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Date: August 17, 2024 Sat
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Results for socioeconomic status
50 results foundAuthor: Hoff, Karla Ruth Title: Caste and Punishment: The Legacy of Caste Culture in a Norm Enforcement Summary: Well-functioning groups enforce social norms that restrain opportunism, but the social structure of a society may encourage or inhibit norm enforcement. This study shows how the exogenous assignment to different positions in an extreme social hierarchy - the caste system - affects individuals' willingness to punishment violations of a cooperation norm. Although the study controls for individual wealth, education, and political participation, low caste individuals exhibit a much lower willingness to punish norm violations that hurt members of their own caste, suggesting a cultural difference across caste status in the concern for members of one's own community. The lower willingness to punishment may inhibit the low caste's ability to sustain collective action and so may contribute to its economic vulnerability. Details: Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), 2009. 45p. Source: Discussion Paper Series/IZA; No. 4343; Internet Resource Year: 2009 Country: International URL: Shelf Number: 116385 Keywords: CastePunishmentSocial ClassSocial ExclusionSocioeconomic Status |
Author: O'Brien, Wendy Title: Problem Sexual Behaviour in Children: A Review of the Literature Summary: This literature review presents an analysis of publicly available information on the problem of sexual behavior among Australian children, and outlines social and economic conditions that are likely to increase the prevalence of this problem. Problem sexual behavior refers to aggressive or coercive sexual activity between children and occurs amongst children from varied economic and social backgrounds. Details: Canberra: Australian Crime Commission, 2010. 56p. Source: Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: Shelf Number: 117723 Keywords: Child Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation (Australia)Cruelty to ChildrenSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Klein, Sabine, ed. Title: The Poverty Risks of Women Affected by Violence and Their Children: Report on the Socioeconomic Situation in Austria Summary: An expert group studied various aspects of the social and economic situation of women experiencing violence in Austria. This was paralleled by an in-depth analysis of Austria's report on strategies of social protection and social inclusion 2008-10, especially with regard to the central themes of poverty and violence against women. This report summarizes the results of the work of the expert group. It details the individual risk factors that are frequently found in the context of poverty and violence and describes the range of services that women's shelters provide and that specifically focus on combating poverty. Details: Vienna: WAVE - Women Against Violence Europe, 2009. 940. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2009 Country: Austria URL: Shelf Number: 118169 Keywords: Poverty (Austria)Socioeconomic StatusVictims of Crime, Services For (Austria)Violence Against Women (Austria) |
Author: Schultz, P. Wesley Title: A Social Norms Approach to Community-Based Crime Prevention: Implicit and Explicit Messages on Neighborhood Watch Signs Summary: The Neighborhood Watch program is the nation's largest and most visible community-based crime prevention program. Indeed, the Neighborhood Watch sign itself has become a prominent mainstay of the suburban American landscape. However, recent developments in social psychological theory suggest that publicly-posed Neighborhood Watch signs might inadvertently undermine the program by conveying a normative message that crime is a problem in the community. A series of three laboratory experiments was conducted to evaluate the effects of Neighborhood Watch signs on perceived crime rates, likelihood of victimization, community safety, and estimates of home and community quality. The studies utilized a simulated community tour in which participants were shown images of houses and communities and were asked to rate them along several dimensions. The presence and content of Neighborhood Watch signs was experimentally varied across the three studies. The first study focused on the development and testing of the community tour and sign stimuli, and evaluated the overall effect of the signs in an average middle class community. The second study replicated the basic effects from Study 1 and extended the research to examine the moderating role of community socioeconomic status (SES) on the effects of the signs. Finally, the third study explored the potential for the physical condition of Neighborhood Watch signs to moderate the impact of the signs in low and high SES communities. Details: San Marcos, CA: California State University, San Marcos, 2009. 82p. Source: Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 114901 Keywords: Community Crime PreventionCrime Prevention PublicityNeighborhood WatchSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Byrnes, Edward Cahoon Title: Bootstrapping: Is It More Likely to Occur with Youth Who Are of Color and/or from Low-Income Families? Summary: Findings from the “Minority Overrepresentation in the Utah Juvenile Justice System” study included that youth and staff involved in the system perceive that bootstrapping (the practice of adding charges in a single criminal episode) by law enforcement is more likely to occur with youth who are of color and who are from low income families. This study aimed to use arrest records (to determine the number of charges per episode), JIS data (to determine race, ethnicity and disposition of all charges) and social files (to explore data related to youth’s socioeconomic status) to explore whether study participants’ perceptions were accurate. Details: Salt Lake City, UT: Utah Criminal Justice Center, University of Utah, 2001. 18p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2001 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 119409 Keywords: BootstrappingJuvenile Offenders (Utah)Minority GroupsSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Willis, Matthew Title: Indicators Used Internationally to Measure Indigenous Justice Outcomes Summary: "The social disadvantages faced by Indigenous people in Australia and New Zealand, across dimensions that include community safety and the justice system, have been well documented. The extent of Indigenous disadvantage and the complexities of overcoming it have led to the development of a range of indicators against which the effectiveness of efforts to reduce disadvantage can be measured. This paper aims to contribute to the further development of justice indicators by reporting on approaches used internationally." Details: Canberra: Indigenouse Justice Clearinghouse )Australian Institute of Criminology and the Attorney General's Department of NSW), 2010. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Brief No. 8; Accessed August 17, 2010 at: http://www.indigenousjustice.gov.au/briefs/brief008.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Australia URL: http://www.indigenousjustice.gov.au/briefs/brief008.pdf Shelf Number: 119618 Keywords: Criminal Justice, Administration ofIndigenous Peoples (Australia)Socioeconomic Status |
Author: Yan, Jiahui Title: A Multidisciplinary Study on Juvenile Recidivism and Multilevel Impacts - Risk Factors, Neighborhood Features, and Juvenile Justice Intervention Summary: This study incorporates the economic theories of crime, human capital investment, reasoned action, extended theory of subjective expected utility, as well as developmental criminological theories in a life-course perspective to develop a conceptual model to explore factors related to juvenile recidivism. The study aims to provide information for practitioners to help identify potential chronic and serious offenders, to explore evidence to validate risk and needs assessment tools, and to probe the significant factors to be used as the basis for evidence-based programs. Recidivism is measured as count data in both frequency and severity level of subsequent offenses. Count data are data in which the observations can take only nonnegative integer values and the integers arise from counting. A unique combination of data from five public sources is obtained to examine the influence of individual-level risk factors, neighborhood dharacteristics, and juvenile justice intervention on juvenile recidivism. Exploratory factor analysis and principle component analysis are applied to solve issues related to assessment and census data. Four different regression models for count data are compared to propose the one with the best fit and the most predictive power for each response variable. Results indicate that the most consistent and influential indicators for identifying potential chronic and serious offenders are being older, being male, having a more serious first offense, showing a tendency towards violence, scoring high on the overall factor that represents problematic attitude, behavior, and social relations, and the existence of harmful parental impact. Race is not identified as a significant indicator after controlling other risk factors and socioeconomic differences between youth of different racial groups. Results indicate that where the youth lives matters. As compared with juveniles located in neighborhoods with positive socio-economic characteristics, those from the most disadvantaged areas are found to recidivate more frequently and more seriously. Findings also suggest that available community services might play a role in youth behavior. Cognitive-behavioral and supervisory programs are shown to have great potential in reducing recidivism. However, only when juveniles successfully complete the assigned programs, are they involved in fewer subsequent delinquent behaviors. Details: Columbia, MO: University of Missouri, 2009. 163p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation, University of Missouri: Accessed August 28, 2010 at: https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10355/6128/research.pdf?sequence=3 Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10355/6128/research.pdf?sequence=3 Shelf Number: 119702 Keywords: Juvenile OffendersNeighborhoodsRaceRecidivismSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress Title: The Face of Urban Violence in Central America Summary: Central America has been identified as a sub-region displaying post-conflict characteristics; with some stages successfully completed, while other have failed or are still in progress. A notable dilemma, however, remains unaddressed: the relationship between violence and youth. Traditionally, this relationship has been perceived as a symbiotic, with youth perceived as violent, as a logical consequence of their presumed lack of maturity or experience. According to this study, the victims of violence in Central America - and worldwide - are youths aged 13 to 29, who come from economically depressed regions, and pockets of urban poverty. They tend to belong to ethnic or racial minorities, live in densely populated areas marked by unemployment, high birth rates and little access to schooling. Many of these youths, both victims and assailants, have been victimized themselves. They have been abused, suffered domestic violence; they have been abandoned, or had little access to education and culture, and are incapable of entering the job market in conditions of equality or security. Details: San Jose, Costa Rica: Arias Foundation for Peace on Human Progress, 2006. 276p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 16, 2010 at: http://www.arias.or.cr/download/INGLES.pdf Year: 2006 Country: Central America URL: http://www.arias.or.cr/download/INGLES.pdf Shelf Number: 116550 Keywords: GangsJuvenile OffendersSocioeconomic StatusViolent CrimeYouth Violence |
Author: Lyons, Susan Title: Money Well Spent: How POsitive Social Investments Will Reduce Incarceration Rates, Improve Public Safety, and Promote the Well-Being of Communities Summary: This report examines the relationship between poverty and involvement in the justice system. Using the District of Columbia as a case study to illustrate national concerns, the report focuses on the nexus of public safety and poverty: while poverty doesn’t cause crime, more low-income people end up in prison or jail. And while spending on education, treatment, and other services that help people improve their well-being have been shown to be a more effective public safety strategy than locking people up, between 2005 and 2009 state spending on corrections grew faster than any other category, including education, Medicaid and public assistance such as TANF. Details: Washington, DC: Justice Policy Institute, 2010. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 16, 2010 at: http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/10-09_REP_MoneyWellSpent_PS-DC-AC-JJ.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/10-09_REP_MoneyWellSpent_PS-DC-AC-JJ.pdf Shelf Number: 119824 Keywords: PovertySocioeconomic Status |
