Criminal-thinking styles and illegal behavior among college students: validation of the PICTS

The present study examined the relation of self-reported criminal-thinking styles and self-reported illegal behavior among college students. Participants were 177 male and 216 female (N=393) undergraduate students. Participants were divided by gender and further classified into four groups of self-reported illegal behavior: control-status offenses, drug crimes, property crimes, and violent crimes against people. The psychological inventory of criminal-thinking styles (PICTS) (1) measured criminal-thinking patterns on eight scales. Results indicated that males who committed violent crimes against people endorsed significantly higher levels of distorted criminal-thinking patterns on all scales than the control-status offenses, and drug crimes groups. Interestingly, female participants who committed property crimes displayed six significantly elevated PICTS scales whereas females with violent crimes against people had significant elevations on only four of the criminal-thinking style scales. These results extend Walter's initial validation of the PICTS with incarcerated respondents to a non-incarcerated population and show potential use of the PICTS with other populations.     

The impact of sex offender residence restrictions: 1,000 feet from danger or one step from absurd?

Several states have enacted public policies that prohibit sex offenders who have abused children from living within close proximity to a school, park, day care center, or school bus stop. The purpose of this exploratory study was to describe the impact of residence restrictions on sex offender reintegration and to better understand sex offenders' perceptions of these laws. A survey of 135 sex offenders in Florida was conducted. Most of the molesters who responded to the survey indicated that housing restrictions increased isolation, created financial and emotional stress, and led to decreased stability. Respondents also indicated that they did not perceive residence restrictions as helpful in risk management and, in fact, reported that such restrictions may inadvertently increase triggers for reoffense. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

Factors predicting selection of sexually violent predators for civil commitment

This study investigated the degree to which independent variables predicted civil commitment selection in a sample of 450 sexual offenders evaluated for civil commitment as "sexually violent predators" under Florida's Jimmy Ryce Act. Using logistic regression, this study examined the relationship between the dependent variable, commitment recommendation, and several sets of independent variables. Results revealed that the statistically significant predictors of recommendations for sex offender civil commitment were diagnoses of pedophilia and paraphilia not otherwise specified (NOS), psychopathy, actuarial risk assessment scores, younger age of victim, and nonminority race (R2 = .88). Discriminant function analysis confirmed that these variables correctly predicted commitment recommendations in 90% of cases. Sex offenders recommended for commitment consistently met the criteria set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in Kansas v. Hendricks (1997): They suffered from a mental abnormality predisposing them to sexual violence, and risk assessment determined that they were likely to reoffend.     

Criminal justice in the Middle East

Criminal justice in the Middle East conjures up images of severed hands, religious police, and qadi justice. Yet those seeking a more accurate picture find few sources. Conventional treatments of the region focus on Islamic law, although few Middle Eastern states actually base their legal systems on Islamic law. This article argues that in the Middle East as elsewhere, rulers use criminal justice to achieve two related ends: to maintain order generally, and to maintain a particular order — to preserve the regime in power and the interests and values of those who support it. A comparative historical analysis of the emergence of the police and judiciary links these two ends, and these two institutions.     

Women in Law Enforcement: Subverting Sexual Harassment with Social Bonds

Female law enforcement officers who have strong social bonds with their colleagues can reduce the effect that sexual harassment has on job satisfaction. Social bond theory was tested to examine the relationship between sexual harassment and job satisfaction in a sample of 109 active-duty male and female police and correctional officers. Law enforcement personnel are thought to be particularly vulnerable to stressors on the job, like sexual harassment, but they can significantly benefit from strong departmental and colleague support. With some progress toward gender equity, this study shows that female officers still face barriers that are linked to this predominantly male-dominated career.     

Listening to the Government: How Information Shapes Responsibility Attributions

Assigning credit and blame in systems of multilevel government, such as federal states, requires information. This paper examines how voters respond to information about policy outcomes when attributing responsibility to multiple levels of government in a European context. Using an experimental design, we show that the responsibility attributions of British voters are affected by perceptual biases, notably their feelings about the government and the European Union (EU). But interestingly, we also find that voters, regardless of their predispositions, are only responsive to information they receive from their national government, whereas they ignore information provided by EU officials. These findings have implications not only for our understanding of attribution in systems of multiple levels of government, but also for how voters use information selectively depending on the credibility of the source.     

Two sides of a coin? New urbanism and gated communities

Abstract

Contemporary residential building trends reflect concerns about privacy, traffic, and managing difference. Despite the radically different premises behind New Urbanism and gated communities, I find on closer inspection that they both respond to similar perceived crises in our cities. New Urbanism answers urban challenges with bold efforts to recapture the strengths of older communities and to supplant unwanted suburban patterns with those believed to have greater resilience and public purpose. Gated communities reveal popular skepticism about the potential for improving urban conditions and a consequent desire to retreat to protected compounds.

In both cases, the new suburbs generally provide housing primarily for the most affluent among us and represent the ascendance of private over public interests. By examining the Canadian urban context, this article explores some ways in which New Urbanism and gated communities differ, while also highlighting the characteristics and dilemmas they share.