Showing papers in "Crime & Delinquency in 1973"
TL;DR: The authors argue that crime is a process of rational choice by criminals and offer the possibility of "optimal" crime preven tion policies through the application of conventional economic models, which is a common assumption in conventional public analyses of crime.
Abstract: Conventional public analyses of crime, both conservative and liberal, begin with the assumption that crimes are committed by irrational individuals who constitute a threat to a rational social order. Sharing that initial assumption, conservatives and liberals diverge in their policy approaches to deterring criminality. Some recent orthodox economic analyses of crime, having begun to re lax the assumption, view crime as a process of rational choice by criminals; they offer the possibility of "optimal" crime preven tion policies through the application of conventional economic models.
68 citations
TL;DR: The authors pointed out that Platt and Fox's evidence does not prove that the Juvenile Court Act reflected an imposition of middle-class values upon immi grants, racial minorities, and the poor.
Abstract: Some long-held assumptions about the origins of the juvenile courts have recently been challenged by Anthony M. Platt and Sanford J. Fox, who argue that middle-class and conservative in terests dominated the juvenile court movement. Generally, the efforts of these writers to correct previous exaggerated claims for the 1899 Illinois Juvenile Court Act are valid and valuable; how ever, both seem to overstate the claims that the reformers them selves made for the Act. Their evidence does not prove that the Act reflected an imposition of middle-class values upon immi grants, racial minorities, and the poor. Furthermore, they pay too little attention to the role of private charity in providing for the new detention facilities and probation services mandated by the 1899 legislation, they overlook the importance of probation as the keystone of juvenile court reform, and, reflecting a long standing tendency, they exaggerate and distort the meaning and role of informal procedures in the early juvenile courts. Unde...
34 citations
TL;DR: The economic approach to criminology in academic study and in policy-making is indicated in the abridged bibliography that follows this article as discussed by the authors, indicating the rapidly growing influence of the economic approach for criminological research.
Abstract: The rapidly growing influence of the economic approach to criminology in academic study and in policy-making is indicated in the abridged bibliography that follows this article. The economists have revived the model of the "rational" criminal and have reopened the question of punishment as a deterrent. In these new studies, however, there is a danger of ignoring the long-run social costs of any particular policy or law. In some circumstances it would be "irrational" for an ex-convict not to return to crime. By using methods such as cost-benefit analysis, systems analysis, and program budgeting, economists are striving to develop criteria for an improved allocation of resources in law enforcement. For research purposes, the econo mists assume that all divisions of the criminal justice system have one goal: the protection of society. All other presumed goals, such as deterrence, rehabilitation, prevention, punishment, and the law itself, are treated as alternative programs imple mented to achieve that goal.
33 citations
TL;DR: In Illinois, state's attorney has discretionary authority to decide whether a case should be removed from the juvenile court as mentioned in this paper, based on the seriousness of the case, the youth's prior record, and the strength of the state's case.
Abstract: Illinois statutes grant the state's attorney discretionary author ity to decide whether a case should be removed from the juvenile court. In exercising his authority the state's attorney has estab lished evaluation standards based on the seriousness of the of fense, the youth's prior record, and the strength of the state's case.
27 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, negative labels are used to create a highly visible deviant identity, damaging self-concepts, and socie tal expectations that may tend to perpetuate and intensify the very behavior objected to.
Abstract: The focus of this paper is the process by which a deviant role is created and maintained through the imposition of negative labels. The potentially undesirable consequences of negative labels are discussed as passageways that direct and initiate a deviant career and as prisons that restrain a person within a deviant role. It is suggested that these negative labels create a highly visible deviant identity, damaging self-concepts, and socie tal expectations that may tend to perpetuate and intensify the very behavior objected to. Negative labels are stereotypes that may become overgeneralized and inaccurate. The problems they create for the deviant may channel him into new forms of deviance. They may also direct action by society which insures the accuracy and perpetuation of the label. Finally, punishing labels often drive people into deviant communities and subcul tures that support their members in their deviant roles and insulate them from change.
17 citations
TL;DR: In an effort to make better use of staff time and ease recruit ment problems, the Washington State Office of Probation and Parole began in October 1965 to assign cases without reference to the sex of the parole officer.
