Showing papers in "Crime & Delinquency in 1999"
TL;DR: This article examined the principles of effective correctional treatment for female offenders through a meta-analytic review and found that clinically relevant and psychologically informed principles of human service, risk, need, and responsivity were associated with enhanced reductions in reoffending.
Abstract: Although the question of what works for general offender populations has received considerable attention within the rehabilitation literature, very little research has examined female offenders. The present investigation examined the principles of effective correctional treatment for female offenders through a meta-analytic review. The results indicated that the clinically relevant and psychologically informed principles of human service, risk, need, and responsivity identified in past meta-analytic reviews were associated with enhanced reductions in reoffending.
412 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined the effects of race and class on citizen attitudes and found that middle-class Blacks are sometimes more critical of the police and justice system than are lower-class blacks, and that race is a strong predictor of attitudes and class affects several of these views.
Abstract: Previous research has shown that Blacks are more likely than Whites to hold unfavorable opinions of criminal justice agencies in America, but the literature has rarely examined whether social class also affects these opinions. Using recent national survey data on perceptions of racial discrimination by the police and the criminal justice system, this study examines the effects of race and class on citizen attitudes. The findings indicate that (1) race is a strong predictor of attitudes and (2) class affects several of these views. An important finding is that middle-class Blacks are sometimes more critical of the police and justice system than are lower-class Blacks.
340 citations
TL;DR: The police reforms introduced in New York City by William Bratton are now hailed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani as the epitome of zero-tolerance policing, and he credits them for winning dramatic reductions in the city's crime rate as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The police reforms introduced in New York City by William Bratton are now hailed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani as the epitome of “zero-tolerance” policing, and he credits them for winning dramatic reductions in the city's crime rate. But the number of citizen complaints filed before the Civilian Complaint Review Board has jumped skyward, as has the number of lawsuits alleging police misconduct and abuse offorce. Comparison of crime rates, arrest statistics, and citizen complaints in New York with those in San Diego—where a more problem-oriented community policing strategy has been implemented—gives strong evidence that effective crime control can be achieved while producing fewer negative impacts on urban neighborhoods.
301 citations
TL;DR: Restorative justice has emerged as an increasingly popular correctional paradigm that is drawing support not only from conservatives but also from liberals as discussed by the authors. But its ready embrace as a progressive reform is potentially problematic in two respects: the risk exists that restorative justice programs will be corrupted to serve non-progressive goals and thus do more harm than good.
Abstract: Restorative justice has emerged as an increasingly popular correctional paradigm that is drawing support not only from conservatives but also from liberals. Although this approach has value, its ready embrace as a progressive reform is potentially problematic in two respects. First, the risk exists that restorative justice programs will be corrupted to serve nonprogressive goals and thus do more harm than good. Second, there is little reason to anticipate that restorative justice programs will have a meaningful effect on offender recidivism. Thus, restorative justice should be viewed and implemented with caution.
163 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors suggest that social support may serve as a public idea that can help organize a progressive approach to crime control and suggest that the idea that we should increase social support to at-risk youths, families, and communities is good criminology.
Abstract: The near hegemony of conservative crime control policies is reinforced by a public idea or narrative about crime that citizens find persuasive: “Getting tough” with predatory offenders reduces lawlessness. Progressives have long criticized such ideology, but they have been less successful in advancing ideas capable of directing an alternative policy agenda. For three reasons, we suggest that social support may serve as a public idea that can help organize a progressive approach to crime control. First, the idea that we should increase social support to at-risk youths, families, and communities is good criminology because empirical evidence shows that social support is inversely related to individual offending and to macrolevel crime rates. Second, the claim that social support is beneficial makes sense because it resonates with Americans' personal and imagined experiences. Third, social support leads to specific policies that are humane and efficacious—that is, that will improve the lives of those at risk...
154 citations
TL;DR: Most explanations of the unprecedented increase in American incarceration rates are inadequate as discussed by the authors, and crime rate increases, more punitive public attitudes, postmodernist angst, and cynical politics are all only part of the explanation.
