An Investigation of Differences in Value Judgments between Youthful Offenders and Non-Offenders in Puerto Rico

Velez-Diaz, Angel; Megargee, Edwin I.

doi:10.2307/1142043

Cited by 44 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Although certain risks are associated with using a sample of undergraduates, at least four points, aside from convenience, merit consideration. First, the crime severity literature has long relied on such samples, and comparisons of undergraduate attitudes with those of other social groups and with the population at large generally have failed to reveal substantial differences (Akman, Normandeau, and Turner 1967;Figlio 1975;Kelley and Winslow 1970;Sellin and Wolfgang 1964;Velez-Diaz and Megargee 1971).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crime seriousness and punitive severity: An assessment of social attitudes

Durham

1988

Justice Quarterly

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

American penal policy appears to be shifting away from practices based upon the rehabilitative ideal and toward those consistent with the retributively based justice model. Yet despite the appearance of a variety of reforms based upon desert, several problems associated with the model have yet to be resolved. This paper focuses on the difficulty of identifying a basis for the development of a scale of proportionality between crime and punishment. The use of public sentiment as a basis is considered, and the results of a survey of attitudes regarding appropriate punishment for crime are discussed. The results of this assessment appear to provide little evidence that citizens agree on the appropriate punitive response for criminal activity.American penal policy appears to be undergoing substantial changes. Perhaps the most significant change involves the fall from grace of the rehabilitative rationale (W. Bailey 1966;Lipton, Martinson, and Wilkes 1975; Martin, Sechrest, and Redner, 1981;Martinson 1974; Sechrest, White, and Brown, 1979). Although the rehabilitative model continues to be championed (e.g., Cullen and Gilbert 1982), it seems clear that legislative initiatives have moved away from policies based on the hope, expectation, or even intention of rehabilitation.Perhaps the most conspicuous challenger for the position occupied formerly by rehabilitation is what has variously been referred to as the "commensurate deserts," "just deserts," or "justice" model of punishment. This model is predicated primarily on the idea that punishment should be based on the seriousness of the offense (von Hirsch 1976(von Hirsch , 1985. Lest the model appear oversimplified, it ought be noted that various advocates of the justice model operationalize it differently. Although Morris (1974) rejects the use of prior record in the determination of punishment, for example, yon Hirsch (1981) finds prior record an acceptable variable for inclusion in the sentence-determination process.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crime seriousness and punitive severity: An assessment of social attitudes

Durham

1988

Justice Quarterly

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Rankin, 1979). More importantly, previous research has shown a remarkable degree of consensus in crime seriousness ratings across diverse subgroups in our society; that is, various social characteristics have not been found to influence the way in which the public perceives the seriousness of legal violations (Figlio, 1975;Thomas et al ,1976;Velez-Diaz and Megargee, 1970). Thus, Rossi et al (1974: 231, 227) concluded that in their Baltimore sample, "the amount of consensus among subgroup averages is impressive .…”

Section: Have Attitudes Really Changed?mentioning

confidence: 96%

The Seriousness of Crime Revisited: Have Attitudes Toward White‐Collar Crime Changed?

Cullen

Link

Polanzi³

1982

Criminology

163

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Social commentators have often observed that the public is indifferent to white-collar criminality. However, the gruwing attention that white-collar crime has received in recent years raises the possibility of changes in thepublic'sperceptions of such violations. By replicating Rossi et al.'s sumey in 1972 of the seriousness of 140 offenses, the present research presents data indicating that white-collar crime has increased in seriousness more than any other offense category, trut that it is still viewed as less serious than most other forms of illegality. When different types of white-collar crime were analyzed, we found considerable variation in ratings, with high a degree of seriousness attributed to offenses involving physical harm. Further, while all categories of white-collar criminality increased in seriousness, attitudinal changes have been particularly apparent toward two types, Violent and Corporate Price-Fixing.It has long been asserted that white-collar crime does little to excite moral indignation in thegeneral public. Early in this century, E. A. Ross (1907: viii) decried the lack of concern about the evils of"new varietiesof sins"-business violations-when he commented that "in today's warfare on sin, the reactions of the public are about as serviceable as gongs and stink-pots in a modern battle." Three decades later, Sutherland (1940: 11) similarly observed that whitecollar criminality flourishes "because the community is not organized solidly against that behavior," AUTHORS' NOTE: We would like to thank Carol Skiles and Richard Schaefer for their assistance in the preparation of this manuscript.

show abstract

“…That is, they have shown that given a numerical scale, different groups and subgroups of raters will yield roughly equivalent seriousness ratings (see Normandeau, 1966;Akman et al, 1967;Velez-Diaz and Megargee, 1970). Rossi and co-workers (1974) and Berk and Rossi (1977: Appendix) concluded that raters tend to agree on the rank ordering of crimes (mean rating scores) despite differences in race, age, sex, education, and other rater characteristics.…”

Section: Perception Of Crime Seriousnessmentioning

confidence: 99%