Substance-Abusing Female Offenders as Victims: Chronological Sequencing of Pathways Into the Criminal Justice System

This study assesses the entrance of substance-abusing female offenders (N = 1,209) into the criminal justice system through temporal patterns (using age of first victimization, drug use, and arrest). Nine pathways were identified. Unexpectedly, the leading path was a sequence where drug use preceded arrest in absence of childhood victimization. However, women under a path inclusive of victimization possessed more risk factors. Findings support feminist pathway research, which states that childhood victimization is generally present in female offenders’ lives. Nevertheless, results also revealed that a drug pathway without childhood abuse proved to be as important and even more dominant among criminal justice–involved women.     

Intuitive Ethics and Political Orientations: Testing Moral Foundations as a Theory of Political Ideology

Originally developed to explain cultural variation in moral judgments, moral foundations theory (MFT) has become widely adopted as a theory of political ideology. MFT posits that political attitudes are rooted in instinctual evaluations generated by innate psychological modules evolved to solve social dilemmas. If this is correct, moral foundations must be relatively stable dispositional traits, changes in moral foundations should systematically predict consequent changes in political orientations, and, at least in part, moral foundations must be heritable. We test these hypotheses and find substantial variability in individual‐level moral foundations across time, and little evidence that these changes account for changes in political attitudes. We also find little evidence that moral foundations are heritable. These findings raise questions about the future of MFT as a theory of ideology.     

Highly polymorphic minisatellite DNA probes. Further evaluation for individual identification and paternity testing

Reliable and reproducible protocols have been developed for the routine DNA fingerprinting of individuals using the highly polymorphic minisatellite DNA probes 33.15 and 33.6. Comparison of DNA fingerprinting from 50 individuals has generated further data on the level of band sharing in the DNA fingerprints of unrelated individuals, as well as the number of bands scorable in individuals. These results are consistent with previous studies. The occurrence of mutant bands in offspring has been examined in over 100 families. Further support is presented for the Mendelian inheritance of minisatellite loci and for lack of significant allelism and linkage between different variable DNA fragments detected in a human DNA fingerprint.     

W.B. Gallie,T.H. Marshall and the contested concepts of fairness and citizenship: examining the parameters of debate in Newport City Council’s Fairness Commission and citizens’ views on fairness

The paper examines Newport City Council’s Fairness Commission’s (NFC) understanding of fairness, alongside a survey of Newport citizens’ views on fairness. These views focus on two parameters of debate identified by the NFC – equality versus differential treatment, and the accountability and transparency of decision-making – reflecting competing interpretations of the political concept of fairness, and as explored by W.B. Gallie. Moreover, these contested interpretations also have a profound bearing on post-1945 debates about citizenship instigated by T.H. Marshall. While many contemporary policy-recommenders and politicians reject Marshallesque social rights to citizenship, dismissing these rights as encouraging so-called passive conceptions of citizenship emphasising unconditional individual entitlements to local services, the views of Newport citizens tend to broadly support these rights. These rights are distinct from ‘active’ conceptions, emphasising the values of interdependency and reciprocity, and citizens’ obligations to positively participate in community life which then underpin conditions for receiving entitlements.     

The Challenge of Strengthening Nonprofits and Civil Society

The Winter Commission Report was centrally concerned with improving the performance of state and local governments. Since the issuance of the commission’s report in 1993, the delivery of services by state and local government has been substantially changed by the growing role of nonprofit organizations in providing public services and representing citizen interests. As a result, state and local governments and nonprofit agencies are faced with complex governance challenges. The central argument of this paper is that despite the dramatic changes in the relationship between government and nonprofit organizations in recent years, the key tenets of the Winter Commission report—the need for improved training and education, greater transparency and accountability, more emphasis on performance, and improved citizen engagement—remain deeply relevant in improving the governance of the public services in an increasingly complex policy process and service delivery system at the state and local levels.     

A Qualitative Examination of the Self-Medicating Hypothesis Among Female Juvenile Offenders

Substance misuse among criminally delinquent youth has typically been described as a concurrent part of their participation in risky and delinquent behavior. Using Khantzian’s self-medication hypothesis, this article presents an alternative view by presenting qualitative data which suggests that substance misuse for female juvenile offenders may serve as self-medication for mental health problems stemming from early trauma, often at the hands of their families. Based on the narratives of 30 female juvenile offenders, this article examines the lived experiences of girls with childhood trauma and substance misuse, followed by arrest and incarceration. The paper concludes with recommendations for juvenile justice and child welfare practitioners.