Showing papers in "Crime & Delinquency in 2002"

The Effects of Behavioral/Cognitive-Behavioral Programs on Recidivism

Abstract: The CDATE project coded studies of treatment/intervention programs in prison, jail, probation, or parole settings reported from 1968 through 1996. Meta-analyses were conducted on the 69 primary research studies on the effectiveness of behavioral and cognitive-behavioral treatment in reducing recidivism for offenders. Results on this heterogeneous collection of studies show that this treatment is associated with reduced recidivism rates. However, this effect is mainly due to cognitive-behavioral interventions rather than to standard behavior modification approaches. The specific types of programs shown to be effective include cognitive-behavioral social skills development programs and cognitive skills (Reasoning and Rehabilitation) programs.

The Origins and Development of the Concept and Theory of State-Corporate Crime

Abstract: The important contributions made by Richard Quinney to the study of corporate crime and the sociology of law, crime, and justice have influenced the development of the concept of state-corporate crime. This concept has been advanced to examine how corporations and governments intersect to produce social harm. State-corporate crime is defined as criminal acts that occur when one or more institutions of political governance pursue a goal in direct cooperation with one or more institutions of economic production and distribution. The creation of this concept has directed attention to a neglected form of organizational crime and inspired numerous empirical studies and theoretical refinements.

A Cautionary Note on the Use of Actuarial Risk Assessment Tools for Social Control

Abstract: Actuarial risk assessment tools for predicting interpersonal violence and criminal recidivism have proliferated in recent years, promising to enhance their use in the day-to-day operations of the criminal justice and mental health systems. The authors consider the social and political implications of using actuarial tools for social control by offering two specific challenges. First, they argue that actuarial tools are designed primarily to facilitate the efficient management of institutional resources rather than to target individuals or social conditions in need of reform. Second, they argue that the group-based nature of actuarial prediction methods may contribute to the continued marginalization of populations already at the fringes of the economic and political mainstream.

The Effectiveness of Community Policing in Reducing Urban Violence

Abstract: In recent years, sharp declines in violent crime rates have been recorded across major American cities. During this time period, many police departments have shifted from a traditional reactive form of policing to a community-oriented approach. It is unclear whether these changes have any causal relationship with the control or reduction in violent crime. To examine this issue, this study used the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, and city-level census data to examine the economic and political determinants of robbery and homicide rates in 164 American cities. Findings indicate that community policing had little effect on the control or the decline in violent crime. Proactive policing strategies related to arrest had an inverse effect on violent crime measures and were related to reductions in violent crime over time. Implications of these findings for criminal justice policy are discussed.

Disproportionate Minority Confinement (DMC) of Youth: An Analysis of State and Federal Efforts to Address the Issue:

Abstract: Since the mid-1990s, states participating in the Federal Formula Grants Program have been required to determine whether disproportionate minority confinement (DMC) exists in secure facilities, identify the causes, and develop and implement corrective strategies. DMC, a core requirement of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, consists of four interrelated stages: identification, assessment, intervention, andmonitoring. The objective of the present research is to examine compliance with the identification and assessment stages of the DMC mandate. More specifically, the inquiry focuses on the extent of minority overrepresentation in states' juvenile justice systems and assessments of its causes. The discussion concludes with an examination of the politics and practical limitations that affect implementation of the DMC requirement.

Revisiting the Decision to Arrest: Comparing Beat and Community Officers

Abstract: During the past 30 years, an expanding body of literature has evolved that examines the correlates of officers'decisions to arrest. This study extends this line of inquiry by investigating the influence of situational- and community-level variables on the arrest decisions of officers in an agency that has implementedcommunity policing. Using data collected through systematic social observations of the police, the authors examine the direct effects of officers' assignment on the decision to arrest. In addition, the authors explore whether conventional arrest predictors vary between community and beat officers and, if so, the extent and nature of the variance. The findings generally suggest that there is no significant direct influence of assignment on arrest decisions. However, substantive differences in the decision-making process are revealed among predictors of arrest across assignments.

