PREDICTING WHO REOFFENDS: THE NEGLECTED ROLE OF NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT IN RECIDIVISM STUDIES*

Prior studies of recidivism have focused almost exclusively on individual‐level characteristics of offenders and their offenses to explore the correlates of reoffending. Notably absent from these studies are measures reflecting the neighborhood contexts in which individuals live. The current research addresses this shortcoming. Using data on a sample of ex‐offenders in Multnomah County, Oregon (Portland and surrounding area) in conjunction with 2000 census data, we answer two questions. First, which individual‐level factors influence rates of recidivism? Second, to what extent does neighborhood socioeconomic status account for variation in the reoffending behavior of ex‐prisoners that is not explained by their individual‐level characteristics? We find that those who return to disadvantaged neighborhoods recidivate at a greater rate while those who return to resource rich or affluent communities recidivate at a lesser rate, controlling for individual‐level factors.     

关于探望权的若干思考

2001年新《婚姻法》增加了有关探望权的规定,但其在司法实践中存在一些不足,应扩大探望权的主体范围、明确中止事由、重视裁判、完善执行措施,同时借鉴国外的相关立法,并结合我国国情,进一步完善我国的探望权制度。     

女大学生成长与发展的劣势环境研究

环境对大学生成长与发展影响深远,同男大学生相比,当代女大学生处在明显的劣势环境中。观念中对女性的歧视依然存在,真正的男女平等并未在制度环境中得以实现,女大学生的就业发展机会及劳动报酬远低于男生等,所有这些,削弱了女大学生的发展基础,打击了女大学生追求成功的热情,限制了女大学生的发展。及时采取相应对策,为女大学生成长与发展创造良好和谐的外部环境,是当前社会中亟待解决的重大问题。     

对波普尔证伪主义的探究

证伪主义是波普尔在批判归纳主义与证实原则的基础上建立起来的,是波普尔整个哲学思想的基础,它既是波普尔解决＂分界问题＂与＂归纳问题＂的关键,也是波普尔的科学认识论与方法论的基础。通过对证伪主义的辩证分析,为我们的哲学与科学的发展提供有用的经验。     

婚姻立法语言模糊性弊端规避的语义策略

婚姻立法语言模糊性弊端需要我们有意识地规避.通过语义限定如限定行为方式、限定性质和后果、限定范围等可以使婚姻立法模糊性语言趋于精确化;婚姻立法应正确把握立法语言的模糊度,避免使用过度的模糊语言;婚姻立法应区分情形使用立法模糊用语和精确化语言,恰当发挥模糊语言的功能.     

STRUCTURAL FACTORS AND BLACK INTERRACIAL HOMICIDE: A NEW EXAMINATION OF THE CAUSAL PROCESS*

This study evaluates the assumption that deprivation among African Americans and racial inequality lead to black interracial homicide due to racial conflict and antagonism. Using refined race‐adjusted Supplemental Homicide Report data, Uniform Crime Report data and census data, we test an alternative hypothesis that draws on the macrostructural opportunity theory to assess and more accurately specify the relationship between structural characteristics and black interracial homicide. We find that first, the relationship between economic factors and black interracial homicide can be explained in large part by high rates of financially motivated crime such as robbery, and second, that economic factors are associated with financially motivated but not expressive black interracial killings. Analyses of black intraracial killings are performed for comparison purposes. Collectively, the findings suggest that conflict‐based explanations rooted in racial antagonism and frustration aggression may be premature.     

DELINQUENCY AND GENDER MODERATION IN THE MOVING TO OPPORTUNITY INTERVENTION: THE ROLE OF EXTENDED NEIGHBORHOODS

A long history of research has indicated that neighborhood poverty increases youth's risk taking and delinquency. This literature predominantly has treated neighborhoods as independent of their surroundings despite rapidly growing ecological evidence on the geographic clustering of crime that suggests otherwise. This study proposes that to understand neighborhood effects, investigating youth's wider surroundings holds theoretical and empirical value. By revisiting longitudinal data on more than 1500 low‐income youth who participated in the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) randomized intervention, this article explores the importance of extended neighborhoods (neighborhoods and surroundings) and different concentrated disadvantage configurations in shaping gender differences in risk taking and delinquency. The results from two‐stage, least‐squares analyses suggest that the extended neighborhoods matter and they matter differently by gender. Among girls, extended neighborhoods without concentrated disadvantage were associated with lower risk‐taking prevalence than extended neighborhoods with concentrated disadvantage. In contrast, among boys, localized concentration of disadvantage was associated with the highest prevalence of risk taking and delinquency. Interactions between the immediate and surrounding neighborhoods were similarly associated with differential opportunity and social disorganization mediators. Among the more critical potential mediators of the link between localized disadvantage and boys’ risk taking were delinquent network ties, strain, and perceived absence of legitimate opportunities for success.     

Gang Membership,Drug Selling,and Violence in Neighborhood Context

A prominent perspective in the gang literature suggests that gang member involvement in drug selling does not necessarily increase violent behavior. In addition it is unclear from previous research whether neighborhood disadvantage strengthens that relationship. We address these issues by testing hypotheses regarding the confluence of neighborhood disadvantage, gang membership, drug selling, and violent behavior. A three‐level hierarchical model is estimated from the first five waves of the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, matched with block‐group characteristics from the 2000 U.S. Census. Results indicate that (1) gang members who sell drugs are significantly more violent than gang members that don’t sell drugs and drug sellers that don’t belong to gangs; (2) drug sellers that don’t belong to gangs and gang members who don’t sell drugs engage in comparable levels of violence; and (3) an increase in neighborhood disadvantaged intensifies the effect of gang membership on violence, especially among gang members that sell drugs.     

Licensed firearm dealers,legal compliance,and local homicide: A case study

Research summary

This study uses a combination of tract-level and street network-level analyses to examine: (1) the overall association between federally licensed firearm dealers (FFLs) and homicides, (2) the relationship between dealers with serious violations (such as selling to prohibited buyers or failing to record sales) and homicide, and (3) whether the dealer–homicide association is moderated by community disadvantage. Results replicate and confirm a relationship between dealers and homicides in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Importantly, however, we also find that proximity to noncompliant dealers specifically elevates the risk of lethal violence.

Policy implications

We detail how a coordinated effort between federal, state, and local agencies to regulate firearm dealers and ensure that legal compliance can be instrumental in reducing gun violence. There is a clear need for increased oversight of gun dealers and more robust policies that hold negligent dealers accountable, including the necessary funding and regulatory manpower to enable regular auditing and support consistent follow-up for noncompliant dealers. A comprehensive policy framework that supports supply-side gun violence reduction should include additions to state-level laws that require record keeping, videotaping and store security, and regular inspection for firearm dealers.     

Juvenile Desistance and Community Disadvantage: The Role of Appropriate Accommodations and Engagements

In recent years, juvenile justice systems have shown renewed interest in ensuring effective programming and support for young offenders as they reenter the community. These services often focus on suitable accommodations, education, work-based employment, and engagement in conventional activities. Recent studies also suggest, however, that these services may not have the desired impact in the community (i.e. desistance) if underlying community-level risk factors are not attended to. This may especially be the case for young offenders. Given the developmental literature underscoring the heightened sensitivity of youth to external conditions, this study focuses attention on the recidivism of young offenders in the United Kingdom. Data from 2005 through 2009 show that changes in appropriate accommodation and engagement offered to ex-offenders in a community are both related to a community’s rate of youth reoffending; however, the strength of this relationship differs across level of community disadvantage.