The Impact of Police Strength and Arrest Productivity on Fear of Crime and Subjective Assessments of the Police

We explore the effect of police strength and arrest productivity on citizens’ fear of crime and perceived risk of victimization, as well as their subjective perceptions of the police including their confidence in the police and ratings of police response time. Police strength is measured as the rate of officers per 1,000 and productivity is calculated as the average number of arrests per officer; we also controlled for the crime rate using crimes reported to the police. We use nationally representative survey data (n?=?1,005) and conduct a supplemental analysis of data drawn from a representative sample of urban counties (n?=?1,500). Police force size and productivity have limited and inconsistent effects on fear of crime, perceived risk, and ratings of response time and no apparent effects on confidence in the police. We also find a modest yet statistically significant negative effect of police confidence on fear of crime. Our findings indicate that it is questionable whether adding more police will reduce fear or perceived risk of victimization to any measurable degree. Consequently, we suggest that rather than hiring binges and increased arrests, the focus should be instead on making positive contacts with citizens.     

Public Beliefs in the Causes of Wealth and Poverty and Legitimization of Inequalities in Russia and Estonia

The article analyzes the attributions of the causes of poverty and wealth in Russia and Estonia in 1991 and 1996 and their determinants. Among the latter are the perceived actual justice of the society, the perceived size of the middle class, and the personal position in the system of inequalities. Despite the economic hardships and a rise in inequalities in both countries, individualistic explanations of wealth and poverty have increased over the 5 years between the surveys. At the same time respondents in both countries demonstrated a growing awareness of the importance of starting positions and connections to achieve wealth. The perceived middle class has a significant effect on attributions of poverty but not on wealth. Russians in Estonia have a particular bias against wealth, whereas non-Russians in Russia are more likely to justify wealth on the basis of individual merit. Explanations of poverty and wealth in Estonia are more rooted in the factors of socialization (age, education, and gender), whereas in Russia they are more rooted in the changes in the family financial circumstances between 1991 and 1996. There was a general increase in support for government intervention in distribution in both countries.     

Environmental Impact Assessments in International Law

The purpose of this article is to assess what the current state of play with regard to environmental impact assessments (EIAs) is in international law. This question is posed because of the casual use of the term, and the often fundamental misunderstandings of what EIAs can and cannot do. This paper aims to clarify the current strength of EIAs in the international context, and provide guidance on how they may be applied.     

Crime Risk Assessments in New South Wales

Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) guidelines have been adopted in numerous jurisdictions around the world. In 2001, guidelines were introduced in New South Wales (Australia) to ensure that proposed developments/redevelopments of the built environment reflected key CPTED principles. The guidelines state that in certain circumstances a crime risk assessment is required for the proposed development and the resulting report forms part of the development application, which is reviewed by the relevant consent authority (a council or state government department depending upon the size of the development). To date, these guidelines have not been evaluated, making it impossible to assess their impact and the utility of the associated crime risk assessment reports. Moreover, much of the academic literature on CPTED has historically tended to focus on the implementation of CPTED strategies and not on the processes adopted pre-development. To partially fill this gap in knowledge, a small number (4) of publicly available crime risk assessment reports have been reviewed here and key issues highlighted. In particular, the relevance of some aspects of these reports is questioned, as is the impact of the relationship between the client (i.e. developer) commissioning the report and the findings of the ‘independent’ consultant. The small sample of risk assessment reports randomly selected for review cannot be considered representative of the larger body of such reports. Nonetheless, the insights generated from this exercise should be of interest to policy makers and practitioners engaged in this work.     

Nationalism in Russia

The articles in this issue examine the role played by nationalism in present-day Russian politics, focusing particularly on potential policy approaches to dealing with the various nationalist discourses that have gained in prominence in recent years.     

俄罗斯：腐败成“一号公敌”

俄罗斯如今仍是一个存在严重腐败的国家。2008年,透明国际清廉指数排行榜上俄罗斯在全球180个国家和地区中位列147位;去年,又从2009年的146位下滑到154位。媒体称,俄罗斯是20国集团成员中最腐败的经济体,也是欧洲最腐败的国家,在“金砖四国”中的腐败程度也首屈一指。     

Service v. Security Focus in Training Assessments

ABSTRACT

As jails have moved to professionalize their staffs the role of the correctional officer has become broader in scope and now encompasses both service and security functions. However, some research suggests that female correctional staff may have more of a “service” orientation than males. In our analysis of one dataset from exclusively women's jail facilities we investigate correctional officer preferences for training (service v. security) to see if they differ by gender. We find that both male and female correctional officers generally rank service type training over security and that they differ little in their overall assessment of initial training provided and usefulness of in-service training. We also find that minority officers may be more likely to value service training than their nonminority counterparts.     

Exploring Citizen Assessments of Unilateral Executive Authority

This study investigates the interaction between constitutional considerations and democratic context in evaluations of executive authority. An identical experiment is conducted using undergraduate and Mechanical Turk samples. A hypothetical article raising the question of executive power varies the (1) issue context, (2) expert assessment of constitutional authority, and (3) level of public support for proposed action. Measures of participants’ issue preferences and level of satisfaction with President Obama are also included in the analysis. Results indicate that participants think differently about the desirability and legitimacy of proposed executive action. Constitutional considerations and satisfaction with the President weigh most heavily in assessments of the appropriateness of executive conduct. Differences observed across samples demonstrate that institutional rules have the potential to constrain the influence of political factors in assessments legitimacy, but this is not inevitably the case. Feelings about the President may be especially important where experts agree that he lacks authority to take action. This could indicate that citizens will rally behind presidents they like, and think more critically of those they do not, in times of constitutional crisis.     

