Belinda R. McCarthy

Aids Awareness and the Impact of AIDS Education in Juvenile Corrections

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) poses significant problems for offenders, correctional administrators, and staff. The present study examined AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and precautionary measures reported by incarcerated juvenile offenders. It found that although offenders were relatively well-informed, there were misconceptions about the disease and its significance. Education increased levels of understanding and influenced attitudes toward AIDS. Findings indicate that instruction should emphasize the role of specific precautions and the need to utilize those precautions invariably. Guidance and the reinforcement of educational efforts should also be provided in community supervision settings.

Older Offenders: Perspectives in Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Introduction Elderly Crime and the Elderly Criminals Perspectives in Criminology Perspectives in Criminal Justice Bibliography Index

Preventive detention and pretrial custody in the juvenile court

Abstract Pretrial detention may be used to protect the juvenile or to protect the community, as in cases of preventive detention. The present study examined the different purposes of detention and how these distinct objectives affect other decisions in the juvenile justice process. In this study of 649 juvenile delinquents, 109 persons were detained; seventy-nine of these youths were in preventive detention. A comparison of the personal characteristics, criminal behavior, and subsequent judicial processing of these juveniles with those other detainess and nondetainees suggested that, on the whole, youths detained to protect the community are more dangerous than other offenders and receive more restrictive dispositions than other detainees and nondetainees. A minority of youths in preventive detention are nonserious offenders who seem to pose little threat to the community. Juveniles detained for their own benefit include both serious and nonserious offenders, but few of these youths ultimately receive restrictive dispositions.

Ambiguity and conflict in sentencing research: Partial resolution through crime-specific analysis

Prior research on factors influencing sentence severity has produced ambiguous findings. To resolve some of this ambiguity, a crime-specific approach to data analysis is proposed and tested. The research sample consists of 468 convictions resulting from 619 indictments for the crimes of murder, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery. Independent variables examined include seven offender and case-processing characteristics. The dependent variable, sentence severity, is measured first as a dichotomous variable (probation or prison) and then as an interval variable (prison-sentence length). After determining that crime type explains a significant proportion of the total variance in sentence severity, the dependent variables are then regressed on the variable list. Four regressions are performed for each dependent variable; the first analysis uses all cases in the sample, while the remaining analyses focus separately on the crimes of murder, assault, and robbery. The research indicates that the aggregate and crime-specific analyses produce substantively different results, both in terms of the factors found to influence sentence severity and the total amount of variance explained. Findings demonstrate the utility of crime-specific analysis.

Factors Influencing Sentences for Violent Offenses: An Exploratory Comparison of Crime-Specific and Undifferentiated Research Strategies

To resolve some of the ambiguity and conflict found in existing research on factors influencing sentence severity, a comparative analysis of sentences (N = 468) receivedfrom afullpopulation sample offelony indictments (N = 619)forfour violent offenses was undertaken. Variable frequency distribution and correlation with several measures of severity were examinedfor all offenses (undifferentiated) and then for each specific crime category. Results indicated that undifferentiated analysis, which represents the approach most frequently used in sentencing research, obscured important correlations and yielded others that were not present within any specific crime category; correspondingly, a number of the significant correlations produced by crime-specific analysis were of greater strength.

Case attrition in the juvenile court: An application of the crime control model

Although many aspects of the juvenile justice process have been studied in recent years, little attention has been given to the issue of case attrition—the loss of cases referred to the juvenile court through intake or judicial dismissals. This study examines case attrition in a metropolitan court, the types of cases lost, and the reasons for dismissal. Findings indicate that many serious crime cases are dismissed because of petitioner and/or witness actions. Methods of addressing this problem are discussed.

The use of jail confinement in the disposition of felony arrests

Abstract Although jail confinement is the disposition most frequently employed to incarcerate convicted offenders, research on the use of punishment in the United States consistently has focused on rates of imprisonment in state correctional facilities and ignored the use of jails. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of jails in the sentencing process, the factors that influence their use, and the relationship between jail and prison utilization. Offender Based Tracking System data and census data were employed in this intrastate study of all counties in California and Minnesota. Findings indicated that the average county in the jurisdictions examined used jails at least five times as frequently as prisons to dispose of felony arrests. The use of jails was a function not only of the volume of crime but of the type of crime in a community. Rates of jail utilization and prison utilization were highly correlated; jurisdictional variation was more apparent in the use of jail confinement and probation.

Certainty of punishment and sentence mitigation in plea behavior

Mitigation of sentence severity has been cited as a primary factor underlying defendant decisions to plead guilty. It has been studied extensively and it has been assumed, but rarely examined, that few defendants plead guilty in the absence of significant benefits. This paper examines the relationship between sentence benefits and plea behavior. A crime-specific analysis reveals that some defendants frequently plead guilty in the relative absence of significant benefits; conversely, others plead not guilty even though significant benefits are available for guilty pleaders. Applying several decision theory constructs to justice system processing, the defendants desire to reduce uncertainty is discussed and offered as a tentative explanation for the phenomenon of pleading guilty in the relative absence of significant benefits.

A Policy Oriented Research Model For The Juvenile Justice Courts: Description And Demonstration Analysis

Policymaking and planning in the juvenile court is a difficult undertaking because the decision-making environment is constantly changing and there is little goal consensus. A lack of adequate information on present practices and their impact further hinders assessment efforts. To address the problem of inadequate feedback, a policy-oriented research model that employs systems rates and rate determinants as the focus of analysis is developed. The model, which uses offender based transaction data available to virtually all courts with computerized data collection procedures, is described and its utility demonstrated in an analysis of the Maricopa County (Phoenix), Arizona Juvenile Court.