Justice Quarterly Research Articles

A Social Network Analysis of Publishing Networks in the “Big 5” Journals in Criminology and Criminal Justice

Prior research has frequently employed various methods for investigating issues surrounding publication productivity and authorship, including examinations of the number of co-authors in peer-reviewed journal articles and the order of authorship. Relying on 5 years of data from publications from the “Big 5” journals in criminology and criminal justice (i.e., Criminology, Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Crime & Delinquency, and Justice Quarterly), the current study extends this extant research by providing a social network analysis of publishing networks. Results are consistent with previous findings, suggesting that publishing networks are largely decentralized, although key networks and definitive leaders in these networks exist as well. In addition, several authors were identified that have significant leverage over the publishing networks. Study limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.

Editorial Introduction to Special Issue of Justice Quarterly 2022 Public Opinion and Personal Perspectives: Implications for Crime and Justice

Editorial Introduction to Special Issue of Justice Quarterly 2022 Public Opinion and Personal Perspectives: Implications for Crime and Justice

“Test-As-You-Go” for Hot Spots Policing: Continuous Impact Assessment with Repeat Crossover Designs

Hot spots policing is rapidly changing its evidence-base. Instead of producing more results of one-off, conventional experiments that provide an evidence-base across police agencies (Braga et al., (Campbell Systematic Reviews, 15(3), 2019), hot spots policing (HSP) experiments in the UK are now providing continuous impact assessment (CIA) within police agencies, and within each hot spot. This new mission for experiments entails a change in research design, from the conventionally fixed assignment of each hot spot to a single treatment (in what is technically called a “parallel-track” design) to alternating treatments for each hot spot (in what is known as a “repeat crossover” design). Crossover design experiments are designed for an “on”-days-versus- “off”-days, “test-as-you-go” operating model, using test results in each hot spot for immediate operational feedback to improve performance. This feature can empower police supervisors with compelling evidence for officers about their impact on crime in recent weeks. This approach has great promise, but it also has a great threat. The promise is for integrating evidence more tightly with daily police operations. The threat is that crossover tests may underestimate the true benefits of HSP because they ignore the lingering, “residual deterrence” effects of HSP “on” days continuing into “off” days without HSP. That “carryover” effect of HSP in prior days may take up to 4 days to “wash out” (Barnes et al., 2020). Until it does, crime during HSP “off” days may be lower than if there had been no recent HSP “on” days, thus making HSP look less effective than it truly is. This problem is purely a matter of what analysts do, rather than what police officers do. As long as the officers deliver on their assigned tasks of which hot spots to patrol when, both research designs can have validity. But the problem of how to analyze the effects of these patrols is up to the analysts to solve. If the analysts handle the problem by deleting a certain number of days in between treatment changes for each hot spot—technically known as a “washout” period—they will provide valid impact assessments of HSP. More important, they can do that with a design that requires no long-term denial of service to large numbers of hot spots assigned to a control group, as in traditional random assignment to parallel tracks of treatment vs. control (e.g., Sherman & Weisburd, (Justice Quarterly, 625–648, 1995)).Repeat crossover trials are therefore an excellent improvement over parallel-track trials, subject to omitting crime measures from the washout period for eliminating carryover effects during crossover periods from one treatment condition to another. The following discussion shows how analysts and police leaders can use and implement crossover designs with high internal validity, without biased measures of crime on control days.

Editorial Introduction to Special Issue of Justice Quarterly 2021: Addressing High Priority, “Big” Policy Questions in a Polarized Society

The goal of this special issue is to provide sound empirical research addressing high priority, big policy questions in crime and justice amid the increasingly partisan divide in the United States....

Changing Influences in Criminology: Examining 45 Years of Criminology Journal Citations

A growing body of research has recently been devoted to quantifying research productivity both on the part of individuals, as well as the prestige that individual productivity levels bring to departments. Only recently has research begun to examine what journals criminologists are most likely to cite in their scholarly research. In this study, we rank the most influential journals cited in Criminology for the years 1969–1973, 1989–1993, and 2009–2013. Our analyses suggest Criminology quickly became the most cited journal, followed by JRCD and Justice Quarterly. Furthermore, the influence of sociological journals has remained strong, but has clearly diminished over time.

