The purpose of this study is to explore the role of individual, geographic, and police service variables in predicting 1) residents’ support of red light cameras and 2) residents’ perceptions of officer quality through ordinary least squares analyses (OLS). Further, with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) utilizing structural equation modeling, the study retests previously identified significant relationships to consider a hypothesized link between the two latent variables (residents’ support for the camera and their perceptions of officer quality). The study uses data from a 2008 survey of Houston residents. The results suggest, first, that police service variables are more predictive of both residents’ perceptions than are individual and geographic variables (OLS results). Second, a significant link exists between the two perceptions (CFA results). Thus, the results indicate that if residents offer greater support of red light camera enforcement, their perceived quality of life becomes secure, leading to a better evaluation of the police. Red light camera enforcement has not been frequently observed in the context of quality of life. The findings add empirical evidence to the body of literature regarding traffic camera enforcement and residents’ perceptions of police.

Psychopathy has consistently been associated with antisocial outcomes. The three- and four-factor models have been best fitted to data relating to Korean serious offenders (N=451), offering construct validity of the Korean Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). However, no study has yet tested the predictive power of the Korean PCL-R to explain two different types of antisocial outcomes: (1) risk of inmates measured by correctional officers during incarceration and (2) recidivism after release. By exploring these two forms of antisociality, here we sought to establish the predictive and construct validities of the Korean version of PCL-R. We found that the deviant lifestyle (Factor 3) performed best for predicting both antisocial forms (risk and recidivism) and that the deficits in interpersonal (Factor 1) and affective (Factor 2) abilities also uniquely predicted one subtype of risk, which suggests the three-factor model is better than the four-factor model in predictions. These findings will be useful for criminal justice experts and practitioners in Korea.

Within the discipline of Criminal Justice, the term "Cop Shop" is often pejoratively used in academic circles to describe a method of instruction based on story and personal experience that often conjures the image of an off-duty police officer telling war stories. However, often missing from this negative perspective is the recognition that experience-based descriptions of events and the application of the constructs offered in class can provide an invaluable enhancement for the practitioner-focused student. The concept of such experienced-based application is discussed, and student evaluations of faculty with and without practitioner experience are analyzed.

Whether one subscribes to the view that the police are law enforcement officers, or that they are peace officers who maintain social order, most agree that an important function of the police is reinforcing community norms and intervening when those norms are violated. Social order depends heavily on voluntary compliance with the law and community norms, which, in turn, depend on community perceptions of the legitimacy of the police as an institution. Furthermore, trust and trustworthiness of government authority, as personified by the police, in the enforcement of citizenmade law provide

Scholars and policy makers have long been troubled by the potential for some youth to receive disparate sanctioning as a function of extralegal factors, especially against the backdrop of ethnic/racial minority group overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system as a whole. Beginning in the late 1990s, many states began to adopt a graduated sanctions model in response to the emerging 'get tough' zeitgeist of the day. Originally intended by the federal government to reinforce juvenile accountability and to ensure equitable treatment of all youth in custody, some stakeholders began to note concerns about uneven outcomes in the use of graduated sanctioning schemes. Specifically, data across multiple jurisdictions suggested that racial and ethnic minority youth were receiving more restrictive than expected sanctions. The current study in one large urban jurisdiction explored this issue in a group of 2,786 racially and ethnically diverse first-time juvenile male offenders (ages 10-17). RESULTS indicated that race/ethnicity was not a predictor of receiving a more restrictive than expected sanction; however, variables related to offending (offense severity, history of violence), age (older), and parental supervision (inadequate) were significant predictors of such departures. KEYWORDS: Juvenile justice; Juvenile delinquency Language: en

The current research examines the utility of the evil woman hypothesis by examining sentencing discrepancies between male and female sex offenders. National Corrections Reporting Program data are used to identify sex offenders for the years 1994 to 2004 and the sentences they received for specific sex offenses. Statistical analyses reveal a significant difference in sentence length between men and women, but not in the expected direction. The evil woman hypothesis would assume women are sentenced more harshly, but data show men receive longer sentences for sex offenses than women. Support is provided for the chivalry hypothesis to explain immediate sentencing disparity.

One way to understand individuals' reactions to traumatic events is to focus on their basic assumptions about the self and the world and how these influence the coping response. Some scholars have argued that police officers' assumptions about the world differ from those of average citizens, and that these different worldviews may act as a risk factor or a protective factor against the development of trauma-related symptoms in response to the myriad potentially traumatic events that they encounter on a daily basis. The present study sought to examine the world assumptions of police officers and academy cadets to determine if they differ from one another and the general public in their basic assumptions about the self and the world, and to investigate how these beliefs shape and, in turn, are shaped by their traumatic experiences on the job.

Police officers often experience traumatic events with far greater frequency than the average citizen yet little is known about how they process these events or how this relates to recovery. This study presents the development and initial validation of a cognitive appraisal instrument designed to capture to police officers' experiences of trauma. Results indicated that officers' cognitive appraisals (particularly their perceptions of how the event overlapped with or impacted their personal lives) were more predictive of their response to trauma than years of experience or the severity of the event. The implications of these results for the treatment and training of officers are discussed.

This study examined the representativeness of juries in Montgomery County, TX. The purpose of this study was to identify whether the venire was representative of the community and whether juries were representative of both the venire and the community. The participants in this study consisted of residents of Montgomery County. Demographic information was obtained through an official jury questionnaire designed by the courts and completed when prospective jurors answered the summons. Hispanics were significantly under-represented both in venires and in petit juries relative to their proportion in the county, but it is not clear what proportion of Hispanics are actually eligible for jury service. A binary logistic regression was conducted in order to determine which variables had an impact on jury selection. It was found that females were more likely to be selected as were prospective jurors who had no prior involvement with civil lawsuits.

