Improving impact evaluations through randomised experiments: The challenge of the National Research Council report for European criminology

The National Research Council (NRC) report on Improving Evaluation of Anticrime Programs presents and discusses a wide array of techniques of evaluation. Although recognising the very high internal validity of randomised experiments, it considers, under certain conditions, quasi-experiments and observational studies as equally valid approaches. This conclusion is critically reviewed from a European perspective, where only a few randomised trials have been realised so far. It is argued that many critiques routinely addressed to randomised experiments, such as ethical concerns or low acceptance among practitioners, are either unfounded or can be adequately dealt with through imaginative adjustments. On the other hand, randomised controlled trials need to take the challenge of broadening the perspective, especially by looking at long-term effects that no other method can consider with comparable internal validity. Other recommendations include using innovative measures of re-offending, considering dynamic rather than static criteria of re-offending, and looking, beyond re-offending, at rehabilitation in other areas of life. Particular challenges are the possible placebo effects that evaluators in criminal justice have not yet found appropriate ways to deal wit

The Prosecution Service Function within the Swiss Criminal Justice System

The criminal justice system of Basel is described as a cantonal example for Switzerland. Special attention is paid to the Prosecution Service Function within this framework and its relationship to police and courts. The article not only refers to legal provisions but to the factual handling of criminal cases as wel

Who should supervise students during self-report interviews? A controlled experiment on response behavior in online questionnaires

Objectives: This study tests whether juveniles' responses on sensitive topics such as self-reported delinquency, victimization, and substance use are comparable when teachers versus external persons supervise students while filling out online questionnaires. Methods: Eighty classes with 1,197 students (9th grade) in eastern Switzerland were randomly assigned (at the class level) to supervision either by their teacher or by an external person (i.e., researcher). Students filled out online questionnaires about self-reported delinquency, victimization, and substance use in the classroom while being supervised either by their teacher or by an external person. Prevalence rates were compared using Chi-square tests. Results: Only three out of 57 comparisons show significantly different outcomes. Whenever differences are found, and contrary to our expectation, sensitive experiences are more often admitted when students are supervised by their teacher. Effect sizes do not exceed 0.6, and are thus all below the limit of a small effect. Conclusions: Using online questionnaires with teachers as supervisors may not affect validity while making surveys less expensive and intrusiv

How important are interview methods and questionnaire designs in research on self-reported juvenile delinquency? An experimental comparison of Internet vs paper-and-pencil questionnaires and different definitions of the reference period

There has been relatively little change over recent decades in the methods used in research on self-reported delinquency. Face-to-face interviews and self-administered interviews in the classroom are still the predominant alternatives envisaged. New methods have been brought into the picture by recent computer technology, the Internet, and an increasing availability of computer equipment and Internet access in schools. In the autumn of 2004, a controlled experiment was conducted with 1,203 students in Lausanne (Switzerland), where "paper-and-pencil” questionnaires were compared with computer-assisted interviews through the Internet. The experiment included a test of two different definitions of the (same) reference period. After the introductory question ("Did you ever...”), students were asked how many times they had done it (or experienced it), if ever, "over the last 12 months” or "since the October 2003 vacation”. Few significant differences were found between the results obtained by the two methods and for the two definitions of the reference period, in the answers concerning victimisation, self-reported delinquency, drug use, failure to respond (missing data). Students were found to be more motivated to respond through the Internet, take less time for filling out the questionnaire, and were apparently more confident of privacy, while the school principals were less reluctant to allow classes to be interviewed through the Internet. The Internet method also involves considerable cost reductions, which is a critical advantage if self-reported delinquency surveys are to become a routinely applied method of evaluation, particularly so in countries with limited resources. On balance, the Internet may be instrumental in making research on self-reported delinquency far more feasible in situations where limited resources so far have prevented its implementatio

Juvenile Delinquency in Switzerland Over 50 Years: Assessing Trends beyond Statistics

The general public seems to be convinced that juvenile delinquency has massively increased over the last decades. However, this assumption is much less popular among academics and some media where doubts about the reality of this trend are often expressed. In the present paper, trends are followed using conviction statistics over 50 years, police and victimization data since the 1980s, and self-report data collected since 1992. All sources consistently point to a massive increase of offending among juveniles, particularly for violent offences during the 1990s. Given that trends were similar in most European countries, explanations should be sought at the European rather than the national level. The available evidence points to possible effects of increased opportunities for property offences since 1950, and although causality remains hard to prove, effects of increased exposure to extreme media violence since 198