Implementing Community-Oriented Policing: Organizational Change and Street Officer Attitudes

Abstract: The limited amount of research on the impact of community-oriented policing (COP) on officer attitudes toward their jobs has been conducted in large cities. In the present study, we analyze survey data from 285 nonsupervisory officers in six small to midsize law enforcement agencies to examine how COP training and COP officer designation is associated with attitudes toward COP principles, support for COP, and job satisfaction. Results indicate that community police officers spend more time engaged in COP-related activities, are more supportive of COP methods and goals, more supportive of organizational changes necessary to implement COP, and more satisfied with their jobs when compared to traditional officers. In addition, officers who perceived their department as having a participatory management style were more positive about community policing and more satisfied with their jobs. Surprisingly, a large majority of traditional officers also supported COP goals and the transition to COP in their departments.

Values and Evaluation: Assessing Processes and Outcomes of Restorative Justice Programs

Abstract: Increased interest in the restorative justice programs is accompanied by concern for whether they work andthrough what basic processes. Yet the task of evaluating restorative justice programs is a daunting one because they are so diverse, pursuing unique andmultiple objectives. Restorative justice is guidedby values that emphasize healing andsocial well-being of those affectedby crime. These values must guide program evaluation. The authors explore ways to conceptualize andmeasure program inputs and outputs for the purpose of assessing both processes and outcomes of restorative justice programs.

The Effect of State Sentencing Policies on Incarceration Rates

Abstract: This aricle explores the relationship between sentencing policies and the state incarceration rate, prison admission rate, and average sentence length in the late 1990s. Presumptive sentencing guidelines represent the only policy consistently related to incarceration and admission rates, whereas three strikes laws may increase the rate of admission to prison among those arrested for drug offenses. Determinate sentencing, mandatory sentencing, and truth-in-sentencing laws have no effect on rates of incarceration or admission. Crime rates, the percentage of the population that is Black, and citizen ideology have the greatest influence on the rates of incarceration and admission across states. The apparently limited effects of sentencing policies on incarceration or admission rates should give pause to state policy makers seeking to quickly alter prison populations through the adoption of such policies without considering other factors that independently influence prison populations in their states.

School Activities, Community Service, and Delinquency:

Abstract: A common observation is that lack of involvement in communities is linked to a host of social problems, including delinquency. In response to this observation, youth are increasingly encouraged to volunteer for community service projects. Involvement in school activities is also seen as a way to attenuate delinquency. Yet little research has examined the simultaneous and unique impact of school involvement and community activities on delinquency. Using linked individual-level and school-level data, the authors investigate the impact of school and community activities on delinquency. The results indicate that community activities are related negatively to delinquency, especially in schools that are perceived as unsafe. However, race/ethnicity and percentage of minority students in the school condition the impact of school activities on delinquent behavior. In high-minority schools, African American students who participate in school activities are involved in more delinquent behavior, yet those in low-mino...

Adult Versus Juvenile Sanctions: Voices of Incarcerated Youths

Abstract: This article reports findings from face-to-face interviews with youthful offenders in Florida, about half of whom had been transferred to the adult system and half of whom were retained in the juvenile system. The focus is on the youths’global assessments of the impact of their correctional experiences relevant to subsequent offending. The overall impact of each recalled correctional disposition was rated (ranging from beneficial impact to negative impact). For respondents who had experienced multiple correctional dispositions, comparisons were made about the relative impact of low-end versus deepend juvenile commitments and juvenile versus adult sanctions. Youths believed deep-end juvenile placements were most beneficial. Those programs were viewed as having provided education or life skills. When youths viewed adult sanctions as being beneficial, the benefit was linked to the time and pain of prison confinement. Those youths who attributed positive impact to prison had “skipped” deep-end juvenile placem...

