Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Criminal Justice, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on July 23, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-183). Also issued in print.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1999. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2953. Typescript. Abstract precedes thesis as preliminary leaves i-iii. Includes bibliographical references (178).

In this study violent and nonviolent prisoners were differentiated on the basis of life history and psychometric variables. Life history data were collected from institutional files and from a biographical questionnaire. Psychometric procedures consisted of the Mini-Mult Prisoner Questionnaire and the Bender-Gestalt. In summary, the variables included in the discriminant function suggest that the violent subjects were more psychopathological than the nonviolent subjects. The violent subjects evidenced behavioral problems at a young age in appropriately expressing anger. They appeared to have limited behavioral repertoires in attaining their desires outside the immediate gratification through aggressive means. They were also more emotionally alienated and less socially skilled. The violent subjects received more negative feedback during childhood and were incarcerated at a younger age, They were more overtly hostile and also more lacking in cognitive ego mastery. In contrast, the nonviolent subjects apparently learned during childhood to repress their anger to a greater extent. They also seemed to modulate their anger by withdrawing from direct interpersonal conflict.

Scholars and policymakers alike have recognized mass incarceration and criminal recidivism as two of the most profound challenges American society faces. For more than half a century, the United States has been the world’s most prominent incarcerator, boasting the highest incarceration rate and the third-highest recidivism rate, with analysts projecting that U.S. incarceration will grow exponentially in the near future. The U.S. has more instances of lethal crime than any of its developed peers. Violent crime makes up a more significant percentage of criminal activity than property, drug, and public order crimes combined. Thus, individual states’ social, judicial, and policing policies have a greater impact on U.S. incarceration rates than the actions or challenges faced by any of its federal entities. Both localized and national efforts to reduce incarceration and re-offense rates through literacy initiatives, education pipelines, harsher sentencing, and the development of reentry programs have rendered statistically insignificant results. Despite the resources afforded by the nation’s wealth; decades of scholarship and activism dedicated to exposing its inherent racial inequities; and its proven inability to act as a catalyst to social reform; the American carceral system remains a threat to the social welfare and economic health of the United States. This qualitative study provides an adult learning perspective on the process by which a sample of previously violent offenders arrived at criminal desistance despite a statistical likelihood of re-offense. The participants consisted of thirty individuals (males, ages 22 to 49) previously convicted of and self-identifying as having committed violent felonies in New York State after being previously incarcerated for other violent crimes. This research’s primary data collection method was semi-structured interviews. Supportive methods included a pre-interview survey and interview participants’ use of an illustrative timeline tool as an interview discussion aid. This research applies transformative learning and self-efficacy theories as a lens through which to examine four main points of inquiry as they occurred within participants’ recollection of their learning and desistance process: what experiences were fundamental to desistance; the role of self-perception and self-assessment in desistance; supports and hindrances to desistance; and supported recommendations for desistance education design. Analysis of the findings revealed an emergent and substantiated four-phase process of desistance: (1) success separate from desistance as leading to new identity; (2) new identity as a catalyst to reappraisal and revision of needs and perspectives; (3) excavation and re-evaluation of formative experiences; and (4) conscious navigation of somatic responses.

Criminal violence is one of the most serious challenges in contemporary Latin America. While the drug economy -- which sparked much of the violence -- developed later in the 20th century, the institutions which shape contemporary vulnerability have deep historic roots. In this dissertation, I study three informal institutions: systematic corruption in the security sector, traditional governance institutions, and patriarchal norms, all of which have consequences for contemporary violence and vulnerability. In combining these essays, I aim to uncover some of the historical and social origins of contemporary variation in criminal violence and vulnerability. The first paper examines systematic corruption in the security sector. I ask: why did Mexico's strong and enduring civilian autocratic regime fail to reform a military riddled with corruption? I argue that the regime's reliance on the military for political control and repression created openings for the military to act corruptly when the center state was faced with political threats. I use an original data-set of military-landlord paramilitaries under the Cárdenas administration to show that where the regime faced greater political threat, military officials abused their power to profit from collusion with landed elites. Tracing these dynamics through to Mexico's dirty war, I find that the presence of these militaries in the 1970s is associated with higher levels of excess repression, suggesting enduring consequences of these collusive agreements for military professionalization. The second paper examines collaborative governance institutions -- created in Mexico's land reform -- as a source of variation in contemporary vulnerability to