<< Weekend Notes | Main | Ninth Circuit Decisions >>


Research Notes

| 0 Comments

From the current Weekly Accessions List at NCJRS, hearsay in child abuse cases, recidivism among young men released from prison, and an evaluation of Compstat outside New York:

Terri Watters, Jocelyn Brineman, Sara Wright, Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Why Hearsay Testimony May Be a Necessary Evil in Child Sexual Abuse Cases, Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice Volume:7, Issue:1, Dated:2007, Pages:47-57

The abstract says, "Hearsay testimony is evidence that conflicts with the defendant’s sixth amendment right to be confronted with the witnesses against him. To be admitted, hearsay testimony must be established as reliable, or demonstrate what has been termed 'particularized guarantees of trustworthiness.'" Oops. Did the authors not get the memo on Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004)? I'm not able to get the full article at this time, but it would appear so from the abstract. The next article in the same issue argues for video taping pretrial interviews and playing the tape for the jury. That still won't get around Crawford.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beth M. Huebner, Sean P. Varano, Timothy S. Bynum, Gangs, Guns, and Drugs: Recidivism Among Serious, Young Offenders, Criminology & Public Policy  Volume:6  Issue:2  Dated:May 2007  Pages:187 to 222

"This study investigated the predictors of recidivism among 322 young men aged 17 to 24 years released from prison in a Midwestern State. Results revealed that race, gang membership, drug dependence, and institutional behavior were the most significant factors predicting the timing of reconviction among 17 and 24 year old males released from prison. Surprisingly, gun use was not associated with post-release recidivism."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

James J. Willis, Stephen D. Mastrofski, David Weisburd, Compstat in Practice: An In-Depth Analysis of Three Cities, Police Foundation, available online.

"Compstat has been hailed as a way to make profound transformations in the way that police departments operate. Many consider New York City’s pioneering Compstat program to have introduced a revolution in American policing. This research at three sites that followed in New York’s footsteps suggest that what has taken place thus far is not a transformation so much as a graft of some elements of progressive management onto fundamentally unaltered organizational structures."

Leave a comment

Monthly Archives