NCJ Number
46127
Date Published
1976
Length
21 pages
Annotation
TO EXAMINE ECOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES IN CRIMINAL KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES TOWARD THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, A QUESTIONNAIRE WAS ADMINISTERED TO 120 URBAN DELINQUENTS AND 89 RURAL/SUBURBAN DELINQUENTS.
Abstract
THE SAMPLE REPRESENTED APPROXIMATELY ONE-THIRD OF THE INMATE POPULATION OF FOUR LARGE ILLINOIS JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES. THE RURAL SAMPLE WAS PREDOMINATLY MALE AND WHITE WHILE THE URBAN SAMPLE WAS PREDOMINANTLY MALE AND BLACK. MEAN AGE OF BOTH SAMPLES WAS 16 TO 17 YEARS. THE QUESTIONNAIRE CONSISTED OF FIVE SECTIONS DESIGNED TO ASSESS THE PERCEIVED LEGALITY/ILLEGALITY OF A SERIES OF ACTS, THE PERCEIVED LIKELIHOOD OF APPREHENSION FOR SUCH ACTS, THE PERCEIVED SANCTION FOR THE ACTS, THE SANCTION THE RESPONDENT WOULD PERSONALLY EXPECT TO RECEIVE IF APPREHENDED FOR SUCH ACTS, AND ATTITUDES TOWARD A VARIETY OF AUTHORITY FIGURES AND SITUATIONS. IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT URBAN YOUTH WOULD BE MORE SOPHISTICATED, MORE CYNICAL OF THE VALUE OF SANCTIONS, AND LESS ACCEPTING OF THE AUTHORITY OF SOCIAL CONTROL AGENTS. DIFFERENCES IN URBAN AND RURAL SUBJECTS' RESPONSES DID NOT SUPPORT THIS HYPOTHESIS. RURAL YOUTHS SCORED HIGHER OVERALL ON KNOWLEDGE OF CRIMINAL SANCTIONS THAN DID URBAN YOUTH. IN GENERAL, RURAL YOUTHS WERE LESS LIKELY TO EXPECT ARREST THAN URBAN YOUTH, BUT URBAN YOUTH EXPECTED A LESSER LEVEL OF SANCTION THAN RURAL YOUTH. IDEAL LEVEL OF SANCTION WAS MORE SEVERE FOR URBAN YOUTH THAN FOR RURAL YOUTH. ALSO, A GREATER COMPLIANCE WITH AUTHORITY WAS UNDERSCORED IN THE URBAN SAMPLE. WHILE MOST OF THESE URBAN/RURAL DIFFERENCES WERE NOT CLEAR CUT, THERE WAS A DEFINITE TREND IN THE DIRECTION OPPOSITE THAT HYPOTHESIZED. AN ANALYSIS CONTROLLING FOR SUBJECT RACE INDICATED CONSISTENT SUPPORT FOR THE HYPOTHESIZED URBAN-RURAL DIFFERENCES FOR THE WHITE SUBJECTS. HOWEVER AN ANALYSIS OF URBAN AND RURAL BLACK RESPONSES INDICATED THAT DIFFERENCES WERE IN A DIRECTION CONTRARY TO THAT HYPOTHESIZED WITH THE EXCEPTION OF EXPECTED SANCTIONS; URBAN YOUTH WERE FOUND TO EXPECT A LESSER LEVEL OF SANCTION THAN RURAL YOUTH. TABLES INDICATING THE DIRECTION OF RESPONSES FOR THE URBAN-RURAL, BLACK URBAN-RURAL, AND WHITE URBAN-RURAL ANALYSES ARE PRESENTED. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT EXPECTED ECOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES FIT THE POPULATION OF WHITE DELINQUENTS BUT NOT OF BLACK. THE ATTITUDES OF RURAL WHITES SUGGESTS MUCH GREATER DETERRABILITY THAN DO THOSE OF URBAN WHITES, A DIFFERENCE NOT EVIDENT IN THE BLACK POPULATION. IN FACT, MAJOR DIFFERENCES IN ATTITUDES ARE ONLY FOUND BETWEEN WHITE AND BLACK URBAN YOUTHS. IN RURAL AREAS RACIAL DIFFERENES ARE MUCH LESS PRONOUNCED, WHILE WHITE URBAN DELINQUENTS APPEAR MUCH MORE DELINQUENT THAN BLACK URBAN DELINQUENTS. BLACK-WHITE AND URBAN-RURAL DIFFERENCES ARE DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF POSSIBLY DIFFERENCES RESULTING FROM LABELLING OF DEVIANCE, SUBCULTURAL NORMS AND EXPECTATIONS, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, LESS SOPHISTICATED CULTURAL PATTERNS AMONG URBAN BLACKS, AND POPULATION BIAS EFFECTS STEMMING FROM CRIME PREVALENCE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT RESOURCE AVAILABILITY. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (JAP)