis. In this paper we examine the effects of both parental attachment and self-control on multiple forms of deviance — eating disorders, substance abuse and self reported crimes. This paper explores the relative contribution of social control and self control as it varies across forms of deviance.
Parricide: An In-Depth Look at Kids Who Kill Parents and What Happens to Them
Despite the interest in kids who kill parents, little information is available that looks systematically at case processing and disposition. This paper provides descriptive data on parricide cases across the United States and abroad. Special attention will focus on exploring differences between juveniles and adults who kill parents. An extensive search of numerous large data bases that house local, regional, national, and international publications found coverage of more than 200 cases of children killing parents during the last 50 years. Attention will focus on system processing from the initial charge through conviction and sentencing, and post-conviction remedies and adjustments in sentencing. Victim, offender, and case-related variables will be analyzed in terms of victim-offender relationship. Data pertaining to case-related variables (e.g., weapons used, other charges) will also be examined. Co-defendant information will be presented where applicable. To the extent possible, newspaper accounts will be used to classify parricide cases according to motive and Heide’s typology of parricide offenders (severely abused, severely mentally ill, and dangerously antisocial).
Parricide From Two Perspectives: Findings From SHR and NIBRS Data
Empirical analysis of homicides in which children have killed parents has been limited. The most comprehensive and recent analysis involving parents and stepparents as victims was undertaken by Heide for the 10-year period 1977-1986 and relied exclusively on Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) Data. This paper will provide an updated examination of parricide victims, offenders, and cases for the most recently available year period (1996-2000) using two data sets: SHR data and National Incident Based Reporting Service (NIBRS) data. The data sets have different strengths. The SHR data base, which provides limited data on offender, victim, and offense characteristics, is a national data set that includes all 50 states. The NIBRS data base, in contrast, collects much more descriptive data, but because this system is still being implemented, data collection is currently only available for a more limited portion of the United States. This paper will synthesize the data from both data sets to provide the most complete analysis of fathers, mothers, and stepparents slain available to date.
Participatory Police Management, Higher Education’s Role in Influencing the Law Enforcement Administrator
Management theories X, Y and Z have been used as the basis for defining management cultures. The theory X manager is authoritative in nature, and the organization is characterized by policy being set at the top and carried out by subordinates. Douglas McGregory popularized theories X and Y. The theory X manager has a, my way or the highway, message that is often duplicated in military or semi-military organizations, such as, law enforcement. The theory Y manager emphsizes, people skills, and humanistic managers motivate people. The third management style, theory Z, is participatory. The theory Z manager would invite his subordinates to participate in management decisions. In fact, the line workers would be included in decisions regarding the quality and nature of their work. Quality circles comprising management and labor form task groups to formulate policy. The Hammond, Indiana Police Department has expanded the quality circle to include higher education, specifically Calumet College of St. Joseph. Beginning in 2000, the authors, both former Chicago Police Investigators, became part of a research team working with police administrators and police officers. During phase I of the project, a citizen perception survey was conducted to measure the level of satisfaction Hammond residents had for the police department. Hammond is a city,w hich is become more diverse. Perceptions of crime and police effectiveness were compared with factual data regarding crime and police response. After the survey was completed and unveiled to the public, the city administration decided to continue their collaboration with CCSJ. The college is now engaged in designing a cultural diversity course for the police department. The city administration is also promoting higher education for police officers, and tuition stipends to attend the college. The college/city research team remains intact.
Paths to Gender Equality and Rates of Men’s Lethal Violence
According to the feminist backlash hypothesis, an increase in gender equality is associated with an increase in male violence in the short term. A leveling of the relative status of women and men may increase perceptions of a threatened status quo. A desire to protect both men’s privileged status and the dominant form of masculinity may result in an increase in men’s violence. In an attempt to refine this hypothesis, we suggest that the dynamics underlying the production of a given level of gender equality may moderate its effect on men’s violence. That is, we contend that the nature of the change in men’s status moderates the effect of gender equality on male violence. Specifically, the positive effect of a given lefel of gender equality may be mitigated under conditions where men have experienced stable or increasingly good economic circumstances and may be exacerbated where men have experienced decreasing economic circumstances. We test these ideas with data for 191 U.S. cities that regularly complete the Supplemental Homicide Reports. Statistically, an increase in men’s status between 1980 and 1990 should decrease the positive effect of 1990 gender equality on 1990 male perpetrated lethal violence, while a decrease in men’s status over the decade should increase the strength of the effect of gender equality.
Patterns of Crime Over the Life Course: Offending Trajectories in a Dutch Conviction Cohort
Empirical studies testing current developmental taxonomies in criminology typically analyze data covering criminal histories up until early adulthood. These studies leave questions unanswered on whether individuals though to be ‘life course persisters’ indeed persist in their offending behavior in (late) adulthood, and whether a group of offenders exist that starts offending later in life whilst non-offending during adolescence — a group not accounted for in current taxonomies. This paper describes patterns of crime over the full life couse and addresses these questions. The paper analyses official data on the criminal histories of a nationally representative sample of 4,000 people convicted in the Netherlands in 1977. The long period over which data was gathered allows us to analyze the development of offending over the entire life span: i.e. from age 10 to age 70. The semi-parametric, group-based approach is used to analyze variation in offending trajectories and to test hypotheses on current developmental taxonomies.
Patterns of Homicide in East St. Louis
Research on homicide underscores the importance of studying victim-offender relationships and motives. These studies characreristically examine homicides that take place in urban municipalities, but few studies have extended similar analysis to homicides occurring within secondary jurisdictions in metropolitan areas. The current study addresses this absence by examining victim-offender relationships and motives of East St. Louis homicides over a ten-year period (1991-2001). East St. Louis is a jurisdiction of approximately 35,000 people incorporated in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Despite a sustained and significant decline in national homicide rates since the early 1990’s, East St. Louis continues to experience elevated rates in comparison to national averages. The study of victim-offender relationships and motives of East St. Louis homicides will examine its distinctive rates, and contribute to determining whether relationships and motives of homicides in secondary jurisdictions deviate from study findings derived from urban municipalities.
Patterns of Property Crime Among Three Groups of Heroin Users
The purpose of this presentation is to: (1) Estimate the prevalence of property crime among a sample of 900 heroin users; (2) Examine the impact of crack use, frequency of heroin use, and route of ingestion on property crime. A stratified network based tri-ethnic sample of non-Hispanic white, African American, and Hispanic men and women, was recruited in South Florida. Three subsamples are included in the study: New injection users (NIU=300); Long term injection users (LTIU=300); and Sniffers (n=300). The prevalence of property crime committed in the past thirty days was approximately 35%. Both injector groups are significantly more likely than the sniffers to commit property crimes. NIU’s are more likely than the LTIU’s to commit property crimes. Crack use is significantly associated to property crime for sniffers, but not for either injector groups. The frequency of heroin use is a significant factor to property crime for both injector groups, but not for the sniffers; injectors who use heroin daily are more likely than the injectors who use heroin less than daily to commit property crimes. One pattern revealed across each of the three heroin groups is: Subjects who use crack and use heroin daily are more likely to commit property crimes than subjects whose crack use or frequency is less.
Patterns of Violence Against Women: Different Etiology or Difference Risk Factor?
Efforts to explain vioolence are heavily dependent on specific way in which violence is conceptualized. Yet, the vast majority of victimization research focuses only on discrete acts which ignores the possibility that victimization is patterned and thus occurs in systematic ways. This is particularly problematic in the study of violence against women. Here, it has long been suggested that women’s victimization occurs in systematic ways, over time and across relationships and types of violence. Yet, little research has actually examined this issue. Through analysis of the NVAWS data, we address this limitation by 1) modeling victimization to determine whether distinct patterns exist and what they look like; and 2) examining factors that predict the likelihood of experiencing these distinct forms of victimization. In doing so, we articulate a structural-biographical approach to the study of victimization and examine the important theoretical question of whether patterns of victimization have distinct etiologies or whether they reflect specific, unique risk factors. Implications are discussed.
Peacemaking as Personal Transformation
The author will explore the relationship between interpersonal transformation and the peacemaking process.
Pedagogical Challenges and Benefits of Teaching on the Inside: Lessons From ‘Drugs in Urban Society’
“Drugs in Urban Society” is an undergraduate, upper level class that had been taught in a traditional seminar format at Temple University in the Department of Geography and Urban Studies. The course became adapted within the “Inside/Out Prison Exchange” model so as to present students with a more direct and experiential learning opportunity. This paper describes the pedagogical approach of the course, the changes needed to adapt a traditional course into an experiential one, and how the class was implemented in a prison setting. A particular focus of the presentation will be on the experiende in teaching the course the challenges encountered in blending traditional university undergraduates with incarcerated students, the reactions from both groups of students, the curricular modifications that were required, and suggestions on how to undertake such an initiative.
Peer Aggregation and Some Puzzling Effects
Adolescence is a time in life when congregating seems natural. Adolesence joins one another for recreation and for work. Adolescents are more responsive to their peers than to their parents. For most adolescence, congregation appears to generate comfort and lead to the types of experience that produce adults willing to accept social responsibilities. Yet when adolescents are aggregated for the purpose of improving their behavior, several programs have found that the interventions increase antisocial activities. The puzzle is to ascertain why some types of group formations promote prosocial proclivities and others promote antisocial activities. The paper will describe examples of each type and propose a theory to explain their differences.
Peer Influence in Juvenile Justice
This paper will review the role of peer influence in programs of the juvenile justice system. Even before the creation of the juvenile justice system, reformers were concerned that grouping delinquent youth together would exacerbate delinquency through negative peer influence. Recent evidence one again highlights the possibility of juvenile justice programs having harmful effects of through a process of deviant peer contagion, and this has led some scholars to argue against all programs that bring together groups delinquent youth. In contrast, a popular family of treatment approaches (guided group interaction and positive peer culture) is founded on the proposition that peer influence among delinquent youth is founded on the proposition that peer influence among delinquent youth can be the source of positive change, if properly controlled and guided. This paper will present and evaluate the evidence concerning the peer influence process in juvenile justice settings with the goal of determining the likely advantages and disadvantages of different programmatic approaches.
Penal Harm Public Health: Infectious Diseases and the Consequences of Non-Intervention in Jail Systems
It is commonly noted in the U.S. that infectious diseases, primarily tuberculosis, HIV disease and Hepatitis C, are enormous problems within incarcerated populations. The blame for these burgeoning epidemics is most often attributed to prison and jail health care systems that fail to appropriately screen for, and treat, infectious diseases. Less acknowledged, however, is the failure of public health systems, and public health leaders, to not only insure that screenings and treatments take place, but to insure that adequate follow-up is provided upon an inmate’s release. Traditionally, public health has been grounded on the notion that disease prevention in the weakest elements of society ultimately ensured protection for the strongest. It is argued, however, that an implicit endorsement of a “penal harm” perspective has become so pervasive that public health systems and leaders have openly abrogated their responsibility to all of us–to the “public.”
Penal Reform in the Republic of Armenia
In the Republic of Armenia the political transition from a totalitarian regime to democracy has been accompanied by reforms in the criminal justice system. With the Soviet corretional legacy still influencing the Armenian penal system, the task of policy makers to reform the outdated system with more than a dozen prisons and dentention facilities seems formidable. However, with the pressure from the international community, especially from the Council of Europe, Armenia has undertaken penal reform on several levels. The main laws regulating the penal system, such as the Penal Code, the Criminal Procedural Code, and the Penal Executive Code (the former corrective labor code) have been amended or completely rewritten. In addition, the prison administration has undergone major infrastructural changes. Finally, in-service training of the penal personnel has taken place under the auspices of international organizations. This paper provides an overview of the status of penal reforms, as well as discusses the future directions of changes of penal policy in the Republic of Armenia.
Perceived Social Competence as a Predictor of Rape Myth Endorsement
Data from a 1996-1999 survey of 1,342 clients of female prostitutes are used to examine the contribution of menis perceived social competence toward rape myth endorsement. While a substantial body of research exists in regards to the multiple predictors of rape myth endorsement (e.g., gender, race, sex role stereotyping, and prior victimization), sufficient attention has not been focused on how menis prior socialization experiences with women contribute to the development of these anti-social attitudes. To examine this issue, principal component analysis utilizing oblique (promax) rotation, Cronbach’s coefficient alpha, and correlation analysis are initially applied to evaluate the reliability and validity of the perceived social competence and rape myth endorsement scales. Factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) procedures were further employed to discern the various structural relationships among the constructs perceived social competence and rape myth endorsement while controlling for a client’s age, race, education, and socioeconomic status (Hollingshead SES). An expected two-factor solution was interpreted and perceived social competence is anticipated to be a significant predictor of rape myth endorsement. Findings from this study wiull be explained within the context of attribution theory.
Perceptions of Police Legitimacy, Emotions, and the Collective
Agents of social control require a perceived level of legitimacy (trust in the law) on the part of a citizenry in order to effectively carry out their mission. Utilizing data on over 8,000 respondents who reported at least one interaction with police via motor vehicle stop, this study examines how group bonds may intensify reactions/emotions to perceived procedural injustice during stops — reactions which are measured ads both qualitative evaluations of police fairness and legitimacy as well as formal action to include complaint or lawsuit. Implications for future research are discussed.
Perceptions of Safety and Danger in a Public Housing Development
In this poster session I will be displaying information about the redevelopment of public housing on the west side of Chicago. Photos of neighborhood buildings and colorful maps will visually communicate areas where public housing residents consider safe and areas that they consider dangerous. High concentrations of gang terrories effect both where residents of Chicago Public Housing Authority consider safe and dangerous as well influences their choice of residence.
Personnel Panic: Agency Strategies for Overcoming Recruitment and Hiring Challenges
Over the last five years, newspapers headlines and chiefs have characterized hirign challenges as nothing short of a crisis in law enforcement. Agencies across the nation report that they are struggling to fill their sworn positions. Interestingly, however, data from a national survey conducted by P ERF, funded by NIJ, indicates that many agencies are, in fact, filling their sworn positions. Are agencies overstating their woes, expendiung more time and resources to fill their positions, reducing their hiring standards? For this presentation, authors will share national data, including longitudinal data from a subset of agencies, to answer these and other questions about the purported “cop crunch,” Authors will also describe innovative ways that agencies are recruiting and hiring quality personnel, including racial/ethnic minorities and women.
Pharmaceutical Drug Abuse in Rural Kentucky
During the late 1990s, rural Kentucky (and rural pockets of nearby states) witnessed the emergence of new drugs of abuse — pharmaceutical analgesics. The powerful oxycodone, Oxycontin, first manufactured in 1996 and designed for time-released pain relief, found a ready population in rural hamlets and mountain communities. Intended for patients in pain associated with terminal disease, it became a drug of abuse as it was over-prescribed and trafficked within newly developing black markets. This paper describes the take-off of this new drug of abuse (and others since it), its antecedents, its effects on rural communities and coordinated efforts at containing it.
‘Pissin’ Through the Wicket
Field research in jails and prisons is fraught with special problems. Getting permission to do the research is not only difficult, but often IRBs and skittish wardens prevent or challenge our attempts to conduct scientific inquiries and, hence, impede our ability to broaden our knowledge base. Beyond the obvious methodological and logistical challenges that prison researchers confront, there are also unanticipated events and exchanges that occur during data collection processes on the “inside” that are unique. In this paper, I discuss some of the unique exchanges in the context of walking through the cell house asking, “Hey, you wanna fill out this questionnaire?”
Pizza, Robbery and Race: A Crime-Mapping Analysis of Robbery and Pizza Delivery Redlining
This paper reports findings from an exploratory, place specific study of the relationship between the geographic and temporal patterns of robbery and pizza delivery reclining practices. Nine years of robbery data (1994-2002) from Tarpon Springs, Florida wer mapped according to location and time of day. The resulting patterns of robbery were then compared to racial housing patterns and the no-pizza delivery area of the Tarpon Springs to determine if pizza delivery redlining is justified by risk of robbery or is an unjustified race-based exclusion from services. Implications are discussed from routine activities theory, public policy and business practices perspectives.
Playing With Mother’s Little Helper: How Do Adolescent Users of Illegal Prescription Drugs Differ From “Traditional” Drug Using Adolescents?
Recent survey data suggest that the use of illegal prescription drugs by adolescents is on the rise. Data from Delaware show that painkillers are the most abused drugs after alcohol, tobacco and marijuana. Ritalin and other psychotropic drugs are also among the most abused drugs in the state. While the rise in prescription drug use is well documented, what is less known is who these users are and how they compare to the “traditional” drug-using adolescent in terms of other delinquent behaviors. Using data from a survey of public school students in Delaware, this research seeks to identify the differences and similarities between these two groups of adolescents. Specifically, we examine demographics, propensity for risk taking, school and parental bonding as well as the relationship between types of drugs and delinquency.
Plotting Trouble: Mapping Gang Activity Through New York State
Despite a decreasing crime rate over the last decade, the United States saw a substantial increase in levels of gang activity nationwide. Contrary to popular belief, gangs are no longer contained within major metropolitan areas. In fact, the rate of suburban and rural gang activity is climbing at alarming levels. In recent years, gangs have transcended their geographic, racial, gender, and ethnic boundaries to develop a network that poses a threat to even the most efficient law enforcement agencies. As they migrate across states and localities, many gangs have retained bits and pieces of their traditional structure and belief system while adding more modern and area specific traits of their own creation. Using survey data collected from agencies across New York State, this project will first illustrate how gang activity differs not only by gang set but also by locality. In addition, we are creating an area specific mapping application that integrates research, analysis, and mapping of gang related crime. The finished tool will be adaptable for application at a state and local level across the country.
Police, Para-Police and Other Protective Service Occupations in Canada: Growth and Impact, 1991-2001
The aim of this paper is to profile and assess the impacts of the growth and changing composition of protective services occupations in Canada. To date, little empirical work has been done to document the growth in the private protective services industry and comparable changes for public police and related services. Most of the research in this area has focused on the comparison of numbers of public police versus private security. This paper will expand the focus to include not only commissioned and non-commissioned police officers and private guards but also sheriffs, bailiffs, by-law enforcement officers and other protective service occupations. The number of police in Canada was relatively unchanged between 1991-2001 while employment in private security increased dramatically during this time period. This suggests that Canadians are increasingly relying on the private sector not the state to meet their security demands. Using census and industry data, the public and private protective services industries in Canada will be profiled for the period 1991-2001. Analysis may include urban/rural differences and a socio-demographic profile of employees. In addition, outcoems of the rapid growth in the private protective sector will be explored. The potential correlation between the declining crime rate and the growth in private protective services will be probed. Discussion will include the relationship between the growth in private security and growing income inequality in Canada.
Police Authority Consultation in England and Wales: Improving Citizen Focus in the Police Service
Police authorities are independent bodies, responsible for the oversight of local policing in England and Wales. One of their key responsibilities is to consult with the local community about the policing of their area and their priorities. The British Crime Survey shows that whilst the crime rate in England and Wales has fallen, fear of crime has risen. Public reassurance is something that practitioners and policy makers are increasingly trying to address. Police engagement with the public has a key role inreassurance and this paper will present the findings on police consultation with the public, including with so called ‘hard to reach groups’. This paper draws on the results of a mixed methodological project which used; telephone surveys of all police authorities; case studies of si police force areas; observations of consultation exercises; face-to-face interviews with key stakeholders and representatives; and focus groups members of the general public including specific minority ethnic groups. The paper aims to give a greater understanding of public perceptions of crime and the police, and the relationship between engagement with the police and feelings of safety and security. It will also consider the views of the public on who they hold responsible for crime reduction. The difference between different sections of the public will be highlighted, as will potential problems for practitioners.
Police Chiefs’ Exposure to Information About Computerized Crime Mapping and Their Opinions About the Innovation
The diffusion of innovation literature distinguishes between mass media and face-to-face communication. The second is more relevant in the latter stages of potential adopters’ decision-making processes. This paper reports on the results of a mail survey conducted in 2002 of 347 municipal police departments in New Jersey. It focuses on exposure to different information sources (such as newspapers, conferences, professional and academic literature, vendors, and other police departments) and how this exposure influences opinions about the usefulness and practicality of crime mappingk as well as adoption decisions.
Police Discretion With the Mentally Ill: Factors Influencing the Handling, Understanding and Criminalization of this Population
Research shows that the rate of mentally ill individuals who are being incarcerated is expanding. Police officers are being called upon to act as crisis workers and handle this population in increasing amounts daily. This research examines the way in which police officers use their discretionary power to effectively deal with this group of people. This is accomplished through survey data and discussions with officers across different regions of New York State. Discussion will focus on the factors involved in the decision making process, the outcomes of these determinations and the implications associated with both of these.
Police Encounters with Persons With a Perceived Mental Illness: Does the Environment Play a Role in Police Response?
Previous studies have demonstrated that persons with a mental illness (PMI) have a higher risk than the general population of being arrested, due perhaps to environmental instability and poverty regarding mental illness. Many believe that symptomatic persons, who in the past, would have been admitted to a state hospital, are now being arrested for misdemeanor crimes. Social Disorganization theory recognizes that these factors, and others such as population density increase the chances of criminal activity in the general population density increase the chances of criminal activity in the general population. The study applies Social Disorganization theory to data on PMI-police officer interactions in a medium-sized city. Two types of encounters are examined: (1) arrest and (2) transport to an emergency mental health facility for psychiatric evaluation and possible involuntary hospitalization. Electronic data generated by the Worcester, MA police department and Census 2000 data were utilized to test for environmental effects. The essential question posed in the study is whether these criminogenic factors apply to police interactions with PMI.
Police Mediation: An Emerging Landscape
This exploratory study examined how police use mediation themselves or make referrals to community mediation centers in New York State. Data collection for this study consisted of official data from the 2001 Annual Report of the Community Dispute Resolution Centers Program, a written questionnaire, and informal interviews with police personnel. Official data were used to examine the type of dispute, nature of dispute, and case outcomes between police and non-police referrals. Questionnaires were mailed to police departments in New York State, including each town, village, city, county, sheriffs, and state police troop patrol department. Participants revealed information regarding mediation training for officers, departmental rewards for use of mediation, and various challenges to police use of mediation. Findings indicate that police are not only interested in mediation, but are actually using it either on-the-scene themselves or by referring cases to local mediation centers. The majority of police departments report that they sometimes or always refer cases to the local community dispute resolution center. The most common types of cases referred by police include neighbor and landlord/tenant disputes. This research, coupled with findings from our earlier police mediation study from the perspective of community mediation centers, indicates that policing is a viable context for the use of mediation.
Police Officer Attitudes and Decisions Regarding Persons With Mental Illness
A significant portion of police work invovles contact with persons with mental illness. This study examined how knowledge that a person has schizophrenia influences police officers’ perceptions, attitudes and responses in several types of situations. 382 Police officers taking in-service training were randomly assigned to one of four vignette situations in which the subject was described either as having schizophrenia or with out any mental illness information. Following the vignette, officers completed measures of their perceptions of the subject and the appropriat response to the situation. Officers perceived vignette subjects with schizophrenia as more dangerous and less responsible for their situation. They felt more pity for subjects with schizophrenia, and indicated greater willingness to provide help. However, they were less willing to take action based on information provided by a victim or witness with a mental illness. Officers were more willing to endorse legal coercion into treatment for subjects with mental illness. The role of the subject in the situation also effected officer responses. While mental illness label did not have direct effect on perceived credibility, the vignette by label interaction was significant, reducing credibility the most for the victim. Implications for training, practice, and future research will be discussed.
Police Officers as Victims of Violent Crime
Police officers are expected to intervene in violent crime and protect others from victimization. But, what happens when the police become victims of violence, either through the daily performance of their jobs or off-duty as private citizens? Undergraduates enrolled in criminal justice courses (N=640) completed 1 or 12 randomly assigned questionnaires containing 4 hypothetical scenarios describing victims of violence, some of whom were also described as police officers, who were left with temporarily incapacitating injuries or permanent disabilities from their victimization. Police officer crime victims were rated more negative (p
Police Operations in Temporary Communities: The Super Bowl, Woodstock and Other Special Events
Traditional notions of community involve groups of neighbors in residential and busines/residential settings. However, as we examine the fundamental components and composition of communities, we find that many cohesive areas such as airports, tourist destinations, hospital complexes, and college campuses fall within the evolving concept of community. The evolving view of community does not requrie that an area be primarily residential or business, or even a permanent social group. Thus, areas in which people share a common geography, character or identity, and common concerns, would qualify as a community for the purposes of policing and political problem solving. Even a temporary or created environment in which a group of stakeholders share geographical area or common concerns may constitute a community. In this regard, major sporting events, musical performances, festivals, and multi-day ceremonies, demonwtrations, and events that are anticipated to attract tens of thousands of people easily qualify as communities for the purpose of security and control. Drawing from the experiences of Superbowl XXIII and Woodstock 99, the presenters will examine the dynamics of temporary communities, the implications of policing temporary communities verus traditional communities, and contrast community policing and traditional policing in the context of communities.
Police Response to Assault: Differences in the Application of Law by Race
Based on victim accounts provided by the National Crime Victimization Survey from 1992-1999, this paper examined issues related to police responses to reported incidents of assault. The primary goals were to determine the extent to which victim and offender race have an effect on police responsiveness at various stages of the criminal justice system, and, to what extent is police responsiveness explained by using the social dimensions outlined in Donald Black’s theory of law. A scale of Total Police Effort was designed from the following items: (1) police response time to the science (2) effort exerted by police at the scene, (3) subsequent effort exerted by police. A multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between Police Effort and victim and offender race. The data indicates that overall, police utilize more effort when whites are the victims — they arrive faster at the scence of the crime, and demonstrate more follow-up effort after the crime has taken place. However, they do not exert more of less effort during their initial visit to the crime scence. This relationship held even after controlling for other factors such asd poverty, weapon use, injury to the victim, and location.
Police Response to Domestic Violence in Taiwan
The Domestic Violence Prevention and Control Act (DVPCA) was enacted on June 24, 1999 in Taiwan. This Act signifies about changes in Taiwan society to handle this historically neglected issue and puts the predominate responsibility on police departments. This study is one of the first studies to examine how police respond to domestic violence in Taiwan after the DVPCA’s implementation. It seeks to investigate what are the police responses to domestic violence in practice? Furthermore, this study also proposed to examine what are the police’s attitudes toward adoption of a pro-arrest policy? Finally, this current aimed to explo9re what factors and outcomes are associated with the filing of protection orders? This study utilized three surveys to answer the research questions: domestic violence victims (N=168), associated professionals and (N=237), and police officers (N=1105). The findings suggest that police response strategies in practice are versatile. Also, there did exist a huge gap between police policy and practice. The police attitude factor is the most important predictor regarding adoption of a pro-arrest policy. In addition, the impact of protection orders is significantly related to the police enforcing attitude and capabilities.
Police Stress: The Gendering of Violence and Stress in Modern Policing
Law enforcement is widely regarded as one of the most stressful and violent professions. Officer stress has been associated with a number of negative behaviors and psychological outcomes including high rates of substance abuse, divorce, and violence. Concerns over officer violence include both work related acts like use of excessive force or unwarranted deadly force, and non-work related violence like domestic and child abuse. Additionally, self-inflicted violence in the form of officer suicide is a particularly glaring concern for modern law enforcement. Despite the interest in the interplay between sub-cultural attitudes, organizational structure, and high stress events, most research into police violence and suicide have failed to address a fundamental concern: the influence of gendering processes on both individuals and organizations. It is the purpose of this research to show that police violence, both outward and self-inflicted, is embedded in the gender structure and process of policing and not simply a response to high stress situations.
Police Use of Force: Detectives in an Urban Police Department
Police use of force studies have typically focused on entire police departments or uniformed patrol officers. This study, however, examines the use of force applied by detectives, and is exploratory in nature. While detective personnel are police officers and have the same authority as patrol officers in terms of effecting arrests and using force in the performance of their duties, there are differences in operational responsibilities between these two groups. These operational differences, in turn, can contribute to contextual differences in encounters with the public. Segregating and examining the use of force activities of this police stratum will permit a fuller understanding of the use of fore by police, in general. The data set reflects information from Use of Force Reports submitted by detectives in an urban police department in the southern United States during the year 2000. The data set contains the number of Use of Force Reports submitted and the levels of force used by each detective. In addition, it contains demographic descriptors for each detective including age, race, gender, years of police service, and education. A descriptive analysis of the data set will be presented as well as the results from regression analyses that will explore associations between the use of force and the demographic variables.
Police Violence, Time, Space and the Force Continuum: Assessing the Relationships
Research examining police violence focuses on a variety of factors offered to explain how and why police engage in violent acts. Psychological impacts, situational factors, organizational variables, and officer/suspect characteristics are prominent among the categories researchers use to explain police violence. Adding to thi literature, recent research has examined the interactive effects of time and space to explain violent police encounters. The present research expands this work through further testing the effects of time and space within the continuum of force using data collected by Garner and Maxwell (1999), which examines the police violence in six large U.S. cities. Results from this research: (1) further our understanding of police use of force, and (2) address Sampson’s (1993) concern that justice-related research examine the interaction of time and space.
Policing and the Law in Post Colonial Africa
Policing in pre-colonial Africa was traditionally based. The culture dictates modes of behavior and social control modalities. Beginning in the 19th century, the traditional method of policing gave way to the colonial style of policing to facilitate the extortionist agenda. The colonial style of policing was inevitable because of commerce interests in Africa. In order to control the natives, the colonial style of policing was instituted and to date has greatly impacted law enforcement practices in Africa. To what extent is this practice maintained or do we still practice traditionally based style of policing? This study will focus on Nigerian policing, particularly illustrating police practices and the law. It will provide an insight explicating to what extent is the law an instrument of enforcement or is the pre-colonial cultural dictates still a force to be reckoned with in Nigerian law enforcement today.
Policing Homophobic Hate-Crime in the U.K.
Until recently, the policing of hate crimes has focused on racist violence to the exclusion of homophobic violence. Police recording and investigatory practices for homophobic crime has changed due to pressure to improve relationships with marginalized communities. The establishment of the Homophobic Hate Crime Task Group and specialized police procedures has encouraged a progressive police response to these crimes in Cardiff, Wales. A description of homophobic victims and offenders will be provided by an analysis of approximately 800 homophobic incident reports, collected by the South Wales Police since 1997. Multivariate analyses will reveal the factors that significantly influence police decision-making in these cases. Interviews with members of the gay community will provide insight into their perceptions of the police and factors influencing their decision to make a police report. Results of these analyses will inform you.
Policing Juveniles: Exploring Police Provision of Support in Their Encounters With Juvenile Suspects
Police are both authoritative agents of social control and service providers with juvenile suspects. Most research on police encounters with juveniles focuses on police as social control agents — usually focusing on what factors pattern police arrest decisions. While this line of inquiry is important, one might expect that in solving problems with juveniles, police also rely on their ability to provide support and service. Using data collected through systematic social observation and police officer interviews, this paper seeks to better understand police provision of support to juvenile suspects by exploring how police officer characteristics and attitudes as well as the characteristics of the situation help to pattern police use of support.
Policing Police Corruption in Nigeria: Enforcement Strategies
Corruption pervades the entire Nigerian criminal justice system. The Police are singled out for examination because of its central position in social control. Police function is very important in a democratic society because they are the “gatekeepers” of the criminal justice system and the most visible aspect of government. Corruption within the police therefore reflects negatively on the government and undermines government legitimacy. While all successive government of Nigera, both civilian and military have identified corruption as the greatest single bane of Nigerian society; no serious attempts have been made by government to address the problem. However, attempts made by the government and police authorities to check corruption within the police have been sporadic. This study therefore examines corruption within the Nigerian Police and the enforcement strategies put in place so far to check it.
Policing Style Endorsed by Officers in Urban and Rural Areas: Examining the Differences
The style of policing endorsed by officers defines a significant portion of their discretionary activity. This is particularly true for officers in community policing assignments since these officers are responsible for proactively identifying and resolving problems. While there is significant literature describing the style of policing endorsed by officers in urban community policing settings, little attention has been directed towards those community policing officers in rural settings. This research considers the distinctions between the style of policing endorsed by officers assigned to motorized patrol and community policing assignments, in both rural and urban settings and paticularly addresses attitudes towards the utility of community and problem oriented policing. An analysis of survey data suggests several distinctions exist between urban and rural officers, including support for COP and POP ideas and the appropriateness of traditional, Watchman style policing.
Policing the Mentally Impaired: An Assessment of a Police-Mental Health Collaboration
There contines to be heightened interest int he police handling of calls involving the mentally impaired. The mental health community and police agencies have suggested several strategies that are intended to improve the handling of these calls; namely, improve police recognition of mentally impaired individuals, improve their assessment of the available non-criminal justice dispositions, and ultimately reduce call-backs involving these individuals. The present study uses a number of data collection methodologies (official police reports, mental health records, surveys of participants) to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of a mobile crisis team collaboration in a Midwestern city. Findings address savings in terms of call-backs, officer and mental health workers’ perceptions, and the perceptions of crisis team clients.
Policing the Past: Forensic Evidence and the Problem of Who Did What to Whom in Cold Case Reviews
Cold Case Reviews are increasingly being used by police to periodically explore whether any new investigative opportunities have arisen in respect of long-term unsolved major crime investigations. This paper draws on Goffman’s (1974) concept of Oframing and Hacking’s (1996) concept of Oretroactivity to investigate the work performed by police in reviewing unsolved cases. Focusing upon the question of how detectives come to feel that they know how a past crime event happened, the paper draws upon qualitative analysis of observational, interview and documentary data from a sample of 20 cold case reviews. It is argued that forensic evidence is frequently used by detectives to reinterpret and reframe the police’s understanding of who did what to whom and why.
Policing the Student Body: A Critique of Drug Testing in U.S. High Schools
This presentation will overview and critique the use of drug testing with high school students. An overview of relevant Supreme Court decisions will be presented, including New Jersey v. T.L.O. 469 U.S. 325 (1985), which allows for school searches based on reasonable suspicion rather than probable cause, Veronica School District 47J v. Acton 515 U.S. 646 (1995), which established the constitutionality of drug testing high school athletes and Board of Education of Independent School District Number 92 of Pottawatamie County v.Earls (2002), which extended the use of drug testing to all students involved in extra-curricular activities. This will be followed by a critique of the utilitarian arguments in favor of drug testing, micro-level impact, and macro-level impact. Utilitarian arguments include the alleged deterrent effect of drug testing, the argument that it “levels the playing field” and ensures student safety, and that it is a cost-effective method of dealing with teenage drug use. The discussion of micro-level impact will address issues of due process, discriminatory application, and the potential of “widening the net.” Macro-level impacts includes a discussion of how such policies might ipact the overall school climate, as well as our broader sense of civil rights.
Policing Transitions in Africa
This paper seeks to highlight the evidence that Policing in pre-colonial Africa was fully developed centuries before the first European contact with the Africans. The sophisticated informal law enforcement apparatus ensured peaceful co-existence among the inhabitants of each community. Following colonialism, an alien form of law enforcement was imposed on the colonized thereby prompting a transition from African “informal” to Western “formal” form of law enforcement. Attendant problems and inconsistencies are discussed.
Policing Young Offenders: Do Youth Squads Matter?
This paper examines the utility and effect of a youth squad on police decision-making with young offenders in Canada. Findigns are based on interview data and statistics from the Canadian Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey. 202 in-depth interviews were conducted with approximately 300 officers in all locations of service (patrol, investigators, youth squad officers, school liaison officers, and management). The sample is geographically representative (all provinces and territories), incorporates all community types (rural/small town, suburban/exurban, and metropolitan), and includes over 100 police agencies and detachments. The data suggest that police agencies with youth squads and/or dedicated youth officers respond differently, and more effectively, to youth-related incidents. Specifically, it appears that the use of referrals to external agencies, pre-charge diversion, views on feedback from alternative measures, the use of formal charges, and the methods used to compel appearance in court are different for police agencies that have a youth squad.
Policy Implications of Prevalence and Correlates of Support for Victim’s Rights
Research Summary: The United States has dramatically expanded provisions for crime victims in the last several decades, with more attention being paid to the needs of victims by the criminal justice system and society. A variety of victims’ rights measures have been legislated, including the 1990 Victims’ Bill of Rights, with what has been perceived as uncontested support from the public. There has been little previous research, however, that explores this notion or assesses the nature of the apparent universality of support for victims’ rights. This study is the first attempt to uncover the predictors of support for these public policies. Using telephone survey data (N=1,693) from a Florida county, we find that although public support for general victim rights measures is quite high, further investigation reveals that certain sub-populations are more likely to endorse these types of policies than others. Policy Implications: Assuming that public policies are enacted on the basis of their ability to meet the needs of society, the knowledge that certain sub-populations are more supportive of victims’ rights legislation may lead policymakers to seek further information about the desires of the constituents they serve in order to develop better policy. Now that we know public support for these policies is slightly more intricate than perhaps previously imagined, future research may attempt to further delineate the dynamics affecting the public’s feelings about granting victims’ rights so that policy can better meet the needs of the public, offenders, and victims.
Policymaking by Decree: Assessing the Impact of Internal Policies on the Implmentation of the California ‘Three Strikes’ Law”
In January 2001, newly elected Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley issued a directive instructing his deputies to exercise their statutory discretion to “strike a strike” in all third strike cases that did not involve a serious or violent third strike offense. The result of this new policy is that approximately two-thirds of the eligible three-strikers do not face the mandatory minimum sentence. Instead, the majority are reclasdsified as “second strikers,” subject to double the usual punishment instead of the minimum 25 years to life. This change in policy in California’s most populous county highlights the tremendous impact that internal policymaking can have on the implementation of statutory requirements imposed by the legislature. In this paper, I will review the three-strike policies of district attorneys within the state’s most populous counties in order to assess the practical impact that these policies are having on the application of the law. In addition, I am planning to use available county and statewide data to explore a relationship between the changes in internal policy and subsequent changes in rates of offending and rates of incarceration.
Politics of Punishing: How the Routine Activities of Governance Impact State Reliance on Confinement
The paper argues that the enduring features and habitual patterns of governance, what I call the duree of governance, shape not only the particular policy battles but through time form the very terrain upon which these battles are fought. Specifically, the paper argues that political structures and political practices channel collective action and state policy in ways that account for American imprisonment variation. This argument builds on those who have made the case that instituions, particularly political and state institutions, matter in punishment and social policy. The paper seeks to extend the historical institutionalist approach in two ways. First, the paper identifies which insitutional characteristics matter (viz, political structures and political practices), and second, the paper explains why particular institutional arrangements lead to certain outcomes rather than others; the paper presents a positive account of difference. The paper, grounded in historical comparative data, then shows how populist democracies tend towards mass incarceration, deliberative democracies tend to keep imprisonment relatively low while pragmatic democracies maintain medium reliance on confinement. The paper contributes to a theory of state governance that captures the ways in which democratic states pose and solve fundamental problems of order.
Positive adjustment in Young Adulthood of Males Who Were Highly Delinquent as Adolescents
Persistent serious delinquents, as measured in the oldest sample of the Pittsburgh Youth Study between the ages of 13 to 20, are examined from age 21 to 25 to assess the level of delinquency as well as positive behaviors or achievements expected of young adults. The positive behaviors and achievements measured are level of education, work history, and stability of interpersonal relationships. The role of protective factors influencing desistance from serious delinquency is examined. Some of the factors are mentorship, resources, nondeliunquent peers, and change of neighborhood. Although seriousness and persistence of delinquency play an important part in the probability of desistance, factors outside the subject contribute to desistance as well.
Post Conflict Criminology, Policing and Democratic Development
This is a theoretical paper in which the emerging parameters of a criminology which addresses the needs of societies which are emerging from conflict and totalitarianism. The prevalence of social disorder and crime in post conflict scenarios will be surveyed. The perspective developed here will build on an emerging model of democratic policing and will integrate it with an evolving community policing and social capital framework to support the development of stability and democratic values.
Post-Modernism and Use of Science and Technology in Corrections
Taking care of incarcerated people has always been a complex and expensive enterprise for a society. Balancing both the philosophy of punishment and the philosophy of rehabilitation has always remained a challenge for both academicians and practitioners. Especially with the rising cost to incarcerate a convicted individual, the utilization of modern science and technology. Science and technology are also being used in designing newer prisons. This article will trace how over time economic pressures more and more emphasis are being put on utilization of advanced technology in the areas of corrections. The use of advanced technology in designing the prison cell, monitoring the persons in parole or even putting somebody in community corrections are common examples. Is the use of technology gradually dehumanizing the corrections system and losing its meaning as a rehabilitating institution? Is the use of science taking place for “science sake?” This article will address these questions.
Post-Partum Depression and the Insanity Defense
The paper explores jury decision-making in a case detailing a mother who killed her two children, ages six months and five. After reading the details of the crime, prosecution arguments, defense arguments, and expert testimony that the defendant suffered from postpartum depression with psychotic features, subjects were asked to render a verdict and sentence. Additionally, participants expressed their level of agreement with several Likert-type statements regarding perceptions of evidence in the case relevant to the insanity defense. One hundred and twenty subjects were evenly divided into four equal groups within a 2×2 factorial design based on gender and parental status. As expected, parents were more punitive, overall, in sentencing than non-parents. There were, however, different patterns of sentencing depending upon gender. Implications for jury selection in such cases are also discussed.
Post-Positivist Science and Postmodern Criminal Justice Towards a Framework of Analysis
The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework for an analysis of the impact of science on modern criminal justice. Modern courts, criminal investigators, forensic experts, jurors, and attorneys — all use and confront science. DNA, insanity defense, nature of scientific evidence, admissibility of scientific evidence, expert testimony, “abuse excuse”, battered women syndrome, sudden passion syndrom, repressed memory syndrome, product liability, risk assessment, and many other criminal justice issues are intimately connected to modern science. The nature and character of modern ligitgations depend largely on how the judges, attorneys, and jurors define and perceive science and scientific evidence. This paper will proceed in three stages. First, the paper will discuss the contemporary standard view of science described as post-positivist science. Second, the paper will examine the nature of contemporary postmodern criminal justice where the issues of equality, quality of life, moral responsibility, collective moral standards, and diversity are equally important as the issues of scientific conclusions, standards, and objectivity. Thirdly, the paper will analyze, in terms of some science related court cases and debates, how science is used, abused, or misued in the court. The main thesis of the paper is that the notion of uncertainty, based on the theories of modern quantum physics and biology, is basic to the philosophy of post-positivist science. This notion of uncertainty is in conflict with the legal notion of seeking “truth beyond a shade of reasonable doubt.” Because of this broader philosophical duality between science and law, and the conflicting goals of truth and morality in the court, the use of science in the criminal justice system wiely vary from case to case and court to court.
Potential Barriers to Implementing Evidence-Based Practices in Substance Abuse Treatment
Recent state and federal funding streams for substance abuse treatment have focused on “evidencc-based” or “best practices” priorities. Policy makers will have to take into account that support for this policy direction will vary widely among treatment agency directors and front-line counselors. In this paper we identify and discuss several potential sources of conflict that may hamper full implementation of this approach to substance abuse policy and practice.
Potential Iatrogenic Effects of Drug Education and Preventive Intervention Programs
Since even effective medical interventions such as Polio vaccines can cause iatrogenic or harmful effects in a small number of the vaccinated persons, the likelihood of negative effects whith behavioral programs that have not undergone the rigorous testing that vaccines undergo is much larger. This presentation will review findings related to the possible detrimental effects resulting from substance use prevention interventions. For example, a review of studies published since 1980 (Werch and Owens 2002) identified 17 articles that reported one or more negative drug-related outcomes from an alcohol or drug prevention program that used an experimental or quasi-experimental research design. However, those studies are likely to represent only the tip of the iceberg. Most practitioner-led program evaluations are not published, most drug prevention and drug education programs have not been subjected to the rigorous testing, and even interventions with demonstrated effectiveness may produce negative effects in some persons or subpopulations, and such findings are rarely published. The implications for research and practice will be discussed.
Poverty, Concentrated Poverty, and Neighborhood Crime Rates
A number of recent city-level studies hyave found that measures of concentrated poverty have a stronger relationship to urban crime rates than traditional measures of deprivatiohn, such as the poverty rate. These studies often frame their results in terms of cumulative disadvantage or social contagion theories. However, the theories cited by these studies were originally developed to describe neighborhood conditions and processes, not city-wide pheomenon. Taking advantage of some recent innovations in Geographic Information Software (GIS), the present study examines the distinct effect of concentrated poverty on neighborhood crime rates using data for census tracts in two large U.S. cities: Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC. Findings from regression analyses at the neighborhood-level appear to contradict those of some earlier city-level studies. Theoretical implications are discussed.
Poverty Stricken Youth Breaking the Law: The North Korean Example
A study was done on the behavior of North Korean youth, the illegal acts they commit and the lengths to which they go in order to survive and save their family from starvation. In an environment where a large portion of the population is not only starving but living under a particularly oppressive political regime, deviant behavior, even among normally innocent children, can be necessary for survival. Official reaction to their breaking the law and the dangers involved was investigated. Within the framework of delinquency theory their behavior was also examined. Comparisons were made with youth in similar life situation in other countries and with “normal” delinquent youth in the U.S.
Power Negotiation Within a Closed Prison Setting
Social control in prison is rooted in the daily struggle between staff and inmates to secure and use power. If we assume both groups are rational actors seeking to maximize their position within a closed system, where power is a zero-sum commodity, then a process of negotiation may best explain and describe how these two social groups interact daily with one another. This piece borrows from the work of political scientist James Scott, using his theory of public versus hidden transcripts, to contrast the ways in which correctional officers seek to maintain social control through institutional means, while inmates engage in hidden forms of resistance that allow them to exercise control upon the social structure within the prison. The negotiation process delineated in this paper applies a relational approach to officer-inmate interactions, stressing a micro-political model in which institutional equilibrium is maintained via a system of continually evolving individual negotiations of power between inmate and staff groups.
Precocious Maturity and the Process of Occupational Attainment
Based on Blau and Duncan’s (1967) model of occupational attainment, I explore attainment trajectoris in young adulthood for youth that exhibit a “precocious maturity” in regards to more adult-like economic and familial roles during adolescence. A precocious transition to adulthood may constrain the process of occupational attainment, limiting important institutional sources that promote of achievement, as well as encouraging behaviors that may interfere with achievement. Using data from the Youth Development Study, adolescents that displayed a precocious maturity have a higher probability of full-time work, parenthood, school dropout, and substance use during adoelscence, and acquire fewer months of higher education in the years immediately following high school than their less precocious peers. These same adolescents exhibit lower rates of growth in months of full time work, and a less steep decline in months of higher education from ages 18-27. At ages 26-27, precocious youth are less likely to hold a bachelors’ degree, and report lower wage rates than their non-precocious peers. These findings suggest that a precocious maturity compromises educational and occupational attainment trajectoris in young adulthood.
Predatory Societies – Offending and Victimization in the Consumer Society
This paper explores the ‘moral economy’ of contemporary consumer societies. The recent wave of business scandals has raised urgent demands for a ‘new morality’ for the economy. However, it is not only the leading figures, but citizens in their daily lives who engage in shady and unfair or illegal and illegitimate market practices. The paper will analyse the victimization of consumers via fraud and unfair practices, as well as their own involvement as offenders in such practices (including government services). It will in particular examine how the normative framework of the market place and consumption and the (im)moral economy impact on wider notions of citizenship, and on levels of trust and confidence in markets, civil society and democracy. The paper analyzes survey data from England and Wales and Germany (West and East), and will present national and comparative models of the relationship between offending, victimization, ‘moral economy attitudes’ and their impact ont trust in the market place. These analyses seek in particular to contribute to the conceptual framework of institutional anomie theory.
Predicting Crime: The Reciprocal Effects of Family Structure on Juvenile and Adult Violent Crime
Population “boom” theories are prevalent in the discourse on crime causation. This presentation discusses the results of research on fluctuations in juvenile violence, recidivism, victimization, and re-victimization in Boston in the context of factors such as geographic reference, population density, family structure, and local economy.
Predicting Police-Reporting Behavior by Victims of Violence: Controlling for Gender and Victim/Offender Relationship
While there is a proliferation of research devoted to ascertaining the efficacy of arrest and other formal sanctions in deterring violence, there is still a paucity of research that examines the factors related to the pivotal point at which this formal sanctioning process begins — on a victim’s decision to report the victimization to police. Using National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data for 1995-2001, this paper carefully examines the factors that predict rape, robbery, and assault victim’s likelihood of reporting to police. Age, gender and victim-offender-relationship-specific models (e.g. intimate, acquaintance, stranger) are used to determine the factors most salient in predicting whether a victim decides to involve the police.
Predicting Service of Alcohol to Intoxicated Customers
The service of alcohol to intoxicated customers is recognized as an important predictor of barroom aggression. In an attempt to identify features of barroms that promote service to intoxicated customers, researchers spent six months, and nearly five hundred hours, conducting systematic observations in twenty-five venues in Hoboken, New Jersey. An analysis of observation guides used in this study identified number of secondary servers of alcohol as the strongest predictor of service to intoxicated customers. It was found that incidents of serving intoxicated customers increased with the number of secondary servers. Secondary servers of alcohol include shot-girls, tub-girls, waitresses, and service bar attendants. These servers supplement traditional bartenders by distributing alcohol in areas away from traditional bar stations. Observations of Hoboken barroms revealed that secondary servers cater primarily to intoxicated customers who are either unable or unwilling to wait in long lines at traditional bar stations. In barroms that employ shot-girls or waitresses, customers need not move from where they are sitting or standing to be served. While completely eliminating secondary servers from barroms may not be feasible, local governments may consider placing restrictions on their use so as to prevent problems associated with serving intoicated customers, such as increased aggression.
Predicting Success in the Baltimore City Drug Treatment Court: The Influence of Personal Characteristics and Suspended Sentence Length
While findings regarding drug treatment court (DTC) outcomes have been positive, said findings are often based on small-scale, local process evaluations. Further, few studies have provided information on the kind of individuals who are most likely to achieve success in DTCs, and little is known about the structural and process characteristics of DTCs and how those characteristics relate to succcessful outcomes. Using data from a randomized study of the Baltimore City Drug Treatment Court, this paper attempts to address some of the weaknesses of prior research. The predictors of successful DTC graduation were explored through an examination of personal characteristics such as age, race, gender, marital status, employment, education, dependents, type of charge, prior arrests, prior convictions, and addiction severity. In addition, the length of the suspended sentence was examined to assess the degree to which the threat of sentence reimposition encouraged successful outcomes. Findings from the logistic regression analysis suggest that addiction severity level and court of assignment are important predictors of graduation from the Baltimore City Drug Treatment Court. Future research is necessary to explore the extent of both unmeasured differences between the District and Circuit Court populations and differential handling of these offender groups.
Predicting Treatment Demand Using ADAM
This paper will examine the ability of ADAM data to predict emerging need for drug treatment in a geographic area. Using data from the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring system in selected communities, we explore whether an emerging need for treatment of heroin addiction can be identified a year or two before it is apparent in treatment admissions or treatment demand. ADAM data from 2000 anf 2001 provide the basis of the analyses, identifying areas where heroin use is rising and/or where new heroin initiates are apparent. We conduct interviews with a sample of treatment providers in those areas and examine data from the Drug and Alcohol Services Information Systm (DASIS) to see if that prior emergent trend translates into treatment demand.
Predicting Victimizations Across the Lifecourse With Routine Activities Theory: The Special Case of Older Adults
Descriptive analyses of victimization data against older adults consistently finds that the elderly are disproportionately victims of theft-based violence including robbery and economically motivated homicide at or near their private residences compared to younger victims. Using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, this paper uses constructs from Routine Activities Theory including to predict location and victim/offender-relationship specific crime victimization (robbery, assault, and personal larceny) across the lifecourse. Gender specific models are also predicted, allowing for a reformulation of Routine ActivitiesTheory that is more appropriately age and gender specific.
Predictors of Criminal Career Intensity in a Sample of Juvenile Sexual Aggressors of Children
The aim of this study was to ascertain possible links between developmental and precrime factors and two criminal activity parameters, i.e., the level of coercion and the number of victims, in a sample of juvenile sexual aggressors of children. One hundred and two juvenile sexual aggressors who had committed offences against children were included in this study. According to hierarchic multiple regression and logistic regression analyses, the best predictors for the level of coercion were: 1) the age of the victim; 2) aggressiveness during adolescence; and 3) deviant sexual fantasies. The best predictors for the number of victims were: 1) the age of the subject; 2) physical abuse in childhood; and 3) loneliness in adolescence.
Predictors of Perceived Risk for Student-on-Student Victimization in Grades 7-10
Child advocates, criminologists, and policy makers have focused increasingly on issues pertaining to school violence in general and student-on-student victimization (SSV) in particular. Although past research has largely focused on the predictors of SSV and fear of SSV among students, the predictors of “perceived risk” for SSV (i.e., the cognitive appraisal of the chances of experiencing victimization) have been mostly neglected in the literature. This paper examines predictors of perceived risk for four types of SSV — psychological, property, physical, and sexual. In this study, criminal opportunity theories of victimizatin (e.g., Meier & Miethe, 1993) and Goffman’s dramaturgical framework (1959, 1963) informed research questions regarding hypothesized relationships between predictors and the four different types of SSV. All analyses used self-report survey data collected in a single Florida public school. Out of a potential pool of 622 students in grades 7 through 10, 358 voluntarily participated after the acquisition of parental consent and student assent (a 57.6% response rate). The results of multiple regression analyses suggested that the predictors of perceived risk for SSV vary by the type of risk measured. This paper concludes with a discussion of policy implications and directions for future research.
Predictors of Police Contact for Midwestern Homeless and Runaway Youth
This study assessed the traditional correlates of offeending among a sample of 601 homeless and runaway youth interviewed in shelter facilities and drop-in centers as well as directly on the streets in Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. The role of individual and familial risk factors and deviant street behaviors on later police contact was evaluated. In identifying predictors of self-reported police contact, the current study found that males and non-whites had significantly more frequent reports of police contact. As expected, age was positively associated with the outcome variable. Prior arrests as well as paternal involvement in serious crime were important predictors of involvement with the police. Physical abuse was mediated by the age adolescents’ ran away. Street factors such as number of days that adolescents spent directly on the street, deviant subsistence strategies, and drug use increaseed police contact. After controlling for other variables, the city location where adolescents were interviewed did not exert a significant influence in the final model. There were some indications of significant interactions in predictors of police contact by age as well as by age at first run away.
