bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORIES AND REGULATORY COMPLIANCE*
Authors: MAKKAI TONI , BRAITHWAITE JOHN
Published: March 2006

Four traditional criminological theories—opportunity, control, subcultural, and differential association—are tested for their explanatory power in accounting for organizational compliance with regulatory laws. The primary data source is interviews with 410 chief executives of small organizations. Partial support is found for each theory; certain key concepts of each theory have a significant effect on regulatory compliance, net of a variety of characteristics of the nursing home, the residents in the home, and the inspection team. The results show that blocked legitimate opportunity has a significant effect on regulatory compliance, as does the structure of illegitimate opportunity. There is also an effect on compliance of participation in business subcultures of resistance to regulation. Belief in laws increases compliance with those laws as does differential association with or attachment to the upholders of the law. Overall, however, control theory and differential association lack explanatory power, and the explanatory power of subcultural theory is modest. Only opportunity theory explains a credible proportion of variance in compliance as a standalone theory. The significant effect of some but not all of the measures for each theory, coupled with the lack of significant explanatory power by three of the four theories, suggests the need for theoretical integration.
FELONY MURDER AND CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: AN EXAMINATION OF THE DETERRENCE QUESTION
Authors: PETERSON RUTH D. , BAILEY WILLIAM C.
Published: March 2006

A proper test of the deterrent effect of the death penalty must consider capital homicides. However, the criterion variable in most investigations has been total homicides—most of which bear no legal or theoretical relationship to capital punishment. To address this fundamental data problem, this investigation used Federal Bureau of Investigation data for 1976–1987 to examine the relationship between capital punishment and felony murder, the most common type of capital homicide. We conducted time series analyses of monthly felony murder rates, the frequency of executions, and the amount and type of television coverage of executions over the period. The analyses revealed occasional departures (for vehicle theft and narcotics killings) from the null hypotheses. However, on balance, and in line with the vast majority of capital punishment studies, this investigation found no consistent evidence that executions and the television coverage they receive are associated significantly with rates for total, index, or different types of felony murder.
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, AND ADULT CRIMINALITY*
Authors: McCORD JOAN
Published: March 2006

Home observations during childhood and criminal records 30 years later are used to address questions of relative impact among features of child rearing influencing male criminal outcomes. The results suggest two mechanisms: Maternal behavior appears to influence juvenile delinquency and, through those effects, adult criminality. Paternal interaction with the family, however, appears to have a more direct influence on the probability of adult criminal behavior.
MEASURING LAMBDA THROUGH SELF‐REPORTS*
Authors: HORNEY JULIE , MARSHALL INEKE HAEN
Published: March 2006

The Rand Corporation 's pioneering study on self‐reported measures of individual offending rates has generated considerable controversy. In this study, the Rand methodology was refined in an attempt to achieve more precise estimates of λ Individual interviews, a more detailed calendar system, and month‐by‐month reporting were used with an intake cohort of 403 recently convicted male offenders. This paper examines variability in offending rates within individuals, in particular their highest rates and most recent rates, and the implications for measuring λ
PERINATAL COMPLICATIONS PREDICT VIOLENT OFFENDING
Authors: KANDEL ELIZABETH , MEDNICK SARNOFF A.
Published: March 2006

Pregnancy and birth complications are frequently treated as one variable, despite evidence that pregnancy events and birth events may have different impacts on the developing child. This paper studies the association between perinatal events and the development of violent and property crime. In the context of a prospective study of a sample of 216 subjects drawn from a Danish birth cohort, 15 violent criminals and 24 property criminals were compared with 177 nonoffenders on pregnancy and delivery events. Delivery events predicted adult violent offending, especially in high‐risk subjects and recidivistically violent offenders. No other significant predictive results were found.
GENERAL DETERRENCE THROUGH CIVILIAN GUN OWNERSHIP: AN EVALUATION OF THE QUASI‐EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE*
Authors: McDOWALL DAVID , LIZOTTE ALAN J. , WIERSEMA BRIAN
Published: March 2006

It has often been argued that civilian firearm ownership acts as a deterrent to crime. Much of the support for this claim is based on incidents that have called attention to the prevalence of privately owned guns. We examined several such incidents and failed to and persuasive evidence of a deterrent effect.
THE PREVENTIVE EFFECTS OF THE PERCEIVED RISK OF ARREST: TESTING AN EXPANDED CONCEPTION OF DETERRENCE
Authors: NAGIN DANIEL S. , PATERNOSTER RAYMOND
Published: March 2006

In a reexamination of the perceptual deterrence literature. Williams and Hawkins (1986) have suggested that previous tests of the deterrence doctrine have been guided by too narrow a conception of the deterrence process. In essence, they argue that the preventive mechanisms are triggered by formal sanctions should be included in the accounting of the deterrent effect of formal sanctions. In this paper, we test this expanded conception of deterrence. We find little evidence to support the argument of Williams and Hawkins. Alternative interpretations of the results and future directions for research are discussed.
PATTERNS OF DRUG USE, DRUG TRAFFICKING, AND OTHER DELINQUENCY AMONG INNER‐CITY ADOLESCENT MALES IN WASHINGTON, D.C.*
Authors: ALTSCHULER DAVID M. , BROUNSTEIN PAUL J.
Published: March 2006

This paper examines (1) the relationship between drug involvement among inner‐city youths and the commission of other kinds of crime, (2) the role of drug use in crime commission, (3) the connection between crime and drug procurement, and (4) the factors that distinguish between individuals as a function of (a) levels of involvement in drug trafficking and (b) drug usage and criminal activity.

