International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology

The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the study evaluated the effectiveness of personal meaning as measured by the Purpose in Life (PIL) and Seeking of Noetic Goals (SONG) tests in discriminating shoplifters from nonshoplifters. The second objective was to provide a more systemic examination of the relationship between several demographic, psychosocial stressor and attitudinal variables, and the act of shoplifting. Data were collected from 75 persons immediately after they had been apprehended for shoplifting and compared with data obtained from 75 undergraduate student nonshoplifters. Results of discriminant analysis indicate that there are meaningful differences between shoplifters and nonshoplifters, and provide support for the continued use of the SONG as an important supplemental to the PIL with clinical populations. Implications are discussed.

The authors' previous national data statistical analysis revealed the existence of negative linear relationships between mental health admissions and jail census data. In view of the above, a study was made of the Milwaukee data using similar parameters in order to assess whether a correlation, positive or negative, exists between the national data and the Milwaukee data. The statistical analyses of Milwaukee data are at variance with the national findings. A moderately strong positive relationship between the number of persons booked in the Milwaukee County Jail and the admissions to the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex (MCMHC) has been found. The existence of several moderately strong negative correlational relationships between legal and mental health admissions variables is demonstrated. Further analyses point out that there is in Milwaukee a positive relationship between the mental health system and, in particular, the Milwaukee County Forensic Unit and the jail-judiciary system, whereby mentally ill offenders, through a cooperative screening at booking, are promptly identified and referred for psychiatric care to the MCMHC. The authors suggest the Milwaukee system as a model for those cities that have not yet implemented a similar functional organization in dealing with the problem of the mentally ill in the United States city jails.

Three groups (20 incarcerated rapists, 21 incarcerated nonrapists, and 30 nonincarcerated controls) assessed the likelihood of sexual activity between a heterosexual couple, depicted either verbally or pictorially. Scenarios involved an experimental manipulation in terms of the female's dress. Overall sexual activity between the couple was perceived to be more likely under the verbal rather than pictorial format. When asked what additional information they required, information regarding "past acquaintance" was requested significantly more by incarcerated rapists and nonincarcerated controls than it was by incarcerated nonrapists. The present study's findings are discussed in terms of methodological issues and current research on perceptions of consensual and nonconsensual sex (i.e., rape).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the community readjustment of adolescent sex offenders released from a state residential group treatment facility. The results suggest: (1) Large percentages of youth entering correctional care have committed "undetected" sexual assaults, (2) The post-release behavior of sex offenders may not present the degree of personal risk assumed by the public, and (3) Serving sex offenders within an agency's main campus peer group treatment program may produce recidivism rates comparable with those reported among specialized treatment models. These findings are discussed in relation to the current demand for specialized sex offender programs and the need for correctional practitioners to develop strategies for this population of youthful offenders.

Research was conducted in an attempt to determine the relationshipv between offending and "living conditions"-employment, education, income, housing, etc. The study demonstrated that offenders live in considerably poorer conditions than does the Danish population in general and that the more serious the offense and the more severe the sentence imposed, the poorer the conditions. The marginalization, illustrated by changes in the situation of offenders, has increased in the last decade due to changing technology, economic recession, and growing conservatism.

Left realism has generated enormous interest and controversy in critical criminology over the past several years both in North America and in the United Kingdom. While there are important similarities between the writings from these countries, there are also some deep differences and divisions. This article provides some explication of these similarities and differences within a critical context.

Based on empirical evidence that visiting is significantly related to parole success, correctional administrators have begun to view family visits as one component of the rehabilitation process. Several authorities have encouraged correctional institutions to maximize visiting opportunities. Previous studies have noted geographical and architectural limits to such maximization. This article reports the results of a national survey of visiting policies and draws comparisons with surveys reported in 1978 and 1954 to determine the extent to which prisons have increased efforts to make visiting a priority.