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Guided by the premise that an individual's safety may be more at risk when their routines, personal attributes, or lack of guardianship influence their opportunity for exposure to violence, we examined the factors that influenced victimization risks and safety perceptions among a representative sample of respondents incarcerated at a large Midwestern jail. Results showed that vulnerable individuals such as those who were victimized prior to their incarceration, and those who antagonized others such as those who perpetrated assault, were threatened more often, were more at risk of assault victimization, and perceived more dangerous conditions. Conversely, females and individuals with greater self-control were less likely to have experienced victimization and generally felt safer in jail. Our results illustrate the importance of identifying and protecting individuals who might experience greater safety risks during jail incarceration and should be interpreted alongside research and policy aimed at improving safety and welfare within correctional institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicide is the leading cause of death in America's jails and the rate of suicide is nearly three times higher in jails than in prisons or the general public. Fatal suicides represent a small proportion of individuals who threaten or attempt suicide while incarcerated, or otherwise engage in serious self-harm. Yet, there is little research to date on the risk factors for jail detainees engaging in suicidal and/or self-harm behavior while incarcerated. Using logistic regression, we examine the risks factors for attempting and threatening suicide and/or self-harm during incarceration using a mixed-sex sample of 736 individuals incarcerated in a large metropolitan jail in the Midwest using the lens of the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (ITS). We found support for ITS, as individuals with higher perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness were more likely to attempt and/or threaten suicide and self-harm. Among the measures that proxied the belongingness-burdensomeness construct – mental health issues, drug dependence, direct and indirect victimization in jail, and psychological distress – were all associated with higher odds of threatening or attempting suicide and self-harm. We discuss the need for future research on suicidality and serious self-harm in jail, as well as recommendations for managing those most at-risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A controversial part of the Adam Walsh Act (AWA) mandates that states require minors adjudicated of certain sexual offenses to be on the sex offender registry, but not all states have complied. Our article examines how far the public in one Midwestern state that has not complied with the AWA is willing to go to manage juvenile sex offenders. We use a statewide survey of adults to examine attitudes toward applying adult sex offender penalties to minors adjudicated of a sex crime (residency restrictions, prohibitions from public schools, school zones, public parks, and social networking sites). Results indicate more than half (60%) of participants agreed that juveniles should be on the public sex offender registry. However, there was less consensus on how punitively juveniles should be treated compared with adult sex offenders. Results indicated which demographics in this state were more likely to hold punitive views toward juvenile sex offenders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youth with a history of victimization have an increased risk of delinquency and justice system involvement throughout the life-course but the nature of this relationship is imprecise. This study uses a nationally representative sample of incarcerated youth to examine whether youth with a history of victimization are involved in the justice system for different offenses than non-victimized youth, and the relationship between victimization types (and polyvicitmzation) and offense types. Results indicate that victimized youth were more likely to be system involved for violent offenses, while youths without a history of victimization were more likely to be involved for minor, non-violent offenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sex offender notification laws depend not only on the public's access of registration information but also on the belief that those on the registry present a danger to society and thus deserve informal monitoring. As registries have expanded to include more people, perhaps citizens feel some people on registry are incapable of committing sex crimes or do not pose a danger to society. A group whose inclusion the public may question is women, as many scholars have argued there is a societal-level denial that females commit sex crimes. Data from the 2012 Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey were used to determine whether the public agreed that citizens should be notified of convicted female sex offenders living in their communities, whether they would take preventive action if a female sex offender lived in their neighborhood, and whether they think that female sex crimes are less serious than sex crimes committed by men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many states have enacted statewide residency restriction laws, others have left the need for, and content of, these laws to local municipalities. To better understand within-state variation in residency restriction laws, this study investigates the public’s desire for these laws and the distances they feel restrictions should be from public spaces populated by children. We review both quantitative and qualitative data from a statewide survey to determine where the public feels sex offenders can live without threatening children. Our results are interpreted using the “dikes” perspective of public opinion to predict the passage and content of future of residency restriction laws. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]