Criminal Justice Outcomes Research Articles

Beauty is only skin deep: An examination of physical attractiveness, attractive personality, and personal grooming on criminal justice outcomes.

Research has found that physical attractiveness is related to a host of benefits across life outcomes. Within the field of criminal justice, physical attractiveness appears to afford individuals leniency at various decision points. This research, however, often fails to include measures of personal presentation beyond simply measuring physical attractiveness. The current study extends this line of research by investigating how physical attractiveness, personality attractiveness, and grooming are related to criminal justice processing decisions. Results from negative binomial and logistic regression analyses indicate that when assessed alone, physical attractiveness significantly decreased the odds of criminal behavior by 18 percent, arrest by 11 percent, conviction by 14 percent, and incarceration by 28 percent-controlling for race, age, and gender. When controlling for personality and grooming, however, physical attractiveness results in a 47 to 53 percent increase in the risk of experiencing these outcomes while having an attractive personality and being well-groomed significantly reduced such risk. These results highlight the importance of considering other factors of appearance and personal presentation when considering how attractiveness influences criminal justice outcomes.

Veterans Treatment Courts: An Exploratory Analysis of the Effect of Veteran Mentors

Few studies have investigated the effect of mentorship on participants’ clinical or criminal justice outcomes in veterans treatment courts (VTCs). This study is an exploratory analysis of a VTC in Hillsborough County, Florida. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to examine behavioral health changes between baseline and follow-up and compare participants with/without a mentor. Post hoc analyses explored the effect of mentorship on graduation and re-arrest rates. Participants with a mentor had significant improvements in mental health, trauma, substance use, and social support; and significantly higher levels of positive social interaction than those without a mentor. Mentor status was not meaningfully related to graduation and re-arrest rates in bivariate analyses, but post hoc analyses found that social support mediated the relationship between mentor satisfaction and re-arrest and graduation rates.

Child homicide in Ontario, Canada: Comparing criminal justice outcomes

Child homicide remains responsible for a high number of child deaths despite decreasing in recent decades. Much of the research on child homicide has focused specifically on filicide or the broader characteristics of child homicide. Little research has examined whether the degree of intimacy between victims and perpetrators in child homicide cases may impact criminal justice outcomes. Focusing on 603 cases of child homicide between 1985 and 2018 in Ontario, Canada, this exploratory study compares the criminal justice outcomes of perpetrators with a familial relationship, non-familial relationship, and no prior relationship with the victim. Results show that familial perpetrators were less likely to be convicted of murder. Stereotypes about intimacy and violence that may impact criminal justice outcomes in child homicide cases are explored. Suggestions for future research on the effect of intimacy on criminal justice outcomes are highlighted, and policy implications are also discussed.

Solving Crime for America's “Others”: Crime Clearance and Asian American Victims

Based on the theoretical notion that racial hierarchy influences inequality in criminal justice outcomes, previous crime clearance studies have included victims’ race as a salient predictor of clearance. However, Asian American victims are seldom studied, often dropped from the analysis or combined as “other” with smaller racial groups. The unique and dialectical position of Asian Americans in the U.S. racial stratification system, simultaneously considered as “honorary White” and stigmatized as “perpetual foreigner” and “yellow peril,” should attract more research interest in the area of racial inequality in criminal justice outcomes. Using National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data, the current study examines racial/ethnic differences in crime clearance by arrest, with special attention given to Asian victims in comparison to White, Black, Hispanic, and Native American victims. The survival analysis found no statistically significant difference in crime clearance between White and Asian victims, with their clearance likelihood higher than for victims from other minority groups. The current analysis also found that the use of a simpler White/non-White dichotomy or placement of Asians in a broad “other” category risks obscuring important differences in crime clearance between Asians and other minority groups.

How Does Structural Racism Operate (in) the Contemporary US Criminal Justice System?

I describe how cultural and structural racism operate the entire contemporary American criminal justice system via five features: devaluation of certain human lives, ubiquitous adaptation, networked structure, perceived neutrality, and temporal amnesia. I draw from specific historical and contemporary examples in policing, courts, and corrections to further emphasize the foundational nature of racism and its role in shaping racial/ethnic inequities not just in relationship to criminal justice outcomes but also in relationship to health, economic, and social well-being.

