The impact of mental health services on arrests of offenders with a serious mental illness

This study examines the impact of mental health services on arrests of offenders with a serious mental Illness (SMI) by assessing changes in associations between receipt of outpatient and emergency room/inpatient services and arrests one, two, and three quarters later. A variety of data sets were used for identifying 3,769 offenders who were in the Pinellas County Florida jail between 7/1/2003 and 6/30/ 2004, and 7,755 offenders who were in the Harris County Texas jail between 10/1/2005 and 9/30/2006. Arrests, out-patient and emergency room/inpatient services were assigned to one of 16 ninety-day periods between 7/1/2002 and 6/10/2006 in Pinellas County and one of 12 such periods between 10/1/2004 and 9/15/2007 in Harris County. Generalized estimating equations were used. Covariates were age, gender, race, diagnosis, and homelessness. The results were also adjusted for exposure to arrests. In Pinellas County, outpatient services significantly reduced the risks of arrests 1 quarter later by 17% (odds ratio [OR] = 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.78-0.87, p < .001), two quarters later by 11% (OR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.84-0.94, p < .001), and three quarters later by 9% (OR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.86-0.96, p = .001). In Harris County, these services reduced the risk of arrest 1 quarter later by 5% (OR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.91-0.99, p = .028), but not two and three quarters later. In Pinellas County, ER/inpatient services increased the risk of arrests by 22% (OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.15-1.30, p < .001), 8% (OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.02-1.15, p = .010) and 11% (OR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.02-1.16, p = .001) one, two, and three quarters later. In Harris County, these services increased the risk of arrest only 1 quarter later (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.11-1.22, p < .001). Results suggest that service receipt and its timing may have had some impact on the arrests of adults with a SMI and criminal justice involvement.     

“期待可能性”理论新探——从刑法导向观变革视阈

期待可能性理论是刑事古典学派与刑事近代学派联姻的"混血儿",其兴、衰的原因同两个学派的变迁直接相关。期待可能性理论从以往只重视考察行为人的行为,转变为在考察行为的同时重点考察行为人,这是期待可能性理论的精华之所在。"期待可能性"的判断根据,应当是行为人的人格类型;"期待可能性"的未来命运,是在保留其精华的同时,用"犯罪危险性人格"取代"期待可能性"名称。     

许霆案与期待可能性理论

许霆案件折射了法律与情理的严重冲突,而案件的最终处理反映了刑法的人性关怀,这在很大程度上与国外期待可能性理论具有相通之处,由此可能成为我国认真审视、深入研究期待可能性理论的标志性案件。     

Unemployment,poverty and arrests in the Georgia black belt

Although Blacks have made economic progress since 1960, these gains have been overshadowed by soaring crime rates. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of unemployment and economic deprivation on Black arrests using data from 50 predominantly rural counties in Georgia where Blacks comprise 40 percent of the population. The study concludes that Black arrests in the 50 counties forming Georgia’s Black Belt may be linked to the economic and structural conditions associated with Black unemployment, economic deprivation, and the occupational segregation of Blacks to secondary, low-paying jobs. The findings lend plausibility to the notion that the low socioeconomic status of Blacks, coupled with their lack of access to the macrostructural opportunity system creates conditions favoring normative violations. The findings therefore furnish tentative support for opportunity-structure theory of crime that asserts that the lack of access to opportunity plays a salient role in understanding the causal nexus of Black involvement in crime.     

大型危险化学品加工企业遭受恐怖袭击风险的威胁和脆弱性分析

恐怖分子可能对大型危险化学品生产加工企业进行恐怖袭击，造成危险物质释放。对恐怖袭击威胁进行评估，可以确定现有的安全措施和保卫是否足够，是否需要提高。风险评估是过程安全程序的核心内容。对于危险化学品生产企业来说，需要一种直接的，容易实施的风险评估方法，本文提出了一种能够满足上述要求的方法。     

大型危险化学品加工企业遭受恐怖袭击风险的威胁和脆弱性分析

恐怖分子可能对大型危险化学品生产加工企业进行恐怖袭击,造成危险物质释放.对恐怖袭击威胁进行评估,可以确定现有的安全措施和保卫是否足够,是否需要提高.风险评估是过程安全程序的核心内容.对于危险化学品生产企业来说,需要一种直接的,容易实施的风险评估方法,本文提出了一种能够满足上述要求的方法.     

