The effectiveness of public defenders in four Florida counties

Purpose

The present study utilizes data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics to examine the effectiveness of public defenders in Florida to assess whether the case outcomes of defendants with public defenders are similar to the case outcomes of defendants with retained attorneys, controlling for legally-relevant variables.

Methods

The present study utilizes both logistic and OLS regression analysis to examine differences between attorneys for seven different case outcomes.

Results

Results indicate that defendants with public defenders are more likely to be detained pretrial, more likely to be convicted, and less likely to have their cases dismissed. The results dispute previous research which found few, if any, differences between public defenders and retained counsel.

Conclusion

Results suggest that, at least in the counties examined, defendants with public defenders suffer from a lack of quality counsel.     

Does GPS supervision of intimate partner violence defendants reduce pretrial misconduct? Evidence from a quasi-experimental study

Objectives

This research examines the effect global positioning system (GPS) technology supervision has on pretrial misconduct for defendants facing intimate partner violence charges.

Methods

Drawing on data from one pretrial services division, a retrospective quasi-experimental design was constructed to examine failure to appear to court, failure to appear to meetings with pretrial services, and rearrest outcomes between defendants ordered to pretrial GPS supervision and a comparison group of defendants ordered to pretrial supervision without the use of monitoring technology. Cox regression models were used to assess differences between quasi-experimental conditions. To enhance internal validity and mitigate model dependence, we utilized and compared results across four counterfactual comparison groups (propensity score matching, Mahalanobis distance matching, inverse probability of treatment weighting, and marginal mean weighting through stratification).

Results

Pretrial GPS supervision was no more or less effective than traditional, non-technology based pretrial supervision in reducing the risk of failure to appear to court or the risk of rearrest. GPS supervision did reduce the risk of failing to appear to meetings with pretrial services staff.

Conclusions

The results suggest that GPS supervision may hold untapped case management benefits for pretrial probation officers, a pragmatic focus that may be overshadowed by efforts to mitigate the risk of pretrial misconduct. Further, the results contribute to ongoing discussions on bail reform, pretrial practice, and the movement to reduce local jail populations. Although the cost savings are not entirely clear, relatively higher risk defendants can be managed in the community and produce outcomes that are comparable to other defendants. The results also call into question the ability of matching procedures to construct appropriate counterfactuals in an era where risk assessment informs criminal justice decision-making. Weighting techniques outperformed matching strategies.

     

Paradigm Muddle or Paradigm Paralysis? The Wide and Narrow Roads to Restorative Justice Reform (or,a Little Confusion May Be a Good Thing)

McCold (2004 McCold, P. (2004). Paradigm muddle: The threat to restorative justice posed by the merger with community justice. Contemporary Justice Review, 7: 13–35. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], this issue) argues that community justice and balanced and restorative justice (BARJ) models confuse people and distort the restorative justice movement. We argue that there are many sources of confusion and explain the differences between these approaches. Neither model poses any threat to restorative justice, and both community justice and BARJ can garner new support for restorative justice. We respond to misleading portrayals in McCold’s account of these movements (and of our writings about them) and suggest that more time should be spent on truly critical debates within the restorative justice movement, and in confronting real barriers to restorative justice reforms.     

Movie review essay

While Paul McCold’s intent to clarify the compatibility of restorative justice and community justice conceptual frameworks is laudable, his effort provides as much confusion as clarity (McCold, 2004 McCold, P. (2004). Paradigm muddle: The threat to restorative justice posed by its merger with community justice. Contemporary Justice Review, 7: 13–35. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], this issue). This piece identifies some of the conflicts inherent in the roots of the development and growth of restorative justice. It also raises concerns regarding how restorative justice theoreticians and practitioners consider community, the role of strangers, empowerment, prevention, and punishment within restorative frameworks. The authors of this piece conclude that, while it remains important to safeguard the underlying principles of restorative justice, it is also necessary to remain open to new possibilities and to new ideas.     