Abstract: Most explanations of the unprecedented increase in American incarceration rates are inadequate. Crime rate increases, more punitive public attitudes, postmodernist angst, and cynical politics are all only part of the explanation. Those things characterize all Western countries; in some of these countries, imprisonment rates have long been stable or declining, and, where they are rising, absolute levels and rates of increase are dwarfed by those in America. The scale of the phenomenon is distinctly American. It arises partly from American moralism and partly from structural characteristics of American government that provide little insulation from emotions generated by moral panics and longterm cycles of tolerance and intolerance.
149 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a meta-analysis was conducted of 33 cost-effectiveness evaluations of private and public prisons from 24 independent studies, and the results revealed that private prisons were no more cost-effective than public prisons, and that other institutional characteristics such as the facility's economy of scale, age, and security level were the strongest predictors of a prison's daily per diem cost.
Abstract: The need to reduce the costs of incarceration to state and federal correctional agencies has allowed the movement to privatize correctional institutions to gain considerable momentum. The empirical evidence regarding whether private prisons are more costeffective than public institutions, however, is inconclusive. To address this question, a meta-analysis was conducted of 33 cost-effectiveness evaluations of private and public prisons from 24 independent studies. The results revealed that private prisons were no more cost-effective than public prisons, and that other institutional characteristics—such as the facility's economy of scale, age, and security level—were the strongest predictors of a prison's daily per diem cost.
113 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the effect of aggressive curfew and truancy enforcement on gang violence in the city of Dallas, and found that aggressive curfew enforcement led to significant reductions in gang violence, whereas simple saturation patrol did not.
Abstract: In 1996, the Dallas Police Department began an anti-gang initiative that was designed to reduce gang violence. Five defined target areas that were home to seven of the city's most violent gangs received overtime-funded officers to implement several different enforcement strategies. The strategies included saturation patrol and aggressive curfew and truancy enforcement. Control areas were selected, and preintervention and postintervention measures of gang violence and offenses that were reported to the police were analyzed. The findings indicated that aggressive curfew and truancy enforcement led to significant reductions in gang violence, whereas simple saturation patrol did not. In addition, there were no significant reductions in offenses reported to the police. The significance of these findings and policy implications is discussed.
100 citations
TL;DR: The authors compared the recidivism rates of groups of releasees from privately and publicly operated prisons and found that those released from private prisons who reoffended committed less serious subsequent offenses than did their public prison counterparts.
Abstract: This research compared the recidivism rates of groups of releasees from privately and publicly operated prisons. The study consisted of 198 male releasees from two private facilities in Florida who were precision matched with releasees from public prisons. Recidivism over one year was measured in alternative ways. The private prison group had lower rates of recidivism. Those released from private prisons who reoffended committed less serious subsequent offenses than did their public prison counterparts. The two groups were similar in how long it took for rearrest or for the first recidivism event to occur.
96 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an exploratory assessment of the potential of Megan's Law to prevent subsequent sex offenses in Massachusetts was performed using secondary data on 136 criminal sexual psychopaths, and they found that 27 percent of the sample had a prior conviction that met the requirements of the Massachusetts Registry Law before their most recent sex crime.
Abstract: This article presents an exploratory assessment of the potential of Megan's Law to prevent subsequent sex offenses in Massachusetts. Using secondary data on 136 criminal sexual psychopaths, the authors found that 27 percent of the sample had a prior conviction that met the requirements of the Massachusetts Registry Law before their most recent sex crime. Of these 36 offenders who would have been eligible for the registry, 12 committed a stranger-predatory sex offense; the remaining 24 offended against family, friends, and coworkers. Assuming a registration and notification system of complete integrity, proactive police warnings could have potentially reached subsequent victims in 6 of the 12 stranger-predatory cases.
82 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors tested the deterrence hypothesis in Texas, the most active execution jurisdiction during the modern era, using monthly observations during 1984 through 1997, and found no evidence of deterrence resulting from capital punishment.
Abstract: This study tested the deterrence hypothesis in Texas, the most active execution jurisdiction during the modern era. Using monthly observations during 1984 through 1997, both the general relationship between executions and murder rates and the specific relationship between executions and felony murder rates were examined. An initial bivariate relationship between executions and murder rates proved to be spurious when appropriate control variables were included in regression models. Within a context so ideally suited for finding any potential deterrent effects, this study confirmed the results of previous ones that failed to find any evidence of deterrence resulting from capital punishment.