The impact of disability on partnership formation in Sweden during 1990-2009

ABSTRACT

Evidence suggests that disability negatively affects people’s propensity to find a partner. Persons with disabilities that eventually find a partner do so later in life compared to the average population. There is a lack of studies on the differences in partnership opportunities for persons with disabilities compared to those without disabilities in Sweden. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of disability on partnership formation and to assess whether partnership formation varies as a function of individual demographic and socio-economic factors. We use nationwide data available in the Swedish Initiative for Research on Microdata in Social and Medical Sciences (Umeå SIMSAM Lab). We follow persons born from 1973 to 1977 when they were from 16 to 37 years of age and analyze their data using logistic regression. Our findings indicate that regardless of whether a person started to receive a disability pension at an early age or later, it was associated with lower odds for partnership formation. For persons who started receiving disability pension from 16 to 20 years of age, chances for partnership formation reduced with increase in age of partnership. Individuals that started to receive disability pension later were more likely to form partnership prior to receiving disability pension. Partnership formation was less likely among persons born outside Sweden, in persons with mothers born outside Sweden, in individuals born by unmarried mothers and in persons, whose mothers had a high level of education. Partnership was high among women and among persons who had many maternal siblings. In conclusion, receiving disability pension was associated with reduced chances for partnership formation. Receiving disability pension might imply financial constraints that negatively influence partnership formation supporting Oppenheimer’s theory on the economic cost of marriage and the uncertainty hypothesis.     

Postdicting arrests for proactive and reactive aggression with the PICTS Proactive and Reactive composite scales

The criminal arrest histories of 262 medium-security male inmates were correlated with the Proactive (P) and Reactive (R) composite scales of the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS). As predicted, only scores on the P scale correlated significantly with prior arrests for proactive aggression (robbery, burglary) and only scores on the R scale correlated significantly with prior arrests for reactive aggression (assault, domestic violence) when age, education, race, and marital status were controlled in a series of negative binomial regression analyses. The P and R scales also predicted the total number of arrests received by participants in this sample after these same four demographic measures were controlled. The implications of these results for the construct validity of the PICTS composite scales and for matching offenders to interventions are discussed.     

Effect of drug treatment during work release on new arrests and incarcerations

Nearly 1,300 drug involved prisoners from the Delaware correctional system were followed for up to five years after release. Those who had participated in a work release therapeutic community treatment program, compared to a similar group in regular work release, were significantly less likely to have had a new arrest, or to have returned to incarceration, and had significantly longer times before arrest or return to custody, even when controlling for demographic differences and differences in criminal, drug use, and employment histories. In addition to the treatment effects, new arrests were most strongly related to criminal history, while return to incarceration was associated more generally with drug use and demographic differences. Those with a more extensive criminal history showed particular benefits from the treatment program, and those older from participating in aftercare following treatment.     

我国借鉴期待可能性理论的分析

在我国全面构建和谐社会、大力贯彻宽严相济刑事政策的新形势下,迫切需要刑法理念的更新以寻求情、理、法的统一。期待可能性理论因其立足人性,符合刑法谦抑原则等而具有相应的合理性,借鉴其"合理内核"对于我国当前的刑事司法具有特别意义和积极作用。     

The effects of patrol workloads and response strength on arrests at burglary emergencies

This study was concerned with response-related capture at residential burglary emergencies. Successfully catching burglars red-handed depended on response times, and particularly on numbers of units attending, as well as on incident characteristics. Response quickness and strength were influenced by the number of patrols available to respond, and this, in turn, reflected the workloads placed on patrols. Lighter workloads per patrol improved the chances of on-scene capture, though burglary circumstances determined the incidents at which this proved most promising. Stronger responses might offer scope for on-scene and near-scene capture at incidents with longer reporting delays than hitherto supposed. Findings were at odds with previous research, indicating that emergency response might be more effective than generally supposed in the U.K., if not in the U.S., particularly when calls were graded, units on patrol were matched to the incidence of emergencies, and single-crewed units could be used.     