Author: Western, Bruce Title: Collateral Costs: Incarceration's Effect on Economic Mobility Summary: Over the past 30 years, the United States has experienced explosive growth in its incarcerated population. The Pew Center on the States reported in 2008 that more than 1 in 100 adults is now behind bars in America, by far the highest rate of any nation. The direct cost of this imprisonment boom, in dollars, has been staggering: state correctional costs quadrupled over the past two decades and now top $50 billion a year, consuming 1 in every 15 general fund dollars. Looking at the same period of time, Pew’s Economic Mobility Project’s research has revealed a decidedly mixed picture of economic mobility in America. On the one hand, two-thirds of families have higher inflation-adjusted incomes than their parents did at a similar age. Given these favorable odds for each generation to earn a better living than the last, it is no wonder that, even in the depths of the country’s economic slump last year, 8 out of 10 Americans believed it was still possible to “get ahead.” Less encouraging, however, are the findings that describe how individuals’ economic rank compares to their parents’ rank at the same age, as well as data showing that race and parental income significantly impact economic mobility. For example, 42 percent of Americans whose parents were in the bottom fifth of the income ladder remain there themselves as adults. As for race, blacks are significantly more downwardly mobile than whites: almost half of black children born to solidly middle-income parents tumble to the bottom of the income distribution in adulthood, while just 16 percent of whites experience such a fall. With this report, our inquiry focuses on the intersection of incarceration and mobility, fields that might at first seem unrelated. We ask two questions: To what extent does incarceration create lasting barriers to economic progress for formerly incarcerated people, their families and their children? What do these barriers mean for the American Dream, given the explosive growth of the prison population? The findings in this report should give policy makers reason to reflect. The price of prisons in state and federal budgets represents just a fraction of the overall cost of incarcerating such a large segment of our society. The collateral consequences are tremendous and far-reaching, and as this report illuminates with fresh data and analysis, they include substantial and lifelong damage to the ability of former inmates, their families and their children to earn a living wage, move up the income ladder and pursue the American Dream. Details: Washington, DC: The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2010. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 6, 2010 at: http://www.economicmobility.org/assets/pdfs/EMP_Incarceration.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.economicmobility.org/assets/pdfs/EMP_Incarceration.pdf Shelf Number: 119869 Keywords: Ex-Offenders, EmploymentImprisonmentSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Sabates, Ricardo Title: Educational Inequality and Juvenile Crime: An Area Based Analysis Summary: This study considers the influence of one form of relative deprivation on crime, namely educational inequality. This is examined through an area-based analysis of the relationship between juvenile conviction rates for a range of offences and educational inequality based on maths Key Stage 3 scores in English local education authorities (LEAs). Using aggregate area-level information from three cohorts of young people (born between 1983 and 1985) within each area, and controlling for other variables which might be supposed to have an effect on juvenile crime rates, we found that there is evidence of a relationship between educational inequality and juvenile conviction rates for violent crime within local areas (significant at the 10% level). There is a further relationship between educational inequality and racially motivated crime (significant at the 5% level). There was no significant relationship between our cohort-based measures of educational inequality and property-related crime. Details: London: Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning, 2008. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report No. 26: Accessed October 9, 2010 at: http://www.learningbenefits.net/Publications/ResReps/ResRep26.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.learningbenefits.net/Publications/ResReps/ResRep26.pdf Shelf Number: 119906 Keywords: EducationEducational InequalityJuvenile OffendersSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Lum, Cynthia Title: Does the "Race of Places" Influence Police Officer Decision Making? Summary: This study examines whether the race and ethnicity of small places influences police decisions at those places. While the importance of this ongoing inquiry in policing seems clear, there is much less consensus in its answer, or even how racial profiling is defined and measured. The research evidence had led to contentious debates on detecting the existence, meaning, and interpretation of racial profiling. These complexities are further challenged today’s policing environment, which is marked by a push for officers to engage in more place-based, proactive strategies that have been criticized for resulting in (or at least not being sensitive to) racially incongruent outcomes. Such complexities and new organizational and social contexts call for more and varied policing research in this area. In particular, more place-based research is warranted. Much of the existing research on race and police decision-making is individual-based, focusing on how the race and ethnicity of individuals influences outcomes such stopping an individual, continuing an investigation or making an arrest. However, how the characteristics of the places within which these incidents occur affects police discretion, has been much less examined. This is surprising given the place-based bias of many contemporary policing tactical innovations, high levels of concern about the legitimacy of police in the community, and most importantly, the profound effect that places can have on the mentality and world view of officers, which in turn shapes their actions while working in those places. This project adds to scant place-based research on race, ethnicity and discretion by examining how the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic characteristics of very small places influence officer decision making at those places. I examined 267,937 incidents that occur in an urban, diverse metropolitan area on the west coast of the U.S. These crimes occurred at all places, were of many different crime and disorder types, and resulted in various outcomes. I also did not limit analysis to a comparison between how White and Black composition affected decisions about these incidents, as has been traditionally done, but included multiple racial, ethnic, language, and foreign-born place-based categories are explored. To examine decision making about each of these incidents across the city, I create a more robust measure of discretion – the decision-making pathway. The decision pathway is a series of decision points related to an event, including whether to stop an individual, dismiss a call, investigate further, write a report, make an arrest, or increase or decrease the severity of a report or arrest charge. Decisions were linked together for each incident, and then characterized and scored according to “upgrades” or “downgrades” in both action and crime classification at each decision point. Each pathway was then geocoded and linked to other place-based characteristics, including racial, ethnic, foreign-born, and language composition of areas. Three place-based cues seem to consistently matter in systematic biases of officer decision making: the proportion of residents that are Black, the level of wealth in that area (the most consistent socioeconomic factor that significantly affected the models), and the amount of violence in a block group. For the first two, police show significant evidence of downgrading calls – handling them less formally (less likely to write reports or make arrests) and reducing the seriousness of crime classifications. But, while both wealthy and less socially disorganized block groupings with high proportions of Black residents both evidence downgrading, there is less downgrading in high-proportion Black communities compared to high-proportion wealthy communities. And, these effects held significant after including a number of socioeconomic and crime-related variables; no other racial group or ethnic subgroup showed the same effect on decision pathways, although there were interesting point-to-point findings for places with larger Asian and Hispanic populations. This study indicates that it is not sufficient only to examine the individual racial characteristics of individuals involved in police action, but that the racial and ethnic environment of places also matters. However, despite these steps forward, this study, like so many others examining whether disparities in police service exist, still cannot tell us why we see this differential response or illuminate individual officer motivation. Proving intent for prejudice is not only difficult short of admission, but such prejudice is intricately part of human behavior, and can be hidden under layers of consciousness, organizational rules, symbolic interactions, and worldviews. Additionally, the origination of the disparities that emerge from this analysis may not unilaterally come from the police; they may arise from an interaction between officers’ supply of law enforcement and the demand of services by the community. But deciphering motivations may be a dead-end approach. Rather, the recommendations in the final report focus on changes police might consider to operational tactics, supervisory strategies, and organizational culture and learning that can counteract such biases. Details: Washington, DC: George Mason University, Administration of Justice Department, Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, 2009. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 9, 2010 at: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/231931.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/231931.pdf Shelf Number: 119913 Keywords: Police DiscretionRace and CrimeRace/EthnicityRacial ProfilingSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Hague, Gill Title: Bride-Price, Poverty and Domestic Violence in Uganda Summary: This report outlines the key findings from the first-ever research study on Bride-Price, Poverty and Domestic Violence in Uganda, conducted as a response both to the growing interest in the practice of bride-price and to moves for its reform in Uganda and other countries in Africa. The research was undertaken between January 2008 and June 2009 through an international collaboration between MIFUMI, an NGO and women's rights agency based in Uganda working on domestic violence and poverty alleviation, and two UK research groups, the Violence Against Women Research Group, University of Bristol, and the Centre for the Study of Safety and Well-being, University of Warwick. The aims and objectives of the research were: To investigate, through an action research approach, the impacts of bride-price on the capabilities of women, children and families in terms of development, quality of life, health, decision-making and community participation; To explore possible inter-relations between bride-price and poverty; To investigate possible inter-relations between bride-price and domestic violence; To develop policy recommendations for Uganda, and to contribute to national, pan-African and global debates on bride price, including with the Ugandan government and through international protocols and the Kampala International Declaration on Bride-price; To develop a local action-oriented dissemination plan, including a collaboratively developed community awareness-raising programme to reach several thousand people; and To contribute to the Millennial Development Goal (MDG) framework, especially MDG3 on gender and empowerment. Details: Bristol, UK: MIFUMI Uganda, Violence Against Women Research Group, University of Bistol; Warwick, UK: Centre for the Study of Safety and Well-being, University of Warwick, 2009. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 22, 2010 at: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/shss/swell/final_report_-_bride_price_poverty_and_domestic_vi.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Uganda URL: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/shss/swell/final_report_-_bride_price_poverty_and_domestic_vi.pdf Shelf Number: 119920 Keywords: Domestic ViolencePovertySocioeconomic StatusViolence Against Women |