The Supreme Court and the pledge of allegiance: a hollow victory

In Elk Grove Unified School District v Newdow (Elk Grove),1 124 S. Ct. 2301 (2004). View all notes the Supreme Court, in an 8–0 judgment,2 Justice Scalia chose not to participate in the outcome since he criticized the Ninth Circuit's ruling before it reached the High Court. Elk Grove Unified Sch. Dist. v Newdow, 124 S. Ct. 384 (Mem) (2003). See also Mark Walsh, Scalia: Courts go too far on Church State, Education Week, 22 January 2003, p. 22; Houston Chronicle, Justice decries courts removal of God, 13 January 2003, p. 5. View all notes with three concurrences, upheld the words ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance. In light of the uproar caused by Elk Grove, this article is divided into three parts. After reviewing the history of the Pledge the second section examines the litigation involving the pledge, including Elk Grove in this regard. The article concludes with brief reflections on the meaning of Elk Grove.     

“Curiosity and a Pimp”: Exploring Sex Trafficking Victimization in Experiences of Entering Sex Trade Industry Work Among Participants in a Prostitution Diversion Program

This mixed-methods study explored entry into the sex trade industry and experiences of sex trafficking victimization among 478 adult women enrolled in a prostitution diversion program in a large southwestern state. Written responses to several open-ended survey questions were coded using a template approach to content analysis wherein a priori codes were identified based on characteristics of sex trafficking victimization identified in the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (U.S. Department of State, 2000 U.S. Department of State. (2000). Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/j/tip/laws/61124.htm [Google Scholar]). Findings revealed that approximately one third of participants (n = 161) described sex trafficking experiences on entry into the sex trade industry, and quantitative analysis revealed that women who experienced sex trafficking as part of entering the sex trade industry were more likely to report abuse during childhood and adulthood, to report gang involvement, and to be involved in multiple types of sex trade industry work. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

Problems in the measurement of dynamic risk factors in sexual offenders

ABSTRACT

Having valid and reliable tools to measure ‘dynamic’ risk factors and minimising assessor bias is said to be critical in helping to make decisions regarding how individuals convicted of committing crime should be managed and treated, and how resources within the Justice System should be prioritised. This article outlines the problems and issues associated with the measurement of such putative dynamic risk factors (see Ward, 2015 Ward, T. (2015). Dynamic risk factors: Scientific kinds or predictive constructs. Psychology, Crime and Law, 22(01-02), 2–16. [Google Scholar] [Dynamic risk factors: Scientific kinds or predictive constructs. Psychology, Crime and Law.], 22(1–2), 2–16], this volume for a critique of current conceptions of these), and suggests ways of ensuring that measurement is conducted in the most appropriate way for the population being dealt with. Specifically, we would note that the evidence suggests that psychometric analysis, and structured professional judgment can be used to measure dynamic psychological problems using some tools within some samples. However, their use can be hindered by a number of conceptual factors including how the tests are designed and used, their reliability and validity, the context in which they are used, and the samples used. Finally, we would note that interviews are also an important part in the process of dynamic assessment.     

The impact of bullying and coping strategies on the psychological distress of young offenders

Abstract

This study investigated the involvement in bullying, the psychological distress, and the coping strategies of 99 males in an English young offenders institution. The Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behaviour Checklist (DIPC; Ireland, 1998 Ireland, J. L. 1998. Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behaviour Checklist (DIPC), Lancashire, , UK: University of Central Lancashire.  [Google Scholar]), the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995 Lovibond, P. F. and Lovibond, S. H. 1995. The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the depression anxiety stress scales (DASS) with the Beck depression and anxiety inventories. Behaviour Research Therapy, 33: 335–343. [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and the 48-item Coping Styles Questionnaire (CSQ; Roger et al., 1993 Roger, D., Jarvis, G. and Najarian, B. 1993. Detachment and coping: The construction and validation of a new scale for measuring coping strategies. Personality and Individual Differences, 15: 619–626. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) were administered. Over 60% of prisoners were involved in bullying (as a victim or bully), as indicated by responses on the DIPC. Emotional and avoidance coping were significantly related to psychological distress. Bully/victims were significantly more depressed than prisoners not involved in bullying, and being a bully/victim was a significant predictor of higher stress scores. Significant correlations were observed between all psychological distress measures and the number of bullying behaviours experienced by prisoners. These findings are discussed in relation to their implications for prisoner care and avenues for future research are proposed.     

