Hate Crimes Motivated by Sexual Orientation

Abstract

The enactment of hate crimes legislation raised awareness of the severity of crimes motivated by animus toward individuals and communities. This national telephone survey found that states which mandate local law enforcement agencies to report hate crimes generally have high compliance rates; states without mandatory reporting requirements have few law enforcement agencies that report these crimes. Law enforcement training on hate crime varies from state to state, with few states including information specifically addressing hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation.     

Collaborative Responses to the Demands of Emerging Human Needs

Abstract

The paper explores the disintegration and integration which exist between faith and religion and social work and learning. There is a brief explanation of Catholic Papal Teachings and Catholic Social Teaching as a demonstration of de facto concordance between social work and religion. The paper contains citations based on the current social principles of the Catholic Church, several recent papal exhortations and encyclicals. These readings highlight the need for good social work practice. The paper ends with some practical suggestions in ways to promote collaboration between the two fields of endeavor.     

William Wilberforce and Thomas Chalmers

Abstract

Wilberforce describes how sinners' faith in Jesus Christ enabled them to problem-solve, perform religious activities with Him redeeming them from sin. In turn, Chalmers developed Wilberforce's ideas into a complex evangelical Christian framework and charitable method encouraging all persons to redeem themselves by developing faith in Jesus Christ's expiation of their sins encouraging their performance of righteous activities or doing righteous activities endowing them with the Holy Spirit's grace and faith in Christ. Chalmers charitable method employed collocative processes of sequential problem-solving and caring activities between benefactors and recipients developing Christian and caring institutions, families and persons into harmonious communities. Loch and Richmond developed Chalmers charitable method into socially oriented charitable and social work methods. doi:10.1300/J377v26n02_04     

Twice Silenced: The Underreporting of Child Sexual Abuse in Orthodox Jewish Communities

ABSTRACT

Child sexual abuse remains an underreported crime throughout the world, despite extensive research and resources dedicated both to improving investigative techniques and helping children disclose their experiences. The discovery of rampant cover-ups within the Catholic Church has exposed some of the ways religious and cultural issues can impede reporting to authorities. This article examines specific factors that contribute to the underreporting of child sexual abuse within Orthodox Jewish communities. It also explores ways in which these communities have handled child sexual abuse reporting in the past and describes recent progress. Implications are offered for CSA prevention, detection, and recovery in Orthodox Jewish communities as well as other minority religious groups.     

Reconsidering the Unusual Suspect: Immigration and the 1990s Crime Decline

The United States experienced a dramatic decline in crime during the 1990s. A number of explanations for this decline have been put forth, including demographic shifts, economic trends, stricter gun control laws, and changes in drug markets. A widely reported explanation is that the surge of immigration during the 1990s was the main cause for that decade's crime decline. Although the claim has received considerable attention, it has yet to be tested empirically using national‐level data. In order to fully test the immigration‐1990s crime decline relationship, we use national‐level homicide and Census data from 1990 to 2000. Our results reveal four key findings: (1) crime declined for nearly all groups during the 1990s; (2) non‐Latino blacks contributed the most to the crime decline, by a wide margin; (3) both overall and black homicide declined the least in areas with the highest levels of immigration; and (4) we find no evidence that immigration indirectly lowered non‐immigrant crime rates by revitalizing communities. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings.     

The protestant ethic and people's china: The Weberian thesis reconsidered

In response to his country's need for rapid economic development and social change, Mao Zedong transformed orthodox Marxist ideology into a quasi‐religious ethic similar to that of early Calvinist Christianity. The goal of national salvation lay at the core of his belief system, and its adherents looked for collective immortality, justification, and atonement Maoism put forward a vision of irresistible grace in the form of certain salvation for the elect, the vast majority of the Chinese people. In addition, revolutionaries were able to gain assurance of election through faith in the sacred order, lifelong work within a calling, and rational worldly asceticism. Even though there has been a radical disenchantment with Maoist doctrine since the death of Mao, the Weberian thesis still goes far in providing a sociological explanation for the major thrusts of China's recent history.     

