Conservative Justice Digest

JUSTICE WITHOUT BORDERS

2009-05-19T07:38:00.000-07:00

JUSTICE WITHOUT BORDERS: THE PRESENCE AND ABSENCE
OF INTERNATIONALISM IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE
GRADUATE CURRICULA

Keith N. Haley
Tiffin University

Scott Blough
Tiffin University

Theodora E.D. Ene
University of Bucharest

John D. Collins
Beckfield College

The article is copyrighted. All rights pertain.

INTRODUCTION

By the close of 2002, just a glance at one of the nation’s major newspapers, a cable TV news show, or an active news website would reveal the prominence of international justice issues that affect America and its citizens. Some of the more conspicuous issues are the new International Court, extradition of fugitive criminals, legal and illegal immigration, overseas deployment of U.S. justice officials, Europe’s staunch resistance to the death penalty in the U.S., and the legion of national and international matters that relate to terrorism. Some of the most pressing issues have to do with adding additional border security personnel, tightening our lax immigration policies, beefing up airport security, coordinating national and international intelligence, and implementing a myriad of other security measures to protect our most vulnerable human and physical targets from terrorist attacks inside the U. S. and overseas.

The authority, jurisdictions, and assignments of our criminal justice agents have also changed, particularly for federal law enforcement officers. In Timisoara, Romania, for example, the Romanian Center for Fighting Drugs and Organized Crime recently joined the U.S. Secret Service in busting up an international credit card cloning operation (Pressreview.ro. 2003). Moreover, the FBI recently opened a field office in Bucharest. With Romania already approved for membership in NATO, these kinds of operations are likely to increase. Overseas deployment of federal agents, in fact, is much more common than it was several yeas ago. But local police officers are also deployed abroad. The New York City Police Department recently sent a senior counterterrorism expert to London to work on a ricin poison case (Rashbaum 2003).

Multi-national private prison systems are also common. Understanding the subtleties of another culture is paramount in providing high-quality criminal justice services in another nation. . A private U.S. prison firm recently got in hot water when it was discovered that its inclusion of the race of the inmate on a jail ID card was considered racist by many corrections officials in Canada (Brennan 2003). The private prison administrators had thought the procedure was standard procedure until the Canadian protest erupted.

Indeed local police agencies have taken on a much larger international role since September 11, 2001. A Dallas police officer, for example, was deployed with the FBI to look for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Some local police officers in Florida have also been appointed as federal officers to help the Immigration and Naturalization Service in controlling illegal immigration (citation). We, of course, have a plethora of situations where local state, and federal agents are working together in new ways to protect the homeland from members of international terrorist organizations. University police officers now serve on regional task forces with federal, state, and local police agents in an attempt to combat terrorism. (citation).

What is the appropriate role of the hundreds of criminal justice degree programs in the United States in promoting an understanding of internationalism and all of its attendant crime and justice related issues as it prepares criminal justice graduates to lead in a demonstrably smaller and more dangerous world? The universities and colleges of America have always been at the forefront of any major societal change as they were in the revolutions in industry, agriculture, and information technology. There is every reason to believe that the institutions of higher learning will play no less of a role in understanding international crime and justice issues that no longer can be ignored.

Engaging in relevant research that promotes an understanding of international justice issues and global interdependency is, of course, critical. But the mission and purpose of a many university curricula in criminal justice should also mandate that the problems and issues of international criminal justice be covered in the studies of criminal justice students, particularly in the curriculum of masters and doctoral programs where the new and current leaders of the field are being prepared.

Literature Review

The globalization of crime has long since resulted in courses in comparative justice system studies and international crime and justice, but they have not become standard fare in the majority of criminal justice curricula in the United States regardless of the calls for a more global approach to criminal justice and criminological research (Adler 1996). Terrell (1983) reported discouraging results of his study of comparative criminal justice courses in colleges as far back as 1983, finding that less than one-third of baccalaureate institutions offered a comparative criminal justice or related course while none of the community colleges did. Several years later a study showed that a little more than half of 128 criminal justice programs offered courses in comparative criminal justice (Esbensen and Blankenship 1989). This comes after the fall of the Berlin wall and the unleashing of freedom in Eastern European nations.

More than a decade later (Cordner, Dammar, and Horvath 2000) discovered equally dispiriting results when they found that only 58 (34%) of 169 criminal justice programs surveyed had some version of comparative or international justice courses in their curricula. This is remarkable in light of an increasingly global economy and the proliferation of international criminal justice issues. Now we live in a post September 11, 2001 world and the need for preparing criminal justice leaders and operations level agents, particularly at the graduate level, to fully understand international justice issues and practice is paramount.

On the other hand, we can be encouraged that the 40th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences has delineated ” The Globalization of Crime and Justice” as its theme for the March 2003 gathering in Boston. An examination of the panel and roundtable presentation agendas contains scores of topics that relate to internationalism and global perspectives on crime and justice. Certainly the university faculty who prepared these papers for presentation in Boston will teach some of this content to their students in the classroom by means of lectures and seminar discussions.

METHODOLOGY

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent internationalism and related content were included in the graduate curricula of criminal justice programs in the United States and other select nations. The specific objectives of our study are below:

l. Review the criminal justice literature concerning the presence of internationalism in the raduate curricula of criminal justice majors.

2. Conduct a content analysis of criminal justice graduate curricula to determine the extent of the presence of internationalism and other program components that provide students with learning content and experiences that teach international justice issues and concepts.

3. Discuss the implications of our findings on the preparation of current and future leaders of criminal justice agencies and university programs awarding graduate degrees in criminal justice.

For the purposes of this study the presence of internationalism in a graduate curriculum would include any course title, curriculum content, or other learning activity that would allow students to transcend national boundaries and learn about the criminal justice agencies, personnel, and procedures of nations beyond the students’ home nation.

Selection of Criminal Justice Graduate Programs

From gradschools.com (a website that lists and describes nearly 54,000 graduate degree programs), the authors identified the curricula of 183 colleges and universities that offered a master's degree in criminal justice as declared in these four different degree nomenclatures:

1. Master of Criminal Justice - MCJ

2. Master of Science in Criminal Justice - M.S. in C. J.

3. Master of Arts in Criminal Justice - M.A. in C.J.

4. Other degrees that clearly focused on the graduate preparation of criminal justice agency professionals and teachers such as a Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration.
We did not include in our study any master's degrees in Criminology since the specific focus of those degree programs is seldom, if at all, on the preparation of criminal justice leaders other than providing them with a general theoretical background for the most part.

The 183 colleges and universities with the graduate programs in criminal justice in the United States are divided into 8 regions of the nation. Those regions are listed below with their corresponding number of universities offering a graduate program in criminal justice.

Northeast (23)

South Central (21)

Middlestates (30)

Western Plains (20)

Midwestern (24)

Pacific (19)

Midsouth (27)

Southeast (19)

Two other separate categories of universities offering a graduate degree program in criminal justice are identified as Outside the United States (44 universities) and Distance Learning (19 universities). A number of the universities listed in one of the 8 regions of the United States also offer Distance Learning programs that award a graduate degree in criminal justice.

From the list of 183 graduate degree programs in criminal justice found on the website gradschools.com we selected the curricula of 56 graduate degree programs in criminal justice from each of the eight regions of the United States. We also selected 2 curricula from criminal justice graduate degree programs in Romania, the University of Bucharest and University of West in Timisoara because Tiffin University has worked under a USAID grant for the past four years to assist Romania in democratizing its criminal justice system and has been influential in the establishment, implementation, and instruction in graduate degree programs in criminal justice at the University of Bucharest and the University of West in Romania. The Master of Community Justice Administration degree program at the University of Bucharest degree has already graduated four classes of criminal justice leaders and while the graduates receive a degree from the University of Bucharest, they also receive a certificate from Tiffin University. One of the graduates in the first class was one of Romania’s nine Supreme Court Justices.
In total, 58 graduate curricula in criminal justice were selected for analysis to determine the presence of internationalism. In each of the 8 regions in the United States we tried to select curricula from a mix of public, private, large, and small universities.

For several reasons we did not include per se the curricula in doctoral programs in criminal justice. Certainly fewer criminal justice leaders would be in doctoral programs than master’s programs based on the relative paucity of PhD study opportunities and the likelihood that most criminal justice executives would choose a master’s degree program over doctoral study to enhance their management career. Moreover, master’s level courses are often taken by first year doctoral students anyway, and the higher level doctoral courses tend to be more theoretical, interdisciplinary, and research methods-based, indicating there is less opportunity to find courses or content on international issues and comparative criminal justice.

The Criminal Justice Master's Degree Internationalism Inventory

The authors created the Criminal Justice Master's Degree Internationalism Inventory (CJMDII) instrument in order to collect and analyze the data available in the list of curricula and other descriptive information found on the website of each of the universities and colleges offering a master's degree in criminal justice in one of the 4 degree nomenclatures mentioned above. The CJMDII instrument was then applied in a pretest examination of several of the master's degree programs in criminal justice in order to revise and refine variables and measurements found on the instrument. The CJMDII can be found in Appendix A.

RESULTS

Degree Programs in the United States

Table 1 below identifies the public and private colleges and universities by region whose master's degree programs in criminal justice were examined to determine the presence of internationalism in their curricula.

Table 1. CJ Master's Degree Institutions by Region - Eastern U.S.
____________________________________________________________
Institution MSCJ MACJ MCJA PUBLIC PRIVATE
____________________________________________________________
Northeast

Boston University X X
John Jay College X X
U. Mass. Lowell X X
Central Conn.State X X
Northeastern Univ. X X
SUNY Albany X X

Mid Atlantic

West Chester Univ. X X
Temple Univ. X X
Villanova Univ. X X
Mercyhurst X X
Virginia Com X X
St. Joseph's Univ. X X

Southeast

Univ. N. Florida X X
Univ. Cent. Florida X X
Florida State Univ. X X
Florida State (Online) X X
Univ. S. Carolina X X
Valdosta State Univ. X X
Lynn Univ. X X

Midwest

N. Mich. Univ. X X
Michigan State X X
Loyola U. Chicago X X
Univ. Wisc. Milw. X X
Tiffin Univ. X X
Univ. Cincinnati X X

Mid-South

Troy State Univ. X X
Middle Tenn St X X
Drury Univ X X
East Tenn St X X
E. Kentucky Univ. X X
Jacksonville St. X X
Mississippi Col X X
U. Alabama Birm X X
U. Ark Little Rock X X
Univ. of Memphis X X

South Central

Sul Ross State X X
SW Tex State X X
Univ N. Texas X X
U. Texas Tyler X X
Sam Houston State X X
Loyola New Orl X X
Okla City Univ X X

Plains

Washburn Univ X X
Wichita State U X X
St. Cloud State X X
N. Arizona State X X
New Mex State X X
Minot State U X X
Bosie State X X
Ariz State West X X

Pacific

Cal St LA X X
U Alaska Fairb X X
Wash State X X
Portland State X X
Chapman U X X
San Jose St X X
__________________________________________________________
TOTAL 56 (8) (30) (13) (5) 41 15

A total of 56 criminal justice master's degree curricula in the United States were examined for the presence of internationalism content. Forty-one (73.2%) of the universities in the study were public institutions; 15 (26.8%) were private universities or colleges. Eight (14.2%) of the universities in the study offered a Master of Criminal Justice degree (MCJ); 30 (53.6%) offered a Master of Science in Criminal Justice degree (MSCJ); 13 (23.2%) awarded a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice degree (MACJ); and 5 (9%) offered a Master of Criminal Justice Administration degree (MCJA) or a degree with the word "administration" in its title.
Table 2 describes a regional account of the frequency of 6 specific courses focusing on internationalism.

Table 2. Regional Listing of Specific Courses
Focusing on Internationalism
_____________________________________________________________
Course NE MATL SE MIDW MIDSO SOCEN PLN PAC N
_____________________________________________________________
Comp CJ 2 3 3 2 1 3 14
Int. Justice 1 2 2 5
Human Rights 1 1
Nation Specific Terrorism 2 3 3 2 10
Hist. & Phil. CJ 2 2 2 2 1 1 10
_____________________________________________________________
TOTAL 6 6 6 3 5 4 6 4 40

The Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and the Plains sections of the United States have criminal justice graduate programs with the most specific courses focusing on internationalism out of the 56 criminal justice master's programs in the United States included in this program. A total of 6 such courses were found in the each of the four sections. The Midwestern section of the United States contained the least number of specific courses focusing on internationalism with 3.
Table 3 below is a frequency distribution of the total number of specific courses focusing on internationalism identified in this study.

Table 3. Specific Courses Focusing on Internationalism
_____________________________________________________________
Course N
_____________________________________________________________

Comparative Criminal Justice 14
History and Philosophy of Criminal Justice 10
Terrorism 10
International Justice 5
Human Rights 1
Nation Specific 0
_____________________________________________________________
TOTAL 40

A total of 40 courses were found among the curricula of the 56 graduate programs in criminal justice in this study that had an internationalism focus. The most frequently occurring courses are Comparative Criminal Justice (14), History and Philosophy of Criminal Justice (10), and Terrorism (10). Unusual as it may seem, no Nation Specific courses, such as the British Criminal Justice System or the Police of Japan, were found in our study.

Table 4. Other Curriculum Entries Focusing on Internationalism
_____________________________________________________________
NE MATL SE MIDW MIDSO SOCEN PLN PAC N
_____________________________________________________________
Special Topics
Seminar 3 3 3 3 9 7 5 4 37
Independent/
Directed Study 1 5 3 2 8 6 6 6 37
_____________________________________________________________
TOTAL 4 8 6 5 17 13 11 10 64

The potential for students to enroll in Special Topics Seminars and Independent/Directed Studies that could expose them to internationalism content is widely available in nearly all of the 56 United States colleges and universities in this study. This is not to say that this exposure actually happens but given the common practice of faculty and students determining the area of readings and study in this kind of academic opportunity, internationalism in some fashion could be explored.

Table 5. Other Evidence of Internationalism Content
_____________________________________________________________
NE MATL SE MIDW MIDSO SOCEN PLN PAC N
_____________________________________________________________
International
Practicum or
Internship 1 2 4 2 3 1 5 3 21
Independent/
Directed Study 1 1 1 3
Overseas
Consulting and
Teaching 1 1 1 3
_____________________________________________________________
TOTAL 1 2 6 4 5 1 5 3 27

As Table 5 indicates, twenty-one (21) of the 56 master's degree programs in criminal justice in this study have opportunity for a practicum or internship experience that would allow students to study abroad. Only one of the institutions, however, Lynn University, specifically mentions the overseas internship opportunity and we can assume that most students in the other schools do not take a practicum or internship course that sends them abroad. Other evidences of internationalism content were only minimally available to master's students in criminal justice.

Table 6. Universities with Specific Courses on Terrorism
_____________________________________________________________
Northeast

University of Massachusetts Lowell
Northeastern University

Mid Atlantic

Villanova University
Mercyhurst College
St. Joseph's University

Mid South

Jacksonville State University
Mississippi College
University of Memphis

Plains

Wichita State University
Northern Arizona State University
_____________________________________________________________

In a post 9-11 world only (10) of the 56 United States universities in the study had specific courses in Terrorism. The Southeast, the Midwestern, the South Central, and the specific regions had no specific courses on Terrorism.

Degree Programs Abroad

The master's programs in the area of criminal justice in Romania were included in this study for a number of reasons. First, the master's programs at the University of Bucharest (UB) and the University of West (UW) in Timisoara are the first of their kind in Romania and in the former communist nations of Eastern Europe. The older of the two is the Master of Community Justice Administration (MCJA) degree program at the University of Bucharest, beginning in 1999. The Master of Social Reinsertion and Supervision Services (MSRSS) at the University of West in Timisoara focuses on juvenile and community corrections, but was modeled after the University of Bucharest program. It has a strong probation services emphasis.

Table 7 below identifies the courses in each of the two graduate programs in Romania.

Table 7. Curricula of Romanian Master's in
Community Justice Programs
_____________________________________________________________
University of Bucharest (12) University of West (9)
_____________________________________________________________
Issues and Trends in Community Social Policy
Justice Administration Alternatives to Custodial
Social Policy: Crime Prevention Sentences
And Control Issues and Trends in
Criminology: Forms and Trends in Community Justice
Victim Protection Administration
Alternatives to Prison: The Probation Victims Protection
System Management of Community
Legal and Moral Aspects in Crime Actions
Control: Preservation of Human Rights Scientific Research Methods
Management of Community Justice Current Social Problems
Administration Agencies Restorative Justice Principles
Data Sources and Statistics in Practicum
Criminal Justice
Applied Social Psychology
Research Methods in Criminology
Social Problems and Community
Development
Proseminar
Master Paper
_____________________________________________________________

Beginning in 1999, The University of Bucharest's MCJA degree is the older of the two criminal justice programs in Romania and it has graduated four classes of students (84 students) who received a Master of Community Justice Administration degree. The master's program at the University of West in Timisoara began in the fall of 2002 and has not had any graduates yet. The MCJA program at the University of Bucharest has 12 required courses in the curriculum while the program in Timisoara has 9.

While course titles may vary somewhat, the two universities have six near identical courses: Issues and Trends in Community Justice Administration; Social Policy; Alternatives to Prison; Management of Community Justice Administrative Agencies; Research Methods; Social Problems. The faculty at the University of Bucharest and Tiffin University consulted with the University of West in the development of its master's program. The master's programs at both universities are in similar academic units: the MCJA program at the University of Bucharest is in the School of Sociology and Social Work. The MSRSS program at the University of West is in the School of Social Work.

The University of Bucharest. The University of Bucharest's graduate program in criminal justice clearly has an international focus. First, it was developed in close cooperation with several of the faculty at Tiffin University and with criminal justice executives in the state of Ohio.
One of the courses that is taught in the program is a five-day course on the American Criminal Justice System, and more recently the Glencoe/McGraw-Hill book Introduction to Criminal Justice. 3rd. edition by

Robert Bohm's and Keith Haley's book has been translated into Romanian by one of the co-authors of this paper, Professor Theodora Ene from the University of Bucharest, and published under the title of Justicia Penala; O Viziune Asupra Modelului American, 2002, by the publisher Editura Expert. This book will be used in the Proseminar requirement and other courses in the master's program at UB. This requirement clearly demonstrates the commitment of the UB faculty to a program that indeed has an international focus. While we would classify this course as a Nation Specific entry on the Criminal Justice Master's Degree Internationalism Inventory, the Tiffin University faculty know from experience that other nations' justice systems are also discussed in the program, particularly since Romania is on schedule to enter NATO soon and the European Union in 2007.

By means of the Proseminar credit and the Master Paper students from the UB master's program have also come to the United States and completed internships in Chicago, Denver, Columbus, Cleveland, and other cities. This experience has allowed them to gain first-hand knowledge of the American criminal justice system. UB faculty have also come to Ohio to join in teaching classes, develop curriculum, and tour criminal and juvenile justice agencies.
University of West. The MSRSS program in Timisoara is in its first year of operation. The opportunity to study internationalism content appears to be less than what is available at the University of Bucharest. The University of West is both a newer and smaller university, so it has fewer resources to devote to any academic program. The faculty there also have a strong interest in juvenile justice and probation services in their particular region of the nation and have actually joined with a private NGO, St. Peter's and Paul's Humanitarian Society, and Tiffin University to open the first private juvenile probation center in Romania. Probation in general has only been widely available over the last several years in Romania. Some of the faculty at the University of the West have also visited Ohio, attended classes, and toured many of the state and local justice agencies. Naturally, much of that knowledge of the American criminal justice system will be passed on to their students in the MSRSS program.

Finally, Romania has been free of a dictatorial political regime and repressive police system for a little more than a decade. She is to be commended for the commitment and actions the nation has taken to demilitarize and democratize her criminal justice system. But as President George Bush alluded to in his speech in Revolutionary Square in Bucharest in 2002, on the occasion of Romania being invited into NATO, the Romanians no best the value of freedom, having recently overthrown her repressive political system. Without question we know that Romania will continue to study the justice systems of other nations and combine the good ideas and practices there with the many commendable features of its own current approach to controlling crime in a free society. Criminal justice education will continue to be a popular and relevant area of study in the nation's graduate programs.

Interesting and Unique Features of U.S. CJ Master's Degree Programs

The authors discovered a number of interesting features of the master's programs in criminal justice included in this study. Table 8 below identifies some of our findings.

Table 8. Interesting and Unique Features of CJ Master's Programs
_____________________________________________________________
Feature University
_____________________________________________________________
Comparative Police Administration course John Jay College
Two Terrorism courses: Hate Crime and
and Domestic Terrorism ; Terrorism U Mass. Lowell
Two Terrorism courses: Domestic Terrorism
And Security; International Terrorism
Environmental Crime: mentions "international
Issues are discussed" Villanova
Political Crime and Terrorism course Mercyhurst
Six different concentrations in the M.S.
In CJ degree: Police Executive; Federal
Law Enforcement; Law Enforcement
Intelligence and Crime Analysis; Behavior
Management and Justice; Probation, Parole,
And Corrections; Criminology St. Joseph's
Has Moscow Police College U of S. Carolina
International Crime and Its Control course Florida State (Online)
Has Justice Training Center that trains foreign
Justice officials Eastern Kentucky
International Criminality and National
Security course Jacksonville State
Contemporary Terrorism course Mississippi College
Terrorism: Social and Legal Perspectives U of Memphis
Advanced Comparative Criminal Justice course Valdosta State
Global Perspectives course and school mentions
"study abroad is available to all graduate
students" Lynn University
Mentions Practicum can be done in domestic
and foreign criminal justice systems Michigan State
Has Proseminar where Romanian justice
Officials have spoken; Tiffin University
gives certificate to University of Bucharest
MCJA graduates Tiffin University
Border Search and Seizure course Sul Ross State
Faculty teach and consult in Turkey U of N. Texas
Study abroad opportunity in British
Justice System Oklahoma City U
World Indigenous Peoples and Justice course N. Arizona State U
Governor teaches Legislative Policy
Seminar each seminar Boise State
Political and Economic Perspectives of
Criminal Justice course Portland State
_____________________________________________________________

We found, for example, that not only were there courses in terrorism at 10 of the 56 universities but also that some of the courses have a particular emphasis such as the Domestic Terrorism and National Security course at Villanova. Other unique courses were found such as the World Indigenous Peoples and Justice course at Northern Arizona State University. At Boise State University the Governor of Idaho comes each semester and teaches a seminar on Legislative Policy.

St. Joseph's University has 6 different content tracks in its M.S. in Criminal Justice degree program: Police Executive; Federal Law Enforcement; Law Enforcement Intelligence and Crime Analysis; Behavior Management and Justice; Probation, Parole, and Corrections; and Criminology. The University of South Carolina trains Russian police. Eastern Kentucky University's Justice Training Center has students from other nations. Finally, Tiffin University helps prepare Romania's justice officials for their careers in a degree program at the University of Bucharest.

DISCUSSION

Our study examined 56 master's degree programs in criminal justice in the United States and two master's programs in Romania. This number represents a little more than one third of the master's degrees in the area of criminal justice found on gradschools.com. While our selection process was not entirely random, we did look at programs from all 8 regions of the United States, including both public and private universities. We might add that some of the universities websites made it very difficult if not nearly impossible to find the master's degree curricula we wanted to analyze. Our findings demonstrate that internationalism is found in the curricula and other program activities of the universities in the study, but it is not widely available and it is not substantial in most cases.

The Presence and Absence of Internationalism

It is incredible in a post 9-11 period to see that only 10 (18%) of the 56 universities and colleges in the study offer specific course titles including the term terrorism. We are now engaged in a world-wide effort to root out and eliminate terrorist threats to the United States and other nations and we have created an enormous new government agency to protect our homeland from terrorism. Our graduate programs in criminal justice have not responded in kind by having their graduate students study terrorism or comparative criminal justice to any large degree.

Only 14 (25%) of the programs in our study offered a comparative criminal justice course at the graduate level. While 10 (18%) of the graduate programs in criminal justice had a History and Philosophy of Criminal Justice course in their curriculum, it is not clear as to how many of these courses would contain specific content addressing international justice issues. Special topics seminars, directed studies and readings were far less available than other opportunities to study internationalism. A practicum experience was found in 10 (18%) of the master's programs. Still there is no clear indication that an opportunity exists for a practicum or internship experience abroad in all but a few of the master's programs in criminal justice.

The Politics and Practice of Curriculum Development

Courses often arrive in any curriculum by a circuitous route. To be sure there are essential standard courses that have to be offered such as a research methods or statistics, for example. Curriculum integrity and professional practice demand an understanding in such content areas as these. But much of what becomes a course entry in a curriculum is a product of the interests and anomalies of the faculty. This phenomenon has resulted in some of the most interesting and forward-looking curricula possible at any level of education. On the other hand, only creative and bold faculty are able to work against the grain of standard and often near extinct course titles. Curriculum means courses, courses mean staffing, staffing means faculty, and faculty cost money. If courses are considered outside the mainstream relative to the core values and concepts of any degree program, the faculty who advocate them will have to fight to have them included in a required curriculum. Obviously many of the interesting and avant-garde entries we found in our study were courses that creative and persistent faculty promoted to have included in the required master's of criminal justice curriculum. Acknowledging that most master's degree programs are completed in approximately one year, there is not much room for elective courses and it is likely that internationalism content would come up short in competition for a slot in a one-year degree program. But indeed it would seem that the vast majority of criminal justice graduate faculty have not grasped the need to address internationalism in their master's degree programs.

What are some of the reasons why faculty have not taken up this cause to teach internationalism content? We can only surmise. Criminal justice problems at home are concern enough in a one or two-year master's degree program. There simply may not be enough "vacant" space in a curriculum to study internationalism when all of the content from other competing areas is considered. Faculty often teach courses in content areas where they are experts as a result of their research interests. To be expert in the criminal justice issues of one or more nations abroad, for example, is difficult. It involves regular trips abroad and often a second language capability. That may be more than most faculty are willing or able to do given their particular circumstances. That is what our study's results would seem to indicate. The interest in internationalism as it relates to criminal justice is not widespread.

The Private School's Prerogative

While it seems that the concern for internationalism is neglected in all of the criminal justice master's degree programs in our study, private universities and colleges paid more attention to internationalism than their public counterparts. Private college and universities, as a rule, have less state governing board oversight. They are usually granted more freedom to offer curricula and degree programs of their choice and avoid successive rings of review ending at the level of the state controlling board. St. Joseph's, Villanova, Lynn, Mercyhurst, and Northeastern all have curriculum and other learning experiences with more concern for internationalism content than what is generally found in public colleges and universities. Standardized or limited curriculum content at the baccalaureate and master's degree levels is much more prevalent in public universities than in private institutions. Moreover, private universities not only have more latitude in offering courses they choose, but in many respects they believe that their academic programs and curricula have to be more attractive, convenient, and competitive in order to draw in students at the higher tuition rates.

Classic Provincialism

The United States is the only super power in the world today after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1980's. In the minds of many, the nation remains the beacon of liberty for the rest of the world and despite the current state of the economy, the standard of living is still one of the highest on the planet. All of this is to say that it is easy to consider the rest of the world as less important to study than the problems and issues that call out for solution at home. Our study indicates that concerns over the management and operations of local criminal justice dominate the learning content of master's degree programs in criminal justice with relatively little room left in the curriculum to study internationalism.
But this has been a criticism of the American university education for decades. In contrast, universities in other parts of the world offer degree programs and curriculum offerings that are much more international in their scope. The MCJA program at the University of Bucharest is a case in point with its Proseminar in the American justice system, the opportunity for an internship in the United States, and the university's desire to translate American criminal justice literature into Romanian.

Recommendations

We recommend that more internationalism content be included in master's degree programs in criminal justice. In large universities with extensive course offerings, criminal justice faculty could use the elective option to steer students to courses in other departments and colleges that would expose them to internationalism content.

A second option would be to require a minimum second language capability that would enroll students in language and culture courses of another nation. Even if this requirement would extend students' studies for an extra semester, the feature may attract additional students.
An internship abroad of one month or longer would be a very attractive addition to a master's degree program in criminal justice. This could be done in the summer and even for students already working in criminal justice the requirement could be accomplished through the use of vacation time. Students who have completed internships abroad often consider them to be a highlight of their academic career.

Government funding agencies and universities should make more resources available for criminal justice faculty to study abroad. If realized, then faculty would naturally develop stronger interest in international justice issues. Moreover, they would also establish contacts and friendships with faculty abroad and out of this process many edifying educational experiences are likely to develop where students and faculty are the beneficiaries.

Finally, a standardized course in International Issues in Criminal Justice, complete with instructional materials, ought to be developed by a team of criminal justice faculty from across the nation and from other countries that are cognizant of and experienced in international criminal justice issues. At this point in time, the standard Comparative Criminal Justice course is no longer sufficient in breadth to prepare graduate students who are or will soon be leaders of criminal justice agencies.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

International criminal justice issues are now common items of discussion in criminal justice practice. Illegal immigration, foreign terrorists on U.S soil, extradition of transnational criminals, and the deployment of large numbers of American justice agents abroad are some of the more prominent issues. When any set of economic, political, and social problems approach criticality, the colleges and universities of America have taken a leadership role in helping to resolve them. We should expect no less from our higher education institutions in understanding and resolving international justice issues.

The results of this study show, however, that master's degree programs in criminal justice throughout the nation do not include in their curriculum content or other sponsored learning experiences a lot of opportunities to study internationalism and its ramifications in controlling crime and preserving liberty. In fact, aside from a paucity of courses on Comparative Criminal Justice, History and Philosophy of Criminal Justice, and some courses on Terrorism, the public and private universities in every region of the United States provide far too few chances for master's degree graduates to prepare for a leadership role in criminal justice where international justice issues pervade the pubic agenda. But that should be changing in a post 9-11 world. The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences theme of "The Globalization of Crime and Justice" for its 2003 annual meeting is indeed a stark recognition of the need to see the world of criminal justice as one that transcends national borders.

The master's programs in the area of criminal justice in Romania are including courses and experiences that allow their students and faculty to study internationalism.
The authors of this study recommend several means to increase the amount of internationalism in master's degree programs in criminal justice. Those recommendations include selective use of the elective option to expose students to internationalism content; requiring a minimum amount of foreign language study; internships and practicum experiences abroad; increased funding for criminal justice faculty who wish to study abroad; and the development by faculty and practitioner experts of a standardized course on International Issues in Criminal Justice.
We would be remiss if we did also not call for a closer examination of the criminal justice curricula at all levels of education in order to determine the need and deficiencies as they relate to the study of internationalism in criminal justice degree programs. We suspect there is much to learn by more research in this area.

One more tragic event of the magnitude of the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and the murder of thousands of innocent people would catapult the issue of internationalism to the top of the public agenda in America's universities and colleges. Let's hope and pray that criminal justice faculty and practitioners of America will not need that kind of motivation to stimulate an increased interest in internationalism that has heretofore been only peripheral.

Appendix A

CRIMINAL JUSTICE MASTER'S DEGREE
INTERNATIONALISM INVENTORY

UNIVERSITY ___________________ PUBLIC ___ PRIVATE ___

REGION ______ STATE _____ NATION ______ DATE ______

DEGREE MCJ ____ MSCJ ____ MACJ ____ MCJA _____

I. SPECIFIC COURSES FOCUSING ON INTERNATIONALISM

COMPARATIVE CJ ___ INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE ___

HUMAN RIGHTS ___ NATION SPECIFIC ___ TERRORISM ___

HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE ___

II. OTHER CURRICULUM ENTRIES RE INTERNATIONALISM

SPECIAL TOPICS SEMINAR ___

INDEPENDENT/DIRECTED STUDY ___

III. OTHER EVIDENCE OF INTERNATIONALISM CONTENT

INTERNATIONAL PRACTICUM OR INTERNSHIP ___

OVERSEAS SPONSORED DEGREE OR TRAIING PROGRAM ___

OVERSEAS FACULTY CONSULTING/TEACHING ___

IV. SPECIAL FEATURES AND NOTES

THE BUCHAREST-TIFFIN PARTNERSHIP FOR PREPARING CRIMINAL JUSTICE LEADERS IN ROMANIA

2009-05-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

THE BUCHAREST-TIFFIN PARTNERSHIP FOR PREPARING CRIMINAL JUSTICE LEADERS IN ROMANIA

Keith N. Haley
Dean and Associate Vice President
School of Off-Campus Learning
Tiffin University
Tiffin, Ohio

John D. Collins
Dean
School of Criminal Justice
Tiffin University
Tiffin, Ohio

C. Joe Saunders
Chair, Department of Law Enforcement and Corrections
School of Criminal Justice
Tiffin University
Tiffin, Ohio

The article is copyrighted. All rights pertain.

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

Freedom Unleashed

In little more than a decade Romania has emerged from being one of the most oppressed nations under communist rule in the world to a country that is awash in freedom, democracy, and potential. Dozens of political parties exist with more than ten that actually have influence in the nation's legislative and presidential politics. Freedom has been unleashed in Romania. Even the Romanian Orthodox Church is adjusting to democracy (Stan, 2000). The church, however, has adjusted to other kinds of regimes in its history, so this one should be easy. While stray dogs still populate the streets of Bucharest, the pulse of the city is vibrant. The dogs, you see, are also victims of Nicolae Ceausescu's totalitarian rule. Bucharest, a city of 2.3 million, is again the city of boulevards, parks, and gardens. While few refer to it now by its former name, “Little Paris,” popular between the world wars, the city is alive and grand. Romania is poised for another one of its great leaps forward, a characteristic feature in its history. Augustin Buzara, an acclaimed novelist who heads the Romanian Cultural Foundation, is optimistic that Romania will make another leap (Binder, 2001). Romania has done it once in the 19th Century and twice in the 20th Century. Why not again?

You can feel the energy in Bucharest about everywhere you go.
The shops are full, the streets are crowded and cleaner than even last year.

Cell phones are everywhere. We know people who carry two of them. But do not be mistaken, everyone is not able to purchase the goods that stock the shelves (Gruber, 1999). Times are still tough for many. Forty percent live below the poverty level. But a nova elite has emerged and a middle class is building. This is a city where going to a restaurant (even if it is McDonalds where it is possible to have a beer for breakfast and the WC's are clean) is a delight (Davies, 1998). The largest McDonalds downtown plays a great 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s soundtrack, but you can go down the street to the underground subway McDonald’s and hear the Romanian track, including frequent cuts of the Gypsy Kings. Courteous, well-dressed servers in restaurants will attend to your every need, although someone coming over and repositioning your coffee cup to the center of the saucer every few minutes can be annoying until you realize that they really do want to make you comfortable. Perhaps most appreciated is the fact that they don't hustle tips.
People in Bucharest enjoy doing the ordinary things like walking in the park and reading a book outdoors. Adding to a somewhat surreal impression of the city, people may be hungry, but they will stand in line to buy a book (Firan, 2000). Bookstores and kiosks abound. The national opera, the theater, and great music (classical and otherwise) are within reach of almost any citizen. In U.S. dollars, $2.10 will get you the best seat in the house at the opera. And, yes, police officers do the ordinary also. They sit in their cruisers and drink coffee in the morning as they wait to get off duty, albeit in a Dachia that is not the most spacious of vehicles. Even in a nation of 23 million residents where the average monthly income is less than $100 per month, street crime is not a major concern. Almost 50,000 inmates are in the nation's prisons. The deterrent value is apparent.

