A Hero’s Welcome? Exploring the Prevalence and Problems of Military Veterans in the Arrestee Population

The potential for veterans to end up in the criminal justice system as a result of physical and psychological problems that may be combat‐related has generated much interest, illustrated most recently by the development of specialized veterans’ courts. However, little is known about how often veterans are arrested and incarcerated, the nature of their problems, or the extent to which their military service has contributed to their criminality. Using interview data from 2,102 arrestees booked in Maricopa County (AZ) during 2009, this paper examines the problems and prior experiences of arrested military veterans and compares veteran and non‐veteran arrestees along a range of measures. Results indicate that veterans comprise 6.3% of the arrestee population, and that more than 50% of veterans report suffering from at least one combat‐related problem including physical injury, post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other mental health problems, and substance abuse. Multivariate analysis indicates that veteran arrestees differ from non‐veterans on a number of key measures, most notably more frequent arrests for violent offenses and greater use of crack cocaine and opiates. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for the potential link between military service and criminality as well as for criminal justice policy and practice.     

AN EXAMINATION OF OFFENSE SPECIALIZATION USING MARGINAL LOGIT MODELS*

Research on offense specialization has concluded that there is a great deal of versatility in offending. Although the preponderance of evidence supports versatility, some research points to a small but significant tendency to specialize. Beyond this observation there is little consensus over the degree of offense specialization, the similarities and differences between people who commit violent acts and those who engage in other criminal behavior, or the extent to which general causal processes are sufficient to explain variation in diverse forms of crime and delinquency. At the heart of the confusion is the fact that criminal behaviors across a wide spectrum are positively correlated with one another. In our opinion, the conclusion that general offending trumps offense specialization is the result of research designs that predetermined such a conclusion. We propose an alternative method, marginal logit modeling, that supports many desirable features suited to the investigation of offense specialization. We analyze nine self‐reported delinquent behaviors (with a tenth category representing “No Offense”) from the Add Health study. We show that violent offenders are more likely to engage in additional violent offenses, nonviolent offenders are more likely to engage in additional nonviolent offenses. For some offense types, we find no evidence of a tendency to commit both violent and nonviolent offending. For others, the offense generalization effect is weak compared to the offense specialization effect.     

The prevalence and nature of violent offending by females

The purpose of the current study was to examine the nature and prevalence of violent offending by females. Using National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data from 1998, this study examined the relationship between cooffending and type of offense as well as the type of weapon(s) used during violent incidents and the race of the perpetrators. The findings suggest that females are more likely to be involved in aggravated assaults compared with robberies and murder or nonnegligent manslaughter. This is particularly true for females who commit their violent crimes alone. When females cooffend with other females or males, however, they are more likely to commit robberies. Overall females are more likely to be involved in violent incidents where either personal weapons or knives are used. When females cooffend with males, however, more likely to be involved in incidents with guns. Finally, the current study found that Black females were more likely to commit violent offenses with other females, whereas White females were more likely to commit violent offenses with males.     

From War to Prison: Examining the Relationship Between Military Service and Criminal Activity

In February of 2008 the New York Times ran a series—War Torn—on Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and their adjustment to civilian life upon return from the war zone. The authors assessed the criminal involvement of veterans by using newspaper accounts and other open source data to identify homicides in which the offender was an Afghanistan or Iraq war veteran. This particular aspect of the series drew a great deal of criticism, in part because of disagreements about the wisdom of the wars, but also because the sources of data used were perceived as less than systematic and accurate. This series and the debate that it engendered raised once again to prominence the issue of whether veterans are disproportionately involved in crime upon their return from service and specifically from combat assignments. The series also raised the question of whether media accounts of violent behavior by returning combat veterans are simply anecdotal or if they portend a more system-wide problem. This paper uses data from the Surveys of Inmates of State and Federal Correctional Facilities and the Current Population Surveys from 1985 to 2004 to estimate more systematically the prevalence and nature of the offending by military veterans in civilian society. The study seeks to avoid some of the methodological weaknesses of earlier studies that examined the criminal behavior of returning veterans. Specifically, the research considers whether criminal behavior, as reflected in the likelihood of imprisonment, is affected by military service, era of service, or service during wartime after controlling for social and demographic characteristics associated with offending. The findings indicate that military service in general is not predictive of incarceration when key demographic and social integration variables are taken into account. Service during wartime was found to be inversely related to subsequent incarceration, while veterans of the post-1973 All Volunteer Force were more likely to be incarcerated than were civilians and veterans who served during the draft era.     

