Introduction to Special Issue “Statistical Issues and Innovations in Predicting Recidivism”

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Maaike Helmus ◽  
Kelly M. Babchishin
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Predictive Accuracy ◽  
Formal Training ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
Introductory Paper ◽  
Statistical Issues ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Dichotomous Outcomes

Risk assessment is one of the most common tasks in the criminal justice system, yet most professionals in this field receive little to no formal training in statistical techniques for predicting dichotomous outcomes, such as recidivism. The purpose of this special issue was to help fill this gap in training and resources. We wanted to make some of the latest statistical issues and advances in predicting recidivism accessible to the readership of Criminal Justice and Behavior. In this introductory paper, we briefly describe the seven articles in this issue. The first three articles provide primers on topics (statistics to assess predictive accuracy, the Expected/Observed [E/O] Index, and mediation analyses, respectively) in a way that is meant to be understandable to clinicians and researchers. The next two articles describe and compare different statistics for assessing change over time. The last two articles explore limitations of currently used recidivism analyses (area under the curves [AUCs], Harrell’s C, Cox and logistic regression). We hope this issue will serve as a helpful resource for those who conduct or consume research on predicting recidivism.

The Promise of Research to Advance Smart Decarceration

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-9
Author(s):  
Matthew W. Epperson ◽  
Amy Blank Wilson ◽  
Gina Fedock
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Mass Incarceration ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Health And Well Being

This paper describes the concept of “Smart Decarceration” and introduces the special issue of Criminal Justice and Behavior entitled “Research to Advance Smart Decarceration Policies, Programs, and Interventions.” The concept of Smart Decarceration originated nearly a decade ago as the United States reached a tipping point in mass incarceration, and it focuses on three interrelated outcomes: substantially reducing the use of incarceration and other forms of punishment; reversing racial disparities and other inequities in the criminal justice system; and promoting safety and well-being, particularly for communities that have been most impacted by mass incarceration. Ultimately, Smart Decarceration efforts should prioritize reducing the overall footprint of the criminal justice system, while building capacity outside of the system to support safety, health, and well-being. Research plays a critical role in advancing Smart Decarceration, as new forms of knowledge and evidence must be developed to replace ineffective and unjust policies and practices associated with mass incarceration. The paper discusses approaches to research that move beyond typical criminal justice outcomes and focus on the multifaceted goals of Smart Decarceration. The six articles in this special issue are introduced, highlighting their foci across ecological levels and the breadth of the criminal justice continuum, centering populations most impacted by incarceration, and identifying practice and policy innovations.

Introduction to Special Issue: Misdemeanor Justice Project—A Focus on Criminal Justice System Responses to Lower Level Offenses

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 527-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Preeti Chauhan ◽  
Jeremy Travis
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Legal Representation ◽  
Pretrial Detention ◽  
Court Processing ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Scholarly Attention

To date, the enforcement of lower level offenses and the criminal justice system’s response to these enforcement actions has received little scholarly attention. To address this gap in scientific research, the Misdemeanor Justice Project (MJP) commissioned nine scholarly papers focused on criminal justice responses to lower level offenses. Each of the papers in this volume is guided by one of four overarching themes, including officer discretion; the impact of lower level enforcement on individuals, communities, and institutions; pretrial detention and diversion; and court processing and legal representation. As a collection, these papers serve as a launching pad for the development of a body of research in a critical and opaque area of our criminal justice system as well as highlight areas for future research.

scholarly journals Criminal Justice Contacts and Psychophysiological Functioning in Early Adulthood: Health Inequality in the Carceral State

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-306
Author(s):  
Courtney E. Boen
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
Reactive Protein ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Weighting Procedures ◽  
New Evidence

Despite increased attention to the links between the criminal justice system and health, how criminal justice contacts shape health and contribute to racial health disparities remains to be better understood. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 5,488) and several analytic techniques—including a quasi-treatment–control design, treatment-weighting procedures, and mediation analyses—this study examines how criminal justice contacts shape inflammatory and depressive risk and contribute to black–white health gaps. Findings revealed that incarceration is associated with increased C-reactive protein and depressive risk, particularly for individuals who experienced long durations of incarceration. Arrests are also associated with mental health, and mediation analyses showed that racial disparities in arrests and incarceration were drivers of black–white gaps in depressive symptoms. Together, this study provides new evidence of the role of the criminal justice system in shaping health and patterning black–white health gaps from adolescence through early adulthood.

Juvenile Decertification

2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 278-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey R. Marczyk ◽  
Kirk Heilbrun ◽  
Tammy Lander ◽  
David Dematteo
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Justice System ◽  
Juvenile Court ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Level Of Service ◽  
Psychopathy Checklist ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Total Charges

This study considers the impact of data from the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV), the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI), and the Youth Level of Service Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) on the court’s decision whether to decertify an adolescent defendant back to juvenile court or keep the defendant in criminal court. There are significant positive relationships between certification status and age; number of violent charges; total charges; PCL:YV, YLS/CMI, and MAYSI total scores; and select subscales of the MAYSI and the YLS/CMI. Significant differences are found between those who remained in the adult criminal justice system and those who were decertified to the juvenile justice system for age, YLS/CMI total score, and the Prior and Current Offenses and Dispositions and Personality and Behavior subscales of the YLS/CMI. The combination of PCL:YV total score and select subscales from the MAYSI and YLS/CMI provided the most accurate model for predicting certification status.

Special Challenges for Persons with Disabilities in the Criminal Justice System: Introduction to the Special Issue

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 211-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward A. Polloway ◽  
James R. Patton ◽  
Tammy Smith ◽  
Julia Beyer ◽  
Jenevive W. Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Persons With Disabilities

scholarly journals Victims, Criminal Justice and State Compensation

Societies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miers
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Criminal Record ◽  
Cultural Representations ◽  
Compensation Scheme ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
State Compensation ◽  
Victim Status ◽  
Victims Of Crime

This article examines one element of the state’s responses to crime: the provision of a taxpayer-funded compensation scheme for victims of personal and sexual violence. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 sits within a political context that seeks to ensure that victims of crime are better served by the criminal justice system of England and Wales, the jurisdiction that is the focus of this article. The government’s fundamental policy is that this scheme exists to compensate only those victims who are ‘blameless’, either in terms of their character, criminal record, conduct at the time of the incident, or in their engagement with the criminal justice agencies. It is a policy that illuminates elements of two of the questions that the editors posed for this Special Issue of Societies. Reviewing the increased urgency in government policies concerning the treatment of victims of crime, the first section addresses the question of how, why and when victims came to shape political and criminal justice discourse and practice. The question of how, and to what end, cultural representations have shaped perceptions of victims is addressed in the second and third sections, which examine the notion of victim status and illustrate the ways in which eligible (‘ideal’) victims are perceived and their claims under this scheme are determined.

Alcohol and Minority Youth

1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roosevelt Wright ◽  
Thomas D. Watts
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Minority Youth ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Rapid Population Growth ◽  
School Dropouts ◽  
Social Welfare System ◽  
American Society

This article discusses alcohol and minority youth, and introduces this special issue of the Journal of Drug Issues. Minority youth who use (or abuse) alcohol in American society deal with three realities: using “alcohol,” being “minority,” and being young (“youth”). All three dimensions are viewed by the larger society with mixed—sometimes hostile, sometimes fearful—reactions. With minority youth we see the disproportionate occurrence of rapid population growth, poverty, school dropouts, criminal justice system clients, and social welfare system clients. We cannot examine alcoholism among minority youth without seriously coming to grips with poverty, education, and life condition. More and better research and theoretical models are needed that help us to understand and confront this problem.

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