No abstract

This article summarizes findings from a national study on promising correctional programs for women offenders. Information is provided about program characteristics that experts identify as predictive of positive outcomes. Similarities among correctional experts' and program participants' responses included characteristics of staff and individualized programming. Differences in perceptions of elements contributing to successful outcomes also were found. State-level administrators attributed success to methods of program operations, whereas prison administrators attributed success to treatments addressing multiple treatment needs. Results are relevant to program design, program implementation, and the generation of hypotheses linking program elements to outcomes.

Noting the paucity of research on the racial threat hypothesis in the juvenile courts, this study examined the interplay of defendant characteristics and country-level characteristics on dispositions. Data were retrieved from the Department of Juvenile Justice files in South Carolina and were analyzed using multinomial logistic hierarchical linear modeling. Results revealed support for the racial threat hypothesis, as racial inequity operated in a different manner (more punitively) for Black defendants. Larger Black populations in counties also led to an increased use of punitive sanctions. In addition, concentrated disadvantage effects were found, and heightened levels of teenage population led to higher incarceration rates for Black defendants. Limitations of this study, implications for stakeholders/practitioners, and directions for future research are discussed.

A generation of criminological research demonstrates considerable overlap between victim and offender populations. Although there is compelling theoretical and empirical evidence that criminal offenders live a high-risk lifestyle that exposes them to a higher likelihood of becoming victims of crime themselves, we take as a point of departure the possibility that an individual’s experiences as a crime victim might also motivate them to engage in certain forms of violent behavior as a form of ‘‘self-help.’’ In this study, violent self-help is conceptualized to encompass gang membership, handgun carrying, and aggravated assault. An analysis of data from a nationally representative sample of adolescents (12 years of age at the initial interview) provides support for the proposition that experienced and vicarious victimization are precursors to later violent behavior, even among youth with no history of violent behavior.

Over the past few decades, various forms of waiver have become increasingly used at the state level. Generally, the research literature has focused on three types of waiver: judicial, prosecutorial, and legislative. Reverse waiver, a fourth type, remains little studied. Moreover, little is known of the factors that judges consider when making the decision to either sentence juvenile offenders as adults or sentence them as juveniles after they have been waived. This article is an attempt to shed some light on how factors unrelated to the instant offense, often the case with reverse waiver, may affect sentencing outcomes for waived offenders. Several important findings were revealed. First, judges are sentencing the most violent and serious offenders as adults. Second, secondary legal factors such as pending charges and prior placements influence the sentencing decision. Third, the amount of experience that judges have in handling waiver cases significantly influences the sentencing decision.