Ineke Haen Marshall

CRIMINAL CAREERS IN THE SHORT-TERM: INTRA-INDIVIDUAL VARIABILITY IN CRIME AND ITS RELATION TO LOCAL LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES*

We analyze month-to-month variations in offending and life circumstances of convicted felons to understand change in criminal behavior. We extend previous applications of social control theory by considering whether local life circumstances that strengthen or weaken social bonds influence offending over relatively short periods of time. We seek to determine whether formal and informal mechanisms of social control affect the likelihood of committing nine major felonies. We employ a hierarchical linear model that provides a within-individual analysis as we explore factors that determine the pattern of offending. The results suggest that meaningful short-term change in involvement in crime is strongly related to variation in local life circumstances. (Abstract Adapted from Source: American Sociological Review, 1995. Copyright

The Self-Report Methodology in Crime Research

Self-reports are often used in criminological research. Use of self-reports raises a number of important methodological issues including sampling options, participation and response rate concerns, and validity problems related to respondent characteristics, criminal involvement, and memory effects. Other central issues include instrument construction, conceptualization of the dependent variable, administration of the instrument, and reliability. The self-report method has improved greatly over the past fifty years. Many of its problems and limitations have been addressed. Although the self-report method does not replace other measures or methods, it has become a valuable tool for measuring criminal involvement and testing theory.

Self-reported youth delinquency in Europe and beyond: First results of the Second International Self-Report Delinquency Study in the context of police and victimization data

This article reports on the first results of the Second International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD-2), a large international collaborative study of delinquency and victimization of 12—15-year-old students. The analysis is based on a subsample of the data set: 43,968 respondents from 63 cities and 31 countries. The prevalence rates of the major categories of delinquency, both for individual countries as well as for 6 country clusters, are presented as well as data for victimization experiences (theft and robbery/extortion). Using different measures, significant differences in level and type of offending are found between country clusters, with the Western European and Anglo-Saxon countries generally (but not always) scoring highest, followed by Northern Europe, Latin American and Mediterranean countries, with post-socialist countries at the bottom. The results for victimization experiences do not follow this pattern. The second part of the article compares ISRD-2 offending and victimization rates with two other main sources of internationally available crime-related statistics: International Crime Victim Survey (ICVS) data and European Sourcebook (i.e. police-based) data. The analyses show a moderate level of support for a convergence of different measures. The article concludes with implications and suggestions for further research.

The many faces of youth crime : contrasting theoretical perspectives on juvenile delinquency across countries and cultures

Introduction.- Substance Use.- Delinquency.- Victimization Experiences.- Social Response and Reporting.- Family.- Schools and the Education System.- Lifestyle.- Self Control and Attitudes Towards Violence.- Neighborhood.- Macro-Sociological Perspectives on Individual Problem Behavior.- Theoretical and Policy Implications.

Maximizing the Availability of Cross-National Data on Homicide

Because the number of countries in the world is relatively small comparedwith other data sets, missing data present a major problem in cross-national homicide research. This article illustrates how missing data problems in comparative homicide research may be addressed by composite measures. Indexes such as the International Homicide Index, which takes advantage of multiple data sources on homicide, not only maximize thenumber of countries represented by the indicator but also produce a more parsimonious and robust measure of lethal violence levels across nations. In addition, the combination of multiple indicators in a single index provides checks and balances on data quality, minimizing the influence of poor-quality data and maximizing the influence of valid and reliable data. This article reviews the history and details the method of creating the International Homicide Index.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES: A PROFILE

Various commissions from the Wickersham (1931) to the National Advisory Commission on Higher Education for Police (1978) have calledfor the upgrading of police educational levels. Junior colleges, colleges and universities have responded by creating a plethora of educational programs. However, currently, little is known about the nature, form, or practice of criminal justice education in the United States. In attempting to fill this void, data from the Law Enforcement Education Program (LEEP) are presented concerning the number of students, criminal justice majors, and degrees awarded as well as institutional control, location, and type. These previously unpublished data are presented in a primary form Cfrequency distributions and cross-tabulations) to allow the reader to draw conclusions about the nature and scope of criminal justice education. Brief interpretations, however, are provided.

A Comparative Study of Youth Gangs in China and the United States: Definition, Offending, and Victimization

While the research on youth gangs in the United States has been around for generations, relatively little research on Chinese youth gangs has been published in Western journals. The purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence of the gang involvement of school-age youth in China and to explore whether or not some of the correlates associated with gang participation in the West, such as patterns of offending and victimization, are found in China. The data were collected from 7th, 8th, and 9th graders in both China and the United States using the same survey instrument, namely, the second International Self-Report Delinquency (ISRD-2). The results suggest that the U.S. sample has higher prevalence of self-nominated gang membership than the Chinese sample. In addition, the lifetime and last year participation rates in various criminal acts among the gang members in the Chinese sample were much lower than those in the U.S. sample. Last year prevalence of victimization was also examined between the gang members and nongang members in both samples. Finally, the definition of gang member identification was further explored to probe how culture, language, and social context can affect the understanding of a gang among the survey respondents.

Exploring the Utility of Self-Control Theory for Risky Behavior and Minor Delinquency Among Chinese Adolescents

Although scholarly interest in empirically assessing Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) self-control theory continues to grow, there is little research available on evaluating its utility in China. The current study examines the power of self-control theory as an explanation of juvenile minor risky behavior as well as minor delinquent behaviors in China, while simultaneously considering the role of social bonds. The data were collected from a probability sample of 7th, 8th, and 9th graders in Hangzhou, China (N = 1,043) using the second International Self-Report Delinquency (ISRD-2) survey instrument. The results from the logistic regression analyses show that self-control is associated with both measures of Chinese youth deviance in the expected direction, suggesting that the youth with low self-control have a higher likelihood to report minor risky and delinquent behavior. The effects of self-control remain when controlling for social bonding measures. Among the social bonding factors, beliefs (pro-violence attitude) and family bonding were found to be the significant predictors of risky behavior and minor delinquency, respectively.

The Generalizability of Self-Control Theory

In the preceding chapters, we made frequent use of Hirschi’s social bond theory, first presented in the classic Causes of Delinquency (1969). This theory argues that delinquent acts are inhibited to the extent that an individual is connected to a conventional life through social bonds – to family, school, and peers; and delinquency results “when an individuals’ bond to society is weak or broken” (Hirschi 1969: 16). Social bonds theory has been one of the most influential and enduring theoretical paradigms in the study of delinquency, both in its original formulation and through more recent revisions.

Social Production of Crime Data: A Critical Examination of Chinese Crime Statistics:

The primary focus of this article is a critical examination of Chinese crime statistics. The problems related to the production as well as the comparative use of Chinese national crime statistics are tackled by means of an organizing framework that includes macro-level characteristics of Chinese society, factors that affect the quality and quantity of Chinese crime statistics, and specific problems related to the comparative use of Chinese crime statistics. It is argued that Chinese crime statistics are suspect as a measure of criminal misconduct, more so than in Western countries, but that they nevertheless can be quite useful when applied as a measure of organizational processes reflecting social control.