Showing papers in "Justice Quarterly in 1995"
TL;DR: In this paper, a one-year randomized trial in Minneapolis of increases in patrol dosage at 55 of 110 crime hot spots, monitored by 7,542 hours of systematic observations, showed that substantial increases in police patrol presence can indeed cause modest reductions in crime and impressive reductions in disorder within high crime locations.
Abstract: Many criminologists doubt that the dosage of uniformed police patrol causes any measurable difference in crime. This article reports a one-year randomized trial in Minneapolis of increases in patrol dosage at 55 of 110 crime “hot spots,” monitored by 7,542 hours of systematic observations. The experimental group received, on average, twice as much observed patrol presence, although the ratio displayed wide seasonal fluctuation. Reductions in total crime calls ranged from 6 percent to 13 percent. Observed disorder was only half as prevalent in experimental as in control hot spots. We conclude that substantial increases in police patrol presence can indeed cause modest reductions in crime and more impressive reductions in disorder within high crime locations.
901 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report the results of a randomized experimental evaluation of an innovative drug enforcement strategy developed as part of the Drug Market Analysis Program (DPA) developed by the DEA.
Abstract: This paper reports the results of a randomized experimental evaluation of an innovative drug enforcement strategy developed as part of the Drug Market Analysis Program. Using computer mapping techniques, we identified 56 “hot spots” of drug activity that were randomized in statistical blocks to experimental and control conditions. The experimental strategy followed a stepwise approach that sought to engage business owners and citizens in crime control efforts, to apply pressure to reduce drug and drug-related activity through police crackdowns, and to initiate a maintenance program with the assistance of the patrol division of the department. In line with tactics employed by street-level narcotics units in many other American cities, the control strategy involved unsystematic arrest-oriented narcotics enforcement based on ad hoc target selection. Comparing seven-month pre- and post-intervention periods, we find consistent and strong effects of the experimental strategy on disorder-related emergency calls ...
558 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors employ survival models to test hypotheses about the effects of specific instances of police patrol presence at high-crime locations on the time until the next occurrence of criminal or disorderly behavior at these locations.
Abstract: Using observational data collected as part of a one-year preventive patrol study in Minneapolis, this investigation employs survival models to test hypotheses about the effects of specific instances of police patrol presence at high-crime locations on the time until the next occurrence of criminal or disorderly behavior at these locations. The results show that patrol stops must reach a threshold dosage of about 10 minutes in order to generate significantly longer survival times without disorder — i.e., greater residual deterrence — than that generated by driving through a hot spot. The optimal length for patrol stops appears to be 11 to 15 minutes. After that point, continued police presence brings diminishing returns. The theoretical and policy implications of these results are discussed.
316 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors tested the hypothesis that greater enforcement of existing laws against carrying concealed weapons could reduce firearms violence with a quasi-experimental, target beat/comparison beat design.
Abstract: We tested the hypothesis that greater enforcement of existing laws against carrying concealed weapons could reduce firearms violence with a quasi-experimental, target beat/comparison beat design. Over a six-month period in a ten-by-eight-block area with a homicide rate 20 times higher than the national average, intensive patrol near gun crime hot spots produced a 65 percent increase in firearms seized by police. Gun crimes declined in the target area by 49 percent, with no significant displacement to any patrol beat surrounding the target area. Neither gun crimes nor guns seized changed significantly in the comparison beat several miles away.
298 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, two hypotheses on lifestyle are tested and supported by a local victimization survey of 288 undergraduate women: women who go out drinking more often and women who are friends of motivated offenders are more likely than other women to be sexually victimized.
Abstract: Routine activities theory has generally focused on macro-level data, and has ignored sexual violence. Although virtually all researchers in this area have built offender motivation into the theory, and have treated it simply as a “given,” few have tried to explain it. Feminist theory on campus sexual assaults, however, not only explains offender motivation but also discusses how women are viewed by offenders as “suitable targets.” In this study, two hypotheses on lifestyle are tested and supported by a local victimization survey of 288 undergraduate women: women who go out drinking more often and women who are friends of motivated offenders (men who get women drunk in order to have sex with them) are more likely than other women to be sexually victimized.
228 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an empirical test of Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime was presented, and measures of crime equivalents were regressed on a measure of self-control and other relevant independent variables to determine their independent effects.
Abstract: This article presents an empirical test of Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime. Measures of crime equivalents were regressed on a measure of self-control and other relevant independent variables to determine their independent effects. Self-control was found to have the strongest effect.
