Distinguishing graduates from dropouts and dismissals: Who fails boot camp?

This study of 784 inmates in a boot camp in a southern state was designed to determine what elements from life-course theory distinguished between graduates, dropouts, and dismissals from the program in this facility. Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that several social bonds—such as employment, income, marital status—and personal assets like self-efficacy differentiated graduates from dropouts and dismissals from that program. In contrast, selling drugs, illegal income, and carrying a weapon also were associated with graduation.Lack of self-control, drug use, and peer association differentiated dropouts from graduates, whereas history of being abused, emotional problems, and suicidal attempts distinguished dismissals from graduates. The implications of these findings for further research and current decision-making are discussed.     

An experimental study of a therapeutic boot camp: Impact on impulses, attitudes and recidivism

Two hundred thirty four adult male inmates entering prison were randomly assigned to an early release program in either a correctional boot camp or a large, traditional prison in the Maryland state correctional system. Boot camp releasees had marginally lower recidivism compared to those released from the traditional prison. A pre-test, post-test self report survey indicated the boot camp program had little impact on criminogenic characteristics except for a lowering of self control. In contrast, inmates in prison became more antisocial, lower in self control, worse in anger management, and reported more criminal tendencies by the end of their time in prison. Criminogenic attitudes and impulses were significantly associated with recidivism. The impact of the boot camp diminished to non-significance when antisocial attitudes or anger management problems were added to the models predicting recidivism. Implications for jurisdictions considering whether to operate correctional boot camps are discussed.     

Discriminators of types of recidivism among boot camp graduates in a five-year follow-up study

This was a five-year follow-up study of 572 male graduates of a boot camp in the South. The purpose was to determine what elements of life-course theory discriminated between four outcomes: (1) nonrecidivists, (2) recidivists with felonies, (3) technical parole violators, and (4) parole violators due to drugs. Findings indicated a relatively accurate classification of the first three outcomes.The discriminators between nonrecidivists and various types of recidivists in the study were indicators of informal social controls such as marriage, employment, children, and religiosity. Discriminators of felony recidivists were early sexual and physical abuse, gang membership, peer association, carrying a weapon, and early onset of crime. Discriminators associated with technical parole violation were attachment to female caregivers, self-esteem and self-efficacy, and perception that boot camp stimulated thinking about choices in life. The conceptual and policy implications of these findings are discussed in detail.     

A study of criminal justice policymakers' perspectives: The forgotten component in boot camp programs and goals

Does occupation (sheriff, prosecutor, prison administrator, or parole/probation official) influence selection of boot camp components; especially the traditional positions of “punishers,” usually sheriffs and prosecuting attorneys, and “reformers,” usually prison and probation? As part of a larger study and at the request of the Missouri Department of Corrections, 670 questionnaires were mailed to all Missouri sheriffs, prosecutors, selected prison administrators, probation/parole staff, all public defenders, selected legislatures, and judges in Missouri. Respondents were asked to rank potential boot camp goals and programs using a Likert-type preferences scale of 1 = low preference to 5 = high preference. Three hundred fifty-three were returned, for a return rate of 53 percent. Using the Missouri survey data, the research question for this article was: Did occupation influence selection of boot camp components? To test the association of occupation with selection, a shorter list was compiled from the Missouri survey data of six typical “punishment” items and six typical “reform” items as selected from the literature. Means and a t-test of significance were calculated. Results showed traditional positions of “punishment” and “reform” did not drive program choices. Preference for “reform” items by all occupations was higher than preference for “punishment” items. Results showed a potential shift away from the early military - punishment style of early boot camps. Correctional agencies thinking of reconfiguring or building new boot camps could use the results as a guide.     

Survival analysis of criminal recidivism of boot camp graduates using elements from general and developmental explanatory models

This is a 5-year follow-up study of recidivism among 601 male graduates of a boot camp for adults in a southern state. Cox's proportional hazard analysis is used to determine the hazard rate of recidivism (arrest or parole violation) of several elements of general and developmental models. Analyses are conducted according to age of onset of unlawful behavior (10 years old or younger and older than 10 years). Findings indicate that caregiving factors have inverse relations with the hazard of recidivism, whereas low self-control, deficits in social skills, peer association with criminals, gang membership, drug use and sales, and carrying weapons have positive relationships with this hazard. These findings are observed irrespective of the age when persons begin committing offenses. Implications of the findings for theoretical models is discussed.     

