bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
TESTING THE DETERRENT EFFECT OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: A Reduced Form Approach
Authors: YUNKER JAMES A.
Published: March 2006

There are three principal alternative explanations for the dramatic rise in crime over the last 15 years: (I) the retirement of capital punishment; (2) socioeconomic trends; (3) random social shocks starring with the Kennedy assassination in 1963. This article reports a statistical test of the second of these explanations. On balance, the results are unfavorable to it. The statistical test involves the extrapolation of a predicted homicide rate obtained from a reduced form regression equation estimated over the capital punishment era into the postcapital punishment era. The predicted homicide rate (based on socioeconomic variables) continues the long‐run secular decline pattern after 1962, while the actual homicide rote rises precipitously. The article concludes with a brief argument that the capital punishment moratorium seems somewhat more plausible than the social shock theory as an explanation for the crime increase.
The Social Scientist and Rehabilitative Crime Policy
Authors: GOTTFREDSON MICHAEL R.
Published: March 2006

Social scientists are in a quandary about crime policy. On the one hand, the tools of their discipline incline them naturally toward a search for the causes of differences in delinquent behavior, an inclination which appears to be supportive of the potential for rehabilitative components to crime policy. Both the premise of determinism and the methodology of differentiation are intellectually compatible with the prospects for rehabilitation, because both are requisites for a crime control strategy that seeks the impact of purposeful changes in the lives or attitudes of delinquents on subsequent behavior. On the other hand, social scientists are being confronted with a number of arguments that question the utility for social policy of adherence to these assumptions. The validity of some of these arguments is explored briefly in this article. They are found to suffer from an erroneous conception of the logic of determinism, an underdevelopment of the notion of deterrence, or an artifactual conception of the requisites for rehabilitation.
The Seriousness of Crime Revisited: Have Attitudes Toward White‐Collar Crime Changed?
Authors: CULLEN FRANCIS T. , LINK BRUCE G. , POLANZI CRAIG W.
Published: March 2006

Social commentators have often observed that the public is indifferent to white‐collar criminality. However, the growing attention that white‐collar crime has received in recent years raises the possibility of changes in the public's perceptions of such violations. By replicating Rossi et al.'s survey in 1972 of the seriousness of 140 offenses, the present research presents data indicating that white‐collar crime has increased in seriousness more than any other offense category, but that it is still viewed as less serious than most other forms of illegality. When different types of white‐collar crime were analyzed, we found considerable variation in ratings, with high a degree of seriousness attributed to offenses involving physical harm. Further, while all categories of white‐collar criminality increased in seriousness, attitudinal changes have been particularly apparent toward two types, Violent and Corporate Price‐Fixing.
Make‐Believe Families and Homosexuality Among Imprisoned Girls
Authors: PROPPER ALICE M.
Published: March 2006

Methodological issues associated with measuring homosexuality and make‐believe families were examined. A clear operational definition of each was then used to measure their incidence and relationship to each other. Data from the staff and inmates of three coed and four all‐female training schools indicated that homosexuality and make‐believe families were as prevalent in coed as in female institutions, and that most make‐believe family groupings consisted of asexual sister‐sister and mother‐daughter relationships. Homosexual marriages were rare, and girls who did not adopt make‐believe family roles were just as likely to report homosexual experiences as those who were in families. Thus, correlations between homosexual experiences and being in a make‐believe family were weak and negative. Explanations are suggested for the nonobvious findings and the results are compared to other reports in previous literature.
The Accuracy of Public Beliefs about Crime Further Evidence
Authors: WARR MARK
Published: March 2006

Criminologists largely agree that public beliefs about crime are inaccurate, and some seem willing to abandon crime reduction as a policy goal in favor of strategies which directly affect public perceptions of crime. Yet direct tests of the accuracy of public beliefs about crime are rare. In a sample survey of Tucson adults, respondents were asked to estimate the percentage of Tucson juveniles who had committed each of fifteen offenses (i.e., the categorical rates of the offenses) and the offender sex ratio for each offense. Responses were compared with self‐reported data from students in three Tucson high schools. Among the fifteen offenses there is remarkable agreement between the perceived categorical rates, sex ratios, and the self‐reported figures. Taken in conjunction with earlier studies, these findings suggest that strategies designed to reduce the social consequences of crime by altering public beliefs about crime are unlikely to succeed unless they are accompanied by true reductions in the crime rate.
Siblings and Delinquent Behavior: An Exploratory Study of a Neglected Family Variable
Authors: WILKINSON KAREN , STITT B. GRANT , ERICKSON MAYNARD L.
Published: March 2006

