Gendered Imprisonment in Japan: An Examination of Imprisonment for Stimulant Drug Offenses

Japan is well known not only as a society with low crime rates but also for using incarceration sparingly, sending few convicted offenders to prison. Yet, certain crimes, such as drug offenses, receive little leniency in the Japanese criminal justice system. Johnson (1996b) found empirical support for both chivalry and an ‘'evil woman'’ effect in the system's treatment of female drug offenders. This paper reexamines and extends the core issues in Johnson's (1996b) exploration of women's imprisonment in Japan. It traces the patterns in female incarceration where data are available from the postwar period until 2004. It specifically examines the incidences of incarceration of women for stimulant drug offenses and identifies key correlates on the macro‐level associated with changes in imprisonment practices.     

Short-term trends in crime and delinquency: A comparison of UCR,NCS, and self-report data

This study examines short-term (five- to ten-year) trends in crime and juvenile delinquency using FBI Uniform Crime Reports data on arrests and offenses known to the police, National Crime Survey data on victimization, and National Youth Survey data on self-reported delinquency. The focus is on FBI Index offenses, but less serious offenses are also considered. FBI statistics indicate generally increasing rates of crime, while NCS and NYS data indicate stable and occasionally decreasing rates. Data on the self-reported incidence of delinquency are more compatible with arrest data than are data on the self-reported prevalence of delinquency, but the two self-report measures are more compatible with one another than with arrest data. Attempts to reconcile official statistics with victimization surveys and self-report studies seem unlikely to overcome the differences among the sources when trends in crime, rather than rates of crime at a single time, are considered.     

Japanese Society and Delinquency

Juvenile crime rates in Japan have been increasing as adult rates decline. The rise is produced mainly by an increase of minor offenses in the youngest (aged 14–16) age-group of offenders. To some extent this reflects a real change in the behavior of Japanese children. To a greater extent, we believe, it reflects a change in the behavior of the agents of juvenile justice, who are increasingly assuming jurisdiction over behavior that was formerly the responsibility of family, community, and school.     

The BT Kemi Scandal and the Establishment of the Environmental Crime Concept

This study analyses the significance of the 1977 BT Kemi scandal in Teckomatorp, Sweden for the establishment of the concept of 'environmental crime', first in the public debate and then later in legislation. The BT Kemi scandal is analysed as a 'focusing event' that placed the relationship between environmental pollution, responsibility, legislation and penal sanctions firmly on the political agenda. Several commissions of inquiry were established as a consequence, and in 1981 the Environmental Protection Act was revised and environmental crimes were included in the penal code. This tightening of the legislation had very little effect in practice, however, and this study examines why these legislative changes had so little practical impact. Attention is focused on the historical and societal contexts in which Swedish environmental legislation during the 1960s, as an explanation of why environmental crime has been and remains such a marginalized phenomenon. Shared mentalities in the area of environmental protection, which have evolved over time within public sector agencies and the private sector, coupled with an unequal emerged distribution of power and diffuse legislation, have obstructed the establishment of environmental crime. The BT Kemi scandal was a decisive factor in the coming of age of environmental offending, but it nonetheless takes time before a new form of crime becomes 'self-evident' and accepted as such in the wider society.     

论我国环境刑法立法体例问题简

目前,我国环境刑事立法体例已经很难适应愈演愈烈的环境犯罪.我国现行刑法对环境犯罪的客体界定不清,对环境犯罪罪名的规定散乱不成体系;环境犯罪在现行刑法中的位阶较低,不利于有效地惩治环境犯罪.我国环境犯罪的刑事立法,应当遵循人本主义同时兼容生态主义的原则,充分尊重生态环境本身的独立价值,借鉴德国环境犯罪刑事立法模式,选择环境犯罪在现行刑法典中独立成章的立法体例,调整部分有关环境犯罪且散见其他章节的罪名,扩充环境犯罪罪名涵盖的范围.     

