A half century of parole rules: Conditions of parole in the United States, 2008

There is growing concern about revocations of parole for technical violations of parole conditions. This article represents a fifth survey of standard conditions of parole in the United States. In 2008 all fifty-two parole jurisdictions were surveyed and the standard conditions of supervision identified. The results indicate that the number and types of standard conditions of parole have increased in the recent past, but that over the past half century, parole rules have retained a focus on criminal behavior and enabling post release supervision. It is more likely that our conceptions about how best to respond to rule violations have undergone change.     

A human rights-based approach to sex offender management: The key to effective public protection?

Abstract

This paper outlines recent ‘public protection’ legislation in the United States of America as a basis for considering possible outcomes when public concern and political pressures combine without due regard for efficacy and appropriate balance. It highlights concerns about the implications of policy measures developing in this way and questions whether a human-rights based approach should be applied in terms of public protection policy in order to develop more effective public protection.     

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A DEFINITE SENTENCE PAROLE PROGRAM

With the currently available evidence suggesting the failure of the treatment modality in corrections. parole systems throughout the United States have been the object of increasing criticism. This criticism is usually focused primarily at the indeterminate sentence and discretionary release to parole supervision, often considered integral components of a parole system. In this study, a parole system was examined that operates with definite sentencing and relatively less emphasis on discretionary release decision-making. The parole supervision aspect of this system was found to reduce markedly the post-release criminal activity of parolees as compared with a control group of discharges released from the same institutions, but not to parole supervision.     

The Tragic Plight of HIV-Infected Haitian Refugees at Guantanamo Bay

Last June marked the 14th anniversary of the closing of the world’s first, and only, HIV camp at Guantanamo Bay. This article revisits the infamous legacy of the Guantanamo Bay camp and the plight of the HIV-infected Haitian political refugees during the early 1990’s. Part I summarises the development of the United States’ immigration policy and the government’s history for excluding immigrants for health related reasons. Part II details the factual and historical background leading to the mass exodus of the Haitians and the sequence of tragic events which resulted in their confinement at Guantanamo Bay. Part III focuses on the seminal case of Haitian Centers Council, Inc. v. Sale (II) (Haitian Centers Council, Inc. v. Sale, 823 F. Supp. 1028, 1049 (E.D.N.Y. 1993)) which was responsible for bringing about the closure of the HIV camp and granting parole to all HIV-infected refugees to enter the United States. The anticipated revolutionary reform of the HIV-exclusion policy emanating from this legal triumph never materialized. The United States government successfully sought to have the case vacated from the Court’s books. Consequently, the landmark precedent does not technically exist today. What does remain is the notorious HIV-exclusion policy which was distorted by the United States government to justify their detainment. Although the epic legal and emotional struggles of the Haitians are forgotten by many, the legacy of Guantanamo Bay continues to haunt the lives of those who were prisoners of the HIV camp.     

美国少年司法的新近发展

作为世界上第一个少年司法制度的诞生地———美国 ,它的少年司法体系的改革令人关注。本文回顾了美国少年司法政策的发展历史 ,并系统地检验了美国少年司法体制 ,总结了美国少年司法的历史 ,阐述了美国少年司法近年来的发展状况 ,这些发展推动了学者们对美国少年司法的深入研究 ,从而为处理青少年偏差行为指明了合理、有效的策略。本文还涉及到意识形态、政治策略和媒体对少年司法的公共政策的影响问题 ,最后探讨了将来美国少年司法领域中可能出现的争议。     

PERSPECTIVES ON PAROLE DECISION-MAKING WITH JUVENILES

Parole as applied to juveniles is something about which we have generated little systematic knowledge and few theories. The purpose of the present study is to present and assess various perspectives that are potentially fruitful in exploring parole decision-making with juveniles. Material drawn from parole decision research with adults is juxtaposed to that derived from more theoretical sociological perspectives, and both are evaluated in view of the philosophy of the juvenile justice system. Results are presented which suggest that the social service orientation of the juvenile justice system is not very helpful in understanding parole decision-making. Rather, it would appear that an analysis of “normal cases” forms the basis of decisions and that race constitutes a basic sorting variable. Furthermore, it is suggested that different sets of factors are used in decision-making for offenders of different races.     

Crime Trends in Europe from 1990 to 1996: How Europe Illustrates the Limits of the American Experience

In the Council of Europe's European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics, crime and other relevant data are assembled for 36 European countries and the years 1990 to 1996. The data show that crime trends differed from those in the United States. Particularly drug and violent offences continued to increase until the end of the period under consideration (1996). Most of the theoretical explanations of crime trends currently in vogue in the United States seem of little help in understanding current European trends. Generally the most valid approaches seem to be routine-activities and situational explanations.     

