Showing papers in "Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology in 1987"
143 citations
TL;DR: The "hydraulic" or "zero-sum" effect is so firmly entrenched as a criticism of current reform efforts that most researchers begin with the assumption that the displacement of discretion will simply resurface at stages of processing not covered by the reform effort.
Abstract: Numerous reform activities have been undertaken to minimize discretion within the criminal justice system. Yet, the success of these programs has been questioned on the grounds that discretion will simply resurface at stages of processing not covered by the reform effort.' In fact, this "hydraulic" or "zero-sum" effect is so firmly entrenched as a criticism of current reform efforts that most researchers begin with the assumption that the displacement of dis-
141 citations
TL;DR: The relationship between victimization and criminality has been widely cited in recent years but such distinctions have ignored the empirical evidence on the considerable overlap between offender and victim profiles and distorted the reality of events.
Abstract: The relationship between victimization and criminality has been widely cited in recent years. Early thinking and public perceptions about crime intuitively presumed that criminals were distinct from their victims. Crime control policies resulted which promoted the physical separation of victims from predatory offenders through "target hardening" and "defensible space."' Such distinctions, however, ignored the empirical evidence on the considerable overlap between offender and victim profiles2 and distorted the reality of events in which persons are labelled as victims or victimizers based only on the consequences of the event. Given the homogeneous relation between victim and offender, theories of crime that treat
110 citations
98 citations
TL;DR: Sampson et al. as mentioned in this paper analyzed data from the British Crime Survey (BCS), a cross-sectional survey of England and Wales taken in 1982, and found that age was the strongest predictor of personal victimization by a stranger.
Abstract: VioLit summary: OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research by Sampson was to test and extend the opportunity model of predatory victimization. METHODOLOGY: The author analyzed data from the British Crime Survey (BCS), a cross-sectional survey of England and Wales taken in 1982. One respondent per household aged 16 or older was randomly selected. Final sample size was 10,905. The sample was stratified. Inner city residents were over sampled because urbanization was one of the strongest predictors of victimization. The key microlevel variables examined for this study were age, sex, marital status, and lifestyle. The community level variables included urbanization, family structure, residential mobility, and racial heterogeneity. Lifestyle was measured by an item which asked the respondent how many nights a week he or she went out. Answers could range from 0-7. Local community context was measured by aggregating individual responses of respondents within the 238 communities. Neighborhood guardianship was defined by the authors as the percentage of single-adult households in the community. Family disruption was measured as the proportion of female-headed households with children. Residential mobility was measured as the percentage of respondents in a community living at their current address less than one year. The proportions of white and non-white households in a community was used as a measure of racial heterogeneity. The dichotomy of this relationship created a measure that ranged from 0-.5. Urbanization was measured by housing density and an indicator of inner city residence. For this research the categories stranger personal theft and stranger personal violence victimization were used. Logistic regression was used to examine the data. FINDINGS/DISCUSSION: Overall victimization by strangers was low in Great Britain. Males were at a higher risk of violent victimization than females. Separated or divorced and single persons have a stranger violence risk approximately 2.5 times higher than married persons. Lifestyle was also found to affect the risks of stranger victimization. Those who go out 5 to 7 nights have 4 times the risk of stranger violence than those who spend their leisure time at home. Age was found to be the strongest predictor of personal victimization by a stranger. Young persons have a 7.7 times higher risk of stranger violence than the corresponding older adults. Females were at a higher risk for stranger theft than males. Stranger theft was almost entirely comprised of purse snatching and this was seen as the reason for the higher risk for females. Using logistic regression the authors found that once community context and demographic variables are controlled, lifestyle has no effect on stranger violence. This finding contradicted the lifestyle routine activity theory which predicted that those who leave home frequently will have a higher risk of stranger violence than those who stay at home. When personal theft was examined with community and demographic variables controlled, lifestyle was still a significant factor but somewhat weakened. AUTHOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS: The author recommended that stranger victimization be studied according to its structural context. (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 - England KW - Countries Other Than USA KW - Adult Female KW - Adult Male KW - Adult Victim KW - Juvenile Female KW - Juvenile Male KW - Juvenile Victim KW - Male Victim KW - Female Victim KW - Victimization Causes KW - Stranger Violence KW - Violence Causes KW - Victimization Risk Factors KW - Lifestyle
94 citations
TL;DR: While numerous studies have established a greater volume of homicide victimization for young black males, these studies seldom determine whether such victimization exists in all contexts, such as within the family, between friends, and in robbery situations.