The real Romania breaks several of the popular stereotypes. Dachia, the largest piece of land comprising original Romanian civilization, was conquered and settled by Romans, thus the name Romania. Romania is a Latin nation in a Slavic enclave. Its Latin nature may attribute to its attention paid to fashion, the frequent smiles of the people, and the pizzas that dominates Romanian media and entertainment. This is also a nation where you can still see a man kiss the hand of a woman when they meet. If you speak Latin, French, Spanish, or Italian, Romanian won't be easy to learn, but you can manage its stringent grammar. Its melodic trill is pleasing to hear.

Romania has taken an independent course during many periods in its long history, even under communism. Glenny (1993) says Romania was a weird mutant asteroid weaving its own unpredictable path while never quite leaving the Soviet star system.
A nation's values are at its core. Perhaps the two most prevalent values in Romanian society are generosity and humility. Romanians believe that God has blessed them with a breathtakingly beautiful land and it is their duty to give back to its visitors. Moreover, people with high positions and credentials, although formal in social situations, will never be boastful. Humility in fact may start with owning and driving a Dachia automobile, small but adequate, costing only about $3,000 new. They are everywhere. Bucharest is devoid of motor scooters and bicycles, a tribute to the Dachia and a fine public transportation system that includes an inexpensive subway (metro), trolleys, buses, and cabs. But all is not so rosy.

The Downside and the Challenge

The dogs and the citizens of Bucharest are equal victims of Nicolae Ceausescu, their communist dictator. Ceausescu starved his own people while be exported the produce of this prosperous land to the rest of the world. Unlike the other former Soviet dominated nations in Eastern Europe, Romania was debt-free when its revolution occurred in 1989, and it even had retained MFN trade status with the United States for years. When Ceausescu razed thousands of individual homes in Bucharest to make room for the construction of his palace (second in size in the world to only the Pentagon), he put the displaced people in massive block apartments along with peasants whom he brought in from the countryside. The idea of the apartments and the orphanages was to build the model Marxist man, easier done in state-run institutions than in individual homes. When the people went to the apartments, the dogs went to the streets and just kept breeding until today more than 300,000 stray dogs roam Bucharest resulting in 23,000 dog bites alone last year (Finn, 2001). None have been found to be rabid. Nevertheless, people who can ill-afford it may spend 5-10 % of their income to feed these dogs.

Thirteen years after the revolution Romania is last in the line of about a dozen nations to join the European Union. But Romania adheres almost religiously to the dictates of the EU in order to gain entry as soon as it can. The “2000 Regular Report from the Commission on Romania’s Progress towards Accession to the EU" does point out the strengths of a well-educated citizenry, the rise in exports, and improvements in the law on companies and competition (Lovatt, 2000). The rest of the report lists many problems to overcome in the next several years before accession to the EU will be possible. Romania plans to join NATO in a year or two and has increased its military spending under President Ion Iliescu to help make its case for NATO membership (Leonard). Just this year the Romanian legislature passed a property restitution law which was years overdue that guides the return to private ownership of most of the property that was seized under communist rule. The nation has a deadline of 5 years to resolve this matter. This act should speed foreign investment.

Romania must move faster in its reforms and most now realize that the legacy of Ceausescu cannot continue to be an excuse for intransigence in reform (Gallagher, 1999). The economy is supposed to grow 4% within the next year. This projected growth may help stave off the brain drain that has seen Romania lose nearly a million citizens, 18-25 years old, in the last decade. Romanian young people are very well educated and none other than Bill Gates himself raids the pool of talented computer programmers in Romania each year and takes scores of them to Silicon Valley. But to many, the needed reforms lag far behind what has taken place in some of the other former communist states (Wood, 1998).

The State of Justice and Injustice in Romania

Most of us in the free Western world cannot envision the lock that communism puts on a society. Lt. General Ion Mihai Pacepa (Pacepa, 1987), a defector to the United States and former head of the Romanian Intelligence Service said, “With the passage of time, however, I have come to understand that the nature and purpose of devious communist influence operations are incomprehensible to the Western mentality." Overthrowing the vestiges of a militarized and dictatorial justice system is not easy even if a nation is keen on doing so. Old habits are hard to break. “Democracy has to not only exist in a nation’s constitution, but it has to also live in the hearts of its police, court, corrections, and juvenile justice officials at the executive and street levels "(Haley, 2001). Romania now has a constitution that contains many of the same civil liberties that Americans enjoy. Perhaps as much as one-third of the current police system, however, are former members of the infamous Securitate, some of whom have indeed made the transition to justice in a free society, in their minds at least. Practice still requires a lot of improvement, but the Romanians are more than willing to learn. During the month of March 2001, Romanians were allowed for the first time to view secret files compiled about them by the Securitate. This network of police employed 400,000 - 700,000 informants and each one of them gave information on two or three people (Agence France Presse, 2001).
The immensity of the task of making a change over to democratic practices of criminal justice is noted in the comments of a British citizen who is a faculty member and juvenile justice advocate at the University of Bucharest. Professor Giles (2000) comments that "transforming militarized police and penitentiary systems from an ethic of punish and destroy to one of social inclusion is not easy."

The Power of Education in Social Justice Reform

Romania has always placed great faith in the power of education to transform its society. Educated leaders are the standard in government and public service. The last President of Romania, 1996-2000, Emile Constantinescu, was first a professor of geology at the University of Bucharest and has returned to that position after choosing not to run for reelection. He is enjoying the academic life and says his computer at the university is better than the one he had in his presidential office (Monitorul, 2001). The current Prime Minister, Adrian Nastase is a graduate of the School of Sociology and Social Work at the University of Bucharest where he also serves as an adjunct faculty member. Now Romania has turned to education to reform its criminal justice system and prepare its current and future agency leaders to prevent and control crime in a free society.

Tiffin University’s Grant to Establish a School of Criminal Justice at the University of Bucharest, Romania

Tiffin University’s School of Criminal Justice competed with more than 850 American colleges and universities to be awarded a grant for innovative international development. The Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation in Development (ALO) sponsored the competition in 1999. Tiffin University was one of 14 who received three-year funding from the United States Agency for International Development.

Tiffin University (TU) was to establish a School of Criminal Justice at
The University of Bucharest (UB) to prepare future police, corrections, juvenile justice, and government research agency practitioners to prevent and control crime in a free, democratic society. TU is the lead institution on the School of Criminal Justice grant project that is integrating the resources of criminal justice agencies, colleges and universities, and social service and research organizations in both Romania and the United States. TU’s co-equal project partner in Romania is the School of Sociology and Social Work at the University of Bucharest.

The School of Criminal Justice project was divided into the following stages:

1. Phase I: The Tiffin University Romania Study Team (TURST) traveled to Romania to conduct a needs assessment, gain support of influential government and academic leaders; understand academic structure and current curricula; and begin work on curriculum for a graduate degree.

2. Phase II: Romanian faculty and justice officials visited the U.S. to observe and teach classes; gather criminal justice resource materials; visit criminal and juvenile justice agencies; visit government offices; and conduct a video conference.

3. Phase III: A second team of junior Romanian faculty visited Tiffin to observe criminal justice graduate classes; help prepare instructional units; translate a criminal justice text, and to work with TU professors on the TURST team to prepare for teaching.

4. Phase IV: TURST went to the University of Bucharest to teach a graduate seminar on the American Criminal Justice System.

5. Phase V: The TURST team and the faculty of the new Master of Community Justice Administration degree program in Bucharest will offer a world conference on "The Power of Education in Social Justice Reform" at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Bucharest, Romania for educators, justice officials, government leaders, and students.

Summary of Progress to Date

A Master’s degree in Community Justice Administration has been established at the University of Bucharest under Tiffin University’s and the University of Bucharest's leadership. Beyond our most reasonable expectations, now three different classes of Master’s students, numbering more than 40, are in school, with the first group scheduled to graduate in May of 2001. The Rector of the University of Bucharest and the Dean of the School of Sociology and Social Work, along with the assistance of Tiffin University, are set on a course to accomplish these additional objectives: begin a Ph.D. program in Community Justice Administration at UB; take the Master’s program to five other large universities in Romania; start a Master’s program for law school graduates where they will take approximately half of the Community Justice Administration degree curriculum and get a graduate degree; and fully fund an undergraduate degree program for 40 students majoring in probation service. Plans have also been developed to train Romanian faculty to teach, conduct research, and publish in the criminal justice discipline.

METHOD AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PAPER

The overall goal of this paper is to report on the progress of the Tiffin University-University of Bucharest Project to Establish a School of Criminal Justice in Romania. The authors were original members of the TURST team and continue to serve as participant observers in one of the most edifying experiences they have had in higher education. The specific objectives of the paper are to:

1. Describe the partnership relationship between the University of Bucharest and Tiffin University as they established and launched a Master’s of Community Justice Administration degree program in Romania.

2. Discuss the various phases of the School of Criminal Justice in Romania project and its impact on the preparation of justice leaders.

3. Report on the instructional experiences of Tiffin University faculty and Ohio criminal justice officials as a result of their work at the University of Bucharest.

4. Describe the critical internship and faculty exchange programs that are part of the TU-UB partnership.

5. Describe the lasting relationships that have resulted from the cooperation between the two universities.

PHASE ONE: A VISIT TO BUCHAREST

Goals for Phase I

During the period between November 10, 1999, and November 20, 1999, a delegation of 10 Tiffin University faculty, staff, criminal justice practitioners, an Ohio businessman and honorary Romanian diplomat, and an international service agency director visited Romania under the auspices of a grant creating a partnership between Tiffin University and the Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation in Development. The purpose of this $198,000 grant was to have Tiffin University lead, along with the assistance of other agencies and schools, in the development of a School of Criminal Justice at the University of Bucharest in Romania. This new academic program would prepare current and prospective Romanian criminal justice officials to better serve the nation's people as they respond to the challenges of crime and corruption in a free society. Phase I of the project had two significant goals, both of which were accomplished during the visit of the Tiffin University Romania Study Team (TURST). One of the Tiffin University faculty was designated as the Director of the TURST team.

Table 1 below identifies the members of the Tiffin University Romania Study Team (TURST) that participated in trips to Romania to study, consult, and teach during the fall semesters of 1999 and 2000.

Table 1. Members and Organizational Affiliation of the Tiffin University Romania Study Team (TURST)
___________________________________________________________
Member Affiliation
___________________________________________________________
1. John Collins Dean, School of Criminal Justice, TU
2. Joe Saunders Chair, Law Enforcement and Corrections
Department, TU
3. Keith Haley Dean and Associate Vice President, School
of Off-Campus Learning, TU, Director of
TURST Team
4. Laura Mays Professor of Business and Grant Projects
5. George Dobrea Ohio Honorary Consul for Romania
6. Eugene Hunyadi Deputy Administrator, Ohio Bureau of
Community Sanctions
7. Tom Steyer Sheriff, Seneca County, Ohio and former
Chief of Police, Tiffin, Ohio
8. Dorothy Faller Secretary General, Council of International
Programs USA
9. Carol Rapp-Zimmermann Assistant Director, Ohio Department of
Services
10. George Kidd President, Tiffin University
11. Diane Kidd Tiffin University
___________________________________________________________

First, both the University of Bucharest and Tiffin University's project teams knew that it would be necessary to meet and gain the strong support of the influential government and academic decision-makers in Romanian society. TURST, along with their Romanian counterparts, met separately with many government and academic leaders, including: Romania's President; the Minister of Justice; the Minister of the Interior; the Chancellor of the Nation's Police Academy; the Rector of Bucharest University; Head of the Department of Social Work; Director of the Research Institute for Quality of Life; the General formally in charge of the nation's police and now a Secretary of State in the Ministry of the Interior; the U.S. Ambassador to Romania and his key staff,; and numerous other second-tier leaders in the Romanian government and the nation's higher education system. All of these officials strongly endorsed the project and offered their support. The endorsement and support of these key leaders in Romania will substantially increase the likelihood of success in all subsequent phases of the grant project. Our accomplishments relative to the goal of establishing connections with the power wielders in government and education far exceeded our initial expectations.

Our second goal was to learn all we could about the professional training and education needs of criminal justice officials, the university structure and its academic leaders, existing curricula at the University of Bucharest, and the nature of prospective students in order that we could begin the process of constructing a curriculum. We visited law enforcement, corrections, and training facilities and engaged in dialogue with their leaders and staff. Two of our team were guest lecturers in graduate classes in Social Policy on the first visit. We were also able to have substantive discussions with the Social Work and Sociology faculties at the University of Bucharest in which social justice issues and content are currently addressed. Once again our initial expectations were exceeded.

Development of a Curriculum

At the conclusion of a long session that included a working lunch, the University of Bucharest Sociology and Social Work delegation and TURST arrived at a model for a Master of Community Justice Administration (MCJA) degree that would require 11 courses. The students would complete the degree in one and one-half academic years. It should be noted that the term "community justice." fits the Romanian syntax better than "criminal justice," which has a connotation more closely related to the idea of the law and the penal code. Table 2 below identifies the courses in the Master of Community Justice Administration program at the University of Bucharest.

Table 2. Courses in the Master of Community Justice Degree Program at the University of Bucharest
_____________________________________________________________

1. Issues and Trends in Community Justice Administration
2. Social Policy: Crime Prevention and Control
3. Criminology: Types and Trends in Victims' Protection
4. Alternatives to Prison: Probation Service
5. Legal and Moral Aspects in Crime Control: Abiding to Human Rights
6. Management of Community Justice Administration Agencies
7. Data Sources and Statistics in Criminal Justice
8. Applied Social Psychology
9. Research Methods in Criminology10. Social Problems and Community Development11. Proseminar
_____________________________________________________________

Romanian students generally do not have the money to pay for their own tuition, so it is customary for the government to finance a student's education at all levels. At the graduate level, there is substantially more flexibility for degree program and curriculum innovation and those graduate degree programs which seem to be useful to government agencies will be well attended by students, with their tuition bills paid by their employers. A recent Master's of Health Administration program has attracted approximately 100 students because it has been identified as valuable to Romanian health organizations. This graduate Health Administration degree turned out to be an excellent precedent for the MCJA, since so many of the nation's leaders have voiced their support for both programs.

Some of America's basic, cost-effective programs, such as probation as we know it and community-based corrections, are virtually nonexistent in Romania. The graduate level curriculum would be the ideal place to introduce current and future leaders to some of the best American programs that would fit into the Romanian justice system. Even more basic and absent is the mode of thought that criminal justice is a system, each segment affecting what goes on in the other segments. We are able to assist in developing this perspective also by reaching current and future leaders in their graduate degree program.

The specific courses which comprise the 11-course MCJA program are almost a direct transplant of some of TU's Master's of Criminal Justice: Justice Administration courses on to a slate of 10 courses already in existence at the University of Bucharest. The University of Bucharest faculty were so optimistic about this array of courses, that they actually started the MCJA in February 2000 (the Romanian spring semester), well ahead of the original start date of the Fall of 2000. The Romanian government and justice system leaders were so delighted with the new graduate program that they immediately enrolled 11 mangers and other practitioners from the police, corrections, research, and higher education fields. Final curriculum details were determined during a visit of the Romanian delegation to Tiffin University in February of 2000.

A comment should be made about beginning a graduate degree program before the existence of an undergraduate degree. There are many precedents for this approach. Rutgers, for example, began its master’s degree program more than a decade ago and only recently started a very popular undergraduate program. The Romanian undergraduate education is both classical and traditional, rooted in 20 years or more of the desires of Ceausescu, his academic leadership appointees, and the communist regime. Education changes are difficult to accomplish in Romania and must ordinarily go through many steps in the approval process of the national Ministry of Higher Education. Romania has a very high literacy rate (97%), so some aspects of the communist regime and the nation's commitment to scholarship have served them well. By creating a Master of Community Justice Administration degree, however, virtually all of those cumbersome steps can be avoided and the degree program will still have stability and high recognition in the university structure.

In Table 3 below you will find a roster of the key Romanian government officials and academics that were leaders in the School of Criminal Justice project or offered substantial assistance in the development and maintenance of the program.

Table 3. Romanian Academic and Government Leaders Associated with the School of Criminal Justice Project
_______________________________________________________________________
Name Affiliation
_______________________________________________________________________

1. Elena Zamfir Dean, School of Sociology and Social Work, UB; Secretary of State, Ministry of
Education
2. Ilie Badescu Chair, Sociology Department, UB
3. Ioan Mihailescu Rector (President) University of
Bucharest
4. Catalin Zamfir Professor of Sociology; Director, Institute
for Social Quality, UB
5. Pavel Abraham Secretary of State, Internal Security,
Ministry of the Interior; Professor, UB
_______________________________________________________________________

Major Discoveries in Phase I

The TURST staff returned with several lasting impressions and discoveries:
1. Kindness and Hospitality of the Romanian People. We were overwhelmed with the kindness and hospitality of the Romanian people. None of us had ever seen people so devoted to personal service in their work capacities and kindness in their interpersonal relations. Most often this kindness and service were shown to us without any concern for personal remuneration. In short, the Romanian people are some of the most kind and happy people on earth. They are also a handsome people that pay close attention to their personal appearances. Moreover, the attention paid to maintaining the arts and preserving the Romanian heritage are exceptional.

2. Absence of a Systems Perspective in Criminal Justice. From various conversations and several
visits, it was apparent that a systems perspective was not present in Romanian criminal justice. Our conversations with officials from one segment of the criminal justice process revealed that they had limited knowledge and concern for other segments of criminal justice. This is unfortunate since what happens, or does not happen, in one subsystem of criminal justice has identifiable impacts on other parts. We got the impression, for example, that many of the people in prison who were routinely classified as innocent and awaiting trial, could be virtually forgotten and then later released by a judge several years later at the trial date because of the time they had already served in confinement. The courts need a closer connection to the prisons, the prosecutor, and the police. The new MCJA degree program will be an excellent location to develop a refined, systems perspective.

3. Minimum of Proven Criminal Justice Services. Common criminal justice procedures and services throughout the world, such as an effective bail system, probation service, and systematic police patrol procedures, were not present. A solid criminal justice foundations course, focusing on the system, such as TU’s Contemporary Criminal Justice Issues and Trends at the graduate level, would be a logical place to introduce some of these programs. A course of this nature is now included in the MCJA curriculum. Moreover, allowing students to hear speakers from all segments of the criminal justice process, similar to TU's Proseminars in Criminal Justice series, would also be effective, particularly if the speakers were from the United States or other nations with progressive systems of criminal justice. A Proseminar course is now in the curriculum.

4. No Established Criminal Justice Profession. Obvious, but worth reiterating, the MCJA is the first of its kind in Romania. A degree program is now established that will prepare criminal justice professionals from all segments of the system. All of these professionals gaining their education in the same focused curriculum will create a whole new cadre of change agents in the Romanian justice system. The establishment of a professional model for preparing criminal justice leaders will go a long way in improving the delivery of justice services in Romania.

5. Minimal Funding for Innovation in Criminal Justice. Romania is struggling to get back on its feet economically. Foreign investment and private ownership of property lag behind developments in other former communist nations in Europe. But the establishment of the MCJA degree program at the University of Bucharest is not a major cost in the whole stream of projects that the Romanian government is planning for the immediate future. A number of the courses and qualified staff were already in place. It is a well-established fact that higher education will pay dividends in both the short-run and far into the future of a nation. Romania has a tradition of supporting its education system, a precedent that will be a strong catalyst for effecting changes in criminal justice and other important sectors of their service and business economies.

PHASE II: UB TEAM VISITS TIFFIN UNIVERSITY

In February 2000, seven professors from the University of Bucharest traveled to Tiffin University to observe criminal justice classes, gather instructional materials, visit law enforcement, corrections, and training agencies, and meet Ohio government officials.
The visiting team included the Elena Zamfir, Dean of the School of Sociology and Social Work; Catalin Zamfir (former first Labor Minister after the Revolution), the Director of the Institute for Social Quality; General Pavel Abraham, at that time Head of Internal Security and Analysis in the Ministry of the Interior; one Romanian Orthodox priest; and several professors and spouses.

During the Romanian team's visit to the United States, they visited the Madison Correctional Institution for adults; Scioto Village Juvenile Correctional Center; Marysville Reformatory for Women; the Oho Peace Officer Training Academy and Commission; the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification; and the Lucas County Jail. They also met with the Director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction; the Executive Director of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission; the Assistant Director of the Ohio Department of Youth Services; and the Governor's Assistant for Multi-Cultural Affairs.

A highlight of the visit in February was a teleconference hosted by Tiffin University where the Romanian team broadcast to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, a high school in Northern Ohio, and an International Politics class at Ohio University.
The Romanian team also was present during an incident at the Lucas County Jail when an inmate severed the finger of a corrections officer during an altercation. The emergency response team came to quell the disturbance. Most of the Romanians agreed that this incident was a little more real than what they needed to experience in order to get a feel for corrections in the United States.

PHASE III: UB'S VISITING FACULTY AND INTERNS

During Phase III in June of 2000 until December, four junior professors and interns visited Tiffin University in order to study the American Criminal Justice System, prepare instructional materials, and visit and lecture in graduate criminal justice classes. They also worked in a probation and parole department, participated in state jail standards training, observed a local jail inspection conducted by the Bureau of Adult Detention, and visited local courts and law enforcement departments.

An arduous project for one of the Romanian professors while she was here was to translate into Romanian Robert Bohm's and Keith Haley's Introduction to Criminal Justice textbook published by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. That translation is being supplemented with commentary by Professor General Pavel Abraham for a text to be used in the MCJA program at the University of Bucharest. This will undoubtedly be the first of a number of American criminal justice works that will be used in community justice administration classes in Romania.

During the summer and fall of 2000, the schedule was a bit more relaxed in this phase than in previous ones, so TU and UB faculty were able to have many informal discussions where ideas from each other's cultures were exchanged.

PHASE IV: TURST TEAM TEACHES GRADUATE SEMINAR
ON THE AMERICAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

On the front of a brochure distributed at the Romanian Embassy in Washington DC are the words, “Romania, more than you expect.” The Tiffin University Romania Study Team (TURST) has recently completed its second trip to Romania where the members taught a 30-hour graduate seminar on the “American Criminal Justice System” to 36 law enforcement, corrections, court, and juvenile justice administrators. The weeklong course was held at the University of Bucharest. All of the students are enrolled in the Master of Community Justice Administration degree program that was jointly designed by the TURST team and the faculty of the School of Sociology and Social Work at the University of Bucharest.

The TURST team held the 30-hour seminar in Bucharest from October 2-6, 2000, concluding with an examination that was successfully completed by all seminar participants. The curriculum for this seminar and the other courses in the master’s degree program were designed by the University of Bucharest faculty, justice officials, and the TURST team during its visit to Romania in November of 1999. The members of the TURST team that went to Romania in October 2000, are TU faculty Dr. Joe Saunders, Dr. Jack Collins, Dr. Laura Mays, and Professor Keith Haley, and agency leaders Carol Rapp-Zimmermann, Assistant Director of the Ohio Department of Youth Services, Eugene Hunyadi, Deputy Administrator, Bureau of Community Sanctions, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, George Dobrea, Honorary Romanian Consul for Ohio, Tom Steyer, Chief of Police of Tiffin, Ohio, and Dorothy Faller, Secretary General, Council of International Programs. Professor Haley, Director of the TURST team, also lectured at the Romanian Intelligence Service and at the opening of the University of Bucharest Law School.
During this last visit to Bucharest, Professor Doctor Ioan Mihailescu, President of the University of Bucharest, unveiled plans to expand the Community Administration of Justice master’s program to other Romanian universities in Iasi, Cluj, Timisoara, Oradea, Craiova, and Arad, as well as the University of Chisinau in the Republic of Moldova. Other plans include the training of 3 University of Bucharest faculty members to be criminal justice faculty. The Romanians will do that preparation at Tiffin University. Even more remarkable is the plan to begin a doctoral program in the Community Administration of Justice at the University of Bucharest in the fall of 2001. Indeed, Romania was “more than we expected." The experience has been like 30 years of progress in criminal justice education compressed into a year and a half. There are plans now to introduce some community administration of justice education into Romanian high schools. All of these steps are an indication of Romania’s commitment to insure that its criminal justice system is based on democratic and humane principles. In contrast to a lot of other international projects involving multiple partners, Tiffin University, the University of Bucharest, and the Romanian government are ahead of the schedule in terms of achievement and results.

Two major remaining project events are scheduled for 2001, the year the project will conclude. The first class of Master of Community Justice Administration students at the University of Bucharest will graduate in May of 2001. Moreover, a three-day international conference will be held in Bucharest during the fall of 2001 in order to present the results of the Tiffin University – University of Bucharest project on criminal justice to other nations in Europe and the world. The title and theme of the conference is "The Power of Education in Social Justice Reform."

Faculty Impressions of the Teaching Experience in Bucharest

The Tiffin University School of Criminal Justice faculty who participated in this grant project share the belief that teaching the graduate students in Bucharest has been one of the highlights of their academic career. The comments of Professor Joe Saunders, a leading member of the TURST team, capture the sentiments of all of us.

The opportunity of teaching in Bucharest was unique. The students embraced the opportunity to receive our lectures, demonstrating an eagerness born out of the insidious deprivation which they as students had experienced under the socialist regime. They reflected a genuine interest in what professors had to say, although there was some initial reluctance to question and comment.
This, too, is understandable in light of their history and culture. Unlike the experience of the professorship in the U.S., our expertise was universally valued.

The concept that students representing several branches of Romanian government could sit together in a sharing atmosphere was indeed unique. This type of opportunity does not often present to them. I sensed that the uniqueness was of great benefit. It is not one’s custom in Romania to inquire or comment on the internal workings of the bureaucracy.

The thirst of the students for more information regarding our system and the contributions our knowledge might make to their system seemed unquenchable. They would pursue us during breaks and before and after class with questions and comments. Their sincerity was unquestioned. They really are seeking answers to the many problems they are encountering in attempting to establish a democratic way of governance. Personally, I came away with the feeling that people who possess the expertise which we deem common in the U.S. would be held in considerable esteem by the Romanian population. Given the support which we received from highly influential persons, there are many niches where one could substantially influence the development of their democracy.

Our faculty and justice official team members in Ohio continue to relish our teaching experiences in Bucharest. Few of us have encountered students with a higher level of motivation, certainly none of us have ever seen such zeal for learning in one academic program. The students occupy some of the most important positions in the Romanian justice system and they are looking for anything that will improve their contribution to complete establishment of a democratic system of criminal justice.

PHASE V: AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN BUCHAREST

On September 28, 29, and 30, 2001, the intensive three-day international conference on "The Power of Education in Social Justice Reform" will be sponsored by the University of Bucharest and Tiffin University in order to demonstrate how partnerships between educational institutions and community justice agencies can be successful in preparing leaders and preventing and controlling crime in a free society. Attendees will be government leaders, community justice practitioners, students, and university and public school faculty. The conference is also supported by the grant from USAID.

Topics presented by scholars, community justice practitioners, and government leaders from Eastern and Central Europe and the United States will include:

· University Partnerships for Justice Reform
· Government and Community Support Systems in Crime and Delinquency Prevention and Control
· Crime and Intelligence Analysis
· Domestic Violence Interventions
· Role of Schools in Delinquency Prevention
· Restorative Justice Models
· Community Policing
· Computer Crime and Investigation
· Faith-Based Rehabilitation Programs
· Juvenile Justice Issues
· New Ideas in Probation Services
· Curriculum Design and Development for Justice Education
· Organized and Trans-National Crime
· Faculty Preparation for Community Justice Teaching
· Jail and Prison Standards

Pre-conference workshops on crime analysis, computer crime investigation, memory skills for justice workers, teaching on the web, and other subjects will also be available. Tours of local justice agencies, cultural sites, and entertainment venues are also being arranged. A conference fee of $150 for those not currently associated with the School of Criminal Justice project includes breakfast, lunch, cocktail parties, and attendance at all sessions. The site of the conference is the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Bucharest, Romania. We are planning on 150 conference attendees.
While the conference in Bucharest, Romania in the fall of 2001 is the last formal stage of the Tiffin University - University of Bucharest USAID grant project, ancillary and continuing team activities between the two universities will continue. We envision a number of cooperative ventures such as faculty exchanges, joint research and writing ventures, and shared continuing education experiences.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Romania is awash in freedom and, aside from all of the vestiges of communist rule it has to overcome, the nation has a well-educated population and an energetic workforce. The prevention and control of crime under democratic principles is still new to the agents of justice in Romania, but their zeal to learn is perhaps unparalleled among justice agents of the former communist states of Central Europe. Romanians have great faith in the ability of education to direct the course of their society. The Tiffin University grant from USAID to assist the nation in democratizing its criminal justice system by preparing criminal justice leaders at the graduate level is a big step in helping Romania advance to a state of prominence among nations, comparable to its position in earlier times. The graduate program in Community Justice Administration was established, a curriculum was designed, and students from the Romanian justice system were admitted in less than one year's time from the inception of the grant.
The Tiffin University Romania Study Team, along with the unwavering support and leadership of our Romanian colleagues, have accomplished and exceeded the original objectives in virtually every phase of the grant project. TURST has been a major influence in seeing that the University of Bucharest became the first criminal justice program of its kind in Romania, i.e. the “Michigan State” for preparing law enforcement and corrections leaders. Now the plan is to extend this education to other large universities in Romania's major cities.
We also learned much about how the Romanian justice system works, both from a public relations and practitioner perspective. To become more adept in our work, we have also tried to accumulate all that we can acquire of the Romanian justice system literature that exists in English.

Our exchange visits, internships, lectures, and teaching experiences have taught us a number of things about the Romanian people and their system of justice: the Romanian people are some of the most kind and hospitable in the world; there is a lack of a systems perspective in criminal justice at this point in time; some common criminal justice services such as bail and probation are lacking in most areas; criminal justice is not an established discipline until now; and there is a dearth of money available at the moment to fund expensive criminal justice innovations. Romania has a lot on its national agenda at the moment as it anticipates entry into NATO and the EU. But the continuous improvement of the criminal justice system also occupies a prominent place on its agenda as evidenced by the support and funding of more than three dozen students in the Master's of Community Justice Administration program. Moreover, exporting this program to other major universities and the start of a doctoral program in Community Justice Administration in the fall of 2001 are clear proof of commitment. The power of education in criminal justice reform is now obvious in Romania and the international conference in Bucharest during the fall of 2001 is an opportunity to show Europe and the world what is possible when you are committed and willing to act.

Some Personal Tribute

It is out of the ordinary in an academic paper to pay tribute to contributors on a grant project. But the Tiffin University - University of Bucharest project is an extraordinary undertaking and the results have indeed exceeded our original optimistic expectations. We feel obligated to acknowledge the service and support rendered by some people on this project. Many others unmentioned have helped also.

Our deepest and sincere gratitude go to Elena Zamfir, Dean of the School of Sociology and Social Work at the University of Bucharest and all of the faculty and staff (we mean all of them) she has gathered to make the MCJA program a success. She and her staff did everything humanly possible to make our grant project and teaching experiences the best ever.

Rector Ioan Mihailescu used every resource possible at the University of Bucharest to make our stay comfortable and inexpensive. His excellent staff at the Hotel Academica attended to our every need. Professor Mihailescu saw that all of our transportation needs were met at no cost, as was the case with our hotel accommodations. Without his direction, assistance, and plain advice on our grant project, we would have accomplished far less.

The School of Criminal Justice faculty, full time and adjunct, led by Dean Jack Collins, have performed at the highest possible level of professionalism. Our Romanian colleagues in the university and the government have frequently commented on the dedication and superior on-the-ground performance of the School of Criminal Justice faculty.

We are indeed immensely thankful for the leadership and work that Dr. Laura Mays contributed on this project. Without her persistent attention to the details of this venture, not to mention writing the grant, there would have been no project. Likewise, we are indebted to George Dobrea, Honorary Consul for Romania in Ohio, for his foresight and help to engineer this grant and make our stay in Romania one of the most memorable academic and social experiences we have ever had. Our thanks also go out to Dorothy Faller for her assistance in acclimating the team to Romanian society and its leaders and in arranging excellent internships for our Romanian students in cities all across America

Finally, President George Kidd and Diane Kidd set aside time in their incredibly busy schedules and joined us in Bucharest to exercise leadership and to demonstrate commitment to this project. Their arrival and presence in Romania inspired us and we so much enjoyed their company. We sincerely thank both of them.

Those who read this paper may very well gather the impression that the authors are more than simply reporting Tiffin University's experience in assisting Romania to democratize its system of criminal justice. In fact, we may be accused of being outright boosters for the University of Bucharest and the nation of Romania. You are correct. When you go to Romania, and you should since it has some of the most beautiful landscape and hospitable people in the world, you will never doubt the sincerity of the Romanians when they say, "Bine ati venit!" You are "welcome."

REFERENCES

Agence France Presse. 2001. "Romanian Securitate Files Finally Reveal Secrets." Romania Today, March 29.

Binder, D. 2001. "In Romania, Is the Apocalypse Near?" MSNBC.COM, February 9.

Davies, A. 1998. "The Secret of Fast Food in Romania." Contemporary Review, October v273 n1593 p203(2).

Finn, P. 2001. "In Bucharest, a Dogfight Over Strays." The Washington Post, February 18, 2001.

Firan, C. 2000. "Survival through Culture in a Surreal Romania." East European Quarterly, Summer v34 i2 p255.

Gallagher, T. 1999. "Ceausescu's Legacy," The National Interest, Summer i56 p107(5).

Gallagher, T. 1997. "To be or not to be Balkan: Romania's Quest for Self-Definition." Daedalus, Summer v126 i3 p63(2).

Giles, G. 2000. "A Partnership for Justice." Relational Justice Bulletin, Issue 6 April 2000.

Glenny, M. 1993. The Rebirth of History: Eastern Europe in the Age of Democracy. New York: Penguin Books.

Gruber, R. 1999. "Romania's New Darkness." The New Leader, November 1 v82 i13 p11.

Haley, K. 2001. "Tiffin University Again Finds Romania Beyond Expectations." B.A.D. News, February v55.