This exploratory article examines the relation between sibling structure (sex of siblings and birth order) and self‐reported delinquency. The processes of contrast and imitation, conceptual notions derived from research on sibling structure and sex roles, are used to guide this exploration. Considerable variation in delinquency by sibling status was identified. There are indications that an interaction effect exists between birth order and sex of siblings relative to rates of delinquency.
Effects of Court Officials on Sentence Severity: Do Judges Make a Difference?
Authors: FRAZIER CHARLES E. , BOCK E. WILBUR
Published: March 2006

The present article examines the effects on sentencing of a number of variables measuring court actors and their traits. Sentencing patterns were shown to vary substantially from judge to judge but the differences were found to be related more to the types of cases judges received than to sentencing styles of individual judges. Independent of traditional sociodemographic traits of offenders and legal variables, individual judges do not appear to sentence differently. Moreover, when we estimated equations which included judicial background characteristics, there were no discernible independent effects. These findings differ from both informed intuition and inferences one might draw from previous research. Consideration of subcultures of justice and cases on which court officials disagree about sentences may help explain differences between present and past research.
An Analysis of the Prosecution of Shoplifters
Authors: FEUERVERGER ANDREY , SHEARING CLIFFORD D.
Published: March 2006

This article examines the decisions to prosecute shoplifters by Canadian retail investigators. A hypothetical case method that permits a statistical simulation of an experimental design is used. The findings support recent research which indicates that both the value of the item and the age of the suspect are the most important predictors of investigators' decisions to prosecute. In addition, our results identify admission of the offense and the suspect's appearance as important predictors of these decisions. In general, characteristics of the offense rather than of the offender are found to be most important factors in the decision‐making process. Further, the results support the argument that investigators' decisions tend to maximize company profit. How‐ever, profit maximization is revealed as an unintended conse‐quence of these decisions.
Victim and Offense Characteristics: Impact on Police Investigative Decision‐Making
Authors: BYNUM TIM S. , CORDNER GARY W. , GREENE JACK R.
Published: March 2006

Research on police decision‐making has traditionally focused on the street‐level police officer's decision to arrest. This decision has often been characterized as one having low visibility and is thus highly discretionary. Although the on‐scene arrest is dramatic and fits the popular conception of policing, a great deal of police work involves follow‐up investigations of citizen complaints. While decisions about the level of investigative effort to be applied to a particular complaint are also of low visibility and are highly discretionary, they have been the object of little research. Though it might be expected that these investigative decisions would be determined almost exclusively by the level of evidence available, previous research suggests that the personal characteristics of the victim or complainant also affect these decisions. Findings from this study indicate that victim characteristics differentially affect the investigative decision in various types of criminal complaints. Discussion focuses on the need in future research to consider extra‐legal characteristics of victims and suggests an approach for such analyses.
Adam Smith and White‐Collar Crime: Some Research Themes
Authors: JESILOW PAUL
Published: March 2006

The allegation often made in regard to studies of white‐collar crime is that they tend to take the form of unrelated case materials devoid of hypotheses or theory. This article suggests that the radical criminologists fail to come to grips with this issue because of preconceived ideas about the relationship of economic structure and upper‐world criminal activity. The works of Adam Smith offer a number of interesting propositions that can form a framework for empirical investigation in the area of white‐collar crime. Smith's most fundamental hypothesis was that there would be an increase in violations by persons in power if there was interference with what he designated as pure capitalism.
The Radicals and the Rehabilitative Ideal, 1890‐1930
Authors: JENKINS PHILIP
Published: March 2006

This article studies radical and socialist reactions to rehabilitative or discretionary penology in the early twentieth century. Far from foreshadowing the ideas of modern radical criminology, early leftists tended to support the rehabilitative idea very strongly, despite the logical contradictions this presented. I attempt to explain the naivete of early radicals in accepting the claims of the new penology at face value. In particular, an explanation is sought in the common reliance of both socialism and positivism on Darwinian ideas and a shared belief in materialism and determinism.
Sex Differences in Self‐Report Delinquency
Authors: CANTER RACHELLE J.
Published: March 2006

This study describes the distribution, nature, pattern, and magnitude of sex differences in self‐report delinquency. A national probability sample of 1725 youths, ages 11‐17, was interviewed using a comprehensive measure of self‐report delinquency including serious and violent crimes. Major findings include (1) small but consistent sex differences in numerous delinquent behaviors and in most types of delinquent behavior due to higher offense frequencies of males and greater numbers of male offenders, (2) generally similar patterns of male and female delinquency (r = .82), (3) sex differences in the proportion of high‐frequency offenders, (4) few interaction effects of sex with other demographic variables, and (5) stable sex differences in certain delinquent acts across a decade.
Gender Ascription and the Stereotyping of Deviants
Authors: PHILLIPS DRETHA M. , DeFLEUR LOIS B.
Published: March 2006

