The imperative to heed social environment and power of the situation, particularly as applied to prison settings, dates to the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment; the widely cited study concluded that situational factors, not personality, created the damaging conditions observed. Despite critical need for research on prison climate, measurement has met stiff challenges, and little research on prison culture exists in the United States. This study applies a 17-item scale, primarily based on Essen Climate Evaluation Schema (EssenCES), an instrument validated in Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. It was administered to inmates and staff in three correctional facilities in the U.S. Midwest, one medium security and two maximum security. Survey results demonstrate higher levels of cohesion at the medium-security facility, but multivariate analysis suggests a much more complex relationship between facility and environment, varying particularly in response to perceived inmate threat. Qualitative data suggest that understanding these associations is vital to building socially adaptive conditions and prosocial change.

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Objective The opportunity for web camera theft increased globally as institutions of higher education transitioned to remote learning during COVID-19. Given the thousands of cameras currently installed in classrooms, many with little protection, the present study tests the effectiveness of anti-theft signage for preventing camera theft. Methods Examined web camera theft at a southern, public university located in the United States of America by randomly assigning N = 104 classrooms to receive either anti-theft signage or no signage. Camera theft was analyzed using Blaker’s exact test. Results Classrooms not receiving anti-theft signage (control) were 3.42 times more likely to exhibit web camera theft than classrooms receiving anti-theft signage (medium effect size). Conclusions Using classrooms as the unit of analysis presents new opportunities for not only future crime prevention experiments, but also improving campus safety and security. Also, preventing web camera theft on campus is both fiscally and socially responsible, saving money and ensuring inclusivity for remote learners.

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Research on juvenile drug court (JDC) effectiveness has been largely underwhelming, generally showing mixed results. These findings, however, could be blamed on a deeper court problem: the inaccurate matching of services to needs. Data from a large juvenile court (N = 1,198) show that juveniles with substance abuse needs recidivate less when receiving JDC services than conventional ones. Likewise, juveniles without drug/alcohol needs receiving conventional services recidivate less than similar youth receiving JDC services. The present study contends that JDCs are an effective complement to conventional juvenile court intervention and demonstrates the importance of matching in delivering effective court services.

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The concept of chivalry encompasses a number of thoughts and social practices that regard women and girls as inherently in need of help and protection. As applied to the courts, chivalry is often used to explain disparities in processing decisions, where women and girls are treated with more lenience than men and boys. While unequal treatment by gender is expected under this concept, recent research suggests not all women receive chivalry equally, especially across other social statuses such as race and class. This entry defines chivalry, presents a chivalry hypothesis to explain court processing, reviews corollaries on the application of chivalry, considers an alternative conception of chivalry, and identifies prospects for future research.