Showing papers in "Criminology in 1986"

Neighborhood and delinquency: an assessment of contextual effects*

Abstract: The sociological perspectives which helped formulate the study of delinquency and continue to underlie more specific conceptual frameworks—Social Disorganization, Subculture, and Labeling—point to the importance of contextual effects in the dynamics explaining delinquent and criminal behavior. Yet, systematic examination of such effects has been all but neglected. This paper delineates and empirically assesses neighborhood characteristics postulated to represent contextual factors affecting individual delinquency and criminality. Data were collected from a stratified random sample of adolescent males drawn from 12 New York City neighborhoods. The initial model, designed to refine hypotheses specifying community contextual effects, exhibits a highly satisfactory fit to the data. The framework underscores the importance of considering distinct community contextual effects as well as individual-level effects. Two neighborhood-level factors, the effects of which are quite distinct, are important: the community's level of organizational participation and the extent of disorder and criminal subculture. The indirect and direct effects of these factors are elaborated in relation to three measures of de1inquency—namely, self-reported, officially recorded, and severe self-reported delinquency.

The true value of lambda would appear to be zero: an essay on career criminals, criminal careers, selective incapacitation, cohort studies, and related topics*

Abstract: The idea of selective incapacitation and the distinction between prevalence and incidence (participation and lambda) justify the search for a group of offenders whose criminality does not decline with age and who may be identified solely on the basis of legally relevant variables. This paper questions such research, arguing that the decline in age with crime characterizes even the most active offenders. and that the distinction between incidence and prevalence does not deserve the theoretical, research, or policy attention it has been claimed to merit (Farrington, 1985; Blumstein and Graddy, 1981–1982). In doing so, it relies on research results widely accepted in criminology. Thus, the current focus of criminological research on the “career criminal,” on selective incapacitation, and on longitudinal research remains unjustified.

Economic inequality and levels of homicide: an analysis of urban neighborhoods*

Abstract: This paper presents an analysis of the relationship between levels of economic inequality and homicide rates for a sample of 26 neighborhoods in Manhattan, New York. It argues that neighborhoods are more appropriate units of analysis for studying inequality and homicide than are larger political and statistical units because neighborhoods are more likely to constitute meaningful frames of reference for social comparisons. The principle hypothesis is that a high degree of economic inequality in a neighborhood will give rise to high levels of relative deprivation and high rates of homicide. The results of a series of multiple regression analyses fail to support this hypothesis. The measure of economic inequality is weakly associated with the observed homicide rates. Similarly, the racial composition of Manhattan neighborhoods exhibits no significant association with levels of homicide, given statistical controls for other sociodemographic variables. Two neighborhood characteristics do emerge as significant predictors of homicide rates: the relative size of the poverty population and the percent divorced or separated. Homicide rates tend to be highest in those neighborhoods characterized by extreme poverty and pervasive marital dissolution.

Income inequality and homicide rates: cross-national data and criminological theories

Abstract: Previous studies have identified but failed to explain satisfactorily the positive relationship between income inequality and homicide rates. This paper proposes an explanation based on the concept of relative deprivation, but also reviews the criminological literature in a search for other theoretically relevant variables. After assessing problems of sampling and measurement, and using a considerably larger sample than used in previous studies, multiple regression analyses reveal positive net effects of both inequality and population growth (reflecting a higher proportion of young people) on homicide rates. Further analyses show that the effects of inequality on homicide are more pronounced in more democratic nations, a finding supporting the relative deprivation explanation. Income inequality also has stronger effects in more densely populated countries, in wealthier nations, and in countries with larger internal security forces.

An empirical test of school-based environmental and individual interventions to reduce the risk of delinquent behavior*

Abstract: This report examines a school-based delinquency prevention program that combined an environmental change approach with direct intervention for high-risk youths to reduce delinquent behavior and increase educational attainment. The program involved school stafl students, and community members in planning and implementing a comprehensive school improvement effort; changed disciplinary procedures; and enhanced the school program with activities aimed at increasing achievement and creating a more positive school climate. It also provided services to marginal students designed to increase their self-concepts and success experiences and to strengthen their bonds to the school. The program brought about a small but measurable reduction in delinquent behavior and misconduct. Students in participating schools were suspended less often, reported fewer punishing experiences in school, and reported less involvement in delinquent and drug-related activities. The environmental interventions apparently decreased delinquency and misconduct by promoting a sense of belonging in and attachment to the school and by improving the general climate and disciplinary practices in the schools. The direct interventions with high-risk students did not reduce delinquent behavior, but did increase commitment to education as indicated by rates of dropout, retention, graduation, and standardized achievement test scores. The evidence supports the conclusion that the program has promise for reducing delinquency and its risk factors for the general population and for improving educational outcomes for high-risk individuals. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Liberalism and fear as explanations of punitiveness

