WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE GAYS IS GOOD FOR THE GANDER: MAKING HOMELESS YOUTH HOUSING SAFER FOR LESBIAN,GAY, BISEXUAL,AND TRANSGENDER YOUTH

Across the United States, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth are grossly overrepresented in the homeless youth population. These youth are at an increased risk of being victims of violence in homeless youth housing facilities. This Note examines the causes of the overrepresentation of LGBT youth in the homeless youth population. Additionally, this Note suggests the following changes to the regulation of homeless youth housing programs to make them safer for these youth: (1) placing low maximum limits on the occupancy capacity at which these programs may operate, (2) requiring that all showering facilities provide individual privacy, (3) prohibiting anti‐LGBT discrimination in the provision of services, (4) requiring nondiscrimination and sensitivity training, and (5) promoting the creation of LGBT‐specific homeless youth housing programs.     

百年前火灾肇始安全立法

1911年3月25日是星期六,下午4点45分,美国纽约市曼哈顿区三角制衣厂（主要生产女用衬衫）的275名年轻女孩开始收拾东西准备下班。然而,在随后不到20分钟的时间内,其中一些女孩身体被大火烧成了焦炭,尸体沿格林街东侧排成了行。一些女孩们从九楼跳下来,摔在水泥地上,当场死亡,她们的尸体上只盖着防水油布。贝尔维尤太平间装不下这么多尸体,不得不在毗连的东河码头设立临时停尸房。数百位父母和家庭成员前来辨认遇难的亲人。这一天晚上,三角制衣厂发生的火灾导致146名员工丧生。     

DAMAGES FOR LOST AMENITIES: FOR A FOOT,A FEELING OR A FUNCTION?

“The rational principles upon which damages … are to be assessed … tend … to be obscured by familiar phrases which lawyers use but seldom pause to analyse.” (Diplock L.J. in Wise v. Kay).     

CRIMES, DISORDERS, AND THE DEMAND FOR HANDGUNS: An Empirical Analysis

In a recent paper, Bordua and Lizotte (1979) analyze determinants of firearm ownership using cross-sectional data for Illinois counties. Noting that firearms may be purchased for the purpose of sport, self-protection, or crime, they present clear evidence of sporting demand and limited evidence of defensive motives in the pattern of gun ownership. Crime rates are significant only in the equation explaining gun ownership by women (1979: 161). The purpose of the present article is to supplement the findings of Bordua and Lizotte and earlier empirical studies by focusing on the demand for handguns alone. In particular, the article analyzes the role of crime rates and fear of violence in motivating citizens to buy and keep handguns. For this purpose, aggregate time-series and cross-sectional data on handgun sales were collected and analyzed. Because handguns are durable pieces of equipment, it is necessary to use a model that distinguishes the stock of handguns at any one time from the rate of handgun purchases.     

INSTITUTIONAL INEFFECTIVENESS,ILLEGITIMACY, AND PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR VIGILANTISM IN LATIN AMERICA

Why do individuals or groups support vigilantism as a means of conflict resolution? Most researchers tend to agree that support for and participation in vigilantism occurs in “stateless locations,” that is, when formal justice institutions are weak or absent. Despite this general consensus, quantitative evidence of this relationship is limited to a handful of country‐specific studies that used only subjective survey‐based measures of institutional weakness. This study seeks to extend research on vigilantism by assessing the relationship between subjective and objective conditions of formal justice institutions and public support for vigilantism across 323 provinces in 18 Latin American countries by using the 2012 AmericasBarometer Survey. Specifically, this study uses multilevel logistic regression techniques to examine the variability of public support for lethal vigilantism within and across Latin American countries. When controlling for a wide range of potential confounds, the results show that the most robust predictors of support for violent vigilantism are subjective indicators of institutional illegitimacy, personal victimization, and punitive attitudes. Evidence also exists that objective insecurity, as measured by province‐level homicide rates, fosters public support for violent vigilantism in certain situations.     

CRIMES,CRIME RATES,ARRESTS, AND ARREST RATIOS: IMPLICATIONS FOR DETERRENCE THEORY*

The relationship between crimes and arrests is one of the central issues in deterrence theory. There are several conceptual difficulties in attempting to assess whether arrests deter crimes or the number of crimes determine the number of arrests. These problems are compounded when rates are used to measure both variables. The issue is whether criminals respond to arrests or the police respond to changes in crime. The present analysis compares regression results when the variables are measured both as rates and raw numbers for three offenses: homicide, robbery, and burglary. The results indicate that arrests follow crimes. This suggests the need to reexamine some studies that argue that criminals’perceptions of arrest rates are an indication of deterrence.     

INCARCERATION,SOCIAL CAPITAL,AND CRIME: IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION THEORY*

This study is a theoretical exploration of the impact of public social control on the functioning of local social controls. Set within the framework of social disorganization and systemic theory, the study argues that an overreliance on incarceration as a formal control may hinder the ability of some communities to foster other forms of control because they weaken family and community structures. At the ecological level, the side effects of policies intended to fight crime by controlling individual behavior may exacerbate the problems they are intended to address. Thus, these communities may experience more, not less, social disorganization.     

FAMILY,ACQUAINTANCE, AND STRANGER HOMICIDE: ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURES FOR RATE CALCULATIONS*

This paper describes the extent of missing data within the Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR), collected as part of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program of the FBI. The yearly SHR provides coded information on the victim, the offender, and the circumstances of all reported homicides in the United States. Thus, the data allow the computation of specific kinds of homicide rates, such as those involving family members, acquaintances, and strangers. However, missing data within reported events, primarily on offender characteristics and thus the victim/offender relationship, present a serious obstacle to the accurate calculation of such rates. The authors propose computational procedures designed to compensate for missing data and empirically evaluate the impact of these procedures on comparative analyses of homicide rates for cities, metropolitan areas, and states.     

DIVORCE EDUCATION FOR PARENTS AND CHILDREN IN JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI

This article outlines the implementation of a children's component of a court-connected, mandatory divorce education program in Jackson County, Missouri. The efforts made to include significant stakeholders in the planning and implementation process are described. The curriculum for adults and children is summarized, and the structure and administration of the program are presented. Class provider recruitment and teacher qualifications are presented, as well as an overview of the initial responses to the children's classes. The difficulties and successes described may give direction to others considering the inclusion of children in mandatory divorce education classes.     

NONJUDICIAL ALTERNATIVES FOR RESOLVING END-OF-LIFE DECISIONS FOR MINORS

This note will discuss end-of-life decision making for minors. Minors who suffer from a terminal illness or who are in a persistent vegetative state are "children on the edge"—they are on the edge of life and death, as well as on the edge of the law. The judicial system and legislative action have proven to be ineffective tools in helping families find a peaceful resolution to life-threatening questions. Judicial intervention is often intrusive, as well as emotionally and financially difficult for the family to endure. As a result, alternatives have arisen, such as hospital ethics committees and mediation, which address these issues. These alternatives demonstrate respect for patient autonomy and family privacy, by considering the family's wishes in addition to the minor's medical condition. If people avail themselves of the resources already in place, judicial intervention only becomes necessary in extreme circumstances. Nonjudicial alternatives provide a more appropriate forum for resolution than the courtroom by eliminating opportunities for public spectacle and family intrusion.