This research explores the assumption that evaluations of criminal offenders are related to the ascription of stereotypic gender‐linked traits. Three hypotheses derived from the literatures on deviant stereotypes, gender roles, and female crime were tested with data obtained from a statewide survey of the general public of Washington State. The findings indicate that evaluations of offenders in terms of perceived motivations are related to both gender ascription and type of crime committed. Recommended dispositions for and anticipated social accetance of offenders, however, may be adequately described solely by their relationships to type of crime. These findings may be related to the nature of the stereotyping process, the specific types of stimuli–including characteristics of the research setting that trigger it, and the kind of evaluation being made of the criminal deviant.
Coping or Copping Out: Police Service Delivery in Domestic Disputes
Authors: OPPENLANDER NAN
Published: March 2006

The literature of domestic violence is critical of police service dlivery in dmnestic disputes. Yet, little has been systematically documented regarding dispatch procedures, citizen‐police interactions, or the special circumstances surrounding domestic investigations. This article describes the actions of investigating officers with family or intimately related persons during police encounters. It wmpares these with like investigations of non‐related disputants. Among the major findings are that (1)dispatch tend to underreport the nature of domestic assaults; (2) patrol officers face mme agitated persons in domestic en‐ ccuunters; (3) police arrest suspects more often in domestic cases, but circumstances would appear to warrant even higher rates of arrest; (4) misis intervention appears to take precedence over arrest in some domestic assaults; and (5) police almost never refer citizens to social service agencies. Overall, the findings point to ule need for police service delivery in domestic disputes that is w e geared to law enforcement in cases of violent family Conflict.
Citizen Participation in Neighborhood Crime Prevention
Authors: LAVRAKAS PAUL J. , HERZ ELICIA J.
Published: March 2006

The importance of citizen involvement in crime prevention was stressed throughut the 1970s and, with looming service cutbacks, grows in potential importance for the coming decades. While many programs have been developed to encourage the public to get involved, especially in community‐based crime prevention efforts, not much was known about the underlying motivational dynamics. On the basis of a random‐digit‐dial telephone survey of 1803 residents in an entire metropolitan area, we conclude that most citizens become involved in neighborhood anticrime activities not because of fear of crime, but rather as an extension of their general tendency for community‐based voluntary action.
Public Consensus on Crime Seriousness Normative Structure or Methodological Artifact?
Authors: MIETHE TERANCE D.
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTS

Research on public perceptions of crime seriousness is reviewed. Two explanations for subgroup consensus are advanced as alternatives to the dominant view that ratings of crime seriousness reflect an underlying normative structure. It is argued that a normative explanation is plausible only after dismissing these alternative explanations. Research and data analytic strategies are proposed to evaluate the plausibility of these alternative explanations and suggestions are offered for future research in crim seriousness and the measurement of normative phenomena.
Situational Factors in Disputes Leading to Criminal Violence
Authors: FELSON RICHARD B. , STEADMAN HENRY J.
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACT* * *

This article examines the interactive process leading to criminal violence. Official data from 159 incidents of homicide and assault that were not committed in conjunction with other crimes and that resulted in incarceration were examined with respect to the actions of offenders, victims, and third parties. These incidents tended to follow systematic patterns. They began with identity attacks, followed by attempts and failures to influence the antagonist. Threats were made and finally the verbal conflict ended in physical attack. It appears that retaliation is a key principle in the escalation of these incidents in that aggressive actions by the victim were associated with aggressive actions by the offender and the likelihood that the victim would be killed. The importance of situational identities for retaliating was suggested bg the moderately strong relationship observed between identity attack and counterattack. Retaliation also occurred for strategic reasons, in that offenders were more likely to kill aggressive victims when those victims used weapons.
Legal Aim, Discretion, and Social Control
Authors: GOTTFREDSON MICHAEL R. , CHANDLER MARILYN A. , COHEN LAWRENCE E.
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACT* * *

This study attempts to ascertain how the legal a i m of rehabilitation are applied, as well as their social control consequences for a group of offenders sentenced under the Federal Youth Corrections Act (FYCA) of 1950. Discriminant function analyses were conducted on a random sample of 452 persons selected f o r a “special” FYCA rehabilitative disposition and 758 persons accorded a regular punitive disposition, to determine 1) the factors that influence the judge's choice between these two outcomes; and 2) if persons sentenced under the special rehabilitative provision spend more or less time incarcerated, relative to those given a regular disposition Our analyses indicate that age is the single discriminator of much significance in determining whether an offender is given a FYCA or regular disposition, with younger persons more likely to receive rehabilitative treatment. Little support was found for the contention that greater intrusiveness of social control inevitably results from adoption of a rehabilitative form of social control as opposed to a regular punitive disposition. The implications of these findings for the application and consequences of the FYCA are discussed.
Economic Assistance to Impoverished Americans
Authors: De FRONZO JAMES
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACT* * *

