Showing papers in "Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology in 1969"

Equality Under the Law

Abstract: The author received his A.B. in psychology from Wayne State University in 1966, his M.A. in social psychology from the same institution in 1967. He also holds a 1968 master's degree in criminology from the University of California (Berlleley), at which university he is presently a candidate for a doctorate in criminology. At the School of Criminology he has been affiliated with three research projects, the most recent of which deals with drug use in the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco. His doctoral dissertation concerns personality attributes of self-reported delinquents. With increasing frequency the question has been raised as to whether or not defendants receive differential judicial treatment as a function of their race. The present article reviews the empirical studies that have addressed themselves to this question and attempts to reconcile their divergent findings in the light of temporal, geographical, and methodological variability across studies.

The Development of Latent Fingerprints with Ninhydrin

Abstract: David A. Crown, M.Crim., is a Questioned Document Analyst, with the federal government. Mr. Crown has served previously as Assistant Director of the San Francisco Postal Identification Laboratory where much of the research for the present article was conducted. He received his Masters Degree in Criminology from the University of California, Berkeley, and is continuing his graduate studies toward his doctorate at this institution. Mr. Crown is currently Secretary of the Questioned Document Section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.-EDITOR.

Bullet ricochet from metal plates

Abstract: Mohan Jauhari, M.Sc., is Assistant Director of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Government of India, Calcutta, where he serves as head of the Ballistics Division. For the last nine years he has been engaged in research in the Seld of Forensic Ballistics, in addition to his identification work in firearms and his service as an expert witness throughout India. Mr. Jauhari is co-author of a booklet "Firearms and Firearm Injuries" published by the Government of India for police and medical officers, and is an active member of the Indian Academy of Forensic Science. In 1968 he toured the United States on a public safety study-training program sponsored by the Agency for International Development, Washington, D.C. EDITOR.

Delinquency, Personal Costs and Parental Treatment: A Test of a Reward-Cost Model of Juvenile Criminality

Abstract: Mr. Piliavin is Associate Professor in the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Work. He received the A.B. degree in 1951 and the M.S.W. in 1953 from the University of California (Berkeley). He was awarded his doctorate in social work from Columbia University in 1961. Miss Vadum presently is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of California (Berkeley) and a PostDoctoral Fellow at the Annenberg School of Communication, University of Pennsylvania. She received the B.A. degree from McMaster University in 1963. Mrs. Hardyck is serving as Assitant Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She formerly was on the staffs of the University of California (Berkeley) and Mills College, Oakland. She received the B.A. degree from the University of Rochester in 1958, and in 1962 earned her Ph.D. from Stanford University. A questionnaire survey was carried out to test predictions from a reward-cost model of delinquency. This model, in opposition to most current theories of delinquency, posits that everyone is instigated to commit crime, some more often and more strongly than others, and that what deters those who conform are subjectively experienced high costs attendant upon criminal activity. In the present test of the model, scales were constructed to measure boys' concern with two areas in which costs might be incurred, parental approval and school involvement. The responses of 693 high school boys to the scales indicated a strong relationship between costs and both self-reported and official measures of delinquency. Implications of the findings both for the theory and for the control of delinquency are discussed.

Evaluation of Physical Evidence in Criminalistics: Subjective or Objective Process

Abstract: James W. Osterburg, M.P.A. is Professor of Police Administration, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. Professor Osterburg is president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and coauthor of An Introduction to Criminalistics (1949) and author of The Crime Laboratory (1968). During the academic year of 1967-1968 he served as a visiting professor of criminalistics and criminology at the University of California, Berkeley.-EDIToR

Forensic Comparisons of Soils by Neutron Activation and Atomic Absorption Analysis

Abstract: The authors are research chemists, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Treasury Department, Washington, D.C. C. Michael Hoffman is a graduate of George Washington University, NVashington, D.C. with a major in chemistry and has specializedin the use of radiation and isotopes and the application of neutron activation analysis to criminalistics. Richard L. Brunelle is a graduate of Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts. He is an expert in narcotic drug analysis and has also been actively interested in the use of neutron activation analysis and atomic absorption analysis to scientific crime detection. Kenneth B. Snow has specialized in radio chemistry and is currently engaged in exploring the potential uses of radiochemistry to forensic science problems. Mr. Snow is a graduate of David Lipscomb College, Nashville, Tennessee. EDITOR. :

