Digital Commons Network^™

Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 22, No. 2 (Summer 2005), Rosay B. N/A, John Riley, Brad A. Myrstol

Vols 21-30 (2004-2014)

The Summer 2005 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum presents articles on homeless youth in Homer, a review essay of a recent book about mass incarceration, an overview of probation and parole in Alaska, and public perceptions of and experiences with Anchorage Police Department.

The Relationship Between Parole And Recidivism In The Criminal Justice System, Jacquelin A. Robinson

McNair Scholars Journal

From 1990 to 1999 the criminal justice system experienced a fifty percent increase in the inmate population, which included recidivated parolees. Critics claimed the parole process was not working and lobbied legislature to take action. The system responded by decreasing parole agency budgets, increasing prison sentences, and reducing rehabilitation services for paroled inmates. Research pertaining to parole and recidivism indicates two variables: there is or isn’t a direct association. The objective of this study is to compare the data and decide if parole is a viable solution for decreasing recidivism rates.

Planning Release: An Evaluation Of The Allegheny County Jail Project, Rae Dorer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of the Allegheny County Jail Project is to allow inmates to maintain social bonds by obtaining meaningful employment and reduce the rate of recidivism. The rates of recidivism were evaluated for the Allegheny County Jail Project and then compared to the rate of recidivism of the general population of the Allegheny County Jail to measure the success of the program. A population of 126 enrollees, the first and second year enrollees of the program combined, was selected for this evaluation from September 2001 to June 2003, and then a follow up of one year was conducted to find …

Why Restorative Justice Is Not Compulsory Compassion: Annalise Acorn's Labour Of Love Lost [A Review Of 'Compulsory Compassion: A Critique Of Restorative Justice,' Annalise E. Acorn (Vancouver: University Of British Columbia Press, 2004)], Bruce P. Archibald

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Annalise Acorn has produced an immensely engaging book about love, sexuality and law, written with verve and elan; however, it paints a hugely misleading picture of restorative justice that could be seriously damaging to what is arguably the most significant development in criminal justice since the emergence of the nation state. Restorative justice is changing the nature of criminal justice systems the world over. The Canadian criminal justice system is a leader in this regard, though it is far from being alone. Simplistic and dysfunctional systems of punitive criminal justice are being altered and supplemented by restorative programs that are …

Legal Scholarship Symposium: The Scholarship Of Lawrence M. Friedman, Robert J. Cottrol

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Lawrence M. Friedman has achieved a singular preeminence as a legal historian for articulating a new vision of legal history as a discipline in his 1973 work entitled A History of American Law. This book treats American law as a mirror of society. At the time, Friedman's vision was still something quite new in American legal historiography. James Willard Hurst's notions of legal history as a sociolegal inquiry would heavily influence Friedman, helping to move the field into new and often surprising precincts. Friedman's approach to legal history is one that introduced us to previously unexamined actors and institutions.

Whether …

Legal Scholarship Symposium: The Scholarship Of Lawrence M. Friedman, Robert J. Cottrol

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Lawrence M. Friedman has achieved a singular preeminence as a legal historian for articulating a new vision of legal history as a discipline in his 1973 work entitled A History of American Law. This book treats American law as a mirror of society. At the time, Friedman's vision was still something quite new in American legal historiography. James Willard Hurst's notions of legal history as a sociolegal inquiry would heavily influence Friedman, helping to move the field into new and often surprising precincts. Friedman's approach to legal history is one that introduced us to previously unexamined actors and institutions. Whether …

The Effectiveness Of Juvenile Correctional Facilities: Public Versus Private Management, Patrick J. Bayer, David Pozen

Faculty Scholarship

This paper uses data on juvenile offenders released from correctional facilities in Florida to explore the effects of facility management type (private for-profit, private nonprofit, public state-operated, and public county-operated) on recidivism outcomes and costs. The data provide detailed information on individual characteristics, criminal and correctional histories, judge-assigned restrictiveness levels, and home zip codes — allowing us to control for the nonrandom assignment of individuals to facilities far better than any previous study. Relative to all other management types, for-profit management leads to a statistically significant increase in recidivism, but relative to nonprofit and state-operated facilities, for-profit facilities operate at …

Double Whammy: Collateral Consequences Of Conviction And Imprisonment For Sustainable Communities And The Environment, Avi Brisman

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Domestic Violence And The Air Force Family: Research Into Situational Dynamics And Evaluation Of The Air Force Family Advocacy Program, Thomas Peter Sherman

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Air Force Family Advocacy Program and examine the effects that situational dynamics have on recidivism. Although, the high volume of program participants and low recidivism rate demonstrated that the Family Advocacy Program is a valuable resource for treating families referred for spousal domestic violence.

Past As Prologue: Reconciling Recidivism And Culpability , Michael Edmund O'Neill, Linda Drazga Maxfield, Miles D. Harer

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 20, No. 4 (Winter 2004), Rosay B. N/A, Antonia Moras

Vols 11-20 (1994-2004)

The Winter 2004 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum features articles on forcible rapes and sexual assaults reported to Anchorage Police Department in 2000–2001, the growth of prison populations in the U.S., a review of an Alaska Judicial Council study of felony case process, options for indigent defense in Alaska, and dispositions of sexual assault cases in Alaska.