Predictors of Post-Intake and Post-Program Recidivism in Drug Court Treatment: Findings From Five New York State Adult Drug Courts
New drug treatment courts continue to open throughout New York State, with twenty-eight new drug courts opening in the year begween October 2001 and September 2002. With nearly 4,000 new defendants entering the drug court during this year, it is increasingly critical to understand the level to which these alternative-to-incarceration progrtams are attaining their tated goals, including reduced recidivism. This study compares recidivism rates, as well as predictors of in-program and post-program recidivism among participant of five diverse drug courts throughout New York State: Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Suffolk, and Syracue. These courts represent a variety of settings and a diverse defendant population. The study examines two dependent variables: recidivism incidents within two years of drug-court intake and recidivism within one or two years after program completion (one year in three courts and two years in one court). A variety of independent variables are analyzed for relationships with recidivism, including demographic and socioeconomic data, substance abuse history, prior criminal activity, measures of the degree of legal coercion, and in-program factors . Through bivariate analysis and logistic regression, key variables impacting recidivism in each of the five courts are identified. Trends are noted and policy implications are discussed.
Predictors of Sexual Harassment and Coercion Victimization Among College Students: The Role of Gender, Childhood Abuse, Alcohol Expectancy, and Victim-Perpetration Link
Research on sexual victimization consistently finds that prior sexual abuse (Koss & Dinero, 1989; Messman & Long, 1996) and alcohol consumption (Schwartz & Pitts, 1995) increase the risk of victimization. Interestingly, these same risk factors are also frequently identified among sexual perpetrators (Menard, Hall, Phung, Ghebrial, & Martin, 2003). The present study investigates risk factors for sexual harassment and coercion victimization among 426 college stuents. Results based on hierarchical linear and logistic regression indicate that gender, childhood abuse (sexual and neglect), and sexual harassment perpetration predict sexual harassment victimization. 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 role of alcohol expectancy is mediated by harassment perpetration. Sexual coercion victimization is predicted by gender, childhood neglect, alcohol expectancy, and sexual coercion perpetration. Specifically, females with a histoy of childhood neglect, high alcohol expectancies, and who themselves are coercive are more likely to be victimized. In addition, the effect of child sexual abuse was mediated by both alcohol expectancy and sexual coercion perpetration. The role of childhood abuse and alcohol expectancy on the victim-pereptrator link will be explored.
Preliminary Findings From the Ocean Tides Project on Adjudicated Youth
Preliminary findings are presented from the Ocean Tides Project; ongoing research that will result in a powerful database on court adjudicated male juveniles, based upon hard-copy records kept at the Ocean Tides Residential, Educational and Family Services facility in Narragansett, Rhode Island. The database is constructed from comprehensive records on each uvenile (n=1,400) who had resided at Ocean Tides since the facility opened in 1975. Each hardcopy record consists of social services reports (present, and all prior contact with social services), academic transcripts, educational evaluation and test scores, psychological evaluation and test scores, transcripts from psychological counseling sessions (intake, exit, and need-based), parent surveys, court records, and the Ocean Tides program teachers and staff reports and sanctions. The database had broad psychological, sociological, and criminological applications, and is a uniquely powerful record of social and psychological correlates of juvenile delinquency.
Preliminary Intermediate Outcomes of an Experimental Evaluation of the Maryland Correctional Boot Camp
A substantial body of evidence indicates that offenders sent to boot camps do not have significantly different rates of recidivism when compared to offenders serving traditional sentences (e.g., probation or prison). However, initial evidence suggests that boot camps incoporating therapeutic programming may be effective in reducing rates of recidivism. Therefore, research must address whether combining treatment with the military environment of boot camps yields lower recidivism rates than alternative correctional programs emphasizing treatment (e.g., prison treatment program). In addition, it may be too early to draw final conclusions about the impact of boot camps on later recidivism given that no study of adult programs has used an experimental design to evaluate boot camps versus some alternative. To address these issues, the current study will randomly assign adult inmates to either the Maryland boot camp, a well-established program with a strong treatment emphasis, or to an alternative correctional facility also emphasizing therapeutic programming but without a military component, to assess the impact on recidivism as well as antisocial attitudes and values. In this presentation, we describe the experimental research design and present preliminary results from an analysis of change in anti-social attitudes and cognitions.
Preliminary Results of a Gang Intervention Program for Juveniles in Secure Care
Youth gangs have been receiving increased attention from the media and law enforcement in the Northeastern United States. One northeastern state began implementation of a gang intervention curriculum in a secure care facility in 2003. Two hundred male juveniles were placed in treatment or comparison groups. Pre-tests and post-tests were administered to both groups in an effort to compare them on their opinions and knowledge. Other instruments and data collection procedures are being used to collect more information on participants’ knowledge, attitudes and actual behavior and will be presented at a later date.
Preliminary Statistical Tests of Punitivity as a Policy for Imprisonment: American and Japanese Models Compared
After the definition of “punitivity” its application in the use of imprisonment will be examined in terms of the announced “war on crime.” Second the use of statistics in this paper will explain as prelude in provoking insights for later qualitative analysis. The paper’s contribution will rest on the comparison of the American and Japanese models thriough analysis of specific features of imprisonment: The differences in crimes, the age distributions of prisoners, the length of prison sentences, and previous exposure to imprisonment.
Preparing Your Tenure File
An important part of the tenure process involves developing a dossier describing your teaching, service, research, or other credentials. A positive aspect of assembling your tenure file is that it affords you an opportunity to discuss your accomplishments in a manner that signals their importance and explains how they contribute to the field, department, or university. However, doing so is time-consuming and must be accomplished with the recognition that the dossier is a central component of the evaluation process. This part of the tenure workshop will address the role and importance of the tenure file, its general content, and steps to take along the way to facilitate developing a strong dossier.
Prerequisite for a Global Justice Based in Needs: The Awakening of Self
Marshall McLuhan in “The Agenbite of Outwit” pointed out 40 years ago that with the invention of the telegraph the human community projected its central nervous system into the outer world so, like it or not, we are now connected to each other by the way nerves in our bodies are joined systematically. We have become Whitman’s (1855) “body electric” as the same juice runs through us all. The late American composer John Cage saw it as, “Whatever happens surges forth everywhere at once.” Our head here, our heart there, are made aware of the pain and suffering of hands and feet and knees thousands of geographic miles away, pain and suffering that we are responsible for when we do not appreciate that my hip bone is connected to your leg bone and every bone beyond. A major problem is that the political and economic institutions that prevail throughout most of the world–from the family, the schook, the workplace, the transnational corporation, to the nation-state–are not structured to house these nerves in a political economy of enjoyment but to make war, enforce scarcity, meet the needs of those in power as opposed to the needs of all. Hence we are in the Cain and Abel business the only way out of which is to embrace a political economy that gives structure to our central nevrous system and allows each of us to feel and respond to the needs of all and rejoice in our electrified, all-cables-switched-on body.
Preventing Crime in Transitional Societies
Previous and recent research suggests that developing countries, particularly those undergoing rapid social changes, usually experience rising crime rates. Urbanization and industralization are said to bring about social changes in developing nations. These changes often produce perrsonal alienation and instability and may lead to anomic conditions that lead to increases in crime. This paper explores some approaches that can be adapted by developing societies to avoid crime as an effect of rapid social change. It examines crime as a complex social, economic and political problem that requires strategies integrated throughout affected systems. It addresses how crime problems experienced by transitional socieites in the past can be avoided by those currently undergoing similar rapid changes.
Prevention of Violence and Substance Abuse in Urban Schools: Do Evidence-Based Programs Make a Difference?
This paper presents an evaluation of a Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) initiative in the Midwest. This federal initiative provided $9 million over three years to implement research-based and best practices interventions to address violence and substance use. Sixteen programs were implemented in varying combinations in 18 elementary, middle, and high schools in one urban school district. Thse programs provided education, mental health, and social services that promote healthy childhood development and prevent violence, as well as alcohol and other drug abuse. We used a quasi-experimental matched-control group design with four middle and two high schools that implemented the SS/HS initiative while three matched schools served as controls. Repeated cross-sectional student survey data were collected annually from 1999 to 2002 in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 that included violence-related risk and protective factors as well as school violence and safety outcomes. A structural equation modeling strategy was employed to address research questions concerning direct effects on risk and protective factors, school violence and safety, and the mediating effects of risk and protective factors on school violence and safety. Preliminary results show that there are small direct intervention effects on selected risk factors and school violence and substance use outcomes.
Prison and Race: The Impact of Incarceration on Human Capital Accumulation and Wages Across the Career
There are many reasons to expect that incarceration will have long-term, negative consequences for labor market success, and that the consequences may be especially acute for minority ex-offenders. This paper extends Bruce Westerns (2002) work concerning the impact of incarceration on wage mobility by introducing a model that makes a distinction between human capital obtained primarily outside the labor market (e.g., education) and inside the labor market (e.g., experience, and job tenure). This theoretical and empirical distinction is important for estimating models of earnings inequality for ex-offenders, because incarceration disrupts the career, reduces opportunities for stable employment and is linked to slow wage growth. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979-2000, fixed effects models are estimated to examine how labor market characteristics shape the earnings trajectories of African American, Latino and white male ex-offenders. The introduction of cumulative unemployment, cumulative work experience and job tenure into subsequent models is used to capture endogenous human capital influences on earnings. The results suggest that ex-offender/non-offender and race/ethnic differences in earnings are linked to differential career returns to age and these effects are mediated by access to endogenous human capital. Consequently, the effect of incarceration on idndividual wages increases wage inequality.
Prison Odinism and Hate Crimes: Using Religion to Do Gender
This research addresses a phenomenon that has significant implications for the spread of hate crimes, domestic terrorism, racial divisiveness and the destabiliation of prison populations. This research explores the appeal of the religion of Odinism (a modified Norse paganism) among white supremacists in male correctional facilities and how the religion is used as a justification for violence. The theoretical model is based on criminologist James W. Messerschmidt’s feminist theory of male crime as a way of “doing gender”. In the emasculating world of the prison, male inmates develop strategies to reclaim their masculinity. As some black inmates have done with Islam, Odinism allows white inmates to utilize freedom of religion statutes to reject “feminine” and institutionally approved Christianity for a more oppositional faith. The heroic nature of Odinism allows inmates to celebrate masculine values while achieving the autonomy of religious privileges. Research on racism in prison is limited and prison Odinism is not only a significant phenomenon within correctional institutions, but has an impact on criminality in the general populations.
Private Prisons and Claimed Efficiencies, is it Smoke, Mirrors, or Just Plain Magic?
The private prison industry and their proponents have asserted for almost two decades that they deliver the same level of service at a lower cost than public prisons. This paper examines whether growth of the private prison industry owes more to the absence and distortion of data or to claimed efficiencies. Although the focus is on costs and the evolutionary nature of cost analysis as it pertains to this industry, issues of quality are also examined to lesser degree. Finally, suggestions are offered for State department of corrections that truly wish to reduce inmate per diem rates.
Probation Intervention, the Need to Reflect Life’s Complexities
This paper has three main parts. First, it will provide a brief description of some of the main changes in the policy and practice of the National Probation Service in England and Wales during the past decade Second, a critical analysis of these changes will be offered, and this will feature, in particular, an appraisal of the way in which the language of ‘effective practice’ has been used at the levels of policy and practice to bring about radical changes in how Probation Officers work with offenders. Thirdly, and this will be the main contribution of this paper, the authors will introduce and highlight the significance of the concept of complexity noting how its use should be essential to our understanding of the lives of offenders who are subject to Probation intervention. We will use the analysis emerging from this to sketch out basic principles for a new approach to practice in this field.
Problems and Prospects in Russian Criminal Justice Since 1991
This paper examines the state of the Russian criminal justice system in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the difficult years of the post-Soviet transition. We first review the specific impact of the collapse as well as developments during the transition period on the criminal justice system in Russia. Second, we identify and describe several specific challenges facing the Russian criminal justice system int he 21st century. Issues reviewed include the challenge of funding, participation of the criminal justice system in the transition to a “law governed state”, corruption, and the threat of organized crime. The paper concludes with a discussion of prospects for addressing these organizational and systemic challenges.
Professional Issues: Teaching, Research, and Service
Panelists will discuss teaching issues and strrategies in criminal justice and criminology, current research issues, and the rewards of service contributions.
Profiling Mentally Disordered Offenders: A Case Study of New Jersey Prison Inmates
The research evidence, although thin, suggests that mentally disordered offenders are similar to their non-mentally ill counterparts in jails and prisons in that they commit a range of crimes, and like their counterparts in the community, they have a range of behavioral health problems. While it seems most clear that there is not one type of mentally disordered offender, the nature and extent of the variation among these offenders is far less evident. This paper profiles the behavioral health and criminal justice characteristics of the universe of male special needs inmates (n=2715) in New Jersey prisons. Mentally disordered offenders were found to vary significantly and systematically in their treatment needs and their risks to the community. The lack of homogeneity within the mentally disordered population suggests the need to classify need-risk clusters within the offender group, develop programs that respond to particular need-risk clusters, and match types of mentaly disordered offenders to these specialized programs. Recommended is a cafeteria-style approach to treatment planning that recognizes the complexity of problem behaviors and the variation in the presentation of those problems within the population.
Profiling Methamphetamine Users in Six Southwestern States: Revealing Trends Among Arrestees Since 1998
The Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program measures the extent of drug use in the high-risk population of people who have been arrested and booked. Previous research has shown that methamphetamine use among the national arrestee population has increased substantially since 1990 (National Institute of Justice 1996, 1999; Herz 2000). This study will use ADAM data for male arrestees collected at twelve ADAM sites in six Southwestern states including: California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. All data for male arrestees are collected using probability-based sampling. Data are collected using interviewer administered questionnaires and urinalyses obtained voluntarily and recorded confidentially within 48 hours of arrest. Applying logistic regression as an analysis tool, this study will use methamphetamine urinalysis results as the dichotomous dependent variable (i.e., those who tested positive for methamphetamines vs. those who did not). Several independent variables will be considered including demographic characteristics, alcohol and drug abuse behaviors including risks for dependence, marketing behaviors, and history of criminal justice involvement in order to profile methamphetamine users since 1998.
Profiling Terrorism: Best Practices and Challenges for the International Community
The development and use of strategic and tactical terrorist profiles is one of many resources available to combat and prevent terrorism. The efficiency of both antiterrorist/preventive and counterterrorist/operational measures can indeed be optimized by applying principles of criminal profiling to the psycho-behavioral profiling of terrorists. Terrorism profiling consists of defining psychological, physical, and behavioral variables common to terrorists (organizations or individuals). Terrorism profiling is fundamentally designed to foster a coordinated multidisciplinary effort to combat and prevent terrorism, which would greatly improve the ability of intelligence services and law enforcement agencies to fight terrorism efficiently around the world. Ultimately, effective and structured terrorism profiling would help identify terrorists before terrorist attacks are carried out. The utility and reliability of terrorism profiling, however, depend on the development of effective, productive, and targeted behavioral profiles that will help assess risks and vulnerabilities. Despite the many possibilities it offers, terrorism profiling has several limitations. This complex methodological process is impeded by a lack of communication and cooperation between international agencies. Its value may also be overestimated and its misuse can be dangerous. Controversial issues of terrorism profiling will be discussed, such as ethnic/racial profiling or the delicate balance between civil liberties and civil defense.
Programs Which Prepare Inmates for Reintegration: Cross National Comparisons
Prisoner reentry has recently become a focus of programs and research projects being funded by various federal agencies in the United States. The purpose of many prison-based and post-release programs is to prepare prisoners for rentry. However, with the new attrention on reentry, it is important to understand the various systems of criminal jsutice programs and policies and their underlying philosophies and goals. A comparison of various systems can serve as an important backdrop to the research on the reentry process. The purpose of this session is to provide an outlook on the range of approaches taken in various countries in preparing individuals to reintegrate back into their communities and families. Presenters will describe and provide information on the relative importance of prison-based programs versus post-release programs in prearing inmates for successful release experiences. The historical context within which these programs have evolved will ge described. Presenters will conclude with an assessment of gaps in reentry programming.
Prohibition, Regulation, the Philadelphia Police, and the Saloon Keepers Associations
Studies have shown that police corruption tends to be concentrated in the breaking of the sumptuary laws. Among those activities in the 1920s was selling bootleg liquor. Police, rather than prhibiting the selling of alcohol, often regulated it through extortion. This paper shows how the Philadelphia beat copy in the 1920s, rather than closing neighborhood saloons, extored money from them. This extortion operated on two levels: The first level was district wide under the direction of the district’s police captain. The second level one was city wide, involving the famous Unit No. 1, the special force dedicated to uncovering the making, shipping, and selling of liquor. The result of the police graft was the banding together of saloon keepers, in order to keep the protection payments under control and on a “sound business basis.” More than one hundred and fifty saloon keepers were involved in the various associations.
Promoting Recovery and Physical Health in Treatment Drug Court: An Explanation of Exercise-Related Affective Change
Research shows that drug courts decrease recidivism of drug-involved offenders. Less is known on what specific treatment components prevent relapse and promote recovery from addiction. Recent research indicates drug addiction creates both temporary and long-term changes in the brain that may affect a participant’s general health, mental health, and motivation for change. Based on the idea that abstinence from drugs and alcohol begins with improved physical health this study examines the psychological and physiological affects of addiction and exercise. Results are presented from a cross-sectional survey of 48 drug court participants on health and exercise. Due to the small sample size, however, this study was limited and the results provide a preliminary examination of this alternative treatment approach.
Prop 36 and Criminal Justice: Impact and Response
This paper will report findings from a two-part analysis of arrest and charging practices before and after passage of Prop 36. First is a quantitative analysis of 1991-2001 trends in statewide and county-specific arrest rates for drug possession and being under the influence of drugs. Adults convicted of those offenses are eligible for Prop 36. Second is an analysis of qualitative data collected from law enforcement, prosecutors, public defenders, and other criminal justice sources in selected California counties. The data pertain to charging practices as well as arrest practices. The two sources of data will be combined to investigate the possibility that Prop 36 has influenced arrest or charing practices throughout the state or in some counties.
Prosecution Then and Now: An Examination of Differences Between Traditional Prosecution Strategies and Community Prosecution
Previous research by APRI examined the phenomenon of community prosecution and its evolution. As community prosecution has evolved, questions necessarily arise about whether or not it differs from traditional prosecution and the appropriateness of community prosecution as a viable crime control technique. This paper will examine the results of a prosecutorial census, focusing on traditional versus community prosecutors’ responses to role definition and goal articulation as well as the differences in how traditional and community prosecutors respond to crime and disorderly problems.
Prosecutorial Discretion and the Imposition of Mandatory Minimum Sentences
The imposition of mandatory minimum sentences is a perhaps overlooked opportunity to examine prosecutorial discretion, as well as sentencing disparity. In Pennsylvania, for example, the decision to pursue a mandatory minimum sentence belongs solely to the prosecutor. Given a conviction charge that is eligible for a mandatory minimum, the prosecutor decides whether to make a motion for the application of the mandatory minimum. If, the prosecutor so moves, then the court must sentence accordingly. Thus, in Pennsylvania, the decision to impose a mandatory minimum rests solely with the prosecutor. This situation presents an important opportunity to examine a “pure” situation in which prosecutorial decision directly determines the sentence. Using data from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing for years 1998-2000, we investigate the effects of offense and offender characteristics, case processing factors, and court community locality on whether or not drug and repeat offenders who were eligible for mandatory minimum sentences actually received them. In other words, we analyze the prosecutorial decision to impose a mandatory minimum among a subsample of mandatory-eligible offenders sentenced for drug crimes or as repeat offenders. We frame and interpret our analysis and findings vis a vis Albonetti’s uncertainty reduction theory of prosecutorial discretion, the view of courts as communities, and a focal concerns theory criminal justice decision making.
Prosecutorial Distribution and Bias Crime Designations
Although the Uniform Crime Report provides insight into the number and types of bias-motivated offenses reported across the nation, it does not account for the jurisdictional differences in varying reporting practices, the different proportion of law enforcement agencies reporting bias-motivated behaviors, or the processes by which behaviors reported to law enforcement agencies are distinguished, categorized, and labeled as bias-motivated. In order to better understand what was reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation by the local jurisdictions, an examination of the processes by which behaviors are classified, labeled, and handled at the local level must be undertaken. The official records from Monmouth County, New Jersey provide excellent insight into the processes that filter and classify bias-motivated acts, as well as into the distribution and frequency oif offenses across a continuum of bias-motivated behaviors. The investigation reports from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office illustrate how incidents located in the lower and middle ranges of the continuum of bias-motivated behaviors are handled both formally and informally within the criminal jujstice sytstem, while also delineating the distinctions between bias-motivated incidents and bias-motivated crimes. For two primary reasons, the examination of this data includes an analysis of all 140 cases reported in 1997 instead of only the 28 incidents classified as bias motivated. First, this researcher set out to investigate the filtering process which takes place by the criminal justice system in classifying bias motivated acts. Second, when addressing bias motivated behaviors, there are numerous policy implications which vary across the continuum of bias motivated behaviors including non-criminal acts of bias such as name-calling.
Prospective Comparison of Homicide Offenders and Victims
In the PYS, 30 males have been convicted of homicide and 28 hgave been victims of homicide. This paper investigates how dimilar or different these two groups were when first assessed, long before the homicides occurred. The two groups are compared on behavioral factors (e.g. conduct disorder, psychopathy, cruel to people, suspended from school), individual factors (e.g. hyperactivity, attention deficit, low guilt, low achievement), family factors (e.g. young mother, poor parental supervision, mother’s physical punishment, unhappy parents, large family size, broken family), socioeconomic factors (e.g. low SES, family on welfare, unemployed parent), peer delinquency, and bad neighborhood.
Prospective Hotspots: Some Preliminary Findings
Perfect prediction of when and where crimes were to take place would facilitate their prevention or detection. Research consistently demonstrates that prior victimization is an excellent predictor of risk. However, Self-evidently, prior victimization yields no prediction about properties as yet unvictimized. Our recent work suggests that the risk of burglary is communicable, with properties within close proximity of a victimized house being at a temporarily heightened risk of victimization. Further results also demonstrate that the degree to which this effect occurs varies across different types of area. In this paper we discuss our progress in producing a system that generates ‘prospective hotspot’ maps, which predict when and where future crimes are most likely to occur.
Protection or Punishment: Labeling Girls and Correctional Outcomes
Traditional ideas about sentencing assume that offense severity is the most iimportant factor in predicting sentencing outcomes. This view, however, overlooks the role of labeling in judicial decision making. Labeling theory says that the imposition of an official “delinquent” label and the application of sanctions increases an individual’s involvement in delinquent behavior. In addition, we can expect labeling to play an important role int he way that judges view girls who come before them because labeled (secondary) delinquents would be viewed as more deserving of harsher sentences than those (primary) delinquents who come before the judges without the label. This paper addresses the relationship between judges’ propensity to label female juvenile offenders and the subsequent sentencing outcomes intheir cases. In particular, the rulings of Family and Supreme Court judges are considered in order to determine if their practices and perspectives involving female juuvenile offenders are influenced by their perception that the girls before them are primary or secondary deviants. Particular attention is paid to assessing whether judges who view girls as secondary deviants limit their consideration for sentencing to the offense and apply more traditional sentences than judges who view girls as primary deviants.
Psychological Effects of Wrongful Conviction
There is minimal research on the psychological effects of wrongful conviction and imprisonment. This is a descriptive study of a sample of 18 men referred for systematic psychiatric assessment after their convictions were quashed on appeal and they were released from long-term imprisonment. Sixteen were UK cases; two were from other jurisdictions. The assessments revealed evidence of substantial psychiatric morbidity that was unexpected in relation to previous research on the psychological effects of imprisonment. Fourteen men met ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for ‘enduring personality change following catastrophic experience’ (F62.0), twelve met the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, and most reported additional mood and anxiety disorders. There were substantial problems of psychological and social adjustment, particularly within families. The difficulties were similar to those described in the clinical literature on war veterans. Possible explanations for these effects are discussed: specific traumatic features of miscarriage of justice and long-term imprisonment both appear to contribute.
Psychotic Disorders and Sexual Offending
The purpose of the current study is to explore the relationship between major mental illness and sexual offenses in a Danish birth cohort of males, and more specifically to gain a better understanding about the interactive role of psycholtic disorders, personality disorders, and substance abuse in the risk for sexual offending. Lifetime psychiatric hospitalization and arrest data were analyzed from a cohort of all males born in Denmark between 1944 and 1947 (N = 173,559). Results revealed that individuals hospitalized for psychotic disorders were more likely than never hospitalized individuals to be arrested for a sexual offense. Personality disorders interacted with psychotic disorders in the prediction of sexual arerest, such that psychotic disorders were more likely to be related to sexual offending in the presence of personality disorders. A similar pattern was noted for the interaction of substance abuse and psychotic disorders, although this relationship did not reach statistical significance. Exploratory analyses demonstrated that compared to sex offenders with nonpsychotic disorders, psychotic sex offenders were more likely to have a history of hospitalization and less likely to have a history of violence prior to their first arrest for a sex offense. Implications for theory and public policy are discussed.
Ptoblem-Solving Court Focused on Juvenile Domestic Violence: An Evaluation of a Four Year Juvenile Court Program
While adult domestic violence has received much attention both by researchers and the justice system, juvenile domestic violence was largely ignored until very recently. Some observers now refer to teen dating violence as a social problem of “epidemic proportion” and as a “hidden epicemic.” In am important new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, one in five female high school students reported physical or sexual abuse by a dating partner. This abuse was associated with high-risk behaviors, such as early onset of sexual activity, early pregnancy, increased risk of substance abuse, unhealthy weight-control behaviors, and suicidality. The authors concluded that “dating violence is extremely prevalent among this population, and that it is associated with serious health risk factors.” According to a study by Anne Bryant, more than 80 percent of girls and more than 70 percent of boys reported that they experienced unwelcome and unwanted sexual behavior that interfered with their lives. Juvenile domestic violence appears to begin in the early teen years. Researchers have concluded that parental domestic violence and abusive behavior increase the risk that youth will become domestic and family violence offenders. All of these studies indicate the importance of early intervention in adolescent dating violence to reduce the risk of repeated domestic violence across generations. Family violence (juveniles’ violence against parents, siblings, and their own children) has received less attention. Vernon Wiehe has argued that sibling abuse is often an unrecognized form of violence that can leave terrible scars for life. Timothy Brezina has noted that teen violence toward parents is not a result of socioeconomic deprivation, but more an adaptation to family strain. Juvenile family violence often is due to lack of parental attachment and can best be explained as having been learned from a model of parental punitiveness.
Pubertal Development and Delinquency: Do Mature Boys Seek Out Delinquent Peers?
In a recent paper published in the journal CRIMINOLOGY, Felson and Haynie (2002) report a relationship between pubertal development and delinquency among young boys. Drawing on Terrie Moffitt’s taxonomy of delinquency, Felson and Haynie conclude that the effect of pubertal development on delinquency is due to the fact that mature boys are especially susceptible to the influence of delinquent peers. Another possibility, rejected but not explicitly tested by Felson and Haynie, is that mature boys specifically seek out friendships with delinquent peers. We investigate whether mature boys are merely susceptible to the influence of delinquent peers in their midst, or if they actively cultivate friendships with delinquent peers. We test these hypotheses using data in waves I and II from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.
Public Housing Residents’ Satisfaction With Police Performance and How it is Related to Perceived Collective Efficacy
Much research has shown that residents of poor urban neighborhoods tend to view police performance rather negatively. Often, they experience gargeting by police on racist and classist grounds and feel their needs are ignored for the same reasons. Recently, numerous studies have shown that residents’ high perceptions of collective efficacy are associated with lower victimization rates. Collective efficacy is defined as the willingness of residents to intervene on behalf of the common good and is a composite measure of informal social control and social cohesion and trust among neighbors. At the same time, low victimization or crime rates have been associated with residents reporting satisfaction with police performance. What, however, is the relationship between residents’ satisfaction with police performance and how they perceive collective efficacy in their nieghborhood? Examining this relationship is important as community policing efforts can only succeed when residents are not only concerned about crime but also take an active role in preventing it. This study will answer the qbove question by using data from the Quality of Neighborhood Survey, which was conducted in several public housing neighborhoods in an urban center in eastern Ontario, Canada.
Public Opinion and Policy: Attitudes About Legal and Social Responses to Domestic Violence
Despite a proliferation of reforms and innovations in criminal justice and social policy directed at reducing domestic violence, we know relatively little about how the public understands the problem of violence and how well public opinion and preferences line up with recent reforms. Partner violence is a common ()albeit underreported) type of crime, and most citizens are familiar with at least one party involved in a violent relationship. However, research suggests that the public’s understandings of the causes of violence do not square with the conclusions of researchers, and it is likely that their support for social and legal changes are inconsistent as well. It is important to map social understandings of violence in order to accurately calibrate public education and intervention programs; and to communicate the intent as well as the legal substance of reforms. Based on a survey of 1200 respondents in six New York state communities, the analyses reported here will explore the dimensionality of public opinion about social and legal responses; assewss the consistency of public preferences and public understandings about what causes violence; and draw policy conclusions about the best ways to use information on public opinion to improve future reform efforts.
Public Perception and Police Attitude
This study examines how police in a metropolitan city believe they are perceived and how that perception affects the officer’s attitude and performance. In addition, other variables affecting a police officer’s attitude and job performance are identified. The study population in this research was derived from sworn police officers from a large metropolitan police agency. An initial study sample size of 100 officers was surveyed using a multi-cluster, systematic sampling method and a response rate was 78%. Data were collected using a self-administered survey questionnaire. Multiple, one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) and multiple regression were performed on data derived from the questionnaire which responded to several research hypotheses. Several policy implications of the findings and sugggestions for future research are discussed.
Public Satisfaction With the Police in Domestic Violence Cases: The Influence of Expectations, Arrest, and Demeanor
Public satisfactions studies are important to police effectiveness in domestic violence cases. If a department has a bad reputation, as perceived by citizens, victims may be reluctant to call the police when they need help or cooperate when officers need assistance solving crimes. Research has found public satisfaction in domestic violence cases is influenced by public expectations, officer demeanor, and to a lesser extent, whether or not the offender was arrested. Citizens are often more satisfied if services exceed epectations and if officers are supportive and take victims’ situations seriously. Additionally, most citizens prefer mandatory or pro-arrest policies. Most research on police satisfaction, however, is limited to local or regional areas and as a result lack external validity. To investigate this issue further, the present study utilizes data from a national study on violence against women in the United States. Preliinary analyses reveal that when citizens called the police, arrest occurred only 42% of the time; however, victims were satisfied 58% of the time. Expectations were fulfilled 58% of the time and arrest was the most expected response. Multivariate analyses reveal expectations were the only significant factor to influence public satisfaction in domestic violence cases.
Public Views on Sentencing Juvenile Murderers: The Impact of Offender, Offense, and Perceived Maturity
Concerns about violent juvenile offenders have been implicated in increasing efforts to treat some youthful offenders as adults. Previous research, however, has explored in only limited ways how the public wants the justice system to respond to juveniles who commit muder, and no study has yet considered the central issue of a youth’s maturity. Using a randomly selected sample of Florida citizens, the present study seeks to begin filling this gap in the literature. Factorial vignette survey data is used to assess the impact of characteristics of the offender, aspects of the offense, and perceptions of a youth’s maturity on public preferences for the punishment of juvenile murderers.
Punishment and Society Legitimacy, Probity and Standards in Prison
As commentators suvch as Simon and Wacquant have separately noted the same political and cultural conditions that impel drastic increases in prison populations can inhibit concerted examination of life within prisons. In consequence both maiunstream and critical discourses on imprisonment are increasingly produced at some remove from the social, personal and emotional predicaments that incarceration imposes on custodians and captives. This discussion seeks to contribute to the reanimation in contemporary settings of the sociological concern with direct observation and actors’ accounts of the basic terms of institutional life The implications of such work are not confined to reportage, however. They incloude the vexed problems of legitimation; the vocational commitments of custodial workers; and the defense or erosion of decency in adverse environments.
Punishment by International Criminal Tribunals: Ideal Example for National Criminal Justice, or Parody of a Penal Process?
International criminal tribunals are now sentencing increasing numbers of offenders convicted of crimes against international law in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. There may be further growth in numbers when the International Criminal Court comes into operation. This paper subjects the imposition and implementation fosentence of these international tribunals to a critical, penological examination. The paper finds that the law governing sentencing has been refined in comparison to that which applied in similar tribunals at the end of the Second World War. The death penalty has been outlawed. Sentencing judgments are much more fully reasoned. Sentences are now implemented in prisons in which dconditions are subject to clearer legal regulation, and the rules for the release of prisoners are more strictly defined. Most of these changes have been inspired by the growth of international human rights law. These human rights principles could profitably be applied in national penal systems. The paper concludes, however, that these evolutionary changes have not yet led to the emergence of an ideal penal system at the international level. Coherent sentencing guidelines have not been developed and restrictions on the power to pardon or to commute sentences have made the system too rigid. The International Criminal Court will have to modify the legacy it will inherit from the current international tribunals if it is to make a major contribution to international criminal justice in the sphere of sentencing and punishment.
Punitivity in Germany in Comparison With Other European Regions
Problems of increasing punitivity have been increasingly discussed in Europe. I will present longitudinal data regarding Germany in comparison with other European countries. The countries of the former Soviet Union showed at first an increasing official (registered) crime rate, a decreasing rate of imprisonment for a few years, and then increasing levels of fear of crime, punitivity, and an increasing level of imprisonment. The population of the former Soviet Union showed after the opening of the borders strong interest in crime and crime escalation, especially in the media, which could report the topic freely. The crime rate increased strongly, but from a rather low level in comparison with western countries. Even today the official crime rates of these eastern countries is much lower than those of most western countries. Victim surveys, however, show that the actual crime rate could well be similar in both the East and the West. this means that the crime rate in these eastern countries has grown considerably in the last decade. The usual reaction to this development is a demand for harsh punishment, and politicians have responded accordingly. I will examine this process in Germany and in the development of German penal law. In western countries i.e., Germany, and England and Wales, a vigorous discussion in the 1990s about sex offences, especially child sexual abuse. Several cases were examined in the media very intensively. This concern was an important factor in the demand for harsher punishment for sex offender and violent offenders. And in England and Wales the law was affected in a similar manner. I will review the several different international surveys regarding the attitudes toward the punishment in different European countries and discuss these results as reflecting the evolution of crime and such social variables as income and unemployment. A contrast will be drawn between eastern and western European countries.
Push, Pull, Choose: An Integrative Model of Criminal Theory
Criminological theories are problematic in that they suggest important causes of crime, yet, each oon its own is incomplete. The various theories point towards different important factors that can influence criminal behavior across the life-course. In the current paper I combine some of the contributions of individual theories to create an integrated model of delinquent behavior. I discuss the theoretical implications of this model and offer findings from preliminary empirical research.
Pushing Traffic Stops for Driving While Black Back: Drive Race and Gender and Traffic Stops in ‘Midwest City,’ 1970-1971
Some contemporary scholars argue that traffic stops by police for Driving While Black should be traced to the drug Enforcement Administration’s Operation Pipline that began in 1984. This paper uses the Sykes and Clark “Midwest City” data (Sykes and Brent, 1983; Sykes and Clark, 1975) from the early 1970s to demonstrate that police were making trafifc stops for Driving While Black well before the creation of Operation Pipeline. Scholars therefore need to push their understandings of Driving While Black back in time because Operation Pipeline was simply a particularly visible reaffirmation and continuation of a long-standing police practice of targeting African Americans for formal action.
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Quagmire of Violence: The Cultural Linkage of State-Sanctioned and State-Condemned Violence
Throughout April 20, 1999, the media inundated homes across the United States with images of the atrocity at Columine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Former President Clinton addressed the nation vis-a-vis the massacre by insisting that we must teach ouf children to settle their differences through words and not weapons. Yet the day before, the U.S. conducted air strikes against Yugoslavia; within 2 hours the U.S. dropped nine 500 lb. laser-guided boms onto 2 civilian sites — killing up to 80 ethnic Albanians. The distinction between sanctioned and condemned violence is, indeed, a culturally created artifact. A stateis approval or condemnation of violence has little to do with the simple fact that violence remains violence. U.S. cultural schemas dictate that a proper response to conflict is the use of violence, reflecting a deeper cultural ethos that self-interest, fear, and retaliation can be carried out through the use of violence. This response profoundly dominates both the relationships that the U.S. government has with other nations, the relationship between our state and its citizens, as well as the relationships our citizens have with each other. By juxtaposing state condoned violence, such as April 19, 1999 air strikes, with condemned violence, such as the Columbine Massacre, we offer a criminological analysis linking such acts of violence to a broader constellation of U.S. cultural ethos which appears to shape the behavior of political institutions and citizenries alike.
Qualitative and Quantitative Measurements at School and Student Level: Discrepancies Between School Safety Policies and Practices
In measuring school safety and school policies with regard to problem behavior, differences between school policy and school practices have received relatively little attention. We combined a school-based quantitative survey among high school students with qualitative interviews at the participating schools to learn about school policies and practices with regard to problem behavior and delinquency. Data were collected at twelve predominantly lower vocational and mostly inner city schools with a substantial representation of ethnic minority students. The survey contained about 2000 students from these schools in the age of 12-15 years. With this information we aimed to characterize school policies and practices and to describe possible differences between them. We try to answer methodological questions about the correspondence between the qualitative information from the interviews and quantitative data obtained from the questionnaires. We also try to find factors explaining possible discrepancies between policy and practices.
Quality Control: Ensuring that “Research-Based” Programs Are Implemented Based on Research
This paper summarizes how Washington State implemented statewide, three research-based programs through a partnership between the state and local juvenile justice system. The lagest results of the large scale outcome evaluation, which measures recidivism and the costs and benefits of the programs relative to regular court processing, are described. The evaluation indicates that the programs work when they are implemented by competent therapists who adhere to the programs, but that incompetent therapists fail to produce cost-beneficial results. The paper discusses the steps the state-locatl partnership is taking to ensure that quality control issues are implemented for the research-based programs.
Quarters and Crime: Forecasting the Occurrence of Crime at the Block Level in Three Month Intervals
The purpose of this presentation is to develop a theoretically driven model for predicting the reoccurrence of a particular crime type on a city block at a three month time interval. This research will expand upon the “Same Place, Next Year” logistic regression technique described in Roncek (1987). Additional data sources such as Census data, assessors data, probation and parole data, and 911 calls for service data will be used to create a predictive model for police reports of Part I crimes for a medium-sized Midwestern city. These predictive models will then be compared to the actual levels of criminal activity. Police implications will also be discussed.
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Race, Class, Incarceration and Critical Theory
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in its history and incarcerates black males at a rate higher than any other country in the world. No one theory can adequately explain this phenomenon. This paper analyzes and combines several critical theories that account for the role of social structure, politics and culture in explaining this incarceration crisis. It expands on the works of Gramsci to explain the role of political leaders and the media in racializing the drug problem, in generating threatening cultural images of inner city black males and in creating a political culture that produces and sustains the incarceration crisis. It connects the incarceration crisis to a larger economic crisis, as the increase in incarceration rates cannot be explained by an increase in crime and as the high incarcerations rate artificially reduces unemployment rates.
Race, Community Characteristics and Attitudes Toward the Police
This paper explores the attitudes toward the police across communities with different racial compositions (i.e., predominately African-American communities, predominately white communities, and racially heterogeneous communities). Specifically, the study examines if any race effects persist when controlling for community characteristics. Mail survey data are drawn from a random sample of respondents based upon the racial makeup of geographic areas as defined through U.S. Census blocks. Data analysis employs both bivariate and multivariate analysis to identify any systematic differences across and within groups. Results can guide local law enforcement iun targeting improvements in their police community relations program.
Race, Demeanor, Resistance and Police Coercion: Disentangling the Relationships
In this paper we examine the interactive inlfuence of citizens’ race, demeanor, and resistance over police use of coercion during police-citizen encounters. Applying berger, Fisek, Norman, & Zelditch’s (1977) theory of status characteristics and social interaction, we argue that police behavior is best understood as the result of officers’ interpretations of police-citizen encounters, which are guided by citizens’ statu characteristics. Using systematic social observation data collected in Cincinnati in 1997-98, we test these propositions by examining the use of coercion against suspects during encounters with police. Following Terrill and Mastrofski (2002), police coercion is measured on a continuum of behavior and is defined as “acts that threaten or inflict physical harm on citizens, including forms of both verbal and physical force.” Using hierarchical linear modeling, we estimate the influence of the status characteristics of both citizens and officers over officers’ displays of coercive actions. Separate models are also estimated and compared for white and nonwhite suspects. The findings suggest that nonwhite suspects are at increased risk for police use of coercive techniques, and further, that the predictors of police coercion differe dramatically for white and nonwhite suspects.
Race, Drugs and Politics: Social Construction of a Prison Nation
U.S. imprisonment has quadrupled since 1980, with California leading the pace. Previous research suggests legislation has not increased probability/length of imprisonment while reducing violent/serious crime. This research improves upon previous limitations to examine crime, imprisonment, and parole outcomes in California from 1983-1999, modeling changes in imprisonment to examine a conceptual hypothesis: the social construction of crime plays a larger role in predicting imprisonment than crime factors. This study employs probability analysis and OLS/logistic regression of secondary data to examine: 1) locus of punitiveness; 2) overall punitiveness; 3) imposed prison time; 4) offender characteristics; 5) time served/percent imposed time served; and 6) recidivism. While small, the probability of imprisonment in California has tripled since 1983. The overall “value” of offenses (prison days imposed per reported index crime) has risen, however the “value” of drug offenses exceeds violent offenses. Young, male, African American offenders convicted of drug offenses in Southern California received the longest sentences, served more time and had less successful parole outcomes than others, controlling for age, gender, record, year and jurisdiction. Given the current allocation of system resources, this research suggests that California has traded harsher treatment for violent offenders in exchange for increased imprisonment for minority drug offenders.
Race, Ethnicity, and Career Criminality
Research investigating racial and ethnic differences in career criminality has produced mixed results because researchers commonly sample only one racial group or limit their analysis to White and Black offenders. Other racial and ethnic groups are ignored. The current study examined the prevalence and characteristics of offenders who qualified for habitual offender status (minimum of 30 arrests) upon booking into an urban jail in the western United States. From 1995 to 2000, 500 offenders met the arrest criterion. The sample was racially heterogeneous, 52% White, 29% Hispanic, 12% Black, 6% Native American, and nearly 1% Asian. No significant differences existed among racial groups for a variety of offending characteristics, incluing chronicity, dangerousness, career span, and offending frequency. These findings in conjunction with the extant literature suggest that career criminals are an exceptional, pathological archetype that largely transcends race.
Race and Adolescent Friendship Networks: Implications for Assessing Racial Differences in Delinquency
While criminological theory and research emphasizes the importance of peer relationships for delinquency involvement, relatively little is known about differences in friendship dynamics across racial groups. This raises the possibility that any observed effect of race on adolescent behavior, such as delinquency, may be mediated by adolescent enmeshment in friendship networks. Using data from the National Longitudinal ‘Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) we investigate the ways in which adolescent friendship networks vary across racial groups. Specifically, we examine differences in demographic (e.g., race, sex, and age heterogeneity), structural (e.g., size, popularity, density, centrality), and behavioral network characteristics (e.g., friends’ delinquency, friends’ school orientation) for white, black, Hispanic, Asian, mixed, and other racial groups. Although bivariate results indicate numerous significant race differences in friendship networks, there are also important differences in individual and school characteristics across racial groups. Turning to multivariate analyses, we find evidence of significant race differences in some friendship networks properties such as racial heterogeneity, popularity, network size, reciprocity, academic achievement, college expectations, substance use, and delinquency net of individual — and school-level controls. Moreover, the proportion of minority students in the school conditions the effect of race on some network properties. We discuss the implications of these discoveries for future research on race, adoelscent friendships, and involvement in delinquency.
Race and Arrest in U.S. Cities From the Conflict Perspective
According to conflict theory, certain segments of society have the power to shape crime legislation and enforcement, and are able to use that power to control populations they perceive as threatening. The threat hypothesis suggests that the larger and more socially, politically, or economically threatening a group, the more likely it will be controlled through the criminal justice system. This study examines race-specific arrest rates in U.S. cities in 1970, 1980, and 1990, from the threat perspective.Hypotheses are tested concerning the effects of racial composition and segregation. Multiple forms of crimes are examined with the expectation that arrest rates for crimes involving more discretion by police, such as drug-related crimes, will be more strongly affected by whites’ perception of social threat. Fixed and random effects methods are used to model effects both between cities and within cities over time. Results show that arrest rates are related to the city’s racial context, and that predictors vary by crime type, year, and race. The threat hypothesis receives mixed support. Models of drug arrest provide the strongest support for the conflict perspective, confirming the expectation that discretionary types of crime are more responsive to perceived threat.
Race/Ethnicity and Trends in Violent Crime: White-Black, White-Hispanic, and Black-Hispanic Comparisons in Youth and Adult Arrests for Violent Crimes, 1980-2000
Our analysis examines arrest trends in violent crime broken out by age and race-ethnicity (white, black, Hispanic), using 1980-2000 arrest statistics from Pennsylvania and California. Key objectives of the analysis are: 1) to offer systematic comparisons of racial-ethnic (i.e., white, black, and Hispanic) patterns of violent crime and changes in those patterns over the 1980-2000 period; and 2) to estimate age x race-ethnicity effects on criminal offending both currently and over time – by comparing age-crime distributions (juvenile, adult) across the race-ethnic groups and by examining changes in those distributions over the 1980-2000 period. Our analysis focuses on the index-violent crimes of homicide, robbery, forcible rape, and aggravated assault, and on the total violent crime index which combines all four offenses. Demographic-specific resident population numbers for Pennsylvania and California will be used to calculate age-speciic and race-specific offending rates following the procedures outlined in the 1969 Report of the National Commission on the Causes of Violence. The Census Bureau provides complete census numbers for 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 and estimates for the non-census years. These rates will be used first to provide straightforward assessments of age and race-ethnic differences in violent offending (e.g., in plots over time). Second, the rates will be used to calculate racial/ethnic differences in arrests for violent offending, expressed as the percentage of all arrests for each offense category which involve a specific race/ethnic group, adjusting for the distribution of each comparison group in the population at large. This measure can be thought of as the percent of total arrests that would be accounted for by given racial/ethnic group if every group were equal in population. It can be computed to compare the violent offending of a comparison group (e.g. defined as a racial/ethnic group) to a reference group (e.g., defined as another racial/ethnicl group or as the total). Time-series techniques will be used to test statistically for similarities and differences across race-ethnic and age subgroups.
Race in Inverted Commas: The Mythology of Race in Criminological Theory and Lessons From African Fractal Theory of Articulation
How do you say race in inverted commas, given the fashionable way that some scholars now spell the word as ‘race’? Do you pronounce this word with a roll of your eyeballs and a curving of your index fingers with a comical nod of the head (nudge-nudge, wink-wink)? I asked my former colleagues this question when they outlined my area of expertise and included race in inverted commas whereas I do not follow that style of spelling in my own work. Why did they put race in inverted commas but left gender and class without any inversions in the description of my areas of interest? Race in inverted commas is a fad among liberal European scholars who argue that there is no such thing as race (in the biological sense but we can say that even class and gender are also socially constructed rather than being natural) and so the inverted commas around the term, race, are the badge of their liberalism or proof of their skeptical scientific scholarship. This fad is found among black and white scholars alike but I have noticed that it is not very fashionalbe in Africa and America yet, in spite of the Chicago School claim by a prominent black scholar (now in Harvard) that the significance of race is declining in positivismn, to post-structural skepticism. Finally, the African fractal theory of articulation will be applied to develop a more dynamic conceptualization of the politics of race in criminology.
Racial Differences in Perceptions Regarding the Deterrent Effects of the Death Penalty Among Criminology and Criminal Justice Students
This study will attempt to examine the relationship between perception and knowledge concerning the deterrent effects of the death penalty among minority criminology and criminal justice (CRCJ) students in comparison to their majority CRCJ counterparts. The study will first attempt to determine whether there is an opinion difference between minority and non-minority CRCJ students. Finally, an attempt to ascertain whether their level of knowledge is the same will be endeavored. The data in this study were obtained from a sample of both minority and non-minority CRCJ undergraduates and graduates attending a large state university in north Texas.
Racial Differences in Resolving Conflicts: A Comparison Between Black and White Police Officers
This study examines the behavioral differences between African-American and white police officers in handling interpersonal conflicts. Observational and survey data from the Project on Policing Neighborhoods and the 1990 census data were used. Actions taken by officers are examined along two behavioral dimensions: coercion and support. Findings show that black officers are more coercive than their white counterparts in responding to conflicts. Black officers are also more likely than white officers to conduct supportive activities in predominately black neighborhoods, while they do not differ in initiating supportive actions in racially diverse communities. Situational characteristics play a strong role in determining police actions during conflict resolution. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.
Racial Discrimination, Coping Resources, and Delinquency: An Empirical Test and Extension of Strain Theory
Evidence from a variety of sources suggests that African American children are more likely to display conduct problems than White children. Such differences underscore the importance of research investigating the factors that place African American youth at risk for behavior problems. The present study investigated the extent to which exposure to racial discrimination increases the chances of an African American adolescent engaging in delinquent behavior. Using data from a longitudinal study of approiximately 700 African American children living in Georgia and Iowa, we begin by establishing an association between exposure to discrimination and delinquent behavior. This relation held after controlling for other types of stressful events, parental behavior, and affiliation with deviant peers. Next, we turn our focus to factors that might serve as coping resources for African American youth facing discrimination. We examined the extent to which parental support, religiosity, ethnic identity, and community collective supervision service to moderate the relationship between discrimination and delinquency. Although the analyses showed several significant moderator effects, the findings differed somewhat by gender of child.
Racial Profiling and Organizational Change
The purpose of this research is to determine whether police organizations that conduct race-based policing studies dependent upon officer generated forms are affected operationally or as a result of the study’s findings experience oganizational change. Using a specifically designed survey the researchers asked departments (N=33) about organizational changes resulting from race-based policing studies. In addition the researchers compared the primary productivity measures of each department during the data collection process is reactive. The researchers found that police organizations have yet to experience substantial organizational change as a result of findings of racial or ethnic disparity in their routine enforcement activities. Also, officer generated information does not appear to be reactive.
Racial Profiling and the Threat Hypothesis
Over the past decade, racial profiling has received increasing attention from policy makers and researchers. Using conflict theory’s threat hypothesis, this study examines racial patterns in traffic stops within and adjacent to neighborhoods with varying populations of white residents. Data for the study come from 182,000 traffic stops conducted in Las Vegas, Nevaduringduring 2002. For each stop, information is provided on driver demographics, the nature of the stop, searches and seizures, and final disposition. Census tractlevel data was used to construct demographic profiles of neighborhoods corresponding to police patrol sectors. The authors discuss their findings and the implications for public policy and future research.
Racial Threat, Concentrated Disadvantage and Types of Race-Specific Drug Arrests: Accounting for the Rise in Drug Arrests From 1980 to 1990
The racial threat thesis has generated a large body of literature, much of which has solely relied on the size of the black population as indication of threat. Recently researchers have begun to conceptualize the relationship between racial threat and social control in two different ways political threat and economic threat. In this paper, we assess the relationship between political threat and race-specific drug arrests in U.S. cities for 1990. We offer multiple measures of political threat (i.e., beyond the size of the black population) when examining types of race-specific drugs arrests (total, drug sales and drug possession). Additionally, because we are interested in how blacks pose a political threat to whites, which may result in a more disadvantaged urban environment, we take into account the concentration of economic disadvantage among racial groups in our research. Finally, we estimate a dynamic model to determine whether political or economic threat (or both) contributed to the considerable increase in drug arrests from 1980 to 1990.
Racism, Resistance and Repression in the North of England
At the turn of the twenty-first century far-right forces re-appeared on the political stage across Europe. In Britain the far right British National Party (BNP) achieved its best electoral results at the June 2001 General Election. Against this background — and with the BNP focusing its attention on towns in the north of England — the summer of 2001 witnessed significant disturbances in three towns: Oldham, Bradford and Burnley. In each case years of racism, poverty and inequality created the conditions where-by second and third generation Asian youth took to the streets to protect their communities from organised racists and protest against their conditions of existence. The disturbances created substantial damage, brought the protestors into conflict with organised racists and the police, and opened up both debate and conflict within the Asian community. They also brought the full weight of the law upon the protestors, with many receiving harsh penalties from the criminal justice system. Based on the life-stories of Asian community members in the three towns (including some of those convicted for their part in the events) the paper examines the effects of racism on Britain’s Asian community, and the nature and consequences of chosen forms or resistance.
Rape Victimization in 26 American Cities: A Replication Study
In 1979 Joan McDermott published “Rape Victimization In 26 American Cities”, a seminal investigation of the characteristics and consequences of rape and attempted rape victimization. The results of this investigation have helped to frame academic and political debates about rape for over two decades. During this same time, however, scholars have documented several adjustments in social attitudes about sexual assault. We replicate portions of McDermott’s study using data from the June 2001 National Crime Victimization Survey, and investigate changes in rape characteristics, as well as victims’ self-defense strategies and their willingness to report assaults to the police.
Rates of DSM-IV Substance Use Disorders in a Sample of Adjudicated Youth
Purpose: We report lifetime rates of DSM-IV Substance Use Disorder (SUD) among adjudicated juveniles. Methods: Youth’s identified through court records as being adjudicated and their families were contacted to ask about willingness to participate in a family study of substance use and conduct disorder. The Proband and family members were interviewed with an assessment battery of structured psychiatric interview instruments at their home or place of residence. Incarcerated youth were excluded from the protocol. DSM-IV abuse or dependence symptoms for 9 substances were assessed for the past year and lifetime with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview – Substance Abuse Module. Subjects who met criteria for either abuse or dependence were classified as having a substance use disorder, those meeting only the stricter criteria for dependence were classified as having dependence. Eighty-seven families have completed interviews. Findings: Rates of DSM-IV lifetime SUD/Dependence are: Tobacco 55%/55%, Alcohol 56%/27%, Marijuana 50%/28%, Hallucinogens 15%/9%, Cocoaine 8%/6%, Amphetamines 7%/5%. Rates of SUD or dependence on opiates, sedatives, or inhalants were all below 2%. Singificance: These findings are similar to reports from other groups using structured psychiatric instruments. Hallucinogen SUD or dependence was the most common illicit substance after marijuana. Treatment implications are discussed.