This study examined the relationship between a measure of public assistance to poor families (adjusted for cost of living differences among SMSAs) and crime rates. The regression analyses controlled for the effects of several other economic and noneconomic factors thought to influence variation in crime rates and utilized census and other data for the S9 SMSAs for which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provided cost‐of‐living data in 1970. The results indicated that level of public assistance to poor families had an independent negative effect on the variation of several crime rates, including rates of homicide, rape, and burglary. The results suggest that a substantial reduction in the level of public assistance to the poor may contribute to significant increase in crime rates.
Delinquent Careers and Criminal Policy
Authors: FELD BARRY C.
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACT* * *

This article critically examines the prevailing judicial waiver statutes that require juvenile court judges to make individualized determinations as to a youth amenability to treatment and danger to society. It concludes that such decisions cannot be made with an acceptable degree of accuracy using current methods of clinical diagnosis or prediction, and that the broad discretion given judges in making transfer decisions results in inconsistent and discriminatory applications that undermine the fairness and predictability of the process. In light of the expanding research on the development of delinquent careers, it contends that a legislative redefinition of juvenile court jurisdiction that automatically excludes certain youths from the juvenile court on the basis of their present offenses and past records not only identifies more accurately those youth who should be prosecuted as adults, but also increases the fairness, rationality, and predictability of the adulthood determination. It suggests that an application of “just deserts” principles to the juvenile court waiver decision could have salutary consequences for youths, the juvenile and criminal justice systems, and social control.
Postrelease Depression and the Importance of Familial Support
Authors: EKLAND‐OLSON SHELDON , SUPANCIC MICHAEL , CAMPBELL JAMES , LENIHAN KENNETH J.
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACT* * *

Depression is a widely noted reaction among persons confronted with dramatic life changes. Those released from total institutions (mental patients, prisoners of war, hostages, ex‐convicts) are especially susceptible to these symptoms. A model, based on extensive field experience and a broad review of literature, is first presented. Data from a cohort of persons released from prison, gathered at three points in time during the first year following release, are then discussed. The results suggest: (1) support for Irwin's model of “reentry,” (2) that depression may accompany positive as well as negative life events, and (3) the importance of “bridging networks” in modifying the intensity of depressive symptoms.
Effects of Reducing Judicial Sentencing Discretion
Authors: NAGEL STUART , GERACI ROBERT
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACT* * *

This article uses a nationwide sample of state criminal cases to show the effects of reducing judicial sentencing discretion on disparities across rural‐urban, southern‐northern, black‐white, and poor‐nonpoor defendants. Judicial sentencing discretion is defined as the ratio between (1) the range in years within which a judge is allowed to sentence, and (2) the minimum number of years the judge must give when there is no probation. The data do indicate specific differences in sentencing between states of high judicial discretion and those of low judicial discretion, and the relationship of these disparities to discrimination is discussed.
Attitudes Toward Pornography in a Southern Community
Authors: HERRMAN MARGARET S. , BORDNER DIANE C.
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACT* * *

The Supreme Court has determined that obscene speech should not be protected under the First Amendment, but an unambiguous definition of obscenity is required if negative legal sanctions are to be enforced without jeopardizing due process. According to current guidelines, a media presentation of sexually explicit materials must exceed limits of sexual candor to be defined obscene. However, establishing such limits requires articulation of a normative standard for a specified population—a population defined by the court as being a community. The present research is designed to identify such limits of sexual candor within a community in the South. The results demonstrate the existence of ambiguity in the articulation of community standards. First, little consistency is found between personal standards and the perceptions of community standards. This lack of consistency presents a problem for jury deliberation since a single frame of reference is not available to guide jurors in reaching decisions on obscenity. Second, both perceptions of community standards and personal standards are significantly influenced by extracommunity factors of sex, age, race, education, religiosity, and moral rigidity. Existence of such effects raises the additional question of jury bias in the event that there is an overrepresentation of any one segment of the community on a jury.
Detention Patterns of Successful and Unsuccessful Insanity Defendants
Authors: BRAFF JERALDINE , ARVANITES THOMAS , STEADMAN HENRY J.
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACT* * *