Abstract: In an effort to make better use of staff time and ease recruit ment problems, the Washington State Office of Probation and Parole began in October 1965 to assign cases without reference to the sex of the parole officer. Some of the Washington staff objected to female officers' supervising adult male offenders. To evaluate the effectiveness of women in this role and to deter mine how many probation and parole agencies assigned women to male offenders, a survey was made in October 1970 of adult probation and parole agencies in the fifty states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the eighty-nine federal district courts.
14 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared two groups of adolescents, those who ran away once or more and those who never ran away, and found that runaways were more drawn to their peers and their siblings for help.
Abstract: Conducted in a relatively affluent suburban county, this study compared two groups of adolescents—those who ran away once or more and those who never ran away—and sought explanations for runaway behavior. The results of the self-administered, con fidential questionnaire completed by the adolescents suggested that the runaway act is motivated by several complex factors that cannot be reduced to purely psychopathological or situational explanations. The runaways in this study indicated that they were affected by certain situational stresses that impaired their func tioning. These stresses were related to family relationships, school adjustment, and psychological support from the adults in their environment. Of special interest was the runaway's inability to get along with adults, whether parents or professional helpers such as ministers and school counselors. Runaways were more drawn to their peers and their siblings for help.
13 citations
TL;DR: A review of the literature indicates that correction has significantly failed to "correct," "rehabilitate," or otherwise change its clients as mentioned in this paper, and some attribute this failure to the profound philosophical cleavage between custody and treatment forces; others say that treatment, as currently conducted in most correctional agencies, is nothing more than a euphemism for custody or control.
Abstract: A review of the literature indicates that correction has sig nificantly failed to "correct," "rehabilitate," or otherwise change its clients. Some attribute this failure to the so-called profound philosophical cleavage between custody and treatment forces; others say that treatment, as currently conducted in most cor rectional agencies, is nothing more than a euphemism for custody or control. This paper discusses these positions and concludes that the custody-treatment cleavage is more myth than reality and that it is not the primary basis for correctional failure. The failure, instead, is attributable in part to inadequate and in competent management and leadership by correctional execu tives. A number of reasons for managerial inadequacy and sev eral possible ameliorative steps that can be taken to produce success instead of failure are suggested.
12 citations
TL;DR: The concept of a voucher system for the purchase of services has its greatest potential in community correction, where offenders are, so to speak, in partnership with correctional agents as mentioned in this paper. But the concept is unrealistic.
Abstract: purer stuff is unrealistic. The concept of a voucher system for the purchase of services has its greatest potential in community correction, where offenders are, so to speak, in partnership with correctional agents. My objection to the Greenberg article is its subtle concept that offenders can do a better job alone in the gearing of services to needs and that correctional agents would be dysfunctional in this task. Progress in correction will come via a cooperative arrangement between offenders and correctional agents. A naive article like Greenberg’s is dangerous; it separates the two parties that have a vested interest in correction.
12 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an alternative approach, involving changing decisions based upon information feedback concerning decision outcomes, is illustrated by several case studies, including the California Probation Subsidy Program, the California Adult Authority Resolution 284, and the Cali fornia Department of Corrections' Parole Work Unit Program.
Abstract: Several problems in correction can be managed either more effectinely or more efficiently by changing the system than by attempting to change the individuals being processed through the system. The evidence of the relative ineffectiveness of traditional correctional treatment programing is reviewed. An alternative approach, involving changing decisions based upon information feedback concerning decision outcomes, is illustrated by several case studies, including the California Probation Subsidy Program, the California Adult Authority Resolution 284, and the Cali fornia Department of Corrections' Parole Work Unit Program. The possibility of extending this approach to other areas of the criminal justice system is discussed. It is concluded that this alternative method of dealing with correctional problems can have an important influence, permitting the reallocation of exist ing resources to other persistent concerns.
10 citations
TL;DR: The District of Columbia Court Reorganization of 1970 was designed as model legislation to be emulated in other jurisdictions seeking swift and certain justice as a solution to their crime problems as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The District of Columbia Court Reorganization of 1970 was designed as model legislation to be emulated in other jurisdictions seeking swift and certain justice as a solution to their crime problems. Among other things, it abolishes the independent juvenile court and creates a Juvenile Branch of the Family Di vision of the Superior Court. It also provides for the assignment of all Superior Court judges to any branch of the court, includ ing the Juvenile Branch, as needed.