Drug use and trafficking were both related to other criminal activities; the type of drug involvement was related to the type of crimes reported. The heaviest users were significantly more likely than nonusers to commit property crimes and drug traffickers were significantly more likely to commit crimes against persons than were respondents who did not sell drugs. Adolescents who used and sold drugs were the most likely to commit crimes against persons and property, and at the greatest rate. Still, for every type of crime reported in the past year, only a minority of offenders reported ever using drugs while committing the crime or said that they committed any type of crime in order to obtain drugs or money to obtain drugs. Most youths appear to commit crime for reasons completely independent of drugs.
“CRACK,” STREET GANGS, AND VIOLENCE*
Authors: KLEIN MALCOLM W. , MAXSON CHERYL L. , CUNNINGHAM LEA C.
Published: March 2006

This investigation considers the connections among street gangs, “crack” cocaine, and violence associated with crack distribution during the initial years of crack proliferation. Data were extracted from the narcotics investigation files and homicide fires of five Los Angeles Police Department and Sheriff's Department areas where both crack and gangs were prominent. The aims were to compare for 1983–1985, when crack first emerged as a significant problem, hypotheses about (1) gang involvement in crack distribution and (2) concomitants of gang involvement, particularly violence. The analyses confirm a dramatic growth in crack sales, an accompanying increase in gang members involved, but a declining rate of involvement, and inconsistent evidence on the impact of gang involvement on sales events. We infer that crack distribution, while including many individual gang members, was not primarily a street gang phenomenon.
THE USE AND EFFECTS OF FINANCIAL PENALTIES IN MUNICIPAL COURTS
Authors: GORDON MARGARET A. , GLASER DANIEL
Published: March 2006

With prison, jail, and probation caseloads overloaded, financial penalties appeal as alternative sanctions. Using probation data for cases sentenced in municipal courts, this paper presents regression analyses suggesting that judges tended to employ rational discretion in imposing economic sanctions, for monetary assessments without jail were most likely to be given to low‐risk offenders and assignment of probation alone and jail terms was most strongly influenced by offense. The amount of the financial sanction was also significantly related to the type of crime. Controlling for individual attributes and offense, the odds of subsequent arrest and incarceration were significantly less for those given a financial penalty than for those receiving a jail sentence.
GENDER BIAS IN THE DISPOSITION OF JUVENILE COURT REFERRALS: THE EFFECTS OF TIME AND LOCATION*
Authors: JOHNSON DAVID R. , SCHEUBLE LAURIE K.
Published: March 2006

Theory based on sex role traditionalism predicts a more punishing decision for female than for male offenders, while theory based on chivalry (paternalism) predicts greater leniency by the courts for female offenders. This paper tests these two models using a large sample (36,680) of juvenile court referrals in metropolitan, urban, and rural locations spanning a nine‐year period. Nonparametric analysis of covariance is used to control for differences in offense, previous contact with the court system, and other background variables. Evidence of gender bias in dispositions was found. The patterns of bias across time, location, offense committed, and previous referral to the court system supports the persistence of chivalry and a decline in sex role traditionalism in court decisions. Greater punishment for girls than boys was found only for repeat offenders committing more serious offenses. Even in those cases, girls were more likely to be taken out of the home environment by the courts through a custody transfer while boys were more likely to be sent to a lock‐up facility.
BARS, BLOCKS, AND CRIMES REVISITED: LINKING THE THEORY OF ROUTINE ACTIVITIES TO THE EMPIRICISM OF “HOT SPOTS”*
Authors: RONCEK DENNIS W. , MAIER PAMELA A.
Published: March 2006

Anticipating recent developments in routine activities theory, Roncek and Bell (1981) found that bars and taverns had detrimental effects on crime on residential city blocks in Cleveland for 1970. We replicate and extend their work by examining the effects of recreational liquor establishments (i.e., taverns and cocktail lounges) on crime from 1979 to 1981 on Cleveland's residential city blocks. The number of such businesses on residential city blocks has positive and statistically significant effects on the amount of crime. The effects on crime are compounded when the businesses are located in areas with physical characteristics that are associated with more anonymity and lower guardianship. Our results reaffirm the value of new developments in routine activities theory that now stress the importance of facilities. They also extend recent work attempting to identify and analyze “hot spots” of crime.
POVERTY, INCOME INEQUALITY, AND COMMUNITY CRIME RATES
Authors: PATTERSON E. BRITT
Published: March 2006