Challenges of conducting field experiments in correctional settings: boot camp prison study as an example

Objectives

The challenges of conducting a field experiment in a correctional setting.

Methods

This paper discusses the issues related to planning, design, and completion of a randomized control study of a correctional boot camp including the difficulties confronted and how these were or were not overcome.

Results

At the beginning, correctional administrators were interested in and supportive of the study and this greatly facilitated our initial work. However, as described in this paper, during the course of the research obstacles and difficulties arose. Using the boot camp experiment as an example, we review the trials and tribulations of trying to do a field experiment in corrections. The importance of collecting quantitative and qualitative in order to understand the experiences of both the control and experimental groups is emphasized, as is the need to examine the theoretical mechanisms hypothesized to lead to changes in outcomes.

Conclusion

Some of the challenges confronted in this randomized control trial are those facing anyone attempting to conduct a field experiment, others relate to the particular issues faced by those who are conducting experiments in correctional settings. The paper concludes with a discussion of the issues confronting researchers who are doing field experiments in corrections.     

The parole performance of offenders released from shock incarceration (boot camp prisons): A survival time analysis

The parole performance of offenders who were released after successfully completing a shock incarceration program was examined and compared to the performance of offenders who were serving time on probation or parole after a period of incarceration. Separate survival analyses were performed for recidivism as measured by (1) arrests and (2) failures (jailed, absconded, or revoked). Prior incarceration, age, age at first arrest, and risk assessment score were related to recidivism but type of sentence was not. Intensity of supervision was significantly related to recidivism but this relationship was eliminated when risk level was controlled. There was no evidence that shock incarceration reduces recidivism. Future research should focus on methods of reducing failures during community supervision for these young, nonviolent offenders within the framework of either a shock incarceration program or some other sentence.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the American Probation and Parole Association 14th Annual Training Institute, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 1989.     

Race,politics, and punishment

This paper empirically evaluates two competing theories of electoral accountability in the context of New Orleans’ 2006 mayoral election. According to the democratic efficiency theory, voters can successfully punish ineffective political agents by removing them from office. In contrast, the public choice theory argues that the bundled nature of political goods prevents voters from successfully holding ineffective politicians accountable. We find that although there is limited support for the punishment effect predicted by the democratic efficiency theory, this effect is overwhelmed by the fact that the bundle of goods politicians offer contains elements that pull in opposing directions. This prevents the punishment effect from having any real impact, leading to democratic failure. Our results support the public choice theory of electoral (un)accountability.     

Integrating Critical Race Theory and Postmodernism Implications of Race, Class, and Gender

This paper begins with an overview of criticalrace theory tenets, which in turn will befollowed by an overview of postmodernism. These bodies of knowledge consist of an arrayof ideologies; but for the purpose of thisarticle only the fundamentals of each will bediscussed. Thereafter, an integration ofthese two contemporary areas of thought willdemonstrate the constructive linkage ofcritical race theory and postmodern theory. Theintegrations that follow will emphasize how acollaboration of critical race theory tenetsand postmodern thought can contribute to asuccessful, and more importantly improved,analysis of the social constructions of race,class, and gender. In addition, theintersectional analysis presented willdemonstrate a more informative and betterunderstanding of the subtleties of blatant andmore hidden forms of race, class, and gender.     

Race, Money and Medicines

Taking notice of race is both risky and inevitable, in medicine no less than in other endeavors. On the one hand, race can be a useful stand-in for unstudied genetic and environmental factors that yield differences in disease expression and therapeutic response. Attention to race can make a therapeutic difference, to the point of saving lives. On the other hand, racial distinctions have social meanings that are often pejorative or worse, especially when these distinctions are cast as culturally or biologically fixed. I argue in this essay that we should start with a presumption against racial categories in medicine, but permit their use when it might prolong lives or meaningfully improve health. Use of racial categories should be understood as an interim step; follow-up inquiry into the factors that underlie race-correlated clinical differences is important both to improve the efficacy of clinical care and to prevent race in itself from being misunderstood as a biological determinant. If we pursue such inquiry with vigor, the pernicious effects of racial categories on public understanding can be managed. But perverse market and regulatory incentives create the danger that use of race will be "locked-in," once drugs or other therapies are approved. These incentives should be revisited.     

