Marguerite Q. Warren

Abstract

Marguerite (Rita) Warren is remembered as a respected teacher, committed mentor, and good friend. She is perhaps best known, for the experimental study of the Community Treatment Project (CTP). CTP operationalized the Theory of Interpersonal Maturity (I-Level) to provide differential treatment to delinquent offenders. Rita Warren received her doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. With graduate school colleagues, she formulated the I-Level Theory. Her focus on correctional treatment began with research on Navy recruits, followed by work with the California Youth Authority, service to the NIMH's Crime and Delinquency Committee, and participation on the Task Force on Corrections for President Johnson's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice. Academe followed; for 11 years, she was a faculty member at the School of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany. This article is a biography of Rita Warren, focusing primarily upon her career and her research.     

Kim Pate

Abstract

This essay provides an overview of the life of Kim Pate, a Canadian activist who works with and on behalf of criminalized women and girls. Highlights of Kim's commendable personal, occupational, political and academic contributions and achievements in both Canada and abroad are presented. Featuring pivotal occupational achievements in Kim's life simultaneously offers a glimpse into the state of affairs in the past decade facing women in Canada's criminal justice system. This essay is based on interviews held with Kim, her colleagues and friends, and my personal acquaintance with her. It brings to life how Kim has and continues to challenge and progress the Canadian criminal justice system as an activist, and how her success is rooted in her extraordinary character as an individual.     

Katharine Bement Davis (1860-1935)

Abstract

Katharine Bement Davis is a significant figure in American criminology, homosexuality studies, penology, and several social movements, including women's suffrage, African Americans' civil rights, and the social settlement. Although Davis was a widely recognized criminologist for almost three decades, her life and career are acknowledged rarely in the annals of the profession. To address this serious omission in the history of criminology, I introduce her biography, analyze her theory and practice, and locate her in a historical context of powerful women who changed American life and politics.     

The Development of a Preeminent Corrections Scholar

Abstract

Doris Layton MacKenzie came into the field of criminal justice and criminology in her thirties, balancing the dual tasks of motherhood and scholarship successfully. After completing her Doctoral work in Psychology at Pennsylvania State University, MacKenzie accepted her first academic position at Louisiana State University. There she began what has become the most comprehensive body of work to date on the study of boot camps. Now a full professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland, MacKenzie continues her work in discovering what works and what doesn't work in corrections, and is a strong advocate for field research that generates real, practical applications for public safety and crime control. Building on her PhD research in psychology, Doris Layton MacKenzie has focused her career on offender behavior and what can be done to change that behavior. This article profiles the life of Doris Layton MacKenzie: her childhood years; her education; and her professional work to today, when she continues to serve as an inspiration to her students and colleagues as a scientist and human being.     

EDITORIAL

Abstract

Jane Addams (1860-1935), founder of Hull House in Chicago, was a social worker, sociologist, criminologist, feminist, and pacifist. She dedicated her life to caring for the underprivileged and oppressed and to fighting for the rights of workers, women, and children. This paper examines her life and seeks to demonstrate her many contributions to sociology, criminology, and society. Among her pioneer works in criminology that have not been recognized are the ecological maps of Chicago that preceded Park's and Burgess' concentric zone theory, social justice issues such as child labor, compulsory education, and juvenile offenders. She also was a peace activist during World War I and many of her ideas and concepts are found in the peacemaking writings of current criminologists.     

Female homicide offenders: Trends over time in an institutionalized population

The records of 460 female homicide offenders, admitted to a state prison for women between 1940–66 and 1981–83, were examined to determine changes in the character of the offender and the criminal event itself. While there were several respects in which the contemporary murderess differs from her predecessor, overall the data have questioned the extent to which changing roles for women have influenced the character of female homicide over time. Whatever influence the women's movement might have had on middle- and upper-class women, the contemporary murderess seems as far from liberation as her sisters in the '40s, '50s, and '60s.     