ASSESSMENTS OF RISK AND BEHAVIORAL EXPERIENCE: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF CHANGE

This study examines the relationship between assessments of the risk of punishment and self-reported involvement in three illegal behaviors in a sample of college-aged respondents. It is found that those respondents who had not yet committed a particular offense were more likely to perceive a greater certainty of punishment than those with experience in committing the offense. For two of three offenses the effect of becoming involved in offending had a more substantial impact on the perceptions of those respondents with both experience in offending and high perceived certainty of punishment than on those who had experience and less pessimistic estimates of risk Finally, a multivariate analysis of the relationship between behavioral and perceptual change reveals that each variable affects the other even when other sources of change are controlled. The importance of the findings for the deterrence doctrine are discussed.     

Criminal profiles of violent juvenile sex and violent juvenile non sex offenders: an explorative longitudinal study

Few studies have longitudinally investigated the criminal profiles of violent juvenile sex and violent juvenile non-sex offenders. To make up for this lack, this study used police records of juveniles to determine the nature of the criminal profiles of violent sex offenders (n = 226) and violent non-sex offenders (n = 4,130). All offenders committed their first offense in 1996 and were followed for 7 years. Results showed that violent sex offenders and violent non-sex offenders cannot be considered a homogeneous group because of different background characteristics and criminal profiles. Sex and violent offenses often constitute a small part of a broader criminal pattern. Further research is necessary to reveal in more detail the developmental and criminological patterns of violent and sexual delinquency. Treatment and intervention programs may benefit from this.     

Military Veterans, Culpability, and Blame

Recently in Porter v. McCollum, the United States Supreme Court, citing “a long tradition of according leniency to veterans in recognition of their service,” held that a defense lawyer’s failure to present his client’s military service record as mitigating evidence during his sentencing for two murders amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel. The purpose of this Article is to assess, from the just deserts perspective, the grounds to believe that veterans who commit crimes are to be blamed less by the State than offenders without such backgrounds. Two rationales for a differential treatment of military veterans who commit crimes are typically set forth. The Porter Court raised each, stating that we should treat veterans differently “in recognition of” both “their service” and “the intense stress and mental and emotional toll” of combat. The former factor suggests there being a “social contributions” or gratitude-based discount, whereas the latter factor points towards a “mental disturbance” discount. This Article analyzes the two accounts and raises some doubts about both. This Article then argues that a military veteran who commits a crime should not be blamed to the full extent of his blameworthiness, not necessarily because of his mental capacity nor because of his social contribution, but because the State’s hand in producing his criminality undermines its standing to blame him.     

Psychopathy and Female Gender: Phenotypic Expression and Comorbidity; A Study Comparing a Sample of Women Hospitalized in Italy's Maximum Security Facility with Women Who were Criminally Sentenced and Imprisoned,

Various studies have shown that women with psychopathy tend to commit crimes that are less violent than those of psychopathic men. The present study was designed to address the influence of psychopathy on the crimes committed by female offenders. A national sample of female offenders found NGRI or of diminished responsibility and at risk for criminal recidivism (OPG patients) was compared with a sample of female offenders who were convicted and imprisoned. Results of this comparison between the two groups of female offenders indicate that psychopathy is a transversal psychopathological dimension which may or may not be associated with other mental disorders. In both samples, the most commonly reported offenses among women with high PCL‐R scores were minor offenses, not particularly violent, but they appear to be related to typical psychopathic features such as superficial charm, pathological lying, and manipulation.     

