JustResearch no. 10

4. Reviews

4. Reviews

Wortley, S., Fischer, B. & Wester, C. (2002). Vice lessons: A survey of prostitution offenders enrolled in the Toronto John School Diversion Program. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 44(4), 369-403.

"The main focus of the program is to increase awareness of the dangers associated with the sex trade, and to increase the participants' knowledge of prostitution in general."

4.1 The Effectiveness of John Schools

Attempting to combat the far-reaching implications of prostitution has occupied the time and energy of politicians, policy specialists, academics and social service providers for decades. Rather than attempting to legislate the problem away, a fairly recent solution appeared in the form of the Toronto First Offender Prostitution Diversion Program, informally known as the Toronto John School. This program is the focus of the present article which seeks to describe and evaluate the program. The authors undertook a multi-component independent evaluation of the Toronto John School between 1998 and 2001. The evidence that forms the basis of this article focuses on one component of the evaluation: participants' pre- and post- program surveys.

Inspired by the San Francisco model, the Toronto John School was launched in 1996 as a post-charge, pre-trial option for first time "clients of prostitution" charged under section 213 of theCriminal Code (communication for the purposes of prostitution). The program is run under the joint auspices of the Ontario Attorney General's office, the Mayor's Task Force on Prostitution, Toronto Police Services and the Salvation Army. Following the inception of the Toronto School, the diversion program has been developed and implemented in several other Canadian cities including Ottawa, Hamilton and Vancouver. The main focus of the program is to increase awareness of the dangers associated with the sex trade, and to increase the participants' knowledge of prostitution in general. At the time of arrest, the participant is given a court date and upon the submission of a guilty plea, and approval of the Crown attorney, the participant is registered for the one-day course. Upon completion of the course, the original charge is dropped. The course "tuition" is $400 paid for by the participant. The course includes a series of presentations emphasizing the prostitute's role in the sex trade as well as the implications for the participant (sexually transmitted disease, social repercussions, physical danger). The John School is premised upon seven objectives as follows:

  1. to ensure participants take responsibility;
  2. educate participants about prostitution law in Canada;
  3. increase participants awareness of the victims of street prostitution;
  4. increase awareness of dangers of prostitution;
  5. increase awareness among participants that they may have a problem with their own sexual behaviour;
  6. attempt to change participants attitudes toward prostitution; and,
  7. deter participants from engaging in prostitution related activities.

The authors found that the program was successful in some capacity. For example, a pre-post comparison indicated that respondents were more likely to accept responsibility for their actions, more likely to acknowledge they may have a sex addiction problem and less likely to view the sex trade favourably.

Following participation, the researchers found, however, that the diversion program's ability to change attitudes toward prostitution were "small and statistically insignificant". Most notably, the researchers reported serious concerns about the John School model, including confusion among the major stakeholders about the objectives of the program and ambiguities with record keeping. Further, the demographic profile of the participants indicates the program targets primarily working class, immigrant communities. The undercover "raids", for example take place on the street and do not include massage parlours, or escort services. Language proficiency is also a problem, as many of the participants do not speak English well enough to benefit from the presentations during the one-day course. The mandatory guilty plea may also interfere with due process, as many of the participants feared a criminal trial and believed the diversion program was their only viable option.

The authors conclude that the limited benefits of the program do not outweigh the serious operational concerns. Given the apparent class and race bias inherent in the undercover "stings", as well as the structural limitations entrenched in the diversion program, the authors conclude further that it may be more fruitful to conduct a comparative analysis between the four Canadian cities that have instituted this program.

4.2 A Question of Deterrence

Pogarsky, G. & Piquero, A. (2003). Can punishment encourage offending? Investigating the "resetting" effect. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 40(1), 95-120.

Reviewer: David Greenwood, Research Assistant

"Punishment, in short, does nothing to deter re-offending."

An underlying assumption of many criminal justice systems is that punishing an offender should discourage them from offending again. Yet several recent studies question this precept of deterrence, noting that punished offenders often fear capture and punishment less than non-punished offenders. Pogarsky and Piquero present two theories that attempt to explain these findings and test for whether either one holds true. While their final results do not conclusively answer this question, they do cast doubt on the effectiveness of punishment as a deterrent.