This study examines the detention patterns of the insanity defendant who is successful with the plea and hospitalized, or unsuccessful and incarcerated. Further comparisons are made with felony defendants who never entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI). From existing data it is unclear to what extent detention may vary if the plea is successful as compared to if it is not successful. Of all defendants who entered a plea of NGRI in Erie County, New York (Buffalo) between 1970 and 1980, 128 were institutionalized as a result of their disposition. Sociodemographic, institutionalization histories, arrest, and disposition information were collected and analyzed for all 128 individuals. The research evaluates differences in the likelihood and length of either institutionalization or incarceration and in the rates of release between successful NGRI defendants, those who entered the plea unsuccessfully, and those who did not plead NGRI. From the findings reported here the authors conclude that pleading NGRI in Eric County may not be quite as advantageous for a defendant as commonly is believed.
Regional Differences in the Economic Correlates of the Urban Homicide Rate
Authors: MESSNER STEVEN F.
Published: March 2006

This article examines regional differences in the economic correlates of the urban homicide rate. On the basis of cultural variations between the South and other parts of the country, the proportion of the population below the poverty line and the level of income inequality are hypothesized to have stronger positive effects on the homicide rate in nonsouthern than in southern cities. Regression results for a sample of 256 nonsouthern cities and a sample of 91 southern cities do not support the hypothesis for the measure of income inequality, however. The Gini coefficient of family income concentration has no significant effect in either region. In contrast, the results for the poverty measure are consistent with expectations. The proportion below the poverty line has a significant, positive effect on the homicide rate only in the nonsouthern sample. These findings suggest that the impact of economic deprivation on rates of violent crime is likely to vary appreciably depending on the general cultural context.
Police Strikes and Conventional Crime
Authors: PFUHL ERDWIN H.
Published: March 2006

Employing FBI “Return A Record Card” data, this study examines the impact of municipal police strikes on reported rates of burglary, robbery, larceny, and auto theft in 11 U.S. cities. Relationships reflecting the view that police presence is essential for crime prevention and social order are examined for variation duration of police strike, city size, and offense category. Overall, analysis yields very limited support for the police presence argument, suggesting that strikes have neither a significant nor a systematic impact on rates of reported crime. Implications of findings for the formulation of police policy are discussed.
Religiosity and Delinquency
Authors: ELIFSON KIRK W. , PETERSEN DAVID M. , HADAWAY C. KIRK
Published: March 2006

This article explores the contradictory findings that have characterized the relationship between religion and delinquency. The data are based on interviews with 600 adolescents attending public school in the Atlanta, Georgia area. A wide variety of religious and delinquency measures were used, allowing a complete examination of the relationship. The existence of a weak to moderate negative zero‐order relationship was verified. Religious salience, belief in the power of personal prayer, and orthodoxy were found to be related more strongly to delinquency than the most often‐used variable, church attendance. Most important, in spite of the relatively strong zero‐order relationship between a number of religiosity and delinquency measures, within a multivariate context religion's contribution as an independent variable was not statistically significant. Possible explanations for this finding are discussed.
The End of the Youth Gang
Authors: BOOKIN‐WEINER HEDY , HOROWITZ RUTH
Published: March 2006

The varying attention criminologists have paid to youth gangs over the past several decades cannot be explained completely by the actual seriousness of gang delinquency and its extent relative to other kinds of delinquency. In order to explain this changing focus of attention by delinquency researchers, this article explores the interrelationships among four types of factors: social and political conditions, ideology, current sociological theory, and available methods. We focus on ideology and methodology, and argue that when ideology is largely centrist, such as during the 1950s and 1960s, theory would most likely be interactionist or subcultural and gangs would likely be of interest. During periods of greater ideological polarization, such as the late 1960s, however, we would expect to find more theoretical and empirical concern with either the individual or with social and economic structure and little interest in gangs.
The Economics of Female Recidivism
Authors: JURIK NANCY C.
Published: March 2006

This article examines the effect of economic incentives on the rearrest rates of 125 women ex‐felons. The data are drawn from the TARP experiment designed around the premise that individuals steal largely out of economic need. Many criminologists have argued that female crime is sexual and emotional rather than rational and economic in nature. Results, however, support the expectation that unemployment compensation and employment are negatively associated with rearrests for economic crimes. Also, exogenous factors of criminal background and marital status reveal important differences in post‐release behavior.
The Historical Development of Corporate Criminal Liability
Authors: BERNARD THOMAS J.
Published: March 2006

The application of criminal liability to corporations grew out of a minor common law doctrine that masters were criminally liable if their servants created a public nuisance by throwing something out of the house onto the street. The expansion of that doctrine to full corporate criminal liability was primarily the result of judicial interpretation of common law and existing statutory laws, rather than the result of any‐deliberate legislative action Civil law countries, lacking the tradition of judicial interpretation, have never developed the concept of corporate criminality. Corporate criminal liability will probably continue to expand in common law countries, regardless of its merits.
Determining Patrol Officer Job Satisfaction:
Authors: BUZAWA EVA S.
Published: March 2006

