Through the Looking Glass: The Helsinki Final Act and the 1976 Election for President

The controversy surrounding the 1975 Helsinki Final Act made it an enduring issue in the 1976 campaign, and the political backlash against President Gerald R. Ford damaged his electoral chances. Ford's signature of the agreement, his continuation of détente, and his foreign policy more broadly may not have been decisive issues in his contests with Ronald Reagan and then Jimmy Carter, but they certainly were prominent throughout the election. Examining the influence of the Final Act on Ford's election campaign illuminates the extent to which a number of candidates sought to use popular opposition to the agreement to their advantage. Furthermore, it reveals how the 1976 presidential candidates, and Ford in particular, struggled to address growing questions about détente, human rights, and morality in foreign policy. Ford's failure to defend his signature of the Final Act adequately raised concerns about his foreign policy and personal leadership with the electorate.     

Antinomies and the Automobile: A New Approach to Criminal Justice Histories

In the twentieth century, the antinomy of freedom and coercion served as the dominant paradigm for understanding issues of crime and punishment. Roscoe Pound in Criminal Justice in America (1930) and Herbert Packer in The Limits of the Criminal Sanction (1968) described a tension between the values of individual liberty and general security to explain the problems with the justice system and the public's disagreements over their solution. Historians of twentieth‐century criminal law have also adopted this framework to explain causation and change. This essay argues that an antinomic perspective of criminal justice history, while useful, has obscured important historical questions. A focus on social changes, such as the transformations that the automobile brought about in the commission of crimes and police practices, instead of on contrasting values, offers a different account of how proceduralism became inextricably tied to notions of American freedom in the twentieth century. This approach also historicizes the “paradigm of antinomies” and shows how people in the past, like Pound and Packer, mobilized dualistic thinking, which shaped a criminal legal culture based on an antagonism—both real and perceived—between citizens and law enforcement.     

No staff,no time,no money: Can budget reform work in a rural county?

Budget reforms directed toward providing more information and analysis for management and policy making appear to be most widely used by larger jurisdictions. Reforms such as performance budgeting, program budgeting, and zero based budgeting are associated with professionalism, management information systems, budget staffs, and a lengthy budget preparation and planning phase. This article addresses the question of whether it is possible to implement budget reform without the staff and financial resources that so often goes hand-in-hand with it. The experience of one rural county government in attempting budget reform is examined.     

Making space for restorative justice in criminal justice and criminology curricula and courses

Restorative justice, rooted in the practices of indigenous people across the globe, has grown exponentially in both theory and practice since its beginnings in Canada in the 1970s. Restorative justice has influenced the interactions between offenders and victims, helped community members address crime and develop self-efficacy, and changed the way some countries rebuild after a history of oppression. Despite these restorative justice influenced changes, many criminology and criminal justice programs pay scant attention to restorative justice in curricula. This paper will examine ways to include restorative justice in criminal justice and criminology curriculum and the challenges involved in the process. The paper will then examine how the Law and Justice Department at Central Washington University has incrementally added restorative justice components to its curriculum, culminating most recently with the addition of a Community and Social Justice course. The paper will conclude with several examples of classroom activities and assignments that have helped connect students with the theory and practice of restorative justice.     

Gang activity in english prisons: The staff perspective

Abstract

Gang behaviour has been associated with serious problems in American prisons (e.g., Fong and Buentello, 1991). This study explored the possible existence of indicators of gang activity in English prisons. Surveys of problems consistent with gang activity were completed by 374 prison staff in 16 prisons that were representative of the English Prison Estate. Results showed significant differences between categories of institution. The most gang-related activity was reported in male Medium security prisons and Young Offender Institutions. The lowest reported incidence was in both male Low and High security prisons. Female establishments demonstrated levels lower only than Medium security male prisons. Discussion focuses concern on the levels of gang activity apparently present in the Medium security English Prisons and suggests directions for further research.     