This paper examines the relationship between crime rates and aggregate economic conditions for 57 small social areas. The principal analyses address a continuing controversy—are community crime rates associated with absolute poverty, relative poverty (i.e., income inequality), or both. Using victimization data from 57 small residential neighborhoods, the analyses examine the association between absolute and relative poverty and rates of violent crime and burglary. The findings indicate that absolute poverty is more strongly associated with neighborhood crime rates, although the relationship is conditional on the type of crime considered. The implications of the findings are discussed within a perspective of community social control.
INVENTING CRIMINOLOGY: THE “SCIENCE OF MAN” IN CESARE BECCARIA'SDEI DELITTI E DELLE PENE(1764)*
Authors: BEIRNE PIERS
Published: March 2006

This paper challenges existing images of the context and object of Cesare Beccaria's (1764)Dei delitti e delle pene. It offers textual and other evidence that the chief object of Beccaria's famous treatise was the application to crime and penality not of humanism and legal rationality, as convention holds, but of the Scottish‐inspired “science of man.” This latter was a deterministic discourse whose key principles—utilitarianism, probabilism, associationism, and sensationalism—implicitly defy, conventional assumptions about the volitional basis of classical criminology. The paper thus questionsDei delitti'sproper place in the history of criminology and, in so doing, casts doubt on the very existence of a distinctive “classical criminology.”
THE INFLUENCE OF DELINQUENT PEERS: WHAT THEY THINK OR WHAT THEY DO?*
Authors: WARR MARK , STAFFORD MARK
Published: March 2006

Although the association between delinquent friends and delinquent behavior is well established, the mechanism by which delinquency is socially transmitted remains unclear. Sutherlands theory of differential association holds that delinquency is a consequence of attitudes favorable to the violation of the law, attitudes that are acquired through intimate social interaction with peers. An analysis of data from the National Youth Survey indicates that peer attitudes do affect delinquency. But the effect of peers'attitudes is small in comparison to that of peers behavior, and the effect of peers'behavior remains strong even when peers, attitudes and the adolescent's own attitude are controlled. Moreover, when the behavior and attitudes of peers are inconsistent, the behavior of peers appears to outweigh or override the attitudes of peers. These findings suggest that delinquency is not primarily a consequence of attitudes acquired from peers. Rather, it more likely stems from other social learning mechanisms, such as imitation or vicarious reinforcement, or from group pressures to conform.
FOUNDATION FOR A GENERAL STRAIN THEORY OF CRIME AND DELINQUENCY*
Authors: AGNEW ROBERT
Published: March 2006

This paper presents a general strain theory of crime and delinquency that is capable of overcoming the criticisms of previous strain theories. In the first section, strain theory is distinguished from social control and differential association/social learning theory. In the second section, the three major types of strain are described: (1) strain as the actual or anticipated failure to achieve positively valued goals, (2) strain as the actual or anticipated removal of positively valued stimuli, and (3) strain as the actual or anticipated presentation of negatively valued stimuli. In the third section, guidelines for the measurement of strain are presented. And in the fourth section, the major adaptations to strain are described, and those factors influencing the choice of delinquent versus nondelinquent adaptations are discussed.
AGE, DIFFERENTIAL EXPECTATIONS, AND CRIME DESISTANCE*
Authors: SHOVER NEAL , THOMPSON CAROL Y.
Published: March 2006

We specify an individual‐level model linking crime desistance to estimates of legal risk, differential expectations, degree of past success at legitimate and criminal pursuits, and age. OLS and logistic regression procedures are used to estimate the model using longitudinal data on serious, previously imprisoned offenders. As predicted, age decreases estimates of the likely payoffs from crime and legitimate employment. Contrary to predictions, age is unrelated to the perceived legal risk of renewed criminal participation. Age, past success at avoiding confinement, expectations of success from crime, and level of education are significant predictors of crime desistance. Neither the perceived legal risk of crime nor expectations of success through straight pursuits significantly predict desistance. We suggest an interpretation for these anomalous findings.
RACE AND CRIME IN POSTWAR AMERICA: DETERMINANTS OF AFRICAN‐AMERICAN AND WHITE RATES, 1957–1988*
Authors: LAFREE GARY , DRASS KRISS A. , O'DAY PATRICK
Published: March 2006

The idea that crime and deviance are explained mostly by access to opportunities—especially those provided by employment, income, education, and family stability—is one of the most powerful assumptions about crime in postwar America. However, despite its importance, the actual relationship between opportunity measures and crime during this period remains little understood. while cross‐sectional studies of these issues have become common, few longitudinal studies exist and those that do include a limited number of variables. Moreover, despite important differences in the history and experiences of African‐Americans and whites during this period, researchers have assumed similar dynamics by race. In this paper, we use annual time‐series data from 1957–1988 to examine the effects of economic well‐being, educational attainment, and family stability on rates of robbery, burglary, and homicide for blacks and whites. Our results show that these measures have different—usually opposite—effects on black and white crime rates during the period. In general, measures of opportunity have expected effects on white but not black rates. We consider the implications for policy and research.
SIBLING EFFECTS ON SUBSTANCE USE AND DELINQUENCY*
Authors: ROWE DAVID C. , GULLEY BILL L.
Published: March 2006

