Public Safety Outcomes of Virginia's Detention Assessment Instrument

The placement of juveniles in secure detention has been the subject of considerable attention recently. For the past several years, Virginia has been engaged in efforts to improve detention practices at both the state and local levels. One important policy and practice change is the implementation of a standardized, structured decision‐making instrument to guide detention decisions by intake officers of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). This report will present a brief background on the Detention Assessment Instrument (DAI); an analysis of the performance of the DAI on key public safety outcomes; and an overview of Virginia's participation in the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI).     

UP IT UP: GENDER AND THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF STREET ROBBERY*

Attempts to understand women's participation in violence have been plagued by a tendency either to overemphasize gender differences or to downplay the significance of gender. The goal of this research is to reconcile these approaches through an examination of the experiences of female and male street robbers in an urban setting. Based on in-depth interviews with active offenders, the study compares women's and men's accounts of why they commit robbery, as well as how gender organizes the commission of the crime. The research suggests that while women and men articulate similar motives for robbery, their enactment of the crime is strikingly different—a reflection, in part, of practical choices women make in the context of a gender-stratified street setting.     

GENDER EQUALITY AND THE SEX RATIO OF INTIMATE KILLING*

This study examines variance in the sex ratio of intimate killing (SROK) across U.S. cities. The research primarily focuses on the influence that varying degrees of gendered economic equality have on the SROK. Also, we examine this relationship in economic and regional/cultural contexts. The results of OLS regression analyses reveal a significant negative influence of female economic equality (as measured by the sex ratios of employment) on the SROK. In addition, we find that this influence is contingent on general economic well-being and more traditional cultural orientations to gender roles. Overall, the findings clearly indicate that variation in the SROK is related to the structural features of communities. Theoretical implications are discussed and directions for future research suggested.