Citizenship status and arrest patterns in the United States: evidence from the arrestee drug abuse monitoring program

The purpose of the study was to estimate associations between citizenship status and arrest for crimes among male arrestees. The primary hypothesis was that citizenship status (a rough proxy for immigration) has significant effects on arrest for violent personal crimes, property crimes, and four other selected offenses. Data were derived from the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program for the years 2000 through 2002 inclusive. Our sample comprised male arrestees only. Logistic regression models were fitted to the data to estimate the citizenship status-crime relationship. Results showed no significant association between citizenship status and arrest for violent crimes. Non-citizens were 15% less likely than citizens to be arrested for property crimes; they were also less likely to be arrested for weapons offenses and drug offenses. Non-citizens were much less likely to test positive on NIDA-5 drugs than citizens. Non-citizens were, however, 50% more likely than citizens to be arrested for forgery/counterfeiting. It was concluded that public perceptions about the relationship of citizenship status to criminal behavior may be exaggerated and may not be borne out by empirical evidence. Limitations of the study are pointed out, including the fact that in the ADAM data, naturalized immigrants are lumped together with native born citizens.     

Transfer of academic research: uncovering the grey zone

In this study, we respond to calls for further investigation on why and how scientists choose to commercialize their research. Mowery (University entrepreneurship and technology transfer: process design, and intellectual property, Elsevier, Oxford 2005), in his criticism of the US-system, emphasizes the need for multiple channels between university and industry. His argument makes the case of Sweden interesting, where the researchers own the intellectual property of their research. Sweden thus constitutes a unique case where data can be found on which choices researchers make in a setting where a variety of channels for transfer are available. Our empirical data, collected through case studies, allowed for the expansion of the typology for mechanisms for transfer of academic research as well as the development of a typology for determinants for researchers’ choice to engage in transfer of research. Apart from those contributions to the theoretic discussion, the data also provided policy implications.     

Violence in Juvenile Dating Relationships Self-Reported Prevalence and Attitudes in a Portuguese Sample

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of physical and emotional abuse in Portuguese juvenile dating relationships and to investigate attitudes about these forms of violence. A sample of 4,667 participants, aged 13 to 29 years, completed two questionnaires, one behavioral and one attitudinal. At least one act of abuse perpetrated by a dating partner during the previous year was reported by 25.4% of participants (13.4% reported to have been victims of physical abuse and 19.5% of emotional abuse). Abuse of a partner was reported by 30.6% of participants; at least one act of physical abuse was reported by 18.1% and of emotional abuse by 22.4%. The attitudinal data revealed, however, a general disapproval of violence use. Violence support was higher among males, participants with lower educational and social status and those who had never been involved in a dating relationship. Women reported more acts of partner abuse than males; no gender differences were found regarding self-reported victimization. Both perpetration and victimization were reported more by older students. Although university students tend to report more acts of general and emotional abuse against their partners, students from professional schools are more represented among both perpetrators and victims of physical and severe violence. The best predictors of violence were educational status and attitudes toward partner.     

The Psychological Impact on Police Officers of Being First Responders to Completed Suicides

When a suicide is completed, police officers are often among the first responders. Little attention has been paid to the emotional and psychological impact on the police officer in this specific situation. This study examines the effects encounters with completed suicides have on the emotional and psychological well-being of the police officer. This is a qualitative study, which intends to bring alive the feelings, thoughts, actions, choices, and challenges of police officers who have encountered completed suicides as imparted through participants' stories. Interviews were done with eight police officers. In addition, interviews were done with a coroner, a police chaplain, and a police psychologist to add some unique perspectives to the police officers’ experiences of encountering completed suicides. Interviews were done in a semi-structured, focused format involving an ongoing fine-tuning of questions. The overarching finding reveals the central role played by police culture in shaping how police officers come to perceive this experience, and how they subsequently choose to mediate it. This study identifies ten strategies police officers use to mediate this experience, and discusses the possible psychological consequences of employing each strategy.     

Interracial contact and fear of crime

Despite a large literature on public views about crime, the racialization of crime, and the contact hypothesis, surprisingly little is known about how interracial friendships may influence Whites’ fear of crime. At the same time, and perhaps because no counterpart stereotype to that of “Blacks as criminals” exists, there has been little exploration of how such contact may influence Blacks’ fear of crime. To address these research gaps, this study built on prior theory and research and used data from an ABC News and Washington Post poll to test competing hypotheses about the effect of interracial contact on Whites’ and Blacks’ fear of crime, respectively. The analyses revealed that close interracial friendships are associated with increased fear of crime among Whites, decreased fear of crime among lower-income Blacks, and increased fear among higher-income Blacks. The implications for theory and research are discussed.