Asserts that several analytical issues in randomized field experiments conducted by criminal justice scholars must be addressed more systematically. Notes that issues related to statistical power and desired sample size remain unresolved. Reviews related literature from the field of medicine to provide insights regarding the dilemmas created by…

Most dominant theories of crime and criminality underscore the saliency of the family in the etiology of offending behaviors. Recently, a small pool of research has suggested that elements of the family, especially parents, do not have a lasting impact on children. This line of inquiry argues that once the effects that the child has on the family…

This report describes seven categories of violent crime in Phoenix, Arizona, and provides causes, facts, preventative programs, and lessons learned pertaining to each category of violence. The categories are: (1) prenatal and early childhood; (2) families; (3) individual youth; (4) schools; (5) neighborhood and community; (6) workplace; and (7)…

Security personnel can help administrators develop ways to combat the ill effects crime has on education programs. (Author)

In 1966 the Office of Law Enforcement Assistance undertook to encourage higher education for law enforcement through a series of curriculum development grants to 2- and 4-year institutions throughout the nation. Altogether, 28 colleges and universities received 48 grants totalling nearly $1 million. First priority was given to schools in states…

Ethical choices were assessed for offenders instructed to produce favorable versus unfavorable impressions. Pronounced impression management effects were obtained for prosocial and antisocial responses, and high scores on a dimension of change defined by these variables were related to sociopathic features on the MMPI. (Author)

Describes 56 women arrested in Detroit, Michigan for killing their husbands in 1982 and 1983 in the context of their killings. Descriptions include the demographic and social characteristics of offenders, victims, and the circumstances of the offenses. Comparisons are made with general population of homicide offenders. (Author)

Compares coverage of women and crime in sociology journals published from 1956-1960 and from 1976-1980 with coverage in criminology texts published from 1956-1965 and from 1976-1985. Data shows despite recent increases in publication of research in journals, criminology texts show little improvement in their coverage of women and crime. Concludes…

Criminosynthesis theory includes internal inhibition as one of six factors relating to criminal behavior. An investigator constructed measure of internal inhibition found significantly less internal inhibition among four of five samples of incarcerated convicted criminals than among two samples of male and female college students. (DB)

Introduces the articles of this special issue focusing on randomized field trials in criminology. In spite of the overall lack of randomized field trials in criminology, some agencies and individuals are able to mount an impressive number of field trials, and these articles focus on their experiences. (SLD)

Discusses advantages of randomized experiments and key issues raised in this special issue. Focuses on growth and decrease in the use of randomized experiments by the California Youth Authority, the U.S. National Institute of Justice, and the British Home Office. Calls for increased recognition of the importance of randomized experiments. (SLD)

Describes the randomized field trials conducted by the California Youth Authority in the 1960s and 1970s and discusses why such rigorous tests were used and why they eventually came to be used less often. (SLD)

Discusses the contrast between the frequency of randomized clinical trials in the health sciences and the relative famine of such studies in criminology. Attributes this difference to the contexts in which research is done and the difference in the status of situational research in the two disciplines. (SLD)

Researchers usually explain individual offending in terms of background factors like low self-control and association with delinquent peers. Such factors reflect the routine or typical aspects of the individual's life over an extended period of time and they influence the individual's predisposition for crime. Researchers also sometimes explain…