Deterrence and the base rate fallacy: An examination of perceived certainty

This research tests the assumption of deterrence theory that a strong positive relationship exists between the objective properties of punishment certainty and individuals' perceptions of these properties. This is accomplished through the experimental manipulation of information about objective certainty provided to a sample of university students. Results indicate that individuals use such information moderately in making their own estimates of certainty. Little evidence in support of a “base rate fallacy” is found; subjects generally did not ignore objective information in favor of subjective information when estimating personal certainty. Tests of the interactions between individual characteristics and information provided on objective certainty produced few significant results. The implications of the results, particularly that individuals adhered moderately to known objective probabilities in estimating personal certainty, are discussed.     

Juvenile Sex Offenders: Differences between Group and Solo Offenders

We report on findings from a study into differences in personality and background characteristics between juvenile sex offenders who commit their sex offenses on their own and those who do so in a group. Solo offenders were found to score significantly higher on neuroticism, impulsivity and sensation seeking, but scored lower on sociability. In addition, the solo offenders in the sample were more often recidivists for sexual offenses, and were more often themselves a victim of a sexual offense. Solo offenders were significantly older than juveniles who had committed a sexual offense with a group. On the basis of these results we recommend differential treatment for the two types of offenders.     

Interventions for Juvenile Offenders: A Serendipitous Journey

This is a story of a concatenation of largely unplanned and unexpected events that propelled a line of research on the effectiveness of interventions for juvenile offenders along a trajectory that is more coherent in retrospect than at the time of any of those events. In the course of that serendipitous journey, insights were gained on the limitations of individual studies, the value of systematic analysis of a body of research, and the challenges of transporting evidence into evidence‐based practice.     

建立未成年犯区别矫正制度的思考

未成年犯在生理、心理、认知模式上都与成年犯有很大的区别,导致未成年犯社区矫正除具有社区矫正的共性之外,还具有区别于成年犯社区矫正的特点。为此,许多国家已采取了专门适用于未成年犯的社区矫正管理制度和模式,有专门的未成年犯社区矫正管理机构和不同于成年人的专业化管理人员。但是,目前我国试点省市中基本上没有确立适合未成年犯特点的社区矫正管理制度。这样不加选择地与成年犯混同操作,既不利于提高对未成年犯的矫正质量,又影响了社区矫正工作的效率。因此,针对未成年人的心理和生理特点,完善未成年犯社区矫正措施,建立适合未成年…     

Correctional Policy for Offenders with Mental Illness: Creating a New Paradigm for Recidivism Reduction

Offenders with mental illness have attracted substantial attention over the recent years, given their prevalence and poor outcomes. A number of interventions have been developed for this population (e.g., mental health courts). They share an emphasis on one dimension as the source of the problem: mental illness. Their focus on psychiatric services may poorly match the policy goal of reducing recidivism. In this article, we use research to evaluate (a) the effectiveness of current interventions, and (b) the larger viability of psychiatric, criminological, and social psychological models of the link between mental illness and criminal justice involvement. We integrate theory and research to offer a multidimensional conceptual framework that may guide further research and the development of efficient interventions that meaningfully reduce recidivism. We hypothesize that the effect of mental illness on criminal behavior reflects moderated mediation (i.e., the effect is direct in the case of one subgroup, but fully mediated in another); and that the effect of mental illness on other “recidivism” is partially mediated by system bias and stigma. We use this framework to propose three priorities for advancing research, articulating policy, and improving practice.     

Needs Assessment and Services for Drug-Abusing Women Offenders

The debate over the abortion law resurfaced in Italy in 1988 after seven years of silence. Unlike the debate in 1981, in 1988 the feminist front was more diversified and abortion was discussed in ethical terms rather than in social and political terms. This paper describes and discusses the current debate on abortion by making reference mainly to the feminists' positions.     

Family Profile of Young Offenders Who Abuse Their Parents: A Comparison With General Offenders and Non-Offenders

This study aimed to explore the family profile of adolescent-to-parent abuse cases. Concretely, this paper examines whether or not there is a different family profile of parent-abuse offenders compared with other types of offenders and with non-offender adolescents. The sample included 90 adolescents who were clustered into three groups (parent-abuse offenders, other type of offenders, and non-offender adolescents). Participants completed measures of quality of communication with parents and parents’ educational styles. They were also evaluated using a brief interview with questions about family structure. Results indicate offenders who assault their parents have a different family structure and dynamics. Differences were found concerning the type of household, family size, and family incomes. In addition, parent-abuse offenders reported a lower quality of communication with both parents perceiving them as less warm, more rejecting, and less inductive than did the other groups.     