Rationalized and Scripted Restorative Justice Programs: Bold Claims With Modest Results
Restorative justice programs that have been well-developed, rationalized, and legislated are held as beacons to others considering their merits. After initial experimentation in key jurisdictions using various formats, advocates of the scripted model of diversionary conferences have claimed that these are highly effective for reducing reoffending, responding to victim’s needs, and affirming community cohesion. This presentation considers these claims within the context of empirical evidence and observations of conferences. Another important component considered is the role of academics within the advocacy of restorative justice programs. How have academics become part of the restorative justice scene?
Re-Policing the Poor: The Effects of Probation and Parole Status
Americans have become increasingly unconcerned with the numbers of individuals who are incarcerated in this country (Garland, 2001). In essence, society has come to a tacit acceptance of numerous stints of incarceration for segments of the population as a way of life. Feely and Simon (1992) identify an emerging trend in criminology. Thjey argue that a new penology has developed that has different goals, ideologies, and practices than was employed in the 1970s and preceding decades. One of the results of the new penology is continuous criminal justice supervision for the underclasses. This population is segmented into various areas of the criminal justice system basedon their supposed risk to society. The criminal justice system becomes, then, a risk management system that “regulates” the poor and unemployed under the guise of keeping the rest of the populace safe. My primary data sources are observations and interviews with police officers in a major California city. This research is a preliminary indication of the role that the police play in the new penology. I argue that through proactive or self-initiated policing tactics, patrol officers focus on individuals on probation or parole for a variety of reasons.
Reading, Writing, and Race: Lessons on Social Bonding in the School Environment
Previous research has indicated that individual demographic information such as race and gender can influence one’s social bond to school. The literature suggests that there is a qualitative difference in the school experience for AFrican American students as well as “empirical realities”, such as a higher drop-out rate and higher levels of discipline, that indicate racial differences in the school experience. There is also evidence that the strongest predictors of achievement by whites, including family structure and parental involvement, are not as influential in predicting achievement in African Americans. While education may be valued by some, there are still cultural road blocks that stand in the way of African Americans’ social bond to school. This paper explores the role of school context on an individual’s social bond to school using data from over 4,000 eleventh grade students in 31 schools across a small Mid-Atlantic state. This study compares models predicting an individual’s social bond to school for whites and African Americans at the high school level.
Real and Perceived Employment Barriers and Offender Employment Histories
Offenders face a multitude of individual and structural level barriers to obtaining sustainable employment. How these ‘real’ barriers are in fact perceived to be obstacles to employment by offenders has important implications for the design and delivery of offender job and reentry programs. As part of an evaluation of a state supported community and institutional job readiness program, we sought to identify and evaluate specific individual and structural characteristics perceived by offenders to be and not to be barriers to obtaining legitimate employment. Participants completed a self-administered baseline survey and a job readiness pre-test and post-test (follow-up interviews are in progress). Preliminary analyses of baseline findings indicate that nearly half of the sample did not perceive their level of education (39%), their criminal history (43%) or their incarceration history (54%) to be a barrier to obtaining employment. Further, there is a sizable perception gap between offenders in the under 30 group as compared to those in the older group with respect to the perception that incarceration history is not a barrier to obtaining employment (63% to 49%) — striking findings considering what researchers and job readiness educators have found and report to be significant barriers to employment.
“Really” Participant Observation
Over the decades a wealth of research has been conducted analyzing the “prison condition.” While this body of research is relevant and very useful, it has been conducted from an outside-in perspective. To gain further insight into the reality of prison, analysis from the perspective of inside-out may further clarify the complex existence, and consequences, of the prison experience. Having spent in excess of five years confined within the Federal Bureau of Prisons, I have been afforded the unique opportunity to implement my pre-prison sociological training, conducting research as a member of the “prison society.” Since release, I have continued my focused prison research. It is clear that the trusting bond, predicated upon the common prison experience between researcher and respondent, enhances the internal validity of the data generated. In this paper, I argue that the inside-out research approach of Convict Criminology adds additional perspective to the extant body of literature in gaining an understanding of the “prison condition.”
Recidivism: A Look at Public and Private State Prison Releases
This collaborative research on the comparative recidivism rates of prison inmates released from public and private facilities is the most thorough to date. The Florida Department of Corrections, Florida Corrections Privatization Commission and Florida State University’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice have conducted a joint study of over 85,000 inmates released from Florida prisons between 1995 and 2001. Multiple treatment and control groups and a variety of measures of exposure to private prison custody were analyzed using survival models with rigorous statistical controls. This session will review the recently reported findings of this advanced study and discuss the dynamics of such a cooperative effort.
Recidivism and Drug Relapse After Treatment: Preliminary Findings on the Importance of Drug Avoidance Self-Efficacy
By using a blocked randomized design on recidivism risk, we examine the importance of the Drug Avoidance Self-Efficacy (DASE) scale on the ability to predict the odds of relapse to drug use (i.e, Cocaine, Amphetamines, Hallucinogens, Cannabis — excluding alcohol), re-arrest, and criminal involvement in a sample of 120 offenders from Alexandria, virginia. These offenders were assigned randomly to control group through traditional supervision only, and “seamless sytem” through traditional supervision and treatment. No significant difference was found between the control and the seamless treatment group in regard to drug avoidance self-efficacy, which may imply that treatment alone cannot be counted for improvements in the DASE. By using multivariate logistic regression models, the 12-month follow-up available in our study reveals that using self-efficacy measures (DASE scale) improves the ability to predict drug relapse, since it improved the ability of the models examined by nearly twice of that it was before considering such factors. Although such improvement was not replicated in the other two nominal and dichotomous dependent variables, it was found that a consideration of self-efficacy issues may lead to further, better understanding and predictive ability for re-arrest and further criminal involvement. Such findings may imply that more emphasis should be given to the DASE measure before entering treatment as a measure of the client’s motivation, and ability to avoid drug relapse, and hence further involvement in criminal activity.
Recidivism and Neighborhood Effects: Examining Parolees in Georgia and Their Communities
Sociologists and Criminal Justice experts have long tried to understand the “push” and “pull” factors individuals must confront in their decision whether or not to recidivate and commit criminal acts that may jeopardize their newly won freedom. The advent of GIS-based technologies has made it easier for researchers to address the possible factors that individuals are faced with on a neighborhood level. This study investigates the effect of neighborhood characteristics on a parolee’s likelihood of recidivism, in the attempt to understand whether there are some “at risk” neighborhoods that increase a parolee’s likelihood of rearrest. The key question is whether parolees who are released into more socially disorganized neighborhoods (e.g., high levels of residential mobility, large percentages of poverty, and a large number of criminal “hotspots” such as bars) are more likely to recidivate than parolees who are released into more socially organized neighborhoods. Using ARCGIS and HLM, this study begins to understand some of the contextual variables that increase recidivism.
Recidivism of Female Prisoners: A Gendered Review of the 1994 BJS Recidivism Data
The upsurge in female incarceration rates during the 1990s has generally been attributed to the increased participation of females in substance use and the get-tough policies of the war on drugs. There is a lack of knowledge regarding the extent to which these population increases may be due to recidivism, even though research indicates there is a 68% rearrest rate for state prisoners. This study utilizes the recent BJS recidivism data for state prisoners released in 1994 and separately examines female prisoners. This preliminary analysis describes the post-release performance of 23,583 women (8% of the entire sample of 272,111) using four measures of recidivism (re-arrest, reconviction, return to prison for parole violation and return to prison with a new sentence). Several offender and offense characteristics that may be predictive of recidivism are examined, including age, race/ethnicity, prior record, type of offense, and time served. Comparisons are made between the female and male subsamples on salient dimensions. The paper concludes with possible explanations for the gendered nature of these differences. We propose theoretical explanations for the decline in the recidivism rate over the past decade.
Recidivism of Violent Drug Court Offenders
As more violent and other serious offenders enter drug courts nationwide it is critical to examine criminal history and recidivism data so that we can address public safety concerns about placing these offenders into community-based drug treatment programs. Recidivism data were collected for offenders in a post adjudicatory drug court program, most of whom had a history of violent offending. Compared with nonviolent offenders, findings indicate that violent offenders do recidiviate more and with more serious types of offenses during active program participation and after program discharge. However, violent offenders who graduated were significantly less likely to recidivate. Violent offenders should not be precluded from the opportunity to participate in the unique combination of treatment and supervision offered in drug court programs.
Recognizing and Nurturing Collaborative Skills in a Practice-Based Research Network
In 2000, the USC Department of Family Medicine formed the first Practice Based Research Network (LA Net) focused primarily on the reduction of health care disparities in Los Angeles. Practice based research networks are comprised of primary care practices. Networks are committed to researching and investigating community-based, patient population specific issues in primary care. Clinicians and staff have the familiarity and expertise to identify pertinent areas of research that can produce effective and immediate interventions in the care of their patients. Thus, research is practice-driven, instead of researcher-driven. Successful and relevant research within networks hinge on recognizing the unique challenges for collaboration across practice sites. Along with the challenges facing networks, the ability to nurture the appropriate skills in members of the network and the utilization of various techniques for successful collaboration will be presented using examples from the studies conducted within LA Net (incuding youth violence prevention strategies.
Recovering From Sexual Victimization: The Role of Victim Services
In the last decades a widespread system of victim services developed in Germany, most of them are built up by private institutions. On the other side, their offers are manifold: counseling, different forms of psychotherapy, financial aids, self-help groups, and other kinds of victim services are offered. On the other side, only small evaluation efforts are undertaken to assess the effectiveness of these offers. In 2000 the Max Planck Institute for Criminal Law together with the Weisse Ring, the largest private German victim service, started a research project on the effectiveness of victim services for victims of severe sexual crimes. Based on two different samples, victims were asked about their experiences with victim services, the rapists, and self-help groups. Victims’ expectations for assistance were compared to the received support in their psychological recovery process. The data show that most victims ask for extensive assistance, besides psychotherapy financial aids play an important role. A model of the differential effectiveness of victim services in recovering from sexual victimization, including the role of law enforcement agencies and the reactions of the social network, will be presented.
Reducing Firearms Violence in Detroit Through the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a Federal government (DOJ/ATF) initiative aimed at reducing gun violence at the local level. Recognizing that firearms violence problems are locally based, this national initiative is actually 93 separate programs, coordinated by each U.S. Attorney for his jurisdiction. Task forces of law enforcement and other agencies, working with a research partner and a community outreach partner, have been formed in each jurisdiction to examine its local gun violence problem in detail and design strrategic interventions to reduce it. While law enforcement tactics (arrest, prosecution, and incarceration) are among those implemented, the initiative employs deterrence as the primary problem-solving approach.
Reducing Firearms Violence in Rochester/Buffalo Through the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a Federal government (DOJ/ATF) initiative aimed at reducing gun violence at the local level. Recognizing that firearms violence problems are locally based, this national initiative is actually 93 separate programs, coordinated by each U.S. Attorney for his jurisdiction. Task forces of law enforcement and other agencies, working with a research partner and a community outreach partner, have been formed in each jurisdiction to examine its local gun violence problem in detail and design strrategic interventions to reduce it. While law enforcement tactics (arrest, prosecution, and incarceration) are among those implemented, the initiative employs deterrence as the primary problem-solving approach.
Reducing Firearms Violence in St. Louis Through the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a Federal government (DOJ/ATF) initiative aimed at reducing gun violence at the local level. Recognizing that firearms violence problems are locally based, this national initiative is actually 93 separate programs, coordinated by each U.S. Attorney for his jurisdiction. Task forces of law enforcement and other agencies, working with a research partner and a community outreach partner, have been formed in each jurisdiction to examine its local gun violence problem in detail and design strrategic interventions to reduce it. While law enforcement tactics (arrest, prosecution, and incarceration) are among those implemented, the initiative employs deterrence as the primary problem-solving approach.
Reducing Out of Community Placement in Multi-Problem Youth: The Importance of Local Context of Youth Treatment and Processing
The Mental Health/Juvenile Justice Project (MH/JJ) is an 11 county diversion program for delinquent youth who have an identified mental health and/or substance abuse need, and who are believed to be able to benefit from community-based treatment. One of the primary goals of the Project is to reduce out of community placements, including detention. The current study focuses on individual sites to examine differences in reduction of out-of-community placement over time. The 11 sites represent a broad spectrum of implementation strategies while delivering a core set of services. Sites vary geographically from urban to rural, range in size and ethnic diversity, differ on the point of contact from intake to supervision cases, and in the organization of services and lead agencies. These counties may have different treatment models and point of intervention, which affects youth outcomes. Results of multivariate regression suggest that project site is a strong predictor of out-of-community placement, controlling for several key covariates. The current study utilizes Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) to further disentangle the effects of project site on overall reductions in out-of-community placement. This analysis will inform discussion on effective diversion and treatment strategies for youth with mental health and/or substance abuse problems.
Reducing Robbery: an Evaluation of the Liverpool Robbery Reduction Initiative
Early in 2002, robbery was identified by the UK government as a key priority for the police — so much so that the Prime Minister claimed that robbery would have decreased by September 2002. Police forces in the areas with the highest rates of robbery were therefore ‘encouraged’ to design and implement robbery reduction intiatives. This paper reports on one such initiative in Liverpool, which consisted of more than 30 separate projects. A research study examined strrategic aspects of the initiative (rather than evaluating individual projects) in order to explore how fare the various projects were coordinated and complemented each other. The design, aims and objectives of all projects included in the initiative were studied the structures put in place to manage the initiative as a whole were assessed, interviews with key staff were carried out, and data on the incidence of robbery were collected. The potential for the robbery initiative to provide a robust model for future crime reduction initiatives is discussed.
Reefer Madness Revisited: A Critical Assessment of the Roots of U.S. Marijuana Prohibition
Previous researchers of U.S.marijuana prohibition have relied on either the Anslinger or Mexican Hypotheses to explain the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. The Anslinger Hypothesis posits that Federal Bureau of Narcotics Director Harry Anslinger was personally responsible for the national prohibition of marijuana, and that his sense of moral outrage against marijuana became manifested as a bureaucratic crusade. The Mexican Hypothesis maintains that the FBN did not seek to initiate federal marijuana prohibition, but rather responsed to political pressure that was exerted upon it. Based on 10 years of post-doctorate archival research, the author’s new Global Opportunity Theory finds that the impetus for the law, whose origins have been described as a “puzzle,” rests not in domestic concerns, but in the realm of U.S. foreign policy. The research centers on the relationships of the FBN, forerunner of today’s Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with the U.S. Department of State, the League of Nations, and an influential “think tank” of its day, the Foreign Policy Association. In so doing a distinction is drawn between what Becker (1963) has termed “rule making” and “rule enforcement,” a distinction that seems not to be grasped by proponents of the Mexican Hypothesis.
Reentry: A Series of Studies on Innovative Practices
CJ-DATS has identified reentry practices as one area of study that needs more attention. A series of studies are planned to investigate the impact of organizational and programmatic innovations on offender outcomes. The paper will discuss the current state of knowledge about reentry practices and how CJ-DATS will contribute to an understanding of structured release practices that affect offender outcomes.
Reentry Planning for Mentally Disordered Inmates: A Social Investment Approach
This paper argues that the most sensible way to respond to the needs of offenders with mental illness is to treat their needs as an investment, and to evaluate alternative responses to their needs int erms of the health and justice outcoems they produce. Reentry planning, in this sense, is a social investment. It protects the health outcomes produced by correctional health care and produces justice outcoems to the extent that the public is protected from future crime associated with untreated mental illness. Cost estimates are constructed for different reentry investments using inmate profiles for the universe of male mentally disordered inmates in New Jersey prisons. Estimates are constructed for three reentry investments: a unviersal program providing 6 or 12 months of coordination; a two-tier program providing 6 and 12 months of coordination; and a four-tier program providing 1 to 18 months of coordination. These estimates are based on four schemes for classifying need and risk among mentally disordered inmates. The classification schemes impose different assumptions about the equivalence of need and risk within the population. Which of the social investments yields best value lies not in their costliness or their ability to save costs but whether they yield a set of mental health and justice outcoems that the public values enough to fund.
Reentry Research Experiences: The “How To” Challenges
This session will provide a forum for discussion about the logistics of conducting research on prisoner reentry. Prisoner reentry encompasses the immediate period surrounding release and the months and years following release as ex-prisoners return to their families and communities. The obvious limitations of administrative data virtually require that an in depth study of prisoner reentry and reintegration gather information from individual prisoners and/or ex-prisoners through personal surveys, interviews, or focus groups, preferably over time. However, the research challenges involved in conducting such a study are daunting, beginning with human subjects issues, coordination with departments of correction and parole agencies, and the difficulties inherent in tracking a transient population. Several researchers who have conducted research on prisoner reentry will present their experiences and offer lessons learned during their studies.
Reforming Ourselves First: Personal Transformation and Peacemaking Criminology
In Fuller’s Criminal Justice: A Peacemaking Perspective four levels of peacemaking activities are identified. These levels are Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Institution/Societal, and Global/International. This paper will concentrate on the Intrapersonal and Interpersonal level. Specifically, it deals with how our concepts of self are related to the relationships we develop with other. Drawing on the works of Braswell, Pepinsky, Quinney, and Gandhi the paper attempts to show how our relationships are grounded in being mindful of our attitudes toward outselves. The roles of religion, humanism and spiritually are linked to how we each envision crime and justice. Gun control, drug legislation, domestic violence, and capital punishment are used as issues to further explore the relationship between personal transformation and peacemaking criminology.
Reforming the Powers of the Police in Taiwan and England and Wales: Comparative Reflections on Research, Politics and Culture
In Taiwan there have been a number of recent reforms to the legal regulation of police practices, with additional legislative reform imminent. Taking as its point of departure the decade (1990s) of research and debate on the limits and possibilities of law in policing in England and Wales, this paper revisits and analyses the relevance and significance of the themes and tropes of this English account for contemporary Taiwan. The authors project, from this account, the emergent and substantive questions of perspective, politics and methodology onto four themes: (a) the context of knowledge production and reception, (b) the irreducible issues of interpretation of empirical research; (c) the researcher’s position in relation to reform (engagement) and the process of change; (d) the significance (or otherwise) accorded in the wider culture to rights and the limits of police powers. The analysis of policing, law and research seeks to capture the variety of causes, effects and meanings and their interaction, rather than reduce these to a single currenty.
Regional and Circuit Court Differences in Decisions to Grant Departures From the Sentencing Guidelines
Increasingly, policy makers and scholars have raised concern about the existence of regional inter-judge or ibnter-district sentencing disparity across the federal judicial circuits. Particular concern has focused on the relationship between defendant characteristics, such as race and gender, and disparate sentencing outcomes. This study examines how regional differences in sentencing outcomes are explained, in part, by varying legal precedent among the circuit courts about the “appropriate” application of particular types of guideline departures and by differeing cultural norms that have developed among the judicial districts about the standards for granting departures. This paper uses two methodologies to examine the cause and consequences of inbter-judge and inter-district sentencing disparity. The first stage of the project uses federal sentencing data from 1996-1998 to examine how departures vasry among judges across judicial districts and circuits, measuring the effect of such variation on sentencinbg outcomes. The second state of the analysis uses existing federal case law on guideline departures to illustrate how differing legal standards about the “appropriate” application of particular types of departures have developed within the circuit courts, causing regional variation in the application of guideline departures.
Regional Punitivity in America – 1990 Through 1997
This paper presents statistics on the instruments of punishment (jails, prisons, sentences, probation, parolge) describing patterns in six New England states; nine Southern states; Texas; and six Rocky Mountain states. Results suggest that New England follows a policy of leniency toward minor and moderate offenders but severity toward chronic, dangerous offenders. The South and Texas follow a policy of severeity toward moderate offenders and chronic offerncers; and the Rocky Mountain states (except Utah and Colorado) follow a policy of leniency toward minor offenders but severity toward moderate and serious offenders. This research suggests several additonal lines of inquiry.
Rehabilitation of Prisoners Within the Kibbutz Movement Between 1983-2001
The present research examines quantitative and qualitative characteristics of 160 released prisoners who were sent for rehabilitation to the Kibbutz Movement by the Prisoner Rehabilitation Service between the years 1983-2001. The research examines the legal and socio-economic variables of the prisoners sent to the project, as well as a measure of their involvement during their stay at the Kibbutz. After leaving the rehabilitation framework at the Kibbutz, several benchmarks were examined for the success of the rehabilitation, such as: awareness, occupation, inter-personal relations, drugs, joining the army, etc. The research is based on the data of the Prisoner Rehabilitation Service, interviews with the released prisoners, and interviews with the families that adopted the prisoners at the kibbutz. It is important to mention that even though the rehabilitation project at kibbutzes started in 1983, until today, no systematic research has been conducted that deals with the variables referred to above. The use of an entire community of people, for purposes of rehabilitation, raises several intersting theoretical and methodological questions. The main questions focused on in this research, were: 1. Which prisoners were incorporated into the rehabilitation project: legal, socio-demographic and personal traits. 2. Levels of involvement into the kibbutz community. 3. Levels of success after leaving the kibbutz: occupation, family, awareness, the use of drugs, army service, etc. 4. The cultural dialogue in the kibbutz surrounding the absorption of prisoners and the role of the kibbutz in this matter. 5. The characteristics of the developing dialogue between the prisoner accepted and the receiving community — an analysis of the life stories of the prisoners.
Relations Between Police and Private Security in South Korea
One of the common characteristics of all emerging economies is the rise in growth of personnel employed in private security. South Korea, one of the most successful Asian countries among the emerging markets is no exception. A recent survey of 258 police officers and 134 security officers in South Korea revealed interesting findings on the issues of job satisfaction and working relationship between the two groups. Both police officers and security officers felt dissatisfied with their respective jobs. While police officers and security officers were positive of their relationship with each others, security officers are more optimistic of achieving improvement in police/security relationships. Further, the findings also reveal that both police officers and security professionals believe that the other group could do more to encourage a positive working relationship.
Relationship Between Age Structure and Homicide Rates in the United States, 1970-1999
The nature of the temporal association between age structure and homicide rates between 1970 and 1999 is examined using U.S. county data. Specifically, I ask whether (1) the strong temporal association between the relative size of the young population and homicide rates demonstrated at the U.S. national level holds at a disaggregated level and (2) the association between the proportion young and homicide rates differs by varying social and economic conditions? The results confirm that a strong temporal association between age composition and homicide rates exists within U.S. counties. However, the analysis reveals that other criminogenic forces, such as poor social and economic conditions that produce higher crime rates, can attenuate the otherwise strong association between the relative size of the young population and homicide rates.
Relationship Between Prior Arrest History, Addiction Treatment History, and Recent Drug Market Behavior Among Arrestees
Treatment admission and arrest represent competitive and complementary systems of intervention designed to affect drug use and criminal activityl. Using data from more than 70,000 interviews and urinalyses across three years of the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring program (2000-2002), we examine relationships between past history of arrests and addiction treatment and current patterns of drug use and drug market behavior. We focus on the following illicit drugs cocaine powder, crack cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine. The analysis uses the number and recency of prior arrests and the extent, characteristics, and timing of addiction treatment received to predict recent drug dependence, consumption and drug market participation among ADAM arrestees in 40 metropolitan areas, controlling for a number of demographic and geographic variables.
Reliability and Validity of the YLS/CMI
Standardized assessments of risk and need are important improvements in juvenile justice (Hoge 2001). They have the potential to improve decisions that affect both the juvniles involved and the use of system resources (Hose 2001). For these improvements to be made, it is essential to examine the instruments used to produce these assessments in terms of their reliability and validity. This paper examines the internal reliability of the YSL/CMI scores of approximately 1000 juveniles assessed in Nebraska. In addition to these analyses, we also examine the distribution of the resulting scores and collateral information concerning the results of other assessment outcomes and the system response to these juveniles.
Religion and Self-Defense Against Genocide and Other Crimes
Use of deadly force in personal or collective self-defense is immoral, according to many contemporary religious leaders. This paper examines the historical perspectives of different religions regarding possession and use of weapons for protection by individuals, communities, and nations. Protection against government oppression and genocide is examined.
Religious Attendance and Spirituality as Protective Factors for Abused and Suicidal African American Women
Women who have experienced interpersonal violence are at risk for suicidal behavior and previous research suggests that African-American women are at an increased risk. This study examined how religious attendance and spiritual well-being affect the link between interpersonal violence and suicide. It was hypothesized that, among African-American women who have been in an abusive relationship, religious attendance would protect against a suicide attempt when social support is controlled. Further, it was hypothesized that, among abused African-American women, spiritual well-being would mediate the relationship between religious attendance and suicide attempt. The study examuined 126 African-American women; 62 women who had attempted suicide, and 64 women who had not attempted suicide. All the women had been in a violent relationship. The results indicated religious attendance does not protect abused African-American women from attempting suicide. Therefore, the second hypothesis could not be tested. However, spiritual well-being was a significant protective factor when religious attendance was controlled. Future research should focus on the role that spiritual well-being plays as a protective factor.
Religious Institutions and Urban Homicide: An Analysis of Cleveland Neighborhoods
There has been substantial interest in the role local institutions play in controlling neighborhood violence (e.g., Krivo and Peterson, 1996; Peterson et al., 2000). Few studies, however, have investigated the impact of religious institutions on violent crime. Research by Zahn et al. (2002) and Lee and Bartkowski (2002) suggests greater availability of religious institutions suppressed homicde in Philadelphia neighborhoods and in counties nationally, but additional research is called for. The current study continues this line of inquiry by testing whether religious institution density is associated with lower levels of homicide across neighborhoods (census tracts) in Cleveland. Controls for social, demographic, and economic factors, as well as measures of the concentration of other establishments (e.g., bars, public housing units, schools) will be included.
Repeat Victimisation and the Policing of Communities
Three types of police service can be distinguished: (1) Reaction to relevant emergencies; (2) Identifying and processing crime perpetrators, and (3) Proaction to prevent crime and disorder (referred to here as ‘community policing’). The central problem for the organization of policing is arguably the integration of the first two elements of work with the third. In this paper, the speaker contends that focusing on identifying and providing relevant help to those previously victimized by crime offers a platform for such integration. The advantages conferred by this approach will be identified and the implications of risk-based targeting, of which repeat fictimization provides the easiest example to implement, are spelled out.
Representations of Sex Crime: Conflict, Commercialism, Culture
This paper considers the changing contexts within which the problem of sex crime — in its myriad forms — has taken root and grown in the public imagination in recent decades. With particular attention to shifts in the social, political, economic and cultural terrains of media production and wider social structures, and the significance of ever-increasing levels of crime consciousness, it links changes and continuities in representations of sex crime to wider developments in advanced capitalist societies. Finally, the paper suggests some possible futures for the construction of sex crime, should it continue to follow current trends.
Representative Policing and Violence Toward the Police
This paper investigates the extent to which under-representation of minorites among police personnel, relative to the population served, predicts citizen violence toward the police. 434 large municipal police departments are studied, with data drawn from the BJS LEMAS program, FBI LEOKA program, and the Census Bureau.
Researcher as Stakeholder: Shaman, Snake-Oil Salesman, or Sell-Out?
The temptation confronting the social science researcher to become a stakeholder — a collaborator, active contributor, and interested party — in a program or intervention is often irresistible. Indeed, participation by the research partner in actually running programs, identifying and solving problems, and generally “having a stake” in program outcomes is frequently sought by practitioners and actively encouraged by some institutions of the research community. This paper addresses the ways in which this level of involvement presents a potential conflict with core scientific principles, whether the researcher-as-stakeholder represents substantial value-added, and the circumstances in which this approach is more and less useful for advancing research and practice.
Responding to Conflict-Related Intimate Partner Homicide
This paper presents a discussion of the implications of addressing serious partner violence as a form of social control for police, domestic violence intervention and prevention programs, and policy-makers. Based on findings drawn from a quantitative and qualitative analysis of 228 intimate partner homicides committed in St. Louis, Missouri, I conclude that the differences in the lethal violence of partners is likely best addressed using responses based on a social interactionist perspective, in which such homicides occur as forms of conflict resolution, self-defense, retaliation, or as a form of lethal divorce. These findings have profound implications for responding tothe violence of intimates, and in some cases, suggest that current approaches are likely to have little impact, or even exacerbate this serious social problem. Specifically, mandatory arrest policies, offender-focused therapeutic options, and cultural considerations related to honor and respect will be discussed in terms of the possible impact of these crimes occurring as a form of social control.
Responsibility for Deciding Who Dies
In most states with the capital punishment the jury decides the defendant’s sentence. Capital Jury Project interviews with 1201 from 354 trials in 14 states reveals many problems with the way jurors make these sentencing decision. Many jurors do not see themselves as primarily responsible for the decision and do not believe the defendant will ever be executed if they sentence him or her to death. The U.S. Supreme Court maintains that juries should make the findings upon which a death sentence is based (Ring v. Arizona, 2002), and that a sentence imposed by jurors who do not see themselves as responsible is not reliable (Caldwell v. Mississippi). Analysis of the quantitative data from the juror interviews will reveal what types of jurors are most likely to see themselves as responsible and how this affects their decision-making. Excerpts from the narrative comments of the jurors will provide further insights into how they view their responsibility for deciding who dies.
Restless About the Ritalin: The Medicalization of Social Control
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been characterized by inattention with episodes of hyperactivity, but throughout the disorder’s history, there has been difficulty in providing exact diagnostic criteria. Also, the medications given for ADHD calm children down–even those whose activity level is within the normal range. Both of these factors have led to the diagnostic label being over applied to young male children who are more likely to be highly active and respond less well to the controlled setting of school than their female counterparts. ADHD (and especially its medication) has transformed into being a means of social control. By medicating students, teachers are able to teach with less interruption. Parents who want to put a child into a structured social setting soon find this much eaiser to do with medication. Evidence also exists that overmedication is more likely to occur in overcrowded, poorer school districts where there are higher numbers of minority children. In the current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) an attempt has been made to clear up some of the diagnostic confusion and there have been advances in finding a biological marker for ADHD.
Restorative Justice: A Philosophical Analysis
Restorative justice is often presented as a constructive alternative or adjunct to punitive measures. Arguments for this approach emphasize its positive contribution to crime prevention, beneficial effects on victim participants, and contribution to the moral development of the offender. Critics suggest that the discretonary approach embodied by restorative justice opens the door for excessive and inappropriate sanctions, as well as loosening the procedual protections available. This paper considers various aspects of restorative justice in light of familiar moral criticisms of the standard purposes and methods of criminal punishment, including the argument that punishment for deterrent purposes uses offenders as mere means to social ends and the argument that retributive punishment fails to annul crime and is unsupported by a social contract. I conclude that restorative justice can meet these criticisms to the extent that the sanctions imposed are voluntarily entered into by offenders, but that there is no moral objection to coercing offender participation in hearings.
Restorative Justice and the Gacaca Tribunals in Rwanda: An Investigation of Restorative Justice and Crimes Against Humanity
This research involves a field study to observe and document the gacaca courts in Rwanda in action. A documented history of recurring cycles of armed conflict between the Hutu and Tuts factions in Rwanda and the events and aftermath of the genocide of 1994 has left the Rwandan community in a state of ruin. The apparent need for reconciliation and restoration of the Rwandan community combined with other factors including a government mandate requiring individual accountability of those involved in the genocide crimes, the ICTR’s (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda) and the national genocide courts’ inability to meet the legal demands for those currently incarcerated, have together prompted the current Rwandan government to explore alternative judicial practices. The gacaca (pronounced ga-cha-cha) a traditional Rwandan dispute resolution mechanism has been modified from its historical form and incorporated by the state to serve the dual purpose of expediting the legal requirements of those still awaiting trial and providing the community with a forum for reconciliation and restoration. This research involves a field study of the gacaca tribunal’s capacity for completing this dual function. The gacaca, in its traditional form, had restoration of the community as its primary objective. As such, it displays congruence with philosophies and practices that have been become collectively known as restorative justice. Many proponents of the restorative justice model view it as a viable option to the retributive model most often associated with the criminal justice systems in place in most western societies. Critics, on the other hand, have raised numerous philosophical and practical issues regarding the implementation of practices reflecting a restorative model of justice. To date, the use and study of restorative justice practices encompassing perpetrators of severe acts of violence remains quite limited. The implementation of the gacaca tribunals provides an opportunity to investigate the implementation of a restorative justice strategy in handling violent offenders on a scale that until now was not possible. This research will seek to address both the criticisms launched against such practices and the claims made by its supporters. The research will involve spending one month in Kigali in two successive years wherein, government officials, those elected to sit on the tribunal as well as, participants from the communities that have been involved in the tribunals will be interviewed. We will also arrange to observe an ongoing tribunals as they occur during our allotted time. The desire for reconciliation, the avoidance of the Arusha courts, the limited use of the national genocide courts, and the election of nearly 250,000 citizens to serve on the tribunals does provide some encouraging signs suggesting the success of the gacaca in delivering on its intended purpose. Nevertheless, it is thought that the success of the gacaca will, in practice, be difficult to attain for a number of reasons. The potential for executions of offenders on a scale never before witnessed, the practices of plea bargaining presently determining individual outcomes a priori, the absence of accountability of the R.P.F. for their alleged offenses, the possible omission of women in the process associated with traditional gacaca, and the presence of power brokers within the communities may severely undermine the attempts for reconciliation and restoration. It is with these concerns, as well as others that mat arise, that this research will investigate the restorative potential of the gacaca courts for restoration in the aftermath of genocide.
Restorative Justice and Violence Against Women: Recent Feminist Innovations
The variety of informal conflict-mediation practices now loosely grouped under the rubric of “restorative justice” can be seen as ways of doing community organizing around criminal victimization and other kinds of harm. In theory, these practices seek to decrease the role of the state in responding to crime, and increase the involvement of personal, familial, and neighborhood networks in repairing the harm that crime causes. As practiced in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United States, restorative justice is most commonly applied to crimes by young people, largely property crimes. But there is increasing use of these practices to address crimes of violence against women. recently feminists have been examining both the dangers and potential benefits of applying restorative justice practices to crimes of battering, rape, and child sexual abuse, raising important challenges both for feminist community organizing and for restorative justice. This presentation will examine several recent restorative justice projects designed by feminists to address violence against women. Attention will be given to their efforts at expanding options for victims of violence against women, ensuring safety for women, and expanding sanctions for abusive men. The presentation will further highlight the contributions of these feminist projects to theory, research,a nd social justice.
Restorative Justice and Wrongful Convictions
To date, little scholarly attention has been given to the problems associated with restoring or compensating those persons who have been wrongfully convicted of serious crimes. The few explorations that have been done focus on the legal system as the most appropriate remedy for a wrongful conviction. Such research is situated in the traditional retributive justice sytstem and ignores the unintended consequences of judicial remedies and create barriers to adequately restore individuals to society. This paper reviews the strategies currently available to compensate the wrongfully convicted and uses the Restorative Justice framework to propose an alternative approach that is extra-judicial, grounded in the executive branch.
Restorative Justice in a Teen Court: A Process Evaluation
Increasingly, youth courts are being implemented as an alternative diversionary method to address minor juvenile offenses Youth courts vary by name and may be referred to as teen courts, peer court, or school courts. The current study focuses upon a process evaluation of a teen court based upon a restorative justice model in a southwestern state. Qualitative responses from the teen court staff including the judge, coordinator, probation officer, and adult volunteers are compared to responses from two groups of juveniles: those who volunteered for teen court service and those who were required to participate as a part of their teen court consequence. The study identifies the strengths and weaknesses of this teen court and provides suggestions for strengthening the restorative justice model.
Rethinking Graduate Comprehensive Examinations
This paper provides an overview of various formats of comprehensive examinations mandated by criminal justice and criminology Master’s degree programs in the Middle States area. A specific analysis of the comprehensive exam used by the Graduate Program in Criminal Justice at West Chester University of Pennsylvania will be presented. The evolution of the exam, its strengths and weaknesses, correlations between exam scores and GPAs, and recommendations for comprehensive exam development are included in the paper.
Rethinking the Role of Community Policing: Developing a More Ambitious Integrated Strategy to Equitably Reduce Crime, Build Social Capital, and Foster Socioeconomic Development
Community policing (COP) implementation has not reached its full potential. COP is usually not practiced according to its rhetoric, and the rhetoric of COP can be used to mask traditional approaches that may be overly aggressive and threaten civil liberties. COP is also marred by inequitable outcomes and unequal participation. The purpose of this paper is to rethink the role COP plays in crime reduction and order restoration beyond its almost total focus on crime prevention strategies. It is argued that theorized structural causes of crime and disorder (rather than just symptoms) must be dealt with if we want to democratically and permanently reduce crime while maintaining civil liberties and promoting equity. Locally constructed civic strategies that attempt to reduce rime and social disorganization, build social capital, and foster socioeconomic development are needed in order to achievve these goals. COP would only be one part of this strategy.
Rethinking the Role of Diversion in Juvenile Justice
Mechanisms for diverting young first-time offenders away from formal court processing have occupied a prominent place in the juvenile justice system at least since the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice published its Task Force Report on Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Crime. Originally intended as a means to avoid the stigma of delinquency adjudication while affording access to community-based services for minor offenders, diversion programs have since been criticized for their asserted tendency to widen the net of social control and for what some have perceived as an increasingly punitive bent. This paper explores the range of contemporary approaches to juvenile diversion and assesses the continued vitality of the diversion concept. Variations in the structure of extant programs, eligibility requirements, the process of diversion decision making and modal intervention strategies are highlighted.
Retributive Justice Theory and “Foreign” Inmates
There has been a continuous connection made between immigration and crime. Some studies have suggested that the large foreign presence in U.S. prisons is a reflection of the criminal justice process rather than offending patterns. Thus, the “fairness” of the criminal justice process has been called into question. Utilizing the theory of retributive justice as it relates to decisions about the application and severity of punishment, this study assesses the disproportionality of sentencing policies. Data from the 1997 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities is used to examine sentencing disparity between U.S. citizens and non-citizens convicted of similar offenses. The implications for theory, research, and policy are explored.
Returning Justice to the Community: The Indianapolis Restorative Justice Experiment 24-Month Analysis
The Indianapolis Restorative Justice Experiment has demonstrated reduced rates of re-offending for youths attending converences at 6- and 12-months follow-up periods. This paper extends the analysis to 24-months. Additionally, interview data are analyzed in an attempt to ort out the elements of conferences that seem associated with reductions in re-offending. Dimensions examined include perceptions of fairness, involvement and input in decision-making, and perceptions of the police and courts.
Revisiting Respondent Fatigue Bias in the National Crime Victimization Survey
The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) offers researchers and policy makers valid and reliable estimates of the nature and extent of criminal victimization in the United States. Since its inception, the NCVS has bendfitted from careful attention from researchers. For example, prior research identifies a number of types of nonsampling errors associated with the survey. However findings from past methodological studies remain largely unchallenged, though many were conducted prior to the NCVS redesign and the advent of other technologies. The current research attempts to revisit an important type of nonsampling error commonly associated with the NCVS. Data from the NCVS longitudinal file were used to explore the relationship between a positive response burden and onresponse rates. Preliminary results do not support the hypothesis that exposure to longer interviews, administered as a result of answering positively to certain screening questions, result in higher refusal rates among victims than among non-victims during subsequent interviews. In short, findings from this study fail to support the widely held notion that “respondent fatigue bias” exists as a source of nonsampling error in the NCVS.
Revisiting the Impact of Unemployment and Family Disruption on Black Violent Crime: A Comparison of UCR and NIBRS
Among studies trying t assess the extent to which structural conditions in society explain variations in criminal offending across demographic subgroups, Sampson’s 1987 study of the relationships among unemployment, family composition, and two forms of violent crime charged to black and white offenders stands out. However, he had to rely on estimates of offending behavior for racial subgroups that were calculated using offenses known and age-, race-, and sex-specific arrest data collected in the Uniform Crime Reporting Program. In this paper we examine relationships among the same sets of variables using both modified UCR arrest rates and offending rates computed using data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System for 1999-2001. In the process we assess the extent to which relationships among unemployment, family disruption, and violent crime reported for 1980-82 have changed or persisted over time. We discuss theoretical questions concerning the impact of structural conditions on violent crime and their ramifications for the development of crime reduction policies.
Revisiting the Influence of Jury Gender Composition on Capital Sentencing
In an earlier work, we reported findings that the gender composition of juries is associated negatively with decisions to impose a death sentence in capital murder cases, even when controlling for a set of legal factors known to influence death penalty decisions. An unreported follow-up study with an expanded dataset failed to replicate those results. Consequently, we revisit the influence of jury gender composition on death sentencing by analyzing an even larger sample of capital murder trails in North Carolina that contains a broader array of cases and associated factors available for control.
Revisiting the Relationship Between Welfare Expenditures and Serious Crime
Researchers have found that welfare expenditures are inversely related to serious crime. Most of these findings are based on 1990 Census data. This is a critical limitation in light of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. Using official data from all 58 counties in California for the years 1989-2000, this study explores the relationship between welfare expenditures and serious crime, while controlling for the effect of the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. The results show that in the years since 1996, the relationship between welfare spending and crime has almost completely disappeared.
Rights in the Administration of Justice: An International Perspective
The United Nations has developed a considerable body of international treaties through various declarations, conventions, and protocols on human rights in the administration of justice for the citizens in general and, women and children in particular. It is my perspective that rights granted by the international instruments to the citizens in general including women have become a reality to a considerable extent around the world but the progress inr egard to the children in this area have been slower. The paper will also examiune the reasons for the same.
Rising Crime in Japan? Risk, Reality, Media Representation and the Police
In this paper, we outline a number of reasons why we think the recent increase in Japanese crime rates is more apparent than real and that, due to the type of media coverage of rising crime and falling clear up rates, there is currently a ‘moral panic’ about crime in contemporary Japan. We argue that this ‘moral panic’ is leading to increasingly punitive public views about how the criminal justice process should be changed in response to the apparent rise in crime. Two key areas are explored in detail. First, we examine the extent to which the Japanese media provides an accurate picture to the Japanese public on current crime trends by contrasting these trends with the results from the International Crime Victimization Survey 2000 (ICVS 2000). Second, we discuss the high levels of fear of crime in Japan and offer explanations for this that are related to the public’s very low level of satisfaction with, and confidence in, their police. We conclude that there is an urgent need to reassess the traditional focus, in English language literature, on the differences beteen Japan and other developed nations in relation to crime and criminal justice. In order to reduce fear of crime, it appears that both academics and Japanese policy makers need to look in different places to those on which they have traditionally concentrated.
Risk Factors and Correlates of Ecstasy Use in the Household Population
The use of 3-4 Metheledioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “Ecstasy”) has increased dramatically in recent years. While appreciable attention has been given to the psychopharmacology of MDMA, risk factors for use of this drug are as yet not well characterized. This analysis utilizes 55,561 interviews from the 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse to examine the distribution and correlates of MDMA use in the U.S. household population. Bivariate associations are examined between past year (1.4%) and lifetime (3.6%) MDMA use and expected correlates including demographic characteristics, criminal behavior, stress, self rated acceptability of illegal drug use, other substance use, and affective disorders. Multivariate logistic regressions are calculated to determine the strongest net effects of covariates, some of which can be temporally ordered and thus permit reasonable interpretation as risk factors. Implications of the results for public health, law enforcement and scientific understanding of the recent Ecstasy ‘epidemic’ are discussed.
Risk Factors for Domestic Violence Among Vietnamese and Cambodian Populations in the U.S.
Across the nation, immigrant and refugee populations have been increasing rapidly. These groups face numerous challenges following resettlement. Among the challenges are unfamiliar environments, new norms, social status changes, acculturation tensions, social isolation, and family conflict. Despite their growing number in the population, the literature on domestic violence among Southeast Asians in the U.S. is limited. Using data from the Cross-Cultural Families Project, the present study examines prevalence rates and predictors of domestic violence among Vietnamese and Cambodian populations. The Cross-Cultural Families Project is an on-going longitudinal study of Southeast Asian families (N=327). Data for the current analyses are derived from in-person interviews with female participants. Regression analyses investigate risk factors for domestic violence, including factors such as acculturation, attitudes towards marital violence, substance abuse, employment, and childhood exposure to domestic violence. Findings offer important implications for intervention and outreach to immigrant populations.
Risk Factors for Gang Membership Among Norwegian Adolescents
Findings from North American longitudinal studies of adolescents suggest that prior involvement in antisocial and criminal behavior is one of the best predictors of becoming a gang member. In addition, a number of factors within the domains of community, family, friends, school and individual characteristics have been found to increase the risk of gang membership. This paper explores risk factors of gang membership in a sub-sample of Norwegian students from The New Bergen Project Against Bullying. Data from a two-year longitudinal study of students in grades 5-7 (n=1952) who were measured at three time points (T1-T3), showed that the risk factors were largely different for boys and girls. Using logistic regression analysis, ‘antisocial involvement’ at T1 (Bendixen & Olweus, 1999) was the single best predictor of gang membership at T2/T3 for boys, while ‘substane use’ was the single best predictor for girls. Additional risk factors for boys included ‘number of antisocial friends’, ‘opposition to parents’, ‘lack of parental control’ and ‘aggressive responses’. ‘Lack of commitment to school’ and ‘learning disabilities’ did not predict gang membership, nor did ‘parental divorce’ and personal characteristics such as ‘inattentiveness’, ‘hyperactivity’, ‘anxiety’ and ‘dominance’.
Risky Lifestyles and Dating Violence: A Theoretical Test of Violent Victimization
Research consistently indicates that there are numerous risk factors associated with dating violence. Few studies, however, have developed theoretical explanations for the prevalence of dating victimization. In this study victimization theories were tested that suggest risk-taking behaviors (i.e., drug abuse, alcohol abuse, driving under the influence, and sexual promiscuity) mediate the effects of social ties and emotional states on the likelihood of violent victimization in adolescent dating relationships. This model was tested using a representative sample of public high school students in South Carolina. The results confirm theoretical predictions and indicate the effects of social ties on dating victimization occur indirectly, through their antecedent influence on risk taking. These findings, therefore, lend support for a lifestyles theory explanation of violent victimization in adolescent dating relationships. The implications of this research for theory and social policy are discussed.
Role of Indigenous-Operated Criminal Justice Organizations in Political Activism in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA
Six criminal justice service organizations operated by Indigenous people in four countries were analyzed to determine the political roles that each organization has undertaken. Each organization has tried to influence law and policy concerning Indigenous peoples through a variety of actions such as writing policy papers, informal lobbying, presentations to govenment groups, use of the media, publication of organizational documents, and hosting “watchdog” programs that monitor the criminal justice system. These roles are classified as “big P” and “small P” political activism. The organizations practice one or the other, seldom both. The difference can be traced to a number of factors including: the formality of the organization’s political mandate, the degree of public support in that country for political organizations run by Indigenous peoples, funding dependency, political styles of organizational leaders, and expectations of Indigenous stakeholders. It is concluded that colonial processes still influence the provision of justice services to Indigenous peoples in each country, and that these organizations have developed anti-colonial strategies that could be shared with each other for their mutual benefit.
Role of Police in Schools: National Survey Results From Public Schools and Law Enforcement Agencies
National concern about school safety raises questions about how law enforcement should be involved in schools. This paper presents results from a national survey of public schools and their affiliated law enforcement agencies. Principals were asked to describe school problems and how law enforcement works with their schools to address these issues. Law enforcement officials responded to similar questions regarding the nature and extent of their involvement with these schools. The analysis includes a comparison of principal and police responses. Observations from recent site visits to schools and law enforcement agencies are also discussed.
Role of Repeat Victimization in the Explanation of Annual Crime Rates and Trends
Victimization counts and rates produced from the National Crime Victimization survey (NCVS) are leading indicators of crime in the U.S. According to the NCVS, the level of violent victimization declined throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. Victimization rates, however, do not account for the number of victims. A small number of repeatedly victimized persons may have a large impact on annual victimization estimates and subsequent perceptions of risk for violence. This paper examines the relationship between the annual number of violent victims and victimizations as reported from 1993-2000 by the NCVS. Using person and incident files two research questions are answered. First, for what types of victims (race/ethnicity, gender, age) and incidents (assaults, weapon, intimate partner) is the victimization to victim ratio significantly greater than 1? Secondly, can the contemporary decline in victimization rates be explained by a differential decline between the number of victims and victimizations?
ROUNDTABLE: How to Build a University-Based Research Institute for Fun and Profit!
The research team of the Juvenile Justice Institute (JJI) at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Department of Criminal Justice will discuss the challenges and rewards of building an independent research program within a university setting. During its first year of operation, the JJI seured productive relationships with state and local agencies that enabled it to expand its research base and triple its original budeget. Discussion topics include: “Carving Out a Research Niche”, “Administrative Infrastructure and Research”, “Tapping the Revenue Stream in Community Partnerships”, “Data, Data, Everywhere”, and “Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice.”
Routine Crime in Exceptional Times: The Impact of the Olympic Games on Calls for Service and Crime Reports
Little is known about the impact of exceptional events on routine crime. Some evidence suggests that violence may be influenced by the occurrence of extraordinary events such as executions, wars or prize-fights. However, considerably less is known about the influence of major events on routine crime activities. While there is speculation that the presence of events such as the Super Bowl, national political conventions or the Olympics reduce crime in the hosting jurisdiction, there is little empirical evidence regarding this issue. Calls for service and crime report data for Salt Lake City, Utah are used to examine the impact of the presence of the Olympic Games on these activities. A time series analysis is presented.
Routine Victimization? A Look at the Dual Roles of Opportunity and Routine Activities in Sex Offenders’ Victim Selection
The purpose of this study was to explore whether sex offenders’ victim selection patterns adhered to that predicted by Cohen and Felson in their Routine Activities Theory. In-depth interviews with a sample of sex offenders from a residential treatment program inside a medium security prison explored the roles of opportunity and routine activities in sex offenders’ victim selection. The information gathered from the interviews supported the role of opportunity in sex offenders’ victim selection through their physical proximity to victims and/or their knowledge of victims’ emotional availability. Additionally, support was found for Cohen and Felson’s Routine Activities Theory in the sexual offending patterns of the respondents in this study, suggesting that available targets and lack of guardianship play important roles in victim selection.
Rural Population Changes Resulting From Prison Expansion in the U.S. (1990-2000)
The U.S. prison population increased 79 percent (from 774,000 to 1,382,000) in the decade 1990-2000. Many of these imprisoned offenders were urban residents that served their sentences in rural prisons. This paper examines the magnitude of the population shift caused by the concentration of prisons in rural areas, along with the effect of this population shift on the demographic characteristics of rural areas that experienced prison construction and expansion.
Russian Organized Crime: Problems and Perspectives of Russian-American Cooperation in Law Enforcement
This work explores American and Russian cooperation in organized crime control efforts. The factors that determine the emergence and development of organized crime in modern Russia are discussed to provide an understanding of the problem’s roots. The author is tracking the connections of Russian organizeed crime with the other transnational criminal groups and their break-in to the U.S. territory. one of the important aspects of the cooperative effort is organized crime’s legal regulation in both countries, including mutual agreements. This work focuses on major areas of Russian-American cooperation in law enforcement like drug trafficking, human trafficking, child pornography, and money laundering. Also considered are methods of cooperation in law enforcement like information exchange and mutual aid in criminal proceedings. Examples of the recent events in the international criminal arena illustrate the mechanisms and faults of cooperation in Russian and American law enforcement. In conclusion, the study proposes several improvements in the Russian-American fight against organized crime.
Rutgers Center for the Study of Public Security
The Rutgers Center for the Study of Public Security (RCSPS) is an interdisciplinary center of research and outreach activities that was founded by the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers School of Law, Rutgers College of Nursing, and the Center for Global Change and Governance in 2002. The RCSPS is positioning itself as a leading national research center focused on interdisciplinary approaches to security research. It emphasizes collaboration across multiple sectors at neutral forum for public discussions, dialogue and problem-solving on security issues in the post-9/11 environment and in the broader context of social change and conflict. The main item on the agenda of the RCSPS is to understand the consequences of heightened security. Based on the very productive discussions with participants at the Health Security in NJ summit in June 2003, the RCSPS launched the Public Security Monitoring Project (PSMP) to track changes in security pre-9/11 and post-9/11. The methodology involves in-depth interviews with decision-makers in the corporate, health, and law enforcement sectors. Interviewers are probing the meaning of security, risk perceptions, risk assessments, employee reactions and involvement, management, economic impacts, and disruptions. During the course of its research and outreach activities, the RCSPS will be reparing a narrative for use by decision and policy-makers.
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Safe Space in the Eye of the Storm: An Examination of Neutral Zones Within Homicide Hot Spots
Research has shown that homicide is largely an urban phenomenon. Within some urban centers, concentrated levels of homicide rates exist in pockets of the city. A number of social scientists over the years, have informed us that there is a direct connection between crime and place (Harries 1974, Meither and Meier 1990, Felson and Cohen 1980). That is, certain types of crimes may occur in particular places due to the physical and social characteristics of those spaces. This paper examines the differences between neighborhoods that have been identified as homicide hot spots and those that exist within these areas but have not been the sites of homicide.
School Predictors of the Implementation Quality of School-Based Prevention Programs
Recent research has highlighted the importance of the implementation quality of school-based programs designed to reduce delinquency and other problem behaviors. Simply put, interventions that are better implemented exhibit greater effectiveness in reducing these behaviors. This research has also identified many factors that correlate with successful implementation, including organizational capacity and support, leadership, program structure, and level of disorder (G. Gottfredson et al., 2000). This paper uses a nationally representative data set of schools to examine these correlates ingreater detail. It is hypothesized that school characteristics such as greater organizational capacity, positive leadership, greater organizational support, greater program standardization, greater program integration into normal school activities, and less school disorder are predictive of higher levels of implementation quality. A structural equation model will be developed illustrating these hypotheses; this model will be estimated using the EQS structural equation program (Bentler, 1995).
School to Work Trajectories From Age 14 to Age 18 Using the NLSY97: Are Patterns of Work During Adolescence Associated With Offending and Other Salient Life Outcomes?