Leonard, T. 1999. "NATO Expansion: Romania and Bulgaria within the Larger Context." East European Quarterly, Winter v33 i4 p517.

Lovatt, C. 2000. "EC 2000 Progress Report on Romania." Romania Today, December 28.

Monitorul. 2001. "Constantinescu Started Writing." Romania Today, March 30.

Pacepa, I. 1987. Red Horizons: The True Story of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescus' Crimes, Lifestyle, and Corruption. Washington, DC: Regnery Gateway.

Stan, L. 2000. "The Romanian Orthodox Church and Post Communist Democratisation." Europe-Asia Studies, v52 i8 p1467.

Wood, B. 1998. "Romania: Reform Hasn't Gone as Planned." Europe, May n376 p23(2).

HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND MUNICIPALITIES: THEORETICAL AND APPLIED USES OF GIS HOMELAND SECURITY

2008-11-02T06:53:00.000-08:00

Dr. Nicolas A. Valcik - Associate Director, Office of Strategic Planning and Analysis/Clinical Assistant Professor in the Program or Public Affairs - The University of Texas at Dallas

Dr. Patricia Huesca-Dorantes - Crime Analyst - City of Richardson Police Department

Introduction

With the introduction of new technology comes the advance of tools that can be used for security and operational intelligence. One such tool developed by ESRI is Geospatial Information Systems (GISÓ). GIS has capabilities that allow users to link information with graphical output more capable and accurate than software systems were in the past. The new technology allows police, security, safety and other administrative personnel to operate with a vast amount of information than has previously been unavailable for operational use. New applications are developed every day to comply with government requirements or to enhance analyses using GIS based technologies. This article in particular will introduce basic concepts for potential and applied uses of GIS with regard to security for both municipal and higher education institutions’ personnel.

Table 1. GIS Functionality for Security at Municipalities and Universities

Crime Statistics

Intelligence Gathering

Use in Times of Natural Disasters

Link GIS Information to a Database

Inventory Critical Infrastructure

Linking Security Cameras to GIS

Protection of Critical Research Areas

Jurisdictional Boundaries

___________________________________________________________

Table 1 depicts many different areas of functionality that Higher Education Institutions and Municipalities can use a GIS Analyst for to gather operational intelligence.

Theoretical

Municipalities

GIS use in a municipal setting has expanded to all departments involved in running a city. The initial and still more common use of GIS is in the area of public services, that is, sanitary sewer and water systems, road networks, buses and trucks routing, for different services that the cities offer, from school bus routes to recycling pick up routes. Over the last few years the use of GIS in the municipal settings have expanded to areas of Traffic Control and Public Safety including Law Enforcement, in areas of Crime or Intelligence Analysis and / or Home Land Security.

In the area of Home Land Security it is necessary to emphasize the importance of having accurate information on infrastructure and its vulnerabilities, on resources and their allocation, and the place in the network of the different players, when an emergency occurs, for instance, having clear evacuation routes, for the police, fire or health departments, which should include the city and their surrounding neighbors, as well as maintaining accurate information on the different partnerships between the public and private sectors.

Higher Education Institutions

GIS can be used for several purposes at higher education institutions. All institutions both public and private for instance have requirements to report specific facility usage accurately to the federal government if the institutions are receiving federal funding for contracts and grants. By having floor plans in GIS the institution can accurately account for square footage used for such research endeavors. This also allows for police and security forces to use GIS information to accurately locate critical facilities of operation for institutions that can have sensitive date, controlled substances, expensive research or educational equipment, administrators’ offices that could be prone to assault and student resident housing. By having information on where such facilities exist, police and security forces can adjust their patrols to keep a strong presence in certain areas. GIS can also be used to determine where crimes are occurring in order for security forces to adjust their manpower according to where certain crimes are taking place if a pattern exists. Institutions of higher learning frequently have campuses that have multiple locations and open access. Therefore gathering information on where crimes are occurring would allow security forces and resources to be deployed to reduce or prevent such acts from occurring.

Applied

Municipalities

Accurate information on infrastructure and its vulnerabilities will improve planning capabilities and decision support when an emergency emerges. Maintaining precise information on where resources are, and a plan on how they can be allocated is crucial for first responders in an emergency. Planning, training, improving and managing personnel as well as resources are the capabilities that GIS can provide to municipalities. The task of protecting citizens as well as infrastructure is manageable through the use of Geographic Information Systems.

Higher Education Institutions

Universities have a large amount of space that needs to be accounted for state and federal reports. At The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), floor plans are input into GIS. This allows for an accurate account of square footage for a variety of reasons and gives the university an accurate position on buildings and rooms for the university. Putting the floor plans into GIS allows for a base of information to be used for a variety of purposes. At UTD a system called the Logistical Tracking System (LTSÓ1) has been developed to not only account for square footage but also tie security infrastructure and other information to the floor plans. Information entered into LTS has to be tied to a valid location that will allow for police, security and emergency personnel to locate items of inventory (or determine if items are missing from inventory), create valid evacuation plans for personnel assigned to certain areas, integrate IP addressable surveillance cameras to locations, hazardous materials (HAZMAT) inventory and other infrastructure information. Currently HAZMAT items are bar coded and then tracked in LTS by location that is dictated by the GIS floor plans. By having information tied to location in GIS, police and security forces can be deployed to critical areas of operation. By having the university’s infrastructure mapped down by GIS, emergency response teams can also gather information on where critical electrical, water, gas or telecommunication lines are located for either security issues or for emergency response purposes. At UTD GIS was also used to create a map of jurisdictional powers for the university police department. UTD has vacant land that surrounds some of the campus and the City of Richardson Police Department has jurisdictional authority in the areas surrounding the campus. So the map was created in order to assist the university police determine what land their jurisdictional powers had authority to enforce legal statutes. In addition UTD is currently testing wireless access to LTS for security and emergency personnel that have access to PDA’s, Pocket PC’s or Tablet PC’s.

Table 2. Logistical Tracking System at the University of Texas at Dallas

Controller's Office Menu---Property Administration Menu---Physical Plant---

Student Residence---Log Out---Room Equipment Menu---Human Resources Menu---

Security Systems---Telecommunications---Utility Costs---Room Remodeling Projects---

Emergency Management System---Room Survey---System Administration---

Manufacturer Codes---Shipping and Receiving---

________________________________________________________________

Table 2 shows the LTS that utilize GIS shapefiles through ArcSDE.

Conclusion

In summary GIS can be utilized for a variety of security, emergency and operational situations for a variety of public organizations. The main two main obstacles for universities and municipalities using GIS is finding qualified personnel that have the necessary skills to provide effective data to organizations and the costs of operating GIS due to the licensing fees through ESRI. In addition several municipalities and universities already use CAD systems and have investments in personnel that are already trained to use CAD. However the ability of GIS to process and map large amounts of data supplements CAD usage and provides organization another tool in assisting safety and security personnel in providing security or first responder services. Intelligence gathered from GIS can be used to better secure public buildings and infrastructure. In addition strategic alliances between public and private organizations provide a better ground for emergency management, security and administrative operations. This combination of private and public entities can better serve the citizenry at large through the use of GIS to locate and secure a variety of assets and infrastructure, at any geographical level.

References and Further Reading

1 LTS has a copyright that is held by The University, Dr. Nicolas Valcik, Danald Lee,
Dr. Patricia Huesca-Dorantes and Tarang Sethia. Three research assistants provided
additional programming support for LTS: Ajeet Singh, Rajesh Ahuja, Mohit Nagrath, Priyankar Datta, and Shalu Agrawal.

Brainard, Jeffery, 2005. “Federal Agencies Issue Final Rules on Safeguarding Academic Research on Dangerous Microbes”, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Daily News 3/23/2005.

Campbell, Kenneth D., 2002. "MIT panel urges off-campus sites for classified research; reaffirms openness of MIT campus", MIT News, June 12, 2002.

Fickes, Michael, 2004. “Opportunistic Security: How to build a campus security strategy on top of existing security technology.” College Planning and Management. Volume 7 Issue 11, November 2004. Peter Li Education Group, Dayton, Ohio.

Grayson, Katherine, 2005. “Campus Technology Innovations”, Campus Technology. August 2005, Volume 18 no. 12, Chatsworth, CA.

Purpura, Philip P., 1989. Modern Security and Loss Prevention Management. ISBN: 0-409-90036-2, Butterworth Publishers, Stoneham, Massachusetts.

Syllabus, 2004. A Balancing Act?: Openness and Security on Campus. April 2004, Volume 17, No. 9, Syllabus Press, Los Altos, California.

THE ROMANIAN POLICE

2008-06-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

THE ROMANIAN POLICE: AN ACHIEVEMENT IN DEMOCRACY

By

Keith N. Haley
Professor of Criminal Justice and
Associate Vice President for Special Projects
Tiffin University

Theodora Ene
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Assistant Director, MBA Program
Tiffin University at the University of Bucharest

Article is copyrighted. All rights pertain.

If you go by the Piazza Universitatea in downtown Bucharest at 6:30 in the morning you are likely to see a police cruiser facing the National Theater of Romania with two officers inside sipping coffee, waiting for their shift change. They are probably hoping not to get a late call, like all police waiting to get off-duty. But beyond this ordinary scene, vast differences exist between the police of Romania and law enforcement in the United States.

The Romanian Police are a national police system within the Ministry of the Interior with officers and units deployed throughout the nation. The head of the Romanian police is the General Inspectorate who reports to the Minister of the Interior. Members of the police leadership are graduates of the Romanian Police Academy, a free-standing four-year academic unit affiliated with the University of Bucharest and other academic institutions. All graduates possess a baccalaureate degree in law that prepares them for serving as a commissioned officer in the police service and with the credential to practice law should they choose to do so.

To say that the Romanian Police are in a state of transition is to truly understate the case. Barely more than a decade ago the Romanian people were subject to the absolute control of one of the 20th Century's most brutal dictators, Nicolae Ceausescu. As is always the case for dictators, the police and its secret branches were the major means of clamping down on any display or personal support of democratic activity. If Romanians may still be a little reluctant to express their views in public, consider this. The Securitate, the secret arm of the Romanian Police, and its several divisions, had compiled over 700,000 dossiers on Romanian citizens from all walks of life. This is in a nation of 21 million people. It paid citizens a few dollars a month to spy on their friends and neighbors, detailing what teachers said in the classrooms, what people listened to on the radio, and what their neighbors and co-workers said against the Communist regime. This secret police organization also took handwriting samples from thousands within the population and supervised the registration of all typewriters and copy machines. The police even set up TV monitors to spy on citizens at many of the street corners in central Bucharest.

A revolution eventually ensued and on Christmas Day in 1989, the dictator and his wife Elena were tried and executed. Freedom was reborn and is now awash in Romania. President George Bush said in Bucharest on November 23, 2002, "Since those days of liberation, Romania has made an historic journey. Instead of hatred, you have chosen tolerance. Instead of destructive rivalry with your neighbors, you have chosen reconciliation. Instead of state control, you have chosen free markets and rule of law. And instead of dictatorship, you have built a proud and working democracy."

Now the police operate within a democratic society and it means that old totalitarian tactics had to be abandoned. This transformation has not been easy since many of the former Securitate staff and police officials from the old regime still operate within the Romanian Police organization and the Ministry of the Interior as well as the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI). But monumental progress has been achieved and more is to be accomplished. Democracy now lives in the hearts and minds of the beat police officer on a late night shift , the corrections officer on a prison range, and the judge in a courtroom.

One of the major reform projects was to demilitarize and democratize the police and prison systems. Because Romania has already been approved to enter NATO and plans on being accepted into the European Union in 2007, many of the steps toward demilitarization and democratization are in line with standards handed down by both of these organizations. Policies have been developed, for example, to guide under what conditions informants can be used, i.e corruption cases; money laundering; drug and human trafficking; organized crime; Internet crimes; and cross-border crimes. These conditions are a substantial restriction on the use of informants as contrasted to their use under the Communist regime and during the several years following the downfall of Ceausescu. New laws also require that the police ensure the safety of witnesses, informants, victims of crime, and magistrates and their families.

Use of deadly force policies have been developed within the Romanian police system that restrict the use of lethal force against only those who threaten life or serious bodily injury. Neither is a warning shot any longer permitted. Reports are now required for any use of force with weapons of any kind, and if someone is injured or killed by the police, an investigation is conducted and the necessary reports are completed.

Private detectives and security officers are no longer permitted to operate without police oversight. Contract security companies, detective businesses, and personal bodyguard companies are now authorized and controlled by the police. Finally, a new law created a National Police Officer organization, a professional nonprofit association that will protect police officers' rights. The organization has to be consulted when any new mandatory regulations are drafted that affect the police.

One change in education for the police and other justice officials has been established as a result of cooperation between Tiffin University (TU), the University of Bucharest, and the United States Agency for International Development. TU helped the University of Bucharest start a Master of Community Justice Administration (MCJA) degree program that has seen approximately 70 Romanian police, court, and corrections professionals from all hierarchical levels complete the program over the past four years. Included in the list of graduates is one of Romania's 9 Supreme Court Justices. Your authors were major contributors to this project and taught many classes at the University of Bucharest. In referring to Tiffin University's help in setting up the MCJA program, U.S Ambassador to Romania Michael Guest said, "You can be proud that the program they developed is training up the next generation of leaders in Romania to promote greater appreciation for the rule of law."

With all of the colossal structural changes and far-reaching mandates to improve the police, some mundane but nevertheless important changes have also transpired that affect the work life and effectiveness of the police. While some Romanian citizens criticized the introduction of a roomier, more expensive Volkswagen police cruiser to replace the Romanian made but smaller Dacia automobile, the officers now have a faster, more maneuverable, and larger police cruiser to spend their tour of duty in. Even better, more gasoline is available and the police can actually engage in some motor patrol activity. The Romanian police have also received some modest pay increases.

With their work shift almost over, the officers in the police cruiser at Piazza Universitatea may just have to do a little peacekeeping as they notice some children outside the MacDonald's restaurant becoming a little too aggressive in asking citizens for money. The children are street beggars and seldom are they any real problem or are there many of them, but today they are pushing their luck. Late or not, the officers just may give them a talking to.

JUMBLED JUSTICE RADIO: REFLECTIONS ON AN ACADEMIC'S YEAR OF PLANNING AND HOSTING A WEEKLY BROADCAST

2008-03-19T05:23:00.000-07:00

JUMBLED JUSTICE RADIO: REFLECTIONS ON AN ACADEMIC’S
YEAR OF PLANNING AND HOSTING A WEEKLY BROADCAST

Keith N. Haley
Tiffin, University
Tiffin, Ohio

Article is copyrighted. All rights pertain.

The article was originally presented as a paper at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences March 11 – March 15, 2008 Cincinnati, OH

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

The Motive

As a reader you have every right to ask. Why in the world would a criminal justice faculty member want to host a weekly radio show? It is not as if a full-time professor and program chair and occasional writer did not have enough to do already. Several reasons come to mind. First, I grew up listening to radio and was always fascinated with the ubiquity of the medium and the quality of the news and entertainment shows as well as the voice distinctions of the broadcasters and radio actors. Secondly, I had attempted to do precisely the same thing in the mid 1990’s at a time when the World Wide Web was far less accessible for many and the streaming audio capability was extremely limited, but still fascinating to me that I could broadcast to a maximum of 50 listeners from the desktop of my computer. Being an early adopter of technology, I had to try it. I also bought the first Honda motorcycle model ever imported into the U.S. in 1964. HP, Compaq, Microsoft, Toshiba, Sony, Palm, Apple, and many other corporations are glad I am one of their customers. I did get my first computer in the early 1970’s and, like many, could not do much with it. Thirdly, I like meeting, talking, working, and writing with professionals in my field throughout the U.S. and the world. I am by nature inquisitive. Radio expands that opportunity substantially now that anyone can broadcast worldwide.
Finally, the educational potential for radio is limitless and now any person, group, or organization with only a computer and an Internet connection can broadcast live many hours a week in streaming audio worldwide to an unlimited number of listeners and the cost is: ABSOLUTELY FREE on the Blog Talk Radio (BTR) network. I mention this every week to my listeners and guests. I am still astounded by it. Now more than 60,000 shows exist on the network residing in approximately 66 different genres. These can all be found at www.blogtalkradio.com Show hosts and guest range from the renowned in entertainment, writing, and politics to the obscure including some on shows that frankly have little to say. But the technology works as well for them.

Blog Talk Radio Network

Blog Talk Radio now has broadcast and archived for replay by anybody more than 60,000 radio programs worldwide that I mentioned above. In February of 2008, the shows were classified in 66 different categories or genre with Entertainment; Religion; Sports; Politics; and Music occupying the top 5 classifications. My own Jumbled Justice Radio Show exists in the Politics genre.
BTR was founded in the fall of 2006 by Alan Levy and Bob Cherish to be a leading social radio network. Alan Levy had an ailing father who eventually passed away, but before his father’s passing he developed a blog site on the World Wide Web that allowed the family and friends of his father to stay updated on his father’s condition. From this blog about his father, Levy came up with the idea of a live interactive social broadcasting tool. The near instant success was remarkable as described in BTR’s own words, “Within months of the site’s official launch, blog talk radio housed thousands of hosts and hundreds of thousands of listeners and users flocked from every corner of the globe and shows covered every imaginable topic, quickly drawing notable guests and hosts including election candidates, best-selling authors, and owners of leading companies and websites in the world.”
BTR just began a revenue sharing program based on the amount of advertising each show attracts. BTR gives each host 50% of all the advertising revenue their show attracts. In addition, small audio adverts are placed at the beginning of each replay of shows archived on the Internet. The ads are unobtrusive and allow the hard working and popular hosts to make some profit for their efforts.
There is little doubt that blog talk radio has revolutionized social media networking and radio broadcasting. To reiterate, broadcast radio proudly states, “for the first time in history, anyone from anywhere in the world, as long as they have access to a phone and an Internet connection, can broadcast their voices internationally.”

Jumbled Justice Radio

I began my first radio show in the fall of 2006, shortly after the beginning of BTR. At the time I was teaching a small class of very inspiring graduate students who were also interested in authoring together a book of original essays about strange and unusual developments in criminal justice. We eventually published a book called Strange but Real: Perspectives on Odd Issues in Criminal Justice. In that class was the retired assistant director of the Ohio Department of rehabilitation and corrections. For the past several years he had been consulting for the US State Department to the government of Haiti on the matter of improving their prison system.
As I wrestled with ideas for my first radio show, I thought that this gentleman, Ron Edwards, would be an excellent guest to tell us about what was going on in Haiti in the way of improving the prisons. He was an excellent guest and there were callers to the radio show including the director of media relations for the president of Haiti. The jumbled justice radio show was off and running. I have done a 60 minute radio show on Thursday nights ever since the fall of 2006. Over that period of time I have had guests from every aspect of the criminal justice system including: a United States Marshal; a railroad corporation police chief; an expert polygraph operator; police department recruiters, two directors of juvenile court services, halfway house directors, a state director of the Minuteman, one of the nation’s top crime analysts, the chief of police of the largest university in America, president of the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, a detective who helped break to the BTK killer case in Wichita, and a longtime head of a state department for youth services, and the director of training for the law enforcement watercraft division of a state department of natural resources, etc. etc. I have also featured authors on many subjects including policewomen in Bahrain, the police in Bosnia, stalking and cyber stalking law, the police and the homeless, illegal immigration and the law enforcement responsibility, and numerous others. By February, 2008, I had hosted 71 radio shows. While the work can sometimes be exhausting, the opportunity to meet and talk with so many criminal justice professionals and scholars has been outstanding. One listener called the show the NPR of criminal justice and I accept that as a compliment.
My show is broken up into several elements: an In the News segment where I and others comment on major criminal justice developments in the news; Book Talk segment where we occasionally review or comment on new books; Listener Calls; and a Featured Guest and Topic. In introducing the show and in commenting on some of the news stories I use three of the best computer voices available. I purchased all three of them. My spiritual and technical advisor for the show is named Audrey. She speaks with a British accent and is so good that I still have listeners who think she is a real person. I don’t tell them otherwise. Audrey is joined by Mike and Emily who also comment on the news and do some reading for me. We also try to infuse comedy on a regular basis throughout the show. In fact, I’ve done an entire show on the “Police Going Green,” a spoof on the current planet sustainability movement.

A Primer on Blog Talk Radio Technology

It might be helpful to the reader to explain how a BTR show actually works. It will not take much space to do that since the technology and how to use it is relatively easy. First, you have to sign up as a show host, which literally is done in 3 minutes and you are immediately transformed into a worldwide Internet broadcaster. The instructions on how to host a show are simple and short. You broadcast over your cell phone or landline phone.
Days, weeks, or a month ahead of time a host may reserve the times and calendar days for as many as 4 shows in advance. On very rare occasions, twice in my case, were the times already taken and I broadcast during prime time at 9 pm – 10 pm on Thursdays. One of those times I was traveling and the later time of 10 pm that was available actually worked out better for me. Note you can broadcast from anywhere with your cell phone and a computer to manage your BTR switchboard if you have stored sound bites to play and are taking guest and other callers to the show. If the show is only you making a presentation all you need is the cell phone.
I have an introduction theme song (Johnny Cash’s I’ve Been Everywhere Man) and a closing song (Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again) as well as introductory and intermittent sound bytes I play during the show, so I need to connect to the BTR website and access my switchboard which is very easy to use and reliable where one click allows me to start or stop the audio sound bytes. Several of the audio sound bytes that I use each week on the show are the Johnny Cash song; the introduction to the show by Audrey, my spiritual and technical advisor for the show (who is one of the top AT&T computer voices with a British accent); recorded applause; a blonde joke done by Audrey; recorded applause; a public service announcement; whatever special sound bytes I need for the current show; and the closing song by Vera Lynn. I use the two other computer voices, Emily and Mike, to help me read news stories that I and my guests comment on. It is not hard to think Audrey is a real person since her voice is perfect. She will say with the proper inflection anything you type after using TextAloud to make a recording. I also use her for making audio instructions for my online students. Occasionally I will upload an entire old radio show with criminal justice historical significance that can be found on archive.org, a marvelous source for classroom or online learning experiences or for pure enjoyment.
The host calls into the BTR switchboard at 5-10 minutes before show start time and logs in. Your show starts automatically at the start time and there is a computer voice that gives you periodic countdown notices minute by minute.Your guest can call in at a designated time and all the host does is click on the phone receiver symbol next to the guest’s phone number. You activate a caller to the show the very same way. Your switchboard will hold as many as five callers at the same time and all of the callers can hear the show from their phones and speak with each other. If you a want to disconnect somebody, all you do as the host is click on the hang-up symbol on the switchboard. The sound quality is outstanding. One of the genius aspects of BTR is that it uses telecom technology and not the Internet per se and this allows for a superior sound product. You can watch the countdown clock on your switchboard so you always know how close you are to the end of the show.
Within ten minutes after the show, it is archived for replay or downloading on the BTR site. I now have all of my shows archived on the BTR site and they can be used for classes or others can hear the shows that they missed in the live broadcast should they choose to.

The Educational Purpose and Value of the Jumbled Justice Radio Show

For the educator, the act of hosting a show on BTR has several clear benefits. I suppose, first of all, the always learning and researching teacher can get some revenue for the results of their research that can be reported in a number of ways on their shows. Secondly, the host educators can attract an intellectual and popular following outside of the classrooms and virtual venues they currently teach in. Thirdly, and perhaps most important, the host teacher can, in fact, produce shows that are classes on a particular subject that can be broadcast to students and other listeners or the shows can be used for a class at a later date since all of the shows can be listened to on the World Wide Web minutes after a show is completed or the show can be downloaded on to a computer, mp3 player, or disk allowing students and others to listen to a show at their leisure. Finally, an entire course could be produced and archived on BTR for current and future use. This also allows for guest speakers who only have to call into the show from a landline or cell phone. The 71 shows that I have done could just as easily be seen as a seminar series involving many criminal justice topics. You can get to the upcoming and litany of archived Jumbled Justice shows by going to www.blogtalkradio.com/keithhaley or look for Jumbled Justice at the main BTR site at www.blogtalkradio.com Since a host may do 14 hours a week of broadcasting, the space is available to do a full 3 credit hour course delivered over the BTR radio network.

METHODOLOGY

The purposes of this paper are below:

1. To describe the value of the Blog Talk Radio network to educators and others in delivering educational content to students and non-student listeners;

2. To report and discuss the results of a subject and guest content analysis of the 71 Jumbled Justice Radio shows, to include the subjects of the shows; positions held by guests; books that were featured and discussed; and the sources for locating guests and topics for the radio shows.

3. To identify special problems, issues, and features of planning and hosting a live radio show in streaming audio on the Internet.

RESULTS

It can be daunting at times to know that you have a full hour of content to deliver in a few days over the Blog Talk Radio network. On only one occasion in the past 18months was I not able to deliver a show because of technical connection problems. I was very disappointed that this happened and truly missed my opportunity to host a show that week. No matter whether I was in Seattle at the ACJS meeting or on the Appalachian Trail in 4 different states, I was able to broadcast my show live in streaming audio worldwide. I have had guests present from their offices, from a ferry boat, on vacation, or wherever since all they need is a cell phone. At this ACJS conference I will host my third show dealing with the homeless and the police and my featured guest will be on the other end of the state. I have had listener calls from both within the U.S. and outside the nation.

Jumbled Justice Show Topics

Variety is “the spice of life” when it comes to hosting an enjoyable radio show every week. In topic selection I try to change it up regularly so the listeners will come back next week and I will have an archived show that I can use as a learning resource for some class I am teaching. With that in mind, I did shows on the Haitian prison system; policewomen in Bahrain; railroad policing; investigative hypnosis; the polygraph; police and justice in Bosnia; campus sexual assault; mental health courts; juvenile justice; surveillance cameras; history of the gun and gun shows; the deaf and the criminal justice system; sex offender restrictions; railroad crossing deaths; African Americans in criminal justice; police recruiting; federal probation; police and the homeless and on and on.

Table 1 below provides a month-by-month account of the number of Jumbled Justice Radio shows that have aired from October 19, of 2006, through February 28, 2008.

Table 1. Number of Jumbled Justice Radio Shows by Month

Month # Shows

February 2008 4
January 2008 5
December 2007 3
November 2007 5
October 2007 4
September 2007 4
August 2007 5
July 2007 4
June 2007 4
May 2007 5
April 2007 4
March 2007 5
February 2007 4
January 2007 4
December 2006 4
November 2006 5
October 2006 2

TOTAL 71

Seventy-one Jumbled Justice radio shows have aired from October 19, 2006 through February 28, 2008. As is the case with a classroom presentation that is delivered well, about 3-5 hours of planning go are necessary to prepare a show once the topic and/or guest have been selected. I tend to over prepare so for many of the shows it took more time than that. In the very early shows, the preset audio segments were harder to prepare, but over the ensuing months BTR made that easier by allowing audio segments to be uploaded to the host switchboard.

Table 2 below identifies the featured show topics broken down into several categories with the largest number of shows in the category of Special Issues dealing with such matters as illegal immigration, accidents and deaths at railroad crossing, sexual assault on campus, public and private video surveillance, etc.

Table 2. Featured Show Topics by Category

Category # Shows

Special Issues 26
Law Enforcement 21
Old Time Radio 11
CJ Technology 6
Corrections 3
Juvenile Justice 3
Court 1

TOTAL 71

Twenty-six Special Issues was the most frequent category of shows hosted on the Jumbled Justice Radio show out of the 71 total shows. Only one show dealt specifically with court related content.

Table 3 below identifies the subjects and the guests of the shows that are identified as Special Issues

Table 3. Special Issue Show Topics

Topic

Illegal Immigration
Police and the Homeless
Presidential Candidates Views on Crime and Immigration
Big City Crime
Illegal Immigration: China and U.S.
Railroad Crossing Safety: Issues and Answers
Criminal Justice News Update and Discussion
Sexual Assault on Campus
Book: Strange but Real: Perspectives on Odd Issues in Criminal Justice
Criminal Justice Goes Green: Saving the Planet
Court Decisions concerning Police Scent Dog Evidence
The America First Political Party
Citizens for Legal Communities: Illegal Immigration
National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice
Life and Times of Adjunct Faculty
Gangster Rap
Stalking and Cyberstalking Law
Juvenile Court
The Ohio Minutemen
The Encyclopedia of International Security
Regulating the Use of Biological and Hazardous Materials in Universities
The Haitian Prison System
The Deaf and the Criminal Justice System
Concealed Carry Laws for Firearms
Gun Shows

Table 3 indeed does identify a variety of special show topics and guests related to criminal justice and public safety. Some of the more unusual topics that are not well covered, if at all, on mainstream radio and television are the Minutemen and their role in border security; stalking and cyberstalking; African-Americans in criminal justice; the deaf and the criminal justice system; biological and hazardous materials in universities; and police scent dog evidence, to name only several.

Table 4. Law Enforcement Show Topics

Topic and Guest

The United States Marshal Service – Professor Dr. Allen Smith, U.S. Marshal Retired, Tiffin University
Railroad Policing in America – Larry Schuck, Special Agent in Charge, Norfolk Southern Railroad
Federal and State Cooperation on Immigration Issues – Dr. Charles Williams, Homeland Security (retired)
Police Taser Training – Det. Kevin Cavanaugh, Kettering, Ohio Police Department
Criminal Justice in Serbia and Bosnia – Dr. Michael Palmiotto, Wichita State University
Watercraft Police Officers – Karen Muench, Watercraft Division, Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Private Security in Eastern Europe – Professor Keith Haley, Tiffin University
Women Police in Bahrain – Dr. Stacy Strobl, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Investigative Forensic Hypnosis – Detective Joe Niehaus, Kettering, Ohio Police Department
Police Officer Recruiting – Detective Ray Milburn, Dallas, Texas Police Department
Truth and Deception: The Polygraph in Policing – Lt. Bruce Robertson, Centerville, Ohio Police Department and Detective Bob Greene, Kettering, Ohio Police Department
Campus Policing – Chief Paul Denton, Ohio State University Police Department
Police Physical Fitness – Professor Keith Haley, author of the book Three Bowl Diet, Tiffin University
Crime Analysis – Sgt. Mark Stallo, Dallas, Texas Police Department, author of 4 books on crime analysis

*Several shows and guests were on for two weeks.

Table 4 above identifies a wide variety of topics and guest found in the 21 shows categorized as Law Enforcement. A sample of those shows included crime analysis; campus policing; investigative forensic hypnosis; women police in Bahrain; railroad policing; watercraft law enforcement; and police physical fitness, to name some.

DISCUSSION

The Quest for Guests

Week after week, Thursdays seem to approach very rapidly and suddenly it is show time and your featured guest has not been selected. The task looms prominent in your mind. There are three ways to handle the problem. First, the guest can always be you, the host. That becomes an alluring idea for two reasons. First, you begin to like the microphone over time and being able to talk out into the abyss without really knowing who is listening, but believing they are there, is mystifying in some ways. In other words, the microphone grows on you, and right or wrong, you think you have a lot to say.
Secondly, there are always colleagues and associates in criminal justice that are interesting people, working in academia or the field of practice or both. I have used my share of them as guests on the radio show and their specialties have included policing, crime analysis, federal law enforcement, federal probation, state corrections, and US Justice Department consultants, and academics doing research in foreign lands to name just a few. At last year’s meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences I invited a scholar who had done research on policewomen in Bahrain. It was an interesting show and she began her part of the broadcast on a ferry boat on Puget Sound. Blog Talk Radio allows you to broadcast from anywhere as long as you have a cell phone. Tonight, when I finish the presentation of my paper at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences meeting in Cincinnati, my guest on the radio show will be Professor Michael Lewis presenting his extensive research on the police and the homeless. This will be a repeat appearance for him since he is just recently returned from Dallas, Texas with new data.
Thirdly, there is the utter delight of meeting a stranger who is truly an expert in some aspect of criminal Justice. I have booked these experts by means of referrals from previous guests, professional colleague volunteers who have contacted me, and by choosing an expert I know of and calling them up cold turkey and inviting them to be a guest on the radio show. These are guests who have some out of the ordinary position in criminal justice or related to the practice of criminal justice. Examples of this type of contact are a state watercraft officer and a railroad police chief.
In short, a major task in planning any radio show of this nature is to find interesting guests and, of course, there is a sea of potential guests to choose from along with the opportunity to meet strangers from all over the world who can contribute to your listeners' knowledge of criminal justice practice. Guests of this nature have been a gun historian, parents of missing and murdered children, a computer forensics expert who was key in the resolution of the BT K killer case, the head of a new national political party, and an expert in setting up police video surveillance systems in various cities in the United States.
Some guests have been in the following category. There is so much open-source audio recordings of new shows, old-time radio shows, and other specialty recordings and the shows can be uploaded to the BTR network switchboard and used during your own radio show. I have been fascinated with the opportunity to use, if I choose, literally hundreds of old-time radio detective shows in which the detective can be a forensics expert, a Scotland Yard detective, a New York City cop, or a near infinite number of private investigators. These shows are all available on www.archive.org Once these shows have been uploaded, they are ready to play in high fidelity audio at the click of your mouse. Those shows have included Jack Webb in Dragnet, Arthur Train, New York County District Attorney, and the Lizzie Borden murder case. Another wonderful audio source is www.librivox.org where thousands of audio books are available published as far back as a century ago. One of the most delightful shows I have done from this source was Harry Houdini’s book The Right Way to Do Wrong (1906), which is an examination into the details of committing theft, burglary, pick pocketing, and other crimes. Having now read this book, I believe that Houdini was the world’s first crime profiler. Police chiefs all over the world sought out the advice of Harry Houdini. I had no knowledge of that until I read listened to the book.

Live and Archived Shows as Classroom and Online Teaching Resources

One of the items that plagues the life of a teacher at any level is being able to keep the course interesting. Even with all of the resources that accompany well-done textbooks in this modern era, a college and university faculty member occasionally feels as if they things are bogging down and students are losing their motivation to learn and stay interested in the class. Movies, guest speakers, and special classroom exercises are ways to inspire the class.
Now we have available the archived BTR shows and particularly those from the Jumbled Justice Radio show. For online students I or any faculty member can make one of the shows required listening before having participation in a discussion thread on the topic. For example, students could listen to the show on police recruiting with Dallas detective Ray Milburn and some of the problems involved before engaging in a discussion thread on the subject online. This show lets them get a fresh perspective on current recruiting problems and issues. There are dozens of other examples of shows that can be used in either seated or online classes. A professor can also used the show technology to record well planned lectures that are archived and ready for replay in seated or online classes if they choose to do so, and the sound quality is excellent. All they need is to be signed up for a show and have a cell phone and a computer, although the computer is not absolutely necessary unless you want to take listener calls for that show. It could not be easier. There is no need for the ITS section of your school to set up a lecture recording. Several professors have told me that they are using some of my archived shows and I am very pleased to accommodate them. The shows are there on the web for playing, downloading and saving, and for educational use.

