Prior Criminal Record Research Articles

Should Repeat Offenders Be Punished More Severely for Their Crimes?

Debate persists as to the amount of influence criminal history should have in determining the severity of imposed legal sanction for a criminal offense. One position maintains that the punishment for repeat and first-time offenders convicted for the same type of offense should be similar, whereas an alternative viewpoint argues that the state should sanction repeat offenders more harshly. We contribute to this discourse by investigating whether the amount of weight given to an offender’s prior criminal record in sentencing affects the likelihood of repeat offending. Although initial findings showed that a substantive negative bivariate relationship existed at the county level between the weight-accorded prior criminal record in sentencing and repeat offending, this association disappeared in a more sophisticated nonlinear multilevel analysis. Our findings suggest that sanctioning repeat offenders more harshly than first-time offenders for similar offenses has little effect on attenuating repeat offending once other factors are controlled.

Psycho-social factors associated with maternal neonaticide

Current research presents five case studies of maternal neonaticide in Georgia. Participants were under the age of thirty, with incomplete secondary education, unemployed, dependent on their families’ low income, living in the rural areas of Georgia. In three cases, participants resided with their family of origin. They were not married or in a relationship with the father of the child. They described their families and communities as conservative, holding strong cultural/religious beliefs against premarital sexual relations/childbirth out of wedlock. They lacked problem solving and coping skills, avoided making decisions concerning the pregnancy by concealing it. This being their first pregnancy, they gave birth alone followed by panic and fear of detection, committed neonaticide and hid the body of the infant. None of them had a prior criminal record. In the remaining cases, participants were married, lived with their spouses and children, had financial hardships. Both reported psychological and physical abuse from their spouses. One of them had a prior criminal offense for possessing controlled substances. The motive for neonaticide was an unwanted child due to an extramarital affair and threat of financial abandonment from extended family. In both cases, infants suffered fatal injuries. All participants reported lack of social support and emotional neglect from family members. These results are in line with international research, suggesting that certain patterns among these mothers are shared. Psychosocial factors associated with neonaticide should be utilized in the process of planning and implementing preventive strategies in health, social and legal frameworks.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his/her declaration of competing interest.

Profil de personnalité de femmes auteures de crimes violents selon le lien à la victime

ObjectivesDespite societal changes in recent decades, the criminality of women remains far less studied than that of men, even more so when it comes to violent crime. The present study examines specific psychological factors such as personality disorders, impulsivity, dissociative symptoms as well as putative differences in demographic and background characteristics between women who have victimised a family member versus an acquaintance or a stranger. Materials and methodsThis study compares a group of incarcerated women who have committed a violent crime against a family member (Close-group=16) with a group of incarcerated women who have committed a violent crime against an acquaintance or a stranger (Acquaintance/Stranger group=11). These women were 19 to 46 years old at the time of the offense (M=33.59, S.D.=7.617). More specifically, at the time of the offense, 8 (29.6%) women were 36 to 40 years old, 10 (37%) lived with a partner, 21 (77.8%) had children, and 14 (51.9%) were employed. Furthermore, it appears that, throughout their lifetime, 15 (55.6%) women were physically abused, 13 (48.1%) were sexually abused, and 9 (33.3%) had made at least one suicide attempt. Finally, 9 (33.3%) women had prior criminal record. To complete this study, we used the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) Overview and a questionnaire on background data and life events to obtain demographic data and other specific information on the women's life, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders (SCID-II) to assess the personality disorders, the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS-11) to measure the level of impulsivity, and finally, the Dissociative Experiences Scale II (DES-II) to obtain the level of dissociative symptoms. We hypothesized that women in the Acquaintance/Stranger group would have more personality issues and that they would be more impulsive than women in the Close-group. In addition, we measured whether there is any significant difference between the two groups in terms of the three dimensions of the BIS-11 as well as regarding severe dissociative symptoms (DES-II>29). ResultsNo significant differences were found among the two groups in terms of demographic and background characteristics except for age of victims and prior criminal record. Indeed, more women in the Acquaintance/Stranger group had assaulted an adult (P<0.05) and had a prior criminal record (P<0.05) than in the Close-group. In terms of the first hypothesis, there was a significant difference in personality disorders among the two groups, with more women in the Acquaintance/Stranger group having a personality disorder (P<0.05). There was also a significant difference in impulsivity among the two groups, again in favor of the Acquaintance/Stranger group (P<0.01). Other results showed a significant difference between the two groups on each dimension of the BIS-11 (P<0.05) while there was no significant difference in terms of severe dissociative symptoms. ConclusionsThese results suggest that women who commit violent crimes are not a homogenous group and that further research is needed to better understand this problematic.

