Where's the Learning in Service-Learning?

The recent renaissance of ecological research in criminology has brought with it a renewed interest in the relationship between crime and social control in local communities. While several researchers have noted that the police are a critical part of the community crime-control puzzle, there is very little research and no theory that addresses variation in police behavior across physical space. In an attempt to further understand police operations in local communities, this article offers a theory that explains how levels of crime and other forms of social deviance in communities affect police action. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the theory for understanding how police behavior varies across physical space and how crime patterns develop and are sustained in local communities.

Negotiating order in patrol work: an ecological theory of police response to deviance*

The study of criminality will benefit from a developmental perspective that employs analyses of within-subject changes. A review of the evidence shows continuity in offending between adolescence and adulthood and continuity between prepubertal conduct problems and later offending. Three developmental processes of offending include activation, aggravation, and desistance. A variety of documentation indicates that developmental sequences can be identified for conduct problems, substance use, and delinquency. Quantitative and qualitative changes occur in the course of offending. Understanding developmental processes provides valuable insights into formulating strategies for longitudinal studies that can help to discriminate better between correlates and causes of crime. Examining developmental processes as youngsters grow older, such as increases in physical strength and motor skills, the emergence of personality traits, sexual maturation, and greater opportunities for crime commission, provides important co...

Toward a Developmental Criminology

Battered child syndrome

Issues of selection bias pervade criminological research. Despite their ubiquity, considerable confusion surrounds various approaches for addressing sample selection. The most common approach for dealing with selection bias in criminology remains Heckman’s [(1976) Ann Econ Social Measure 5:475–492] two-step correction. This technique has often been misapplied in criminological research. This paper highlights some common problems with its application, including its use with dichotomous dependent variables, difficulties with calculating the hazard rate, misestimated standard error estimates, and collinearity between the correction term and other regressors in the substantive model of interest. We also discuss the fundamental importance of exclusion restrictions, or theoretically determined variables that affect selection but not the substantive problem of interest. Standard statistical software can readily address some of these common errors, but the real problem with selection bias is substantive, not technical. Any correction for selection bias requires that the researcher understand the source and magnitude of the bias. To illustrate this, we apply a diagnostic technique by Stolzenberg and Relles [(1997) Am Sociol Rev 62:494–507] to help develop intuition about selection bias in the context of criminal sentencing research. Our investigation suggests that while Heckman’s two-step correction can be an appropriate technique for addressing this bias, it is not a magic solution to the problem. Thoughtful consideration is therefore needed before employing this common but overused technique.

https://ccjs.umd.edu/sites/ccjs.umd.edu/files/pubs/HeckmanCorrection.pdf

Is the Magic Still There? The Use of the Heckman Two-Step Correction for Selection Bias in Criminology

The role of victims in the criminal justice process has been a neglected area of research. In the past two decades, however, victims of crime have received increased attention, and recently this attention has centered on the involvement of victims in sentencing. This paper addresses the concerns of critics of the involvement of victims in sentencing and assesses the impact of victim participation on sentence outcome using felony crimes in one midwestern county.

Analysis reveals that filing a victim impact statement has some effect on sentence outcome (probation versus incarceration), although offense and offender characteristics are of primary importance. Victim requests for a particular sentence do not influence the choice of sentence. Legal considerations largely explain length of imprisonment, although several of the victim-related variables have explanatory power. The implications of these results for the debate concerning victim participation are discussed.

The effect of victim participation in sentencing on sentence outcome

This article reviews the issues surrounding victim participation in the criminal justice system. It then examines the extent of victims' involvement in the process and its impact on their satisfaction with justice in one midwestern county. Multiple regression reveals that satisfaction with the sentence is influenced most strongly by the victims' feelings that the sentence was fair, although offense type, victim-offender relationship, and fulfillment of victims' expectations also have some explanatory power. Analysis also reveals that victims' satisfaction with the criminal justice system as a whole is influenced first and foremost by their satisfaction with the sentence. The implications of these results for the debate concerning victim participation in the process via the victim impact statement are discussed.

Victim participation in sentencing and satisfaction with justice

Students majoring in criminal justice present an “embarrassment of riches” for academic programs, so little attention has been given to these students and their perspectives on criminal justice programs. However, the assessment movement in higher education and the ACJS encourage self‐examination and program improvement. Further, student satisfaction has been recognized as an important element in the discussion of school and program quality and effectiveness. The present paper presents data from an outcome survey of graduating seniors from a Midwestern public university, with a focus on the reasons why students chose the major, career plans upon graduation, and program satisfaction. The paper explores possible predictors of these variables and discusses the implications of these results for criminal justice faculty, students, and programs. *This paper is a revision of one presented at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual meeting, March 9–13, 2004, Las Vegas, Nevada. The author wishes to thank th...

http://research3712.weebly.com/uploads/6/6/1/9/6619166/cjrcr3cjprogramassessment.pdf

Goals, Expectations, and Satisfaction of Criminal Justice Majors: Implications for Faculty, Students, and Programs*

The costs of crime to victims are well-known and research has described the physical, emotional, and financial injuries sustained by crime victims. To date, however, there has been little empirical work which investigates the correlates of victim distress vis-a-vis victim involvement in the criminal justice process. The present study explores the role played by the criminal justice experience in victim distress level and the relative importance of victim, offense, and system participation variables. Multivariate analysis revealed that the level of distress following the victimization is largely a function of offense type, victim perception of sentence severity, and victim demographic characteristics of sex and age. Investigation of the factors predictive of current victim distress level indicated that receiving restitution and the level of distress following the victimization are most important, in addition to the personal characteristics of race and marital status. The implications of these findings for ...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/026975809400300203

Crime, Punishment, and Victim Distress

The present study examines the level and patterns of parent-child abuse incidents that come to the attention of the police. It also addresses the response of law enforcement to such incidents in an attempt to discover the determinants of official intervention. The findings indicate that both family status and gender influence the patterns of parent-child abuse reported to the police. Multivariate analysis revealed that the arrest decision was influenced most strongly by the seriousness of the incident, as measured by offense severity and extent of injury to the victim. The likelihood of arrest was also affected by the race of the offender, but the influence of this variable was mediated by the seriousness of the offense. The study highlights the role that the value system surrounding the family plays in the reporting of parent-child abuse incidents and in the police decision to intervene.

Pamela Tontodonato

Papers

The effect of victim participation in sentencing on sentence outcome

Victim participation in sentencing and satisfaction with justice

Goals, Expectations, and Satisfaction of Criminal Justice Majors: Implications for Faculty, Students, and Programs*

Crime, Punishment, and Victim Distress

Patterns of reported parent-child abuse and police response