Daniel J. Curran

Crime in Atlantic City: Do casinos make a difference?

In November, 1976 a constitutional referendum in the state of New Jersey legalized casino gaming. This paper examines the impact of this action on crime in Atlantic City, the only location in the state where gambling is permitted. More specifically, the analysis looks at the incidence of FBI index crimes in that jurisdiction in two basic ways. First, the work examines the raw numbers and rate of crime in the city, both before and after the introduction of casino gambling. Although the analysis establishes that the raw figures show that there has been a significant increase in index crimes, it is argued that using these statistics as a measure of crime in Atlantic City is misleading because they fail to take into account the numerous visitors to the city when calculating the population‐at‐risk and because they do not differentiate between crime that occurs in the community and that which occurs in the casinos. The second phase of the analysis addresses these issues through the use of adjusted populations a...

Economic Reform, the Floating Population, and Crime: The Transformation of Social Control in China

Since the 1950s, China has structured social relationships by limiting the populations mobility and separating the urban and rural populations. In the 1980s and 1990s, changes in Chinas economic strategy and its system of household registration contributed to the growth of a large transient “floating” population. This article argues that rising crime is linked to the floating population and that the traditional system of social control cannot resolve this problem. Although legislative measures have been enacted to address the resultant problems, the basic contradiction remains: The plan that has improved the nations economy has also created the floating population that threatens progress. Highly publicized campaigns and the extensive use of administrative detention and capital punishment call attention to the governments efforts to curtail crime and, thus, legitimate the state, but they do not resolve the basic contradiction that Chinas new economy cannot provide employment for the people.

Growing Fears, Rising Crime: Juveniles and China's Justice System:

While the officially reported incidence of juvenile offenses in the Peoples Republic of China is significantly lower than that in much of the remainder of the world community, youthful offenders account for about 75% of all criminal cases. This article provides some preliminary insights into juvenile justice in China based on the data available. The study examines survey data from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and establishes that juveniles in China have a greater fear of crime than their elders and are less willing to cooperate with and less trusting of the justice system. Next, the analysis examines statistical data, both national and provincial, and establishes that youthful offenders account for a disproportionate amount of total crime committed. The work briefly examines crime causation theories forwarded by Chinese scholars and concludes by focusing on gongdu (work-study) schools, examining their philosophy, structure, and their apparent success in reforming juvenile offenders.

Destructuring, Privatization, and the Promise of Juvenile Diversion: Compromising Community-Based Corrections:

During the 1970s, a consensus emerged that juvenile deinstitutionalization and diversion offered great promise for lowering recidivism. However, critics charged that community-based programs had failed to achieve their stated objectives and that diversion actually “widened the net” of social control. The present research examined the impact of “restructuring” by analyzing data on the national growth and distribution of open facilities in the United States. The study found that a bifurcated system has developed, in which public facilities are primarily responsible for institutionalized corrections while the private sector administers the majority of open-environment programs. The ramifications of this system and specific constitutional issues regarding the privatization of corrections are discussed.

The Myth of the “New” Female Delinquent

In recent years, research on the topic of female crime and delinquency has focused on the relationship between the womens liberation movement and increasing female criminal activity. This analysis takes issue with the contention that the womens movement has resulted in a rapid change in both the quantity and quality of female offenses. Through an examination of the Philadelphia Family Court System, the author argues that changes in the rate of female delinquent activity as well as in the disposition of youthful offenders are the results of legal and political shifts in orientation. Three significant political-legal periods are identified between 1960 and 1980: (1) a “paternalistic” period (1960-1967), during which female delinquents were harshly treated by the courts “for their own good”; (2) a “due process” era (1968-1976), which reflects the spirit of the Gault decision; and (3) a “law and order” phase (1977-1980), during which the court adjusted to the new conservatism of the late seventies.