John W. Gartrell

Victimization and Fear of Crime

Victimization has generally been associated with increased fear of crime. Analysis of two very large victimization surveys completed in the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta, explores the ways in which age and gender condition the experience of different types of victimization. While younger women were sensitized by assault (current or prior), older women appeared to be desensitized by similar victimization.

The sexual assault symptom scale : measuring self-reported sexual assault trauma in the emergency room

To test the utility of a new self-report measure of trauma in the immediate aftermath of sexual assault, 253 women were interviewed with the 32-item Sexual Assault Symtom Scale (SASS) in a hospital emergency room within 72 hr of assault

Specific Deterrence and Sentence Length The Case of Drunk Drivers

Researchers have assessed the effect of longer prison sentences by conducting aggregate-level studies of general deterrence. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the specific deterrent effects of longer custody sentences on individual offenders. The authors evaluated the effect of sentence length on drunk driving recidivism by using official records in a retrospective research design. A sample of 514 incarcerated drunk drivers we are followed up for 24 to 45 months in Alberta, Canada. The study searched for possible sentencing thresholds, the optimum sentence length at which point deterrent effects are maximized, and used multivariate statistical analysis to control for possible confounding background variables. The authors observed that sentence length exerted consistent deterrent effects on repeat drunk driving, even for chronic offenders. Shorter sentences were less effective in discouraging drunk driving recidivism, while sentences longer than 6 months did not produce additional benefits.