Author: Mack, Elizabeth A. Title: Sex Offenders and Residential Location: A Predictive Analytic Framework Summary: Despite the growing body of research dealing with sex offenders and the collateral consequences of legislation governing their post release movements, a complete understanding of the residential choices of registered sex offenders remains elusive. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a predictive analytical framework for determining which demographic and socioeconomic factors best forecast the residential choices of convicted sex offenders. Specifically, using a derived index of social disorganization (ISDOR) and a commercial geographic information system (GIS), we implement both linear statistical and non-linear data mining approaches to predict the presence of sex offenders in a community. The results of this analysis are encouraging, with nearly 75% of registered offender locations predicted correctly. The implications of these approaches for public policy are discussed. Details: Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University, GeoDa Center for Geospatial Analysis and Computation, 2010. 37p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper No. 2010-03: Accessed October 14, 2010 at: http://geodacenter.asu.edu/drupal_files/2010-03_0.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://geodacenter.asu.edu/drupal_files/2010-03_0.pdf Shelf Number: 119955 Keywords: Data MiningGeographic StudiesGeospatial AnalysisGISResidency RestrictionsSex OffendersSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Carson, Scott Alan Title: African-American and White Inequality the American South: Evidence from the 19th Century Missouri State Prison Summary: The use of height data to measure living standards is now a well-established method in economic history. Moreover, a number of core findings in the literature are widely agreed upon. There are still some populations, places, and times, however, for which anthropometric evidence remains thin. One example is 19th century African-Americans in US border states. This paper introduces a new data set from the Missouri state prison to track black and white male heights from 1829 to 1913. Where modern blacks and whites come to comparable terminal statures when brought to maturity under optimal conditions, whites were persistently taller than blacks in this Missouri prison sample. Over time, black and white adult statures remained approximately constant throughout the 19th century, while black youth stature increased considerably during the antebellum period and decreased during Reconstruction. Details: Munich, Germany: CESifo Group, 2007. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: CESifo Working Paper No. 1954: Accessed October 14, 2010 at: http://www.ifo.de/pls/guestci/download/CESifo%20Working%20Papers%202009/CESifo%20Working%20Papers%20December%202009/cesifo1_wp2876.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United States URL: http://www.ifo.de/pls/guestci/download/CESifo%20Working%20Papers%202009/CESifo%20Working%20Papers%20December%202009/cesifo1_wp2876.pdf Shelf Number: 119957 Keywords: HealthHistorical StudiesInmatesPrisonersSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Kubrin, Charis E. Title: The Impact of Capital on Crime: Does Access to Home Mortgage Money Reduce Crime Rates? Summary: Home mortgage loans today are more readily available in urban neighborhoods and cities are safer than has been the case in decades. Community reinvestment advocates and law enforcement authorities have long contended that access to financial services and homeownership are critical to neighborhood stability, all of which contribute to lower crime rates. But no systematic research has explored the relationship between lending and crime. This study utilizes mortgage loan, census, and Uniform Crime Report data to examine the impact of lending on crime in Seattle, Washington communities, controlling for several neighborhood characteristics. We also examine the impact of loans made by lenders covered by the Federal Community Reinvestment Act to determine whether fair lending policy has an independent effect. The findings show that increased mortgage lending is significantly associated with lower crime levels and that the relationship is even stronger for lending by CRA-covered institutions. This research advances our understanding of the linkages among financial services, neighborhood social organization, and crime. The findings suggest that community reinvestment can effectively complement human capital development as an alternative to incarceration for combating crime. We offer specific recommendations for strengthening the Community Reinvestment Act and related fair lending rules in order to stabilize the communities to which many ex-offenders return and reduce neighborhood crime. Details: Washington, DC: George Washington University, 2004?. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 19, 2010 at: http://realcostofprisons.org/pdfs/TTT_paper3.pdf Year: 2004 Country: United States URL: http://realcostofprisons.org/pdfs/TTT_paper3.pdf Shelf Number: 120016 Keywords: CommunitiesMortgage LendingNeighborhoods and CrimeSocial DisorganizationSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Kemp, Vicky Title: The Problems of Everyday Life: Crime and the Civil and Social Justice Survey Summary: Criminal justice processes target a limited range of ‘crimes’ or ‘harms’ to the exclusion of many others. Whilst political and public policy attention is often focused on procedures and processes, there is also great value in considering broader issues of social justice across a spectrum of activities that extend beyond the restricted scope of criminal justice. It is in this context that we find the work published here of interest. As the briefing shows, the range of problems and difficulties of everyday life faced by different sections of the population is complex, interrelated and should ultimately be of concern to anyone with an interest in social justice. Whilst the categories of ‘crime’, ‘social exclusion’ and ‘civil justice problems’ can be problematic, this paper usefully draws attention to a number of issues that we feel deserve much greater attention. As the authors claim, their findings suggest that services aimed at those people experiencing social problems would be more usefully provided through common means and methods. Separating out the issues and services aimed at resolving civil problems, crime and social exclusion often ignores the complex picture of injustices those deemed ‘vulnerable’ often face. Of greatest importance is the necessity to begin looking at these problems in the context of social injustice and the role of structural factors that result in substantial inequalities. Details: London: Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, 2007. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 19, 2010 at: http://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/opus355/EverydayprobsWEB.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/opus355/EverydayprobsWEB.pdf Shelf Number: 120020 Keywords: Civil JusticeSocioeconomic StatusVictimizationVictims of Crime |
Author: Muggah, Robert, ed. Title: Urban Violence in an Urban Village: A Case Study of Dili, Timor-Leste Summary: Drawing on a randomized household survey, focus group interviews, and an extensive literature review undertaken between June and December 2009, this study considers the structural and proximate factors shaping urban violence in Dili. These include the presence of informal security actors, erstwhile internally displaced persons (IDPs), permanent and seasonal population movements, land and property disputes, and persistent and glaring socioeconomic inequalities. The report also focuses on the objective symptoms of urban violence, including (the comparatively low) homicide rates, the relatively high rates of robbery, the high prevalence of sexual and domestic violence, the relationship between alcohol consumption and the onset of violence, the seemingly ambiguous and distrustful attitudes towards formal security providers, and the interconnections between systemic unemployment and protracted violence. In terms of subjective experiences of urban violence, the study finds that most residents describe their neighbourhoods as generally free from violence, their communities as safer than surrounding communities, the security of their neighbourhoods as adequate, and their neighbours as willing to look out for one another. The tendency towards increased transience and anonymity, owing in part to an exploding population and urbanization, may threaten these social networks of reciprocity. The study finds that urban violence in Dili can often shift from collective to interpersonal forms in dramatic fashion. Owing to the weak state of crime and health surveillance and the fact that most minor incidents are dealt with through customary means, if at all, it is difficult for international and domestic authorities to anticipate the onset of acute forms of urban violence. While recognizing a comparatively low incidence of overall violent victimization in Dili since 2007, the study observes that muscular coercive and security-led interventions seeking to deter urban violence are more commonly pursued by the government than informal, voluntary approaches that seek to prevent and reduce victimization in the long term. Details: Geneva: Geneva Declaration Secretariat, 2010. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed October 21, 2010 at: http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/regional-publications/Urban_Violence_Dili.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Asia URL: http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/regional-publications/Urban_Violence_Dili.pdf Shelf Number: 120050 Keywords: Socioeconomic StatusUrban CrimeUrban ViolenceVictimization |
Author: Barenboim, Igor Title: Does Crime Breed Inequality? Theory and Evidence from the Favelas in Rio de Janeiro Summary: Crime and income inequality are positively correlated. Many have argued that the causation from the latter to the former; to our knowledge, the reverse channel of causality has not been studied. We present two simple mechanisms through which crime can breed inequality, both based on the idea that private protection from crime is a normal good. In our first hypothesis, crime distorts savings decisions by lowering expected returns, and more so for the poor who can afford less protection. Our second model explores how crime can generate inequality by diferentially affecting location decisions according to income. We test these ideas empirically in the extremely high-crime context of slums ("favelas") in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and find suggestive evidence that higher crime leads to more inequality within favelas. We also show evidence of the savings mechanism, with little support for the spatial mechanism in this context. Details: Cambridge, MA: Harvard University (Working Paper), 2009. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 23, 2010 at: http://www.eea-esem.com/files/papers/EEA-ESEM/2009/448/Favelas_draft18Jan09%202.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Brazil URL: http://www.eea-esem.com/files/papers/EEA-ESEM/2009/448/Favelas_draft18Jan09%202.pdf Shelf Number: 120056 Keywords: Crime RatesInequalityPovertyPrivate ProtectionSlumsSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Han, Lu Title: Economic Analyses of Crime in England and Wales Summary: This thesis includes three empirical studies detecting the determinants of crime in England and Wales. We firstly apply time series analyses to look for cointegrating relationships between property crimes and unemployment as well as law enforcement instruments. We extend our study by employing panel data and corresponding techniques to control for area-specific fixed effects as well as the endogeneity of law enforcement variables. In our third study, we allow crime rate to have spatial spillover effect, in other words, the crime rate in one area is affected by, in addition to its local crime-influential factors, the crime rates and crime-related factors in its neighbouring areas. We demonstrate this result by constructing a theoretical model and testing it by applying spatial analysis regressions. Our main findings can be summarized as follows: First, property crimes are better explained by economic models of crime than violent crimes. Second, law enforcement instruments always have negative effects on both property and violent crimes, indicating their deterrence and incapacitation effects as predicted. Third, social-economic factors, such as unemployment and income level, have two effects on property crimes: opportunity and motivation. Their net effects on property crime rates depend on the type of crime as well as the time period being examined. And finally, there is indeed spillover effect existing in crime rate. For burglary, theft and handling, and robbery, the crime rate in one area is positively and significantly correlated with the crime rates from its neighbouring areas. Furthermore, the crime rate of sexual offences of one area is negatively related to such crime rates in neighbouring areas. Details: Birmingham, UK: Department of Economics, Birmingham Business School, College of Social Science, University of Birmingham, 2009. 261p. Source: Internet Resource: Doctoral Thesis: Accessed November 29, 2010 at: http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/584/3/han10PhD.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/584/3/han10PhD.pdf Shelf Number: 120294 Keywords: Economics of CrimeProperty CrimeSocioeconomic StatusUnemployment and Crime |
Author: Aronowitz, Alexis Title: Analysing the Business Model of Trafficking in Human Beings to Better Prevent the Crime Summary: The purpose of this project is to assist the OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings to identify theoretical underpinnings which may explain the business and socio-economic factors contributing to human trafficking in a wide context. This will facilitate the implementation of a holistic preventive strategy and help identify knowledge gaps that will need to be addressed in the very near future. In keeping with the OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings and the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, it is anticipated that this exploratory research will pave the ground for a well-informed debate and assist in the further development of a comprehensive counter-trafficking policy. A second major objective is to provide recommendations, next steps and guidelines for decision makers, civil society and other concerned actors on the effective prevention of human trafficking. This study was implemented as part of the UN.GIFT Expert Group Initiative, as it seeks to produce guidance toward both short- and long-term results that will contribute to more effective prevention of human trafficking. Details: Vienna: Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, 2010. 112p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 9, 2010 at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/document/activities/cont/201006/20100608ATT75674/20100608ATT75674EN.pdf Year: 2010 Country: International URL: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/document/activities/cont/201006/20100608ATT75674/20100608ATT75674EN.pdf Shelf Number: 120435 Keywords: Human TraffickingSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Rodgers, Dennis Title: Dying For It: Gangs, Violence and Social Change in Urban Nicaragua Summary: Youth gangs potentially constitute an ideal lens through which to explore the dynamics and ramifications of the new political economy of violence in Latin America, and this paper consequently presents and ethnographic case study of an urban Nicaraguan youth gang. It employs data derived from participant observation research conducted in 1996-97 and 2002 in a low-income neighbourhood in Managua. The first part of the paper provides a brief overview of crime and violence in contemporary urban Nicaragua, exploring some of its socio-economic consequences and situating gang violence within it. The second part offers an account of the neighbourhood's youth gang as it existed in 1996-97, followed by a description of the gang in 2002, focusing on violent gang practices. The third section considers the nature of these two manifestations of the gang and the general evolution of the gang between 1997 and 2002 from an institutional point of view. Details: London: Crisis States Program, Development Research Centre, London School of Economics, 2003. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper No. 35: Crisis States Programme, Working Papers Series No. 1: Accessed January 31, 2010 at: Year: 2003 Country: Nicaragua URL: Shelf Number: 120636 Keywords: Gang ViolenceGangs (Nicaragua)Socioeconomic StatusYouth Violence |
