The meaning of anger for Australian Indigenous offenders: the significance of context

The problem of overrepresentation of Indigenous offenders in Australian prisons highlights the need for effective tertiary intervention programs within correctional settings as a way of reducing Indigenous reincarceration. This study seeks to explore meanings of anger within an Indigenous context that might inform the development of more acceptable and potentially more effective rehabilitation programs. A methodology that acknowledges the importance of narrative, context, and culture was devised to explore how anger as an emotion is understood and experienced by a group of Indigenous men in a South Australian prison. Although some of the major themes reflected experiences of anger common to many offenders, it was evident that for these Indigenous men, anger was experienced within a broad social and political context that imbued the experience of anger with layers of culturally specific meaning. It is suggested that these layers of meaning constitute sufficient difference to warrant further exploration.     

Is it time for a progress report on violence against women in Ghana?

Ghana, like many African countries, continues to grapple with domestic violence issues. Ghana's 1992 Constitution mandates provisions that should eradicate the scourge of violence against women and children. In this paper, two main questions are asked. First, will the 1992 Constitution ultimately lead to victories over discrimination and violence against Ghanaian women? Second, has progress been made in eradicating violence against women in Ghana to date? In that regard, have governmental and non-governmental organizations supported Ghanaian women to arrive at relative stability, empowerment and freedom from violence? Progress thus far is encouraging. Presently, there are several holistic or organic approaches being used to combat domestic violence in Ghana. however, an epidemiological examination of custom and a psychosocial approach towards domestic violence may facilitate permanent meaningful solutions.     

Corruption among narcotic officers: A study of innocence and integrity

This study focuses on the influencing components producing corruption among narcotic law enforcement officers, and it is the second article of a three part series among 255 officers. It was postulated that income and stress among of narcotic officers gives rise to corruption. Although, corruption was defined as police brutality, personal use of contraband, and abuse of due process rights, the data was insufficient to support the hypothesis. It was revealed, however, that corruption did exist among narcotic officers, but its causal factors were related to an officer’s lack of experience, innocence, and integrity. Recommendations are that narcotic officers be selected based on their experiences especially military service. Further research should be conducted examining the link between military training and quality narcotic law enforcement service. Author Note: Dennis J. Stevens, Ph.D. is an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. In addition to teaching traditional and nontraditional students, he teaches and counsels law enforcement officers in police academies such as at the North Carolina Justice Academy and felons at maximum custody penitentiaries such as Attica in New York, Eastern and Women’s Institute in North Carolina, Stateville and Joliet near Chicago, and CCI in Columbia, South Carolina. He is a former group facilitator for an organization that specializes in court ordered abuse counseling. He can be reached at dennis.stevens@umb.edu     

PATTERNS AND PREDICTORS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POWER IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT: A POLICY PERSPECTIVE ON ISSUES IN ONE STATE

The purpose of this paper is to examine patterns and predictors of local government economic development in one state. The approach uses data from local governments and various statistical analyses to derive common dimensions of local government power and examine predictors of these dimensions. The results suggest that state policies on development strat-egies have to be developed and effectively exercised to increase the power of the local government in the multiple constituent network .     

Child protective intervention in the context of welfare reform: The effects of work and welfare on maltreatment reports

Recent changes in welfare policy have produced changes in parental work and welfare receipt. These factors are assessed in relation to investigated reports of child abuse and neglect using survey data on 1998 welfare recipients in nine Illinois counties, in conjunction with longitudinal administrative data on cash welfare benefits, employment, and child abuse and neglect reports. Trend analyses show that rates of child maltreatment reports among welfare recipients have risen since the passage of PRWORA in 1996. Findings from multivariate analyses indicate that parental employment has a protective effect on reports to child protection systems (CPS), that this effect is greatest when combined with welfare receipt, and that this effect becomes stronger over time. Those who receive welfare in the absence of employment face a significantly greater risk of CPS involvement, even compared with those who neither work nor receive welfare. © 2003 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management     

Breaking up Is Hard to Do: The Dissolution of Judicial Supervision of Public Services

Public services in many states have been placed under federal court supervision. In our 1991 PAR article, we examined the implications of the federal judicial decisions in supervising the Kansas City Metropolitan School District for the "new triumviate" governing public services—public officials, legislators, and judges. In this article, we examine judicial decisions affecting the same school district a decade later to reveal the impact of judicial supervision on the school district and to discern the implications for policy termination. We find that, once begun, judicially mandated federal court supervision of public institutions is not readily terminated, even pursuant to the wishes of the United States Supreme Court.     

Guerrilla Employees: Should Managers Nurture,Tolerate, or Terminate Them?

“Guerrilla government” is Rosemary O'Leary's term for the actions of career public servants who work against the wishes—either implicitly or explicitly communicated—of their superiors. This form of dissent is usually carried out by those who are dissatisfied with the actions of public organizations, programs, or people, but typically, for strategic reasons, choose not to go public with their concerns in whole or in part. Rather than acting openly, guerrillas often move clandestinely behind the scenes, salmon swimming against the current of power. Guerrillas run the spectrum from anti‐establishment liberals to fundamentalist conservatives, from constructive contributors to deviant destroyers. Three public managers with significant experience comment on O'Leary's thesis that guerrilla government is about the power of career bureaucrats; the tensions between career bureaucrats and political appointees; organization culture; and what it means to act responsibly, ethically, and with integrity as a public servant. Karl Sleight, former director of the New York State Ethics Commission; David Warm, executive director of the Mid‐America Regional Council of Greater Kansas City; and Ralph R, Bauer, former deputy regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Seattle and Chicago regions, present unique perspectives on the “guerrilla” influence on policy and management, as well as the challenges posed by this ever‐present public management phenomenon.

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