RHETORIC AND REALITY IN THE REFORM OF JUVENILE JUSTICE POLICY

In the 1960s and 1970s dissatisfaction with the administration of juvenile justice led to a reform movement which advocated "diversion, deinstitutionalization," and the decriminalization of status offenses as strategies to reduce the harmfulness of official contacts. This paper argues not only that these reforms have not been successfully implemented, but also that the traditional system has been maintained and extended. Explanations for the failure of these reforms are offered and a new direction is suggested.     

The relationship between mental illness and violence in a mentally disordered offender sample: evaluating criminogenic and psychopathological predictors

The importance of mental illness as a risk factor for violence has been debated with significant implications for mental health policy and clinical practice. In offender samples, psychopathology tends to be unrelated to recidivism, although some researchers have noted that this relationship may be dependent upon certain moderating factors. In the present, prospective investigation, psychopathology is examined as predictors of recidivism in 121 provincially sentenced (i.e. less than 2 years) mentally disordered offenders. Results indicated that psychopathological predictors were generally poor predictors of recidivism in univariate and multivariate analyses. Consistent with our hypotheses, age of onset of criminal activity was a significant moderating factor on the relationship between mental illness and recidivism, although results were not in the expected direction for certain classes of mental illness. Results are discussed in the context of a social learning model of crime and in terms of the treatment of mentally disordered offenders.     

Characteristic Features of Pediatric Firearm Fatalities—Comparisons Between Australia and the United States

Abstract:  Gunshot deaths in children less than 17 years of age from Adelaide, SA, Australia (1969–2005) and from San Diego County, CA, United States (1988–2005) were compared. Forty-two pediatric gunshot fatalities occurred in South Australia (1.1 cases/year; M:F = 30:12). There were 6 accidents (14%), 14 suicides (33%), and 22 homicides (52%). In San Diego there were 185 cases ( c. 10 cases/year; M:F = 148:37). There were 6 accidents (3%), 42 suicides (23%), 130 homicides (70%), and 7 undetermined cases (4%). The incidence of homicide was significantly higher in San Diego County compared to Adelaide ( p  < 0.001), with a higher proportion of murder–suicides occurring in Adelaide. There were markedly more accidents and suicides involving males in Adelaide and a far higher number of male homicide victims in San Diego County compared to females. Rifles of 0.22-caliber were preferred weapons in South Australia, compared to handguns in San Diego County.     

Do Municipal Mergers Improve Technical Efficiency? An Empirical Analysis of the 2008 Queensland Municipal Merger Program

Municipal mergers remain an important instrument of local government policy in numerous countries, including Australia, despite some concerns surrounding its efficacy. We consider the claim that amalgamations enhance the technical efficiency of the merged entities by examining the 2008 Queensland compulsory consolidation program that reduced the number of local authorities from 157 to 73 councils. To test the claim, we conduct locally inter‐temporal data envelopment analysis over the period 2003–2013 inclusive. Our evidence suggests that (1) in the financial year preceding the mergers, there was no statistically significant difference in the typical efficiency scores of amalgamated and non‐amalgamated councils and (2) 2 years following the mergers, the typical technical efficiency score of the amalgamated councils was well below the non‐amalgamated cohort. We argue this may be attributed to increased spending on staffing expenses, although comparatively larger operational expenditure also served to diminish efficiency.     

What’s in a Name? Assessing the Performance of Local Government Classification Systems

Local government classification systems are employed in many countries for regulation, grant transfers and other public policy purposes. Given the pivotal role these classification systems play in public policy, their accuracy is a matter of some importance. Classification systems take several forms typically consisting of groupings of municipalities based on factors such as degree of urbanisation, population size and the like. However, to date none of these classification systems have been tested for homogeneity with respect to environmental constraints or validated against external data. This paper employs the classification system for New South Wales (NSW) local authorities as a representative case study to demonstrate that a wider range of external constraints should be considered for the robust classification of local councils.     

Writing the regulations for health

The development of regulations in health is much more than a purely technical procedure. Rather, it involves decisionmaking and bargaining processes that engage a wide range of individuals and organizations with diverse interests and varied resources. Attempts at statutory precision and goal clarification may improve, but will not fundamentally alter the regulation writing experience. The dynamics of regulations development are revealed in three cases. The primary case, The Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973, suggests that despite the efforts of the regulations writers themselves, there are limits to the extent to which basic interest conflicts and questions of health policy can be resolved in the process. Other cases examined are the Professional Standards Review Organization Act of 1972 and the National Health Planning and Resources Development Act of 1974.     

PARADIGMS, POLICIES, AND PEOPLE: EXPLORING THE LINKAGES BETWEEN NORMATIVE BELIEFS, PUBLIC POLICIES AND UTILITY CONSUMER PAYMENT PROBLEMS

This article takes a step toward unifying normative and empirical policy analysis by examining the convergence of societal metatheories, public policy models, and empirical data on consumers. It begins with the premise that policies rest on a foundation of normative beliefs or metatheories that, in turn, put boundaries around the possible and give social meaning to the policies and programs that flow from them. The interaction of social metatheories about poverty and existing policies to deal with people with utility payment problems is examined. The article continues with the idea that good policy arguments are supported with empirical data and factual evidence. An empirical cluster analysis of a representative sample of consumers provides a basis for identifying the extent to which the empirical clusters conform to any or all of the metatheory‐policy linkages. The ultimate message is that theory and practice ought to demarcate where they are deductively metaphysical, based on beliefs about a subject, where they are inductively empirical, based on objective measurements relevant to the situation to which applied, and where a mixed approach is used. Linkage of the three types of information allows policy research to identify options in light of the values and metatheories on which they are based and the objective characteristics and effects on their objects of action. The implications are that when policies are based on beliefs that reflect only a part of empirical reality, implementation may fail or be inefficient and ineffective.     

Predicting turnover of police officers using the sixteen personality factor questionnaire

This study examined the relationship between personality characteristics assessed by the sixteen personality factor questionnaire (16PF) and turnover. The sample consisted of 280 police officers who voluntarily terminated their employment during an eight-year period and 280 officers who remained employed in the police force. A limited number of personality characteristics were found to predict turnover. These were Factor C: affected by feelings versus emotionally stable, Factor I: tough-minded versus tender-minded, and Factor H: shy versus venturesome. Contrary to expectation, two conscientiousness scales (Factor O: placid versus apprehension, and Factor Q4: relaxed versus tense) and two emotional stability scales (Factor O: placid versus apprehension, and Factor Q4: relaxed versus tense) were unrelated to turnover. The authors also explored the existence of differential validity based on gender; no evidence of this was found.