James O. Finckenauer

Public support for the death penalty: Retribution as just deserts or retribution as revenge?

The U.S. Supreme Court has declared that capital punishment is not unconstitutional per se, in part because the high degree of public support for the death penalty indicates that the American public does not consider it to be cruel and unusual punishment. According to the Court, the publics desire for retribution is an appropriate basis for determining that the death penalty is an acceptable criminal sanction. This paper examines the degree of public support for the death penalty and the basis for that support. It also explores the differences between retribution as just deserts and retribution as revenge, and concludes by asking whether a public desire for revenge is an appropriate, enlightened basis for our capital punishment policy.

The Quest for Quality in Criminal Justice Education

Criminal justice education has a checkered past, but a potentially very bright future. That past and that future, with the present sandwiched in between, are laid out here. My prime goal is to pose an agenda for teaching and learning about crime, law and justice in the 21st century. This is an agenda that seeks to insure quality, while dramatically expanding the scope and depth of criminal justice education.

Fear of crime among vulnerable populations: Homeless women

Are the factors associated with the fear of crime in the general population the same as those operating with especially vulnerable subgroups? If not, how and why are they different? Previous studies concerning the fear of crime have identified certain vulnerability factors as being associated with higher levels of fear. These include, for instance, being female, living in certain ghetto areas, and being elderly. Because many of these studies focused upon fear in the general population, however, they assumed a certain homogeneity of fear, whether it be among women, among the elderly, among Blacks, etc. They failed to make distinctions based upon relative degrees of vulnerability. They also generally neglected the notion of fear management—of coping. This research addresses these concerns. Two hundred homeless women (defined here as homeless adult females living on the streets), were interviewed in New York City. Among other things, they were asked about their crime risks and their crime fears. Results indicate that fear of crime is higher among those street women who have suffered past victimization. It is also slightly higher among those who perceived themselves to be more vulnerable. Perhaps most interesting is the finding that there is only a low correlation between self-perceived vulnerability to victimization and the fear of crime. This supports the proposition that these are two distinctive concepts; and, most importantly, it does so in the context of a particularly vulnerable population. Possible explanations of a seemingly paradoxical situation, namely high vulnerability existing side by side with a low fear of crime, are explored and discussed.

Some factors in police discretion and decision making

Abstract This is a study of the exercise of police discretion as indicated by the responses of police recruits to a series of ambiguous, but common incidents. The situations are ambiguous in that they do not call for a clear course of action. The study measures the influence on the use of discretion of certain factors characterizing the police officers and the incidents themselves. The key finding is that the recruits most often seem to impose their own brand of justice based upon their judgement of what the communitys expectations of the appropriate police response are. This judgement is most influenced by the accumulation of experience or “street wisdom”.

The Resurgence of Prostitution in China: Explanations and Implications

Prostitution reemerged in China in the 1980s and has become rampant ever since then—attracting enormous attention and academic interest. This article examines the history of prostitution in China, from its roots to the causes of its resurgence. It also examines China’s legal responses and policies and their limited effectiveness in containing the growth of the sex industry. In considering the possible relationship between prostitution and human trafficking, this article intends to improve our understanding of the link between the sex industry and sex trafficking, and to push for empirical studies on Chinese women working as prostitutes.

Evaluability Assessment in Juvenile Justice: A Case Example

An evaluability assessment of three programs of the Juvenile Justice Commission of the State of New Jersey was undertaken. Operation Hook-Up, the Hudson County YAP Challenge Program, and the Monmouth County Bullying Prevention Project were assessed. This included interviewing program personnel, site visits, reviewing the record-keeping systems, and meeting with the staff of the Juvenile Justice Commission and of the programs. This assessment enabled the researchers to acquire firsthand knowledge of the programs that led to the development of tailored evaluation designs for two programs. This article describes the programs, the assessment, and the bases for our recommendations.

Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Subcultures in the Former Soviet Union

Attempting to examine and explain juvenile delinquency in the former Soviet Union in 1991 and 1992 is akin to what one Sovietologist reported as attempting to change a tire on a moving automobile. But to make matters worse, in this case the automobile has not only been moving, but in the meantime has changed into another form. The Soviet Union underwent accelerating social, economic, and political changes beginning in 1985. One cumulative effect of these changes seems to have been an accelerating increase in juvenile delinquency and youth crime. When the USSR finally imploded in December, 1991, it created a cataclysmic social upheaval. The expectation is that generally matters are only going to get worse before they begin to get better. This paper explores the nature of juvenile delinquency in the former Soviet Union during the period leading up to the countrys final days. It pays particular attention to the emergence of youth subcultures and juvenile gangs. It draws some contrasts with comparable issues...

Juvenile Delinquency in the USSR: Social Structural Explanations

This paper looks at juvenile delinquency in the Soviet Union in the context of certain social structural theories of delinquency. These theories attempt to explain the behavior in terms of broad socio-cultural aberrations and socio-economic inequities in the society. It is just these aberrations and inequities which have been consistently ignored or denied by Soviet authorities. As part of the research for the paper, the author spent two months in the USSR in the summer of 1986 conducting interviews with Soviet criminologists and officials and visiting juvenile justice agencies.

Delinquency among a Sample of Russian Youth: A Test of Power-Control Theory

Power-control theory purports to explain juvenile delinquency in terms of socioeconomic class, gender, and family structure. To date, it has been developed and investigated only with Canadian and American samples. This paper extends the application of this explanation by using data collected from Russian youths. As part of a 1992 study of legal socialization, a questionnaire was administered to 268 Moscow students. Based upon their responses to items that reflect elements of power-control, we examine the thesis that gender differences in risk orientation and delinquency will vary on the basis of family structure, as that is determined by parental roles in the workplace.

Ruminating about Boot Camps: Panaceas, Paradoxes, and Ideology.

Abstract The editors invited the author, a leading authority on “shock prisonization” regimens generally and on that “imperfect panacea,” the Scared Straight program, in particular, to consider the research in this volume from the perspective of more than two decades of scientific inquiry and analysis undertaken by himself and his colleagues. Particular focus is placed on studies reported in this volume that link ideology and empirical evidence.