Perceptions of Environmental Supports on the Physical Activity Behaviors of University Men and Women: A Preliminary Investigation

Objective To examine perception differences between genders of university sidewalks and safety from crime on the physical activity (PA) behaviors of undergraduate students. Participants Five hundred and sixty undergraduate students participated in this study. Methods The authors derived questions from the South Carolina Environmental Supports for Physical Activity Questionnaire (SCESPAQ) and National College Health Risk Behavior Survey (NCHRS) PA module. Results The authors found a significant mean difference between genders for the Moderate Intensity Item (eg, walking and biking) and the Flexibility Item, t(558) = 3.602, p = .001, and t(558) = 1.946, p = .050, respectively. Of participants surveyed, 30% of women perceived this campus to be extremely safe compared with 49% of men, t(558) = 4.240, p = .001. Gender and the perceptions of sidewalk presence were significantly related (p < .05) to respondents' walking or bicycling patterns. Conclusions Perceptions of sidewalks and safety from crime on this university campus were related to students' PA behaviors.     

Building from the Ground Up

SUMMARY

In an era of low crime rates and high imprisonment rates, the role of communities in producing safety and justice is open for critical reexamination. This article suggests that community resiliency is an unexplored factor in the recent drop in violent crime rates, and that community capacity is adversely affected by imprisonment policies, creating critical questions about the ability of community organizations to engage in partnerships on crime and justice topics. Drawing lessons from several community policing experiments, this article outlines a possible role for community engagement in reducing the current reliance on incarceration as a response to crime.     

Intellectual disability and faith communities: perspectives of Catholic religious leaders

Faith communities create community and are important to many individuals with intellectual disability. However, relatively little is known about how intellectual disability is construed among faith leaders and the inclusion of people with intellectual disability in faith communities. To address these gaps in knowledge, we interviewed 12 Catholic priests, parochial vicars, and deacons to explore: their experiences with individuals with intellectual disability; their beliefs towards the involvement of individuals with intellectual disability within faith communities; and how religion informs their understanding of intellectual disability. We identified five religiously-anchored narratives of intellectual disability, and explore implications for individuals with intellectual disability and faith communities.     

The Endangered Empire: American Re- sponses to Transnational Organized Crime

Abstract

Transnational organized crime in the United States represents the dark side of globalization. This chapter attempts to identify the key problems that face US law enforcement in its efforts to cope with the challenges posed by transnational crime. While the realities of global crime require a broad, comprehensive law enforcement response, unfortunately, even in the United States, law enforcement agencies still tend to turn to local organizations and resort to local remedies to combat international criminal activity. In recent years the size of illegal markets and the resources of transnational crime networks have imposed financial burdens on governments that must devote resources to this struggle. Furthermore, the needs for flexible international trade initiatives and commercial investment frameworks makes the task of US law enforcement agencies engaged in criminal containment and control strategies more difficult to develop and sustain. US law enforcement is multi-layered with jurisdictional authority that is sometimes overlapping and reinforcing which in turn strengthens responses to crime. On the other hand, there are serious issues concerning decentralized enforcement authority that affects federal, regional, and state jurisdictions. Complicating matters still further are the external threats that transnational crime poses that lay beyond the official reach of U. S. criminal justice. Other US issues that complicate and indeed thwart adequate enforcement responses include: the politicization of law enforcement budgets and central government allocations of resources for law enforcement which too often depend upon political partisanship and party loyalties. And media-engendered fears about transnational crime phenomena are often confused with genuine social problems such as immigration and illegal aliens. Too frequently, media distort public attention about crime problems such as urban street gangs operating across national borders.     

Overfishing,social problems,and ecosocial sustainability in Senegalese fishing communities

ABSTRACT

This study explores living conditions of people in Senegalese fishing communities in relation to environmental change and unregulated fishing by foreign boats, weakening local opportunities and increasing forced migration of youth, creating problems for the future development of local fishery communities. It employs a postcolonial perspective and analyzes data collected through interviews with individuals from Senegalese fishing communities, social workers and relevant documents. The results show local reactions based on alliances between social workers and local community members to overfishing and the need for national and global structural changes. It is argued that EU’s fishing agreements with Senegalese government is one of the reasons behind youths’ forced migration to EU countries and that the betterment of the living conditions of fishery communities in Senegal requires not only already emerging alliances between social workers and local community members, but also national and global structural changes to protect Africa’s fishing communities and local fisheries.     

