Chris E. Marshall

The relative importance of race and ethnicity on citizen attitudes toward the police

Undertakes research in Omaha, Nebraska on factors found to be predictors of attitudes toward the police (ATP). Addresses the question of whether ATP are primarily a function of police‐citizen interaction or if they derive from the transmission of cultural values. If the former, strategies to modify police and citizen behavior are required; if the latter, an impact on socialization may be needed to improve ATP. Summarizes the nature and measurement of ATP. Finds, in common with earlier research, that although age, gender and police contact have significant effects, race variables have the greatest effect. In contrast with other research, finds that social class has some influence on ATP. Compares Hispanic, black and white respondents’ ATP. Suggests that neighborhood is an important influence on ATP. Recommends further studies on the development of ATP in youth.

The validity of self-reported marijuana and cocaine use

This article presents initial evidence on the validity of self-report interview data obtained from recently booked arrestees participating in the Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) program to identify factors associated with the accuracy of the DUF self-reports. In addition, this study examines issues surrounding the accuracy of self-reporting a relatively soft drug, such as marijuana, compared to a relatively hard drug, such as cocaine. The data were obtained from 4,080 arrestees in the DUF program in Omaha, Nebraska from 1987 to 1994. It was found that the accuracy of self-reported drug use varies considerably from one drug to another. In the case of a relatively soft drug, such as marijuana, the accuracy of self-reports may be less dependent on personal characteristics than on situational factors. When examining a relatively hard drug, however, such as cocaine, self-reports may be more influenced by both respondent characteristics and situational factors.

FEAR OF CRIME, COMMUNITY SATISFACTION AND SELF-PROTECTIVE MEASURES: PERCEPTIONS FROM A MIDWESTERN CITY

ABSTRACT In the present paper, an examination is done of fear of crime and its relation to various measures of community satisfaction and self-protective measures. The two main aspects of the analysis are: (1) a bivariate treatment of many key hypothesized consequences of fear of crime previously examined in the research literature; and (2) a multivariate analysis of the combination of community satisfaction and self-protective measures with various levels of fear of crime. The data examined were drawn from a telephone survey of a probability sample of medium-sized midwestern citys residents.

Mixed Method Measurement of Homicide Events in Comparative Research: An Illustration of the Potential of Qualitative Comparative Analysis

The purpose of the paper is to present some alternative conceptual and methodological approaches to the study of homicide in a comparative context. The authors argue that: (1) international homicide statistics are incomplete and unreliable for purposes of global description and comparison; (2) international quantitative measures of homicide rates are superficial and one‐dimensional; and (3) the commonly used definition of homicide as interpersonal violence is too narrow. It is suggested that certain types of comparative questions about homicide may be best answered by the use of the homicide event, and that we should broaden the research agenda to include both (interpersonal) homicide and collective homicide. An argument is made for a mixed method approach, taking full advantage of all qualitative and quantitative data sources available. Homicide‐related information from 21 countries representing all world regions is used to demonstrate how Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) (Ragin, 1987: 2000) is one method to produce a parsimonious description of typical homicide events in a comparative context. The paper makes a case for the importance of developing (descriptive) national homicide profiles as a first step towards developing and testing macro‐level explanations of cross‐national variations in homicide events.

A Portrait of Crime Victims Who Fight Back

Although many victims of crime apparently remain passive during criminal victimization, some choose to respond with force. In this article, the authors have used National Crime Survey data to examine this type of response to victimization. Using the NCS data, the authors have described three groups of victims: (a) those who use a gun in self-defense, (b) those who use a weapon other than a gun, and (c) those who use no weapon but fight back by kicking, hitting, or biting. Further, the authors have described some of the key aspect characteristics of the victimization incident for each of these three victim-response groups in an effort to identify differences between them.

