Jeffrey Ian Ross

Why Terrorism Subsides: A Comparative Study of Canada and the United States

The prevailing impression given by the mass media, public officials, and experts concerned with oppositional terrorism is that it is a clear and present danger, inexorably on the increase around the world. The statistical evidence on this point is less than persuasive. Unquestionably there was a sustained increase during the 1970s in the global aggregate of international terrorism, defined as terrorism carried out by autonomous nonstate actors and affecting nationals of at least two states. In the 1980s, however, international terrorism has fluctuated markedly from year to year, and it is difficult to reach any conclusions about long-term trends. And unless one subscribes to global conspiracy theories of terrorism, there is no reason to assume that trends or fluctuations in international terrorism have parallels in the incidence of domestic terrorism. Most important, the reliance on global or regional aggregates to analyze trends in either international or domestic terrorism obscures more than it reveals because it conveys the misleading impression that the trends are common to all countries and extremist movements.

Prison Research From the Inside The Role of Convict Autoethnography

A perspective that has often been absent in criminal justice research is that of former prisoners. This article discusses the establishment, in 1997, of “convict criminology,” a group of scholars producing research informed by their experiences of crime and the criminal justice process; that is, either those who have served time themselves or who have operated alongside prisoners as professionals in custodial settings. It is argued that such scholars face similar dilemmas to others in terms of emotionalism, but suggests that their emotions are of a different nature. While an “insider” perspective cannot lay claim to scientific “objectivity,” the article argues that the existence of emotion does not invalidate an “insider” criminologist’s views. Rather, the passion engendered by the experience of incarceration can add color, context, and contour to data collection, findings, and analysis and may therefore be regarded as an essential thread in the tapestry of criminological inquiry.

Situating the Academic Study of Controlling State Crime

This article reviews the academic context of state crime, focuses on its control, posits a number of areas where control can have a series of unintended consequences, and then suggests how to improve the publics ability to control state crime.

Making news of police violence : a comparative study of Toronto and New York City

Preface Foreword What Is Public Police Violence? A Political Process Model of Public Police Violence The Politics and Control of Police Violence in Toronto The Politics and Control of Police Violence in New York City Beyond Apathy Appendices Bibliography Index

The Marginalization of State Crime in Introductory Textbooks on Criminology

This article reviews how introductory textbooks on criminology, geared toward the American market, have disproportionately ignored the subject matter of state crime. The authors present both qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence of coverage given to crimes of the state from leading introductory textbooks, and then pose several questions for future research that could provide answers as to why this is the case. Ross and Rothe then contacted the authors of these books to request feedback on their decision-making processes used for content inclusion and/or exclusion; specifically why their texts offered only limited coverage on state crime. The authors conclude that market dynamics, coupled with professional intransigence, has contributed to this state of affairs.

Deconstructing the Terrorism – News Media Relationship

The news media are an extremely powerful actor in the dynamics of oppositional political terrorism. Just how important newspapers, radio, and television are during ongoing campaigns and in the context of terrorist incidents is a subject of constant debate (Atwater, 1987; Jenkins, 2003). Any understanding of the connections between this type of violence and the media must be embedded in broader discussions of: the power of the media (e.g. Shaw and McCombs, 1972), especially in conflict situations (e.g. Arno, 1984); the relationship among journalists, editors, authorities, and terrorists; empirical analyses of the media; and the connection between terrorism and public opinion.Nevertheless, since the early 1970s, researchers have examined the role of the news media in connection with terrorism. In many respects, this body of work is a sub-specialty in the field of terrorism studies. It is typically anchored in a limited number of academic disciplines including communications studies, law, political science, and sociology. In short, this Research Note looks at the venues in which research on this connection is typically found, the topics that academics generally research and the methods they use, their findings, and where these scholars might devote their future energy.The news media are an extremely powerful actor in the dynamics of oppositional political terrorism.1 Just how important newspapers, radio, and television are during ongoing campaigns and in the context of terrorist incidents is a subject of constant debate (Atwater, 1987; Jenkins, 2003). Any understanding of the connections between this type of violence and the media must be embedded in broader discussions of: the power of the media (e.g. Shaw and McCombs, 1972), especially in conflict situations (e.g. Arno, 1984); the relationship among journalists, editors, authorities, and terrorists; empirical analyses of the media; and the connection between terrorism and public opinion. Nevertheless, since the early 1970s, researchers have examined the role of the news media in connection with terrorism. In many respects, this body of work is a sub-specialty in the field of terrorism studies. It is typically anchored in a limited number of academic disciplines including communications studies, law, political science, and sociology. In short, this Research Note looks at the venues in which research on this connection is typically found, the topics that academics generally research and the methods they use, their findings, and where these scholars might devote their future energy.

