NCJ Number
205900
Journal
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management Volume: 27 Issue: 1 Dated: 2004 Pages: 82-96
Date Published
2004
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study tested the hypothesis that official status in China, which is linked to powerful social position, has a significant and negative effect on the swiftness of criminal arrest when there is sufficient evidence that such persons have committed a crime.
Abstract
This hypothesis was developed out of the conflict paradigm, which views criminal control as an instrument of the ruling class to protect its interests from groups that challenge the ruling class' preferred status quo. The sample of offenders (n=1,063) who completed the questionnaire was representative of the complete roster of inmates in the Tianjin prisons in 1991. The questionnaire was self-administered and anonymously completed. The dependent variable, the swiftness of criminal arrest, was measured by the interval between the time when the current crime was committed and the time of arrest for the crime. Official status was the central independent variable. Official status was accorded to respondents who had a rank of section chief, shop manager, battalion commander, or above in the political, economic, or military systems. Another major independent variable was the official status of the respondent's friends. Several important legal variables were included as controls to test the effect of official status on the swiftness of police arrest, including the number of prior offenses, the cost of the current offense, crime casualty, and current offense types. Consistent with the hypotheses, the data indicate that official status was a significant and negative predictor of the swiftness of criminal arrest. Friends' official statuses also had an influence on the swiftness of criminal arrest. These findings thus support the conflict paradigm within the Chinese culture and legal system. 3 tables, 4 notes, and 53 references