The Institutional Dimensions of Fisheries Stock Assessments

Coastal states were granted ample authority to conserve and manage resources within their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) as a result of the codification of 200-mile exclusive economic zones at the Third Law of the Sea Convention. With this authority came the responsibility to acquire a scientific understanding of these resources sufficient to inform sustainable policies. Two decades later, it would appear that the transmission of scientifically sound advice into long-term sustainable policies has proved more difficult than anticipated. This paper examines the linkage between fisheries stock assessments and fisheries policy and argues that institutional structure affects perceptions of salience, credibility and legitimacy and, as a result, the influence of fisheries stock assessments on fisheries policy. More specifically, I argue here that fisheries stock assessment processes that are embedded within policymaking organizations are more influential within those organizations than outside of them. Conversely, autonomous assessments are more influential than embedded assessments with a broad range of stakeholders affected by fisheries policies but less influential within the policymaking organizations themselves. The empirical illustrations of these points include an examination of fisheries stock assessments in Canada, the United States and Australia.     

Making Risk-Benefit Assessments of Medical Research Protocols

It is commonly assumed that medical experiments are ethical only if they have favorable "risk-benefit ratios". In this paper it is argued that "risk-benefit ratios" often cannot be calculated, even roughly; and that even if they could, ethical experiments don't need to have favorable "risk-benefit ratios". In addition, a new method of assessing an experiment's risk and benefits is proposed-a method grounded in the principles of liberal government.     

Insider-controlled Firms in Russia

Privatisation Vouchers in Russia were heavily invested in the holders' own firms. Using data from a recent survey, we show that insider control in firms privatised in 1992-4 through the voucher process (as distinct from the earlier leased buy-out method) is insecure and dependent on managers' support. For employees, investment in insider control appears to have been motivated by employment income insurance rather than expected excess returns on the equity. Managers are predominantly the same individuals as before privatisation and display considerable hostility to outside investors, probably because they fear dismissal should outsiders gain control. Despite insider control, firms are shedding labour quite rapidly through voluntary resignations. Employment dynamics appear to be unrelated to insider equity ownership.     

The Science of Natural Resource Damage Assessments

The process for conducting natural resource damage assessments (NRDAs) is supported by important scientific investigation components. The degree to which science forms the basis of NRD settlements varies by case, but all NRDAs depend to varying extents on scientific studies. While some of these investigation components have been discussed in previous papers and agency guidance, many of the scientific components remain anecdotal and poorly supported. This article presents each of several scientific components as an integrated investigation approach and gives recommendations and examples of the methodological features.     

Drug Addiction in Russia

[From the editors of Pravozashchitnik:] The Council on Foreign and Defense Policy (www.svop.ru) is a nongovernmental organization. It was founded on 25 February 1992 in Moscow by a group of well-known and influential politicians, heads of business associations, eminent entrepreneurs, political and social activists, and representatives of the power ministries, the military-industrial complex, academe, and the mass media. The independent status and the considerable scientific and political authority that the council has attained enables it to play an important role in Russia's emerging civil society, a niche that state structures cannot fill.     

Political Opposition in Russia

The Communist Party is, by its very nature and principles of organization, a democratic and independent organization that bases its activity on voluntary public service. Lenin repeatedly emphasized this aspect of the matter. He wrote: "All the party's affairs are conducted, directly or through representatives, by all members of the party, enjoying equal rights and with no exceptions" (Lenin, Soch., Vol. II, p. 396).     

穷困抗辩权初探

穷困抗辩权是保护赠与人利益的一项重要制度。赠与人发生穷困时,如果赠与物尚未转移的,对于受赠人的请求,赠与人可行使穷困抗辩权而拒绝履行合同义务。但这毕竟和合同应当信守的原则相冲突。因此,法律规定行使穷困抗辩权有严格的要件,以防止滥用。本文着重探讨了穷困抗辩权的成立要件及赠与物能否返还等问题,并提出相应见解。     

Goal Conflict in Juror Assessments of Compensatory and Punitive Damages

Recent tort reform debates have been hindered by a lack of knowledge of how jurors assess damages. Two studies investigated whether jurors are able to appropriately compartmentalize compensatory and punitive damages. In Study 1, mock jurors read a trial summary and were asked to assess compensatory and punitive damages in one of three conditions: (a) compensatory damages only, (b) punitive damages for the plaintiff, or (c) punitive damages for the state treasury. Results suggest that jurors who did not have the option to award punitive damages inflated compensatory damages via pain and suffering awards. Jurors were marginally more likely to award punitive damages when the plaintiff was the recipient. Mock jurors in Study 2 read a similar case summary and were asked to assess compensatory and punitive damages. Two factors were varied in Study 2: (a) egregiousness of the defendant's conduct, and (b) the recipient of any punitive damages (the plaintiff vs. a consortium of state funds). Jurors were more likely to award punitive damages when the defendant's conduct was more egregious and when the plaintiff was the recipient. The results suggest leakage between compensatory and punitive damage judgments, contrary to the law's mandate.