---

 
STREET YOUTH, UNEMPLOYMENT, AND CRIME: IS IT THAT SIMPLE? USING GENERAL STRAIN THEORY TO UNTANGLE THE RELATIONSHIP
 
Stephen W. Baron
Queen’s University
 
Researchers have called for greater attention to be paid to the variables linking unemployment to crime. In particular, it has been suggested that people's interpretation of their labour market situation plays a large role in shaping their responses to it. Utilizing general strain theory, this research examines the role that unemployment plays in the criminal behaviour of 400 homeless street youths. Of particular interest is the way that these youths interpret their labour market experiences and how together these interpretations and experiences influence criminal behaviour. Findings reveal that the effect of unemployment on crime is mediated and moderated primarily by other variables. In particular, unemployment is conditioned by external casual attributions that lead to anger over unemployment, which in turn leads to crime. The direct effect of unemployment on crime is moderated by monetary dissatisfaction and minimal employment searches. Anger over unemployment is also the result of negative subjective interpretations of economic situations and a continued attachment to the labour market. In addition, these negative subjective perceptions, the lack of state support, a decrease in social control, and prolonged homelessness lead to greater participation in criminal activities directly. Criminal involvement is also encouraged by peers, deviant values, and a lack of fear of punishment. Findings are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.
 

---

 
CHILDHOOD PREDICTORS OF ADULT CRIMINALITY: A META-ANALYSIS DRAWN FROM THE PROSPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL LITERATURE
 
Alan Leschied
The University of Western Ontario
 
Debbie Chiod
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
 
Elizabeth Nowicki and Susan Rodger
The University of Western Ontario
 
Sufficient research now exists in the psychology of criminal conduct literature to address the long-term impact of early childhood and adolescent experiences on later adult outcomes. In the present meta-analysis, selected studies were prospective and longitudinal, tracking a variety of early childhood and family factors that could potentially predict later involvement in the adult criminal justice system. Thirty-eight studies met the selection criteria. Major findings indicate that dynamic versus static predictors are related to later adult criminal justice involvement. The older the child was at the time the predictor was measured, the stronger was the relationship to adult offending. Within the set of dynamic predictors, childhood and adolescent factors that rate most highly include a variety of behavioural concerns including early identification of aggression, attentional problems, motor restlessness, and attention seeking. Emotional concerns consistent with depression including withdrawal, anxiety, self-deprecation, and social alienation are also represented. Predictors also included family descriptors such as a variety of negative parenting strategies including coerciveness, authoritarian behaviours, lack of child supervision, and family structure variables such as witnessing violence, inter-parental conflict, family stressors, and poor communication. Results are discussed in relation to prevention strategies for targeted services that influence the probability of antisocial outcomes for children into adulthood.
 

---

 
FACTORS INFLUENCING POLICE ATTITUDES TOWARDS EXTRAJUDICIAL MEASURES UNDER THE YOUTH CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT
 
Voula Marinos
Department of Child and Youth Studies, Brock University
 
Nathan Innocente
Department of Sociology, University of Toronto

Extrajudicial measures under the Youth Criminal Justice Act require police to reorient their thinking about how to respond to youth. The act provides specific structure and guidance to police about the appropriateness of extrajudicial measures and does not preclude its use when a youth received one in the past. The emphasis on accountability and proportionality suggests that police ought to be driven by the seriousness of the youth's offending behaviour and much less by the youth's record. Drawing from a sample of 70 police officers from five jurisdictions within Ontario, our surveys (N = 70) and in-depth interviews (N = 64) with police reveal that they place relatively heavy weight on prior police contact of any kind (past extrajudicial measure or finding of guilt) and that this has a significant influence on their attitudes towards diverting youth for minor offences like mischief and shoplifting. The results are analyzed within the context of literature on police attitudes and decision making to divert in Canada.
 

---

 
PROGRESSIVE REFORMS OR MAINTAINING THE STATUS QUO? AN EMPIRICAL EVALUATION OF THE JUDICIAL CONSIDERATION OF ABORIGINAL STATUS IN SENTENCING DECISIONS
 
Andrew Welsh
Criminology and Contemporary Studies
Wilfrid Laurier University
 
James R.P. Ogloff
School of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Psychological Medicine,
Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University
 
Government statistics and empirical research have long documented the fact that Aboriginal people account for a much higher proportion of Canada's inmate population than would be expected by looking at their relative proportion in the general population. In spite of this increasing focus on overrepresentation, there has been little documented change in Aboriginal incarceration rates. Section 718.2(e) was added to the Criminal Code to encourage judicial consideration of alternatives to incarceration, with particular attention to the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders. To evaluate the impact of section 718.2(e), the current study examined 691 randomly sampled sentencing decisions from the Quicklaw database to determine the extent to which Aboriginal status was correlated with judges' sentencing decisions relative to other legally relevant factors that have traditionally guided sentencing. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses indicated that Aboriginal status did not significantly predict the likelihood of receiving a custodial or non-custodial disposition relative to aggravating and mitigating factors or sentencing objectives cited by judges. Rather, several aggravating and mitigating factors cited by judges, including offence seriousness, prior criminal history, and the plea of the offender were significantly related to sentencing decisions.
 
 

Journal's Home Page | Contents