The role of set-shifting ability in differentiating between subgroups of female violent offenders

The aim of the present study was to extend the current understanding of the relationship between executive functions and violent crime in women. This was done by investigating whether set-shifting ability differentiated between subgroups of female violent offenders, with regard to criminal diversity and frequency of violent offenses. The study was conducted in a nationwide sample of 42 women imprisoned for violent crimes. Important characteristics common in violent offenders, such as certain personality disorders and substance abuse, were taken into account. The results indicated that offenders who only committed violent crimes had poorer set-shifting ability and less frequently personality disorders than offenders who had also committed non-violent crimes. Set-shifting ability was not connected to violent crime frequency.     

Violent recidivism and chronicity in the 1958 Philadelphia cohort

In the present study the relationship between chronicity and violent recidivism is analyzed using longitudinal data from the 1958 Philadelphia cohort. The data reaffirm prior research findings that a small cadre of offenders commits the majority of crimes which involve serious harm to the community, yet it was found that the violent offenders accounted for a large share of the more serious index offenses. In addition, among violent delinquents there is a greater proportion of chronic offenders than among nonviolent delinquents. Chronic offenders were more likely than nonchronic offenders to repeat a violent offense. Violent recidivists also committed a large proportion of nonviolent index offenses. One might imply from the results of this study that a policy of selective incapacitation of high-rate offenders would substantially reduce the amount of violent crime as well as nonviolent crime.     

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.     

When courts and experts disagree: Discordance between insanity recommendations and adjudications

Discordance between state examiner recommendations of culpability and subsequent insanity adjudications was investigated. The discordant group was compared with groups of defendants where concordance occurred between recommendation and adjudication. Data were collected from casefile materials (totalN=80) and comparisons were made on defendant's background, the offense, and the forensic evaluation. To determine how purposeful and goal directed the offense was, offenses were rated on a rationality scale. Results indicated that defendants in the discordance group committed emotionally charged or unusual offenses, were likely to have a psychiatric history (65%) and were more likely to have been found incompetent to stand trial than defendants recommended and adjudicated culpable. The discordant group was dissimilar to defendants recommended and adjudicated insane in frequency of prior felony arrest (65%), alcohol/drug use at time of offense (55%), paucity of psychosis (20%) and higher frequency of claimed amnesia (35%). On the rationality scale, discordant defendants were intermediate between those defendants recommended and adjudicated insane, who typically committed irrational offenses, and those defendants recommended and adjudicated culpable, who typically committed purposeful and goal directed offenses.     

Veteran Status and Marital Aggression: Does Military Service Make a Difference?

Previous research has demonstrated that rates of domestic violence are higher among couples where at least one person is on active duty. What is unclear is whether or not the propensity to engage in domestic violence remains after an individual has left the military and entered into veteran status. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate whether or not veteran status will increase an individual’s tendency to engage in acts of domestic violence. Through the use of cultural spillover theory, the argument can be made that the effects of military resocialization will persist even after separation from active duty service, and that veteran status will contribute to domestic violence in a marriage. Analysis of the National Survey of Families and Households Wave I dataset allowed for a comparison of the rates of domestic violence among veterans and non-veterans to see if veterans are more likely to engage in domestic violence, net of combat exposure, relationship stressors and other statistical controls. The data reveal that male veterans are in fact less likely to engage in an episode of domestic violence as compared to civilians with no previous military experience; however, once other factors are accounted for, this relationship becomes nonsignificant.

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.     

我国刑法理论上的牵连犯问题研究

牵连犯应是指犯罪人以实施某一犯罪为目的 ,而其犯罪方法或结果行为触犯其他罪名的犯罪。如何认定牵连犯数个独立的犯罪行为之间的牵连关系 ,存在不同观点 ,其中折衷说较为科学 ,即应从主客观两方面去分析、认定。无刑法规定性和不实行并罚性 ,应是牵连犯的本质特征。对于牵连犯与吸收犯、想象竞合犯、结合犯之间的异同 ,必须在理论上深入研究 ,并在刑事法律上加以完善。     