Social Workers and PACs

Abstract

This paper examines the role of state Political Action for Candidate Election committees during the 1992 election cycle and assesses the extent that these state committees carried out their identified purpose. Using a survey questionnaire of the state chapters' executive directors, the authors examine the structure of the P.A.C.E. units and the activities they undertook, and assess the overall level of effectiveness of P.A.C.E. efforts at the state level. While P.A.C.E. activities were significant, considerable development is needed at the local, state, and national levels to increase the impact of social workers relative to other interest groups.     

Hospital Mergers

Abstract

When secular and sectarian (often Catholic) hospitals merge, women's reproductive healthcare services are often put in jeopardy. Some merger efforts are successful and others fail. Several issues arise as a result of this situation. First, what role do women's reproductive rights activists and their supporters play in effecting hospital merger decisions? This question does not assume that all women support women's rights organizations or that all women support a full range of reproductive rights. Secondly, what other factors seem to effect the outcome of merger discussions? In order to answer these questions, it is first necessary to understand the extent of Catholic hospital expansion and the nature of the hospital merger movement itself. These considerations will provide perspective for the two case studies of the American hospital merger movement that provide venues for examining the issues relating to participation and other factors that effect the outcome of merger talks. Cumberland and Baltimore are the two communities examined in this study. Though it would be a mistake to generalize to all merger situations based on these two cases, there are lessons that women's reproductive healthcare advocates can learn from the experiences of these two communities.

The issue of hospital mergers and the availability of reproductive healthcare services for women does raise an additional issue. Private sector decisions are being made that have a direct impact on public services, that is, the availability of a set of healthcare services in communities. This is not the direction that most public policy analysts consider.

The more frequently asked policy questions begin with public policy decisions and ask how they influence non-governmental decisions.     

Coordinated Service Delivery and Children's Well-Being

ABSTRACT

Interagency collaborations are uniquely suited to meeting the increased needs of communities in today's environment of reduced federal funding and devolution of services to the state and local levels (Gore, 1993). In Texas, interagency collaborations take place through Community Resource Coordination Groups (CRCGs), which were created by the Texas Legislature to coordinate local service delivery for children and their families who often “fall through the cracks” due to having multiple needs. This article presents an evaluation of CRCG operations, with a focus on identified best practices, related obstacles, and suggestions for improvement. The researchers visited CRCG sites, and conducted semi-structured face-to-face interviews, as well as a mail survey, with CRCG staff. Overall, CRCGs appear to effectively enhance the delivery of coordinated services in an effort to meet the multiple needs of the children and families that they serve. Recommendations for policy and practice are discussed, such as spearheading community action structures (Poole, 1997) that may help CRCGs more effectively meet the needs of their respective local communities.     

Faith,work, and women in a changing world: the influence of religion in the lives of beedi rollers in West Bengal

In India, religious norms and values play a significant role in regulating the lives of women and girls in many communities. This article looks at how the lives of women and girl beedi (hand rolled cigarette) rollers in a Muslim community in West Bengal are influenced by their religious background, highlighting the complex relationship between gender, faith, and work. Secondly, the article discusses how secular NGOs – which in India are often seen to be hesitant in addressing questions of religious faith and practice – can engage in development work with women and girls in faith-based communities. The article focuses on the experiences of two secular NGOs working with women beedi workers in villages in Murshidabad, as they come to understand that to bring about significant changes in women's lives they must open up discussions around sensitive religious belief, within the community and their own organisations.     

Community Literacy Resources and Home Literacy Practices Among Immigrant Latino Families

ABSTRACT

This paper reports relationships among communities, families, and Spanish-speaking children's language and literacy development in kindergarten and grade 1. Findings from a study of 35 communities show that communities with greater concentrations of Latinos are less likely to have printed materials, and available materials are more likely to be in Spanish. Communities with higher income and education levels have more literacy materials in English. Contrary to predictions, there are few associations among community literacy resources, frequency of children's home reading activities, and children's literacy achievement. This lack of association is due to within-community variation in home literacy practices and to schools' impact on home literacy. However, there are associations among community and family language characteristics and child literacy outcomes in Spanish and English, suggesting that at least in the early stages of literacy development, communities' influence on Spanish-speaking children's literacy development is through language-learning opportunities rather than literacy-learning opportunities per se.     