criminal violence. Each major land reform in Latin America was accompanied by the creation of collective institutions to administer redistributed land and govern beneficiary communities of land reform. However, little is known about the long term consequences of these administrative institutions. I advance a theory which argues that administrative institutions which enable the preservation of indigenous governance traditions can facilitate collective action capacity, which yields security dividends by empowering communities to respond strategically and collectively to criminal threat. I leverage insight from two months of in-depth, interview-based fieldwork in Michoacán, Mexico, combined with a difference-in-difference design to uncover the consequences of institutional variation in Mexico's land reform for vulnerability to criminal violence and criminal presence. In line with theoretical expectations, I find that land reform communities which preserve traditions of indigenous governance generate security in the context of Mexico's drug war. These findings have important implications for a vast literature which studies the relationships between violence and property rights, as well as for studies of rural security. The final paper studies the relationship between social inequality and criminal victimization, focusing on hierarchies created and upheld by patriarchal norms. I advance a theory of intersectional vulnerability to criminal violence, arguing that the same traditional structures which enable high collective action and social control of criminal violence can also lead to the preservation of stronger patriarchal norms. I suggest that these strong patriarchal norms lead to more criminal victimization of women relative to men. In patriarchal contexts, women's relative vulnerability is increased by community failure to apply social control to protect women from criminal violence, and exacerbated by women's lack of recourse due to their political exclusion. I test this theory empirically in the context of the Mexican drug war. I use an original measure of patriarchal norms drawn from household surveys on gender roles to identify empirical associations between traditional social structures and higher levels of patriarchal norms pre-drug war. Exploiting the shock of the onset of the drug war, I find that higher levels of patriarchy pre-drug war lead to substantially greater increases in women's victimization relative to men's following the onset of the war. I find strong evidence that this victimization is non-domestic, reflecting how community control of violence fails to protect women from criminal victimization, and that women are most at risk when they are politically excluded. These findings speak to how social and political inequalities shape vulnerability to criminal violence, particularly in contexts where the state fails to provide security. Together, these papers highlight the complex layering of informal institutions which shape contemporary welfare in the context of widespread criminal violence.

No description available.

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2001 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Violent crime in South Africa in general and on the Cape Flats in particular, is a very complex phenomenon. This phenomenon has various historical, sociopolitical and economic roots. Furthermore, violent crime has a direct as well as indirect impact on the functioning of faith communities within societies. Congregations and churches do not function in isolation from the rest of society. Theology, and more specifically pastoral care, must be seriously concerned with the problems experienced by the community at large. A pastoral strategy should therefore move away from a spirituality that only focus on the impact of violence on individuals and families. Because violent crime is a systemic phenomenon, a socio-systemic approach should be followed, in which the impact of violent crime on faith communities should be analyzed in order to create a holistic model. In Chapter 1 we look at the reasons for violence. We focus on the appearance of crime, the relationship between aggression and crime. Different types of aggression as well as some underlying causes of aggression are discussed. In Chapter 2 we focus on crime as a national phenomenon. Certain historical roots of the current "culture of violence" are discussed. We also look at the impact of the political transition since 1990 on the socio-economic and moral situation in the country. In Chapter 3 we take a closer look at the situation on the Cape Flats. Particular attention is given to the issue of gangsterism, which in a certain sense has become synonymous with the Cape Peninsula. In Chapter 4 the trauma of violent crime on communities is the focus of discussion. Results of a victim survey in Cape Town are utilized. Violence against women and children enjoy special attention. The effect of violent crime on faith communities is highlighted. In the last chapter we try to put forward some guidelines for a theory of practice for the pastoral care of people living on the Cape Flats, using traditional-historic and current resources. We propose a holistic model with a systemic approach. We choose a theory of practice based upon an eco-hermeneutic model, which implies the following: The interpretation of the salvation of God to people (hermeneutic) within the reality (existence) of their daily lives (systemic). We indicate a few areas for long term, preventative building up and healing intervention and conclude with the results of this research. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geweldsmisdaad in Suid-Afrika in die algemeen en op die Kaapse Vlakte in besonder, is 'n uiters komplekse fenomeen, waarvan die wortels gesoek moet word in verskeie historiese, sosio-politieke en ekonomiese oorsake. Hierdie geweldsmisdaad het In direkte en indirekte impak op die funksionering van geloofsgemeenskappe binne die samelewing. Gemeentes en kerke funksioneer nie in isolasie van die res van die samelewing nie en daarom behoort teologie en die pastoraat in besonder, erns te maak met die probleme waarmee die breer gemeenskap worstel. In Pastorale strategie behoort dus weg te beweeg van In spiritualiteit wat fokus bloot op die impak van geweld op individue en gesinne. Omdat geweldsmisaad In sistemiese verskynsel is, behoort In sosio-sistemiese benadering gevolg te word waarbinne die impak van geweldsmisdaad op geloofsgemeenskappe kontekstueel ontleed word ten einde In holistiese model te ontwerp. In Hoofstuk 1 word daar gekyk na oorsake van geweld. Ons kyk na die voorkoms van misdaad, die verband tussen aggressie en geweld. Verskillende tipes aggressie sowel as onderliggende oorsake vir aggressie word bespreek. In Hoofstuk 2 word daar gefokus op geweld as nasionale fenomeen. 8epaalde historiese wortels van die huidige "kultuur van geweld" word bespreek. Daar word veral gekyk na die impak van die politieke transisie sedert 1990 op die sosioekonomiese en morele toestand in die land. In Hoofstuk 3 word die situasie op die Kaapse Vlakte van nader beskou. Die verskynsel van bendegeweld wat in 'n sekere sin al so sinoniem met die Kaapse Skiereiland geword het, kry besondere aandag. In Hoofstuk 4 word die trauma van geweldsmisdaad op gemeenskappe bespreek. Resultate van 'n opname onder slagoffers van misdaad in Kaapstad word as uitgangspunt gebruik. Geweld teen vroue en kinders geniet spesiale aandag. Die effek hiervan op die funksionering van geloofsgemeenskappe word uitgelig. In die laaste hoofstuk word gepoog om vanuit die tradisioneel-historiese sowel as hedendaagse bronne tot ons beskikking riglyne vir 'n moontlike praktykteorie vir die pastorale begeleiding van lidmate binne hierdie gemeenskappe op die Kaapse Vlakte daar te stel. 'n Holistiese model wat sistemies te werk gaan, word voorgestel. Die keuse vir In praktykteorie gebou op In eko-hermeneutiese model word gemaak, wat neerkom op: Die vertolking van God se heil aan mense (hermeneuties) binne die totale werklikheid van hule daaglikse bestaan (ekosistemies). In Paar areas vir langtermyn, preventatiewe opbou en ehelende intervensie word voorgestel en die navorsingsbevindinge van hierdie studie word aangedui.

M.A. / The aim of this study was to compare the effect of violence on the rendering of social work services in severely strife-torn areas with its effect in moderately strife-torn areas. The social workers in the Gauteng Department of Welfare and Population Development were divided into two groups according to the area in which they render services. 2. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES OF VIOLENCE AND SOCIAL WORK A broad theoretical outline followed which consisted of the definition of violence, the rendering of social work services and crime. Furthermore attention was given to theories of violence and different types of violence. Then a description of violence in South Africa was given, followed by a layout of the many factors contributing to violence in South Africa. This section concluded with a description of violence in the rendering of social work services nationally and internationally. RESEARCH DESIGN The research concentrated on a comparative study which was undertaken between social workers rendering services in severely strife-torn areas and those rendering services in moderately strife-torn areas with regard to the effect violence had upon them in the rendering of services to clients. RESEARCH RESULTS Six types of hypotheses were postulated beforehand and these were then compared with information that was received from respondents from the two identified areas. The results may be summarised briefly as follows: Social workers in both strife-torn areas were prevented from visiting clients; they were prevented from going to work; their vehicles were hijacked; their vehicles were stoned often; they were abducted; they had to run away or hide; their service offices were damaged; they were late for work; their service offices had to close at times; there were times they felt that their families were in danger; they didn't want to visit clients living in certain areas; violence caused them to postpone dealing with other social problems; their relationships with their clients were strained; their clients were prevented from keeping appointments; their clients were mildly injured (no hospitalisation); their clients were seriously injured or killed; the social workers had to take leave as a result of violence; some of them possess licensed firearms (11 out of 81 social workers); they can testify to incidents where people were killed or seriously injured; they felt negative about the effect violence had on their rendering of social work services; and they were positive about the proposed ways to handle violent situations. In addition, when comparing these two areas, clients known to social workers in severely strife-torn areas can testify to more incidents where they witnessed people being killed or seriously injured, than those in moderately strife-torn areas; clients themselves were also injured more in the former than in the latter areas; and the social workers in the former areas felt that their families were in greater danger than those of their counterparts in moderately strife-torn areas. But the other variables was found not to be statistically significant. 5. RECOMENDATIONS The respondents' reaction to the proposed ways to handle violent situations led to the prioritisation of the following fourteen ways in descending order of importance: two-way radios or cellular telephones in vehicles; replacement of "G" by "T" registration of vehicles; verbal telephone codes to request assistance; in-service training in order to handle violent situations; awareness of high-risk procedures, for example the removing of a child; reporting and recording incidents of violence; retreating and getting away if possible; obtaining discreet police assistance; using conventional alarm systems; the proximity of a "stand-by" person; paired home-visits; pre-arranged interview interruptions; carrying a service firearm; and supervised office interviews. The above-mentioned ways of handling violent situations were then included in four main categories to form part of a safety strategy for this specific organisation.