The lack of experimental research in criminology—evidence from Criminology and Justice Quarterly

Despite experiments being termed the “gold standard,” criminology has been slow to adopt experimentation as a methodology. The goal of this research note is to better understand the use of experiments in criminology and the potential barriers in implementing this methodology. We conducted a systematic assessment of experiments in Criminology and Justice Quarterly by reviewing every article published since the inception of the journals and coding for numerous elements (i.e., field versus lab studies, research areas, outcomes, and funding sources). Despite a general increase, experiments make up only 2.8% (n = 44) of studies in Criminology and 3.1% (n = 31) of studies in Justice Quarterly. While it is not always clear why experiments are not used more often, we explore the possible reasons for a lack of experimentation (i.e., a lack of mentoring, challenges to practitioner buy in, etc.) and areas for future research.

Explaining the crime drop: contributions to declining crime rates from youth cohorts since 2005

Since the mid-90s there has been almost a 50% reduction in the volume of crime in England and Wales - a trend that has been mirrored in many Western countries (Greenberg Justice Quarterly, 31(1), 154–188, 2014). Despite previous assumptions, for example, declining birth cohorts, it is proposed here that the decline in crime for the 1995–2005 period can largely be attributed to a doubling of the probability of a crime being ‘proven’ (cf Lloyd et al. 1994; MOJ, 2012; Taylor 2016). However, in the last decade these reductions in crime rates have levelled off to a relatively stable degree. Analysis of published data relating to the performance of the criminal justice system in England and Wales suggests that reductions in crime levels since 2005 are largely accounted for by the fall in proportion of the youth population engaging in offending behaviour. It is argued that falls in rates of crime are largely independent of the offending frequency of young people or variations in the probability of offences being proven; rather, reductions in youth crime over this period could largely be attributed to policy changes, including multiagency interventions targeted at young people who were at risk of starting to offend (McAra and McVie 2015; Smith 2015). Further discussion suggests that the binary proven reoffending rate is not an accurate barometer of criminal justice system performance; rather it is argued that reductions in the youth offending population feed forward into later reductions in the number of adult offenders and further impact on overall crime rates in the longer term.

Journal Digest

Journal Digest

Gender Composition of Editors and Editorial Boards in Seven Top Criminal Justice and Criminology Journals from 1985 to 2017

This paper examines the gender composition of editors and editorial board members of seven top criminal justice and criminology (CCJ) journals from 1985 through 2017. The findings indicate that women have historically been, and continue to be, underrepresented in these positions. From 1985 through 2017, women comprised 14% of all Editors-in-Chief, 27% of all Associate Editors, and 22% of all Editorial Board members. While there was a period during the early 2000s when Justice Quarterly and Criminology achieved gender parity in representation across all of the editorial roles, this equality was short lived. The other journals have never achieved gender parity, and, on average, women have comprised 3.8% to 35.2% of the editorial positions at each of the journals. The implications of this imbalance for women’s scholarship and professional success are discussed, and recommendations for changes to CCJ journal policies and practices to ensure more equity are provided.

A meta-analysis update on the effectiveness of early self-control improvement programs to improve self-control and reduce delinquency

To update Piquero et al.’s (Justice Quarterly 27:803–834, 2010) meta-analysis on early self-control improvement programs. Screening of eligible studies was carried out for the period between January 2010 and September 2015. An additional seven studies were identified, which were added to the original database of 34 studies, totaling an overall sample of 41 eligible studies. A random effects model was used to obtain an overall mean effect size estimate. Additional analyses were performed to assess publication bias and moderation. Overall average, positive, and significant effect sizes were observed for improving self-control (0.32) and reducing delinquency (0.27). There was evidence of publication bias for the self-control improvement outcomes, as well as some evidence of moderation for both self-control improvement and delinquency outcomes. Early self-control improvement programs are an effective evidence-based strategy for improving self-control and reducing delinquency.

