Expanding Our Understanding of Focal Concerns: Alternative Sentences, Race, and “Salvageability”

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Miranda A. Galvin ◽  
Jeffery T. Ulmer
Keyword(s):  
Focal Concerns

Focal Concerns and Intimate Partner Violence Case Processing: Predicting Arrest Using a Stratified Random Sample of Police Case File Data

2021 ◽  
pp. 001112872110104
Author(s):  
Cortney A. Franklin ◽  
Leana A. Bouffard ◽  
Alondra D. Garza ◽  
Amanda Goodson
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Random Sample ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Criminal History ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression Model ◽  
Case File ◽  
Focal Concerns

Focal concerns has utility for explaining criminal justice decisions, including among police. At present, there is no research that has examined focal concerns and arrest decisions in non-sexual, intimate partner violence (IPV) cases. This study used a stratified random sample of 776 IPV incidents from an urban police department in one of the five largest and most diverse US cities to assess the effect of focal concerns on arrest. A multivariate binary logistic regression model demonstrated victim injury, suspect IPV and general criminal history, evidence, witnesses, victim preference for formal intervention, women victims, and intoxicated suspects predicted arrest. When the suspect was on scene, this was the strongest predictor of arrest. Implications and future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Police Stop and Frisk and the Impact of Race: A Focal Concerns Theory Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 230
Author(s):  
Anthony Vito ◽  
George Higgins ◽  
Gennaro Vito
Keyword(s):  
Racial Differences ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Stop And Frisk ◽  
Focal Concerns ◽  
Police Decision Making ◽  
Reasonable Suspicion ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Verbal Threat ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Focal Concerns Theory

The findings of this study outline the racial differences in stop and frisk decisions by Illinois officers in consent searches and those based upon reasonable suspicion within the context of the elements of focal concerns theory. The analysis for this study was performed using propensity score matching (PSM) and allowed the researchers to create a quasi-experimental design to examine the race of the citizen and police decision making. According to our analysis of official Illinois law enforcement data, Black citizens, particularly males, were less likely to give their consent to a stop and frisk search. Black male citizens were also more likely to be stopped and searched due to an assessment of reasonable suspicion by the officer. Elements of focal concerns theory were also factors in pedestrian stops under conditions of consent and reasonable suspicion. Citizens judged as blameworthy were more likely to be stopped and frisked under conditions of consent and reasonable suspicion. The effect of a verbal threat and the officer’s prior knowledge about the citizen had even more significant impacts.

Focal Concerns and Police Decision Making in Sexual Assault Cases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 152483802199128
Author(s):  
David S. Lapsey ◽  
Bradley A. Campbell ◽  
Bryant T. Plumlee
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Campbell Collaboration ◽  
Focal Concerns ◽  
Police Decision Making ◽  
The Impact

Sexual assault and case attrition at the arrest stage are serious problems in the United States. Focal concerns have increasingly been used to explain police decision making in sexual assault cases. Because of the popularity of the focal concerns perspective and potential to inform evidence-based training, a systematic review and meta-analysis are needed to condense the literature. In this study, we assess the overall strength of the relationship between focal concerns variables and police decisions to arrest in cases of sexual assault. Our assessment of the effects of focal concerns variables on arrest decision making in sexual assault cases followed the systematic review protocols provided by the Campbell Collaboration of Systematic Reviews. Specifically, we used the Campbell Collaboration recommendations to search empirical literature and used meta-analysis to evaluate the size, direction, and strength of the impact of focal concerns variables on arrest decisions. Our search strategy detected 14 eligible studies and 79 effect sizes. The meta-analysis found several robust and statistically significant correlates of arrest. In fact, each focal concerns concept produced at least one robust arrest correlate. Overall, focal concerns offers a strong approach for explaining police decisions in sexual assault cases. Although practical concerns and resource constraints produced the strongest arrest correlates, results show the importance of additional case characteristics in officers’ decision to arrest.