<p>Ekstremni vidovi ispoljavanja agresije u vidu krivičnih dela nasilja su univerzalni<br />fenomeni, prepoznati u svim dru&scaron;tvima i kulturama. Iako se radi o relativno nefrekventnim<br />događajima, trend nasilničkog pona&scaron;anja raste i predstavlja problem od &scaron;ireg dru&scaron;tvenog značaja.<br />Ishod vi&scaron;edecenijskog izučavanja agresivnosti ogleda se u detektovanju velikog broja prediktora<br />agresivnog pona&scaron;anja, pri čemu su se faktori agresivnosti najče&scaron;će izučavali izolovano. Kao<br />referentni okvir za ovo istraživanje poslužio nam je Op&scaron;ti model agresivnosti koji podrazumeva<br />međusobnu interakciju različitih faktora u generisanju agresivnog pona&scaron;anja. Osnovni cilj ovog<br />istraživanja se odnosi na rasvetljavanje glavnih i interaktivnih efekta prediktora, a &scaron;to doprinosi<br />boljem razumevanju uslova pod kojima se povećava ili smanjuje verovatnoća realizacije<br />agresivnog pona&scaron;anja, u kontekstu krivičnih dela.<br />Istraživanjem je obuhvaćeno 200 ispitanika, mu&scaron;kog pola, podeljenih u dve grupe.<br />Kriterijsku grupu činilo je 100 ispitanika koji su bili na izdržavanju kazne u Kazneno popravnom<br />zatvoru u Sremskoj Mitrovici, zbog krivičnog dela nasilja. Kontrolnu grupu činilo je 100<br />ispitnanika koji u svojoj istoriji nisu imali izvr&scaron;eno ni jedno krivično delo. Ispitanici su<br />ujednačeni u odnosu na psihijatrijsku dijagnozu.<br />Organizovan je korelacioni nacrt, a rezultati su obrađeni kroz transferzalnu perspektivu.<br />Ispitivanje interaktivnog uticaja prediktorskih varijabli sprovedeno je putem ispitivanja<br />moderacije.<br />Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da je na osnovu personolo&scaron;ko-dispozicionih, kognitivnoemocionalnih<br />i socio-emografskih prediktora moguće razlikovati grupu počinilaca krivičnog dela<br />nasilja u odnosu na ispitanike koji nikada nisu počinili krivično delo. Konkretnije, grupu<br />počinilaca krivičnih dela nasilja karakteri&scaron;e vi&scaron;i stepen izraženosti sve tri Eysenck-ove<br />dimenzije, vi&scaron;i stepen sklonosti ka agresivnom pona&scaron;anju, vi&scaron;i stepen izraženosti psihopatske<br />devijacije, dok se po pitanju stepena samopo&scaron;tovanja ne razlikuju u odnosu na kontrolnu grupu.<br />Počinioci krivičnog dela nasilja imaju specifičan kognitivni stil koji je obeležen većim<br />prisustvom agresivnih fantazija, neefikasnom kontrolom agresivnih i neprijatnih misli, većim<br />prisustvom iracionalnih uverenja, uz če&scaron;će kori&scaron;ćenje supresije, kao neadekvatne strategije<br />vi<br />emocionalne regulacije. Takođe, počinioci krivičnog dela potiču iz porodica sa većim stepenom<br />alkoholizma (isključivo oca), u većoj meri su bili izloženi nasilju u formativnom periodu, imaju<br />niži stepen obrazovanja i ređe imaju stalno zaposlenje. Međutim, kada se ovi brojni faktori<br />agresivnosti posmatraju kroz prizmu multivarijatnog modela predikcije, samo mali broj ostvaruje<br />glavni prediktivni doprinos. Izdvojili su se sledeći prediktori: sklonost ka antisocijalnom<br />pona&scaron;anju, samopo&scaron;tovanje, netolerancija životnih događaja, supresija, reprocenjivanje i<br />obrazovni status. Ispitujući interaktivan efekat prediktorskih varijabili i psihopatije, kao<br />moderator varijable, rezultati pokazuju da različit stepen izraženosti subdimenzija psihopatije<br />predstavlja uslov pod kojim personolo&scaron;ko-dispozicione varijable ostvaruju značajan doprinos u<br />prdikciji agresivnog pona&scaron;anja.<br />Uzimajući u obzir da su se kognitivno-emocionalni faktori koji su podložni promeni<br />izdvojili kao značajni prediktori, praktičan cilj istraživanja ogleda se u primeni nalaza<br />istraživanja na proces rehabilitacije počinilaca agresivnih krivičnih dela</p> / <p>Extreme forms of aggression manifestations, in terms of violent crimes, are universal<br />phenomena recognized in all societies and cultures. Although these are relatively small<br />frequency events, the trend of violent behaviour is growing and represents a problem of wider<br />social significance. The result of multiple decades researches of human aggression is the<br />detection of a large number of aggressive behaviour predictors, where the aggression factors<br />were most commonly studied as isolated ones. As a reference framework for this research, the<br />General Aggression Model was used, as it comprehends different factors mutual interaction in<br />generation of aggressive behaviour. The basic aim of this research is to put some more light to<br />the main and interactive predictor effects, which contributes to better understanding of the<br />conditions under which the probability of realization of the aggressive behaviour is rising or<br />lowering, in terms of criminal acts.