Robert G. Morris

Neutralizing Potential and Self-Reported Digital Piracy A Multitheoretical Exploration Among College Undergraduates

This study explores retrospective (self-reported) and prospective (willingness to engage) participation in digital piracy via a multitheoretical approach relying on self-control, social learning, microanomie, and techniques of neutralization. Using more complete measures of digital piracy than in previous studies (illegal music, software, and movie downloading), data were collected from undergraduate students from multiple universities (n = 585). Modest support was found for neutralization theory when controlling for other theoretical variables. Modest support was also established for social learning theory. It is clear that there is an underexplored cross-theoretical dynamic in explaining self-reported piracy and willingness to engage in digital piracy. Suggestions for policy and future research are presented and limitations are accounted for.

Inmate Custody Levels and Prison Rule Violations

Researchers have recently combined individual-level data with institutional measures to detect prison-level correlates of inmate misconduct. Although this body of literature has yielded insights into how the prison environment contributes to misconduct, we argue that it has ignored an important level of analysis, namely the custody level. As some inmates are placed in more restrictive confinement than others, custody levels may absorb some of the variation in individual-level and/or prison-level correlates of misconduct. Accordingly, we analyzed data from over 70,000 inmates who were housed in Texas prisons during 2008 and found that custody levels were strongly and positively associated with misconduct, even (a) after accounting for the endogeneity of custody levels and (b) once inmate- and prison-level measures were included. We draw on labeling theory in our efforts to explain the relationship between custody levels and misconduct.

The effect of medical marijuana laws on crime: evidence from state panel data, 1990-2006.

Background Debate has surrounded the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes for decades. Some have argued medical marijuana legalization (MML) poses a threat to public health and safety, perhaps also affecting crime rates. In recent years, some U.S. states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes, reigniting political and public interest in the impact of marijuana legalization on a range of outcomes. Methods Relying on U.S. state panel data, we analyzed the association between state MML and state crime rates for all Part I offenses collected by the FBI. Findings Results did not indicate a crime exacerbating effect of MML on any of the Part I offenses. Alternatively, state MML may be correlated with a reduction in homicide and assault rates, net of other covariates. Conclusions These findings run counter to arguments suggesting the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes poses a danger to public health in terms of exposure to violent crime and property crimes.

Institutional Misconduct and Differential Parole Eligibility Among Capital Inmates

Managing career inmates (e.g., capital murderers) is a serious burden for prison administrators and taxpayers. Research findings are mixed as to whether such inmates will engage in increased levels of institutional misconduct. Using complete disciplinary histories from non-death-sentenced capital inmates in Texas whose offenses occurred between 1987 and 1994, the authors explored the need for increased security levels between capital murderers sentenced to markedly different parole eligibility policies (15 years vs. 35 to 40 years before becoming eligible for parole). They also explored whether career inmates represent greater management challenges because they have “nothing to lose,” compared with capital inmates with less time to parole eligibility. Findings suggest that capital inmates sentenced to longer mandatory prison terms are less likely to engage in serious and violent misconduct. Policy implications are discussed in terms of prison administration, fiscal practicability, and career inmate social development.

Prison Architecture and Inmate Misconduct A Multilevel Assessment

Researchers have not yet devoted sufficient attention to the effect of prison architecture on inmate misconduct. Using data from the population of male prisoners in Texas, the authors explored the association between two prison architectural design types (as determined by satellite imagery) and inmate misconduct. The results from multilevel statistical analyses suggest that architectural design is associated with nonviolent misconduct but not violent misconduct. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

For Whom Do Sanctions Deter and Label

Deterrence and labeling theories make opposing predictions regarding the effect of sanctions on subsequent crime. Deterrence anticipates that sanctions deter, while labeling anticipates that sanctions amplify future crime. The knowledge base with respect to this question is vast, and while a handful of studies provide evidence of a deterrent effect, the majority of studies indicate a null effect. Our study examines whether an arrest leads to an increase in subsequent crime, but extends the knowledge base by considering whether an arrest has the same effect across offender trajectories and by employing techniques that deal with sample selection bias. Thus, we assess for whom sanctions deter or exacerbate subsequent offending. Results indicate that for greater risk youth, arrest amplifies subsequent delinquency, net of other effects, but not among lower risk youth. Thus, experiencing an arrest aggravates subsequent delinquency among some but not all persons. Implications and directions for future research are identified.