Abstract: This paper explores the relationship between liberalism, victimization experience (both direct and vicarious), fear of victimization, and attitudes towards purposes of incarceration. The study makes use of a national public opinion poll conducted for ABC News in 1982. The major findings are that both fear and liberalism contribute to punitiveness but, more importantly, individual demographic characteristics are ambiguously related to punitiveness. It appears that demographic characteristics are related to punitiveness through a complex of other attitudinal associations—in this instance, fear and liberalism. Neither direct nor vicarious victimization had a direct effect on punishment attitudes. To the extent that victimization experience affects punitiveness, the effects are indirect through fear.

Criminality, prosecutorial screening, and uncertainty: toward a theory of discretionary decision making in felony case processings

Abstract: This research contributes to a further understanding of the process of criminalization by examining case information that affects prosecuting attorneys' decision to continue felony prosecution following grand jury indictment. It is suggested that prosecuting attorneys, like other decision makers in organizations engaged in people-processing activities, are confronted with uncertainty emerging from an inability to unilaterally exercise control over all actors involved in the transformation process. By relying on a self-imposed decision criteria of prosecutorial merit defined as the likelihood of obtaining a jury trial conviction, prosecutors attempt to impose a “bounded rationality” on the exercise of discretion in screening decision making. This rationality is one that is sensitive to concerns for effective management of victims and witnesses. It is argued that information relevant to victim/witness credibility and/or cooperation in prosecution is brought to bear in deciding prosecutorial strategies of case processing. Therefore, it is hypothesized that, controlling for legal and extralegal variables, case information that decreases uncertainty concerning victim/witness management will increase the probability of continued prosecution. Support is found for this uncertainty avoidance thesis. In addition, the data indicate that prosecuting attorneys are less likely to continue prosecution of cases involving female defendants and are more likely to continue prosecution of defendants whose bail outcome includes financial conditions for release.

Population diversity and cross‐national homicide: the effects of inequality and heterogeneity*

Abstract: This study examines the impact of income inequality and ethnic heterogeneity on homicide rates for a sample of 32 nations. The results of the analyses indicate that vertical social direrentiation, as measured by income inequality, and horizontal differentiation, as indexed by ethnic heterogeneity, have signijicant main effects on cross-national homicide. Additionally, evidence is presented suggesting an interaction effect on inequaliry and heterogeneity on homicide. It appears that increased ethnic heterogeneity exacerbates the impact of income inequality on homicide rates.

Restitution and recidivism rates of juvenile offenders: results from four experimental studies*

Abstract: One of the major changes in juvenile justice during the past decade has been the increased reliance on restitution as a sanction for juvenile offenders. Although a great deal has been learned during the past 10 years about the operation of restitution programs, much remains unknown regarding its impact on recidivism rates. This report contains the results from four random-assignment experiments conducted simultaneously in four communities: Boise, Idaho, Washington, D. C., Clayton County, Georgia, and Oklahoma County, Oklahoma. In all four studies, youths were randomly assigned into restitution and into traditional dispositions. On the whole, the results show that restitution may have a small but important effect on recidivism. However, not all programs will be able to achieve this effect, either because of program management and strategy, community circumstances, or other factors. Youths in the restitution groups never had higher recidivism rates than those in probation or detention conditions. In two of the four studies, the juveniles in restitution clearly had fewer subsequent recontacts with the court during the two-to-three-year follow-up.

