From the editor's desk

Abstract

This is the last edition of THE JUSTICE PROFESSIONAL in its present format. Starting with Volume 16 #1, we will be known as CRIMINAL JUSTICE STUDIES: A CRITICAL JOURNAL OF CRIME, LAW & SOCIETY, still published quarterly by Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, and refereed. We will be accepting articles that are both quantifiable and qualitative in all areas of criminal justice and related areas. See the back cover for further information. For the past decade, researchers have examined the differences between criminal justice and non-criminal justice students' attitudes to various criminal justice issues and problems. The one area left out, according to Christopher Hensley, Richard Tewksbury, Alexis Miller and Mary Koscheski, has been that of corrections. In their article, "Criminal Justice and Non-Criminal Justice Students' Views of U.S. Correctional Issues", using data collected from 570 students, they examine the difference in attitudes among criminal justice and non-criminal justice majors on various inmate related problems. Rick Ruddell and G. Larry Mays have co-authored an article entitled, "Research Note: Using the NIJ Threat Level Scale to Classify Firearms Lethality". Their study evaluates a modified National Institute of Justice (NIJ) body armor threat level scale as a method to classify the capacity for firearms lethality. Their study finds that the NIJ scale is a valid measure of classifying threat. The sovereignty of Native Americans makes Congress the ultimate arbitrator of Native American Affairs. In the work by Otis B. Grant, he points out that in any tribal criminal law enforcement action three distinct governments are involved: tribal, state and federal. He indicates in his article that to determine which government or governments has jurisdiction, police and prosecutors should conduct a three-step test to determine: (1) location of the crime; (2) supremacy of law issues; and (3) race of the offender and race of the victim. Identity theft is not what Hollywood has led us to believe. Or so says Katherine Slosarik in her work, "Identity Theft: An Overview of the Problem". It is not a James Bond type donning latex and wigs, essentially becoming someone else. The real identity theft is more subtle and far easier to accomplish. The identity thief does not even have to look like his/her victim. Only one thing is needed - a Social Security Number (SSN). In a special interview by Judith E. Sturges of Penn State at Fayette, Dr. Sturges has interviewed Dr. Kenneth Kerle, editor of the American Jails Magazine. The topic discussed is how the public's perception about the purpose of jails affects funding and programs. Dr. Kerle suggests that jail administrators take an active role in their communities to inform citizens about jail issues. Community support is needed as well in order to reduce the crime rates during the twenty-first century.