Situational crime prevention and worldwide piracy: a cross-continent analysis

Relying on situational crime prevention perspective, this study compares successful and unsuccessful pirate attacks reported to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) from the year 2000 through 2013 (n = 4,902). The study builds upon the recent work of Shane and Magnuson in Justice Quarterly, pp 1–26 (2014), which found various SCP techniques effectively prevented piracy attacks on a global level. The current study builds upon these findings by testing whether the global effect of SCP is consistent across individual continents. A series of mixed-effects logistic regression models and follow-up likelihood ratio tests were incorporated to explore the research question. In each model, SCP techniques were associated with unsuccessful piracy attacks on a global level. When considered individually, SCP techniques were equally effective in each continent. However, the use of multiple techniques classified within the increased effort technique of SCP was associated with increased likelihood of unsuccessful attacks in only 3 (South East Asia, Far East, and Rest of the World) of the 6 continents included in this study. The implications of these findings are discussed.

What Journals are the Most Cited Journals in Criminology and Criminal Justice’s “Big Three” Journals?

Recently, scholars have sought to learn more about scholarly activity within the fields of criminology and criminal justice (CCJ). Research in this area has examined which departments have the most productive faculty, which scholars are the most productive, and which journals are the most prestigious. However, no study of which we are aware has determined what journals criminologists are most likely to cite in their scholarly research. In this study, we rank the most influential journals by the number of times those journals were cited between 2009 and 2013 in Criminology, the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, and Justice Quarterly. Our analyses suggest that Criminology is clearly the most influential CCJ journal in terms of citations, while the American Sociological Review, the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, and the American Journal of Sociology remain influential in CCJ as well.

Finding Meaning in a Rough Country

Alexander, Michelle. 2010. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York: The New Press. Baumer, Eric P. 2013. ‘‘Reassessing and Redirecting Research on Race and Sentencing.’’ Justice Quarterly 30(2):231–261. Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. 2013. Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America. Totowa, NJ: Rowman and Littlefield. Bushway, Shawn and Brian Forst. 2013. ‘‘Studying Discretion in the Processes that Generate Criminal Justice Sanctions.’’ Justice Quarterly 30(2):199–222. Frase, Richard. 2013. ‘‘Research on Race and Sentencing: Goals, Methods, and Topics.’’ Justice Quarterly 30(2):262–269. Platt, Anthony. 1969. The Child Savers: The Invention of Delinquency. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Savelsberg, Joachim. 1992. ‘‘Law That Does Not Fit Society: Sentencing Guidelines as a Neoclassical Reaction to the Dilemmas of Substantivized Law.’’ American Journal of Sociology 97(5):1346–81. Ulmer, Jeffery T. 1997. Social Worlds of Sentencing: Court Communities under Sentencing Guidelines. Albany: State University of New York Press. Ulmer, Jeffery T. 2012. ‘‘Recent Developments and New Directions in Sentencing Research.’’ Justice Quarterly 29(1):1–40.

An Examination of the Researcher Guard Role: Bringing Prison Fieldwork into the 21st Century

In 1986, James Marquart published a seminal article on qualitative methodology in Justice Quarterly. In that piece he presented the strengths and weaknesses associated with the researcher guard role he used while conducting a prison ethnography in Texas. His method led to data that is still central to our understanding of prison culture. However, in the past 30 years, correctional philosophy and practice have undergone significant shifts in the United States. Despite these shifts, there has been a dramatic decrease in prison ethnography during the same time period. This article presents a modern adaptation of Marquart’s method, based on a recently completed ethnography of officer culture in a Midwestern state.

What does and should influence the number of lawyers?

Before we can ask whether there are too many lawyers we must answer several preliminary questions: whom do we consider lawyers, and what does and should influence their number? The term ‘lawyer’, w...