Abstract: Past studies of homicide have focused either on the general demographic characteristics of homicide or on causal factors or processes descriptive of selected types, such as homicides within the family or those associated with felonies.' Few studies have examined homicide comparatively by describing ways in which various types of homicide differ from each other.2 Even fewer studies describe the interactions between demographic variables such as age, sex, and race between and within types of homicide.3 For example, while numerous studies have established a greater volume of homicide victimization for young black males,4 these studies seldom determine whether such victimization exists in all contexts, such as within the family, between friends, and in robbery situations.5 This
90 citations
TL;DR: This article examined attitudes about police and policing by comparing the unique clustering of responses of several groups, namely, attitude structures of Blacks, Cuban-Americans, Anglos (nonhispanic whites), teenagers, and adults.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to compare attitude structures of different ethnic and age groups concerning police and policing. Although a number of studies have compared different ethnic and age groups' attitudes towards police, they generally have failed to consider that the groups being compared may not share the same ways of conceptualizing aspects of policing. Problems arise when studies use composite scales developed from samples which include divergent populations. When members of the group being studied do not share the same abstract notions about the police, using composite scales may lead to faulty interpretations, and may measure something other than what is described. In the present research, attitudes about police and policing are examined by comparing the unique clustering of responses of several groups. Specifically, attitude structures of Blacks, Cuban-Americans, Anglos (nonhispanic whites), teenagers, and adults are examined and compared.
73 citations
TL;DR: A number of strategies have been tried in classifying those acts that result in death in the case of homicide as mentioned in this paper, and some authors have concentrated on the diverse nature of the acts described as homicide.
Abstract: When the actions of one individual cause the death of another, a homicide has occurred. While that initial statement is simple, homicide is a multi-faceted act involving numerous possible causes and circumstances. As Nettler suggests, there are many routes that lead to culpable killing.' Given the diverse nature of the acts described as homicide, it is little wonder that theoretical writing on the subject as a whole has been spartan.2 The first step in explaining any phenomenon is adequate classification of the groups of acts sought to be understood.3 In the case of homicide, a number of strategies have been tried in classifying those acts that result in death.4 Some authors have concentrated on
72 citations
57 citations
TL;DR: This paper identified salient patterns and characteristics that differentiate forms of stranger rape, distinguish stranger from non-stranger rape, and distinguish serial from nonserial rape using information gathered from police investigators' reports.
Abstract: Using information gathered from police investigators' reports, this Article identifies some of the salient patterns and characteristics that differentiate forms of stranger rape, distinguish stranger from nonstranger rape, and distinguish serial from nonserial rape. The patterns and characteristics discussed reflect the situational nature of the offense, which is how the offender commits the offense, rather than descriptions of personal characteristics. These distinguishing patterns and characteristics also suggest why some stranger rapists are apprehended while others remain at large. The major framework utilized in distinguishing rape in this study is not solely based on victim-offender relationship. Rather the joint consideration of victim-offender relationship and the number of reported rapes committed by the same person before apprehension is suggested to better reflect the complex interplay between offender, victim, and situational characteristics and how they relate to the apprehension of the rape offender.
56 citations
TL;DR: The relationship between the victim and the offender is an important variable in studies of personal violence because it places the event within the context of social structures.
Abstract: The relationship between the victim and the offender is an important variable in studies of personal violence because it places the event within the context of social structures. Roles such as husband, wife, friend, lover, and stranger are complex social relationships which may delineate homicides that share a distinctive etiology.' Furthermore, the moral and legal responses to violence are, to a large extent, determined by the social roles of the victim and offender.2
TL;DR: In this Article, acquaintance killers and stranger killers are examined in two studies and a national sample and a pyschiatric sample are compared on the basis of several factors identified as pertinent to homicide in general.