There are large literatures examining the impact of work on crime in both adult (Fagan and Freeman 1999) and adolescent (Steinberg and Cauffman 1995) contexts, but most consider the impact of a job or working in a given time period on criminal offending in the same or proximate time period. Yet, work, especially during adolescence, is much more than what the individual is doing in the workforce in a given week, or even year. Adolescents are engaged in a process by which they move from complete involvement in the world of school to complete involvement in the world of work. The nature of this process, sometimes referred to as the school-to-work transition, could plausibly have a causal impact on the criminal offending of individuals. For example, some researchers have suggested that a precocious transition to work, especially work of more than 20 hours a week, will lead to premature detachment from school, and altered life outcomes including increased crime. Others have suggested that experience with work in high school lead to better life outcomes in young adulthood. In this paper, we use the rich work history data from the NLSY97 data set to perform three separate tasks. First, we will use the semi-parametric trajectory method (Nagin and Land 1993) to identify discrete trajectories of work during the school year from age 14 to 18. This exercise makes it clear that the school to work transition is not the same experience for everyone. Second, we will attempt to identify factors measured at ages 14-15 which might predict which trajectory an individual will take. This, we will examine correlations beteween these trajectories of work and life outcoems like school, work, crime and family life at ages 18-19. This last step is the first step towards a more causal analysis of how the school to work transition is associated with the process of offending over the life course.
Screening for Co-Occurring Mental health and Substance Abuse Disorders in Adult Arrestees in Cuyahoga County, Ohio
As part of NIJ’s Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) research platform, this presentation highlight findings from the Cleveland/Cuyahoga County ADAM addendum study in which recently booked adult male and female arrestees were screened for co-ocurring mental health and substance abuse disorders. The questionnaire administered contained the 16-item Simple Screening Instrument (SSI) developed by the Center for Substane Abuse Treatment (CSAT, 1994) along with other questions constructed for identifying individuals who are likely to have a mental disorder. Finding from the study were used to establish the local rate of adult arrestees in the criminal justice system that were in need of treatment services as well as generate new models for linking clients to services using new diversion or case management models.
Securing the Modern Enterprise – an Ounce of Prevention …
Enterprises are faced with unprecedented risks associated with the pervasive infusion of technologies into virtually every corner of their operations. Today’s managers are faced with a daunting array of technology driven risks to navigate. Economic espionage, privacy, hostile workplace claims, employee productivity, regulatory compliance, and systems integrity and availability are but a few of these issues that cut across all areas of operation. Issues that, if not properly handled, can have devastating consequences to an enterprise’s viability. Unfortunately, far too many enterprises have failed to grasp the severeity of these risk and take the necessary measures to mitigate them. This presentation will provide a prosecutor’s perspective on these issues and common concerns and practices often overlooked by enterprises.
Securing Your Academic Job
Panelists will discuss the application process, developing references, preparing the vita, the academic interview, negotiating the academic contract, and other issues related to securing the academic job.
Selecting Sites for Intensive Study in Multi-Site Evaluations
Evaluations of large Federal initiatives that include many sites often target a subset of sites for more intensive study than is financially feasible in all sites. Site selection should be carefully considered, as it has implications for the ability to generalize from and interpret findings. This round-table discussion will address important aspects of site selection, including: a) Should sites be randomly selected? If so, should randomization be stratified along key dimensions? b) If sites are to be purposively selected, what criteria should be used to identify the information upon which sites will be selected? When sites are selected purposively, how should findings be interpreted? c) To what extent should non-selected sites be included in the evaluation? How should findings from selected sites be used to enhance understanding of non-selected sites? Researchers from RTI International and the Urban Institute will lead the discussion, using as expamples the following evaluations of multi-site Federal initiatives: a) the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative (SS/HS) national evaluation, which includes 97 sites; b) the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) national evaluation, which includes 68 sites; and c) the drug courts national evaluation.
Self-Control, Peer Relationships and Delinquency
Researchers testing Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime (1990) have neglected the issue of peer relationships and their influence on delinquency. Yet, developmental research indicates that children with low self-control are more likely to be rejected by their peers in late childhood (Olson and Hoza, 1993; Olson, 1989). Rejected children then, are likely to have few peer choices in early adolescence and may be more likely to associate with delinquent peers (Conduct Problems Research Group, 19892; Ferguson and Horwood, 1999) and may be sensitive to delinquent peer pressure. Using longitudinal data, I investigate how late childhood self-control predicts peer rejection, peer selection and sensitivity to peer pressure in early adolescence. I then investigate the direct and interactive effects of low self-control, peer rejection, peer pressure and peer selection on delinquency in middle adolescence. Implications for the general theory of crime, criminal opportunity and peer relationships are discussed.
Self-Control, Social Learning and Variability Over Time: Multivariate Results Using a Five-Year, Multi-Site Panel of Youth
Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime, also known as self-control theory, includes the claim that by the age of 10 a child’s self-control should be fairly fixed. Low self-control children exhibit far greater proclivity for delinquency and analogous misbehavior, especially compared to those with higher levels of self-control. Their respective levels of self-control are relatively immutable over the life course. Akers’ social learning theory, conversely, describes adoption of delinquent attitudes and orientations as processual in nature, and subject to learning mechanisms which are liable to change over time. Both claims have been subjected to limited longitudinal study. We explore the variability over time of both self-control levels and learning mechanisms as exhibited by a group of school children first measured betweeen the ages of 11 and 13 as part of a program evaluation and followed for four years. We provide a series of multivariate analyses intended to compare the relative invariance over time of both self-control and social learning forces, particularly as each set is capable of predicting future self-reported misbehavior in subsequent years. We discuss the implications of the findings for both theories.
Self-Image, -Presentation, and -Preservation: Battered Women’s Internalized Help-Seeking
Throughout the course of abusive relationships, many women rationalize, justify, and otherwise make sense of the violence perpetrated against them in various ways. This paper examines the specific mechanisms in which nineteen residents of a domestic violence shelter relied upon internalized means of surviving and resisting partner battering. The findings, based on qualitative, semi-structured life-history interviews, detail the women’s efforts at psychologically surviving the abuse, including internalizing guilt and anger through self-destructive behaviors, altering physical appearance or legal identity, and writing poetry or journaling. The women’s efforts are couched within a social, historical, and political context in which complacency toward violence against women can be observed on many levels. Indeed, the women utilized internal/individual-based mechanisms of help-seeking in lieu of, in combination with, or after being deserted by outward mechanisms of help-seeking, including calling the police, obtaining court protection, filing for divorce, pursuing faith-based support, telling friends and family, and relying on social services.
Self-Reported and Official Estimates of National Trends in Illegal Drug Use for Different Gender-Race-Age Groups, 1979-2001
Prior research on trends in illegal drug use has seldom examined whether the trends vary, both separately and in combination, across (i) gender, race, and age comparisons and (ii) by drug-type. In this paper, we examine almost 25-year trend lines (roughly late 1970s thru early 2000s) in use/distribution of marijuana, cocaine, narcotics (heroin), and other illicit rugs broken out by different gender-race-age groups. The analysis compares the results based on both official arrest data (Uniform Crime Report) and self-report survey data (National Household Survey on Drug Abuse). Both are long-term continuous sources of information on illegal drug use that also contains matchable measures of gender, race, and age. The factual material of these trends will be presented both in a straightforward fashion (e.g., rates and relevant female percentage) and also examined by time series and logistic regression techniques. Our preliminary analysis reveals fluctuations in both female and male rates of illegal drug use over this time period but very little change in the female percentage of use/distribution. This finding holds across most drug types and gender-race-age comparisons.
Self Reported Drug Use: An Investigation Into a Pre-Trial Diversion Program in the City of New Orleans
As arrests for drug offenses in urban areas continues to increase it has become painfully obvious that some court dockets and correctional facilities have become congested to the point of utter blockage. One possible remedy to these ailments was developed by the City of New Orleans’ Office of the District Attorney in the form of a Pretrial Diversion Program for non-violent, first-time drug offenders. One difficulty of such a diversion program centers upon the necessity of making certain participants abide by the program requirements. One such task placed on program staff is detecting drug use by program clients. Hair RIA, combined with urinalysis, has proven successful in detecting many instances of drug use by participants. However, the staff of such a program would be aided considerably by having at their disposal a model of the characteristics of an individual who would be likely to be less than truthful regarding self-reported drug use. Using data collected on program participants in the City of New Orleans, the researcher has developed a model of the type of program participant deemed most likely to falsify self-reports of drug use. In addition, the researcher has also shed some light on the possibilities posed by the introduction of ion mobility spectrometer technology in regard to drug use detection.
Self-Reported Healthcare Needs of Addicted Criminal Offenders
Interviews, physical examinations, and psychological testing were conducted with a sample of 360 chemically dependent inmates and detainees at Cook County Jail in Chicago. Respondents were predominantly male (75%), African-American (about 80%), and had a mean age of about 39. Data are presented that examine patterns of drug use, and self-perceived health status. In the previous 12 months, respondents were primarily users of tobacco (88%), alcohol (64%), crack cocaine (56%) and heroin (54%). Major health problems experienced in the previous 12 months include dental, injuries (both intentional and unintentional), respiratory (primarily asthmna), mental health. validity and reliability of self-reported healthcare needs, and utilization fo correctional healthcare services, are discussed.
Sentences for White Collar Offenders 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 percent 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. Hwever, 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 international comparision as made, too.
Sentencing Behavior After Federal Guideline Shift in Child Pornography Crimes
In 1995, Congress passed the Sex Crimes Against Childrenb Act (SCACPA) which directed the United States Sentecing Commission (UYSSC) to increase base offense levels and create an adjustment for the use of a computer in crimes against children. The SCACPA was passed due to concern about the ever increasing availability of computer and internet technology to individuals. These changes are particularly important when considering the trafficking of child pornography where the use of a computer and/or the internet could dramatically advance the size and span of such an industry. Through this research I will seek to determine how offenders are being sentenced, as well as which offenders, if any, are receiving a greater term of incarceration due to the computer use adjustment. Analysis of USSC data files from amendment years 1991 through 1995 will be compared to those during amendment years 1996 through 1999 (when the changes came into effect).
Sentencing Data and the Focal Concerns Perspective–a Research Note
Although several theoretical perspective shave been used to study judicial discretion in the sentencing process, the focal concerns perspective has recently become one of the dominant theoretical frameworks used in the sentencing literature. The original work on focal concerns in sentencing revolved around the treatment of female defendants; this perspective has been expanded to include race and ethnicity as well. This paper examines prior sentencing studies, primarily from Pennsylvania data, that have tested the focal concerns theory in relation to race and ethnicity. This research further explores the focal concerns perspective with data provided by the U.S. Sentencing Commission in an effort to test the focal concerns perspective utilizing both a more inclusive and a more parsimonious analytic model.
Sentencing Decisions in Florida: An Analysis of Sentencing in a Guidelines State
Among the various decisional points throughout the criminal justice process, the sentencing decision continues to be of high interest for both researchers and policy-makers alike. Following decades of debate and increasingly sophisticated research, the causes, solutions, and even the existence of unwarranted disparity are still unclear. Furthermore, the impact of policy initiatives such as guidelines and mandatory minimums on sentencing patterns is unknown in all but a few states and the federal system. This research design focuses on sentencing in the state of Florida over several years following the implementation of several sentencing law reforms. Multi-level models of sentencing will be discussed.
Sentencing Differences in Male and Female Offenders: Does the Crime Matter?
Persistent argument continues over disparity in sentencing outcomes, both for racial groups and gender. The debate originally centered on racial disparities found in minority groups, particularly African Americans (See Walker, Spohn, and DeLone 2000 for an overview). Feminist scholars have also called for exploration of differences in sentencing patterns for women and men (See Chesney-Lind and Sheldon 1998). Much of the research on gender sentencing differences has used gender as a control variable, while a growing body of literature is being produced studying separate analysis for women and men. The current research follows the second path of analysis. The research explores sentencing differences for women and men convicted of what are believed to be more gender specific offenses, burglary (for men) and larceny-theft (for women). The current research should provide new knowledge in two areas. First, are the crimes under study gender specific? Second, are sentencing patterns different for women and men for these crimes? Data for the analysis are sentencing data provided by one southern state for the year 2001. Analysis was completed on a subset of the larger population (N-5,332), with only those convicted of burglary (n=423) and larceny (n=427) considered in the current study. Separate regression analysis for those offenders committing burglary for women and men were completed, controlling for both legal and extra-legal factors. The same procedure was used for those convicted of larceny. Comparing regression coefficients for women and men provides an opportunity to examine which factors–legal or extra-legal–are more significant in sentencing patterns. Using a critical feminist perspective, the current analysis should provide insight as to the different sentencing patterns for females and males, focusing on crimes that are believed to be more gender specific.
Sentencing Guidelines: Measuring the Incapacitation Payoff and Prison Cost
Among other objectives, the 1984 Federal Comprehensive Crime Control Act instructed the United States Sentencing Commission to consider the Sentencing Guideline’s crime incapacitation effects. Toward meeting this goal, we employ survival analysis and mixture models in both profiling group specific federal offender life course offending trajectories, and in estimating the number of crimes incapacitated under guideline prison sentences offenders receive. Additionally, we describe methods for linking the estimated crimes incapacitated under the guideline sentences considered to a simulation model estimating the prison beds needed to do so.
Sentencing of White-Collar Offenders Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines
This resarch examines judicial and prosecutorial discretion in sentencing offenders convicted of a white-collar crime in federal court. The research further develops and tests the legal bureaucratic model of federal sentencing. The research estimates multivariate models of sentencing that focus the role of guilty pleas and departures on length of imprisonment. Findings indicate the importance of guidelines departures on sentence severity imposed under the federal sentencing guidelines.
Serious Incidence of Inmate on Staff Violence: An Analysis of Individual Mental Health and Demographic Variables
As the rate of incarceration continues to climb, the potential for inmate violence remains a major concern for most prison staff. This is particularly true when the staff themselves become the focus of an assault. How one best educates staff about high assault risk inmates, acts or events and the interventions employed to prevent such assault are predicated upon our ability to document and study previous incidents. Using archival data from the Federal Bureau of Prisons a data base reflecting three separate information sources on staff assaults from 2001 was constructed. This data base was unique in that it allowed an examination of individual mental health, disciplinary, demographic and incident variables to be examined simultaneously. Using anecdotal information, there appears to be a strong relationship between acting out that is described as self-mutilation, and subsequent acts of violence that often involve staff. This is one of the relationships that we will be examining statistically using this data set. Implications for future research, mental health assessments for level of inmate supervision and care, and staff training will all be drawn out.
Setting the Stage for a New Code of Commercial Conduct: The Criminalization of Trade Secret Theft
This presentation will examine several areas of intellectual property law under which criminal prosecutions are brought. An increase in intellectual property crimes, combined with the lack of deterrence associated with civil mechanisms, has led the federal government and most states to enact statutues with criminal provisions designed to prevent the theft of intellectual property rights. Criminal penalties imposed for the misappropriation of trade secrets are far more severe than any other crminal liability for violations of other intellectual property rights. Persons engaged in misappropriation in the U.S. no longer will have their liability limited to civil remedies and damages imposed for such misconduct. The recent changes are, in part, a response to the increased ease of transferring information by computer and in particular the Internet.
Severe Mental Illnesses Among ADAM Arrestees
Although recent studies have identified the prevalence and characteristics of probationers, detainees, and inmates with mental illnesses, no comparable studies have investigated mental illnesses among arrestees. The current research has two purposes: Using synthetic estimation and U.S. census, ADAM, and UCR data, we examined the prevalence of mental illnesses among arrestees and explored the differences between mentally ill and non-mentally ill arrestees on a variety of characteristics. Second, we conducted a pilot study with Chicago arrestees that assessed the utility of two brief standarized screening tools — the K6 and K10 — for detecting severe psychological distress.
Severeity and Chronicity of Domestic Violence: The Impact on Child and Adolescent Trauma
Beginning April 1999, a consortium comprised of Kent State University’s Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence (ISPV) and multiple community-based social service and health providers collaborated with police departments in five communities to identify and provide services to children and their families who have witnessed violence, known as the Children Who Witniess Violece (CWWV) program. CWWV has provided us with data on over 2900 children at the time of the violent incident, 342 cases at Time 2, and 227 cases at Time 3. In general, the majority of children (80% by caregiver report) experienced significant mental health and behavior problems as a result of witnessing violence. Having analyzed this data set, we currently find significant improvements in child and adolescent health over time. Currently, we ask how severity and chronicity of the violence witnessed impacts child trauma. A significan gap is addressed because previous knowledge in this area has been confined to small samples, particularly from domestic violence shelters, outpatient treatment centers, or hospital emergency departments. This research will contribute to the scientific understanding of the cycle of violence, risk related to child exposure to violence, and the childhood domestic violence experience.
Sex Re-Education: Availability and Content of John Diversion Programs in the United States
Diversion programs for first time non-violent offenders are now often used as an alternative to other correctional models. In recent years, diversion programs have been developed as a pre-trial intervention for men who have been arrested soliciting prostitutes. This study examines the availability and content of these programs. First, it examines area differences in the availability of diversion programs. It then compares programs throughout the country, using content analysis of programs and analysis of aggregate census data on demographic, social and economic indicators is utilized to determine if differences in the type or content of programs offered exist and how they may be a reflection of the social climate of a particular region. It is hypothesized that ethnic and other cultural variations in programs will reflect the cultural variations of the area served.
Sexual Assault Cases Seen in the Emergency Department: Data From the National Electronic Injury Suveillance System, July 2000-June 2001
Since July 2000, nationally representative data have been collected on injuries treated in a stratified probability sample of 66 hospital emergency departments (EDs) through the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All-Injury Program (NEISS-AIP). NEISS-AIP data enable calculation of national, annualized, weighted estimates for nonfatal injuries treated in U.S. hopsital Eds, and suggest that approximately 1.7 million persons were treated in U.S, EDs during 2000 for injuries related to nonfatal physical assaults, incluing an estimated 63,984 sexual assaults. This analysis examnes injuries related to sexual assaults, using data from July 2000 through June 2001. Preliminary estimates suggest that more than 33,000 ED visits are identified annually as involving sexual assault of someone age 15 or older. ED visits for this type of injury are predominantly by females (93%), most of whom are not hospitalized. For a substantial proportion of ED visits for sexual assault (55%), the perpetrator-victim relationship is unknown or unspecified in the hospital chart. Annualized weighted estimates for sexual assault rates will be presented, controlling by demographic and injury-related variables, disposition, and perpetrator-victim-relationship. NEISS-AIP analyses are compared to ED visit data from other data sources, and we consider the overall utility of NEISS-AIP analyses of sexual assault.
Sexual Deviants: An Exploratory Study of Sexual Misconduct Among Federal Inmates
This study examined the problematic behavior of a subgroup of inmates housed at the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. Approximately 10 percent of the inmates at USP Marion engaged in sexual misconduct. Sexual misconduct was manifested in the forms of indecent exposure, engagement in sexual acts and sexual propositions. Forty-two inmates met this criterion for inclusion in a group conceptualized as the sexual deviants. A random sample was drawn consisting of 72 general population inmates. Seven sex offenders were identified and 11 sex offenders who also engaged in sexual deviancy comprised a fourth group under exploration. Profiles of all four groups on 19 independent variables were generated (demographics, background variables and institutional variables). Aside from creating profiles for the groups, this research was interested in determining how the sexual deviants significantly differed from the random sample. The sex offenders were dropped from the statistical analyses due to the small sample size. The sex offenders who also engaged in sexual misconduct were included in the sexual deviant category (n=53). Independent samples t-tests were ran to test for statistically significant differences between the sexual deviants and the random sample. Correlational analysis was also conducted. Regression models were used to determine which independent variables predicted all prison misconduct, sexual misconducts and selected infractions. Statistically significant differences were observed between the groups in their marital status, gang affiliation, race, alcohol and drug history, education and havuing ever committed an infraction. Sexual deviants engaged in all varieties of misconduct at Marion and at prior institutions. Furthermore, the sexual deviant variable was a more powerful predictor of all forms of misconduct, including nonsexual misconduct, than marital status, education, age, race, prior history, time served and criminal associates. Results from this study support the utility in examining institutionalized sexual deviancy. Future research directives have been provided as well as the role of research in correctional policy initiatives.
Sexual Victimization and HIV Risk Behaviors Among Women in Criminal Justice Settings
During the past decade, a growing body of research has investigated the link between sexual victimization and subsequent participation in HIV-risk behaviors. The rate of AIDS cases among U.S. inmates is four time greater than in the general population, with female inmates 50% more likely than males to be HIV-infected (U.S. Department of Justice, 2002). Despite these figures, few studies have examined the intersection of victimization and HIV-risk in among women in criminal justice settings. In the present study, we report findings from interviews with 90 women in prison, on probation, or on parole. Sexual victimization experiences, HIV status, and HIV risk behaviors including sharing drug injection equipment, and engaging in transactional sex and other high-risk sexual behaviors are presented. Findings will be compared to studies involving non-criminal justice samples and implications for prevention and intervention will be discussed.
Sibling Similarity for Problem Behavior in the National Youth Survey From Adolescence to adulthood
The foundation sample of the National Youth Survey (NYS) consisted of 1725 individuals drawn from 1044 households, with 574 households represented by only a single individual, and the remaining 470 households represented by at least two individuals. the sibling relationships in the NYS sample have been used previously (e.g., Rowe & Britt, 1991, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 7:315-331), but are central to the extension of the National Youth survey to a three-generation family study of problem behavior. we review the sibling resemblance for self-reported substance and delinquent problem behaviors from adolescence to young adulthood, and compare these results to those obtained from unselected, genetically informative samples of twin, adopted siblings, and full siblings from Colorado tested as adolescents and yount adults.
Sibling Violence and Routine Activities
This research examines the role of the family and peers on the development of physically aggressive and violent behavior. Using longitudinal data, I examine which individual and family level factors predict sibling aggression. I also determine if and how sibling aggression is part of a general pattern of violence by using behavior between siblings to predict aggression targeted at peers.
Situational Factors Affecting Police Discretion With Young Offenders: A Comprehensive Analysis
We report the results of a compehensive study of factors affecting the exercise of discretion by police officers dealing with youth-related incidents in Canada. The study considers 19 possible factors, including characteristics of the situation, the offense, the victim, and the offender. Two kinds of data are analyzed: views of police officers and statistical data from the Canadian Incident-Based UCR Survey. Police officers’ views are taken from 128 in-depth interviews conducted in 2002 with officers in all functional assignments (patrol, investigation, youth squad, school liaison officers, and management). These officers work in 92 police agencies which are approximatley representative of all police agencies in Canada: representative with respect to geographical distribution, type of community (metropolitan, suburban/exurban, and rural/small town), and type of policing (independent municipal police agencies and provincial police detachments). The incident-based UCR data include detailed case information on a large number of young persons apprehended in 2001, in jurisdictions accounting for approximately 50% of youth-related incidents in Canada.
Sneetches and Turtles and Whos? You’re Leery? Be Happy and Cheery, My Doubting Deary! Dr. Seuss Helps You Teach Crime Theory!
Although it is fairly well known that Theodore Geisel (“Dr. Seuss”) often used his art and storytelling as political and social commentary, no one has attempted to interpret his work through the lens of criminological theory. This paper argues that seveal of his “children’s” stories can be pedagogical aids in teaching the basic principles of many criminological theories. Several classic Seuss works are used to illustrate his subtle, but powerful commentary on the creation and application of laws, the impact of social stratification, the pervasive and dangerous influence of social and political power derived from economic power, and the nature of crime, punishment, and rehabilitation.
Social Capital and Homicide Victimization: A Cross-National Study
Social capital is a resource individuals draw upon to facilitate social action. These resources emerge as a by-product from mutually reinforcing and trusting social networks between and among other individuals and social institutions. Prior research has suggested that social capital may have the potential to enhance the understanding of crime by illuminating the crime reducing (social capital) and crime-enhancing (criminal capital) processes associated with informal social bonds and networks. In this paper we examine the effect of social capital on homicide rates in different countries using cross-national data taken from the 1980, 1990 and 1995-1997 World Values Survey. The World Values Survey is a cross-national survey of norms and attitudes administered to approxiately 79,000 people in 50 countries. Based on Paxton’s (1998) conceptualization we measure social capital as consisting of generalized trust and membership in voluntary associations. For the outcome variable, we use five-year averages of homicide victimization rates from the World Health Organization. We hypothesize that countries with greater social capital will, on average, have lower rates of homicide victimization than those countries with less social capital.
Social Change and Capital Punishment in China: A Comparative Historical Approach
The current study uses a comparative historical approach to examine capital punishment in China. Using various historical documents, secondary sources, and data collected on 500 capital cases and a 500 non-capital felonies in China, we explore the use of the death penalty as a mechanism of social control, as a tool for social change and the control of dissent, and the symbolic value of the ritualism surrounding the imposition of the death sentence. China’s experience with the death penalty is compared with various Western countries (e.g., U.S., England, France). Multivariate statistical analyses are conducted to evaluate how offender and offense characteristics differentiate between capital and no-capital convictions in China over the last two decades. The results of this study are then discussed in terms of their implications for future research on social and legal change.
Social Construction of Skateboarding Today: An Ambivalent Battle for Identity
My research explores the construction of skateboarding as a social problem. Through the use of ethnographic research methods, I consider the dialectical relationship between labeling skateboarding as a social problem and the representation fo skateboarders as ‘deviant’ subculture. I then investigate how this deviant label influences skaters’ perception of both themselves as well as serving to inform those who label them. By drawing in larger social issues of appropriate use of public space, generational conflict, private property and media representations, I situate my research firmly within a post-modern, ethnographic, and constructionist tradition. I also examine how self-identified skateboarders view their own skateboarding within the context of society’s changing definitions of youth culture. More specifically, my research will inform three primary considerations: 1) the internal construction of skater identity. That is, what phenomena contribute to an individual’s personal identity formation? 2) The external, social construction of skateboarding. how is skateboarding (and thus skateboarders) deffined and redefined by societal influences such as media? 3) Construction of skateboarding as a social problem. How does skateboarding become identified as deviant, as a social problem, and as something that needs to be controlled?
Social Control and the Patriot Act
Throughout history, American legislators have responded to threats against American security by strengthening mechanisms of formal social control. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, legislation was enacted callling for the internment of Japense-Americans. The events of September 11, 2001 have elicited comparable responses culminating in the passage of the Patriot act. This paper explores the process by which threats to national security result in the passage of laws that are both instrumental and symbolic. Competing theoretical models of social control are investigated in an attempt to explain these responses. Conclusions are drawn to facilitate better understanding of the motivations and consequences of these legislative actions.
Social Control Theory: A Test of Treatment Amenability and Recidivism in Domestic Violence Offenders
Batterer’s Intervention Programs have been developed, implemented and evaluated as part of community corrections in the United States over the last few decades. Evaluations have generally supported the effectiveness of these programs in terms of completion and recidivism; offenders who complete BIP are less likely to reoffend during follow-up periods. The policy implications of this finding would seem clear; offenders should attend treatment. However, there are practical barriers to this conclusion. First, approximately half of all men referred to BIP fail to complete treatment. Second, offenders who are allowed to remain in the community have a greater opportunity to reoffend than those who are incapacitated through jail sentences. Finally, criminal justice resources vary by location and it may not be feasible to offer treatment to all offenders who are referred to these programs. These types of constraints have spurred the use of risk assessment instruments to guide criminal justice professions in sentencing and treatment decisions. These have been primarily stock instruments informed by psychological theory that were developed for other types of programs, are peripheral to the concerns of the program or diagnose psychological disorders/personality types without correlation to programmatic goals. Instruments that are particular to the domestic violence population, are informed by sociological/criminological theory, and are specific to the likelihood of completing treatment in the community corrections setting are needed. This project is an attempt to develop an instrument based on social control theory and test its ability to predict treatment outcomes.
Social Disorganization, Disorder, Social Cohesion, Informal Controls, and Crime: A Reformulation and Test of Systemic Social Disorganization Theory
In this study, we reformulate the systemic social disorganization models of crime proposed by Bursik and Grasmick (1993) and Sampson, Raudenbush, and Earls (1997), and offer an empirical test of our hypothesized model. Specifically, our model includes traditional indicators of social disorganization (racial/ethnic heterogeneity, socioeconomic status, family disruption, residential stability) as exogenous variables; social and physical disorder, social cohesion, and three levels of informal social control (private, parochial, public) as intervening mechanisms; and official crime counts and crime victimization as dependent variables. Our data come from three sources: a community survey of local residents in three neighborhoiod communities in a mid-size midwestern city, crime counts from the local police department, and census block group data. Based on hierarchial linear modeling, our results will show the impact of disorder and social cohesion on the exercise of informal social controls and the relative effects of private, parochial, and public forms of control on crime and victimization.
Social Learning Theory as a Predictor of Fear of and Worry About Crime
Early fear of crime research was predominantly a descriptive endeavor comparing demographic features of groups in search of differeing levels of fear. Following this, attention focused on methodological issues, such as operationalizing fear and the construction of reliable and valid measurements. Even though the constructs are now more sophisticated, there are relatively few attempts at explaining fear and worry as either an attitude or a behavior (excepting the social disorganization approach spawned by the attention of COP programs). This study assumes that fear/worry is an attitude or behavior that might be explained by criminological theory. Thus, we test social control, social learning and anomie theories for their ability to explain fear/worry in a statewide survey of Texas adults. preliminary analyses indicate that social learning produces the best fit and we pursue the mechanisms by which it operates. In this analysis, we further examine the influence of media sources and interpersonal relationships for their effects on levels of fear of and worry about crime.
Social Outcasts Need Not Apply: NIMBY and the Politics of Social Exclusion
The intensification of Xenophobia following 9/11 and the enhanced fear of crime created a climate extending to all potentially dangeroius social groups. We have long witnessed community reluctance to embrace halfway houses and rehabilitative programs housed outside prison walls. The everpresent marginalization of offenders subsequently creates a public climate undermining rehabilitation and the reintegrationof convicted felons. This paper draws upon the Chicago School social disorganizationa pproach to develop a more contemporary ideological disorganization approiach featuring competing claims of social distrust. The critical perspectives in the resultant filtration of manufactured governmental messages endangers the future of offender service programs through a focus upon the threat of violent crime. Consequently community opposition to halfway houses, needle-exchanges, group homes, and shelters undermines the community corrections movement and creates a new class of social undesirables. This theoretical approachwill connect with a discussion of community resistance and the perpetuation of convicted offenders as members of a permanent social underclass.
Social Structure, Social Distance and Differential Shaming: Application of Black’s Theory of Social Structure of Right and Wrong in Reintegrative Shaming
The purpose of this study is to use Donald Black’s theory of social structure of right and wrong to examine the impacts of structural positions on differential shaming practices in East Asia and U.S. The study will analyze variation within and between various structural and cultural positions, and assess how these structural positions affect the types and styles of social control (or shaming) in a cross-cultural context. It argues that since the degree of intimacy plays a crucial role in interpersonal relationship in East Asia, the style of social control or shaming is more likely to be reintegrative, therapeutic and reconciliatory; and its focal concern there is to offer help and reestablish social harmony. Wider structural and cultural variations in U.S. may expandsocial distance between the parties involved and contribute to alienation, stimatization, and punitive styles of social control. This study will use cross-cultural survey data and qualitative data.
Social Threat and Social Control: The Impact of Welfare on Incarceration and Arrest Rates
Research on the relationship between threatening populations and conditions, and mechanisms of social control has increased steadily since the publication of Blalock’s, Theory of Minority Group Relations, in 1967. Blalock’s theory of social threat and social control asserts that unique types of threat illicit distinct forms of social control. Social threat theorists typically present two types of social control: coercive controls and placative controls. Coercive controls include incarceration, arrest, and other types of formal state surveillance. Welfare and other social programs are generally defined as placative forms of control. Much of social threat research examines how certain populations or social conditions affect measures of social control. The possibility that one type of social control may have effects on the other type of social control has not been fully explored. To test this hypothesis, the researcher will perform a meta-analysis of studies that explore the relationship between two macro forms of social control: welfare (placative), and incarceration and arrest (coercive). Specifically, the hypothesis that welfare has a negative or decreating effect on coercive forms of social control will be tested.
Social Ties and Informal Social Control
Despite the substantive significance of social ties for community social control, research has yet to adequately explore demographic differences in the establishment and effectiveness of social ties. Research is needed to address the determinants, nature and content of social ties. Several mechanisms operating at the neighborhood-level, including neighboring and community attachment, will be explored to understand the relationship between social ties and informal social control.
Sociodemographic Factors, Drug Abuse, and Other Crimes: How They Vary Among Male and Female Arrestees
‘the push for severe punishment of drug-related crimes has drastically increased our prison population over the last decade. The number of female prisoners has grown at a rate even higher than that of males. With incarceration rates skyrocketing, it becomes ever more important to understand exactly who is involved in the justice system. An interview study conducted in seven county jails in Ohio examined various characteristics of arrestees, comparing the behaviors, attitudes, and needs of arrestees separately by gender. It recorded details of arrestees’ (1) criminal behavior, (2) drug use, (3) experience of drug-abuse consequences, (4) attitudes toward drug treatment, and (5) sociodemographic backgrounds. Only by identifying these factors can we gain adequate understanding of why individuals are involved in the justice system–and of what can, finally, curtail that involvement. Drug treatment and marketable-skill development have been two approaches to curtailing recidivism, and this study found that such programs alleviate arrestees’ difficulties most effectively when they incorporate a gender-sensitive approach. Whether or not the interviewed arrestees were aevery actually adjudicated, the identification of sociodemographic and other factors pertaining to them should provide useful insights for those seeking to deter future crime involvement among offenders generally.,
Solo in Transnational Crime
Transnational crime is often seen as the cross-border variation of organized crime. Transnational criminal networks and criminal organizations are considered to be the main actors with this type of crime. However, with some transnational crimes, individuals who merely work alone play a dominant role. These individuals can e.g. be found in the illicit art and antiquities trade. Starting from my empirical research in this field I will argue that these individuals should be given a place within the theory of transnational crime, besides the transnational networks and organizations. Furthermore, they are crucial to understand the legal – illegal interface around transnational crime.
Specialized Batterer Counseling for African-American Men: Six-Month Outcomes of a Clinical Trial
Despite the many recommendations for specialized counseling with African-American men arrested for domestic violence, no research yet documents its effectiveness in improving program outcomes. Our experimental clinical trial (still in progress) compares the outcomes of three counseling options: culturally-focused counseling in all-African-American groups, conventional counseling in all-African-American groups, and conventional counseling in racially-mixed groups. Four-hundred men have thus far been randomly assigned to the options at program intake for batterer counseling. The partners of four-hundred men were interviewed at three and six months after program intake with a response rate of over 65%. The women’s cumulative reports of re-assaults and abuse, defined by the Conflict Tactics Scale, and ratings of their quality of life are compared across the three groups. These six-month outcomes are also controlled for program attendance and for cultural identification. Our previous analyses showed a significantly higher program completion for the African-American men in the cultural-focused counseling, especially if they scored high in cultural identification.
Spring Break, Beer Riots and Halloween: Policing Temporary Populations of College Kids
A numnber of college towns and resort communities throughout the United States regularly confront potential riots as large crowds of college-age participants gather to celbrate holidays, spring breaks, or the outcomes of sporting events. These spontaneous or recurring events are troubling to police departments and civic governments becaue theya re perceived as having many costs, but offer few benefits. In order to better understand police responses to these temporary communities, we contacted police departments throughout the United States to determine the different strategies that these agencies used to respond to groups — sometimes in excess of 50,000 college-aged participants. Our findings suggest that each department confronts these events using strategies that are distinctively “homegrown.” Despite divergent approaches, however, most police departments emphasize the importance of partnerships forged between civic government, police departments, universities, the media, local businesses, and community groups. Some of the Departments also emphasized the importance of ‘breakiong the chain’ or ‘breaking the institutional memory’ of these events. It is important to change the participants’ perceptions about these events — especially in cities that had previously experienced police-student clashes or riots.
State Responses to Wrongful Conviction in Canada: The Role of Commissions of Inquiry
In recent years several high profile cases of wrongful conviction in Canad have garnered a great deal of media and political attention. In three particular instances, provincial governments have responded to these miscarriages of justice by calling commissions of inquiry to investigate errors made by agents of the criminal justice system, assign blame and in some cases award compensation. While somewhat limnited in their ability to enforce recommendations, such commissions nonetheless serve a symbolic function with respect to government accountability to the public. These three cases will be examined to illuminate how wrongful convictions could have occurred, the factors that fostered the commissions of inquiry and the extent to which the provinces have since addressed the recommendations.
Still the Least Among Equals? Criminal Justice, Institutional Support, and Quality of Education in the 21st Century
Criminal Justice has long been regarded by other social sciences as a lesser science, one that attracts the least qualified students and produces graduates primarily prepared for jobs in law enforcement. Historically, due to the influence of LEAA, criminal justice curricula reflected that occupational reality, and departments were not eager to create more diverse and rigorous course requirements. That trend, however, has changed in recent decades, and anecdotal evidence has indicated that criminal justice departments are becoming more interested in offering more challenging and interesting coursework. To test that anecdotal finding to determine if it constitutes a true trend in education, a national survey of criminal justice department chairs was completed. Questions regarding the types and requirements of classes offered, the department’s relationship with other departments in the unviersity. and the faculty structure of the department were analyzed and changes in the organizational and academic structures of criminal justice departments were evaluatec.
Straight From the Source: Are Bottled Water Companies Sucking Us Dry?
Recent years have seen entire regions of the country go through droughts, some so severe that restrictions have been placed on the way residents use their water. Curiously, these restrictions have not affected bottled water companies from extracting millions of gallons of water from the same sources that the residents cannot touch, and all of whom combined would use much less water than the companies pumps in a single day. Bottled water companies are draining water supplies in the U.S. faster than they can be refilled. They have finagled and finessed their way into draining aquifers with little concern for the permanent residents and their rights to the same water supplies. Our intent is to explore the corporate and environmental crimes these companies engage in as they take full advantage of the highly lucrative bottled water market. Special attention is paid to the nefarious activities of one of the biggest of these companies, Perrier.
Strangers in the Halls: Isolation and Delinquency in School Networks
The relationship between an individual’s delinquency and the delinquency of his or her friends is one of the strongest correlations in criminological research. However, the mechanisms underlying this relation remain elusive. The current study seeks to broaden our understanding of the peer-delinquency association by exploring the behavior of adolescents isolated from school friendship networks. It tests competing hypotheses derived from learning and social control theories of delinquency relevant for isolated students. In addition, the study builds on developmental research of marginal children to examine potential interaction effects between peer isolation and problematic encounters with others at school. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health allow for the identification of an isolated population and testing of the above propositions. Results suggest that, contrary to the expectations of social control theory, peer isolation does not increase future delinquency. However, problematic peer relations, particularly in conjunction with peer isolation, substantially increase the likelihood of delinquent outcomes. These findings are consistent with expectations from symbolic interactionism and general strain theory, with additional analyses failing to reject the learning theory hypothesis that delinquent peers provide an important mechanism for delinquent behavior.
Strategies for Integrating Race, Class and Gender Into the Classroom
This presentation will focus on a variety of strategies designed to integrate race, class and gender into the criminal justice classroom. These include: curricular revisions, strategies for revealing stereotypes and sources of bias, the development of diversity skills, strategies for creating an inclusive classroom, and strategies to overcome student resistance.
Strategies for Intervening With Drug Involved Offenders: Evaluation Findings and Implications for Practice
This paper will present findings from the process and impact evaluation of the Breaking the Cycle Demonstration and other research on the use of: (1) legal pressure, (2) drug treatment, and (3) drug testing/monitoring/and sanctioning in pretrial court-based interventions for drug involved offenders including drug courts, TASC programs, and other diversion programs. The paper will identify various intervention strategies and discuss how they have been adapted by local jurisdictions. The summary will present strategies and principles to guide future program development by policy makers and practitioners and identify areas in need of additional study.
Street Youth Predatory Crime: A Test of Control Balance Theory
Utilizing a sample of 400 homeless street youth the paper explores the role control balance plays in the generation of crime. In particular it examines the argument that the amount of control that one is subject relative to the amount of control one can exercise (the control ratio) affects the probability that one will engage in a deviant act. Using vignettes designed to represent the predatory acts of violent crime, serious property crime, and minor property crime the paper tests whether these youth’s sense of control over their poverty, shelter, hunger and other living conditions, along with their perceptions of risk, thrill, moral beliefs, and peer support influences their participation in various types of predatory offenses.
Structural Factors and Interracial Homicide: A New Look at the Causal Process
In this paper we use race-adjusted Supplemental Homicide data and Census data to explore the link between racial inequality and rates of interracial killing across metropolitan areas. We empirically examine the common assumption that racial conflict and antagonism mediate this link. We suggest that the motivation of the homicide, largely ignored in previous research, is crucial to understanding the mechanism by which structural characteristics can influence interracial killing. In our analyses, we test an alternative hypothesis that draws on macro-structural opportunity theory and the rountine activities perspective to understand the relationship between city-level structural factors and different types of interracial homicide.
Structural Predictors of Drug Use: A Test of Social Disorganization Theory on the Drug Use Patterns of an At-Risk Population
The paper examines the salience of various structural variables as predictors of drug use in four urban communities within the United States. We incorporate data from the U.S. Census Bureau and data from the National Institute of Justice’s Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program to conduct this analysis. The paper offers an assessment of how useful the primary components of social disorganization theory account for individual drug use. More specifically, we measure how much variation of drug use can be explained when examining independent variables such as: socioeconomic status, family disruption, residential instability, and ethic heterogeneity.
Stuart Henry: What is a Crime?
In March 2023, the Law Commission of Canada released What is a Crime? Challenges and Alternatives, a discussion paper that explores why certain behaviour is defined as “unwanted” or “criminal”, as well as the implications of choosing one or more intervention strategeies to deal with various behaviour. In the document, the Commission recognizes that the ways in which behav8iours are understood and defined will affect whether or not they are deemed to be unwanted, and wehther one or more intervention strategies will be used to deal with them. Why is some behaviour considered unwanted or offensive? What agencies have influence over shaping the content of what is defined as crime (media, law, police, corporations, bureaurcracies, NGOs etc)? Why do we consider that some behaviour warrants the label of “crime”? What relation si there between behaviour defined as crime and the degree and extent of the harm it causes to others? Why do we use criminal law to respond to some types of behaviour and not others? This presentation will critically examine these and other questions that are raised in What is a Crime? Challenges and Alternatives, as well as more general issues relatint to the nature of crime and its control in contemporary society.
Student Assistance Programs: Are They Effective and is There a Need for Them?
This paper explores the efficacy of Student Assistance Programs (SAP) to decrease delinquent behaviors among at-risk adolescents. Schools deal primarily with adolescents and their families and have historically initiated a vareity of programs in an attempt to combat substance abuse. These initial programs were generally preventative in nature and staffed by a variety of professionals and non-professionals but have since developed to handle other mental health issues. Statistics show that twenty-two percent of adolescents will suffer from some form of mental illness. Overall twenty-five percent of adolescents will engage in serious health-threatening behavior. Consequently many adolescents who suffer from mental health disorders become involved in the juvenile justice system. Because the juvenile justice system cannot provide for the many needs of mentally ill offenders they are either passed around from system to system or never receive services at all. Prevention and treatment of mental health disorders appears to be a key component for reducing delinquent behavior. Research indicates that school-based mental health services are utilized more frequently by adolescents. This paper focuses on 1) the different types of services offered by SAP’s, 2) the effectivness of existent programs and, 3) whether social programs even belong in the schools.
Students and Illocutionary Discourse: The Challenge of Practice, the Benefits of Theory
Along with our students from the California State University, Dominguez Hills, and the University of Wisconsin, Parkside, we have been working together on illocutionary discourse inside the classroom and out in the community. Our focus is on teaching for peace and social justice in order to create a general awareness in the populace, through community teaching and involvement, and through liberal arts education, of the harm we inflict on Others through our denial that there is harm, through our denial of any complicity in that harm, and through our unstated assumjptions that privilege comes to us through “rights” that need not be questioned in terms of justice and fairness. This is one of several collaborative writing projects through the Dear Habermas web site, a postmodern journal for undergraduates by undergraduates (http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas). The purpose of this roundtable discussion is to share our illocutionary discourse.
Studying Criminal Justice and Treatment Practices: A Survey of Criminal Justice and Treatment Organizations
CJ-DATS is sponsoring a survey of criminal justice and treatment practices in the correctional system to identify the current trends in screening and assessment, treatment access and utilization, treatment service models, complimentary criminal justice innovations and support services, and compliance management systems. This paper will discuss how the survey findings will be used to understand the current implementation of evidence-based practices, and the impact of research on practices in service delivery for drug-involved offenders.
Substance Use and Condom Nonuse Among African-American, Adolescent Detainees
This study examined substance use and condom nonuse in a specific sexual incident among 210 African-American, male adolescents who were being held in juvenile detention facilities. Participants completed a questionnaire that assessed the use of alcohol and marijuana, and the nonuse of a condom, in the first incident of intercourse with their most recent partners. The questionnaire and analyses also included six measures of potential correlates (i.e., age at the sexual incident, history of incarceration, self-restraint, relationship intimacy, HIV knowledge, and condom attitudes). Results revealed that more participants used marijuana (45%) than alcohol (11%) in the context of the sexual incident, x2 (df = 1;n=210) = 57.65, p
Suicide Terrorism: Assessing Vulnerabilities and Developing Efficient Strategies Against a Growing International Threat
The unprecedented escalation of suicide terrorist attacks over the past decade has made governments and the public glaringly aware of their vulnerability to this extremely violent, adaptive form of terrorism. It has become imperative to devise efficient strategies in order to prvent, combat, and ultimately eliminate the scourge of suicide terrorism and its devasting outcomes. Suicide terrorism is neither a sui generis phenomenon, nor an innovative form of oppositional terrorism. Rather, it is characterized by tactics, goals, and motives inherent in more conventional terrorism. Moreover, as a result of centuries of opposition between various terror organizations and their actual or perceived enemies, suicide terrorism is rooted in the historical, social, political, religious, and psychological dimensions of terrorism. Today, about fifteen religious or secular groups have the human and financial resources to use suicide terrorism against their own or foreign governments. This research paper examines the history, contemporary trends, and etiology of suicide terrorism. It also considers policy implications and recommendations by analyzing useful and reliable strategies designed for law enforcement agencies and emergency responders (both civilian and military) to better prepare for and respond to suicide terror attacks: intelligence gathering, operational/counter-terrorist measures, preventive/antiterrorist strategies, as well as psychological measures.
Supermax Prisons: What’s the Theoretical Foundation?
Supermax prisons have proliferated during the past two decades, yet the theoretical foundation for their use remains largely ambiguous. Whether due to the fact that they are intended to acheive many goals or to some other reason, the result has been the absence of well-articulated theories of how supermax prisons can contribute to specific impacts. Such theories are necessary to provide guidance about the underlying causal logic of supermax prisons and how best to test whether they “work”. Departing from these observations, we dientify several leading goals of supermax prisons and discuss and develop theoretical explanations of how these goals and related impacts are achieved. We then identify critical research gaps that must be addressed if we are to provide adequate explanations and tests of the effectiveness of supermax prisons. we conclude by discussing the policy implications of failing to develop coherent theoretical accounts of how supermax prisons contribute to particular goals.
Surrounded by Crime
Retirement does not mean death. I overhead such a statement prior to a recent annual convention of the American Society of Criminology. A special panel presentation by several very prominent criminologists was to be devoted to discussions triggered by my own research career in community treatment of delinquents, in gang research, and in cross-national research on crime. It was a panel that had been organized in my honor, and I was honored indeed. But the snippet of conversation I overhead was about sweet it was that this posthumous honor had been arranged and oh, by the way, how long ago had I died? Well, some time prior to this death, I retired. But for me, retirement was merely from the classroom after some 43 years of teaching. I have still continued research with former students and many colleagues, and I have continued my writing. Retirement for me, it turns out, means a greater life without compulsions and deadlines, but certainly not without tasks of interest.
SWAT: Doing Gender or Doing Their Job?
The subculture of policing has received a great deal of attention by scholars, though little research exists on specific “sub-subcultures” in law enforcement agencies. SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team members often view themselves as an elite squad of professionals who work under highly stressful conditions and depend on each other in life and death situations. This paper explores the distinctive subculture and dynamics of SWAT units. The study employs qualitative, in-depth interviews with experienced police officers to explore the nature of SWAT assignments. The findings focus on the structure of professional relationships inside and outside the unit; the impact of assignments on family relationships; and individual, departmental, and community expectations from the perspective of the team members. The paper also explores gendered aspects of the job. SWAT duty, according to the majority of officers, requires more masculine attributes compared to other police work because of the demands associated with the high risk, physically demanding operations. Consequently, women rarely fit the SWAT officer model.
SWAT Teams as High Reliability Organizations
In recent decades police departments across the nation have increasingly turned to specially trained and equipped groups of officers — commonly called SWAT teams — to deal with many sorts of high-risk situations, such as barricaded gunmen and hostage incidents. Despite the fact that SWAT teams are now commonplace in American policing, we know little about these units because researchers have devoted little attention to them. This paper seeks to advance the current state of knowledge about SWAT teams by viewing them through the lens afforded by the social scientific literature on the organization of risk and risk management. After reviewing this literature and explaining how SWAT teams can be viewed as exemplars of an organizational form known as “High Reliability Organizations,” the paper discusses the implications of this perspective for understanding SWAT work and risk management in law enforcement more generally.
Symbolic Meanings of Purchased Sex: Exploring Differences Across Racial, Educational and Socioeconomic Boundaries
The paper examines the symbolic power-control relationship of purchased sex, using data from Monto’s study of men who have been arrested with street prostitutes and placed in diversion programs. This study specifically focuses on the nature of power control attitudes towards women, which we feel are manifested in violent sexual attitudes towards women. Using regression analysis, it compares the relative effects of race, education, and a variety of socio-economic measures on power-control attitudes towards women Violence is a occupational hazard for prostitutes; this violence may be symnbolic expression of a need to dominate or control a less powerful group. Preliminary analysis suggests that traditionally power-poor groups (racial, educational, and socio-economic minorities) are more likely to express attitudes favorable towards sexual violence. This information is important in that it addresses possible root causes of violence against women in general, and prostitutes in particular, and incorporates the role of culture in sexual attitudes.
Symbolic Transaction Theory Explaining Police Use of Non-Lethal Force: A New Look From an Old Perspective
A variety of theories have been put forth in the search to explain why police use of non-lethal force occurs. The research indicates that while the variation explained using these theories remains relatively small, situational theory provides the most promising empirical support. This paper seeks to expand the theoretical foundation in the use of force literature by blending situational theory with elements of symbolic interaction, a sociological theory rarely included in criminal justice research today. This is an exploratory paper with a future goal of increasing the explained variation in use of force research.
Systems Change and Multi-Organizational Partnerships: Understanding How Organizations Work Together Within the Reclaiming Futures Initiative
Reclaiming Futures Initiative, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is designed to improve the coordination and integration of substance abuse services for youth in the juvenile justice system. Eleven communities throughout the country have started multi-organizational partnerships, including social serviceds, treatment providers, and the judicial system, to create a comprehensive approach towards juvenile justice and maintain those efforts through systems change. The goals of the Urban Institute evaluation include understanding and monitoring service delivery in the sites and measuring change, at te individual, family, community, and systems level. This paper will focus on the systems-level changes in the sites-to measure the way that individuals and organizations interaction and the structures that are put in place to aid those efforts. Network analysis allows us to measure this interaction, such as type, quality, and quantity of communication, and analyze how that affects decision-making and teamwork within justice partnerships. The presentation will provide an overview of the implications of network analysis, the methods used in this evaluation, and preliminary findings from the first wave of data collection.
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Taliban and Heroin: The Untold Story
Afghanistan is the world’s leading producer of illicit opium and subsequent heroine. In July of 2000, the Taliban ruling regime declared the cultivation of opium poppy to be fundamentally against the teachings of Islam. Using questionable tactics, the Taliban reduced opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan by roughly 90%. After the Taliban was deposed by coalition forces in 2001, opium poppy cultivationa and resultant opium production returned to near normal levels. Data obtained from the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United States State department corroborated by qualitative information from a UNODC agent will be utilized to solidify several conclusions about the effectiveness of this policy. First, the reductions in opium poppy witnessed in Afghanistan were not due to increases in opium poppy output from competing nations. Second, poppy cultivation fell dramatically in areas under Taliban control while remaining constant or increasing in provinces controlled by the Northern Alliance. Lastly, analysis of the resultant data and trends leads to the conclusion that the Taliban’s prohibition tactics produced the massive decrease in global opium production in the year 2001 and was not due to an external confound.
Talking It Out: Neighborhood Factors Associated With Residents’ Likelihood of Resolving Disputes Informally vs. Relying on Formal Authorities
Underlying much of the current community crime models is an image in which communities are brought together to resolve issues rather than pulled apart by competing interests. While community building as crime control is currently very popular, there remains a lack of attention to the distinction between building communities to be the eyes and ears of a punitive criminal justice systemn vs, building communities to develop internal problem solving strategies. Punitive models of crinminal justidce are premised upon a consensus model in which norms and values are assumed to be agreed upon. Hence when norms are broken the police are called upon to maintain the social contract. A more community oriented model of justice would be premised upon an assensus model in which finding justice is a matter of social interaction between all relevant parties. In this paper I assess the extent to which community characteristics are related to the likelihood of residents working out their own disagreements vs. relying on more coercive responses of formal authorities. Data are based on surveys of residents in 66 neighborhoods. Studies such as this are impiortant in providing the basis
Target Hardening the College Campus Through Stakeholder Input: Merging Community and the Security Survey
The traditional security survey evaluates the physical environment of a facility or area and esgablishes potential vulnerabilities to criminal activity and personal safety. When examining an institution, however, it is but part of the picture. Stuents, faculty, and staff at colleges and universities possess key information needed for administrators before a total prevention plan is established. These constituents can provide key insights into risks not disclosed by the physical inspection itself. Similarly, the input of campus constitutents can also reinforce and give greater insight into the weaknesses unveiled by the security survey. Thus, in order for a truly effective campus crime prevention policy to be implemented, the community must be part of the process. This research examines this two-pronged approach to evaluating institutional vulnerabilities and concerns. It is a case study of how the process is undertaken, including research methodology and information flow with school administrators. Input from constituents was obtained through the administration of a randomly distributed questionnaire and results were compared to known weaknesses unveiled by the security survey. The implications of this project are discussed with emphasis placed on what the school did with these results, and what on-campus policies developed out the research.