The implementation of formal procedures in juvenile court processing of status offenders

Abstract Discriminant analysis of both observational and records data from two juvenile court systems is used to assess differences in the type and activities of the people involved in legal processing of status and nonstatus offenders. The analysis indicates that there are differences between the processing of the two categories of offenders; however, contrary to expectations, the most powerful discriminating variables (detention and petitioner) are not those related to the degree in which the justice system has implemented the formalities mandated by the Gault decision. It is concluded that statutory distinctions between legal categories of juveniles have virtually no relevance for the degree of formality with which these cases are processed by the courts.

Toward a Refinement of Purpose in Comparative Criminological Research: Research Site Selection in Focus

This paper draws on a distinction between two purposes of comparative research: (1) testing the universality of a proposition (theory testing) and (2) specification of a proposition (theory construction). These two distinct activities have been inadvertently mixed in comparative criminology thereby causing a great deal of confusion. The present paper argues that attention by comparative researchers to this distinction between theory testing and theory construction will contribute to the resolution of one major methodological problem: that of research site selection. We suggest that in light of the distinction drawn, the testing of the universality of a proposition is most appropriately done in research comparing Western and non-Western nations (“dissimilar design”). But comparative research aimed at the specification of a proposition is best conducted by comparing Western nations (“similar design”).

Self-Reported Property Crime Patterns in 30 Countries Adventures in Multivariate Exploratory Data Analysis

In this article, we investigate the use of a multivariate exploratory data analysis technique, nonlinear principle components analysis (NPCA). The technique is presented as a means for thorough descriptive analysis in a multivariate setting and with data of varying levels of measurement. The technique includes a strong visualization component of the kind previously only available for only one- and two-variable situations. This multivariate technique makes possible more thorough pre-analysis examination of data, a step frequently overlooked in most quantitative research. The data examined are self-reported prevalence measures for property crime from the Second International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD-2). Our examination suggested that: (a) the property variable seems to group around two underlying dimensions (“Simple Object Dimension” and the “Complex Object Dimension”); (b) hacking proved to be a potentially very interesting but yet problematic variable due to interpretation of the item by the youthful respondents; and (c) the groupings and subgroupings of variables do show distinct nonrandom relationships among the 30 country property crime profiles in the analysis as well as the Esping-Andersen/ISRD-2 clustering system widely used in ISRD-2 research efforts.

Norms, Values, and Education: How Different Are Immigrant Youth from Native Youth? Insights from the Third International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD3)

This chapter uses the preliminary results of the third International-Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD3). ISRD3 is an ongoing international collaborative survey that currently includes about 62,500 seventh, eighth, and ninth graders between 12 and 16 years of age from 27 countries. The youth were asked to answer questions related to their evaluations of the wrongness of eight items (prosocial values), levels of sense of shame associated with selected antisocial behaviors, school experiences, and migration status (native, first, and second generations). The data suggest that the differences between countries with respect to youth’s morality are significantly larger than the differences between migrant and native youth within individual countries. The same is true for youth’s educational experiences. The chapter concludes with a policy suggestion regarding the role of the school in forming civil and social norms.

Shame and Wrong: Is There a Common Morality Among Young People in France, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, and the USA?

The chapter analyzes morality as a dependent variable measured by survey responses of some 10,000 children in 7th, 8th, and 9th grade participating in the ISRD3 project in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the USA. The chapter empirically describes differences and commonalities in the values and norms of native-born pupils and their migrant counterparts, and it tests the hypothesis that the effect of migration status, parents, school, religion, and friends on morality will be similar in France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and the USA. Psychometric analysis of the measures of morality (Pro-Social Values Index and Shame Index) supports cross-national measurement equivalence of the measures. We find broadly similar patterns of morality across these five countries, with some country-level variations in degree of moral consensus across children. Multivariate analysis shows higher levels of morality among girls, lower grades, and those who care about opinion of parents, and teachers, among all five youth samples. Religious affiliation is only of minor importance: Muslim pupils in the Netherlands and the UK score slightly lower on morality scales, but in the US, French, and German samples, this is not the case. The effects of being native-born and first- or second-generation immigrant on morality are weak and inconsistent, suggesting the need for country-specific analysis.