Genetic and environmental components of antisocial behavior: a study of 265 twin pairs*

Abstract: This study investigates the common-family environmental (CE), within-family environmental (WE), and hereditary (H) components of antisocial behavior and its correlates using a twin study design. The subjects are 265 adolescent twin pairs who reported in a mail survey on their antisocial behavior, deceitfulness, parental rejection (as perceived), anger, impulsivity, and value placed on school achievement. These six variables are intercorrelated in two ways: between-families (twin pairs' sums) and within-families (twin pairs' differences). The former covariance structure captures the twins' resemblances: the latter, the twins' differences in behavior. LISREL is used to model the observed relationships using structural equations containing CE, WE, and H factors. The best-fitting model requires only H and WE factors to explain the variables' relationships. Within this population, delinquent behavior is unaffected by CE influences such as social class, child rearing styles, parental attitudes, parental religion, and other factors equally affecting the twins. The principal genetic correlates of delinquency appear to be deceitfullness and temperamental traits.

Prison guards and the use of physical coercion as a mechanism of prisoner control

Abstract: This paper examines the dynamics of the use of unofficial force by prison guards in a Texas penitentiary. The findings suggest that rather than being idiosyncratic or sporadic, guard use of physical coercion was highly structured and deeply entrenched in the guard subculture Upperranking guards served as mentors and socialized younger nonmnking guards into the process of using physical coercion. These nonranking guards actually served as apprentices. Most importantly, guards who used physical force were rewarded for their behavior with improved duty posts or even promotions.

The conceptualization of discrimination in the juvenile justice process: the impact of administrative factors and screening decisions on juvenile court dispositions

Abstract: Research on race, sex, and social class discrimination in the juvenile justice process has yielded mixed results. These conflicting findings have been attributed to the use of diverse research strategies and various methodological shortcomings. There are, however, two potentially important issues that have not been previously addressed: the need to examine the juvenile justice system as a process, rather than as a series of separate and unrelated decision points, and the failure to control for the impact of administrative factors such as pretrial detention. The purpose of the research reported here is to examine the impact of race, sex, and social class on juvenile court dispositions while controlling for pretrial detention and appropriate legal factors. The analytical strategy employed permits an examination of the impact of these factors over three stages of the juvenile justice process: referral, adjudication, and disposition. Findings indicate that while legal factors and pretrial detention decline in importance as predictors of disposition as one moves from an examination of all referred to adjudicated youth, race and social class become more important. These results are discussed in terms of their methodological significance and their implications for the conceptualization of discrimination in the juvenile justice process.

Social class and violent behavior

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between violent behavior and a variety of measures of social class Police records from one study and questionnaire data from two studies are analyzed The strength of the relationship between class and violence varies significantly, depending primarily on the measure of class used The implications of these findings are potentially profound for class-based theories of crime and delinquency Methodological implications of the findings are significant for sampling issues as well as for conceptualizations of class

