William Wells

Arresting Developments: Trends in Female Arrests for Domestic Violence and Proposed Explanations

This article represents an effort to generate more systematic and specified discussion on the topic of unintended consequences in the movement to decrease violence against women. In this case, the consequence is increases in female arrests for domestic violence. This article builds on recent discussions by first using a sample of data to examine felony domestic violence arrest rates for men and women. The data support the conclusion that domestic violence arrests of women have increased. Second, the article presents six explanations that are derived from existing literature. Although the authors do not offer empirical tests of these explanations, this presentation can play an important part in better understanding the outcomes of criminal justice policies that are aimed at increasing victim safety.

Patterns of Near-Repeat Gun Assaults in Houston

The study assesses the extent to which gun assaults are clustered in space and time using crime data from Houston, Texas. The analysis examines patterns of gun assaults at the city-level as well as more localized levels in order to understand the spatial distribution of near-repeats within the city. Consistent with prior research, the city-level analysis shows significant and meaningful near-repeat patterns. The localized analysis indicates that the risk of near-repeats is not evenly distributed across space within the city, but is concentrated among a small portion of incidents and four relatively small spatial clusters. In addition, an examination of crime types, locations, and gang involvement shows slight differences between gun assaults with and without near-repeat follow-up shootings.

Evaluating the Measurement Properties of Procedural Justice in a Correctional Setting

Research and theory on the effects of fair procedures has gained popularity over the past decade. This is understandable given the inherent appeal of these ideas and the supporting evidence. Research suggests that authorities are able to secure compliance from subordinates when they use fair procedures and when they are viewed as legitimate. Unfortunately, empirical studies of procedural justice and legitimacy are hampered by weak measures of key theoretical constructs. The purpose of this study is to examine the measurement properties of procedural justice in a sample of inmates. Results show that a one-factor model of procedural justice fits the data well, though the authors find evidence of a method effect. Results also demonstrate important differences between the use of a summated procedural justice scale and a scale derived from a factor analysis. These findings illustrate the importance of paying careful attention to construct validity in measures of procedural justice.

Estimating the reliability of eyewitness identifications from police lineups

Significance In contrast to prior research, recent studies of simulated crimes have reported that (i) eyewitness confidence can be a strong indicator of accuracy and (ii) traditional simultaneous lineups may be diagnostically superior to sequential lineups. The significance of our study is that these issues were investigated using actual eyewitnesses to a crime. Recent laboratory trends were confirmed: Eyewitness confidence was strongly related to accuracy, and simultaneous lineups were, if anything, diagnostically superior to sequential lineups. These results suggest that recent reforms in the legal system, which were based on the results of older research, may need to be reevaluated. Laboratory-based mock crime studies have often been interpreted to mean that (i) eyewitness confidence in an identification made from a lineup is a weak indicator of accuracy and (ii) sequential lineups are diagnostically superior to traditional simultaneous lineups. Largely as a result, juries are increasingly encouraged to disregard eyewitness confidence, and up to 30% of law enforcement agencies in the United States have adopted the sequential procedure. We conducted a field study of actual eyewitnesses who were assigned to simultaneous or sequential photo lineups in the Houston Police Department over a 1-y period. Identifications were made using a three-point confidence scale, and a signal detection model was used to analyze and interpret the results. Our findings suggest that (i) confidence in an eyewitness identification from a fair lineup is a highly reliable indicator of accuracy and (ii) if there is any difference in diagnostic accuracy between the two lineup formats, it likely favors the simultaneous procedure.

Student Attitudes Toward Concealed Handguns on Campus at 2 Universities

We examined student support for a policy that would allow carrying of concealed handguns on university campuses. Large percentages of students at 2 universities expressed very low levels of comfort with the idea of permitting concealed handgun carrying on campus, suggesting that students may not welcome less restrictive policies. Students held slightly different opinions about concealed handguns on and off campus, suggesting that they view the campus environment as unique with respect to concealed handgun carrying.

