Predictors of Texas Police Chiefs’ Satisfaction with Police–Prosecutor Relationships

Although strain in police–prosecutor relationships may be built into the criminal justice system’s checks and balances, the administration of criminal justice can benefit from the adoption of practices which improve these working relationships. A first step towards the adoption of such practices can be taken by first adding to the knowledge base regarding this understudied topic. Using a survey of a state-wide sample of Texas police chiefs, this exploratory study identifies which aspects of police–prosecutor interaction styles are predictors of police chiefs’ satisfaction with police–prosecutor relationships. Results indicate that perceived level of police input in prosecutors’ plea bargain and charging decisions, perceived directness of felony trial preparation communication method, and perceived frequency of decision-maker interactions predict police chiefs’ satisfaction with police–prosecutor relationships. Policy implications are discussed.     

Globalization,risk-taking and violence: too much too soon in the late Roman Republic and pre-Renaissance Italian cities

Past research has found that globalization and political violence have been linked in both modern and less modern times. Normally, groups that have been disadvantaged or displaced by globalization are seen as responsible for these outbreaks of violence. In the case of the Late Republic of Rome and medieval Italy before the Renaissance, violence was actually prompted by major increases in wealth among those who benefited when control of the political system became much more valuable. The increased value raised the stakes of political control and underlay the resulting higher levels of violence.     

Health system performance reporting in Canada: Bridging theory and practice at pan‐Canadian level

Public reporting is increasingly used to enhance accountability and transparency and stimulate performance improvement in the public sector. In Canada performance reporting in the health sector is still in development, and involves a large number of actors. This article reports on the results of a recent intervention by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) to develop a platform for pan‐Canadian performance reporting ( http://www.yourhealthsystem.cihi.ca ). It describes approaches taken to: develop a conceptual framework; engage the public in the definition of performance reporting priorities; and select indicators for public reporting. This article also discusses conceptual, methodological and operational challenges as well as a proposed evaluation strategy.     

Low-income preschoolers' behavior with anatomically detailed dolls

The present study examined nonabused children's responses to anatomically detailed (AD) dolls among diverse populations. Thirty six low-income, predominantly African-American preschoolers from a Head Start center participated in an AD interview. Interviews were videotaped and coded for the presence of eight behaviors and eight parallel verbalizations. Results indicated that the children spent the majority of the interview without engaging in any behaviors which are often associated with sexual abuse. Sexual interaction between the dolls was seldom demonstrated, particularly when compared to exploration of the dolls' genitalia. Some differences were noted in the way low-income, predominantly African-American preschoolers responded to the dolls, when contrasted with the results of studies using predominantly middle-income, White preschoolers. The need for the consideration of environmental factors in interpreting children's responses to AD dolls is discussed.     

Differential patterns of partner-to-woman violence: A comparison of samples of community,alcohol-abusing,and battered women

This paper compared a sample of women in treatment for alcoholism (N = 45) with a randomly selected sample of women from the local community (N = 40), and a sample of women receiving services for victimization by severe partner violence (N = 38). Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) items were dichotomized into low frequency of partner violence (twice per year or less) and high frequency of violence (once per month or more), and then summed to yield separate low frequency and high frequency scores for each CTS subscale. Results showed that at the high frequency level, battered women reported the highest scores on each subscale, alcoholic women the second highest, and the community sample of women reported the lowest level of violence. A multiple regression analysis revealed that being in the alcoholic sample significantly predicted high frequency negative verbal interaction and moderate violence, controlling for presence of a partner with alcohol-related problems and demographic differences among the samples.     

More than ten years after: The long-term stability of informed death penalty opinions

This panel study examined the stability of informed death penalty opinions more than ten years after students participated in a semester long death penalty class. Results for two “abstract” opinion measures indicated that support of the death penalty significantly diminished after exposure to the death penalty class, yet rebounded to initial pretest levels two to three years later. After more than ten years, the data revealed small increases in support of the death penalty from the first follow-up period. Personal involvement measures did not change significantly across the four points in time. The relative importance of four of the eleven reasons for death penalty support or opposition changed significantly over time. Those changes varied across measures. Some increased in importance over time, while others decreased in importance. Finally, race was a significant factor in every opinion measure, as well as in nine of the eleven reasons for death penalty support or opposition.