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TL;DR: Very little has been done in the United States to improve the thousands of county jails that hold sentenced petty offenders and persons awaiting trial because these inmates are not considered an immediate danger to society, the facilities that handle them are virtually ignored.
Abstract: Very little has been done in the United States to improve the thousands of county jails that hold sentenced petty offenders and persons awaiting trial. Because these inmates are not considered an immediate danger to society, the facilities that handle them are virtually ignored. They are usually operated by local law enforcement officials, who do not have the knowledge or the time to develop needed rehabilitative programs. Subjected to these jails, many minor offenders go on to commit felonies. The deplorable conditions that exist in these local facilities might improve if every jail became part of the state correctional program.
TL;DR: The strongest and most pervasive feature of life in the Mexican prison is not the formal administration but the prison's private enterprise economy, as illustrated by La Mesa Penitenciaria, near Tijuana in the state of Baja California.
Abstract: As illustrated by La Mesa Penitenciaria, near Tijuana in the state of Baja California, the strongest and most pervasive feature of life in the Mexican prison is not the formal administration but the prison's private enterprise economy.
TL;DR: Kozol and Garofalo as discussed by the authors investigated the validity of Monahan's letter and found that it projects an inac- ac- tion of the paper to which it refers.
Abstract: sor John Monahan [Crime and Delinquency, July 1973, pp. 418-20] and suggest that its validity be evaluated by the reader after study of the paper to which it refers [Harry L. Kozol, M.D., Richard J. Boucher, and Ralph F. Garofalo, &dquo;The Diagnosis and Treatment of Dangerousness,&dquo; Crime and Delinquency. October 1972, pp. 371-92]. We submit that Professor Monahan’s letter projects an inac-
TL;DR: In this article, a former street-gang leader in Chicago is interpreted as supporting the economic theory of crime, which predicts that participation in crime varies directly with net benefits and inversely with the attractiveness of legitimate occupations.
Abstract: A taped interview with a former street-gang leader in Chicago is interpreted as supporting the economic theory of crime. This theory predicts that participation in crime varies directly with net benefits and inversely with the attractiveness of legitimate occupations. The alternative sociological explanation—that crime is caused by deviant personality or exceptional environment— is ambiguous. Parts of that theory are open to more than one interpretation, while its prediction that individuals do not respond to punishments or incentives is deficient.
TL;DR: In the seminal case of Rouse v. Cameron, the right to treatment for the mentally ill was enunciated and several courts used the reason ing of Rouse to uphold this right for other persons whose in carceration was predicated on treatment.
Abstract: In the seminal case of Rouse v. Cameron, the right to treatment for the mentally ill was enunciated. Several courts used the reason ing of Rouse to uphold this right for other persons whose in carceration was predicated on treatment. The right to treatment has been suggested as a legal tool to assure the therapeutic ideal premised by juvenile law. This article examines the theoretical basis of the right to treatment, its foundation in law, and its ap plication to the juvenile.
TL;DR: The authors argued that professional bias constrains the vision of those now working in the system and forces them to divide into factions; therefore, a new band of analysts, cynical and gen eralist in outlook and background, is required to formulate and clarify the system's assumptions, values, goals, program structures and evaluation.
Abstract: The debate between two bands of professionals in the cor rectional system, the healers and the keepers, serves to perpetuate the failures of the past and to frustrate innovative, effective analysis and reform. Given the present context, reforms inevit ably become tools for further punishment and control. The old questions are irrelevant; the old verities, insufficient. The data collected are inadequate, supplying poor answers to insignificant questions. What is urged here is that new frames of reference, borrowed from the methods of policy analysis, be applied to correctional systems. Professional bias constrains the vision of those now working in the system and forces them to divide into factions; therefore, a new band of analysts, cynical and gen eralist in outlook and background, is required to formulate and clarify the system's assumptions, values, goals, program structures, and evaluation. Otherwise, correction will remain transfixed in its hypnotic obsession with failure and obscurity.