TL;DR: In this paper, a literature review aims to help fill the information void regarding youth gang homicides by summarizing data and results of empirical studies, and promising programs and intervention strategies are reviewed.
Abstract: This literature review aims to help fill the information void regarding youth gang homicide by summarizing data and results of empirical studies. Information on the topic is summarized in five areas. First, the growth in youth gang homicides is assessed. Second, distinguishing characteristics of gang homicides are reviewed. Third, studies of the relationship between youth gang homicides and drug trafficking are examined. Fourth, promising programs and intervention strategies are reviewed. Program and policy implications are discussed in the final section. Youth gang homicides can be prevented and reduced.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider whether notification is truly a community justice initiative and compare the logic of notification with that of restorative community justice, concluding that the principles of notification are largely inconsistent with those of community justice.
Abstract: Nationwide legislation requires that the names of convicted sex offenders living in communities be made public. The social movement that drives sex offender notification uses the rhetoric of community justice. The authors consider whether notification is truly a community justice initiative. The logic of notification is compared with that of restorative community justice. Implicit and explicit understandings of community, victims, offenders, and social control are examined. The article concludes that the principles of notification are largely inconsistent with those of community justice. The success of the notification movement highlights the urgent need for effective interventions that address sexual violence.
TL;DR: In this paper, a reanalysis of self-reported delinquency data from the Richmond Youth Survey indicates that social control theory has only limited explanatory power, while strain theory has more explanatory power.
Abstract: A reanalysis of self-reported delinquency data from the Richmond Youth Survey indicates that social control theory has only limited explanatory power. The analysis confirms a prediction of strain theory, although strain theory, too, has limited explanatory power. The impact of Hirschi's Causes of Delinquency may have been due as much to its ideological appeal as to the strength of the evidence that it presented in support of social control theory.
TL;DR: In this article, sentence completion and recidivism of juveniles referred to teen courts for disposition by their peers as an alternative to judicial sentencing was studied, and the findings imply the need for teen courts to be guided by sound program development efforts that are based on research so that they may circumvent the panacea phenomenon.
Abstract: This study focuses on sentence completion and recidivism of juveniles referred to teen courts for disposition by their peers as an alternative to judicial sentencing. More than 70 percent of the referrals completed their sentences, and just less than a third recidivated over a 1-year follow-up. In multivariate models, sentence completion was significantly less likely among persons sentenced to community service, and recidivism was significantly higher among juveniles with prior records and those who were sentenced to curfews. The findings imply the need for teen courts to be guided by sound program development efforts that are based on research so that they may circumvent the panacea phenomenon.
TL;DR: It is concluded that practices commonly used at boot camp may be considered cruel and unusual and may give rise to costly inmate litigation.
Abstract: Research has shown that large segments of the public will only support shorter sentences for offenders if longer sentences are exchanged for harsh, intensive correctional experiences. An exchange of time for intensity has raised concerns about the purpose of correctional boot camp and the potential for abuse in programs intentionally designed to be severe. This article compares common forms of discipline used in shock incarceration programs with legal findings regarding what is cruel and unusual punishment. It concludes that practices commonly used at boot camp may be considered cruel and unusual and may give rise to costly inmate litigation.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate whether crime-prone individuals are more likely to be allocated to public housing, by reason of their economic and social disadvantage, and report the results of research designed to test the two hypotheses.
Abstract: Public housing estates in Britain, the United States, and Australia are frequently plagued by crime problems. In Australia at least, policy debate about how to address these problems has been dominated by the view that public housing design influences crime by controlling the supply of opportunities for offending (the design hypothesis). An alternate and less frequently considered possibility is that public housing estates experience persistent crime problems simply because crime-prone individuals are (by reason of their economic and social disadvantage) more likely to be allocated to public housing (the allocation hypothesis). This article reports the results of research designed to test the two hypotheses. The results support the allocation hypothesis.