219 citations
TL;DR: This article analyzed the statistical literature on gender and sentencing to determine whether findings of "sex effects" favoring women are related to the statistical procedures used, to court contexts and sample composition, and to conceptual dimensions of the research.
Abstract: We analyze the statistical literature on gender and sentencing to determine whether findings of “sex effects” favoring women are related to the statistical procedures used, to court contexts and sample composition, and to conceptual dimensions of the research. The unit of analysis (or case) is court data sets; our search identified 50 such cases, most of which analyze data from the 1970s. Half of these showed sex effects favoring women; one-quarter each showed mixed effects or no effects. These proportions remained constant when the sample was weighted by a quality score. In comparison with Kleck's review of race and sentencing, sex effects favoring women are far more frequent than race effects favoring whites. Results from the weighted sample suggest that sex effects are evident in both recent and older data sets and in both recent and earlier published work. They are more likely to emerge in analyses of felony offenses, in offenses prosecuted in felony courts, in courts in urban areas, and in the decisi...
210 citations
203 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors tested the block-level deterrent effects on crime of uniformed police raids of crack houses, and found that the effect of such raids had little seasonal or period difference in effects of raids on crime reports.
Abstract: We tested the block-level deterrent effects on crime of uniformed police raids of crack houses. Court-authorized raids were legally possible on 207 blocks with at least five calls for police service in the preceding 30 days. Raids were assigned randomly to 104 locations and were conducted at 98 of those sites; the other 109 were left alone. Experimental blocks, in relation to controls, showed reductions in both calls for service and offense reports, but effects were quite small and decayed in two weeks. Raids in which arrests were made (23 of 104 assigned) had no consistently different impact from raids in which no arrests were made. Raids had more effect on calls for service in the winter than in the spring, but we found little seasonal or period difference in effects of raids on offense reports. Alternative police methods may be far more cost-effective than raids in “harm reduction” for crack houses.
197 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the connection of workplace problems with stress for women and men working in police departments and find that women do not report higher levels of stress than men.
Abstract: This paper focuses on the connection of workplace problems with stress for women and men working in police departments. Field research was used to identify the problems that women experience in police departments, and quantitative measures were developed to measure these problems in a survey of women and men in 25 departments. Although women and men experience many of the same work-related problems, and although such problems account for a high proportion of workplace stress in both groups, the gendered nature of police organizations causes unique stressors for women. Overall, however, women do not report higher levels of stress than men.
184 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the displacement and diffusion of a civil remedy program in Oakland, California and found that the SMART program not only decreases drug problems at the target sites, but also leads to a "net diffusion of benefits" in the areas surrounding targeted places.
Abstract: This paper examines the displacement and diffusion of a civil remedy program in Oakland, California. Coined the “SMART” (Specialized Multi-Agency Response Team) approach, the program uses municipal codes and drug nuisance abatement laws to control drug and disorder problems. The study finds that the SMART program not only decreases drug problems at the target sites, but also leads to a “net diffusion of benefits” in the areas surrounding targeted places.
TL;DR: Citation: 12 Just.
Abstract: Citation: 12 Just. Q. 783 1995 Content downloaded/printed from HeinOnline (http://heinonline.org)Thu Aug 2 20:19:11 2012-- Your use of this HeinOnline PDF indicates your acceptance of HeinOnline's Terms and Conditions of the license agreement available at http://heinonline.org/HOL/License-- The search text of this PDF is generated from uncorrected OCR text.-- To obtain permission to use this article beyond the scope of your HeinOnline license, please use: https://www.copyright.com/ccc/basicSearch.do? &operation=go&searchType=0 &lastSearch=simple&all=on&titleOrStdNo=0741-8825
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the community reaction to police efforts in Kansas City and find that the community was aware of the enhanced policing, that proactive police methods, generally, received strong support, and that residents perceived an improvement in the quality of life in the experimental neighborhood.
Abstract: Sherman and Rogan report that proactive patrols focused on firearm recovery reduced gun crimes significantly in Kansas City. Regardless of the strategy's potential for reducing crime, however, its value will be limited if the price of success is community hostility to the police. Using a pre/post quasi-experimental design, this research examines the community reaction to police efforts in Kansas City. The findings show that the community was aware of the enhanced policing, that proactive police methods, generally, received strong support, and that residents perceived an improvement in the quality of life in the experimental neighborhood. Although the findings do not address the views of persons stopped by police patrolling hot spots of gun crime, they suggest that residents of communities suffering high rates of gun crime welcome intensive police efforts against guns.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify and examine an unexplored criminological phenomenon, termed here police sexual violence Analysis and interpretation of quantitative data and case studies are used to explore the subject Two data sets, one from federal litigation cases and the other from a media source, provide the material for examining the known incidence, distribution and nature of police crime and sexual violence against women.