The criminal career of men convicted of rape: evidence from a Norwegian national cohort

The extent to which sexual offenders are a group separate from other types of offenders has been debated for many years and investigated from different perspectives. The present study investigated similarities and differences regarding socio-economic background, criminal history and recidivism involving new crimes between rape offenders and three other groups: other sexual offenders, non-sexual violent offenders and other offenders. Data came from Norwegian population registers containing information on all crimes investigated from 1992 to 2012. The sample consisted of all persons convicted in 2002 and 2003 (N = 36,951). Background characteristics and estimated recidivism risk was described using hazard models. Results indicated that men convicted of rape (n = 142) had lower levels of education and that a higher percentage of them were on social benefits compared to the other crime groups. A large majority (79%) of rape-convicted men had previous convictions. Rape offenders were considerably more criminally active and diverse than the other crime groups. Prior criminal record, irrespective of type, increased the risk of recidivism in general. Controlling for other background characteristics did not alter this outcome. Treatment of convicted rapists needs to take into consideration that this offender group has much in common with violent offenders in general.

Police Decision-Making in the Gray Zone

Research finds mentally ill persons have higher rates of police contacts, arrests, and criminal charges for minor offenses and noncriminal behavior. It remains unclear whether the decision-making process and factors affecting discretion reflect a procedural bias that criminalizes the mentally ill. Using observational data from a Canadian police service, the findings suggest higher odds for criminal charges with serious offenses, males, older citizens, a prior criminal record, being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and being uncooperative with requests for information and compliance. The odds of a citation are higher for proactive calls, more serious offenses, older citizens, mentally ill persons, those under the influence, or with a disrespectful demeanor. The overall findings suggest an indirect procedural bias exists due to situational constraints, a disjuncture between policy and police culture, and limited mental health resources that lead to response strategies that contribute to criminalization of the mentally ill.

Sentenced to Pretrial Detention: A Study of Bail Decisions and Outcomes

Previous research on bail practices has shown that both legal factors, such as offense severity and prior criminal record, and demographic factors such as race and age, exert a strong influence on bail decisions and outcomes. Using a novel application of Knowledge Discovery statistical methods, Bayesian probability analytics, this study utilized a sample of (n = 975) cases collected by New Jersey’s Criminal Disposition Commission, followed from arrest through disposition, to examine bail decisions made by judges and subsequent bail outcomes, i.e., whether defendant was able to meet financial bail requirements to secure release from jail. We found the following: Black and Hispanic defendants are more likely than their white counterparts to have to pay a financial bail requirement; modest differences between races with regards to bail amount set by the court; and that minority defendants, and especially Hispanic defendants, are at a disadvantage when it comes to being able to post bail and they are therefore much more likely than their white counterparts to be held in pretrial detention.

The Successful Onset of Sex Offending: Determining the Correlates of Actual and Official Onset of Sex Offending

PurposeThe current study investigates the covariates of age of onset (actual and official) and cost avoidance of sex offending in first-time convicted sex offenders. MethodsThe current study utilized a large sample (n=332) of federally sentenced first-time convicted adult male sex offenders. Actual onset was measured using self-report, victim statements, and police investigation notes. Official onset was measured using age at first conviction. Cost avoidance was measured as the time gap between actual and official onset. ResultsFirst, while most offenders initiated their sexual criminal career in their early adult years (25–35years) they were typically not arrested until middle adulthood. Second, the covariates for official onset are in line with cost avoidance, but not actual onset. Third, offenders best able to avoid costs were early starters with a conventional background (i.e., employed, absence of a conviction for a non-sex crime), targeting prepubescent children within the family context. ConclusionsWhile early actual onset offenders were more likely to target stranger victims, early official starters exhibited an unconventional background, prior criminal record, more extensive sexual criminal career, and targeted strangers. Thus, official, but not actual onset revealed a profile in line with prior research.