Disparities in extreme contexts: The impact of gender and mental health status on the criminal justice outcomes of extremists

PurposeWhile disparities in the treatment of individuals in the criminal justice system have been well-documented, due to varying political and legal contexts it is likely that disparities may differ for perpetrators of extremism. This research examines the effects of gender and mental health status on criminal justice outcomes of individuals who have been accused of committing ideologically motivated crimes in the United States. MethodsUsing the Extremist Crime Database (ECDB) and logistic and ordinary least-squares (OLS) regression models, this study estimates the effects of these individual characteristics on adjudication method and sentence length, and isolates pre/post-2001 time-periods. ResultsThe findings suggest that women are more likely to plead guilty and receive shorter sentences, but time-period and the status of ‘terrorist’ is an important factor for the influence of gender. Additionally, mental health can lead to contrasting outcomes, depending on the circumstances. ConclusionsThese findings highlight the divergent treatment of extremist perpetrators, specifically noting that gender and mental health can be influential factors after controlling for ideology and other associated factors. Importantly, the findings suggest that the role of gender and mental health on legal outcomes maybe vary based on contextual factors that are shaped by policies specific to this crime type.

Multidimensional Family Therapy for Justice-Involved Young Adults with Substance Use Disorders

The present study explored the acceptability, feasibility, fidelity, and outcomes of a young adult adaptation of multidimensional family therapy (MDFT), an evidence-based family treatment originally developed for adolescents. Participants included 22 individuals between the ages of 19 to 25 who were enrolled in a criminal drug court program. MDFT was found to be feasible and was delivered with strong fidelity to young adults and their families. Participants reported high satisfaction with MDFT, and 95% completed treatment. Analyses revealed statistically significant decreases in substance use on all indicators from baseline to the 6-month follow-up. Significant improvements were also noted in vocational functioning, including a 73% increase in full-time employment from baseline to 6-month follow-up. Criminal justice outcomes included a significant decrease in legal risk, and 86% of study participants had no rearrests from baseline through the 18-month follow-up period. The article concludes with recommendations for implementing family-based interventions with young adults, as well as future research directions in this important area.

Data bias, intelligent systems and criminal justice outcomes

Abstract The use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is gaining prominence in the whole gamut of the criminal justice system spanning the processes of crime identification, arrests, prosecution, sentencing and punishment. While the benefits of this are certain, so also are the demerits, especially as manifested in the data bias problem. This article focuses on the nature and impact of data bias in the development and deployment of AI on criminal justice outcomes. The justice outcomes are expressed in terms of injustice created through potential and actual breaches of human rights standards when artificial intelligence systems (AIS) are employed for criminal justice purposes. This ­article advocates a multifaceted approach involving legal, regulatory, trainings and ethical responses in combatting the data bias problem.

Criminal Justice Outcomes of Suicide by Cop Survivors.

The concept of suicide by cop (SbC) is of interest to psychiatrists, law enforcement professionals, lawyers, and citizens. It is a form of provoked homicide arising from a wish to die. Those who attempt SbC experience more mental illness, substance use, and recent trauma than the general population. This article examines those who attempt SbC and survive the encounters. SbC survivors who threaten or harm police or others may be charged with crimes such as weapons possession, aggravated assault, murder or attempted murder of an officer. The formulation of a provocative act, however, frustrates attempts at defenses based on mental state, resulting in few requests for expert testimony. Few data exist on how these individuals fare in court. Appellate cases in which defendants attempted to introduce evidence of SbC illustrate great variability in adjudication. Psychiatric defenses, such as diminished capacity and insanity, are usually inapplicable or unsuccessful because intent and knowledge of wrongfulness are implied in the provocative act. Diversion of SbC defendants into mental health courts is rare because of firearms use against police. The author argues that criminal justice ignores SbC survivors' mental health and recommends application of therapeutic jurisprudence to give full expression of SbC dynamics.

The Welsh criminal justice system: On the jagged edge By R.Jones, R.W.Jones, Cardiff: University of Wales Press. 2022. pp. 292. £24.99 (pbk); £24.99 (ebk). ISBN: 9781786839435; 9781786839442

The Welsh criminal justice system: On the jagged edge By R.Jones, R.W.Jones, Cardiff: University of Wales Press. 2022. pp. 292. £24.99 (pbk); £24.99 (ebk). ISBN: 9781786839435; 9781786839442

Digital evidence in defence practice: Prevalence, challenges and expertise

This article examines how criminal defence lawyers in the English adversarial system understand and use digital evidence (DE). Its first aim is to provide an empirical insight into their practices. Secondly, the article seeks to analyse the difficulties encountered by these professionals in accessing and working with DE—both those that they receive from the prosecution and those presented by the DE they need to defend their clients. Thirdly, the article discusses how criminal defence lawyers understand DE and its limitations and select relevant expert witnesses. Fourthly, it considers how the tensions discussed can be overcome. It is argued that while systemic issues outside the control of criminal defence lawyers are likely to impact the speed with which DE and witness expertise are secured, improving these professionals’ digital literacy remains key to best representation and successful criminal justice outcomes.

