PAROLEES' PERCEPTION OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

The parolees in this sample viewed the police rather negatively, were reluctant to label contacts with the police as harassment, and experienced a great deal of pluralistic ignorance about the extent of the police harassment of ex-offenders. They also had a very negative opinion of the courts and lawyers. When asked general questions about the courts and police harassment, blacks responded more negatively than whites; but when asked about their personal experiences with these organizations, no racial differences were found. Those interviewed were somewhat positive toward the parole system and very positive toward their parole agents. Possibly this is because the agents employ a strategy of ingratiation in that they do not enforce all of the existing rules, or possibly it is because the Illinois parole agents are doing a good job of being counsellors rather than policemen. This study also found: (1) on opinions of the police and the courts, the black-white differences which have been found in the community were also found here; namely, blacks were more negative than were whites. (2) On opinions of lawyers and the parole system, no black-white differences existed among respondents. (3) There was no evidence of a disconfirmed expectancy effect; that is, in no case was there more negativity among white parolees than among black due to whites' higher expectations of the justice system.     

Alcohol-Impaired Driving in Norway and Sweden: Another Look at "The Scandinavian Myth"

Ross's (1975) assessment of the Scandinavian drinking-and-driving laws was a pivotal paper in the international literature because, in many ways, Norway and Sweden offer a critical test of the "tough approach" to deterring alcohol- impaired drivers. The present review raises some methodological and philosophical questions about Ross's approach to the Scandinavian data and examines four types of indirect evidence for deterrence in Norway and Sweden. While no conclusive evidence for deterrence could be identified, there was internal consistency in the pattern of circumstantial evidence pointing to a workable system of external restraints and internal controls in Scandinavia; and this pattern of evidence contrasted sharply with that obtained in the U.S.