People’s justice for everyone

Both William Dean Howells and Edward Bellamy imagine brotherhood as the basis for new social orders in response to the trauma of the Civil War. Responding to the way in which the Civil War had pitted “brother against brother” in a “house divided,” Howells and Bellamy differently seek to reconstitute the American national family through revisioning brotherhood as universal, just, and equitable. William Dean Howells’s 1890 Howells WD (1890) A hazard of new fortunes New York Signet Classics 1965  [Google Scholar] A Hazard of New Fortunes illustrates the difficulties of aligning men in brotherhood following the Civil War and amidst the economic upheaval of the last decades of the 19th century. Bellamy’s 1888 Bellamy E (1888) Looking Backward, 2000‐1887 (Cecilia Tichi, Ed.) New York Penguin Books 1985  [Google Scholar] Looking Backward and Howells’s Altrurian romances (A Traveller from Altruria [1894 Howells WD (1894) A traveler from Altruria In E. J. Cady, R. Gottesman, &; Da. J. Nordloh (Eds.), The Altrurian romances (pp. 5–179) Bloomington Indiana University Press 1968  [Google Scholar]], “Letters of an Altrurian Traveller, I‐V” [1893 Howells WD (1893‐1894) Letters of an Altrurian traveller, I‐V In Edwin J. Cady, Ronald Gottesman, and David J. Nordloh (Eds.) The Altrurian romances (pp. 181–263) Bloomington Indiana University Press 1968  [Google Scholar]‐94] and Through the Eye of the Needle [1907 Howells WD (1907) Through the eye of the needle. 1907 In Edwin J. Cady, Ronald Gottesman, and David J. Nordloh (Eds.), The Altrurian romances (pp. 265–442) Bloomington Indiana University Press 1968  [Google Scholar]]) demonstrate brotherhood’s importance to new visions of community. Brotherhood’s promise for remaking the nation gives rise to the Nationalist movement, which emerged to make real Bellamy’s vision of the future. Brotherhood is a powerful organizing principle for utopian endeavor in post‐Civil War America, despite the limitations coincident with brotherhood, such as the difficulty of imagining brotherhood across race and gender lines.     

The Coverage of American Indians and Alaskan Natives in Criminal Justice and Criminology Introductory Textbooks

This paper examines the coverage of American Indians and Alaskan Natives (AI/AN) in the most widely read introductory criminal justice and criminology books published between 2004 and 2010. The current research extends upon Young’s (J Crim Justice Educ 1:111–116, 1990) assessment of AI/ANs in criminal justice and criminology introductory textbooks, where he found no mention of AI/ANs. The replication of Young (J Crim Justice Educ 1:111–116, 1990) is especially important because AI/ANs continue to face a wide array of social issues (i.e. substance abuse and poverty), which leads to an overrepresentation of AI/ANs in the criminal justice system. To accomplish this, a content analysis was conducted on thirty-one introductory criminal justice and criminology textbooks to determine whether AI/ANs have received more academic coverage in current textbooks. The findings reveal that introductory criminal justice and criminology textbooks still under represent AI/ANs despite experiencing crime, victimization, and justice related problems.     

Examining the Long-Term Consequences of Bullying on Adult Substance Use

Violence is a major concern in the school safety literature. With the potential negative impact of bullying victimization, it is imperative that bullying also be seen as an important social problem that has potential long-term mental and physical health consequences (CDC Surveillance Summaries, 65(6), 1-50, 2016). Numerous studies have documented the negative consequences of bullying in childhood, contending that bullying during childhood can lead to a variety of adulthood problems (Farrington, Loeber, Stallings, & Ttofi Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, 3(2), 74-81, 2011; Rigby, 2007). Fewer studies have examined the long-term consequences of childhood bullying on adult substance use. This study uses Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997) data to examine the association between school-aged bullying (under the age of 19) and adult alcohol, cigarette, and drug use (using Wave 10 from 2007).     

