16 research outputs found
Police-initiated diversion for youth to prevent future delinquent behavior: a systematic review
BackgroundOverly punitive responses to youth misconduct may have the unintended consequence ofincreasing the likelihood of future delinquency; yet, overly lenient responses may fail to serveas a corrective for the misbehavior. Police diversion schemes are a collection of strategiespolice can apply as an alternative to court processing of youth. Police-initiated diversionschemes aim to reduce reoffending by steering youth away from deeper penetration into thecriminal justice system and by providing an alternative intervention that can help youthaddress psychosocial development or other needs that contribute to their problem behavior.ObjectivesThe objective of this review was to synthesize the evidence on the effectiveness of pre-courtinterventions involving police warning or counseling and release, and cautioning schemes inreducing delinquent behavior.Search methodsA combination of 26 databases and websites were searched. References of relevant reviewswere also scanned to identify studies. We also consulted with experts in the field. Searcheswere executed by two reviewers and conducted between August 2016 and January 2017.Selection criteriaOnly experimental and quasi-experimental designs were eligible for this review. All quasiexperimentaldesigns must have had a comparison group similar to the police diversionintervention group with respect to demographic characteristics and prior involvement indelinquent behavior (i.e., at similar risk for future delinquent behavior). Additionally, studiesmust have included youth participants between 12 and 17 years of age who either underwenttraditional system processing or were diverted from court processing through a police-leddiversion program. Studies were also eligible if delinquency-related outcomes, includingofficial and non-official (self-report or third-party reporting) measures of delinquency werereported.Data collection and analysisThis study used meta-analysis to synthesize results across studies. This method involvedsystematic coding of study features and conversion of study findings into effect sizesreflecting the direction and magnitude of any police-led diversion effect. There were 19independent evaluations across the 14 primary documents coded for this review. From this,we coded 67 effect sizes of delinquent behavior post diversion across 31 diversion-traditionalprocessing comparisons. We analyzed these comparisons using two approaches. The firstapproach selected a single effect size per comparison based on a decision rule and the secondused all 67 effect sizes, nesting these within comparison condition and evaluation design.ResultsThe general pattern of evidence is positive, suggesting that police-led diversion modestlyreduces future delinquent behavior of low-risk youth relative to traditional processing.Authors’ conclusionsThe findings from this systematic review support the use of police-led diversion for low-riskyouth with limited or no prior involvement with the juvenile justice system. Thus, policedepartments and policy-makers should consider diversionary programs as part of the mix ofsolutions for addressing youth crime
SOFTWARE PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: AWARENESS, USE, AND BENEFITS IN CANADIAN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT FIRMS
Empirical evaluation of the impact of resilience and sustainability on firms’ performance
The concepts of resilience and sustainability appear multi-dimensional and correlated, 15 depending on the context. Operational sustainability practices can enhance the resilience of a firm, 16 and support its growth. This study aims at analysing the impact of a sustainability strategy, 17 measured by means of a sustainability maturity index (SMI), on the financial performance of a 18 company. Since the SMI is strictly correlated to resilience capabilities, the performed analysis 19 represents a first level integration of the sustainability and resilience indicators in a common 20 framework. A data sample, from 53 organisations, has been collected through structured interviews; 21 and analysed to identify possible relationships between the SMI and the financial performance 22 indexes. The analysis does not support commonly reported arguments: we show that profitability 23 does not show a significant relationship with sustainable strategic intent. Interestingly, firm country 24 of origin, size of the organisation, and market focus, likewise, do not have a significant relationship 25 with SMI. Arguably, multi-dimensional company performance, including both financial and non26 financial measures, should be considered to assess the impact of sustainability practices. Moreover, 27 further investigations are needed to capture firms’ nonfinancial indicators of performance that are 28 related to sustainability and resilience, for building up a unified framework enabling trade-off 29 analysis