Crime in Indian country: Another “trail of tears”

This article explores the status of crime among the American Indian population. Quantitative information regarding Indian offenses and arrest is presented and placed into the large spectrum of social problems afflicting Indian society. Some quantitative comparisons are made with a similar study conducted in 1964.Trend analyses were performed, and projections are provided relevant to total, adult, and juvenile Indian arrest; rates of arrest for Total, UCR Part I, and alcohol-related offenses are also given. Indian crime data are compared with those of other ethnic groups. The Indian propensity for arrests involving alcohol-related offenses is discussed in detail.The frequency of crimes on- and off-reservation is analyzed, particularly with respect to violent crimes; data are examined to determine the most frequent types of police contacts that Indian offenders experience.     

Graves and families in Japan: Continuity and change

The population aging in Japan has been accelerated not only by the nation's longest life expectancy at birth but also by its falling fertility rate. As the existence of a Japanese family's grave presupposes the continuity of the family line, Japan's current low fertility rate has increased families without progeny who now face problems of their family graves becoming “disconnected.” In this study, historical trends of graves in Japan were analyzed — how the idea of traditional family grave was socially constructed and how it has transformed society, culture, and families. In addition, analyzing the Japanese General Social Survey (JGSS) 2001, it addresses the importance of gender on people's expectations about burial partners in current Japanese society. The analysis of JGSS-2001 data revealed that although the majority of people chose graves with succession across generations, younger generations were more likely to support diversified graves than were older generations, and this difference was greater for women than for men. Finally, understanding problems and limitations of current Japanese graves, future issues of Japanese graves will be addressed.     

Graves and families in Japan: Continuity and change

The population aging in Japan has been accelerated not only by the nation's longest life expectancy at birth but also by its falling fertility rate. As the existence of a Japanese family's grave presupposes the continuity of the family line, Japan's current low fertility rate has increased families without progeny who now face problems of their family graves becoming “disconnected.” In this study, historical trends of graves in Japan were analyzed — how the idea of traditional family grave was socially constructed and how it has transformed society, culture, and families. In addition, analyzing the Japanese General Social Survey (JGSS) 2001, it addresses the importance of gender on people's expectations about burial partners in current Japanese society. The analysis of JGSS-2001 data revealed that although the majority of people chose graves with succession across generations, younger generations were more likely to support diversified graves than were older generations, and this difference was greater for women than for men. Finally, understanding problems and limitations of current Japanese graves, future issues of Japanese graves will be addressed.     

我国证券犯罪立法的本土化与国际化思辨

我国证券犯罪立法采用了"以刑法典为主、附属刑法为辅"的模式,这一立法模式的选择主要是出于对本土化因素的考虑,它符合我国的刑事立法传统,有利于证券市场的稳定发展.但是,承认我国证券犯罪立法的本土化特征,并不意味着对证券犯罪立法国际化趋势的否认.相反,在我国证券犯罪存在范围的划定上,我们应更多地考虑国际化因素,以实现与国际接轨和交流.总之,我国证券犯罪立法应实现本土化与国际化的协调统一.     

EXPLAINING JAPAN'S POSTWAR VIOLENT CRIME TRENDS*

Japan has long been recognized for its low rates of violent crime, rates that usually seem to be declining. The most common explanation for postwar rates links unique cultural characteristics to a system of exceptionally effective informal social controls that, at the macro level, suggest low levels of social disorganization. Other common explanations include low levels of economic stress, a small proportion of young males and a criminal justice system that delivers a high certainty of punishment. In this paper we test these four explanations for Japanese trends using both an annual time‐series national analysis (1951 to 2000) and a pooled cross‐sectional time‐series analysis of the 47 Japanese prefectures from 1955 to 2000 (at 5‐year intervals). The results from the two analyses are largely congruent. They show that measures of economic stress, certainty of punishment and age structure are–compared to common social disorganization measures–more consistent predictors of Japanese postwar violent crime trends. Our results suggest that the remarkable strength of the postwar Japanese economy may play a larger role in explaining Japanese violent crime rates than is usually recognized.     

The Seriousness of Crime Revisited: Have Attitudes Toward White-Collar Crime Changed?

