RACE-SPECIFIC EMPLOYMENT CONTEXTS AND RECIDIVISM*

Although much literature has examined macrolevel employment contexts and crime rates and, at the individual level, employment and offending, few studies have examined systematically whether macrolevel employment contexts influence individual-level offending. At the same time, emerging literature on prisoner reentry increasingly underscores the potential importance of the social environment for impeding or facilitating successful transitions back into society. All three avenues of inquiry have emphasized the salience of race-specific and offense-specific effects. This study extends prior work on ecology and offending, employment and crime, and prisoner reentry by examining the race-specific effects of unemployment rates and manufacturing employment rates on violent, property, and drug recidivism. By analyzing data on male ex-prisoners released to 67 counties in Florida, we found, as hypothesized, that Black ex-prisoners released to areas with higher Black male unemployment rates have a greater likelihood of violent recidivism. No comparable effect was identified for White exprisoners. However, we found that White ex-prisoners, especially those without prior violent convictions, have a lower likelihood of violent recidivism when released to areas with higher White male manufacturing employment rates. We discuss the findings and their implications for theory, research, and policy.     

服刑能力影响因素研究

目的探索精神病犯服刑能力的影响因素,为服刑能力量化评定奠定基础。方法以江苏省监狱管理局精神病院2003年11月1日～2003年12月31日期间住院及新入院病人为研究对象,采用RTHD和自编的服刑能力法律心理能力问卷和服刑相关情况调查表,从医学要件和法学要件两方面探索服刑能力影响因素。结果共纳入185例研究对象,分为有或无服刑能力两组,在一般状态、认知障碍、情感症状和行为异常等方面均存在显著差异,自知力对服刑能力具有显著影响,两组社会功能也存在显著差别;虽然研究对象入院时表现行为紊乱、言语紊乱、情绪低落甚至出现自杀、自伤、精神运动性迟滞,生活不能自理、易激惹、冲动伤人、劳动能力下降等明显异常,但对问卷的分析没有体现出这种异常。结论在精神症状的影响下,精神病犯表现出明显异常,辨认和控制能力明显受损,不能正常接受服刑改造。     

女犯同性恋现象的心理学透析

伴随着犯罪的复杂化,在对女性罪犯改造过程中,出现了新的现象——同性恋。女性罪犯中的同性恋现象,有它自身的生理和心理特征,从心理学角度对这一现象进行透析,是矫治同性恋行为,改造罪犯的内在要求。     

浅谈我国看守所未决犯的权利实现问题——由“躲猫猫”事件引发的思考

当前，我国看守所未决犯的权利实现主要存在的问题是：刑讯逼供、体罚等现象屡禁不止；超期羁押问题有普遍化、严重化趋势；看守所亚文化——“牢头狱霸”现象普遍存在等。对此，应通过实行羁押与逮捕分离，加强看守所自身建设，以及明确侦查阶段律师介入制度等方法，保障看守所未决犯合法权利的实现。     

对“邱兴华”一案若干问题的反思

“邱兴华”一案引起了社会各界的广泛关注，该案不仅反映出我国刑事诉讼程序中的一些不完善之处，也从一个侧面折射出我国司法人员及社会各界的法律素养。在《刑事诉讼法》即将修改之际，这一案件更是具有了特殊的意义，应该对该案所反映出的若干问题进行反思和探索。     

谈看守所在押人员动态控制与事故的预防

监管安全是看守所的第一需要,也是做好其他工作的前提和基础。丧失了安全保障,侦查、起诉、审判和执行工作也就无从谈起。控制在押人员动态,预防各类事故的发生,发挥看守所监管安全长效机制,是看守所羁押管理工作的关键所在。     

The Difference a Job Makes: Licit and Illicit Work Experiences and Aspirations at a Transitional Housing Facility for Women Leaving the Sex Industry

This investigation establishes a baseline understanding of how women exiting the sex industry understand the economic options available to them by reviewing their work experiences in the legal economy, histories of sex industry involvement, and their aspirations for legal work upon entering a yearlong residential program offered at a transitional housing facility. Specifically, it explores how prior work experience, type of sex industry involvement, and demographic characteristics such as race and age intersect with women’s legal work aspirations upon leaving the sex industry. Analysis indicates that women’s occupational choices are limited by prior experiences within the formal and informal economies and that women of color and poor women of all ethno-racial backgrounds are particularly likely to face disadvantages in both economic sectors. Findings accordingly indicate that rehabilitative settings must consider whether the career pathways they create lead to economic self-sufficiency and reduce the likelihood that women will return to life situations they express a desire to leave.     

Justice through defiance: political prisoner support work and infrastructures of resistance

This essay outlines the justice work done by the Anarchist Black Cross (ABC) in the US, an organization that provides material and symbolic support to political and politicized prisoners. The history of this organization is briefly explored to contextualize its current composition, tactics, and goals in its mission to support political prisoners, as well as the way its driving philosophies distinguish the ABC from other organizations that are engaged in political prisoner-related issues. Unlike more well-known, mainstream organizations that use a human rights discourse, the ABC contributes to an overall ‘infrastructure of resistance’ to defy systematized exploitation. This essay situates this project within a broader anarchist strategy to creatively and actively construct justice alternatives that work to establish mutual aid and needs-based economies.     

Mass Reentry,Neighborhood Context and Recidivism: Examining How the Distribution of Parolees Within and Across Neighborhoods Impacts Recidivism

Recent scholarship focuses on the role neighborhood context plays in reoffending. These studies lack an examination of how the size of the parolee population at the neighborhood-level impacts individual recidivism. We examine how the size and clustering of parolee populations within and across neighborhoods impacts individual-level recidivism. Using data from parolees returning to three Ohio cities from 2000 to 2009, we examine how concentrations of parolees in neighborhoods and in the surrounding neighborhoods impact the likelihood of reoffending. We also examine whether parolee clustering conditions the relationship between neighborhood-level characteristics and recidivism. Results show concentrated reentry increases recidivism, while parolees in stable neighborhoods are less likely to recidivate. Also, the positive effect of parolee concentration is tempered when parolees return to stable neighborhoods. These findings suggest that augmenting resources available in neighborhoods saturated by parolees, as well as bolstering residential stability in these same neighborhoods might reduce reoffending.