Karen A. Snedker

Neighborhood Conditions and Fear of Crime A Reconsideration of Sex Differences

Research indicates that men and women commonly express different amounts of fear about crime. This article explores the sex difference in fear of crime levels by assessing differences in fear of crime in relation to urban environments. Using data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics Criminal Victimization and Perceptions of Community Safety, the present analysis employs multinomial logistic regressions to examine gradations in two measures of fear of crime. Some aspects of the neighborhood environment do differentially influence men and women’s fear of crime levels, including serious crime in the neighborhood, physical and social disorder. Findings highlight that women’s greater fear of crime is partially due to higher perceived risks through signals of neighborhood conditions.

Explaining the Gender Gap in Fear of Crime Assessments of Risk and Vulnerability Among New York City Residents

In the fear of crime literature, there is a consensus that women consistently report higher levels of fear. I examine how men and women assess their risks in light of prior experience, the environmental conditions that signal risk, and perceived personal vulnerability to provide a more thorough account of the gender disparity. Findings from in-depth interviews with New York City residents suggest that subjective evaluations of vulnerability are strong indicators of fear of crime for men and women. Furthermore, qualitative data reveal that gender assessments of vulnerability are related to issues of socialization, social learning processes and notions of effective agency. Little evidence supports fear of rape as the driving force behind perceived vulnerability for women.

Unburdening Stigma: Identity Repair through Rituals in Mental Health Court

A growing trend in the criminal justice system is the move toward problem-solving courts, including mental health courts. Using case studies of two mental health courts in a West Coast city, this article seeks to explore how mental health courts may operate by reducing stigma among clients. From observations of the court process in mental health courts and qualitative interviews with mental health court professional staff and mental health court clients, ritual process emerged as a powerful theme that underscores the management of social stigma. Drawing on Collins’s interaction ritual framework, the study demonstrates the benefits of rituals and how the focus on rituals in mental health courts is toward nonstigmatizing ends. Courtroom rituals work to reduce social stigma, manage spoiled identities, and attempt to reintegrate and restore the social self. Failed rituals and the subsequent reinforcement of stigma are also explored, which demonstrates that the posited effects of the ritual process are conditional.

Hosting a Tent City: Student Engagement and Homelessness:

In response to increasing homelessness in our city, Seattle Pacific University invited a homeless encampment (Tent City) to reside on our university campus for three months. This provided an opportunity to engage students on issues of poverty and inequality. Building from a service-learning model, we devised course work around homelessness and applied research. Students took a two-quarter course sequence to become knowledgeable about homelessness and sociological research methods in order to collect field observations and conduct interviews with Tent City residents. Based on student reflections, stereotypes about homelessness were challenged and social distance between students and people who were homeless was reduced. Student exposure to homelessness through faculty-guided research is an effective tool in developing a sociological imagination and an important step in fostering agents of social change.

Fear of violence during armed conflict: Social roles and responsibilities as determinants of fear

This article investigates the prevalence and determinants of fear as a consequence of living through armed conflict. We use survey data from Nepal during the armed conflict (1996-2006) to examine how trauma, sex and gender, age, marriage, and household size affect fear of violence. We also disaggregate types of worry, and find substantial variance on whether respondents were more concerned about livelihood consequences of conflict than physical danger. We supplement quantitative analyses with discussion of in-depth interviews from the study area on these same topics. Overall, our results highlight the enduring impact of gender roles in Nepal and that conflict might disproportionately affect those who are already vulnerable and have greater social responsibilities. This article provides a unique comparison between fear of violence during armed conflict in a low-income country to the fear of crime literature based in high-income countries.

Clients and Therapeutic Agents: Court Selection and Team Dynamics

This chapter illustrates the key principles of Mental Health Courts (MHCs) in the two case study sites detailing the selection process, treatment plans, conditions of probation, and the services offered to those opting-into the court. The chapter reveals how clients decide to opt-in or opt-out of the MHC and the ways in which some involuntarily get catch in the web of MHC. It details the MHC team members and specifically considers the role of the judge and other members of the team as therapeutic agents in dispensing therapeutic justice.

Reducing Recidivism and Pathways to Success

This chapter focuses on assessing the efficacy of MHCs using quantitative and qualitative data. Focusing first on criminal recidivism, the chapter describes reductions in criminal behavior post court-exit using administrative court data. Incentives at opt-in, mental health treatment usage, and completing MHC are associated with reductions in the likelihood of new crimes after exiting from one MHC. Drawing from interviews with MHC team members, the role of incentives, mental health treatment and graduation are explored further. Data illustrate the relationship between benefits offered to clients at entry and rewards throughput the court process and compliance levels with MHC conditions. MHC team members use rituals in order to work toward positive outcomes for MHC clients. The chapter ends with a discussion on how to assess success, calling for a more expansive understanding.

Beyond Adversarialism?: Collaboration and Therapeutic Goals

This chapter examines the theory of therapeutic jurisprudence and highlights the centrality of this orientation for MHCs. I outline the major paradigm shifts characteristic of MHCs—treatment orientation and collaboration and describe my formulation of “therapeutic justice.” I detail the mission of MHCs and the changes in court structure and culture, noting how a treatment orientation works in practice of a less adversarial model of criminal justice. In the chapter, I show that net-widening does occur in the case of MHCs—expanding the number of individuals under the control of the criminal justice system and the intensity and severity of criminal justice intervention—resulting in offenders becoming entangled in wider, stronger and denser nets. The chapters ends by revisiting the court’s mission.

Stories from Clients: How Mental Health Courts Can Change Lives

This Chapter details seven MHC case histories. By giving voice to clients, I uncover the experiences of those within the court. The stories illustrates the court’s influence on recidivism and how MHCs impact the lives of individuals. The interviews of MHC clients exemplify the ways in which experience in MHC influence their quality of life including the management of mental illness and substance use, housing stability, employment status and family relations. I examine how MHC participation encourages other pro-social and healthy behaviors that can lead to changed lives. The narratives reveal the potential of MHCs by highlighting some success stories based on court observations and interviews. Toward the end of the chapter I provided a nuanced explanation of why MHCs do not work for all clients.

Therapeutic Justice in Action: Court Process, Reviews and Sanctions

In this chapter I explore MHCs in action and how the court process influence client experiences. The chapter focuses on court reviews and the sanctioning process. How the court responds to compliance and non-compliance is consequential for clients, having both therapeutic and antitherapeutic effects. I highlight the role of procedural justice and harm reduction frameworks in the working of the court. Throughout the chapter, I detail how MHCs treatment orientation is on display formally before the judge and informally with team members in ways that enhance and impede therapeutic justice.