Making sense of body-worn cameras in a police organization: a technological frames analysis

ABSTRACT

This case study of a small police agency in the United States uses semi-structured interviews, a patrol officer survey, and observations, to examine the technological frames of managers and users for interpreting the implementation and use of body-worn cameras. A technological frames approach allows for an in-depth comparison of the knowledge, assumptions, and interpretations of a new technology between groups and for an examination of the processes that may lead to these perceptions changing over time. Although users were initially wary of managers’ rationale for camera implementation, their frames evolved as they realized that body-worn cameras were not being used to identify instances of minor misconduct or policy violations. This development of a more positive perspective was further strengthened by the discovery of additional benefits of body-worn camera use, including protecting users from frivolous complaints and their evidentiary value. These findings challenge the notion that ‘first impressions last’ and that differences in group frames inevitably lead to conflict and unsatisfactory outcomes.     

Regulating Marriage and Cohabitation: Changing Family Values and Policies in Europe and North America—An Introductory Critique

The inspiration for this special issue came from our observation that the British and American approaches to family policy in general, and to marriage and cohabitation in particular, set them apart from their closest neighbors in Europe and North America, respectively. While certain demographic trends can be observed across the Western world, the response of Britain and the United States to such trends differs significantly from that of other jurisdictions in terms of family policy.     

Presidential address: Juvenile justice at the crossroads: Presidential address to the academy of criminal justice sciences

Three interacting factors appear to significantly affect our treatment of youths and thus our juvenile justice policy: ideology, the media, and politics. As a result of these factors, although juvenile violent crime is decreasing, legislatures still advocate a harsh, punitive stance toward youthful offenders. Legislative initiatives have resulted in determinate sentencing for juveniles, more youths handled by the adult criminal court, and more youths sentenced to adult institutions. Recent evidence suggests that the public supports more prevention and early intervention strategies for youths and favors rehabilitation rather than punishment. These conflicting trends suggest that we are at a crossroads: the juvenile justice system can continue its harsh, reactive stance, or it can choose a more proactive approach. The members of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences have an opportunity to play an active role in the development of criminal justice policy.     

Parole decision-making: A salient factor score

Although considerable effort during the past thirty years has been devoted to the attempted construction of actuarial aids for parole selection, such devices have not generally been adopted by paroling agencies for operational use. One recent exception is the United States Board of Parole which has commenced usage of an actuarial device, termed a “salient factor score,” as a risk assessment aid in conjunction with explicit parole decision-making guidelines. This paper describes the construction, validation, and operational usage of this device.     

The color of confinement: examining youth exoneration decisions and the critical race theory

Abstract

The critical race theory has been predictive of how minority youth are treated in the juvenile and criminal justice systems in the United States. However, the theory has not been applied in explaining the existence of wrongful convictions among juveniles. Using secondary data derived from the National Exoneration Registry, the purpose of this study is to identify specific factors (e.g., DNA evidence, etc.) related to the wrongful convictions of Black youth who have been exonerated. Compared to other racial categories, the results reveal that Black youth are more likely to experience wrongful convictions as a result of false confessions, faulty eyewitness identification, perjury, and official misconduct. Limitations, policy implications, and areas of further investigation are offered.     

Kids are Different: The United States Supreme Court Reforms Youth Sentencing Practices for Youth Prosecuted in the Criminal Justice System

In a series of decisions issued between 2005‐2016, the United States Supreme Court relied on emerging scientific research detailing the developmental differences between children and adults to revamp its juvenile sentencing jurisprudence under the Eighth Amendment. The research established that youth’s developmental immaturity reduces their culpability for their criminal conduct, while also demonstrating their heightened capacity for change and rehabilitation. The Court focused on the most extreme sentences for youth, banning the imposition of the death penalty on youth under the age of eighteen in Roper v. Simmons (2005), and severely limiting the availability of life without parole sentences even for youth convicted of murder, in Graham v Florida (2010) and Miller v Alabama (2012). This article traces the Court’s evolution in reviewing sentences for youth in our justice system, and considers how the Court’s reasoning in these cases may influence further reforms in the justice system’s treatment of youth looking ahead.     

Enhancing Rescue in Chapter 11: Lessons from Reform Efforts in the United Kingdom

This is a dynamic time for insolvency law. Many jurisdictions have made or are considering reforms to their insolvency regimes. The United Kingdom has proposed a new standalone restructuring mechanism that incorporates many attributes of Chapter 11, including a cross-class cram down and the absolute priority rule. A distinctive feature of the UK proposal is the infusion of judicial discretion permitting courts to deviate from the absolute priority rule. This discretion is not permitted in the United States. This judicial discretion addresses a key problem with the application of the absolute priority rule in the United States—it may serve as an impediment to reorganization. This impediment is exacerbated by the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp., which impacts the effective use of Chapter 11 rescue tools. This article explores the absolute priority rule, the problems associated with it, and the effect of Jevic in the United States. Drawing on the UK reform proposal, I argue that the United States should implement reforms that infuse judicial discretion into the application of the absolute priority rule. Doing so will facilitate the underlying policy goal of rescuing the company in Chapter 11 and also promote a broader policy goal of rescuing the business.     