Propensity to support prison gangs: its relationship to gang membership,victimisation, aggression and other disruptive behaviours

Propensity to support prison gangs and its association with aggression, victimisation and disruptive behaviour is explored. The sample comprised 423 adult male prisoners from three Canadian prisons. Participants completed the PGB (Propensity to support Gang-related Behaviour scale) and DIPC-R (Direct and Indirect Prisoner behaviour Checklist-Revised). The former indicated gang membership propensity and included a direct question on whether or not participants considered themselves a gang member. It was hypothesised that prison-based aggression would be predicted by a propensity to support prison gangs and by gang membership. It was also hypothesised that aggression and disruptive behaviours would be reported more frequently by gang members than non-gang members. Propensity to support prison gangs was associated with aggression and other disruptive behaviours, as was actual gang membership. Aggression and other disruptive behaviours were reported more frequently by gang members. Prisoners reporting both aggression perpetration and victimisation simultaneously (i.e. ‘perpetrator/victims’) were over-represented as gang members. Gang membership did not appear to protect against being victimised. Propensity to support prison gangs was composed of beliefs that gangs were supportive, well-ordered and protective, and comprised of friends. The importance of accounting for propensity to support prison gangs and not just self-reported gang membership is discussed.     

Incapacitation and imprisonment: prisoners' involvement in community-based crime

Abstract

The impact of incapacitation on prisoners' offending behaviour is a neglected area of research. The aim of this study was to examine the extent and nature of prisoners' involvement in community-based crime in the UK. Participants were selected from nine prisons in the UK and consisted of 360 prisoners, 81 females and 279 males. Offenders were interviewed to assess levels and forms of involvement in community-based crime and perceptions of other prisoners' involvement. Levels of prisonization and institutional and demographic characteristics were used to identify vulnerability to involvement in community-based crime. Twenty-five per cent of the sample admitted personal involvement and 63% reported other prisoners' involvement in a diverse range of crimes. Analyses revealed prisoners involved in community-based crime are likely to be young, male recidivists who hold prisonized attitudes. Prisoners who are white, prisonized and recidivist reported highest levels of other prisoners' involvement in community-based crime. No age or gender differences delineated prisoners' reports of others' involvement. The results show that incarcerating offenders may not prevent their involvement in community-based offending. Discussion centres on the characteristics of involved prisoners and considers the implications of the results for rehabilitation and penal policy.     

What works for offenders and staff: comparing two multi-agency approaches to offender resettlement

Abstract

Between 2005 and 2007, the Kent and Medway Resettlement Programme (KMRP) piloted EXODUS (ex-offenders discharged under supervision), a multi-agency support system for identified prolific and priority offenders (IPPOs). Unlike traditional models of multi-agency support, EXODUS agencies work from the same location to maximize support for IPPOs, and inter- and intra-agency support for staff. This study assessed the perceived effectiveness of EXODUS. EXODUS staff and IPPOs were interviewed and their responses compared to those of traditional multi-agency support staff and IPPOs. Analysis showed that EXODUS IPPOs had committed fewer offences since receiving support than did comparison IPPOs. Neither group was more likely to be employed, but of those who were, EXODUS IPPOs were more likely to remain employed than comparison IPPOs. Most, regardless of type of support structure, recommended their programme and staff, although EXODUS IPPOs were more satisfied with the support they received. Staff believed that an expansion of the multi-agency approach was needed and that agency roles should be more clearly defined. EXODUS staff expressed higher efficacy in their own and colleagues’ ability to provide effective support and improved inter-agency relations and support from co-workers. However, EXODUS and comparison staff did not differ in levels of job satisfaction.     

Keywords,case law and the Court of Justice: the need for legislative intervention in modernising European trade mark law

Recent preliminary references to the CJEU on online keyword advertising and registered trade mark infringement have exposed the challenges facing EU registered trade mark law in its response to new technologies. These cases and the challenges they pose provide a timely prism through which to examine the European trade mark law-making process and the role of the CJEU within that process. This article will employ an analysis of the way in which the CJEU has developed certain key new aspects of the law on ‘infringing use’ to explore concerns over the CJEU's role and approach. It will be argued that, driven by policy considerations, the CJEU has acted creatively to develop the law of infringement in ways that cannot be sustained by the TMD and CTMR and which are likely to cause increasing uncertainties going forward. With the European Commission currently considering reform of Trade Marks Directive 2008/95/EC and Community Trade Mark Regulation 207/2009/EC, this paper will argue that there is a need for more comprehensive and forward-looking legislative intervention than has yet been proposed and that such intervention will be essential to restoring balance in the European trade mark law-making process.