TL;DR: The current use of inmate manpower by correctional institu tions is a compromise between the inclinations of correctional officials and the preferences of society and thus achieves the ob jectives of neither group as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The current use of inmate manpower by correctional institu tions is a compromise between the inclinations of correctional officials and the preferences of society and thus achieves the ob jectives of neither group. Instead it imposes costs on inmates in the form of poor incentives and irrelevant jobs and creates an oversupply of labor for administrators. Private industry and labor are not truly protected from competition by prison industries, but prohibiting the sale of prison-made goods causes society's overall allocation of resources to be inefficient.
TL;DR: This paper examined the records of the first 250 girls committed to this school, between 1856 and 1861, and classified them according to the following categories: good outcome, inadequate or poor outcome, grossly antisocial, chronic mental illness requiring hospitalization, and premature death.
Abstract: With the mid-nineteenth century's rapid industrialization and great increases in social displacement and crime came the estab lishment of the Industrial School for Girls in Lancaster, Mass.— the first of its kind in the United States. This paper examines the records of the first 250 girls committed to this school, between 1856 and 1861. Follow-up data are available on 184 of these girls, classifying them according to the following categories: good outcome, inadequate or poor outcome, grossly antisocial, chronic mental illness requiring hospitalization, and premature death. Excerpts taken from the girls' background reports are given as examples. Acknowledging the disturbing lack of research on female juvenile offenders, the authors offer this study in the hope that it provides a perspective on the present crisis in the management of young delinquents.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the "potential delinquent" label is virtually useless for practical application and that corrective intervention based on the assign ment of that label is totally unjustified.
Abstract: The early identification and labeling of delinquent behavior has captured the interest of many who are concerned with preventing and controlling juvenile delinquency. A number of intervention activities have been designed and implemented on the basis of the assumed validity of predictive instruments and techniques. The position taken in this paper is that no accurate assessment of the impact of intervention activities can be made without awareness of the differences between potentially delin quent, predelinquent, and delinquent children—specifically, the underlying assumptions of these labels and the processes and related consequences of their use. The conclusion is reached that the "potential delinquent" label is virtually useless for practical application and that corrective intervention based on the assign ment of that label is totally unjustified. Consideration is also given to the relative utility of formal institutional systems, as opposed to informal systems, for the delivery of corrective interven...
TL;DR: The authors examined attitudes of juvenile court counselors in a Pacific Northwest metropolitan community toward due process and restrictions upon the powers of the juvenile court and correctional workers, and found that the workers expressed relatively positive views, and there were few differences between social workers and persons with other training and between supervisors and other workers.
Abstract: Research studies on Supreme Court rulings regarding due process for juveniles are reviewed. The present study examined attitudes of juvenile court counselors in a Pacific Northwest metropolitan community toward due process and restrictions upon the powers of the juvenile court and correctional workers. The workers expressed relatively positive views, and there were few differences between social workers and persons with other training and between supervisors and other workers.
TL;DR: The authors contend that the technique can be quite useful to executives in their quest to manage their organizations toward the achievement of organizational goals because it will enable them to identify new programs worthy of experimentation and will encourage the development of an accurate information system.
Abstract: The techniques of cost/benefit analysis are presented in a general way in order to encourage decision-makers in the crim inal justice system to adopt a style of thought that will assist them in formulating decisional alternatives. Discussion of the promises and pitfalls of the technique addresses the question of whether the "benefits" of cost/benefit analysis are sufficient to outweigh the "costs" in its adoption. The authors contend that the technique can be quite useful to executives in their quest to manage their organizations toward the achievement of organizational goals because the technique will enable them to identify new programs worthy of experimentation, will encour age the development of an accurate information system, will en hance their ability to base programatic decisions on community and social indicatcrs, and will better equip them in their rela tionships with legislators, funding bodies, and interest groups.
TL;DR: The 1966 study of the Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, recognizing the myriad problems facing America's juvenile courts, suggested the creation of youth service bureaus.
Abstract: The 1966 study of the President's Commission on Law En forcement and Administration of Justice, recognizing the myriad problems facing America's juvenile courts, suggested the creation of youth service bureaus. Throughout the history of children- centered services in America, promising ideas have been altered in practice with disastrous results for the child. Because of this, and because of the mushroom-like growth of youth service bu reaus without due consideration of either philosophical under pinnings or probable consequences to the community, the YSB concept and strategy of "noncoercive intervention" must be questioned.