Local police agencies throughout the State of Texas have moved increasingly toward more community-oriented approaches to policing. This philosophy embraces the ideas that (a) the police should reach out to communities they typically have excluded and (b) the police should include members of those communities among their ranks. Lesbians and gay men are an appropriate target of such outreach efforts. Although federal law enforcement agencies have banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in hiring law enforcement personnel, state and local agencies have been slow to follow suit. In the city of Houston, for example, the issue has been hotly contested in all branches of local government. This article reports the results of a survey of 95% of all police chiefs in the State of Texas. The survey was designed to assess police chiefs' attitudes toward hiring lesbian and gay police officers.

The current study surveyed a random sample of Texas law enforcement officers (n = 109) about their knowledge regarding behaviors indicative of deception. The officers were not highly knowledgeable about this topic, overall performing at a chance level in assessing how various behavioral cues relate to deception. Confidence in one's skill was unrelated to accuracy, and officers who reported receiving the most training and utilizing these skills more often were more confident but no more accurate in their knowledge of the behaviors that typically betray deception. The authors compare these results to previous studies that have examined officers' beliefs in other countries and discuss the implication of these results in terms of developing future training programs that may debunk the common misconceptions that officers possess.

The role of the forensic mental health professional (MHP) often differs substantially from that of the typical clinician. These differences bear directly on the ethical delivery of services (Canter, Bennett, Jones & Nagy, 1994; Heilbrun, 2001, 2003).

The current study surveyed a random sample of Texas law enforcement officers (N = 109) about their training in detecting deception. Texas officers reported that their training entailed the equivalent of a 2-day, lecture-style workshop in the kinesic interview technique or Reid technique, two popular police training modules, with subsequent training more often the exception than the rule. The authors examine these results in light of previous social science research regarding officers’ accuracy in detecting deception and make suggestions for future training programs for police officers in this area.

For the therapist, the client is the individual presenting for treatment; in forensic evaluations this is rarely the case (cf. Greenberg & Shuman, 1997). This distinction carries with it important ramifications for informed consent or disclosure as well as the control and use of information obtained during the course of the evaluation. Additionally, the customary therapeutic alliance and typical assurances of confidentiality do not exist in a forensic context. Pressure to assume an advocacy position, however subtle, may pose an ethical dilemma for the forensic MHP. Unlike a therapeutic relationship, the forensic evaluation involves limited contact, an adversarial forum, an impartial stance, and a critical, evaluative style that includes reliance on collateral and corroborated information rather than mere assertions by the examinee.

The current study examined which types of risk communication messages and combinations of messages judges find most helpful in making decisions about risk for future violence. Seventy six judges from three Southern states responded to a mail survey asking them to rate the probative value of categorical, frequency, and probabilistic risk communication messages. An additional 40 judges completed the survey at a judicial conference. Approximately half of the judges made probative ratings for a high risk patient, while the remaining judges made ratings for a lower risk patient. Overall, the judges gave higher probative value ratings to the categorical risk message and reported that a combination of categorical and numerical messages would be most useful. Judges in the high risk condition were significantly more likely than those assigned to the low risk condition to rate the risk message as probative, regardless of the way in which it was communicated.

As Gralinski-Bakker and coauthors report, in 2001 about 18% of, or about 4.3 million, teens aged 12-17 received treatment for mental health problems. This likely represents only about one-third of those who need treatment. Of those receiving treatment in 2001, they report, about 2 million used school-based health services, and about 2 million used specialty mental health services. An estimated 332,000 received care in residential or inpatient settings. The most common conditions among teens are mood, anxiety, and disruptive behavioral disorders. About 3%-8% of high school students suffer from a depressive mood disorder at a given point in their teen years. Approximately 4% experience anxiety disorders, and 2% have disruptive behavior disorders. Of these, about 2% are classified as severe, accompanied by marked functional impairment; about 8% are classified as moderately severe; and 10% are milder forms of disorders. Although the likelihood of a mental disorder following one into adulthood is quite high, service use drops off as youth move into adulthood. Among the population receiving mental health care in 1997, for example, Gralinski- Bakker and coauthors report that 13% receiving outpatient services were teens compared with only 10% of young adults aged 18-24. Among those receiving inpatient or residential care, the gap was even greater; 38% of teens were receiving such care compared with 18% of young adults. Perhaps part of the decline in service use stems from the

This study (a) presented 152 Texas police officers with a scenario in which the sexual orientation of a criminal suspect was manipulated (b) assessed homophobia in this sample, and (c) examined the relationship between homophobia and the officers' judgments of the suspect's culpability. Although the officers were no more likely to report that they would arrest a gay suspect than a heterosexual suspect, those who read a scenario with a gay suspect were more likely to indicate that they thought he should be convicted than those presented with a heterosexual suspect. In general, the officers in our study endorsed homophobic attitudes and those officers who reported higher levels of homophobia were more likely to think that the gay suspect should be convicted.

The past ten years have seen a dramatic increase in the empirical investigation of psychopathic characteristics in children and adolescents. In general, the focus of this research has been on the validation of assessment instruments to evaluate psychopathy as well as concurrent and predictive validity. Little attention has been directed toward elucidating the core characteristics of this construct. The current study expands on previous research by asking juvenile justice personnel (424 juvenile detention and probation officers) to identify the core characteristics of the construct via prototypical analysis for both male and female adolescents. Results of separate factor analyses by gender revealed five identifiable dimensions: juvenile delinquency, serious/violent conduct problems, narcissistic/manipulation of others, impulsivity/acting out, and family problems. The results suggest that juvenile justice personnel focus on a wide range of behavioral indicators as indicative of adolescent psychopathy in addition to affective and interpersonal characteristics typically viewed as crucial to the construct by clinicians.