Violent delinquents and urban youths

Abstract: Violent juvenile crime is disproportionately concentrated in urban neighborhoods, and accordingly an understanding of the sources of serious delinquency is con founded by components of urbanism. These milieus usually have high rates of absolute poverty and relative economic deprivation, as well as weak social institutions. The persistent findings of delinquent peer contributions to delinquency have yet to be tested under conditions where social class and milieu effects are controlled. There is little empirical evidence to determine how adolescents in high-crime neighborhoods avoid delinquency despite frequent contact with delinquent peers. The differences between violent delinquents and other youths from comparable neighborhoods are little understood. This study contrasts a sample of chronically violent male juvenile offenders with the general male adolescent population (students and school dropouts) from inner-city neighborhoods in four cities. Violent delinquents differ from other male adolescents in inner cities in their attachments to school, their perceptions of school safety, their associations with officially delinquent peers, their perceptions of weak maternal authority, and the extent to which they have been victims of crime. Peer delinquency and drug"problems" predict the prevalence of three delinquency offense types for both violent offenders and neighborhood youths. Among violent delinquents, there appear to be different explanatory patterns, with one type better described by internal controls (locus of control), a developmental measure. Overall, there is strong support for integrated theory including control and learning components, and similar associations exist among inner-city youths as in the general adolescent male population. Despite the generally elevated rates of delinquency in inner cities, the explanations of serious and violent delinquency appear the same when subjects are sampled at the extremes of the distribution of behavior. VioLit summary: OBJECTIVE: This study by Fagan et al. analyzed the differences between violent delinquents and general youth populations in comparable urban neighborhoods. The authors utilized integrated theory based on control, strain, and learning theories (Elliott, Ageton, and Canter 1979) as their theoretical model. METHODOLOGY: A quasi-experimental design was employed using cross-sectional data from two samples of youth (one violent, one general) who live in urban areas. The Violent Delinquent Sample included 203 male adjudicated delinquents from four urban juvenile courts over a three year period. The subjects were selected based on the offense criterion of committing a Part I index felony (homicide, aggravated assault, armed robbery, kidnap, rape, or sodomy) and a prior adjudication for a major felony, (burglary, auto theft, felonious robbery or assault, and grand theft, as well as including he committing offenses). Field researchers completed an inventory of court records for prior delinquency history. Face to Face interviews with the subjects and the subjects' primary caretaker were given. The General Urban Youths Sample included 403 male and 351 female student in grades 10-12. It was conducted at two time intervals and included both high school students and dropouts from four inner city, high crime neighborhoods. The samples were identified from classrooms randomly selected in high schools in the target areas. School dropouts were not participants in the student survey but were included in the study as a separate sample for they represented a significant proportion of the adolescent population in inner-city neighborhoods. A total of 257 male and 251 female dropouts were selected by means of a "snowball" sampling procedure which is useful when the dimensions of a population are not fully known. This procedure was used when it was discovered that none of the school districts maintained records of school dropouts. The interview items for all samples included explanatory and behavioral measures corresponding to the integrated theory. Self Reported Delinquency questions on delinquent behavior were derived from the National Youth Survey. The prevalence of the Self Reported Delinquency items within the past 12 months was measured dichotomously. Frequency was ascertained by how many times the had committed the act. The scale measures were derived by summing the reported prevalence scored for the items within the scale and by scaling the type of behavior for broader offense types. General scales were constructed as summary scales for all types of behavior. The scales measuring commitments and integration bonds, social environment, locus of control, parental discipline and youths prior victimization were included. The National Youth Survey was left intact for the violent delinquent sample, but it was modified in two ways for the student sample. First, adjustments to eliminate trivial offenses were necessary and resulted in the refinement and specification of items which measure "high consensus" deviance and include only acts which harm, injure, or do damage. Second, certain items were eliminated, modified, or collapsed from the school survey only, if school officials deemed the items sensitive or intrusive. The results from the surveys were aggregated and analyzed using ANOVA and discriminant functions analysis. FINDINGSDISCUSSION: Preliminary AVOVA analyses found that the social area characteristics for the two samples were significantly comparable (i.e. no significant differences) for 6 of 10 variables (total population, adolescent population, percent female-headed households, percent black population, household size, and percent female-headed households The authors recommended that current delinquency control policy should include community programs which will aid in efforts to strengthen the family. Also, they suggested that delinquency policies need to simultaneously account for the complex array of social, economic, and political factors. Economic development policy, the authors argued, should be brought in to delinquency policy in an effort to strengthen social institutions and control. EVALUATION: This study takes on one of the major criticisms of learning theories of deviance--how do some youth avoid delinquency when they are surrounded by it? The comparison of students, school dropouts, and violent delinquents that these researchers do begins to address this question. The sample size of this study is adequately large to make some generalizations and, because of the regional variation of the sample, provides a stronger base to make some broad inferences. The recruitment of the three groups--student, dropout, and delinquent--varied somewhat, but the restraints on the current information made this unavoidable. There were variations in the content and administration of the questionnaires depending on the groups. Cross-validation was not done because other studies have found estimates to be conservative. It would have lended more rigor to the data if there had been uniformity and cross-validation. Overall, the findings of this study are both necessary and important. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado) KW - Urban Youth KW - Urban Violence KW - Urban Crime KW - Juvenile Crime KW - Juvenile Delinquency KW - Juvenile Offender KW - Juvenile Violence KW - Juvenile Male KW - Male Crime KW - Male Delinquency KW - Male Offender KW - Male Violence KW - Violence Causes KW - Social Learning Theory KW - Social Control Theory KW - Strain Theory KW - Violence Causes KW - Delinquency Causes KW - Crime Causes Language: en

Geeking up and throwing down: heroin street life in detroit

Abstract: This paper reports the results of a field study of 15 street-level heroin dealers in Detroit, Michigan. The techniques used by these heroin dealers are different from those described in most previous literature. The Detroit dealers do not conform to the traditional “hustling” model. They operate within a bureaucracy, do not generally sell heroin to fund their own habit, are relatively young, and largely lack an approval ideology for their activities.

