Showing papers in "Justice Quarterly in 1989"
TL;DR: The labeling theory of deviance was extremely popular during the 1960s and 1970s as discussed by the authors, however, the validity of the theory had fallen into question by 1980 and was pronounced dead by 1985.
Abstract: The labeling theory of deviance was extremely popular during the 1960s and 1970s. After a series of influential critiques, however, the validity of the theory had fallen into question by 1980 and was pronounced dead by 1985. In this paper we examine the application of the labeling perspective to one particular area, juvenile delinquency. We discuss the general theoretical origin of labeling theory in both conflict theory and symbolic interactionism, and use it to present two main labeling hypotheses: 1) that status attributes are influential in determining who is labeled (the “status characteristics hypothesis”) and 2) that labeling experiences are instrumental in producing problems of adjustment and in causing subsequent commitment to further deviance (the “secondary deviance hypothesis”). We note that what is often passed off as a critique of labeling theory itself is frequently a caricature of the theory. The major point of the paper is an elaboration of the full complexity of each labeling hypothesis,...
386 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the literature suggested important individual characteristic and organizational condition variables, considered to be determinants of orientation, but little of the variation was explained, and several reasons for the lack of success in explaining officers' orientation were considered.
Abstract: Sources of correctional officers' professional orientation (attitudes toward inmates and toward interaction with inmates) were analyzed using a recent measure, the Klofas-Toch measure. A review of the literature suggested important individual characteristic and organizational condition variables, considered to be determinants of orientation. As was true of several other investigations of officers' attitudes, however, little of the variation was explained. The conclusion considers several reasons for the lack of success in explaining officers' orientation.
107 citations
TL;DR: The long and short-term relationships of alcohol and illegal drug use to delinquent and criminal behavior are examined in this article, showing that substance use and delinquency are positively associated, but there is little evidence that substances use leads to delinquency.
Abstract: The long- and short-term relationships of alcohol and illegal drug use to delinquent and criminal behavior are examined. As anticipated, substance use and delinquency are positively associated, but there is little evidence that substance use leads to delinquency. Two possible exceptions to this generalization involve the role of alcohol use in sexual assault and the role of serious drug use in prolonging involvement in serious delinquency. There is evidence that minor delinquency is a necessary cause or precursor of illicit drug use, that less serious levels of delinquency are necessary causes or precursors of more serious levels of delinquency, and that less serious levels of substance use are necessary causes or precursors of more serious levels of substance use. Relationships between substance use and more serious (index) delinquency appear to be developmental, not causal.
104 citations
TL;DR: The notion of differential shaming as mentioned in this paper is proposed as a basis for building an integrated theory of organizational crime, which can be seen as a continuation of the mainstream tradition of criminological theory in the domain of criminal subculture formation.
Abstract: To understand the circumstances that lead to organizational crime, we need to consider the insights of strain theories on the distribution of legitimate and illegitimate opportunities, of labeling theory on the way stigmatization can foster criminal subculture formation, of subcultural theory as applied to organized business subcultures of resistance to regulation, and of control theory. It is contended that an integration of these perspectives into a theory of organizational crime is possible; a continuity can be established with the mainstream traditions of criminological theory in the domain of organizational crime. Thirteen propositions are advanced as a basis for building such an integrated theory. The key to this attempt as synthesis is the notion of differential shaming—the shaming from organizational cultures of compliance versus the shaming from subcultures of resistance to regulatory law.
99 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the causal role of drinking routines and lifestyles in the social process of becoming the victim of predatory crime was explored, and the results suggested that victimogenic demographic attributes (i.e., being male or young) are mediated by certain combined patterns of alcohol use and nighttime activities.
Abstract: This study explores the causal role of drinking routines and lifestyles in the social process of becoming the victim of predatory crime. Data used include demographic and lifestyle characteristics of approximately 6,300 respondents from the 1982 British Crime Survey. On the basis of theoretical propositions derived from extant victim theory, various drinking routine/lifestyle models of predatory victimization were constructed and were tested empirically. The results suggested that victimogenic demographic attributes (i.e., being male or young) are mediated by certain combined patterns of alcohol use and nighttime activities. In particular, findings suggested that drinking routines and lifestyles characterized as “high exposure” increase the odds of predatory victimization. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.