Improving Juvenile Justice for Females: A Statewide Assessment in California

Abstract: This article reports findings from a survey of officials from various California state agencies and a series of interviews and focus groups with female youth and professionals serving this population. The study examined types of services provided, program barriers, and facilitation of change. The findings were used to make gender-specific policy and program recommendations. The authors found that meeting the needs of girls and young women requires specialized staffing and training, particularly in terms of relationship and communication skills, gender differences in delinquency, substance abuse education, the role of abuse, developmental stages of female adolescence, and available programs and appropriate placements and limitations. Effective programming for girls and women should be shaped by and tailored to their real-world situations and problems. In order to do this, a theoretical approach to treatment that is gender-sensitive and that addresses the realities of girls' lives must be developed.

Reflections on Women's Crime and Mothers in Prison: A Peacemaking Approach

Abstract: In this article, the work of Richard Quinney and his peacemaking approach to the study of crime is used to examine the circumstances of women's crime and the effect of incarceration on women and children. Quinney's attention to events prior to the act of crime is applied to women's crime. The common life experience of prior physical or sexual abuse is among the most consistent recurring themes among incarcerated women. For these women, crime is a symptom of other painful life experiences. Quinney's peacemaking approach to crime suggests that nonpunitive response offers more hope for a future without crime, and this approach is suggested as the most appropriate means of responding to women's crime.

Self-Reported Copycat Crime Among a Population of Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders

Abstract: A unique population of juveniles, serious and violent juvenile offenders (SVJOs), has emergedas a public concern. A corollary concern is the effect of the mass media on juveniles. Addressing both issues, an exploratory study of copycat crime and the media's role in copycat crime's generation among a sample of SVJOs is conducted. The study's goals are to measure the prevalence of self-reportedcopycat crime in SVJOs and examine the correlates of self-reported copycat criminal behaviors. Concerning prevalence, about one fourth of the juveniles reportedthat they have attempteda copycat crime. The correlates of copycat behavior include a set of media and peer-related attitudes. Academic and demographic characteristics are not foundto significantly relate to copycat crime. Additional research on specific media, such as video games, as well as offender/nonoffender comparisons is suggested.

Using Police Officers to Enhance the Supervision of Juvenile Probationers: An Evaluation of the Anchorage CAN Program

Abstract: This study presents an evaluation of the Anchorage Coordinated Agency Network (CAN) program. The program combined the capacities of both the Anchorage Police Department and the Anchorage Office of Juvenile Probation to enhance the overall levels of supervision that juvenile probationers received. Consistent with research from intensive supervision literature, the CAN evaluation found that juveniles participating in the program were more likely to have new technical violations but no more likely to have new charges when comparedto juveniles on regular probation. These findings support intensive supervision probation literature suggesting that increased supervision and surveillance lead to increased levels of probation violations.

If You Build It, They Will Come: Consequences of Improved Citizen Complaint Review Procedures

Abstract: This study tests the hypothesis that when law enforcement agencies make improvements in their citizen complaint review procedures, a likely consequence is more complaints. Findings from a survey of 700 law enforcement agencies suggest that improvements in citizen complaint procedures result in a higher incidence of complaints. Additionally, certain combinations of citizen complaint review procedures are highly associated with the incidence of complaints. Two recommendations are made: (a) researchers and policy makers need to be attuned to the fact that more complaints will be filed when complaint procedures are reformed, and (b) law enforcement agencies need to be “careful what they ask for;” a higher complaint rate, although a desirable consequence of improved complaint review procedures, could result in unanticipated consequences.

Battle Fatigue: Is Public Support Waning for “War”-Centered Drug Control Strategies?

