NCJ Number
92329
Editor(s)
I L Barak-Glantz,
E H Johnson
Date Published
1983
Length
153 pages
Annotation
This series of comparative criminological studies considers the validity of cross-cultural studies of criminality, the nature of economic crimes in communist countries, mediation in China, urban riots, female criminality, police selection practices, lay court participation, and occupational stress in corrections.
Abstract
In analyzing the reliability of the comparative study of crime across cultures, one essay concludes that although defects in research methodology undermine reliability, comparative criminology is primarily hindered by the fact that social behavior is not susceptible to the regularities sought by researchers. The study of economic crimes in the Soviet Union and Poland places such crimes in the general categories of offenses against the central economic plan and the centralized distribution of goods. The criminalization of many economic behaviors constitutes massive legal intervention in the economy compared to capitalist countries. Mediation in the People's Republic of China is a means of propagating state policies and laws, of maintaining a stable order, and raising the political consciousness and approved value commitments of the disputants. The Miami (Florida) and Liverpool (England) civil riots of the 1980's are compared in one presentation; what these riots portend in both countries is considered. A comparison of arrest statistics for males and females in the Netherlands fails to show that the women's movement has had any significant impact on the character of female criminality. A comparison of Canadian and American police personnel selection practices identifies differences and similarities; it is suggested that selection practices in both countries should adopt a more positive philosophy of identifying trainable applicants rather than focusing on screening out unacceptable candidates. Another study compares the methods of selecting American jurors and German lay judges as well as the impact of selection and assignment on the prospective juror or lay judge. In the concluding essay, data relevant to prison guards' perceptions of their work environment were organized within a model for the analysis of stress reactions and role conflict among American and Scandinavian prison personnel. Chapter references are provided. For individual entries, see NCJ 92330-37.