Intersectionality of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Age on Criminal Punishment

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 810-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darrell Steffensmeier ◽  
Noah Painter-Davis ◽  
Jeffery Ulmer
Keyword(s):  
Black Males ◽  
Behavioral Outcomes ◽  
Hispanic Males ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Focal Concerns ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
Statistical Studies ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
And Gender

Race, ethnicity, gender, and age are core foci within sociology and law/criminology. Also prominent is how these statuses intersect to affect behavioral outcomes, but statistical studies of intersectionality are rare. In the area of criminal sentencing, an abundance of studies examine main and joint effects of race and gender but few investigate in detail how these effects are conditioned by defendant’s age. Using recent Pennsylvania sentencing data and a novel method for analyzing statistical interactions, we examine the main and combined effects of these statuses on sentencing. We find strong evidence for intersectionality: Harsher sentences concentrate among young black males and Hispanic males of all ages, while the youngest females (regardless of race/ethnicity) and some older defendants receive leniency. The focal concerns model of sentencing that frames our study has strong affinity with intersectionality perspectives and can serve as a template for research examining the ways social statuses shape inequality.

Analyzing racial profiling from traffic searches

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 721-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Gennaro Vito ◽  
Elizabeth L. Grossi ◽  
George E. Higgins
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Police Officer ◽  
Racial Profiling ◽  
Statistical Technique ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Focal Concerns ◽  
Focal Concerns Theory

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the issue of racial profiling when the traffic stop outcome is a search using focal concerns theory as a theoretical explanation for police officer decision making and propensity score matching (PSM) as a better analysis to understand the race of the driver. Design/methodology/approach The data for this study come from traffic stops conducted by the Louisville Police Department between January 1 and December 31, 2002. Findings The results show that the elements of focal concerns theory matter most when it comes to if a traffic stop that resulted in a search even though racial profiling was evident. The use of PSM provides evidence that it is a better statistical technique when studying racial profiling. The gender of the driver was significant for male drivers but not for female drivers. Research limitations/implications The data for this study are cross-sectional and are self-report data from the police officer. Practical implications This paper serves as a theoretical explanation that other researchers could use when studying racial profiling along with a better type of statistical analysis being PSM. Social implications The findings based on focal concerns theory could provide an explanation for police officer decision making that police departments could use to help citizens understand why a traffic stop search took place. Originality/value This is the first study of its kind to the researcher’s knowledge to apply focal concerns theory with PSM to understand traffic stop searches.

scholarly journals How public reaction to disease information across scales and the impacts of vector control methods influence disease prevalence and control efficacy

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. e1008762
Author(s):  
Jing Jiao ◽  
Gonzalo P. Suarez ◽  
Nina H. Fefferman
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Vector Control ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Control Efficacy ◽  
Focal Concerns ◽  
Disease Information ◽  
Mosquito Breeding ◽  
Local Risk ◽  
Public Reaction

With the development of social media, the information about vector-borne disease incidence over broad spatial scales can cause demand for local vector control before local risk exists. Anticipatory intervention may still benefit local disease control efforts; however, infection risks are not the only focal concerns governing public demand for vector control. Concern for environmental contamination from pesticides and economic limitations on the frequency and magnitude of control measures also play key roles. Further, public concern may be focused more on ecological factors (i.e., controlling mosquito populations) or on epidemiological factors (i.e., controlling infection-carrying mosquitoes), which may lead to very different control outcomes. Here we introduced a generic Ross-MacDonald model, incorporating these factors under three spatial scales of disease information: local, regional, and global. We tailored and parameterized the model for Zika virus transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquito. We found that sensitive reactivity caused by larger-scale incidence information could decrease average human infections per patch breeding capacity, however, the associated increase in total control effort plays a larger role, which leads to an overall decrease in control efficacy. The shift of focal concerns from epidemiological to ecological risk could relax the negative effect of the sensitive reactivity on control efficacy when mosquito breeding capacity populations are expected to be large. This work demonstrates that, depending on expected total mosquito breeding capacity population size, and weights of different focal concerns, large-scale disease information can reduce disease infections without lowering control efficacy. Our findings provide guidance for vector-control strategies by considering public reaction through social media.