Does Prison Harden Inmates? A Discontinuity-Based Approach, Keith M. Chen, Jesse M. Shapiro

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Some two million Americans are currently incarcerated, with roughly six hundred thousand to be released this year. Despite this, little is known about the effects of confinement conditions on the post-release lives of inmates. Focusing on post-release criminal activity, we identify the causal effect of prison conditions on recidivism rates by exploiting a discontinuity in the assignment of federal prisoners to security levels. We find that harsher prison conditions are associated with significantly more post-release crime.

Kentucky's Perpetual Prisoner Machine: It's About Money, Stephen C. Richards, James Austin, Richard S. Jones

Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Kentucky is currently facing a severe budget crisis and is seeking ways to lower its prison and community corrections costs. This article focuses on our study of the prison and parole experience of men and women in Kentucky. What we found is a virtual “perpetual incarceration machine” where prisoners are recycled from prison to parole and back to prison. The following discussion includes: Kentucky's prison population continues to grow, parole failure, methods, description of interview samples, interview data, the structure producing parole failure, and Kentucky's perpetual incarceration mechine. Based on our findings, several promising reforms are recommended that if implemented …

Community Notification Laws And Sex Offender Recidivism: A Study Of State Laws In Pre And Post Time Periods, Rachel Katherine Abrams

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

In response to public concern, all states currently have some form of a sex offender community notification law. The enactment of these sex offender laws has sparked many debates regarding their implications and overall effectiveness. Sex offender community notification laws differ in their restrictiveness between states, which, in turn, may affect the overall effectiveness of these laws. The current study examines secondary data on released sex offenders before and after implementation of community notification laws. Three different states with available pre and post notification data on their released offenders in 1994 were used for analysis; Upon examination of these state …

A Process Evaluation Of The Riverside County Dependency Recovery Drug Court, Philip Marshall Breitenbucher, Sean Collins Sullivan

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the implementation of the "Key Components" as identified by the Department of Justice (1998) into the Riverside County Dependency Recovery Drug Court Program.

La Bodega De La Familia: Supporting Parolees' Reintegration Within A Family Context, Jeanne Flavin, David Rosenthal

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This essay discusses how Family Justice and La Bodega de la Familia respond to the diverse challenges of reintegration post incarceration. It also discusses the benefits of a model of judicial supervision that recognizes individuals' social locations within their families and communities. With the goal of producing more effective and humane prisoner reintegration, especially in the context of drug offenses, the Authors recommend family case management. They additionally encourage parole and criminal justice practice to shift its focus from the individual parolee to families and their strengths.

The Recidivism Of Violent Youths In Juvenile And Adult Court: A Consideration Of Selection Bias, David Myers

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Contemporary research suggests that increased efforts to transfer juveniles to the adult criminal justice system may backfire, as waived youths generally exhibit greater recidivism as compared to similar offenders retained in juvenile court. One concern with this research is the possibility of selection bias, meaning that the findings could be explained as merely a simple consequence of the highest risk youth being transferred. This study examined this issue for 494 violent youths from Pennsylvania, of which 79 were waived to adult court and 415 were retained in juvenile court. The likelihood, seriousness, and timing of their recidivism were analyzed, with …

Comparison Of Education Level, Intelligence Quotient, And Higher Education Courses Of Individuals Who Commit Violent Crimes And Those Individuals Who Commit Nonviolent Crimes In Arkansas, W. Andranette Anderson-Blackwell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare education levels, intelligence quotients, and college courses taken or are being taken by criminal offenders who commit violent versus nonviolent crimes. One hundred males and 100 females from the states' correctional facilities were used as the sample. The sample was stratified according to four characteristics: type of crime committed (violent or nonviolent), ethnicity, age, and gender. The null hypothesis tested in this study was that there is no statistically significant difference, at the 0.05 level, in the educational levels or intelligence quotients of criminal offenders as to age, ethnicity, gender, …

Abusing State Power Or Controlling Risk?: Sex Offender Commitment And Sicherungverwahrung, Nora V. Demleitner

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This article addresses civil commitment of sexually predatory offenders. It first outlines the most common American approaches to controlling sexual offenders, then details the German concept of Sicherungsverwahrung and greater state control, and finally proposes adopting a modified German approach that assures proportionality and public safety without sacrificing individual liberties. The article concludes by arguing that criminal penalties and safety-based detention should both be seen as elements of social control, which requires that safety measures with clearly punitive components be recognized as part of the punishment process.