Sibling effects refer to the immediate influence one sibling may have on another or to indirect influences through their embeddedness in a common friendship network We used three aspects of sibling mutual interaction—warmth, conflict, and frequency of contact with mutual friends—to evaluate sibling effects on delinquency and substance use in 135 brother pairs, 142 sister pairs, and 141 mixed‐sex pairs in the Arizona Sibling Study (primarily aged 10–16 years). We hypothesized that sibling relationship variables would condition the behavioral resemblance of the younger and older sibling. For both substance use and delinquency, this prediction was confirmed for warmth and mutual friends: Sibling pairs who reported warmer mutual relationships or greater contact with mutual friends were more alike behaviorally. The statistical sibling effects were not explained by social class, parental substance use, or rearing styles. We interpret them as the influence of one sibling on the other and as the influence arising from sharing common friends. Given the existence of sibling effects, the strength of shared familial influences of other origins must be revised downward.
THE STABILITY OF CRIMINAL POTENTIAL FROM CHILDHOOD TO ADULTHOOD*
Authors: NAGIN DANIEL S. , FARRINGTON DAVID P.
Published: March 2006

This paper examines two alternative interpretations of the well‐documented positive association between past and future criminal behavior. One is that prior participation has a genuine behavioral impact that increases the likelihood of future participation. The second is that there are stable, unmeasured differences in criminal potential across the population. Many general theories of crime can be interpreted as suggesting one of these interpretations. Based on an analysis of a panel data set that tracks a sample of males for over 20 years, the results suggest that the positive association is largely attributable to stable, unmeasured individual differences.
SCHOOL BONDING, RACE, AND DELINQUENCY*
Authors: CERNKOVICH STEPHEN A. , GIORDANO PEGGY C.
Published: March 2006

While there is considerable evidence that blacks experience school in qualitatively distinct ways from whites, there has been a general failure to examine racial variation in the impact of school variables on juvenile misconduct. The purpose of this research is to describe the manner in which school bonding affects delinquent conduct, focusing in particular on the role of the school in the delinquent involvement of black youths. Our orientation is primarily a control theory one that suggests that the greater the degree of school bonding the lesser the likelihood of involvement in delinquent activities. Our review of the literature leads us to expect differential levels of bonding by race and across varying racial environments of schools, with resulting differential effects on delinquency. On the basis of a neighborhood sample of 942 adolescents, we identijj seven distinct dimensions of school bonding. The analysis reveals that blacks are at least as strongly bonded to the school as whites, that our model explains comparable amounts of variance in delinquency across race‐sex subgroups, and that the racial composition of the school is generally unimportant in conditioning the effect of school bonding on delinquency. While our findings are generally supportive of control theory, a model that purports to be invariant across race, gender, and socioeconomic boundaries, we caution that such a conclusion may be both premature and mistaken. We discuss the implications of these findings and suggest that they be interpreted within a framework that also considers family and peer bonding.
TIME AGGREGATION AND TIME LAG IN MACRO‐LEVEL DETERRENCE RESEARCH*
Authors: CHAMLIN MITCHELL B. , GRASMICK HAROLD G. , BURSIK ROBERT J. , COCHRAN JOHN K.
Published: March 2006

Recent arguments in research on individual‐level deterrence suggest that the effect of perceived sanction risk on illegal behavior might occur over a shorter time period than the yearly lags typically incorporated in panel studies. This study raises the same issue for macro‐level deterrence research by suggesting that panel studies using yearly data might have failed to capture the deterrent effect. The analysis uses ARIMA models with data aggregated monthly, quarterly, and semiannually to estimate the reciprocal effects between arrests and crimes for robbery, burglary, larceny, and auto theft in Oklahoma City from 1967 through 1989. No effect of crimes on arrests is found, but significant effects of arrests on crimes appear for three of the four offenses in the shorter temporal aggregations. The results suggest a need to reconsider conclusions based on panel studies that have used time aggregations and time lags that might be too long to uncover deterrent effects.
THE NEW PENOLOGY: NOTES ON THE EMERGING STRATEGY OF CORRECTIONS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS*
Authors: FEELEY MALCOLM M. , SIMON JONATHAN
Published: March 2006

The new penology argues that an important new language of penology is emerging. This new language, which has its counterparts in other areas of the law as well, shifts focus away from the traditional concerns of the criminal law and criminology, which have focused on the individual, and redirects it to actuarial consideration of aggregates. This shift has a number of important implications: It facilitates development of a vision or model of a new type of criminal process that embraces increased reliance on imprisonment and that merges concerns for surveillance and custody, that shifts away from a concern with punishing individuals to managing aggregates of dangerous groups, and that affects the training and practice of criminologists.
RISK PERCEPTIONS AMONG SERIOUS OFFENDERS: THE ROLE OF CRIME AND PUNISHMENT*
Authors: HORNEY JULIE , MARSHALL INEKE HAEN
Published: March 2006