Author: Rodgers, Dennis Title: Urban Segregation from Below: Drugs, Consumption, and Primitive Accumulation in Managua, Nicaragua Summary: This paper explores the emergence of new forms of urban segregation in contemporary Managua, Nicaragua. Although the country has historically always been characterised by high levels of socio-economic inequality - with the notable exception of the Sandinista revolutionary period (1979-1990), when disparities declined markedly - the past decade in particular has seen the development of new processes of exclusion and differentiation, especially in urban areas. In many ways, these are part of a broader regional trend; as several recent studies have noted, many other Latin American cities are undergoing similar mutations. The seminal investigation in this regard is undoubtedly Teresa Caldeira's City of Walls, which traces the way in which rising crime and insecurity have changed the cityscape of Sao Paolo, Brazil, transforming it from a space of open circulation to a fragmented archipelago of isolated "fortified enclaves". This new urban morphology is most visible in the proliferation of self-sufficient gated communities and closed condominiums for the affluent, which have significantly altered the character of urban space, as those on the 'inside' of the enclaves no longer relate to notions of spatial cohabitation with those on the 'outside', but rather to an ideal of separation from them. This paper examines urban Nicaragua where this phenomenon has arguably gone further than enclaves and has led to the emergence of a 'fortified network' for the elites which excludes the poor and has profoundly altered the cityscape. Details: London: Crisis States Research Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science, 2005. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Crisis States Research Centre Working Papers series 1, No. 71.: Accessed February 1, 2011 at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/13283/1/wp71.pdf Year: 2005 Country: Nicaragua URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/13283/1/wp71.pdf Shelf Number: 120638 Keywords: Crime (Nicaragua)Socioeconomic StatusUrban Areas |
Author: Gaviria, Alejandro Title: The Cost of Avoiding Crime: The Case of Bogota Summary: We use hedonic price models to estimate the value households are willing to pay to avoid violent crime in the city of Bogotá. We find that households living in the highest socioeconomic level (stratum 6) pay up to 7.2% of their house values in order to prevent average homicide rates from increasing in one standard deviation. Households in stratum 5 pay up to 2.4% of their house values to prevent homicide rates from increasing. The results indicate the willingness to pay for security by households in Bogotá, and additionally, reveal that a pure public good like security, ends up creating urban private markets that auction security. These markets imply different levels of access to public goods among the population, and actually, the exclusion of the poorest. We find as well evidence of negative capitalization of the rate of attacks against life, and positive capitalization of the presence of police authority. Details: Bogota, Colombia: Borradores de Economia, 2008. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper No. 208: Accessed February 9, 2011 at: http://www.banrep.gov.co/docum/ftp/borra508.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Colombia URL: http://www.banrep.gov.co/docum/ftp/borra508.pdf Shelf Number: 120734 Keywords: HomicidePrivate SecuritySocioeconomic StatusViolent Crime (Bogota, Colombia) |
Author: Fagan, Jeffrey Title: Incarceration and the Economic Fortunes of Urban Neighborhoods Summary: New research has identified the consequences of high rates of incarceration on neighborhood crime rates, but few studies have looked beyond crime to examine the collateral effects of incarceration on the social and economic well being of the neighborhoods themselves and their residents. We assess two specific indicia of neighborhood economic well-being, household income and human capital, dimensions that are robust predictors of elevated crime, enforcement and incarceration rates. We decompose incarceration effects by neighborhood racial composition and socio-economic conditions to account for structural disadvantages in labor force and access to wealth that flow from persistent patterns of residential segregation. We use panel methods to examine the effects on incarceration on New York City census tracts over an 11 year period from 1985-1996, a period which saw crime rates rise and fall sharply, and when incarceration rates increased and remained high in concentrated areas throughout the city. We examine whether persistently high incarceration rates erode human capital and depress median household incomes, further intensifying incarceration risks and threatening to create conditions where incarceration and economic disadvantage become endogenous features of certain neighborhoods. We find distinct but overlapping effects for prisons and jails, suggesting that these are parallel processes produced by loosely coupled law enforcement priorities. Incarceration effects are greater for household income than human capital, suggesting a complex relationship between persistent poverty, residential segregation, and incarceration that reinforces a classic poverty trap. Household incomes are lower over time in neighborhoods with higher proportions of African American population, even after controlling for the effects of race on incarceration, but we find no similar effects for Hispanic populations. Spatially targeted policies such as microinvestment and housing development may be needed offset the local embeddedness of poverty and disrupt its connections to incarceration and crime, while education policy and transitional labor market networking can strengthen local human capital. Details: New York: Columbia Law School, 2010. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Columbia Public Law Research Paper No. 11-266: Accessed March 11, 2011 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1772190 Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1772190 Shelf Number: 120971 Keywords: Crime RatesEconomics of CrimeImprisonmentIncarcerationNeighborhoods and CrimeSocioeconomic StatusUrban Areas |
Author: Giordano, Peggy C. Title: Parenthood and Crime: The Role of Wantedness, Relationships with Partners, and Socioeconomic Status Summary: Parenthood may play a pivotal role in the criminal desistance process, but few studies have examined the conditions under which becoming a mother or father is most likely to lead to reductions in criminal behavior. The current longitudinal study draws on four waves of adolescent and young adult interview data (N = 1,066) to examine the impact of parenthood on criminal trajectories, as well as the degree to which the prosocial potential of parenthood is modified by socioeconomic factors, the nature of the relationship between the biological parents, and pregnancy wantedness. The influence of gender on these relationships is also examined. Results from HLM longitudinal regression models indicate that highly disadvantaged young men and women do not report lower average levels of criminal behavior after becoming parents, although young men and women from more advantaged backgrounds do report lower average levels of crime after making these transitions. Pregnancies that were described as wanted reduced female involvement in crime regardless of socioeconomic status, while status of the relationship (married or cohabiting and single) was in general not a strong predictor. In-depth qualitative data are used to further elucidate the conditional nature of the parenthood-crime relationship. Details: Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University, The Center for Family and Demographic Research, 2011. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper Series 2011-02: Accessed April 14, 2011 at: http://www.bgsu.edu/downloads/cas/file94273.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.bgsu.edu/downloads/cas/file94273.pdf Shelf Number: 121353 Keywords: DesistanceFamilies and CrimeParenting and CrimeParentsSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Sum, Andrew Title: The Consequences of Dropping Out of High School: Joblessness and Jailing for High School Dropouts and the High Cost for Taxpayers: 22% Daily Jailing Rate for Young Black Men Who Drop Out of High School Summary: The economic, social, and moral case for addressing the nation’s existing high school dropout problems was made in a report titled Left Behind in America: The Nation’s Dropout Crisis. This report called upon the U.S. Congress and the Obama Administration to enact legislation to support programs at the local and state level to re-enroll existing high school dropouts to enable them to improve their academic achievement skills, obtain their high school diplomas or their equivalents, and bolster their employability through work experience and training. The nation’s young dropouts experience a wide array of labor market, earnings, social and income problems that exacerbate their ability to transition to careers and stable marriages from their mid-20s onward. This new research paper was prepared to outline the employment, earnings, incarceration, teen and young adult parenting experiences and family incomes of the nation’s young adult high school dropouts and their better educated peers in 2006 to 2008. Young high school dropouts confront a number of labor market problems in their late teens and early 20's. They are less likely to be active labor force participants than their better educated peers, and they frequently experience considerably higher unemployment rates when they do seek work. As a consequence, they are much less likely to be employed than their better educated peers across the nation, and gaps typically widen as national labor markets deteriorate such as during the current recession. The employment rates of the nation’s 16-24 year old, out-of-school youth by their educational attainment in 2008 are displayed in Chart These estimated employment rates are annual averages. Slightly less than 46 percent of the nation’s young high school dropouts were employed on average during 2008. This implies an average joblessness rate during 2008 of 54% for the nation for young high school dropouts. Their employment rate was 22 percentage points below that of high school graduates, 33 percentage points below that of young adults who had completed 1-3 years of post-secondary schooling, and 41 percentage points below that of their peers who held a four year college degree. Young high school dropouts were only about one-half as likely to be working as those youth holding a bachelor’s or higher degree in 2008. Details: Boston, MA: Center for Labor Market Studies, Northeastern University, 2009. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 29, 2011 at: http://www.clms.neu.edu/publication/documents/The_Consequences_of_Dropping_Out_of_High_School.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.clms.neu.edu/publication/documents/The_Consequences_of_Dropping_Out_of_High_School.pdf Shelf Number: 121577 Keywords: Delinquency PreventionEducationSchool DropoutsSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Vermeire, Diana Tate Title: Balancing the Scales of Justice: An Exploration into How Lack of Education, Employment, and Housing Opportunities Contribute to Disparities in the Criminal Justice System Summary: At a time of growing need, California continues to slash basic safety net programs and underfund public education and other critical services. The state’s criminal justice system, however, does not turn anyone away. It has evolved into society’s catchall institution. As a result, California’s criminal justice system has experienced historic growth and a correlating mass incarceration of racial and ethnic minorities over the past 30 years. Consequently, people of color are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, and the number of women in the criminal justice system is increasing at a disproportionate rate. Systemic bias within the criminal justice system contributes to this disproportionality, but it is not the sole cause of the expansion of the system and the disparities within the system. Instead, the racial, ethnic, and gender disparities found within our criminal justice system are created in part by external socio-economic factors. External socio-economic factors, including adequate educational, employment, and housing opportunities, protect privileged individuals from contact with the criminal justice system. However, for those living in concentrated areas of poverty, especially racial and ethnic minorities, lack of access to basic necessities such as quality education, employment, and housing, increases the likelihood of criminal justice system contact. Moreover, the interventions meant to address socio-economic inequities are failing and as a result the criminal justice system is assuming the responsibilities of these failed governmental programs and agencies. With significant budget cuts for all social service institutions, the number of individuals served and the scope of available services continues to decrease. Socio-economic inequities contribute to disparities in the criminal justice system. Yet, due to a lack of data and research, it is impossible to measure the force and impact of these external factors on criminal justice system involvement and the extent to which they exacerbate the systemic and institutional bias and racism within the criminal justice system. Details: San Francisco: ACLU of Northern California and the W. Haywood Burns Institute, 2010. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 10, 2011 at: http://www.aclunc.org/docs/racial_justice/balancing_the_scales_of_justice.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.aclunc.org/docs/racial_justice/balancing_the_scales_of_justice.pdf Shelf Number: 121702 Keywords: BiasCriminal Justice Systems (California)EducationEmploymentHousingMinoritiesRacial DisparitiesSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Sedlak, Andrea J. Title: Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS–4): Supplementary Analyses of Race Differences in Child Maltreatment Rates in the NIS–4 Summary: For the first time in the history of the National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect, the most recent cycle, the NIS–4, found race differences in maltreatment rates, with Black children experiencing maltreatment at higher rates than White children in several categories. The efforts described in this report attempted to understand this finding by considering possible reasons why the NIS–4 results diverged from the findings in earlier cycles and by using multi-factor logistic modeling to reanalyze the NIS–4 data in order to isolate whether and how race contributed to maltreatment risk independent of the other important risk factors that correlated with race. The authors examined two possible explanations for why the NIS–4 found statistically reliable race differences in rates of some categories of child maltreatment, in contrast to the findings of previous NIS cycles. They concluded that the finding is at least partly a consequence of the greater precision of the NIS–4 estimates and partly due to the enlarged gap between Black and White children in economic well-being. Income, or socioeconomic status, is the strongest predictor of maltreatment rates, but since the time of the NIS–3, incomes of Black families have not kept pace with the incomes of White families. Race correlates with a number of other predictors of maltreatment, so it was important to take the effects of these other correlated predictors into account when evaluating the effects of race. The authors attempted to do this by building multi-factor models that incorporated all the statistically reliable predictors of maltreatment in the category. The final multi-factor models revealed that race did have effects on risk in certain maltreatment categories, even after the effects of other important predictors were considered. Black children were at significantly greater risk than White children of experiencing physical abuse under both the Harm and Endangerment Standards, but in both cases, this race difference depended on SES. The race difference was small or nonexistent among children living in low SES households, but it was notably larger for children in not-low SES households. In two maltreatment categories, Endangerment Standard emotional maltreatment and overall Endangerment Standard maltreatment, race differences depended on SES and family structure. There were no race differences among children in low SES households, but the maltreatment risk for Black children in not-low SES households was two or more times greater than the risk for White children in this condition. Black children were also at comparatively elevated risk when living with unmarried parents or a single parent with a partner in the household, whereas the risk for White children in those circumstances was considerably lower. At the same time, White children appeared to have somewhat higher risk than Black children when living with married parents who were not both biologically related to them and when living with a single parent who had no cohabiting partner. White children had significantly higher risk for Endangerment Standard physical neglect, but this race difference appeared only among children in low SES households. This pattern resembled the earlier findings of multi-factor analyses of the NIS–3 data, which applied in more maltreatment categories in that study (Sedlak and Schultz, 2005). The present findings are qualified by the limitations of the predictors that were available for the NIS–4 multi-factor analyses, which comprised only general demographic characteristics of the children and their families. The key measure of SES was less than ideal in two respects—the large amount of missing data that required imputation and the fact race differences that emerged in the not-low SES condition could, in part, actually reflect the underlying income differences. Independent evidence indicates that Black and White children very probably have different underlying SES distributions within the NIS–4 non-low SES category, with the not-low SES Black children less well off than the not-low SES White children. If the economic resources of Black and White children had been equivalent in this condition, then the observed pattern of higher risk for Black children under non-low SES conditions may not have emerged. For these reasons, the race differences observed in the not-low SES condition in this report must be interpreted with caution. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, 2010. 110p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 24, 2011 at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/abuse_neglect/natl_incid/nis4_supp_analysis_race_diff_mar2010.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/abuse_neglect/natl_incid/nis4_supp_analysis_race_diff_mar2010.pdf Shelf Number: 121795 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentRace/EthnicityRacial DiparitiesSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Australia. Parliament. House of Representatives. Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Title: Doing Time - Time for Doing: Indigenous Youth in the Criminal Justice System Summary: Indigenous juveniles are 28 times more likely than non-Indigenous juveniles to be incarcerated, despite Indigenous peoples representing only 2.5 percent of the Australian population. Indigenous social and economic disadvantage have contributed to the high levels of Indigenous contact with the criminal justice system. the Committee found there is intergenerational dysfunction in some Indigenous communities which presents a significant challenge to break the cycle of offending, recidivism and incarceration. The Committee examined current policy arrangements for overcoming Indigenous disadvantage and found it concerning that the Council of Australian Government’s (COAG’s) Closing the Gap Strategy did not include a National Partnership Agreement dedicated to the Safe Communities Building Block, nor did it include specific targets relating to justice. The Committee found this concerning in view of the weight of evidence it received during the inquiry that linked unsafe communities to the development of negative social norms and increasingly high rates of juvenile offending. The Committee has made 40 recommendations to Government and believes that to effect change in the area of Indigenous disadvantage and disproportionate incarceration rates, the following principles must be applied: engage and empower Indigenous communities in the development and implementation of policy and programs address the needs of Indigenous families and communities as a whole integrate and coordinate initiatives by government agencies, non-government agencies, and local individuals and groups focus on early intervention and the wellbeing of Indigenous children rather than punitive responses, and engage Indigenous leaders and elders in positions of responsibility and respect. Details: Canberra: Australian Parliament, 2011. 378p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 30, 2011 at: http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/atsia/sentencing/report/fullreport.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/atsia/sentencing/report/fullreport.pdf Shelf Number: 121926 Keywords: Indigenous PeoplesJuvenile Offenders (Australia)Minority GroupsPovertySocioeconomic Status |
Author: McCloskey, Laura A. Title: A Systematic Review of Parenting Interventions To Prevent Child Abuse Tested with RCT Designs in High Income Countries Summary: This review aims to answer the following question: Are parenting interventions in low- and middle-income countries effective at reducing harsh and abusive parenting, increasing positive parenting behaviours, improving parent–child relationships or reducing child conduct problems? It will provide an overview of the broad issue of child abuse and neglect and the types of parent- or primary carer-focused interventions which either explicitly or implicitly aim to prevent them. It will include conclusions from high-quality systematic reviews of reviews of interventions from high-income countries; information about interventions with a strong evidence base in high-income countries, which have been implemented but not rigorously trialed in low- or middle-income countries; and discussion about the ‘active ingredients’ of evidence-based parenting interventions that have been shown to prevent or reduce abuse and neglect. In addition the review will analyse and discuss issues related to effective cultural adaptation of parenting interventions from one setting or population to another, and will also include a brief case study of an intervention from a middle- or low-income country, or an intervention with a strong evidence base from a high-income country which has been implemented but not trialed in a low- or middle-income country. Details: Pretoria, South Africa: Sexual Violence Research Initiative, 2011. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 6, 2011 at: http://www.svri.org/systematicreviewParent.pdf Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.svri.org/systematicreviewParent.pdf Shelf Number: 122998 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild MaltreatmentChild ProtectionParentingSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Silverman, Carol Title: The Consequences of Structural Racism, Concentrated Poverty and Violence on Young Men and Boys of Color Summary: This brief examines the broader structural and institutional elements that research implicates as the root causes of violence among boys and young men of color. It includes policy solutions and emerging and promising practices that respond to the primacy of broader structural issues, including structural racism. The brief also highlights organizations seeking to change conditions in their communities. Details: Berkeley, CA: Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy, University of California, Berkeley Law School, 2011. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Brief: Accessed November 29, 2011 at: http://www.boysandmenofcolor.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Youth-Violence-for-Boys-and-Men-of-Color-Research-Brief.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.boysandmenofcolor.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Youth-Violence-for-Boys-and-Men-of-Color-Research-Brief.pdf Shelf Number: 123464 Keywords: African AmericansDelinquency PreventionPovertyRacismRestorative JusticeSocioeconomic StatusViolent CrimeYouth Violence |
Author: Kongmuang, Charatdao Title: SimCrime: A Spatial Microsimulation Model for the Analysing of Crime in Leeds Summary: This Working Paper presents SimCrime, a static spatial microsimulation model for crime in Leeds. It is designed to estimate the likelihood of being a victim of crime and crime rates at the small area level in Leeds and to answer what-if questions about the effects of changes in the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the future population. The model is based on individual microdata. Specifically, SimCrime combines individual microdata from the British Crime Survey (BCS) for which location data is only at the scale of large areas, with census statistics for smaller areas to create synthetic microdata estimates for output areas (OAs) in Leeds using a simulated annealing method. The new microdata dataset includes all the attributes from the original datasets. This allows variables such as crime victimisation from the BCS to be directly estimated for OAs. Details: Leeds, UK: School of Geography, University Leeds, 2006. 55p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper 06/1: Accessed January 20, 2012 at: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/4982/1/SimCrime_WorkingPaper_version1.1.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/4982/1/SimCrime_WorkingPaper_version1.1.pdf Shelf Number: 123688 Keywords: Crime Analysis (U.K.)Geographic StudiesGeographical Information SystemsSocioeconomic StatusSpatial AnalysisVictims of Crime |