Family structure and delinquency: general patterns and gender differences

Abstract: In a sample of over 700 high-school sophomores, a jive-category measure of family structure is found to be not related to either frequency or seriousness of self-reported illegal behavior, except for unusually high delinquent behavior by boys from mother/stepfather homes. On the other hand, family structure does show an overall association with self-reported trouble with police, school, and juvenile court officials. Specifically, while boys (not girls) with stepfathers admit the most delinquent acts, controlling for the amount of admitted delinquency shows that officials are more likely to respond to the misbehavior of children (especially girls) from mother-only families. None of these findings are accounted for by race, social class, the quality of parent-child relationships, or the quality of school experiences.

A structural model of drinking and driving: alcohol consumption, social norms, and moral commitments*

Abstract: A structural model based upon data from a random sample of 1,000 U.S. drivers accounted for 56% of the variation in alcohol-impaired driving, with total monthly alcohol consumption as the strongest predictor. Significant contributions of age, sex, peer group values, and preference for beer suggested the operation of socialization to group norms. There was a substantial contribution of personal moral commitment against drinking and driving. However, there was no significant inhibitory influence of legal knowledge and perceived arrest risk. These findings are consistent with Andenaes's view that general deterrence should be more broadly construed to include the moral component as well as the fear component of the law

An Analysis of Public Attitudes Toward the Insanity Defense

Abstract: Results from a public opinion survey of knowledge, attitudes, and support for the insanity defense indicate that people dislike the insanity defense for both retributive and utilitarian reasons: they want insane lawbreakers punished, and they believe that insanity defense procedures fail to protect the public However, people vastly overestimate the use and success of the insanity plea Several attitudinal and demographic variables that other researchers have found to be associated with people's support for the death penalty and perceptions of criminal sentencing are also related to support for the insanity defense Implications for public policy are discussed

Unemployment, crime, and imprisonment: a panel approach*

Abstract: Despite the widespreach acceptance of the notion that during periods of economic downturn, higher levels of unemployment lead to higher levels of crime and imprisonment, the research literature reveals very little consistent support for the existence of such a relationship. Studies that do suggest unemployment causes crime and imprisonment have used methodological techniques which, especially in over-time studies, could lead to the acceptance of spurious effects caused by trend and lag as evidence of a true relationship. Using data over a six-year period for the United States, a panel model is specified in which appropriate controls for intra-series trend and cross-series lagged effects are included. Although bivariate correlations are strongly suggestive of a relationship between unemployment and crime, results of the panel approach suggest that most of the apparent relationship is due to common trend effects. Little evidence is found for the existence of a relationship between crime/imprisonment and unemployment, regardless of the type of effect considered. In addition, results from stability tests indicate that the crime-unemployment relationship has been unstable. while the unemployment-imprisonment relationship has been relatively invariant.

Corporations, organized crime, and the disposal of hazardous waste: an examination of the making of a criminogenic regulatory structure*

Abstract: This paper explores the relationship between legitimate corporations that generate hazardous waste and elements of organized crime with whom they contract for the removal, treatment, or disposition of those wastes. The scope and importance of hazardous waste as a social problem is first described and the variety of organized crime participation in waste handling is summarized. The paper then explores the factors that enabled organized crime to become active in this sector of the economy. Lax implementation and en forcement, the most common explanations, are discussed. The formation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 is analyzed to show that there was a prior and more fundamental factor: large corporate generators of hazardous waste fought for a regulatory structure that would prove to be highly vulnerable to organized crime intrusion. This fact is then used to discuss and critique two current explanations of the relationship of corporate generators to organized crime waste handlers: “ignorance” and “powerlessness.” Finally, it is argued that although generators did not consciously intend to facilitate organized crime entry into hazardous waste hauling, they did subsequently enjoy tangible benefits from that entry.