The central issue of this study involves determining the importance of various demographic and job specific attitudes in predicting job satisfaction among patrol officers. Findings contradict much of the previous literature that suggested a predictable association between specific factors and officer attitudes. Instead this study supports a Situational approach to predicting job satisfaction. In addition, the impact of affirmative actions was shown to be highly associated with job satisfaction under certain circumstances.
Establishment of a Juvenile Police Record:
Authors: MORASH MERRY
Published: March 2006

According to the symbolic interactionist perspective, the juveniles who are most likely to have a police record of arrest are those who conform to police preconceptions about delinquent types, who are perceived as a threat to others, and who are most visible to the police. Several individual and peer group characteristics can serve as cues that youths are delinquent or that they pose a threat and can increase visibility. The present study uses a survey approach to determine the relative association of these individual and peer group characteristics with the establishment of a police record. The analysis reveals that in addition to delinquent activities, fitting the common image of a delinquent and dangerous person–that is, being a male in a predominantly, male, delinquent peer group–increases a youth's chances of arrest. Moreover, committing a high proportion of offenses with a group of peers, which results in high visibility, also increases the chances of arrest.
Victimization Rates, Exposure to Risk, and Fear of Crime
Authors: STAFFORD MARK C. , GALLE OMER R.
Published: March 2006

Studies of fear of crime repeatedly point to an apparent paradox: fear of crime and risk of victimization are related inversely among demographic groups (i.e., age, race, and sex groups). However, data from surveys of Chicago residents show that fear of crime is related positively to victimization rates once they are adjusted for exposure to risk. When demographic variables are included with the adjusted rates as predictors of fear of crime, age and sex effects persist. Even so the present findings indicate that fear of crime should not be interpreted as an irrational or unjustified response and that fear can be reduced by lowering victimization rates.
Prosecuting Juveniles as Adults
Authors: ANN OSBUN LEE , RODE PETER A.
Published: March 2006

In Minnesota, the 1980 legislature statutorily defined a class of juvenile offenders presumed on the basis of age, alleged offense, and record of prior felony offenses to be unfit for treatment in the juvenile court. In this article we evaluate the effect of Minnesota's revised waiver statute by comparing cases in which waiver proceedings were initiated and in which transfer occurred for two time periods, before and after adoption of the legislatively defined presumptive criteria. Our findings suggest that the objective criteria adopted by the Minnesota legislature are not, in themselves, an adequate means for selecting juveniles for transfer to adult court. The criteria identify many juveniles whose records on close examination do not appear to be very serious and fail to identify many juveniles whose records are characterized by violent, frequent, and persistent delinquent activity.
Justice, Sanctioning, and the Justice Model
Authors: CAVENDER GRAY
Published: March 2006

The justice model has emerged as an alternative to the discredited rehabilitative ideal as a basis for sanctioning policy. Retributivism or just deserts is offered as the primary justification for the criminal sanction in this model, although sometimes in combination with incapacitation and deterrence as companion rationales for sanctioning. Desert is, additionally, an integral component of a sense of justice that is presented as an attribute of the justice model. Desert, both as a rationale for sanctions and as the basis for justice, is drawn from the philosophical models of Immanuel Kant and John Rawls. However, these models have some rather disturbing implications that have not been addressed by proponents of the justice model. A critical examination of them and their implications for criminology is therefore in order.
Sentencing
Authors: WELCH SUSAN , GRUHL JOHN , SPOHN CASSIA
Published: March 2006

While there is nearly unanimous agreement among social scientists that the defendant's prior record is important in explaining the sentence imposed on the defendant, there is little agreement on the “best” or most appropriate measure of prior record to use in examining sentence disparity. This study provides an assessment of the utility of 11 commonly used measures of prior record. We find that the various measures are not interrelated highly and thus necessarily are not interchangeable. We also find that the measures of prior record affect sentence severity differently and that the relationships between these measures and sentence severity varies for black and white defendants.
Income Inequality and Property Crime
Authors: STACK STEVEN
Published: March 2006

Cultural issues that act as intervening variables in the inequality‐crime relationship have been neglected in the literature on inequality and crime. The present article explores the interaction between inequality and variables thought to be associated with a perception that inequality is illegitimate. The central argument is that the strength of inequality‐crime relationship is dependent on a contextual factor, a radical egalitarian culture promoting the view that inequality is illegitimate. Data on property crime from 62 nations are analyzed. The results generally indicate that neither inequality nor the interaction between inequality and egalitarian culture exerts independent effects on property crime.
Administration and Justice
Authors: ANN FARR KATHRYN
Published: March 2006