Narratives of Crime and Criminals: How Places Socially Construct the Crime Problem1

A common narrative about crime in the contemporary United States is that offenders are primarily young black men living in poor urban neighborhoods committing violent and drug‐related crimes. There is also a local context to community, crime, and fear that influences this narrative. In this article, I address how narratives of crime and criminals play out differently within particular places. The article is based on participant observation and interviews conducted in two high‐crime Boston‐area communities. Although both communities are concerned with stereotypical offenders, there are differential community constructions of crime, formed through interactions between crime narratives and place identities. In one, crime is a community problem, in which both offenders and victims are community members. In the other, outsiders commit crime against community members. Media portrayals of crime and community, community race and class identities, and concerns over neighborhood change all contribute to place‐specific framing of “the crime problem.” These frames, in turn, shape both intergroup dynamics and support for criminal justice policy.     

Suburban road-closures and the ruinous landscapes of privilege in Johannesburg

In this article we trace the emergence of road-closures – i.e. the barricading by local residents of public roads ostensibly in response to crime – in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg in the decade after apartheid. We argue that road-closures manifest an attempt at material “fixing” an urban order of privilege, even as privilege and inequality is increasingly “deterritorialised” in the city of the global South. While conventionally theorised as part of a broader global trend towards the privatisation and securitisation of urban space, we demonstrate that road-closures contain qualitatively different expectations of the urban order to e.g. private gated communities. Whereas gated communities are premised on and driven by a political economy of self-exclusion from urban life, road-closures simultaneously resist and prefigure this “deterritorialised” reordering of privilege in the post-apartheid city. Based on archival research in local community newspapers over a 10-year period between and 2004 (the high-water mark of the so-called road-closure “debates”), we trace shifting discourses about road closures and the city: from anxieties about crime and loss of privilege, to fantasies of abandonment, to the assertion (and rupture) of a mythical suburban utopia. Drawing on a literature on ruins as the material effects of a past order manifest in the urban order of the present, we assert that despite anxieties about the loss of privilege, these enclosed neighbourhoods remain spaces of extreme privilege, now implicated into an emergent geography in which old and new spaces of privilege overlap to reinforce spatial inequalities in post-apartheid Johannesburg.     

Exploring the Social Construction of Crime by Neighborhood: News Coverage of Crime in Boston

ABSTRACT

Information disseminated by the news shapes the way that the public perceives criminal events, often providing a distorted view of crime. Previous research has largely overlooked neighborhoods in discussions of how the news portrays crime. This study examines the ways that the news media report the neighborhoods in which homicides, robberies, and assaults are committed. Multiple theoretical perspectives rooted in the law of opposites and racial typification provide differing explanations for the reporting of crime. Using Boston as a test site, this study employs a content analysis of The Boston Globe crime articles to identify the neighborhoods in which instances of homicide, robbery, and assault receive coverage. A comparison with official crime data from the Boston Police Department suggests differences in neighborhood reporting trends for robbery and assault but not for homicide. Specifically, the news media tend to disproportionately report more robberies and assaults in neighborhoods with lower levels of neighborhood disadvantage. Implications for the social construction of crime and neighborhoods as well as criminal justice response for disadvantaged neighborhoods are discussed.     

Policy Interventions Designed to Combat Sexual Violence: Community Notification and Civil Commitment

SUMMARY

Much attention has been given to the problem of sexual predators and the struggles of the legal-justice system to contain them. In response to public outcry over high-profile sex crimes, federal and state legislators have responded in the past decade with innovative but controversial public policy initiatives, called “sexually violent predator statutes.” In 1996 President Clinton signed “Megan's Law,” mandating all 50 states to develop requirements for convicted sex offenders to register with local law enforcement agencies and to notify communities when a sex offender lives in close proximity. Less publicized have been the civil commitment statutes introduced by 16 states which allow convicted sex offenders to be evaluated for involuntary and indefinite confinement in a psychiatric hospital following their release from prison. This article will review the literature regarding community notification and civil commitment as interventions designed to combat sexual violence. The history and context of each policy will be discussed, as will a review of available research evaluating the impact of each policy. Implications for future research and social policy will be examined.