Selective apprehension: a police strategy for repeat offenders*

Abstract: This study examines the effectiveness of the Repeat Offender Project (ROP), a specialized police unit in Washington, D.C. It documents how the ROP unit operated, what it cost, and how well it achieved its goal of “selecting, apprehending, and contributing to” the conviction of persons believed to be committing jive or more Part I offenses per week. A controlled experiment showed that the ROP substantially increased the likelihood of arrest for the persons it targeted. Quasi-experimental data indicated that ROP arrestees had longer and more serious histories of prior arrests than a comparison sample of arrestees of officers in other police units. The former arrestees were also more likely to be prosecuted and convicted on felony charges and more likely to be incarcerated. ROP officers’arrest productivity was cut in half; but this cost appears to have been offset by the greater seriousness of the current and prior offenses of its arrestees. The study concludes that the creation of selective apprehension units provides a promising new strategy for major urban police departments.

Stitch and sew: the impact of medical resources upon criminally induced lethality

Abstract: One theoretical explanation for the consistently high Southern homicide rates is that the South constitutes a “regional culture of violence.” Although this perspective has not garnered much empirical support, sound theoretical alternatives have not emerged. The present study attempts to fill this gap by suggesting that emergency medical services are an overlooked intervening influence in the production of homicide and aggravated battery rates. Analysis of data from the 67 counties in Florida provides some support for the notion that the differential distribution of medical resources is partially responsible for variation in criminally induced lethality rates

Urban justice, rural injustice? urbanization and its effect on sentencing

Abstract: Using a sample of felons convicted in Georgia between 1976 and June 1982, this study examines rural-urban diyerences in sentencing. Consistent with previous research, it is found that ostensibly similar oflenders are punished diflerently, depending on whether they were convicted in urban rather than rural counties. Diyerences in outcomes are based both on social background and on factors of explicit legal relevance. They occur for decisions about the type and duration of punishment. Finally, they persist even when selected correlates and consequences of urbanization are controlled. Unlike earlier research, however, this study finds that urbanization usually intensijes rather than reduces differential treatment. The paper concludes with possible explanations for the particularism that appears to characterize urban rather than rural courts. Also considered are the theoretical and empirical implications of the findings.

Parents and drugs revisited: some further evidence in support of social learning theory*

Abstract: Social control and social learning theories suggest divergent relationships between attachment to parents and children's drug use when level of parent drug use is considered. Social control theory proposes a uniformly negative relationship between children's drug use and attachment to parents whereas social learning theory proposes that the relationship is affected by parental drug use. The relationship between attachment to parents and children's drug use was investigated for each of three groups of low, moderate, and high parental drug use through estimation of a latent variable structural model of attachment to family on children's tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use. Results indicate that attachment to parents related inversely, but with different magnitudes, to children's drug use for youths whose parents use drugs at low or moderate levels. No significant relationship exists between attachment to family and children's drug use for youths whose parents are relatively high-level users. Neither ethnicity nor sex affected these findings. The implications of these results supporting social learning theory are discussed.

“club fed” and the sentencing of white‐collar offenders before and after watergate

Abstract: This paper counterposes the common assumption that criminal justice systems are resistant to reform with the widespread belief that the sentencing of white-collar offenders became more severe after Watergate. It is argued that readjustments may be more more common than actual reforms in criminal justice systems. This paper provides an example of how such processes of readjustment can be explored in the context of sentencing decisions made before and after the unique historical experience of Watergate. It is shown with data from one of America's most prominent federal district courts that changes did occur in sentences imposed before (in 1973) and after (1975) Watergate, but with offsetting results: after Watergate, persons convicted of white-collar crimes were more likely to be sentenced to prison, but for shorter periods of time, than less-educated persons convicted of common crimes. Using a technique that corrects for sample selection processes, these effects are shown to cancel one another out. Examples are provided of the token kinds of prison sentences assigned after Watergate to white-collar offenders in several highly publicized cases and areas of enforcement.