H-Index and m-Quotient Benchmarks of Scholarly Impact in Criminology and Criminal Justice: A Preliminary Note

Because Scopus and metrics like the h-index and m-quotient have become increasingly popular for assessing the impact of social science scholarship, criminology and criminal justice (CCJ) departments may be tempted to use those metrics when making important decisions like tenure and promotion. However, since no discipline-wide standards based on those metrics yet exist, CCJ departments have no comparative basis for interpreting the results of citation analyses of a particular faculty member’s scholarship. To identify what a set of disciplinary standards might look like, we used Scopus and calculated mean and median h-index and m-quotient values for faculty members (n = 504) in CCJ Ph.D. granting departments (n = 35) by rank and for editorial board members (n = 91) of Criminology, Justice Quarterly, and the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency. Our results illustrate how comparative disciplinary standards could be developed and used by those in CCJ departments to assess the impact of faculty members’ scholarship.

Cracking Open the Black Box of the Manuscript Review Process: A Look Inside Justice Quarterly

Scholarly examinations of the publishing process are relatively rare. But the misunderstanding and suspicion the process creates among authors and reviewers is unnecessary. The present study draws on data from reviews of manuscripts submitted for publication consideration to Justice Quarterly between 2007 and 2010. Characteristics of reviewers and the elements of manuscripts discussed in reviews are highlighted. Analysis also identifies factors noted in reviews that significantly influence the acceptance of a manuscript. The strongest predictors of manuscript acceptance are the recommendations contained in the reviews and the type of submission (first time submission, first time resubmission, second time resubmission) being reviewed. Interestingly, neither the number of reviewers writing reviews, length of time to complete reviews nor characteristics of reviewers are significant predictors of editorial decisions.

A Preliminary Assessment of Small World Scholarship Networks in Criminology and Criminal Justice

The present study applies small world network analysis to 727 articles from Criminology, Justice Quarterly, and the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency to assess scholarship collaboration trends within criminology and criminal justice (CCJ). Findings indicate that CCJ scholars tend to collaborate (versus sole author) on a great number of peer‐reviewed efforts, with several scholars collaborating with well over 10, and as many as 40, unique (non‐redundant) co‐authors. Consistent with the structure of scientific collaboration networks where scientists are separated by short paths of intermediates, Alex R. Piquero is found to be the most collaborative scholar in this sample and also the best center (central vertex) in the collaboration graph by linking to other scholars, on average, by only 3.6 degrees of separation. To further illustrate combinatorial patterns among CCJ scholars, this study also offers a descriptive and graphical analogue to the “Erdös number” from mathematics (here, the “Piquero number”), focusing on co‐authorship branching from first‐tier collaborators. In our view, small world analysis holds promise in better understanding far‐reaching collaboration patterns by the CCJ professoriate.

Crossing the Line: A Quantitative Analysis of Inmate Boundary Violators in a Southern Prison System

The majority of current research on inappropriate relationships between correctional staff and inmates involves a qualitative approach. This study sought to provide a quantitative analysis of these boundary violators by self-report data, which was provided by male inmates in a southern prison system. Building upon research by Allen and Bosta (Games criminals play. Susanville, CA: Rae John Publishers, 1981) and Marquart et al. (Justice Quarterly 18:877–910, 2001) the inmates were divided into two distinct categories: Inmates who indicated “No relationship”, and those inmates who were “boundary violators”. This study examined the differences between these two categories utilizing demographic characteristics, custody level, and attitudes and prison behavior. Significant differences were found in boundary violator attitudes about female correctional officers and the behavior they exhibit in the presence of females.

This is a man’s world ... or least that’s how it looks in the journals

Mainstream criminology still tends to focus on gender as a control variable, ignoring the different pathways to crime followed by males and females. This leaves us with knowledge that we already have—males commit more criminal and delinquent acts than do females, but little information about the similarities and differences between men and women who commit crimes. On the other hand, feminist approaches tend to do one of two things: deal with girls and women only or deal with women and men separately to illuminate the differences. In this paper, we examine articles in three major journals, Criminology, Justice Quarterly, and Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, to explore the ways that gender is treated in mainstream criminology journals. Then, we will discuss the implications this has for feminist criminology.