Criminology Commons^™

Correctional Officers’ Perceptions Of Equitable Treatment In The Masculinized Prison Environment, Marie L. Griffin, Gaylene Armstrong, John R. Hepburn

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Research suggests that employee perceptions of an organization’s support for policies that promote an equitable work environment may differ significantly by race and gender groups. This study examines such perceptual differences and their attitudinal effects on employee experiences within the unique context of a prison setting. Significant differences in correctional officer perceptions of policies are found to exist by race and gender groups. Contrary to expectations, all race and gender groups perceive strong organizational support for equal treatment policies. Moreover, the work experiences of White males are not negatively affected by perceptions of organizational support for equal treatment as had …

National Estimates Of Children Missing Involuntarily Or For Benign Reasons., Andrea J. Sedlack, David Finkelhor, Heather Hammer

Crimes Against Children Research Center

Provides information on the numbers and characteristics of two groups not often recognized in the literature on missing children: children involuntarily missing because they were lost or injured and those missing because of a benign explanation such as a miscommunication or mistaken expectation. The data are from two surveys conducted in 1999 as part of the Second National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children (NISMART–2). Children missing from their caretakers in circumstances with benign explanations constituted 43 percent of all missing children reported to authorities—the second largest category after those classified as runaway/thrownaway. The authors discuss the …

White-Collar Plea Bargaining And Sentencing After Booker, Stephanos Bibas

All Faculty Scholarship

This symposium essay speculates about how Booker's loosening of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines is likely to affect white-collar plea bargaining and sentencing. Prosecutors' punishment intuitions and the strong white-collar defense bar will keep white-collar sentencing from growing as harsh as drug sentencing, but the parallels are nonetheless ominous. The essay suggests that the Sentencing Commission revise its loss-computation rules, calibrate white-collar sentences to their core purpose of expressing condemnation, and adding shaming punishments and apologies to give moderate prison sentences more bite.

The Challenge Of Prison Overcrowding And Recidivism, Pearl Jacobs

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The state of Connecticut is currently dealing with a growing prison population. Ex-offenders face enormous obstacle trying to reconnect with society and get a job. They have no skills and lack a family support system.Their lack of preparation for successful reintegration into society places them at risk to become repeat offenders. Overcrowding in prisons produces individuals unable to cope or survive in free society.

Many of the recommendations of The Ex-Offender Employability Task Force of the State of Illinois relate to ex-offender employment and are worthy of consideration in employment programs in Connecticut.

We will have a safer and more …

Reducing Private Violence Against Women In Public Housing: Can Second Generation Cpted Make A Difference?, Walter S. Dekeseredy, Alvi Shahid, Claire M. Renzetti, Martin D. Schwartz

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Individual, Neighborhood, And Situational Factors Associated With Violent Victimization And Offending, Jerry K. Daday, Lisa M. Broidy, Cameron S. Crandall, David P. Sklar

Sociology Faculty Publications

The criminological literature presents substantial evidence that victims and offenders in violent crimes share demographic characteristics, engage in similar lifestyles and activities, and reside in socially disorganized neighborhoods. However, research has examined these relationships separately using either victimization or offending data, and prior studies have not examined these relationships by comparing victims and offenders within the same incidents. This limits the effect of examining whether these factors are associated with victimization and offending in similar or distinct ways. Using a law enforcement database of victims (n = 1,248) and offenders (n = 1,735) involved within the same aggravated battery incidents …

Incarceration Nation: Investigative Prison Poems Of Hope And Terror [Book Review], Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

The author reviews the book Incarceration Nation: Investigative Prison Poems of Hope and Terror by Stephen John Hartnett.

Responsibility For Unintended Consequences, Claire Oakes Finkelstein

All Faculty Scholarship

The appropriateness of imposing criminal liability for negligent conduct has been the subject of debate among criminal law scholars for many years. Ever since H.L.A. Hart’s defense of criminal negligence, the prevailing view has favored its use. In this essay, I nevertheless argue against criminal negligence, on the ground that criminal liability should only be imposed where the defendant was aware he was engaging in the prohibited conduct, or where he was aware of risking such conduct or result. My argument relies on the claim that criminal liability should resemble judgments of responsibility in ordinary morality as closely as possible. …

Book Review: Predators, Pedophiles, Rapists, And Other Sex Offenders By Anna Salter, Wendy A. Walsh

Sociology

No abstract provided.

Reunification Of Child And Animal Welfare Agencies: Cross-Reporting Of Abuse In Wellington County, Ontario, Lisa Anne Zilney, Mary Zilney

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Institutional change has resulted in the separation of organizations for the protection of animals and children. This project reunites two organizations to examine associations between human violence and animal cruelty. For 12 months, Family and Children's Services (FCS) investigators and Humane Society (HS) investigators in Wellington County, Canada, completed checklists to examine connections between forms of violence. FCS workers found some cause for concern in 20% of 1,485 homes with an animal companion. HS workers completed 247 checklists, resulting in 10 referrals to FCS. The first study of its kind, this project details the findings of cross-reporting in Wellington County …

Social Disorganization And The Ability And Willingness To Enact Control: A Preliminary Test, Ruth A. Triplett, Ivan Y. Sun, Randy R. Gainey

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Dominant models in the social disorganization literature differentially focus on the ability of neighborhoods to enact social control and the willingness to do so. Despite the interest in both concepts, often no clear definition of either is provided, and there is little discussion of their relationship or how they interact to affect neighborhood crime rates. This paper begins to explore the relationship between ability and willingness to enact social control. The findings suggest that, for formal control, ability and willingness are closely related. Furthermore, at the aggregate level, concentrated disadvantage combined with perceived inability has a strong impact on neighborhood …

Juvenile Diversion: Results Of A Three Year Experimental Study, Steven Patrick, Robert Marsh

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In a three year longitudinal study of first time juvenile status offenders assigned at random to three treatment groups and a control group, no significant differences were found in recidivism rates among the groups. A total of 398 juveniles in this study were cited for offenses of tobacco or alcohol in a medium-sized metropolitan northwest city. The offenders were assigned at random to four groups: a traditional magistrate court, a traditional Youth Court diversion program, a new non-judicial diversion program and a control group. None of the groups including the control group showed a significant difference in recidivism rates. It …

Evaluating The Competing Assumptions Of Gottfredson And Hirschi’S (1990) A General Theory Of Crime And Psychological Explanations Of Agression, Todd A. Armstrong

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) A General Theory of Crime, argues individual criminal propensity manifests itself as a general tendency to engage in a variety of criminal and delinquent acts. In contrast, Psychological explanations of aggression assume that the causal processes explaining individual variation in aggression are somehow different from those explaining other forms of crime and deviance. The current work assessed the relative strength of the assumptions of these two positions by testing the relationships among hostile attributional bias, selfcontrol, and three indicators of criminal intent. Hostile attributional bias is an individual characteristic important in psychological research on social information …