Preventing recidivism by using the theory of reintegrative shaming with conferences

Master's Project (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2013Driving while intoxicated in the United States is a major problem with more than 31 percent of national driving fatalities caused by intoxicated drivers. The purpose of the present study is to identify the possibility between the use of reintegrative shaming with conferences and the likelihood that it will reduce the recidivism of driving while intoxicated. The study explores John Brathwaite's theory on reintegrative shaming and how that theory applies in conferences. The emerging theory o f Storylines from Robert Agnew is also explored in its importance when conducting these conferences. Studies conducted in Australia, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Alaska have all suggested that the use of conferences, especially those which utilize reintegrative shaming and reintegrating offenders back into the community reduces the recidivism rates. The research found in this article helps point future studies to examine offenders in a longer term after they have completed reintegrative shaming programs and conferences

Social Capital, Rehabilitation, Tradition: Support for Restorative Justice in Japan and Australia

This paper investigates the attitudes and beliefs that the public hold about criminal behaviour in Japanese and Australian society, with a view to uncovering sources of resistance to, and support for, restorative justice. The study draws on a survey of 1,544 respondents from Japan and 1,967 respondents from Australia. In both societies, restorative justice met with greater acceptance among those who were (1) strong in social capital, (2) believed in offender reintegration and rehabilitation, (3) saw benefits for victims in forgiveness, and (4) were advocates for victims' voices being heard and amends made. The alternative 'just deserts' and deterrence models for dealing with crime were grounded in attitudes of punitiveness and fear of moral decay, and reservations about the value of reintegrating and rehabilitating offenders. Like restorative justice supporters, 'just deserts' and deterrence supporters expressed concern that victims' voices be heard and amends made. Winning public support for competing institutional arrangements may depend on who does best in meeting expectations for meeting the needs of victims

Propriedades psicométricas de uma escala para medir a gestão da vergonha em adolescentes (Moss-Sast)

(Ahmed, 1999) to measure shame management in adolescents in situations of aggression toward peers. The study was conducted with a sample of 700 students from public secondary schools (N= 700) located in a northwestern state municipality of Mexico. Results enabled to obtain an empirically sustainable measuring model formed by two factors: Acknowledgment and Displacement (X2 = 5.16, p= 0.27; CMIN= 1.29; GFI= .98; CFI= .99; NFI= .97; RMSEA= .05). Evidence was obtained to show that the instrument has criterion validity since it is capable to differentiate between subgroups of students with and without reports of bullying in both factors, Acknowledgment (t= 3.49, gl= 137, p< .001) and Displacement (t= 3.63, gl= 137, p< .001). It was concluded that the results strengthen the original factorial structure of the scale and show the usefulness of the same, both for inquiring about emotions related to moral development and for identifying students involved as aggressors in bullying situations.Se establecieron las evidencias de validez y confiabilidad de la adaptación del cuestionario MOSS-SAST (Ahmed, 1999) para medir el manejo de la vergüenza en adolescentes ante situaciones de agresión hacia los pares. El estudio se realizó en una muestra de estudiantes de escuelas secundarias públicas (N= 700) ubicadas en un municipio de un estado del noroeste de México. Los resultados permitieron obtener un modelo de medición empíricamente sustentable formado por nueve ítems agrupados en dos factores: Reconocimiento y Desplazamiento (c2 = 5.16, p= 0.27; CMIN= 1.29; GFI= .98; CFI= .99; NFI= .97; RMSEA= .05). El instrumento cuenta con evidencias de validez de criterio, ya que establece la diferencia en los factores de reconocimiento (t= 3.49, gl= 137, p< .001) y desplazamiento (t= 3.63, gl= 137, p< .001) en subgrupos de estudiantes con y sin reportes de bullying. Se concluyó que los resultados fortalecen la estructura factorial original de la escala y muestran su utilidad, tanto en la indagación de emociones relacionadas con el del desarrollo moral, como en la identificación de estudiantes involucrados como agresores en situaciones de bullying.Foram estabelecidas as evidências de validade e confiabilidade da adaptação do Questionário MOSS-SAST (Ahmed, 1999) para medir a gestão da vergonha em adolescentes ante situações de agressão contra os pares. O estudo foi realizado com uma amostra de estudantes do ensino fundamental e médio (N=700) de um município do noroeste do México. Os resultados permitiram obter um modelo de medição empiricamente sustentável, formado por nove itens agrupados em dois fatores: reconhecimento e deslocamento (c2 = 5.16, p= 0.27; CMIN= 1.29; GFI= .98; CFI= .99; NFI= .97; RMSEA= .05). O instrumento conta com evidências de validade de critério já que estabelece a diferença nos fatores de reconhecimento (t= 3.49, gl= 137, p< .001) e deslocamento (t= 3.63, gl= 137, p< .001) em subgrupos de estudantes com e sem relatos de bullying. Conclui-se que os resultados fortalecem a estrutura fatorial original da escala e mostram sua utilidade, tanto na indagação de emoções relacionadas com o desenvolvimento moral quanto na identificação de estudantes envolvidos como agressores em situações de bullying

Exoffender Accounts of Successful Reentry from Prison

Reentry research often focuses on those who have recidivated, with little work addressing the experiences of those who successfully reintegrate into their communities. This study examines individual accounts of successful transitions from prison to community in the months and years postrelease. Interview data point to three metanarratives used to make sense of reentry: as reverence, as reunification, and as reconstruction. In different ways, each narrative centers on connections to important others through faith, family, or community. We discuss the legitimacy of the self-narratives offered, and add to a growing body of work exploring reentry via the lens of the exoffender