Special Features of the Jumbled Justice Radio Show

I have listened to other shows on the BTR network, and they run from truly the ridiculous to the sublime. Frankly, some are awful and involve no planning of content at all. The host and guest get on the air and simply chat, often about nothing of interest, I suspect, to anybody. I do know that in any successful media broadcast, instilling positive expectations is a necessary ingredient in the formula for success. Consequently, I have essentially the same show segments each week:

(1) In the News – a discussion of current criminal justice news by me and guests or callers, or with my audio staff figures Audrey, Emily, and Mike; (2) Book Talk – occasionally books are reviewed that I have read or books mentioned that are written by the guest for that night of the show; (3) Featured Topic and Guest - the heart of the show and the longest segment where guests make their presentation or are interviewed lasting anywhere from 35- 45 minutes; (4) Listener Calls - in this segment callers may call in during the news portion of the show or during the time the featured topic and guest are being broadcast. Listener calls sometimes bring pleasant surprises and let you know who is listening. On the night I was discussing Gangster Rap based on an article and book chapter I wrote entitled “Ice-T, No Sugar: Law Enforcement and Political Reactions to the Gangster Rap ‘Cop Killer’” two current major rap promoters called into the show and stayed on for the duration, enlightening the conversation.
The first audio segment that the listener hears on the show when it starts is Johnny Cash singing “I’ve Been Everywhere Man.” A song that includes in its lyrics the names of more than 90 cities and states and Cash is known to sing it from memory. I use that song to signify the breadth and variety of our radio show topics. Moreover, I am of Southern Appalachian Migrant heritage so it appeals to me and the listeners seem to like it. I always cut off Johnny at about Dayton, Ohio (after two verses) where I served for nearly 5 years as a police officer in the 1960’s. After the Johnny Cash song, Audrey England (my personal assistant and the best AT&T computer voice) introduces me and gives the listeners some basic instructions. She is given to exaggeration in her introduction of me and my credentials. But I typed it and she says anything I will type. As I said, I still have some listeners who think she is a real person. Mike and Emily also assist me in reading and commenting on news articles. I use them inside the program TextAloud. which lets the owner make audio lists of anything you want to say, including a change of voice at anytime. In other words, you can have all three of them talking with each other as if in a real conversation. That gives me a virtual radio staff of four when in reality it is only me.
In planning this show for over 18 months you end up racking your brain for new ideas and show segments. It also makes you listen to other radio shows with an intensity you had not done before. I don’t steal show ideas from others, but I pay attention more to the way the show is organized and broadcast. One of the unique things that I decided to do was have a closing song also on the theme that we will meet again. Consequently, I play each week at the sign-off time for the show Vera Lynne’s World War II song “We’ll Meet Again.” It is beautiful and sad as it describes soldiers saying goodbye and going off to war with the thought that they must keep the faith that they will meet again with their loved ones. The song works for this show.

Publishing Potential from the Jumbled Justice Radio Show

I have published books, only one of which is a best-seller of sorts within criminal justice, about every way you can do it. I have self-published books in hard copy that have sold in the thousands and in digital form, and I have one in digital form on the new Amazon Kindle eBook reader. I have published with one of the world’s largest publishers in hard back form and I have had one book translated into the Romanian language. I have never done an audio book.
I have a Sony Reader for eBooks and audio and I have become an audio book enthusiast. Now I have the content already prepared to publish an audio book that students can use to understand some of the special issues and areas of practice in criminal justice. They can also hear some real people who work in the field. And where does the content for that audio book come from? You guessed it. The content of the audio book will come from the archived Jumbled Justice Radio shows. It is a natural and logical step. Then from a CD, mp3 player, or their computer students can listen to about 20-30 of these selected shows and use the audio book in conjunction with an Introduction to Criminal Justice class. I plan at this time to make the cost of the book free. My next step will be to use the free and open source software called Audacity to record the book. It gives the author detailed instructions and all of the technology necessary to produce an audio book.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Blog Talk Radio has the potential to be a major learning resource for criminal justice students and faculty. At no cost whatsoever, any person, interest group, or organization can broadcast live in streaming audio worldwide to an unlimited number of listeners who hear the show on Windows Media Player. No opportunity such as this has existed for the education community in the past. Colleges and universities, academic departments, and individual professors in criminal justice and criminology can invite guests from around the world to speak on and discuss significant criminal justice topics and issues with only the cell phone and a computer. Moreover the shows can be done remotely, alleviating the need to be tied to a broadcast studio or technology laden classroom. When a particular show is completed it is archived at the hosts BTR show website where anyone can download or listen to the show. Along with the show itself, notes and other information can be posted on the show host’s BTR website.
From October of 2006 until February of 2008, Professor Keith Haley has broadcast 71 Jumbled Justice Radio shows on dozens of topics and with dozens of live and archived audio guests. The shows are in the following categories: 26 Criminal Justice Issues; 21 Law Enforcement; 6 Technology; 3 Juvenile Justice; 3 corrections; and 1 Court. The topics and guests have covered a broad range of subjects such as illegal immigration, the history of the gun, the polygraph, forensic investigative hypnosis, campus policing, restrictions on sex offenders, government and private video surveillance, and on and on. All are now available for use by other faculty and students since they are archived at the Jumbled Justice Radio site.
In both the seated and online learning environments, competent faculty are interested in enriching their courses with a variety of expert speakers and interesting topics. Most often that is restricted by time and distance. Now literally the world is fertile ground to find speakers on an infinite variety of topics since all that is needed for that speaker and host is a cell phone (actually it can be done also with Google Talk and Windows Messenger) and a computer to put together an outstanding show. Any supplemental audio clips can also be uploaded to the BTR show host’s website. Again, the shows can be heard live or replayed and downloaded at no charge and listened to later. The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences panel where I am presenting this paper would be an excellent example of a 75 minute show that could be broadcast and archived for future use.
“Publish or perish” is still alive in many universities and colleges. If not that rigid, many faculty still want and need to publish. With Blog Talk Radio a faculty member could assemble a series of expert speakers on one topic over a period of weeks and months and have them appear singularly or in small groups on the faculty member’s radio show. Moreover, the faculty member could have a variety of guests and topics over months and several years and divide the titles of the shows into several sections and have all of the ingredients of an audio book. That book could be on women in policing with show presentations from 20-30 women or it could be on offender rehabilitation with each of 20-30 guests talking about a particular treatment modalities. Next step would be the preparation of an audio book using the free and open source software called Audacity. It gives the author detailed instructions and all of the technology necessary to produce an audio book.
Alan Levy and the Blog Talk Radio network have provided the academic and professional criminal justice communities a literal golden opportunity to capture some significant content, speakers, and discussions as well as broadcast interesting shows to our students and others around the world. My recommendation would be to use this free radio network and enrich the content and quality of criminal justice education.

REFERENCES

Burstein, Daniel and David Kline. Road Warriors: Dreams and Nightmares Along the Information Highway. New York: A Penguin Book, 1995.

Clayburt, Roger. Discover How to Make Original Audio Books from Scratch. Audio Book Creations, 2007.

Douglas, SJ. Inventing Radio Broadcasting. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987.

Gates, Bill. The Road Ahead. New York: Viking Press, 1995.

Hendy, David. “A Political Economy of Radio in a Digital Age.” Journal of Radio Studies, Vol. 7, Issue, May 2000, pp. 213-234.

Krishnan, Venky and S. Grace Chang. “Customized Internet Radio.” Computer Networks, Vol. 33, Issue 1-6, June 2000, pp. 609-618.

Levy, Alan and Bob Charish. About Blog Talk Radio. blogtalkradio.com, 2008.

Lin, Carol. “Technology Fluidity and On-demand Webcasting Adoption.” Telematics and Informatics, Vol. 25, Issue 2. May 2007, pp. 84-98.

Negroponte, Nicholas. Being Digital. New York: Random House, Inc., 1996.

Newman, Fred. Mouth Sounds. New York: Workman Publishing, 2004.

Reid, Robert. Architects of the Web: 1,000 Days That Built the Future of Business.
New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1997.

Steiner, Peter. “Program Patterns and Preferences, and the Workability of Competition in Radio Broadcasting.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 66, No. 2 (May, 1952), pp. 194-223.

BOOK REVIEW OF "REGULATING THE USE OF BIOLOGICAL HAZARDOUS MATERIALS IN UNIVERSITIES: COMPLYING WITH THE NEW FEDERAL GUIDELINES"

2007-07-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

Book Review of "Regulating the Use of Biological Hazardous Materials in Universities: Complying With the New Federal Guidelines"

By Keith Haley
Tiffin University

Copyrighted. All rights pertain.

There are things that we should know and don't and our ignorance has very little consequence in our life one way or the other. On the other hand, some things we ought to know because they have real potential for altering the way we live. In Nick Valcik's book Regulating the Use of Biological Hazardous Materials in Universities: Complying With the New Federal Guidelines we find out that perhaps not all is well in many of the nation's finest research university laboratories and he clearly makes the point that this could have dire consequences.

At a time when the Centers for Disease Control and the Department of Health and Human Services have stopped work at a dozen or more university biological and radiological labs, Dr. Nicolas Valcik delivers for us the story of one such distinguished (name absent) research university and its problems in complying with new health and safety standards issued by the federal government.

The book is a good story of how dedicated and exceptionally talented scientists get immersed in their work and the safety and security standards do not get the attention required. The author is sympathetic to the scientists who deliver for us research findings we need to remain prominent in the health, medical, and security fields. They are scientists first and the regulations, no doubt needed, get compromised, apparently a lot more than we imagine.

In the book's report of trying to comply with new federal biological and radiological protection guidelines at one distinguished research university we begin to see what could be a much larger problem throughout the nation. We are even treated in this book to pictures of regulation and security violations that were overlooked by the scientific staff.

If you want to take one book that is well researched and documented which will give you an inside glimpse of what may be a serious problem at our research universities and in their communities, read Dr. Valcik's treatise that unfolds like a story and gives you enjoyably what you need to know about this critical area in scientific research.

BOOK REVIEW OF STATE OF EMERGENCY: THE THIRD WORLD INVASION AND CONQUEST OF AMERICA

2007-06-04T07:20:00.000-07:00

BOOK REVIEW OF STATE OF EMERGENCY: THE THIRD WORLD INVASION AND CONQUEST OF AMERICA

Author: Patrick J. Buchanan
Publisher: Regnery Publishing 2006

By
Keith Haley
Professor of Criminal Justice

Book review is copyrighted. All rights pertain.

INTRODUCTION

No matter one’s political persuasion, it is impossible to complete Patrick Buchanan’s book State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America without being fully impressed with the depth and breadth of scholarship replete in the work. Backed by the most trusted sources on immigration and historical data, Buchanan makes the case that America is faced with a crisis like no other in its history.

The author readily makes the point by means of convincing statistics that we now face numbers of illegal immigrants, particularly from Mexico, that are creating burdens on the United States and its people like none we have ever seen. Sheer numbers of illegal immigrants total anywhere from 12 to 20 million, more than all of the Irish, Jewish, and British immigrants that ever came to the U.S. legally since the founding of the nation. Buchanan points out that most of the new immigrants are uneducated and seek low paying jobs that far too many American employers are willing to provide illegally. But along with the desire to work comes a major drain on social services, public school funding, medical costs, welfare and social security fraud, and a questionable at best desire of these illegal immigrants to assimilate into the American culture. The author points out with documented sources that we can no longer assume that the vast majority of these illegal immigrants seek to be Americans.

WHAT IS A NATION?

Much of the book works from the foundation that a nation is more than a creed that is accepted as worthy, i.e. believing in democratic ideas alone does not make a nation. A nation, according to the author, has one culture, a common language, and a definable and enforceable border. Are these critical elements in tact at the start of the 21st Century? Buchanan thinks they are not. Where once upon a time immigrant parents insisted that their children learn the English language, engulf themselves in the culture of the nation in order to become American, and make a better life for themselves by obeying the laws of the land and working hard, America now sees hundreds of thousands stream across its borders illegally every year and within hours many of these are in possession of several sets of false identification that will allow them to soak up welfare and other government assistance under more than one name. Finally, as disturbing as any point in the book, not only do many not want to become an American, some are, in fact, committed to the idea that they are here to reclaim the land in 4 southwest states that the United States took from Mexico.

With relentless reliance on valid data from government and private immigration research authorities Buchanan chronicles the major forces that are ripping at the heart of our nation: the multiplicity of languages used to conduct business and education; the increasing number of OTM’s (other than Mexicans) streaming across the border illegally; the sizeable portion of the illegal immigrant population that are criminal; and the negative consequences for those who dare suggest that the near unrestricted flow in illegal immigrants is destroying the most prosperous and opportunity laden nation on earth.

BORDER ENFORCEMENT

According to Patrick Buchanan, again backed with statistical support, it is hard to make the claim that our enforcement at the Mexican border with the United States is anything beyond token. Perhaps as many as a million or more are getting through each year and if caught and sent back, they sometimes return within days. Three southwest governors, Buchanan notes, have declared a state of emergency as a result of the illegal immigration crisis in their states.

Who is to blame for this laggard approach to protecting our borders? That blame rests with the federal government that simply does not see protection of the borders as a priority. Buchanan chronicles and discusses our immigration “reforms” in the 1960’s and 1980’s and the disastrous effects they have had on national security, unity, the state of the American middle class, an entity that may be on its way to extinction as a result of the erosion of jobs that once paid a decent wage but now go to illegal immigrants by the millions.

Illegal immigrant involvement in crime is substantial in the brutal drug smuggling business in the Border States with Mexico. But violent and property crime rates in our large cities are often perpetrated by substantial numbers of illegal immigrants. Buchanan points out, for example, that in 2006, 95% of all outstanding warrants for homicide in Los Angeles, which number 1,200-1,500, were for illegal aliens. Moreover, about 330,000 illegal immigrants are incarcerated in the United States.

THE ROAD AHEAD

A “state of emergency” is indeed the condition America finds itself in according to Patrick Buchannan. No one will have to look at an Internet website such as immigrationcounters.com to grasp the Buchanan thesis that perhaps it is too late and the course has been set to drastically alter the nature of America in such a way that our most distinguishing and desirable features will be all but erased by the year 2050.

After reading a few chapters of some of the most fact-based persuasive writing on the illegal immigration issue available an urge takes hold of the reader that draws them to take a peek and then to be absorbed by the final chapter of the book entitled “The Last Chance.” This chapter is a call to action to resolve what Buchanan believes is an unequivocal crisis. But ingesting the emergency plan of action early only adds to the enthusiasm the reader will have for digesting the background and foundation material found in the earlier chapters of the book. This is a book that most readers will mark up and take notes on indeed.

What is Patrick Buchanan’s rescue plan? In a section he entitles “What Is to Be Done” the author recommends eight action steps: have a time-out on all immigration until we can control of the border and assess our dire state (we did it from 1924-1965); provide no amnesty to illegal immigrants in the nation; build a border fence that works; stop allowing citizenship to babies born to illegal immigrants in the U.S.(about 380,000 per year); stop chain migration that allows dozens of relatives to enter the U.S. as a result of one immigrant being here; end dual citizenship, which most all nations do not allow; remove the magnets that draw illegal immigrants (free health care, social services, welfare, rent supplements, food stamps, free education, in-state college tuition, etc.); and remigration – persuade many to go back home by removing our generous supplements to their existence while they reside in the U.S. illegally.

That is the plan according to Mr. Buchanan. To make it happen, he says we must conger up “the confidence and courage of our forefathers, who made no apologies for who and what they were as they believed---and rightly so--- that theirs was the greatest civilization and culture the world had ever produced, and they meant to preserve and protect it.”

Buchanan ends the book with a question, “Do our leaders have the vision and will to do it?” Without question we will know the answer soon.

State Sex Offender Registry Web Sites: A Content Analysis of all 50 States and the District of Columbia

2007-04-09T06:59:00.000-07:00

State Sex Offender Registry Web Sites: A Content Analysis of All 50 States and the District of Columbia

Christina Lombardo

The article is copyrighted. All rights pertain.

Introduction

A significant social problem that many people face today is sexual abuse and violence. Most people who experience a form of sexual abuse and/or violence are extremely ashamed. The intense feelings of shame that accompany the victims of sexual offenses cause those victims to keep that shame and the cause of it a secret. For that reason, many victims of sexual violence keep their victimization a secret. The secret nature of sexual abuse and violence often veils the elevated number of Americans who actually do experience such victimization (Welchans, 2005).
History and Nature of the Problem

In 2004, the Uniform Crime Reports, compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, calculated that 94,635 forcible rapes had been reported in the United States (U.S. Department of Justice, USDOJ, 2004). The Bureau of Justice Statistics, in one report, stated that in 2005, for every 1,000 people age twelve and older, one rape or sexual assault occurred (USDOJ, 2005). In examining college-age women, one study found that 28 out of every 1,000 women were the victim of rape or attempted rape within a six month period (Fisher et al., 2000 as cited by Welchans, 2005).

Children can be the victims of sexual offenses and assaults too. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 16% of all rape victims, across twelve studied states, were under the age of twelve (Langan, et al, 1994 as cited by Welchans, 2005). In 1998 alone, the number of corroborated cases of child sexual abuse reached over 103,500 in the United States (Jones, et al, 2001 as cited by Welchans, 2005). Freeman-Longo (1996) reported that as many as one in every five children is at risk for sexual victimization before reaching their eighteenth birthday.

Sex Offender Characteristics

Popular media outlets, like fictional books and movies, may lead most people to believe that sexual perpetrators are strangers to their victims. For example, a common vision may be that of a man jumping out of a bush and grabbing a woman from behind. This is not, however the usual case. In fact, in most instances of sexual victimization, the perpetrator of the offense is someone the victim knows (Levenson et al, 2005). According to Welchans (2005), the usual suspect is actually a friend, acquaintance, or even a family member of the victim. In 2002, Lisak and Miller (as cited by Welchans, 2005), reported that in studying 1,225 acts of rape, battery, child sexual abuse, and child physical abuse, a total of 120 individuals were responsible for all of them. All of the above mentioned acts of interpersonal violence were unreported to law enforcement agencies. In 1995, Elliot et al (as cited by Malesky et al, 2001) found that 30% of all child sex offenders reported that they had each victimized between 10 and 450 different children. Given that some sexual offenders do in fact have multiple victims, it is crucial to examine techniques that will prevent recidivism by sexual offenders (Malesky et al, 2001). Community notification and sex offender registry statutes are avenues currently being explored by criminal justice professionals in an attempt to make citizens more aware, and also to combat recidivism rates of sexual offenders.

Definitions & Goals of Community Notification

Community notification laws are those that compel criminal justice and law enforcement agencies to provide information to citizens and certain community groups when released sexual offenders move in to a neighborhood (Johnson et al., 1999). The idea behind community notification statutes is that by increasing community awareness, parents will be able to better protect their children from dangerous sex offenders because they will know who, and where, such offenders are (Freeman-Longo, 1996). Another idea behind community notification and registration laws is the reduction of sexual offender recidivism rates. By notifying communities of who sexual offenders are, the offender will less likely be able to lure potential victims. This is due to the fact that the potential offender will know that the entire community is aware of their presence and their history (Freeman-Longo, 1996). In other words, the two main goals of community notification statutes are (1) to increase public safety by providing increased awareness of the presence of sexual offenders, and (2) to prevent recidivism by released sexual offenders on future potential victims. If a potential victim knows that a convicted sexual offender is living near them, it is assumed that they can take necessary steps to prevent the victimization of themselves and those around them (Petrosino, 1999). The dissemination of information regarding sexual offenders living among communities allows citizens to make more informed decisions, thus enhancing their safety (Levenson et al., 2005).

What Led To Community Notification and Registration Laws?

In order to explain how community notification laws came to be, it is important to review some very important pieces of legislation. The first community notification law was passed in Washington State in 1990. The Community Protection Act allowed law enforcement agencies to provide information about sex offenders to citizens, under certain circumstances. At this time, states varied in the amount of information they provided, what procedures to follow before notification of a sexual offender’s release in to a community, the category of sex offender for which the information would be released, and to whom the information would be released (Berliner, 1996).

In 1994, after the 1989 abduction, sexual assault, and murder of an eleven year old boy, the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act was passed. The passage of this act led to a sexual offender registration and notification movement across the United States (Beck et al., 2004). The Wetterling Act required that each state implement registries of sexually violent offenders, or crimes against children, but allowed for discretion of how community notifications would be disseminated through out each state’s communities (Beck et al, 2004; Welchans, 2005). States were required to embrace and stick to certain minimum standards (Tewksbury, 2005). Under the Wetterling Act, each state was required to track an offender’s residences, annually, for a minimum of ten years (Welchans, 2005). Each state was given until September of 1997 (approximately three years) to comply with the law or the consequence would be a 10% reduction of that state’s federal anti-crime funding (Beck et al, 2004). Offenders who were known to be repeat offenders or those who committed extremely heinous sexual offenses were made to be lifetime registers (Office of the Attorney General, 1999 as cited by Welchans, 2005).

Also in 1994, a seven year old girl named Megan Kanka was raped and strangled to death by a neighbor. That neighbor had already been convicted of a sexual offense on two previous occasions (Caputo et al, 2004). Megan Kanka’s parents were unaware that their neighbor was a twice-convicted sexual offender (Petrosino, 1999). Maureen Kanka, Megan’s mother, led the movement to enact a sex offender registration law accompanied by community notification attributes (Petrosino, 1999). The legislation passed in New Jersey – Megan’s home state – by Governor Whitman and went in to effect in late 1994 (Petrosino, 1999). The death of Megan Kanka in 1994, along with public outrage regarding the perpetuation of sex offender anonymity, led to the amendment of the Wetterling Act in 1996 (Levenson et al, 2005; Caputo et al, 2004). The amendment, known as Megan’s Law, changed the language of the Wetterling act from “local law enforcement ‘may’ disclose relevant information as needed to protect the public, to local law enforcement ‘shall’ release relevant information that is necessary to protect the public” (Koenig, 1998 as cited by Beck et al, 2004). Under Megan’s Law, states now had an obligation to construct and implement community notification statutes in an effort to inform citizens about convicted sex offenders living in their communities (Levenson et al., 2005).

Finally, in 2003, immediately following some notable legal battles (which will be discussed in further detail), the Wetterling Act was again modified. The new amendment is called the Prosecutorial Remedies & Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today Act, or simply, the PROTECT Act. This new amendment mandates that all 50 states develop and maintain Internet web sites displaying sexual offender registry information for the purpose of citizen awareness (Levenson, 2005).

Legal Claims and Criticisms

Levenson and Cotter (2005) suggest that legal statutes held up by the United States Supreme Court indicate that community notification laws and sexual offender registries are practices that are here to stay. There have been several legal battles, brought upon by convicted, and released sexual offenders, aimed at ending, or getting around, such practices. There are also countless criticisms of community notification statutes and sexual offender registration.

In 2003, two main legal battles were heard and decided upon by the United States Supreme Court. In the first, Connecticut Department of Public Safety v. Doe, the defendants argued that Megan’s Law was unconstitutional because it violated the right to due process guaranteed by the 14th amendment (Welchans, 2005). A statute in Connecticut allowing sex offenders to be identified on an Internet registry was challenged (Levenson et al, 2005). The defendants in Connecticut v. Doe maintained that a hearing should be held to determine whether or not the sex offender is “currently dangerous” before posting their registry information on the Internet (Connecticut Department of Public Safety v. Doe, 2003). The Supreme Court justices, however, held that a trial and conviction was enough, and therefore, gave due process, thus Connecticut’s statute did not violate the 14th Amendment (Welchans, 2005; Connecticut Department of Public Safety v. Doe, 2003).

In a second case, Smith v. Doe, two convicted sexual offenders challenged Alaska’s version of Megan’s Law. The defendants argued that the law retroactively imposes punishment on convicted sexual offenders who were sentenced before the law was passed and took affect. (Smith v. Doe, 2003). The two argued that because they had fulfilled all of their requirements for being sexual offenders before the passage of Alaska’s Megan’s Law, mandating their participation in public sexual offender registration, violated their constitutional right against ex post facto punishment (Petrosino, 1999; Welchans, 2005; Smith v. Doe, 2003). A majority of the United States Supreme Court decided against the defendants and, according to Welchans (2005) found that “Megan’s Law is regulatory, not punitive; therefore, the defendants could be mandated to register.”

In addition to the legal claims that have been made against, and defeated by community notification and registration legislation, many criticisms of the practice exist. First, some critics believe that community notification is a response to sexual violence that is driven by emotions and that in turn, it may provide a false sense of security to communities (Levenson et al, 2005; Freeman-Longo, 1996; Malesky et al, 2001). Also, just because a person is known through out one community to be a sexual offender does not mean that his/her urges will hot be displaced on another community which is unaware of the person’s past (Freeman-Longo, 1996). Levenson and Cotter (2005) suggest that because it is known that many sexual offenses are committed by family members, community notification and pubic registry laws may avert reporting by victims of family members. Additionally, notification may lead to the unintended identification of victims (Levenson et al, 2005), vigilantism toward known offenders by fearful citizens (Freeman-Longo, 1996; Malesky et al, 2001; Levenson et al, 2005; Miller, 1998 as cited by Trivits et al, 2002), and increased public fear within communities (Freeman-Longo, 1996; Beck et al, 2004).
Mental health professionals have their own take on sexual offender notification and registration policies. They believe that sexual offender registries and community notification laws lead to increased stress on offenders which, in turn, increases the likelihood that an offender will recidivate (Tewksbury, 2005; Malesky et al, 2001). Malesky and Kiem (2001) studied the opinions of mental health professionals and found that most believe that the fear of being placed on a sexual offender registry will not deter instances of offending, rather they believe that fear will decrease sexual offenders’ desire to be honest about past crimes, thus hindering the entire treatment process.

In 2005, Tewksbury reported what he called the “collateral consequences of sex offender registration.” The most common consequences that released convicted sex offenders made to publicly register face, according to prior research, include loss of employment, losing or being denied a place of residence, impolite treatment while in public, loss of friends, and being harassed due to public registration (Tewksbury, 2005; Miller, 1998 as cited by Trivits et al, 2002). Another common condemnation of sexual offender registries and community notification statutes is that the current notification laws assume that sexual offenders are a homogeneous group and that all types of sexual offenders (adult, child, child pornographers, exhibitionists, etc.) will recidivate at the same rates (Sample et al, 2006). Finally, community notification statutes have been compared to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter. Scholars have contended that making registries public allow for communal humiliation of the released, and supposedly treated, sexual offender (Johnson et al, 1999).

Why Study Sex Offender Registry Web Sites?

Despite the various legal battles and countless criticisms of sexual offender notification and registry statutes, each of the 50 states has enacted legislation mandating that information regarding released sexual offenders is made public. In fact, registration laws were expanded to include those people convicted of violent sexual acts against both children and adults, and nonviolent sexual acts against children, including possessing, viewing, or manufacturing of child pornography, juvenile solicitation, and enticement of a child over the Internet (Sample et al, 2006). Today, such statutes exist in all 50 states and in the District of Columbia (Zevitz et al, 2000 as cited by Beck et al, 2004).

Due to concerns regarding dodging methods by sexual offenders or potential sexual offenders in families, along with the stigma that encases sexual abuse, a community-wide approach seems to be the answer (Miller et al, 1988 as cited by Cox, 1998). Research suggests that there is evidence that programs that proactively promote education of child sexual abuse and child abduction can in fact, improve knowledge and enhance prevention skills (MacMillan et al, 1994 as cited by Cox, 1997; Beck et al, 2006). The strides in legislation toward community notification and public registry imply a shift in the penal process from one that sought to normalize sexual offenders to community norms, to one that aims to manage sex offenders in different categories and sub-categories (Simon, 1998).

Sex offenders are seen as today’s monsters (Simon, 1998). Unpromising rates of recidivism, by sexual violators of both adults and children; compounded by the high number of children being sexually victimized, along with media coverage of especially egregious re-offenders encouraged the use of community notification and registration statutes (Welchans, 2005).

Methodology

There are several notification methods commonly used by communities to publicly notify residents of a convicted, and released sexual offender’s presence. Some of these include media releases, door-to-door flyers, community meetings, phone calls, and most recently, Internet web sites. The purpose of this study is to examine the content of the sex offender registry web sites of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Currently, there are various studies that look in to the effect of the sexual offender registration and public notification statutes on communities, and also on the offender. There are even studies that compare methods for dissemination of public notification and registry information between counties in one state, or between two states. However, no research exists to date that examines the contents of each state’s sex offender registry web site.

Objectives

1. Review existing literature on sex offender registries and community notification statutes.
2. Describe the contents of the sex offender registry web sites of all 50 states.
3. Identify the similarities and differences in the contents of the sex offender registries of all 50 states.

Results

For the purpose of this study, the District of Columbia should be included wherever reference is made to all U.S. states. All of the states in the United States, including the District of Columbia, have a sex offender registry web site made accessible to citizens. The department that is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of such sites varies from state to state. In general, those departments fall in to seven different categories.

In just over one third (33.33%) of all U.S. states, sex offender registry web sites are maintained by state police. In almost 22%, such web sites are kept up by the state’s Department of Public Safety. The Department of Corrections controls and maintains sex offender registry web sites in close to 6% of U.S. states, while the Office of the Attorney General is responsible for almost 10% of such web sites. Various states utilize some type of investigative bureau (13.73%) in order to ensure the upkeep of their sex offender registry website. Only two states (Rhode Island and South Carolina) have a specific Sex Offender Registry Unit that is held responsible for web site update and maintenance, and almost 12% of the states utilize some “other” department. In two states (Arkansas and Vermont) the Criminal Information Center is used. Others include the Division of Criminal Justice Services (New York), the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (Minnesota), the State Bureau of Identification (Delaware), and finally, the State Department of Justice (Montana).

The majority of the state sex offender registry (SOR) web sites (80.39%) have placed links to the various laws and statutes – state and federal – that mandate that such web sites exist. In fact, only two states (Illinois and Kansas) do not mention those laws and statutes at all. The majority of U.S. states’ SOR web sites list two different disclaimers, or warnings, regarding the information available on their web sites. The first disclaimer was found on over 94% of U.S. state’s SOR web sites, stating that the information publicly available should not be used to threaten, intimidate, harass, or injure those listed on the registry, or legal, criminal action would be the result. On over three quarters (78.43%) of all U.S. state’s SOR web sites, a second disclaimer warns citizens that the information is updated regularly, but that because the sex offenders themselves report the information provided, it may not always be accurate.

Searchable Attributes

Research in this study shows that citizens are provided with certain general attributes in order to search SOR web sites for sex offenders in their communities. Those general attributes are highlighted in Figure 1. Approximately 96% of all states offer searches of their databases by the sex offender’s last name, while the first name is sufficient in almost 65% of state’s online registries. In less than 30% of all state’s online registries, residents have the option to search for offenders using their home address. Citizens in over 75% of all U.S. states can search by city and county, and in over 88% of states, databases are searchable by zip code. Only seven states (13.73%) offer an option to search all entries, and over half (56.86%) of the state SOR web sites allow a citizen to search by only the first letter of a sex offender’s last name.

In addition to the general searchable attributes offered by most states, there are also states that offer searches of physical characteristics. For instance, in seven states (13.73%), citizens have the option to search for a registered sex offender by his/her race, and in just over 9% of all U.S. states, a citizen can search the SOR web site by the offender’s gender. Physical characteristics including height, weight, eye color, and hair color can be used to search for registered offenders in four states (7.84%). Additionally, in nine states (17.65%), residents have the option to search SOR databases by the offender’s birth date or age range.

Citizens in eight states (15.69%) can search SOR databases by offender type (i.e. sex offender, sex predator, non-compliant offender) or by level, or tier, of the committed offense (i.e. level/tier 1, 2, 3). In both Hawaii and Maryland, residents are given the option to search the state’s SOR website for only those who commit offenses against children.

Information Provided Regarding Registered Sexual Offenders

In over half of all U.S. states (56.86%), sex offenses are categorized, classified, or placed on levels or tiers of seriousness. Even though those who commit lower levels of offenses are considered to carry less potential for risk, 58.82% of all U.S. states still require them to register, and still provide residents with pertinent information about them. In five states (9.80%), information is provided for only those offenders who have been classified as either “high-risk” offenders or sexual predators. In over half (64.71%) of all U.S. states, juveniles are required to register and have their information posted on the SOR web site. Many of those states require that juveniles meet certain conditions in order to have their registry information posted. Some of those conditions include those juveniles who are convicted in an adult court, those who have public registry included in their sentence, as well as those who are both non-compliant and meet varying age requirements.

As with the types of searchable attributes, there are also certain types of offender information that are generally listed on each state’s SOR web sites. Slightly over 94% of all state SOR web sites provide pictures of all registered offenders. Three states (Arkansas, Colorado, and Montana) supply pictures for those who have been convicted of sexual offense, but not for those who are registered because they have committed a violent non-sexual act against a child. Every state provides the name of the offender, and almost 63% provide known aliases of each offender.

Over 92% of U.S. states provide citizens with the full home address of each registered sexual offender. Certain states only offer limited address information. For instance, California only lists the offender’s zip code, Rhode Island only lists the street name, Vermont only lists the offender’s city of residence, and Washington lists the entire address of the offender, but leaves out the last two digits of the offender’s street number. A little under one third (31.37%) of all states also inform residents of each registered offenders work, school, or temporary address, and Nebraska provides the places that each offender frequents throughout the state.

Most states provide certain standard physical characteristics of each of the registered sex offenders. These are shown in Figure 2. Over 92% of all state's SOR web sites list the offender’s gender, and the majority (94.12%) list either the offender’s age or his/her date of birth. Nevada only provides the offender’s birth year. Additionally, the race or ethnicity of each registered offender is listed on the SOR web site of 88.24% of all states. Also commonly provided for residents are the height and weight (86.28%) as well as the hair and eye color (84.31%) of each offender required to register. Surprisingly, only slightly more than 41% of all states provide citizens with any marks, scars, or tattoos that each registered offender may have.

Almost every state (94.12%) provides residents with the sexual offense(s) that each offender has been convicted of, and slightly over half (50.98%) offer descriptions of the actual crime. Twenty-two (43.14%) states provide the age and gender of the offender’s victim, but only five states (9.80%) tell residents whether or not the victim knew his/her perpetrator. Surprisingly, only a little over 37% of all state SOR registries provide the offender’s registration date, and only one-third provide citizens with the most current date that the offender’s information had been verified. Just over three quarters (76.47%) of all state’s online registries do inform citizens if an offender is non-compliant.