Targeting Illegal Gun Trafficking by Corrupt Federal Firearms Licensees
Data routinely collected in some jurisdictions on the activities of licensed firearm retailers, such as archives of sales and denial records and gun trace information, can be used to identify predictors of association with a large or disproportionate number of firearms recovered by law enforcement agencies and submitted for tracing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This presentation will first review new findings on the development of such predictors and on their performance. Over a defined time period, the number of traces associated with individual retailers is not well predicted by the number of guns they sell. Additional predictors include duration of guns’ exposure to the risk of being traced, local agency tracing policies, age of purchasers, and the percentage of transactions that terminate in denials. Combined predicted efficacy is moderate. The second part of the presentation will review work on the development of additional predictors derived from field observations.
Targeting Literacy: Addressing the Educational Needs of Adjudicated Youth
In 2002, the San Diego Juvenile Court, San Diego County Office of Education, the District Attorney’s Office, and the San Diego County Probation Department formed a coalition to address the local literacy crisis among male youth incarcerated in Program Department rehabilitation facilities. Research indicates that early development of language processing skills is critical for academic success and test scores in 2000 show that on average,male wards who enter the system are reading 3.8 years below their chronological grade level. An outcome evaluation of the project is currently in process that involves the comparison of juveniles randomized toeither receive the literacy training or to be a member of the comparison group. Preliminary results from this research project, including test-score changes and recidivism data will be presented as part of this session.
TBA
This paper bears the fruit of over 3 years of close ethnographic observation, attending the calendar day of Judge Michael A. Corriero. In 1992, Judge Corriero established a Youth Part where he could preside over all of the juveniles in New York County who are tried as adults (under the 1978 Juvenile Offender (JO) Law). As often as possible, Judge Corriero utilizes Alternative to Incarceration Programs and Grants Youthful Offender (YO) Status that prevents the young defendants from being permanently saddled with a felony conviction. Verbatim documentation of the verbal interaction between Judge Corriero and the young defendants impars rich anecdotal evidence. I will focus on four areas: 1_ the social construction of childhood in the context of this Youth Part (trying children as adults; 2) the methods and strategies (including the assigning of books) that Judge Corriero has innovated in his Youth Part to accomplish an interactive rehabilitative process; 3) the strategies to involve the young people’s family in the Youth Part; and 4) strategies used to deal sensitively and constructively with the challenges of both male and female adolescent gender issues.
Teaching Criminological Theory and Research Methods Simultaneously at a Small, Teaching Oriented College
Increasing specialization in research and teaching characterizes almost all disciplines including criminology and criminal justice. However, at many smaller colleges and universities with less than a handful of full time faculty members, instructors are expected to teach not only three or four different courses each semester but to teach courses having little direct bearing on their speciic training and interests. Based upon teaching over 200 students in small classes in Criminology Research and Crim Theory over the past six semesters, this discussion compares the experiences of two separate teachers who both teach theory and methods, often simultaneously and to the same students. Relevant issues for discussion include: (a) keeping theory and methods distinct (obviously both are needed in research but generally the orientation, the textbooks, and student expectations are quite different); (b) basic comparisons of student performances who took one course first and those taking both courses at the same time and (c) general discussion based both on the empirical cases of our school and the literature of the advantages and disadvantages of eclectic teaching within criminology and ciminal justice.
Teaching Intersections of Race, Class, and Gender in Criminal Justice Courses
This presentation will discuss both the challenges to and opportunities for teaching criminal justice courses using an intersectional perspective. Much work remains to be done in the field of criminal justice in terms of educating undergraduate students, who may be resistant to learning about systems of oppression, about the intersectionality of race, class, and gender. This presentation will attempt to address some of these issues, and will also discuss ideas about opportunities for introducing an intersectional framework into undergraduate criminal justice courses.
Teaching Issues of Race, Gender, and Justice: Challenges and Rewards
This presentation will examine the various challenges and obstacles faculty confront while teaching courses specifically directed at issues of race and justice, and gender and justice. Also, this presentation will discuss strategies to overcoming the challenges and obstacles, and the personal rewards related to helping students understand and comprehend these issues.
Teaching the Victimology of Fraud
Victimology can be a difficult subject for both teacher and student. Although fraud victimization is generally nonviolent, it has been compared to sexual assault victimization in the types of emotions brought up, including guilt and anger in the victim, as well as skepticism and victim-blaming from others, and therefore it can be just as difficult to teach. In this presentation we will describe a small class exercise that engages the students in an instance of fraud. Experimenters employ various methods to con the students out of a dollar or less on several occasions and later reveal the fraud and reimburse them. The experiment provides students with an opportunity to understand fraud victimization with little at stake, demonstrates how they fell victim to fraud, and provides tips on how to avoid fraud int hef uture.
Technique or Training? A National Study of Police Background Investigators
This paper presents the findings of a national survey of police background investigators. Data on attitudes, background investigation practices and procedures, and training will be analyzed. In addition, special topics such as officer intuition, and the impact of the 9/11 terrorist attack will be included.
Techniques of Neutralization and Research Misconduct
The data upon which this research is based consists of text collected from the closed files of researchers who have been found guilty of scientific misconduct by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). The purpose of the study was to shed light on the possible causes of research misconduct, which includes behaviors such as the fabrication and falsification of data, and plagiarism. The text was read and sorted independently by two investigators. Evidence of respondents’ use of techniques of neutralization as identified by Sykes and Matza was found in a number of the analyzed cases. The results add yet another research-based piece to what is undoubtedly a complex etiological puzzle comprised of structural, organizational and individual factors.
Technological Trade and Negotiating Danger: An Analysis of Internet Postings by British Escorts
The victimization of prostitutes is well documented and the illegal or deviant nature of selling sex is noted to contribute to this victimization. Some have argued that the criminalization of prostitution has served to interfere with the formation of communities among prostitutes making the sharing of information about their work difficult and thus the reliance on pimps and brothels important. The internet, however, provides a forum for some sex workers to form online communities where they can network and share information about those who irritate, harass, and violate them because they are sex workers. In this paper, we examine the postings of one such internet site organized ‘E for the benefit of those involved in the provision and use of escorting services in the U.K. …% We analyze over one hundred postings as a way to uncover what sex workers report as problematic and dangerous behavior themselves without the guiding questions of social scientists. Our findings reveal that escorts report physical violations as expected but many reports indicate emotional and psychological threats facilitated by modern technology. Thus, we consider how cyber-communities and other technologies may be affecting the management of threats to sex workers as well as the way they are threatened.
Teenage and Youthful Offenders Confronting the Challenges and Opportunities of Re-Entry
This paper will examine the challenges of reentry for teenage and youthful offenders. Six issues have been thus far identifed as constituting the thrust of the paper. First, reentry will be defined with a broader “reintegration” paradigm. Second, the intersection of chronological age and legal status will be described. Third, the intersection of chronoololgical age and stages of adolescent/youth development will be highlighted. Fourth, the mission and purpose of institutional and community corrections, along with the inherent tensions and barriers between the two, will be discussed. Fifth, eight domains will be explored from the perspective of risk factors and resilience related to the reentry process. The eight domains are: 1) Family and living arrangement 2 Peer group, including male-female relationships and sexuality 3) Mental health and behavioral matters 4) Education and schooling 5) Vocational training and employment 6) Illicit drug use, substance abuse, and underage drinking 7) Physical health 8) Leisure time, recreation, and avocational interests Particular attention will be given to the eight domains in terms of developmentally-appropriate and age-specific considerations. Finally, the paper will close with a discussion of the implications for renetry policy. The challenges and opportunities within a developmental context will be outlined.
Telephones, Pagers, and the Transformation of Retail Illicit Drug Markets
With mobile communication devices becoming increasingly popular, pagers and telephones have become increasingly central to illicit drug dealing at the retail level. Using Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring System (ADAM) data from 2000-2002, this study will examine trends in the use of pagers and phones among drug buyers/dealers, including the relationship to a variety of drug market behaviors. Initial results: across the eight quarters of 2000-2001, the percent of arrestees who used phone/pagers to buy drugs increased dramatically for the five most prevalent drugs. It rose by about one-third for marijuana and methamphetamine transactions, two-thirds for crack and powder cocaine, and nearly doubled for heroin. At the end of 2001, just under half of the methamphetamine transactions were arranged with telephones or pagers, as was 24-36% of transactions involving each of the other major drugs. Bigger transactions involving larger amounts of money were the most likely to be arranged by telephone. Whereas 14% of drug purchases from new connections were arranged through Phones or pagers, 36% of drug transactions from regular sources were arranged this way. Phone or pager use was unrelated to whether drug transactions were made within or outside the buyer’s neighborhood.
Terror in the News: Before and After September 11
Since September 11, 2001 the public discourse has focused considerably on terrorism, even to the point of devising anti-drug campaigns that link terrorism with pruchases of small quantities of illegal drugs. Using articles from the New York Times from March 11, 2001 until March 11, 2002, this content analysis aims to determine whether or not there has been an actual increase in the use of the word terror and its derivatives after September 11, 2001, what acts are associated with the use of terror in the articles, as well as examininh what words are used in conjunction with terror to detemrine whether or not the framing of terror/terrosm expanded to include more crimes than just terrorism. This paper takes a similar approach to David Altheide in his book, Creating Fear, as I attempt to track the discourse of terror to determine if a real historical event affected the use of “terror” and the words associated with it.
Terrorist Attacks on Military Targets: Political, Economic, and Strategic Explanations
Terrorism is a word that has been used increasingly throughout the course of the 20th and 21st centuries, and this increase has been amplified post-September 11, 2001. The increase in usage of the term terrorism is largely a function of the growing awareness of and focus on terrorist behavior and attacks against governments, groups, and individual people. In this research, three hypotheses are advanced to explain terrorist attacks on military installations, property, and personnel. A comprehensive database was compiled and examined to determine whether support for each of the three hypotheses exists. Preliminary review suggests that political and/or economic crises precipitate terrorist attacks on military entities. Suggestions for future research include examination of the role that the decline and cessation of the Cold War has played in terrorist attacks on military entities and rebel activity of freedom fighting.
Testing for Differences in Recoveries and Life Course Persistent Adolescents at 14 Years
The theoretical positions currently receiving much attention in the criminological literature are those that focus on the developmental trajectories of antisocial, delinquent and criminal behaviour. These theories are turning to factors measured as early as the prenatal period, birth, childhood, and adolescence, to explain adult criminality. Despite the well documented continuity of early onset antisocial behaviour some individuals appear to ‘recover’ and demonstrate resilience to early risk factors. This research focuses on recovery from the life-course-persistent trajectory as conceptualised in Terrie Moffitt’s typology of life-course-persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial behaviour. Data are drawn from the Mater-University Study of Pregnancy and its Outcomes (MUSP). This prospective longitudinal study has data on approximately 5200 mothers and their child spanning from pre-natal period to when the child was 14 years of age. We utilise predictive models to explore the mechanisms that may promote recovery from early risk and examine how these models vary according to gender.
Testing the Generalizability of Sampson and Laub’s Life Course Theory: Examining the Relationship Between Adult Social Bonds and Drug Use Among an Urban, African American Sample
The focus of this paper is on the generalizability of Sampson and Laub’s (1993) findings on the salience of adult social onds in explaining variation in offending over the life course. Using Sampson and Laub’s age-graded theory of informal social control as a guide, analyses will be conducted using data from Ann Brunswick’s Harlem Longitudinal Study of Urban Black Youth. This longitudinal sdata set contains extensive information on drug use in adoelescence and young adulthood and has been virtually unexplored by criminologists. The key question posed in this research is whether adult social bonds (i.e., job stability, commitment, and attachment to spouse) can account for avariation in drug use across time among a contemporary, urban sample of male and female African-Americans. Multiple statistical techniques will be used to control for unobserved heterogeneity in order to more clearly understand sources of behavioral change over time.
Testing the Liberation Hypothesis: A Study on Model Specification
A few sentencing studies have utilized the “Liberation Hypothesis” to test for differences in sentencing outcomes based on offender race/ethnicity and offense seriousness. Using data from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, this study incorporates a model specification that more appropriately tests the Liberation Hypothesis as it relates to the disposition decision. The results from the model specifications used to this point are compared with the model specification offered in this study.
The “Impact” of Custodial Dispositions on Adolescent Youth
Custody is almost certainly the most invasive and punitive sanction the modern youth justice system has at its disposal. Evidence suggests that punitive measures are not effective in deterring or rehabilitating offenders. Findings also indicate that correctional measures frequently turn low-risk first-time offenders into serious criminals by means of social learning processes. Because of this, it is often argued that it should be used sparingly and for very specific purposes. However, in the past decade there has been an increase among western nations in the number of youth being sentenced to custodial dispositions. Surprisngly, though we are sending increasing numbers of youth to custody we still know relatively little about how youth actually “experience” being locked up. This paper will discuss preliminary results from a short-term longitudinal study of 100 incarcerated 12-15 year old male youth in Ontario, Canada. Using two outcome measures of psychological functioning, the study examines whether pre-existing risk factors (e.g., chronic stress and lifetime trauma) and/or instituional risk factors (e.g., separation from family, deprivation of liberty, custodial peer relations) predict stress and adjustment during the initial phase of a custody disposition. Initial findings suggest that spending time in a custodial facility may be anything but a neutral event in the life of an adolescent. drawing on the adult “pains of imprisonment” literature, comparisons are made between how adults and youth appear to do time.
The Additive Treatment Needs of Drug Users: Examining the Characteristics of Criminal Justice Referrals to Substance Abuse Treatment Programs
Criminal justice sentencing policy regarding drug users has been the focus of much debate. Some suggest that increases in prison populations over the past twenty years are largely due to more punitive sentences for low-level drug offenders. With the development of drug courts and mandatory treatment policies (e.g., California Proposition 36) a move is being made toward a treatment-oriented approach for this offender group. Using a nationally based, administrative data set, this study examines the needs of individuals referred to drug treatment through criminal justice sources. The SAMHSA sponsored Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) contains information on the characteristics and treatment needs of individuals coming into contact with substance abuse treatment agencies. This study examines the prevalence of unemployment psychiatric disorder, homelessness, and other difficulties among individuals referred to substance abuse treatment. Individuals referred to treatment by the criminal justice sources exhibit complex problems in addition to substance abuse. These additional problems must be addressed if a treatment-oriented policy regarding low-level drug offenders is to reach any measure of success.
The Ancestors Speak: Relating the Past to Today’s Gangs
This descriptive study explores a possible relationship between present-day gang-related issues and first contact among various peoples in the United States. Hatred passes from generation to generation and transcends centuries. This social fact is evidenced among current events all over the world. Thus, this researcher was compelled to ask whether a relationship may exist between four concepts: (1) the experiential realities of ancestors, (2) the subsequent agreement realities held by their progeny and (3) their experiential realities, and (4) the extent of gang-related issues among corresponding populations today. This study begins with a qualitative, integrative review that describes historical experiences and conditions in both “The Old World” and “The New World” relative to aboriginal populations (i.e., North America) and immigrant populations (i.e., Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Europe, and the Middle-East). Concepts are then quantitatively operationalized using nominal and interval scales that are entered into a color-coded spreadsheet for assessment. Final analysis suggests that three variables within these concepts may be associated with present-day gang-related issues among the demographic populations that make-up the United States.
The Applicability of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime to Male and Female Delinquency
In their General Theory of Crime, Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) attempt to explain a wide varietyof crime and behaviors analogous to crime using the concept of self-control. Another part of their generality assertion is that the concept of self-control can help explain the gender differences in offending and that it can be applied equally to the deviant behavior of males and females. Using a sample of 1,139 9th-11th graders from a rural college town, we compare the explanatory power of self-control in predicting the delinquency of boys and girls.
The Applicability of Lipsky’s Street Level Bureaucrat Theory
Lipsky’s theory of the behaviors of street level bureaucrats describes the patterns of work environment conditions and the standards of practice (informal or formal) that influence individual and organizational actions. In this paper, the usefulness of Lipsky’s theory for predicting the current behaviors of street level bureaucrats will be explored. Specifically, this paper will examine the application of Lipsky’s theory and additional explanatory factors that the theory does not consider. Finally, the implications for organizational change based on this theory of bheavior are explored.
The Application of General Strain Theory in Assessing the Impact of Stress on Undercover Police Officers
The tenants of general strain theory have been applied almost exclusively to examine the relationships between various conceptualizations of strain and delinquency. As general strain theory is presented as a “general” theory, the central tenants and premises of the theory should be equally applicable to adult populations. This discussion will consider general strain theory and its applicability in assessing the impact of stress and the responses by means of maladaptive coping behaviors in police officers who have been assigned, or currently are assigned, in undercover operations. Additionally, this discussion will also examine the applicability of general strain theory to the professional, personal, and social strains encountered by officers in undercover assignments and the spouse/significant others of those officers.
The Baltimore City Drug Treatment Court Program: Offender and Program Characteristics
This paper summaries data from a three-year follow-up study of the Baltimore City Drug Treatment Court. The study randomly assigned 235 eligible offenders to either drug treatment court or traditional court processing between February, 1997 and August, 1998. Previously reported survival analyses of official record data collected through 24 months following randomization showed that the drug court sample had a significantly longer time to failure, or first re-arrest, when compared to the control sample. However, the drug court and control samples had similar failure rates through the first four months of the follow-up period. Approximately one-third of each sample was re-arrested within the first four months at risk. It was not until after this four month period that the survival curves of the drug court and control samples began to diverge. The current research takes a closer look at the initial four month period and attempts to identify the predictors of early failure among the drug court sample, where failure is defined as a new arrest. Both personal characteristics (e.g., prior criminal history) and program characteristics (e.g., immediate engagement in treatment) are considered.
The Benefits of Low Self-Control
In this paper, a critical yet expansive interpretation of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s theory of low self-control is provided. Two questions guide the general framework: 2) to what point do some of the basic components of self-control theory (risk-taking and opportunism) serve not only as key indicators of an individual’s criminal propensity, but also as principal features in understanding the beneficial outcomes of crime? and 2) what structuring properties condition the relationship between these individual features and criminal outcomes? In pursuing these inter-related inquiries, the study pursues the growing research on criminal earnings and combines the merits of self-control theory and social network approaches to entrepreneurial behaviour in accounting for avariations in criminal gains amonst a subpopulation of incarcerated offenders. Results show that even when controlling for various background factors (age, legitimate income, and type of criminal activity), behaviour that is typical of low-self control and a working structure promoting network autonomy lead to increased financial benefits for offenders.
The Benefits of Problem Solving Prosecutors in the Community
Prosecutors have always been involved in problem solving. However, never have they had an “intimate” relationship with the community in problem solving. Today,many prosecutors’ offices are pressing towards problem-oriented prosecution (community prosecution). Although community prosecution is becoming increasingly popular, there is scarce literature on the benefits of this program to prosecutors, police, and citizens. The completed studies include indivisual casee site analyses or studies of organizational changes in prosecutors’ offices. A main goal of community prosecution is collaboration. hence, research should identify the benefits of the program to prosecutors, police, and citizens. This paper examines the benefits of community prosecution to prosecutors, police, and citizens. Furthermore, the role and importance of prosecutors engaging in Project Safe Neighborhoods in Mercer County is explained in detail. This program is a community-based program in which prosecutors, police, and citizens collaborate to reduce gun violence in neighborhoods.
The Blueprints for Violence Prevention Program
The Blueprints for Violence Prevention Program has identified 11 prevention and intervention programs that meet a high scientific standards of program effectiveness — demonstrated effectiveness using experimental designs, replication on multiple sites and sustainability of effects for at least one year post treatment/intervention. Over the past three years, Blueprint Programs have been implemented on approximately 150 sites in a large-scale national prevention initiative, providing training, technical assistance and an independent monitoring of implementation fidelity. The study objective is to build a body of knowledge about how to successfuloly implement model programs with fidelity, to document problems encountered, and to establish which attempted solutions did or did not work and why. The results of this study will be discussed, with particular attention to the fidelity — local adaptation controversy, the levels of fidelity achieved, and the identification of those factors that enhance or impede the fidelity and sustainability of model program implementation. This work is designed to bridge the gap between knowledge (research) and practice and inform the users of programs about what is required to achieve maximum program success.
The Boys From the Prohibition: How They Survived and Why
The illegal alcohol market in Norway is huge and it has been so since Prohibition (1917-1927). This paper examines how networks and subcultures were kept alive by the vererans and new generations of freshmen. It demonstrates that old smugglers who are still active did their first experiences in the early 1950s, learning from the veterabs fron the 1920s. When a state monopoly took over after 1927 alcohol was very heavily taxed. Period of rationing and strikes among state monopoly workers kept the public on the alert for alternative channels of alcohol. This illegal demand has been met by very adaptive networks with strong links to private businesses for import, and local organizations and work places for sale–an integrated part of the society, in other words, and hardly seen as crime at all by the “wet” public. The paper is based on oral histories, police files and materials from national archives.
The Challenges and Opportunities of Interdisciplinary Doctoral Education in Criminal Justice
This paper looks at the development and implementation of an interdisciplinary Ph.D. program involving Social Work, Health Service Administration, Public Administration and criminal Justice. It traces the rapid evolution of the degree program and how it developed tracks to address students interested in continuing their professional careers in agencies and those that wish to puruse an academic career. Finally, the paper considers the assets and liabilities of developing an intergrated but separate Criminal Justice degree.
The Challenges and Strategies of the Probation Caseloads in Taiwan
Probation has become one of the main strategies used to supervise offenders in the Criminal Justice System in Taiwan. According to justice statistics in 2002, the total number of the population who are on probation is 23,656; on average, an adult probation officer is responsible for 137 clients. Although the average number of caseloads has been reduced gradually, it is still above the national standard of 120 per officer set by the Executive Yuan of Taiwan. Probation officers play an important role in determining the success of probation, and overloading will harm the quality and time that probation officers can spend on each case. Higher caseloads will cause an irresistible pressure to probation officers. When recruiting more probation officers is not realistic for governmental financial reasons, we need to develop more effective strategies to cope with the challenges. In the paper, the impact of the heavy caseloads on the Criminal Justice System will be discussed, and some possible solutions to these problems will be addressed.
The Changing Federal Drug Offender
Federal offenders, as a group, have evolved over time, due to changing priorities of law enforcement. Nowhere is this ore apparent than the sentencing of drug offenders. Drug offenders comprise over 40 percent of the offenders sentenced in the federal system since the advent of federal sentencing guidelines in 1987. This paper will examine the changes in the type of drug offenders sentenced in federal court between the years 1995 and 2000. Factors such as the function of the drug offender, weapon use, sophisticated means used in concealing the activity and personal characteristics of the offenders will be explored.
The Civilized Process, Economic Change, and Violence: An Assessment of the Evidence in England, the Netherlands and the United States
Increasingly historical research that looks at trends in interpersonal violence is making use of Elias’ theory of the civilizing process. The theory, which argues that an increasing monopoly of force has led to a greater degree of self-control, has proven particularly suitable to explain the historical decline in violence. Nevertheless, research has not addressed if and how this perspective can be useful for interpreting increasing rates of violence. The purpose of this paper is to develop and refine Elias’ arguments in order to explain both decreasing and increasing rates in interpersonal violence. In order to accomplish this, the theory needs substantial elaboration, and specifically take into account the profound economic changes that have accompanied this long-term process. By using illustrative historical evidence from England, the Netherlands and the United States, this paper will demonstrate that the ‘civilizing process’ does not penetrate all layers of society evenly. Structural economic change accompanied with reduced social mobility will undermine the effectiveness of the monopoly of force. The results in the form of ‘decivilizing processes’ is especially visible among ‘outsider’ groups that have been least affected by the civilizing process to begin with.
The Community Level Dynamics of Adolescent Crime: A Closer Look at the Concept of Collective Efficacy
Much attention has been devoted to the concept of collective efficacy. Collective efficacy is “defined as social cohesion among neighbors with their willingness to intervene on behalf of the common good” (Sampson et. al 1997). By means of informal social control processes collective efficacy is thought to prevent criminal behavior within a neighborhood. There are two separate components to the concept of eollective efficacy: social cohesion and surveillance (willingness to intervene). While these separate components are acknowledged, collective efficacy is measured as a single concept given the high correlation between social cohesion and surveillance (see Sampson et. al. 1996; Sampson and Raudenbush 1999). Liska and Warner (1991) suggest that social cohesion may actually increase crime within a neighborhood. When individuals are well integrated in a neighborhood they will leave their home and socialize more putting themselves and their home at greater risk for victimization. hence, mneasuring collective efficacy as a single concept masks potentially divergent influences on crime. The present study finds that this is the case in regards to violent criminal behavior.
The Constitutive Power of Law: The Criminalization, Mobilization, and Organization of Direct-Entry Midwifery
This study investigaes how law has shaped the organization of home birth midwifery in the contemporary United States. Law exerts an influence by the criminalization of midwifery in many states, and by midwives’ consequent need to engage with state legislatures in pursuit of legal recognition through licensure. By research midwives’ involvement with state legislatures over the last three decades and their simultaneous efforts to develop state and national organizations in support of their cause, I seek to explain how and why birth activists’ encounter with law has transformed the character of home birth midwifery.
The Continuing Cycle of Juvenile Justice
In “The Cycle of Juvenile Justice” (1992) Bernard described juvenile justice policy occurring in repeated waves of leniency, toughness, and leniency once again. The cycle shifted several times during the 19th and 20th Centuries. Recent events suggest that juvenile justice policy may be again entering an important phase of philosophical and strategic adaptations. Nearly ten years of falling crime, the profound fiscal problems facing state and local governments, and changes in policy priorities may be precipitating a resurgence of more rehabilitative, less punitive approaches to juvenile crime. This paper examines these developments and considers potential future directions for American juvenile justice.
The Control Model in a Mega Prison: Governing Prisons in Taiwan
Imprisonment in Taiwan is conducted by a system of mega-prisons in which many offenders are incarcerated. By exmaining the nature of the regime and authority structures, based on empirical research to investigate one Taiwanese institution–Tainan Prison, aims to explore how a large prison population is managed without causing disturbances or riots. Tainan prison holds over three thousand inmates. This study explores how the American experience of control model management is successfully utilized in one Taiwanese prison. More importantly, it shows how the influential American penal policies and ideas are further being exercised in the prison system and management in Taiwan. It shows the fact that techniques borrowed from the West appear to work far better in Taiwan than in the U.S. In addition, it is more irony that Tainan Prison appears to exemplify Foucault’s picture of modern management of bodies more than Western facilties do.
The Correctional Key: Throw It Away
Incarceration punishes those individuals who have violated the law. Depending on the level of the crime committed, the punishment can be lengthy. The legislators in their passage of laws dictate the sentence or at least its range. Bad people are locked up, this according to the media as well as Hollywood who enjoys depicting the “excitement” of crime as being worthy of their productions. Correctional facilities and their purposes are not fully comprehended by the masses. The perception of what goes on inside is misunderstood by those outside. The practice of overcrowding cells as well as subjecting prisoners to unsafe and unsanitary conditions exist in the 21st century, as it did in centuries gone by. If the Constitution is to protect all of us from cruel and unusual punishment, so then it must protect prisoners, “it is essential that their rights be protected and that inhumane treatment be prevented.” This paper will examine the state of corrections in the 21st century and talk about policy implications and changes necessary for this new century.
The Criminal Justice System Impact of “Get Tough” Sentencing Reform: A Case Study
In the wake of “Get Tough” sentencing reform, it is reasonable to ask whether these laws have achieved the stated goals of requiring longer prison sentences for selected offenders and offenses. While relevant, this question does not take into account the larger impact of sentencing reforms upon criminal justice system operations. Based on analyses of sentencing and corrections data, as well as key informant interviews, this presentation reports the final findings of a three year implementation and impact study of Oregon’s Measure 11, a “one-strike” mandatory minimum sentencing reform. The study utilizes several methodologies and analytic techniques to examine the implementation of mandatory minimum sentencing reforms. Specifically, the study reports on changes in charging and sentencing practices and the effect of these changes on the composition of sentenced populations and sentence length.
The Criminal State and the Middle East Crisis: The Cases of Iraq and Israel
The concept of a criiminal state is contentious. It has been most readily applied to Nazi Germany. In one view, it is objectively applicable to states that have as their central enterprise (e.g., genocide). In an alternative interpretation, the label “criminal state” is essentially a label imposed in a purely politicized fashion. Thge invocation fo state crime in the context of the Middle East situation is especially complex. Iraq was designated as one of the “axis of evil” states by the Bush administration, with a de facto characterization as a criminal state providing a core rationalization for a military invasion and “regime change.” On the other hand, Israel is clearly regarded as a criminal state by militant Palestinians and by many citizens of Arab states. The core question addressed here is this: What can a specifically criminological approach contribute to an understanding of the issues arising in the Middle East context? An emerging criminology of state crime may be generating an alternative framework for analyzing an inherently contentious political situation.
The Detection of Deception: A Systematic Literature Review
The detection of deception is a major issue for those in criminal justice. Often, practitioners are required to assess the veracity of information provided by victims, witnesses, and suspects. This paper details a systematic literature review of the criminal justice and psychological literature pertaining to the detection of deception. This review highlights various issues concerning the detection fo deception, and the effective (and ineffective) techniques proposed in the literature.
The Determinants of Sentencing in Pennsylvania: Do the Characteristics of Judges Matter?
Studies of sentencing in jurisdictions with sentencing guidelines have generally failed to control for the characteristics of judges. A tobit model was used to analyze Pennsylvania sentencing outcomes in 1998. After controlling for the usual legal and extra legal factors, this analysis presents findings on how the judge’s race, ethnicity, gender, and time served on the bench affect sentencing outcomes. Female judges delivered sentences that were approximately one month shorter than their male counterparts. The race and ethnicity of judges also had an impact on incarceration sentences. Black judges delivered Incarceration sentences that were more than a month longer than sentences by white judges, while sentence lengths by Hispanic judges did not statistically differ from sentences by white judges. For each additional year on the bench, incarceration sentences by judges decreased slightly. The characteristics of judges also affected the probability of being incarcerated.
The Development of a Gender-Sensitive Staff Training Curriculum for Youth Custody Workers, a Project in Two Phases
This paper describes the development of a gender-sensitive, staff driven approach to professional development and training in a Vancouver Island custody center. This team based and collaborative approach is grounded in key informant research with youth in custody and their workers and involved the collaborative efforts of twenty-two custody workers, three university based researchers, and thirteen youth in custody. The curriculum that is presented is comprised of two days (14 hours) of training in working across differences, conflict management, the integration of developmental knowledge and an understanding of gender, culture and professionalism into practice. The training was positively evaluated, is still in use beyond the completion of the project, and is the basis for gender sensitive intervention with males and females and for the creation for a separate girls wing in what was until the time of the project a co-educational facility.
The Development of Victim-Offender Mediation in Germany
This paper will examine and analyze the development of victim-offender mediation in Germany between the years 1993 to 2000. During these years we collected all the data available from mediation services in Germany. The database of over 20,000 cases includes not only information about the development of victim-offender mediation and the services involved in them iun Germany, but also about: took the mediation place in the juvenile or adult penal system, who initiated the mediation process, what is the participating rate for offender and victims, who are the offender and victims, did they know each other, what kind offenses were mediated, what was the outcome of the mediation process and whether the offender fulfilled the reached agreement.
The Development of Violent Behavior: Linking Sibling and Peer Aggression
A common, yet little understood phenomenon is aggression and violence between siblings. This research examines the role of the family, including parents and siblings, as well as peers on the development of this physically aggressive and violent behavior. Using longitudinal data of individuals representing two stages of development and their families, this study identifies patterns of aggressive behavior toward siblings over time and determines which factors, both concerning individual and concerning family relationships and processes, predict changes in sibling aggression. In addition, this research will determine if and how sibling aggression is part of a general pattern of aggression and violence by using behavior between siblings to predict aggression targeted at peers. Preliminary analyses revealed that aggression between siblings is predicted by hostile sibling relationships, including early verbal aggression tendencies, perceptions of differential treatment by parents, and the gender/age structure of the sibling dyad. Additionally, those individuals who are more likely to enage in sibling aggression over time are also more likely to be displaying similar aggressive behaviors toward their peers, suggesting the continuity of aggression over time and across relationships.
The Differential Impact of Various Life Events on Later Criminal Behavior
Life course theory points to the potential for different life events to serve as turning points in a person’s life. This perspective is relevant in determining the factors that promote desistance from crime. This study examines the impact of various life events (first employment, marriage, and military service) on desistance from criminal behavior. Analyses focus on three cohorts: Shannon’s 1942 and 1949 birth cohort data from Racine, Wisconsin and Wolfgang’s 1945 birth cohort data from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Dilemna of Prison Reform: Tom Murton Revisited
Overcrowding at a midwestern suburban jail was initially alleviated by policies initiated by a committee of local officials. Subsequently, efforts at reform were abandoned and business as usual returned along with jail population increases. Thomas Murton’s model of prison reform is used to analyze this series of events.
The Dimensions of Women’s Power in Today’s Illicit Drug World
My paper is fundamentally concerned with the dimensions of women’s power in the illicit drug world, especially as they impact the lives of women and girls. This paper is part of a larger book project that will bring together original essays, written by women scholars, on other dimensions of women’s power in the illicit drug world as well. Unlike the androcentric ethnographies mentioned above, I utilize a feminist approach to explore the kinds of power females possess in the drug world and their societal impact. To the extent that power is a relational concept (Hartsock 1983), however, understanding the dimensions of power among females involved in drug worlds will also help inform the experiences of males.
The Domestic Violence Experiences of Women on Probation
The context of women’s offending has been the focus of recent research. Emerging from this body of work is a connection between victimization and criminal offending. About 170 women on probation completed a one-page anonymous questionnaire examining prior experiences of partner violence. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 14 of these women. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis, several notable themes emerged regarding the women’s histories of child victimization, partner abuse, substance abuse, coercion into crime, and a lack of support services. While the study was not intended to uncover the causes of criminal offending, results indicate that partner violence may play an important role in the contexts of women’s criminality.
The Effect of an Increased Police Presence on Neighborhood Crime Rates
The practice of community oriented policing (COP) is rapidly becoming a popular tool for policing “problem” areas of cities. The present study seeks to investigate the effect that community-policing procedures has on cime rates within neighborhoods. Using time-series analysis on data from Baltimore spanning the years of 1970-1992, I will examine the changes in neighborhood crime rates and whether community-oriented policing procedures (i.e., COP) are associated with the changes.
The Effect of Gun Levels on Violence Rates Depends on Who Has Them
The most rechnically sound macro-level studies of the effects of gun levels on violent crime rates have found no net impact of general gun ownership levels on crime rates. Such findings, however, may conceal counterbalancing violence-increasing effects of guns in the hands of criminals and violence-reducing effects of guns possessed by predominantly noncriminal victims. We use 1990 data from nearly 900 U.S. cities to test this hypothesis, using factor analysis to create two separate factors combining indicators of criminal or noncriminal gun possession, and two–stage least-squares estimation of crime rate models. Findings are reported for the estimated separate effects of criminal gun levels and noncriminal gun levels on violent crime rates.
The Effect of Parental Disciplinary Practice on Delinquency: Literature Review Using Meta-Analysis
This paper analyzed 15 studies to find some consistent pattern of the relationship between parental disciplinary practice on and delinquent behavior. Review hypothesis was that adolescents undergoing ineffective parental disciplinary practices have higher rate of delinquent behavior than their counterparts receiving parental support and supervision. Statistical analyses using Sigh Test, Adding Z’s Method, Adding Weighted Z’s Method, and Fail-Safe N supported the review hypothesis.
The Effect of Probation Officer Recommendations on Case Disposition
Over the past 75 years the role of the probation officer has changed substantially. At times probation officers have acted as offender advocates, law enforcement officers, investigators, and prosecutors. However, one aspect of the probation officer’s role that has remained constant is the act of making sentencing recommendations to the court. Some researchers contend that probation officers’ recommendations have very little if any impact on judicial decision making and others claim the impacts are consistent and strong. While research has tended to show congruence between probation officer recommendations and case disposition, it has been argued that probation officers’ recommendations are shaped in part by what sentence they believe the judge will impose. The current research utilizes data from a large urban county after the implementation of a determninate sentencing structure with a presumptive sentencing guidelines. The analyses focus on identifying the effects of probation officer recommendations on final case disposition and whether the probation officers’ recommendations differ based on the assigned sentencing judge.
The Effect of Structural Embeddedness on Gang Crime
Social network analyss refers to the recurring patterns of relationships among people as structural embeddedness. The theoretical argument is that structural embeddedness is consequential for individual-level behavior, because structure (that is, recurring behavior patterns) determines information flow, material exchange, social support and the like. This paper applies this theory to a friendship network of 29 Gangster Disciple women using self-reported crime data. Separate indices of violent, economic, and property crime are generated for each woman and then mapped onto the GD friendship network. For each crime type the question is asked: does strutural embeddedness influence the frequency of a crime? Stated another way, are GDs who commit the highest frequency of (violent, economic, property) crime also most structurally central in the network? Multiple measures of structural centrality show different perspectives on structural position and crime frequency.
The Effects of Alcohol Intoxication and Affective Arousal on Criminal Decision Making
While emphasizing the importance of the thought processes that underlie criminal decision-making, rational choice theorists have largely ignored the affective conditions and psychopharmacological agents that may attenuate cognitive ability. Using an experimental design, this study examines whether sexual arousal and alcohol intoxication impact the perceived consequences associated with criminal behavior. Male subjects of legal drinking age are randomized to consume either an alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverage, with the former designed to elevate blood alcohol levels to 0.08%. Half of the subjects in each drink condition are randomly assigned to view sexually explicit images, while the remaining half view neutral images. All subjects than read three hypothetical scenarios and complete a series of questions designed to measure their intentions to engage in drunk driving, sexual assault, and physical assault. The effects of alcohol and arousal on intentions to offend and the perceived costs/benefits associated with these acts are discussed.
The Effects of Fear of Crime on Mediating Support for the Death Penalty
Despite the amount of research that has been conducted about public opinion surrounding the death penalty, a great deal of that research does not truly provide a proper understanding of the subject. Simplistic questions which measure simple “in-favor” or “opposed” opinions about capital punishment are insufficient to gain a multifaced understanding of public attitudes on the death penalty. Using basic principles from the Marshall Hypothesis, which states that when presented with further information people’s support for the death penalty will decrease, this project tested factors that cause people to increase opposition to capital punishment. This research examined public opinion questions about capital punishment from the 1995 The National Crime Opinion Survey. While controlling for factors which predict initial support for capital punishment, fear of crime was found to have a positive influence upon a person increasing their opposition to capital punishment. Those respondents that reported higher levels of fear of crime were more likely to gain opposition to capital punishment when presented with social justice concerns about death penalty outcomes. The results suggest that a link between the emotional responses in initial death penalty response and fear of crime will help social scientists better understand what drives public opinion about capital punishment.
The Effects of Incarceration on Attitudes Toward the Criminal Justice System
Research on attitudes toward the justice system generally focus on inividual characteristics. More recent research has begun to look at how neighborhood characteristics can influence an individual’s attitude toward the justice system. Using a social disorganization framework, this paper examines how incarderation affects an individual’s attitude toward the justice system. Using both individual and neighborhood level data regarding incarceration, this study extends the current research. The study uses survey data from Tallahassee, Florida as well as neighborhood level data including the number of individuals released from and admitted to prison for each neighborhood in a given year to examine its impact on attitudes toward the justice system.
The Effects of Peers and Social Bonds on Adult Drug and Alcohol Use
There has been much research surrounding adolescent drug and alcohol use, but little on adult use. In addition, the debate over the impact of peers on deviant behavior has primarily focused on adolescents, but recently been brought uynder inquiry for adults. This project investigates the effects of peers influence on adult drug and alcohol use. It examines whether social bonds, such as the desire to get married, having a good job, religious involvement and getting a good education, mediate the effects of peers. It is hypothesized that the influence of peers on total drug and alcohol use will become non-significant when you include the social control variables.
The Effects of Personal Views Toward Work and Money of the Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment of Private Prison Staff
Most of the research on the antecedents of correctional staff job satisfaction and organizational commitment focus on demographic characteristics and work environment factors. Little research has explored the impact of personal views toward work and money. Additionally, almost no research has explored the antecedents of the job satisfaction of private prison staff. Based upon survey data from staff at a private Midwestern prison, the impact of views of work and money are explored. The results will be presented and discussed.
The Effects of Religion on Delinquency: Literature Review Using Meta-Analysis
Since Hirschi and Stark (1969) published their finding that “religious participation has no effects on delinquency”, many researchers have been working on the field to verify the relationship between religion and delinquency. Some scholars said that they have negative relationship, but some reacted that the relationship is spurious or reciprocal, etc. A lack of consensus still exists in regard to the effects of religion on delinquency. I am going to analyze 15 studies (mostly recent ones) to find some consistent patterns of the relationship between religion and delinquency. My main purposes are to identify (1) whether the pattern of findings is different for the technically stronger studies than for the weaker ones, and (2) whether the findings are more likely to be supportive in some circumstances than in others (e.g. more supportive for some types of delinquency than others, etc.)
The Effects of Time and Race on Juvenile Justice Decision Making in One Juvenile Court
The “get tough movement” and the “war on drugs” have had a significant impact on the detection and involvement of youth, especially African Americans, in the juvenile justice system. Using the symbolic threat thesis as a theoretical framework and data that covers a 21 year-period (1980 to 2000), the present research examines and compares patterns in case processing within the context of the factors that might influence case outcomes for whites and African Americans in one Iowa juvenile court. The findings have implications for advancing our understanding of the social control of youth and in particular, African Americans.
The Effects of Transition to Fatherhood on Participation in Illegal Behavior: An Ethnographic Examination of Crime and the Life Course
The transition to fatherhood can have two possible and opposite effects on a male’s likelihood of engaging in criminal behavior. For some individuals who have already been criminally active, becoming a father may be a life event that hastens maturation out of crime into a more pro-social adult life course. For others, the advent of fatherhood may be an unplanned and disorienting experience that constitutes one more concaternating event in a downward spiral of cumulative disadvantage. Existing research on such questions has focused more on marriage than fatherhood and has been conducted primarioly with a paradigm of risk and protective factors, with relatively little attention to the social processes connecting antecedents and outcomes. Comparative ethnographic data on three communities differing in social class and race/ethnicity demonstrate the ways in which distinctive social processes mediating the transition to fatherhood are emnbedded in community context.
The Empirical Basis for the Containment Approach for Managing Convicted/Adjudicated Sex Offenders
Following the publication of our 1996 book entitled “A Containment Approach: Managing Adult Sex Offenders,” the U.S. Department of Justice has encouraged jurisdictions across the country to replicate this promising approach. We continue to build on the original research, which was funded by the National Institute of Justice, and by doing so continue to explore the relationships between treatment and criminal justice supervision and how these can best be integrated to “contain” convicted sex offenders and manage the risk they present to the community. In this panel session, we propose reviewing three studies conducted by the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice and describe how such research has been translated into effective public policy and practice. First, we will provide an overview of the 5-part Containment Approach and the field research and national telephone surveys that served as its foundation. This presentation will include a discussion of the most controversial component of the Containment Approach: the use of the polygraph as a risk management tool. We will present information obtained from polygraph examinations and describe how such data can be translated into risk assessment and supervision strategies. Second, we will present a study of 116 juveniles placed in group homes and/or probation supervision for sexual behavior problems. These juveniles participated in treatment that included polygraph examinations. We reviewed the polygraph files of 116 juvenile sex offenders in Colorado who received a polygraph exam within the previous 24 months. Important information, including age of onset, gender crossover behavior, additional victims, and supervision violations was obtained. We will present information about new victims, including siblings, who were identified only through the polygraph exam. We will describe how the study findings were used in the development of statewide treatment standards. The thid presentation requires some contextual information. In Colorado, state statute requires that a multidisciplinary team of professionals comprise the state Sex Offender Management Board. The SOMB has been mandated to develop standards for the evaluation, treatment and monitoring of adult and juvenile sex offenders. The results of the research conducted by the Division of Criminal Justice and described above have played a key role in the development of the Standards. The Standards represent the state’s policy on the management of these offenders, and reflect all aspects of the Containment Approach. In this presentation, we will include findings from our current evaluation of the extent to which the SOMB’s Adult Standards have been implemented in Colorado. The evaluation is mandated by Colorado Revised Statute 16-11.7-103(d)(I). The evaluation utilized telephone interviews with all supervising officers, treatment providers and polygraph examiners who work with sex offenders in Colorado. Further, sex offenders’ files located in both supervising officer agencies and treatment provider officers were reviewed to determine the extent and uniformity of implementation of the standards and guidelines throughout the state. The presentation will focus on the innovative (and challenging) research design, along with the results of the telephone interviews and file data collection and analysis. The findings have significant policy implications regarding the development of adequate case and treatment plans for offenders; staff training issues; the exchange of information among the treatment provider, polygraph examiner, and supervising officer; consequences and sanctions used with sex offenders in treatment and supervision; specific questions about how the decision to allow an offender contact with children is made; and, general issuyes regarding barriers to implementation. We will also present the impact this evaluation had on the SOMB’s revision of the adult Standards, to be undertaken in the summer of 2003.
The End of the Miranda Regime and the Need for State Interrogation Policy
A recent Yale Law Journal article (Steven Clymer, Dec. 2002) and a case before the U.S. Supreme Court (Chavez v. Martinez) presage the crumbling of the Miranda rule. Despite Dickerson v. U.S. (2000), which upheld Miranda’s constituinality, Clymer’s article and the likely result of Chavez will likely produce a rule that the failure to administer Miranda warnings and abuse interrogation are not inherent constitutional violations, but only require exclusion of incriminating statements at trial. In ordinary cases the new rule will probably not result in radical changes in police interrogation practices. Nevertheless, agencies may deliverately engage in abusive interrogation in terrorism cases and situations where information outweighs the value of prosecution. Local and federal agencies, cities and states should establish guidelines to control abusive interrogation. state courts should offer greater controls under state constitutional protections. Guidelines will be proposed.
The Enduring Racial Divide in Death Penalty Support
One of the more enduring observations in the study of death penalty support with the UJnited States is the strong divide between whites and blacks. Whites showed significantly higher levels of support for capital punishment than blacks. This divide between whites and blacks appears in all none surveys, over time, and across a variety of methodological designs. Using data from four separate studies (two local surveys of veniremen and two national surveys — the NORC-GSCC and the NCVS) we attempt to understand the basis for this divide. We examine the racial differences in socio-economic status, religion/religiosity, political ideology, positions on right-to-life and other social issues, fear of crime and victimization experience, experience with the criminal justice system, philosophies of punishment, and attribution styles. Our findings reveal that the effect of race/ethnicity on capital punishment support continues to hold while controlling for the effects of most of these “explanations.”
The Evaluation-Public Management Nexus: Forging New Directions in Evaluation Roles, Methods and Processes Based on Lessons Learned From Evaluation and Management Practice
This paper discusses emerging issues and controversies in evaluation, their implications for contemporary evaluation theory and practice, and the potential that convergence-based evaluation strategies have for building knowledge and and bridging the gap between research and policy/practice. The author describes evaluation’s shortcomings as a public management and accoutability tool, and several of the key and at times controversial lessons that have been learned from decades of evaluation practice. Drawing on these lessons learned, as well as common themes concerning implementation fidelity and perfomance measurement found in the evaluation and public management literatures, the author proposes a strategy for enhancing both management practice and the quality and merit of evaluation efforts. A convergence-based evaluation framework that recognizes (1) the inherent relationship between program development, performance measurement and formal evaluationl (2) the importance of evaluability assessment and capacity building, and (3) the role of program theory or logic in both evaluation and management practice, is presented. The key principles underlying the framework and their implications for evaluation roles, methods and processes are identified, as are some of their concomitant controversies.
The Exportation of U.S. Justice Policy Under Globalization
The term “globalization” captures the significant economic transformations that have characterized the past two decades. Scholars have argued that globalization refers to the development of a global capitalist econimic order, with implications for numerous aspects of political, social and cultural life (Young and Danner, forthcoming; Wonders and Danner, 2001). One of the most important features of globalization has been the exporation of capitalist cultural values and consumer goods worldwide. This paper explores a relatively new export associated with globalization: the exportation of U.S. criminal justice policies to other countries. Increasingly countries around the world are adopting U.S. justice policies as a strategy to further a climate conducive to global capitalism within their borders. Although the adoption of these strategies is at tiomes voluntary, more often it results from the indirect (and sometimes direct) coercion of the global market and global organizations. This paper explores why and how countries come to import U.S. justice policy. it also addresses several specific U.S. justice policies that are currently being exported to other countries: the war on drugs, incarceration policies, and the criminalization of survival strategies. in each of these cases, the importation of these policies is likely to have a prfound impact on those least able to defend themselves against the Goliath or globalization.
The Failure of Community Policing: Legacy of the Progressive Era
The community-policing paradigm represented the latest and most sophisticated opportunity for the police in the United States to transcend the rigidly bureaucratic, rational/legal structure that has been an enduring vestige of the “Reform Era” of the 1930s. Though it is most often argued that these reforms were prompted by the revelations of the Wickersham Committee, it can also be posited that the effective reform and re-organization of urban policing that followed the release of the Committee’s conclusions are theoretically grounded in the moralistic ideal that arose during the Progressive Era. Community policing as it was originally conceived has failed because there is a fundamental and quite natural tension between the rational/legal underpinnings of policing as it has developed since the Reform/Professional Era and the necessary goal of instituting a truly professionalized police service, in the sociological sense. The modern police establishment is founded upon the pillars of technology, militarization, and specialization of function. Community policing defined as the integration of the police with the community can be accomplished only if the structure and culture of the police establishment were to undergo dramatic transformation, perhaps within the context of the theory of community justice.
The Fallout of Juvenile Waiver: An Analysis of Juvenile Offenders Transferred to the Criminal Justice System
The commonly stated goal of juvenile waiver legislation is the criminal court prosecution of violent and chronic juvenile offenders. The aim of criminalization is to guarantee both the protection of the public through minors’ incapacitation as well as provide a more severe punitive option unavailable in the juvenile system. Despire the clear expectations of juvenile criminalization there is a dearth of research exploring its efficacy. The goal of this project is to begin to describe the fallout of the waiver process — what actually happens once juvenile offenders are deemed “unfit” for the juvenile system. The present study explores a 1998 sample of juvenile and crimninal cases in a county inCalifornia (N=763). These court data are supplemented by qualitative observations and interviews with court officials. The research found that over twenty-eight percent of the juvenile cases transferred to criminal court were either declined for further prosecution or were dismissed. Discussion focuses on the possible reasons for the lack of criminal court prosecution and the lack of anticipated punitive sentences.
The Family’s Impact on Crime and Deviance Among College Students
While parental monitoring of children’s behaviors (direct controls) probably diminishes over time from pre-adolescence to young adulthood, in a relative sense college students living at home are probably controlled socially to a greater extent by their parents than their residential college student counterparts. Students who have moved out of the home to attend college have a greater amount of freedom, independence, and relative lack of controls — “freeing” them from parental restrains to commit deviance. Similarly, we argue that young adults (college students) living with a boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse have greater family attachments or constraints, resulting in less self-reported crime and deviance than among college students living alone or with a roommate. We find support for these hypotheses among a sample of 800 Midwestern college students. While the effect of parental attachments may be diminished by young adulthood, “living arrangements” while attending college appears relevant to the likelihood of self-reported crime. The implications of this research and its possible relevance to campus crime are discuseed.
The Fantasy-Addiction Model of Serial Homicide
The presence of sexual undertones at the crime scenes of serial homicides has been noted by many researchers, most notably by Albert Drukteinis (1992), who recognized the sexual element of the crme “varies depending in its meaning to the offender”. No researcher, however, has been able to make what seems to be a logical and simple connection in the serial killer. It is a more widely accepted fact that fantasy pays a very significant role in both the life and motivation of the serial killer. The serial killer utilizes fantasy as a copy mechanism for the day to day stresses and frustrations he faces throughout his life. There has not been a successful synthesis of this fact into into a meaningful synthesis for the analysis of the motivations behind the commission of serial homicides. This paper exmines the fantasy-addiction theory of serial murder and the similarities between a serial killer’s addiction to fantasy and the drug addict’s addiction to such substances as cocaine or heroine. It explores the assumption that the addiction of fantasy is so strong within the serial killer that these offenders commit their crimes in order to preserve their addiction.
The Fourth Era of American Policing: Strategic Policing
Policing in America is an evolving process. This session will be an open discussion about a paper in development that suggests that American policing has crossed from the third era, Community Problem Solving Era, to the fourth era, tentatively called Strategic Policing Era. Several distinctions and trends will be discussed that seem to evolve the present police philosophy and actions from the third era of policing to a fourth. At the round table, input from colleagues will be solicited for consideration of the issue and paper development.
The Future Trend of Supermax Confinement in Taiwan: A Reflection From the American Supermax Perspectibe
The value of supermax prisons in the United States is still in debate. Those who support supermax prisons argue that by segregating the violent, disruptive, and assaultive inmates from others, it makes prison a safer place. Other people, however, criticize that supermax prisons can cause more trouble than merits. One of the most often ited problems is the inclusion of mentally ill inmates in the supermax prisons. For those inmates who are diagnosed as having mental health problems, the isolated imprisonment may worsen their syndromes. Until now, the debates are still on going and have not been solved yet, despite the accumulation of research on this topic. Facing the increasing number of extremely violent and uncontrollable inmates in prisons, the Justice Department of Taiwan also considers the feasibility of implementing supermax prisons. Due to the differences in culture and correctional systems between Taiwan and the United States, we cannot just replicate the system from the United States. Therefore, it is necessary to re-examine the nature and the operation of the American supermax prisons from the perspective of Taiwanese correctional system before we rush into the actual implementation of supermax prisons in Taiwan.
The General Deterrent Effects of Sex Offender Registration and Notification Laws in the United States
In the middle of the 1990’s, the United States passed a series of laws to deal with the threat of sex offenders to the public. The solution for the problem of sex offenders were found in sex offender registration and notification laws. Even though research on sex offender laws is relatively sparse, one aspect of these laws that has been neglected is the deterrent properties of such legislation. Utilizing an interrupted time series design, this research examines the general deterrent effects of these sex offender laws. Utilizing monthly data obtained from the U.C.R. on the offenses of forcible rape and all other sex offenses, this research examines (when possible) each state five years prior to the enactment of sex offender laws and five years after. Policy implications are also discussed.
