Search

Prior studies indicate that vacant houses (both derelict and occupiable) are often associated with increased crime. However, the majority of the research on that relationship has been conducted in large cities and urban areas. Thus, the present study aimed to provide additional clarity about vacancy's association with crime by examining a sample of smaller cities and towns. Additionally, while prior work has focused on various kinds of vacancy, only a few studies have examined the potentially criminogenic effects of different vacancy types simultaneously. The present research contributes to additional clarity on this point by including specific forms of empty occupiable housing as predictors. The analysis also controlled for other structural factors commonly associated with crime. The results indicated that overall vacancy had a significant association with burglary but not with robbery. The results for these smaller municipalities are compared to the findings of studies conducted in larger urban areas, and their policy implications are then discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distance learning is common in higher education, especially online course and degree offerings. However, an older form of distance education, videoconferencing, continues to be used as a method of course delivery. Although some studies have considered the effectiveness of such courses, their findings are mixed and some were conducted with older forms of technology. The present study compares student performance and course and instructor satisfaction between resident and distance students across videoconference undergraduate criminal justice courses. The analyses indicate that students receiving the course through videoconference had lower final grades and were less satisfied with the course and the instructor than those students simultaneously receiving the course through resident instruction, even after controlling for instructor and campus effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large body of research has considered the relationship between crime and structural indicators. However, despite trends in the gender gap in offending, fewer studies have separately examined the effects of structural variables on both male and female offending. The present study examined that question through a macro-level examination of property crime across large U.S. cities using data from the Uniform Crime Report and the American Community Survey. The predictors included theoretically supported indicators of disadvantage and drug accessibility/use that were disaggregated by sex. Although the findings indicated some similarities in predictors of male and female arrest rates, they highlighted some important differences as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macrolevel research has established that a variety of community traits are likely to influence burglary rates across neighborhoods. However, these studies have almost never considered the effects of aggregate alarm ownership despite some evidence for the importance of community-level target hardening. Thus, the present study examined the relationships among tract-level alarm ownership, burglary rates, and sociodemographic variables using a sample of 90 census tracts from a large city in the northeastern United States. Regression models indicated an unexpected positive association between alarm ownership and burglary rates, although that relationship may be moderated by poverty rates. Additionally, the strength of the association between burglary and alarm ownership appeared to vary widely from year to year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilized hierarchical linear modeling to examine both situational factors and personal traits that influence burglars’ target selections. One unique aspect of this research was an assessment of the differences between immediate burglary (where a home is chosen and entered) and delayed burglary (where a home is chosen, but not entered until a later time). An additional distinctive feature was the modeling of the interactions between burglars’ personal traits and certain home features. To explore these issues, the researchers interviewed 52 male burglars in rural county jails in western Pennsylvania. Each participant answered questions about their personal traits and burglary experiences and viewed 50 pairs of home photographs. After viewing each pair of photographs, burglars were asked whether they would burglarize that home immediately, at a later time, or not at all. The researchers found several differences in the home features affecting immediate burglary target choices compared to delayed burglary ones. Additionally, burglars’ personal qualities interacted with some home features, indicating that burglars’ personal qualities can magnify or diminish the impact of home features on target selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theft, burglary, and vehicle theft are among the most frequently committed and least commonly cleared Part I offenses in the United States, but have received disproportionately little attention in the clearance literature. This study contributes to recent efforts to remedy this shortage by presenting offense-specific analyses of burglary, larceny, and vehicle theft clearance rates in a sample of 110 large US cities. Data were gathered from the Uniform Crime Report, the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey, and the American Community Survey. Independent variables comprised social disorganization measures (e.g. residential instability, poverty, etc.) and policing variables, including the use of broken windows policing. Although broken windows policing is related to higher clearance rates in a few prior studies, that effect was not observed in the present work. Racial diversity and police spending per capita (which were negatively associated with clearance rates) were the only variables that were significantly associated with the clearance of all three crimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have studied offense-specific expertise among burglars with a variety of methods, including by comparing their simulated target choices to those of students, residents, and police officers. However, prior work has almost never compared the choices of burglars and non-burglar offenders, and so it is unclear whether burglars’ expertise exceeds that possessed by others with similar backgrounds and lifestyles. The present study adds to this literature by using a series of home photographs to compare the choices of burglars and non-burglar offenders. In the analysis, although similar factors influenced the choices of both groups, hints of expertise did emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Al-Anon World Service Office recruited nine experienced Al-Anon members to hold an online Al-Anon meeting in a chat room on the Web site of the primary author. A transcript of this meeting with commentary by the authors is published in its entirety in this article. This transcript offers first-hand data about the process of a Twelve Step meeting and the use of the Internet for the purpose of supporting recovery from addiction. The theme of the meeting. the Second Step of the Twelve Steps of recovery from addiction, illustrates the role of spirituality in recovery from addiction. This theme is also reflected in the group's process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Rebecca Milliken on the use of dance and movement as a form of group therapy in treating addiction and another one by Peter Miller on the potential conflicts of interest that may arise in funding addiction research.

Al-Anon World Service Office recruited 11 experienced Al-Anon members to hold an online Al-Anon meeting in a chat room on the Web site of the primary author. A transcript of this meeting with commentary by the authors is published in its entirety in this paper. This transcript represents the first opportunity for a professional audience to have first-hand data about the process of a Twelve Step meeting without actually attending a face-to-face meeting. The paper also examines the implications of using the Internet for the purpose of supporting recovery from addiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Peter Ferentzy on Gamblers Anonymous in Toronto, Ontario and another by Jane Troller on group therapy for addiction.

In this article, the author addresses the disparity that psychotherapists might encounter when dealing with a group with different backgrounds. The author emphasized that a professional could feel disparate when faced by the situation. He argued that despite sharing common goals, therapists might find themselves divided by contrasting and conflicting methods, desired outcomes and ideologies. The author added that therapist might even pretend that the situation or problem does not exist. The author offers the publication as a place to share ideologies.

This article examines the misreading by some readers of Bernhard Schlink's novel "The Reader" as a sympathetic portrayal of all Nazi collaborators. Setting of the novel in post-World War II Germany; Narration of the plight of a woman prison camp guard and her war crimes trial; Argument that the novel tells the story of Germany's second generation coming to terms with their parents' conduct and their country's policies during World War II; Assessment of guilt in the novel.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including a measure for hope and coping in recovery, impact of hope on craving and readiness for recovery, and impact of therapeutic factors on the locus of control of addicts.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Corinne F. Gerwe on the use of psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral techniques in recovering addicts, and another by Kathryn Duffy on the use of knitting in therapy groups for women.

In this article, the article talks about the publications of the perodical focusing on financial solvency.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including group therapy for compulsive buying disorder, clinical supervision for addiction treatment, and generativity.