The two theories presented which question deterrence are "selection" and "resetting". The former theories expect that punishment is merely a way to identify already-committed offenders who are willing to expose themselves to higher risk. For example, a "professional" shoplifter "accepts jail and its inconveniences as a normal hazard of the trade". Punishment, in short, does nothing to deter re-offending. The latter theory predicts that, not only does punishment fail to deter offenders, but it may even encourage them. This is due to the "gambler's fallacy" under which many criminals operate, where capture is seen as a stroke of bad luck that must eventually even out. Thus, the offender's sanction-certainty estimate - how high they rate their chance of capture - drops after being caught.

In order to test whether these theories hold true in practice, 253 students from "a large public university in the southwestern United States" were asked to complete a survey dealing with drunk driving. The students evaluated, on a scale of 0 to 100, the likelihood that they would drive drunk and the likelihood they would get caught doing so. They were also asked if they had prior punishment experience, in this case being "stopped by the police when they believe their blood alcohol content was above the legal limit". These responses were used to develop an individual's sanction-certainty estimate. Next, the authors sought to categorize the students according to whether they were a high or a low risk to offend. To this end, frequency of alcohol consumption, prior offending (of any kind), personal characteristics, such as sex and impulsiveness, and peer influence were considered. By dividing the results into four groups, along two dimensions - high or low risk status and whether they had previously been punished - a comparison of the mean sanction-certainty estimates was used to analyze each theory.

While the results indicate a significantly higher sanction-certainty estimate among low-risk individuals without prior punishment, neither selection nor resetting is conclusively supported. Resetting, for example, is limited to the least experienced offenders, which the authors suggest supports recent findings that experienced offenders may not consider the likelihood of capture at all. Nevertheless, the drop in sanction-certainty estimates among high-risk individuals or low-risk individuals with prior punishment puts into question the efficacy of punishment as a deterrent. The article concludes by suggesting further research into the area of "vicarious" punishment, in which efforts are concentrated on capturing the most committed offenders and "…treating them in such a way as to promote general deterrence".


4.3 Youth and Exposure to Unwanted Sexual Material on the Internet

Mitchell, K. J., Finkelhor, D. & Wolak, J. (2003). The exposure of youth to unwanted sexual material on the Internet: A national survey of risk, impact, and prevention. Youth & Society, 34(3), 330-358.

Reviewer: Steven Kleinknecht, Research Analyst

"…25% of regular Internet-using youth were exposed to one or more unwanted sexual pictures while online."

"None of the exposures led to the police being notified by the child or parent."

"…18% of youth indicated they were exposed to unwanted sexual material on a home computer even when they reported that filtering and blocking software was installed."

There has been a great deal of debate surrounding the regulation of the Internet. Issues concerning privacy and freedom of speech are often juxtaposed against concerns of crime prevention and safety. The general consensus is that a balance must be struck between these two areas of concern. However, the debate becomes even more complex when the well being of children and youth is taken into account. One particular concern in this regard is the exposure of youth to unwanted sexually explicit material on the Internet. The article examined for this review investigates a series of unanswered questions, which are central to the debate. For example: Are youth being exposed to unwanted sexual material on the Internet? Who is most at risk of unwanted exposure? What is the immediate emotional impact of exposure? Does the use of filtering and blocking software and parental supervision reduce exposure?

Data from the American Youth Internet Safety Survey were analysed to explore these questions. The sample consisted of 1,501 Internet-using youth between the ages of 10 and 17 and is representative of Internet-using youth in the United States. The sample was identified through another large, nationally representative household survey, the Second National Incidence Study of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children. Data were collected through the use of telephone interviews with youth identified as regular Internet users. Regular Internet use was defined as, "using the Internet at least once a month for the past six months, on a computer at home, school, a library, someone else's home, or some other place." The researchers defined unwanted exposure to sexually explicit material as, "without seeking or expecting sexual material, being exposed to pictures of naked people or people having sex when doing online searches, surfing the Web, and opening e-mail or e-mail links."[1]

In the year previous to the survey, 25% of regular Internet-using youth were exposed to one or more unwanted sexual pictures while online. Seventy-three percent (73%) of these exposures occurred while searching or surfing the Internet. Sixty-seven percent (67%) of exposures occurred while the youth was using the Internet at home. The majority of pictures encountered simply depicted naked people, however, 32% showed people having sex and another 7% depicted both violence and nudity. Due to the subjective determination of age and other definitional issues, the study did not collect data on the number of exposures that contained child pornography.