Abstract: Since the early 1980s, federal drug control expenditures have soared in response to six presidential administrations’ commitment to the “war on drugs.” During this period, spending on criminal justice programs grew from 30% of the total drug control budget to 52%, whereas the share devoted to drug treatment programs declined from 31% to 18%. Although there appears to be a broad and enduring consensus among the public for government to address the drug problem, little is known about what kinds of strategies Americans prefer. In this article, the authors analyze data from a recent survey of residents of the five largest U.S. metropolitan areas to explore public opinion about domestic drug control policy. The authors found that although respondents seemed generally favorable toward spending on the drug problem, they did not support the way the war on drugs is being fought. In particular, support for criminal justice approaches to drug control lagged significantly behind support for prevention and treatment s...

“Luxuries” in Prison: The Relationship Between Amenity Funding and Public Support

Abstract: During the 1990s, politicians and others successfully campaigned against prison amenities, arguing that prisons resemble country clubs and as such do not deter crime. They further contended that citizens did not want tax dollars used to finance inmate privileges. Despite this political claim, virtually no empirical research has been conducted to establish its validity. This research project compares the degree of citizen opposition to prison amenities as a function of perceptions regarding who pays for such amenities. Three different survey versions were mailed to the general public. The first informed citizens that inmates pay for their privileges, the second informed respondents that tax dollars are used to finance inmate privileges, and the third provided no information regarding funding. The findings suggest that who pays for prison amenities influences citizen willingness to support inmate access to prison amenities.

Decision Making and Perceived Postdetention Success Among Incarcerated Youth

Abstract: This exploratory study seeks to better understand the link between decision-making skills and perceived postdetention success among incarcerated youth. The study uses data derived from surveys administered in 2001 of 197 incarcerated youth in two Nevada youth detention facilities. Results reveal that those youth possessing higher levels of decision-making competence scored higher on a postedetention success scale. This relationship was found while controlling for gender, age, ethnicity, number of arrests, and family conflict. Implications for detention-based education and prevention programming, as well as future research are discussed.

Linking Process and Outcomes in Evaluating a Statewide Drug Treatment Program for Youthful Offenders

Abstract: Considerable attention recently has been given to the principles of effective intervention and their importance for reducing recidivism. By contrast, much less attention has been given to youth performance while in treatment or to program implementation, yet both are critical factors that also can affect recidivism. Using data on youthful offenders in the Texas Youth Commission (TYC), the authors examine rearrest patterns for youths in TYC's Chemical Dependency Treatment Program. Analyses focus on treatment performance and program implementation and their impact on rearrest, net of demographic, risk, and need factors. Policy and research implications of these analyses are discussed.

Toward a Theoretical Model of Peacemaking Criminology: An Essay in Honor of Richard Quinney:

Abstract: In previous research, core peacemaking criminology themes addressed by authors within the Pepinsky and Quinney reader were examined. These peacemaking criminology themes are types of crimes/social harms embedded in current social structure, types of theoretical frameworks/perspectives guiding peacemaking criminology, and types of peacemaking alternatives to confront the social injustices underlying crimes/social harms in today's society. Building on this previous research as well as a survey of peace-making authors, this article illustrates how elements of a peacemaking criminology theoretical model come into view. The article then explores the basic nature and connections of the elements in this peacemaking criminology theoretical model. The analysis concludes with suggestions of ways this peacemaking criminology theoretical model can be adapted toward future crime research and policies.

Reexamining Martinson's Critique: A Cautionary Note for Evaluators:

Abstract: In 1974, Robert Martinson, an adjunct assistant professor at the City College of New York, published an article titled “What Works?—Questions and Answers About Prison Reform” (Martinson, 1974). In it, he summarized the results of a 3-year project—Effectiveness of Correctional Treatment (ECT)—which reviewed the effectiveness of 231 offender rehabilitation programs that had been evaluated during the prior 30 years (see also Lipton, Martinson, & Wilks, 1975). Based on his analysis of what was the most extensive offender treatment database that existed at that time, he concluded that “with few and isolated exceptions, the rehabilitative efforts that have been reported so far have had no appreciable effect on recidivism” (p. 25).Martinson's article has since been cited, perhaps naively, as one of the precipitating factors that quashed the treatment-oriented zeitgeist of the 1970s. In truth, Martinson may have provided an invaluable service to the rehabilitation movement by inadvertently giving human form to th...