Policing, Punishment, and Place: Spatial-Contextual Analyses of the Criminal Legal System

Policing and punishment are unevenly distributed across geographic space. Research analyzing place-based variation in the criminal legal system is increasing, asking how community conditions contribute to variation in criminal justice outcomes and how multiple criminal justice exposures (e.g., policing and punishment) vary together in places. In this article, we identify spatial-contextual analyses of the criminal legal system and summarize their contributions by organizing them by their three major approaches: those emphasizing crime, urban ecology, or social control. We describe challenges the subfield faces, including an overemphasis on large cities and an overcommitment to analyzing criminal justice institutions like police or prisons discretely, when they are often experienced cumulatively and simultaneously. We call for research that transcends received institutional divisions, generates recommendations for stakeholders at multiple scales, makes greater use of formal spatial modeling, and analyzes places across the urban-rural continuum.

Community-Level Relationships Between Mental Health Treatment and Criminal Justice Outcomes in Finland

Community-Level Relationships Between Mental Health Treatment and Criminal Justice Outcomes in Finland

Factors associated with successful reintegration for male offenders: a systematic narrative review with implicit causal model

ObjectivesThis systematic review explored factors associated with successful reintegration into the community for male offenders and investigated which factors may be causally related to reintegration.MethodsDatabase searches were conducted in November 2021; a narrative synthesis and associated causal model with directed acyclic graph (DAG) was used to analyse the factors of reintegration.ResultsThirty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. Risk-Need-Responsivity–based interventions had the strongest evidence for reducing post-release offending. Fourteen good-quality studies met the inclusion criteria. The DAG shows six exposure variables (prison visits, witnessing victimisation, recovery perception, risk assessment, in-prison treatment, and pre-prison health) which link to several post-release outcomes (criminal justice outcomes, drug use, mental health, housing, and reintegration barriers) and confounding variables (demographics, offending history, prior reintegration barriers, substance misuse and attitudes).ConclusionsThe review identified factors that may be causally related to reintegration for male offenders and warrant further empirical investigation.

From Project Bluestone to Operation Soteria Bluestone: An Academic-Police Collaboration

The UK Home Office commissioned a government review of the criminal justice response to rape and serious sexual offences in March 2019 to explore for adult offences criminal justice outcomes, such as the proportion of cases being charged, prosecuted, and convicted in England and Wales. The report boldly concluded that ‘too many rape victims do not receive the justice they deserve’ (George and Ferguson in: Review into the criminal justice system response to adult rape and serious sexual offences across England and Wales: Research report, HMG, 2021, p 3). Launching Operation Soteria as a response to this review, the UK Home Office pledged to increase the number of rape cases making it to court. This contribution is a policy paper which was developed by capturing reflections from [Professor Betsy Stanko captured by reflections from Sarah Crew, and herself—denoted as S below], Chief Constable, Avon and Somerset Police, National Police Chiefs Council Lead for the policing of Adult Rape and Serious Sexual Offences England and Wales, and [Professor Betsy Stanko captured by reflections from Sarah Crew, and herself—denoted as B below], Strategic Advisor and Academic Lead, Project Bluestone and Operation Soteria Bluestone. They consider how this approach to improving the justice response to rape came about, bringing together academics and police forces across the country.

The use of linked administrative data to explore the impact of formal social care services involvement in childhood on education and offending outcomes.

Young people who are care experienced are overrepresented in the criminal justice system and in general have worse outcomes in education than their non-looked after peers (DfE & Hinds, 2019; Prison Reform Trust, 2017). Recent evidence has reported that children who have a social worker (classified as child in need or those with a child protection plan), but who do not enter the care system, can have worse outcomes in education than those children who are looked after (DfE, 2019b). There remains little research evidence about the extent to which children with a social worker become involved with criminal justice services or how the age, duration and nature of formal social care service involvement may impact on education and offending outcomes. Researchers have been challenged by the lack of a sufficiently sized quantitative data, that crossed social care, education and offending domains. In work funded by ADR-UK, the present research project uses the newly linked DfE-MoJ administrative dataset to explore how different forms of formal social care services involvement impacts on education and criminal justice outcomes. Multi-level models will explore the role of formal child social care services amongst other multi-systemic risk and protective factors for education and offending. The presentation of his work will include preliminary statistics and insights into the challenges and potential further use of the linked dataset for researchers.