“Taking a Position and Staying Grounded”

Abstract

This article is a biography of Karlene Faith, one of Canada's leading feminist scholars/activists. It describes: her childhood; high school life; college years; early intellectual influences; how she came to criminology; her entrance into the academy; her important contributions to feminism, criminology, and criminal justice; her future plans; and her love of music. Thanks to Karlene Faith and other feminist academic activists, gender is now a major component of much of the criminological work being done in North America today, and many people became empowered due to her commitment, dedication, and effort.     

The Fall of the Finnish Prison Population

At the beginning of the 1950s, the prisoner rate in Finland was four times higher than in the other Nordic countries and among the highest in Europe. However, the steady decrease that started soon after the Second World War has continued, and in the beginning of the 1990s Finland reached the Nordic level. The paper discusses some backgound factors behind this ''success story''. In addition, the paper examines the relation of prisoner rates and recorded crime. A comparison between the Nordic countries reveals that the major crime trends have been practically similar despite striking differpractices ences in the use of imprisonment. As concluded in the paper, the decrease in the prison population is one of the major victories of Finnish crime policy.     

It Is Not Paranoia if People Really Are Out to Get You

Abstract

The incidence of hate crime victimization in the states has received scant attention by researchers. Nor is it always clear who feels most vulnerable to hate crime victimization and why. In this research we included hate crime victimization questions in two years (2000, 2001) of a statewide survey. Idaho is a state with a predominately White population. It has been bedeviled with an Aryan Nation's compound and its attendant racist propaganda. We found that many citizens had been the victim of hate crimes in the last year and over the course of their lifetime. Minority group members were disproportionately represented as victims of hate crime and were almost three times as likely to feel vulnerable to it, as White respondents.     

Malign Neglect or Benign Respect

Abstract

A central tenet of feminist criminological scholarship is the examination of women's experiences with crime and incarceration through their own narratives. Through semi-structured interviews with thirty jailed women, this article examines carceral conditions through the critical lens of the female inmate. Highlighted in this article is the availability and quality of health care in a detention center in Arizona. The findings indicate a contentious duality, exposing both heinous neglect and benign solicitude in the care delivered to jailed women. This duality is situated within the dismal health care system available to indigent women in the region.     

The influence of race in urban homeless females' fear of crime

This paper explores the differences between New York City's minority and non-minority homeless women in terms of the nature and extent of their victimization experiences while living on the streets, perceptions of vulnerability to victimization risk and fear of crime. Results indicate that minority homeless women are victimized to a greater extent and are more fearful than non-minority homeless females. These results can be explained by differences in the routine lifestyles of minority versus non-minority homeless females while living on the streets.     

THE SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF SELF-CONTROL: TESTING THE GENERAL THEORY OF CRIME*

Gottfredson and Hirschi's recently introduced general theory of crime has received considerable empirical support. Researchers have found that low self-control, the general theory's core concept, is related to lawbreaking and to deviant behaviors considered by Gottfredson and Hirschi to be “analogous” to crime. In this article, we extend this research by assessing the effects of low self-control on crime and analogous behaviors and by using two distinct measures of self-control, an attitudinal measure and the analogous/behavior scale. Thus, following Gottfredson and Hirschi, we use analogous imprudent behaviors as outcomes of low self-control and as indicators of low self-control's effects on crime. We also examine an important but thus far neglected part of the theory: the claim that low self-control has effects not only on crime but also on life chances, life quality, and other social consequences. Consistent with the general theory, we found that both measures of self-control, attitudinal and behavioral, have effects on crime, even when controlling for a range of social factors. Further, the analysis revealed general support for the theory's prediction of negative relationships between low self-control and social consequences other than crime—life outcomes and quality of life.     