TL;DR: The Rogerian school of nondirected therapy is liberally applied in the discussions of what parents should do if they discover that their child is using drugs as mentioned in this paper, which is in many ways misguided.
Abstract: is in many ways misguided. As Hirschi demonstrated in his study of delinquency, many of the important factors simply cannot be controlled-e.g., a youth’s attachment to the family. This is also true for drug-using youth. Although High on the Campus presents some inaccurate pictures of the world and the procedures employed for handling youths charged with crime, there is much merit in its proposed method for handling the youthful drug user qzca family member. The Rogerian school of nondirected therapy is liberally applied in the discussions of what parents should do if they discover that their child is using drugs. The authors advocate a warm trust-
TL;DR: The main exception was the revival of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, starting with the Supreme Court decision in Robinson as mentioned in this paper, which made it possible for the defendant's right to see a presentence investigation, hearings on probation and parole revocation, and prisoners' rights to be protected.
Abstract: ments brought about by correctional decisions in this period were in procedural due process-the defendant’s right to see a presentence investigation, hearings on probation and parole revocation, and prisoners’ rights-and legislation dealt almost entirely with administrative structure and process. The principal exception was the revival of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, starting with the Supreme Court decision in Robinson
TL;DR: This article argued that sociological theories of the causes of crime do not explain crime from a truly scien tific point of view and have not been of much practical utility to correctional workers.
Abstract: Fundamental changes have occurred in juvenile court pro cedure, the administration of probation and parole, and the op eration of correctional institutions. While they do not constitute a "criminal law revolution," they are steps in "an orderly evolu tion." These changes, which re-emphasize our constitutional guar antees of civil rights, have been brought about largely through decisions in the federal and state supreme courts, not through sociological theory. Sociological theories of the causes of crime- especially individual psychological, social psychological learning, and functional sociological theories—have not been validated by empirical research and do not explain crime from a truly scien tific point of view. They have not been of much practical utility to correctional workers.
TL;DR: A survey of all agencies in the United States having parole jurisdiction over felony offenders sentenced to a correctional institution for more than one year was conducted by as mentioned in this paper, which yielded information on organizational trends, per sonnel development, and procedures employed at parole release and revocation hearings.
Abstract: A survey was conducted of all agencies in the United States having parole jurisdiction over felony offenders sentenced to a correctional institution for more than one year. The results of the survey yielded information on organizational trends, per sonnel development, and procedures employed at parole release and revocation hearings. Parole boards were found to be moving away from their role as autonomous decision-makers and instead are developing an expanded function as part of larger depart ments of correction. Parole board members are now, to a greater degree than a few years ago, full-time personnel serving longer terms of office-perhaps an indication of a trend toward in creased professionalism. Procedures at parole release hearings have not changed much in recent years, except for the manner of informing the inmate of the board's decision. On the other hand, procedures at revocation hearings have shown an increas ing tendency to accord to the offender the right to a number of due process safeguards,...
TL;DR: The cost of violence as a means of obtaining redress of grievances is recognized unanimously as prohibitive as discussed by the authors, and it may seem stupid, but this is the only time someone ever listened to us.
Abstract: "It may seem stupid, but this is the only time someone ever listened to us." That blunt confession of a rioting prisoner states eloquently the need for a grievance mechanism in the correc tional context. The cost of violence as a means of obtaining redress of grievances is recognized unanimously as prohibitive.
TL;DR: Manpower planning and the application of manpower econom ics seem likely to become important in the management of law enforcement and criminal justice activities in the future as mentioned in this paper, because the financial sources of local and state governments are limited, greater in terest is being shown in a more rational use of manpower resources to reduce the costs of police protection while improving its efficiency.
Abstract: Manpower planning and the application of manpower econom ics seem likely to become important in the management of law enforcement and criminal justice activities in the future. The major portion of expenditures to operate police departments and criminal justice facilities is now spent for salaries and other costs directly associated with employment. Because the financial re sources of local and state governments are limited, greater in terest is being shown in a more rational use of manpower re sources to reduce the costs of police protection while improving its efficiency. Any imbalance in the criminal justice system is self- defeating. If a disproportionate amount of the total resources available is allotted to police activities at the expense of other parts of the system, bottlenecks are created in the courts, and cor rectional institutions are hindered in the performance of their functions.