TL;DR: This paper conducted interviews with judges, prosecutors, and defense counsels charged with the implementation of the VIS scheme in South Australia, and found that practitioners routinely objectify, and thereby minimize, the injuries sustained by victims, and impose an implicit "reasonable victim" test to evaluate VISs.
Abstract: Despite the high hopes of victims' rights advocates, and contrary to the warnings about negative consequences, the evidence demonstrates that victim impact statements (VISs) have had little influence on criminal proceedings and court outcomes. This study, based on interviews with judges, prosecutors, and defense counsels charged with the implementation of the VIS scheme in South Australia, shows that practitioners routinely objectify, and thereby minimize, the injuries sustained by victims, and impose an implicit “reasonable victim” test to evaluate VISs. Professionals' responses are analyzed according to Sykes and Matza's notion of techniques of neutralization as a case study of the ways in which law reform endeavors are subordinated to the competing value systems and organizational imperatives of court workgroups.
TL;DR: This paper used a case study of an alleged conflict of interest in regard to the privatization of prisons to call attention to what may be a need for criminologists and their professional journals to try to deal in an even-handed manner with the possibility of such conflicts.
Abstract: Possible conflicts of interest appear to be increasing in social science, medical, and legal scholarship. This article uses a case study of an alleged conflict of interest in regard to the privatization of prisons to call attention to what may be a need for criminologists and their professional journals to try to deal in an even-handed manner with the possibility of such conflicts.
TL;DR: A number of studies have indicated that some treatment programs have a positive impact on some offenders at least some of the time as mentioned in this paper, which offers considerable encouragement to advocates of the rehabilitative ideal.
Abstract: During the 1950s and 1960s, considerable enthusiasm was voiced for treatment programs directed at delinquents and criminals. However, since 1970, the “nothing works” view became dominant and support for correctional treatment waned among the general public and many criminal justice workers. But, in recent years, a number of studies have indicated that some treatment programs have a positive impact on some offenders at least some of the time. Two volumes published in 1998 and reviewed in detail in this article offer considerable encouragement to advocates of the rehabilitative ideal.
TL;DR: The import/export trade in sentencing and corrections innovations between the United States and Europe is unbalanced as discussed by the authors, and European focus on effectiveness, moderation, and humanity results in large part from constitutional arrangements that insulate sentencing policies from partisan and populist politics.
Abstract: The import/export trade in sentencing and corrections innovations between the United States and Europe is unbalanced. Humane, cost-effective sanctions such as prosecutorial fines, community service orders, and day fines have proliferated across national boundaries in Europe, but U.S. borders have proved impermeable. By contrast, American symbolic policies and rhetoric (e.g., three strikes, boot camps, truth in sentencing) have been adopted in mild forms in some English-speaking countries, but other European countries have shown no interest. The European focus on effectiveness, moderation, and humanity results in large part from constitutional arrangements that insulate sentencing and corrections policies from partisan and populist politics.
TL;DR: In this article, civil liability under state tort law against criminal justice personnel engaged in police sexual violence (PSV) was explored. And the authors concluded that governmental entities need to systematically collect data on the prevalence of PSV, and criminal justice agencies need to monitor employees' deviant acts effectively.
Abstract: This article explores civil liability under state tort law against criminal justice personnel engaged in police sexual violence (PSV). After describing vicarious liability under the doctrine of respondeat superior, the article identifies five theories that courts use in deciding whether criminal justice agents commit PSV within the scope of employment. The article also discusses PSV cases litigated pursuant to intentional and negligence torts. It concludes that governmental entities need to systematically collect data on the prevalence of PSV, and criminal justice agencies need to monitor employees' deviant acts effectively.
TL;DR: This article used interview and survey data from a study of county-level intake processes in Texas to identify and discuss their policy implications, and found that variation in assessment or intake goals and practices will likely constrain the efficiency or efficacy of juvenile processing.
Abstract: Recent reforms have expanded the possibilities for gathering and sharing information during juvenile justice processing and have included calls for comprehensive assessments of all juvenile referrals. However, scant attention has been given to questions concerning the timing, goals, or uses of assessments; the structure and goals of intake; or the role of assessments at intake. These questions merit closer investigation because variation in assessment or intake goals and practices will likely constrain the efficiency or efficacy of juvenile processing. Using interview and survey data from a study of county-level intake processes in Texas, this study identifies and discusses their policy implications.