Producing race disparities: A study of drug arrests across place and race*

In studies of race disparities in policing, scholars generally employ quantitative methodologies with the goal of determining whether race disparities exist or, in fewer instances, of ruling out correlates. Yet, lacking from theoretical and empirical efforts is an elucidation of how and why on‐the‐ground policing produces race disparities that are justified in legal, race‐neutral terms. To address this knowledge gap, I analyze officers’ self‐reported accounts of their enforcement activities, justifications, and decision‐making in a representative sample of 300 official reports of drug arrests made in St. Louis from 2009 to 2013. These accounts are analyzed across neighborhood racial contexts and arrestee race, revealing important differences that help illuminate the race disparity problem. Unlike drug arrests in White neighborhoods or of White citizens that primarily stem from reactive policing, drug arrests in Black and racially mixed neighborhoods and of Black citizens result from officers’ greater use of discretionary stops based on neighborhood conditions, suspicion of ambiguous demeanor, or minor infractions. During such stops, officers’ discovery of drug possession often results from discretionary Terry frisks or searches incident to arrests for outstanding bench warrants. These findings fill important theoretical and empirical gaps and have implications for reforms toward racially just policing.     

The Effects of Experienced,Vicarious, and Anticipated Strain on Violence and Drug Use among Inmates

The bulk of research on general strain theory has focused on determining the effect of experienced strain on the illegal or delinquent behaviors of juveniles or young adults. While much has been gained by this research, it is important to understand the role of experiencing and witnessing strain on adult, high risk populations (e.g., adult inmates). The current study examines the effect of experienced, vicarious, and anticipated victimization on inappropriate coping mechanisms of inmates. Specifically, it examines the effect of experiencing or witnessing physical victimization on inmates’ use of violence and drug/alcohol. Survey data from 208 adult parolees show that, at least in controlled environments like prisons, witnessing violence increases the likelihood of engaging in violence and that experiencing and witnessing violence significantly increases the likelihood that inmates will use drugs or alcohol.     

Evidence of a gene × environment interaction between perceived prejudice and MAOA genotype in the prediction of criminal arrests

Purpose

The current study builds on a large body of research that has revealed that both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of antisocial behaviors. While a number of studies have indicated that stressful environments interact with specific genetic polymorphisms to create antisocial phenotypes, studies have not yet examined whether perceived prejudice and specific genetic polymorphisms combine together to predict criminal arrests over the life course.

Methods

The current study builds on the existing gene × environment literature by using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine the effects of MAOA and perceived prejudice on the probability of being arrested.

Results

The results of the multivariate models reveal a statistically significant gene × environment interaction between MAOA and perceived prejudice in the prediction of arrest for males.

Conclusions

The results indicate that the presence of both perceived prejudice and MAOA increase the likelihood of being arrested. The implications of these results are discussed and limitations are noted.     

The Role of Vicarious and Anticipated Strain on the Overlap of Violent Perpetration and Victimization: A Test of General Strain Theory

Numerous studies have documented a relationship between criminal offending and violent victimization. That is, people who commit criminal behavior are also more likely to be victimized. As such, criminological theories traditionally used to explain criminal behavior have now been applied to explain victimization. The current study examines whether Agnew’s general strain theory can explain the offender-victim overlap using a nationally representative sample of males. Results show that vicarious strain is positive and significant in predicting both victimization and perpetration. Anticipated strain was found only to be significant and positive in predicting victimization, but not perpetration. The study’s limitations and future research are discussed.     