Author: Cook, Philip J. Title: Birthdays, Schooling, and Crime: New Evidence on the Dropout-Crime Nexus Summary: Based on administrative data for five cohorts of public school children in North Carolina, we demonstrate that those born just after the cut date for starting school are likely to outperform those born just before in reading and math in middle school, and are less likely to be involved in juvenile delinquency. On the other hand, those born after the cut date are more likely to drop out of high school before graduation and commit a felony offense by age 19. We also present suggestive evidence that the higher dropout rate is due to the fact that youths born after the cut date have longer exposure to the legal possibility of dropping out. The “crime” and “dropout” differences are strong but somewhat muted by the fact that youths born just before the cut date are substantially more likely to be held back in school. We document considerable heterogeneity in educational and criminal outcomes by sex, race and other indicators of socioeconomic disadvantage. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2013. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper Series; Working Paper 18791: Accessed February 12, 2013 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w18791 Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w18791 Shelf Number: 127584 Keywords: Education and CrimeSchool DropoutsSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Franklin, Cortney A. Title: Differences in Education/Employment Status and Intimate Partner Victimization Summary: Research has estimated that approximately one out of four women will experience abuse by an intimate partner. There has been considerable effort directed toward understanding the occurrence of intimate partner violence (IPV) (Franklin & Kercher, 2012; Franklin, Menaker, & Kercher, 2012). One approach to clarify why men perpetrate IPV has focused on power structures of male dominance and female submission that are maintained in society and reinforced in relationships. For example, in looking at persons with authority in various professional and industry positions, the leaders are typically male. These are the individuals with decision-making power who are responsible for delegating tasks and managing people. Support staff, including secretaries and assistants, are often female. Their job duties require them to submit to male leaders and support the achievements of male authority. The gendered division of employment happens, in part, through an individual’s access to resources, including their occupational and educational status and income-earning potential. These structures are replicated in the family and in marital, intimate, and courtship relationships (Johnson, 2005). Such a model suggests that familial control and decision- making power are associated with a family member’s ability to accrue resources of value. In the family context, inconsistencies in status or power (e.g., educational achievement, income earned, employment status) can produce feelings of stress and inadequacy among those who lack these resources (Lenton, 1995). Couples involved in “status-reversal relationships,” where women hold higher status than their male partners, may experience barriers to healthy interaction. Status-reversal relationships may generate feelings of stress, inadequacy, and fear among men (Lenton, 1995; Yick, 2001). In order to neutralize these feelings, men may rely on the use of physical strength and violence to dominate women (Hotaling & Sugarman, 1986; McCloskey, 1996; Teichman & Teichman, 1989). Recent empirical research has supported these claims (Atkinson, Greenstein, & Lang,, 2005). This research brief presents a summary of indings produced from a recent study that will soon be published in the journal Violence Against Women. The study tested the relationship between education and employment status differences in couples and experiences of Intimate Partner Violence victimization among 303 female Texas residents involved in heterosexual relationships. Details: Huntsville, TX: Crime Victims' Institute, Sam Houston State University, Criminal Justice Center, 2012. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 5, 2013 at: http://dev.cjcenter.org/_files/cvi/Status%20Inconsistencyappr.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://dev.cjcenter.org/_files/cvi/Status%20Inconsistencyappr.pdf Shelf Number: 128281 Keywords: Domestic ViolenceFamily ViolenceIntimate Partner Violence (Texas)Socioeconomic Status |
Author: Brunovskis, Anette Title: A Fuller Picture: Addressing trafficking-related assistance needs and socio-economic vulnerabilities Summary: Given the importance of assistance and protection in the lives of trafficked persons, it is critical that interventions are designed to meet their actual needs at various stages of their post-trafficking recovery. A comprehensive picture of assistance needs necessitates engaging directly with trafficked persons in the design, implementation and evaluation of assistance interventions. That is, what do trafficking victims themselves see as important and useful assistance in order to be able to recover and move on from trafficking? To what extent are these needs being met within the existing assistance system? How could interventions better respond to their different needs? These questions are the main focus of this paper. A second focus is the broader social and economic context of victims’ needs. For many victims, their assistance needs are not tied directly to trafficking but to their social and economic exclusion and vulnerability. Disentangling when victims’ assistance needs are directly caused by trafficking and which are manifestations of their general social and/or economic vulnerability, situates human trafficking in a wider context of socioeconomic vulnerability. In so doing, it pinpoints when and how trafficking involves distinct, specific needs and responses and when victim needs might be addressed within the existing social protection framework. This report is based on interviews with victims of trafficking in Albania, Moldova and Serbia. Details: Oslo, Norway: Fafo; Washington, DC: NEXUS Institute, 2012. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 2, 2013 at: http://www.fafo.no/pub/rapp/20256/20256.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Europe URL: http://www.fafo.no/pub/rapp/20256/20256.pdf Shelf Number: 128603 Keywords: Human Trafficking (Albania, Moldova, Serbia)Socioeconomic StatusVictim ServicesVictims of Trafficking |
Author: Surtees, Rebecca Title: Re/integration of Trafficked Persons: Supporting Economic Empowerment Summary: Meaningful re/integration is a complex and costly undertaking. It requires a full and diverse package of services for the individual (and often also the family) to address the root causes of trafficking as well as the physical, mental and social impacts of their exploitation. Obstacles to sustainable recovery and re/integration for trafficking victims are myriad and often specific to the socio-cultural, economic or political situation in the country where re/integration takes place. Central to any assistance programme must be a victim and human rights centred philosophy with sustainable re/integration as the measure of success. This philosophy lies at the core of the Foundation’s strategy which aims not only to support different models and approaches to re/ integration in different countries but also to analyse the strengths of the various strategies as well as any inhibitors to full re/integration success. This paper is the third of a series that aim to shed light on good practices in the area of re/integration as well as important lessons learned. With its focus on monitoring and evaluation, it addresses one of the most challenging and under-considered aspects of re/integration work. Often perceived simply as paperwork that needs to be done in order to meet donors’ requirements, monitoring and evaluation is put forward here as a major tool to systematise re/integration work and to ensure that assistance is appropriate and effective. Details: Brussels: King Baudouin Foundation; Washington, DC: NEXUS Institute, 2012. 98p. Source: Internet Resource: Issue paper #4: Accessed May 2, 2013 at: http://www.nexusinstitute.net/publications/pdfs/Re-integration%20of%20trafficked%20persons,%20developing%20m&e%20mechanisms,%20KBF%20&%20NEXUS%202009.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.nexusinstitute.net/publications/pdfs/Re-integration%20of%20trafficked%20persons,%20developing%20m&e%20mechanisms,%20KBF%20&%20NEXUS%202009.pdf Shelf Number: 128604 Keywords: EconomicsHuman TraffickingReintegrationSocioeconomic StatusVictim Services |
Author: Veen, Violaine Title: Risk Profiles of Youth in Pre-Trial Detention: A comparative study of Moroccan and Dutch male adolescents in the Netherlands Summary: Moroccan male adolescents in the Netherlands are highly overrepresented in youth crime, compared to both native Dutch and other ethnic minority groups. The current thesis has been the first to examine the characteristics of Moroccan adolescent offenders in the Netherlands in relation to various environmental and individual risk factors, using quantitative data from both an offender population and from the general population. The objective of the present study was a) to identify the risk profile of Moroccan youth offenders in pre-trail detention, b) to compare this risk profile with that of native Dutch adolescents in pre-trail detention, and c) to draw intra-ethnic comparisons of various risk factors by using comparison samples from the respective general populations. Participants in this study were 299 boys aged 12-18 years, placed in pre-trial detention in 10 juvenile justice institutions in the Netherlands. From all incarcerated boys, 141 were of Moroccan origin and 158 were native Dutch. Of the participants, 168 parents participated in the study. Overall, a less problematic profile was found for Moroccan adolescents in pre-trial detention than for native Dutch adolescents in pre-trial detention. First, analysis of police record data showed that the offending behavior of Moroccan adolescents in pre-trial detention was characterized by relatively less serious delinquent acts (i.e., property-based offences) compared to native Dutch. Second, individual risk factors such as mental health problems and psychopathic traits, were found to be less prevalent among Moroccan adolescents in pre-trial detention than among native Dutch. Third, less control and less affection expression characterized the mother-son relationship in Moroccan families in general. Finally, the level of orientation towards Dutch society was higher for Moroccan adolescents in pre-trial detention than for Moroccan adolescents from the general population. In sum, the risk profile of Moroccan youths in pre-trial detention was found to be less problematic compared to the risk profile of incarcerated native Dutch, and incarcerated Moroccans were found to be more orientated towards the Dutch society than their Moroccan peers in the general population. The characteristics of Moroccan boys are indicative of various theoretical explanations for their overrepresentation in crime. First, being strongly oriented towards the Dutch society may make Moroccan youths more likely to use natives as a basis of social comparison, and therefore may make them more prone to experience frustration regarding their unfavorable socio-economic and socio-cultural position in the Netherlands. As a consequence, Moroccan immigrant youths may be more likely to engage in criminal activities. Second, a lack of social control exerted by for instance school and mothers in Moroccan families, is thought to contribute to problem behavior in Moroccan boys. Third, there are indications that discriminatory processes in the juvenile justice system may to some extent account for their overrepresentation in youth crime, and our findings on the relatively less problematic risk profiles of Moroccan boys are in line with these indications. Support is warranted for Moroccan boys, for example by creating more educational opportunities and better chances on the labor market and by helping Moroccan families accessing mental health services. Details: Utrecht: Utrecht University, 2011. 170p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed June 26, 2013 at: http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/dissertations/2011-0819-200943/UUindex.html Year: 2011 Country: Netherlands URL: http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/dissertations/2011-0819-200943/UUindex.html Shelf Number: 129187 Keywords: AdolescentsJuvenile DetentionJuvenile Offenders (Netherlands)Minority GroupsPre-Trial DetentionRisk AssessmentSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Ugarte, Rachel Meyn Title: Perception of Violence and Development in Guatemala Summary: More than 87% of Guatemala’s population fears becoming a victim of a violent act, found through Latinobarometro’s public opinion surveys in 2008. When such an overwhelming number of individuals fear their well-being, what implications does this have on their levels of confidence in the Guatemala governmental system to develop? This paper investigates whether there is a correlation between perceptions of violence and levels of confidence in the government, controlling for demographic variables such as: socioeconomic status, gender, age and education. It is found through bivariate analysis and probit regression models that socioeconomic status and age do play a part in how individuals perceive violence. Further research needs to be conducted regarding the correlation between perceptions of violence and levels of confidence in the government to develop the country, since in this study, there was no statistical significance between the two. This study does provide a first step for policy makers to target both lower socioeconomic groups and younger populations, who are most vulnerable to violence, based on these research findings. Details: Washington, DC: American University, 2012. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed July 1, 2013 at: eagle1.american.edu/~rm1021a/rp.docx Year: 2012 Country: Guatemala URL: Shelf Number: 129223 Keywords: Socioeconomic Conditions and CrimeSocioeconomic StatusViolence (Guatemala)Violent Crimes |