Bail and Sentencing

Previous research on judicial decision making has shown that legal factors, such as offense severity and prior criminal record, exert a strong impact on sentencing decisions. In addition, studies have demonstrated that demographic factors, such as race and gender, also influence sentencing decisions. This study utilized a sample of ( n = 975) cases collected by New Jersey’s Criminal Disposition Commission, tracked from arrest through disposition, to assess the factors that influence sentencing decisions, with a specific focus on the role of pretrial release status. The authors found that pretrial detention does not influence the decision to incarcerate; however, pretrial detention does significantly and negatively affects the length of the sentence in cases that involve a sentence of incarceration.

Dilemmas and consequences of prior criminal record: a criminological perspective from England and Wales

This article considers the contemporary architecture of criminal record usage in England and Wales. We focus upon impact on ‘employment status’, partly because work is often now seen as key to good health and other self-esteem indicators in the modern world. First, we examine in the context of England and Wales, (a) the development of the contemporary criminal record system and extent of availability of prior record information in terms of employment (and other licensing purposes) and (b) the factors that helped shape the current architecture. Second, this article outlines what is known from the British criminological literature on employment and conviction records and what more is needed in terms of criminological research. Finally, we consider how convictions become ‘spent’ – in particular the English approach to ‘expungement’/sealing of the criminal record according to the 1974 Rehabilitation of Offenders legislation.

Ex-offenders on the Stand: Steps toward Eliminating Jury Bias

The status of “ex-offender” has many negative consequences and proves especially damaging when an ex-offender is accused of a new crime. Previous research provides evidence that jurors are more prone to convict defendants when the defendent has a prior criminal record. The purpose of this article is to provide attorneys with a list of resources identified to correlate with attitudes toward ex-offenders. With this list, attorneys will be better able to identify potential jurors that hold stigmatizing attitudes toward ex-offenders. Grounded in the theories of normalization and legitimation, key juror attitudes to address during jury selection are highlighted, including authoritarianism, victimization history, and exposure to ex-offenders. We specifically articulate sample resources from the public domain for use by attorneys.

Modeling the Effects of Victim Behavior and Moral Character on Prosecutors’ Charging Decisions in Sexual Assault Cases

Prior research, modeling the effects of the victim's behavior and character on prosecutors' charging decisions, has used either a dichotomous variable that reflects the presence of any risky behavior or moral character issues or an additive index that captures the number of related items in a case file. We suggest that these measures do not adequately identify the specific issues that prosecutors take into consideration when making charging decisions. Using data on 666 sexual assault cases that resulted in arrest in three urban jurisdictions and a multivariate modeling strategy, we examine specific risk-taking behaviors and issues related to the victim's moral character in an effort to determine if certain behaviors and characteristics have a more substantial effect on charging decisions than others. We also examine the extent to which the effects of these blame and believability factors vary based on the nature of the cases. Our results reveal that although charging decisions in stranger cases are largely determined by legally relevant factors, these decisions in nonstranger cases are affected by several legally irrelevant victim characteristics: whether the victim had a prior criminal record, whether the victim had been drinking alcohol prior to the assault, and whether the victim invited the suspect to her residence. Further analysis, however, revealed that only the victim's prior record had a differential effect on charging decisions in cases involving strangers and nonstrangers and in aggravated and simple rape cases. Our results suggest that the focal concerns that guide prosecutors' charging decisions incorporate specific victim behaviors and background characteristics.

Marked for Death: An Empirical Criminal Careers Analysis of Death Sentences in a Sample of Convicted Male Homicide Offenders

Background Although prior criminal record and concurrent criminal charges constitute the main eligibility and aggravating circumstances used in capital sentencing, relatively little research has examined the criminal careers of offenders who are ultimately sentenced to death. Materials and Methods Using official criminal history data for 618 incarcerated male homicide offenders selected from 8 states—191 of whom were sentenced to death—the current study explored the criminal careers of offenders that received the most severe legal punishment. Results Poisson regression incidence rate ratio models indicated that multiple measures of prior criminal activity including contemporaneous and prior history of violence, prior incarceration, early onset of arrest, juvenile homicide offending, and juvenile child molestation were associated with subsequently being sentenced to death. Separate models for white, African American, and Hispanic males showed contrasting effects in their criminal careers and varying relationships between prior criminal career and current capital offending. Conclusion The current study adds to the literature on lifespan criminality by applying Poisson regression analyses and a criminal careers approach to study the most extreme offenders including those sentenced to death.