Although the existence of plea negotiation as an operative mode of disposition in most criminal court systems has been firmly established, its role in the administration of justice remains a topic of considerable debate. It has been claimed that plea negotiation subverts ideal principles of justice while attending to administrative needs for speedy case settlement. More recent research indicates that disposition by guilty plea is a complex process that incorporates system needs as well as principles of justice. Findings from an exploratory study of the felony disposition guilty plea is a complex process that incorporates system needs as well as principles of justice. Findings from an exploratory study of the felony disposition process in the Multnomah County court system in Portland, Oregon suggest that, under certain conditions, plea negotiation can effect a balance between competing but interdependent domains of action in the criminal disposition process.
Self Reports of Violence
Authors: STEADMAN HENRY J. , FELSON RICHARD B.
Published: March 2006

Self‐report data are used to compare the relative incidence of aggression and violence among ex‐mental patients, ex‐offenders, and the general population and to examine the effect of socio‐demographic variables on the frequency of these behaviors. Frequency was measured by reported frequencies of aggressive behaviors during the preceding year, by whether respondents could recall serious disputes, and by the recency of the disputes they recalled. In support of studies that have relied on official arrest statistics, the evidence suggests that ex‐offenders engage in violence with greater frequency than the other two groups and that they have a greater tendency to physically attack and injure their antagonists when involved in violent disputes. Ex‐mental patients appear to use weapons more frequently than the general population, but they are no more likely to injure antagonists. In contrast to labeling theory, police were no more likely to become involved or to make an arrest in incidents involving ex‐patients or ex‐offenders.
Gender‐Based Differences
Authors: WALSH ANTHONY
Published: March 2006

One of the most pressing concerns of women's rights groups is the reform of sexist attitudes and practices within the criminal justice system. One method of redressing the problem would be a major increase in the number of women in positions of power within the criminal justice system. This study casts doubt on the effectiveness of this strategy to meliorate the sexist attitudes and practices. Not only were the attitudes of female probation officers regarding sexual assault more benign than those of their male colleagues, but also sex offenders processed by female officers received significantly more lenient sentences.
Police Response to Residential Burglaries
Authors: STENROSS BARBARA
Published: March 2006

Residential burglaries are important disruptions of the social order and may require special work on the part of the responding law enforcement officer. This study suggests that officers in some departments use crime scene processing as a form of remedial work or negative rite after especially serious breaches of the home as a private place and territory of the self. Controlling for the dollar value of the property loss, presence of suspect leads, and victim's race and insurance coverage, we found that officers in a southern sheriff's department were we likely to call in an evidence technician to dust for prints when victims lost objects typically regarded as markers of the self and when entry involved the use of force.
The Needs of the Judiciary and Misapplications of Social Research The Case of Female Guards in Men's Prisons
Authors: ALPERT GEOFFREY P.
Published: March 2006

Social scientists have a unique opportunity to generate empirical data to assist legal arguments in a court of law. Unfortunately, most researchers seldom take the initiative to research specific issues that may guide a legal question. Instead, they research issues that may interest them but have no real‐world application. This study demonstrates this problem using the example of female guards in male prism. Several suggestions are made that can put the social sciences in a leadership role.
Poverty, Inequality, and City Homicide Rates
Authors: BAILEY WILLIAM C.
Published: March 2006

Messner's recent investigation of homicide and relative and absolute economic deprivation is replicated here, but cities rather than SMSA's and three years (1950, 1960, 1970) rather than one (1970) are considered. Because of tremendous intra‐unit variation for SMSAs with respect to homicides and sociodemographic characteristics (an important variation that is masked when data are aggregated on a SMSA level), cities are a preferable unit of analysis in cross‐sectional investigations of homicide. Where M e s m found a significant negative relationship between percentage of poverty (absolute deprivation) and homicides, I consistently find the opposite pattern as predicted. In both studies, however, there is only a slight and nonsignificant relationship between relative economic deprivation (income inequality) and homicides. Unlike Messner, however, I do not consider this finding surprising. At best, there is only a weak theoretical linkage between homicide and relative economic deprivation. Accordingly, the results of this investigation for both absolute and relative deprivation are neither “perplexing” nor do they warrant the “serious reconsideration of the linkages between poverty, inequality and the homicide rate” that Messner (1982: 112) calls for.
Attitude and Behavior Change of Correctional Clientele
Authors: WORMITH J. S.
Published: March 2006

