Showing papers in "Criminal Justice Policy Review in 1997"
TL;DR: One of the more interesting aspects of employment is job satisfaction as discussed by the authors, despite the growing body of knowledge on job satisfaction, much of it has been limited to certain occupations such as factory...
Abstract: One of the more interesting aspects of employment is job satisfaction. Despite the growing body of knowledge on job satisfaction, much of it has been limited to certain occupations such as factory ...
30 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the relationship of working to delinquency among a sample of youths, drawn from the National Youth Survey, who were in school and between the ages of 12 and 19.
Abstract: In both public and scholarly circles, it often is assumed that employ ment is beneficial to the development of adolescents. To assess this claim, we explored the relationship of working to delinquency among a sample of youths, drawn from the National Youth Survey, who were in school and between the ages of 12 and 19. The analysis revealed that work conditions, especially the number of hours employed, were posi tively associated with delinquent involvement. We argue that these results are consistent with a critical criminological perspective, which would see juvenile employment within its structural context and be sen sitive to how the needs of youths are not served in the prevailing labor market. Accordingly, we caution against a policy agenda that views employment as a panacea for delinquency.
29 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the most pro found of these changes in the last two decades has been found to be beneficial to the victims' rights in many states in the US.
Abstract: Advances in victims' rights in many states have generated numerous changes which potentially affect offenders' dispositions. One of the most pro found of these changes in the last two decades has b...
26 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined 250 youths in Richmond, Virginia, who were waived into adult court from 1987-1991 and found that only for serious crimes such as rape or murder does the offender receive a prison time above the mean of five years.
Abstract: Despite the widespread transfer of juveniles from juvenile to criminal court in Virginia, there was little empirical knowledge of the exact sen tences juveniles received. This study examines 250 youths in Richmond, Virginia, who were waived into adult court from 1987-1991. Only for serious crimes such as rape or murder does the offender receive a prison time above the mean of five years. Sixteen repeat offenders, over the five-year period, came into the juvenile court and were waived a second time, four were waived three times and two were waived four times. Sixty-five youth (26%) were not guilty or nolo processed. Identification of that particular group of youth was identified by tracking the youth through a case by case, hand by hand method. The paper discusses how this research was put into changes in the policy and practice of dealing with youth. Some of the practices include ISS-KPGB (suspended sen tences based upon keeping the peace and being of good behavior - a con dition similar to probation but ...
25 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined differences in recidi vism (defined as fingerprinted rearrest) among participants in two wide ly used intermediate sanctions, e.g., electronic house arr
Abstract: Using official data records, this study examined differences in recidi vism - defined as fingerprinted rearrest - among participants in two wide ly used intermediate sanctions, electronic house arr
16 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined the role of the news media in federal criminal justice policy making and found that the media can open a window of opportunity to consider policy change, promote a limited range of policy alternatives, and promote the interests of policy entrepreneurs.
Abstract: This article examines the news media's role in federal criminal justice policy-making. Specifically, we examine how news coverage of cele brated events affected the gun control policy-agenda over a twenty-five year period by linking the presentation of gun issues in the New York Times to corresponding changes in the number of congressional hearings on gun control. Moreover, we examine the implementation of two pieces of federal gun legislation as case studies to more clearly identify the role of the media in federal criminal justice policy-making. Our results indi cate that the media affect the federal policy process in three ways: first, the media can open a window of opportunity to consider policy change; second, the media can promote a limited range of policy alternatives; and third, the media can promote the interests of policy entrepreneurs.
12 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines the recent statutes that have been enacted, the procedures stipulated, and their implications, focusing on the politicalization of juvenile crime, the politics of fear, and the evolution of juvenile justice philosophy from a rehabilitative to a punishment perspective.
Abstract: The incidence of violent juvenile offending and the publicity sur rounding it have prompted some legislatures to review and revise their statutory provisions for waiver. This paper examines the recent statutes that have been enacted, the procedures stipulated, and their implications. Particular attention is focused on the politicalization of juvenile crime, the politics of fear, and the evolution of juvenile justice philosophy from a rehabilitative to a punishment perspective. The restructuring of the waiver process in the juvenile justice system is one of a series of "quick-fixes" that provides the illusion of effectively addressing juvenile crime and prevent ing its occurrence.