The judicial response to crime and the criminal: A utilitarian perspective

This paper examines the hypothesis that the sentencing decision of the criminal court is consistent with utilitarian principles and that the judiciary uses the length of incarceration as an instrument for the maximization of societal well-being. A theoretical model is developed, whose principal arguments are offender and offense attributes, resource costs, the availability of alternative sanctions, and the general crime rate. Four questions are considered: (i) How does a utilitarian court respond to a general increase in crime? (ii) How does the availability of alternative sanctions affect the length of incarceration ? (iii) How does a utilitarian court respond to offenders who are more likely to recidivate? (iv) How does the court respond to offenders who commit more serious offenses? The model is empirically evaluated, using cross-sectional data for the state of Georgia for individuals sentenced to prison in 1978 for a UCR index offense. The theoretical model provides few specific behavioral rules for the court to follow. Answers to the foregoing four questions are shown to depend upon both the efficacy of sanctions and the cost of the administration of those sanctions. It is not possible to predict, for example, how a utilitarian court should respond to a rise in crime or how it should respond to offenders who are likely to commit more serious offenses. The empirical analysis shows that, in fact, the sentence length varied inversely with the general offense rate, with the likelihood of imprisonment, and with the length of postprison probation. The evidence also indicates that sentences vary with the individual's original record but not with the offender's age or race. With the exception of possible gender bias, the court's sentencing behavior was consistent with utilitarian principles.     

再论牵连犯

牵连犯是指行为人出于一个最终的犯罪目的实施了数个犯罪行为(目的行为、方法行为或结果行为 )而分别触犯不同罪名的犯罪形态。牵连犯是一种客观存在的犯罪形态,因此,对其宜存不宜废。判断牵连关系,应坚持主客观相统一原则,并由法官结合具体案情判定。对牵连犯的处罚,应坚持从一重重处断原则。     

Incarceration among male veterans: relative risk of imprisonment and differences between veteran and nonveteran inmates

Using data from national surveys of jail and prison inmates conducted in 2002 and 2004, the authors found that male veterans in the age group that entered military service in the early years of the All Volunteer Force (AVF) were at greater risk of incarceration than nonveterans of similar age and ethnicity, whereas veterans who enlisted in later years of the AVF had less risk of incarceration than nonveterans. Although White veterans tend to have greater risk of incarceration than nonveteran Whites, Black and Hispanic veterans were at less risk than their nonveteran peers, although they are at greater risk than White veterans. These patterns are best explained by changes over time and in differential effects across racial/ethnic groups of recruiting practices, accession standards, and in civilian employment opportunities rather than combat trauma or other adverse experiences in the military. For example, reductions in the relative risk for incarceration of veterans during the AVF appear to generally result from increases in recruit qualifications and socioeconomic status due to greater military pay, improved skill in recruiting, and higher accession standards.     

Characteristics of false allegation adult crimes

The purpose of this study was to identify common factors in false allegation adult crimes, by examining the dynamics involved in 30 confirmed false allegation cases. The authors conducted a comprehensive review of these adjudicated cases and then completed a collection instrument to capture offender demographics, offense characteristics, and motive. The results indicated that most false allegation crimes were committed by women (73.3%) and Caucasians (93.3%). Data indicated that more interpersonally violent allegations were primarily motivated by attention/sympathy needs (50.0%), whereas more impersonal offenses involved other motivations such as providing an alibi (16.7%) or profit (13.3%). Offenders tended to be younger, high school graduates with no higher education (43.3%). A total of 23.3% of offenders had a prior criminal history. Male offenders appeared as likely as women to be motivated by attention/sympathy; however, men tended to select more violent, nonsexual offenses (e.g., attempted murder) than women.     

Exploring the social and emotional context of childhood animal cruelty and its potential link to adult human violence

ABSTRACT

Those who commit acts of animal cruelty may do so differently based upon how they individually experience such acts. These experiences may impact the link that exists between childhood animal abuse and later interpersonal violence. Limited research exists that examines how social and emotional factors such as being upset after committing animal cruelty may impact the progression from early acts of animal cruelty to later acts of adult violence against humans. Based on responses from 180 prison inmates in a Southern state, the current study examined the effects of onset and frequency of animal cruelty, covertness of animal cruelty, the commission of animal cruelty alone or in a group, and being upset after committing animal cruelty. Inmates who committed recurrent acts of childhood animal cruelty were more likely to commit recurrent acts of adult interpersonal violence.