Racial Disparities in Juvenile Court Outcomes: A Test of the Liberation Hypothesis

After decades of research, the exact impact of race on juvenile court outcomes is still a complex matter. The focus of this study is to address the liberation hypothesis as a potential explanation for racial disparities in juvenile court outcomes. This perspective has not previously been applied to juvenile court outcomes. Results from the analyses demonstrate the differential effect of legal and extralegal factors on serious and less serious cases. The results of this study indicate that legal factors such as crime seriousness or prior criminal record and extralegal factors such as race have a varying influence on juvenile court outcomes, and this influence varies depending on the outcome examined and the race of the youth.

Immigrants with Prior Criminal Record Risk Removal from the United States – Impact on Asian Immigrants

Immigrants with Prior Criminal Record Risk Removal from the United States – Impact on Asian Immigrants

Felonious or Violent Criminal Activity That Prohibits Gun Ownership Among Prior Purchasers of Handguns: Incidence and Risk Factors

Federal law prohibits firearm possession by felons and certain others. Little is known about criminal activity resulting in new ineligibility to possess firearms among persons who have previously purchased them. Cohort study of handgun purchasers ages 21 to 49 in California in 1991, 2,761 with a non-prohibiting criminal history at the time of purchase and 4,495 with no prior criminal record, followed for up to 5 years. The primary outcome measures were the incidence and relative risk of conviction for a felony or violent misdemeanor resulting in ineligibility to possess firearms under (a) California law or (b) federal law. Secondary measures were the incidence and relative risk of conviction for murder, forcible rape, robbery, or aggravated assault; and of arrest for any crime. A new conviction for a felony or violent misdemeanor leading to ineligibility to possess firearms under federal law was identified for 0.9% of subjects with no prior criminal history and 4.5% of those with 1 or more prior convictions (hazard ratio, 5.1; 95% confidence interval, 3.3-7.7). Risk was related inversely to age and directly to the extent of the prior criminal history; incidence rates varied by a factor of 200 or more among subgroups based on these characteristics. Among legal purchasers of handguns, the incidence of new felonious and violent criminal activity resulting in ineligibility to possess firearms is low for those with no prior criminal history but is substantially higher for those with a prior criminal record and is affected by demographic characteristics.

Exploring Sex Disparity in Sentencing Outcomes: A Focus on Narcotics Offenders in South Korea

Most research on sentencing outcomes reveals that legally relevant factors such as the seriousness of the offense and prior criminal record are primary determinants. There is, however, a substantial body of research that finds that extralegal factors such as a defendant's sex also influence these outcomes. Most of these latter studies conclude that female defendants receive less severe outcomes compared to their male counterparts. Most of this research, however, is limited to Western societies. To extend this body of research, the current study examines sex differences in sentencing practices for a sample of narcotics offenders in South Korea. Results support previous research; female drug offenders in South Korea are generally treated more leniently than their male counterparts. Tests for interaction effects reveal that the defendant's sex also interacts with other constellations of factors to produce lenient treatment for certain female defendants. These tests, however, also reveal that lenient sentence outcomes are not extended to all female defendants; those with prior drug convictions do not fare better than their male counterparts at the incarceration decision.