Abstract: This study identifies and examines an unexplored criminological phenomenon, termed here police sexual violence Analysis and interpretation of quantitative data and case studies are used to explore the subject Two data sets, one from federal litigation cases and the other from a media source, provide the material for examining the known incidence, distribution, and nature of this form of police crime and sexual violence against women The data include 124 cases of police sexual violence; 37 of these are sexual assault and rape cases committed by on-duty police officers against female citizens The analysis of case studies draws on and integrates feminist and police studies literature, allowing for the development of a police sexual violence continuum and the exploration of theoretical, conceptual, and practical issues The conclusion explores the cultural and structural context within which police sexual violence against women occurs
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the relationship between teenage gender and delinquent behavior among high-risk youths in a group of incarcerated males with siblings of similar age, with the same mother, and from a common home background.
Abstract: This study explores the relationship between teenage gender and delinquent behavior among high-risk youths. A group of incarcerated males with siblings of similar age, with the same mother, and from a common home background was identified. Brothers and sisters then were interviewed individually and at length about their adolescent life histories. The analysis confirmed the expectation that the brothers would be more delinquent than the sisters. The analysis disclosed a multifaceted organization of gender among the siblings that worked to produce differences in crime. The study suggests how the social structure of gender itself is a major form of social control.
TL;DR: The authors assesses core themes (both sociological and epistemological) informing the regard of this perspective for theory construction in law and criminology and concludes by speculating on what a model of post-modern conceptual synthesis might enc...
Abstract: Despite significant challenges to some of the ideological underpinnings of the postmodern critique, critical theory building in law and criminology increasingly is subjected to the wholesale advances of this growing, albeit heterodox, school of thought. One greatly underexamined component of postmodern research is a provisional treatment of how its various formulations might suggest alternative approaches to understanding criminal justicians, their research, and their practice. Accordingly this essay assesses core themes (both sociological and epistemological) informing the regard of this perspective for theory construction in law and criminology. Several topics are considered: the social structure of society, role formation, human agency, discourse construction, knowledge or sense making, and social change. Building on Milovanovic's conceptual distinctions between the modernist and the postmodernist projects, the author concludes by speculating on what a model of postmodern conceptual synthesis might enc...
TL;DR: This paper analyzed the distinctive context of gender-based offending patterns across specific types of crime and found that the more serious the offense, the greater the differences by gender in the context of offending.
Abstract: Prior criminological research on gender-based differences in offending has focused on comparisons of offense frequency and offending patterns. Such research has shown that males offend more frequently than females, but has failed to clarify the distinctiveness of the patterns or the context of that offending. This study analyzes the distinctive context of gender-based offending patterns. The analysis is accomplished by examining differences in offense patterns across specific types of crime. Using data from the National Youth Survey, the authors analyze the offending patterns of 1,543 youths for offenses ranging from truancy to serious assault. The findings of this study show that the more serious the offense, the greater the differences by gender in the context of offending. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
TL;DR: In this paper, the attitudes of offenders serving time in six state shock incarceration programs were compared with those of demographically similar offenders serving in prison, and the results showed that during boot camp, inmates developed more positive attitudes about the program.
Abstract: The attitudes of offenders serving time in six state shock incarceration programs were compared with those of demographically similar offenders serving time in prison. Program (or oppositional) attitudes and antisocial attitudes were assessed soon after offenders arrived at the boot camp program (or prison) and again three to six months later, depending on the length of the program. Despite large differences in the design and implementation of the boot camp programs, coupled with differences in the characteristics of participating inmates, the results were surprisingly consistent. During the boot camp program, inmates developed more positive attitudes about the program. In contrast, offenders serving time in prison did not develop more positive attitudes. Samples of both boot camp and prison inmates became less antisocial over time. These results were true of “enhanced” boot camp programs that emphasized treatment as well as programs that focused predominantly on military training, hard labor, and discipl...
TL;DR: This article examined changes in the size of the total and disaggregated (patrol, detective, and civilian) police force in Milwaukee from 1934 to 1987 and found that police administrators may have more discretion to make adjustments to specific units than to total manpower levels.
Abstract: Recent longitudinal analyses of total police force size, both cross and within jurisdictions, raise serious questions about the explanatory power of the rational choice and conflict theories of crime control. Generally the empirical literature suggests that current levels of police force size are explained well by previous manpower levels and are relatively unresponsive to changes in the social structure of macro social units. This study explores the possibility that the failure to decompose police force size into its component parts may be masking the influence of structural conditions on crime control bureaucracies. We examine changes, over time, in the size of the total and disaggregated (patrol, detective, and civilian) police force in Milwaukee from 1934 to 1987. The findings suggest that police administrators may have more discretion to make adjustments to specific units than to total manpower levels. We discuss the implications of these results for rational choice and conflict theories.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors determine how far crack users travel to purchase drugs and consider whether crack users who travel less than.5 mile on average differ significantly from those who travel more than 1.5 mile.
Abstract: Considerable attention has been directed to the incidence and distribution of crack in urban areas. In response to public concern about the presence of crack in residential neighborhoods, law enforcement agencies have implemented various law enforcement strategies aimed at reducing or eradicating drugs from urban environments. These strategies, however, have failed to consider crack users' mobility patterns. Because any effort to reduce crack consumption and distribution should consider these patterns, this research assesses the journey to purchase crack and suggests some areas of future research. Initially the research determines how far crack users travel to purchase drugs and considers whether crack users who travel less than .5 mile on average differ significantly from those who travel more than .5 mile. This study examines whether this difference is due to individuals' socioeconomic factors to characteristics associated with the drug-buying event. Discriminant analysis shows that crack users travel v...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined cases of homicide by women who killed in drug market situations to explore the ways in which changing drug markets may have influenced women's involvement in lethal violence, and found evidence that women will use violence, as will men, to protect or augment an economic interest in a drug market.
Abstract: Recent studies of women and homicide have shown that lethal violence by women is a more complex phenomenon than merely self-defense against abusive partners. In this paper we examine cases of homicide by women who killed in drug market situations to explore the ways in which changing drug markets may have influenced women's involvement in lethal violence. From open-ended and semistructured interviews with 215 women sentenced to prison in New York State for homicide, we identified 19 women whose cases involved a drug market situation. Through qualitative analysis of the narratives offered by these women to explain their involvement in the killing, we found evidence that women will use violence, as will men, to protect or augment an economic interest in a drug market. From further analysis, however, we concluded that even in a clearly economic context in which women are able to acquire their own economic interest, some women will kill or participate in a killing in connection with their relationship with a ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared the attitudinal changes of 48 offenders participating in a 150-day boot camp program with those of 34 offenders in a 120-day treatment-oriented, presentencing evaluation program held in a regular prison.
Abstract: The number of correctional boot camp programs in the United States has increased steadily since the early 1980s. To determine the effect of military training on offenders, this study compared the attitudinal changes of 48 offenders participating in a 150-day boot camp program with those of 34 offenders in a 120-day treatment-oriented, presentencing evaluation program held in a regular prison. Findings show that attitudes in both groups of inmates became more prosocial. Results were interpreted as suggesting that rather than military training per se, the key elements in promoting individual change may be the commitment of the staff, the integrity of the programs, and the timing of the interventions.
TL;DR: The authors examined the impact of prior legal experiences, general attitudes about lawyers and the legal system, and status characteristics on individuals' perceived likelihood of hiring a lawyer for resolving various personal problems in the future.
Abstract: Using a national sample of adults with various legal experiences, the current study examines the impact of prior legal experiences, general attitudes about lawyers and the legal system, and status characteristics on individuals' perceived likelihood of hiring a lawyer for resolving various personal problems in the future. Persons who have been involved in prior legal disputes, who have more positive attitudes about lawyers, and who hold more favorable views about the effectiveness of law in resolving conflict report significantly higher chances of hiring an attorney. Individuals' assessments of their future litigiousness, however, are largely independent of their status characteristics (e.g., gender, income, education, age) and the quality of treatment in their prior legal disputes (e.g., ratings of procedural justice, level of satisfaction with case outcome, and how their lawyer handled the case). The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for improving the quality of legal serv...
TL;DR: The authors examined the impact of an Australian state government's decision to appoint a considerable number of women to its previously all-male Magistrates' Courts and found that most of the apparent gender differences are more likely the product of age and background than evidence of justice in a different voice.
Abstract: We examine the impact of an Australian state government's decision to appoint a considerable number of women to its previously all-male Magistrates' Courts. Interviews with a sample of 30 male and female magnistrates revealed ready acceptance of this major change, probably because of organizational peculiarities of the jurisdiction. The advent of women as judicial decision makers was perceived to have improved the work environment of the courts. Comparison of the ways in which male and female magistrates perceive aspects of their job (e.g., judicial role, adjudication, sentencing, and the conduct of informal proceedings) suggests that most of the apparent gender differences are more likely the product of age and background than evidence of justice “in a different voice.” Changes in court ideology suggest that the appointment of women may have been used to further more general political objectives. A critical question for feminist research might be: When and why do conservative institutions adopt strategie...
TL;DR: In this paper, the judge's role in plea bargaining is analyzed and an analysis of judges' agreement with prosecutors' sentencing recommendations is presented. But the analysis is limited to a single case.
Abstract: (1995). The judge's role in plea bargaining: An analysis of judges' agreement with prosecutors' sentencing recommendations. Justice Quarterly: Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 257-278.
TL;DR: This article used police reports to examine the impact of a pro-arrest policy change for domestic disturbances and found no changes in the monthly arrests and no differences in the type of cases in which arrests were made corresponded to the policy change.
Abstract: This study used police reports to examine the impact of a proarrest policy change for domestic disturbances. Insofar as the new policy reflected a “get tough” approach, the policy was expected to have a “trickle-up effect”: more official attention would be given to cases stereotyped as being less serious. Seven indicators, reflecting both legal and social definitions of seriousness, were taken from systematic samples of 96 police reports before the proarrest policy and 157 incident reports after the policy went into effect. No changes in the monthly arrests and no differences in the type of cases in which arrests were made corresponded to the policy change. We found differences, however, in the kinds of cases that were written up after the policy was instituted. The changes in report writing were consistent with a trickle-up effect.
TL;DR: This article found that the news coverage of the 1989 shooting of a black motorcyclist in a predominantly black section of Miami significantly altered the attitudes of Hispanic police recruits and significantly altered their expectation that police officers would use their weapons while on duty.
Abstract: On January 16, 1989, a Hispanic Miami police officer shot and killed a black motorcyclist in a predominantly black section of Miami. During the following week, the shooting and its aftermath received extensive newspaper, television, and radio coverage. In criminal justice research, history effects are a common concern but empirical demonstrations are rarely reported. As part of a larger study of police recruits' training and attitudes, the news coverage of this shooting was discovered to have influenced the attitudes of Hispanic recruits: it significantly altered their expectation that police officers would use their weapons while on duty. This effect was not observed in non-Hispanic recruits. This serendipitous finding points to the need for researchers to be alert to threats to validity, particularly as the mass media become more pervasive and more intrusive. Further, it empirically demonstrates the social construction of reality in operation.
TL;DR: The American dream and crime in the twenty-first century: Presidential address to the academy of criminal justice sciences as mentioned in this paper, 1995, was the first presidential address to address crime in America.
Abstract: (1995). The American dream and crime in the twenty-first century: Presidential address to the academy of criminal justice sciences. Justice Quarterly: Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 427-445.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the impact of psychiatric hospitalization history on decision-making in stages in the criminal justice system at which defendants are granted more and fewer due procedural safeguards.
Abstract: Using a stratified random sample of all male inmates released from one state's correctional facilities during a 13-month period (N = 550), this research investigates the impact of an extralegal variable (history of psychiatric hospitalization) on decisionmaking in stages in the criminal justice system at which defendants are granted more and fewer due procedural safeguards. On the basis of the work of Goffman and Green, it is hypothesized that this variable will not equally affect decisions made at various points in the criminal justice process. Instead, psychiatric history will have less impact at points in the process where the defendant is granted more due procedural safeguards (e.g., sentencing), with its significance increasing where the defendant receives fewer due procedural safeguards (e.g., parole). The results are consistent with the hypothesis: A history of psychiatric hospitalization was not significant in the decision regarding sentence length, though it became highly critical in the decision...
TL;DR: The politics and economics of increased correctional discretion over time served: A new york case study is presented in this paper, where the authors consider the effect of increased time served on the economy.
Abstract: (1995). The politics and economics of increased correctional discretion over time served: A new york case study. Justice Quarterly: Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 307-323.