Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 52(1)

Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, February 2015: Volume 52, Issue 1

Burglar Target Selection: A Cross-national Comparison
Michael Townsley, Daniel Birks, Wim Bernasco, Stijn Ruiter, Shane D. Johnson, Gentry White, and Scott Baum

Objectives: This study builds on research undertaken by Bernasco and Nieuwbeerta and explores the generalizability of a theoretically derived offender target selection model in three cross-national study regions. Methods: Taking a discrete spatial choice approach, we estimate the impact of both environment- and offender-level factors on residential burglary placement in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Combining cleared burglary data from all study regions in a single statistical model, we make statistical comparisons between environments. Results: In all three study regions, the likelihood an offender selects an area for burglary is positively influenced by proximity to their home, the proportion of easily accessible targets, and the total number of targets available. Furthermore, in two of the three study regions, juvenile offenders under the legal driving age are significantly more influenced by target proximity than adult offenders. Post hoc tests indicate the magnitudes of these impacts vary significantly between study regions. Conclusions: While burglary target selection strategies are consistent with opportunity-based explanations of offending, the impact of environmental context is significant. As such, the approach undertaken in combining observations from multiple study regions may aid criminology scholars in assessing the generalizability of observed findings across multiple environments.

Consequences of Expected and Observed Victim Resistance for Offender Violence during Robbery Events
Marie Rosenkrantz Lindegaard, Wim Bernasco, and Scott Jacques

Objectives: Drawing on the rational choice perspective, this study aims at explaining why some robberies take place with physical force while others occur only with threat. The focus is how expected and observed victim resistance impact physical force by robbers. Methods: We draw on quantitative and qualitative data obtained from 104 robbers who described 143 robbery events. Based on the coding of behavioral sequences between offenders and victims, we distinguish between the use of physical force at the onset from the use of physical force during the progression of the event. Results: At the onset of robberies, physical force of offenders is influenced by whether they judge the victim to be street credible. During the progression of robberies, offenders are more likely to use physical force against a resistant than against a compliant victim. Conclusions: At the onset of the robbery, offender violence is related to expected victim resistance; during the progression, it is related to observed victim resistance. Future research should focus on behavioral sequences within robbery events including the meaning of victim characteristics and victim behavior in different phases of the event.

Racial, Ethnic, and Immigrant Threat: Is There a New Criminal Threat on State Sentencing?
Ben Feldmeyer, Patricia Y. Warren, Sonja E. Siennick, and Malisa Neptune

Objectives: The racial threat perspective argues that racial minorities are subjected to greater punishment in places with large or growing minority populations. However, prior research has focused largely on Black populations while devoting limited attention to potential “Latino threat” or “immigrant threat” effects. To address these gaps, this study explores the effects of racial, ethnic, and immigrant threat on sentence disposition (jail, prison, or community corrections) and sentence length. Methods: Using 2000 through 2006 data from the Florida Department of Corrections Guideline database, we use multilevel modeling techniques to explore the effects of racial, ethnic, and immigrant threat on state criminal sentencing. Results: The results provide support for racial/ethnic threat theory among Black but not Latino defendants. Black defendants are more likely to be sentenced to prison and are given longer sentences in counties with growing Black populations. In contrast, Latino sentences are not significantly influenced by Latino population growth. Results provide no support for immigrant threat positions. Conclusions: Overall, our findings offer a complex picture for racial/ethnic and immigrant threat. However, one pattern remains clear. Within Florida courts, Black defendants continue to be the prime targets for effects of racial threat and resulting disadvantages in criminal sentencing.

What Works for Whom? The Effects of Gender Responsive Programming on Girls and Boys in Secure Detention
Jacob C. Day, Margaret A. Zahn, and Lisa P. Tichavsky

Objectives: This study investigates whether gender responsive programming is effective at reducing recidivism relative to traditional, reinforcement-based programming for both girls and boys in secure detention. Methods: Event-history analysis is used to examine recidivism outcomes for two propensity score matched samples of girls (n = 148) and boys (n = 140) released from gender responsive versus traditional detention facilities in Connecticut. The contingent effects of trauma, depression/anxiety, alcohol/drug abuse, anger/irritability, and somatic complaints are also examined. Results: Compared to traditional programming, gender responsive programming for youth in secure detention is associated with a lower risk of recidivism for girls with gender-sensitive risk factors but a higher risk of recidivism among girls who do not display these risk factors. Gender responsive programs are no more or less effective at reducing recidivism for boys, regardless of whether they display risk factors commonly associated with girls’ delinquency and confinement. Conclusions: The results suggest that girls in secure detention require different approaches depending on their histories of trauma and associated mental and physical health issues. While girls who follow gendered pathways into detention benefit from the relational approach employed in gender responsive programs, girls without such issues benefit more from traditional reinforcement programming.

Marriage and County-level Crime Rates: A Research Note
Michael Rocque, Chad Posick, Steven E. Barkan, and Ray Paternoster

Objectives: To determine whether the relationship between marriage and crime extends beyond the individual level of analysis by examining the relationship between marriage rates and crime rates at the county level. Methods: Linear regression analyses of marriage rates on various types of crime, including violent, property, drug, and juvenile crime arrest rates. Results: The analyses suggest that marriage rates are inversely related to rates of violent crime, property crime, drug use, and juvenile violence. Conclusions: This research note suggests that the relationship between marriage and crime is more far reaching than previous studies have indicated. Final remarks address the implications of the findings for theoretical work on crime causation and for public policy.