Self-Talk: A New Criminological Theory

A new theory on the causes of criminal behavior is presented in which the authors assert that the reasons for any criminal act can be determined by identifying what the offender was telling him/herself prior to and during the time when the crime was committed. This theory has direct rehabilitative implications as the authors assert that the only way to curb future criminal activity is to change the underlying self-talk of the offender.     

Current Criminal Justice Projects Here and Abroad

The present survey is based mainly, as far as the United States is concerned, on the files of the Smithsonian Science Information Exchange (SSIE), from whom we received—with the financial support of the University of Central Florida—the most recent five hundred or so project reports in the field of criminal and juvenile justice and related areas, including crime-related drug and alcohol abuse projects. As to foreign projects, only a few are listed with SSIE; most of the following information is the result of an admittedly incomplete inquiry among organizations, research institutes, and universities abroad. May we say here that we received excellent cooperation from them which we greatly appreciated. Space being limited, we can describe in the following article only a few of the some one-thousand projects we examined.     

Preventing Local Government Fiscal Crises: The North Carolina Approach

Some local governments face fiscal challenges due to mismanagement and declining economies. In particular, manufacturing states like Michigan and Ohio have been hard hit by the effects of international competition. To prevent fiscal distress from becoming a crisis, states exercise oversight over local government fiscal management. The three bond rating agencies consider the North Carolina oversight system a model. This paper discusses the North Carolina oversight system, including audit review, technical assistance, debt issuance, and power to take over the financial operations of distressed local units.