Social commentators have often observed that the public is indifferent to white-collar criminality. However, the growing attention that white-collar crime has received in recent years raises the possibility of changes in the public's perceptions of such violations. By replicating Rossi et al.'s survey in 1972 of the seriousness of 140 offenses, the present research presents data indicating that white-collar crime has increased in seriousness more than any other offense category, but that it is still viewed as less serious than most other forms of illegality. When different types of white-collar crime were analyzed, we found considerable variation in ratings, with high a degree of seriousness attributed to offenses involving physical harm. Further, while all categories of white-collar criminality increased in seriousness, attitudinal changes have been particularly apparent toward two types, Violent and Corporate Price-Fixing.     

Race,female headship,and delinquency: A longitudinal analysis

Two recent studies support the hypothesis of a positive association between the “broken family” and crime; one repeats an earlier finding that this relationship is stronger for blacks than for whites. The alarm over the upsurge in female family headship in the United States led to a test of the hypothesis with previously neglected longitudinal data. For the years 1971 to 1986, despite tremendous increases in female family headship among blacks, only one of eight index offenses (arrests) showed an increase among black juveniles. Among white juveniles, increases in three of eight index offenses accompanied the increase in female headship. More important, multiple regression analysis yielded no significant relationship between female headship and any of the eight index offenses or total index offenses for black or white juveniles. The findings may be explained in part by changing attitudes toward birth outside marriage, divorce, and women's competence to rear children by themselves. Also, proposed explanations of the broken family/crime association, such as ineffective supervision by single parents and weakened attachment to single parents, are rendered irrelevant by our findings.     

The Effect of Attachment and Self-Control on Status Offending among Puerto Rican High School Students

This study tests the cross-cultural applicability of Gottfredson and Hirschi’s general theory of crime and self-control theory by examining self-reported status offenses among a sample of Puerto Rican adolescents. Data come from a 2005 sample of 298 youth ages 14–19, representing both the public and private school systems in Puerto Rico. Using a series of multivariate regressions, three hypotheses were tested. First, low attachment to parents, schools, peers, and church will positively and significantly predict status offenses among both public and private students. Second, low self-control will positively and significantly increase status offenses among each group. Finally, the effects of attachment on offending will be mediated by self-control. Results show support for both social control theory (via institutional attachment) and general theory of crime (via self-control). Both the measures of attachment and self-control contribute to explaining status offenses. Self-control partially mediates the effects of attachment on status offenses.     

A Comparison of Punishment Systems in Denmark and the United States

The Danish prison system is recognized worldwide as a model incorporating the most progressive principles of punishment. This article is the result of the author's research in Denmark undertaken to clarify the foundations of Danish penal philosophies. Findings suggest that penal practices are the outcome of a complex interaction of social and criminological theories. Formulated in an atmosphere that minimizes the emotionalism and politicization of crime, Danish crime control policies represent a pragmatic and reasoned approach to dealing with criminal offenders. Prison conditions reflect the social and political attitudes regarding the causes of crime and the treatment of marginal citizens.     

Crime and Reactions to Crime in Scandinavia

This short overview of available statistical data on crime and penal systems in Scandinavia indicates that the level of traditional forms of crime in Scandinavia is on a par with or lower than that found in many other European countries. As elsewhere in western Europe, Scandinavia experienced a substantial increase in crime rates during the post‐war period—indicating that these recorded increases may have common structural roots. The 1990s witnessed a stabilization of theft rates, albeit at a high level. Increasing equality between women and men may have contributed to an increase in the reporting of violent and sexual offences against women (and children), making these offences more visible. The system of formal control in the Scandinavian countries is characterized by relatively low police density; a clear‐up rate that has declined; above‐average conviction rates; the imposition of fines in a high proportion of criminal cases; and relatively low prison populations. The implications for crime policies are discussed.     