Author: Roitman, karem Title: Longos' and 'Cholos' 'Ethnic/Racial' Discrimination Among Mestizos in Ecuador Summary: This paper presents some of the processes of ethnic/racial discrimination taking place in Ecuador but which have thus far remained hidden from research and policy making by representations of Ecuador as a homogenously mixed or ‘mestizo’ state. To uncover these processes, this paper explores how those generally identified as Ecuadorian upper-class 'white-mestizos' in Ecuador's two main cities, Guayaquil and Quito, represent their ethnic identity and that of others in relation to the state's hegemonic discourse of mestizaje or 'mixture'. By looking at the terminology used to refer to certain mestizos, i.e. longo and cholo, this paper argues that the upperclasses' use of mestizaje hides discriminatory practices that inhibit the creation of socio-economic networks among mestizos and, therefore, render the returns from education for certain individuals limited, also checking their opportunities in the labour market and impeding their social mobility. The state's promises of social inclusion and advancement through mestizaje are, therefore, rendered empty. Details: Oxford, UK: CRISE (Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity), 2008. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: CRISE Working Paper No. 58: Accessed July 3, 2013 at: http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk/PDF/Outputs/Inequality/wp58.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Ecuador URL: http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk/PDF/Outputs/Inequality/wp58.pdf Shelf Number: 129244 Keywords: Racial DiscriminationRacism (Ecuador)Socioeconomic Status |
Author: Sweden. Ministry for Foreign Affairs Title: Poverty and Trafficking in Human Beings: A strategy for combating trafficking in human beings through Swedish international development cooperation Summary: Although trafficking in human beings is not a new problem, it appears to have expanded in many parts of the world and assumed an increasingly global character. In recent years, the problem has attracted growing international attention. Trafficking in human beings is to a large extent a symptom of relative and absolute poverty. It is also a consequence of gender inequality and lack of respect for children’s rights. The overall goal of Swedish development cooperation is to raise the living standards of poor people. The overall objectives of cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe are to promote sustainable development and deeper integration and partnership in the Baltic Sea region and its environs. Enhancing democracy, reducing social injustice and promoting gender equality are all subgoals of Swedish development cooperation. Progress in these areas can greatly advance efforts to eliminate poverty, further closer integration and promote sustainable development. More specific interim objectives are set out in the Millennium Declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2000. The Swedish parliamentary committee, Globkom, has submitted its recommendations on the future scope and direction of Sweden’s global development policies, and a government bill is expected in the spring of 2003. The committee’s report addresses the question of global social justice and considers ways in which this can be promoted via different policy areas. It also seeks to show that social justice policies can be based on and integrate a poverty and human rights perspective. Trafficking in human beings is an increasingly global problem and must be seen in this development policy perspective. It illustrates the need for close accord between policy areas and cross-border measures. The United Nations (UN) Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol on Trafficking in Human Beings define human trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.” It is a serious crime that not only violates the dignity of the individual but also infringes a number of human rights. Under the terms of human rights instruments currently in force, governments are responsible for protecting people against human trafficking. The governments of the countries of origin, all transit countries and final destination countries respectively are directly responsible for implementing the necessary measures to prevent and fight human trafficking, protect the victims and provide adequate support. Collaboration between countries is essential and the international community must assist. Here, Swedish development cooperation has a task to fulfil. Sweden’s commitment to combating human trafficking – at home in Sweden, in the European Union (EU) or elsewhere in the world – has grown rapidly in recent years. It is pursued in various policy areas and focuses primarily on transnational organised crime, poverty reduction, social security, economic development, migration, gender equality and child protection. A number of ministries, authorities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Sweden are actively engaged in combating human trafficking and supporting its victims. Sweden extends support for measures, projects and programmes to fight human trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans, South and Southeast Asia and West Africa. It has initiated joint measures against trafficking as part of EU regional cooperation with Asia. This initiative was served as a catalyst for the further development of Swedish foreign policy in this area. Regional cooperation has also been initiated in connection with the current dialogue between the EU and Africa. Strengthening continued efforts by Sweden to combat human trafficking in the context of international development cooperation and ensuring a long-term focus on and institutional support for this task are predicated on the existence of a coherent strategy and effective guidelines. The present strategy is based on measures designed to fight all forms of human trafficking while focusing particularly on women and children, and on the most common and nefarious forms of exploitation, such as sexual exploitation, forced labour or services and hazardous child labour. It is based on a problem inventory, an analysis of causes and needs, previous experience and Sweden’s own resources and capabilities. It is intended for use by the Government Offices, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and other authorities active in this area in connection with their development cooperation work. Details: Stockholm: Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 2004. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 3, 2013 at: http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/574/a/20262 Year: 2004 Country: Sweden URL: http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/574/a/20262 Shelf Number: 129255 Keywords: Human Trafficking (Sweden)PovertySocioeconomic Status |
Author: Sahni, Rohini Title: Sex Work and its Linkages with Informal Labour Markets in India Summary: Based on the results of the First Pan India Survey of Female Sex Workers (n=3000), this paper positions sex work within the broader spectrum of informal labour markets that women engage with in India. It puts forth an important dimension missing so far in sex work studies in India – of sex workers with prior or simultaneous labour market work experience. Informal labour markets act as important sites/junctures linking poverty with sex work. For a substantial proportion of respondents, sex work was not their first experience of paid work. In the face of poverty and an early quest for livelihoods, they were pushed into informal labour activities, characterised by low, sticky wages and imminent possibilities of abuse. Placed in this context, their later entry into sex work emerges with a strong economic rationale and agency, as a deliberate, calculated choice offering higher incomes. Details: Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies, 2013. 51p. Source: Internet Resource: IDS Working Paper Volume 2013, No. 416: Accessed July 6, 2013 at: http://www.ids.ac.uk/files/dmfile/Wp416.pdf Year: 2013 Country: India URL: http://www.ids.ac.uk/files/dmfile/Wp416.pdf Shelf Number: 126264 Keywords: PovertyProstitutesProstitutionSex Workers (India)Socioeconomic Status |
Author: Galvez, Gino Title: Work-related Intimate Partner Violence: The Role of Acculturation Among Employed Latinos in Batterer Intervention Programs Summary: Intimate partner violence (IPV), typically considered in the domestic context, has been shown to have considerable effects on women’s employment and health. While the literature has recently grown in this area, very few studies have examined the prevalence of work-related IPV among men. Furthermore, the extant literature on work-related IPV has largely ignored the experience of ethnic minorities, specifically Latinos. Many factors suggest that rates and forms of IPV might be different among other racial and ethnic groups. Some studies that examine IPV among Latinos have sought to understand the role of acculturation and socioeconomic contexts. The purpose of this study was to examine work-related IPV among a sample of men enrolled in batterer intervention programs. In addition, we sought to examine the relationship between acculturation, socioeconomic contexts, and reports of workrelated IPV among a subset of male Latinos. Overall, the findings confirm the upper ranges of previous estimates across studies (36% to 75%) of employed victims of IPV and their harassment by abusive partners while at work (Swanberg, Logan, & Macke, 2005; Taylor & Barusch, 2004). Specifically, we found that 60% of the entire sample reported work-related IPV that involved threatening behaviors and physical violence at their partner’s job. The findings among Latinos suggest that a positive relationship exists between acculturation and work-related IPV. Specifically, proxy variables of acculturation (e.g., country of birth, language of survey, number of years in the U.S.) were hypothesized to be positively associated with higher levels of acculturation. Consistent with the hypotheses, we found significant relationships in the direction proposed. Lastly, socioeconomic status (e.g., income, education, employment status) was hypothesized to play a moderating role between acculturation and work-related IPV. However, results generally suggest that socioeconomic status (i.e., income, education) did not moderate the relationship between acculturation and work-related IPV. This study makes important contributions to the literature and has implications for employers. The significant rates of work-related IPV found in this study highlight the need to address this problem among employed males as an important step in preventing work-related IPV. Among Latinos, the level of acculturation and factors such as income, employment, and education are important contextual factors that provide a better understanding of IPV in Latino communities (Gryywacz, Rao, Gentry, Marin, & Arcury, 2009). Details: Portland, OR: Portland State University, 2011. 169p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed July 22, 2013 at: http://dr.archives.pdx.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/psu/6993/Galvez_psu_0180D_10295.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://dr.archives.pdx.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/psu/6993/Galvez_psu_0180D_10295.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 129478 Keywords: Bettered Women (U.S.)Family ViolenceGender Based ViolenceIntimate Partner ViolenceLatinosSocioeconomic StatusViolence Against Women |
Author: Koppensteiner, Martin Foureaux Title: The Effect of Violence on Birth Outcomes: Evidence from Homicides in Rural Brazil Summary: This paper uses microdata from Brazilian vital statistics natality and mortality data between 2000 and 2010 to estimate the impact of in-utero exposure to local violence -measured by homicide rates- on birth outcomes. Focusing on small communities, where it is more plausible that local homicide rates reflect actual exposure to violence, the analysis shows that exposure to violence during pregnancy leads to deterioration in birth outcomes: one extra homicide during the first trimester of pregnancy increases the probability of low birthweight by around 6 percent. Results are particularly pronounced among children of poorly educated mothers, implying that violence compounds the disadvantage that these children already suffer as a result of their households' lower socioeconomic status. Details: Washington, DC: Inter-American Development Bank, Institutions for Development, 2013. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: IDB Working Paper Series No. IDB-WP-416: Accessed November 1, 2013 at: http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=37872082 Year: 2013 Country: Brazil URL: http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=37872082 Shelf Number: 131582 Keywords: Children and ViolenceHomicidesSocioeconomic StatusViolent Crime (Brazil) |
