摘要:

This paper counterposes the common assumption that criminal justice systems are resistant to reform with the widespread belief that the sentencing of white‐collar offenders became more severe after Watergate. It is argued that readjustments may be more more common than actual reforms in criminal justice systems. This paper provides an example of how such processes of readjustment can be explored in the context of sentencing decisions made before and after the unique historical experience of Watergate. It is shown with data from one of America's most prominent federal district courts that changes did occur in sentences imposed before (in 1973) and after (1975) Watergate, but with offsetting results: after Watergate, persons convicted of white‐collar crimes were more likely to be sentenced to prison, but for shorter periods of time, than less‐educated persons convicted of common crimes. Using a technique that corrects for sample selection processes, these effects are shown to cancel one another out. Examples are provided of the token kinds of prison sentences assigned after Watergate to white‐collar offenders in several highly publicized cases and areas of enfo

ISSN:0011-1384    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1986.tb01504.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1986

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This research contributes to a further understanding of the process of criminalization by examining case information that affects prosecuting attorneys' decision to continue felony prosecution following grand jury indictment. It is suggested that prosecuting attorneys, like other decision makers in organizations engaged in people‐processing activities, are confronted with uncertainty emerging from an inability to unilaterally exercise control over all actors involved in the transformation process. By relying on a self‐imposed decision criteria of prosecutorial merit defined as the likelihood of obtaining a jury trial conviction, prosecutors attempt to impose a “bounded rationality” on the exercise of discretion in screening decision making. This rationality is one that is sensitive to concerns for effective management of victims and witnesses. It is argued that information relevant to victim/witness credibility and/or cooperation in prosecution is brought to bear in deciding prosecutorial strategies of case processing. Therefore, it is hypothesized that, controlling for legal and extralegal variables, case information that decreases uncertainty concerning victim/witness management will increase the probability of continued prosecution. Support is found for this uncertainty avoidance thesis. In addition, the data indicate that prosecuting attorneys are less likely to continue prosecution of cases involving female defendants and are more likely to continue prosecution of defendants whose bail outcome includes financial conditions for

ISSN:0011-1384    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1986.tb01505.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1986

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This paper reports the results of a field study of 15 street‐level heroin dealers in Detroit, Michigan. The techniques used by these heroin dealers are different from those described in most previous literature. The Detroit dealers do not conform to the traditional “hustling” model. They operate within a bureaucracy, do not generally sell heroin to fund their own habit, are relatively young, and largely lack an approval ideology for their activ

ISSN:0011-1384    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1986.tb01506.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1986

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The sociological perspectives which helped formulate the study of delinquency and continue to underlie more specific conceptual frameworks—Social Disorganization, Subculture, and Labeling—point to the importance of contextual effects in the dynamics explaining delinquent and criminal behavior. Yet, systematic examination of such effects has been all but neglected. This paper delineates and empirically assesses neighborhood characteristics postulated to represent contextual factors affecting individual delinquency and criminality. Data were collected from a stratified random sample of adolescent males drawn from 12 New York City neighborhoods. The initial model, designed to refine hypotheses specifying community contextual effects, exhibits a highly satisfactory fit to the data. The framework underscores the importance of considering distinct community contextual effects as well as individual‐level effects. Two neighborhood‐level factors, the effects of which are quite distinct, are important: the community's level of organizational participation and the extent of disorder and criminal subculture. The indirect and direct effects of these factors are elaborated in relation to three measures of de1inquency—namely, self‐reported, officially recorded, and severe self‐reporte

ISSN:0011-1384    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1986.tb01507.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1986

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This report examines a school‐based delinquency prevention program that combined an environmental change approach with direct intervention for high‐risk youths to reduce delinquent behavior and increase educational attainment. The program involved school stafl students, and community members in planning and implementing a comprehensive school improvement effort; changed disciplinary procedures; and enhanced the school program with activities aimed at increasing achievement and creating a more positive school climate. It also provided services to marginal students designed to increase their self‐concepts and success experiences and to strengthen their bonds to the school.The program brought about a small but measurable reduction in delinquent behavior and misconduct. Students in participating schools were suspended less often, reported fewer punishing experiences in school, and reported less involvement in delinquent and drug‐related activities. The environmental interventions apparently decreased delinquency and misconduct by promoting a sense of belonging in and attachment to the school and by improving the general climate and disciplinary practices in the schools. The direct interventions with high‐risk students did not reduce delinquent behavior, but did increase commitment to education as indicated by rates of dropout, retention, graduation, and standardized achievement test scores. The evidence supports the conclusion that the program has promise for reducing delinquency and its risk factors for the general population and for improving educational outcomes for high‐risk individuals. Implications for theory and practice ar

ISSN:0011-1384    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1986.tb01508.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1986

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This study examines the impact of income inequality and ethnic heterogeneity on homicide rates for a sample of 32 nations. The results of the analyses indicate that vertical social direrentiation, as measured by income inequality, and horizontal differentiation, as indexed by ethnic heterogeneity, have signijicant main effects on cross‐national homicide. Additionally, evidence is presented suggesting an interaction effect on inequaliry and heterogeneity on homicide. It appears that increased ethnic heterogeneity exacerbates the impact of income inequality on homicide rate

ISSN:0011-1384    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1986.tb01509.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1986

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Despite the widespreach acceptance of the notion that during periods of economic downturn, higher levels of unemployment lead to higher levels of crime and imprisonment, the research literature reveals very little consistent support for the existence of such a relationship. Studies that do suggest unemployment causes crime and imprisonment have used methodological techniques which, especially in over‐time studies, could lead to the acceptance of spurious effects caused by trend and lag as evidence of a true relationship. Using data over a six‐year period for the United States, a panel model is specified in which appropriate controls for intra‐series trend and cross‐series lagged effects are included. Although bivariate correlations are strongly suggestive of a relationship between unemployment and crime, results of the panel approach suggest that most of the apparent relationship is due to common trend effects. Little evidence is found for the existence of a relationship between crime/imprisonment and unemployment, regardless of the type of effect considered. In addition, results from stability tests indicate that the crime‐unemployment relationship has been unstable. while the unemployment‐imprisonment relationship has been relativel

ISSN:0011-1384    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1986.tb01510.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1986

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

In the past quarter‐century, the number of suits filed by prisoners in federal courts has substantially increased. Critics have borrowed metaphors from ballistics or pathologv to describe this increase as an “epidemic” of “legal pollution” or an “explosion.” The causes of this “hyperlexis,” or excessive litigation, are often attributed to prisoners' attempts to retry their cases once they have lost, or to some psychological attribute of plaintiffs who view litigation as a means of striking back at their keepers. This paper examines several common conceptions of prisoner litigation. National ling data from federal district courts are used to assess the merits of each. The data provide little support for many of the conceptions of and explanations for prisoner suits. It is suggested that prisoners' use of courts may be a form of social resistance to conditions for which there is no other legitimate

ISSN:0011-1384    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1986.tb01511.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1986

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:0011-1384    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1986.tb01512.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1986

数据来源: WILEY