While males were almost six times more likely to admit to voluntary exposure, there were no significant gender differences in terms of probability of unwanted exposure. The results further indicate that older youth were more likely to be exposed to unwanted sexual material. Sixty percent (60%) of the unwanted exposures were reported by youth 15 and over. Seven percent (7%) of unwanted exposures occurred to youth between 11 and 12 years old, while none of the 10 year olds reported any unwanted exposures. The authors point out that this finding may be related to younger children's less independent use of the Internet.

Those most at risk of unwanted exposure included youth who used the Internet a great deal, used the Internet at others' homes, participated in chat rooms and used e-mail. Talking to strangers and engaging in other forms of risky online behaviour (e.g., harassing people online, intentionally visiting x-rated sites), as well as youth who reported physical or sexual abuse and/or depression were also more likely to be exposed to unwanted sexual material.

In terms of the youths' response to exposure, 57% indicated that they disclosed the unwanted exposure to someone. Parents were either told or found out in 39% of the exposures. In 30% of the episodes, the youth disclosed the encounter to friends or siblings. Youth or their families were not very likely to notify authorities about the exposure. Of those notified, 3% were teachers or school officials and 4% were Internet Service Providers. None of the exposures led to the police being notified by the child or parent.

Of those who were exposed to unwanted sexual material, 24% reported that they were very upset or extremely upset by the exposure. Twenty-one percent (21%) reported that they were very embarrassed or extremely embarrassed by the exposure. Nineteen percent (19%) indicated at least one stress symptom (e.g., feeling jumpy, irritable, or having a hard time falling asleep, etc.) at the level of more than a little or all the time in the days immediately following the exposure.

Just under a third (31%) of youth reported that their families had installed Internet filtering and blocking software, which was found to reduce exposure to unwanted sexual material by 40%. Still, 18% of youth indicated they were exposed to unwanted sexual material on a home computer even when they reported that filtering and blocking software was installed. However, the researchers indicate that it is not known whether the software was installed before the exposure or as a result of the exposure.

Parental supervision activities were not associated with a reduction in exposure. Some pro-active prevention measures taken by parents (checking the history function, asking what the youth does on-line, and checking the screen while the youth is on-line) were actually associated with increased exposure. Parents who know their children are engaging in more risky on-line behaviour and thus, checking on the youth more frequently, may account for this discrepancy. Additionally, previous exposure might also prompt parents to be more vigilant in attempting to reduce future unwanted exposures.

This study is an important contribution to the policy debate concerning regulation and children's exposure to unwanted sexual material. Key to policy decisions, the researchers contend, are the dimensions of choice and intrusion. An important conclusion they make in this regard is that, "Policy makers might find that there is consensus around regulatory steps that inhibit involuntary and intrusive exposure on the Internet, including penalties against or consumer remedies for those who try to trick or entrap or who send spam (mass-mailed and unrequested e-mail) with sexual content." The authors make several suggestions for research that would attempt to validate these results and respond to other relevant knowledge gaps in an effort to assist policy makers. For example, they advocate that research be undertaken to investigate the long-term impact of unwanted exposure, the efficacy of parental education and supervision, and the use of filtering and blocking software under real world conditions.

4.4 Dynamics of Illegal Firearms Transactions

Morselli, C. (2002). The relational dynamics of illegal firearm transactions. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 44(3), 255-277.

Reviewer: Damir Kukec, Senior Statistician

"…transactions do not necessarily require "personal" contacts to acquire firearms illegally."

"…while the general number of guns in a geographical area may have an impact on availability and accessibility, relationships also play a significant role as well."

