Search

The current evaluation will examine the implementation of a newly started adult Drug Court program. The process evaluation efforts will ensure that clients are appropriately identified, screened, and processed through the program, as well as document the services received while in the program. Much of this data will be collected from a main database; however, process evaluation efforts will also make use of interviews, surveys, and direct observation to document the design and operation of the court, as well as the nature of the relationships between the various parties. Of specific interest for this evaluation is the nature of the relationship between drug court participants and the drug court judge. The concept of procedural justice is examined-do participants who feel they are being treated fairly in the drug court process have greater success during and after the program than those who do not feel they were treated fairly? The process of obtaining procedural justice information will be presented along with the preliminary results of the process evaluation. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the implementation and effectiveness of a prisoner reentry program for serious and violent young adult offenders returning to a small Midwestern county. Evaluation questions focus on the extent to which clients are appropriately identified, screened, and processed through the program, in addition to quantifying the services clients received while in the program. In turn, these factors will be related to program outcomes such as graduation and post-program recidivism. Much of the data used for this study comes from automated program records; however, interviews, surveys with offenders, and direct observation of treatment services were also used. Process and outcome evaluation results are presented. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restorative justice programs emerged in the United States over the last 20 years as an alternative to traditional case processing, primarily with juvenile offenders. Evaluations and reviews of restorative conferencing programs have consistently found high victim and offender satisfaction and fairness ratings, and several have found reduced recidivism compared to traditional case processing. This study explores the impact of restorative justice processing as an alternative to traditional processing for youthful offenders, with an emphasis on offender characteristics. Specifically, we examine whether restorative justice processing has a similar impact on offenders from different demographic groups and for those with different offending histories. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been suggested previously that the use of traditional "researcher-derived consequence" (RDC) items in studies of Rational Choice theory may have lead to bias in our understanding of offender decision-making. Despite research suggesting that the use of "subject-generated consequences" (SGC) is an accurate and useful method for studying rational choice theory, little empirical research has investigated potential bias in the traditional method of soliciting individuals' perceptions of crime's consequences. A sample of 200 undergraduate students was randomly assigned to respond to hypothetical scenarios utilizing either the traditional RDC method or the alternative SGC method. Comparisons of the average certainty and severity ratings generated with each of these techniques, as well as the relationships between these ratings and offending likelihoods for each of these techniques were made. Results generally support the criticisms leveled by previous research suggesting that the traditional RDC technique provides biased estimates of individuals' actual perceptions of the certainty and severity of various consequence types. Implications for future tests of rational choice theory are discussed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years there has been an increasing awareness on the challenges related to community reintegration of offenders. In response to public safety concerns the United States Department of Justice has encouraged attempts to provide offender reentry interventions designed to improve offenders chances of successfully transitioning back to their community. This study examines outcomes including recidivism and other indicators of social adjustment for juvenile clients participating in a re-entry program upon returning to their community following out-of-home placement. The study compares juveniles served by the re-entry program and a similar group of juveniles returning to the community on traditional probation. Outcome measures include prevalence, frequency, and severity of new offenses and new out-of-home placements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, some research has demonstrated that using participant-generated consequences (PGC) of hypothetical offending behavior can be a viable alternative to the traditional use of researcher-derived consequence (RDC) items in studies of Rational Choice theory. Previous research has demonstrated that these PGC behave in a manner similar to the results seen from past rational choice studies using RDCs, while providing more accurate reflections of the actual content of an individuals decision-making process. Despite some emerging research suggesting that these PGC are useful, little empirical scrutiny has been focused on whether the inclusion of these PGC increase the explanatory power of statistical models of offender decision making. A sample of 212 undergraduate students and 93 incarcerated juvenile offenders were presented with four hypothetical offending scenarios. Comparisons are made between the explanatory power of multivariate models including only traditionally used RDC and those which also include PGCs. Implications for future tests of rational choice theory are discussed, as are policy considerations stemming from this line of inquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This evaluation of a small adult drug court program includes an examination of the impacts of offenders' perceptions of various aspects of procedural justice. In particular a sample of drug court participants were surveyed at three times during their participation in the court, regarding how they perceive they have been treated by the judge, probation officers and treatment personnel. Results are related to in-program behavior, graduation and post-program recidivism. Limitations of the study and implications for drug court processes are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of mandatory and pro-arrest laws for incidents of intimate partner violence, there has been an increase in the number of women arrested for domestic violence. Several explanations are posed in the literature that attempt to explain such a rise, including the hypothesis that women are being arrested not for offensive violence, but rather defensive violence. Few studies, however, have used empirical data to support such arguments. The current exploratory study examines the characteristics of women arrested for intimate personal violence. Particular attention is paid to women arrested with their partner (i.e., dual arrestees) and the contextual characteristics of dual arrestee incidents. Important differences are uncovered in the context and consequences of arrest for dual arrestees compared to women arrested alone as the offender. Implications of these findings and future research directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers continue to grapple with the complexities of understanding intimate partner violence (IPV). Hypotheses ranging from the simple to the complex have been posed in the literature. Few explanations, however, have included what, if any, role victim precipitation plays in incidents of IPV. With increasing numbers of women arrested for IPV in the last two decades, the role of victim precipitation appears to a salient (albeit sensitive) factor to consider. The current study examines the impact gender and victim precipitation has in 200 incidents of IPV in a medium-sized community in the Mid-west. Official criminal histories were collected on a sample of 400 individuals (260 male and 140 female) where at least one partner has been arrested and prosecuted for IPV. Implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]