Gender and Juvenile Drug Abuse: A General Strain Theory Perspective

This study is a partial test of Robert Agnew's (2006 Agnew , Robert. 2006 . “Pressured Into Crime: General Strain Theory.” Pp. 201 – 209 in Criminological Theory: Past to Present. , 3rd ed. , edited by F. T. Cullen and R. Agnew . Oxford , England : Oxford University Press . [Google Scholar]) general strain theory. The sample consists of 39,879 juveniles between the ages of 10 and 17 from a metropolitan area in Texas with more than 5 million people. Logistic regression is used to determine the effect of living situation on drug offenders, drug recidivists, and juvenile court case outcome when race, abuse, sex, and mental health problems are controlled. Gender-specific analysis is used to test L. Broidy and R. Agnew's (1997 Agnew , Robert and Timothy Brezina . 1997 . “Relational Problems With Peers, Gender, and Delinquency.” Youth & Society 84 – 111 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) hypothesis that girls and boys react differently to strain. Results show partial support for the influence of a strained living situation on drug offenders, drug recidivists, and case outcome. Support is found for the hypothesis that boys' and girls' experiences with strain differ.     

The flavour of history: Food,family and subjectivity in two Indo-European women's memoirs

This article examines two autobiographies written by women with family connections to the former Netherlands Indies (colonial Indonesia): Marguerite Schenkhuizen's Memoirs of an Indo Woman (1993 Schenkhuizen, M. (1993). Memoirs of an Indo Woman: Twentieth Century Life in the East Indies and Abroad. Edited and translated by Lizelot Stout van Balgooy. Athens, OH: Ohio Centre for International Studies: Monographs in International Studies. Southeast Asia Series Number 92.  [Google Scholar]) and Karina Schaapman's Motherless (2007 Schaapman, K. 2007. “Motherless: A true story of love and survival”. London: John Murray. Translated by Rosalind Buck [Google Scholar]). Particular attention is given to the customs surrounding the preparation, consumption and distribution of food within these women's families, practices that illuminate the formation and expression of identities across generations of Indo-European migrants, and between the colonial and post-colonial periods. Studies of colonial identity often essentially focus on how aspirations for group membership are expressed. Such emphasis can exaggerate the stasis and cohesion of colonial cultures at the expense of a more nuanced analysis of the varied, sometimes contradictory range of identities that exist within specific historical contexts. To approach identity and subjectivity as related but not necessarily congruent constructs provides significant insight into how ethnic identities that were formed in a family context altered in response to twentieth century decolonisation. The memoirs examined demonstrate that subjectivities formed with reference to foodways in Indo-European (Indo) families were gendered and raced. The colonial identities that were informed by these subjectivities found new and altered expression in the post-colonial era.     

Viewing time measures and sexual interest: another piece of the puzzle

Abstract

The present study compared a viewing time (VT) measure with the Sexual Deviance Card Sort (Laws et al., 2000 Laws, D. R., Hanson, R. K., Osborn, C. A. and Greenbaum, P. E. 2000. Classification of child molesters by plethysmographic assessment of sexual arousal and a self-report measure of sexual preference. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15: 1297–1312. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and past sexual behaviour. Twenty-six adult males who committed a contact sexual offence (19 of whom had child victims and seven with adult victims) each completed the self-report card sort and viewed 640 slides of nude and clothed males and females, ages 5, 9, 13 years and adult. The offenders were unaware that their viewing time was being recorded. VT allowed for greater consistent classification of sexual interest: for gender preference, 79% for individuals with child victims, 86% for individuals with adult victims; for age preference, 84% for individuals with child victims, and 57% for individuals with adult victims. Results demonstrated that a combination of nude and clothed computer-modified imagery can provide accurate sexual interest classification.     

Race and Gang Affiliation: An Examination of Multiple Marginality

Criminological research has historically drawn a connection between race/ethnicity and gang membership. The focus on specific racial/ethnic groups and particular gangs in distinct geographical locations within ethnographic research, along with the lack of a comprehensive explanation, however, has limited this research. Thus, the true nature of the relationship between race/ethnicity and gang membership remains unclear. This research expands the contemporary literature regarding race/ethnicity and gang membership by utilizing multisite survey data to examine Vigil’s (1988 Vigil, J. D. 1988. Barrio gangs: Street life and identity in southern California, Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.  [Google Scholar], 2002 Vigil, J. D. 2002. A rainbow of gangs: Street cultures in the mega‐city, Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.  [Google Scholar]) multiple marginality framework of gang involvement for Whites, African Americans, and Hispanics. Results suggest that multiple marginality is a viable explanation for current gang membership. When examining the applicability of this theory for members of various racial/ethnic groups, important differences appear when examining current versus ever gang membership. For current gang membership, significant differences between racial/ethnic groups exist, with ecological/economic stress variables being significant for Whites and social control/street socialization elements representing the important predictors for African Americans and Hispanics. This pattern changes when examining those reporting ever being in a gang. For “ever” gang membership, social control/street socialization elements predict membership for all groups. Policy implications of these results are discussed.     

