An Empirical Analysis of 30 Years of U.S. Juvenile and Adult Sexual Homicide Offender Data: Race and Age Differences in the Victim–Offender Relationship

Abstract: Little is known about the racial patterns of crimes committed by sexual homicide offenders (SHOs). This study examined race and age influences on victim–offender relationship for juvenile and adult SHOs. A large sample (N = 3868) from the Supplemental Homicide Reports (1976–2005) was used. Analyses of victim–offender patterns included examining victim age effects (child, adolescent, adult, and elderly). The findings revealed several race‐ and age‐based differences. Black offenders were significantly overrepresented in the SHO population. This finding held for juveniles and adults independently. White SHOs were highly likely to kill within their race, “intra‐racially” (range 91–100%) across four victim age categories, whereas Black SHOs killed both intra‐racially (range 24–82%) and inter‐racially (18–76%), with the likelihood of their killing inter‐racially increasing as the age of the victim increased. This study underscores the importance of considering victim–offender racial patterns in sexual murder investigations, and it offers practical implications for offender profiling.     

Juvenile and Adult Offenders Arrested for Sexual Homicide: An Analysis of Victim–Offender Relationship and Weapon Used by Race*

Abstract: Limited information is available on racial offending patterns of sexual homicide offenders (SHOs). This study used a 30‐year U.S. Supplementary Homicide Reports sample of SHOs arrested in single‐victim situations (N = 3745). The analysis strength was used to determine whether the findings yielded meaningful patterns for offender profiling. Several important findings emerged for the juvenile offenders. Juvenile White SHOs were likely to target victims with whom they shared a mutual relationship. In contrast, Black juveniles were equally likely to murder strangers and those with whom they had prior and familial relationships. Notably, no juvenile Black SHOs were arrested for murdering intimate partners. Juvenile White SHOs were twice as likely to use edged weapons as their Black counterparts. Black juveniles, conversely, were more likely than White juveniles to use personal weapons. Beyond these findings, known victim–offender relationships and weapon used may not have significant utility for investigators in identifying the SHO race, even after controlling for offender age. Limitations and future directions are discussed.     

少年初犯预测研究——对浙江省少年初犯可能性的实证研究

在以往犯罪学家研究成果的基础上,采用分层和判断抽样的方法,对浙江省五百名在押少年犯和浙江省五百名在校中学生进行了调查.调查的内容分两步展开,一是采用自制问卷就社会因素与少年初犯之关系进行调查,二是采用现成的明尼苏达多相人格测验表就心理因素与少年初犯之关系进行调查.调查结果表明,在社会因素方面,家庭环境诸因素中有十四项、学校纪录有六项、早年行为模式有十八项、社会交往有四项因子与少年初犯存在关联.在心理因素方面,从包含十五个维度的明尼苏达多相人格测验表中检选出病态人格这一项因子.在此基础上,采用非加权计算点数的方法制作少年初犯可能预测量表.     

刑事和解的困境与对策——以公诉环节轻微刑事案件和解司法实践为视角

刑事和解是宽严相济刑事政策在司法实践中的具体应用，并得到法律界的广泛认可，但“赔钱减刑”的错觉及由此引发的负面效应影响了刑事和解的社会效果。重庆市武隆县检察院公诉环节轻微刑事案件和解实践为突破困境提供了素材，是树立现代司法理念、明确结案方式、完善立法依据、建立跟踪监督机制等刑事和解对策的有益探索。     

和谐社会语境下的刑事和解制度构建

刑事和解是二十世纪中叶西方国家出现的一种新的刑事思潮,它以恢复正义为核心,目的是恢复被加害人所破坏的社会关系,弥补被害人所受到的损害并使加害人改过自新、复归社会。本文结合理论与实践,对我国引入刑事和解制度的现实意义进行了阐述,认为该制度是以人为本、和谐有序观念在刑事司法领域的体现,并立足于我国法治的本土资源,对在我国构建刑事和解制度的可行性做了研究,并提出了构建该制度的初步构想。     

The Violent Female Juvenile Offender: An Ignored Minority Within the Juvenile Justice System

Little attention is given to the violent female adolescent. While there is no argument that males commit most of the violent crimes (both juveniles and adults), violent females may demand the attention of policy-makers and administrators. Historically there has been a lack of program offerings for these offenders. This article examines violent female adolescent offenders referred to the Clark County (Las Vegas, Nevada) Juvenile Court Services in two different years (1985 and 1988). This examination includes a review of programs and alternatives for these offenders and a review of what is currently being done by the juvenile justice system to accommodate this population. Dispositions and programmatic treatment offerings for violent adolescent males and females are compared. Recommendations are offered for the juvenile justice system for consideration.     

湖南刑事和解实践模式考析——兼论人民监督员介入刑事和解的可行性

随着刑事和解实践的逐步深化,诸多制约刑事和解发展的瓶颈问题也不断凸显,如何破解这些问题,构建一个有旺盛生命力、程序规范并有湖南特色的刑事和解实践模式,需要在指导思想上重新认识刑事和解制度的政策和法治结构功能、建立科学配套的刑事和解办案质量考核考评机制、科学合理设计刑事和解办案程序、引入第三方参与的民主司法机制、提升和解公信力等四个方面探索深化。     

Student Perceptions of Juvenile Offender Accounts in Criminal Justice Education

In criminal justice programs, a major teaching objective is to expose students to the wide range of experiences and career paths available in criminal justice. Technological advances increase instructional strategies so that students may gain more realistic educational experience and correct erroneous perceptions about the criminal justice system. This paper describes one such strategy for online criminal justice students, a virtual prison tour, founded on the principles of social learning, experiential learning, and e-learning. In an upperclass course in juvenile delinquency, 43 students viewed a video of incarcerated juvenile offenders recounting their experiences of institutionalization, sentences, challenges, programming, and fears upon release. Student responses to seven quantitative questions and one qualitative question revealed that the video greatly impacted their attitudes, understanding, and perceptions of the juvenile justice system and provided pedagogical benefits. This strategy can be used to help criminal justice educators enhance student learning so that students experience a major aspect of the juvenile justice system.     

The Use of Citizen Review Boards with Juvenile Offender Cases: An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Pilot Program

This study evaluates a Citizen Review Board (CRB) program designed to review juvenile offender cases. The sample includes 157 juvenile offenders that were first‐time adjudicated offenders. The youth were randomly assigned by the juvenile judge either to receive review by the CRB or go through the regular court process. Sixty‐eight of the youth were reviewed by the CRB and 89 made up the control group. Data were collected on both groups for more than three years. Program outcomes examined for the study included court processing time, placement and treatment facility changes, and re‐offense rates. Findings suggest that the youth served by the CRB program had statistically fewer out‐of‐home placements in treatment programs during the course of the study and more time had elapsed between the date of the original offense and the re‐offense for youth reviewed by the CRB. The rise in the number of juvenile offenders going through the nation's court systems, as well as a rise in the number of citizen review boards, indicate a need for further examination about how CRBs can best serve the juvenile court system and the youth served by that system.