Matching consequences to behavior: implications of failing to distinguish between noncompliance and nonresponsivity

Neither punitive nor therapeutic approaches alone are effective at addressing the dual public health and public safety concerns associated with managing criminal behavior perpetrated by people who have psychiatric and substance use disorders. The optimal solution may instead require the integration of both criminal justice supervision and treatment. Using problem-solving courts (PSCs) as a model, we focus on one dimension of this integrated approach, distinguishing between behavior that stems from willful noncompliance with supervision and behavior that results from nonresponsivity to treatment. First, we discuss the public health and public safety consequences of using singular approaches to address the criminal behavior of this population. We then present lessons learned from PSCs that distinguish between noncompliant and nonresponsive behaviors in making treatment and supervision decisions. Finally, we consider how the concepts of nonresponsivity and noncompliance may be extended, via policy, to probation and parole settings as well as mental health and substance abuse treatment services outside the criminal justice setting in order to enhance public health and safety.     

An autoethnography of hunting

To better understand why we do harm by killing and eating nonhuman animals, we engaged in autoethnography. We used reflections on our harmful behavior to understand harmful behavior more generally. Our method first and foremost was to be as honest as we know how to be. The process of reflecting on our behavior had us moving through a series of questions that organize the essay. We also referred to scholarly literature on violence and on hunting to challenge our thoughts. In this way we arrived at insights on aspects of doing harm, including the role of positioning the target in a certain way; not thinking about the harm and the institutional supports for not thinking; the particular lure of power through killing; and the problematic indictment of hunting by meat-eaters.     

Review essay / sentencing by sociology

Andrew von Hirsch, Past or Future Crimes: Deservedness and Dangerousness in the Sentencing of Criminals New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1985, 220 pp.     

Student outcomes associated with service-learning in a culturally relevant high school program

The Hawaiian Studies Program (HSP) integrates the learning of Hawaiian culture with more traditional secondary curriculum in science, social studies, and English. Students also participate in weekly community service-learning sessions. Fifty-five HSP students and 29 peers (who were not involved in the program), completed a survey measuring: students' connection to, pride in, and responsibility for their community; civic attitudes; and career knowledge and preparedness. HSP teachers, community members, and students were also interviewed about program outcomes. Compared to other peers, HSP students tended to report feeling more connected to their community and school and to agree that they had career-related skills. Participants believed that service- learning contributed to these outcomes by making connections between school and community life and by exposing students to a variety of careers.