Immigrants, assimilation, and perceived school disorder: An examination of the “other” ethnicities

Extant research on school disorder has largely ignored modern immigrant groups, or has lumped these groups in an “other” category. This was often done for pragmatic reasons, but it likely masked any unique experiences these groups had with regard to school disorder. The current study examined Latino and Asian immigrant students’ experiences with school disorder using data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study. Findings indicated that Latino and Asian immigrant students report marked differences in school disorder. Current results revealed, in particular, that Asian immigrants report significantly higher levels of school disorder even though they outperform Latino students academically. Assimilation variables, however, have little to do with such perceptions. Implications from these findings are discussed.     

Insane Sex Offenders: Psychiatric and Legal Characteristics of Sexual Offenders Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

There is little known about sexual offenders hospitalized under forensic commitment statutes such as not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI). We conducted a chart review to delineate the demographic, clinical, and legal characteristics of NGRI sexual offenders (n = 68) committed to the California Department of State Hospitals—Napa, including 41 found NGRI for a sexual offense and 27 found NGRI for a nonsexual offense. The two groups did not differ significantly in their demographics, psychiatric diagnoses, victim characteristics, or recidivism risk as measured by the Static‐99R. Those found NGRI for a sexual offense were older at the time of their first criminal and first violent offense, younger at the time of their committing offense, and had fewer prior total convictions and sexual offense convictions. These findings may indicate that sexual offenders found NGRI for a sexual offense are less antisocial than those found NGRI for a nonsexual offense.     

Messy Business: Media Representations of Administrative Sanctions for Corporate Offenders

Enforcement against corporate offenses is increasingly carried out by specialized regulatory agencies. These often use publicity as a regulatory tool, in the expectation that disclosure of sanctions will invoke the threat of reputational damage and broadcasts a moral message about desired behavior. This article investigates how media represent administrative offenses in the Dutch financial market, in terms of punitiveness for offenders and in terms of the message about the wrongfulness and harm of offenses. Media coverage of administrative fines is messy in several senses. First, adverse publicity is unpredictable and disproportionally affects small firms in comparison with large, professional firms. In addition, it is also messy in terms of its contribution to the prevention of corporate misbehavior. Media do not unequivocally disapprove of financial market offenses. Rather than clarifying the demarcation line between right and wrong, media describe financial market behavior as a grey zone where differences of opinion can exist over whether certain behavior constitutes an offense. More than a publicity sanction or moral message, media was found to frame offenses by retail banks and capital market firms in terms of the power struggle between firms and the regulatory authority.     

Post-Release Substance Abuse Treatment for Criminal Offenders: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

This study conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of Delaware's CREST Outreach Center, a work release therapeutic community (TC) and aftercare program for criminal offenders. Treatment effectiveness was assessed using the number of days reincarcerated during an 18-month, post-release follow-up period. The 6-month CREST program cost $1937 for the average participant, and led to 30 fewer days incarcerated (29% less) than the average participant in a standard work release program. This implies that the CREST program reduced incarceration for criminal offenders at an average cost of $65 per day. The additional investment of $935 per client to provide aftercare services led to 49 fewer days incarcerated (43% less) than CREST work release-only participants. This suggests that by adding an aftercare component to the CREST work release program, a day of incarceration is avoided at an average cost of $19 per day. These findings have implications for future investments in post-release substance abuse treatment for criminal offenders. However, the results must be interpreted with caution given potential selection bias in the groups that participated in the CREST work release and aftercare programs. Selection bias and the policy implications of this research are noted and discussed.     

Punishment and Paperwork: White-Collar Offenders Under Community Supervision

This article examines how changes in penal ideology may affect the experiences of white-collar offenders under community supervision. In-depth interviews with white-collar offenders on their experiences while under federal probation are used to examine how changes in criminal punishment have undermined the traditional reintegrative and rehabilitative goals of community supervision. The analysis suggests that shifts to a more managerial, actuarial model that seeks depersonalized efficiency has unintended consequences that delegitimatize the criminal justice system, and foster sentiments of degradation. Based on these findings, considerations for future research are discussed.