This study explores the issue of general firearms availability (e.g. household ownership rate of a country) and the manner in which select incarcerated offenders in Montreal acquired firearms illicitly. The main thrust of the study challenges the notions that general firearm availability alone can provide insight into illicit firearm acquisition patterns. The study suggests that we must examine more closely gun ownership populations and the individual's relationship with firearm owners to better understand the prevalence and manner in which firearms are acquired illegally.

METHOD

This study relies on voluntary face-to-face interviews with 21 adult male inmates from federal institutions in and around Montreal. Between March 1995 and August 1995, interviews were completed with inmates who indicated that they "had directly participated in one or more illegal firearm transactions since 1980 in the Montreal region" (p. 6). It is important to note that over half of the inmates interviewed indicated that they were "active, to some extent, in drug dealing or drug consumption" (p. 6). Also of interest, is that criminal gun use was not part of the selection criteria, and only seven of the inmates "had been previously convicted of criminal gun use" (p. 6). It is unclear whether any of the inmates were now serving sentences for criminal gun use or for any other violation of Canada's gun control laws. The unit of analysis for the study was the illegal firearm transaction as reported by the interviewee. For each reported illegal transaction, the study further explored the relationship between the person who provided the firearm (the supplier) and the interviewee who acquired the firearm (the acquirer). The manner in which the transaction took place was also explored.

FINDINGS

The study found that most of the inmates reported transactions that happened "several years before they would ever be incarcerated, let alone before they were ever arrested" (p. 6).

Interviewees reported 57 illicit firearm transactions, which "involved the acquisition of 71 firearms: 45 handguns, 18 hunting guns, and 8 automatic firearms" (p.7). Although the interviewees reported 12 firearm thefts (6 handguns and 14 hunting guns), the study excludes these thefts from the analysis. Using Boissevain's[2] patterns and interpersonal relationship typologies to guide the analysis, the study uncovered the following types of illicit firearm transactions. The typology includes "two general areas of contact" that include the "first order" and the "extended zones" describing the "duration, frequency and multiplexity of the relationship" (p. 7). Under the heading of "first order" the study describes four sub-areas of contact; under a continuum the first indicates a strong personal or social bond between supplier and acquirer and the fourth represents a more "functional" or "instrumental" and "distant" relationship between the two.

The four typologies include: 1) personal cell group; 2) intimate zone; 3) effective zone; and, 4) nominal zone. The interviews revealed that the majority of transactions took place within the intimate (n=18) and effective (n=19) zone areas. The personal cell group (n=4) and nominal accounted (n=7) for a smaller number of transactions. The study also reported that "9 of the 57 transactions involved the gun acquirers penetrating into their respective extended zones", suggesting that transactions do not necessarily require "personal" contacts to acquire firearms illegally (p. 8).

The study also examined the manner in which transaction were initiated. This was organized in two general categories: searches and offers. The analysis found that transactions within the "intimate zone" were more likely to generate an "offer" where the supplier offers to provide the person with a firearm. The opposite was found in the "effective zone" where the majority of transactions involve a person "searching" for a firearm. The "personal cell group" and "nominal zone" reported similar initiation patterns, with both reporting primarily "offers" rather than "searches". Transactions were more likely to involve the searches when the firearm was specialized such as "assault rifles, machine guns, and other highly powerful weapons".

The presence of an intermediary that had a "first order" relationship with the supplier and the searcher was an essential element to a successful transaction between the individuals from the "first order" and the "extended zone". The majority of such intermediates come from the "intimate" and "effective" zones since these zones typically connect more individuals within their first order zone that are considered trustworthy and dependable. The "personal cell group" is trustworthy; however, they may be too small to find the required supplier, and the "nominal zone" may contain many individuals with connections to suppliers; however, they may not be trustworthy.

The study analysed different types of firearm transactions. The most frequent type of transaction required a cash purchase. However, some transactions also involve the exchange of illicit commodities, such as drugs. In some instances, transactions involve the exchange of a "favour". Once again, the relationship typology appears to influence the transaction mode (e.g., cash, illicit commodities, favour, etc.). "Personal cell groups" would likely involve non-exchange transactions and "extended zone" would typically always involve exchange transactions. The study also points out that some suppliers loan firearms to acquirers, and that most of these transactions take place between individuals from the "personal cell group".