Distribution and Correlates of Self-Reported Crimes of Trust

This study examines the distribution and correlates of a special class of property crimes, crimes of trust, using longitudinal and cross sectional self-report data from a national sample. We begin by defining crimes of trust and consider their conceptual relationship to “conventional” property crimes, which we here characterize as crimes of stealth, and to white collar crimes, which are defined in terms of the social status of the perpetrators. Crimes of trust are here defined as property crimes that typically involve deliberate contact with the victim or, where there is more than one victim, with at least one or more victims, in which there is typically more of a focus on concealing the fact that a crime has been committed than on concealing the identity of the perpetrator (as is the case in crimes of stealth), without regard to the socioeconomic status of the perpetrator (thus including but not limited to white collar crimes). The focus here is on crimes of trust committed by individuals (as opposed to corporate crime). We first examine their distribution by sociodemographic characteristics, then examine the correlation of crimes of trust with other types of illegal behavior, using data from the National Youth Survey Family Study, including (1) longitudinal self-report data from a nationally representative panel of individuals who were 11–18 years old in 1976–77 and who were followed through early middle age (ages 36–44) in 2002–2003, plus (2) cross-sectional data on these individuals plus their parents, spouses, and children age 11 and older in 2002–2003 (total age range 11–88). The results suggest that crimes of trust have a different age–crime curve from conventional crimes, and that they are not as strongly correlated with problem substance use, gender, and other socioeconomic indicators as conventional crimes.

A New Era of Policing? An Examination of Texas Police Chiefs' Perceptions of Homeland Security

Many claims have been made about how the events of September 11 have thrust American policing into a new era, one wherein homeland security is the dominant strategy. To examine the validity of such claims, a sample of 208 Texas police chiefs is surveyed concerning their perceptions of homeland security as a strategy for local law enforcement. Factors that influence those perceptions are also examined. The findings reveal that, whereas the majority of chiefs felt that homeland security had become the dominant strategy of the police institution, few believed that homeland security had become the overriding strategy of their respective departments. Furthermore, regression analyses suggest that federal collaboration, preparedness, and threat perceptions were predictive of homeland security perceptions. Regarding department size, chiefs of very small departments are more likely to report homeland security as their dominant strategy in relation to chiefs of larger departments. Policy implications are discussed.

Social Bonds, Self-Control, and Adult Criminality A Nationally Representative Assessment of Hirschi’s Revised Self-Control Theory

Recent modifications to self-control theory suggest that influential factors (bonds) equate to self-control in the calculation of whether or not to engage in deviant behavior. Hirschi argued that self-control should fare better as a theory when it is operationalized as the number and salience of an individual’s social bonds, rather than as a cognitive scale, or count of previous acts, as suggested by the original theory. This study extends the control theory literature by assessing the impact of redefined self-control, as well as attitudinal self-control, on adult criminal behavior. Data analyzed were from Waves 10 and 11 of the National Youth Survey Family Study. Findings suggest that both forms of self-control (new and old) are equivalently predictive of adult crime, yet it is unlikely that they are capturing the same phenomenon during adulthood. Implications for control theory are discussed.

An exploration of the relationship between MP3 player ownership and digital piracy

A great deal of research has explored the impact of technology on human behavior, particularly the emergence of the Internet and computer technology to facilitate digital piracy. Few studies have, however, considered how portable digital music, or MP3, players facilitate or reduce involvement in piracy. This study explores the relationship between digital ownership and participation in digital piracy among a population of college students. The findings suggest that MP3 player ownership is significantly connected to piracy, along with deviant peer connections. In addition, there are significant differences in the beliefs and attitudes of owners and non‐owners toward online deviance and piracy.