Criminal Violence and Youth in Sweden: A Long-term Perspective

Since the mid-1980s, the Swedish public has become increasingly concerned about juvenile violence. This article confronts the public belief of increasing juvenile violence with systematic criminological data from crime statistics and other sources. Based on police and court statistics, as well as data from victimization studies and cause-of-death statistics, it is concluded that there is good reason to believe that Sweden is currently experiencing an 'enforcement wave' with regard to juvenile violence (particularly in the youngest age brackets), which reinforces the image of dramatic increases in the level of juvenile violence. The reasons why juvenile violence is thought to be on the increase even in the face of a lack of hard empirical evidence are discussed. Four long- and short-term trends are proposed as possible explanations: (i) the well-ordered modern society; (ii) the role of the mass media; (iii) the growth of feminine values; and (iv) the application of an offensive model of crime policy.     

Why are the United States and the European Union failing to regulate the internet efficiently? Going beyond the bottom-up and top-down alternatives

This paper analyzes the different approaches for Internet regulation. We use the United States and European Union to illustrate the alternative approaches of self-regulation and government intervention. Our research suggests that both systems have serious shortcomings that could be ameliorated by the use of a mixed system for Internet regulation in which both the private and public sector have a role. The case study of privacy rights self regulation in the United States and its failure to effectively provide privacy regulation serves as our empirical evidence. We provide guidelines for both the government and the private sector in defining and enforcing privacy regulation. JEL Classification K33 · K2 · L51 · L86 · O57     

Discretionary Justice: Decision Making in a State Juvenile Parole Board

The literature in Criminal Justice is replete with commentary on both the virtues and injustices associated with adult parole board decision-making. There has been far less attention paid to juvenile parole boards in part because so few of them exist. Institutional release decisions in most states still remain the purview of juvenile institutional staff members. This paper examines parole Authority decision-making in a citizen-dominated state juvenile parole board. The paper focuses on the conduct of hearings, dispositional guidelines, criteria used by board members in decision-making and the advocacy role of parole officers and institutional staff. The influence of deinstitutionalization and least restrictive policies on parole Authority decision making is also discussed. During recent years, the literature in criminal justice has become replete with commentary on the virtues and injustices associated with parole board decision-making. Consequently, many questions have been raised about disparate sentences, the criteria used by parole boards in making decisions, unstructured discretion, and the pressing need for guidelines and statistically accurate parole prediction instruments. The intent of this paper is to examine parole decision-making in a state juvenile parole board where individualized treatment and rehabilitation have been long standing goals. The paper focuses upon the criteria used by board members in decision-making, the conduct of hearings, the guideline system used to determine a recommended length of confinement and the advocacy role of parole officers and institutional staff. The influence of deinstitutionalization and least restrictive policies on parole board decision-making is also discussed. The author is presently completing the second year of a two-year appointment as a member of the Parole Authority under discussion. Since December, 1983, the author has continuously observed and participated in approximately 300 individual parole hearings over thirty-seven hearing days.     

Parole Board Members’ Views of Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification

Little is known about how criminal justice officials perceive fairness, efficacy or scope of sex offender registration and community notification procedures, despite their importance in implementing such policies. There is also scant literature regarding parole board members and their attitudes or approaches to their work. This study addresses both issues by examining the attitudes and beliefs regarding sex offender registration and community notification among members of state parole boards. Using a survey methodology, including the Community Attitudes Toward Sex Offenders (CATSO) scale (Church, Wakeman, Miller, Clements, & Sun, 2008), parole board members are shown to hold moderate views of the importance of such practices and to frequently question the efficacy and scope of registration and community notification. Additionally, the CATSO is shown to not be of assistance for understanding the views of parole board members.     

Citizens’ knowledge and perceptions of legislatures in Canada,Britain and the United States

This study has two major parts. The first uses survey data to reveal what citizens in Britain, Canada and the United States know about their national legislatures and what factors ‐ including cognitive ability, opportunity, motivation and media exposure ‐ affect that knowledge. We find that US citizens are the least knowledgeable. The second part of the study looks at whether the level of knowledge in each country has any importance for understanding levels of public support for the national legislature. In the United States, the more knowledgeable citizens are less likely to support Congress, in sharp contrast to the tendency of knowledgeable Canadian citizens to be more supportive of their parliament. Knowledge is not a significant predictor of support in the British model. Some implications of the findings are discussed.