73 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the importance of personality has been positive form the beginning but has been the focus of a highly rhetorical and pseudoscientific form of criticism, and these efforts as knowledge destruction are reviewed and are found to be ideologically and professionally convenient but weakly grounded logically and empirically.
Abstract: Antipersonality themes in mainstream criminology have been fueled for years by highly suspect moral, professional, and ideological concerns and by something less than a rational empirical approach. The research evidence regarding the importance of personality has been positive form the beginning but has been the focus of a highly rhetorical and pseudoscientific form of criticism. These efforts as knowledge destruction are reviewed and are found to be ideologically and professionally convenient but weakly grounded logically and empirically. The papaer concludes that a social theory of criminal conduct need not resist recognition of the importance of human diversity.
72 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, data were collected on all youth considered for transfer to adult court over a six-year period in a single jurisdiction in the US, and the effect of court of adjudication on severity of sentencing was assessed using demographic, legal, and organizational variables.
Abstract: Data were collected on all youth considered for transfer to adult court over a six-year period in a single jurisdiction. Demographic, legal, and organizational determinants of the waiver decision were treated as independent variables in a discriminant analysis of that decision. Analysis of covariance then was used to assess the effect of court of adjudication on severity of sentencing; the demographic, legal, and organizational variables were used as controls. Variables distinguishing fit from unfit youth were the seriousness of the offense, the number and nature of prior offenses, and prior treatment. Personal and aggravated personal offenders received more severe sentences in adult court than their counterparts in juvenile court, but property offenders were treated more leniently. Seriousness of offense played a significant role in adult court sentencing, but was over-shadowed in juvenile court by the number and nature of prior offenses and by prior treatment.
70 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the empirical link between key social learning theory constructs and self-reported deviant behavior and found that the selected theoretical constructs yielded considerable insights into the level of youthful misbehavior, in this instance alcohol and marijuana use, of both subgroups.
Abstract: Contemporary delinquency theories have been challenged as being biased by inherent cultural myopia, even though there have been few tests of these theories involving samples that share all theoretically important characteristics except cultural heritage. In particular, recent studies of delinquency among American Indians suggest that the central constructs of these explanatory models may operate differently among Indians or may translate poorly into the “Indian experience.” Using a census of rural American Indian and Caucasian youths who lived close to one another, we examined the empirical link between key social learning theory constructs and self-reported deviant behavior. Although there were some intergroup differences, the selected theoretical constructs yielded considerable insights into the level of self-reported youthful misbehavior, in this instance alcohol and marijuana use, of both subgroups.
51 citations
TL;DR: This article reviewed the core arguments associated with the Southern violence construct (SVC) and the evidence, both qualitative and quantitative, pertaining to it and tried to locate the controversy surrounding Southern violence within a larger normative context.
Abstract: The problem of violence in the South has attracted an unusual amount of interest from historians, sociologists, and criminologists. The notion that the South is an inherently violent milieu and that Southerners are culturally violent people persists despite inconclusive and ambiguous research. In this essay we review the core arguments associated with the Southern violence construct (SVC) and the evidence, both qualitative and quantitative, pertaining to it. We also try to locate the controversy surrounding Southern violence within a larger normative context. Finally, we offer some suggestions for future work on this topic.
51 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a time-series analysis of the effects of an antifencing sting project on what Mohr described as transitive (environmental impact) and reflexive (organizational survival) police organizational goals is presented.
Abstract: Police antifencing operations, euphemistically called “stings,” have been and continue to be a popular police undercover tactic for combating property crime. This paper is a time-series analysis of the effects of an antifencing sting project on what Mohr (1973) described as transitive (environmental impact) and reflexive (organizational survival) police organizational goals. The study, based on data from a 1985–86 Birmingham, Alabama sting, finds that only the reflexive goals were served and that the project may have had a negative environmental impact. It is concluded that the potential benefits to police reflexive goal achievement do not offset the potential costs associated with storefront stings and that the police industry should give serious consideration to removing this tactic from its arsenal.
