PROBATION AND PAROLE: PUBLIC RISK AND THE FUTURE OF INCARCERATION ALTERNATIVES*

Jail and prison populations in the United States have continued to grow unabated during the past two decades but crime rates have not declined. Partly in response to the pressures caused by burgeoning correctional populations, the use of alternatives to incarceration has expanded. An ongoing debate centers on the effectiveness of these alternatives. Many criminal justice professionals and some researchers question whether such alternatives seriously restrict the criminal justice system 's ability to incapacitate the active offender. This study deals specifically with two alternatives to incarceration: probation and parole. We examine offender recidivism for a sample of probationers and parolees active in New Orleans, Louisiana, and offer a new approach to addressing the effectiveness issue. Past research has evaluated the effectiveness of alternatives by examining failure rates of diverted offenders. High failure rates, we argue, do not necessarily imply a significant loss of the incapacitative effects of imprisonment. We suggest that a more appropriate measure of the loss of incapacitative effect is the proportion of all offenses committed by persons on probation or parole. Our results suggest that such losses are surprisingly low. The policy implications of our findings are discussed.     

THE LIMITS OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT FOR UK PUBLIC SERVICES MODERNIZATION: THE CASE OF PATIENT SAFETY AND SERVICE QUALITY

This article assesses the contribution of management of knowledge across organizational and professional boundaries towards improved public services. We empirically investigate the potential for knowledge sharing within the context of the NHS modernization agenda, taking as our focus the current ‘patient safety’ policy agenda. Specifically, we evaluate the introduction of a knowledge management system, namely the National Reporting and Learning System (NRSL) and its impact in the area of operating theatres within a university teaching hospital. We suggest that government policy in this area needs to reflect more upon limits to the management of knowledge and issues of the nature of knowledge, professional cultures and institutional power and politics.     

PENOLOGICAL REFORM AND THE MYTH OF BECCARIA *

Beccaria is widely acknowledged as one of penology's great reformers. This paper analyzes aspects of Beccaria's life and works and concludes that the adoration afforded Beccaria by penologists far outweighs the actual contributions he made to penology. Many of the reforms that occurred during the eighteenth century can as easily be ascribed to social and political conditions as to Beccaria's work When compared with the works of other great reformers of the eighteenth century, such as Voltaire or Bentham, Beccaria's works are less profound. The myth of Beccaria nonetheless presides over the modern paradigm of liberal penology.     

The impact of class on political attitudes

Abstract. This study examines the impact of class self-identification and class position on political attitudes in Great Britain, West Germany, Australia and the United States. The results show a basic similarity in the class structure of these four western nations, differences in patterns of class identification, and significant effects of class structure and class identification on political attitudes. Despite recent projections of its demise, for these four countries at least, class identification and class position are an important, albeit secondary, factor in explaining political attitudes. Of these class measures, class self-identification is the more salient in predicting political attitudes.     

Sovereign Immunity in an Economic Theory of Government Behavior

The Federal Tort Claims Act of 1946 put government on an equal footing in tort law with private individuals. It also provides a very broadly defined immunity for any public function of a discretionary nature. While economists argue that immunity does not minimize social costs, this analysis outlines a theoretically optimal mix of liability and immunity. Discretionary governmental policy must be immune as it establishes principles of government conduct. Tort liability then insures cost-minimizing policy execution. This theory of state behavior links a number of leading/controversial immunity cases that otherwise exhibit no consistent thought.     

Problems of Method in Comparative Criminology

Methodological problems of conducting comparative research in criminology are reviewed in the light of the severe lack of comparative research in criminology. Methodological difficulties in conducting survey research in comparative criminology are outlined. These include the necessity to establish equivalence of meaning, comparability of samples, temporal equivalence and equivalence of interviewers. It is suggested that an important and as yet unexplored avenue for comparative criminology may be in the area of comparative systems analysis.