The Generality of Criminal Behaviour: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Criminal Activity of Sex Offenders in Adulthood
The presence of a general construct of deviance has not been investigated in sex offenders in spite of the presumption of specialisation that characterises them. Consequently, the aim of this study was to investigate whether sex offenders’ criminal behaviour could be explained by a general construct of deviance. A semi-structured interview was conducted with each subject in order to assess deviant behaviour during the life-course. The official criminal behaviour of 388 convicted sex offenders was analysed using confirmatory factor analysis. The pattern of covariance observed showed that the onset, frequency and variety of criminal activity in adulthood could be explained by a general construct of deviance in sexual aggressors. However, the results also suggest that child molesters’ frequency of sexual crime is not part of a general construct of deviance. In other words, the offending behaviour of sexual aggressors of women is predominantly versatile, whereas that of sexual aggressors of children tends to be more specific, at least for one dimension of their criminal activity.
The Geography of Disparity: A Case Study
This study addresses the ongoing controversy regarding racial disparity in police stops of citizens. Data is comprised of approximately 7,900 traffic and pedestrian stops made by the Cincinnati Police Division during a six-month period in 2001. Additional data in the analysis includes driving population measures from census data. Using statistical analysis, GIS, and traffic modeling software, the study includes measures of overall disparity and the geographic diversity in disparity of traffic and pedestrian stops.
The Globalization of Peacemaking Criminology
Peacemaking criminology is primarily the result of efforts among American scholars to address the suffering caused by crime. Although themes such as connectedness, caring, and mindfulness have been advanced to diminish the problems associated with both crime and the criminal justice system, the relevance of peacemaking criminology to cultures other than the United States is unclear. The purpose of this paper is to explore some avenues by which criminologists may apply peacemaking principles to crime and suffering in countries other than the U.S. We hope to show how peacemaking is relevant on a global scale. in particular, we focus on peacemaking applications in Latin America.
The Globalization of Russian, Colombian, and Chinese Organized Crime: A Quantitative Analysis
This study assessed the globalization of organized crime from 1991 to 2001. The data source and methodology consists of a content analysis of eight major newspapers from eight industrialized countries, including Russia, Japan, China, the United States, England, Canada, Colombia, and France. An eleven-year time series analysis (ARIMA modeling) of media coverage was undertaken for the purposes of examining the globalization hypothesis. Russian, Colombian, and Chinese organized crime groups were assessed under the assumption that an increase in the amount of media coverage over the 11-year year time frame is indicative of the globalization of organized crime. Emphasis was also placed on the developing relationship between international organized crime and terrorist organizations.
The Heteregeneous Engineering of Internet Crime
From the sociology of science and technology comes actor-network theory, which views any phenomenon as the product or effect of a patterned network of hetergeneous elements. This thought piece applies such a paradigmatic perspective to the phenomenon of Internet crime, in an attempt to underscore the relevance of all studying and analyzing each component that make up the “social” reality of illegal behavior. The social, as well as the technical, organizational, contextual, and perceptual merit attention and response if progress is to be made in understanding the etiology of novel forms of deviance birthed from the union of communications and computers, and in developing competent policy to stem their tide.
The History of the Death Penalty in Colorado
This paper summarizes a research project that gathered information on every execution that occurred in Colorado, 1859-1972 (N=102). Before 1890, executions were held in public throughout Colorado, including some that occurred a short walk away from where the American Society of Criminology is meeting today. I examine the debates that changed the way in which the death penalty has been practiced in Colorado, including the movement of hangings from local counties to one central location in Canon City in 1890, the temporary abolition of the death penalty in 1897, the continual search for a more “humane” way to execute, and the longstanding presence of strong abolition sentiment in the state.
The Hotspot Matrix as a Framework for Targeted Intelligence-Led Crime Reduction
Intelligence-led policing has increased the pressure on police to clearly identify a problem and to determine an effective crime reduction strategy. At the most basic level a police commander should therefore know where and when crime is happening, so that resources can be focused to the areas of highest need. This paper outlines the techniques used to identify the spatial and temporal components of crime hotspots, and uses these methods to identify three broad categories of temporarl hotspot and three broad categories of spatial hotspot. These categories are described in the form of a Hotspot Matrix, a tool used not just to categorize crime problems but as a framework to plan and test detection and prevention strrategies. Real examples show how the spatial and temporal characteristics combine within the hotspot matrix, and the paper concludes by showing how operational commanders and crime prevention practitioners might employ the hotspot matrix to determine an appropriate prevention or detection strategy.
The Human Subjects Nightmare
Human subjects protection have become a bureacratic nightmare: (a) its administration is often in the hands of experimentally oriented professionals from medical related fields, (b) reliance is placed upon consultants whose enumeration is enhanced by the obscure and arcane kinds of risks they can conjure, (c) duplication of jurisdiction paralyzes multi site research, (d) mission creep has cramped dissertation and related research of advanced students, (e) the terrorist principle “we will shut down your whole operation” is a constant threat. These themes will be illustrated with examples from the 14 state Capital Jury Project. Is there a standards setting role for social science professional organizations? What role should university faculty play in the administration of human subjects protection? Answers to these questions will be considered.
The Impact of “On Track”: Peer Mediation as a Strategy for Social Inclusion
The paper will draw on an evaluation of ‘On Track’, a British based early intervention initiative targeting young children (aged 4-12) and their families. The initiative originated as part of a government sponsored Crime Reduction Programme addressing prevention of anti-social and criminal behaviour. In 24 pilot areas across England and Wales On Track teams have implemented multiple intervention programmes whicnh include inputs of family therapy; home visiting; home/school partnerships; parent support and training; pre-school education and specialist inputs. The paper will provide a brief overview of the programme and discuss the specific impact of a school based peer mediation scheme.
The Impact of Capital on Crime: Does Access to Home and Small Business Lending Reduce Crime Rates in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods?
Lending to disadvantaged neighborhoods has increased while crime has gone down in recent years. Community reinvestment advocates as well as law enforcement authorities have long contended that access to financial services, home ownership, and thriving businesses are critical to neighborhood stability which, in turn, is asserted to be associated with lower levels of violent and property crime. But no systematic research has explored the relationship between lending and crime. This study utilizes national data on home and small business lending with 2000 census and Uniform Crime Report data to measure the extent to which home and small business loans are associated with violent and property crime rates, particularly in minority and low-income neighborhoods, controlling for a number of socio-economic and demographic factors in major metropolitan areas. We also explore the effects of the Federal Community Reinvestment Act on neighborhood crime rates by examining loans made by institutions covered by this Act compared to lenders not uner its jurisdiction. In addition, we determine whether the presence of community reinvestment agreements negotiated by neighborhood organizations and financial instituions reduceds crime rates. This research advances our understanding of the linkages between financial services, neighborhood social organization, and crime. And it offers policy recommendations for community reinvestment and law enforcement initiatives.
The Impact of Changes in Pennsylvania’s Sentencing Guidelines, 1991-2000
Recently Engen and Steen (2000) published an examination of the impact of guideline changes inWashington for drug offenders. We have conducted a more comprehensive assessment of significant guideline changes to Pennsylvania’s sentencing guidelines that occurred in 1994 and 1997. The study examines such guideline changes as the impact of changing guideline ranges that permit incarceration to preseumptive non-confinement, providing structured drug treatment options to county and state incarceration, and narrowing of guideline ranges. The assessment tests the impact of these changes. Overall, we find that significant sentencing shifts occurred for all but those areas of the matrix where the guidelines provided for drug treatment alternatives to state incarceration.
The Impact of Human Subjects Review on the Quality of Social Science Research Methodology
Advocates for Human Subjects Review Boards have argued that Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) have improved the quality of research. This paper analyzes how IRB requirements can substantially reduce the quality of research by inhibiting the capacity for pretesting, biasing sample selection, undermining the validity and reliability of survey questions, requiring the exclusion of important control variables, and impeding data collection efforts to obtain sufficient response rate. Methodologically flaws imposed by requirements to comply with unreasonable Human Subject dictates may reduce the utility of conducting research projects. It also inhibits the teaching process.
The Impact of Income Inequality on Race-Specific Homicide Rates: 1947-2001
While a sizeable body of literature has examined the impact of relative deprivation on rates of violent crime, most of these studies have utilzied cross-sectional research designs. The present study uses national time series data to assess the relationship between income inequality and racially disaggregated homicides rates from 1947 to 2001.
The Impact of Participation and Completion of a Seamless System of Supervision and Treatment on Recidivism and Employment Outcomes
Offenders involved with the criminal justice system, particularly those struggling with substance abuse addiction, exact a significant economic toll on the community correctional systems that supervise them and the public health systems that provide them with needed treatment services. In light of these particular issues confronted by drug offenders as they seek to reintegrate back into society, the community criminal jujstice system serves as a unique locus for the integration of supervision and drug treatment services. This ability to provide a continuum of care, or a seamless system of care, for drug offenders through the collaborative effortse of supervision and treatment agencies serves as a critical component in whether or not successful completion of all supervisionr equirements are achieved, and supports improved individual outcomes beyond those achieved when services are disparate and disconnected. As part of a multi-site blocked randomized (and quasi) experiment, interview and official data were collected on clients who either participated in traditional supervision services or a seamless system of supervision and treatment to test the impact of such participation on post-treatment outcomes, specifically recidivism and employment. Preliminary findings suggest that completion of the seamless system of supervision, not merely participation, significantly improves post-treatment outcomes.
The Impact of Rule 35(b) and Other Sentencing Adjustments on Time Served in Prison by Federal Offenders
Pursuant to the Federal sentencing guidelines, the government may file a motion at sentencing to reduce an offender’s sentence in exchange for “substantial assistance” provided to the government. Rule 35(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure also allows for reductions in sentences for substantial assistance provided to Federal prosecutors within one year of imposition of the sentence, after the offender has entered prison. Sentences imposed by the court may be changed for other reasons, such as court orders modifying or correcting sentences, executive clemency, a Bureau of Prisons motion, or supervised release violations. This paper examines the prevalence of post-sentencing adjustments from 1988-2001. We analyze the type of offense, judicial district, and personal characteristics (such as race, ethnicity, and gender) of the offenders who receive sentencing adjustments by the type of adjustment received and the impact it has on the time to be served for these offenders. We use a specially created analysis file which makes use of information in annual extracts of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ SENTRY database covering all admissions and releases from Federal prison between 1986 and 2001.
The Impact of School Resource Officers on Student and Faculty Perceptions of Safety and the Educational Experience: A Preliminary Evaluation of Spokane’s School Resource Officer Program
More and more jurisdictions in America are adopting a strategy of placing police officers in schools. Often acting under a joint enterprise involving both law enforcement and schools, these School Resource Officers serve multiple functions: Educating youth on matters dealing with decision making, crime, drugs, and interactions with police; providing a resource and example in the school setting for youth in need of role models and/or informal counseling; and, fulfilling a law-enforcement role in the school setting. This paper details the preliminary findings of a study of the role and impact of School Resource Officers in the City of Spokane, Washington. Both students and adults connected with schools across all grade levels were surveyed as part of an evaluation of this program. Important observations from the results of these surveys offer insights into how the three roles identified above are balanced, and on the impact which the presence of School Resource Officers have on students and faculty/staff. The role which school-related socio-economic factors play in determining the balance of SRO functions is also addressed.
The Impact of the Crack Epidemic on Local Homicide Trends
Several recent comprehensive analyses suggest that the best explanations for the dramatic rise of homicides in the 1980s and decline in the 1990s are that it resulted from the natural course of the crack epidemic and an increase in gun law enforcement. A richer understanding of the impact of each explanation could greatly help guide future allocation of policing and other policy resources. In this paper we seek to simultaneously measure the extent to which each explanation accounts for the decline at 23 locations across the U.S. served by the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program. Multiple regression techniques are used to test the impact of three possible explanations for the decline in young-adult homicides as recorded by the Supplemental Homicide Reports (SHR) for each location: A) the elevated homicide rate was caused by a shakeout in developing crack markets (in which case the violence drop should coincide with the plateau phase of the epidemic); B) the rates were associated with crack use in general and declined with overall crack use; and C) the drug law enforcement introduced in the 1990s had a broad effect across all locations. Our preliminary results indicate that given the variation across cities and the cut-points for the end of the epidemic, gun control measures were as important a factor in decreasing homicide rates as was the natural course of the epidemic.
The Impact of Violence and Substance Abuse Prevention Programs on School Safety
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a comprehensive set of violence and substance abuse prevention programs on school safety outcomes. These programs were funded by a Center for Substance Abuse Prevention State Incentive Grant. The specific research questions addressed are: (1) Is there a differential effect of violence and substance abuse prevention programs on school safety?; (2) What is the joint effect of violence and substance abuse prevention programs on school safety?; and (3) What is the impact of science-based interventions relative to non-science based interventions on school safety? Self-report survey data were collected from students in the 6th,8th, 10th and 12th grades in over 200 schools from 1999 to 2002, and contained measures of risk and protective factors and indicators of substance use and school safety. Multivariate statistical procesures were used to assess the effect of violence prevention programs, substance abuse prevention programs, and their joint effect on school safety. Multivariate statistical procedures were used to assess the effect of violence prevention programs, substance abuse prevention programs, and their joint effect on school safety. Structural equation modeling was also used to determine whether risk and protective factors mediated intervention effects on safety outcomes. Preliminary results indicated mixed support for the effect of science-based interventions alone, and that risk and protective factors produced small but significant mediating effects.
The Impact of Work-Family Conflict on Private Prison Staff
Work-family conflict occurs when the two domains of work and family conflict are incompatible in some way with one another. This is probably are real problem for many correctional staff. Nevertheless, only limited research has been done in the area, and none of the published studies on work-family conflict have studied private prison staff. Results of a survey which included work-family conflict measures conducted in late 2002 of staff at a private Midwestern prison are presented. In addition recommendations to aid correctional administrators in reducing this form of worker stress are outlined.
The Implementation of California Proposition 36: The Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (SACPA) of 2000
The California Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000 (SACPA) is revolutionary in its treatment of California drug offenders. The proposition encourages new levels of cooperation between county public health and criminal justice agencies. At present no research exists that describes a full year of program implementation and fiscal decision making for all fifty-eight counties in California. This paper examines at the county level actual and proposed implementation of programs in the fiscal years 2001-2002 and 2002-2003. Information analyzed from county plans will reflect annual changes in four important criteria as esbalished by the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs: allocations of money to treatment, administrative and criminal justice costs; availability and number of treatment options; degree of involvement by public health professionals; and planned community involvement. These results will be overlaid by county demographic characteristics, Proposition 36 voting proportions, longitudinal arrest rates and adult probation caseloads. The analysis of county program allocations and annual carryover funds will be of interest to program directors, administrators and policy makers in light of recent setbacks in California’s economy.
The Importance of Family in Non-Lethal Youthful Offending
Little attention has been devoted to studies of non-lethal youthful offending within the family context, yet family relationships are a crucial concept in many criminological theories and juvenile justice interventions. Through an analyhsis of detained youth in a small Northeastern state, this study examines youth who committed family violence offenses. Results show that, over a one-year period, 40% (N=74) of all youth detained in the state are detained for offenses against family members. As compared to other detainees, these youth are significantly more likely to be minor offenders, disproportionately female, and disproportionately nonwhite. Further differences between these family violence offenders and non-family violence offenders are examined. Findings point to areas of needed research as well as policy recommendations for youthful family violence offenders at the system level and the family level.
The Importance of Risk, Need, and Responsivity Factors in Predicting Reductions in Antisocial Attitudes and Cognitive Distortions Among Adult Male Offenders
Antisocial attitudes and cognitive distortions have been found to be among the strongest predictors of crime. In addition, the literature indicates that cognitive-behavioral programs that target these antisocial attitudes have been found to be effective. Changing antisocial attitudes in offenders should affect recidivism however, it is not known for which offender types the reductions are most likely. This study presents findings from a study on adult males in a secure community based correctional facility. Data were collected on risk, need, and responsivity factors such as intelligence, personality, history of sexual abuse, depression, and self-esteem to determine if any of these factors are related to reductions in cognitive distortions.
The Importance of Theory in Research Methodology
While many people are intimidated at their very first encounter with theory, it is used almost on a daily basis. You may be one who believes that theory is abstract and has no fundamental basis in the real world. However, whether you realise it or not, you use theory almost all the time. We all make assumptions and generalisations about certain things we are in contact with daily; thus we theorise. Theories are logical constructions that explain natural phenomena. They are not in themselves always directly observable, but can be supported or refuted by empirical findings. Theory and empirical research are connected by means of hypotheses, which are testable propositions that are logically derived from theories. The testable part is very important because scientific hypotheses must be capable of being accepted or rejected. Theories can be simple or complex; it depends on how relationships are made in formulating them. Theory can be fun, depending on how it is applied. If you spend the day in a shopping mall you can see how much fund theory can be. So why study theory? The truth of the matter is, we need theory inorder to function, in order to better understand the world around us. Life would be pretty dull if we couldn’t generalise or make assumptions about people and things. Most of our daily theories tend to be illogical and are a product of our own selective observation. Often we perceive what we want to perceive. Human behaviour tends to be very complex, almost abstract. Theories on crime causation for example are complex, too. Most theories for example on criminal behaviour are from research, both past and present, which reflects both systematic observation and very careful logic. Theories not only provide a framework for us to interpret the meanings of observed patterns but they help us to determine when these patterns are meaningful and when they are not.
The Importance of Time and Place Contextualization in Criminological Research
The importance of contextualizing research is well known, yet remains under emphasized and under utilized in most contemporary work by criminologists, the present author included. Particularly, the social context in which behavior occurs contains time and place specific social forces operating in relation to the phenomena of interest. Therefore, there are three primary reasons why contextualization is crucial: 1) variable significance may vary by place, 2) variable significance may vary by time, and 3) contextual details expand knowledge of phenomena. Thus, replication fo research in a variety of temporal-local contexts is more than mere methodological exercise, it is social scientific necessity to enhance knowledge. This paper presents the results of analyses of factors related to a police performance measure in: 1) two different cities during the same time period using the same methodology and modeling and 2) one city during three separate time periods. Differences in the statistical significance of several variables across time and place provide evidence for the importance of time and place contextualization in criminological research. Several specific demographic, political, and economic differences are identified to expand current knowledge of one particular police performance measure.
The Influence of Causal Attribution, Fear of Crime, and Personal Victimization on Attitudes Toward Punishment: Results of the 2002 Penn State Poll
The purpose of this paper is to examine data from a 2003 statewide survey in which citizens were asked their perceptions about causal attributions (why people commit crime) and their attitudes toward punishment. The study seeks to examine the extent to which people’s perceptions of causation influence their views toward punishment, controlling for several socio-demographic characteristics, fear of crime, and individual victimization experiences. Implications for public policy are discussed.
The Influence of Collective Efficacy on Gang Crimes in Hollenbeck
Crime within the context of a neighborhood was examined using a theoretical model of collective efficacy that incorporates social disorganization theory. Using a combination of quantitative methods of data analysis and geographic information systems, levels of gang crimes and collective efficacy are identified and mapped in eighteen reporting districts of Hollenbeck, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department located in East Los Angeles. The model was tested using regression analysis on data aggregated to the reporting district level. Contrary to the hypothesis of the study, the influence of collective efficacy on gang crimes was not significant. The results indicate that collective efficacy may not be an important factor relating to gang crimes in traditional gang neighborhoods such as Hollenbeck.
The Influence of Family Factors on Adolescent Risky Sexual Behavior
The focus of this research is to address ways in which adolescent participation in risky sexual behavior is influenced by family structure and quality of parenting. Further, we examine the ways in which the relationship between risky sexual behavior and family factors is mediated by values and attitudes about marriage, partner characteristics, and sex. Results indicate that, for both males and females, quality of parenting and family structure are indirectly related to risky sexual behavior through their influence on the mediating variables.
The Influence of Immigration on Metropolitan Crime Rates
Despite the plethora of popular commentary on the alleged link between immigration and crime, empirical research exploring this link is sparce. Noticeably misssing from the literature on immigration and crime is a consideration of how rates of immigration affect rates of crime at the macro-level. While individual-level studies of immigrant criminality and victimization tend to demonstrate that immigrants typically engage in less crime than their native-born counterparts, the effect of rates of immigration on aggregate reates of criminal offending is less clear. In this research, we attempt to fill this void in the literature by exploring the effect of rates of immigration on rates of crime in metropolitan areas. We combine 2000 Census data and 2000 UCR data to explore how the size of the foreign-born population influences property offending across a random sample of 150 metropolitan areas. Contrary to much of the individual-level research, we find that at the aggregate-level, metropolitan areas with large immigrant populations tend to have higher rates of property crime, even after controlling for a host of demographic, economic and spatial characteristics. While these findings may appear to contradict individual-level analyses of the relationship between immigration and crime, we discuss how immigration may shape aggregate criminal offending by changing the offending patterns of other racial and ethnic groups in metropolitan areas.
The Influence of Press Coverage on Prosecutorial Discretion: Examining Homicide Prosecutions 1990-2000
Ample evidence of racial disparity in sentencing exists and the literature consistently identifies prosecutorial discretion as a key pathway to this outcome. Building on extant work, we explore the utility of viewing prosecutors as ‘political actors’ in order to explain racial disparity in plea bargaining. Specifically, we expect prosecutors to hold out for more punitive sanctions when a case receives more press attention. We expect this because the political stakes change when a prosecution is being covered by the press, and this may influencing a prosecutor’s decision making. Using this framework, we investigate whether (1) white-victim cases garner more press coverage than minority-victim cases, (2) whether press coverage impacts plea bargain decisions, and (3) whether press coverage accounts for some of the variation in the relationship between race and case processing. All death-eligible homicides charged in Baltimore, MD from 1990 through 2000 are examined in order to assess the influence of news coverage on prosecutors’ plea bargain decisions.
The Influence of Psychological Problems on Engagement in Drug Court
Studies of community-based substance abuse treatment show that mental health problems reduce client engagement in treatment (Joe, Brown, & Simpson, 1995), and that higher levels of treatment engagement lead to improved treatment outcomes (Hubbard, et al., 1999; Simpson et al., 1999). Therefore, it is important for researchers to start examining client engagement in Drug Court programs to learn which factors influence a client’s level of personal involvement in the program. As part of the NIDA-funded Enhancing Drug Court Retention in a Rural State project, data were collected during face-to-face interviews by research staff using elements of the Addiction Severity Index and the Brief Symptoms Inventory. Findings showed that psychological problems (i.e., higher levels of depression, higher levels of hostility, and higher levels of anxiety) were related significantly to lower levels of personal engagement during the first 30 days of drug court (including lower ratings of rapport with the case specialist, lower satisfaction with the case specialist and with the drug court program, and poorer self-rated personal progress in treatment), even after statistically controlling for additional factors that could have confounded these relationships. Targeted psychsocial interventions; therefore, may be indicated for individuals who enter Drug Court with higher levels of depression, hostility, and anxiety to improve the probability that they will become personally invested in the drug court treatment process.
The Influence of Victim Attributes on Capital Murder Sentencing Decisions
Expanding on a literature suggesting that individual characteristics of victims may play a role in jury decisions, this study explores the impact of selected victim characteristics on sentencing outcomes in a sample of North Carolina capital murder trials. The characteristics explored include (a) illegal activity of the victim at the time of the offense, (b) age of the victim, (c) marital status of the victim, (d) gender of the victim, and (e) prior criminal offense record. All relationships are controlled via a set of legal and extralegal factors known to influence the sentencing outcomes of capital murder cases. Implications of the findings are discussed.
The Institutional Effects on Report of Incidents in a Youth Correctional Facility
Negative behavior in Youth Correctional Centers and other institutions of correcton are not a new phenomenon. How to effectively deal with and treat negative behavior has been a problem since the inception of the first institutions for correction. A better understanding of what is effective and what is not is necessary to effectively treat or correct those individuals who are in placement of correction. The purpose of this research is to examine juvenile rule infraction, in the attempt to discover causation behind the infractions. Issues of environment, staff, cottages and other variables are examined.
The Internship Experience: Maintaining Academic Integrity in Experiential Learning Programs
Field experiences in certain disciplines, particularly in the “quasi-professional” disciplines of teacher education, nursing, and criminal justice, have long been a part of the academic experience. Student teaching for education majors is a required part of each prospective teacher’s curriculum, just as “clinical” experience is a mandatory component of a prospective nurse’s training. Internships in criminal justice in which students are exposed to different aspects of the legal system also play a critical role in the undergraduate educational experience. An increased emphasis upon experiential learning continues unabated on college and university campuses. Today, these off-campus “experiential learning” programs are increasingly emphasized in greater numbers of academic disciplines. While it is difficult to argue conceptually with the notion of these internship experiences, it is also troublesome coming to terms with how to evaluate them meaningfully. However arduous it might be, it is vital that we ensure the quality of the experience, and maintain the academic nature and integrity of our larger academic programs. In an attempt to lend some assistance to those of us who struggle with the proper place of internships within our programs, and how we might best supervise these experiences, this article offers some level of guidance in the necessity in improving internship programs and of addressing some of the realities that accompany the advent of a greater emphasis on such programs.
The Intersection of Law Enforcement, Mental Health, and Social Policy
Regardless of whether or not we choose to agree with the function of law enforcement officials as frontline professionals in the mental health field, it is a role they repeatedly find themselves fulfilling. Maintaining public safety may be especially challenging when responding to a scene involving a person with a mental health disorder. This is not because they are more violent or dangerous than those in the general population but because their difficulties interpreting their environment and articulating their feelings can lead to unpredictable responses. The intersection of law enforcement and menatl health demands special training of officials who will respond appropriately to preserve the welfare of the community.
The Issue of Role Stressors Among Staff at a Private Midwestern Prison
Correctional work is often stressful. Factors which cause work stress are called stressors. Role stressors, such as role conflict, role ambiguity, and dangerousness, have received frequent attention in the correctional job stress literature. While there is a growing body of literature, there has been almost no examination of the impact of role stressors on private prison staff. The impact of role stressors among staff at a private prison are explored.
The Juvenilization of Criminal Court: Implications for Justice Policy and Research
Currently, there is a two-front war being waged upon the boundary of criminal court. The one front is being fought in juvenile court and involves that forum’s invasion of territory historically belonging exclusively to criminal court. The primary example of this is juvenile court’s extended jurisdiction that entails its retaining jurisdiction over youth well into their adulthood. The second front is being waged in criminal court and involves that forum’s operating like a juvenile court in disguise. The primary examples of this are reversing transfer procedures that have sent youth to criminal court and engaging in sentencing that resembles the disposition process of juvenile court. This paper examimes these measures as well as their implications in terms of justice and the research of outcomes in both courts.
The Lawyer, the Mobster, and the Corporate Raider: Representations of Gender, Violence and Justice on Daytime Television
Daytime dramas constitute a gendered genre that differs from programs on primetime television. Unlike primetime shows, daytime dramas draw primarily female viewers, possess an ongoing narrative structure, and emphasize dialogue rather than action. Although “soap operas” have traditionally focused on themes surrounding relationships and family, stories increasingly center on crime and violence. Studies of violence on television have examined primetime programs, new coverage, and children’s programming. While such literature exists on gender and daytime television, none has addressed the recent changes in representations and storylines. I draw on a social construction approach to analyze gender, violence and justice on daytime television. This paper presents a qualitative media analysis of the long-running daytime drama General Hospital from May 2002 to August 2003. In recent years, General Hospital’s stories shifted away from traditional soap narratives toward stories centering on the town’s organized crime “boss.” This shift has increased the amount of cime and violence, challenged traditional gender represtnations on daytime, and shaped the presentation of justice themes. These changes have vaired implications for “soapland” justice.
The Life Experiences of Pimp-Versus Non-Pimp Controlled Prostitutes
The violence pimps use to control women in prostitution has been amply documented. Comparing the life experiences of women with pimps with those with pimps may shed some light on why some girls and women become involved with pimps and what steps will be necessary to assist them if they decide to leave prostitution. This research, undertaken with a group of women incarcerated for prostitution-related offenses in a large Northeastern city, establishes some basic differences among the women that can inform policy and services delivery.
The Limitations and Challenges of Conducting Forensic Mental Health Assessments With Female Youth
The lack of development and integration of knowledge regarding violence and aggression in girls represents a significant social and mental health challenge. Specifically, this research void hinders the development of beneficial preventative and assessment strategies for girls. With these limitations in mind, the issues that are associated with conducting forensic mental health assessments with female youth are examined. Particular attention will be paid to the current state of empirical research in the area and how existing information can be translated into the practice of conducting assessments with girls. Areas where assessment is not well supported will be highlighted and the steps that practitioners should take in light of these limitations will be outlined. Data that has been gathered through an empirical review of existing literature and the integration of findings from a newly emerging network of researchers focusing on gender and aggression will be utilized in order to evaluate the appropriateness of including traditional risk factors in forensic mental health assessments involving female youth. The impirical rational for including gender specific domains of risk will be evaluated through an examination of the key social, cultural and psychological factors that contribute to aggression and violence in girls.
The Long Running Conflict Between the Crime Control Model and the Due Process Model Goes Postal
Historically two major contrasting paradigms, The Crime Control Model, and The Due Process Model, have competed for dominance in America’s arena of social control, i.e. crime and delinquency. With some notable exceptions Crime Control ruled until emergence of the Warren Revolution at mid-20th century. By 1980 the succeeding Burger Court was busily shifting from the Due Process Model to Crime Control as part of what has been termed the “Get-Tough Movement” with its robust emphasis on harsh penalties, especially lengthy prison terms for an increasing number of offenses, and a mushrooming use of the Death Penalty after 1976. Over the most recent decade and a half and particularly since the 1994 legislative, executive and judicial acts have propelled the Crime Control to historical highs, arguably even beyond the Constitutional frame of the Bill of Rights, Due Process, and the concept of a government of limited powers. This has been especially true in the area of societal response to crime, delinquency, and the emerging arena of terrorism. Recent developments suggest crime control has moved to a level of reactionary proportion which threatens the entire frame of America’s Constitutional – individual civil and constitutional rights and Due Process structure. The Crime Control and Due Process emphasis are compared across time in U.S. social control fo crime and delinquency. Areas of significant impact on individual, crime and delinquency and terroris, and society are examined. Policy implications for social control in democratic society with limited government and Constitutional and civil rights for individuals are considered in illumination of recent trends.
The Mediating Role of Parental Involvement in the Relationship Between Distance to School and Academic Achievement
Previous research examining levels of academic achievement among children and adolescents specifies the importance of parental involvement at home and in school-related activities. Various types of involvement have been shown to mediate the effect of socio-demographic factors on achievement. Using data from the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS), this paper examines the hypothesis that notwithstanding these factors, the distance between school and home impedes the ability of parents to be actively involved in their child’s school-related affairs; in turn, negatively impacting academic achievevment.
The Mid-Life Health Consequences of Delinquent and Antisocial Behavior
Understanding the later life consequences of early delinquent involvement is a focus of life-course criminology. Prior research has examined linkages between delinquency and later adult occupational and educational attainment. To date however, few studies have examined the later life health outcomes of early delinquent involvement. Using longitudinal data and focusing on health related outcoems, this paper adds to the body of research on life course outcoems of early delinquency. More specifically, I explore (1) the association between various types of youth crime and later mental and physical health outcomes and (2) factors such as employment or marital status that may influence the relationship between crime and health.
The Moonshine of the New Millennium: Pharmaceutical/Prescription Drugs and Their Abuse
Beginning around 2000 a new concern raised its ugly head in the United States. This concern spread nation-wide, and was most prominently felt in the rural areas of eastern Kentucky and southeastern (the coalfields of) West Virginia. Pharmaceutical/prescription drug abuse was that concern and it still is prominent today. Even though pharmaceutical/prescription drug abuse has been extensively reported on by the mass media, research into this crisis has not followed. In addition, mass media has misrepresented the problem by focusing on one particular drug, Oxycontin, which by far is not the most abused prescription drug. This presentation will help to fill this void in research into one of the new epidemics in America. This will be accomplished by the use of results from a survey of pharmacists and other data gathering methods. Thse methods will then be utilized to discuss the nature and extent of the problem as well as issues related to enforcement. In addition to research findings, policy implications will be discussed.
The National Youth Survey Family Study: A Multigenerational, Multidisciplinary, Longitudinal Design
From 1977 to 1993, nine waves data were collected on a national probability sample of respondents who were 11-17 years old in the first year for which information on illegal behavior, substance use, and victimization were collected. Limited data were also collected from the parents in 1977. The design of the study has now been expanded to include a tenth and eleventh wave of data from the original respondents, a second and more detailed wave of data from the parents, and data from the spouses and intimate partners, and from the children age 11 and older, of the original respondents. Additionally, DNA samples are being collected from all three generations. This expansion of the original research design will provide a rich database for the study of intergenerational and life course comparisons of attitudes and behaviors. Here we describe the current waves of data collection and the future analyses to be conducted using this expanded design, which builds not only on the National Youth Survey but also on samples of adoptees and twins from the state of Colorado to analyze both social environmental and genetic influences on behavior in adolescence, across the life course, and across generations.
The Neighborhood Context of Police Use of Force
The use of force by police officers is an issue that has been consistently in the public light over the course of the past decade. Much research has focused on this isue, examining a variety of explanatory variables including race and sex of officers and offenders, as well as suspect resistance. This research, however, has numerous different methodological techniques, as well as vastly differing independent variables. The proposed research seeks to examine the effects of neighborhood context on the use of force using observational and survey data collected in six different jurisdictions. By using neighborhood-level variables, this research is better able to examine the effects of particular places on police behavior in addition to the variables traditionally explored. This focus on the importance of context provides a new avenue for research on this topic, and is viewed as a basis for future studies of police behavior.
The Neighborhood Ecology of Serious Domestic Violence: Structural and Contextual Effects
This paper analyzes 10 years of geocoded domestic violence distributed across 73 New Orleans neighborhoods coupled with 1990 and 2000 census data. The data include three general categories of domestic violence victimization: misdemeanor assault, aggravated assault, and homicide. Using systemic social disorganization as a theoretical framework, this paper examines how social order characteristics influence the occurrence and seriousness of domestic violence. Implications for the structure of systemic disorganization and policy implications are discussed.
The New World Empire as State-Corporate Crime
In the 1970s corporate America began purusing the construction of a new worle empire based on the a two-pronged strategy: the outsourcing of corporate operations and the exportation/imposition of neo-liberal ideology and practices. This agenda received a significant boost with the weakening and eventual fall of the Soviet Union and the subsequent emergence of the United States and its corporate structure as the world hegemon. This paper argues that the emergence of the new world empire is a joint state-corporate project that has produced a wide variety of crimes, violations of international accords, and analogous social injuries. We demonstrate the importance of applying the tools of corporate crime analysis, and particularly conceptual framework of state-corporate crime as a means of understanding and potentially challenging the rise of a new world empire destined to expand the overconsumption of the developed world at the expense of the vast majority of the human population.
The New York State Police School Resource Officer Program: Determining the Need for a School Resource Officer
The New York state Police (NYSP) has just completed its first year with an innovative School Resource Officer (SRO) program. The NYSP program is primarily managed through the School and Community Outreach Unit (SCOU) housed at the State Police Division Headquarters. The SCOU has been collecting monthly activity data from each of the SROs. We intend to examine several questions that surround the need for requesting an SRO. What was the actual need verses the perceived need? Were the juvenile crime rates higher in those areas that requested an SRO? Are there characteristic differences between the first wave of school districts and counties versus the second wave? By utilizing Uniform Crime Report statistics, census data, and the descriptive statistics collected by the SCOU, a comparative examination of juvenile crime rates and patterns in counties with and without SRO’s will be discussed. Demographic characteristics of school districts will be examined to gain an understanding o those areas that have SRO’s as opposed to those that do not. The NYSP program will also be examined separately by assessing those counties and school districts across the state with only New York State Police presence in comparison to those districts and counties that have other agency SRO’s or no SRO. The results gained from this researdh should provide information to school boards and police agencies to make more informed policy decisions.
The Nexus Between International Organized Crime and Terrorism
This paper assesses the emerging relationship between international terrorism and organized crime. The focus is on existing and developing relationships and the blurring of traditional definitions of both terrorism and organized crime. Specific collusive activities are assessed and their threats to international order are estimated. Difficulties with investigating international crime are discussed and cooperative agreements emphasized as necessary to combat this burgeoning phenomenon.
The North Korean Police: Study of an Oppressive Law Enforcement System
A study of the law enforcement system of North Korea (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea). The police system is examined as to structure, purpose, goals, and its place in the political structure of the government. This police system is compared and contrasted to that of South Korea (Republic of Korea). The study attempts to show how the North Korean police, as an exteme example of a police system organized with the primary purpose of shoring up and protecting the nation’s political structure, has deep and negative effects on its citizens.
The Offense Cycle and Serial Homicide
Sexual offenders do not commit their crimes spontaneously. Their actions can be interpreted as part of an offense cycle, in which the commission of the offense is preceded by several identifiable actions and behaviors. The sexual nature of serial homicide suggests that murderers also follow an identifiable pattern of behaviors. Precipitating factors lead to deviant fantasies, which are the primary motivating force behind sexually violent offenses. In an effort to carry out the fantasy, offenders initiate a phase in which they begin to groom potential victims.
The Parenting Academy: Evaluation of Treatment Efficacy
A major strategic goal of the Department of Research and Evaluation (R&E) at Cornell Companies is to develop the capacity to assess change over time in treatment. To assess participant needs, treatment progress, and treatment success for Cornell’s Parenting Academy program, a new instrument, the Parenting Skills Evaluation Scale (PES), was developed by the department in conjunction with the program. An evaluation of PES results revealed that the parents reported increased skill levels from intake to discharge on all seven parenting skills assessed. The parents also rated their overall experience highly at the conclusion of the program. These results provide evidence that the program is fulfilling its mission to improve parenting skills for the parents of adjudicated youth. A follow-up study currently in progress will evaluate longer-term program outcomes. Cornell Companies, Inc., is a leading private provider of corrections, treatment and educational services outsourced by federal, state and local governmental agencies, with a diversified portfolio of services for adults and juveniles, including incarceration and detention, transition from incarceration, drug and alcohol treatment programs, behavioral rehabilitation and treatment, and alternative education.
The Patrol Officers’ Perception Toward Effectiveness of Police Mini-Station in South Korea
The system of police mini-stations (police boxes) has been known to play important roles in an era of community policing — increasing contact with citizens, improving the relationship between the police and residents, and preventing crime. Recognizing its potential, several countries such as Singapore and the United States (Detroit) adopted a police mini-station system. The very same system in South Korea, which has been existed as the core division since the establishment of the modern Korea Police, however, has stimulated controversy about the effectiveness for preventing crime and improving the relationship with citizens. Despite the significance of the issue, an empirical study has never been conducted to examine how patrol officers who are working at police mini-stations perceive the effectiveness of police mini-stations. The present study, therefore, examines the perception of patrol officers toward effectiveness of police mini-station in South Korea.
The Police Response to Domestic Violence Cases Involving Same Sex Couples Compared to Heterosexual Couples
It has been argued that the police do not differentially respond to domestic calls involving same sex couples compared to calls involving heterosexual couples. A major problem confronting researchers examining this issue has been the lack of adequate sample sizes of same sex partners. This paper uses data from the National Incident Based Reporting System for the year 2000 which contains 577,862 assault and intimidation incidents reported to 2,819 police departments in 19 states. The key issue examined is whether similar cases involving same-sex and heterosexual couples result in similar police responses. the categories of police response examined are “no arrest”, “single arrest”, and “dual arrest” (arrest of both parties). Separate analyses are conducted for female and male same sex couples with controls for victim injury and presence of a weapon. The policy implications of the findings are discussed.
The Police Role in Crime Prevention: Learning the Lessons of a Comparative Journey From Taipei (Taiwan) to Manchester (UK) and Back Again
Ours is an age of comparisons. Cross-national experience is having an increasingly powerful impact upon policymakers and practitioners, as governments look to other countries for new ways of organising and delivering services. Yet the complexities, meanings and understandings that inform comparative research, the organisational embeddedness of particular strategies and practices, and the contextual nature of ‘lesson drawing’ and policymaking are often only poorly articulated and understood. This paper explores these issues through an analysis of a comparative case-study of the role of the police in crime prevention in England and Wales and Taiwan. The first section outlines the forces which can be said to underpin the comparative moment and the issues facing the comparative researcher. Part two presents a specific account of the police role and function in the much heralded repeat victimization strategy in England and wales, and considers its singificance for the police in Taiwan; the data comprise fieldwork interviews and analyses of published sources. I conclude the paper by reflecting both upon the broader implications of the growing international market and exchange in police practices and upon realistic ways forward for the Taiwanese police in crime prevention.
The Politics and Legal Implication of Youth Risk/Need Assessments
Since the mid-1990s, Canada and the United States have seen an expansion of youth risk/need assessment tools in corrections. Young offenders are now classified according to computer-generated statistical profiles that identify the degree of risk, or the probability, that a youth will re-offend. The intent is to make juvenile justice decision making more objective and scientific by relying on statistical information rather than subjective diagnoses of clinicians. The result has been an increasingly technocratic and calculated system of governing. The paper draws on interviews with government researchers, policy developers, probation officers and correction workers in all of Canada’s 13 provinces and territories. The paper seeks to i) undetstand the concepts of ‘risk’ and ‘need’ as it relates to assessments of youth; ii) provide a theoretical critique of risk/needs assessments, and iii) discusses the legal implications of their use.
The Politics of High Demand: Implementing Year 2 of California’s Drug Law Reform Amidst Fiscal Crisis and Systemic Challenge
In November 2000, by a 60-40 vote, California voters passed Proposition 36, the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000. SACPA is a post-conviction probation and parole program that offers first and second time non-violent drug offenders treatment instead of incarceration. SACPA went into effect on July 1, 2001, and will be completing its first two years of statewide implementation in 2003. The implementation of this complicated initiative as its own distinct entity is the focus of this study. Using interview data and secondary data from stakeholders at both the state and county level, as well as in-depth case study data from one large county, procedural implementation efforts are examined. The paper focuses on the meanings and interpretations conferred by officials inthe daily procedural interpretation of this statute, especially as they have been shaped in Program Year 2 by a dramatic fiscal crisis in California in 2003, and by system challenge of incorporating the new approach into existing protocols and arragnements.
The Porter County Jail Art Gallery: Crime, Punishment, and Society According to the Other Side
This project is a photo-documentation of artwork created by detainees at the now vacant Porter County Jail in Valparaiso, Indiana. This artwork consists of drawings (made with pencil, pen ink, scratching, and other small objects with removable color) on the walls and ceilings of the jail. These photographs (over 100) have already been shot and developed and now serve as our qualitative data set. Our objective is to identify possible symbolic messages contained in the artwork and consider their relevance to philosophical, theoretical, and empirical arguments made in criminology and criminal justice. Through this analysis, we hope to gain possible insights into the lives and worldviews of persons in trouble with the law. The artwork uncovers both consistencies and contradictions in terms of the symbolic imagery we might expect from persons in jail, and we hope to show that although they often defy mainstream morality, they also often believe and value the same things that “we” do.
The Possibilities of Peacemaking: Can Offenders Find Forgiveness at Life’s End?
Often what starts out as a human issue becomes a criminal justice issue. End-of-life care is one example of a human issue that has undeniably become a criminal justice issue. In the United States, we have witnessed an increase in the number of aging and chronically and terminally ill being admitted to and cared for in prison. Given the increasing number of aging inmates and the increasing prevalence of chronic and terminal illnesses in prison, the delivery of end-of-life care services has become a central concern in many correctional facilities. However, to date, few research studies have examined end-of-life care within the correctional setting. Of the existing research, the majority of studies focus on providing for the physical care of the dyning inmate, ignoring the importance of spiritual care. In the last two decades, health care professionals have begun to realize the important role that spiritual care plays in the death experience. Among the most prevalent spiritual care concerns expressed by those who are dying is the need for forgiveness and reconciliation. This paper explores the possibilities of peacemaking at life’s end and whether forgiveness and reconciliation are possible for dyning inmates.
The Potentiality of a Special Population: Aging Female Inmates
While the number of females imprisoned in America is significantly smaller than that of their male counterparts, the percentage of incarcerated women over the last two decades has increased at a drastic rate. This increase can be attributed to stringent crime control policies, particularly drug-related offenses. Despite the growth in the female inmate population, state and federal prisons have historically practiced malign neglect towards female inmates with regard to healthcare, programs, and policies. In conjunction, there has been a growth in the aging population within the United States. Due to these phenomena, the potential existence of this special population will be explored. If there is potentiality for this population, state and federal policies will be examined to determine what is being done to care for aging female inmates. Using the gerontological perspective to assess the best possible solutions in dealing with this population, recommendations will be given to care for this special population.
The Prop 36 “Pipeline”
This paper will report findings regarding the “pipeline” of offenders entering Prop 36 in its first year. The pipeline will begin with the total number of offenders eligible for Prop 36 and will estimate the number of opt-ins (i.e., how many eligible offenders chose to participate). Opt-outs may have chosen a diversion program, drug court, or routine criminal justice processing. Next the pipeline will cover offenders who completed the pre-treatment assessment and those who entered the treatment program to which they were assigned. Characteristics of offenders entering Prop 36 treatment (e.g., age, sex, race/ethnicity, primary drug, and drug use severity) will be specified. Also to be reported are rates of treatment retention and offender characteristics associated with retention.
The Racial Typification of Crime
A well-documented surge of punitiveness in the American criminal justice system has been accompanied by high leels of public support for punitive policies. It has been suggested that one reason for this demand for harsh criminal justice measures is the common association that is made between black males and criminality which some have suggested is strongly reinforced by media coverage of crime. Some prior research indicates that the greater willingness to punish criminals is linked, in part, to the perception that crime is disproportionately committed by black males. The current research explores the factors that may contribute to this typification of crime as a black male phenomenon with a particular focus on television consumption. Using nationwide survey data (N=885) collected in spring 2002, we assess the extent to which specific crimes are perceived to be committed by blacks. We then use OLS regression to assess whether variable television consumption by respondents predicts the racial typification of crime, independent of controls for other respondent characteristics.
The Reconciliation of Control Theory and Career Criminals
In the 1980s, Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi published a series of influential papers that were highly critical of the then-burgeoning criminal careeer paradigm. The heart of their critique was that a general theory equipped with a time-stable individual-level trait (e.g., low self-control) was the best, most parsimonious explanation of crime. By implication, they argued that cross-sectional research designs were perfectly suited to study crime and alrge-scale longitudinal designs were both costly and unnecessary. Consequently, control theory is often viewed as antithetical to criminal career research. However, control theory is not antihetical to the study of career criminals. The current essay suggests that control theory should be the preferred theoretical perspective for the study of career crimninals because its underlying assumptions about human nature and the early life causes of crime are reconcilable with the pathology of the worst offenders. The nefariousness of career crimninals is also consonant with the politically conservative nature of control theory. From a control theory perspective, a firm understanding of the intractable nature of career criminals would lead to more effective and less naive criminal justice policy.
The Reduced Risk of Homicide Victimization: A Latent Effect of Incarceration?
The treatment of prisons as a major research area in criminology has largely focused on the manifest functions of prisons in controlling crime. This paper, however, investigates whether prisons also have latent effects in the prevention fo crime, namely whether they lower the risk of homicide victimization among criminal offenders. Specifically, this paper examines the relationship between incarceration in a state prison and the risk of homicide victimization among three samples of offenders released from the California Youth Authority (in 1981-82, 1986-87, and 1991-92), using (1) mortality data from the California Vital Statistics and (2) data on the cases’ incarceration “spells” in the California Department of Corrections. As of December 31, 1999, 331 of the total 5,101 cases were found to be deceased after release from the CYA, with 180 (54%) of these deaths classified as homicides. A counting process Cox proportional hazards model that accounts for time-varying nature of the incarceration “spells” is used to test the hypothesis of whether incarceration in a state prison reduces the hazard rate of homicide victimization.
The Relation Between Changes in Marijuana Smoking Trajectories and Changes
Latent curve analysis was used to assess the impact of changes in social learning of differential association, differential reinforcement, and definitions on marijuana smoking trajectories in adolescence and young adults. Four years of data were obtained from a sample of adolescents (N=1,10-2) drawn from the National Youth Survey (1976, 1978, 1980, 1983). Marijuana use and social learning variables were assessed once per year and covariates included family income, gender, ethnicity and age. Latent curve models indicated that regardless of the time point at which an individual’s differential association, differential reinforcement and definition changed, there was corresponding added increment to the natual marijuana smoking trajectory. Changes in social learning are associated with an accelerated increase in the developmental growth trajectory of marijuana use over time.
The Relationship Between Race, Ethnicity, and Sentencing Outcomes
Numerous studies have addressed the question: are racial/ethnic minorities treated more harshly in comparison to similarly situated whites? Several authors have attempted to review this voluminous and diverse body of research using traditional qualitative narrative literature review techniques. These narrative reviews are of limited utility to current debates either because these reviews are dated (i.e., largely concerning research conducted prior to the advent of structured sentencing) or because of shortcomings inherent in qualitative literature reviews. hence, little is actually known regarding the cumulative findings from this body of research. To fill this gap, a quantitative synthesis (meta-analysis) of all available research examining the relationship between race/ethnicity and sentencing outcomes (excluding sentencing decisions relating to the imposition of the death penalty) is conducted. The objectives of this study are to determine whether minorities are more likely to receive harsher court outcomes than whites, the magnitude of any such bias, whether structured sentencing (e.g., sentencing guidelines) is associated with less inequalities in sentencing decisions, and in which contexts, if any, is bias most likely to occur. Furthermore, the relationship between methodological rigor and study findings is examined.
The Relationship of Bullying to Other Delinquent Behavior
There is recent interest in the prevention of bullying and the development of anti-bullying programs, in part as a prevention strategy for violence. However, there is not a great deal of information about the relationship of bullying to other proscribed delinquent behavior, including other aggression and violence. Thus, is it uncertain to what extent bullying, especially when considered with other known risk factors, is itself a risk factor for subsequent violence. In addition, there is little information about risk factors for bullying, since most prevention programs have taken a suppression approach. Using developmental data from the denver Youth Survey, this presentation examines (1) the prevalence of bully8ing at different ages in a high-risk sample, (2) the concurrent relationship of bullying to other forms of deoinquency including violent behavior, (3) the relationship of bullying during childhood to subsequent delinquency and violence during adolescence, and (4) the similarities and differences of risk factors for different types of bullying.
The Relationship of Empathy to Self-Reported Delinquency
A recent meta-analysis of 33 studies (Jolliffe & Farrington, in press) found a negative relationship between empathy (the ability to understand and share in another’s emotional state or context) and offending, but this relationship was reduced considerably when only those studies that controlled for intelligence and socioeconomic status were examined. Furthermore, all of the studies classified offenders as those who have been convicted or incarcerated for an offense. Convicted and incarcerated offenders are an extreme group compared to those who commit offenses, and further, empathy levels may be influenced by incarceration. This paper will present the findings of a study of over 350 British students (mean age 14.8). Measures include empathy and various forms of self-reported delinquency as well as intelligence, socio-economic status, impulsivity and parental supervision. This is the first study to compare the empathy level of those who self-report offenses to those that do not. The inclusion of the other factors known to associated with offending (e.g. intelligene, SES, impulsivity) allows for the independent influence of empathy on offending to be more accurately assessed.
The Relevance of Richard Quinney’s Writings on Peacemaking: Criminology Toward Personal and Social Transformation
Today, there is a growing concern with the United States’ attempt to advance its empire around the world. This paper explores Richard Quinney’s insights on transformative justice and their implications for the phenomenon of empire. In particular, Richard Quinney’s writings on peacemaking criminology are examined concerning the interpersonal and social structural links between crime, suffering, and peacemaking alternatives. As Richard Quinney notes: “The struggle is to create a humane existence, and such an existence comes only as we act peacefully toward outselves and one another.
The Repetitive Nature of Police Stops
A common phenomenon in criminology is the concentration of offenders, victims, and places in crime events. This is often referred to in the crime analysis literature as the “80-20 principle” wherein 80% of crime events involve 20% of the offenders, victims, and places. What is unknown is whether or not this concentration occurs in police stops. Borrowing concepts from routine activity theory and the crime analysis literature, it is hypothesized that a potential explanation for the disparity found in police stop research is the concentration of citizens, officers, and places in the data. The present study examines traffic stop data collected over a six-month period of time in 2001 within a single city. The following questions are addressed: (1) do these phenomena of concentrated citizens, officers, and places occur separately in police stop data; (2) is there overlap among these three areas of concentration and, if so, how much overlap; (3) and, does this overlap ocur differently for white citizens and black citizens who are stopped by the police. SPSS statistical software and GIS mapping will be used in these analyses and in the presentation of the data/outcomes.
The Response of the Prosecutor to Hate Crime Offenses
In recent years, the role of the prosecutor in the criminal justice system has gone largely overlooked. Some previous studies (and few current studies) have focused on the factors that influence the prosecutor’s decision-making process at different stages. Some of this research found that the type of offense had a significant impact on what factors (legl, extralegal, organizational) were considered in making various case-related decisions. Particularly sensitive or controversial offenses can further complicate this decision process. Hate crime offenses (and subsequent prosecution decisions) fall into this category. These offenses are further complicated by the lack of uniformity in investigation and prosecution across jurisdictions. Finally, there are several combinations of factors that could potentially influence a prosecutor’s (or district attorney’s office) decision to file charges and/or proceed with prosecution. This paper will address the special issues that prosecutors face when responding to these types of offenses and how these issues influence the prosecutor’s decision-making.
The Rise and Fall of Boot Camps: A Case Study in Common-Sense Corrections
“Common sense” is often used as a powerful rationale for implementing correctional programs that have no basis in criminology and virtually no hope of reducing recidivism. Within this context, we undertake a case study in “common-sense” corrections by showing how the rise of boot camps, although having multiple causes, was ultimately legitimized by appeals to common sense. We also reveal, however, how sustained, rigorous research attenuated this legitimacy and led to the diminshed appeal of boot camps. The fall of this sanction suggests that evidence-based corrections may, at times, compete successfully with common-sense corrections. The policy and practice implications of this observation are explored.
