CRACKS IN THE PENAL HARM MOVEMENT: EVIDENCE FROM THE FIELD*

Research Summary For more than three decades, the penal harm movement, which involves “get tough” ideology and policies, has held sway over U.S. corrections. Scholars have justifiably detailed and decried this movement, but in so doing, they have also inadvertently contributed to the view that a punitive worldview is hegemonic. In contrast, we detail four major “cracks” in the penal harm movement's dominance: the persistence of rehabilitative public attitudes, the emergence of second thoughts about the wisdom of harsh sanctions, the implementation of progressive programs, and the increasing legitimacy of the principles of effective intervention for guiding correctional practices. Policy Implications Taken together, these “cracks” comprise evidence that ideological space and political will exist to fight the penal harm movement and to map out a more efficacious and progressive response to crime. Because of the persistence of social welfare sentiments and growing challenges to the legitimacy of “get tough” policies, the potential to continue, if not expand, this countermovement is present. Taking advantage of this opportunity, however, will require forfeiting the belief that there is no escape from a punitive future and undertaking systematic efforts to devise correctional strategies that are based on solid science, improve offenders' lives, and protect public safety.     

Reinforcing a Relationship

正Though diplomatic obstacles remain, Hu's U.S. visit produces positive results Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States was an important milestone in the U.S.-China     

THE IMPACT OF POLICE INVESTIGATIONS ON POLICE-REPORTED RATES OF GANG AND NONGANG HOMICIDES*

This paper is concerned with the utility of police-reported rates of gang violence, particularly important in an era which stresses officially determined rates of violence. The basic question is whether police investigation procedures have a major impact on the police designations of homicides as gang related, a question of causal order answerable only by the triangulation provided by multiple forms of data analysis. With minor qualification, the results suggest that“gang” designations of homicides reject characteristics of the incident settings and participants, that intrusion of investigative processes on reported gang versus nongang homicide rates was minimal, and that gang homicide rates reported by these departments could be used as reasonable criteria for evaluating program impact.     

Working Toward Rapprochement

U.S. President Barack Obama's election and his strategy present opportunities for the United States tobuild a better relationship with China but bothsides have work to do     

The South Africa of Today

This article is based on the address given by Miss Thompsonat the Africa Day Conference held at the Royal Society of Artson November 17, 1956.     

BROKEN HOMES AND MIDDLE-CLASS DELINQUENCY:

This research note presents the results of an empirical study that examines the relationship between broken homes and middle-class delinquents known to the juvenile justice system and compares the findings with a recent study that focused on the relationship between broken juveniles homes and self-reported delinquency. A comparison of the two studies reveals that both studies found little or no relationship between broken homes and middle-class delinquency.