Useful Links

Most citizens do not have knowledge of criminal codes or legislative terminology used by criminal justice professionals to define certain crimes; however, only 58.82% of all state SOR web sites provide residents with such a web link (see Figure 3). In fact, only slightly over one-half of all state’s SOR web sites offer a list of “Frequently Asked Questions” and their answers, and surprisingly, only nineteen states (37.26%) provide information for citizens regarding safety tips for themselves and for those around them, including their children. Sixteen states (31.37%) provide some form of information for registered offenders regarding sex offender registration requirements, including forms for address change or temporary address change.

Discussion

The purpose of the present study was to gain knowledge on what is provided for residents in the United States on state provided, web-based, public sex offender registries. Research in this study shows that there are commonalities from state to state in what attributes are searchable and in what is provided upon obtaining search results. The majority of all state SOR web sites are searchable by the offender’s last name, and by the resident’s city, zip code, and county. A great number of state SOR registries provide citizens with the offenders name, part of his/her address, age or date of birth, and a picture of the offender. Many states also provide safety tips for parents as well as information for those offenders who must register with the state. There are also some states in the U.S. that have gone beyond minimum notification criterion as mandated by state and federal legislation.

E-mail Notification, Alert Lines, & Information lines

The overabundance of technology that is available in the United States today makes it hard to believe that very few state SOR web sites offer e-mail notification, telephone alert lines, and/or telephone information lines to citizens when a sexual offender moves in to their community. Only six (11.77%) U.S. states provide an e-mail notification service for their residents to notify them that a sex offender has, or will be moving in to their area. One state (Virginia) only provides electronic notification via e-mail to childcare facilities, public and private educational institutions, foster homes, nursing homes and to those citizens who reside in the same zip code as the notified facility. Similarly, there are only two states (3.92%) in the U.S. that provide alert lines for their residents. Such alert lines allow residents to submit their phone numbers so that when a registered sex offender is known to be relocating to their community, they will receive a phone call telling them to check the state’s SOR web site for information regarding the sexual offender that will be moving in. Even more shocking is the fact that only one state (New York) offers a sex offender information line where residents can call and ask questions about sexual offenders and sexual crimes. Since many of the concerns regarding state sex offender registry web sites surround harassment of sexual offender’s and increased citizen fear, it is surprising that more states would not offer some sort of informational line that concerned residents could call to ease their fears and answer their questions.

Absconders & Non-Compliant Sexual Offenders

There are many different sexual crimes and many different classifications used from state to state, throughout the U.S. for categorizing sexual offenders. Not all sexual offenders are known to pose a high, or even moderate risk to citizens once released from prison or treatment facilities. However, there are those offenders who are known to be very dangerous and often repeat offenders. Although many states inform citizens if an offender is non-compliant, not all states allow residents to search strictly for non-compliant or absconding offenders. In fact, less than 16% of all U.S. states allow citizens to perform a search for non-compliant or absconding sexual offenders. Given the seriousness of some sexual crimes and the effects that victims of sexual offenses endure, one may consider that a convicted sexual offender who refuses to comply with registry laws may pose more of a potential risk to the community that they reside in. Therefore, it is surprising that more states do not allow searches of non-compliant or absconding offenders, if for no other reason than to protect their citizens. In addition, citizens may have information regarding those who are non-compliant and therefore may have the potential to assist law enforcement agencies in ensuring that those who fail to register or verify their registry information are found and made to comply with registration laws.

Vehicle Information

Only six (11.77%) of all U.S. states provide citizens with sexual offenders’ vehicle information. This number is surprising given the fact that victims of sexual crimes are often abducted by their perpetrators before any sexual offense is committed. Providing citizens with vehicle characteristics such as license plate number, make, model, and color of a known sexual offender’s vehicle may further prevent sexual crimes and repeat offenses from occurring because people would know which cars in their communities they and their children should avoid.

Utilization of Mapping Tools

There are many mapping tools available for utilization on state SOR web sites that would provide useful information to citizens. If a sex offender’s address (work, school, and home) were plotted on a map in relation to schools, daycares, parks, and libraries, for example, many citizens would be better able to protect themselves and those around them, including children from contact with a sexual offender. However, only one third of state SOR web sites employ mapping instruments for use by citizens. Interactive and satellite maps could prove to be extremely useful to residents who want to protect themselves and those around them from a potentially dangerous offender.

The National Public Sex Offender Registry

The United States Department of Justice, in collaboration with all 50 states and the District of Columbia has recently introduced a nationwide, Internet-based sex offender registry web site. The National Sex Offender Public Registry is somewhat of a one-stop shop for citizens across the U.S. to search for the identity and location of sexual offenders. Participating states provide the information that they keep regarding sexual offenders to the U.S. Department of Justice who then makes that information available through their web site. Using this website, citizens can search for information regarding sexual offenders by providing a name, zip code, county, city, or state. The criterion for searching is limited by what each individual state provides. Some sexual offenders may choose to reside in a state where people would not be aware of the crimes they had previously committed thus bettering their chances for finding new potential victims. The National Public Sex Offender Registry allows citizens to locate a sexual offender, even if that offender is not originally from their state, or if a sex offender who has committed a crime in one state has relocated to a different state.

This one stop shop for registered sex offenders throughout the U.S. could also be very helpful to citizens who do not know how to go about finding information in their own state, or those who are thinking of relocating to a different state. There are some cities within states that are known to have many sexual offenders living in them, and someone who is relocating may not be aware of that. Given the potential for protecting the United States from sexual offenders, it is surprising that only less than one fifth of states in the U.S. provide a link to the National Public Sexual Offender registry.

Recommendations

The current study examined the content of sexual offender registry web sites of all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and found that there are general attributes that citizens can search for, as well as general listings that are provided for informational use by citizens. There are also those states that go beyond the generalities provided by the majority of U.S. states, as mandated by state and federal legislation. One recommendation that stems from this study is that each state should implement a type of electronic notification, via e-mail for its citizens when a known sexual offender moves within one mile of their home. It would also be helpful if parents could look at a map of a certain school or daycare and see if there are any registered sexual offenders living close to that facility. Next, a separate search for only those sexual offenders who are non-compliant or absconders should be endorsed by each state and by the National Public Sex Offender Registry, especially given that the potential for finding new victims becomes easier for an offender who resides in a community where no one knows of their previous offenses. Even though there are some states that do provide such a listing, that offender may not be residing in that state and thus, a national non-compliant list would be more effective.

The emergence of Internet-based sexual offender registries has been both applauded and criticized; however, the information provided seems to have the potential to protect citizens from victimization. This study shows what general information can be located on state sex offender registry web sites and what types of information are provided that seem to go above and beyond generalities provided, as well as which types tools and information should be added to better inform citizens of the presence of sexual offenders in their neighborhoods.

REFERENCES

¨ Beck, V.S., & Travis III, L.F. (2004). Sex Offender Notification and Fear of Victimization. Journal of Criminal Justice, 32, Retrieved November 1, 2006, from http://journals.ohiolink.edu:20080/local-cgi/send-pdf/061013091348227968.pdf.

¨ Beck, V.S., & Travis III, L.F. (2006). Sex Offender Notification: An Exploratory Assessment of State Variation in Notification Processes. Journal of Criminal Justice, 34, Retrieved November 3, 2006, from http://journals.ohiolink.edu:20080/local-cgi/send-pdf/061013092510229001.pdf.

¨ Caputo, A.A., & Brodsky, S.L. (2004). Citizen coping with community notification of released sex offenders. Behavioral Sciences and the Law. 22, 239-252.

¨ Cox, A.D. (1997).Preventing child abuse; A review of community-based projects I: Intervening on processes and outcome of reviews. Child Abuse Review. 6, 243-256.

¨ Cox, A.D. (1998).Preventing child abuse; A review of community-based projects II: Issues arising from reviews and future directions. Child Abuse Review. 7, 30-43.

¨ Federal Bureau of Investigation, (unknown). Investigative programs: Crimes against children. Retrieved October 28, 2006, from State Sex Offender Registry Web Sites Web site: http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/cac/states.htm

¨ Freeman - Longo, R.E. (1996).Feel good legislation: Prevention or calamity. Child Abuse & Neglect. 20, 95-101.

¨ Johnson, M., & Babcock, W.A. (1999). Toward a Moral Approach to Megan's Law. Journal of Mass Media Ethics. 14, 133-145.

¨ Levenson, J.L., & Cotter, L.P. (2005). The Effect of Megan's Law on Sex Offender Reintegration. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 21, Retrieved November 3, 2006, from http://journals.ohiolink.edu:20080/local-cgi/send-pdf/061013094833230201.pdf.

¨ Malesky, A., & Keim, J. (2001). Mental health professionals’ perspectives on sex offender registry web sites. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 13, 53-63.

¨ Petrosino, A.J., & Petrosino, C (1999). The Public safety potential of Megan's Law in Massachusetts: An Assessment from a sample of criminal sexual psychopaths. Crime and Delinquency. 45, 140-158.

¨ Sample, L.L., & Bray, T.M. (2006). Are sex offenders different? An Examination of arrest patterns. Criminal Justice Policy Review. 17, 83-102.

¨ Simon, J. (1998).Managing the monstrous: Sex offenders and the new penology. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. 4, 452-467.

¨ Tewksbury, R. (February 2005). Collateral consequences of sex offender registration. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 21, Retrieved November 8, 2006, from http://journals.ohiolink.edu:20080/local-cgi/send-pdf/061013113529249081.pdf

¨ Trivits, L.C., & Reppucci, D. (2002). Application of Megan's law to juveniles. American Psychologist. 57, 690-704.

¨ United States Supreme Court (2003). Connecticut Department of Public Safety v. Doe (538 U. S. ____ (2003), October Term: 2002 from U.S. Supreme Court Web site: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/02pdf/01-1231.pdf

¨ United States Supreme Court (2003). Smith v. Doe (Cite as: 538 U. S. ____ (2003)). October Term: 2002, from U.S. Supreme Court Web site: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/02pdf/01-729.pdf

¨ United States Department of Justice, (2006). Dru Sjodin national sex offender public web site. Retrieved November 15, 2006, Web site: http://www.nsopr.gov/

¨ United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (2004). Uniform Crime Reports. Retrieved November 27, 2006, from U.S. Department of Justice Web site: http://bjsdata.ojp.usdoj.gov/dataonline/Search/Crime/State/RunCrimeOneYearofData.cfm

¨ United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (2005). Criminal Victimization. Retrieved November 10, 2006, from U.S. Department of Justice Web site: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvictgen.htm

¨ Welchans, S. (2005).Megan's Law: Evaluations of sexual offender registries. Criminal Justice Policy Review. 16, 123-140.

PRIVATE SECURITY IN EASTERN EUROPE: ROMANIA - A CASE STUDY

2007-03-25T05:44:00.000-07:00

PRIVATE SECURITY IN EASTERN EUROPE:
ROMANIA – A CASE STUDY

Keith Haley
Tiffin University

Theodora E. D. Ene
University of Bucharest

Article is copyrighted. All rights pertain.

The article is also a paper presented at the
2007 Annual Meeting of the
Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
March 13 – 17, 2007
Seattle, Washington

PRIVATE SECURITY IN EASTERN EUROPE:
ROMANIA – A CASE STUDY

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

A nation needs to be secure, of course, in order to survive. Security for a nation manifests itself in many ways, especially in light of recent terrorist attacks and attempts in the United States and throughout the world. Security scholars and commentators can reel off a list of particular security concerns: physical; personal; information; cyber; border; transportation; school; homeland and all of the manifestations thereof since the 9/11 tragedy in the United States. At first glance, for the uninformed, the thought is likely to be that the protection of all of the human, physical, information, and border security falls upon the heavily burdened public law enforcement and security agencies. The reality is that private security agencies in the United States and in many nations of the world employ more personnel than public law enforcement. In America, for example, more that 1 million employees now work in private security and about 800,000 work in public law enforcement (Bohm and Haley, 2007). Substantial growth is forecast for private security well into the 21st century (Cunningham, 1990).

Private Security in the United States

Haley, Ene, and Collins (2005) studied the 10 largest private security firms in the United States. Table 1 below identifies those companies along with the size of their workforces and revenue.

Table 1. U. S. Private Security Agencies, Headquarters City, and Number of Employees (Haley, Ene, and Collins, Private Security on the Web. A paper presented at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences).

Securitas
Chicago, IL
200,000
$2,701,300,000

Group 4 Securicor
Gatwick, Sussex, UK
340, 000
$1,351,900,000

Allied Barton Security
King of Prussia, PA
37,000
$1,000,090,000

Guardsmark
Memphis, TN
17, 447
$456,500,000

Day and Zimmerman
Philadelphia, PA
3,298
$1,300,000,000

Initial Security
San Antonio, TX
14,000
$312,500,000

U.S. Security Associates
Roswell, GA
17,000
$311,760,000

Transnational Security Group
St. Louis, MO
14,653
$302,392,000

American Commercial Security
Houston, TX
11,000
$247,500,000

MVM. Inc.
Vienna, VA
4,300
$164,228,227

TOTAL = 10

It almost goes without saying that private security is big business in the United States. Even the smallest of the top ten private security companies, MVM, employs 4,300 workers while the largest company, Group 4 Securicor, employs 340,000 worldwide. The mean number of workers for the top ten U.S. private security corporations is 65,872.

The security business in the U.S. and worldwide would indeed seem profitable with Securitas grossing annual revenue of $2,701,300,000, the most of the top ten U.S. security firms. The least amount of revenue collected by a "top-ten" security company was the $164,228,227 attributed to MVM, also the smallest of the corporations. The mean amount of annual revenue collected by the top-ten U.S. security companies was $814,817,022.

Securitas, the largest company operating in the United States employs 200,000 workers worldwide and has an annual revenue of $2,701,300,000. The smallest of the 10 in this study was MVM Inc., employing 4,300 workers with an annual revenue of $164,228,227. Private security in the United States is big business with a workforce now larger than those who work in public law enforcement.

Private Security in Romania

The size of the Romanian private security industry is also impressive given the relatively short period of time the nation has allowed private security agencies. Romania is now the nation of choice for investment in Southeastern Europe. While not all sectors of the free Romanian economy have grown as fast as the leaders and the citizens of the nation would prefer, it is now named as the nation of choice by investors in Europe (Budapest Business Journal, February 13, 2007). The largest company operating in Romania is Group 4 Falk Valahia with a workforce of 2,500 and annual revenue of $5,723,304. Table 2 below identifies 10 largest private security firms in Romania, along with the size of their workforce and annual revenue.

Table 2 below lists the Romanian private security companies included in the study.

Table 2. Romanian Private Security Agencies, Headquarters City, Number of Employees, and Annual Revenue. (Haley, Ene, and Collins. Private Security on the Web. A paper presented at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences).

Group 4 Falck Valahia
Bucharest, Romania
2,500
$5,723,304

Cobra Security
Bucharest, Romania
1,500
$3,951,679

Prima Guard Security
Bucharest, Romania
1,200
$1,889,628

Bidepa Security
Bucharest, Romania
750
$2,100,000

Guard One Alarm Systems
Bucharest, Romania
370
Not available

Bartguard Services
Bucharest, Romania
161
$941,454

Roval Group
Bucharest, Romania
100
Not available

International CPI Security
Bucharest, Romania
720
Not available

Bronec Protection
Bucharest, Romania
510
$370,000

Watchman Security
Timisoara, Romania
Not available
Not Available

TOTAL = 10

The size of the top Romanian companies is impressive given the relatively short time they have been in business. While not all sectors of the free Romanian economy have grown as fast as the leaders and people of the nation would have liked after the revolution in 1989, private security seems to have fared well. The smallest company in the study, Bartguard Services, has 161 employees while the largest, Group 4 Falck Valahia, employs 2,500.

The mean number of workers in nine of the top ten Romanian private security companies is 868. Watchman security does not list its number of employees.

Group 4 Falck Valahia collected $5,723,304 as the top revenue generating Romanian private security company. Bronec Protection collected $370,000. The mean amount of revenue collected by the 6 companies that posted that information was $2,496,010.

Given the size of Romania and its only recent ascent into capitalism and a free market economy it is expected that its top security companies gross far less revenue than those in the U.S., some of which have been in existence for more than a century. The prospects look very good, however, for the growth of the private security industry in Romania.

Note that all revenues cited in Tables 1 and 2 are the most recent annual revenue figures available to the public, most being from the year 2003.

The total number of private security companies operating in Romania is 877 as of May 31, 2006. (Bucharest General Police Inspectorate, www.politiaromana.ro ). Of the total number 338(38%) are in Bucharest city and county, the capital of the nation. The better developed a county is economically, of course, the more private security companies it has operating within its jurisdiction. Timisoara, in Timis County, and Constanta City and County are well developed economic centers on opposite sides of the nation and are host to a large number of private security firms.

Romanian private security companies are licensed by the government to offer services based on their ability to demonstrate that they have the assets to successfully fulfill the obligations of those agencies, business, institutions, and people who request them. Of the 877 private security companies in Romania, 791(90.1%) are licensed to transport items of value (to include large some of cash) for private companies and government. The same number and percent offer personal protection services. Consultancy services to private companies, people, and government agencies concerning security and protection matters are offered by 794(90.4%) of the 877 Romanian private security companies.

It should be noted that protection services is a term that is used broadly in Romania. For example, some of the companies in this study offer ambulance, emergency medical care, and other medical services.

The Change in Romania

A number of things make Romania unique among its Southeast European neighbors and in general:
1. Romania is the only non-Catholic Latin nation in the world.

2. Romania is the only Eastern Bloc nation that had a bloody revolution to overthrow communism. They tried and executed their dictator and his wife on Christmas day in 1989.

3. Romania is the only former communist nation that was debt free on the date that communism fell.

4. Romania was the only communist nation during the Cold War that had most favored trade nation status with the United States.

5. Romania was the only Eastern Bloc nation that managed to keep Soviet troops off its soil for most of the period of the Cold War.

6. Romania's people have a very high regard for America with 64% having a fine opinion of the U.S., second only to Albania (Press Review, October 17, 2006, www.pressreview.ro).

One of the most admired Americans in Romania is Microsoft's Bill Gates. He was just awarded Romania's highest national honor, the Star of Romania, at the grand opening of a new Microsoft Technology Center in Bucharest. Gates gets about 75% of his new programmers for Microsoft each year from Romania.

As of January 1, 2007, Romania is one of the 29 nations which comprise the European Union, a move that will allow it to receive millions of dollars in development funds from the EU and to compete in more EU nations' markets on an equitable basis. Investments and business are already booming in Romania, but it still has some work to do in rooting out government corruption and the remaining vestiges of power still held by those who were favored and profited under communism.

The Look in Bucharest: You Can See the Difference

What a difference the demise of a dictator, the inception of democracy and a decade in time can mean in a nation of people that love freedom. As the first author of this paper, I have visited Romania 19 times and every time I return I see progress on so many fronts. The economy is now growing 7% per year, the small utilitarian, B-grade Dacia automobile is slowly vanishing from the streets, and the potholes are filled in Bucharest. In fact, the Romanian government will buy your Dacia so you can purchase a bigger, better, and less polluting car to the tune of 3,000 RON to each of the owners of 16,500 cars (Budapest Business Journal, February 14, 2007).
In July of last year, many times I walked north from the Piata Unirii where there is a shopping mall and the flat where I stayed to Piata Romana a lovely square about 2 miles away. Private security officers and vehicles were very visible, much more so than walking a comparable distance in a large U.S. city. I saw private security officers at the Bank of Romania, the Planet Casino, the Banca Transilvania, Banca Pireus, FinansBank, Sensiblu Pharmacy, Eva Store for Women, Banca Commerciala, Flamingo Computers, Libraria Dalles (a wonderful book store), Zapp Phone Company, McDonald's, KFC, and in the tunnels and on the new trains where Scorseze Security just started watching the rail system and its passengers. It is an understatement to say that private security companies and their staff are virtually everywhere. The Romanian Police are far less visible.

Only optimism can characterize the outlook toward the economy and the concomitant growth of the private security industry in Romania. In an Ernst and Young LLP Survey of 200 companies from mostly West Europe, 58% of the companies said they considered Romania a good place to invest in 2007 and 68% said that it will be a prospective investment location within 3 years. (Budapest Business Journal, February 2, 2007)

METHODOLOGY

The purposes of this study are several:

1. Describe the rapid growth of the private security industry in Romania since the demise of communism in 1989;

2. Describe the major functions that private security companies in Romania perform for government and private enterprise;

3. Discuss the results of three in-depth, structured interviews with the owner-executives of two of Romania's largest private security corporations and the president of that nation's private security professional association.

All of the structured interviews were conducted during the month of June in 2006, in the city of Bucharest, Romania.

RESULTS

Interview with Nicu Stefan (June 26, 2006)

Nicu Stefan is the General Manager of Prima Guard Security Group and the Vice President of the Association of Private Security Companies in Romania (Patronatul Societatilor de Securitate). When we entered his suite of offices in Bucharest it was obvious from surroundings that the company was a very successful competitor in the private security industry. The offices were luxurious and impeccably maintained. We soon came to learn in the interview how hard this professional had worked to reach this position of prominence and the motivation he had to do so.

His background was impressive before he decided to enter the field of private security: graduate of both the Romanian Military Academy and the Romanian Police Academy at the University of Bucharest; 30 years of service in the Romanian military; worked from 1990 to 1997, in the Romanian Presidency Secret Service. In 1997, he was only 44 years old.

Mr. Stefan spent a considerable amount of time explaining why he decided to leave the Romanian Presidency Secret Service and the story represents a look inside of one of the exceptional members of the government services in Romania and the merger of his motivation and courage with burgeoning business opportunity in Romania in the late 1990's.

Two people had considerable influence over his decision to enter the private security business. The first was a Captain in the French Prime Minister's Secret Service that he had worked with and became his friend. Before saying good bye to the French Captain at the airport in Bucharest several years ago, the Captain mentioned to Stefan that he was not paid enough for his talent and all of this work that he did in the Romanian Presidency Secret Service. The thought stuck with him and, in fact, he began to compare the working conditions, salary, and the kind of protection the Romanian Presidency Secret Service in comparison to the French service. He sensed that he was being undervalued given his level and quality of performance in service to Romania.

But more important was his relationship with his 6 year old son. His son would ask him for toys and other items and he would reply that they would need to wait until his government payday on the 25th of each month. His son said that his child friend “always gets what he wants when he wants it.” After hearing that several times, he asked what does the father of his friend do, wondering how he always has money. His son told him that the father did not work but the mother owns two doughnut establishments in Big Berceni, and important marketplace in Bucharest. This caused Mr. Stefan to resign from the Secret Service. His colleagues in the Secret Service were shocked that he would leave the position of prominence that he had achieved in a relatively short period of time. But Stefan was ready to take the risk to make things better for his family.

Mr. Stefan went to work for a private security company. He worked there for about a year and he told us that he learned more in that job working on the streets than he had in both the Police and Military Academies. At the end of a year, he asked the owner of the company to raise his salary as originally promised, but the owner said the finances of the company would not allow that. Hearing that, Stefan resigned again.

Now he was ready to risk the small amount of savings that he had accumulated in order to make a better life for his son and family. In a matter of two weeks, he established Prima Guard Security Company. He became what he said was a “jack of all trades,” hustling to obtain and sign security contracts and supervising his 40 security guards that he furnished and equipped out of his own apartment that doubled as the company’s office.

In less than two years, the company grew to 200 employees. Then he met with his current partner and discussed the possibility of joining private security forces and further advance the development of Prima Guard Security. They did join forces and the company continued to grow.
In 2002, it was Stefan's Prima Guard Security that initiated the formation of the Association of Private Security Companies. Currently 120-130 companies are members of the Association and the companies represent 50,000 private security employees in Romania. Like Mr. Stefan, all of the vice presidents of the Association are executives in Romanian private security companies. The one exception is the President of the Association. Ion Popescu, who was chosen from outside the private security industry in order to maintain impartiality in dealing with all of the Association's members. Mr. Stefan stated that on October 4, 2005, the Association became an associate member of the Confederation for European Security Services (CoESS). Now that Romania is a member state in the European Union and the Association is an active member of the CoEES.

While initially the other larger private security companies did not pay much attention to Prima Guard Services, in time the other companies discovered that Prima Guard Services was indeed a worthy competitor in the private security industry. In time, the company developed into Prima Guard Security Group (a holding company) that consisted of the following companies: Prima Guard International; Prima Guard Security Services; Fire and Private Detective Company.

In time, Prima Guard Security developed partnerships with private security companies in Hungary, Moldova Republic, Greece, Italy, and Israel. Prima Guard Security has partnership contracts with 14 companies and half of those companies have exclusive contracts that allow Prima Guard Security Service to supply security services for a period of two years before the contracts have to be renegotiated.

Mr. Stefan said that one of the Israeli companies he is working with is huge and was responsible for ensuring the security services at the Athens Olympic Games in 2000, by providing security services at the airports. Mr. Stefan emphasized that he is also responsible for the operation of contracts not only in Romania but throughout all of East Europe. Joining forces with larger companies has been a successful strategy that has allowed the company to become more and more profitable over the years. Particularly with the international contracts, Mr. Stefan said that he has become friends with many of those he is working with, no matter what country. He claimed his ability to make friends easily is one reason he is able to establish even strong partnerships and contractual arrangements in other nations.

The authors asked Mr. Stefan if he employs a lot of former police officers in his company. He mentioned that Hungary does this a lot and that it does have some advantages and also identifiable disadvantages. The advantage, of course, is that knowledge and experience the police officers bring to the job, but there are some disadvantages that he did not elaborate on.
In 2005, he met with a former CIA superior officer and an Italian lady for the purpose of setting up an European Institute for Security. One of the things that the Institute was supposed to do was provide a Masters degree in Security Services. The Institute was supposed to work as a shareholding company where each member got a quota of the shares. In this project, the Romanian government was supposed to receive a certain number of shares too. If Romania would have sent 100 private security agents to get their masters degree, their tuition fee would have been covered by the Romanian government. Mr. Stefan came to realize later that the Italian and American were not interested in the program, but only intended to access some funds from the European Union and the Italian government. In short, the project fell through.
We asked him if a newly employed security agent that comes from the police force has any chance of advancing through the hierarchy of Prima Guard Services and becoming a high-ranking manager in the company.

Instead of answering the question directly, he gave us what he called a "real-life" example. He mentioned a woman named Camelia that became employed with the company in 2004. He mentioned that she was shy in the beginning but she proved to be a real asset, becoming one of his most trustworthy employees from the Marketing and Tenders Department. He said that several days ago, he shocked the staff of his company by asking Camelia to become one of the executive directors. He said that she had learned a lot since she joined the company and she has more to learn. He mentioned that she reminds him of what he was like when he was developing Prima Guard Services. Mr. Stefan said that Camelia fights like a lioness for her rights among the other employees and this impresses them.

Mr. Stefan stated that if he has to choose between a police department general that does not perform and a young person that has been trained and educated at Prima Guard Services and does perform, he would rather have the young person.

Since video surveillance technology is so prominent in the field of private security in the United States and in other nations, we asked Stefan what was going on in Romanian private security as it relates to video surveillance technology. He answered that Romanian private security was only in the beginning stages of implementing the video surveillance services.

As closing question, we asked Mr. Stefan what changes need to take place in the private security field in Romania. First, he mentioned that he hoped the 98 amendments the Association sent to the Romanian government concerning the new private security law would be accepted. The overall result of accepting those amendments would be that only the professional private security companies would be able to survive in, the least professional ones would no longer be allowed to stay in business.

One of the government regulations that Mr. Stefan disagreed with had to do with requiring all Romanian private security officers, regardless of the company, to where a uniform with standard and distinctive marks. The Association took this matter to a civilian trial court and the Association won the case thereby blocking the requirement that all private security agents in Romania had to wear essentially the same uniform. He mentioned this as a rare event when a company can win a trial against the government.

Interview with Ion Popescu (June 30, 2006)

Mr. Ion Popescu is President of the Association of Private Security Companies in Romania (Patronatul Societatilor de Securitate). The authors arrived in mid-morning of June 26, 2006, at the office of the Private Security Association. The office suite consisted of a several private offices, a general area for welcoming and common work, and a conference room. Mr. Popescu is a gracious and hospitable man and agreed to give us all of the time that we needed to conduct our interview.

Mr. Popescu began by saying that private security companies started at the beginning of 1990, in Romania. Law number 31\1990 established the grounds for starting and regulating the field of business. There was no such legislation, however, that dealt specifically with private security. The result was that private security companies formed and offered services but there was no regulation concerning what they did or the qualifications of their personnel.

In the early 1990s, Mr. Popescu was promoted to the position of Director at the Public Order Division of Bucharest General Police Department. Almost immediately upon establishing his position as the director, he requested that the original private security companies establish a set of rules to govern themselves. He told the heads of the private security companies at the time that by forming a set of rules for self-governance the private companies and commercial enterprises that would employ their services would look more favorably upon them and it would result in more business. He mentioned that private enterprises, sometimes, would not trust private security companies, thinking that the security personnel would breach their contract and, actually, plunder the same companies that they were hired to protect.

In 1996, Law number 18\1996 established the rules and governing circumstances under which a private security company could operate. Mr. Popescu had been the person who conceived these ideas that ended up in law while he was with his job as the Director of Police in Bucharest.
After his retirement in 2001, Mr. Popescu was contacted by different representatives of private security companies that wanted to establish a professional association. They wanted his assistance in founding and administering such an organization.

The name of the association was the Romanian Association of the Professionals in Guarding and Security Systems. The original membership consisted of 50 private security companies that employed approximately 35,000 private security agents. Currently, there are 102 members in the association that Mr. Popescu heads up. In all of Romania, there are about 900 to 950 private security companies which employ about 60,000 workers. The number of public police officers in Romania is also about 60,000.

In 2003, the Association changed its name to the Association of Private Security Companies in Romania (Patronatul Societatilor de Securitate). Popescu mentioned that this was more than just a name change. The status of the professional body changed and certain advantages began to emerge:

1. The Association was able to take part in the official dialogue with the Romanian government and unions concerning work agreements and contracts;

2. Even more important, the Association was permitted to conceive new regulations in law and could provide amendments to current and new legislation concerning private security. This was indeed a leap forward for the professionalization of private security in Romania. This is a privilege not given to most professional associations.

3. The Association would now act as a single voice for all private security companies that operate in Romania, allowing the industry's requests, issues, and, sometimes, demands to be heard by the national government.

Mr. Popescu noted that it was important to remember that the Romanian police have the main responsibility in supervising the private security industry. That, of course, was the reason a special service was instituted within the national police to oversee private security.
In 2003, the Association became a member of the Council of European Security Services. But Mr. Popescu found out that there was no common legislation concerning private security in Europe. Even though there were some similar services in the private security enterprises in each nation, each country preferred to originate and maintain their own legislation regarding the regulation of the private security field.

Providing an example of the range of private security services that private security companies in Romania offer, he said that some military units in Romania are actually guarded and protected with the support of private security companies. Furthermore, about 80% of cash in the nation of Romania is transported by private security companies. He emphasized that that essentially means that about 80% of the national economy in terms of its wealth is in the hands of private security companies on any given day. The companies have even more responsibility concerning money. They have established currency centers for the counting, sorting, and processing of money before it is transported to its rightful destinations.

On a personal note, Mr. Popescu mentioned that in 2003 his replacement as the Director of Police conceived a new law regarding the operation of private security companies in Romania. He mentioned that his replacement had no experience working in the field of policing with private security and he was trying to make an impression with the government and the private security. The new law 333\2003 was replete with errors and contained too many restraints on the activities of private security companies. The Association submitted a list of over 90 amendments to this new law, but not one of them was considered by the authorities. His point was that his replacement should have been someone who had experience working in and with the private security industry.

Mr. Popescu mentioned that the new law requires that owners and managers that just established a new private security company should undergo a special training program. But there are no training programs designed for the owners and managers, so they have to attend the same training as the future private security personnel who work at the operations level. There have been a couple of examples, he said, where universities have stepped in and provided some training for the owners and managers. One of those programs was provided by Professor Suceava, a former police officer and faculty member at the Police Academy housed in the University of Bucharest.

The authors had mentioned to Mr. Popescu the study they had conducted of the 10 largest private security companies in Romania. That study was presented in a paper at the annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. He mentioned that seven out of the ten private security companies in our study were members of the Association. One of the companies, BartGuard Services, had to cancel its membership because the fee to join the Association was considered to be too high.

We had asked a question about the kinds of people that head up these private security companies. He mentioned that the owners and investors at the private security companies are former sportsmen, meaning from the field of athletics, and not from the field of police work. He said that the former police and military force members can be found in the positions of Operations Director and Manager in these private security companies, but very seldom are they owners or entrepreneurs of these companies. Popescu mentioned that the thought crossed his mind to start a private security company, but when he seriously considered such an endeavor he concluded that he would not be financially capable of doing this.

Concerning membership in the organization, there are two categories of members. There are association members and affiliate members. Logically, each category of membership has different responsibilities and privileges. The association members have full voting rights and veto rights over matters that the Association proposes. And association membership costs about $860 per year. The affiliate members have many of the same rights as the association members however they do not have veto rights over matters the Association proposes and they cannot be elected to the board of governors of the association. And affiliate membership costs approximately $260 per year. In 2004, the Association developed a professional code of ethics, which new members must subscribe to before joining the Association.

We asked Mr. Popescu about the state of video surveillance technology in private security services in Romania. He said that it was only in the formative stages and is likely to increase.
Before we left the office of the association, Mr. Popescu thanked us for our professional interest in his work and offered his assistance should we need any more information. We told him how grateful we were for this interview and that we would share the results of our study with him.

Interview with Costin Oprea (June 30, 2006)

On the afternoon of June 30, 2006, we interviewed Mr. Costin Oprea, the General Director of BartGuard Services (BGS). Oprea is a tall, well-built private security executive in his 30's. During the Revolution in 1989, he was a teenage boy. He has about one year of experience working as a private security agent at the operations level.

BartGuard Services is a family business and is run by three brothers. One of them is Bogdan Oprea, the President of BGS. Mr. Oprea said that the way his parents raised him and his two brothers at home was a factor in their eventual striking out on their own and becoming security entrepreneurs.

While they worked a short time as private security agents, they soon became dissatisfied with the poor quality of the work done at the company they worked for.

Feeding off of that dissatisfaction, the brothers founded BartGuard Services in 1993, later known as BGS as a result of rebranding. The company has been successful. BGS is the only private security company that offers medical ambulance services. They provide this service in order to answer the urgent medical needs they or their clients may encounter.

According to Oprea, the company has branched out into other areas that are not common among other private security companies. They have established a charity known as BGS Association for Disasters and Calamities. The charity is supported with funds from the private security company and its purpose is to develop various social programs such as training children, students, and professors on how to deal with the circumstances deriving from natural disasters.