Fifty offenders incarcerated in a minimum security provincial institution participated in a variety of group programs with community volunteers. Inmates were randomly assigned to one of four treatment regimes or to a control group condition. The experiment subjects participated in community group discussions with either trained or untrained volunteers, and a concurrent activity, either a self‐control program or a recreational group. A test battery was administered in a pre/post fashion and follow‐up recidivism was monitored. Two‐by‐two factorial analyses of the treatment programs revealed a significant interaction between activities. Inmates who had participated in discussion groups with trained volunteers and in a self‐control program showed the most improvement on the test battery variables. This treatment effect generalized to inmates’institutional behavior, as measured by staff ratings and disciplinary offences. However, program participation was not related to postrelease success. Nonetheless, correlations between attitude change during the period of incarceration and recidivism were found. Among offenders who increased in their identification with the delinquent subculture, those who also increased in self‐esteem experienced less follow‐up success than those who decreased in self‐esteem. These results are discussed in terms of the complex relation between client characteristics, treatment, and other program services that must be considered in evaluating correctional programs.
AGE DIFFERENCES IN DELINQUENCY: A TEST OF THEORY*
Authors: LaGRANGE RANDY L. , WHITE HELENE RASKIN
Published: March 2006

This study tests an integrated theoretical model of delinquency on a representative sample of 341 male New Jersey adolescents. The model is a modified version of Hirschi's control theory that integrates, in part, cultural deviance theory. This study addresses two questions: (1) how well does the theory explain delinquency within different adolescent age groups? and (2) does the salience of individual components in the model differ from one age group to another? Path analysis indicates that parameter estimates vary substantially across age groups The influence of parents and the school peak considerably in midadolescence while the influence of delinquent companions is greatest among the oldest male group. The findings indicate that the processes related to delinquency change considerably as youths age through adolescence, thus implying that the issue of “age generalizability” warrants greater attention than presently given in delinquency theory and research.
AN ANALYSIS OF SERIOUS CRIME BY YOUNG BLACK WOMEN*
Authors: LAUB JOHN H. , McDERMOTT M. JOAN
Published: March 2006

This research focuses on a relatively unexplored phenomenon—black female juvenile offenders. Both theoretical and research work are weak or nonexistent regarding these offenders. This paper seeks to fill some of these gaps. In addition, this research effort draws on a source of data that has in frequently been adapted to study offenders, National Crime Survey (NCS) victimization data. Utilizing NCS data from 1973 through 1981, a comparative analysis of NCS rates of juvenile offenses by black females, black males, white females, and white males is presented and discussed. A number of propositions which are found in the literature regarding black female offenders are examined. Trends in offending by black females compared with trends for other age‐race‐sex subgroups are also presented and analyzed. Finally, some implications for future theoretical and research efforts are presented
ADVERSARIAL AND NONADVERSARIAL JUSTICE: A COMPARISON OF GUILTY PLEAS AND TRIALS*
Authors: LaFREE GARY D.
Published: March 2006

Despite the frequency of guilty pleas, researchers disagree about the ability of plea bargaining to provide justice. Critics argue that plea bargaining deprives defendants of due process rights and procedural safeguards Proponents argue that guilty pleas save resources for cases that require trial and allow officials flexibility to tailor justice to individual defendants. This article explores these issues by examining the effect of defendant and case characteristics on sentence severity for 3,269 male robbery and burglary defendants who either pled guilty or were tried in six U.S. jurisdictions, three of which had recently attempted to eliminate or greatly reduce plea bargaining and three with few restrictions on plea bargaining. The results confirm some criticisms of plea bargaining, but refute others. More criminally experienced defendants and defendants who pled guilty at the earliest opportunity did not receive sentencing leniency. Moreover, to a large extent, the same variables predict sentence severity for guilty pleas and trials. In contrast, the results show that defendants convicted at trial received more severe sanctions than defendants who pled guilty, controlling for case severity, evidence, and offender characteristics The results also suggest that the jurisdictions which attempted to control plea bargaining through more centralized control of assistance succeeded in tightening the fit between case characteristics and sentences for both cases adjudicated by guilty plea and trial.
SOCIOECONOMIC DISPARITIES UNDER DETERMINATE SENTENCING SYSTEMS: A COMPARISON OF PREGUIDELINE AND POSTGUIDELINE PRACTICES IN MINNESOTA*
Authors: MIETHE TERANCE D. , MOORE CHARLES A.
Published: March 2006

After a brief review of determinate sentencing systems, this study examines the impact of Minnesota's determinate sentencing law on various presentence and sentencing outcomes. Using comparable pre‐ and postguideline measures, the results of this study suggest that Minnesota's reform effort was largely successful in reducing disparity within the scope of the new guidelines. However, although the direct impact of socioeconomic attributes of the offender diminished, these characteristics continued to influence sentencing decisions indirectly through various presentence decisions and case attributes not governed by the guidelines Different models of charge bargaining and sentence negotiations are also observed when pre‐ and postguideline models are compared. Yet, the determinants of these time‐specific models are not consistent with the assumptions of a circumvention argument. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research evaluating the impact of determinate sentencing systems on achieving social neutrality in the application of criminal sanctions.