Psycho-semantic Spheres of the Personality Among Correctional Facility Employees

In this study, we describe the theoretical and methodological bases of research of psycho-semantic spheres of the psyche of correctional facility employees (CFE’S). We define psycho-semantic spheres of the personality of CFE’S represented by the most important components forming a self-image “I,” an image of work/activity, a group of affective components and groups of components concerning destructive motives. We describe specific structures, contents and relations of the psycho-semantic spheres of the personality of CFE’S in the optimized and mismatched states, which could predict behavior of CFE’S in the different correctional emergency situations.     

未成年罪犯与被害人的和解

对未成年人刑事案件,一贯以来,我们都重视了被告人权利的保护,强调刑事诉讼是未成年人案件最后的付诸手段。即使启动了未成年人刑事诉讼程序,主流的思想也是认为应当从保护未成年人的角度,尽量不适用刑罚措施,让他们能够尽快地回归社会。笔者认为,这些思想具有正当性的基础。但是,未成年人犯罪并不仅仅是未成年人罪犯单方面的行为,而往往具有相对方,也就是被害人,或者是未成年人被害人,也可能是成年被害人。如果我们一味地强调对未成年人罪犯的保护,那么势必会冷落被害人。未成年人刑事诉讼在强调对未成年被告人保护的同时,同样也应当强调对被害人权利的保护。鉴于此,应当确立未成年被告人与被害人的和解制度,以使得未成年被告人与被害人的权利同时得到保护。     

The Correctional Experiences of Youth in Adult and Juvenile Prisons

This article analyzes data from interviews with inmates to examine the correctional experiences of young men incarcerated through criminal (adult) courts in a large Northeastern state. The sample (N = 95) includes respondents from five correctional institutions; some of these inmates have been sentenced to adult department of corrections facilities, and some to juvenile facilities operated by the state's children's services bureau. Relative to the adult facilities, the juvenile facilities are smaller, have much lower inmate‐to‐staff ratios, and they place greater emphasis (in their official guidelines) on treatment, counseling, education, and mentoring of inmates. As a result, one might expect juvenile‐facility inmates to report a relatively more supportive, mentoring‐focused style of staff–inmate interactions than adult‐facility inmates. Yet surprisingly, inmates in adult facilities report better access to education and treatment/counseling services offered in their facilities.     

Juvenile Court Variations: Procedural and Processing Differences in a Midwestern State

This study examined whether location and type of juvenile court impacted processing for juveniles in a Midwestern state. 1 For the analysis, the author used qualitative data. This article was built on the opinions and observations of those who work in the juvenile justice system on a daily basis. The author observed juvenile courts and interviewed judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys. The information contained herein verifies the differences between rural and urban juvenile justice practice and procedure. The results of this study also revealed that processing varies across jurisdictions and type of court in the juvenile justice system.     

日本非行少年的法律保护及启示

在日本,少年非行是指14岁以上20岁未满少年的犯罪行为、14岁未满少年的触法行为以及虞犯等三方面的总称,主要由《少年法》及《儿童福祉法》等法律予以规制。《少年法》以少年的人权保障和健康成长为目的、以保护主义的社会复归为理念,与《儿童福祉法》等共同构成非行少年的法律保护体系。家庭裁判所以少年事件为主要审理对象、以保护处分为主要处罚手段,与社会福祉性质的儿童相谈所共同担负起日本的少年保护事业。官民协动与社会参与制度是对我们的最大的启示,我国要进一步加强少年保护理念的转变,完善我国的少年保护体制,将其建设成为全民参与的社会事业。     

The Influence of “Changing Directions” on the Self-Esteem of a Delinquent Population in a Correctional Setting

There is increasing evidence that low self-esteem is a possible basis for risk-taking behaviors such as substance abuse, sexual promiscuity, and juvenile delinquency. Thus, it has been hypothesized that by enhancing an adolescent?s self-image, a decrease in the incidence of such behaviors can be realized. The present study examines the effect of one secure juvenile facility's treatment program on adolescent self-esteem. The findings reflect the program's effectiveness with regard to self-esteem elevation. A follow-up study, to determine whether this heightened self-esteem is maintained and/or results in decreased delinquency is forthcoming.     

未成年人犯罪刑罚适用区域性考察及其罚则改革研究(下)

对云南省若干地区的实证考察表明,在未成年犯罪人的刑罚适用中存在诸多问题,例如,有期徒刑适用过多,管制、拘役刑基本空置;缓刑适用比例过低且存在很大的地区差异,司法分流的合法性有待确认等等。造成上述问题的原因很多,既有立法方面的,如立法不明确或缺乏弹性;也有司法或执法方面的,如考察机关负担过重,无力进行有效考察;还有地方因素的干扰,如过分强调刑罚的威慑作用等。为此,要解决上述问题,必须从立法、司法与执法三方面着手。在立法上须根据《联合国儿童权利公约》规定的确保未成年人最大利益的原则行事,增加处罚中的弹性规范;增设已在国内外被证明行之有效的某些刑罚制度,例如,缓诉制度、缓缴罚金制度、刑事前科报告免除制度、前科消灭制度等;在司法与执法中应完善相关机制,以扩大缓刑等制度的适用范围,并采取有效措施,加强部门合作,消除地区差异。     

未成年人犯罪刑罚适用区域性考察及其罚则改革研究(上)

