Distrust of Government, the Vigilante Tradition, and Support for Capital Punishment

This study probes the interconnections among distrust of government, the historical context, and public support for the death penalty in the United States with survey data for area-identified samples of white and black respondents. Multilevel statistical analyses indicate contrary effects of government distrust on support for the death penalty for blacks and whites, fostering death penalty support among whites and diminishing it among blacks. In addition, we find that the presence of a "vigilante tradition," as indicated by a history of lynching, promotes death penalty support among whites but not blacks. Finally, contrary to Zimring's argument in The Contradictions of Capital Punishment , we find no evidence that vigilantism moderates the influence of government distrust on support for the death penalty, for either whites or blacks. Our analyses highlight the continuing influence of historical context as well as contemporary conditions in the formation of public attitudes toward criminal punishment, and they underscore the importance of attending to racial differences in the analysis of punitive attitudes.     

A Test of Generalizability of the Social Development Model Across Gender and Income Groups with Longitudinal Data from the Elementary School Developmental Period

The social development model (SDM) is a theory of behavior that has proven useful in explaining the etiology of delinquency, violence, and substance use among adolescents as well as early antisocial behavior among pre-adolescents. A further test of the model is its generalizability across population groups. A section of the SDM representing prosocial influences in the etiology of problem behavior was compared for boys and girls and for children from low- and non low-income families using three waves of child, parent and teacher survey data on a sample of 851 elementary school students. Multiple group structural equation modeling was used to assess differences across groups in both measurement of model constructs and hypothesized structural paths between constructs. The results indicate overall similarity in the reliability of measurement models and validity of structural models.     

王某盗窃案：对刑事和解的主持者及和解后处理方式的探讨

未成年犯罪嫌疑人王某伙同他人潜至某建材市场，拉开某店面的玻璃门，钻门缝入室，窃得被害单位的新缆牌单芯电线38卷、熊猫牌单芯电线12卷，共计价值人民币6490元。犯罪嫌疑人王某后在转移赃物过程中被人赃俱获。     

"十一五"期间城市公共危机防范重点及思路

城市公共危机是指由于发生不可控制或未加控制的因素而对城市系统中的生命财产和物质财富造成损失和重大危害的自然和社会事件。“十一五”时期我国经济发展将进入加速阶段,同时也进入公共危机的高发期,因此,要努力提高城市公共危机总体防范能力。