Abstract: ships such as romantic involvements or rivalries exist; it is, however, difficult to comprehend when total strangers have been killed. In this Article, acquaintance killers and stranger killers are examined in two studies. These studies--a national sample and a pyschiatric sample-are compared on the basis of several factors identified as pertinent to homicide in general. These factors are: mental illness, history of violence, alcohol and drug abuse, sexual problems, and biological factors.' Each of these factors will be reviewed briefly, with special reference to stranger homicide. The national sample of homicides will be examined for the demographic features of stranger killers and for the ascertained circumstances of the offenses such as weapon, location, substance abuse, and motivation for the crime. The psychiatric sample of killers will be examined for the same variables, as well as for diagnosis, personality, parent-child relations, and other pertinent clinical variables.
TL;DR: In the new determinate sentencing systems, the role of the current offense, victim injury, use of a weapon, and a host of other variables have been quantified in order to reduce inequity in sentencing determinations.
Abstract: American sentencing practices have undergone substantial transformation during the last decade. The emergence of the justice model of punishment,' the appearance of evaluation research apparently revealing the ineffectiveness of correctional treatment,2 and the subsequent retreat from the rehabilitative rationale have encouraged the abandonment of long-standing indeterminate sentencing systems. By the early 1980's, more than half of the states had adopted either determinate or mandatory sentences for various crime classifications.3 Furthermore, the Federal Sentencing Commission released its determinate sentencing guidelines for the federal system in 1987. In the new determinate sentencing systems, the role of the current offense,4 victim injury, use of a weapon, and a host of other variables have been quantified in order to reduce inequity in sentencing determinations.5 One of the consequences of this objectification has been to increase the visibility of the variables that
TL;DR: In its 1987 decision in Martin v. Ohio,' the United States Supreme Court again engaged in lawmaking for burdens of proof, and ratified the state's rule in this case.
Abstract: In its 1987 decision in Martin v. Ohio,' the United States Supreme Court again engaged in lawmaking for burdens of proof. Although the Court ratified the state's rule in this case,2 the Court has, in the past, prescribed different rules as requirements of due process.3 The Court has justified its lawmaking by asserting that the burden of proof should apportion the risks of error in a way that favors the more important interests at stake in the trial.4 If an erroneous finding of fact F would harm one set of interests more than an erroneous finding of not-F would harm the other, the burden of proof should lie with the party who alleges F, and the standard of proof for F should be high enough to reduce the risk of an erroneous finding proportionately. This idea is founded in Bayesian decision theory,5 in which it is formalized as a rule for choice in conditions of uncertainty. It is a cornerstone of the Court's
TL;DR: In this paper, a 14 year old S.D. was arrested by police for the armed robbery of a local grocery store and immediately after the arrest, he was taken to police headquarters and, after being read the Miranda warnings from the standard form, subjected to custodial interrogation.
Abstract: Fourteen year old S.D. was arrested by police for the armed robbery of a local grocery store. Immediately after the arrest, he was taken to police headquarters and, after being read the Miranda warnings from the standard form, subjected to custodial interrogation. Within minutes, S.D. confessed to the robbery. The juvenile court judge permitted the arresting officer to testify as to the content of the juvenile's confession, finding that the police questioning was conducted in accordance with the highest standards of due process and fundamental fairness. Additionally, the judge found that the procedural requirements of Miranda were met. S.D. was adjudged delinquent upon a finding that he robbed the grocery store while brandishing a loaded .38 caliber revolver; this crime, if committed by an adult, would constitute first degree robbery. On appeal, S.D. contends that the confession should have been excluded from his delinquency hearing because he did not understand the Miranda warnings. He further asserts that the police officer merely read him the warnings from a standardized adult Miranda card and made no attempt to explain the warnings in language he could understand.