In the Beginning Was the Student: Teaching Peacemaking and Justice Issues

Abstract: This article is written in the spirit of Richard Quinney's contributions to teaching as an exploration into the contradictions, ironies, and connections (both obvious and hidden) that allow learning to unfold and show itself to teachers and students. A critique of the conflict between developing expertise and experiencing learning is offered. The value of feelings and intuition, thinking and knowledge, and imagination and creativity are examined as a way to bring teacher and student together in the process of learning into wisdom.

On Moral Enterprises, Pragmatism, and Feminist Criminology

Abstract: This article affirms Richard Quinney's claim that criminology is a moral enterprise. The author examines the intersection of pragmatism and feminism and its links to feminist criminology (undoing the past and looking to the future, goal of liberation, epistemology and methods, and social responsibility). The article links these pragmatist-feminist themes to Richard Quinney's criminology.

Richard Quinney's Journey: The Marxist Dimension

Abstract: The relationship of Richard Quinney's critical criminology to Marxism is explored in this article. The originality of his version of critical criminology is discussed, from its origins in social constructionism, to his engagement with Marxism in the 1970s, to the importance in his later work of issues such as existentialism, Eastern thought, and Erich Fromm's socialist humanism. It is argued that Quinney's writings, despite several shifts of perspective, nonetheless exhibit some basic continuities and that an engagement with various forms of unorthodox, humanistic Marxism is one of these.

Crime and Peace: A Walk With Richard Quinney

Abstract: Two paths are inspired by Richard Quinney's deep insights into self and society: a path that stimulates sociological imagination and helps us analyze the political economy of crime, and a path of personal and collective transformation. Following the first path, we discover that the problem of crime is a problem with social arrangements that thwart individual and collective potential; foster economic inequality; generate physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering; and necessitate participatory injustice. Following the second path, we recognize that personal and collective well-being is dependant on the understanding that the more we become conscious of being bound to others'well-being, the more the true self emerges and peace becomes our way.

Exploring the Paradox of the (Un)reality of Richard Quinney's Criminology

Abstract: A core tenet of Zen Buddhism is that life is full of paradox. This article explores the paradoxical reactions of criminologists to the work of Richard Quinney. Quinney, a renowned criminologist, is known among a majority of his colleagues as “important” yet “unreal.” Meanwhile, some people who have undertaken journeys of what might be called self-discovery, including the present authors (two of whom are ex-convicts turned criminologists), celebrate his work as the most real criminology around. The article explores this paradox.

Criminology at the Edge: Essays in Honor of Richard Quinney

Abstract: At the book exhibit of the American Society of Criminology conference in San Francisco, we were discussing new books about crime and justice. During this conversation, we especially focused on Richard Quinney’s new book about his scholarly and autobiographical writings titled Bearing Witness to Crime and Social Justice. The feature of this book that we especially liked was how it clearly illustrates the diverse ways that Richard Quinney has challenged status quo thinking about crime and its control during the past three decades. In this light, we decided to organize a group of authors to write essays in honor of Richard Quinney for this special issue of Crime & Delinquency. We asked each of the invited authors to reflect on Bearing Witness to Crime and Social Justice in a manner that either illustrates the progression of Richard Quinney’s thinking and writing or offers a type of analysis that is compatible with Richard Quinney’s scholarly writings. We titled this special issue “Criminology at the Edge” because we view Richard Quinney’s body of work as pivotal in bringing about many key paradigm shifts within criminology/criminal justice as a field of study. Notably, in the preface to Bearing Witness to Crime and Social Justice, Richard Quinney (2000) observed,