Taking Stock of Research Methods and Analysis on Oppositional Political Terrorism

A variety of techniques are used by journalists, practitioners, experts, consultants, and scholars in conducting research on terrorism.2 This information appears in the context of journal articles, chapters in scholarly books, academic monographs, newspaper and magazine articles, and books for popular audiences. In general, this work can be divided into qualitative and quantitative approaches. A subtle but necessary distinction should also be made between research produced for popular audiences and that which is done for the academic or scholarly community. There is an understanding that work for this latter audience is more rigorous but may lack the excitement and sensational appeal to sustain a wider interest. Nevertheless, a symbiotic relationship exists between popular and academic writers; at various times they depend upon or use research from each other. Periodically, researchers conduct comprehensive reviews of the research on terrorism and the methods used by investigators. Since the examples from which they draw are illustrative, these writings are not meant to be comprehensive, but rather illustrative. Building on similar work by Schmid (1983) and Gurr (1988), I review salient contributions in both qualitative and quantitative approaches to terrorism studies.

Cutting the edge : current perspectives in radical/critical criminology and criminal justice

Understanding crime, criminals, and criminal justice from a radical/critical perspective is indispensable in todays academic, applied research, and policy sectors. Neglect of this approach leads to narrow-mindedness and the probability of repeating past mistakes or reinventing the wheel. Reading Cutting the Edge will encourage individuals and organizations, especially students and instructors, to think in innovative and new ways experimenting with new policy initiatives designed to improve not only criminal justice, but social and human justice as well.

Varieties of Prison Voyeurism An Analytic/Interpretive Framework

The public learns, experiences, and knows about jails, prisons, and the people who live and work there through a variety of mediums and/or methods. Not all situations are equal in terms of the cost to the individual, the reality of the experience, and the effect it may have on the participant. In an effort to better contextualize this process, this article develops a typology to better understand these methods of participation. Ten methods by which people can experience correctional facilities include, on one end of the spectrum, the highly personal experience of incarceration, and on the other end, attempts by individuals to understand and/or experience corrections without intimately engaging with the subject matter. This latter method, termed prison voyeurism, fails to contextualize the myths, misrepresentations, and stereotypes of prison life rather than clarifying or explaining them. The author develops a framework to interpret the jail and prison experience. Examples are drawn primarily from the American prison experience.

Private Military Contractors, Crime, and the Terrain of Unaccountability

Criminological research has traditionally attempted to explain the etiological factors of crime and then suggest appropriate controls. More often than not, the foci of this kind of work have remained on “street crime.” Since the 1990s, however, some scholars have turned their attention to the causal factors of corporate crime, state crime, crimes of globalization, supranational crimes, and their various permutations and interconnections. Clearly missing from this literature is the growing phenomenon of private military contractors (PMCs) and the crimogenic culture of and atmosphere within which they operate. Specifically, while the use of PMCs is rapidly growing, the increasing propensity for PMCs crimogenic culture and the unregulated nature of what has become a global industry is rarely studied by social scientists. Further, few criminologists have examined this area of research by applying criminological theory to explain the growth and emergence of PMCs. Our goal is to help fill this gap. Through the process of theory building and refinement we identify factors that facilitate the criminogenic environment within which PMCs operate. Additionally, without attempting to expand explanatory and causal mechanisms, policies aimed at reducing PMC criminality and social justice for their victims cannot be developed. As such, we draw from theoretical developments in state and state‐corporate crime, social disorganization, and anomie literature to shed light on key factors associated with PMCs, namely, the crimogenic atmosphere within which they operate.