The Influence of Writing Instruments on Handwriting and Signatures

Abstract: Professor Jacques Mathyer received the Diploma in Police Science (Criminalistics) in 1946 from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and the Diploma in Criminology in 1957. During 1946-1947 he was assistant to Dr. Edmond Locard in Lyons, France, where he received his Doctor of Science Degree from the University of Lyons, 1947. After serving in the police laboratory of Vaud, Lausanne, Switzerland, he served from 1949 to 1963 as assistant to Professor Marc A. Bischoff at Institut de police scientifique et de criminologie of the University of Lausanne. Upon Professor Bischoff's retirement in 1963 he was named Professor and Director of the Institute. Professor Mathyer has participated in both the first and second International Meetings in Questioned Documents (London 1963 and Copenhagen 1966). He is a corresponding member of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners, a regular member of the Chambre suisse des experts judiciaires techniques et scientifiques, and advisor to the International Criminal Police Organization.-EDITOR.

Euthanasia: None Dare Call It Murder

Abstract: On August 9, 1967, Robert Waskin, a twentythree year old college student, kil]ed his mother by shooting her in the head three times. Warned by the police that he did not have to make a statement, Waskin allegedly said, "It's obvious, I killed her." He was arrested and charged with murder.l Waskin's act, however, was a special typc a type that has troubled and perplexed both laymen and legal theorists. The homicide was a "mercy killing." Waskin's mother was suSering from terminal leukemia. The doctors in the Chicago hospital where she was killed said that she had, at the most, a very few days to live. She wanted to die and had begged her son to kill her. Only three days before, she had tried to commit suicide by taking an overdose of sleeping pills. According to her husband and the doctors, she was suffering deep pain at the time she was shot.2 In all American jurisdictions motive is no defense to a murder charge. If it is shown that the act was done with intent and premeditation, the motive for the crime is irrelevant.3 Motive can be taken into account by the judge in setting the sentence, but, for Waskin, even the utmost leniency on a murder conviction would have resulted in a sentence of fourteen years in prison with no possibility of probation.4 On January 24, 1969, however, after a seventeen month delay, a jury deliberated for on]y 40 minutes and found Waskin not guilty by reason of insanity. They further found that he was no longer insane, and he was released.5 Although it seems doubtful that Waskin was ever legally insane, the verdict, as we shall see, was entirely predictable. The word euthanasia is generally used to describe a killing that is prompted by some humanitarian motive. Euthanasia, however, may vary with the

Anti-Poverty Programs and Delinquency

Abstract: The author is Director of the Social Science Department of National Analysts Inc., having joined the professional staff of this research organization in 1965 as a Study Director. He holds a B.A. in psychology from Temple University and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania. While pursuing graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Robin was an instructor in sociology, and he was awarded the Finnegan Prize for the best piece of original research in the area of deviant behavior. Dr. Robin has served as a Research Assistant in the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Pennsylvania in connection with a study of indices of depression among psychotic patients, and as Research Assistant with the Center for Criminological Research, and Senior Research Assistant at the same university's School of Social Research Center. The author served as consultant to the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, and his study "Gang Member Delinquency in Philadelphia" appeared as the lead article in the recently published Juvenile Gangs in Context. This Journal has published the following of his works: Gang Member Delinquency: Its Extent, Sequence and Typology, Vol. 55, at 59; Pioneers in Criminology: William Douglas Morrison, Vol. 55, at 48; and Justil5;sble Homicide by Police OffiRcers, Vol. 54, at 225. The effect of anti-poverty efforts on delinquency is explored in the present paper within the context of the in-school Neighborhood Youth Corps, one of the largest, best known, and most favorably received Federal programs of its kind. A control group of eligible applicants who were not admitted to the program was randomly and specifically established for research purposes, thus eliminating the self-selection factor. An extensive analysis of the police contact histories of the control and NYC enrollees disclosed no evidence that working in the program reduced their encounters with the police.