40 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that critical criminology is a metaphor still in its infancy, that it remains on the cutting edge of the discipline, and that its practitioners have learned from and contributed to so-called traditional criminal justice, leaving both areas stronger.
Abstract: Even while debates still plague, polarize, and personalize some of the discipline's most crucial issues, critical criminologists have managed to overcome, expand, and push beyond the borders that they and others established a decade ago. Nonetheless, doubt and suspicion remain concerning the future and the legitimacy of the perspective, partly because of its nebulous definition. Here we offer a revisionist interpretation and assessment of the critical perspective by arguing that a crisis, if there ever was one, no longer exists, and that it is past time to dispel the siege mentality. We argue that critical criminology is a metaphor still in its infancy, that it remains on the cutting edge of the discipline, and that its practitioners have learned from and contributed to so-called traditional criminology, leaving both areas stronger. By overcoming the fragmentation within diverse critical criminologies, the potential for unification enhances the endeavors of critical science and social action.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that inequality produces lifestyles which are associated with the opportunity for offenders and victims to come into contact with each other outside the company of suitable guardians, and they construct two criminal opportunity indexes: one measures general opportunity, the other racial differences in lifestyle.
Abstract: Past studies of the effect of inequality on violent crime assumed that inequality produces in individuals feelings of rage and alienation which increase the chances that certain people will engage in violent crime. Yet the mediating variable in this proposition (e.g., frustration, rage, alienation) cannot be measured directly. In this paper I argue that inequality produces lifestyles which are associated with the opportunity for offenders and victims to come into contact with each other outside the company of suitable guardians. Using routine activity theory, I constructed two criminal opportunity indexes: one measures general opportunity, the other racial differences in lifestyle. I used the FBI's rape rate as the dependent variable because less research has been devoted to understanding why women are at greater risk of rape in some areas than in others. The results showed that the opportunity indexes 1) were the strongest predictors of geographic variation in rape and 2) mediated the effects of inequali...
TL;DR: The authors found that a new emphasis on surveillance, in which delivery on service is largely a means for monitoring client risk, has "crowded" the rehabilitation ideal, and pointed out increased concern for authority and diminished meaningfulness of the assistance objective.
Abstract: Studies of probation and parole officers' attitudes conducted in the 1960s and 1970s indicated respondents' preference for assistance over authority as the most important goal of community supervision. The present research compares results obtained from the 1970s and 1980s applications of the Authority/Assistance Questionnaire and the Correctional Policy Inventory. The findings point not only to increased concern for authority but also to the diminished meaningfulness of the assistance objective. The authors suggest that a new emphasis on surveillance, in which delivery on service is largely a means for monitoring client risk, has “crowded” the rehabilitative ideal.
TL;DR: In this paper, data from the 1982 ABC News Poll of Public Opinion on Crime are used to examine household gun availability and willingness to shoot a burglar, finding some support for similarity between protective and sport ownership, and "fear and loathing" hypothesis, and the impact of region and gender on ownership.
Abstract: Data from the 1982 ABC News Poll of Public Opinion on Crime are used to examine household gun availability and willingness to shoot a burglar. Findings show some support for similarity between protective and sport ownership, and “fear and loathing” hypothesis, and the impact of region (southern residence) and gender on ownership. The findings also support some of the recent contentions of Hill, Howell, and Driver (1985), although we note two clarifications in their discussion of previous research. Support for the collective security hypothesis, however, was limited; this finding raises a concern for proponents of further restrictions on gun ownership.
TL;DR: A turning point in the development of criminological thought and of social policy toward crime was reached by as mentioned in this paper, who argued that the conservative revolution in criminology has lost considerable credibility, along with the entire set of minimalist strategies toward the disadvantaged that dominated social policy throughout much of the recent past.