Previous research on the perceived certainty of punishment indicates that individuals with experience in committing crimes perceive arrest as less certain than do those without such experience. Studies assessing the influence of experiencing formal sanctions on perceptions of risk have produced mixed results. Most studies however, have not considered the experience of sanctions in conjunction with the frequency of criminal behavior. With a sample of 1,046 incarcerated felons, we examined relationships among perceived risk of arrest, arrest history, and frequency of committing crimes. Our findings suggest that it is important to measure the ratio of arrests to crimes and that perceptions of risk are formed in a manner consistent with a rational choice perspective, even in a sample of serious offenders.
AGE, PEERS, AND DELINQUENCY*
Authors: WARR MARK
Published: March 2006

Hirschi and Gottfredson (1983; Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1990) have argued that the age distribution of crime cannot be explained by any known variables. and they point specifically to the failure of sociological theories to explain this phenomenon. This paper examines a quintessentially sociological theory of crime—differential association—and evaluates its ability to explain the age distribution of crime. Analysis of data from the National Youth Survey on persons aged 11–21 reveals that peer relations (exposure to delinquent peers, time spent with peers, loyalty to peers) change dramatically over this age span, following much the same pattern as crime itself When measures of peer influence are controlled, the effects of age on self‐reported delinquency are largely rendered insignificant. Additional analyses show that delinquent friends tend to be “sticky” friends (once acquired, they are not quickly lost) and that Sutherland's arguments concerning the duration and priority of delinquent associations are only partially correct.
THE CORRECTIONAL ORIENTATION OF PRISON WARDENS: IS THE REHABILITATIVE IDEAL SUPPORTED?*
Authors: CULLEN FRANCIS T. , LATESSA EDWARD J. , BURTON VELMER S. , LOMBARDO LUCIEN X.
Published: March 2006

Over the past two decades, the ideology ostensibly governing correctional policy has been transformed, it is claimed, from liberal‐rehabilitative to conservative‐punitive. Little empirical in formation is available, however, on whether those who manage correctional institutions—prison wardens—manifest a punitive or reformative orientation to their work Data from a national survey indicate that, while placing a prime emphasis on maintaining custody and institutional order, wardens remain supportive of rehabilitation. Levels of support for treatment, moreover, are only modestly influenced by individual, career, organizational, and contextual variables.
DOES DROPPING OUT OF SCHOOL ENHANCE DELINQUENT INVOLVEMENT? RESULTS FROM A LARGE‐SCALE NATIONAL PROBABILITY SAMPLE*
Authors: JARJOURA G. ROGER
Published: March 2006

This study seeks to improve on previous research on the relationship between dropping out of school and later involvement in delinquency. Using data from the first two waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, the analysis addresses two problems with prior studies in this area: (1) By controlling for many variables that may account for observed dropout‐delinquency associations, it is possible to explore the possibility that the relationship may be spurious. (2) By examining the effects of different reasons for dropping out, the study avoids the assumption that dropouts are a homogeneous group. Results indicate that the effect of dropping out of school on later offending is more complicated than previous research leads one to believe. In addition, dropping out does not always enhance the likelihood of a person's later delinquent involvement.
CHILD MALTREATMENT AND YOUTHFUL PROBLEM BEHAVIOR*
Authors: ZINGRAFF MATTHEW T. , LEITER JEFFREY , MYERS KRISTEN A. , JOHNSEN MATTHEW C.
Published: March 2006

This paper adds to an accumulating body of research on the risk of delinquency among maltreated children. We use a prospective research design to address the following questions: (1) To what extent are maltreated children at risk of delinquency? (2) Is their rate of delinquency greater than that of two court‐aged, nonmaltreated comparison samples: impoverished children and school children in general? (3) What is the effect of maltreatment net of age, race, gender, and family structure? (4) Is type of maltreatment associated with specific types of juvenile offenses? Maltreated children have higher rates of delinquency complaints than nonmaltreated school and impoverished children, but the effects diminish considerably when the demographic and family structure variables are controlled. In the maltreatment‐school comparison, an overall maltreatment effect remains for complaints in general and status offenses, but not for property or violent offenses. Maltreated children are significantly different from nonmaltreated poor children for status offenses only. Specific forms of maltreatment are not especially predictive of any offense type. Generally, we conclude that the maltreatment‐delinquency relationship has been exaggerated in previous research.
THE ATTITUDES OF WOMEN AND MEN IN POLICING: TESTING CONVENTIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY WISDOM*
Authors: WORDEN ALISSA POLLITZ
Published: March 2006