We asked Mr. Oprea how developed the practice of police and private security video surveillance was in Romania. He said that BGS is now in the beginning stages of offering this service. Relatively few of his clients at this time were using it. Oprea commented that it would be cheaper if some of his clients used video surveillance rather than employing private security agents on site. The fee for basic video surveillance service offered by BGS is 14-20 Euros per month plus the installation fee. Oprea seemed very interested in expanding the video surveillance business.

It was obvious from the start that BGS was interested in providing the best service possible for their clients in Romania. Oprea had even visited the United States, including Ohio, and worked with American private security companies in various capacities, including patrol work, in order to better understand the private security business.

We asked Oprea about the arming of private security agents in Romania. He stated that firearms were issued only to those private security agents who were assigned to work in banks and in the transporting of high value items and currency. The other private security agents are equipped with batons and pepper spray.

Private security legislation was of interest to Mr. Oprea since it has such an effect on this business. While seeing the value in the legislation to regulate the private security industry, he said that each enactment had some “stupid parts” to it. For example, according to the first law in the early 1990’s, men could not be employed in the private security field unless they had already satisfied their military obligation. But women could work in private security with no previous military experience. He related that out of 700 employees in BGS, only 10 women worked as private security agents.

Mr. Oprea wanted us to understand that BGS is interested in quality private security services, and not offering service just for the sake of making money. To date, Oprea said that none of the BGS contracts had been terminated in regard to not meeting quality standards for service. This level of service comes with a price for the clients and BGS. BGS clients pay more for services than they would from most other private security companies and the BGS private security agents make more than the average market salary for their work. This results in slower growth for the company when compared to some other ones, but the tenure of their clients makes up for that.

DISCUSSION

The differences and similarities in the backgrounds of the three Romanian private security professionals we interviewed alone provides and interesting backdrop for discussion. They came from a military and secret service background; a police officer background; and from a background of only private security operations level experience resulting in owning and managing a successful private security business. All in their own way are leaders in the burgeoning private security industry in Romania.

Already the object of forecasts that make it perhaps the best place in Eastern Europe to invest, Romania may be facing a labor shortage for its more menial jobs. Politicians and business leaders are already talking about bring in workers from the Ukraine, Russia, and Vietnam.

Professionalization of Private Security

It is obvious from the interview responses of all three interviewees that the private security industry in Romania is in the throes of professionalization. It seems that most of the stimuli for that movement are coming from the leaders in private security themselves as they work through the auspices of the Association of Private Security Companies in Romania.
This professionalization movement is not unlike what happened in the U.S. under the leadership of the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS). We should not forget either that in the late 1980’s in the U.S. there were still only 4 states that had any regulation at all over the private security industry. Romania, in contrast, would seem to be moving faster although
given the multiplicity of political parties and coalitions at the national level, realizing any legislative improvements in the private security industry will require patience.

Growth Potential of the Private Security Industry (video surveillance)

We are confident with the solid and numerous predictions for growth in the Romanian economy that there will be a concomitant increase in the number of private security agencies and personnel. It is virtually impossible to find a pessimistic prediction concerning the Romanian economy for the next several years.

Equally impressive is the character and preparedness of the Romanian workforce. The public education and higher education systems rank high among the other nations of Europe and are at the top of the ladder in Eastern Europe. But one of the serious issues Romania will need to deal with that has already hurt the nation is the loss of about 1 million of its capable young people who have left to work and live in other nations. As mentioned earlier, Bill Gates of Microsoft knows how talented and well educated many in the workforce are and he goes to Romania regularly to recruit IT professionals. The new Microsoft center in Bucharest should stem some of the exodus of talent from the nation.

Given the proliferation of both private and public video surveillance systems in the U.S and in other parts of the developed world, Romania is ripe for implementation of this technology within the private security industry. As was mentioned by our three interviewees, video surveillance technology is just getting started. The technical talent to design and implement these surveillance systems is certainly readily available in this nation that is a leader in producing IT professionals.

One matter in relation to the growth potential of surveillance technology in both the private and public sectors is of interest. Will this nation quietly accept the proliferation of video and audio surveillance to protect its businesses, public, and private property, and the people? Romania is a nation that suffered under one of the most personally intrusive dictators in modern history. Ceausescu established intelligence files on millions of Romanians. These same people and their descendants may resist with vigor the deployment of intrusive video surveillance even when it is to “protect” them and their property.

Women and Private Security

Almost absent in our conversation was the existence and advance of women in the private security industry in Romanian society. BartGuard Services employed only 10 (1.4%) women out of 700 employees. Stefan mentioned his recent promotion of a woman to a managerial position based on her zeal and competence in the business. But is it clear that women do not comprise any sizable portion of the operations or managerial staff of the Romanian private security industry.

We can assume, that like the situation in many other areas of the Romanian economy, women have not strived for private security positions since it was not traditional and the lingering restrictions of the past communist regime have not allowed women to realize their full potential in positions that were once held by virtually all males. We sense that the Romanian government is starting to promote the participation of women in areas that were once reserved for men only, and that membership in the European Union will assist in providing more job opportunities for women in positions once held almost exclusively by men.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Private security is destined to become a booming enterprise in Romania. The Romanian economy is positioned and forecast for substantial growth over the next decade. Membership in the European Union, visible progress in prosecuting corruption, and a leadership pool of leading private security entrepreneurs backed by a strong and influential Association of Private Security Companies are assets that will advance the private security profession.

Misters Popescu, Stefan, and Oprea, while coming out of different backgrounds and experiences, are more than likely typical of the leaders that will inspire the professionalization of the private security industry in Romania. Their pioneer work already has jumped started an industry that was virtually non-existent a decade ago. Make no mistake about it, there is money to be made in the private security business in Romania since so much of what we would consider public protection agency service lies in the private sector in Romania. That is not likely to change. The rapid growth in the number of private security companies in such a short period of time is evidence enough that there is no indication that this growth has peaked.

Caveats and complications do exist, however. Working with a cumbersome national Parliament that seems to be regularly embroiled in political squabbles makes stability in moving forward on needed legislation and the formulations of necessary government rules dealing with private security standards difficult but the three private security leaders in this study have a record of success in improving the private security industry and are not likely to be deterred in the future either.

If what has happened in Mr. Stefan’s private security company is any hint of what is to come, it even looks as if women may soon break out of their traditional roles in business and industry and start acquiring private security operations level and management positions in private security.

While there seems to be a Yugoslav proverb for about every condition in life, there are just as many proverbs in Romania and this one comes to mind: Ziua buna de dimineata se cunoaste. “You can spot a good day from early morning.” The morning is indeed good in Romania only 17 years out from under communist rule and there is every reason to believe that the rest of the day will be prosperous and rewarding for Romania and its people.

REFERENCES

Bohm, R and K. Haley. Introduction to Criminal Justice. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2007.

Bucharest General Police Inspectorate. www.politiaromana.ro

Budapest Business Journal, February 2, 2007.

Budapest Business Journal, February 13, 2007.

Budapest Business Journal, February 14, 2007.

Cunningham, W., Strauchs, S., & Van Meter, C. (1990). The Hallcrest Report II: Private Security Trends 1970-2000. MacLean, VA: Hallcrest Systems.

Haley, K, T. Ene, and J. Collins. Private Security on the Web: A Content Analysis of Private Security Corporation Websites in the United States and Romania. A Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, March 15-19, 2005, Chicago, Illinois.

Personal Interview with Ion Popescu, June 26, 2006.

Personal Interview with Nicu Stefan, June 26, 2006.

Personal Interview with Costin Oprea, June 30, 2006.

Press Review. www.pressreview.ro

MARKET OF DEATH, MARKET OF FUN: ANATOMY AND ANALYSIS OF A GUN SHOW

2006-12-28T05:48:00.000-08:00

Market of Death, Market of Fun: Anatomy and Analysis of a Gun Show

Keith Haley and Tammy Kimball

Book chapter in M. Stallo and K. Haley, Crime and Punishment in the Lone Star State, McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1997. (Copyright)

TEXAS AND THE GUN PHENOMENON

Texas has made a reputation out of "big." The expanse of unoccupied land in some parts of the state seems as vast as the ocean itself. Road signs identify cities ahead that are farther away than crossing several states. Restaurant orders often exceed the size of the average helping in other parts of the country. The extended cab pick-up truck is at home in Texas. Texas is the largest truck sales market in the nation. Then there is Billy Bob's. We guess you know about it.
Texas is also "big" on guns, going far back in its history. Sixty percent of Texas homes have guns, 12 percent higher than the national average for the number of firearms in residences (Wilson, 1993). Fifty percent of Texas homes contain more than one gun. It is not surprising that deaths from firearms in the state and assaults on the police also rank high.

Crime and Death in American Society

The current discussion about violence and firearms deaths has reached a crescendo. The rhetoric from new and strange allies pervades all of our media sources and political chambers of the nation. We have apparently concluded that “enough is enough" and the nation is poised for dramatic action. Today seems to be the time to begin chipping away at a national homicide rate which approaches 25,000 deaths annually. Approximately 15,000 of those deaths are by firearm, a percentage that has varied between 55% and 67% for nearly the last three decades (Maguire, Pastore, and Flanagan, 1992). About 19,000 people commit suicide each year using a firearm. Another 1,400 die unintentionally by firearm over the course of a year.
In Texas the shootings are as senseless as anywhere. Wielders of guns kill every day in the big cities of the state. Short tempers, mean spirits, and readily available guns, we suppose, are at the base of virtually all of these killings. Some Texans have pushed to allow all citizens to carry concealed weapons. Such a bill was narrowly defeated this past year and will probably be reintroduced in the legislature. Gun control legislation of one kind or another is up for discussion in nearly all states that have ineffective laws or no laws at all. Finally, the Brady Bill at last conquered the Congress. But with this belated backdrop of concern, do people really understand how “big” and lucrative the firearms business is in America? Do they know how easily and inexpensively they can attend a gun show and obtain one or more of a near infinite variety of firearms and other weapons which have the potential for mass destruction in the wrong hands.

The gun show is a "market of death” or a “market of fun” depending on your perspective. The first-time visitor to a gun show will be astounded at the tens of thousands firearms available, at the low purchase prices for high caliber handguns and assault rifles, and the size and variety of the crowd which will pass through the turnstiles on any given weekend. The discussion which follows will attempt to present an accurate description of the gun show phenomenon.

The Gun in American Culture

We should not be surprised that America is infatuated with guns. They have served us well in so many respects. Without question, the gun has served as a means of protection for people, their homes, and their property throughout our history. Each year tens of thousands of felons are warded-off, arrested, and even killed by people who have firearms for protection. Unfortunately, many of those who own guns for protection have inadvertently become victims of these same weapons in the hands of family members or others who gain possession of them. This was a conclusion of a study of 388 homicides funded by the National Centers for Disease Control (Wilson, 1993). Seventy-six percent of the victims studied were murdered by a friend or family member and not by home intruders or strangers carrying guns.
Guns have also been both a symbol and means of power. It isn't only the revolutionaries of the world who see power emanating from the barrel of a gun as Mao Tse-Tung was fond of saying (Schram, 1967). Criminals know that the gun can fix many of their perceived problems almost instantly, particularly the elimination of their competitors and those who double-cross them. Supported by the music genre of "gangsta" rap, children now see the gun as a major source of power in seemingly solving their problems with others who disrespect or offend them (Haley, 1993). Guns are also being used by juveniles to commit an increasing larger share of major crime. Juvenile arrests for murder, robbery, and assault increased 50% between 1988 and 1992 (U.S. Department of Justice, 1992).

Guns in the hands of our leading men and ladies in entertainment have been symbols of sexual prowess. Armed men and women in provocative poses have been standard fare in the entertainment media. The gun is used as a metaphor and symbol of sexual themes is prolific in Hollywood films. In the October issue of Texas Monthly, pictures included, an article by Anne Dingus (1993) discusses the decorative and deadly heroines of Hollywood's past and present western movies. All were pictured with guns.

From the sophistication and rigor of Olympic competition to the simple enjoyment of family target shooting, millions of Americans own firearms for sport. Hundreds of organizations exist nationwide, which promote the sporting side of firearms ownership. The National Rifle Association, Ducks Unlimited, and the National Varmint Hunters' Association are examples of these organizations. While it would be foolish to contend that some of the firearms belonging to the sportsmen and sportswomen of the nation don't result in a number of deaths each year, these gun owners are not the source of the nation's problem with firearms violence.
But perhaps as convincing as anything else in seeing the extent of our cultural ties to firearms is our language. It is "loaded" with such gun metaphors as "square shooter," "shot down," "shoots from the hip," "on target," "quick-draw," "loaded for bear," "gun shy," and "shot his wad." Guns are as American as apple pie.

DESIGN OF THE STUDY

Objectives

By means of the participant-observer method the authors intended to accomplish the following objectives in this study:

1. Describe the gun show phenomenon in North Central Texas.

2. Discuss the organization, administration, and operations of a gun show.

3. Identify the range of legal and illegal weapons available at a gun show.

4. Discuss the implications of the gun show in relation to the nation's struggle to prevent firearms deaths.

Method

The authors attended seven gun shows in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area beginning September 26, 1993 and ending on January 8, 1994. At each gun show the authors participated as interested shoppers, stopping at many of the several hundred tables at each show and talking with the vendors of all kinds of merchandise. On several occasions purchases were made. Other times the vendors were presented with opportunities to bend the rules and procedures of the show. The authors took field notes during their rounds at the show and expanded and edited their notes after they left the gun show sites.

Specifically, the following gun shows were attended and studied:

1. Dallas Market Hall Arena, Dallas, Texas, September 26, 1993

2. Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, Texas, October 31, 1993

3. Big Town Exhibition Hall, Mesquite, Texas, November 13, 1993

4. State Fairgrounds, Modern Living Building, Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma, November 27, 1993

5. Big Town Exhibition Hall, Mesquite, Texas, December 4, 1993

6. Richardson Civic Center, Richardson, Texas, December 11, 1993

7. Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, Texas, January 8, 1994.

Our account of the gun show phenomenon which follows is a composite of our findings at each of the seven gun shows observed. No one show had all of the characteristics we describe in the paper, but all of the gun shows in the study had a large majority of them. Unique features of particular shows are identified.

PRELUDE TO A GUN SHOW

It's like anything else; most of us know little about what really is going on around us until we focus our attention on the specifics. As first author of this paper, I had been away from guns since being a police officer 25 years ago. I did my four-year stint in the Marines and grew up in a family that did lots of hunting and target shooting of one kind or another. By the time I was 14, I was weary of sport shooting, preferring to spend my recreational time playing basketball and running track. My father understood.

My most recent encounter with firearms issues was as the Executive Director of Ohio's peace officer standards and training commission from 1986-1992 where I assisted in drafting firearms legislation concerning the training of police officers and private security personnel. With access to elaborate indoor and outdoor firing ranges at the beautiful Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy, I never took the time to crank off even a single round.

I owned one firearm in the last 20 years, a palmable 22 caliber, five shot pistol which I believed would be useful in home protection. That was before Tech 9's and Mac 10's. What I am saying is that I, like many Americans, was outside of the firearms scene.

In the several weeks before attending the first gun show of my life I began to notice, naturally, the presence of guns and the gun culture much more often than I had before. The heated debate in Congress over the Crime Bill and the Brady Bill, the talk show barrage on violence issues, and President Bill Clinton's and Attorney General Janet Reno's focus on youth violence and the media's depiction of crime and death all began to help me "set my sights"(another gun metaphor) on the issues to be addressed in this paper. One day in the midst of all this backdrop to my first gun show visit, I saw a bumper sticker on the back of a Nissan which read, "Happiness is a warm machine gun." If that's bad, later I learned that you could buy a videotape entitled, "Rock and Roll Machine Gun, " featuring all of the popular assault weapons in action. The person driving this Nissan was a diminutive young woman with her child in a restraining seat. No sign was on the back window which read, "Child on Board." Whatever happened to those things I wondered and is the machine gun to become the latest fad?

I began to anticipate my first show both cautiously and enthusiastically. Questions surged in my mind. Who goes to these things? Would "gang-bangers" be there? Would it be safe with all of those guns, ammunition, and people in one place? How many cops would it take to provide security? What would be for sale and how cheap are the prices? Would I be able to get the information I need to write an interesting descriptive paper? To put it simply, what the authors found at gun shows was absolutely astounding! Now, the story of our findings.

ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF GUN SHOWS

The Gun Show Loophole

Somewhere near the end of the clamor over the Brady Bill in Congress, some of the media discovered the loopholes in the legislation that was supposed to require a background check and a cooling-off or waiting period before obtaining possession of the purchase. Private gun owners can sell their weapons legally to anybody, no questions asked, no waiting period, no background check, and no forms to fill out. This can be done through classified advertisements or much more efficiently for seller and buyer is to do business at a gun show. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms spokesman Jack Killorin says: "Easily millions of gun sales can be transacted at gun shows"(Big Loophole in Gun Control Law, 1993). No law prevents a private citizen
from selling a gun(s) to a person who walks into a gun show. Frankly, there is no accurate means available to tally how many firearms are sold each year at gun shows. Licensed gun shops sold 7.5 million guns last year, but even that figure depends on the integrity of the dealer in making every sale "official." Strong incentives exist not to do so.

One more problem in relation to the gun show is the fact that no clear-cut definition exists which separates private sellers from licensed dealers, such as the number of guns sold or amount of earnings. At a gun show a private seller can buy a table for approximately $40, setting up right next to a licensed dealer, or merely walk around the show carrying a gun(s) with a "for sale" sign attached. The ATF's Jack Killorin says Texas and Florida are particularly worrisome states because of the frequency of the shows, lax laws, and ease of transit for out-of-state buyers. How did Congress miss the boat on regulation of private sales from classifieds or at gun shows? Or was their intense, but restrained, interest in regulating gun sales a calculated
charade?

Structure and Layout

From your first visit to a gun show you will be able to see that they are moneymaking ventures, commerce in its purest form. Thousands of firearms, new and used, change hands at just one gun show. Any activity with that much commercial power is bound to have some organization and rules governing participation and attendance.

First of all, gun shows have to take place in large arenas with access to lots of parking because tens of thousands of people attend them on just one weekend in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and, we would suppose, in other parts of the nation also. Only one of the shows, the Dallas Convention Center, charged for parking. It is interesting that the only other event at the Dallas Convention Center the weekend of October 31, 1993, was the International Beauty Show and it also drew a big crowd. Cosmetics and firearms are both big business in Texas. The combination of these two events resulted in some unlikely companions as each group of attendees walked from the parking lots to the arena. Admission to the arena itself is usually $5.00 at a big show with more than 700 sellers' tables. One of the shows, at the Richardson Civic Center, charged only $4.00 admission, but probably had less than the 400 tables on display, a fact which the show had advertised on a brochure. The admission price, by the way, does not include the right to go in and out of the show. Too many people attend these events on a weekend to permit such liberal passage. The number of tables in a show was determined from advertising brochures and from a reasonably accurate count by the authors. The big weekend shows are likely to have 1,000 display tables or more, most of which are tables of gun sellers.

Since all of the shows occur at large arenas the amenities of crowds need to be attended to. Consequently, food services serving breakfasts and lunches are available at all shows and rest room facilities are, of course, open. All of the shows had tables and chairs available at the concessions and these places seemed to serve as the locus for various groups to sit and discuss firearms issues and other subjects. Surprisingly, the menus contained a variety of times a full meal was available for breakfast and lunch.

Once inside the show arenas, a person's itinerary is solely up to them so long as they shop or sell within the prescribed hours of the show, usually from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Some people systematically would cover each row of tables, one-by-one while others randomly selected displays with items they were particularly interested in. Still others sought out a particular dealer they were familiar with. We saw and spoke to numerous people who came to find a particular gun, accessory, or type of ammunition and they often went directly to the sellers who had those items first since there is always the chance that a good deal will be lost if they delay. The prices are very competitive and good deals abound resulting in some vendors selling out of their stock of many popular items.

Rules and Procedures

A number of rules have been established which govern the displays, the items for sale, the sellers, and the customers. Most of these rules were evident at all of the shows observed in this study, including the gun show in Oklahoma City. Sponsors of the shows included the North Texas Gun Club, the Dallas Gun Collectors, and the Oklahoma Gun and Knife Collector’s Association.

Displays

All of the rules, which govern sellers’ displays, can be found on the advertising flyers/brochures, which announce each show. The flyers announcing future shows are readily available at the entrance to any current one. Six or eight foot display tables can be purchased in advance of the show for $40-$45. You can get a discount of $5 if you apply early. Since all of the shows begin on Saturday and end on Sunday, all of the show managers require that set-up of displays be completed on Fridays from 3-9 P.M. In that some of the vendors are bringing in literally tons of firearms for sale, it would be virtually impossible to do unloading and set-up the displays is indeed hard work. Some vendors need electricity for the show in order to show videotapes of their waves in action or to operate other equipment. Once the displays are set-up they are protected by 24-hour security services. Finally, typical of a statement the vendors are required to sign reads as follows:

If it is judged that I have misrepresented the category of items on my table, I hereby agree to forfeit my tables to the sponsor. I also agree to abide by the show rules. I understand that I am responsible for all of the tables in my name and I do not hold the sponsor responsible for my property.

Items for Sale

Gun show rules insure that customers will come to a show and find that firearms and related accessories are indeed the majority of items for sale. Advertising brochures state that “all tables must contain 100% guns, knives, or gun related items.” Specific restrictions prohibit martial arts items such as throwing stars and flea market wares which obviously leaves the door open to exclude a variety of things if so desired. All of shows we attended included displays of militaria weapons, uniforms, tools, vehicles, medals and flags. A Nazi flag can be found if you look. The shows at the Dallas Convention Center do not permit the sale of ammunition as a result of city ordinance, but other shows permitted ammo in the arena as long as it was sealed. “Sealed” could be as simple as being in a box. As discussed below, we will see that very loose interpretations were made as to what sale items were permitted at gun shows.
Those who reserve and pay for a display table(s) in advance are required to quantify the percentage of merchandise they will have the show according to several categories: guns; gun parts; sporting supplies; hunting equipment; ammo; knives; Civil War items; Indian artifacts; old Western items and others.

Customers

Customers also had certain restrictions placed on them. They were not allowed to go in and out of the show for one admission price. They were permitted to bring firearms to the show for sale, but they had to be checked at the door by security personnel, usually off-duty police officers in uniform, and the guns had to be tied, meaning a plastic ribbon was attached in such a way that the gun could not be fired. Children under 12 years of age were admitted free and all of the shows had substantial amounts of male children present accompanied by their parents or other adults. Customers were free to go up to vendors and offer their firearms for sale or for trade. Additional rules restricted the carrying of cameras into the arena. Finally, customers and vendors alike are warned that all laws must be observed which undoubtedly covers a multitude of sins.

SELLERS AND THEIR WARES

Firearms and Vendors

Unless you have been to a gun show, you cannot begin to imagine the volume and variety of firearms available for sale. Literally, a gun is on display to match every conceivable motive of a shopper whether he is the competitive shooter (trap shooter, skeet shooter, varmint shooter, or tin-can shooter), the collector of old police weapons, war weapons, limited-issue weapons, hunters of virtually anything that moves, and street thugs who are interested in expanding their arsenals.

From conversations with dealers and frequent customers and from an actual estimate based on counting tables we believe that at least 100,000 guns were on hand at the large shows held at the Dallas Convention Center and the Dallas Market Hall Arena. That estimate does not include, by the way, the number of firearms brought to the shows by shoppers who are wanting to sell or trade, a legitimate activity at the shows. Some vendors had as many as 300 pistols displayed on just two tables. Rifles and shotguns were often available from the same vendors. Beneath the display tables were often hundreds of additional weapons in boxes or metal cases. As firearms were sold off of the tables, the display was replenished from the cache under the tables or from trucks and trailers parked outside the arena.

It would be impossible to enumerate the near infinite variety of firearms available at the gun shows Books such as the Shooter's Bible and Gun Digest are good sources to see the entire list. If it exists, more than likely it was available for sale at a gun show. In general, however, the weapons should fall into the categories you would imagine: rifles, pistols, and shotguns. But it isn't that simple. There are hunting rifles and assault rifles, pistols which fire shotgun shells and high caliber cartridges, sophisticated rifles and pistols for competitive shooting, and hunting weapons designed for very specific purposes such as firing from pistols for competitive bench rests, tripods, boats, and other vehicles, or for killing a particular animal or bird. We even saw crank-operated automatic weapons which are legal as a result of a clever design. We also saw machine guns.

To the untrained eye, the first experience at looking at gun show displays is a visual blur. There is simply too much to see. After getting a show or two under your belt, however, you begin to get a feel for the types of vendors and their specialties, the categories of weapons which are sold, and the hot items in the market place to include the firearms whose prices are rising rapidly largely as a result of the spector of the U.S Congress banning additional weapons. Some of these weapons, many of them imports, are going as fast as the vendors can put them up on the display tables.

We began to think of dealers according to several categories. First, there are the "conventionals" who most often operate real gun shops outside of their homes and have a federal firearms license to do so. Their motive is essentially to make a living. They are extremely knowledgeable concerning their wares and are often armorers. They sell rifles, shotguns, and handguns of the reputable manufacturers such as Remington, Winchester, Browning, Mossberg, Colt, Smith and Wesson, and Glock. None of their items are cheap, but you will be able to find them next week if something goes wrong with your purchase.

A second type of dealer we called the "specialist." They dealt only in a particular kind of weapon or sport. Some sold hunting rifles and shotguns, for example. Some specialized in assault rifles and survivalist gear ,a type that was not present in large numbers at the shows, contrary to what you might think. The volume of sales for the "specialist" was smaller than several of the other type of vendors, but many of their items were expensive and appealed only to the select shopper.

"Collectors" were another category of vendor. They bought and sold antique weapons of one type or another. Their interests were black powder guns, war weapons, old West guns, women's or other specialty firearms.

We also saw many of what we referred to as "citizens." These people were similar to the flea market sellers who make a few extra dollars on the weekends. They rented a table or two and displayed an often scanty and disorganized array of used weapons, no doubt acquired cheaply at previous shows.

The last group in our taxonomy of at previous shows, sellers we called "wheeler-dealers." They sold anything that was "hot." They were not interested in much conversation about their wares and one we met was downright discourteous when asked for information about firearms for sale. They were interested in moving stock and in most cases they were doing precisely that.
"Wheeler-dealers " were selling lots of assault rifles. The most popular ones are the Chinese Norinco AK-47, the Chinese Norinco SKS, and various versions of the M-I4 and the M-I6. Any semi-automatic rifle, however, with a magazine capacity of more than 10 rounds is selling rapidly. The Chinese SKS rifle (7.62mm) can be purchased as inexpensively as $60 used and $120 new. The Chinese AK-47 rifle (7.62mm) can be bought for as little as $150 new. Both of these assault rifles come in either a standard issue length or in a paratrooper’s shorter version. The weapons were standard issue to the soldiers of the People’s Republic of China and were often encountered by American troops during the Vietnam War.

Similarly, the "wheeler-dealers" had attractive prices on high caliber pistols and were selling big as personal protection weapons. These pistols were the Chinese Norinco, 7.26 m or 9 mm; the MAC 11, 9 mm; the Tech 9, 9mm, and the Tech 22, 22 caliber. The Norinco 9mm can be purchased for less than $100 and is comparable in many ways to the Colt and Glock weapons costing four or five times as much.

Various dealers also sold what might be termed “fad weapons,” the cool thing to own at the present. All of these weapons, new or used, are expensive, often costing more than $300. Business remains brisk for “fad guns” such as: the Glock 9 mm; the Colt 45 M1911A1; the Beretta M-9; the Taurus PT-99; and the Browning Hi Power.

Finally, the "wheeler dealers" and the "citizens" were not against making a profit from “Saturday Night specials." From $25 to $60 these 25 or22 caliber pistols were being bought up as personal protection items. The popular models were: Raven; Davis; Llama, Star; Rossi; Harrington and Richardson; and Iver Johnson. One of the "wheeler-dealers" actually had a grab box crammed full of pistols that a customer could sort through and have his choice for $25 or three for $60.

Firearms and Other Accessories for Sale

Published restrictions of the gun show sponsors notwithstanding, a myriad of other items are for sale at gun shows. Some are related to firearms, such as holsters and storage cases, some are not, such as blowguns and beef jerky. All of the shows we attended had large knife displays, many of the knives were hand crafted by the exhibitors themselves and were quite attractive and ornate.

**Technical assistance for the section of the paper describing specific firearms was provided by Nicholas Valcik. The authors are indeed grateful.

Table 1 below contains a short list of other items for sale at the gun shows in this study.

________________________________________________________________________
- ITEMS -

Blow guns of various sizes
Holsters, carrying cases, and gun safes
Magazines and clips
Stocks, barrels and pistol grips
Pistol purses for women
Ammunition of every variety
Hunting and military clothing
Pistol and rifle style crossbows
Firearms manuals
Intricate firearms parts ,
Bayonets and other military tools
Hairbrushes which double as knives
Hair dryers shaped as pistols
Guitar cases for carrying assault rifles and machine guns
T -shirts, sweat shirts, propaganda books and bumper stickers
German SS and Luftwaffe music tapes
Nazi flags and portraits of General Rommel
Mace and stun guns
Jeeps and other military vehicles
Reloading equipment
BB gun pistols and rifles
Toy models of real weapons such as the Uzi or Thompson submachine gun

Table 1 MERCHANDISE FOR SALE AT GUN SHOWS
____________________________________________________________________

In short, if the vendor cleared the initial screening via his application for a table(s), he could sell just about anything he wanted to, although the restrictions against martial arts items were generally upheld. If items had anything to do with hunting, sport shooting, personal protection, or propaganda related to the same, they could be sold.

Illegal and Quasi-Legal Sales

A number of items for sale at the shows were illegal to possess under the Texas Penal Code and were specifically supposed to be restricted according to the sponsors. These items were available at all of the shows except the one in Oklahoma City . Switch blade knives, butterfly knives, brass knuckles, and martial throwing stars were available at a couple of the shows although not conspicuous. One large knife we saw had a 12" blade and a "brass knuckles" handle giving the wielder, we suppose, the option of either stabbing opponent or breaking his jaw. We were told that the sale of such items at the shows was ignored since they passed as collectibles and not the weapons they really are.

Novel Accommodations to the Federal Firearms Laws

The fact that the federal firearms laws are loaded with loopholes will probably be no surprise to most people. The Federal Firearms Act of1934 forbids the purchase of an automatic weapon such as a machine gun without a special license reserved for collectors. Weapons experts will tell you there are several ways to circumvent this law if you want a weapon which fires automatically. Apparently there are a number of ways to modify the sear of a firearm and cause it to fire automatically. One inexpensive and legal adaptation, however, is the Hellfire Switch available for the low price of$24.95.

While carrying out our participant observer roles at the Dallas Market Hall Arena, we noticed a video playing at one of the display tables depicting a man firing what appeared to be a machine gun or other automatic weapon. It turns out that he was demonstrating the Hellfire Switch. This device can be installed on the trigger guard of a semi-automatic rifle, assault type or other model, and it converts the weapon to fully automatic, meaning that once you pull the trigger to the rear and hold it there, the weapon will keep firing until it runs out of ammunition. This weapon, of course, is now the equivalent of a machine gun.

How can guns be legally converted to fully automatic weapons by the Hellfire Switch? It is simple and you receive a card that explains the legality of the conversion when you purchase a Hellfire Switch. Federal law requires that a semi-automatic weapon fire only once for each time you pull the trigger. The Hellfire Switch makes your trigger finger vibrate back and forth several hundred times a minute from the weapon's recoil as the rifle fires at precisely the speed of your vibrating finger. Since your finger is "pulling the trigger," (although the trigger is really pulling your finger) the conversion to fully automatic is and extremely deadly.

Another interesting circumvention of the law has to do with the length of the barrel of a shotgun. The National Firearms Act of 1934 prevents the ownership of a shotgun with a barrel shorter than 18 inches. Obviously a short barreled shotgun would be handy in the commission of a robbery or in conducting gang activity. But why worry about being caught with a "sawed-off shotgun " when you can buy a perfectly legal pistol which fires both shotgun ammunition and powerful pistol loads. The rifling in the barrel makes this weapon legal, unlike the shotgun, which has a smooth bore.

The gun shows even provide you with a choice of a pistol which fires one shotgun shell or the "grand daddy" of them all which fires five shotgun shells from a rotating cylinder. This unusual and deadly “pocket cannon" is the Thunder 5.410/.45 Revolver(1993) manufactured by MIL, Inc., Piney Flats, Tennessee. The price of a new Thunder 5 is $599.00.
Another example of getting around the intent of the law has to do with the restriction on selling a bayonet. Apparently it is illegal to sell a bayonet attached to a military rifle. If the bayonet is sold, however as a "tent stake" and is not attached to the rifle, it is legal. One of the authors purchased a new Chinese SKS assault rifle for $79.00 along with a $9.95 "tent stake" bought separately from the same vendor.

Other Rule-Bending and Breaking

While it was not the intent of our study to discredit show sponsors or vendors as to how closely they adhered, or not, to the rules of governance at the shows or state and federal laws, we did have the opportunity to see that both the rules and the laws were occasionally ignored. One 18-year old University of Texas at Dallas student who we knew as a member of our college pistol team purchased 500 rounds of 22 LR ammunition

From a vendor at the gun show in Mesquite on November 13, 1993. Texas law requires that you be 21 years of age to purchase ammunition. She was not asked for identification. Neither was another member of the pistol team who purchased 1,000 bullets, 200 grain SWC, for reloading. While this student is 22 years old, he looks much younger than 21 and was not asked for identification as required by Texas law.

On September 26, 1993, at the Dallas Market Hall arena one of the authors of this paper was shown by a vendor how to load a high caliber pistol using live ammunition when no ammunition or loaded guns were permitted according to the rules of the show. This same vendor told her that three young men had pulled loaded guns from their belts earlier that same day and attempted to sell them to the vendor. We surmise that a number of vendors would also bend the rules in the interest of promoting a sale.