The Role of Criminal Justice Pressures on Ecstasy Drug Markets
As we proceed into the new millennium, the national focus has shifted to a relatively new drug, MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), commonly known as Ecstasy. The escalating use of Ecstasy portends an increased demand for it, leading perhaps to the convergence of drug markets (suppliers adding a new drug to their product line) or the emergence of new dealer networks. To date very little is known about Ecstasy distribution. In this presentation, we will present preliminary findings from our National Institute on Justice funded project entitled: “A Qualitative Study of Ecstasy Sellers” (July 2002-June 2004). Our investigation is focused on the following domains: individuals’ history of drug use and sales, sellers’ lifestyle issues, marketplace characteristics (including pricing, quality control, levels and settings of sales), customers’ demographics, buyer and seller relationships, descriptions of distribution hierarchies, and from the sellers’ perspective, the role of prevention efforts and law enforcement practices on all of the above.
The Role of Gang Motivation in High Risk for Violence Situations
Previous research examining differences in the “nature” of gang motive and gang member homicides suggests that two types are virtually identical (Maxson and Klein, 1996). The present study expands upon this research by examining whether having a gang motivation increases the likelihood of violent outcomes in various high risk for violence situations. In this way, non-lethal and more common forms of violence can be explored to see if gang motivation influences situational outcomes. It is hypothesized that situations involving “gang issues” (i.e., gang motivation) will be more likely to result in violence (as opposed to avoided violence). Data for this research were obtained from over 700 newly admitted male inmates to the Nebraska Department of Corrections. Data analysis examines both situational and person-level factors pertinent to violent outcomes. Preliminary results suggest that after controlling for situational factors (e.g., presence of others) and person factors (e.g., age, race), “gang motivation” still significantly increases the likelihood of violence.
The Role of Public Education in Violence Prevention
The Chicago Project for Violence Prevention (CeaseFire) utilizes a grass-roots public education campaign to challenge existing beliefs related to violence in Chicago communities. This paper examines intensity of public education distribution and reports changes in awareness of violence prevention efforts, visibility of messaging, and community violence. CeaseFire began public education messaging in six Chicago communities in 2000. Since then, over 600,000 public education materials were distributed. West Garfield Park has received the most materials (143,600). Awareness of violence prevention activities increased in West Garfield Park from 5.8% (2001) to 16.9% (2002) (P Due to varying dosages of distribution, it is possible to compare levels of distribution and awareness of violence prevention and draw conclusions regarding the correlation between dosage and awareness. Preliminary data shows declines in shooting violence in communities that received the greatest public education distribution in concert with a strong outreach component.
The Role of Race and Ethnicity in Violence Against Women
This research uses data from the National Crime Victimization Surveys to describe how race and ethnicity are related to American women’s risk for violence. Self-report data from non-Hispanic whie, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic women are used to study recent levels and trends in non-lethal violence against women. We describe how race and ethnicity are intertwined with individual, family, and community characteristics and examine how factors from each of these levels of analysis are related to women’s risk for violence. We also investigate whether the predictors of women’s victimization vary significantly across different racial and ethnic groups and across different types of women’s violence (i.e., stranger, non-stranger, and intimate partner events). We conclude with a discussion of these similarities and differences and their implications for theories of violence against women.
The Role of Sexual Socialization in the Development of Adolescent Sexual Self-Control
In A General Theory of Crime, Gottfredson and Hirschi asserted that low self-control is a product of child-rearing processes, with self-control instilled in children by the approximate age of 8 through socialization. Their theory anticipates that socialization varies in degree, with those receiving the most effective socialization possessing the most self-control. However, Gottfredson and Hirschi did not elaborate on differences in the nature and character of socialization, and the potential implications of these differences for behavioral outcomes. As a refinement of their theory, I propose that a general measure of self-control is not sufficient to explain sexual behaviors. Rather, a domain-specific measure of self-control, which I term “sexual self-control,” will be more strongly associated with adolescent sexual outcomes. I propose and test that parent-child socialization as to sexual behavior is distinct from a more general process of socialization that yields general self-control as to other delinquent or analogous behaviors. I use data from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to model sexual socialization as a process distinct from general socialization; analyze sexual and general; socialization, self-control, and behavioral outcomes within and between gender and race; and discuss the implications for self-control theory.
The Role of Siblings in the Transmission of Substance Use and Delinquency
Sibling similarities in behavior have been demonstrated for drug use and delinquency. However, the mechanisms through and conditions under which the similarity of siblings’ drug use and delinquency operate are unclear. Among other possibilities, sibling delinquency may be transmitted to a brother or sister via the acquisition of attitudes favorable to deviance and/or through the imitation of deviant behavior. This paper employs social learning theory to explore whether or not older siblings’ attitudes towards and engagement in substance use and delinquency affect younger siblings’ attitudes and benaviors. Analyses are based upon self-reported data from an Australian study of adolescent sibling pairs.
The Role of State and Local Law Enforcement in Addressing International Terrorism and Other Transnational Crimes
While transnational crime falls most directly under Federal and international jurisdiction, state and local law enforcement often play a critical role and bear a significant burden in its prevention, interdiction, and prosecution. Cooperation among law enforcement agencies across all levels of government is frequently cited as a key to effectively preventing and prosecuting international crime and is a prominent component of Homeland Security strateg, yet the extent to which such coordination exists in practice has not yet been sytematically assessed nationally. Our presentation describes a national survey of state, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies examining the level of transnational crime activity within their jurisdiction. The major types of transnational crime studied include various forms of illicit trafficking (e.g., humans, drugs, stolen goods, endangered species), computer based crimes (e.g., transfer of stolen intellectual property, money laundering), and crimes associated with international terrorism. We examine the local resources devoted to transnational crime, perceptions of the severity of the local problem, resource needs, and the extent of cooperation among local, state, federal, and foreign law enforcement organizations, and discuss the implications of our findings for law enforcement.
The Roles of Victim and Perpetrator Alcohol Use in Intimate Partner Violence Outcomes
Alcohol use has been shown to increase the risk of intimate partner violence (IPV), yet little research has examined the role of alcohol in victimization outcomes. We examined the effects of perpetrator and victim alcohol use on the likelihood of sustaining a physical injury and reporting the incident to the police among IPV victims. The sample, subsetted from a larger national sample of 8,000 men and 8,000 women, included 501 men and 1,756 women who had been physically assaulted by intimate partners. Logistic regression results showed that after controlling for victim demographics, victim’s alcohol history, and assault-related characteristics, women whose partners had been drinking at the time of the assault were more likely to be injured than women whose partners had not been drinking. A woman’s own alcohol use was unrelated to victimization outcomes. Men were more likely to report the incident to the police if their partners had been drinking, but less likely to report the incident to the police if they had been drinking. Results indicate that a partner’s incident-specific alcohol use is an important factor in understanding which victims are most likely to be injured and report the incident to the police.
The Routine Arrest Space of Drug Offenders: Easy Pickings or Serial Stupidity?
Using a data base of 32,188 drug arrestees in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina during 1997-2002, this paper examines the spatial patterns associated with the repeated arrests of the same individuals. The space containing the offender’s residence(s) and the locations of his/her arrests constitutes the routine arrest space. The size and compactness of the arrest spaces will be compared with the race, age, and gender of the offenders and with the types and frequencies of their offenses; in addition their arrest spaces will be examined in relation to the spatial proximity of the activities of other offenders arrested for similar or different types of drug offenses.
The Scarlet “CD”: Nature and Impact of Invisible Collateral Disabilities Stigma on Individuals, Families, Society and Social Control in a “Free” Democratic Society
In our system of enlightened penology persons convicted of crimes in America, both misdemeanors and felonies, are subjected to a variety of penalties beyond the sentence imposed by the Court. These “Collateral Disabilities,” are a product of our highly punitive crime control policies. Triggered by convictions in general and sometimes exacerbated by the specific type of offense, i.e., sexual abuse, “Collateral Disabilities” are usually invisible to the larger society. For affected persons these invisible non-penalties significantly and harshly impact places of residence, employment, eligibility for government benefits and programs, voting, and security clearances as well as access to and participation in the professions. These disabilities are potentially an extra “life sentence” creating an outcast status. In almost all cases individuals receive little or no information about procedures by which individuals may challenge these restrictions, and secure their full civil rehabilitation. Public sector assistance to individuals in constructively overcoming these measurers is extremely limited. The nature, scope, and prevlance of Collateral Disabilities is examined. Individual, and society impact of these restrictions is scrutinized, including ethical issues, criminal deviance, and social institutions such as family. The nature and potential benefits of policy shifts to address this problem are explored.
The School Community: Examining the Effects of Student Social Integration on Perceptions of Risk and Safety in School
While research examining student or adoelscent perceptions of fear and safety has increaed, students’ social integration within the community and school remains a largely untouched research area. The majority of social integration research has been conducted on the adult population in reference to their neighborhoods and communities. Recent research examining adolescent perceptions of fear has recommended an examination of the student population with measures specifically targeted toward adolescents and the school. In this paper I use a sample of (n=6,73) Delaware public school eighth graders from the Delaware School Survey in 2002 to examine the effects of students’ social integration on their perceptions of safety and risk. The findings and policy implications are discussed.
The School Context as a Source of Self-Control
Researchers investigating Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime have primarily concentrated their efforts on the relationship between an individual’s self-control and involvement in crime or analogous behaviors. Much less research has examined the potential sources of an individual’s self-control. The extant research that has investigated this latter question has generally found parental socialization efforts to be an important contributor to the development of an individual’s self-control. In this paper we develop an argument for the importance of exploring the contribution of the school context inthe development of self-control within individuals. In particular, we theoretically elaborate Gottfredson and Hirschi’s position on this front by including school and teacher socialization practices in a larger model of the development of self-control. The theoretical and policy implications of our research are discussed.
The Social Context of Methamphetamine Use and Violence
The current research analyzed the social context of methamphetamine use and violence. Interviews were conducted with a targeted sample of 205 respondents. The research was based primarily on in-depth, life-history interviews with individuals who used methamphetamine for a minimum of three months and who resided in Los Angeles County. The study identified a range of dynamic processes that show the interactions of intoxication effects, situational contexts, and individual propensities that contributed to violence. Some involved affective states related to methamphetamine use, others involved events that occurred in drug use locations, and still others involved gang related disputes and violations of physical space. In the present study, methamphetamine was more often present in violent events that occurred in peoples’ homes and between known individuals. The picture that emerged from the analyses was not one of blind irrational behavior. Rather, the rational character of the events were evidenced in a person’s image maintenance in the face of challenge. It is also clear from the accounts that interactions between victim and offender played a fundamental role in violent incidents.
The Social Ecology of Family Violence
Family violence offenses have been a significant social problem for many years. Unfortunately, it is not a well understood offense. Little is known about the social, demographic or economic characterists of either offenders or victims of family violence. While some studies seek to understand family violence as a crime, little, if any, research exists that establishes a typology of family violence. Some ten years ago the Dallas Police Department changed its response policy for domestic violence complaints from “counsel and cool down” to “arrest the aggressor.” This paper utilizes police data on reported family violence crimes from 1995 through 2001 in Dallas,TX, and incorporates data from the 2000 Census. Geographic information systems (GIS) technology is used to analyze patterns of family violence “hot spots.” From this, we use the Census data to identify and analyze demographic, social and economic characteristics of the areas where such offenses are concentrated in geographic space. This will afford law enforcement and other decision makers with valuable information useful in responding to family violence. If we more clearly know who the victims are, and who the offenders are, we can more effectively respond to the crime.
“The Social Evil”: Female Prostitution During the Progressive Era
This paper examines the labeling and etiology of prostitution during the Progessive Era. Analyses examine the dynamics of prostitution in a sample of five hundred female offenders, drawing upon quantitative and qualitative data collected by Sheldon and Eleanor Blueck (Glueck and Glueck 1934). The Gluecks conducted a longitudinal study of female offending, examining the life histories of five hundred female offenders confined to Massachusetts’ Reformatory for Women at Framingham between 1910 and 1925. While the Glueck study is not a study of “prostitution,” it is, by and large, a study of the social control of female sexuality. The study paints a detailed picture of the social forces impinging on women’s lives in Progressive America–especially the lives of poor, immigrant, or ethnic minority women. We ground our studh in two literatures: literature on the social control of female sexuality in the Progressive Era, and literature on the etiology of prostitution. We examine the social and contextual character of women labeled and processed as prostitutes and the factors shaping theiry entry into prostitution.
The Social Structure of Gang Homicide in Chicago
Gang-related homicides in Chicago have a highly structured social form. Associations and patterns of conflict among gangs often produce long-term social networks which can be used to explain differential homicide rates. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, this paper will review gang-related homicide trends in Chicago and demonstrate how patterns of social networks among and between gangs directly contribute to patterns of gang-related homicides. In short, traditional social disorganization and neighborhood level variables, such as density and heterogeneity, as well as spatial characteristics of neighborhoods create different types of social networks among gangs. Preliminary findings suggest that social social networks among Black gangs in Chicago are extremely dense and interconnected whereas similar networks among Hispanic gangs are diffuse and isolated. Holding other variables constant, dense and concentrated gang networks are more strongly associated with higher rates of gang-related homicide and appear to be the result of the physical and social concentration of resources and populations. These patterns hold over time and at different levels of analysis.
The Spatial and Temporal Ecology of Domestic Violence: Not Always “Behind Closed Doors”
Between January 1, 1994, and December 31, 1996, the Dallas Police Department received 267,132 calls for services that involved family members. Spatial analyses revealed that less than half (43.7%) of the calls were subsequently coded as occurring inside homes; nearly as many (37%) occurred in outside people’s homes, including yards (16.3%), streets and parking lots (13%), and other outdoor locations (7.7%). Clearly, a large amount of domestic violence does not occur “behind closed doors.” Consistent with prior research, temporal analyses indicated that domestic violence was most prevalent during evening hours (6:00 – 11:59 p.m.) and on weekends than other times. Further, cross-sectional time-series analyses indicated that outdoor temperatures predict and may determine when and where domesti violence occurs. For example, seasonal differences in outdoor disturbances shanrk to nonsignificance in analyses that controlled for temperature.
The Sport Ethic and Self-Restraint: A Review of Player Deviance On and Off the Field
Few sociologists have seriously interrogated the sociogenesis of ‘sports-related’ deviance in western cultures (Young 2002). Even a cursory review of the sociological and criminological literatures indicates that the ‘contra-normative’ behaviour of professional and amateur athletes has been drasticallyt under-studied and theoretically neglected. Further compounding this problem, the handful of sociological attempts to explain the form and contents of athletes’ criminal or otherwise morally deviant acts typically rely on out-of-date theories of aggressionk or overly simplistic learning theories (Atkinson 2003). In this paper, a figurational approach is employed in order to inspect the interrelationship between core athletic values prevalent in sports cultures, and their relationship to the progressive development of low self-restraint in athletes. Evidence suggests that internalising the principles of the ‘Sport Ethic’ (Hughes and Coakley 1991) may be coterminous with the development of low levels of self-restraint–leading to the proliferation of deviant behaviour on and off the field of play. In this way, central involvement in sports cultures may in fact breed a ‘habitus’ (Elias 1994) or risk-taking and violence.
The State of “Gender-Relevant” Progamming in Indiana
Over the last fifteen years, academics and justice system experts have come to realize that much of the programming provided to females in the justice system does little to address their specific developmental, social, and psychological needs. Moreover, the vast array of prevention and correctional programs currently available were developed specifically for young males. With this in mind OJJDP encourages states to survey the gender-specific programming they provide and develop plans to address any gaps in services that might exist. Indiana responded by developing a multi-dimensional research plan, including a review of the criminological and psychological literature about the distinct experiences of adolescent girls and boys; an analysis of state and national data to identify gender differences in delinquency and factors predisposing youth to delinquency; focus groups investigating the unique needs and experiences of at-risk and delinquent girls from the perspectives of the girls themselves and the professionals that work with them; and a statewide survey assessing the gender-specific needs of youth from the perspective of youth service and justice professionals. Findings from this project will uncover the “state” of gender-relevant programming in Indiana and facilitate the development of thoughtful, gender-relevant programs that can be widely implemented and systematically assessed.
The Strengthening Washington D.C. Families Project: Recruitment and Retention Results
The Strengthening Washington D.C. Families Project examines the effectiveness of a family-focused parent training program in an urban setting. This research endeavor was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and was a collaboration between the University of Maryland, University of Utah, and the Metropolitan Council of Governments. The Strengthening Families Program (SFP; Kumpfer, DeMarsh, and Child, 1989) was implemented across Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia from 1998 through 2003. Families with a child between the ages of 7 and 11 years of age were eligible to participate in the program, the sample was primarily African American. Pretested families were randomly assigned into one of four groups (complete family training, parent training only, child training only, or a minimal condition). This paper analyzes the predictors of attrition for 715 families enrolled in the study. It identifies challenges that arose during program implementation and provides recommendations to improve program participation in future programs.
The Taiwan Criminological Research Forum
Purpose: There is a threefold purpose for the roundtable: a) To provide an opportunity for discussion on the state of criminological research in Taiwan b) To identify the strengths and limitations of current research on crime and criminal justice in Taiwan c) To facilitate international collaboration on projects of mutual interest that include the Taiwan case. Background: At this year’s ASC meeting there are a number of participants from Taiwan and several panels which are reporting current research projects on crime, criminal justice and policing (e.g. Aspects of crime and policing in Taiwan, The principles of punishment in practice, and International issues in juvenile delinquency). There now exists in Taiwan a growing infrastructure for the pursuit of criminological research and its relationship with practitioners — new criminology graduate schools, the founding of journals and conferences, a newly established government crime prevention centre, and new research centres in universities. However researchers in this area face some general and specific difficulties: in terms of achieving appropriate recognition of the discipline, enhancing data availability (a limited national archive), obtaining access, getting funding for long-term projects and developing the relationship between research and policy/practice. Interestingly, Taiwan has had a long history in her modernisation process of being the recipient of U.S. theory and policy in criminology and criminal justice. Indeed, both the country’s national political context and the wider international context have acted to enhance the forces for ‘policy learning’ voluntarily or obligated. The interaction with the wider criminological communities worldwide has increased in the last few decades along with more and more criminology graduates trained in the USA and their active involvement in international conferences and organisations (e.g. the Campbell Crime and Criminal Justice Group Collaboration). The annual meeting at Denver presents an ideal opportunity for convening a roundtable forum where these and other matters can be discussed, hopefully with as wide a contribution as possible from criminologists from the outside of Taiwan. From this discussion forum it is intended to establish a network of interested collaborators.
The Transport of Evidence-Based Treatments: Keys to Success
As recently described by Schoenwald and Henggeler (in press), many variables potentially impact the implementation of evidence-based practices. This presentation focuses on several common features that are emerging in the successful transport of evidence-based practices: 1) Emphasis on treatment fidelity: Research and anecdotal evidence supports a link between treatment fidelity and youth outcomes. Yet, threats to treatment fidelity come from many sources. 2) Quality assurance: To address the multiple threats to fidelity, most evidence-based treatments embrace intensive quality assurance protocols. 3) Development of dedicated organizations: The skills required to develop and test a treatment model are very different than those needed to transport the model to field settings effectively. As such, dedicated organizations have become critical translators of research into practice. 4) Grappling with variations in service system and community context: Individuals within the dedicated training organizations must stay prepared to assist in addressing any threats to program viability.
The Trial Penalty: How Severe Is It and What Accounts For It?
The trial penalty is the difference in sentencing severity imjposed when a defendant pleads guilty compared to the sentence imposed on the same defendant if convicted after trial. Although most observers agree that assessing a trial penalty is appropriate, when it becomes so harsh as to convice defendants to relinquish the right to trial, its magnitude becomes coercive. This research assesses the magnitude of the trial penalty using data from the State Court Processing Statistics Project 2000. It then explores factors other than mode of disposition (plea/trial) to explore what might account for the observed variation. We find not only that the trial penalty exists, but that it often is the only factor that accounts for sentencing severity amounting to three or four times the prison sentence that the defendant would have received had he pled guilty. Policy implications are discussed.
The Unabomber, Columbine, and 9-11: Exploring the Dynamics of Social Isolation
Many theorists point to the importance of social interactions in the development of deviant behavior (Akers, 1998; Burgess & Akers, 1966; Hirschi, 1969; Kanel, 1978; Patterson, 1995; Sutherland, 1947). Less attention has been paid to social isolation as a pathway to antisocial attitudes and violent behavior. Isolation is difficult to manipulate experimentally, and is often confounded with other variables (e.g., child abuse, mental illness, incarceration). Drawing on the literature in comparative and developmental psychology, this paper discusses social isolation at the individual and group level as a significant factor in some forms of antisocial and aggressive conduct. Socially isolated individuals may exhibit hyper-activity, inflated self-esteem, grandiose and megalomaniacal thinking, paranoia and other cognitive and behavioral features associated with non-conformist and criminal acts. At the group level, isolation may have a “lord of the Flies” effect, wherein groups outside the social mainstream forge strong interpersonal bonds based on solidarity against a real or hypothetical enemy. Two causes of isolationa re considered; voluntary withdrawl from social interaction and involuntary isolation based on rejection by the broader social community. Specific examples of criminal, cult and terrorst behavior are offered in support of the isolation thesis.
The Use of GIS to Identify Drug and Non-Drug Related Crime Locations by Drug Users: Using ADAM Data From Charlotte, North Carolina
Using data for four quarters of ADAM interbiews and urine tests, this paper looks at the issue and mapping of drug and non-drug related crimes by arrestees who test positibe for drugs. The analysis further identifies the critical variables associated with the different crime types and types of drugs using census tract and police district distributions.
The Use of Item Response Theory to Construct Deviance and Attitude
With self-report data, crime and deviance are typically assessed through the use of summative scales. The same is true for scales of attitudes towards deviance. However, there are considerable drawbacks with this method. This paper seeks to resolve some of the methodological issues typically found in the construction of behavioral and attitude scales through the application of Item Response Theory.
The Victims at the International Criminal Court Statute
This poster briefly introduces the topic of the victims at the Intrnational Ceriminal Court (ICC) Statute, that entered into force in July 1, of 2002, in a criminological perspective, specially emphasizing the treatment of their rights and their participation in the criminal process at the ICC; but also, doing some reflections about the particularities of the victims of the crimes of the ratione materiae competence of the ICC, that is, crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes and the crime of aggression, from the point of view of the power that characterizes the authors or agents of these international crimes. In order to expose the victim’s perspective in the ICC Statute, the main dispositions with incidence in the subject will be reviewed according to the criminological theory to reach some conclusions, with the purpose of determining the compatibility of the Statute with the most recent advances of the criminology.
The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Act of 2000: The Role of Interest Groups – Domestic and International – in the Congressional Policy-Making Process
In 2000, Congress passed and President Clinton signed into law the “Victims of Trafficking and Violence Act” (P.L. 106-386) to respond to various dimensions of human trafficking in the U.S. and abroad. Using the case method to reconstruct the policy-making proess leading to legislation, this presentation examines the role played by interest groups (defined to include nongovernmental organizations and government agencies when they act as interest groups). Specifically, the presentation identifies and discusses the articulated goals and positions of participating groups, issues raised by various groups, and the techniques used to influence the decision-making process. Political scientist have used to concept of interest groups to explain political decision making. Although the role played by such groups varies among policy arenas and within an arena over time, they have played a role in criminal justice policy making and did participate in discussions surrounding the 2000 human trafficking legislation. Accordingly, a case study of the human trafficking legislation will contribute to our understanding of criminal justice policy making with the United States. In addition, because human trafficking involves international dimensions, the case study also provides an example of how issues with wider implications are handled int he congressional context.
The Virginia Pretrial Risk Assessment Instrument: Applying Research to Public Policy
The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) developed the Virginia Pretrial Risk Assessment Instrument to assist judicial officers in making the bail decision (to release or detain a defendant pending trial). The instrument utilizes nine risk factors to classify a defendant in one of five risk levels. The risk levels indicate the risk of failure (failure to appear for a scheduled court appearance or arrest for a new offense) for defendants pending trial. The risk factors include measures of criminal history, residence, employment, and substance abuse. Consideration was given during instrument development to ensure the instrument was not biased toward any group based on sex, race, income, or community type. The instrument will be completed by Pretrial Services programs across the Commonwealth and provided to judicial officers to assist them in making the bail decision. Improved bail decisions provide substantial benefits to the defendants, community, and the criminal justice system including increased public safety, protection of the presumption of innocence, expeditious court case flow, effective utilization of criminal justice and community resources, and a reduction in the potential for disparity in bail decisions. This paper details the research completed to develop the Virginia Pretrial Risk Assessment Instrumenty.
The Washington, D.C. Sniper as Media Event Within a Discourse of Fear
Mass media coverage sets agendas for social problems, including crime sprees. Recent research has focused on the development of two discourses: The first argues that ordinary people are constantly at risk of being randomly victimized. A second has focused on the development of a discourse of fear through the mass media’s portrayal of actual and fictional crimes. This article examines the effect of the media coverage of the 2002 Washington, D.C. Sniper Shootings on reespondents attitudes about crime and their actual behaviors. The research reports on a content analysis of the mainstream national news media coverage of the Sniper Shootings, focusing on the development of themes of fear of crime and randomness of crime in relationship to this high profile crime spree. We then report the findings of a national survey which measured respondents perceptions risks of crime victimization and the randomness of crime in society. Finally, we draw connections between the mass media discourse about the Sniper Shootings and changes that in respondents attitudes and behaviors relating to their own or other potential victimization. The article makes a contribution to the two developing literatures in the sociology of crime by demonstrating that fear of random victimization fo crime is a component of development of a risk society.
The Wild West Down Under, Comparing American and Australian Gun Enthusiasm
Researchers are increasingly interested in the cultural meanings attached to guns. In this vein, the author conducted comparative ethnographic research with self-professed gun enthusiasts living in San Francisco during 1977-1998, and in Sydney, Australia during 2002-2003. The American research consisted of participant observation at shooting ranges and shooting competitions, and semi-structured interviews with male and female sport shooters. The Australian research also consisted of participant observation at shooting ranges and shooting competitions, and interviews with sport shooters. The author found that while shooters from both the U.S. and Australia professed a pleasure in guns and shooting, and engaged in similar types of shooting sports (most of which have internationally-recognized rules and practices), the gun as a symbol of American freedom and individualism does not translate Down Under. Whereas American shooters perceive gun ownership to be a firm part of the identities as Americans, symbolizing self-reliant individualism and prfoundly moral character, Australian shooters perceive guns simply as sporting equipment. Australian shooters do not link their guns to identity or citizenship, and are largely comfortable with the idea that guns should be tighly regulated by the government. Based on this data, the implications for gun control in both nations are discussed.
The Youth Service Improvement Initiative
The Youth Service Improvement Initiative is a system integration effort underway in Jefferson County, Colorado. The initiative is using a framework that prioritizes examination of strategic direction, goals and outcomees to understand and guide work processes. The framework is enhanced by the use of models that define and capture the processes of developing strategic direction, selecting resources, and serving the needs of youths and families. Application of the framework and models has been undertaken by a coalition of Jefferson County juvenile justice representatives, educators, social service policy makers, and community service providers. Theya re using the framework and models in the extensive assessment, planning, improvement, implementation, performance measurement, and evaluation effort over a period of three years. Elite stakeholders will work together to examine the work processes involved in developing the guiding philosophies of the system, oberlaying this information on the work processes examined in other groups. we will present our analysis of these applications of the framework and models, including the success in developing robust descriptions of work processes and determination of infrastructure adequacy and alignment with expectations for the organization, oversight, and operations of the system.
Theorizing Men, Masculinities, and Homicide
Homicide has been the subject of criminological study for decades, but only relatively recently has the gendered nature of homicide been the central focus of research. Most of this gendered research has addressed women’s homicide offending and victimization with gender analysis of homicide viewed as nearly synonymous with understanding gender in the lives of women who kill and are killed. Yet, overwhelmingly, homicide is committed by men, and with only a few exceptions, gender and men’s homicide has not been fully examined in criminology. This paper will report a developing gender-centered theoretical explanation for men’s homicide offending, bring both macro-and micro-level analyses of gender systems and gender interaction to bear on explaining why men kill. Necessarily, this discussion includes a consideration of both men’s position in a patriarchal system and how masculinities play out in social interaction. This work draws upon the work of Messerschmidt and others in masculinities and crime as well as the work in violent transactions in order to propose how men’s experiences of gender can translate into lethal violence.
Theory and Practice in Culturally Competent Programming: Lessons From SafeFutures Prevention and Intervention Activities for High-Risk Youth
SafeFuures was a five-year initiative, supported by the Office of Juvenile Justice and delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), 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, MO; Imperial County, CA; Seattle, WA; and St. Louis, MO — not only targeted better outcomes for individual youth and families, but also focused on relevant systems reforms. Community-based partners were encouraged to tailor program strategies to address local needs of high-risk populations, including immigrant and ethnically diverse populations. Hence, both prevention and intervention activities needed to be responsive to differencxes in value systems, customs, language, and religion across the various community subcultures that included African American, Asian Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and Native American youth. This paper presents a conceptual framework for examining culturally competent programming. In addition, SafeFutures programs that deliberately espoused culturally relevant approaches are described, as are barriers to implementing culturally responsive programming and recommendations for strengthening future efforts of this nature.
Therapeutic Engagement in a Prison-Based Drug Treatment Therapeutic Community: Identifying the Effects of Individual and Programmatic Characteristics
Prison-based drug treatment has shown promise as an effective way to reduce the rate of drug use and recidivism. Research has shown that there are several factors that lead to an individual becoming motivated, ready, and engaged in treatment. Factors such as familial obligations, legal sanctions, and psychosocial characteristics (anxiety, depression, and self-esteem) have been shown to impede an individual’s successful rehabilitation. Through previous literature attempts to elucidate the personal factors that can contribute to an individual’s success in a prison-based drug treatment program, one gap in the literature is the failure to qualitatively examine the effect that inmate and programmatic characteristics can have on an individual’s engagement in the treatment program. These characteristics include an inmate’s self esteem, depresion, anxiety and self efficacy levels, external pressures on the inmate to participate in the program, program structure, counselor rapport, counselor competence, and peer rapport. The goal of this paper is to qualitatively examine the causes and correlates that enhance or impede therapeutic engagement (the involvement in and commitment to drug treatment) of inmates in a prison-based drug treatment program. Specifically, therapeutic engagement may be a product of external coercion, including familial and legal factors; internal coercion, including motivation and treatment readiness; psychosocial factors, including anxiety, depression, and self esteem; and program factors, including meetings, activities, work assignments, authority structure, and counselor/inmate rapport. It is this qualitative analysis of therapeutic engagement that differenties this research from others int he drug treatment literature.
Therapeutic Justice: An Evaluation of the Court’s Role in Riverside County’s Mental Health Court
Therapeutic justice is a rising trend in the attempts of the criminal justice system to reduce recidivism among criminals. One of the most recent developments of this phenomenon is the establishment of mental health courts around the country. Currently, there are less than ten alternative justice courts aimed at the treatment of mentally ill offenders and of these, Riverside County is the only mental health court that processes felony cases as well as misdemeanors. This paper looks closely at the role of the court plays in the Riverside County Mental Health Court. It examines data collected directly from offenders as well as the court to assess the program’s impact on recidivism and compares the effects of the intense judicial supervision provided to the mental health court clients with the standard judicial interaction of the comparison group.
Thinking About Juvenile Justice Policy: Crossing the Borders
This paper examines the evolutio of juvenile justice policy in the United States and compares it to four other countries. Although juvenile offending is predominantly property offenses, there are differences in the perceptions of youth and the responses to youthful misconduct. The research indicates that both the punitive get tough approach and the more prevention and treatment oriented intiatives are evident. By studying juvenile justice in other countries, the United States might be able to develop a more effective and balanced approach to deal with juvenile offenders.
Time and Punishment: Exploring Individual Heterogeneity in Attitudes Toward the Future
Whether and how threatened future punishments deter criminal behavior remain key unresolved questions for scholars of crime. Research has shown that people vary widely in the degree to which future consequendes influence their behavior. This paper culls from the extant literature two alternative conceptions of this trait, which is often termed “present-orientation.” The first conception posits that present-oriented individuals deliberatively devalue or discount future consequences. In contrast, the second conception suggests individuals are present-oriented largely because they have difficulty controlling impulses to act. This article develops behavioral indicators of each present-orientedness profile using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health. It then tests the extent to which each profile corresponds with involvement in criminal and anti-social behavior.
Times They Are A-Changin: Examining the Difference in Drug Treatment Participants From the 1990s and 2000s
Therapeutic Community treatment programs for drug invovled offenders have become almost commonplace in American prisons. Meeting the needs of program participants is important for the successful implementation treatment regimes and, in turn, the for the successful outcomes of the clients. Yet much of the content of programs has been geared towards older offenders with histories of heroin and crack cocaine use. recent, younger offenders may present different drug and other problems than in the past. Using data from an ongoing study of treatment effectiveness for drug involved offenders, this research compares a cohort of offenders released in the early 1990s to a cohort released in the 1999-2002 period. Changes in demographics, psychological indicators, drug and criminal histories, and treatment needs of program participants are examined to investigate whether today’s program participant is different from those of a decade ago. Suggestions for hgow programs might consider a changing clientele are discussed.
To Trust or Not to Trust: The Polish National Police in the Eyes of the Public
In October of 2002, the Center for the Study of Public Op8inion, in Poland, conducted a survey of public perceptions of the Polish National Police. The study was contacted by the Policy police and represented a first attempt, in the history of the 13 year-old force, to assess the attitudes and perceptions of the public they police. The respondents were asked about the level of trust towards the police organization, assessment of its effectiveness, fear of crime, and visibility and familiiarity with the local beat officers. The results, published in a book form at the beginning of 2003, generated heated discussions within the police force. This paper analyzes the reaction of the police force to a new form of accountability, which was created based on its request.
Too Late for Luck: A Comparison of Factually Innocent Defendants: Executions and Exonerations in the Post-Furman Era
This study will analyze sixteen executions nationwide from 1972-2000 that involved compelling claims of factual innocence and a comparison group of eighty cases in which prisoners were released from death rows because of “doubts about their guilt” from the same time period. This paper will consist of a two pronged analysis. The first section will consist of a qualitative matching of several pairs of cases that ended in either exoneration or an execution. These cases will be matched based upon state and year of conviction. Narratives describing the cases will be presented and significant differences between the pairs of cases will be identified. The second section will consist of a systematic examination of the pivotal factors that may lead to an overturned conviction and subsequent release from death row as opposed to an execution among factually innocent defendants. We will focus on hypothesis testing relating to factors that may increase the likelihood of a case resulting in a reversal as opposed to an execution. This comparison will permit a systematic examination of the differences between cases that result in a release from death row and those that result in an execution. By analyzing the significant factors that may affect the outcome of the judicial review process, important insights into the dynamics of this process can be achieved.
Tools for Identifying Displaced Criminal Events
Situational crime prevention techniques have proven largely successful. They have been shown to reduce the volume of criminal events at intervention sites with little displacement into adjacent areas, times or crimes. Some displacement, however, does occur. Criminologists need a variety of new tools and techniques to measure displacement more effectively. This paper illustrates the use of some tools being explored in the Institute for Canadian Urban Research Studies.
Toward a Unified Theory of Behavioral Stability
One of the most robust findings in criminology is the high degree of stability in antisocial behavior over the life course. Given this strong connection between past and subsequent misconduct, researchers have attempted to explicate the reasons for this relationship. Despite the long line of literature examining this association, a consensus on the exact causal mechanisms accounting for stability has not yet been reached. Although recent theoretical advances have been made, the field remains divided between competing explanations: population heterogeneity and state dependence. By drawing from these two theoretical camps, we begin to set the foundation for a unified theory of behavioral stability. In general, we maintain that the underlying structure of behavioral stability is comprised of three inter-related factors: antisocial dispositions, delinquent conduct, and antisocial consequences. When these three factors accumulate within an individual, the likelihood for stability is high. Using a national longitudinal data set, we find tentative support for our theory.
Toward an Explanation of the Race-Crime Link: The Inequitable Distribution of City Resources
An important social fact regarding the spatial distribution of crime is the higher crime rates in minority as compared to white neighborhoods. This study seeks to further explain this race-crime link by investigating the role played by two important city resources — residential loans and Community Development Block Grants — across Chicago neighborhoods during the early to mid 1990s. I find that African American and Latino neighborhoods not only receive significantly fewer dollars in city resources than comparably situated white neighborhoods but these resources help to reduce the level of homicide and burglary victimization risk in these neighborhoods. This means that inequality in city resources translates into the differential capacity of minority and white neighborhoods to control crime. It follows that if minority neighborhoods are allocated greater sums of city resources their crime levels would be substantially reduced. Given the unequal racial distribution of city resources and their impact on reducing crime, important crime differentials will continue to exist between minority and white neighborhoods unless city officials become more responsive to minority communities.
Toward an Integrated Male Peer Support Model of Marital/Cohabitation Rape in the United States
Since the mid 1970s, social scientists have uncovered rich data on the extent, distribution, correlates, and outcomes of various types of male-to-female abuse in adult intimate relationships. However some types of abuse, including marital/cohabitation rape, have not been adequately theorized. The main objective of this paper is twofold: (1) to examine the extant research and theory on marital/cohabitation rape, and (2) to offer an integrated male peer support model that attempts to explain why some men rape their marital/cohabitating partners. Suggestions for future research, theory, and policy implications are also provided.
Toward an Integrated Understanding of Child Sexual Abuse Cases: Using Case Flow Analysis in the Criminal and Civil Justice Systems
While having different goals, both criminal and civil agencies have legally-mandated authority to investigate and intervene in cases of suspected child sexual abuse. Traditionally, the result was system conflict, miscommunication, professional mistrust and, consequently, limited justice outcomes. Since the mid-1990s, however, innovations such as Multi-Disciplinary Teams and coordinated forensic child interviewing at Children’s Advocacy Centers have become widespread and have helped to integrate criminal and civil responses. System integration has also diminished strictly linear case processing within each justice system. As a result, it has become important to adopt a larger system approach to accurately describe the effect of various case, child victim, offender, family and episode descriptors on interim case decisions and final outcomes. Case Flow Analysis (CFA) is an effective method for developing a holistic understanding of child sexual abuse cases and their outcomes, by linking case descriptors with the progression of cases through and across the criminal and civil justice systems. It also provides the basis for effective strategic planning and system improvement. This presentation describes research experiences and findings from child sexual abuse CFAs completed in different jurisdictions.
Trafficking in Methamphetamine: Comparing Male and Female Dealers
Male and female meth dealers exhibit numerous common characteristics and patterns. For example, both can be heavy users and both have similar (long) criminal records. However, both groups also show important distinctions in their drug dealing and using patterns. This exploratory study compares 29 male and 25 female meth dealers who were involved in the criminal justice system of a single western state. Among other things, the findings indicate that male dealers treat their trafficking activities more like a business and are more likely prepared for violence while dealing than females. In contrast, female dealers have more education, including graduate school and are more willing to try drug treatment than male dealers.
Trafficking of Women and Children Out of and Into Nigeria: A Review of Literature
Trafficking in human beings, especially, women and children, has become a major “enterprise” in recent years for organized crime syndicates across the globe partly due to the crackdown on drug trafficking and the amount of profit involved (Sandro Tucci, 20000). The U.S. State Department estimates that over 2 million people from Russia and other former Soviet Republics, Asia, South and Central American and Africa are trafficed each year. Preliminary investigations of human trafficking in Africa by UNICEF and Human Rights Watch and information released by other international organizations such as the International Labor Organization, United Nations, Organization fo African Unity, Economic Community of West African States, and International Organization for Migration reveal that Nigeria is a major source country for trafficked women and a source and destination of trafficked children. The purpose of this paper is to review the available literature on the trafficking of women and children from and to Nigeria in an effort to uncover the extent of this illicit trade, what has been done about it, what is being done and/or what needs to be done about it.
Training and Technical Assistance to Law Enforcement Across Borders: Obstacles to Effective Delivery and Technical Assistance
Particularly in this climate of global change, including trans-national crime and terrorism, the need to establish mechanisms for law enforcement agencies to share information, as well as build upon the best practices and past experiences of agencies across contexts is apparent. However, despite the need for international training and technical assistance efforts, there are important barriers to the effective translation of meaning and understanding of intended messages depending on the context of delivery. This paper draws upon the authors’ combined experiences in providing training to agencies in the Czech Republic and Latin America, highlighting both the barriers inherent to such efforts, as well as their experiences in overcoming them. Barriers discussed in this forum will include the use of translators, facing unequivalent meanings across language, and recognizing significant cultural value differences.
Training for Collaboration: Training Instruments and Methods
Because human performance, especialy organizational performance is a decision-making process, people can significantly improve the quality of their performance by skillfully using sound methods of collaborative decision-making. Choosing By Advantages (CBA) is a set of concepts and methods designed to make collaborative decision-making more effective for organizations, communities, and individuals. This collaborative method is applicable to business, social services, public policy, research and development, as well as daily life. Choosing By Advantages helps organizations make sound decisions by providing the opportunity to focus on the problem and not on each other’s positions. It offers a way of creating and displaying solution alternatives, deciding on the best alternative to implement based on relevant facts, and arriving at the chosen solution in a collaborative and effective way. The CBA process begins at the moment when a decision is needed — before alternatives are formulated — and it doesn’t end until the decision has been implemented and evaluated.
Trajectories and Turning Points in Women’s Criminal Offending: The Role of Motherhood
Developmental frameworks highlight the importance of involvement in conventional roles and activities in reducing involvement in crime. This paper engages with developmental perspectives to investigate the reciprocal influences between women’s participation in one of the most conventional female roles, that of mother, and women’s vionent behavior. If mothers are not a homogeneous group, and the role of mother has different meanings and implications for different women, it may well be that motherhood has a variety of consequences for somen’s offending. This would present a challenge to theories of crime which predict that motherhood should decrease women’s criminal behavior. Accordingly, we will examine questions of particular import to developmental perspectives, such as whether such “turning points” as entry into motherhood (e.g., pregnancy and birth) as well as “exit” from motherhood (e.g., loss of children to the Children’s Aid Society) act to redirect women’s offending trajectories or pathways. This research uses qualitative analyses of data from over 200 in-depth interviews from a study of incarcerated women. These interviews were obtained with a retrospective longitudinal design, using a life-events calendar to collect month-by-month accounts of life circumstances and offending incidents for a three-year period.
Trajectories and Turning Points in Women’s Experiences of Violence: The Role of Motherhood
Developmental frameworks highlight the importance of involvement in conventional roles and activities in reducing criminal involvement. This study investigates the reciprocal influences between women’s participation a conventional female role, that of mother, and women’s violent experiences. I will examine questions important to developmental perspectives, such as whether such “turning points” as entry into motherhood as well as “exit” from motherhood redirect women’s violence trajectories.
Trajectory of a Hate Crime: Constructing a Social Reality
A content analysis, focussing on the Jeffery Owens case, of the local print media coverage (THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE) and wider regional coverage (THE LOS ANGELES TIMES) of hate crimes directed at the gay and lesbian community over the past five years in Riverside County, California. Particular attention will be given to the specific charges brought by prosecutors as to aggravating factors involving hate motivation and special circumstances involved with gang affiliation.
Transforming Public Thought From Behind the Walls
Through the “Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program,” univerity students attend class behind prison walls alongside incarcerated students. Now in its 13th semester, “Inside-Out” allows students from the outside to apply their learning in a very real setting, while those on the inside can reconsider their real-life experiences within a wider framework. By exploring theoretical concepts within the setting of a prison, theory is moved out of the purely mental sphere to a more powerful level–as the mind is engaged, so is the heart. If how we feel, to some extent, drives what we think, herein lies the crux of the transformative potential of this program. Those involved become inspired to learn as much as they can in order to make a difference in the injustices they see. The learning is multi-layered and rich, a result of the reciprocal exchange among everyone involved. We will examine the transformative dimension of this kind of learning, and its potential as education for social justice and social change. We will also discuss the replication of this program as a national model by the workshop leader, who was awarded a Fellowship through the Criminal Justice Initiative, a program of the Soros Foundation’s Open Society Institute.
Translating Research Into Policy: The Case of Cardiff Taxi Drivers
Research on taxi drivers in Cardiff has found that drivers use a number of different types of informal techniques to protect themselves from becoming crime victims. This research on practice has involved constructing both crime and prevention scripts. The aim of the research has been to provide information that will aid both long-time drivers and those entering the field, as well as providing policy makers with insights into the complex situations that drivers face everyday.
Treatment Retention Predictors of Drug Court Participants in a Rural State
Drug courts are designed to alleviate overcrowding, reduce recidivism, decrease drug use, provide access to community resources, increase long-term relapse prevention efforts, and provide cost-effective treatment for drug-involved offenders (Belenko, 1998). Factors distinguishing those who complete treatment from those who fail to complete have been well documented, but fall short of considering differences between urban and rural areas. The present study focuses on mental health,d rug use, criminal activity, and education/employment as factors associated with treatment retention in a rural and urban drug court. Overall, results indicated that age, race, marital status, education level, employment, drug use, and criminal activity predicted treatment completion. For the urban drug court, marital status, emplopyment, drug use and criminal activity predicted whether or not the participant would graduate. For the rural group, however, completion was only predicted by age and juvenile incarceration. Differences between urban and rural groups,a nd graduated and terminated grtoups are also discussed. Findings from this study suggest that there are different factors adssociated with drug court termination between urban and rural participants. Drug court administrators could use this information to better assess potential participants and to ensure success of participants by providing more assistance where needed.
Trends in Reversal Rates: Examining State Courts of Last Resort
There seems to be a dramatic change in the rates of reversal in criminal court cases. For example, the reversal rate in Manhattan and The Bronx is down to approximately 1% of all cases. Several states have had a complete breakdown of their appellate systems, as is evident by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals which did not have a single reversal in an adult criminal case in 1997. The purpose of this paper is to examine the trend in reversal rates in the state courts of last resort. This paper compares the rates of reversal in criminal court cases with those of civil court cases in order to ascertain if this phenomenon is limited only to criminal cases.
Triple Jeopardy: Violence, Drugs and Recovery in 25 Women’s Lives
Much has been written concerning the relationship between women, violence and the abuse they experience, coupled with their drug addiction. However, few studies have documented the voices of women who move into recovery and attempt to control the ongoing violence still prevalent in their lives. Violence against women and substance abuse are complex and multifacted problems. Most health researchers assume that addiction and the recovery processes from the use/abuse of drugs affects women the same way as it does men, thus ignoring the role of gender in their analysis. I contend that treatment models that ignore the gendered context of social relationships fail to address the lives of women who use/abuse drugs and, subsequently, enter recovery. I argue that the intersection fo structure, culture and agency coupled with sex roles, drug use/abuse, and recover processes intersect in distinctly different ways. Therefore, this paper argues for a more complex and multifacted approach to the issue of violence, women’s addiction and their recovery processes through documenting a research study of 25 women’s voices as they narrate their recovery experiences.
Trouble With the Law: Assessing the Effect of Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Disorders on Likelihood of Contact With the Police and Courts Using Data From the National Comorbidity Survey
Background: Individuals with psychiatric and substance abuse disorders are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice sytem, but the risk associated with these disorders for contact with the legal system among persons in the general population has not been described identified. This study assesses the effect of these disorders on self-reported “trouble with the police and courts” in a 12-month period. Method: The study analyzed data from the National Comorbidity Survey, a psychiatric epidemiologic study of a nationally representative sample of persons aged 15-54 living in U.S. households. Results: Persons with psychiatric disorders were slightly less likely to report legal system problems than were persons with no diagnosis. Persons with substance abuse only were at substantially higher risk for such involvement. Persons with both disorders were at greatest risk for trouble with the police/courts, though the difference was not statistically significant compared with substance abusers alone. Conclusions: Substance abuse, but not mental disorder, exacerbates risk for legal involvement. The effect of substance abuse occurs whether or not mental disorder is present. Interventions designed to reduce the legal involvement of persons with these disorders need to integrate treatment for both kinds of disorder.
Trust in Criminal Networks: A Theoretical Analysis
In a recent issue of Crime, Law & Social Change we apply social network theory to the analysis of criminal grousp that are active in three transnational illegal markets. One of the conclusions is that financial risk is an important explaining factor for the structure of criminal networks. High-risk transactions occur between partners organized in dense, cohesive, and often ethically homogenous networks, while transactions with lower risk take place between partners who operate in networks that have chain-like social structures and are less cohesive. In order to accept the risk involved in a criminal enterprise you must rely on, have a certain degree of trust in the other people involved. In this paper, we focus on the effects of trust on the structure and content of criminal networks. When offenders commit transnational crimes they have to collaborate with others to be successful. Collaboration implies a certain degree of truest between the participants. One of the problems for criminal groups is that they lack mechanisms for resolving conflicts through legal institutions, and therefore must rely more on other mechanisms, like information and control. However, these mechanisms are only effective in cohesiv enetworks. When other kinds of networks (chain networks, for instance) are involved criminals have to organize trust in a different way: violence and bribery. The theoretical analysis is illustrated by data from Dutch police files and criminological studies.
Types and Incidence of Internet-Related Sex Crimes Against Minors in the Criminal Justice System
Internet-related sex crimes against minors involving child pornography and child sexual exploitation have received consideral media attention. However, there has been little systematic study of the ways the Internet is used in sex crimes against minors and the incidence of these crimes in the criminal justice system. These researchers used a national sample of over 2500 law enforcement agencies to gather data about internet-related child pornography and sexual exploitation crimes that resulted in arrests during a one-year period. This paper will discuss the types of Internet-related sex crimes that victimize minors and the incidence of these crimes in the criminal justice system. This study is funded by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the U.S. Department of Justice, OJJDP.
U
UC Irvine’s Criminology Outreach Program: High School and Junior High Students Engaging in Key Crime and Policy Issues Through Interactive Learning
UC Irvine’s Criminology Outreach Program seeks to acquaint high school and middle school stuents with college course content and procedure, to familiarize students with the issues of student life and intellectural pursuit in college, and to involve the students in the type of policy debates that occur in the field of criminology. It is funded by the Outreach Programs of the University of California. COP has several goals: a) to acquaint the students in local high schools which currently do not send a high proportion of their graduates to the University of California with the course content of the curriculum in criminology, criminal justice, and legal studies; b) to acquaint the students with the specific teaching and research interests of the Criminology, Law and Society faculty at UCI; c) to familiarize students with the issues of student life and intellectual pursuit in college; and d) to involve the students in the type of policy debates that occur in the field of criminology, involving topics like police-community issues, juvenile justice, racial profiling, hate crimes, the death penalty, gang suppression, drug penalties, and white-collar crime. The poster will display several examples of student activities and writing products.
Unarmed Police and Prosecutors
Punishment of financial and economic crimes is vital, both to the prosperity of the United Sates and to people’s faith in the criminal justice system. While crimes of violence and routine property crimes will always be with us, the criminal justice system is not equipped to address the dramatic increases in crimes perpetrated with a computer and/or on the internet. Too few departments even know of the legal requirements for obtaining a search warrant for a computer, and even fewer have personnel with expertise to capture the data south. Most prosecutors lack the training and experience to provide guidance to their law enforcers. The debate over the proper “venue” for a computer-based crime must be addressed. The ease with which computers cross jurisdictional boundaries means law enforcement agencies, proud of their independence, must learn to “play well with others.” When more than a hundred bank accounts are finally obtained, who has the time and expertise to find the “smoking gun” buried within them? When a dispatcher receives a call about identity theft, does he/she even recognize the nature of the call and know how to aid the victim and properly forward the call? These issues must be addressed as the criminal justice system ventures into the new millennium, and the prevalence of one particular type of crime may be the impetus for change in training and focus.
Uncovering a Destination Country: Trafficking in Women to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina is considered to be one of the main destination countries in south-eastern Europe for trafficked women. In this presentation characteristics that make this country an attractive “market” will be discussed. General trafficking situation, as well as an overview of the current political and crime situation will be discussed, but the main focus will be on information that has been collected through interviews with various officials and other actors who are working on trafficking issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These interviews were conducted as a part of a preparation for a larger study of causes and organization of trafficking in this country. Interviews have been conducted in the winter 2002/2003 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, with government officials, law enforcement officers, program managers for local and international NGO and GOs. While interviews were unstructured, the focus was on difficulties that different agencies are faced with in their attempts to combat trafficking, and on uncovering different approaches to trafficking by different institutions. Variety of problems that appear to be associated with high levels of trafficking will be discussed, including conflicts of interest between different agencies, lack of coordination of efforts, poor implementation or programs, and legal and legislative obstacles.
Uncovering Truth: Excavating the Facts Surrounding Past Human Rights Abuses: The Case of Ghana’s National Reconciliation Commission
A key mandate of all Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) is to ascertain the truth about past injustices and to establish accurate records of the violations and abuses. But it is also clear from the literature that TRCs are different from traditional criminal courts and so may use a different standard of proof in their attempts to determine the facts surrounding the cases they deal with. And with a membership comprising people usually of diverse backgrounds, how do TRCs uncover the ‘truth’ surrounding a case of past human rights abouse? But what is “truth”? More specifically, how does Ghana’s NRC ascertain the truth of the cases before it? These are the key questions explored in this paper, which is based on analysis of specific cases and interviews with members and key staff of Ghana’s National Reconciliation Commission that started public hearings on January 14, 2003.
Understanding Community Justice Partnerships: The Role of Community Participation
The number of crime prevention partnerships between criminal justice agencies and community organizations is increasing rapidly nationwide. While evaluations and assessments of these partnerships have produced countless lists of “Best Practices,” little is known about how community organizations became involved, and what roles are played by various actors within partnerships. A recent study by The Urban Institute and Caliber Associates reviewed the role of community organizations and a myriad of contextual issues that challenge or foster their ability to effect positive change. That study developed a framework for understanding the capacity of community organizations to partner, and was designed as a baseline to begin to establish the correlates of successful community justice programs and initiatives. This paper will report on the nextstep of this research — the grounding of the framework within real life partnerships. The paper will begin to link community participation in community justice partnerships with outcomes, as observed in site visits in communities around the country. In addition, the paper will provide a review of the extant literature on community participation in order to determine how this concept has been measured.