Historically, women were excluded from policing because they were thought to be physically as well as temperamentally unsuited for the rigors of police work Despite the fact that most evaluations of behavior on the street reveal few differences in the way men and women perform most tasks, many police officers, as well as academicians and observers, believe that women bring a different set of attitudes and values to policing. However, there has been little research that either confirms or casts doubt upon these attitudinal differences. This study examines the conflicting predictions about gender and attitudes derived from theory about gender differences and sociological theory about occupational socialization, drawing upon the former to develop hypotheses about four dimensions of police attitudes: perspectives on the police role, attitudes toward citizens, evaluations of departments and coworkers, and occupational integration. These hypotheses are tested with data from the Police Services Study, which surveyed police officers in 24 departments. The results suggest that although men and women may not be equally integrated into their jobs as police officers, there are few differences in the ways men and women see their role, their clientele, or their departments.
UNDERCOVER DECEPTION CLUES: A CASE OF RESTRICTIVE DETERRENCE*
Authors: JACOBS BRUCE A.
Published: March 2006

Although studies on drug dealing have examined techniques sellers use to ensure against undercover infiltrations, none has explored the use of such techniques at the interactional level. The objective here is to address this void by exploring the perceptual shorthand dealers use to determine whether buyers in question are undercover. This perceptual shorthand processes one of two types of deception clues in making this judgment: trend discontinuity and interpersonal illegitimacy. Trend discontinuity is associated with police in formants and results from situations in which (I) familiar customers suddenly introduce unfamiliar others who wish to buy drugs and (2) familiar customers suddenly and signifcantly increase quantities they themselves desire to purchase. Interpersonal illegitimacy is associated with undercover agents and results from situations in which unfamiliar buyers emit certain physical and verbal “vibes” believed to be indicative of covert law en forcement personnel. Discussion focuses on the data's presuppositional and microstructural implications for restrictive deterrence (Gibbs, 1975). Data were drawn from semi‐structured interviews with 32 semi‐institutionalized heroin user‐dealers located in a very large western US. city.
TURNING POINTS IN THE LIFE COURSE: WHY CHANGE MATTERS TO THE STUDY OF CRIME*
Authors: LAUB JOHN H. , SAMPSON ROBERT J.
Published: March 2006

This article examines conceptual issues relating to continuity and change in crime over the life course. Building on past efforts, we first distinguish self‐selection from a cumulative, developmental process whereby delinquent behavior attenuates adult social bonds (e.g., labor force attachment, marital cohesion). We then conceptualize various types of change and argue that social capital and turning points are crucial in understanding processes of change in the adult life course. These concepts are illustrated by examining person‐based, life‐history data drawn from the Gluecks' longitudinal study of 1,000 men. Although adult crime is clearly connected to childhood behavior, these qualitative data suggest that both incremental and abrupt change are structured by changes in adult social bonds. We conclude with some hypotheses and implications for future research on subjective contingencies, opportunity structures, and chance encounters as potential turning points for change, especially as they interact with race, class location, and historical context.
AGE, CRIMINAL CAREERS, AND POPULATION HETEROGENEITY: SPECIFICATION AND ESTIMATION OF A NONPARAMETRIC, MIXED POISSON MODEL*
Authors: NAGIN DANIEL S. , LAND KENNETH C.
Published: March 2006

This article addresses three issues that are central to the criminal career debate. First, is the life course of individual offending patterns marked by distinctive periods of quiescence? Second, at the level of the individual, do offending rates vary systematically with age? In particular, is the age‐crime curve single peaked or flat? Third, are chronic offenders different from less active offenders? Do offenders themselves differ in systematic ways? Using a new approach to the analysis of individual criminal careers—based on nested, mixed Poisson models in which the mixing distribution is estimated nonparametrically—we analyze a panel data set that tracks a sample of males for more than 20 years. Our results provide empirical evidence in support of some features of criminal propensity theory and some in support of conventional criminal careers theory. In support of latent‐trait criminal propensity theory, the individual‐level average offense rate (per unit of time) varies as a function of observable individual‐level characteristics and unobservable heterogeneity among individuals, and the age trajectory of the offense rate is generally single peaked rather than flat. On the other hand, in support of conventional criminal careers theory, models that incorporate a parameter that permits periods of active as well as inactive offending across age have greater explanatory power than those that do not. In addition, the nonparametric, discrete approximation to the population distribution of unobservable heterogeneity in the individual‐level mean offense rate facilitates identification of four classes of offenders—nonoffenders as well as individual‐level characteristics that are unique to each group. Problems of theoretical explanation and empirical generalizability of these results are described.
GENDER AND IMPRISONMENT DECISIONS
Authors: STEFFENSMEIER DARRELL , KRAMER JOHN , STREIFEL CATHY
Published: March 2006