Propaganda and Paraphernalia

Gun shows have a political soul and as you might imagine it is staunch conservative and clearly in terms of Second Amendment rights. Aside from our conversations with vendors and customers, nothing could possibly give a more accurate depiction of this conservatism than the slogans found on shirts and bumper stickers for sale at the gun shows. A sample of the ideology can be found in Table 2 below:

________________________________________________________________________
SLOGANS

"Buy a gun and piss off the Clintons"
"China has gun control"
"Clinton sucks and Gore swallows"
" An armed society is a polite society"
"Politicians love unarmed peasants"
"Is your church ATF approved?"
"Ted Kennedy's car has killed more people than my gun" "For personal 24 hour protection - Dial 9 mm"
"I'II give you my gun when Hell freezes over"
"Take a bite out of crime. Shoot the bastard!"
"When the going gets tough, I get a machine gun"
"Happiness is a warm machine gun "

_________________________________________________________________
Table 2 Propaganda Shirts, Bumper Stickers and Posters
on Sale at Gun Shows
__________________________________________________________________

The shows at the Dallas Convention Center and at the Dallas Market Hall Arena also had dealers who sold books along with the shirts and bumper stickers. Revenge was clearly the titles available: Up Yours, Get Even, and Screw the Bitch (the bitch being an ex-wife). W e might add that the tactics prescribed often involved violence with details on how to effect it. One of the standards of this genre was also present,

William Powell's Anarchist's Cookbook. These titles certainly ran counter to the Ken Harris knife display whose sign read "Jesus is Lord."

The end of the Cold War has also had an impact on the gun show. Apparently a large surplus of Russian and Soviet militaria is available. One vendor we spoke to at the Dallas Market Hall arena sold Soviet military medals, hats, and books describing elite units of the Soviet and Russian armies. For $100, a person could buy a barrette worn by an elite Russian fighting force which selects its recruits from only orphans, according to the vendor who spoke with a Russian accent, in order that they would be willing to kill on command with no loyalties to anybody except the state. For an additional $10 you could by the story of the unique barrette and those who wore it.

We also found the North Texas Arms Rights Coalition (its motto being “Protecting your right to bear arms”) soliciting signatures on petitions at two of the shows demanding guarantees from Congress and the state legislature that the right to own firearms will not be being curtailed. At the Oklahoma City gun show, signatures were being solicited on petitions to limit the terms of service of members of Congress. In short, politically
conservative bent is evident at gun shows in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and in Oklahoma City.

THE PARTICIPANTS

Customers

All things considered, the gun show is a very civil proceeding. Generally, people come to the show looking for a good deal on guns or other items or to sell or trade a firearm. It is the best possible place to see the variety and volume of firearms in existence. You would have to travel hundreds of miles and visit dozens of gun shops to see anything approaching the variety of firearms available at gun shows. Likewise, you would have to run hundreds of classifieds to reach anything near the number of potential buyers for a weapon who come to a gun show. We found that people attending the shows go about their business in an orderly fashion, spending two hours or more at each show, and leaving the show with some type of purchase. We should note that you need to watch your bridgework and your posterior as you walk around the show because lots of people will be carrying rifles and shotguns they have just purchased or are trying to sell and occasionally they are not particularly careful about where they point the barrels.
Our methodology would not allow for an accurate taxonomy of gun show attendees. We should also point out that we were warned to be unobtrusive in our study since it is not unheard of that protesters and others seeming to have anti-gun philosophies have been asked, on occasion, to leave arenas. We did no surveying or extended interviews with participants. Consequently, our notetaking was done as inconspicuously as possible. We did find the attendees at gun shows, however, to be an interesting mix of people, philosophies, and motives. Below we comment on some of the more perceptible types who go to gun shows.

The variety of people attending shows ranges from what might be termed “rednecks” wearing spurs and shoulder holsters with a matching belt that reads “Billy” to middle-aged couples in formal attire who just came from Sunday church services. One apparent group at all of the shows are the hunters, often dressed as if they just came out of the fields or off of the mountain. The show in Oklahoma City had a majority of attendees in this category.

The survivalist types were also present at all of the shows but not in large numbers. They were dressed in camouflaged uniforms adorned with all of the paraphernalia that would be permissible inside the arena. One conversation we overheard in Mesquite at a vendor's table, immediately after the passage of the Brady Bill, dealt with this theme: "It's all over now," the bearded vendor in bib overalls said, “Communism is here and you better buy them while you can.” This vendor was selling custom made guitar and banjo cases to fit your machine guns and assault rifles. He was selling a 22 caliber semi-automatic rifle for $600 that was a replica of a
Thompson submachine gun, banjo case included.

Women represented only about 10-15% of all attendees. At several of the shows the women of Harley Davidson were present with their male counterparts, appropriately adorned. Any woman who expressed even the slightest interest in an item for sale was readily attended to by the vendors, primarily out of courtesy however, the attention paid to the female seemed excessive at times. A small number of the vendors brought wives or women friends and they could be seen often stirring around the arenas.

The vast majority of these attendees looked like the same crowd you would see in a busy shopping mall, mostly middle class in their appearance and generally polite and friendly to all who encountered them. Only a small number of African-Americans or Hispanics attended the shows. Most of the attendees, no doubt, had the money or credit to purchase firearms. Finally it was also noticeable that fathers often brought their sons to the gun shows.

Officials and Security

The tightest security we saw in the shows we studied was at the Dallas Convention Center. Security officers, many of which were off-duty Dallas police officers, conducted interrogations at the door relative to what you had on your person and did pat down searches for weapons that might be concealed. They also looked in some of the women's purses, a procedure we saw at no other show. If you were bringing a weapon to sell at the show, you were sent to a table where another police officer in uniform checked to see that the weapon was unloaded and then a tie was place on the gun which rendered it safe and inoperable. We imagine that sworn peace officers are used at the security tables in the event that some attendee wanted to be uncooperative.

It is important to point out, however, that at all of the other shows it was the honor system in effect. If you had weapons, you voluntarily went to the security table to have them checked out. You could walk right past the security table and not be stopped. No metal detectors were used at any of the shows. During the many hours we spent in attendance at gun shows, there seemed to be no problems resulting from the lax security
measures.

Inside the arenas we seldom saw uniformed police or security officers on patrol. We also noticed that not all of the entrances would have the same degree of security. At one show, we even saw doors with no security other than the person selling the ticket for admission. Keeping in mind that some of the vendors displayed hundreds of firearms, how is it possible to keep them from being stolen with so many people looking at the weapons and passing by? The tables loaded with weapons were watched closely by the vendors, but many of them also had an electronic security wire with an alarm attached through the trigger housing of each firearm, similar to the alarm systems used to prevent clothing from being shoplifted. Those who sold the cheap pistols didn't bother. One striking contrast to the use of this electronic security system, however, was the show in Oklahoma City. No vendors used an alarm but displayed just as many firearms as the Texas shows did. We believe that kindness and trust are such a part of the Oklahoma way of life that an electronic security system would be an insult to the Oklahoma residents. a The Oklahoma City show was also the only one which permitted customers to go in and out of the show after having their hand stamped.. This state has a small population and the business people in Oklahoma know they have to make things as convenient as possible for their clients and customers in order to make a profit. They will even carry items to your vehicle for you.

DISCUSSION

Firearms Purchases at Gun Shows

The "jackpot" for purchasing firearms in the United States is the gun show. If 7.5 million guns are sold through licensed gun shops each year (Big Loophole in Gun Control Law. 1993), millions more are available through gun show sales to and by private citizens. While politically correct legislators clamor over laws to keep handguns out of the minds and hands of children, debate the appropriate waiting period for a gun and try to identify what is an assault weapon, millions of firearms continue to be traded at gun shows throughout the nation. The United States records approximately 15,000 handgun deaths each year and firearms accidents claim an additional 1,400 lives (Accidental Deaths Decrease, 1993). Thousands more are wound and maimed for life as a result of firearms. If legislation is needed to control gun shows, what precisely would it be beyond the laws which govern the sale and purchase of firearms in other venues. Would new legislation translate directly into lives saved? California has a 15-day waiting period for purchase while background checks are conducted and it applies to purchases at gun shows also. Such legislation does not seem to have had much impact on homicide and firearms assault statistics in that state.

At the gun shows in this study we saw thousands of people enjoying themselves in a civilian manner while they shopped for firearms and accessories needed for various gun sports and for home protection. To these people the gun show was a "market of fun." Nevertheless, should that much firepower be so readily available to the American public? To others, the gun show is a “market of death.” A case against the gun show can certainly be made when you consider that David Koresh's Branch Davidians cult built up its arsenal from gun show purchases. Still what infringements should be placed on law-abiding citizens and their commerce in order to restrict sales to the relatively small number who will use the firearms they purchase unlawfully or carelessly. The answers to such questions are not easy and legislation probably needs to be levied on the side of moderation in order that the firearm business is not driven underground and that the prices of guns soar, making firearms themselves the object of deadly assaults as is with illegal narcotics

The Legislative Solution

Fever-pitch efforts concerning gun control legislation in legislatures at all levels of government lean toward passing laws which have both symbolic and real value. Some want to ban certain categories of weapons, disqualify a number of potential buyers, and restrict others from possession. Others want to tax guns and ammunition out of existence for all intents and purposes. Any new legislation action will add to the 20,00 gun laws and ordinances already in effect in the United States. Much of the tragedy of homicide in the nation has to do with guns in the hands of children at school. Unfortunately, we already have the federal Gun Free School Zones Act of 1990 which barred the possession of guns in or near a school. We would suspect that state laws would have outlawed this same behavior long before passage of the federal legislation. The violence continues however.

Colorado, Florida, and Utah held special sessions of their legislatures in 1993 to outlaw the possession and ownership of handguns for anyone under the age of 18. Exceptions to the legislation are for hunting, target practice and shooting competitions. Again, we would suspect that all of the states had laws which forbade young people and children from carrying firearms in inappropriate places. By the close of 1993, eighteen states had laws which specifically outlawed gun possession by juveniles (Toch, 1993).

A softer approach to denying guns to youth has been tried in several parts of the nation. In Dallas, youths who turn in guns of any kind (no questions asked) will be given two pre-season football tickets for a Dallas Cowboy’s football game. The advertising theme has been “Real cowboys don’t need guns.” What the police department got for their efforts was a meager response and several dozen inoperable weapons along with a few firearms that actually had some value. Apparently some law-abiding citizens, who are also football fans, cleaned out their drawers and trunks and recognized a good deal when they saw it.

For more than 200 years the firearm has been a staple in American society. We are not the only people fascinated with guns. Check the local movie guide if you have any doubts about it being real fascinating to us. A case in point. A new chain of upscale, indoor firearms ranges have opened in Los Angeles and one category of frequent customers is the Japanese tourist who comes in for a quick training course and some target shooting. Many Japanese say, however, after firing a gun they never want to do it again. It is even more amazing that Japanese visitors to the United States would choose such recreation after the furor in Japan over the tragic death of Yoshi Hattori in Baton Rouge in 1992 (Golen, 1993). With so many guns in circulation, so much violence, so many laws, and so much heated controversy about what to do, our nation seems in a quandary as to the next logical steps. Legislation such as the Brady Bill is one response

Although no one seriously believes it will substantially reduce the firearms violence in the United States. One of the skeptics is Professor James Q. Wilson who has stated:

The Brady Bill, which I support, may affect the probability that one or two lunatics will get guns and go off on a killing spree, but the chances that the Brady Bill or any feasible gun control measure will really take guns out of the hands of criminals, I think, is quite farfetched (Baker, 1993).

We have done the equivalent of "leaving the barn door open" for more than two centuries concerning firearms regulation and now we are trying to locate and round-up the horses. If effective gun control were even possible, what other costs would we now realize in our society, which has become so accustomed to the idea of an armed citizenry? Perhaps there is credence to the position that guns don't kill, people do.

Severe and unmitigated penalties for unauthorized gun possession and firearms violence (something we have not really tried) is at least, on paper, a manageable public policy, unlike the thought of trying to regulate the ownership of more than 200 million firearms the actual figure we should become more aware of as the new "death clock" in New York City's Times Square now records the number of guns added to the nation's arsenal each day.

Peacemaking

The popular musical West Side Story portrays gang rivalry and violence in New York City in the 1950s. While artistic renditions of gang violence are depicted in the movie, no guns appear in the hands of the youth. Today youth gangs thrive on firearms violence and some music, such as Cop Killer, even seems to advocate it. What kind of society have we created for ourselves which allows so many young people to acquire values and form attitudes which legitimate killing another person, for example, for calling them a name or frowning at them? What regulation we implement for controlling the ownership of firearms or their sale at gun shows or any other location would seem to have little import until we face up to some more fundamental issues.
When families, schools, churches, and the vast entertainment industry with all its influence come together and re-establish the sanctity of human life and respect for one's fellow man, we are likely to begin seeing significant reductions in violence in American society . Like contending with other social ills, we may have to live through a couple or more bad patches before things improve. "Make peace, not war," to parody a familiar saying, is probably the answer. In a fractured and fictionalized society we have not worked hard at making peace. When we have pushed and "marketed" peace (made a profit out of it), guns and their sale will have little significance in our society.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The gun show is a popular, convenient, and prevalent means of purchasing, selling, and trading firearms for millions of Americans. Texas is one of several states which hosts many gun shows annually. Dozens of gun shows are held in the Dallas/Fort Worth area during the year.
With the highest rates of homicide and firearms violence in the world, the gun remains an important part of American culture. Guns can provide us with power, status, protection, entertainment, sport, symbols of sexual prowess, and a host of popular metaphors replete in our language.

The gun shows described in this study were well organized and operated according to a minimum set of rules which provide for orderly and predictable displays, necessary security , and the accommodation of large crowds of shoppers and vendors. Along with firearms and their accessories, shooting and hunting supplies, militaria, gun collectibles, and propaganda literature are sold at gun shows.

Vendors at the gun shows in this study seemed to fall into several categories: Conventionals; specialists; collectors; citizens and wheeler-dealers. Those who attend gun shows have specific motives or business to conduct and seem to enjoy the experience. Large crowds of a variety of people pay admission and spend several hours at a gun show. To them the gun show is a “market of fun.”

Occasionally, security is lax at gun shows and rules concerning the sale of firearms and ammunition are either bent or broken. Weapons were on sale at the shows in this study which were specifically designed to get around federal and state laws and still perform functions of outlawed weapons. Pistols which fired shotgun shells and knives with brass knuckle handles are examples of such weapons.

Notwithstanding the bonanza of firearms available at gun shows and more than 20,000 gun laws on the books already in the United States, it seems unlikely that more legislation will help to curb firearms violence. Restoring the sanctity of human life and proliferation of a mutual respect for one’s fellow man seems more promising in reducing violence than the control of gun manufacturing, sales ownership, and possession. As always, families, schools and churches will need to carry the lion’s share of the burden if any improvement is to be realized.

REFERENCES

" Accidental Deaths Decrease." (1993) The Dallas Morning News, September 29.

" America's Vigilante Values." (1992) The Economist. June 20.

Baker, J. (1993) "Gun Control?" The Dallas Morning News, October 3.

"Big Loophole in Gun Control Law." (1993) Prodigy Interactive Personal Service. AP, December 19.

Dingus, A. (1993) "Tex Shooters." Texas Monthly, October.

Golen, J. (1993) "Gun Control Groups Say Slain Japan Student Is But a Statistic." The Dallas Morning News, October 17.

Haley, K. (1993) "Ice-T, No Sugar: Law Enforcement and Political Reactions to the Gangster Rap “Cop Killer.” A paper presented at the 1993 Annual Meeting of The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, March 15-21, Kansas City.

Kates, D., Jr. and P. Harris. (1991) "How to Make Their Day." National Review, October 21.

Maguire K., A. Pastore, and T. Flanagan. (1992) Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics. Washington, D.C,: U.S Government Printing Office.

Metcalf, D. (1993) "...And a Cartridge in A Pear Tree." Harper's Magazine. January.

Persinos, J. (1g89) "On Gun Control, Both Sides Win Some, Lose Some." Governing, September.

Marich, J., M. Rand, and J. Robinson. (1990) "Right to Bear Corpses." The New Republic, April 9.

Schram, S. ed. (1967) Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse- Tung. New York: Bantam Books.

"The Battle Over Gun Control: The Black Community Has the Greatest Stake in the Outcome of the Debate.” (1993) Black Enterprise, July.

"Thunder Five .410/.45 Revolver." (1993) American Rifleman, October.

Toch, T. (1993) "Violence in Schools." U.S. News and World Report, November 8.

Underwood, N. (1990) "Up in Arms: Proposed Gun Laws Face Massive Opposition." Maclean’s, December 10.

U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. (1992) FBI Uniform Crime Reports. Washington, D.C.

Wilson, Laurie. (1993) "Keeping Guns in House Raises Risk of Homicide." The Dallas Morning News, October.

SHOULD THERE BE NURSERY PROGRAMS IN FEMALE PRISONS?

2006-12-24T18:16:00.000-08:00

Should There Be Nursery Programs in Female Prisons?

Amanda Moon-Thomas

Most people have an idea of what a nursery is. Some people decorate a room in their house in a specific baby theme and refer to it as the nursery. Others drop their children off in nurseries at church or in a day care center. But a small number of women incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women (ORW) in Marysville, Ohio are participants in a prison nursery program which allows them to keep their baby with them as they are serving their felony sentence.

Since 2001 nearly 130 babies have been “incarcerated” with their mothers at ORW. There has even been a set of twins and a deaf inmate with her baby. This nursery program is called Achieving Baby Care Success (ABC’S) and is located within the razor wired fence in a separate housing unit. The mothers share a twelve by six foot room with their child in a housing area with an average of ten other inmate mothers and babies. The rooms are not the typical cell. They are painted with bright murals and have other baby décor such as stuffed animals, homemade quilts and pictures. My guess is that most of the babies have a much nicer living environment inside the prison than they would if their mother had never been incarcerated.

The nursery is funded by a federal grant that provides all the babies’ necessities such as diapers, wipes, formula and baby food while clothing, blankets, car seats, swings, and toys are donated to the program by various community organizations. The inmate mothers can also purchase items for their child through the prison commissary and outside vendors or their loved ones can send in clothing boxes to the babies if they choose. A pediatrician has office hours in the nursery once a week and is on call any time for emergencies. Also, because the mother is a ward of the state, she is eligible for federal programs such as Women with Infant Children (WIC) and Medicaid to assist with medical costs and medication for their babies. Child support may also be sought and received while the inmate participates in the program.

This nursery program was modeled after a long time prison nursery founded in New York. There are about 10 other prison nurseries nationwide. A new prison nursery is in the development stage and will be opened in a female federal prison in 2007. Although there are several other programs like ABC’S, the criteria for Ohio’s program are very strict. The inmate must be pregnant upon entering the prison system and cannot be serving a sentence for violence or have any crimes against children in her past. She must be a either minimum or medium security, have no more than an 18 month sentence for a felony in the fourth degree and have no outstanding warrants or detainers. Children Services, in the inmate’s county of commitment, is contacted upon her tentative eligibility and must render a positive recommendation for her participation in the program.

While participating in the nursery program the inmate has continuous contact with a case manager who monitors her program participation in various other institutional programs. Upon entering ABC’S the case manger meets with the inmate and makes a series of program recommendations based on her individual needs such as schooling, drug and alcohol counseling, life skills, stress management and vocational training. The case manager assists the inmate in enrolling in the recommended programs and follows her progress until completion. In addition to individualized programming, all the inmate mothers must participate in Responsible Family Life Skills, Help Me Grow, Infant CPR, Car Seat Safety and other child care specific programming.

This program, according to Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Director Terry Collins, “is hands-on learning to the extreme…It’s a chance for these women, while clean and sober and free from violence on the outside, to bond with their baby.” While there are many opponents of the program the benefits, in my opinion far outweigh any negative view of the nursery. Based on the eligibility requirements alone, the inmates in the nursery program will undoubtedly get custody of their child back upon their release from prison. If we know that from the beginning, doesn’t it make sense to allow them to bond with their child in the most essential phase of that child’s life? Caring for their baby gives the inmate a sense of obligation to their child. That child, unlike on the streets, is the mother’s first priority. If the inmate can form a bond with her baby while in prison and free from temptations she may have a reason to stay free upon her release. While there has been no study done to see if participation in this nursery program reduces recidivism, a mere 3 percent of those inmates who have been in ABC’S have returned to prison within three years post release. The state recidivism rate for all inmates in Ohio is 38 percent.

The inmates are encouraged to have prison jobs and make their experience in the program as life-like as possible so that they can more easily transition into the community. There are several inmates that have been thoroughly screened by prison administrators and Children Services who have prison jobs as nannies. These women are available to the mothers when they need to leave for either programming, dining or to go to work. In prison mother and baby are together much more than a parent in the community who leaves the home for 8-12 hours a day for work. The time away from each other is good for both mother and baby. Being with each other constantly makes the baby too dependant on their mother and makes it more difficult for the baby to adjust when they are separated.

Family visitation is important as well in this setting. Many of the participating inmates have other children in the community living with grandparents, another family member or a friend. A separate visiting area is reserved for the inmates participating in ABC’S that is more conducive to family bonding and relationship building. There has even been a situation where the father of the child is incarcerated as well and special phone calls were permitted in order for the father to participate in some parenting aspects.

Although there are many reasons to turn up one’s nose at the idea of prison nurseries, the other options available to pregnant women entering the state prison system are far less appealing. Women essentially have four options if they are pregnant upon their admittance into prison and do not wish to participate in ABC’s or are not eligible to participate. They may grant custody to family or a loved one, they may put their baby up for adoption, Children Services can take custody based on the mother’s history, or they may make arrangements for an abortion at their own expense. Does the nursery seem a bit more appealing now?

These babies have the best care and a host of professional staff caring for them while they are in the program. We do not keep the baby against the mother’s wishes. If at any time, the mother wants to remove her child from the program, she has the right to do so. Otherwise the baby will leave with their mother upon her release.

This program is wonderful for eligible inmates who wish to keep their baby and participate in intensive parenting programming. The program gives them a second chance to be a good parent. The babies are not being punished by spending the first several months of their lives in prison. They are being given an opportunity to form a strong bond with their mother so that they can have a better life. The most important thing is that the baby does not know they are in prison, they only know that they are with their mother and they are being cared for and loved.

REFERENCES

Avsec, Dana (2006 October 15). Program lets female inmates live, bond with their babies. The Plain Dealer,

Zachariah, Holly (2006 October 14). In Prison With Mommy. The Columbus Dispatch, p. D1.

SHOULD THE STATES PROPOSE A FEMALE SEXUAL PREDATOR ACT?

2006-12-22T12:25:00.000-08:00

Should the States Propose a Female Sexual Predator Act?

Sherri L. Warnock

Ø Debra Lefave, 25, pled guilty to two counts of lewd and lascivious behavior. She is accused of performing multiple sex acts with a 14 year old male student. She received three years of house arrest and seven years of probation.

Ø Pamela Rogers Turner, 28, pled no contest to multiple charges of sexual battery and statutory rape for having sex with a 13 year old male student. She was sentenced to nine months in jail and supervised probation for the remaining eight years of her suspended sentence.

Ø Danielle Walls, 27, sentenced to one year in jail and five years probation for having sex up to twenty-five times with a tenth grade student.

It is supposed that a Female Sexual Predator Act is necessary to eliminate the disparity in sentencing between male and female offenders by acknowledging that the victims of female offenders suffer much like the victims of male offenders. The Act would provide for the immediate protective and therapeutic needs of these victims. Furthermore, the Act would mandate sentences comparable to those given male offenders in similar circumstances.

Throughout the ages women have been relied upon as the nurturers of our children. “Sugar and spice and everything nice” is what little girls are made of. Well, in nursery rhymes that may be true, but as a society we must come to the realization that women can victimize children and can do so in many of the same predatory ways that a man does. Coming to this realization may be difficult for a conventional society such as ours. Still, we must face the facts for the safety of all children, and rethink how we perceive this heinous crime when the perpetrator is a woman, and sentence her accordingly. However, with a Sexual Predator Act already in place, do we actually need to write one specifically addressing the female offender? No. What we need to do is show public outrage for this double standard, and insist on equal application of the laws that are already in place. A Female Sexual Predator Act would be redundant.

The problem is not in the construction of the Act, but in society’s perception of an offender. The women named above and many others who are not named have various excuses or reasons for their perpetration: “I was going through a divorce.” “I felt unwanted.” Many of these women lend a romantic undertone to their offense, claiming: “I loved him.” “We needed each other.” Regardless, these boys were just that, boys…children, and these women took advantage of them. They initiated or encouraged a sexual bond with these youth, sometimes plying them with alcohol and drugs, for their own selfish needs, sexual gratification, and for the thrill of breaking the rules. Some have admitted that they were even more aroused by the idea of getting away with a shocking and forbidden act. Others have confirmed that they were turned on by the power and control they exerted over these males.

It is not completely understood why women become sex offenders, but the switching of gender roles may be the crux of it. Psychologist A. J. Cooper points out in a Canadian news article that many of these women are immature, dependent, and sensitive to rejection, so they seek out younger people, who are less likely to reject them and they create situations where they are in control. He feels this may be the result of a combination of things such as heightened sexual desires of their own, a lack of impulse control, and an imitation of abuse that they once experienced themselves.

In Practical Aspects of Rape Investigation, Julia Hislop and Janet Warren observe that some women may seek out revenge against an absent male partner, or perhaps the man in their life is unfaithful and the male child becomes a substitute. Regardless of the sex of the child or the sex of the perpetrator, such abuse has long-term detrimental effects on the children. It “serves as a contagion that follows victims into the next generation with repetitious and cyclical traumatization of others.” These authors offer a typology of the female offender:

· Facilitators - women who purposely help men come in contact with children for sexual reasons.

· Reluctant partners – women who have lived with the same man for many years, and who abide by this man’s sexual manipulation of children out of an anticipation of being deserted. They fear that if they don’t cooperate, their significant other will withdraw their “love,” money, or more. The man they are dependant on in so many ways will ultimately leave them.

· Initiating partner – women who desire sex with children and who wish to harm them in this way, whether they do it themselves or watch while another perpetrates the fantasy.

· Seducers and lovers – women who desire child lovers and who develop an intense attachment for their victim. There dominance is sustained through the giving and withholding of their love (sex).

· Pedophiles – women who have an exclusive and sustained sexual interest in prepubescent children.

· Psychotic – women who have inappropriate sexual contact with children as a result of a serious mental disorder.

These authors point out that, women are rarely pedophiles. They are more likely to commit these crimes when coerced by a male partner or as seducers/lovers.

Laurie Goldman, a Boston psychologist, revealed in her 1993 doctoral dissertation, “Female Sex Offenders: Societal Avoidance of Comprehending the Phenomenon of Women Who Sexually Abuse Children” that agencies designed to protect children often reject disclosures of sexual abuse when the accused is female. Goldman quotes a Washington state judge who dismissed just such a case declaring that “women don’t do things like this.” An Iowa State University sociologist, Craig Allen, confirmed Goldman’s findings in his study “Women and Men Who Sexually Abuse Children: A Comparative Analysis.” He refers to this phenomenon as “gate keeping.” It is believed by some officials at the Canadian Children’s Rights Council that Allen’s theory of “gate keeping” could explain how female perpetrator’s make few appearances in clinical case studies and why, when they do appear, they are ordinarily portrayed as psychotic or otherwise severely disturbed. According to Allen, “by the time female offenders could be referred to a therapist for treatment, only those women would be left whose behaviors were so deviant that their abusiveness could not be denied at any of the preceding ‘gates’ in the system.”

Another possible explanation for a lack of clinical referral is a lack of reporting. Disclosures by children still constitute the bulk of offense reporting, and children are often reluctant to report because of their dependence on their mothers, especially in single parent households. Such a disclosure would result in the loss of the only caregiver the child has. Likewise if the female offends in partnership with a male, disclosure would result in the child being placed in foster care. Such a proposition is obviously frightening to a child who has known no other way of life.

Not all offenders are mothers or step-mothers of their victims. In fact, more often then not, female perpetrators are the neighbors, baby-sitters, or other trusted acquaintances of the victim, as revealed in a 1987 New Jersey medical study of twenty-five teenage males, which appeared in the American Journal of Psychiatry. However, this is just one study. In looking at numerous studies on this topic, I was unable to ascertain any results that were remotely similar let alone close enough to make any definite inference. The National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse claims that there are too many inconsistencies in research applications, definitions of sexual abuse, and absolutely no standardization in reporting, resulting in inconclusive data regarding this issue. They affirm that the hardcore numbers that everyone is looking for concerning various aspects of the crime and how widespread it is are disappointingly not available.

Finally, another explanation for why female perpetration goes undetected and why its prevalence is so obscured may be in the modus operandi of the offender. Minneapolis psychiatrist, Peter Dimock and Mic Hunter, a psychologist from St. Paul, and author of Abused Boys: The Neglected Victim of Sexual Abuse as well as editor of The Sexually Abused Male (Volumes I and II), agree that there is a pattern in client’s reports of female perpetrated abuse. It seems that approximately twenty-five percent of those abused sexually by a female experienced the abuse as subtle or seductive; the act being very covert and disguised as something other then sexual contact. Something more akin to dating, or care-giving, such as the application of medicinal ointments or the insertion of suppositories or enemas, or exposing herself with the intention of arousal, but all under the guise of normal behavior. Thus, it is difficult to recognize abuse as abuse.

Hunter goes on to describe a societal belief or myth that the male is always responsible for the initiation of sex, which can compound the boys sense of guilty with additional feelings of being responsible for his own humility. Furthermore, there is the fantasy of the rite of passage into manhood which is personified in such movies as “Summer of 42,” “Men Don’t Leave,” and “My Tutor.” During training sessions with prosecutors and district attorney’s, Hunter has observed that when an official attempts to bring charges against women for various acts of sexual misconduct, outside of prostitution, the male attorney’s will inevitably respond with jocularity and reply that tax payers money should not be wasted pursuing an end to this most coveted rite of passage. In response to a sixteen year old babysitters’ molestation of an eight year old boy, one prosecutor is purported to have said, “So he sewed his oats early. No big deal!”

Well, yeah big deal! Victims of child sexual abuse, whether the perpetrator is male or female, experience a myriad of mental health issues ranging from depression, to post trauma stress disorder, to gender identity confusion. Survivors of female abusers find it particularly difficult to reveal specifics about their experiences because they fear they will not be believed. This fear of rejection may increase their feelings of guilt and shame, developing into an even deeper sense of isolation. In our homophobic culture it is even more difficult for someone to believe that a woman might molest a female child. One therapist reported to a child protective agency that she believed her client intended to molest her three year old niece. The client in question was receiving treatment for an eating disorder. She lived with her sister. The client disclosed that she felt her niece was “coming on” to her, and that she had decided that she would have sex with the child because she knew she would be kind to her. The social worker at the agency graciously took the information and said they would look into the matter, but the therapist left with the feeling that the information was taken sort of “tongue in cheek.”

Ellen R. Stapleton, writing for the Associated Press, reported on law suits being filed against an order of nuns that staffed an orphanage in Louisville, Kentucky decades ago. Other similar cases against nuns emerged in Connecticut and Boston. The Catholic dioceses are aggrieved and offering their full cooperation with ongoing investigations. Unfortunately, many of those accused have expired and the rest are very old, living out their remaining days in nursing homes. It is assumed that the nuns perpetrating such acts were exploited by male clergy. Perhaps that is the case for some, but I wonder… Because they are women, we also assume that they want to care for and protect children.

Assumptions aside, the truth is, if we hold males responsible for initiating sexual acts, then in all likelihood an eight year old boy could be charged with raping a sixteen year old babysitter. Far fetched? Not to a Salt Lake City mother who had to come to the defense of her son when a game of ‘truth or dare” got out of hand. Prosecutors claimed that, even though the game was initially the babysitter’s idea, the boy was a willing participant. Yes, the girl had her way with the boy, but the boy was responsible for the act. Ridiculous? The prosecutors eventually dropped the charges, and expressed no remorse. But, this mother remains concerned.

Its time to stop being ridiculous and recognize that women, even pretty women, married women, mothers, teachers, babysitters, and nuns can “cross the line.” Sex provides equal opportunity to both genders. Crime provides equal opportunity to both genders, and is not age discriminate. Its time women were held equally accountable for their sexual nature and it is time to stop ignoring that women have a sexual nature. Every time a woman is shown favoritism in sentencing the American people should be outraged. We don’t need a separate act to bring attention to this matter. Those of us in professional fields responsible for the safety of our children need to stop making assumptions based on biased stereotypes and come to grips with reality. It is time we act with compassion and inclusion seeking justice and fair sentencing.

SHOULD SCHOOL CHILDREN BE TAUGHT TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST ARMED INTRUSION?

2006-12-11T13:28:00.000-08:00

Should School Children Be Taught to Fight Back Against Armed Intrusion?

Sherri L. Warnock

School invasions are modern phenomena rightly invoking the utmost of media attention and public concern. Although we have experienced only a few school shootings throughout the nation, public perception is that the frequency of such threats is on the rise. Consequently, public confidence in school officials to adequately provide safe learning environments for students is dwindling. After broadcasts of recent incidents depicting images of children gunned downed in their schools, particularly those of five innocent Amish girls, individual parents began taking a personal stance asking, “Can this happen in my child’s school?” “What can be done to prevent it?” And, “What should my child do in the face of imminent danger?” Many parents are disappointed to learn that security measures in most schools are either non-existent or inconsistently maintained.

In response to parental demands, some schools in large cities have implemented various security measures such as security guards, hall monitors, metal detectors, and so on. These measures certainly aide in reassuring anxious parents, and by limiting access, they may prevent violence familiar to urban schools such as drug deals gone bad or domestic disputes, but they provide little defense against armed intrusion. Taking advice from a Secret Service study completed after Columbine, most programs developed to thwart armed attacks have centered on identifying troubled students with the potential of resorting to this type of violence. However, it is not only troubled students the school community needs to fear; it is also the deranged citizen or the fanatical terrorist. Because these acts provide the most notoriety, children and schools are prime targets for horrifying acts of violence that, to say the least, aggrieves and astounds civilized communities. To be able to perform these violent acts unimpeded is the primary motivation of the perpetrator. The notoriety as a result of the violence is the desired consequence.

Just south of Ft. Worth, in the small town of Burleson, Texas, students were being trained to immediately fight back against an armed intruder. Relying on the theory that there is safety in numbers and on the advantage of taking a gunman by surprise, students and teachers were encouraged to throw objects, make a lot of noise, and even rush the gunman, in the hopes of gaining control of the situation and limiting the number of potential deaths. Robin Browne, a major in the army reserves in Great Britain, and an instructor for Response Options takes credit for designing the course, which admittedly has its risks. “This is not a burglar! This is not a bank robber!” claims Browne in a statement to ABC news. “This is someone who has come onto school property with the express intention of using a deadly weapon to hurt and dominate people who cannot necessarily defend themselves.” Browne likens this person to a serial killer; power and control over life and death being the ultimate aim of the intruder. “We are dealing with a predator here and a predator, when he is offered prey, and the prey gives in, will take advantage of that prey. What we are teaching here is for the children not to allow the predator to take control.” Conceding that the first person to take the initiative and attack the gunman may be mortally wounded, Browne asserts that the surrender of this one person’s life, or the lives of a few, may save the lives of many others. “He won’t be able to shoot the fourth, fifth, eighth, twentieth, or thirtieth.”

