Criminology and Public Policy 9(1)

Vollmer Award Address and Commentary

On being right, but unhappy
Elliott Currie

Elliott Curries contribution to public criminology : An appreciation and a lament
Malcom M. Feeley

Elliott Currie : In tribute to a life devoted to confronting crime
Francis T. Cullen

Elliott Currie : August Vollmer Award winner, 2009
Jerome H. Skolnick


Alcohol Policy Implementation Evaluation

Evaluation of the Licensing Act of 2003 : A look inside the black box
Andrew Treno

Evaluating a natural experiment in alcohol policy : The Licensing Act (2003) and the requirement for attention to implementation
David K. Humphreys, Manuel P. Eisner

This study examines the effects of a dramatic change in alcohol licensing policy on the practice of liquor retailing across a metropolitan urban region. The policy was enacted to remove fixed closing times and to install staggered closing times across regions where it potentially would reduce violent crime and disorder. We found great variation in the extent to which the provisions of the policies were installed as intended.
The findings suggest that prior consideration for how policy interventions will be applied to real-world settings is important to the validity of research evaluations. Understanding and monitoring variation in the implementation of an intervention is a vital prerequisite to the evaluation of outcomes. Without knowledge of the real-world application of an intervention, researchers risk attributing causal effects to a prevention initiative that might have been absent or only partially received.

After the Act : Alcohol licensing and the administrative governance of crime
Phil Hadfield, Fiona Measham

Why implementation matters : Recent experience with the U.K. Licensing Act (2003)
Shannon Frattaroli


Legitimacy Perceptions in Corrections

Boot camps redux : What can they tell us about correctional legitimacy?
Susan Turner

Legitimacy in corrections : A randomized experiment comparing a boot camp with a prison
Derrick Franke, David Bierie, Doris Layton Mackenzie

To extend research on legitimacy to the correctional system, we study a sample of 202 adult inmates randomly assigned to serve their 6-month sentence at one of two institutions—a traditional prison or a military-style correctional boot camp. Findings show that perceptions of justice system legitimacy changed during the course of incarceration, that the prison (but not the boot camp) proved delegitimizing, and that certain regime characteristics explained why.
Across academic disciplines, studies continue to link compliance with perceived legitimacy. Compliance with the law, for instance, is related closely to the legitimacy of the justice system and its actors. These findings suggest implementing legitimacy-building policies such as procedurally fair treatment and decision making by police officers and judges. This article, by finding legitimacy to be malleable even at the final stage of the justice process, proposes the efficacy of similar policies in the correctional system. As research from England and Wales has shown, legitimizing strategies in this context could increase compliance both during and after incarceration.

Transforming attitudinal change into behavioral change : The missing link
Megan C. Kurlychek

"Legitimacy in corrections" : Policy implications
Tom R. Tyler


Problem-Oriented Policing

Evaluating the effectiveness of problem-oriented policing
Michael S. Scott

Is problem-oriented policing effective in reducing crime and disorder? : Findings from a Campbell systematic review
David Weisburd, Cody W. Telep, Joshua C. Hinkle, John E. Eck

We conducted a Campbell systematic review to examine the effectiveness of problem-oriented policing (POP) in reducing crime and disorder. After an exhaustive search strategy that identified more than 5,500 articles and reports, we found only ten methodologically rigorous evaluations that met our inclusion criteria. Using meta-analytic techniques, we found an overall modest but statistically significant impact of POP on crime and disorder. We also report on our analysis of pre/post comparison studies. Although these studies are less methodologically rigorous, they are more numerous. The results of these studies indicate an overwhelmingly positive impact from POP.
POP has been adopted widely across police agencies and has been identified as effective by many policing scholars. Our study supports the overall commitment of police to POP but suggests that we should not necessarily expect large crime and disorder control benefits from this approach. Moreover, funders and the police need to invest much greater effort and resources to identify the specific approaches and tactics that work best in combating specific types of crime problems. We conclude that the evidence base in this area is deficient given the strong investment in POP being made by the government and police agencies.

Setting a higher standard for the evaluation of problem-oriented policing initiatives
Anthony A. Braga

Whither problem-oriented policing
Nick Tilley

Criminology and Public Policy, February 2010: Volume 9, Issue 1