An Exploratory Study To Identify The Predictors Of Sexual Reoffending By Male Sexual Offenders In Western Australia, Deborah Dawson, Alfred Allan

Research outputs pre 2011

As the prediction of the risk of sexual reoffending behaviour has become more important in the corrections setting, so has the development of instruments to assist practitioners in doing risk evaluations. International research underpins most of the instruments used in Western Australia (WA), and in Australia for that matter. The present study explored the predictive accuracy of instruments developed internationally and locally as a function of ethnicity (Indigenous and non Indigenous) and nature of offending (non violent sexual and violent sexual). The Rapid Risk Assessment for Sexual Recidivism (RRASOR) and the Static 99 were the international instruments, for the prediction …

Community Supervision Of Sex Offenders - Integrating Probation And Clinical Treatment, Mike Jenuwine, Ronald Simmons, Edward Swies

Journal Articles

The common reaction to the criminal acts committed by sex offenders includes disgust, anger, and a feeling of increased vulnerability. Not surprisingly, many people feel that convicted sex offenders should be locked up indefinitely, castrated, or put to death. In reality, however, nearly 60 per- cent of convicted sex offenders live in our communities under conditional supervision. The inherent problem with releasing convict- ed sex offenders into the community is the likelihood that they will repeat their crimes. To address this problem, intensive treatment programs for sex offenders have been developed to be used in combination with traditional measures such …

Characteristics Of Recidivism Among Intensive And Regular Probationers., Jennifer Joseph

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined characteristics of 100 intensive probationers and 100 regular probationers to have a better understanding of why some probationers recidivate and others do not. Logistic analysis was used to analyze the following variables: age, race, gender, employment status, level of education, convicted offense, prior misdemeanor arrests, prior felony arrests, history of drug abuse, and type of probation. It was discovered that age, prior misdemeanor arrests, and offender category were significant variables correlated to recidivism. These findings are consistent with prior research and provide information that can be helpful to probation and parole officers in their supervision of offenders …

An Evaluation Of Washington State's First-Time Offender Waiver (Ftow), Marianne Galgon

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Considering the current staggering number of people under various forms of government supervision, reducing recidivism is a serious concern of the criminal justice system. A possible solution to this problem may lie in intensive supervision programs (ISPs) that were implemented in every state by 1990. This thesis evaluates Washington State's First-Time Offender Waiver (FTOW) to determine whether it is a viable alternative to prison for eligible nonviolent offenders. Specifically, I want to know: (1) Is there is a bias in who is sentenced with FTOW based on demographic variables? (2) Do FTOW recipients recidivate more or less compared to eligible …

The Social Construction Of The Sex Offender, Lisa L. Sample

Dissertations

Over the last two decades, Americans have come to perceive sex offending as a serious and widespread problem. As a response to the public's concern, new sex offender legislation has been enacted. This dissertation examines the contemporary sex offender problem and the legislative responses, within a social constructionist framework. I performed a content analysis of newspaper accounts, conducted interviews with public officials, and analyzed arrest data to determine the current definitions of sex offenders, the process by which those definitions found their way into law, and how they were applied to offenders.

I found that the media depict and policy …

A Study In "Actuarial Justice": Sex Offender Classification Practice And Procedure, Wayne A. Logan

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Factors That Affect Recidivism Of Offenders On Electronic Monitoring In Norfolk, Virginia, Michael P. O'Toole

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate which factors impact offenders' recidivism on electronic monitoring. Research on electronic monitoring has mainly concentrated on individual program completion rates. A review of the available literature on electronic monitoring reveals few evaluative studies focusing on offender recidivism. No long term recidivism studies are available for electronic monitoring. The present research reviews 277 offenders five years after completing their electronic monitoring sentence in Norfolk, Virginia. The following factors as they may relate to offenders' recidivism, while on electronic monitoring are measured: current offense, prior conviction, offenders' age, sentence length, and employment history. Analyses …

G98-1366 Establishing Juvenile Diversion In Your Community, Stephen T. Russell, Susan Wood, Sara Domeier

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Juvenile diversion programs are created to divert youth from early encounters with the juvenile court system. By focusing on strengths of children in a positive youth development framework, successful diversion programs discourage delinquency and encourage stronger family and community relationships. This guide describes the issues communities need to consider in the development of a juvenile diversion program.

Each year over two million juveniles in the United States are arrested and become involved in the juvenile court system. Juvenile diversion programs have been created to divert youth from their early encounters with the juvenile court system. These programs involve the suspension …

When Fair Is Foul: Federal Drug Sentencing In The Wake Of United States V. Labonte, Daniel I. Smulow

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Drug Court: Using Diversion To Supervise And Treat An Escalating Drug Offender Population, Laura Davis

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Feminist Theory: Gender, Race And Recidivism, Amie M Shuck

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Feminists and women of color have criticized criminological theories for being developed by white middle-class men to explain white male delinquency, and thus, are limited in their understanding of crime and deviance within a gender or racial context. The purpose of this study is to use a series of logistic regression models to evaluate this assertion regarding criminological 'theories' of recidivism. The results indicate that there are substantive differences in statistically significant coefficients, models explanatory power, and percent improvement in models ability to correctly classify recidivists between gender, race and gender/race models. These findings suggest that further research should be …