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Regular participants in gaming subcultures do not seem as bound to conventional time and space anchors as other regulars (e.g., barroom habitués). This different type of regular status involves the assumption of identification in a more ethereal subculture, in the context of more rarified time and space anchors. This article examines a specific gaming culture, “Magic: The Gathering,” as an emergent and structured sequence of accomplishments in which individual participants and competitors cooperate to create and maintain specialized forms of competition, interaction, and commerce. One coauthor, assuming the identity of Playa' , observed the assumption and creation of regular identities that provided a foundation for the ongoing competitive and cooperative sequences and accomplishments.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the conceptualization of the predatory stalker came to the forefront of the criminal concerns imagined by the American public. With this growing public concern and the associated media coverage, legislation designed to enhance punishments against those who might stalk became a political asset and a significant plank for reelection campaigns. Adequate definition for the phenomena, however, has yet to be established, and idiosyncratic application of the law at the policing level remains a problem. This study works toward providing a better definition of the problem from the public’s perspective. Variables significant to the definition of the problem were identified and used in survey work to assess their importance in the individual’s interpretation of the stalking label. Several of these variables are significantly tied to the individual’s willingness to ascribe a stalking label to a given behavioral transaction.

This article explores the solidary relationships constructed between urban drivers as they take risks and experience dangers associated with pizza delivery. After one of the authors completed working as a driver and participating in drivers' backstage activities, we analyzed their arcane culture as composed of risk takers who receive minimal rewards. In this context, the world of drivers is “hypermasculine,” with racist and sexist nuances, and composed of five identifiable types—the comedian, the adventurer, the denier, the fatalist, and the pro. In conclusion, we locate the driver in the context of urban associations where group membership is perceived as or more valuable than monetary rewards and control of time.

Over the past 20 years, there has been an enormous increase in American jail populations. The most frequently documented result of this increase has been overcrowding in jail facilities. Many also hypothesize that an array of secondary problems for the jail have arisen from such crowding. A nationally representative sample of sheriffs was questioned about 13 of these problems in relation jail crowding within their respective facilities. It was found that although many problems are perceived as related to over-crowding by this study group, others are not believed to be as problematic as is typically assumed. Policy implications of these perceptions are discussed.

County sheriffs were surveyed to assess their beliefs regarding the impact overcrowding within the criminal justice system was having on the operations of their respective departments. Also tested was the premise that certain public order (or victimless) crimes were having a detrimental impact on the operations of their departments and the ability of the criminal justice system to sanction such offenses. Finally, sheriffs were quened as to their relative approval of decriminalization of each of these public order offenses. It was found that the strong majority of the sheriffs surveyed believed that attempts to police public order offenses were having a detrimental impact on their department and the criminal justice system. In spite of this, however, sheriffs were unwilling to decriminalize public order offenses, even those which are officially decriminalized in many jurisdictions, and unofficially ignored in many others.

In 1982, California passed into law severe sanctions for driving while intoxicated. The effects of these law changes on policing were investigated. Using limited time series and elite interview methodologies, it was found that the law's passage was related to reduced arrest rates for several misdemeanors, including driving under the influence.