STATE-LOCAL RELATIONS AND THE AMERICAN JAIL CRISIS: AN ASSESSMENT OF STATE JAIL MANDATES

Years of neglect, combined with the recent development of a “hands on” judicial policy have resulted in a jail crisis in America. States, recognizing their contribution to this situation, have begun to develop policies designed to assist local jail officials in operating safe, humane, and constitutional facilities. These state efforts are a form o f mandating, and primarily concern minimum operating standards and inspections programs. In this research we investigate three questions related to state mandating of local jail operations: (1) what is the extent of state involvement, (2) what factors are associated with state involvement, and (3) what is the impact of state involvement? Our findings indicate (1) states have been active in developing and administering jail mandates, (2) state involvement is associated with state-level corrections policy, and (3) jail standards and inspections programs have a substantial impact on local jail performance. We conclude with a discussion of how state and local governments may proceed in the process of developing standards, inspections, and enforcement procedures.     

THE IMPACT OF STATE STANDARDS AND ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES ON LOCAL JAIL PERFORMANCE

One of the recent trends in the field of criminal justice has been the development of state jail standards. The nature of local politics has meant that jails have been among the most poorly funded and operated governmental institutions. The result of decades of neglect is a fertile ground for inmate litigation. The interest shown by the courts, in a variety of operational and procedural areas, has been a key factor in leading many states to assume a greater role in local jail oversight. This article examines some of the problems facing jails and describes state efforts to address these problems through state-level jail standards and enforcement procedures.     

Budget makers as agents: A preliminar investigation of discretionary behavior under state-contingent rewards

An earlier version of this essay was delivered at the Public Choice Society Meeting, Tucson AZ, 27–29 March 1987. Our thanks to Laura Langbein, Steve Maser, Eugenia Froedge-Toma, and Gordon Tullock for helpful comments. Special thanks to George Racette.     

Adolescent Self-Handicapping,Depressive Affect,and Maternal Parenting Styles

Most research on self-handicapping has focused on adults. Only a few studies have examined self-handicapping in adolescents or the particular characteristics of the family environment that are associated with self-handicapping. Adolescents (N = 141) and their mothers completed a series of questionnaires assessing adolescent self-handicapping, adolescent dysphoria, and parenting variables in mothers, including parenting styles (care and overprotection) and parenting stress due to situational variables, parent–child dysfunctional interactions, and behavioral characteristics of the child. Results showed (a) that self-handicapping was positively related to age in girls, but not in boys, (b) that there was a strong relation between self-handicapping and dysphoria in both boys and girls, (c) that mother-rated care negatively predicted self-handicapping in girls beyond the effects due to girls' dysphoria, and (d) that maternal care moderated the relationship between self-handicapping and dysphoria in boys. Maternal care and depressive affect in young persons are independently related to self-handicapping behaviors in adolescents. Results are discussed in terms of implications for the hypothesized etiology of self-handicapping.     

Intentional and unintentional injuries across health regions in Alberta, Canada: an implication for policy

The growing practice of including intentional injuries (suicide and interpersonal violence) under the injury control umbrella has produced some controversy. The present study was designed to determine whether or not there might be an empirical basis for this initiative from an ecological point of view by examining the associations among unintentional and intentional injuries across 17 geographically defined health regions. The study was set in the Province of Alberta, Canada, where health services were delivered to a population of 2.96 million persons in 1999 through 17 regional health authorities. The results of a principal components analysis showed that nearly all causes of injury-hospitalization loaded on a single factor. It was not possible to produce separate factors for intentional and unintentional injuries. The strong intercorrelation among all measures suggests that there is an empirical basis for the view that intentional and unintentional injuries belong under the same conceptual umbrella, at least at the ecological level.     

Context effects in forensic science: a review and application of the science of science to crime laboratory practice in the United States.

This article discusses the phenomenon of "context effects" by reviewing the findings and practices of a range of scientific fields, including astronomy, physics, biology, medicine, and especially the relevant research and theory from psychology. Context information, such as expectations about what one is supposed to see or conclude, has been found to have a small but relentless impact on human perception, judgment, and decision-making. The article then considers the vulnerability of forensic science practice to context effects, and concludes by suggesting that forensic science adopt practices familiar in other fields of scientific work, in particular blind or double-blind testing and also the use of evidence line-ups.