11 citations
TL;DR: The authors suggest that the police response may be as much due to the situational features of domestic disturbances as to broader sociocultural factors, and that an exclusive reliance on arrest to deal with disturbances may provide a rationalization for the police to do nothing in many instances.
Abstract: Discussions of the police response to domestic violence often assume that domestic disturbance calls typically involve criminal violence by a man against a woman, and that the best way to respond is by arresting the assailant. After reviewing the research on the context of the low rates of arrest for domestic violence, we suggest that the police response may be as much due to the situational features of domestic disturbances as to broader sociocultural factors, and that an exclusive reliance on arrest to deal with disturbances may provide a rationalization for the police to do nothing in many instances. Crisis intervention, if understood as involv ing skills and services that may be needed by victims, should be viewed as a complimentary response to arrest, but may be the only possible response when arrest is not an option.
10 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the extent to which "get tough" rhetoric has been operationalized by legislatures in the purpose clause of the juvenile justice code, which serves the function of explaining the goals of that section of the code, outlining what the legislature hopes to accom plish through the code.
Abstract: The perception that juvenile crime is out of control and that the juve nile justice system is too lenient on offenders has led to a reevaluation, in popular discourse and academic scholarship, of the goals of the juvenile justice system. This article seeks to determine the extent to which "get tough" rhetoric has been operationalized by legislatures in the purpose clause of the juvenile justice code. The purpose clause is found at the beginning of a code section. It serves the function of explaining the goals of that section of the code, outlining what the legislature hopes to accom plish through the code. We examine juvenile justice code purpose claus es to determine which states still adhere to the traditional model of juve nile justice, which states have adopted a punitive approach, which states have endorsed the balanced approach, and which states have failed to adopt a coherent set of goals for the juvenile justice system.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety participated in a national study of convenience store robbery, and conducted interviews with 20 employees who were robbed in Boston in 1993-1996.
Abstract: During 1993-1996, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety participated in a national study of convenience store robbery. In order to understand victim perceptions and actions during these crimes, personal semi-structured interviews were conducted during with 20 employees robbed in Boston. Most subjects were owners or managers, and tended to be entrenched in the convenience store industry. The inter view instrument contained over 80 items, and solicited a range of infor mation on the criminal event, as well as post-victimization experiences.
8 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the correlation between the age of the offender and the extent of prior violent criminality and the severity of the sentence imposed on the offender. But, they did not examine the role of prior criminal history in the decision-making process in disciplinary hearings.
Abstract: While the issue of discretion has been widely studied at the level of arrest and adjudication, few studies have examined discretion within the prison setting. The majority of studies that have examined discretion in the correctional environment focus on the decision making of guards. Few studies, however, have been able to empirically examine what hap pens to inmates once they are charged with an institutional misconduct. This study builds on this area of research by examining the correlates of decision making in disciplinary hearings within juvenile institutions. The results indicate, after controlling for race and charge type, that the age of the offender and extent of prior violent criminality are significant corre lates of prisoners who receive the most severe sanctions. The findings are consistent with the larger body of research on discretion at other stages of the criminal justice system in noting the importance of prior criminality and the age of the offender.
TL;DR: In 1993, the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families introduced an objective guidelines instrument to help determine eligibility for placement at the state's juvenile training school as discussed by the authors, which was intended to improve the consistency of dispositions and narrow training school placements to serious and/or chronic offenders by focusing recommendations on youths' offense characteristics and placing limits on the discretion of probation officers and judges.
Abstract: In 1993, the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families introduced an objective guidelines instrument to help determine eligibility for placement at the state's juvenile training school. The instrument was intended to improve the consistency of dispositions and narrow training school placements to serious and/or chronic offenders by focusing recommendations on youths' offense characteristics and placing limits on the discretion of probation officers and judges. An evaluation of the implementation and impact of the guidelines analyzed one year's use of the instrument and surveyed probation officers' and judges' atti tudes towards and experiences with the guidelines. The results show that the guidelines did not have their intended impact because they were not truly implemented. The officials and staff charged with using them resist ed the limits the guidelines attempted to place on discretion. A consider ation of why the implementation failed sheds light on the process of implementing policy in...
TL;DR: The authors used data from a national survey of small cities and towns in the United States to examine anti-drug initiatives and presented a typology of "most important" drug programs in these small cities.
