Crime & Delinquency

Earlier in 1974 the author of this address shared the platform at a University of Illinois lecture series with Norman A. Carlson, director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Nagel's address called attention to three things basically wrong with the Bureau: its withdrawal from "creative federalism," its rejection of total sys tem planning, and its reliance on outmoded and futile institu tional efforts to deal with the nation's crime problems.

Crime is a much misunderstood issue primarily because it has become a manipulated symbol of and outlet for public anger, and its politicization impedes remedies. It is a major problem, especially for black people, who are subject to disproportionate victimization both by criminals and by a discriminatory criminal justice system. The first step to a solution would be a moratorium on the use of crime as an issue by politicians.

Though the citizen's fear of becoming a victim of a crime of violence is irrational, it is nevertheless real and must be heeded by public policy-makers, who would be better equipped to neu tralize it if they had a better understanding of its causes and a better appreciation of its undesirable consequences. The fear of crime in the United States is a fundamental social problem which has not yet received attention in proportion to its severity and which may well prove to be more difficult to treat than criminality itself.

According to popular belief, aged persons as a group are greater victims of crime than those in any other age group, but available data from a variety of surveys show that the aged, in fact, are among the least victimized. Statistics on factors making for dif ferential victimization among elderly persons are described. Special attention is given to the possible impact of housing "protectiveness" and age-concentration on victimization, concern about crime, and fear. Three hypotheses on the relationship of these factors are discussed.

The concept of white-collar crime has perhaps generated more controversy than any other since the introduction of the theory of differential association. Sutherland himself was at least par tially responsible for the confusion over the meaning of the term because he did not clearly specify the behavior that con stituted white-collar crime or those who could engage in such misconduct; the loose usage of the concept by both academic and popular writers has further complicated the issue.

Compared with other felons, forgers are more capable—more intelligent, more skilled in home relations, more employable— and more liable to violate the conditions of their probation by repeating their offense.

The Joint Commission on Correctional Manpower and Training found that many agencies are now using ex-offenders in roles usually performed by professionals. This phenomenon is generally accepted as a positive contribution to the rehabilita tion process. The current task, however, is to learn how to inte grate this service with long-term benefits for the individual.

Police and social workers have together developed an effective service model that alleviates overloading in the criminal justice system, develops new cooperative relationships within the system and social welfare, and expands the roles of law enforcement, prosecution, and correction.

Most correctional mental health services suffer from diffi culties in recruiting and maintaining well-qualified staff members and from producing much nonfunctional work. The use of a Clinical Resources Center (CRC), in which staff and functions are directed toward specific performance objectives, is suggested as an alternative organization of services. The CRC would offer (1) screening, targeted to actual transfer and organizational de cisions and conducted at the lowest staff level necessary; (2) in tensive individual evaluations for early identification and agency program planning; (3) direct treatment services; (4) field and consultation services throughout the system and within the in stitution, including management and training functions; and (5) program development, personnel development and training, and research. By concentrating substantial numbers of behavioral professionals in one location, the CRC mobilizes their skills toward meeting specific departmental objectives. It is designed to serve as both a test laboratory for program ideas and a means of extending mental health resources and skills through a cor rectional system.

This is a report of an experiment in adapting the management principle of redundancy to treating delinquent children in a resi dential treatment facility. In management parlance, redundancy refers to the practice of increasing the possibilities of success in any activity by adding to the number of components, each of which has successively a smaller possibility of success but all of which, added together, have a much higher possibility of achieve ment.