Self-Control Theory,Race, and Delinquency

Abstract

The size of the Hispanic population in the United States has grown to the point that they now comprise the largest minority group. While much research has been conducted to explore the effects of race and ethnicity on various aspects of the criminal justice system, most of these studies focus on African Americans. The purpose of this study is to assess the representation of Hispanics in criminal justice literature and to summarize the findings. The results suggest that while many studies contained Hispanic subjects, few articles focused specifically on His-panics and fewer articles focused on Hispanic women. When analyzed separately, Hispanics were found to be statistically different from other groups. Much of the Hispanic-focused research centered on drug use, gang involvement, and violence. Given the size and growth of this important group, criminologists must consciously recognize and proactively seek to include the views and experiences of Hispanics in their research.     

Race, Ethnicity, and Determinate Sentencing

A study of 4729 sentences handed out during the first year of determinate sentencing in California shows subtle differences in the sentencing of Whites, Blacks, and Chicanos. As expected, main effects of race/ethnicity are not found. However, the type of offense, mode of disposition, and the defendant's prior record do affect sentencing differently, even with determinate sentencing, depending on the defendant's race/ethnicity. The detrimental effect of a prior record for Chicanos is especially interesting as it can be invoked legally as a sentence enhancement. The findings reported here demonstrate that Chicanos constitute a separate group, distinct from both Blacks and Whites, and must be treated accordingly in criminological research. So doing clarifies many of the inconsistencies in prior sentencing research.     

Race,crime type and imprisonment

This paper largely replicates, within the state of North Carolina, Blumstein's (1982) national study of the effects of arrests on the racial disproportionality of the prison population. In agreement with the previous study, these data indicate that the racial difference between rates of arrest and imprisonment varies with the type of offense. The level of arrests failed to account for a sizeable amount of the racial differentials in imprisonment for drug offenses, forgery and driving under the influence. An unexpected finding is a lower than expected (by arrests) rate of black imprisonment for rape and robbery.     

Race, economic inequality, and violent crime

The current study used data drawn from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) and the census to investigate the relationship between indicators of interracial and intraracial economic inequality and violent crime rates, including White-on-Black, White-on-White, Black-on-White, and Black-on-Black offenses. Multivariate regression results for ninety-one cities showed that while total inequality and intraracial inequality had no significant association with offending rates, interracial inequality was a strong predictor of the overall violent crime rate and the Black-on-Black crime rate. Overall, these results were interpreted as consistent with J.R. Blau and Blau's (1982) relative deprivation thesis, with secondary support for P.M. Blau's (1977) macrostructural theory of intergroup relations. The findings also helped to clarify the unresolved theoretical issue regarding which reference group was most important in triggering relative deprivation among Blacks. It appeared that prior studies were unable to find support for the relative deprivation thesis for Black crime rates because of data and methodological limitations.     

Globalization of gun culture transnational reflections on pistolization and masculinity,flows and resistance

Pistolization indicates the taken-for-granted cultural practice of carrying a handgun as an accoutrement of everyday life (Edwards and Sheptycki, 2009a). It is a socially constructed cultural practice that has links to conceptions of masculine power and, in some instances, has been constructed as a symbol of manly prosperity. Drawing inspiration from the cultural criminology approach, the paper explores pistolization in several differing regional contexts looking for general indications about the place of ‘the gun’ in global cultural ordering. Guns are strongly connected to the construction of masculinity, but gun possession and gun carrying varies dramatically across nations. The logic of pistolization is particularly well-entrenched in the USA. This paper explores the ways in which “gun culture” has been conceptualized and the ways in which it is reproduced. Finally the paper discusses “resistance” to the cultural encroachment of US-style gun culture as a dominant theme in international efforts to regulate firearms.     

The Complexity of Policy Preferences: Examining Self-interest,Group-Interest,and Race Consciousness Across Race and Political Ideology

Social Justice Research - Research on attitudes toward racial policies has often been limited to a single racial group (e.g., either Whites or Blacks). These studies often focus on the role of...     

Race, gender, and the newsworthiness of homicide incidents

This study examined the criteria news media use to evaluate the newsworthiness of homicide incidents occurring between the years of 1997 to 2005. By examining how particular race, gender, and race/gender intersections of offender-victim combinations affect news coverage decision-making, this study attempted to identify the most important criteria of newsworthiness. This article contributes to the growing body of newsworthiness of crime research by examining how cultural typification of victims and offenders affects news media coverage of homicides in Newark, New Jersey, a unique research location in which Blacks make up the majority of the population and Hispanics are the dominant population minority. The results provide partial support for Lundman's (2003) conclusion that cultural typification based on race and gender is an important criterion of newsworthiness.