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To Know the Unknown: The Decline in Homicide Clearance Rates, 1980-2000

Ousey, G. C., Lee, M. R. — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:38:29 PST

Against the backdrop of the precipitous decline in urban homicide clearance over the past several decades, this study examines factors that may be linked to within-city, over-time variation in homicide clearance rates from 1980 to 2000. Conceptual arguments focusing on case-level characteristics of homicides as well as the broader macrosocial context are delineated and empirically tested. Results from a fixed-effects regression analysis reveal that changes in clearance rates are linked to changes in the situational characteristics of murder incidents such as the percentage of cases involving strangers, firearms, other felonies, and arguments. In addition, within-city changes in immigration are found to be associated with lower clearance rates, whereas drug market arrests are associated with higher clearance rates. Contrary to politically popular assertions, clearance rates do not appear to be a function of changes in police personnel or workload.

A Gendered Assessment of the "Threat of Victimization": Examining Gender Differences in Fear of Crime, Perceived Risk, Avoidance, and Defensive Behaviors

May, D. C, Rader, N. E, Goodrum, S. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:18:51 PST

Rader has called for a change in how researchers study fear of crime, suggesting that fear of crime, perceptions of risk, and experiences with victimization are interrelated dimensions of the larger "threat of victimization" concept. In this study, the authors examine how each independent dimension affects additional theoretical dimensions of the "threat of victimization" and how these relationships vary by gender. Using data from residents of Kentucky, the authors estimate a series of multivariate linear and logistic regression models. The findings presented here suggest that gender differences do exist in the components of the threat of victimization and that many of the relationships in the Rader model are multifaceted, including the relationship between perceived risk, fear of crime, and avoidance and defensive behaviors. Implications of these findings for future research regarding predictors of the threat of victimization are discussed.

Where is Criminology? The Institutional Placement of Criminology Within Sociology and Criminal Justice

Triplett, R., Turner, E. M. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:18:50 PST

This article examines the institutional placement of graduate programs in criminology. Using Peterson’s Guide to Graduate Programs in the Humanities and Social Sciences for 2004, 1994, and 1984, a sampling frame of programs that had "criminology" in the department/program or degree title was constructed. Data show that criminology was most commonly located in combined criminal justice/criminology departments, not in departments of sociology. Between 1984 and 2004, there was an increase in the number of criminology programs. An examination of seven departments, for which detailed information was available, offers insight into the decisions that shaped the institutional placement of the program as well as what the program or degree would be called.

Images of Crime and Justice in Early Commercial Radio: 1932 to 1958

Cheatwood, D. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:18:51 PST

Between 1929 and 1962, radio reached audiences comparable to those of contemporaneous pulp magazines or motion pictures and was one of the most significant mass media in the construction of America's fundamental values and attitudes. This study examined radio logs and over 200 hours of radio programming drawn from 97 crime-related programs broadcast between 1932 and 1958 and confirmed that crime-related programs were a significant portion of radio programming to the American public. An analysis of the programs themselves found that three subgenres dominated crime radio: Outsider or Detective programs (over 50% of the total), Police or Criminal Justice Dramas, and Mystery programs. Radio programs continued a tradition derived from pulp magazines and dime novels and distorted the actual nature of crime and criminal justice. In the programs, the criminal justice system was presented as strongly front end loaded, with police work being the sum of crime fighting. The characteristics of crime and criminals were inverted in radio (as in older pulp magazines and more recent visual media), with murders planned and carried out by middle-to-upper class White males being common. These images were repetitive and stereotypical, as were images of race and gender, in early commercial radio.

Merciful Justice: Lessons From 50 Years of New York Death Penalty Commutations

Acker, J. R, Harmon, T., Rivera, C. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:18:51 PST

This article examines the reasons offered by seven New York governors in justification of their decisions to commute death sentences in 159 cases between 1920 and 1970. In doing so, it scrutinizes the common assertion that, in marked contrast to contemporary death penalty cases, merciful considerations once were bountiful in sparing condemned offenders from execution. An examination of the New York governors' reasons for granting clemency and the legal context within which their decisions were made suggests that mercy accounted for few death sentence commutations during this time period and that other considerations predominated. To the extent that the New York experience resembles that of other states historically, the analysis suggests that the comparatively infrequent use of executive clemency in contemporary capital cases may owe more to the significant differences in death penalty laws and their administration during the different eras than to a diminished role for mercy.

Crack-ing the Media Myth: Reconsidering Sentencing Severity for Cocaine Offenders by Drug Type

Hartley, R. D, Miller, J M. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:18:51 PST

Federal narcotics sentencing policy, most notably for cocaine, has been criticized in regard to its excessive severity and racially disparate outcomes. Crack cocaine was heavily portrayed in the media during the 1980s as a dire social threat directly worsening the crime rate, a threat taken seriously as indicated by greater legislative enactment of mandatory minimums specifically targeting narcotics offenses. The research here uses a theoretical-mixed methodological symmetry (focal concerns perspective—content/regression analysis) to explore media portrayal of, and case outcomes for, crack versus powder cocaine offenders. Media portrayals of powder and crack cocaine offenders are considered through examination of USA today articles. These media portrayals are compared with official outcomes through a temporally corresponding regression analysis of federal crack and powder cocaine offenders from federal district court. Findings inform discussion of policy implications and invite scrutiny of media construction of crime problems.

Verrill, S. W. (2008). Social Structure-Social Learning and Delinquency: Moderation or Mediaton? New York: LFB Scholarly. vii, 188 pp

Higgins, G. E. — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:05:02 PST

Oberman, M., & Meyer, C. (2008). When Mothers Kill: Interviews From Prison. New York: New York University Press. 177 pp

Canales, N. — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:05:00 PST