Abstract: We have reached what may be an important turning point in the development of criminological thought and of social policy toward crime. The “conservative revolution” in criminology has lost considerable credibility, along with the entire set of minimalist strategies toward the disadvantaged that dominated social policy throughout much of the recent past. A space has opened for the development of a “social environmental” or “human-ecological” approach to crime, which combines a variety of interventions on the individual and family level with an array of broader policies aimed at controlling the social and economic forces that place individuals, families, and communities at risk in the first place.
TL;DR: For example, the authors conducted a survey of state legislators in Indiana which measured political ideology and other factors, and found that a significant difference exists in levels of legislators' support for these two types of capital punishment.
Abstract: Previous research shows that state legislators often hold diverse opinions on issues related to crime and criminal justice. This body of research also reveals that general policy concerns (such as policing, sentencing, and corrections) do not galvanize lawmakers along sharp political lines, as does the policy of capital punishment. Through a survey of legislators in Indiana which measured political ideology and other factors, this paper considers levels and correlates of support for the practice of executing juveniles who commit murder. The state of Indiana is considered a special case because it legally maintains the lowest minimum execution age in the nation. Findings are compared to legislators' attitudes and correlates of support for adult capital punishment and to existing public opinion polls on the death penalty for both juveniles and adults. It is suggested that a significant difference exists in levels of legislators' support for these two types of capital punishment. It is also suggested that a ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the spatial justice resulting from sentencing practices in Pennsylvania and demonstrated that certain locations in Philadelphia bear an unequal burden because of these practices, and that the relatively high crime rates of these areas are due partly to decisions made by criminal justice professionals.
Abstract: Spatial variation in crime rates generally has been attributed to differences in culture, economic status, and the social organization of communities. Rarely have policies and practices of criminal justice professionals been examined as causes of this variation. If these policies and practices do place citizens at a higher risk of victimization, a sense of fairness requires that all communities in a region share equally in this increase. This article examines the spatial justice resulting from sentencing practices in Pennsylvania. It demonstrates that certain locations in Philadelphia bear an unequal burden because of these practices. The relatively high crime rates of these areas are due partly to decisions made by criminal justice professionals.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors employ a simulation methodology to quantify and compare the sentencing recommendations in the first three states that promulgated guidelines, and explore how the development of these guidelines was influenced by differences in the purposes of the sentencing reforms, in the sentencing philosophies adopted by the commissions, and in the statutory constraints placed on the commissions.
Abstract: During the past decade, several states established special commissions to develop sentencing guidelines. This article employs a simulation methodology to quantify and compare the sentencing recommendations in the first three states that promulgated guidelines. The article explores how the development of these guidelines was influenced by differences in the purposes of the sentencing reforms, in the sentencing philosophies adopted by the commissions, and in the statutory constraints placed on the commissions. Variations in these factors led to measurable differences in the degree of judicial discretion permitted by the guideline and in the overall severity of the guideline recommendations.
TL;DR: The authors argue that the overall thrust of U.S. foreign policy in the region, the politics of the recipient countries, and the organizational means to deliver aid combined to distort the implementation and impact of police assistance.
Abstract: Providing training and resources to the police forces of Central America was a major objective of the Reagan Administration's policy in the region. Such aid was provided in order to enhance effective and democratic policing in those countries, but assistance has failed to achieve its stated goals. We argue that the overall thrust of U.S. foreign policy in the region, the politics of the recipient countries, and the organizational means to deliver aid combined to distort the implementation and impact of police assistance. The experience of past assistance programs carried out by the Office of Public Safety (OPS) provides an instructive comparison showing why U.S. police assistance continues to fail. OPS programs and assistance offered by the Reagan Administration are examined in some detail.
TL;DR: The Andrews and Wormith paper as discussed by the authors presents a detailed attack on mainstream criminologists for their failure to acknowledge the role of individual differences and personality factors in lawbreaking, and argues that they overstate their case and engage in knowledge distortion.