Author: Berzofsky, Marcus Title: Measuring Socioeconomic Status (SES) in the NCVS: Background, Options, and Recommendations Summary: The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is the most important source of information on criminal victimization in the United States. Each year, data from a nationally representative sample of about 40,000 households comprising nearly 75,000 persons are obtained on the frequency, characteristics, and consequences of criminal victimization. The survey enables the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) to estimate the likelihood of experiencing rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault, theft, household burglary, and motor vehicle theft victimization for the population as a whole as well as for segments of the population. One of BJS's goals for the NCVS is to continually improve its utility so that victimization can be better understood as crime and its correlates change over time. Recently, BJS has been interested in assessing the measurement of variables that have long been associated with victimization, including factors such as socioeconomic status (SES). The goals of this paper are to (1) understand how other studies have measured SES and identify variables within the NCVS that could be used to measure or be proxies for SES, (2) explore options for creating an SES index that could enhance BJSs analysis of victimization and its correlates, and (3) assess how components of a potential SES index are currently measured in the NCVS and consider ways in which they can be improved. Section 1 summarizes the literature on how SES has been measured in the scientific literature and how it relates to crime and victimization. Section 2 summarizes the recommended approach for creating a measure of SES via an index that includes imputed income data. Finally, Section 3 recommends changes to the NCVS that would address the current limitations and allow for better measurement of SES and its components. Details: Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI International, 2014. 66p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 4, 2015 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bjs/grants/248562.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/bjs/grants/248562.pdf Shelf Number: 134534 Keywords: Crime StatisticsNational Crime Victimization Survey (U.S.)Socioeconomic StatusVictimization Surveys |
Author: Dolan, Karen Title: The Poor Get Prison: The Alarming Spread of the Criminalization of Poverty Summary: Poor people, especially people of color, face a far greater risk of being fined, arrested, and even incarcerated for minor offenses than other Americans. A broken taillight, an unpaid parking ticket, a minor drug offense, sitting on a sidewalk, or sleeping in a park can all result in jail time. In this report, we seek to understand the multi-faceted, growing phenomenon of the "criminalization of poverty." In many ways, this phenomenon is not new. The introduction of public assistance programs gave rise to prejudices against beneficiaries and to systemic efforts to obstruct access to the assistance. As University of California-Irvine professor Kaaryn Gustafson has noted, the intersections of race, income and gender bias were at play in the 1960s and 1970s as black, single mothers were targeted as criminal, lazy, promiscuous welfare cheats.1 The 1980s saw this demographic become the emblem of all that is wrong with government assistance for the poor - the infamous Welfare Queen. Black, single mothers were fictionalized as criminally defrauding the taxpayer, taking in public assistance while driving Cadillacs, eating bon-bons, and presumably getting rich off of drug-dealing boyfriends. Thus the 1990s brought aggressive state attacks on welfare recipients as they were increasingly investigated for fraud and other suspected criminal activities. The welfare system became a system of criminalization and punishment, rather than a program to assist needy families. So-called welfare reform, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, ended federal cash aid programs and replaced them with time-limited, restrictive, state block-grants. New punishable behaviors were mandated and policed, all but erasing the already tenuous line between the welfare and criminal justice systems. Today, when applying for welfare in the United States, many applicants are photographed, finger-printed, drug-tested, interrogated, and asked to prove paternity of children. Similarly, eligibility for public housing is restricted or denied if the applicant has a criminal record, including misdemeanors or a prior lease violation. Further, local Public Housing Authorities can be even more restrictive and evict occupants if a member of their family or another person residing in - or in some cases visiting - commits a crime, such as a misdemeanor drug offense. Poverty, in other words, is too often treated as a criminal offense. Details: Washington, DC: Institute for Policy Studies, 2015. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 4, 2015 at: http://www.ips-dc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IPS-The-Poor-Get-Prison-Final.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.ips-dc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IPS-The-Poor-Get-Prison-Final.pdf Shelf Number: 135492 Keywords: Poverty (U.S.)Racial DisparitiesRacial ProfilingSocioeconomic StatusWelfare |
Author: Yuille, Lua K. Title: Blood In, Buyout: A Property & Economic Approach to Street Gangs Summary: This article offers a fresh analysis of and solution to problems modern, American street gangs present: Local governments should pay gang members to refrain from gang related activity. Common wisdom dictates that, since they commit crimes, gangs should be understood and combated criminologically, through criminal sanctions. Popular interventions, like gang injunctions, expand that punitive orientation into civil strategies. But, gang criminality is merely a manifestation of a broader property-based disease. Therefore, those strategies will be ineffective and inefficient, as evidenced by the continuing rise in gang membership across the United States. The consensus in gang research is that gangs are not crime syndicates; they are capitalist social institutions creating and operating in alternative markets. Violence and criminality are secondary or tertiary facets of gangs, resulting from the inaccessibility of mainstream markets. Integrating these findings into a unique synthesis of disparate threads of property theory - from Charles Reich's The New Property and Margaret Radin's Property and Personhood to Cheryl Harris's Whiteness as Property - it is clear that gangs' primary purpose is to pursue the forms of property central to human identity. That insight frees anti-gang strategies from the strictures imposed by criminal law, but reveals social justice considerations not normally associated with gangs. On that basis, the article presents a novel idea: Gangs are recreating a traditional market-based property system, so the approach to the problems associated with them should be market-inspired. In the market, actors are paid to induce desired behavior. Therefore, local governments should compensate gang members for non-participation in legal (but undesirable) gang activity. The article tests this proposal using Calabresi and Melamed's framework for allocating and protecting entitlements advanced in Property Rules, Liability Rules, and Inalienability Rules: One View of the Cathedral. That analysis shows that the so-called "paid injunction" is a more effective and efficient approach to curbing the non-criminal activities of gangs that simultaneously advances the social justice concerns revealed by the property law analysis. Details: Working paper, 2015. 67p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 6, 2015 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2585476 Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2585476 Shelf Number: 135534 Keywords: GangsInequalitySocioeconomic Conditions and CrimeSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Webster, Colin Title: Poverty and Crime Review Summary: This review of the literature about how and why poverty and crime influence one another, and the benefits to crime reduction of reducing poverty, looks at the implications for practical policies and strategies. Methods The review gathered and reviewed 173 of the most cited and/or important articles and monographs published mostly between 1980 and 2013 that directly or indirectly tested the poverty and crime (P‐C) link in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe. The start date 1980 reflects a growing interest in the impact of poverty on crime, coinciding with steep rises of poverty and unemployment at a time that began to see steep rises in the crime rate too. In marshalling studies about crime and poverty, various methodological and substantive blind‐spots in the criminological literature needed to be taken into account and overcome. Large national studies of poverty and crime in Britain, like studies of crime and class, are absent, despite a widespread impression that crime is prevalent among the poor and lower social classes. In Britain, neither criminal nor prison statistics control for poverty or socioeconomic status, made all the more remarkable when proxies for poverty such as employment status at arrest and conviction are taken into account, which show the majority of those arrested and imprisoned having experienced poverty. Further, changes in British Crime Survey (BCS) sampling and changes in the availability of data have made analysis of the impact of poverty on crime impossible. The overall method was to triangulate different approaches, methods and data so that the weaknesses of one might be compensated by the strengths of another. To discover what the cumulative effects of growing up poor might be on engaging in criminal activity we gathered studies that looked at processes of persistent or recurring childhood and family poverty, linked to crime, using longitudinal cohort studies. Associations, correlations and causes in poverty‐crime relationships were sort using cohort and time series data as well as cross sectional studies. As Valdez et al (2007:595) tell us, any poverty and crime link'...involves a complex interrelationship among mediating individual and community‐level variables'. Another aspect of our methods was to capture the different levels and scales of data and analysis - individual, household and neighbourhood - in poverty and crime relationships. We looked at smaller, local studies as well as national studies using aggregate data. Finally we examined quantitative and qualitative approaches to the impact of poverty on crime. Details: York, UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2014. 47p. Source: Internet Resource: Anti-Poverty Strategies for the UK: Accessed November 28, 2015 at: http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/71188/1/JRF_Final_Poverty_and_Crime_Review_May_2014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/71188/1/JRF_Final_Poverty_and_Crime_Review_May_2014.pdf Shelf Number: 137357 Keywords: Neighborhoods and CrimePovertySocioeconomic Conditions and CrimeSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Gleicher, Lily Title: The Cost of Justice: The Impact of Criminal Justice Financial Obligations on Individuals and Families Summary: Monetary penalties, such as court costs, fees, and fines, are common sanctions levied by the criminal justice system. While these sanctions are used to offset court operations' costs, the financial burden disproportionately impacts those from lower socioeconomic levels and minority communities. This article summarizes survey findings gleaned from a population of justice-involved individuals to gain insight into the impacts of court costs, fees, and fines on individuals and families in Illinois. Most respondents reported receiving no explanation of their financial obligations, made less than $15,000, and had to forgo basic needs to pay legal debts. Details: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, 2018. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 12, 2018 at http://www.icjia.state.il.us/articles/the-cost-of-justice-the-impact-of-criminal-justice-financial-obligations-on-individuals-and-families Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: Monetary penalties, such as court costs, fees, and fines, are common sanctions levied by the criminal justice system. While these sanctions are used to offset court operations costs, the financial burden disproportionately i Shelf Number: 151489 Keywords: Court Costs Debt Fees Financial Obligations Fines Legal Debt Socioeconomic Status |
Author: Fahmy, Eldin Title: Evidence and policy review: Domestic violence and poverty Summary: In 2013/14, over 1.1 million women and 500,000 men in England and Wales experienced partner abuse in the last year. However, despite international recognition of the connections between women's poverty and increased vulnerability to domestic abuse, the connections between poverty and domestic violence and abuse (DVA) and the policies actions needed to tackle these problems remain poorly understood in a UK context. This report summarises existing evidence on the connections between poverty and DVA and considers the potential anti-poverty implications of DVA and related policy responses. In doing so, we hope to raise awareness of the ways in which anti-poverty policies can also promote the prevention of violence against women. More specifically, the review was prepared to inform the development of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's Anti-Poverty Strategy. Whilst gender inequality is both a cause and consequence of women's vulnerability to poverty, robust evidence on the connections between poverty and DVA is limited. Addressing this knowledge gap is vital in ensuring both that anti-poverty initiatives are sensitive to their impacts for women's vulnerability to DVA, and that actions to tackle DVA acknowledge the socioeconomic context within which abuse occurs. Details: York, UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2016. 42 p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 22, 2019 at: https://research-information.bristol.ac.uk/files/128551400/JRF_DV_POVERTY_REPORT_FINAL_COPY_.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://research-information.bristol.ac.uk/files/128551400/JRF_DV_POVERTY_REPORT_FINAL_COPY_.pdf Shelf Number: 155103 Keywords: Domestic ViolenceFamily ViolenceIntimate Partner ViolencePovertySocioeconomic StatusViolence Against Women |