<br />The research was performed on 200 male subjects divided into two groups. The criteria<br />group was formed out of 100 subjects who are imprisoned in Sremska Mitrovica Penitentiary for<br />violent crimes. The control group was formed out of 100 subjects who do not have a criminal<br />history at all. The subjects are uniform with relation to psychiatric diagnosis.<br />Correlation design was organized and the results were processed through transversal<br />perspective. Examination of the interactive influence of the predictor variables was performed<br />through moderation.<br />Research results show that it is possible to distinguish the group of violence offenders<br />from the group of subjects with no criminal history at all, on the basis of personologicaldispositional,<br />cognitive-emotional and socio-demographical predictors. Specifically, the group of<br />violent offenders is characterized by the higher level of expression of all three Eysenck<br />dimensions, higher level of inclination to aggressive behaviour, higher level of expression of<br />psychopathic deviation, while the level of self-esteem is no different to the control group.<br />Violent offenders have a specific cognitive style which is marked by higher presence of<br />aggressive fantasies, non-efficient control of aggressive and unwanted thoughts, higher presence<br />of irrational beliefs, with more frequent use of suppression as inadequate strategy for emotional<br />viii<br />regulation. Also, violent offenders come from families with higher level of alcoholism (father<br />only), they have been exposed to violence to a bigger extent in their formation period, they have<br />a lower level of education and less frequently have a permanent employment. However, when<br />these numerous factors of aggression are observed through the prism of multivariate model of<br />prediction, only a small number of factors realize the main predictive effect. The following<br />predictors are noted as significant: inclination to antisocial behaviour, self-esteem, low<br />frustration tolerance beliefs, suppression, reappraisal and educational status. Examination of<br />interactive effect of predictor variables and psychopathy, as moderator variable, gives results<br />which show that different degree of expression of psychopathy sub-dimensions represents the<br />condition under which the personological-dispositional variables give significant contribution to<br />aggressive behaviour prediction.<br />Taking into account that the cognitive-emotional factors which are subject of change are<br />shown to be significant predictors, the practical aim of this research is to apply the research<br />results in violent offenders&rsquo; rehabilitation process.</p>

This dissertation explores the relationship between social, economical, and demographic variables and reported violent and property crime incidents in the provinces of Turkey between 2000 and 2007. The data on violent and property crimes comes from Turkish National Police. All other variables are secondary data gathered from open sources and Turkstat. The research is one of the first studies to examine this relationship in Turkey. The findings of the study suggest that family disruption rate and gross domestic product were significantly related to the violent crime rate while family disruption rate, gross domestic product, population, population density, and urbanization rate were significantly related to the property crime rate in the provinces of Turkey at bivariate level. The findings of the multivariate analysis for violent crimes reveal strong support that high school graduation rate, family disruption rate and gross domestic product have a considerable significant positive impact on violent crimes while unemployment rate and urbanization rate have significant negative relationship with violent crimes in the provinces of Turkey. Likewise, the findings of the multivariate analysis for property crimes reveal strong support that high school graduation rate, family disruption rate, gross domestic product and population in a province have a considerable significant positive impact on the number of property crimes in a province in Turkey. Implications of findings and policy recommendations and future research suggestions are also discussed.