Abstract: The Andrews and Wormith paper in this issue presents a detailed attack on mainstream criminologists for their failure to acknowledge the role of individual differences and personality factors in lawbreaking. The authors accuse sociological criminologists of “knowledge destruction.” In response, this paper concedes the basic point made by Andrews and Wormith but also argues that they overstate their case and engage in “knowledge distortion.” More important, the paper suggests some of the directions that ought to be pursued in future theorizing and research on this question.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the impact of police chiefs' professionalism on three aspects of the police function: job satisfaction, work relations, and professionalization of police occupation, and found that the importance of police professionalism has been noted widely, but few studies have evaluated its consequences empirically.
Abstract: The importance of police professionalism has been noted widely, but few studies have evaluated its consequences empirically. In the present research we examine the impact of police chiefs' professionalism on three asspects of the police function: job satisfaction, work relations, and professionalization of the police occupation. Our findings show that chiefs' professionalism is a minimal predictor for these areas, and that, surprisingly, professionalism affects several criteria of professionalization in the direction opposite from what was expected. In conclusion we discuss the implications of our findings for the police reform movement.
TL;DR: This paper examined the humanistic concerns of the Supreme Court with special emphasis on the post-Furman experience and sketched a humanist justification for abolition of the death penalty in the United States.
Abstract: Despite the recent reversal in death penalty policy in the United States, debate over the constitutionality of the death penalty continues. In 1976, when the Court held that new “guided discretion statutes” did not violate the Eighth and the Fourteenth Amendments, the majority believed that the new statutes would eliminate the “humanistic concerns” about the death penalty which they found problematic in pre-Furman statutes. Evidence described in this study shows that the majority was wrong. Humanistic concerns, critical to the constitutionality of the death penalty, remain problematic under post-Furman statutes. This paper examines the humanistic concerns of the Supreme Court with special emphasis on the post-Furman experience and sketches a humanist justification for abolition of the death penalty.
TL;DR: Newgate of Connecticut as discussed by the authors was the first American penal institution to open in 1773, and it was opened in December of the same year, which was a significant event in view of general colonial reluctance to punish serious crime with incarceration.
Abstract: Although Philadelphia's Walnut Street Jail is often credited with being the first American prison, one can make a reasonable case for a number of earlier institutions antedating the Philadelphia facility. The opening of Newgate of Connecticut, situated in an abandoned copper mine in the central part of the colony of Connecticut, anticipated the Jail by almost 20 years. The Connecticut General Assembly authorized the prison in 1773, and it was opened in December of the same year. In view of the general colonial reluctance to punish serious crime with incarceration, the opening of the prison is a significant event. This paper describes the origination of Newgate and its effectiveness in achieving its objectives during its initial year of operation. In addition, the analysis considers Newgate in the context of the major explanatory perspectives in penological theory. The analysis suggests that the origination of Newgate is not explained well by these perspectives, but seems rather to be the result of colony-...
TL;DR: In 1986, the state of Florida raised its minimum drinking age from 19 to 21 and the new legislation was meant in part to reduce the frequency of youthful drinking and driving as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In 1986 the state of Florida raised its minimum drinking age from 19 to 21. The new legislation was meant in part to reduce the frequency of youthful drinking and driving. In the year when the law ...
TL;DR: Gibbons agreed with the need for a self-consciously "social" criminology to display greater respect for both evidence and human diversity as discussed by the authors, and he also argued for an openness to the full range of potential covariates of that criterion variable, be they biological, personal, or social.
Abstract: In his response to “Personality and Crime,” Professor Gibbons took issue with several of our specific points. Several of these points are reviewed in this rejoinder, and we list our rationalizations for naming names (or for what Gibbons calls our “verbal thumping” of individual criminologists). More important, we find that Gibbons agrees on the need for a self-consciously “social” criminology to display greater respect for both evidence and human diversity. The paper closes with a specification of the criterion variable within the psychology of crime and with an appeal for an openness to the full range of potential covariates of that criterion variable, be they biological, personal, or social.
TL;DR: In this paper, alternative perspectives on crime and crime prevention: The wilson-currie debate is discussed. And a book review essay about alternative perspectives of crime and prevention is presented.
Abstract: (1989). Book review essay—Alternative perspectives on crime and crime prevention: The wilson-currie debate. Justice Quarterly: Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 457-466.