Use of Diagnostic Small Groups in Police Recruit Selection and Training

Abstract: Robert B. Mills, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati, and since 1967 has served as Associate Director of the Community Psychology Institute. Dr. Mills received his Ph.D. from the Columbia University, and during 1967 and 1968 has been Project Director, Talbert House Planning Project (halfway house for parolees). This paper represents his contribution to the Symposium on Innovations in Police Techniques at the San Francisco meeting of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Mills has served as coordinator in preparing the papers on this Symposium for publication in this Journal, and has also contributed the introductory note and commentary on this Symposium.-EDITOR.

Delinquency and the Youth Culture: Upper and Middle-Class Boys

Abstract: The author is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the Unversity of Waterloo, Ontario. He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees at McGill University and the Ph.D. degree from Indiana University in 1965. The present paper explores the youth culture and its influence on private and public school middle and upper-class boys. Limited self-reported data reveal that these boys are peer oriented and are interested in "social" non-academic affairs. Proportionately more private school boys report delinquent acts. A configuration of relatively consistent attitudes towards delinquent situations is evident and suggests, perhaps, new meanings of what is proper and improper among adolescents. Discussion concentrates on the significance of roles and rules in explaining much of this behavior.

Zip Guns and Crude Conversions--Identifying Characteristics and Problems

Abstract: This article deals with identification characteristics and problems which zip guns and crude conversions present to the investigator. In many areas, especially where commercial firearms are readily available to all those interested in possessing a gun, investigators will not encounter such weapons in a lifetime of work. Where weapons are regulated more strictly a zip gun may occasionally be examined. New York City, where gun ownership is highly controlled, has a very large number of zip guns produced many of which are seized by the police every week. Numerous zip guns are produced by the curious youngster who perhaps being influenced by guns on television, but too young to be able to purchase a firearm, turns to his own resources. For such a person, concealability does not often motivate design. Many long arms are made by those experimenting with firecrackers and lengths of plumbing pipes. Where gang violence and armed crimes motivate youth, their efforts are directed towards manufacturing a concealable, efficient, deadly device with advantages over close combat weapons such as brass knuckles or knives. The gun, no matter how crude, offers long distance killing potential and in a gang fight or hold-up can inspire more fear. Some zip guns are made by individuals working on their own while others arise from a group effort, often in a school metal workshop. The former tend to be very crude, unreliable, and usually more dangerous to the shooter than to his intended victim. Zip guns fabricated in school are still crude by commercial standards but show innovative skill and greater reliability. Better materials and closer tool tolerances make it possible to produce a much safer weapon. Where blank-firing pistols and air guns have not been legislated out of the sporting goods stores their basic actions are often modified to fire live, bulleted loads. Usually, in these guns only a barrel suitable for .22 rimfire ammunition must be added, or an already existing barrel needs to be bored out to a greater diameter to accommodate live ammunition. Where multiple shot blank pistols are converted, the shooter possesses a relatively well-made large capacity weapon that outdoes the homemade gun in nearly every respect. Some disadvantages arise however, and these will be discussed later. Not all zip guns are made by juvenile thrillseekers. Large cities have their share of adults who also find difficulty in obtaining a firearm for whatever reason. They too build their own or purchase a basic action which can be modified to become a lethal weapon. While some adults use their guns in crimes such as hold-ups, others merely seem to be seeking a means of self-protection where legislation has precluded weapons ownership, policing is sporadic, and crimes against the person occur regularly. Very little data has been compiled on the possibilities and problems of identification of these weapons. The trend to stricter firearms legislation can be expected to result in increasing construction of zip guns and their greater involvement in armed crimes. The investigator will be faced with identifying such weapons more regularly. Many variations are described in this paper to familiarize those who will be troubled by these unique weapons with the possibilities that may be encountered.

Why Was Capital Punishment Restored in Delaware

Abstract: The author is a Professor of Sociology at West Chester State College, Pennsylvania. He received his undergraduate degree in anthropology from Wheaton College, Illinois, and was awarded his Ed.D. degree from the University of Maryland. He has taken post-doctoral studies in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University. The author formerly taught at Glassboro State College, New Jersey, and the Pennsylvania State University, Ogontz Campus. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the abrupt passage of a law to restore the death penalty for conviction for first degree murder encouraged the decrease of the annual rate of murder in the State of Delaware. The results reveal that the annual rate of criminal homicide was higher after the restoration of the death penalty than during the abolition period. The restoration of capital punishment did not serve as a deterrent to criminal homicide.