THE TWELVE PEOPLE WHO SAVED REHABILITATION: HOW THE SCIENCE OF CRIMINOLOGY MADE A DIFFERENCE

Three decades ago, it was widely believed by criminologists and policymakers that “nothing works” to reform offenders and that “rehabilitation is dead” as a guiding correctional philosophy. By contrast, today there is a vibrant movement to reaffirm rehabilitation and to implement programs based on the principles of effective intervention. How did this happen? I contend that the saving of rehabilitation was a contingent reality that emerged due to the efforts of a small group of loosely coupled research criminologists. These scholars rejected the “nothing works” professional ideology and instead used rigorous science to show that popular punitive interventions were ineffective, that offenders were not beyond redemption, and that treatment programs rooted in criminological knowledge were capable of meaningfully reducing recidivism. Their story is a reminder that, under certain conditions, the science of criminology is capable of making an important difference in the correctional enterprise, if not far beyond.     

Losers: Recovering Lost Property in Japan and the United States

This article examines the lost property regime of Japan, which has one of the most impressive reputations in the world for returning lost property to its rightful owner, and compares it with that of the United States. Folk legend attributes Japanese lost-and-found success to honesty and other-regarding preferences. In this article, I focus on another possible explanation: legal institutions that efficiently and predictably allocate and enforce possessory rights. These recognized, centuries-old rules mesh with norms, institutional structures, and economic incentives to reinforce mutually the message that each sends and yields more lost-property recovery than altruism alone.     

Exposure to Family Violence in Young At-Risk Children: A Longitudinal Look at the Effects of Victimization and Witnessed Physical and Psychological Aggression

This study examines the contribution of specific types of family violence exposure (e.g., victim vs. witness; physical vs. psychological) to aggressive and anxious/depressed problem behaviors in young (i.e., 6-year-old) at-risk children. This multisite prospective study of 682 children from four different regions of the country asked mothers and their 6-year-old children to report on violence exposure in their families. After controlling for mother reports of child problem behaviors on the Child Behavior Checklist at Age 4, it was found that subsequent exposure to family violence predicted reported problem behaviors at Age 6. Although mothers' report of child victimization predicted subsequent problem behaviors, witnessed violence was related to these problems only when both mothers and children reported its occurrence. The results of this study suggest that even though there was a relationship between witnessed and directly experienced family violence, both had independent, noninteractive effects on subsequent behavior problems.     

The detection of ephedrine by solid-phase immunoenzyme analytical and gas chromatographic methods

Comparative analysis of ephedrine derivative content in 96 urine specimen obtained from people suspected in abuse with these drugs. Physical and chemical methods of the analysis (gas and thin-layer chromatography) as well as ELISA were used. It was stated that the latter is specific for determination of compounds related to ephedrine by structure and it allows one to detect its analogues in 87 cases. Gas chromatography made it possible to detect ephedrine derivatives in 94 specimen tested and thin-layer chromatography--in 64 specimen tested. The given ELISA may be recommended for medicolegal expert purposes and narcology practice.     

Child abuse with fatal sequelae in an Essen autopsy sample]

In the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Essen/Germany 24 cases of lethal child battering or neglect have been observed over 17 years from 1973 to 1989. The medicolegal and morphologic findings in these cases are presented and compared to the literature. The patterns of abuse/neglect in Essen compare to those frequently reported in the literature: skull/brain traumas caused by blunt impact, multiple hematomas, bone fractures, and symptoms of malnutrition, vitamin deficiency, and general neglect. In many cases the abuse could be shown to have been chronic. In the seven years 1983-1989 the cases of lethal child mistreatment and neglect amounted to 0.18 percent of all autopsies. Five cases of lethal sexual assault in children during the same period are compared to the mistreated cases.     

Fatal dissecting aneurysm of the internal carotid artery with delayed symptoms following facial impact.

A fatal dissecting aneurysm of the internal carotid artery occurred in a 16-year-old male following facial impact in an automobile accident. The patient showed no neurologic deficit until two days after the automobile accident, when he suddenly started having seizures and developed right-sided hemiparesis. There was no evidence of direct trauma to the neck externally or internally. The only injuries observed in the head and face were two skin lacerations in the chin area. His condition rapidly deteriorated, and he expired on the fourth hospital day. The gross and microscopic findings for the internal carotid artery are presented. The possible mechanisms for the vascular lesion and a review of the literature are discussed.     

Productivity,employment and labor demand in Polish industry in the 1980s: Some preliminary results from enterprise-level data

The paper uses annual data from a panel of 334 Polish industrial enterprises over the period 1983–1988 to test empirically a simple neoclassical approach to the socialist labor market. First, an enterprise production function is estimated. The paper finds that for most enterprises, the resulting estimated marginal product of labor exceeds the wage paid by the enterprise by a considerable margin, suggesting general excess demand for labor. The paper then looks at how the difference between the MPL and the wage is related to the rate of change of employment, and finds that firms where the MPL is higher than the wage — firms which in a neoclassical model would have a large excess demand for labor — do not shed labor any more slowly than other firms.