BAN THE BOX TO PROMOTE EX‐OFFENDER EMPLOYMENT

It is close to a criminological truism that the lack of a legitimate job fosters criminality and, conversely, that holding a legitimate job diminishes criminal conduct. Consequently, many criminologists and social reformers have long advocated programs to expand employment opportunities for ex-offenders, particularly for those who have served prison time. Strategies for improving employability of ex-offenders include providing ex-offenders with basic education and job-specific training, assisting in identifying potential employment opportunities, interceding on the job seeker’s behalf with prospective employers, and eliminating de jure and de facto employment discrimination against ex-offenders. Many federal and state laws make ex-offenders, or at least certain categories of ex-offenders, ineligible to obtain employment licenses or to work in organizations serving children, the elderly, and other vulnerable populations (Love, 2006). In fact, such laws have proliferated during the past two decades on account of tough-on-crime politics and heightened post-9/11 security concerns. The reentry movement has cast a bright light on these collateral consequences of conviction and has urged a wholesale review and reform of them (American Bar Association, 2004; Travis, 2005). We agree with reentry proponents that de jure prohibitions on exoffender employment are far too overbroad and that many should be repealed. In this article, however, we focus on de facto discrimination to highlight a recent trend for cities to voluntarily stop asking for criminal background information from applicants seeking city employment and, in some instances, employment with vendors who contract with the city (National Employment Law Project (NELP), 2007). By recognizing that society has much to lose by excluding ex-offenders from legitimate employment opportunities, several cities such as Boston, San Francisco, and Minneapolis have agreed to “ban the box” on initial job applications that ask applicants about past criminal convictions. These cities have committed themselves not to discriminate against ex-offenders and not to consider an applicant’s prior criminal record unless it is clearly related to the requirements of a particular position. This welcome step, if successful, might persuade other public and private employers to stop discriminating against job applicants with a criminal record.

Taking a Stand on Taking the Stand: The Effect of a Prior Criminal Record on the Decision to Testify and On Trial Outcomes

This article uses unique data from over 300 criminal trials in four large counties to study the relations between the existence of a prior criminal record and defendants testifying at trial, between testifying at trial and juries' learning about a criminal record, and between juries' learning about a criminal record and their decisions to convict or acquit. Sixty percent of defendants without criminal records testified compared to 45 percent with criminal records. For testifying defendants with criminal records, juries learned of those records in about half the cases. Juries rarely learned about criminal records unless defendants testified. After controlling for evidentiary strength and other factors, statistically significant associations exist (1) between the existence of a criminal record and the decision to testify at trial, (2) between the defendant testifying at trial and the jury learning about the defendant's prior record, and (3) in cases with weak evidence, between the jury learning of a criminal record and conviction. For cases with strong evidence against defendants, learning of criminal records is not strongly associated with conviction rates. Juries appear to rely on criminal records to convict when other evidence in the case normally would not support conviction. Use of prior record evidence may therefore lead to erroneous convictions. Prosecutors and judges should consider the increased likelihood of erroneous conviction based on use of prior convictions in decisions to prosecute and in evidentiary rulings.

Does Racial Bias in Sentencing Contribute to Indigenous Overrepresentation in Prison?

The possibility of racial bias in the criminal justice system is a recurring concern in Australia, as it is in other countries with high rates of minority overrepresentation in prison. In this country, however, very little research has been conducted on racial bias in sentencing. This article reports the results of a logistic regression analysis designed to test for racial bias in the sentencing of Indigenous adult offenders. Our results show that the unadjusted risk of imprisonment is much higher for Indigenous than for non-Indigenous offenders but this effect progressively diminishes as more sentence-relevant factors are taken into account. Indigenous status remains a significant predictor of imprisonment when all measured legal factors have been taken into account but in the median case the difference between Indigenous and non- Indigenous offenders in the risk of imprisonment is less than one percentage point. Sentencing courts were found to place less weight on the prior criminal record of an Indigenous offender than on the prior criminal record of a non-Indigenous offender. The implications of the study for future research and policy are discussed.

Differential Impact of Mitigating Evidence in Capital Case Sentencing

ABSTRACT Case law delineates the importance placed on mitigation, but both the psychological and legal literature are inconclusive about the use and effectiveness of biopsychosocial mitigating factors during sentencing in capital trials. The present study surveyed a diverse group of undergraduate participants and found the following circumstances to be most mitigating: mental retardation, hospitalization for a mental illness, no prior criminal record, major head injuries, schizophrenia, and history of childhood physical or sexual abuse. The participants found alcohol/drug dependence and alcohol/drug intoxication to be aggravating circumstances. The effectiveness of biopsychosocial mitigating factors, the need for mental health professionals to conduct mitigation evaluations, and implications for clinical practice are discussed.