Consent searches: understanding the role of race and what occurs during the traffic stop

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 611-623
Author(s):  
Anthony G. Vito ◽  
Elizabeth L. Grossi ◽  
Vanessa Woodward Griffin ◽  
George E. Higgins
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Police Officer ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Racial Profiling ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Focal Concerns ◽  
Focal Concerns Theory

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to apply focal concerns theory as a theoretical explanation for police officer decision making during a traffic stop that results in a consent search. The study uses coefficients testing to better examine the issue of racial profiling through the use of a race-specific model. Design/methodology/approach The data for this study come from traffic stops conducted by the Louisville Police Department between January 1 and December 31, 2002. Findings The results show that the three components of focal concerns theory can explain police officer decision making for consent searches. Yet, the components of focal concerns theory play a greater role in stops of Caucasian male drivers. Research limitations/implications The data for this study are cross-sectional and self-reported from police officers. Practical implications This paper shows the utility of applying focal concerns theory as a theoretical explanation for police officer decision making on consent searches and how the effects of focal concerns vary depending on driver race. Social implications The findings based on focal concerns theory can provide an opportunity for police officers or departments to explain what factors impact the decision making during consent searches. Originality/value This is the first study (to the researchers’ knowledge) that examines the racial effects of focal concerns on traffic stop consent searchers using coefficients testing.

“Smartness,” “Toughness,” and “Autonomy”: Drug Use in the Context of Gang Female Delinquency

1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 261-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Brotherton
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Lower Class ◽  
Entrepreneurial Success ◽  
Female Agency ◽  
Female Delinquency ◽  
Drug Sales ◽  
Focal Concerns

This paper, based on data from interviews with a selective sample of self-identified gang females, compares the practices and characteristics of three gangs, highlighting the interrelationship of drugs, delinquency, and social context. Using themes developed from the classical gang delinquency study of Walter Miller in 1958 (Journal of Social Issues, XIV, no. 3), this paper argues that just as he was able to discern major “focal concerns” among lower-class gang males, the same might be said of gang females. However, during the era in which Miller was writing, gang females were still considered mere “appendages” of male gangs and left unanalyzed. This paper refocuses attention on the importance of gang female agency, showing how the degree of autonomy obtained by gang females is shaped by the entrepreneurial success of their delinquent activities, especially in the field of drug sales.

A Focal Concerns Perspective on Prosecutorial Decision Making in Cases of Intimate Partner Stalking

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 733-748
Author(s):  
Patrick Q. Brady ◽  
Bradford W. Reyns
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Rhode Island ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Additional Insight ◽  
Focal Concerns ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
History Of ◽  
Focal Concerns Perspective ◽  
Stalking Victims

Despite millions of stalking victims contacting the police each year, suspects are rarely arrested or prosecuted. While prosecutors are ultimately the gatekeepers to holding defendants accountable, few studies have examined the factors influencing charging decisions in stalking cases. Using the focal concerns perspective, this study analyzed 5 years of domestic violence and stalking case outcomes in Rhode Island. Findings indicated that prosecutors were more likely to prosecute stalking cases when defendants evoked fear in the victim and pursued victims in public. The decision to prosecute stalking versus other domestic violence–related charges was motivated by the location of the offense and the defendant’s history of physical abuse toward the victim. Neither extralegal factors nor characteristics of blameworthiness or suspect culpability influenced prosecutorial decision making. Findings underscore the legal complexities of stalking and suggest the need for additional insight on prosecutorial perspectives and strategies to articulate the fear standard in stalking cases.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document