This study examines the relationship between heroin-assisted treatment versus methadone maintenance and the criminal activity of 1,015 individuals participating in a German model project. The main objective is to investigate how these treatments contribute to a decline of criminal behavior. The analyses are based upon self-reported criminal offence and police data on alleged criminals. Logistic regression is employed to explain the variance in the 12-month prevalence 1 year after program admission. The results clearly show a decline of criminal offences among participants receiving maintenance treatment; this decline was significantly greater in the heroin group with respect to property crimes and drug offences. The multivariate analysis reveals that the effects are due to a decrease of illegal drug use and absence from the drug scene.
The detection of drunk driving is an important task of police organizations. The impact of police work on drunk driving depends largely on drivers’ perceptions of the probability of detection. The present study explored the effects of different enforcement strategies on this perception. Participants (n=77) experienced different control strategies in a game and subsequently rated probability of detection. Degree of surveillance and efficiency of controls were varied. In the case of low detection probabilities, a substantial overestimation was found. Moreover, participants rated probability of detection higher when the same rate of detection was accomplished with few but efficient, compared to more but inefficient, controls. Assuming that a similar perception process is at work for drunk driving, the results suggest that increasing efficiency will have a greater impact on deterring drunk driving than increasing the frequency of controls. Consequences for police work are discussed.
Zusammenfassung: Die Bevölkerung und vor allem JustizpraktikerInnen werden in Deutschland vergleichsweise selten zu ihren Strafeinstellungen befragt, obwohl die Themen Kriminalität und Strafe zweifellos populär sind und zunehmend auch wieder die politische Debatte mitbestimmen. Die Sozialpsychologie kann einen Beitrag zum Verständnis und zur validen Erfassung von strafbezogenen Bedürfnissen und Auffassungen leisten. Im vorliegenden Aufsatz werden die hierzu vielfach eingesetzten allgemeinen Fragen und Aussagen zur Messung von Strafeinstellungen problematisiert und die Vorzüge von fiktiven Fallgeschichten aufgezeigt. Auch werden verschiedene Möglichkeiten diskutiert, in fiktiven Szenarien die Strafreaktionen der StudienteilnehmerInnen zu erheben.
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