Understanding Illegal Gun Markets and Trafficking: Research in Boston
The preliminary findings from analyses of firearms trace data for Boston crime gun recoveries between 11981 and 2002 suggest that illegal gun markets are dynamic. In the response to the high-levels of fear in Boston neighborhoods during the gun violence epidemic of the late 1980s and early 1990s, demand for illegal guns among youth involved in gangs and gang violence increased dramatically. During this time period, the type of handguns recovered from youth changed from lower-powered revolvers to higher-powered semiautomatic pistols. Many of these semiautomatic pistols were new guns first purchased in Southern states like Virginia and Florida. Over the course of the 1990s, law enforcement agencies focused closely on the sources of youth guns and, through ballistics technology, the use of crime guns iun multiple violent incidents in Boston. In response to law enforcement pressure, the sources of Boston crime guns evolved over time. Since law enforcement focused on new guns first purchased at retail outlets in the South, youth crime guns are now more likely to be older firearms that were sold on the secondary market in Massachusetts. New firearms are still recovered from youthful offenders in Boston. However, the market share has decreased and a noteworthy proportion of new crime guns are now being purchased in New England states such as Maine and New Hampshire instead of Southern states. Moreover, in response to ballistics technology, criminally-active youth now have a preference for revolvers over semiautomatic pistols as revolvers do not leave tell-tale ballistics evidence at crime scenes (i.e. cartridge casings). In order for law enforcement to respond effectively, they need to better understand the workings of illegal gun markets. It is possible that the important pathways of gun trafficking for particular types of offenders at any given time may no longer be significant a year later. Law enforcement agencies need better-developed technologies to analyze complex crime problems, and a supplement to this research project will help provide a vehicle for law enforcement agencies to think strategically about a very difficult problem — the illegal gun trade.
Understanding the Nature of Hate Crimes: A Content Analysis of Police Case Reports
In 1990 the United States Congress passed legislation directing the Uniform Crime Reporting Program to collect information on crimes motivated by bias against the victim’s race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin. In 1994 the Hate Crimes Statistics Act was amended and, in 1997 data on crimes motivated against a person because of disability were added. Eleven “traditional offense categories” incouded in the data collection are murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, simple assault, intimidation, and destruction’/damage/vandalism or property. A standardized “Record Layout Worksheet” was developed and law enforcement agencies submit supplemental information on hate crimes monthly to the UCR Program–in almost all instances through their respective state UCR Programs. Training programs and manuals help law enforcement agencies to (1) determine whether to classify a criminal incident as a hate crime and (2) how to enter the information on the code sheets. Information is collected on the type of incident, the crimes associated with the incident, the characteristics of the offender or offenders (if known), and the characteristics of the victim or victims (if known).
Understanding the Racial Differences in Parenting Styles in the United States: An Analysis of Juvenile Delinquency and Parenting Styles in Nigeria
Parenting styles have often been associated with delinquency. Parenting styles that include high levels of parent-child communication, modest and complimentary amounts of control and independence (authoritative) have been associated with positive adolescent outcomes (Baumrind 1971; Maccoby & Martin 1983). Conversely, more restrictive parenting styles with high levels of control and little independence (authoritarian) have been associated with delinquency (Baumrind 19761). Family policies in the United States have often been based on these studies, recommending authoritative parenting style at the expense of authoritarian parenting style with little sensitivity to critical cultural distinctions. Contrary to family policies in the United States, literature has suggested that parental strictness (authoritarian style) is linked to positive child outcome among racial minority families most especially African Aerican and Chinese families (Lin & Fu 1990; Chao 1994). Some studies have claimed that authoritarian parenting style among Arican Americans is a survival strategy adopted by the group to cope with its environment and racial status (Brofenbrenner 19769; Ogbu 1981). Some other studies however suggest that this parenting style is a heritage from their African origin (Dobson 1975, 1977; McAdoo 1997). These studies are however speculative, with relatively olittle empirical evidence. This study is an empirical research of the influence of parenting style on juvenile delinquency in an African country. This study would among other things test whether the theoretical model of parenting styles outlined by Baumrind (1971) represents the relationship of family variables to delinquency only for American families, or whether the model is more generally applicable across diverse populations. I hypothesize that the authoritarian style is not related to delinquency in the African context and that it may in fact have beneficial effects for youths in Nigeria. This proposition is tested using a secondary dataset on European and African American adolescents titled Maryland Adolescent Growth in Context and a primnary data this investigator collected from 479 Nigerian adolescents and their parents in 2002.
Understanding the Transboundary Crimes of Empire
In spite of significant attempts to expand the scope of criminological inquiry, our current conceptualizations of crimes of state and corporate-state crimes only begin to explore the nature and scope of crimes undertaken for reasons of empire. Crimes of empire are conceptualized giving us some initial conversation points for thinking about and understanding globalized, transboundary social arrangements and the harms committed for their creation, development, and security. The needs of humankind, the environment, and sovereignty are at stake.
Unemployment, Income Inequality, and Crime: A Cross-National Analysis
Some perspective in criminology hypothesizes that increasing unemployment should increase the motivation for property crime. Strain theories posit that impediments to the attainment of culturally prescribed success, such as relative inequality in status or income, may propvide some individual as a justification for committing some types of crime. This research formulates a theoretical framework by incorporating the two perspectives and uses a multi-national data to test the theory. First, it examines the relationship between unemployment rate and property crime among nations. Second, it investigates the relationship between income inequality and property crime, violent crime among nations. Third, it estimates whether unemployment impacts crime rate differently depending upon relative income inequality.
Unemployment and Crime: 1976-2001
This research continues the investigation of the impact of unemployment on street crime. Over the past 25 years there has been considerable variation in crime rates and the unemployment rate. During most of the 1970s both rates increased dramatically, and since 1992 both rates have trended downward. The premise that crime rates will decline as the economy improves can be grounded on several different theoretical perspectives (e.g. neo-Marxist, anomie, strain, and control). Controlling for a number of socio-economic variables and the rate of imprisonment this research employs a pooled cross-section/time-series regression analysis using state-level data from 1976-2001. Consistent with the above theories, the civilian unemployment rate is a significant and positive predictor of burglary and larceny. Other dimensions of unemployment are currently being investigated. These include the unemployment rates of young males, those who have “given up searching for work” as wll as the “duration” of unemployment.
Unleashing the F.B.I. and C.I.A.: Lessons From Recent History
The Patriot Act attempts to “unleash” the American Intelligence Community to facilitate a more effective war on terrorism. This paper will attempt to analyze the recent history of the American Intelligence Commuynity in Latin America. In particular, attention will be paid to the training of counter intelligence personnel in the School of the Americas, the surveillence of American clergy in Latin America, and the counter insurgency in El Salvador and Nicaragua. This paper will rely on news accounts, government documents, and interviews with Catholic clergy in El Salvador.
Unraveling the Web of Juvenile Justice: Formal and Informal Supports for Reintegrating Youths Returning From Placement
This study explores the role of families and aftercare workers inf acilitating the transition of adjudicated youths into their homes, schools, and communities after a stay in a residential facility. Through participant observation during home visits made by social workers at a large juvenile aftercare program in the northeast, I examine parental involvement during and after bouts of instituionalization. I focus on the relationship between families and aftercare workers, in light of the tendency of juvenile justice agents to see poor parenting as a key contributing factor to delinquent behavior. Existing research suggests that parents often resent the intrustion posed by court intervention and that parental accountability mandates exacerbate already tenuous family situations (Drakeford, 1997; Schaffner, 1997). At the same time, the juvenile justice system offers many services not otherwide accessible to inner-city families (e.g., academic support, job placement). Parents may tolerate or even welcome this involvement or develop resistance strategies to minimize the system’s control while maximizing its role as a resource (Schneider, 1992). Understanding how families view aftercare services and how, in turn, their parenting is evaluated by social workers may serve to improve these services and better engage families in the aftercare process.
Unwinding: Reflections on a Career
A criminologist seems always to be in a hurry to get somewhere, to do something or to do it better; all-too-often, alas, to catch up. What keeps many in the fast lane is the satisfaction of discovery. My advice, then: be ambitious, work hard, and enjoy the ride! I am rarely bored with life, and see no reason why given good health and an active mind one should ever be. I believe that one should embrace life with all its challenges and opportunities. For me, this has meant avoiding too narrow concentration on any single specialization. Working in risk analysis forced me to become better acquainted with literatures that I had negelected research and theory in organizations, for example. It facilitated my return to earlier interests in technology and social changew, and helped me to become a better and more general sociologist.
Using Diversity Training to Reduce the Impact of Race on Police Use of Lethal Force
Policing multicultural societies represents an area of scholarly research that has long been neglected, despite heated controversy surrounding the use of force in urban minority communities. Police agencies across the country have implemented programs to guide the use of force, including policy and procedures designed to train officers on employing less lethal means. Departments that hope to balance the enforcement of law and maintain racial/ethnic relationships must include “diversity training” as part of the curriculum. Recent studies have found thaty race/ethnicity can be a factor when lethal force is used to control a suspect. This research examines how diversity training can diminish the effects of race when officers come in contact with threatening suspects. The findings provide a framework for an effective training program that helps to reduce deadly altercations, particularly in communities of color.
Using Lessons Learned From the Evaluation-Public Management Nexus in the Evaluation Design of a Prison Sex Offender Treatment Program
This paper describes the practical application of key concepts presented in Paper #1; specifically, the integration of several of the key principles described above into an actual program evaluation design. The program evaluated is the Colorado Department of Corrections’ treatment program for sex offenders. The focus of the evaluation was the therapeutic community for sex offenders. To comprehensively design a formal process and outcome evaluation of this innovative prison treatment program, it was essential to begin with the theoretical foundation of interventions for adult sex offenders. Using theory, logic models, program development research on the treatment of sex offenders, and the draft Therapeutic Communities of America (TCA) Standards (1999) for TCs in prison and, equally important, the “what works in correctional programming” literature, we developed criteria against which to measure program performance. Using a variety of data collection methods, including treatment file reviews, offender focus groups, interviews, staff questionnaires, quantitative analysis of DOC operations data, and nearly 300 person-hours of observations, researchers provided both performance feedback and capacity building assistance to program managers. In sum, then, this presentation will discuss the practical application of key concepts discussed in Paper #1 in the context of the research design of the TC evaluation.
Using Meta-Analysis to Generate “Best Practice” Guidelines for Delinquency Intervention Programs
This presentation describes a project that uses a large meta-analysis database to identify the distinctive characteristics of the delinquency intervention programs that are most effective for reducing reoffense rates for different juvenile populations. The profiles of such characteristics constitute “best practice” templates that can guide program development, selection, and evaluation. Moreover, for any given program approach (e.g., family counseling, interpersonal skill training), the relevant portion of the database can be used to describe the duration, frequency, mix of services, and clientel that yields the best outcomes. Discussion will focus on the ways such information can be used to improve program practice in juvenile justice and community prevention settings.
Using NCVS Interviewer Narratives to Study Assaultive Violence
For each incident reported to the National Crime Victimization Survey, the interviewer writes a brief summary to describe the victimization and provide details not captured by the interview questions. As the summaries are not widely accesible, these unique data are an underutilized resource for measuring victimization. Because of their narrative format, the summaries have the capability to provide nuances and context to victimization incidents not possible with the standard NCVS questions. This research analyzes summaries from approximately 500 assault incidents involving adolescent victims to determine (1) the additional information that can be gleaned from these data, (2) how these summaries provide a further understanding of assaultive violence, and (3) the overall quality of these data.
Using Risk Assessment to Inform Sentencing Decisions for Non-Violent Offenders in Virginia
In 1994, Virginia abolished parole and adopted truth-in-sentencing guidelines for persons convicted of felonies. As part 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 the lowest risk offenders. The VCSC created a risk assessment instrument for use by judges at the sentencing 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 Both quantitative survivial analysis techniques (Kaplan Meier and Cox Regression) and qualitative information collected by interviewing judges, probation officers and stakeholders were used to assess the validity, reliability, and usefulness of the instrument. Recommendations for modifying the instrument were offered and subsequently adopted by the VCSC. The paper serves to advance our understanding of the factors associated with recidivism, judicial response to risk instruments, and the policy implications of using assessment instruments at sentencing to divert non-violent offenders from incarceration, and is especially germane given the fiscal crisis faced by most states.
Utilizing Issues of Personal Transformation to Confront the U.S. Empire: Obstacles and Opportunities
This paper will provide a general overview of how working toward becoming more socially, emotionally, and spiritually conscious at the level of the individual can be an effective means of diminishing the spread of American culture on the planet. Obstaces that hinder and opportunities that facilitate the development of higher consciousness, as well as the potential effects of engaging in this work, will be discussed.
Utilizing Theory to Explain the Behavior of Criminal Justice Officials
Until recently, theory in criminal justice has been underdeveloped and often overlooked. In this paper, two theories that explain the behavior of criminal justice officials are explored (i.e., Gottfredson and Gottfredon’s Rational Decision-Making Model and Lipsky’s Street-Level Bureaucrat Theory). Specifically, this paper will address how well thesee theories explain the major issues in the field of criminal justice, and how adaptable these theories are for explaining such critical issues such as: the use of discretion, discrimination, the interaction of subsystems, varying definitions of effectiveness, the balancing of values, and methods of accountability. Finally, this paper will discuss how researchers might better utilize these theories to further explain the behaviors of criminal justice officials.
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Validity of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Clients’ Self-Reports With Regard to Their Justice System Involvement
The validity of adolescent substance abuse treatment clinents’ self-reports with regard to their justice system involvement has not been extensively examined. This paper compares adolescent outpatient clients’ (N=194) self-reports on the number and severity of offenses resulting in arrest with official juvenile justice arrest records. Both self-report and official record data examine arrests accumulated throughout the respondents’ lives prior to treatment entry, and arrests are classified according to the most serious level of offense. Relationships between respondent characteristics (demographics, substance use history, mental health, family and peer deviance) and extent of truthfulness will be examined.
Variation in the Gender Ration of Criminal Punishment: An Analysis of States, 1978-1998
Although there has a resurgence of interest in studying trends in criminal punishment in recent years, there has been no attention in the Academic literature to changes in the gender ration of imprisonment or probation. The aim of this paper is to address this gap in the literature by studying the factors associated with variations in the gender ration of imprisonment and probation across states, from 1978 to 1998. To inform our analysis, we draw on (a) political economy arguments and Garland (1985)’s concept of the “penal-welfare complex”, (b) feminist perspectives on the social control of women, and (c) research on the changing economic circumstances of women compared to men. We use annual state-level data and estimate fixed-effects models to predict variations in the gender ratios of imprisonment and probation, across states and over time. We find that as the proportion of poor women in the population increases, relative to the proportion of poor men, the gender ration of criminal punishment increases. In addition, we find some support tfor the argument that criminal justice intervention in the lives of women is somewhat reduced when other social control mechanisms, such as welfare, are increased. We also find suggestive evidence that the war on drugs may have penalized somen ever more than men.
Victim and Offender Predictors of Completed Assaults
Simple and aggravated assaults comprise a substantial portion of interpersonal violence. Further understanding of the dynamics and interplay between both parties is needed. The purpose of this papr was to examine the victim and offender factors that may have increased the likelihood of a completed assault when the victim perceived a threat. Incident-level cases from the 1992 through 1997 National Crime Victimization Survey were utilized (N=8,575). Selected variables included basic demographics (victim and offender gender, age and race), victim and offender weapon use, victim-offender relationship, and the offender’s use of alcohol or drugs. Multivariate analyses indicated that victims who were female or young and offenders who used alcohol or drugs enhanced the likelihood of a completed assault following a threat to the victim. The variables that inhibited a completed assault included the victim’s use of a gun or other weapon and the offender’s use of a gun when compared to no weapon use. Although the victim’s active resistance with a gun produced the fewest assaults, the ambiguity of defnining the assault victim and the precise mechanism under which guns reliably assist in active resistance should be the focus of future research.
Victim Crime Reporting and Rational Choice
Victims’ decisions whether to report a crime to the police are important both for substantive and theoretical reasons. Previous literature concerning social, individual, and situational factors related to crime reporting has produced mixed evidence that calls for a more systematic investigation. This paper analyzes the decisions by victims of violent crimes from a rational-choice perspective. We assume that victims choose to report after a cost/benefit analysis restricted by relevant information available at that time. The key issue of interest is the extent to which gender and victim-offender relationship may influence victims’ cost/benefit calculations. Specifically, two national surveys–the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS) — are used to address four questions: (1) Do victims of different types of violent crimes assign different weights to different benefit/cost components? (2) For any particular type of crime, do the weights vary depending on the social contexts of crime reporting? (3) Are the structures of the benefit/cost components different for males and females? (4) Does the violence survey (NVAWS), compared to the crime survey (NCVS), measure a range of less serious offenses not covered by the NCVS and thus challenge the generalization of findings drawing on the NCVS?
Victim/Offender Relationships at the Ecological and Individual Level: A Study of Aggravated Battery Offenders and Victims in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Prior testing of lifestyle exposure and routine activity theory suggests that victims and offenders of crime have similar demographic characteristics and lifestyles (Cohen & Felson, 1979; Dobrin, 2001; Hindelang et al., 1978; Lauritsen et al., 1991; Miethe & Meier, 1993, 1994; Sampson & Lauritsen, 1990; Singer, 1981; Wolfgang, 158). Research also suggests that these offenders and victims live in socially disorganized neighborhoods with weak social institutions and fragmented social networks, potentially leading to inadequate informal and formal social control mechanisms, and subsequently higher crime rates (Sampson et al., 2002). Lifestyle exposure, routine activity, and social disorganization theories suggest that one of the primary factors that increase a person’s chances of both offending and victimization is his/her proximity to potential offenders in high crime areas. This research uses data on all of the aggravated battery incidents, victims, and offenders in Albuquerque, New Mexico during the 2001 calendar year to examine a range of factors that are likely to shape similarities and differences between victims and offenders. First, this research explores the aggregate level, spatial, and structural dynamics of aggravated battery incidents. Here we examine variables across neighborhoods in rates of aggravated battery incidents and the distribution of offenders and victims. We also examine in detail the neighborhood characteristics that shape these distributions. After looking at ecological factors that contribute to similarities and differences in rates of incidents, victimization and offending at the neighborhood level, this research explores the similarities and differences between these aggravated battery victims and offenders at the individual level by examining: 1) their demographic characteristics; 2) their known medical utilization at New Mexico’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, 3) their known criminal histories, and finally 4) their known criminal victimization histories. Collectively, these data will provide a comprehensive understanding of the victim/offender relationship for individuals involved in aggravated battery incidents. We conclude by outlining the implications of these findings for lifestyle exposure, routine activity, and social disorganization theories.
Victimization of the Elderly
As the proportion of elderly people in the Nation increases, the topic of elderly victimization will gain importance. Much of the literature focuses on both physical and psychological elderly abuse and ignores property or fradulent offenses. This literature also tends to focus on case reports or surveys and not on crimes reported to law enforcement. Studies often examine reports or interviews targeting elder care facilities or caregivers and not directly from victims. Many of these studies only address crime that occurs in residential settings. According to a BJS study published in March of 1994 only 25% of violent crimes against elderly victims occurred in a residential setting, showing that these studies fail to address approximately 75% of the victimization against the elderly. Confusion is further generated in the elder abuse literature because the definition of abuse and victimization varies with no consensus as to what activities are considered abusive. However, we can assume that if a report is made to the police then it is obvious that an abusive situation occurs. While other studies struggle with survey or case study approaches, by using data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting Program, the Bureau of the Census, and the National Center for Health Statistics, we have the opportunity to tap the census of crime reports, combine physical and property victimization into one study, and verify the nature victimization, including those that occur on the street. This study will examine both domestic crime reports and those involving non-domestic victim-offender relations. By conducting survival analysis and logistical regressions, we aim to gain an understanding of elderly victimization as reported to police, verify or refute the belief that crime against the elderly is primarily domestic, determine the probability of elderly victimization for various types of crimes and criminal characteristics, and compare elderly victimization characteristics (location, weapon type, and others) to other age groups.
Victims’ Rights in Juvenile Justice
Since the early 1980s, a victims’ rights movement has emerged, bringing with it social, political, and legal change. While initially focused on the criminal jsutice system, concern over increasing rates of violence among juvenile offenders brought awareness to the rights of their victims. As a direct result of such concern, many states enacted legislation to protect victims’ rights in cases with juvenile offenders. In this paper we will trace the evolution of victims;’ rights efforts in juvenile justice and identify social and political forces influencing the popularity of this movement. We will also examine the range of accommoations states have made to address victims’ rights in juvenile cases and consider the implications of these accommodations in light of the overall goals of juvenile justice.
Victims of Human Trafficking: Assessing Needs and Developing Responses
This paper presents the results of an assessment of the technical assitance needs of trafficking victim servic eproviders and the impact of these findings have had on the development of a set of training protocols for these service providers. The project answered three overarching questions including what services currently exist for trafficking victims, how response are these services, and what services victims still need. The work was conducted under a contract with the National Institute of Justice. Data were collected by Caliber Associates through a national telephone survey of trafficking victim service providers, a focus group with service providers, and a focus group with victims. Respondents include 98 providers for the telephone survey, 25 providers for the provider focus group, and 6 victims for the victim focus group. The sample was purposely developed to capture a range og experiences and includes data from domestic violence, sexual assault, health, immigration, legal,a nd law enforcement groups in 23 states across the United States including Alaska and Hawaii.
Victims of Political Vengeance: Examining the Process of Criminal Victimization of Hindu Minority People in Bangladesh
This paper is intended to explain the nature of victims and victimizations among a religious minority group in Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim country. After the general election of October 1, 2001, the Hindu minority people of Bangladesh became subjects of victimizations. Although news media of Bangladesh and across the world repeatedly portrayed sufferings of victims, the government denied the allegation that minority people have been victimized. In Bangladesh, minority Hindu people are perceived as the supporters of present opposition party, which has been blaming the government for repression of minorities. To understand the victimization process, attempts would be made to understand the nature of offenders, how the offenders think about the victims or view the victimization, and how the media, formal guardians and general people react to the victims and their sufferings. Secondary sources, primarily newspaper data and articles will be analyzed.
Video Gambling in Vietnamese Cafes: An Observational Study of “Hot Line” Machines in Southern California
Illegal gambling in local Vietnamese clubs and cafes has been a concern of law enforcement since the mid 1990s, especially in the little Saigon area of southern California. During recent years, gambling in these cafes has taken on a whole different meaning. Today, Vietnamese cafes employ sophisticated electronic poker machines that are not only hard to detect, but also very profitable. This study is the first to examine the phenomenon of illegal gambling in Vietnamese cafes in southern California. Many aspects of this issue were investigated including the workings of the unique gambling machines, the operation of these gambling businesses, as well as the social structure within Vietnamese cafes. Data for this study were collected throughout a 12 week period of covert observations with the owner, gamblers, and regulars of the cafe were the primary source of data. The research findings provided, in detail, the workings of the unique gambling devices. The study also reported how gambling games are initiated, how cash transactions are handled, as well as the different types of patrons that frequent the care.
Village Courts and the Police: Cooperation and Conflict in Modernizing Indian Communities
Informal community courts, known as panchayats in India, have been in existence throughout known history. In the absence of easy access to the formal criminal justice institutions, people relied on their panchayats to settle disputses. At this time modernizing forces are impairing the effectiveness of this institution at two levels. First, they are altering the traditional ideas, attitudes and behaviors of people, which incrementally disintegrate community togetherness and impair the peace-making abilities of the panchayats. Second, the political system is expanding its control over communities through increased employment of police, police presence, and police operations. In this context, the need to establish order sometimes makes the police utilize the panchayat to its benefit. Other times, the panchayat’s abilities to make peace is disturbed by the police’s political interests, economic concerns, formal justice requirements, and biases. This paper, based on ethnographic research, will address these aspects of cooperation and conflict between the panchayat and the police.
Violence Against Female Students at Two University Campuses: A Cross Cultural Comparative Study
This paper seeks to examine the practice of violence against women in dating relationships at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) campus, compared with observations from a university in another culture (Nigeria). The study investigates the claim that the practice of dating violence cut across cultures and enjoys common similarities. Questionnaire survey measured causes, patterns, effects and responses. Data analysis employed simple percentage scores. Preliminary results support the hypothesis. The study is significant because it is the first of its kind using UMES and a Nigerian University, and will also benefit students of criminology, gender, and African studies.
Violence in Schools: Some Psychological and Legal Issues Concerning School Safety and Security
In recent years there have been a number of school violence incidents that have gained national attention. These episodes of school violence have shocked parents, educators, and fellow students across the nation. While the actual number of school shootings has not been great when data on school violence are viewed over time, the terrible incidents, coupled with the horrific terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, have raised a number of issues concerning schools and violence, including the identification of violent behavior, safety and security in schools and the related legal issues raised by such concerns. This paper reviews research examining various psychological and behavioral factors that are correlated with school violence. Policies implemented by schools in response to those concerns are also addressed. The heightened awareness of the violence potential in schools has also raised legal issues concerning due process and search and seizure. Lastly, directions for future research in school violence and related legal issues are suggested.
Violence of Persons With Severe Mental Illness Toward Their Family Caregivers
From 10 to 40% of families of adults with severe mental illness (SMI) experience assaultive and/or threatening behaviors at the hands of their relative with a psychiatric disorder. Furthermore, 50-65% of persons with major psychiatric disorders who engage in interpersonal violence direct it toward family members, particularly mothers. Families continue to shoulder the primary responsibility of caring for relatives with a severe psychiatric disorder, and yet violence against family caregivers by their relative with SMI remains a neglected area of research in the domains of of family violence, mental health family caregiving, and mental illness and violence. There is minimal hint of this problem in the elder abuse research literature. The purpose of this presentation is three-fold: 1) To examine the limited existing literature in family violence among the severely mentally ill; 2) To propose a conceptual framework for explaining this phenomenon; and 3) To discuss methodological issues for scientifically investigating this hidden problem. Domestic violence and mental illness is a neglected area of research due to the concerns of families with persons with severe mental illness, mental health advocates, and researchers regarding further stigmatizing an already vulnerable population. Yet, the impact of violence in these family units has important implications not only for these families, but also for the criminal justice system, homeless shelters, and the mental health system.
Violent Sexual Offending
Most segements of society, particularly law enforcement agencies and clinicians, have long recognized the deleterious effects of the sexual assault of women. To address this, a great deal of clinical research using retrospective reports of past behavior has been conducted on the perpetrators; however, little prospective longitudinal research has been conducted on the etiology and long-term trajectories of sexual assaulters. The present work capitalizes on 25 years of data collected for the National Youth Survey Family Study (NYSFS; n=1,725), a nationally-representative, longitudinal, prospective study of youth as they age into adulthood. Youth in the NYSFS were aged eleven to seventeen in 1976, and have been interviewed ten times between 1977 and 2002. In each wave of data collection, respondents were asked to self-report their involvement in sexually assaultive behaviors, in addition to a broad variety of other criminal behaviors. Results indicate that seexual assaulters were both similar to other violent criminals (e.g., no specialization in this behavior, but part of a general pattern of violent behavior) and different from other violent criminals (e.g., greater continuity for serious sexual assault offending than for other forms of violent behavior). Results will be discussed within a life course perspectibe.
Violent Victimization: Impact of Victim/Offender Relationship on Fear of Crime
Using data from 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 violent victimization and fear of crime. We pay particular attention to the victim/offender relationship to assess its conditioning impact on respondent’s fear of crime. Multi-variate analysis techniques are used to control for a variety of victimization characteristics and for respondent’s perceptions toward their neighborhood community. The implications of these findings are discussed with regard to previous research and new theoretical directions.
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Ways of the “Jackass”: Toward an Explanation of Legally Permissive Violent Behavior
Popular perceptions of legal adolescent thrill seeking behaviors, such as stunt taking and back yard wrestling, often interpret such activities as impulsive and serving no utilitarian purpose. Traditional models of strain theory would describe these often violent behaviours as the result of the socially-induced strain experienced as a result of the inability of lower-class youth to gain material success (Merton, 1938) or status (Cohen, 1955) through conventional means. The current paper argues that these types of legally permissive violent behaviors may more likely be adaptations by middle class adolescents themselves to middle class goal blockage who have established alternatibe status systems within legal parameters. Using Katz’s (1998) discussion of the emotional seductions of criminal activity, I argue that many violent behaviors yet to be defined as criminal can be perceived as legal and attainable means for middle class juveniles to display their “charismatic potential”, not only to their peers, but for themselves as well. Indirect evidence drawing from the existing literature as well as selected quotes of adolescents from existing ethnographies and video scrapbooks will be discussed. Finally, a number of novel hypotheses are offered to guide future research in this area.
We Deliver: The Gentrification of Drug Markets on Manhattan’s Lower East Side
This 2-year ethnographic study documents and analyzes changes in the social and technical organization of drug markets on Manhattan’s Lower East Side from March 1999 to March 2001. Among the major findings to be discussed are 1) the virtual disappearance of street sales, 2) the growth of delivery and delivery services for drugs of all types, 3) the growing importance of “secondary markets” for all drugs, 4) the increasing class fragmentation of drug markets, and 5) an assessment of the relative impacts on drug markets of demographic shifts, land-use changes, and law enforcement activities. The research also examines the types declining incidence and importance of violence and non-drug crime in drug markets. The study documents the socio-demographic composition of consumer groups associated with the variety of illegal drug markets and describes transformations in their behaviors, beliefs and norms.
What if David Never Fought Goliath?: Criminology, U.S. Empire, and the Failure of Academia
It’s been three years since the U.S. Empire declared its war on terrorism, a declaration that brought with it the most sweeping revisions to the Bill of Rights and the de facto elimination of International Law. Meanwhile, some ten years after the enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), practices outlawed domestically continue to flourish abroad under the rubric of free trade. And as the economy struggles to recoup from over speculation and malfeasance, many of masterminds behind the corporate deceit remain untouched by the law’s hand. All of this with hardly an utterance of concern from the criminological community. This paper does question not whether there is a criminology strong enough to tackle the U.S. Global Empire; rather, it explores the reasons behind criminology’s failure fight while serving as a call for action to render our discipline meaningful.
What is a Good Collaboration? What is a Good Collaborator?
This presentation is the result of a study employing focus groups across five regions of Colorado, in order to assess the needs of both committed delinquent girls and those at risk of becoming delinquents. Professional focus groups were conducted with one group of committed delinquent girls, one group of pre-adjudicated girls (girls currently on the trajectory to becoming committed delinquents but not officially judged as delinquents), and one group of professionals who work with girls, in each of the five regions of Colorado. The purpose of our presentation is to help others learn what we learned in the process of our collaboration. Numerous juvenile justice system workers and a researcher met monthly to design and implement this study on delinquent girls in Colorado. Once the data were collected, we met to discuss the findings in order for the researcher to better understand the findings and to write them up in a manner that was easier for the general public to understand (including politicians). This was a powerful learning process with many lessons learned on what worked and dint’t work.
What is the Role of Pubertal Timing in Strain Theory Explanations of Delinquency? Toward an Age-Graded Theory of Stress Exposure
The main purpose of this research is to examine how developmental extensions of stress and strain theories may be furthered by incorporating the role of early and late adolescent maturation relative to peers. We hypothesize that off-time maturation may increase adolescent exposure to strains (e.g., heightened parent-child conflict (Paikoff and Brooks-Gunn 1991)], that in turn may increase adolescent involvement in delinquency. The effects of early and late maturation on delinquent behavior by gender are investigated. These hypotheses are tested with a national sample of adolescents from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and with the early adolescent cohorts from the Project for Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. Both data sets contain information on pubertal timing, strains, and delinquent behaviors on male and female youth. We draw on related principles of life course theory to incorporate these results into a developing theory of age-graded stress exposure and delinquency involvement.
What We Know About Capital Punishment: How Recent Empirical Evidence From Texas Challenges Criminological Wisdom
Capital punishment, though prone to heated debate, is one policy issue on which the vast majority of criminologists agree. The ASC resolution against the death penalty was based on social science research that had found it to be “racist in application” and lacking “consistent evidence of a deterrent effect.” While most criminologists regard these assertions as solid criminological facts, the empirical research upon which they are based comes from previous eras, either prior to the moratorium or shortly therefatter, but prior to fulll re-implementation of modern systems of capital punishment. It is possible that these and other conventional criminological wisdoms regarding the death penalty (i.e. the imposition of the death penalty is capricious and LWOP is a less costly alternative) are no longer accurate for jurisdictions with fully operational capital punishment systems. In a jurisdiction that routinely executes murderers, the death penalty would arguably be more cost effective and more likely to act as a deterrrent, while less likely to be arbitrary or capricious, than it has been in earlier eras and in jurisdictions still struggling to carry out executions. We test these and other hypotheses related to capital punishment using recent data from Texas, the nation’s most active executioner.
When and Where are Our Children Safe? An Exploratory Study on Juvenile Victimization and Delinquency
A series of recent reports highlighted the fact that official arrest records suggests juveniles commit crimes and are victims of crimes at different tiems than adults (e.g. Snyder and Sickmund, 1999; Sickmund et al., 1997). Analyses of official crime data reported in the FBI National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) have indicated that juvenile serious violent crime peaks between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on school days, the hours just after school is dismissed while adult serious violent crime peaks at 11 p.m. Similarly, data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (Snyder and Sickmund, 1999) highlighted the fact that juveniles were at the highest risk of being a victim of a violent crime between noon and 6 p.m. This paper examines the self-reported victimization and delinquency of a sample of approximately 1000 juvenile participants in the evaluation of the Maryland After School Opportunity Fund Program (MASOFP). More specifically, this paper examines the impact of time of day on the types of crimes committed by and against juveniles, as well as the compounding factors related to delinquent behavior and juvenile victimization.
When Justice Means Death: The Death Penalty Moratorium Movement
Amid much publicity, several U.S. governors and state legislatures have recently considered or implemented edeath penalty moratoriums. Although the expressed purpose of these moratoriums vary from research hiatuses to ideology, the expanding nature of these considerations implies a growing death penalty moratorium movement. To assess the early stages of the development of this movement, I present descriptive information on the status of death penalty moratorium actions in each state, emphasizing legislative, judicial, gubernatorial, and media-based activities. Further, I also present the political, economic, and justice context of the state-specific debates. Finally, I argue that the movement toward contraction of the death penalty as embodied in the moratorium debate is in direct contrast with the growth of death-eligible crimes as embodied in death penalty legislation. This dialectic has particular implications for the future of the death penalty moratorium movement.
When the Bough Breaks: Multiple-Victim Domestic Within a Familial Setting
Homicides that occur in a domestic setting make up a small percent of the total number of homicides committed, but have a larger amount of statistical and operational differenes. The purpose of this study is to look at the occurrence and types of multiple homicides in the domicile setting, when those who are killed are the spouse and child/children of the offender. Also we will develop several statistically based demographics and correlations that will be used to more adequately describe these occurrences. Presented is the amount of familial homicides occurrences are compared to the rate of multiple homicides in general, as well as the correlation between previous domestic violence and familial homicide. The later gives an indication to the previous amount of violence in the household, and can be used to better explain the dynamics of the offender-victim relationship. Other factors in the victim/offender relationship are also presented such as variation of weapon type and circumstance. The greatest benefit of this study is the increased understanding that has been seen in the relationship between those who commit familial homicide and their victims, and also hopefully the types of people who are most likely to commit such a crime.
When the Right to Counsel is Not Enough: Toward a Broader Understanding of the Value of Public Defender Services
This paper will focus on how public defender managers, as leaders of a government agency, have created a fluid definition of the value of their program’s services that incorporates, yet also transcends, the right to counsel. The managers of public defender offices must attent to a diver group of stakeholders, including political and criminal justice actors and the public; a static legal definition of why a public defender office is important is too narrow. In order to secure support and maintain agency legitimacy, the value of services provided by the public defender office needs to be defined and communicated in a way that resonates with diverse constituencies. This paper will also discuss the different contexts and forms that such political management must take in order to demonstrate the significance and value of the public defender office. Data were collected from a sample of New York State public defender managers through in-depth interviews and direct observation.
When the Saints Go Marching In: Legal Consciousness, Perceptions of Crime and Legality and Prison Experiences of Conscientious Objectors in Israel
While a large body of literature relates to the jurisprudential and moral basis for allowing conscientious objection, little attention is given to the criminological aspects of it. This work attempts to look at the experience of conscientious objectors in the recent Israeli-Palestinian crisis, using media sources and interviews with imprisoned objectors. The focus will be the cognitive “tool-kits” used by the objectors to reconcile theirrighteous moralistiv view of their action with their definition as “criminals” and their imprisonment experience, and the ways in which their cognitive frameworks interact with other prisoners, the prison system, and the law in general. Also, the work provides a theoretical linkage between socio-criminological literature of the 50’s and 60’s, particularly Sykes and Matza’s “Techniques of Neutralization” and early work in sociology of prisons, and the much more recent perspectives of cultural analysis and legal consciousness.
When Victims Become Offenders: Towards Coherence in Rehabilitation Policy and Practice
The criminal justice system has traditionally relied upon a sharp differentiation between innocent victims anc ulpable offenders. While such a distinction simplifies procedures and decision-making, thus assisting the smooth operation of the criminal jsutice process, it is well established in criminological research that the identities of victims and offenders often overlap. A particular example of this is the frequent finding of criminal behaviour among women with histories of abuse, in distal or immediate relation to their offending. The tension between a dual identity as both victim and offender has presented a considerable obstacle to the development of coherent rehabilitative policy and practice. Recognition of a victim identity arouses concerns that women are to be excused from responsibility for their offence and that rehabilitation will focus on personal need at the expense of personal change. The result, ironically, has been to suppress development of responses relevant to their offending. This paper explores the tension between the dual identities of victim and offender and suggests a theoretical pathway to devloping a coherent approach in policy and practice.
Where Do Youth Get Their Drugs: A Comparison of Youth From Philadelphia, Toronto and Amsterdam
Most studies of youth drug use concern themselves with prevalence measures of drug use in the lifetime, past year and past month. Very little is actualloy known about where and how youth oftain the drugs they use. The authors have conducted an internationally comparative study that includes survey questions on the locations in which youth (ages 14-17) purchase drugs, how long it takes to get drugs, and whether they purchase drugs themselves or get them fron friends or relatives. The study includes questions on a rane of drugs from tobacco and alcohol, to cocaine and heroin, which are prohibited among the age group in each of the cities/countries represented. (One exception is that the legal age for purchase of tobacco in Amsterdam is 16.) The study includes representative samples of school students (n=800) and detained juveniles (n=200), and a convenience sample of 200 school dropouts. This paper compares the drug procurement practices of youth in the various samples within and across cities. It will examine these practices among novice users compared to drug dealers. Of particular interest will be differences in marijuana procurement, since it is available in ‘coffeeshops’ in Amsterdam–although the legal age to purchase is 18. We will focus on differences in procurement for the ‘legal’ drugs of tobacco and alcohol, where the age to purchase varies slightly across countries.
White Boy in a No White Boy “Zone:” Police Views on Racial Profiling and the Police-Minority Relationship
Much research has been done on the minority civilian experience in the police-minority relationship but, as central actors, the police voice is noticeably absent from the research. I employed in-depth, semi-structured interviews and primarily open-ended survey questions of patrol officers and sergeants in the Novad Texas Police Department to explore the police experience, specifically with “racial profiling.” Examination of this qualitative data may help explain the divergent attitudes between whites and minorities toward the police, in addition to providing insight into the social context police officers experience in a racially ordered society. Specifically, I will discuss how two “storylines” emerged from the officers’ discussions of the police-minority relationship and racial profiling: “the past is the past,” and “white boy in a no white boy zone.” As suggested by Bonilla-Silva (2001), storylines help facilitate the discourse surrounding a racial issue. In doing so, these recurring themes work to maintain the racial order in part because they allow racial issues to be discussed in ways that appear non-racialized and/or rational.
White Hate Group Homicide in the United States, 1950-1999
White supremacist group violence has attracted a great deal of scholarly commentary in recent decades (Levin and McDevitt 2002; Banton 2001; Omi 2001; Dobratz and Shanks-Meile 2000). Rarely is such violence subjected to critical quantitative analysis, however. In this, the first study of its kind, the author attempts to quantify homicides by members of white supremacist organizations between 1950 and 1999, and to develop reliable descriptive statistics regarding the prevalence of overall white hate group violence. Using a multi-stage analysis of newspaper stories and relevant texts, court opinions, and other data sources, this study identifies a total of 176 such homicides during the 50-year period. This tally of homicides is then analyzed for variables such as race of victim(s), gender of victim(s) and perpetrator(s), weapons, and circumstances of death of victim(s). From this statistical analysis, the author concludes that white supremacist group violence is a marginal but growing problem in American society.
White Vans and Misdirected Fears: Media Construction of Crimes Threats and the “Beltway Sniper”
One of the more recent criminal events to generate nationwide public attention was the “Beltway Sniper” shootings. From October 2 until October 24, 2002 the news media covered the topic with unusual intensity. During this time period much of America’s attention was focused on the Communities in and around the nation’s capital. We argue that the heavy coverage of this event was neither accidental or inevitable. We begin our argument by explaining how the sniper shootings were a unique crime event that possessed many of the prerequisites for sensationalist crime coverage. We suggest, however, that the specific presentation of the “Beltway Sniper” was intentionally and meticulously constructed by the news media in accordance with dominant crime mythologies. Utilising a content analysis the authors dissect the mediated reality of the “Beltway Sniper” presented by The Washington Post. We illustrate that the sniper story was framed in such a way as to reproduce dominant discourses about crime threats, victimisation risk and public fear.
Who Gets High and Who Gets Assaulted? Alcohol and Drug Use in Domestic and Other Violence
A large volume of research identifies alcohol as a risk factor in interpersonal violence. Though we know that alcohol plays a role in violent acts, we know less about what types of violence are more likely to involve alcohol. We address this issue by focusing on relationships between offenders and victims of physical assault. We use the National Violence Against Women and Men Survey to examine the relative importance of alcohol and illegal drug use in assaults involving strangers, family members, and other acquaintances. We predicted that alcohol would be more likely to be a contributing factor in violence involving strangers, since conflict between strangers is unlikely unless either the offender or victim are drinking. In support of the hypothesis we found that offenders who are using alcohol are much more likely to attack strangers than people they know. Victims who are drinking, however, are no more likely to be assaulted by strangers than by acquaintances. In addition, victims who are using illegal drugs are much more likely to be assaulted by acquaintances than by strangers.
Who Was Prepared for the Terrorists?
Counter-terrorism training and preparedness has been a major concern of the United States government over the last few decades, and especially over the last year. When horrific terrorist attacks occur, there is often blame that is assigned to one agency or another for not having been prepared for this. This paper examines the responses of 220 municipal agencies in 1992 just before the first World Trade Center attack. The causal relationship between risk assessment (risk to terrorist attack or terrorist incident within the jurisdiction) and the level of preparedness of each individual jurisdiction and agency will be determined using OLS and logistic regression. My theory is that those areas that did experience terrorism or that were considered at risk were not more prepared than those who did not experience terrorism in their respective jurisdictions. In September, 2001, the United States was viscously attacked by terrorists, and it is estimated that around 3,000 innocent lives were lost. The question remained afterward, how could we let this happen? Why weren’t we better prepared? I would ask, who was prepared and why?
Why Do Retail Drug Markets Survive? Understanding the Sources and Consequences of Unobserved Price Variability in Cocaine and Heroin Markets
Price dispersion is a characteristic of many markets. It is particularly high in markets, such as those for “lemons”, where information concerning quality is very costly to acquire. On the premise that extreme examples are instructive, we consider here the markets for illegal cocaine and heroin. In these markets, the state is actively engaged in suppressing the flow of information by, for example, making it risky for a seller to advertise. A characteristic of these markets that helps the government in this respect is that, as in the classic lemon’s model, the buyer cannot observe the true quality of the good at the time of purchase. Unlike the classic lemon’s model, sellers also usually have only a highly imperfect knowledge of quality, since sellers are not manufacturers but themselves purchase drugs of unknown purity from higher level dealers. Using data on purchases over a 14-year period, we find that these markets are characterized by extremely high price and quality (purity) dispersion, apparently higher than that observed in any legal markets. Indeed the dispersion is so high as to raise a question as to how the market sustains itself in light of opportunities and incentives for defrauding of customers and the impediments to information dissemination. The dispersion of prices is very high across time, place and purchase quantity. However price dispersion falls in a narrower and more consistent range than does purity dispersion. We offer some hypotheses about why the markets function in settings which seem to invite the kind of persistent fraud that would lead to their demise and suggest what this adds to the literature on solutions to the lemons problem.
Wither Critical Criminology? From Competing Paradigms to Multiple Paradigms to ….
Some mainstream criminologists decried the rise of “radical criminology” in the 1960’s and 1970’s, viewing it as a passing fad/fashion in science. Since that time “critical criminology” has become a section of the ASC and produces its own journal. This retrospective will include personal observations and empirical data on the ideological, theoretical, methodological, and institutional aspects of this social movement from a sociology of knowledge perspective.
Women, Region and Violence: Assessing Regional Variation in Women’s Status and Involvement in Types of Homicide
In this study we assess the regional differences in the relationship between women’s economic and social status and homicide offgending. While regional patterns in offending is one of the most commonly studied phenomena in the violence literature, little attention has been given to whether regional differences contribute to the disparities in types of female homicide offending. This lack of attention is significant in light of evidence suggesting that significant disparities exist in the status of women by region (i.e., south versus non-south) and that women in the south may hold similar Southern cultural views toward violence as males. Specifically, we investigate whether the status of women differs significantly in the south relative to non-southern regions of the U.S. and, if so, how these disparities translate into regional variations in female homicides by relationship type (e.g., acquaintances, family members, and intimates).
Women in Law Enforcement Action Agenda
Collaboration between practitioners and researchers at the National Center for Women & Policing April 2003 conference in L.A. produced an Action Research Agenda for women in law enforcement. More than 26 research topics emerged during a daylong workshop culminating in a consensus group of 7 areas considered most critical and timely to investigate. This roundtable seeks to acquaint ASC researchers with this agenda, further prioritize and clarify the topics and establish linkages to practitioners and agencies for research collaborations.
Work and Crime: The Effects of Low-Skill Service Sector Size on Violent and Property Crime
Over the past two decades a number of studies have investigated the effects of employment quality on crime. Most of these studies investigated employment quality in regards to its meaning for individual criminality. However, the quality of employment available in an area may also have impacts on crime at a larger level of analysis. Consequently, while the determinants of individual behavior are important, we seek to place the latter into a larger structural framework. This study contributes to the growing information on the employment quality-crime link by relating differences in the quality of employment, of an aggregate level, to crime rates on a metropolitan area level of analysis. In order to control for differences in structural characteristics within our sample we control for a number of variables that urban research has demonstrated to be important characteristics of U.S. population centers./
Working to Insure and Nurture Girls’ Success: Final Evaluation Results
Historically, the justice stystem has been geared toward males who comprise the majority of the youth referred to Probation and few services provide gender-responsive programs that address the unique needs of girls. When the State of California requested proposals to target at-risk juveniles through the Challenge Grant II Program, the San Diego Probation Department southt and received $5 million to create the WINGS program (Working to Insure and Nuture Girls’ Success). The goal of the program was to reduce the number of females entering or continuing in the juvenile justice system by supporting and empowering girls and their families to access and receive community resources in a timely fashion. The results of the recently completed impact evaluation, which involved random assignment to WINGS or to a control group that received standard probation services, will be presented in this session. Outcome measures that will be presented will include change in risk and protective factors over time, as well as recidivism up to 18 months after program enrollment.
Workshop on Using “The American Terrorism Study” Database
The “American Terrorism Study” database will be made available to attendees of this workshop. The “American Terrorism Study” (funded by NIJ and the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism) has collected data on over 450 terrorists indicted under the FBI’s Counterterrorism Program from 1980-1998. The data allow for analyses on approximately 75 variable; including information on the peron’s group affiliation, targets, demographic information, counts charged, case outcomes, and sentencing. Court documents for each of the cases in the dataset can also be accessed via the Internet on the MIPT’s “National Terrorism Database” (NTD). Workshop participants will be given a codebook and SPSS versions of the data set. The workshop leaders will provide the attendees with a demonstration on the use of the SPSS data and the web-based NTD. The workshop is free to ASC registrants. Attendance is limited to 50 participants.
Wrongful Conviction: A Cross-National Analysis
Recent high-profile cases of wrongful conviction, often involving DNA exonerations, have brought increasing attention to this problem. While the major focus of discussion has been in the United States, other nations have also experienced wrongful convictions. Since this problem occurs across nations, cultures, and different types of justice systems, it is useful to analyze the factors that may exacerbate or inhibit such errors in various nations and different types of justice systems. This paper presents a comparative analysis of wrongful conviction, based on the author’s research over several years and the research of other scholars who participated in an international workshop in Switzerland for which the author was co-organizer (with Martin Killias, University of Lausanne).
Wrongful Conviction: The Evidence From Oklahoma’s Eight DNA Exonerations
Capital punishment has come under significant scrutiny over the last several years especially as DNA evidence has provided a new source of evidence to be considered by the court. Many of the discussions and media coverage of wrongful convictions focus on the specific cases and the consequence to the individual defendants, perpetuating an impression that wrongful convictions are isolated incidents resulting from uncommon circumstances. While acknowledging the individual impact to defendants, this research suggests that situations of wrongful conviction are not the isolated atypical occurrences we are led to believe but rather are the result of routine procedures in the criminal justice system. It is important to consider the source of wrongful conviction in this broader, systemic sense; an outgrowth of systematic error, which has become entrenched in the systems, regularly relied upon to assure that justice is done in order to understand the broader implications these processes can have. Focusing on the proposition that systemic causes and consequences are at the heart of wrongful convictions, the eight instances of exoneration of actual innocents occurring in Oklahoma since the introduction of DNA testing will be used to document and evaluate the structural causes of wrongful conviction. Through reviews of news paper accounts, court records, trial transcripts and appeals rulings in each of these eight cases a pattern of error emerges which can be used to demonstrate the extent to which organizational processes have lead to wrongful conviction.
“You Play, You Stay”: Potential Unintended Punitive Consequences of Indeterminate Sentencing in the Juvenile Justice System
The adjudication of youth to a facility until the determination that ‘social fitness’ is gained has long been the accepted means of state juvenile commitment in the U.S. Historically, the indeterminate sentencing of our youth has fit equally well during periods of rehabilitative or punitive trends in American criminal justice. The indeterminate sentencing of youth also serves the administration of a facility by governing behavior of juveniles through the openly touted relationship between conduct within the facility and freedom. This paper will examine the relationship between youth behavior within the institution and post-release arrests, convictions, and incarcerations, controlling for prior legal referrals, length of stay in the facility and individual demographic information. Youth and adult records were collected from a population of juveniles committed to one juvenile facility in Central Indiana during 1997-1999, some of whom participated in a juvenile atercare program. We will also examine the role of aftercare programming in interpreting and controlling this relationship.
Y
Young Peoples Views on Youth Justice
A key theme of the New Labour Government since 1997 has been to tackle youth crime. As a result a considerable number of new interventions have been introduced both at pre-court stage and as court sentences. This paper describes the various interventions available, discusses the overlap amongst them and explores young people’s views of specific interventions at the pre-court and sentence stage.
Youth and Case Manager Relationships: The Impact of Intensive Aftercare on Juvenile Recidivism
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of youth and case manager relationships on recidivism. Prior research (Meisel 2001) has demonstrated that youth who participated in the Intensive Aftercare demonstration Project (Altschuler and Armstrong 1994) consistently reported more favorable impressions of their relationships with their case managers than youth in a control group. The present study was designed to determine whether the existence of positive relationships between committed youth and their case managers was associated with lower rates of recidivism compared with youth who did not report positive case manager relationships. A subgroup of 97 youth that were participating in an evaluation of the Intensive Aftercare Demonstration Prolject was included in this study. All of the youth were randomly assigned to either treatment (received IAP services) or control conditions.
Youth Gang Homicides: Prevalence, Trends, and Correlates
This paper examines gang-related homicides in large U.S. cities (i.e., over 100,000 population) by integrating 1999-2001 data from the (1) National Youth Gang Survey of law enforcement agencies, (2) Uniform Crime Reports, and (3) U.S. Census Bureau. Research topics include the prevalence and distribution of gang-related homicides, changes over the three-year period and emerging trends, and city-level correlates, including demographic information and measures of varying dimensions of the gang problem.
Youthful Males as Offenders and Victims of Abuse: The Treatment Paradox
Research shows that aggressive and deviant behavior among adolescent males may be partially a result of their earlier exposure to trauma. Being a victim of violence, in particular, may later manifest itself as antisocial behavior. This paper begins by exploring the relationship between trauma and juvenile delinquency. A nationally representative sample of 2,018 adolesent males is then used to examine the effect of different types of trauma (e.g., begin a victim of violence, witness to violence, and experiencing stressful life events) on delinquency among adolescent males. This study found that exposure to violence (being a victim and/or witness to violence) and experiences stressful life events have a direct effect on violent delinquency but the are partially mediated by negative affect (anger) and delinquent peer exposure. Stressful life events had a direct effect on property offending but was also partially mediated by anger and delinquent peer exposure. Exposure to violence was found to have no direct effect on property offending behavior and fully mediated by delinquent peer exposure. These findings have important implications for treatment in correctional and detention settings. Adolescent males, while being held accountable for their offending behavior, need behavioral health treatment that responds to their experiences as victims, unresolved feelings of anger, and involvement in delinquent peer cultures.
Z
Zeroes and Ones: Bits, Bytes, and the Science of Digital Evidence in the Criminal Justice System
Whether digital evidence is recovered in a high-tech crime investigation or in connection with a more traditional crime against a person or property, the criminal justice system (both state and federal) is well into a steep learning curve of how to properly handle this relatively new type of evidence. The recovery of digital evidence can be viewed as a matter of science, mathematics, both, or mere metaphysics, among other things. The courts, prosecutors, and defense bar, must be properly educated about the nature and functioning of computers, data, along with the relevant forensic processes. An overview inquiry into those issues will be conducted along with identification of various resources presently available to investigators and the bar. Finally, the crystal ball of the foreseeable future will be consulted for an assessment of some future needs.