Guidelines sentencing data from Pennsylvania for the years 1985–1987 are analyzed to assess the influence of gender on judges' imprisonment decisions. These data provide detailed information on offense severity and prior record, permit statistical controls for other variables thought to affect imprisonment decisions, cover a fairly comprehensive list of common‐law offenses (with adequate sample size), and contain judges' dispositional‐departure reasons for sentences outside the guidelines schema. The data—analyzed with additive and interactive models–indicate that gender (net of other factors) has a small effect on the likelihood of imprisonment toward lesser jailing of female defendants but has a negligible effect on the length‐of‐imprisonment decision. Observations and interview responses from selected judges help to clarify the ways in which judges' sentencing practices are gender linked. Together, the statistical and the qualitative data suggest that the sentencing practices of judges are driven by two main concerns, blameworthiness (e.g., as indicated by prior record, type of involvement, remorse) and practicality (e.g., as indicated by child‐care responsibility, pregnancy, emotional or physical problems, availability of adequate jail space). Based on our findings, we suspect that when men and women appear in (contemporary) criminal court in similar circumstances and are charged with similar offenses, they receive similar treatment. A major question from a policy perspective is, when gender disparities in sentence outcomes do arise, are the disparities warranted or unwarranted?
THE CERTAINTY OF PUNISHMENT: A REFERENCE GROUP EFFECT AND ITS FUNCTIONAL FORM
Authors: YU JIANG , LISKA ALLEN E.
Published: March 2006

The 1970s witnessed a renewal of interest in deterrence theory. Examining the functional form of the relationship between certainty of punishment and crime rate, Tittle and Rowe (1974) and Brown (1978) report a threshold effect: Below a certainty level of about .30 (the tipping point), they observed no relationship and above that level they observed a strong negative relationship. Unfortunately, few large cities achieve that level for most crimes. This interesting finding has rarely been followed up. Drawing on reference group theory, we extend this research by disaggregating the analysis by crime and race. While racial majorities may not experience certainty levels above the tipping point, some research suggests that racial minorities do experience such levels. Supporting this, our analysis shows a reference group effect for racial majorities and minorities and a curvilinear relationship, reflecting tipping and ceiling points, between certainty of punishment and crime rates for only racial minorities.
THE SOCIAL EMBEDDEDNESS OF CRIME AND UNEMPLOYMENT*
Authors: HAGAN JOHN
Published: March 2006

A missing piece in the literature that links crime and unemployment is an understanding of the proximate causes of joblessness in the lives of individuals. Granovetter has demonstrated with his concept of social embeddedness that early employment contacts can enhance the prospects of getting a job and subsequent occupational mobility. The alternative implication is that youths who are embedded in criminal contexts can become isolated from the likelihood of legitimate adult employment. This has important implications for an understanding of crime and unemployment, for while much of past macro‐level research confirms that unemployment leads to crime in the aggregate, the reverse is likely true at the individual level among adolescents and young adults, especially in community settings with serious crime and unemployment problems. The implications of criminal embeddedness are explored in a well‐known set of London panel data. Understanding the process of embeddedness is important because it helps to identify points of intervention, such as peer and justice system contacts.
DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS*
Authors: GOTTFREDSON DENISE C. , BARTON WILLIAM H.
Published: March 2006

This research investigated the effects of the closing of a juvenile correctional institution. A nonequivalent control group design was used to compare the effects of the closing on placements and criminal behavior for three groups (N = 927) whose institutionalization experiences differed. Official crime data were obtained for all, and interviews were attempted with 752 juveniles. The noninstitutionalized group's recidivism was significantly higher than that of the institutionalized groups both during and after the period of institutionalization. Consistent group differences in offending were observed for crimes against property but not for crimes involving drugs or crimes against persons. These differences were significant but not as pronounced when only the most serious crimes were considered. Implications for the design of effective juvenile correctional strategies are discussed.
DETERRENCE OR BRUTALIZATION? AN IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF OKLAHOMA'S RETURN TO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT*
Authors: COCHRAN JOHN K. , CHAMLIN MITCHELL B. , SETH MARK
Published: March 2006

On September 10, 1990 Charles Troy Coleman was put to death by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Coleman's execution was the first in the state in more than 25 years, generating significant media coverage and providing a unique opportunity to assess the impact of the state's return to executing capital offenders. Interrupted time‐series analyses are performed with weekly data from the UCR Supplemental Homicide Reports for the state for the period January 1989 through December 1991. Analyses are performed for the total level of criminal homicides and homicides disaggregated into two types of murder–felony murder and stranger homicides–testing hypotheses that predict opposing impacts for each type of homicide. As predicted, no evidence of a deterrent or a brutalization effect is found for criminal homicides in general. Similarly, the predicted deterrent effect of the execution on the level of felony murders is not observed. Evidence of the predicted brutalization effect on the level of stranger homicides is observed, however. Supplementary analyses on further offense disaggregations continue to support these initial findings and permit a more coherent interpretation of the results.
OBSERVATIONS ON CRIME REPORTING IN A DEVELOPING NATION*
Authors: BENNETT RICHARD R. , WIEGAND R. BRUCE
Published: March 2006