COMMENTS

"...while the general number of guns in a geographical area may have an impact on availability and accessibility, relationships also play a significant role as well."

The study correctly points out that the findings should not be seen as representative of the "general inmate nor offender population" (p. 16). Furthermore, the data present a "success bias", and suggests that information on failed transactions would be equally important in understanding the role that relationships play in acquiring firearms illegally (p. 16). Regardless of these limitations, the study provides new information and valuable insight into the role that relationships may play in illegally acquiring guns. Clearly, while the general number of guns in a geographical area may have an impact on availability and accessibility, relationships also play a significant role as well. What would be of interest is further exploring the origin of the firearm (including those stolen) traded on the illicit market, the motivation for acquiring a firearm illegally, and the outcome (how the firearm was used) of firearm transactions among offenders.

4.5 Criminal Harassment

Sheridan, L., Gillett, R., Davies, G.M., Blaauw, E. & Patel, D. (2003). "There's no smoke without fire: Are male ex-partners perceived as more 'entitled' to stalk than acquaintance or stranger stalkers?" British Journal of Psychology, 94, 87-98.

Reviewer: Susan McDonald, Research Analyst

"…male victims were viewed as more responsible for encouraging the perpetrator's behaviour…"

Edleson, J. L., Mbilinyi, L. F., Beeman, S. K., & Hagemeister, A. K. (2003). How children are involved in adult domestic violence: Results from a four-city telephone survey. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18(1), 18-32.Reviewer: Kelly E. Morton-Bourgon, Research Officer

Stalking, or criminal harassment, is a recent legislated criminal act. California enacted the world's first legislation in 1990. Canada's criminal harassment provisions, s. 264 of the Criminal Code, came into effect on August 1st, 1993, with recent amendments to sentencing (Bill 15A) enacted in the summer of 2002. England and Wales made stalking a crime in 1997.

This study took place in England and assessed the impact of prior relationship and gender on the perceptions of culpability and consequences for the persons involved. The research question was, "Is blame more likely to be attributed to the victim if they are an ex-partner of the stalker, rather than an acquaintance or a total stranger?"

The article reviews the literature in this area. It neatly canvases the genesis of the "Just World" hypothesis and the various studies that have been done to support it. The "Just World" hypothesis (Lerner and Simmons, 1966) states that people re-interpret unjust situations in order to sustain a belief in a controllable and "just world". People tend to believe that we get what we deserve in this "just world" and consequently, when there is a prior relationship between the victim and the perpetrator, it is easier to project blame on to the victim.

A quantitative methodology was used and involved predictions developed through previous research. One hundred and sixty-eight (168) undergraduate psychology students from the University of Leicester took part, 129 in a lecture hall and a further 39 recruited via the Internet. Students were randomly assigned to a vignette that described a typical case of stalking, but where the perpetrator relationship varied from ex-intimate to acquaintance to stranger. The gender of the perpetrator and victim also varied for a total of six different vignettes. After being given five minutes to read the vignette, participants were asked to indicate their opinions on seven questions on an 11-point Likert scale.

There were several significant findings. First, the perceptions of the respondents did not reflect reality, wherein ex-intimate stalkers present the highest risk of violence toward their victims. For example, the victim was seen as more responsible for encouraging the perpetrator's behaviour when s/he was an ex-intimate and as well, police intervention was felt to be more necessary when the perpetrator was a stranger.

Regarding the gender of the perpetrator, it was found that: bodily injury was thought to be more likely to occur when the perpetrator was male; police intervention was judged to be more necessary when the perpetrator was male; male victims were viewed as more responsible for encouraging the perpetrator's behaviour; and male victims were judged to have a greater capacity to alleviate the situation than were female victims.

While not all the hypotheses were supported, the findings do indicate the presence of certain stereotypical beliefs regarding culpability and consequences for those involved. Studies such as this one highlight the critical necessity for training/education/ awareness around these issues for all criminal justice professionals, as well as the public in general. Shifting attitudes is a gradual process and can take generations. As our experience with drunk driving shows, legislation on its own is a very limited mechanism to address complex social issues.