Gallery Districts of Barcelona: The Strategic Play of Art Dealers

This article focuses on Barcelona's art market to explore the underlying factors behind the clustering of art dealers in several of the city's districts. Drawing upon quantitative and qualitative data, the article analyzes how such clustering reveals a strategic action in the sense attributed to it by Crozier and Friedberg (1981 Crozier, Michel and Friedberg, Erhard. 1981. L’acteur et le système, Paris: Éditions du Seuil.  [Google Scholar]). Gallery districts are not a reflection of structural factors (economic, urban development-related, or social) but are the result of a combination of strategic choices—either individual or collective—which explain the permanence of leading gallery districts or the emergence of new ones.     

Economic Insecurity,Blame, and Punitive Attitudes

This study examines the relationship between punitive attitudes toward criminals, two measures of economic insecurity and a measure of blame for stagnating incomes that targets welfare, affirmative action, and immigration. In effect, we are testing whether punitiveness toward criminals is part of a general constellation of resentment toward what Gans (1995 Gans, H. J. 1995. The war against the poor, New York: Basic Books.  [Google Scholar]) has termed the “undeserving poor” and that Garland (2001 Garland, D. 2001. The culture of control, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) has described as the “politics of reaction.” Survey data involving 1,476 adults are assessed using OLS regression. Results indicate that blame of welfare, affirmative action, and immigration is the strongest predictor of punitiveness. Economic insecurity has variable input to punitive attitudes that depends on the measure used and the sex and race of respondents. Some evidence of an “angry White male” phenomenon is also provided by the results.     

Post-Executive Order 13583: A Reexamination of Occupational Barriers in Federal Law Enforcement

This study examined occupational barriers in federal law enforcement between 2011 and 2015, replicating research conducted prior to the passage of Executive Order 13583 (2011 Executive Order No. 13583, 76 C.F.R. 52847 (2011). [Google Scholar]). Qualitative and quantitative data were generated from surveys collected from 101 sworn female federal law enforcement officers on the challenges they face in the work environment. With little progress to gender equity, findings revealed that male colleagues’ resistance to women in federal policing and the perceived lack of promotions has increased, while work–life balance policies and sexual discrimination continue to be a challenge. Policy implications for improving organizational practices are discussed.     

Some notes on the validation of VRS-SO static scores

ABSTRACT

The present study was a psychometric examination of Violence Risk Scale-Sexual Offender version (VRS-SO; Wong, S., Olver, M. E., Nicholaichuk, T. P., & Gordon, A. (2003 Wong, S., Olver, M. E., Nicholaichuk, T. P., & Gordon, A. (2003). The violence risk scale: Sexual offender version (VRS-SO). Saskatoon: Regional Psychiatric Centre and University of Saskatchewan. [Google Scholar]). The violence risk scale: Sexual offender version (VRS-SO). Saskatoon: Regional Psychiatric Centre and University of Saskatchewan) static item scores in a Canadian multisite sample of 668 treated adult male sexual offenders. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of 13 nonredundant Static-99R and VRS-SO static items generated three factors labelled Youthful Aggression, Sexual Criminality, and General Criminality. The factor and total scores converged with Static-99R and VRS-SO dynamic factor scores. Scores on the VRS-SO static items, EFA-derived factors, and total score each significantly predicted 5- and 10-year sexual, violent, and general recidivism through ROC analyses. Cox regression survival analyses showed all three factors uniquely predicted sexual recidivism to varying degrees in the overall sample; however, only Youthful Aggression and General Criminality uniquely significantly predicted violent and general recidivism in the overall sample and among sexual offender subgroups. Implications for theory, clinical practice, and instrument refinement are discussed.