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Vol 6 | Issue 3/4 | Summer/Fall 2011

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Highlights

Reducing Adolescent Oppositional and Conduct Disorders: An Experimental Design Using the Parenting with Love and Limits® Model

Scott P. Sells, Kristin Winokur Early, Thomas E. Smith

Ineffective parenting behaviors such as poor supervision, rejection, harsh and inconsistent discipline and poor parenting techniques may place adolescents at risk for developing oppositional and conduct disorders. Parental behavior can increase or decrease an adolescent's risk for delinquency and other problem behaviors. The Parenting with Love and Limits® (PLL) model was developed to address these issues and engage families in delinquent youths’ treatment. In an experimental design, the PLL treatment group demonstrated a significant reduction in aggressive behaviors, depression, attention deficit disorder problems, and externalizing problems as measured by the Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL). Dropout rates in the treatment group among parents and teenagers were extremely low with an 85% attendance rate by the parents and an 80% attendance rate by youths. Compared with the control group, the PLL treatment group significantly improved parents’ readiness to change and resulted in significantly lower recidivism rates (16% PLL vs. 55% control) over a 12-month follow-up period.

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Association Between Distributive and Procedural Justice and Life Satisfaction Among Correctional Staff: Research Note

Eric G. Lambert and Nancy L. Hogan

Distributive justice and procedural justice, two dimensions of organizational justice, have been found to be important workplace variables in shaping correctional staff job stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. It is unclear, however, whether distributive justice and procedural justice are associated with correctional staff life satisfaction. Multivariate analysis of survey data from correctional staff at a state prison found that staff perceptions of both distributive justice and procedural justice had significant positive relationships with a measure of life satisfaction.

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Policing Natural Resources: Issues in a Conservation Law Enforcement Agency

Stephen L. Eliason

Scant research has been directed toward the study of conservation law enforcement organizations. This research took a qualitative approach to data collection and examined issues in a western wildlife law enforcement agency. Five main issues facing contemporary conservation law enforce-ment officers were identified: inadequate funding, low salaries, non-wildlife law enforcement duties, lack of support from the court system, and a changing social and political climate. Findings contribute to a greater understanding of wildlife law enforcement agencies and the conservation law enforcement occupation.

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Exploring the Separation of Powers Doctrine in Oklahoma: A Case Study of the Lack of Enforcement of the Adultery Statute

J. Harrison Watts

Prosecutorial discretion allows Oklahoma district attorneys to repeal de facto criminal statutes passed by the state legislature; however, such action could create a violation of the separation of powers doctrine contained in the state constitution. This research analyzed the discretionary power of district attorneys as it applies to the Oklahoma adultery statute that defines adultery as a felony crime. Despite the statute, this crime has not been prosecuted by a district attorney in more than 50 years. Analysis of research data derived from interviews and surveys of district attorneys, law enforcement officers, and district court records led to an understanding of the internal and external influences that drive prosecutorial discretion. It was found that district attorneys are not specifically using prosecutorial discretion to repeal the adultery statute. Consequently, there was no violation of the state con-stitution by the district attorneys’ offices. The lack of prosecution was due to insufficient reporting of the crime from law enforcement agencies. Because the law is not serving its original purpose, the Oklahoma state legislature should act to repeal the state statute related to adultery.

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Police Misconduct and Crime: A Gender Study of Crime Types From Court Cases

Petter Gottschalk

This article is based on empirical research of criminal behavior in the Norwegian police force. Norway has a total of 13,000 police employees, out of which 8,000 are police officers and 5,000 are civilians. While the majority of police officers are male, the majority of civilians are female. In total, almost half of the police population consists of women, while a little more than half are men. However, out of 60 prosecuted police employees from 2005 to 2010, 52 were men and only 8 were women. Out of those 52 men, 51 were police officers and 1 was a civilian. Out of 8 women, 4 were police officers and 4 were civilians. Both female and male officers committed crime mainly at the individual rather than group or organization level.

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This journal is dedicated to the men and women serving and those who have served in our criminal justice agencies. America is fortunate to have such fine and devoted professionals serving on our behalf. Thank you.

Professional Issues in Criminal Justice (PICJ), which started in 2005, has evolved from a newly established journalin criminal justice to an established peer-reviewed journal in the field.
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