Fines and Justice Administration: The Experience of the Federal Republic of Germany

As part of the penal code revised in 1969, the Federal Republic of Germany increased its reliance on fines, including the introduction of day-fines, in lieu of short-term imprisonment for minor offenses. The previous trend toward the use of fines was accelerated by the requirement that courts order imprisonment only in exceptional cases. Traffic cases were particularly affected. The qualities of the offense and the absence of previous offenses, rather than an individualized study of the offender, continued to be the dominant criterium influencing the choice of a fine. The chief effect of day fines was higher amounts applied to the more affluent defendants; the amount of the fine appeared to have no effect on subsequent recidivism. For first offenders, fines were superior to imprisonment in avoiding reconviction. Day-fines were no more effective (but not less effective) than imprisonment in the instance of traffic offenses. Fines were superior to other sanctions for petty property offenders but not for career thieves.     

The Rise of a More Punitive State: On the Attenuation of Norwegian Penal Exceptionalism in an Era of Welfare State Transformation

While sociologists of punishment have been interested in the notion of Nordic penal exceptionalism, rapid changes are taking place in the penal policies of one of the members of the Nordic zone. Norway’s penal state is growing increasingly punitive, and penal exceptionalism appears to be on the wane, evidenced by a growing incarceration rate, increasingly punitive sentiments in the population, moral panics over street crime, raised sentencing levels, the forcible detention and extradition of asylum seekers, punitive drug policies, and the creation of segregated correctional facilities for stigmatized foreign offenders. Penal transformation should be understood as the outcome of symbolic contestation between politicians eager to present themselves as “tough on crime,” increasing differentiation of the social structure that has led to the declining fortunes of rehabilitationism, and a nascent neoliberalization of the welfare state. As a consequence, Europe’s penal landscape may be growing more homogeneous.     

Crime patterns and their relation to subjective social stress and support indicators: The role of gender

This study investigated the relationship between the subjective perception of stress and support in the population (as independent variables) and the prevalence of homicide, robbery, and property offenses in society, while controlling for the effect of gender, i.e., how these crimes are related to the differential perception of stress and support among males and females. The theoretical framework is provided by a stress-support model which postulates that crime in society will be positively related to stress factors and negatively related to support systems. Eight stress indicators and four support (solidarity) indicators were included. The data regarding these indicators were derived from continuing surveys of representative samples of the urban population in Israel during the years 1967–1979. The theoretical model was supported by the findings, especially those relating to property offenses. The effects of the female indicators were strongest (and greater than those of males) with regard to property offenses. The regression coefficients of the female indicators were also consistently larger than those of males, indicating that women's perceptions of stress are better predictors of crime rates than those of males. The results are compared to those of previous studies and suggestions are made for future studies in this new line of criminological research.     

Formal and informal control views in China,Japan, and the U.S.

Purpose

This study compared and contrasted the views of formal and informal crime control among college students from China, Japan, and the U.S., and examined the correlates behind the views.

Methods

Using the same questionnaire, this study collected data from 1,275 completed surveys in the three nations.

Results

The study revealed that both Chinese and Japanese respondents evaluated formal and informal control and their combination in crime control as more important than American counterparts did. The variable trust in police was a predictor of attitudes toward formal control and the mix of formal and informal control in all the three nations. Demographics in the U.S. were more important factors than in China and Japan in predicting the respondents' ranking of the importance of formal control and informal control and their combination in crime control.

Conclusions

This is the first empirically comparative study of the perceived importance of formal and informal mechanisms in crime prevention and control in China, Japan and the U.S. The study found both similarities and differences in the perceived importance and reasons behind them. More research is needed in the future.     

Urban crime trends and patterns in Ghana: The case of Accra

The study examined the broad crime trends and patterns, and the conditions under which crimes flourish, the crime incidence rates per 1,000 of population, and crime among the four police divisions of Accra, Ghana. Where crimes clustered the most and the times some crimes were committed were examined using the official police data. The study suggests that crime in Accra has been accentuated by rigid centralization of government bureaucracy, the nature of Ghana's economy, routine activities, lifestyles, and opportunities fostered by social change. Overall, the Accra Central Police Division recorded the highest volume of crimes, followed by the Nima, Kaneshie, and Kpeshie Divisions. The highest property offenses were recorded within twelve miles of the city center—the area most congested and heavily concentrated with socio-economic and routine activities. Calls for the adoption of situational crime prevention methods and strategies to reduce the incidence of crime in Accra have been made.