Parenting Programs in Women's Prisons

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a national survey of parenting programs in women's prisons. Parenting programs may be defined as those programs that specifically address the woman's role as mother and attempt to facilitate her performance of that role, and/or aid in the development of parental skills. These programs range from parenting classes of a few hours to nurseries where imprisoned women and their infants can live together during the term of imprisonment. The need for such programs is also discussed.     

Discourse Analysis on Media Reports of Perceptions About Religion as a Solution to Jamaica's Crime Problems

ABSTRACT

This discussion, which focuses on Jamaica's crime rates, explanations for these trends, and recommended solutions, is based on discourses about the role of religion in crime resolution and specifically on the issue of (re)integrating religion in addressing Jamaica's crime problems. The analysis draws on the content of news, editorials, commentaries, and letters to the editor in both the Jamaica Daily Gleaner and the Jamaica Observer on the topic of religion and crime. It also looks specifically at the disjuncture between perceptions of and by the church regarding its role in crime resolution.     

Preventing Crime is Hard Work: Early Intervention,Developmental Criminology,and the Enduring Legacy of James Q. Wilson

Objective

The late James Q. Wilson (1931-2012) was a prolific scholar and made many important contributions to the field of criminology. Less well known, however, is that Wilson was a great advocate of early prevention of delinquency and later offending. This essay examines this aspect of Wilson's overall contribution to criminology.

Materials and methods

Narrative review of Wilson's research and writings on early crime prevention and developmental criminology.

Results

Three key events delineate Wilson's long-lasting support for early crime prevention: his 1983 "Raising Kids" article with its special focus on family-based prevention; his help to initiate and champion developmental and longitudinal research on offending in the 1980s and 1990s; and his influential writings and behind-the-scenes work on early prevention throughout the 1990s and 2000s.

Conclusions

Wilson played an important role in advocating for early crime prevention. Without question, this is part of his enduring legacy to the field of criminology.     

Retribution or restoration? Anglo–Australian's views towards domestic violence involving Muslim and Anglo–Australian victims and offenders

Abstract

The current study explored how gender, group membership and different emotional reactions to the crime of domestic violence predict attitudes and endorsement of restorative or retributive justice practices. The experiment consisted of a 2 (victim group membership: Muslim- or Anglo–Australian)×2 (offender group membership: Muslim- or Anglo–Australian)×2 (Sex of participant) between-participants factorial design. Anglo–Australian participants (43 men; 50 women) were randomly assigned to one of the four manipulated conditions, and completed an online questionnaire that involved viewing a short video clip of a woman describing her experience as a domestic violence victim. Results revealed strong preferences for restorative justice in dealing with domestic violence, with women supporting this practice more than men. The crime was perceived as most severe and retribution was endorsed most strongly when the victim was Anglo–Australian (i.e. an in-group member). Intra-group violence was also perceived to be a greater breach of shared Australian values than inter-group (i.e. cross-cultural) domestic violence. Emotional reactions further predicted participants' responses, with hatred predicting stronger support of retributive ideals and sympathy for the victim predicting greater endorsement of restoration.     

Eastern Prostitution from Russia to Sweden and Finland

Trafficking is a relatively new phenomenon in the research agenda on organized crime. In this article the spread of the phenomenon in Scandinavia is described and discussed. Special attention has been given to Russian-organized prostitution in the Tornio Valley (the borderarea between northern Finland and northern Sweden). The data for the article consist of observations at special 'deposit-sites' in Finland and interviews with the authorities concerned (police, customs, social services, Center for Disease Control (CDC), etc.) in Sweden, and also newspaper articles that have reported on the phenomenon. The methological projection of the article is exploratory in character with the purpose of describing the phenomenon, rather than being able to explain it. The results show that there is an organized trade in women in the Tornio Valley (set rendezvous points, pick-up sites, transport via Russian-registered minivans etc). Despite this the phenomenon cannot be tied conclusively to Russian-organized crime. One conclusion is that further research on this phenomenon should gather information from the Russian authorities and from the prostitutes themselves.