Abstract: This paper uses data from a national survey of small cities and towns in the United States to examine anti-drug initiatives. The paper presents a typology of "most important" drug programs in these...
TL;DR: The U.S. Supreme Court has often been analyzed in light of its symbolic importance as discussed by the authors, and many of these analyses focus solely on the high court's insti tutional image, while most of the analyses focus on the justices' techniques for manipulating the symbolic qualities of their decisions affecting criminal justice rights.
Abstract: The U.S. Supreme Court has often been analyzed in light of its symbolic importance. While most such analyses focus solely on the high court's insti tutional image, this article examines the justices' techniques for manipulating the symbolic qualities of their decisions affecting criminal justice rights. By creating a gap between the formal pronouncements about rights contained in well-known precedents and the actual implementation of those rights, the Supreme Court maintains its image as the institutional guardian of constitu tional rights while simultaneously advancing the crime control policy prefer ences favored by the dominant conservative justices.
TL;DR: Using Elazar's typology of American political culture, three-hundred counties in 49 states were classified in terms of the prevailing political culture as mentioned in this paper, and the results paralleled the bivariate analysis.
Abstract: Criminal sentencing is such a fundamental power of government that variations in its use can be linked to political culture. Using Daniel Elazar's typology of American political culture, three-hundred counties in 49 states were classified in terms of the prevailing political culture. This data was matched with sentencing data gathered by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. In the bivariate analysis traditionalistic political cultures administered harsher sentences; as for rates of incarceration, particularly in jails, moralistic political cultures incarcerated a higher percentage of individuals. In the multivariate model, many attributes closely related to political culture, such as conservatism, income distribution, and the over all crime rate, help to explain sentencing variations. However, political culture was significant only for larceny, and the results paralleled the bivariate analysis. This article concludes with a discussion of the advan tages and disadvantages of using political culture to study s...
TL;DR: The Battered Woman Defense has been gaining acceptance in recent years as discussed by the authors, and the legal theory and issues relating to the use of the defense and the results of a Battered woman trial.
Abstract: The Battered Woman Defense has been gaining acceptance in recent years. This note reviews the legal theory and issues relating to the use of the defense and presents the results of a Battered Woman...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the capabilities of one new surveillance tool while considering the social, ethical, and legal implications of its use, and explore the potential of this tool to uncover previously hidden wrongdoing by using remote and unobtrusive search methods.
Abstract: Communities and law enforcement personnel are confronted with the challenges and dangers posed by the presence of weapons and drugs. Recent technological developments have increased law enforcement capabilities to uncover previously hidden wrongdoing by using remote and, compared to other methods, unobtrusive search methods. This arti cle explores the capabilities of one new surveillance tool while consider ing the social, ethical, and legal implications of its use.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report on the results of a time series analysis of Dutch data for a 37-year time period (1952-1988) to test a macro-level model of changes in sentence severity.
Abstract: This article reports on the results of a time series analysis of Dutch data for a 37-year time period (1952-1988) to test a macro-level model of changes in sentence severity. The model incorporates components of Green and Allen's (1981-1982) "Synthesized Societal Response Model" with the added variable of unemployment. The tested model includes the following variables: (1) severity of punishment (t) and (t-1); (2) certainty of punishment (t-1); (3) crime rate (t-1); (4) social complexity (t-1); (5) normative diversity (t-1); and (6) unemployment (t-1). Normative diversity is measured by the annual num ber of immigrants entering The Netherlands. The analysis shows that the find ings for The Netherlands are consistent with established thinking about the determinants of incarceration policies; it confirms the usefulness of incorpo rating measures of changing population composition (i.e., immigration) in macro-level analyses; and it suggests that Green and Allen's proposal for a syntheses of models of social ...
Abstract: Jail suicides are as institutionally significant as they are tragic. Consequently, jail administrators remain concerned about legal liability, espe cially when their policies and customs are brought into question. Indeed, as jail suicide litigation takes form, the focus of the suit is typically aimed at insti tutional problems, including deficiencies in training, monitoring, and condi tions. This study examines jail suicide litigation by analyzing a sample of 77 lawsuits. Our findings reveal patterns of key deficiencies in institutional prac tice and custom; accordingly, recommendations for jail policy and suicide pre vention strategies are offered.