实现帮教安置工作“四化”目标研究

深入落实科学发展观,从源头上预防和减少社会矛盾,是党的十七大对新时期、新阶段构建社会主义和谐社会,维护重大战略机遇期的社会稳定所提出的明确要求。刑释解教人员帮教安置工作是影响社会和谐稳定的重要因素之一,务必引起各级高度重视。2004年初,中央综治委刑释解教人员帮教安置工作领导小组提出“帮教社会化、就业市场化、管理信息化、工作职责规范化”的目标要求。     

Reversing the historical tide of iatrogenic harm: A therapeutic jurisprudence analysis of increases in arrests of domestic batterers and rapists

Therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ) proposes that the law is a social force that can heal or cause harm to parties in a legal action. Historically, women victims of intimate partner rape and domestic violence could not seek justice in the legal system because police, like other actors in the justice system, treated these offenses as private matters or fabrications. In domestic violence and intimate rape cases, TJ is concerned with the needs of the victims, and how the law and police play a role in increasing their well-being. In this article, we use a TJ approach to the study of police responsiveness to victims of these offenses by investigating arrests of the offenders pursuant to law reforms that encourage or mandate arrest. Given that in these offenses, victims have the lowest reporting rates of any violent crime, the victim decision to call the police represents an expectation that the mere physical presence of a police officer may redefine the nature of the violence from a private conflict to a societal wrong that will not be tolerated. Police partnership with and treatment of the victim with respect and dignity can change the dynamics of the violence, terminate the violence, and set the criminal justice process in motion by arresting the offender in most cases. Police arrest, and subsequent prosecution and conviction, sends a message to offenders that society does not tolerate their violence, and allows the victim to begin to heal. Yet, past research indicates that police are less likely to arrest intimates than acquaintances and strangers in misdemeanor and aggravated assault, rape, and sexual assault cases. Using the National Incidence Reporting System (NIBRS) for the year 2000, we examine police arrests of intimate partner rape and domestic violence in jurisdictions with mandatory and presumptive arrest policies compared to police arrests in full discretion jurisdictions. We also ascertain whether arrest rates are higher for strangers and acquaintances than for intimates in misdemeanor and aggravated assault, kidnapping, and rape and sexual assault. Third, we determine whether police arrests of intimate partner rape is more likely if there is evidence of violence, injury to the victim, and use of a weapon. Our multivariate findings suggest that both the rape and the domestic violence reform movements have reversed the tide of historical negative treatment of female victims of these offenses. Logistic regression analysis indicates that police agencies in mandatory and preferred arrest jurisdictions increase the odds of arrest for domestic violence incidents and violations of orders of protection, compared to police agencies in jurisdictions with permissive/discretionary arrest policies. In addition, intimate violence increases the odds of arrest by 98%; forcible rape accompanied by simple assault or kidnapping increases the odds of arrest by 467 and 222%, respectively whereas forcible fondling accompanied by simple assault increases the odds of arrest by 293%. We discuss the implications of our findings for future law reform as well as TJ.     

Crimes of the Big Four motorcycle gangs

Motorcycle clubs (MCs) can be divided into conventional and deviant clubs. The most deviant clubs are those known as 1 percent or outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs). The Big Four OMGs are the Hells Angels MC, the Outlaws MC, the Bandidos MC, and the Pagans MC. The first three, although American based, have international chapters and are the largest motorcycle gangs in the world. All four are known for their criminal activity and violence toward each other. There has been little scholarly research on these secret and dangerous motorcycle clubs. This research, utilizing a LexisNexis newspaper search classified the criminal activity of each of the Big Four gangs using a biker criminality typology developed by Quinn and Koch. The study found that the members of the Big Four gangs are involved in a wide range of criminal activities with the most common being ongoing enterprises/organized crime such as drugs and weapons trafficking. There were also numerous instances of spontaneous and planned violent acts against rivals and others. The study added to the limited body of knowledge on these deviant groups and suggests further areas of research.