Family violence, television viewing habits, and other adolescent experiences related to violent criminal behavior*

Abstract: VioLit summary: OBJECTIVE: This study by Kruttschnitt et al. assessed the relative importance of certain childhood and adolescent experiences to the commission of violent crimes as an adult. The study was intended to test the predictive and explanatory power of a number of variables identified as instigators of violent criminal behavior. METHODOLOGY: This study was quasi-experimental. The relationships between violent criminal behavior and exposure to family violence, exposure to television violence, school performance, other adolescent activities, and differential reinforcement for previous illegal acts were all examined. This study was exploratory and was based on data collected from one hundred male inmates incarcerated for violent crimes and sixty-five nonincarcerated, nonviolent males who were matched in terms of age, race, and neighborhood. FINDINGS/DISCUSSION: Analyses which estimated both addictive and interactive effects showed that the background experiences connected to violent crime differed depending upon an individual's ethnicity. The findings suggested that background experiences that affected violent criminal behavior in young adult males which were most important in the study were: 1) exposure to violent role models; 2) weak bonds with family members; 3) poor academic performance and school attendance; and 4) receiving serious sanctions for less serious law violations. The findings also suggested that aggression against siblings during childhood had no effect on aggressive criminal acts in late adolescence. Also, exposure to violence on television and school-related activities had little impact on subsequent violent behavior. The finding that violence was more common among minority families could not explain why only some individuals who were subjected to parental violence went on to commit violent crimes. Unsupported conjectures were provided relating cultural differences: 1) minorities experienced more severe parental violence than whites; 2) initial law violations had more of an impact on subsequent behavior by whites than on minorities; 3) minorities experienced less emotional and material loss due to criminal sanctions than whites; 4) whites enjoyed more satisfying parent-child relationships than minorities (i.e. the parents conformed to society and this reduced further crimes); and 5) negative school experiences may have had less social impact on minorities than on whites as a cultural variation. AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS: The authors noted that the limited size and single location of their study limited the generality of their findings. As race-specific findings were not predicted, the authors stressed that the validity of those hypotheses awaits further empirical investigation. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado) Exposure to Violence Adult Violence Adult Offender Child Witness Juvenile Witness Witnessing Violence Effects Witnessing Spouse Abuse Spouse Abuse Effects Domestic Violence Effects Children of Battered Women Partner Violence Violence Against Women Media Violence Effects Television Viewing Television Violence Violence Causes Family Bonding Family Relations School Achievement School Performance 02-05

Stress in prison staff: an occupational study*

Abstract: A survey was conducted into the sources of occupational stress and their effects on levels of health for a group of New Zealand prison staff: Staff were categorized into three groups: Prison Officers. Ranking Prison Officers, and Instructors In addition, a control group of noncommissioned Army personnel was used as a comparison sample. Subjects were administered a job-specific “sources of stress” questionnaire, a life events measure, a personality measure (the Neuroticism Scale Questionnaire), and three health measures-the General Health Questionnaire, a medical visit checklist, and a psychosomatic symptom checklist. Factor analysis of the stress questionnaire revealed six job-specific sources of stress factors These were identified as staff relationships, task pressures, relationships with inmates, promotion, the work environment, and the impact on family life of living in a prison village. Results showed that the levels of stress experienced by staff varied across the three groups. In addition, on the three health measures all staff groups were found to score significantly higher than the control group. Further analysis showed that the variables isolated could be related to a general model of stress.

The impact of police investigations on police‐reported rates of gang and nongang homicides*

Abstract: This paper is concerned with the utility of police-reported rates of gang violence, particularly important in an era which stresses officially determined rates of violence. The basic question is whether police investigation procedures have a major impact on the police designations of homicides as gang related, a question of causal order answerable only by the triangulation provided by multiple forms of data analysis. With minor qualification, the results suggest that“gang” designations of homicides reject characteristics of the incident settings and participants, that intrusion of investigative processes on reported gang versus nongang homicide rates was minimal, and that gang homicide rates reported by these departments could be used as reasonable criteria for evaluating program impact.

Issues and misconceptions in prisoner litigation: a critical view*

Abstract: In the past quarter-century, the number of suits filed by prisoners in federal courts has substantially increased. Critics have borrowed metaphors from ballistics or pathologv to describe this increase as an “epidemic” of “legal pollution” or an “explosion.” The causes of this “hyperlexis,” or excessive litigation, are often attributed to prisoners' attempts to retry their cases once they have lost, or to some psychological attribute of plaintiffs who view litigation as a means of striking back at their keepers. This paper examines several common conceptions of prisoner litigation. National ling data from federal district courts are used to assess the merits of each. The data provide little support for many of the conceptions of and explanations for prisoner suits. It is suggested that prisoners' use of courts may be a form of social resistance to conditions for which there is no other legitimate avenue for relief: