Crime & Delinquency recent issues

In Memoriam: Elizabeth "Libby" Piper Deschenes: July 1, 1953--April 20, 2008

Tracy, P. E. — 2008-06-09

Offense Specialization of Arrestees: An Event History Analysis

Lo, C. C., Kim, Y. S., Cheng, T. C. — 2008-06-09

The data set employed in the present study came from interviews with arrestees conducted between 1999 and 2001 as well as from their official arrest records obtained from jail administrators. A total of 238 arrestees ages 18 to 25 constituted the final sample. Event history analysis examined each arrestee's movement from periods of no arrests to periods including arrests for any of four types of offense; background variables were controlled, and relevant time-varying factors became the explanatory factors. The results show a tendency among these arrestees to specialize, to varying degrees, in violent offenses, drug offenses, miscellaneous offenses, and property offenses. Evidence of versatility is presented. Anticrime measures are also discussed.

Exploring the Impact of Changes in Group Composition on Trends in Specialization

Armstrong, T. A. — 2008-06-09

Stander and colleagues, in 1989, noted that change in specialization may be caused by two distinct but potentially complementary processes: (a) a change in group composition, where change in specialization is the product of the attrition of offenders who vary systematically in their tendency to specialize; and (b) a change in the tendency to specialize among persistent offenders. Results of the current study support earlier work finding change in the tendency to specialize among persistent offenders. Results also show that those who desist do differ in their tendency to specialize in drug and miscellaneous offenses, thereby suggesting that attrition will influence trends in specialization for these offense types. Post hoc analyses indicate that the relative influence of changes in group composition on trends in specialization is minor.

Assessing the Race-Crime and Ethnicity-Crime Relationship in a Sample of Serious Adolescent Delinquents

Piquero, A. R., Brame, R. W. — 2008-06-09

Official record studies consistently show that Blacks exhibit higher levels of involvement in criminal offending than Whites do. Although self-report studies suggest somewhat lower levels of Black overrepresentation in criminal offending activity (especially with less serious forms of crime), there appears to be considerable evidence that Blacks are disproportionately involved in serious crime. Yet most of this evidence is based on data from broad cross-sections of the general population. To date, there is little evidence on which to base inferences about the relationship between race and criminal involvement within serious offender populations. In this article, the authors use both official record and self-report data on samples of serious adolescent offenders in Philadelphia and Phoenix to reach a better understanding of the relationship between race and criminal activity. The analysis suggests that consistent race differences of the kind normally seen in the criminological literature are not evident in our sample of serious offenders.

Social Control, Serious Delinquency, and Risky Behavior: A Gendered Analysis

Booth, J. A., Farrell, A., Varano, S. P. — 2008-06-09

Social control theory asserts that strong social bonds inhibit delinquency, whereas weak bonds offer little resistance to offending. In the development of this theoretical perspective, new research suggests that the type and magnitude of social bonds have differing effects on male and female delinquency. This study adds to our understanding of how social control factors of parental attachment, involvement in diverse prosocial activities, belief in traditional norms, and school climate affect both young men's and young women's reports of serious delinquency and risky behavior in a sample of high school youth. Whereas previous research has generally either controlled for the effect of gender statistically or studied all-male samples, this article uses separate models to examine the independent effects of social bonds on male and female delinquency. The findings support the development of gender-specific analyses to understand how social control affects male and female pathways into delinquency.

An Attitudinal Explanation of Biases in the Criminal Justice System: An Empirical Testing of Defensive Attribution Theory

Herzog, S. — 2008-06-09

Theoretical perspectives, supported by empirical evidence, have consistently argued that the judicial treatment of offenders by criminal justice agents is sometimes biased by extralegal factors, such as offenders' sociodemographic characteristics. According to defensive attribution theory, individuals tend to protect themselves against unfortunate occurrences, such as becoming crime victims, by distorting the victim's role in his or her own victimization; these mechanisms depend on the observer's perceived similarity to the victim. The present study proposes an attitudinal perspective for explaining biases in legal decisions of criminal justice agents, by taking into account the perceived personal similarity between the victims and offenders involved in such situations and the observers. Respondents from an Israeli national sample were asked to evaluate the seriousness of and to suggest the appropriate punishment for hypothetical, multidimensional crime scenarios committed by a variety of offenders against a variety of victims. Overall, our findings supported our hypotheses. Their theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Inmate Recidivism as a Measure of Private Prison Performance

Spivak, A. L., Sharp, S. F. — 2008-06-09

The growth of the private corrections industry has elicited interest in the comparative performance of state and private prisons. One way to measure the service quality of private prisons is to examine inmates' postrelease performance. Current empirical evidence is limited to four studies, all conducted in Florida. This analysis replicates and adds to the Florida measures in a different state and enhances previous methods. It uses data for a large cohort of Oklahoma state prison inmates released between 1997 and 2001. Controlling for known covariates, multivariate survival analysis revealed comparative rates of reincarceration for inmates in multiple exposure and comparison groups. These results are unique among prior studies on this topic; private prison inmates had a greater hazard of recidivism in all eight models tested, six of which were statistically significant. Finding no empirical support for claims of superior service from private corrections, the authors discuss policy implications and prospects for future research.

The Influence of Sex Offender Registration and Notification Laws in the United States: A Time-Series Analysis

Vasquez, B. E., Maddan, S., Walker, J. T. — 2008-03-24

Although federal legislation for the implementation of sex offender registration and notification systems is now a decade old, empirical studies on the efficacy of this policy are relatively nonextant. This article explores the impact of registration legislation on the incidence of forcible rapes. Using monthly count data of rapes aggregated at the state level, this analysis uses Box–Jenkins autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models to conduct 10 intervention analyses on the enforcement of Megan's Law. The results of the analyses are mixed on whether the enforcement of sex offender registration had a statistically significant effect on the number of rapes reported at the state level. Although several states showed a nonsignificant increase in the number of rapes, only three states had a significant reduction in rapes. Policy implications are discussed in terms of the efficacy of sex offender registration and whether changes in these laws should be considered.

An Experimental Juvenile Probation Program: Effects on Parent and Peer Relationships

Brank, E., Lane, J., Turner, S., Fain, T., Sehgal, A. — 2008-03-24

In an effort to provide a wider range of services to youth and their families than is traditionally available in routine probation, the South Oxnard Challenge Project (SOCP) employed a team approach to service delivery of an intensive probation program. The researchers interviewed juveniles who were randomly assigned to either the SOCP experimental condition or the control condition of a routine probation program. The intensive probation program, among other goals, focused on improving parent–child relationships and teaching youth how to choose better peers. At 1 year post random assignment, experimental and control youth were not significantly different on key family or peer relationship measures. Level of program intensity, implementation issues, and other problems inherent in doing this type of research are provided as possible explanations for the lack of differences. These null findings are examined in light of the recent movement toward parental involvement legislation.

Reconciling the Differences Between the "Gender-Responsive" and the "What Works" Literatures to Improve Services for Girls

Hubbard, D. J., Matthews, B. — 2008-03-24

Recent increases in the delinquency and incarceration of girls have prompted juvenile justice professionals to search for effective, gender-specific prevention and treatment strategies. Given the dearth of research on girls' programming, these professionals are often left to sort out discrepancies between two major bodies of literature that address the needs of delinquent girls—the "what works" literature and the "gender-responsive" literature. This article culls the best of what is available within both these bodies of literature and suggests programmatic elements deemed essential for working effectively with girls.

Comparing State- Versus Facility-Level Effects on Crowding in U.S. Correctional Facilities

Steiner, B., Wooldredge, J. — 2008-03-24

The literature on prison crowding underscores the potential importance of both state- and facility-level effects on crowding, although empirical research has not assessed these relative effects because of the sole focus on states as units of analysis. This article describes findings from bi-level analyses of crowding across 459 state-operated facilities in 45 states. Findings from cross-sectional models of prison crowding in 1995 and 2000, measured as a ratio of a facility's inmate population to its design capacity, revealed significant differences in levels of crowding based on costs, types of inmates held, and court orders (at the facility level), as well as sentencing policies and the annual number of drug arrests (at the state level). A longitudinal analysis also revealed that differences in crowding levels between 1995 and 2000 coincided with changes in whether facilities increased their design capacity and with rising costs of incarceration. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Research Note: Assessing the Perceived Seriousness of White-Collar and Street Crimes

Leeper Piquero, N., Carmichael, S., Piquero, A. R. — 2008-03-24

Controversy surrounds the ranking of crime seriousness of white-collar crimes relative to street crimes, with early research suggesting the general public is indifferent to crimes of the elite, whereas more recent research indicates that the public thinks certain types of white-collar crime are serious. Building on prior research limitations and using data from a national random probability sample, this study compares the seriousness ratings of a number of white-collar and street crimes and examines the factors that distinguish seriousness ratings across the crime types. The analyses indicate that certain types of white-collar crimes are ranked as more serious than street crimes and that a limited set of demographic correlates distinguish seriousness ratings across the two crime types. Future research directions are outlined.

Psychiatric Disorder in a Juvenile Assessment Center

2008-03-24

Juvenile assessment centers (JACs) were developed to address service fragmentation and promote the sharing of information among agencies providing services to youth involved with the juvenile justice system. To date, there are no reports that describe the diagnostic profiles of the youth served by such centers. The authors hypothesize that the rates of psychiatric disorder among youth at JAC intake would be lower than rates reported for youth in secure care, that girls would show higher rates of some disorders, and that those with substance disorders would show higher rates of other, co-occurring disorders. Disorder was measured on the Voice Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children in 1,012 randomly selected youth (248 girls). Rates of disorder for JAC youth are lower than those reported for incarcerated samples and more comparable to other general intake samples; JAC youth's diagnostic profiles remain elevated compared to youth in the general population, and girls report higher rates of disorder in three of four diagnostic clusters examined. Clinical and policy implications are discussed.

Predicting Adolescent and Adult Antisocial Behavior Among Adjudicated Delinquent Females

Cernkovich, S. A., Lanctot, N., Giordano, P. C. — 2007-12-14

Studies identifying the mechanisms underlying the causes and consequences of antisocial behavior among female delinquents as they transit to adulthood are scarce and have important limitations: Most are based on official statistics, they typically are restricted to normative samples, and rarely do they gather prospective data from samples of high-risk females. By contrast, this research is based on a longitudinal sample of females who were interviewed initially in 1982 (n = 127) when they were institutionalized adolescent offenders, and subsequently as young adults in 1995 (n = 109). Our analyses, focusing on the impact of a variety of family factors derived from social control and strain theory, show that physical and sexual abuse during childhood and adolescence are potent predictors of adult criminality, though not of adolescent delinquency. The implications of the long-term negative impact of childhood and adolescent abuse are discussed, and concrete policy recommendations offered.

Reverse Waiver and the Effects of Legal, Statutory, and Secondary Legal Factors on Sentencing Outcomes for Juvenile Offenders

Burrow, J. — 2007-12-14

Over the past few decades, various forms of waiver have become increasingly used at the state level. Generally, the research literature has focused on three types of waiver: judicial, prosecutorial, and legislative. Reverse waiver, a fourth type, remains little studied. Moreover, little is known of the factors that judges consider when making the decision to either sentence juvenile offenders as adults or sentence them as juveniles after they have been waived. This article is an attempt to shed some light on how factors unrelated to the instant offense, often the case with reverse waiver, may affect sentencing outcomes for waived offenders. Several important findings were revealed. First, judges are sentencing the most violent and serious offenders as adults. Second, secondary legal factors such as pending charges and prior placements influence the sentencing decision. Third, the amount of experience that judges have in handling waiver cases significantly influences the sentencing decision.

Exploring the Role of Parental Monitoring of Peers on the Relationship Between Family Functioning and Delinquency in the Lives of African American and Hispanic Adolescents

Dillon, F. R., Pantin, H., Robbins, M. S., Szapocznik, J. — 2007-12-14

This cross-sectional study explores potential mediating effects of parental monitoring of peers on three adolescent problem behaviors (externalizing behavior, drug use, sexual risk behavior) among juvenile delinquents and their families. Participants are 190 African American and Hispanic adolescents and parent guardians enrolled in a family therapy treatment efficacy study targeting delinquency. Parental monitoring of peers mediates the association between family functioning and externalizing behavior in the full sample. Comparable results are not found in post hoc analyses of each racial and ethnic sample or among drug use and sexual risk behaviors. Research and health service implications are discussed.

Florida's Sexually Violent Predator Program: An Examination of Risk and Civil Commitment Eligibility

Lucken, K., Bales, W. — 2007-12-14

Sex offender civil commitment (SOCC) has been enacted in 16 states amid widespread controversy. A critical component of civil commitment is the risk assessment process that determines recommendations for civil confinement once a prison term has expired. This study analyzes the first stage of a two-stage risk assessment process that determines whether eligible sex offenders are referred for clinical evaluation in Florida's Sexually Violent Predator Program. A sample of 773 offenders referred to the program between July 2000 and August 2003 is examined to identify group differences between released and referred sex offenders and the unique effects of legal, clinical, and other factors on the decision to refer for clinical evaluation. Despite considerable discretion given evaluators in assessing risk, the findings indicate substantial and salient group differences between those released and referred and that the primary factors informing referral decisions are consistent with legislative intent, actuarial instruments, and sex offender recidivism research.

Minority Threat, Crime Control, and Police Resource Allocation in the Southwestern United States

Holmes, M. D., Smith, B. W., Freng, A. B., Munoz, E. A. — 2007-12-14

Numerous studies have examined political influences on communities' allocations of fiscal and personnel resources to policing. Rational choice theory maintains that these resources are distributed in accordance with the need for crime control, whereas conflict theory argues that they are allocated with the aim of controlling racial and ethnic minorities. Existing research more consistently supports the conflict argument, but important issues remain unaddressed. The authors tested that approach by examining allocations of police resources in large cities in the Southwest, the yet-to-be-studied region in which the majority of Hispanics reside. The analyses included the key variables from the rational choice and conflict perspectives, as well as proximity to the border between the United States and Mexico. Minimal effects existed for percent Hispanic, an important conflict theory variable. However, Anglo-Hispanic income inequality and proximity to the border had effects consistent with that perspective. Class divisions within the Hispanic community may explain this pattern of findings.

Understanding the Black Box of Gang Organization: Implications for Involvement in Violent Crime, Drug Sales, and Violent Victimization

Decker, S. H., Katz, C. M., Webb, V. J. — 2007-12-14

This article examines the influence of gang organization on several behavioral measures. Using interview data from juvenile detention facilities in three Arizona sites, this article examines the relationship between gang organizational structure and involvement in violent crime, drug sales, victimization, and arrest. The gang literature suggests that gangs are not very well organized. However, the findings from the current research suggest that even low levels of gang organization are important for their influence on behavior. Indeed, even incremental increases in gang organization are related to increased involvement in offending and victimization.

Strain, Attribution, and Traffic Delinquency Among Young Drivers: Measuring and Testing General Strain Theory in the Context of Driving

Ellwanger, S. J. — 2007-09-11

This article enhances our knowledge of general strain theory (GST) by applying it to the context of traffic delinquency. It does so by first describing and confirming the development of a social–psychological measure allowing for a test of GST. Structural regression analysis is subsequently employed to test the theory within this context across a range of delinquent driving behaviors. Tests indicate that strain experienced while operating a motor vehicle consists of distinct contexts that when considered separately both enhance our understanding of GST and spell policy implications for state-directed interventions. Implications for future GST testing, measurement, and application are also discussed.

Applying a Generic Juvenile Risk Assessment Instrument to a Local Context: Some Practical and Theoretical Lessons

Miller, J., Lin, J. — 2007-09-11

This article examines issues raised by the application of a generic actuarial juvenile risk instrument (the Model Risk Assessment Instrument) to New York City, a context different from the one in which it was developed. It describes practical challenges arising from the constraints of locally available data and local sensibilities and highlights important differences between locally relevant recidivism predictors and generic tool predictors. The analysis shows that the generic tool is less predictive than a locally developed risk-assessment tool and also performs less well than unassisted clinical judgment. This is true even after the generic tool has been validated and optimized on local data. This is because the tool does not include key demographic variables relevant to the New York City context.

Serious Mental Illness and Arrest: The Generalized Mediating Effect of Substance Use

Swartz, J. A., Lurigio, A. J. — 2007-09-11

Past studies of the mediating effects of substance use on the criminal justice involvement of the mentally ill have tended to focus on a single disorder, schizophrenia, and on violent crimes. This study examined the generality of the relationships among psychiatric disorders, substance use, and arrests for violent, nonviolent, and drug-related offenses using data collected for the 2001 and 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Logistic regression models showed that for violent offenses, the statistical association between serious mental illness (SMI) and arrest across psychiatric diagnoses was substantially but only partially mediated by substance use. For nonviolent offenses and for drug-related offenses, the relationship between SMI and arrest was almost completely mediated by substance use and reduced to statistical nonsignificance. These findings suggest that co-occurring substance use increases the chances a person with any SMI, not just schizophrenia, will be arrested for any offense, not just violent offenses, but that the magnitude of this relationship varies by offense type and, to a lesser extent, by disorder.

Whistle-Blowing and the Code of Silence in Police Agencies: Policy and Structural Predictors

Rothwell, G. R., Baldwin, J. N. — 2007-09-11

This article reports the findings from a study that investigates predictors of police willingness to blow the whistle and police frequency of blowing the whistle on seven forms of misconduct. It specifically investigates the capacity of nine policy and structural variables to predict whistle-blowing. The results indicate that two variables, a policy mandating the reporting of misconduct and supervisory status, surface as the most consistent predictors of whistle-blowing. Contrary to popular belief, the results also show that police are slightly less inclined than civilian public employees to subscribe to a code of silence.

Recidivism of Supermax Prisoners in Washington State

Lovell, D., Johnson, L. C., Cain, K. C. — 2007-09-11

This study of recidivism among Washington supermax prisoners used a retrospective matched control design, matching supermax prisoners one-to-one with nonsupermax prisoners on mental illness status and up to eight recidivism predictors. Supermax prisoners committed new felonies at a higher rate than nonsupermax controls, but the difference was not statistically significant. Prisoners released directly from supermax to the community, however, showed significantly higher felony recidivism rates than their nonsupermax controls and committed new offenses sooner than supermax prisoners who left supermax 3 months or more before prison release. Limitations, methodological issues, and policy implications are considered.