TL;DR: The authors examines the constitutionality of juvenile curfews, another currently popular response to the supposed juvenile crime wave, and examines recent lower court decisions and discuss the legal implications of juvenile curfew laws.
Abstract: There is widespread sentiment that juvenile crime is out of control. Although this perception is incorrect, it has led to a number of changes in how juvenile offenders are dealt with, such as increased use of waiver to adult court and more frequent use of confinement as a sanction. This article examines the constitutionality of juvenile curfews, another currently popular response to the supposed juvenile crime wave. Because the Supreme Court has not provided guidance on this issue, the authors examine recent lower court decisions and discuss the legal implications of juvenile curfew laws.
TL;DR: The authors examined the destabilization of determinate sentencing in Florida and found that the state's punishment policy is today an unwieldy mix of the worst features of the indeterminate and the determinate ideologies.
Abstract: This study examines the destabilization of determinate sentencing in Florida. In retaining the form but rejecting the substance of the determinate sentencing model, Florida's punishment policy is today an unwieldy mix of the worst features of the indeterminate and the determinate ideologies. The discussion places recent policy changes, including the authorization of extraordinarily wide sentencing ranges and the abolition of appellate review, in the context of Florida's two-decade odyssey with determinate sentencing. The article is based on interviews with policymakers and practitioners, along with a variety of official and unofficial documents. The potential ramifications of other states following Florida's lead are enormous and deserve scrutiny.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the relationship between prior drug taking and HIV/AIDS-related risk behavior among women prisoners and found that women drug offenders engaged in numerous high-risk drug and sexual behaviors.
Abstract: This study examined the relationship between offense, prior drug taking, and HIV/AIDS-related risk behavior among women prisoners. Women drug offenders in this study engaged in numerous high-risk drug and sexual behaviors. Many had engaged in injection drug use and prostitution. Recent drug control policies, grounded in deterrence and based on harsh legal penalties, have led to the incarceration of numerous offenders who are low criminal risks but represent major public health risks on release. Criminal justice policies penalizing drug users may be contributing factors to the spread of HIV infection in the wider society.
TL;DR: A brief review of the development and current status of criminological theory can be found in this article, where the central argument is that criminology is in considerable part an art form, in which relatively fuzzy theoretical arguments are commonplace.
Abstract: This essay provides a brief review of the development and current status of criminological theory. The central argument is that criminological theorizing is in considerable part an art form, in which relatively fuzzy theoretical arguments are commonplace. As a result, our potential for informing public policy has been and probably will continue to be limited.
TL;DR: The authors focused on a recent, important anthology of essays on criminal justice policy, all centering on "minimizing harm" as an organizing principle, and concluded that much of what we have to say about public policy consists of informed opinions rather than firmly grounded, scientific pronouncements.
Abstract: Over the past several decades, criminologists have increasingly become involved in discussions of criminal justice policies and policy-making. This essay focuses on a recent, important anthology of essays on criminal justice policy, all centering on “minimizing harm” as an organizing principle. Regrettably, little consensus but much disagreement is apparent in the writings of the criminal justice “experts” who contributed to the volume. The larger message of the book is that much of what we have to say about public policy consists of informed opinions rather than firmly grounded, scientific pronouncements.
TL;DR: Emergency cellular telephone programs show promise as an effective and relatively inexpensive means for improving highway safety and reduced alcohol-related fatal crashes in Tennessee.
Abstract: Using longitudinal data drawn from Tennessee's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and a multiple time-series research design, the authors assessed whether an emergency cellular telephone program, established on April 1, 1995, reduced alcohol-related fatal crashes. Maximum-likelihood results revealed a 2.5 percent decline in the alcohol-related fatal crash rate on roads serviced by the program. No significant change in the monthly percentage of fatal crashes attributed to drunk drivers was observed on roads where the program was not implemented. Emergency cellular telephone programs show promise as an effective and relatively inexpensive means for improving highway safety.