The Conduits and Barriers to Reentry for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals in San Bernardino

Numerous scholars have noted that the majority of prisoners will be reincarcerated within three years of their release. However, while there has been extensive research on recidivism, much less attention has been paid to the reentry process in the sociological and criminological literature. Given the high rates of former prisoners reentering society with struggles that may affect their friends, family members, and communities, policymakers and practitioners should understand the successful methods for their reintegration. In this paper, we explore the conduits and barriers to reentry for a sample of San Bernardino county callers using United Way’s 211 Reentry Call Center from 2014-2015. We find that human needs resources (i.e. housing, clothes, and food assistance) and legal assistance are the two most frequently requested services. The callers in our sample have intersecting, disadvantaged identities and require multiple services which suggests a need for collaboration across agencies

Revisiting Alaska's Sex Offender Registration and Public Notification Statute

Originally published in the Alaska Justice Forum 25(1–2): 2–5 (Spring/Summer 2008)This article examines the background and judicial interpretation of Alaska's sex offender registration and public notification statute, the new federal requirements for state sex offender registries and public notice under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, and weaknesses in both Alaska's existing system and the enhanced requirements of the new federal legislation. These weaknesses include: * Absence of incentives for offenders to seek therapy or treatment; * Failure to provide for individualized risk assessment that would differentiate between those offenders who pose a negligible or very low risk of re-offending from those who pose a continuing public risk — a failure that causes unwarranted marginalization of low risk offenders and diminishes the overall effectiveness of the public notification system; * Public notice provisions so broad as to substantially impede offenders' reintegration into their families, their community, and the workforce, and potentially chilling family reporting; * Internet posting requirements associated with severe stigmatization and public harassment, and concomitant emotional destabilization and isolation of offenders — factors that may actually increase the risk of recidivism and community harm. * Because the Walsh Act conditions state receipt of Byrne Grant funds on compliance with its enhanced registration and notice requirements, there is little Alaska can do to remedy the above weaknesses and still remain eligible for Byrne funds. However, the article concludes with a recommendation for limited changes to our statute that would minimize, to the extent possible, its adverse effect on offenders' ability to find employment; omit the lowest risk offenders from internet posting requirements; and provide those incentives for treatment permissible under the Walsh Act

Pursuing Accountability for Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence: The Peril (and Utility?) of Shame

This Article explores the use of shame as an accountability intervention for perpetrators of intimate partner abuse, urging caution against its legitimization. Shaming interventions—those designed to publicly humiliate, denigrate, or embarrass perpetrators or other criminal wrongdoers—are justified by some as legitimate legal and extralegal interventions. Judges have sentenced perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence (“IPV”) to hold signs reading, “This is the face of domestic abuse,” among other publicly humiliating sentences. Culturally, society increasingly uses the Internet and social media to expose perpetrators to public shame for their wrongdoing. On their face, shaming interventions appear rational: perpetrators often belittle, humiliate, and disgrace their partners within a larger pattern of physical abuse, and survivors often report feeling an abiding sense of shame as a result. Further, perpetrators are assigned en masse a dominant narrative about their motivations and traits as controlling, violent, and beyond reform. Consequently, they are cast into a category of individuals for whom traditional forms of rehabilitation are identified as ineffective and for whom shaming may be particularly apropos. However, even if stigmatizing perpetrators to achieve accountability has some legitimate purpose, any benefit is outweighed by the fact that shaming perpetrators undermines the goals of violence reduction and survivor safety. Internalized shame can lead to externalized violence, thereby increasing, rather than decreasing, a survivor’s risk of harm. Further, using shame to punish an act that is itself built on shame can blur clarity about socially acceptable behavior, have a profound social and economic impact on the individual shamed, and devastate a person’s dignity and sense of self-worth. Moreover, many perpetrators have cumulative shaming experiences in their pasts, intensifying the negative consequences that can flow from shaming interventions. To understand the unique risks of shaming in the context of IPV, this Article explores shame as a tool for achieving perpetrator accountability

Labeling Theory and the Effects of Sanctioning on Delinquent Peer Association: A New Approach to Sentencing Juveniles

This is a review of contemporary theory and studies published in various scholarly journals regarding the labeling effect of criminal justice system involvement at a young age on offenders. Drawing on studies that have taken place over the past several decades in order to increase the generalizability of the conclusions, this paper discusses the relationship between formal sanctioning and delinquent peer association among offenders. Results from the studies lend support to the tenets of labeling theory. They also suggest that the relative rate of increased recidivism among offenders is positively correlated with an operationalized measure of their “stakes in conformity” (e.g. marriage, employment, civic involvement, etc.). This literature review highlights the need for a reassessment of current sentencing policy for juveniles, as their life-course orientation is particularly vulnerable to negative influences. More generally, this review brings together theory and data to call for a rejection of sentencing policies which claim to “get tough on crime.

Behold, she stands at the door: Reentry, black women and the black church

This paper examines the African American church’s response to the special problems of African American women who reenter the community post-incarceration. The first portion of the paper examines the impact of criminal justice policies on women of color and the attending problems of reentry which resulted. It then surveys the black church’s response to returning citizens, especially women. It concludes by proposing shifts in perspectives and theologies which create barriers to successful reintegration into the community at large, and the church in particular. The intended audience is individuals and faith communities who seek to work effectively with returning women