At present, Research and Statistics Division at the Department of Justice Canada is undertaking a literature review of recent social science research such as that presented in this article. This literature review will further our understanding of the socio-legal dynamics of criminal harassment. With a better understanding, research such as this can assist in formulating the appropriate legislative, policy and program responses.

4.6 Children's Involvement in Domestic Abuse Situations

"According to mothers' reports, 52% of the children had at least occasionally yelled something from a different room, and 23% had become physically involved in the incident."

"…the research suggests that those children who witness domestic violence become involved in abusive relationships as adults…"

"…the Department of Justice Canada…sought to examine how minority groups viewed the different provisions of the Anti-terrorism Act."

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of involvement children initiated when their mothers were being abused. It was also interested in determining what factors might influence that level of involvement. Anonymous telephone interviews were conducted with 114 battered women who were recruited through four domestic violence programs in four metropolitan areas in the United States. The women were asked questions that pertained to the level of involvement their child (children) initiated in domestic violence incidents in the previous 12 months. They were also asked demographic questions such as their level of education, housing situation, job status and relationship to the abuser. Interviews lasted approximately 75 minutes, and the women were paid $20 for their participation in the study.

The average age of the women at the time of the interview was 34 years, with an average age of 25 years at the onset of the abuse. Caucasian women made up 45.6% of the sample, followed by

African American women (33.3%), Latino women (11.4%) and other ethnic groups (9.6%). The majority of the women were living in transitional housing (54%); the remainder were living in rented or owned apartments or houses. Fifty-five percent (55%) of the women identified the abuser as a current or former spouse, and 39% identified the abuser as a current or former boyfriend. The 114 women had a total of 285 children, with 71.8% of the women having two or more children.

A variety of different measures were used to gather data about the duration, frequency, and severity of the abuse, the woman's perception of the impact of the abuse on her children, and demographic data for each woman. A "Children Intervened Scale" was created using answers to the questions about the level of involvement the child initiated during a domestic violence incident - from yelling something from a different room to getting physically involved in the incident.

Approximately half of the children attempted to intervene in a domestic violence incident in the previous twelve months. According to mothers' reports, 52% of the children had at least occasionally yelled something from a different room, and 23% had become physically involved in the incident. Only 21% of the children were reported to have called someone for help during the abusive incident. Using bi-variate analyses, children intervened significantly more when:

Additionally, the higher the level of emotional and physical abuse, and the greater the emotional and physical effects on the mother, the more likely the children to became physically involved in the incident. Using multiple regression to predict the factors related to the child's level of involvement in the abuse, the authors found that several factors increased the likelihood of the child's involvement in the abuse. These factors were:

There were several limitations to this study. First, the children's mothers based the level of involvement by the children on retrospective accounts. This may introduce recall bias, as well as possible selective reporting. It was also suggested by the authors that prior research has demonstrated that mothers underreport their child's level of involvement when compared to what the children themselves report. Second, the economic and housing information was collected with regard to the situation at the time of the interview. However, the information about the child's level of involvement in the abuse was for the previous 12 months. Future studies investigating this issue should collect the data from the same time frame in order to determine if the findings in this study are replicable. Finally, this study recruited women through a woman's shelter; therefore the sample is only representative of those women who have, at least temporarily, escaped a violent situation.

This study suggests that there is a need for more services geared toward abused women and their children. Of foremost importance is the safety and security of the mother and child in these situations. Children who become physically involved in an abusive incident between their mother and abuser put themselves at risk of being injured in the process. The assumption being, that placing himself/herself in the middle of a violent incident heightens the risk to the child. This, of course, also raises the question as to whether or not the child's involvement increases the physical risk to the mother in that situation. Given that the research suggests that those children who witness domestic violence become involved in abusive relationships as adults, it is of paramount importance to protect these children from the physical and emotional effects of domestic abuse in order to stop the cycle. Safe places for the mother and child to retreat from a violent situation are of utmost importance. Additionally, this study found that mothers reported less intervention by their children when the mother was married, educated and not living in transitional housing. Therefore, an abused woman's family and economic stability may decrease the risk of the child becoming involved in the abuse, and thus decrease the risk of danger to the child. More research is needed to look at the effects of intervening, on the child, the mother and the escalation of the situation, in domestic violence.