Social Support and Social Reform: A Progressive Crime Control Agenda

Abstract

The near hegemony of conservative crime control policies is reinforced by a public idea or narrative about crime that citizens find persuasive: “Getting tough” with predatory offenders reduces lawlessness. Progressives have long criticized such ideology, but they have been less successful in advancing ideas capable of directing an alternative policy agenda. For three reasons, we suggest that social support may serve as a public idea that can help organize a progressive approach to crime control. First, the idea that we should increase social support to at-risk youths, families, and communities is good criminology because empirical evidence shows that social support is inversely related to individual offending and to macrolevel crime rates. Second, the claim that social support is beneficial makes sense because it resonates with Americans' personal and imagined experiences. Third, social support leads to specific policies that are humane and efficacious—that is, that will improve the lives of those at risk for crime and that will increase the safety of the public.

Social Support and Feelings of Hostility Among Released Inmates

“…Nevertheless, that low selfcontrol is predictive of negative outcomes for prisoner samples is supportive of prior research (Hochstetler & DeLisi, 2005) and adds to the already impressive empirical status of the theory (Pratt & Cullen, 2000). It also illustrates the importance of doing something "for" (support), as opposed to doing something "to" (control), a person to help him or her get on a prosocial behavioral path (see also the discussion by Cullen et al, 1999;Pratt & Cullen, 2005).…”

Examining the predictors of juvenile probation officers' rehabilitation orientation

“…These perceptions include beliefs about how many and what type of individuals are available sources of support for juvenile offenders (Bridges & Steen, 1998;Dukes & Stein, 2001;Gaarder, Rodriguez, & Zatz, 2004). Accounting for perceptions of juvenile offenders' social supports is important because research suggests that offenders who had a large amount of social support were perceived to be more amenable to rehabilitative methods then offenders with fewer supports because the former were thought to have had an already existing network of supports set up to enhance the rehabilitative process (Cullen, Wright, & Chamlin, 1999). Although previous research indicated that there were different aspects of social support that can be measured (i.e., type of support, value of support, and amount of support), this study specifically addressed probation officers' perceptions of the amount of support juvenile offenders receive.…”

Discriminators of types of recidivism among boot camp graduates in a five-year follow-up study

“…The authors are adding three factors that are conceptually consonant with life-course theory and appear to have long-ranged influences on outcomes such as crime (Newcomb, 1997;Stein & Newcomb, 1999). Supportive caregivers nurture and reinforce the development of personal identity attributes that promote resolve to resist temptations encouraged by delinquent peers (Cullen, Wright, & Chamlin, 1999;Lerner, Lerner, De Stefanis, & Apfel, 2001). Instead of attempting the daunting task of presenting an exhaustive list of personal attributes that insulated youths from delinquency, self-esteem and self-efficacy were selected as representatives in the present study.…”