Offender Policies Research Articles

Criminal policy for offenders with mental disorder in Japan.

Criminal policy for offenders with mental disorder in Japan.

Examining the needs of youth in secure custody: why we need to "recreate the wheel" in Canadian juvenile justice.

The current study reviews the personal characteristics of 32 consecutive admissions to a secure custody centre in one southwest Ontario jurisdiction under the Young Offenders Act. Results indicated that there was considerable variability amongst the group regarding court history and the seriousness of the charge on which committal was made. Background history data suggested that the problems of youths committed to secure custody reflect considerable difficulties within families and school. The discussion questions whether the youths in this group are better served through the dispositions emphasizing custody-deterrence or rehabilitation-treatment. Implications for young offender policy are also presented.

Crime and Public Policy.

1. Introduction, James Q. Wilson and Joan Petersilia 2. Crime in International Perspective, James P. Lynch and William Alex Pridemore 3. Crime and Biology, Terrie E. Moffitt, Stephen Ross, and Adrian Raine 4. Juvenile Crime and Juvenile Justice, Peter W. Greenwood & Susan Turner 5. Families and Crime, David P. Farrington 6. Street Gangs: How Research Can Inform Policy, Cheryl Maxson 7. Labor Markets and Crime, Shawn D. Bushway 8. The Community, Robert J. Sampson 9. Race and the Administration of Criminal Justice in the United States, Randall Kennedy 10. Gun Control, Philip J. Cook, Anthony A. Braga, and Mark H. Moore 11. Rehabilitation and Treatment Programs, Francis T. Cullen and Cheryl Lero Jonson 12. Sex Offenders and Sex Offender Policy, Eric Beauregard and Roxanne Lieb 13. Drugs, Crime, and Public Policy, David A. Boyum, Jonathan P. Caulkins, and Mark A. R. Kleiman 14. General Deterrence: A Review of Recent Evidence, Robert Apel and Daniel S. Nagin 15. Prosecution, Brian Forst 16. Sentencing, Kevin R. Reitz 17. Community Corrections: Probation, Parole, and Prisoner Reentry, Joan Petersilia 18. Prisons, Anne Morrison Piehl and Bert Useem 19. Changing Crime Rates, Richard Rosenfeld 20. Democratic Policing on the Evidence, Lawrence W. Sherman 21. Crime and Public Policy, James Q. Wilson Notes and References Index

Young Offender Policy in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

Young Offender Policy in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

Intermediate treatment, research and social policy

There has recently been an intensification in the debate about social policies for juvenile offenders. Reforms in the legislation relevant to these young people have been proposed for England and Wales, Scotland, and for Northern Ireland. These reforms are largely in opposition to the social values underlying the legislation introduced in the 1960s to structure services for deprived and delinquent adolescents. One of the major innovations of the changes during the 1960s was the introduction of the concept of intermediate treatment. This paper explores the development of intermediate treatment during the past decade, and looks briefly at some of the theoretical rationales underlying this concept. Issues which arise in researching intermediate treatment are discussed; these are also issues which arise in researching many other forms of social intervention. Finally, some thoughts are offered on the making of social policy, and about the relationship between research and policy formulation, using intermediate treatment as a case study.

A Family-Oriented Policy and Treatment Program for Female Juvenile Status Offenders

A policy regarding the ftamily-based nature and treatment qf female juvenile status qif'enders was developed. To implement this policy, a family-oriented treatment program was instituted and evaluated with regard to the Circumplex Model (Olson, Russell and Sprenkle, 1979). Twenty-nine families are assessed on the Moos Family Environment Scale (Moos, 1974) both before and after the treatment program. Comparisons are made between flamilies who complete and families who drop out of treatment. Results indicate that all families improve in their family environment scores but that recidivism rates do not decrease as a result of treatment completion. No statistically significant differences were found between recidivism rates and scores on the adaptability dimension. However, families with extremely high Cohesion scores are more likely to be recidivists than ftamilies with low or moderate scores on Cohesion. The Circumplex Model is only minimally supported by the data. Explanations for the findings and implications for family-based treatment are discussed.

Father-Daughter Incest

Father-Daughter Incest