The literature from developed countries hypothesizes that crime‐reporting practices vary by levels of incident‐specific, victim‐specific, and environment‐specific correlates. To date these correlates have not been used to investigate crime‐reporting behavior in developing countries, nor have they been explored simultaneously. This research attempts to fill this void by analyzing data from a household victimization survey conducted in Belize, Central America. A crime‐reporting model based on research findings from developed nations, especially the United States, is tested. Bivariate findings are presented and a multivariate logistic model is estimated, Contrary to prediction, the findings from the Belize sample are generally similar to those reported in developed nations. As in developed nations, incident‐specific correlates play a significant role, individual‐specific correlates pray a minor role, and environment‐specific correlates play no role in inducing citizens to report a crime to the police. The findings indicate that factors that affect reporting in Belize seem not to be conditioned by the particularistic social structure of policing in that nation.
THE VIOLENT WEST REEXAMINED: A RESEARCH NOTE ON REGIONAL HOMICIDE RATES*
Authors: NELSEN CANDICE , CORZINE JAY , HUEF‐CORZINE LIN
Published: March 2006

Studies by O'Carroll and Mercy and by Kowalski and Petee challenge the long‐held view that the South leads the nation in homicide rates. Specifically, O'Carroll and Mercy find that when killings by state are disaggregated by race, the West has the highest levels of homicide for whites, blacks, and other races. Kowalski and Petee conclude that homicide rates in the South and the West have converged. We extend their research by examining the effect, on levels of killing, of metropolitan concentration of black and white populations within states and of the percentage of the white population of Hispanic origin within SMSAs. Results of these analyses show that the homicide rate for non‐Hispanic whites remains highest in the South; no clear regional pattern exists for blacks.
HOMEBOYS, DOPE FIENDS, LEGITS, AND NEW JACKS*
Authors: HAGEDORN JOHN M.
Published: March 2006

Milwaukee research finds that most young male adult gang members cannot be described accurately as “committed long‐term participants” in the drug economy. Rather, most adult gang members are involved sporadically with drug sales, moving in and out of conventional labor markets at irregular intervals. Four types of male adult gang members are described; only one type has rejected conventional values. Despite relatively high average earnings from drug sales, most gang members would accept full‐time jobs with modest wages. This suggests that severe and mandatory penalties for cocaine use and sales should be ended.
NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS PREDICTING PERSISTENT MALE DELINQUENCY*
Authors: MOFFITT TERRIE E. , LYNAM DONALD R. , SILVA PHIL A.
Published: March 2006

This article reports the first longitudinal evidence that prospective measures of neuropsychological status predict antisocial outcomes. We studied data for a birth cohort of several hundred New Zealand males from age 13 to age 18. Age‐13 neuropsychological scores predicted later delinquency measured via multiple sources: police, courts, and self‐report. Poor neuropsychological scores were associated with early onset of delinquency. The results fit our predictions about two trajectories of delinquent involvement: (1) Poor neuropsychological status predicted specifically male offending that began before age 13 and persisted at high levels thereafter. (2) By contrast, in this sample neuropsychological status was unrelated to delinquency that began in adolescence.
MACRO‐MICRO INTEGRATION IN THE STUDY OF VICTIMIZATION: A HIERARCHICAL LOGISTIC MODEL ANALYSIS ACROSS SEATTLE NEIGHBORHOODS*
Authors: ROUNTREE PAMELA WILCOX , LAND KENNETH C. , MIETHE TERANCE D.
Published: March 2006

Recent contextual analyses of victimization survey data are extended by application of hierarchical logistic model techniques. Using a multi‐stage sample of 5,090 Seattle residents, we estimate models for individuals' risks of violent crime and burglary victimization as a function of both individual crime opportunity factors (routine activity and personal lifestyle) and contextual indicators of neighborhood social disorganization (neighborhood incivilities on conditions of disorder, ethnic heterogeneity, and neighborhood density in terms of both residents and strangers). Strong contextual direct effects of density, disorder, and heterogeneity are observed for violent and or burglary risks. Further, the hierarchical method used here provides a richer type of contextual analysis, indicating that neighborhood factors also “condition” the impact of crime opportunity factors for risk of both violent and burglary victimization. Implications for theoretical integration, victimization prevention strategies, and crime control policies are discussed.
DEMEANOR OR CRIME? WHY “HOSTILE” CITIZENS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE ARRESTED*
Authors: KLINGER DAVID A.
Published: March 2006

It is a criminological axiom that displays of hostility by citizens towards police officers directly increase the odds of arrest in police‐citizen encounters. This axiom rests on nearly three decades of observational research of interactions between police officers and citizens. Two features of this work, however, raise questions about the validity of findings that citizen demeanor independently affects police arrest decisions. First, although demeanor is conceptually defined as legally permissible behavior, measures of demeanor often include criminal conduct. Second, criminal conduct is not controlled adequately when the effects of demeanor on arrest are estimated. In an analysis employing a demeanor measure that does not confound crime and that controls for crime more comprehensively, it is found that displays of hostility which violate no laws do not increase the likelihood of arrest in and of themselves. The implications of this finding are discussed.