对云南省若干地区的实证考察表明,在未成年犯罪人的刑罚适用中存在诸多问题,例如,有期徒刑适用过多,管制、拘役刑基本空置;缓刑适用比例过低且存在很大的地区差异,司法分流的合法性有待确认等等。造成上述问题的原因很多,既有立法方面的,如立法不明确或缺乏弹性;也有司法或执法方面的,如考察机关负担过重,无力进行有效考察;还有地方因素的干扰,如过分强调刑罚的威慑作用等。为此,要解决上述问题,必须从立法、司法与执法三方面着手。在立法上须根据《联合国儿童权利公约》规定的确保未成年人最大利益的原则行事,增加处罚中的弹性规范;增设已在国内外被证明行之有效的某些刑罚制度,例如,缓诉制度、缓缴罚金制度、刑事前科报告免除制度、前科消灭制度等;在司法与执法中,应完善相关机制以扩大缓刑等制度的适用范围,并采取有效措施,加强部门合作,消除地区差异。     

The Double Entendre of Juvenile Prostitution: Victim versus Delinquent and the Necessity of State Uniformity

Under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), minors performing commercial sex acts are deemed victims of human trafficking; however, prosecutors and judges continue to charge and adjudicate minors as prostitution offenders rather than as sexually exploited youth. To stop the perpetuation and victimization of sexually exploited children, states must join the movement in reform to match the standards of the TVPA. The federal law presumes that minors charged with prostitution are victims rather than criminals and are in need of specialized social services. To protect victims of sex trafficking, states should pass legislation in line with the TVPA, creating a presumption of immunity for all prostituted minors.     

The Impact of Punishment and Rehabilitation Views on Organizational Commitment Among Correctional Staff: A Preliminary Study

It has been long recognized that organizational commitment is an important component of effective organizations. It has, however, received relatively little attention in the correctional literature. Furthermore, much of the research to date on correctional orientation has focused on examining how various forces affect the punishment and rehabilitation views of correctional employees, but ignored how these views affect employees’ organizational commitment. Using a data set collected from 272 staff members at a Midwestern, high security state prison, this study examined the impact of punishment and rehabilitation views on organizational commitment. It was found that support for rehabilitation was associated with higher levels of organizational commitment while support for punishment was related with lower levels of organizational commitment.     

The Prevalence of Mental Illness Among Inmates in a Rural State

A limited number of recent empirical studies suggest that inmates suffer from high rates of serious mental illness. Different explanations are offered depending on the type of institution: jail or prison. The literature is based largely on urban samples and does not offer comparisons of rates across types of institution within a single study. The present study examined a random sample of 213 jail and prison inmates in a rural state using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (III-R). Among jail inmates there was little evidence of high rates of serious mental illness, suggesting the criminalization of mental illness may not be as evident in rural settings as urban areas. Among prison inmates, however, high rates of mental disorders were found, supporting previous findings in urban and rural jurisdictions. Implications of the findings are discussed in the context of a consolidated correctional system.     

Development of a Questionnaire on Intentions to Engage in Dating Violence Among Puerto Rican Residents

Journal of Family Violence - This mixed-methods paper describes the development and preliminary validation of the Behavioral Intentions Questionnaire (BIQ), a multi-scale questionnaire developed to...     

Community Context,Weapon Use,and Victim Injury: A Multi-Level Study of Offense Severity in the Sexual Victimization of Women

American Journal of Criminal Justice - Prior studies of the sexual assault of women suggest the importance of weapon use, victim/offender familiarity, and offender intoxication as factors that...     

Effects of Delinquency on Alcohol use Among Juveniles in Europe: Results from the ISRD-2 Study

The existence of a correlation between the use of alcohol and juvenile delinquency has long been acknowledged. In order to evaluate the strength and the characteristics of this association in various cultural contexts, we analysed data collected as part of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study- 2 (ISRD-2). The sample consisted of of young people (N?=?57,771) of both sexes, aged between 12 and 16 years, in 25 European countries. After estimating the prevalence of alcohol consumption among young people involved in property offences and violent offences, we assessed the degree to which these types of delinquency were associated with the use of alcohol in the 25 countries. In addition, we attempted to ascertain the influence of belonging to various types of deviant groups on alcohol use. To this end, we used a Mokken Scale Analysis. With this method, we constructed a scale of “gangness” and correlated the scores with alcohol use among juveniles. The results yielded by the present study indicate that alcohol use and delinquency are closely related with one another. In particular, we observed that alcohol consumption seems to be strongly influenced by involvement in delinquent activities. The nature and characteristics of these relationships suggest that the associations between alcohol use and delinquency are reciprocal rather than one-directional. Consequently, alcohol use constitutes a risk factor for criminal behaviour. Likewise, involvement in delinquency increase the risk of alcohol consumption and, especially, of alcohol abuse.     

关于劳动教养向违法行为矫治制度过渡的实践与思考

劳动教养作为具有中国特色的一项法律制度,已经走过了近50年的风雨历程,成功地教育挽救了大批违法和轻微犯罪人员,为维护国家政治稳定和社会安定发挥了重要作用。但是随着我国法制的日趋完备和依法治国,建设社会主义法治国家进程的整体推进,劳动教养制度深层次的矛盾和问题已日渐凸显,严重束缚了劳动教养制度的规范化发展。作为劳教工作的实践者,面对新形势、新任务,理应站在建设社会主义法治国家的高度,按照中央司法体制改革和司法部关于劳教办特色,推进管理工作改革的总体部署,坚持与时俱进的精神,探索符合劳教自身发展规律,完善和创新执…