Inmates: Who occupies our jails?

The purpose of this investigation was to identify inmate personal and demographic data that may be used to further define or profile persons with a greater likelihood of being at risk for serving a jail sentence. This study was explorative. The survey administration was similar in format to that conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice. Chaplains were used as survey proctors. Pilot studies were conducted to determine the suitability of survey content. Surveys consisted of 172 items. Subjects included four hundred inmates: males comprised 88.75 percent of the sample, Caucasians 58.25 percent, Blacks 37 percent, Hispanics 3.25 percent and other 1.5 percent of the sample. Respondents ranged in age from 15 to 64 years with an average age of 30.3 years. Less than two percent of the contacted inmates refused participation in the survey. Results are presented for demographic data, select legal/criminal data, select drug and alcohol use data, employment data, health, parent/family data, education data, social data, and “other”.     

School crime policy changes: The impact of recent highly-publicized school crimes

Highly-publicized school shootings have heightened concern over school safety. This study examines the impact of school crimes on campus policy. The administrators of 336 Texas middle and high schools were surveyed. Policy changes were related to parental complaints about school crime policies and administrator perceptions that students felt less safe. School administrators should base safety policies on strategies that have been evaluated for their effectiveness in reducing school crime and fear. The authors wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.     

Federal labor protetons and the privatization of public transit

Federal transportation officials assert that labor protections in the Urban Mass Transportation Act inhibit the propensity of local transit agencies to contract with private firms for services. The authors present results from a survey of a large sample of transit managers and econometric analysis to support their conclusion that labor protections do not appear to reduce the incidence of contracting. The labor protections, however, may be costly to transit management in other ways. The authors recommend actions, aside from repeal of labor protections, to increase contracting by local transit agencies.     

The psychodynamics of a work stoppage at the Tenth Pan American Games

A study of the various stressors faced by interns serving as security assistants at the Tenth Pan American Games and the coping mechanisms they utilized was undertaken during the months of July and August 1987. This study revealed that group development can be altered and maladaptive behavior can result among students experiencing high degrees of stress, frustration, and feelings of helplessness, who are subject to a leadership void. The data strongly support the need for planners of similar large-scale internship programs to consider group processes, organizational factors, and interpersonal relations if organizational goals are to be achieved, maladaptive coping mechanisms are to be avoided, and student stress is to be lessened.     

Cheap Hawks, Cheap Doves, and the Pursuit of Strategy

The post-9/11 threats to American security require a complete revision of American national strategy. For too long, presidents have had to favor quick, cheap solutions to crises, unable to count on support from the “homebody” public for long, drawn-out conflicts. “Cheap hawks” among them have hoped that apocalyptic rhetoric will suffice when resources fall short; “cheap doves” hope that by ignoring the threat, it will go away. But with the war on terror, the revival of geopolitics, and ever-accelerating globalization, the U.S. tradition of bellicose rhetoric backed by underwhelming force is a recipe for failure. To effectively manage its threats, America needs a new catechism and to make sure its economic, energy, and military policies support this.