American Journal of Criminal Justice

Letter From the Editor

Examining the Effectiveness of Academic Scholarship on the Fight Against Cyberbullying and Cyberstalking Abstract Online victimization via cyberbullying and cyberstalking are plaguing our young online users. These tormenting and intrusive behaviors have infiltrated relationship formation, online communication and social identity. Friends and romantic partners have become increasingly dependent on the use of technology to initiate relationships. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state of these online crimes and the involvement of youth and young adults. We will consider current responses by our criminal justice system, as well as our educational and community groups. Based on what is currently implemented and its success factor, we will make our assertions about the effectiveness of scholastic work and its influence on what we are doing to combat these forms of cybervictimization.

Criminological Research and the Death Penalty: Has Research by Criminologists Impacted Capital Punishment Practices? Abstract At the request of the SCJA president this paper addresses five questions. Does criminological research make a difference relative to the death penalty? - If criminological research does make a difference, what is the nature of that difference? - What specific instances can one cite of research findings influencing death penalty policy decisions? Why hasn’t our research made more of a difference? What can we do, either in terms of directing our research or in terms of disseminating it, to facilitate it making a difference? Specific examples of research directly impacting policy are examined. The evidence presented suggests that research on capital punishment has had some impact on policy, but not nearly enough. There is still a high level of ignorance that has limited the impact of criminological research on death penalty policy. The proposed solution is to improve the education of the general public and decision makers in order to increase the impact of criminological research on capital punishment policy.

Shoot first and ask questions later: the interplay of social science research and firearms policy and use Abstract This paper examines the context within which research and policy have developed by tracing the historical development of gun research across decades and topics. While the journey is not necessarily linear, nor is it always clear, the work done by researchers on gun issues offers some hope for improving both the debate and outcomes associated with this area. Identifying seminal moments in gun research and policy history aid in the exploration of this issue and offer directions for the future. Research has addressed many of the challenges of firearms in society. The purpose of this paper is to note the failure of the research to recognize the role of guns in America even as it attempts to bring change within the volatile arena of guns in America. This disconnect between the research and the social problems and harm associated with guns is clear in the literature and the policy that attempts to respond.

Youth Gangs: Nationwide Impacts of Research on Public Policy Abstract This article examines the public policy benefits of gang research. In particular, the author highlights the benefits of longitudinal research on gang members in several cities and multi-city tracking of gang problems nationwide. Remarkably, the accumulated research led directly to expanded federally sponsored gang research, program development and program evaluations—a clear-cut case in which research influenced public policy.

Environmental Crime and Contemporary Criminology: Making a Difference Abstract The current body of literature on the topic of environmental crime is bigger and better than ever, but the question of whether criminology/criminal justice scholars make a difference in this area is another matter entirely. This paper offers an interpretive view on the strengths and shortcomings in the sub-field of environmental crime, including discussion of the green criminology movement as well as various studies addressing criminal justice system responses to this complex phenomenon. Although this domain has grown steadily since the 1990s, our discipline must change its approach fundamentally in order to maximize the potential for impact. To this end, four major recommendations are directed to the field, along with two overarching messages: (a) environmental crime must move away from the fringes into the criminological mainstream, and (b) participation in this process is open to all motivated criminologists.

Reflections on the Impact of Race and Ethnicity on Juvenile Court Outcomes and Efforts to Enact Change Abstract There are persistent racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. The current paper reviews how and whether public and private strategies have effectively reduced such disparities and bias within the juvenile justice system. The review initially provides a description of the overrepresentation and continuous presence of racial and ethnic minority youth in the juvenile justice system. Next, two traditional explanations for these juvenile justice disparities are discussed (i.e., differential offending perspective, selection bias perspective). The current paper then focuses on reviewing three primary initiatives aimed at reducing racial/ethnic disparities in juvenile justice settings, discussing barriers and successes to each practice. These include the Federal Disproportionate Minority Contact mandate of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative model, and the Models for Change initiative. Overall, our review indicated that efforts to reduce racial and ethnic minority youth overrepresentation and selection bias are often ineffective, though some practices do have mixed support. Finally, our review concludes with an integrated discussion of how the politico-legal environment can impact both racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system and the ability to enact change.

Making a Difference - or Not: an Evaluation of the Effects of Failing to Evaluate

Making a Difference in Criminology: Past, Present, and Future Abstract Over the past century, criminology has evolved as both an applied and increasingly recognized scientific discipline. Although criminology has experienced a number of ideological shifts in focus, the discipline is now poised to effectively combine both of its purposes, namely the ongoing search for the causes of crime and advancing the use of empirical research in policy and practice decisions. One of the most promising best practices in this simultaneous pursuit is researcher and policymaker/practitioner partnerships. This paper traces the “making a difference” movement in criminology since 2000. It begins with an assessment of the rise of and resistance to the making a difference movement, followed by a discussion of some of the challenges and prospects for criminologists in their efforts to apply research to policy and practice through researcher and policymaker/practitioner partnerships. The paper concludes with discussion of the future potential of researcher and policymaker/practitioner partnerships in successfully confronting our major crime and criminal justice system challenges.

Children with Incarcerated Parents and Developmental Trajectories of Internalizing Problems across Adolescence Abstract Research over the past several decades has documented the effect of parental incarceration on child development. While many findings point to a negative impact of parental incarceration on children, increasingly research demonstrates the heterogeneity of children’s experiences, behavior, and eventual outcomes. Examining this heterogeneity is key to developing effective interventions that enhance protective factors while addressing especially harmful risk factors. In the current study, we used growth mixture modeling to identify distinct trajectories of internalizing problems for youth (N = 655) from 10 to 16 years of age. We then examined the relations of the identified trajectories with parental incarceration, parent-child relationships, stressful life events, and parenting as well as future substance use, criminality, and suicidality (ideation and attempt). Four trajectory classes were identified: Low-Stable, Pre-Adolescent Limited, Moderate-Increasing, and High-Decreasing. Over half of the children who had experienced parental incarceration were best represented by the low risk trajectory. However, children with incarcerated parents were underrepresented in this trajectory and overrepresented in two of the three problematic trajectories. The trajectory classes differed significantly on many of the pre-adolescent measures as well as on adolescent delinquency, substance use, suicide ideation and suicide attempt. The Pre-Adolescent Limited, Moderate-Increasing, and High-Decreasing showed significantly higher levels of early risk factors and problematic outcomes than the Low-Stable trajectory group. Implications are discussed.