The Culture of Control in Schools: How Punitive and Disadvantaged Spaces Impact Race-Specific Suspension Rates

Across American societal institutions, a punitive culture of control and surveillance has manifested in a variety of ways, including exponential growth in incarceration rates and school suspension rates over the last four decades. To date, much of the scholarship exploring the relationship between criminal justice outcomes and school-based outcomes has focused primarily on how school punishment is consequential for future involvement in the justice system. What remains unclear, however, is whether an alternative relationship exists. That is, does a culture of control foster an environment where punitiveness in the criminal justice system is mirrored by punitiveness within schools? Drawing on carceral perspectives and place-based stratification theories and analyzing a random sample of Florida middle and high schools combined with school district data, several key findings emerge. Specifically, Black and Hispanic students are more likely to be suspended in places with higher incarceration rates; all students are more likely to be suspended in places with greater concentrated disadvantage; and Black and Hispanic students are significantly more likely to be suspended when attending schools in places with high incarceration rates and greater concentrated disadvantage. These findings highlight the interconnectedness of place and social control in the school setting.

Effects of Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors on Public Perceptions of Offenders: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITB) are prevalent within the criminal justice system, and formal justice involvement exacerbates SITB risk. Nevertheless, there is a lack of understanding about public perceptions of offenders with SITB. Using a sample of 2,097 U.S. residents, this randomized controlled trial evaluates public perceptions of relevant criminal justice outcomes and offender characteristics when an offender exhibits or reports SITB. Participants were more likely to endorse arrest for offenders–particularly violent offenders–who exhibited or reported SITB. Respondents were also more likely to believe offenders who exhibited or reported SITB–particularly violent offenders–would recidivate. SITB was associated with perceptions of increased dangerousness to self and others, which were explanatory mechanisms for why SITB was associated with endorsement for arrest and perceptions of increased likelihood of recidivism. These findings offer important insights into the general concern from the public to maintain public health and safety. Policy implications and future directions are discussed.

Examining the health and criminal justice characteristics for young people on compulsory community treatment orders: An Australian birth cohort and data linkage study

BackgroundMost studies on the predictors and effectiveness of community treatment orders (CTOs) are restricted to health-related variables and do not consider forensic contacts as established by criminal justice databases or predictors from birth. We used linked administrative health and criminal justice data for a birth cohort in Queensland, Australia to investigate the characteristics and outcomes of people placed on CTOs. MethodsCTOs were identified from administrative data for hospital admissions and community mental health service contacts for a population cohort of 45,141 individuals born in Queensland in 1990. These data were linked with administrative court records, with individuals followed up to age 23/24 years. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine characteristics associated with CTO placement and Tobit regression analyses to examine factors predicting health and criminal justice outcomes in the following year. ResultsThere were 211 CTO cases by age 23/24 years, for whom it was possible to identify 413 controls on voluntary treatment. Non-affective psychoses [F20-F29] were the strongest predictors of CTO placement (ORadj = 4.07, 2.77–5.99) followed by a court appearance (ORadj = 1.99, 1.28–3.09). CTOs were associated with greater, not lower, subsequent psychiatric hospital admissions, inpatient bed-days and community mental health service contacts, although on sensitivity analyses psychiatric hospital admissions were the same as voluntary controls. CTOs were not associated with more subsequent court appearances despite higher rates of offending before CTO placement. ConclusionsBoth clinical and forensic variables can determine CTO placement and, on adjustment for these covariates, CTOs were not associated with reductions in psychiatric hospital admission, time spent as an inpatient, or subsequent court appearances. The latter finding might mean that CTOs reduce the risk of offending to that of voluntary controls.

The prevalence of self-reported mental illness among those imprisoned in New South Wales across three health surveys, from 2001 to 2015.

The prevalence of mental illness among those in prison is much higher than in the community; however, very few studies have examined whether rates have changed over time, in line with increasing self-reported rates in the community. This study compares the prevalence of self-reported mental illness, self-harm and suicidal thoughts/behaviours, and drug and alcohol use across three waves (2001, 2009 and 2015) of health surveys involving men and women in New South Wales prisons and compared these rates with published community-level findings. The prevalence of those reporting any mental health diagnosis increased significantly across the three surveys, even after adjustment for socio-demographic and criminal justice variables that also changed over time. Individuals surveyed in 2015 were more likely to report a mental health diagnosis than those surveyed in 2001 (adjusted odds ratio = 2.66, 95% confidence interval = [2.16, 3.27]). The prevalence of self-harm and suicidal thoughts and behaviours remained stable across the three surveys, while self-reported regular drug use decreased over the period. Women experienced a far greater burden of mental illness than men across all three surveys and experienced more growth in the prevalence of most psychiatric disorders. These findings have important implications for public and prison health systems given the poor social, health and criminal justice outcomes of those imprisoned with mental illness, both in custody and post-release.