Lamenting the list: a partial test of Sherman’s defiance theory as applied to female sex offenders

Through the community notification and sex offender registry laws that have been passed, the USA has created a strict legal environment that requires sex offenders to remain in compliance with the registry requirements placed on them by the state once they are released back into their communities. A variety of unintended consequences, such as unemployment and housing issues, have resulted from these laws and have the potential to impact the reentry efforts of released sex offenders. Using Sherman’s defiance theory as a theoretical lens, the current study examines the experiences of registered female sex offenders living in Florida. One hundred and six registered female sex offenders were surveyed to examine their experiences while on the registry, and whether those events influence feelings of defiance toward the registry and criminal justice systems. Results suggest that these offenders indeed experience unintended consequences due to their registration status, which in turn shows support for the four canonical elements of Sherman’s theory by inferring that these women feel unjustly punished and stigmatized. Research findings, policy implications, and limitations are discussed.     

Intimate Partner Victimization and Depressive Symptoms: Approaching Causal Inference Using a Longitudinal Twin Design

Journal of Quantitative Criminology - While a wealth of research reports a robust association between intimate partner victimization and depression, the relationship has not been tested using...     

Measuring the impact of value‐for‐money audits: a model for surveying audited managers

Abstract: The practice of value‐for‐money legislative audits was conceived to improve the management of public programs by making it more economical, more effective, and more efficient. To what extent have auditors general achieved this objective in the past twenty‐five years since the inception of the value‐for‐money audit (VFMA)? The literature on VFMA has been silent on its actual impact on public administrations. This article examines the impact VFMAS have had on the management of organizations in the government of Quebec based on a new survey model of inquiry. Of the variables measured were the value VFMAS bring to the organizations audited; the relevance of the recommendations formulated by the auditors; the deterrent of potential audits on public‐sector managers; the changes that occurred in the audited organization's management practices and in its relations with its stakeholders; the ways in which the auditors' report has been useful to the auditees; the concrete actions taken following VFMAS; and, finally, the organizational and personal consequences of the audits. Sommaire: La vérification législative de l'optimisation des ressources (VOR) est une pratique qui a été conçue pour améliorer la gestion des programmes publics en la rendant plus économique, plus efficace et plus efficiente. Dans quelle mesure les Vérificateurs généraux ont‐ils atteint cet objectif au cours des vingt‐cinq années qui ont suivi l'avènement de cette pratique? La recherche sur la VOR a passé sous silence l'impact réel de cette pratique sur les administrations publiques. Le présent article examine l'impact des VOR sur le managerisme des organismes du gouvernement du Québec d'après un nouveau modèle d'enquête. Les variables mesurées étaient les suivantes:la valeur que les VOR apportent aux organismes vérifiés; la pertinence des recommandations formulées par les vérificateurs; l'effet dissuasif de vérifications potentielles sur les gestionnaires du secteur public; les changements intervenus dans les pratiques de gestion de l'organisme vérifié et dans ses relations avec ses parties prenantes; la manière dont le rapport des vérificateurs a été utile aux entités vérifiécs; les mesures concrètes prises à la suite des VOK; et enfin, Ics conséquences organisationnelles et personnelles des vérifications.     

Beyond law and order: Motives in the mobilization of the penal system

Résumé Cet article constitue une proposition théorique et méthodologique afin d'étudier les conditions menant à la mise en oeuvre du droit et, plus particulièrement, au déclenchement du processus pénal dans des situations concrètes. En utilisant de nombreux travaux empiriques et théoriques, les auteurs ont privilégié trois dimensions analytiques. Premièrement, les déterminants susceptibles d'affecter la mise en oeuvre du système pénal seront examinées. En deuxième lieu, une attention particulièrement sera accordée à l'identité des renvoyants. Enfin, les motifs à l'origine de la décision de renvoyer une affaire vers le système pénal seront discutés.      

A Life of Grief: an Exploration of Disenfranchised Grief in Sex Offender Significant Others

In criminal justice, researchers have identified disenfranchised grief, or the denial of empathy and social support during the grieving process, in family members who have lost relatives through imprisonment and execution. Although both of these situations involve the physical removal of the offender from the family members’ lives, non-physical losses may also prompt the grieving process. One of these non-physical losses is a psychosocial loss, in which the person the family members knew is now gone. Given the public stigma of the label “sex offender” and the collateral consequences that occur as a result of that label, it is possible that sex offender significant others experience a psychosocial loss. The current research is an exploratory study that used qualitative interviews with 29 spouses and significant others of convicted sex offenders to explore if and how disenfranchised grief impacts sex offender partners. Findings support both the existence of and the detrimental impact of disenfranchised grief on sex offender partners.