Implementation Issues in a Community and Police Partnership in Law Enforcement Space: Lessons from a Case Study of a Community Policing Approach to Domestic Violence

Community Policing theory is personified by law enforcement organizations serving as catalysts for social change by enabling and empowering community-led involvement in the creation and maintenance of safety and order. Evidence suggests, however, that this personification is overshadowed by a reality marked by expanded law enforcement power and limited community involvement. A prominent explanation for a lack of significant community involvement is that community members are less than willing to put forth and sustain, or buy into, the effort required of effective collaboration with law enforcement. Although the lack of community buy-in offers a valid explanation, it may also oversimplify the complexity associated with coordinated responses to community and social problems. A case study of a community policing response to domestic violence is used to deconstruct the process of implementing a community and police partnership in law enforcement space. Several factors are identified that undermine both law enforcement and community involvement with the partnership.

How Many More Guns? Estimating the Effect of Allowing Licensed Concealed Handguns on a College Campus

Among other arguments, advocates for lifting bans on carrying concealed handguns on campus propose that this would increase the prevalence of legitimately carried handguns, which might then deter crimes or be used to intervene in campus shooting incidents like the one that took place at Virginia Tech in 2007. Opponents suggest that increased prevalence of concealed handguns would lead to increases in other negative consequences, such as accidental shootings. Little empirical research has examined the potential outcomes of such a policy change, nor has existing research examined the prerequisite issue of whether lifting these bans would result in substantial increases in the prevalence of concealed handguns among students. Using a sample of undergraduate classrooms selected from five academic buildings at a public university in Texas, this study examines the potential impact of lifting the concealed handgun ban on the likelihood that a given classroom would contain at least one legally carried handgun. Results reveal that the impact of potential policy changes in this area vary based on the building under consideration and the measure of potential handgun prevalence. Limitations of the study and implications for future research on the issue of concealed handgun carrying on college campuses are discussed.

Measuring Community Risk and Protective Factors for Adolescent Problem Behaviors Evidence from a Developing Nation

Most published research on community risk and protective factors for adolescent problem behaviors has been carried out in developed nations. This article examines community risk and protective factors in a sample of more than 2,500 adolescents in Trinidad and Tobago, a developing Caribbean nation. The authors examine the construct and concurrent validity of five community risk factors and two community protective factors. The findings of this study suggest that existing measures of risk and protective factors have weak construct validity when applied to a sample of youth from Trinidad and Tobago. The revised model specifications this study developed fit the data better than the original models developed in the United States. However, the concurrent validity of both sets of measures is weak. Our findings suggest the need for caution when transplanting measures of risk and protective factors from developed to developing nations.

Testing Previously Unsubmitted Sexual Assault Kits What Are the Investigative Results

Studies and local police jurisdictions have documented the existence of potentially valuable forensic evidence that have never been submitted to a crime laboratory for examination. The failure to analyze evidence is concerning because this may have prohibited case advancement in the criminal justice system. This study examines this possibility by describing investigative activities that occur after forensic screening of evidence that was not submitted for testing at the time of the original investigation. The study examines only sexual assault cases and finds that testing has a minimal impact in this sample.

Proactive Policing Effects on Repeat and Near-Repeat Shootings in Houston

The spatial analysis of crime and community problems can inform police operations by revealing where resources can be most effectively deployed. Advances in understanding the spatial concentrations of crime show that some locations are repeatedly victimized and that some nearby locations are at an elevated risk for a subsequent crime during a relatively short period of time. These are known as repeat and near-repeat phenomena. Police may be able to have a strong preventive impact on crime if these risk patterns can be identified and disrupted. This analysis reports on whether a specialized, proactive patrol unit deployed to high-crime areas was effective in disrupting repeat and near-repeat patterns of shootings. Results suggest the proactive unit did not disrupt concentrations of shootings in a meaningful way. To improve effectiveness, police practitioners and researchers should seek to understand the factors driving these patterns and then design specific interventions to address them.