At first, parents, students, teachers, and other local community members seemed to embrace this sort of take charge mentality, often citing the success of those who took the risk and fought back against the high-jackers’ of United flight 93 intended for the Pentagon. However, safety experts outside of Burleson have taken exception to the program. “When it comes to fighting an attacker, even SWAT teams have a hard time knowing what to do. How can we expect kids to know what to do,” asks Ronald Stephens, executive director of National School Safety in a statement to ABC news. Critics of the fight back program have caused Burleson to rethink its position and curtail further training in these methods.

In searching blogs for remarks from parents in various parts of the United States, I found a prevailing sense of helplessness. Many of these remarks centered on individual advice that parents are giving to their youngsters should they be faced with the unlikely event of a school intruder. One parent in a letter to the editor of Salon.com remarked that police departments should rethink their method of response to school invasions because they are so very different from bank hostage situations. “Bad guys in a bank can hold on to the dream of escaping with money, bad guys in a school aren’t there to impose their method of teaching trig.” This parent goes on to advise his youngster “don’t wait and listen to the police or your teachers…The teachers are unable and unprepared to deal with a shooter…run like hell, or fight, but fight to kill.”

William Lassiter, manager of the North Carolina based Center for the Prevention of School Violence seems to agree with the sentiments of the above anonymous parent. In a statement to the Portsmouth Herald local news, Mr. Lassiter declares that fighting back is worthy of further consideration and may bear some merit given observations from recent attacks. “At Columbine, teachers told students to get down and get on the floors, and gunmen went around and shot people on the floors. I know this sounds chaotic and I know it doesn’t sound like a great solution, but its better then leaving them there to get shot.” In defense of the abandoned fight back program, Jeanie Gilbert, district director of emergency management for Burleson said, “We want them to know if Miss Valley says to run out of the room screaming, that is exactly what they need to do.”

It is a sad commentary that we even have to think about such things. It seems rather utilitarian philosophically that your child may have to consider risking life and limb in order to save fellow classmates. In fact, in light of the infrequency of such events, it is very unlikely that youngsters you may know and love will be faced with making such a decision. But, then again, one never knows. Who would have guessed that just such an occurrence would have happened in Columbine or Bailey, Colorado? Or, Essex, Virginia? Or, of all places Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania? These tragedies have had a reverberating effect bordering on paranoia nationwide.

Recently, I have been working as a substitute school teacher for kindergarten through twelfth grades, to include special education, in local schools throughout Franklin County, Ohio. I was working in a cross categorical classroom at a middle school in the southern part of the county. Excitedly, a teacher from another classroom came in and told us to turn on our television. She announced that there were shots fired near a MRDD school in the downtown area, and they were “locked down.” At the same time, four bodies had been discovered in Florida. There was no further news coverage of the downtown shots fired. I looked around my tiny classroom in a modular building a short distance from the main building and I asked myself what I would do if a gunman were to walk in that classroom right then! I had two girls in wheel chairs with multiple disorders and virtually unable to communicate. I had two autistic children who required the repetition of simple instruction. I had one boy who might comprehend what was going on, but who would most likely have questioned the gunman too much. I had two teacher’s aides, but what did they know about such situations? What had they been trained to do? How could I protect them? I am a former police officer and soldier, but I would have been as much of a target as they were; unarmed except for my wits.

At another time, in another district, I was teaching a middle school reading class when an alarm sounded. A PA announcement was made, “Intruder drill.” Children were up and drawing blinds, one closed the classroom door, and they all gathered in a corner of the room. One mass of about twenty five students. One large target. I don’t think that I have yet comprehended the gravity of this situation in its entirety. I asked questions of other teachers present that day, and they informed me that this was the response that the local police department had instructed them in. I kept my opinion to myself, but I think a better response would have been to stand ready to attack should a gunman come through the door, or better yet, to stand ready for an escape.

Security cameras and metal detectors may deter some criminal objectives, but schools will remain an inviting mark for victimization, because they have an ample supply of desirable assets, children. Children offer the least resistance, and are of little or no threat to what Major Browne has aptly termed a predator. And, children are valued above all else in most societies, particularly ours. Set in a susceptible environment that is lenient by nature in order to produce the most conducive of learning situations, a predator can easily take advantage of the given circumstance. It is best if both teachers and students are educated, trained and prepared to understand and analyze the nature of the threat, as well as the intent of the perpetrator. We fear most what we know the least about. We fear the unknown. We can eliminate this fear, at least in part through knowledge and practice; developing the same mindset amongst all those most likely to be targeted.

Unlike a burglar or bank robber, whose intent is to steal money or property and escape, the school shooter is a predator whose intent is to cause fear, to dominate, and to hurt others through the indiscriminate use of a firearm. They have no fear, especially of dying, as is evidenced by the commission of suicide upon impending capture. We should not expect our children and teachers to sit huddled gravely together with their hands positioned passively in their laps awaiting rescue that may take hours to begin, or to be executed either one at a time or en-mass. In spite of the risks, fighting back may be the only option to the excessive loss of precious lives. And, if this is the case, then doesn’t it make sense to be prepared? Doesn’t it make sense that every student and teacher be thinking in a like manner? To react in the same way? Response Options believes that “proactive planning and prior preparation instills a commitment to and personal confidence in taking rapid and positive action should a critical incident occur.” Teachers and students are taught to “get inside the attacker’s decision cycle, and get them off-balance through the application of organized chaos devised to counter, confound, confuse, and defeat” the intruder.

School intrusion incidents such as we are discussing here really are quite rare, and the best response is a well practiced and rehearsed response. Responses born of paranoia and misperceptions of a growing need to fortify our schools with a myriad of inconsistent and ill maintained security measures is not sensible, nor reasonable. Locked doors, metal detectors, hall monitors and so on are effective if they are maintained and implemented professionally. Probably the worst offenders are the ones who are the most concerned. Parents! They complain about restrictions that limit their access to the school and their children. Teachers could be more diligent in confronting strangers by simply asking, “May I help you?” Again this comes down to training and information sharing. It is our first line of defense and warrants our best efforts. But, when all else fails, lets be sensible and prepared. Let’s be prepared to escape or fight back!

SHOULD LAWMAKERS INTRODUCE HARSHER SANCTIONS ON CONVICTED SEX OFFENDERS?

2006-12-09T05:39:00.000-08:00

Should Lawmakers Introduce Harsher Sanctions for Convicted Sex Offenders?

Ronald Edwards

Throughout our relatively brief American history sexual offenses have been considered as some of the worst crimes committed against people, specifically those against children. Sex offenses are considered to be “perpetrated crimes of prey” where the weak are subjected to the lowest forms of victimization and degradation ever reported. Society demands retribution for criminals’ misconduct and demands the right to assign blame and punishment to the criminal. This is fundamental in a rule of law society. Criminal sanctions for sex crimes have always been pertinent to the deterrence. The political and social debates on the effectiveness of the deterrence against sexual offenses continue to rage on. There exists strong evidence that the deterrence approach for sexual offenses has not sent a clear message to lawbreakers that society will not tolerate such criminal activity. Sexual predators have no equal when it comes to public outrage.

The social response to sexual offenses will devastate a community, to the point of public demonstrations and retaliations. Crowds protest outside pedophiles’ residences and demand that they relocate to other areas and cities in the interest of community and child safety. Reports of vandalism and other acts of intimidation to get sex offenders to relocate are common.

Sex offenses continue to remain in the forefront of social problems. Many states are dispensing harsher penalties on sex offenders to establish more effective deterrence in an effort to stop such crimes. Many state legislatures have taken extraordinary measures to eradicate sex crimes from their respective communities to include lifetime registrations, chemical and surgical castration, and the death penalty for repeat offenders. There is strong evidence that sex offenses still continue to be a prominent issue in practically every city and community across this country for the foreseeable future. Politicians are becoming more frustrated with past and current penalties that appear to not be sufficient to deal with the savvy techniques of the modern day computer sex predators that lurk on the World Wide Web. Correctional agencies and prisons throughout this country are devising innovative sex offender programs that establish prison “therapeutic communities” that house sex offenders together in common cell blocks and dormitories while incorporating specialized counseling and group therapy sessions, all under strict supervision of attentive corrections officers. Many of these prison programs are mandatory and require an inmate’s successful participation and graduation to secure any possibility of consideration for release from prison. Most state prisons have long waiting lists for sex offenders to gain admission into these therapy programs, some waiting lists may extend beyond two years. Despite our best efforts the programs and available sanctions are not curtailing this social epidemic. It is time to increase the penalties and legal sanctions for sex offenders. Despite the noble efforts of our government leaders to “get tough” on criminal penalties, strong evidence reflects our best efforts are not sufficient.

Sex offenders are both young old and represent all ethnic groups. Evidence supports that short prison stints are not a viable deterrent. Support for the harshest penalties to include Internet notifications of sex offenders moving into a community, life time registrations, life sentences without parole, surgical and chemical castration and the death penalty are all receiving conservative support. Liberals still continue to view sex offenders as social misfits that can be rehabilitated with intensive programming. Many sex offenders are failing to register with their Sheriff or police departments after their release from prisons.

In Ohio, State Representative Tim Shaffer (R) has introduced a bill for stiffer penalties for those sex offenders who fail to properly register by assigning the same penalty as the original sex offense the person was convicted of. For the most dangerous sex offenders, it would be a first-degree felony with 10 years in prison. According to this proposed legislation, sex offenders who fail to properly register and have previously been convicted of failing to register would receive mandatory jail time for up to three years. Ohio State Auditor Betty Montgomery initially proposed this bill when she was Ohio’s Attorney General.

In many Ohio communities, sex offenders are restricted as to where they can live. Local community leaders in Pickerington, Ohio are trying to expand the scope of prohibited areas, limit the number of locations where sex offenders can live, and to keep them away from more than just schools. Legislation was introduced in September 2006, which would prohibit sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, public swimming pools, day-care operations, city-owned or operated public parks, and playgrounds.

We must deal more harshly with the repeat sex offenders with the growing sophistication of the pedophiles on the Internet luring young children to remote areas across state lines for sexual rendezvous. It will be essential to deter these high-tech predators. The Internet has spawned an entirely new category of sexual predators. The Internet is providing the most graphic sexual depictions of children for on-line predators. It is estimated that they have stimulated a multi-billion dollar child pornography market in this country alone. Pedophiles are quickly learning how to penetrate the innocence of the on-line craze at “MySpace.Com”, one of the largest Internet sites geared for children and young adults to meet and exchange personal and private information. Authorities are perplexed at the sheer volume of people who are embroiled in this fast growing child sex Internet industry. This market has exposed the appalling level of corruption of children of all ages. The Internet market for child pornography is also fueled by the despicable commerce generated from third world countries. Children are used in pornographic photographs depicting sex acts with adults, pets, with other children. Unfortunately, the market is there, reportedly lucrative, and despicable.

It is evident, sexual offenses perpetrated on children rate among the most appalling and morally reprehensible crimes committed in our society. The current sentences, sanctions, and judicial guidelines are not effective in deterring pedophiles. It may be the prime time to introduce more permanent and harsher sentences that would guarantee society’s protection against such crimes. Adult sex offenders who gain the trust of society by working in the highest levels of government, scouting, and the clergy have traumatized child victims for life. The media typically reports sexual abuse on a daily basis in every community across this country. It is necessary that the criminal justice system, and particularly the judiciary, work to create bold new strategies to keep repeat offenders off our streets and out of our communities. Our children must be better protected if we expect them to go to schools, churches, social events and learn to be responsible and productive.

Public safety will soon put more emphasis on keeping our children safer in all public areas. Cameras and electronic surveillance equipment will play a pivotal role in where and how we interact with children in public places in the near future. We now have ample evidence to support the additional use of electronic cameras in all public properties and there is growing support for private entities to see and understand the positive features of surveillance devices that will protect the interest of the consumer and patrons. These devices have been successful in solving all sorts of criminal misconduct from abductions on city streets to homicides, all without the knowledge of the perpetrator. Time is of the essence. Lawmakers, communities, cities, and metropolitan areas must devise harsher penalties and sanctions to curtail this growing epidemic of sexual deviancy. Pedophiles are psychologically impairing our children, spawning child pornography and sexual assaults on our youth. We must do what is necessary to keep these sex predators off our streets and out of our communities. Perhaps life without parole may be our only guarantee of safety.

References:

Ohio Revised Code
Columbus Dispatch, Metro State section D, Jim Woods, October 1, 2006
Bangor Dailey News, August 1, 2006
The Eagle - Gazette Staff, Carl Burnett Jr. September 16, 2006

SHOULD POLICE OFFICERS WHO UNDERGO A SEX CHANGE BE ALLOWED TO MAINTAIN THEIR EMPLOYMENT?

2006-12-09T05:32:00.000-08:00

Should Police Officers Who Undergo a Sex Change Be Allowed to Maintain Their Employment?

Amanda Moon-Thomas

Over the past several years gender reassignment has become a more prevalent issue in the workplace. As a result, discrimination has also become an issue; especially in the field of law enforcement. This was the case in the fall of 2005, when a Cincinnati, Ohio police officer, Philecia Barnes, decided to undergo a gender reassignment surgery to become a female. The officer had worked on the force for nearly two decades; moreover the officer had been a sergeant in the Marine Corps. In 1998 the officer was working as a male, but living as a female when she applied to take a sergeant’s exam. She ranked 18th out of 105 on her exam and then was placed on a three-month probationary period during which she was monitored on a daily basis. During this period she was required to wear a microphone and was rated on a six-page form designated specifically for her. I wonder if they use a different form for African Americans or Asians or White females. At the end of the probation Officer Barnes was failed due to her “lack of command presence”, according to court papers. It is worthy noting that this officer was the first officer to fail probation in 7 years.

The officer sued, citing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The question at hand was whether this portion of the Civil Rights Act protects transgender workers against discrimination. The words “transgender” or “sexual orientation” do not appear in the text of Title VII, which prevents job bias because of race, religion, sex, gender, and other factors. However a Supreme Court ruling in 1989 found that an employer who punishes a worker because of gender stereotyping is guilty of sex discrimination under Title VII. A federal jury agreed with the Cincinnati officer and, on appeal, the Sixth Circuit Supreme Court encompassing Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee, upheld the original decision and awarded the officer over $30,000 in back pay and $150,000 in compensatory damages. The officer returned to work as a sergeant a few months after the court ruling and is reported to be doing well in her new capacity.

To say that this officer lacked a “command presence” is a sexist remark not only against transgender persons, but could also be interpreted as sexist against homosexuals and females on the force as well. Do female or homosexual officers on the force get less respect or do less than their heterosexual male counterparts? Apparently only big burley men can exhibit command presence, which must be the only job requirement for advancing through that department! However, as in other cases around the United States, officers who have undergone gender reassignment surgery or are homosexual are being valued as “outreach officers” to positively impact the department and the community by teaching and demonstrating tolerance and sensitivity to those who are either ignorant or adverse to this circumstance. They are still performing all the duties of other officers but are being utilized to enhance the department’s relationship with the community. Law enforcement officers are sworn to “serve and protect” all citizens; not just ones who are like them. Having diversity in any field of work, reflective of the “real world”, is an asset to that agency.

This particular officer, Philecia Barnes, worked on the police force for 23 years before deciding to undergo the gender reassignment surgery. She was able to satisfactorily perform her job in that amount of time as a man. Does her choice to become a woman at the end of her career negatively impact her ability to perform her job after having done it for over two decades? What difference does it make if the person is a man or woman if the job performance is the same?

According to the 1989 ruling by the Supreme Court, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does protect persons from being discriminated against at work based on their sexual orientation. Because of this ruling, gay and transgender workers are able to legitimately sue for their rights to be treated as any other employee and cannot have their sexual orientation used against them when being considered for promotion or during routine job evaluations.

According to research conducted by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, there is no federal law that protects people from bias and discrimination based on their sexual orientation or identity. However, since the 1970’s many states and local agencies have enacted laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. Many employers have been modifying their non-discrimination polices to extend protections for gay, lesbian and bi-sexual workers. At present three-quarters of Fortune 500 companies include sexual orientation in their written non-discrimination policies.

In a country that embraces a multitude of races, religions, cultures and equality among sexes; gays, lesbians and transgender people should be afforded the same tolerance and sensitivity. As in the case of this Cincinnati police officer, when a person proves him or herself capable of performing the duties of a chosen field, they should not be subjected to gender stereotyping. Such persons can be valuable assets for companies who wish to advocate for non-discrimination among their employees, organizations and within the community they are a part of.

References:
http://gender-reassignment-therapy.mindbit.com/

Rostow, A (2005, November 7). The advocate. Retrieved October 2, 2006, from Planetout.com Web site: http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?2005/11/07/1

http://gendertree.com/Smith%20V.%20Salem%20Ohio.htm

Human Rights Campaign. (2004). Transgender Issues in the Workplace.

CORRECTIONAL LEGISLATIVE TRENDS IN THE UNITED STATES

2006-12-03T14:01:00.000-08:00

Correctional Legislative Trends in the United States

Ronald Edwards, Deputy Director Ohio Dept. of Rehab and Correction (retired), and former Corrections Adviser US Dept of State, US Embassy- Republic of Haiti

Article is copyrighted. All rights pertain.

Introduction

During the past century, the American corrections profession has evolved into a complex industry. In 2004 there were nearly seven million people in the United States under some form of supervision i.e. prison, jail, probation, or parole. Nearly all-correctional jurisdictions in the United States have undergone enormous new prison construction projects to counter the rising prison population increases of the past thirty years. Correctional trends have been important to the field of corrections, because trends are responsible for transforming and developing entire system wide cultures, and enable correctional administrators to develop vital inmate programming, staff training, and other ideology planning.

Many correctional trends have been driven by legislative and political agendas. In all state and federal systems, corrections administrators have been required to respond to sensitive social issues, when elected officials, political parties, and the general public feel a need to set public policy by developing legislation. Many of these political, litigated and legislative responses are “knee jerk reactions” to specific insalubrious criminal acts perpetrated on vulnerable victims. Many of these contemporary programs are necessary to address the ever evolving state wide system, and offender needs i.e. re-entry, determinant sentencing, prison based therapeutic communities, mental health and sex offender management (1, 4, 17). The prevailing public sentiment (constituency) is responsible for directing public policy too, to which legislative representatives are beholden to respond. Constituencies should never be underestimated for the tremendous political influence and ability for initiating and changing public policy.

By examining trends in crime and legislation, criminal justice and correctional researchers and administrators have been able to incisively design correctional programs and policies that address the prevailing issues and conflicts (5) of contemporary public policy and legislation. Policy and program design, from prison industry, parole and probation, and sexual offender programming are prime examples of the broad diversity of such public perspectives that shape the legislative agenda of the profession of corrections (10).

It is interesting to research data from the diverse legislatures from state to state. The contrast of policymaking has its basic similarities, however, the “politics of the people” is a perplexing and admirable process. It is note worthy; few single legislator profiles now characterize the political socialization of American legislators. Considering a majority of elected officials across this country today have law degrees and legal backgrounds, they do not mirror the legislative profiles envisioned by the founding drafters of the Constitution of early. Seldom are legislators today representative of the “common working class” constituency. Legislation, more often now, conceptualizes law, and adopts the most legally persuasive positions (3). The social and occupational backgrounds of American legislators is now drawn from a very narrow social base, those with a correctional background are vastly underrepresented or atypical.

This research study will primarily focus on a method in which corrections practitioners may come to determine the current pertinent correctional legislative trends of the United States and its impact on the profession. There is no theoretical formula that can instantly determine the correctional trends of the United States. This research study will reveal the current pertinent correctional legislation being introduced across the United States. As a retired State corrections administrator and practitioner for over thirty years, I was interested in researching this issue. I continue to be concerned about the future of corrections and the political calls for crime control legislation, that form trends, that shape the profession, that impact the thousands of offenders and correctional employees across this country. Correctional administrators continue to be responsible for devising, administrating and facilitating policy and program agendas, devised through innovative, and proficient visionaries. There is certainly no lack of serious criminal justice or social issues confronting communities across this country or abroad (7). Criminal victimization is a serious issue in the criminal justice system; it is a social priority to address this offense. There was a bipartisan movement through the 1990’s to expand the rights of crime victims in the criminal justice system. The current Bush administrations’ Department of Justice included an objective to address victims of crime with a “Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights” Act” (19). This statutory reform enhanced the rights of crime victims in criminal trial proceedings.

Restorative justice is yet another contemporary approach to recognizing victims’ rights in the justice system, an innovative method that should be considered throughout the criminal justice field. The “Bill of Rights” was established in October 2004 and is applicable to crime victims involved with civil litigation, arising from perpetrated crimes. There are specific crimes to which the “Bill of Rights” target to include domestic violence, such violence perpetrated against “intimate partners” (male, same sex, and children) has been a mainstream issue for the feminist movement for over thirty years. The “Bill of Rights” is the culmination of the criminal justice system to recognize the social stigma of this categorized violence (22).

Juvenile (persons under 18 years of age) justice will continue to take center stage, in light of the tremendous social impact of juvenile criminal violence perpetrated in recent school violence. In the past thirty years, there has been a shift in the focus of the juvenile justice system from the “best interest of the child, to the best interest of society”. For years the criminal justice system has relied heavily on deterrence, and because of the serious escalation of juvenile crime, especially in schools, we now must begin to concentrate our efforts on prevention measures. The Columbine High School incident is a classic case in political and criminal justice study where public policy was dramatically shaped in response to a specific situation. Society was clearly repulsed at the revolting events at Columbine High School. The media coverage bolstered the detailing of practically every aspect of the episode, promoting outrage, and setting the stage for school boards across America in forming school policies that strengthened school security. School security across the United States was dramatically changed in response to the publics’ outrage of the events of Columbine. Many researchers agreed when analyzing the appalling events at Columbine, and by identifying specific social risk factors to include negative peer pressures, substance abuse, chaotic family backgrounds, that these social ills contribute to juvenile instability. The primary focus must then shift to prevention; deterrence can no longer remain as the primary focus for restoring a safe, secure school environment (18). Currently, the United States criminal justice issues and crime patterns mirrors such issues throughout the civilized world (2). I remain concerned about the similarities that confront our correctional systems both here and abroad, it is imperative to be involved as a contributor who represents the interest of the practitioners, advancing the interest of criminal justice and corrections studies.

For many years, the primary goal of rehabilitation and corrections was to reduce recidivism; we have struggled with how we can effectively reduce recidivism, or to ultimately eliminate recidivism. Technological advancements in information and data processing, allows us to better analyze the issues of recidivism (11), we now realize that drug abuse violations have had an enormous impact on practically every aspect of crime, incarceration, and re-entry. Offender substance abuse programming is evolving with new and innovative treatment strategies and programs that more effectively identify and treat specific symptoms for addicts; both inside prison (with therapeutic community programs) (21), and treatment programs that address aftercare issues for offenders, but ultimately should address re-entry and recidivism (8,9).
This study is a perspective into the commonality of crimes that impact and confront the current corrections system across the United States. This study will identify the current trends and reveal, in essence, what the American general public believes to be the prevailing criminal offenses, and the most serious criminal concerns.

This study will incorporate various professional research studies (from published journals) as referenced in the bibliography. It was essential to research the numerous published articles to put together this comprehensive, and analytical conclusion. The conclusions of this study will be supported by the accompanying survey, tables, and charts located in the “study of design” section. The “conclusion” of the study will provide a brief summary of what has been learned in this study, and what is still unknown, perhaps, it will spark additional interest to generate additional studies in this area.

Review of Literature

There have been many essays and studies written on correctional trends. The American Correctional Associations publishes The “Corrections Today” magazine that is recognized as the premier correctional publication of the field. The “Corrections Today” routinely publishes comprehensive articles that examine crime and incarceration, reports on the professions “best practices”, and promotes positive change in the field of corrections. It is important to understand the historical perspective of correctional programs. Correctional programs have been driven, at times, exclusively by political necessity to design and implement effective performance based-programs that work well (1). It is a normal expectation to expect accountability and success for public funded programs, however such programs that impact inmates, incarceration, and recidivism are often held to a higher public expectation to work well, more so than other government funded programs, in part, because these programs threaten social order and community well being.

Advancements in technology can now provide instantaneous query searches via the Internet (11), which can produce precise information and data. Complete articles and publications, research studies or other sources of virtual information are now available to practically anyone at anytime. When researching pertinent State correctional legislation, we can easily find programs that are very controversial, require significant expensive funding, and have legislative support.

The incarceration of the mentally ill inmate was an issue that troubled the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction until the system was required to provide a costly approach, to conclude the huge legal dilemma. The result to provide treatment for the mentally ill inmates eventually proved to be a productive tool for the entire prison system. Inmates are screened and identified in the initial reception process, and remain under the care of mental health staff (more than 25% of a prison population may be on prescribed psychotropic medications at any one time) until released, an expensive program, but is arguably less expensive than hospitalization. The program is an admirable correctional “model”, and demonstrates that inmates can effectively and productively coexist in a typical prison environment, without the usual accompanying issues associated with inappropriate or lack of proper mental health interventional care associated with mental deterioration (effects of incarceration), as being prey to i.e. extortion, sexual favors or assault (15).

Innovative concepts, “best practices” are still being examined to understand what works and what doesn’t work well. Administrators have a vested interest to now show that innovative programs are performance based, with outcome measures that can be easily evaluated. The demand for these innovative programs from society and legislators will continue to be a tangible expectation (16). State funded programs i.e. sex offenders, drug abuse, mental health; legal issues of juvenile delinquency, prison rape prevention, and re-entry will continue to top the list (6, 20).

Methodology

The data collection covered the period of February 20, 2006 through March 20, 2006, and was conducted at the Ross County Library in Chillicothe, Ohio. The data collection methodology was study survey. All queries was performed through Yahoo search engine. Each State Legislature website was queried i.e. (see State Legislature Site List) i.e.

California http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/,
Ohio http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/ .

All data collected from the Legislature websites was logged onto the Survey Form Current Corrections Legislative February 20, through March 20, 2006 (see Survey Form). The queried results, and legislation data varied in format from state to state. Some states had fewer than three legislative correctional Bills introduced during the sample survey period, and some had more legislative correctional Bills introduced at the time of the review. There were over three thousand total Bills (not applicable to study) examined for this project. The spreadsheet data was then recorded and charted on the State Data Chart (see State Data chart).

The data were then analyzed, only predominate correctional legislation was recorded on the (on Excel) State Legislation Spread Sheet, per all fifty states (see State Legislation Spread Sheet).
All related correctional legislation was then categorized by Sexual Abuse – Drug Offenses – Medical and Mental Health and DNA categories for all fifty states. The data was summarized at the bottom of the, thus, identifying the correctional legislation trends in the United States.
All queries for State legislative information were extracted in alphabetical order from the Internet, additional queries were checked against each respective State Department of Corrections websites for correctional related legislation postings. Only correctional related legislative Bills were used as data in this study, data that impacts correctional programming. It should be recognized that most legislative correctional Bills introduced would follow the normal legislative political process.

Analysis

The analysis of the collected data began with an examination of the various legislative processes. The political process involves the regular debate in the appropriate committee; many legislative correctional Bills introduced would be changed in the “amendment process”, which alters the original legislative Bill, as originally introduced. Not withstanding, it is important that some legislative Bills will suffer a “death” in hearings, and therefore may have been eliminated after this research period (February 20 through March 20,2006), failed to be enacted, or signed by a governor, as applicable in the political legislative process. It is interesting that nearly all States have varying Legislative periods (sessions that Legislators assemble or are in legislative session).

It should be taken into account that many times legislators review results of correctional and criminal justice forecasting studies at face value, without any thorough understanding or interpretation of the assumptions and issues of such studies. Forecasting is an informational tool that should not be misrepresented as an excuse to drive decisions and legislation. This study takes into account the broad range of legislative variables, and their complex relationships, as well as the social realities. It should be recognize that there may be a short-term accuracy for the forecast period of this study.

Discussion

The research study has several variables that contribute to determining the outcome of the results of the data collection. It is difficult to accurately predict all of the variables that will impact the legislative process. Legislators many times enact legislation and create policy changes that can cause decisions to dramatically counter forecast and alter historical data on which projections are based. Correctional legislation as intended in this study, is the legislation that directly refers to prison management and the incarceration of convicted criminal offenders, which collectively impact prison programming and operational issues. The field of corrections is a viable component of the criminal justice system. Therefore, correctional legislation takes into account the historical background, the causes and reactions of crime perpetrated on society. The attitude of society is an important variable in the data processing of this study. Criminal history, attitudes, public opinion, and perception are paramount in the interpretation of the data collected in this study. Correctional trends in the United States represents the relevant problems that society appears to prioritize. Prioritizing criminal misconduct as per this study represents a variable that characterizes societies tolerance or lack of, for criminal misconduct. The crimes that are represented in this study are the reputed offenses that indicate a resentment felt by the general public, offenses that now are at the pinnacle of public and political opinion. These offenses are what American society currently feels are the crimes that require quick and accomplished address, to eliminate such appalling criminal activities from American society.

As the survey indicates, sexual abuse is perceived and categorized as a crime that tears at the center of moral decency in our society today. There were 26 States that had introduced multiple sexual abuse related Bills, introduced into their respective state legislatures. The fact that sex related legislation is prioritized, as the number one legislative trend is not a social revelation. Sexual abuse cases saturate media news reports on a daily bases. It is the fuel that fires the social movements in this county to address this social menace. There is currently political pressure in some states to deter such criminal misconduct (sex abuse crimes) with chemical and surgical castration, and even the death penalty for repeat offenders. Such political and social response to sexual abuse crimes (capital punishment) represents societies anger and outrage. In recent years there has been momentum behind a powerful and dedicated mainstream movement against sexual predators. Its efforts are to raise public awareness, initiate political pressure to demand legislative actions, which will demand hard-line mandatory prison programs, which inadvertently keep offenders incarcerated longer. Longer incarceration periods ultimately increase prison cost, which will financially impact taxpayers. Criminal penalties of sex crimes now mandate that sex offenders upon reentry, back to their respective communities, (or reentry to unsuspecting communities) are required to have extensive tracking and monitoring programs, dictate their residency, mandate their identities be made available via internet sex offender tracking sites, available to the public on request.

Each of the States in this study that currently have sex related crime legislation is yet a prime indication of the national revolting sentiment against this predatory offense.
Drug abuse had the second most legislation introduced during the study period (February 20 through March 20, 2006). The survey indicates that 34 states had 22-drug abuse Bills introduced. It is significant that the majority of the Bills were Bills had a propensity to strengthen existing drug abuse laws. Historically, nearly all states had had strict drug abuse laws in place, however it can be understood that in response to newly committed high profile cases in many states, legislators again were driven by social movements, and community antipathy, to respond by introducing new and rigid legislation to appease public sentiment for drug abuse crimes. Drug abuse is responsible for a significant rise in incarceration cost in this country for the past 25 years. There are thousands of drug abuse correctional programs in prisons across the United States today, each represent a costly and questionable outcome (i.e. therapeutic communities), in their objective to reduce recidivism in this country. Data about people is rarely cut and dried, which heightens the rate of error. There are many assumptions about drug abuse offenders, however we have the practical skills to interpret this data and understand the important factors that are influencing the results of this study, and see its impact on recidivism.

Additionally, the study results indicate several other correctional legislative trends on the rise, which may prove to be another interesting study. Correctional medical and mental health, and DNA extraction legislation appear to be a mounting concern, respectively.

Conclusion

This research project examined the correctional legislative issues of all fifty states of the United States. By no means are the results definitive. I recognize that by using my selected method of data collection, I collected a “snap shot” of the current trends of the legislative agendas currently introduced, and available, during the collection period of February 20, through March 20, 2006. Although these conclusions should be approached with prudence, the results are certainly an accurate depiction of the current social attitudes that so importantly shape public opinion, thus guiding elected officials to devise, write and introduce legislative Bills in the interest of public concern, and in the interest of protecting social order.

The research data indicates that social tolerance is “wearing thin” for sexual abuse crimes, and the sexual predicators who perpetrate these acts. The media has become well versed in covering the details of such high profile offenses. More often are the sadistic details of abused, raped, sodomized, tortured, cannibalized, crimes perpetrated on women or the elderly are regularly revealed in on going, exhaustive media accounts, in most cases entire trials are broadcast entirely on such programs as “Court TV”. From arrest through adjudication, many cases are tried in the media. Vivid accounts continue to disgust and outrage public attitudes, even more disgusting than perhaps, other heinous or capital offenses. Corrections officials are required to provide challenging and expensive rehabilitative programs to curb such disgraceful behaviors. Law enforcement officials are mandated by law to ensure that sex offenders reside outside of school districts, register with police for years, and in some cases wear electric monitors. Despite these serious sanctions, ultimately intended to reduce recidivism, sexual offenders still have a high rate of re-offending. In some jurisdictions, public reaction is less tolerant for repeat sex offenders. There is unprecedented social movements throughout this country to legislative both surgical and chemical castration, life in prison without the possibility of parole, and in some legislatures, there are calls for the death penalty for repeat offenders. This research project has revealed legislative trends in corrections that will certainly emphasize the importance of what can be interpreted as, that social attitudes are prominent, and what specific reactions by legislators are needed to maintain, and sustain the rules of law, that make such sanctions a strong social statement for deterrence.

Drug abuse has been a serious social ill for over twenty-five years. Many states have strict drug laws that are focused on deterrence, but through contemporary programs, practitioners have shifted that focus to the cause of addiction. Currently correctional drug treatment programs are designed with a “clinical approach”. Programs are specifically targeted to address psychological issues, rather than the initial punishment models of years past. Taxpayers pay billions of dollars on drug abuse issues each year. Not immune to politic, Presidential campaigns have produced the arguable “war on drugs” programs, which receive millions of tax dollars for interdiction priorities, both in the United States and abroad with complex Drug Enforcement Administration operations throughout the world.

This study is helpful for field of corrections, it will forecast the need to continue to create more performance based programs, programs that will have a desired impact to address the original objectives of nearly all correctional programming, to reduce recidivism in the criminal justice system.

Public fears and perceptions of sex abuse and drug abuse crimes are real. We need more work to educate the public, educate them about empowering their communities to create their own public destiny. The public can reduce community crime and predatory violence from criminals, thus creating their own destiny. Prisons provide a very good security to keep offenders off the streets and from re-offending, but the reality exist; most offenders will one day be released from prison, therefore it is in the public interest to support prison sex abuse and drug abuse programs. Criminal justice research is an exceptional forecasting tool for evaluating criminal justice crime patterns, prison populations, incarceration issues, evaluating performance-based programs. Society should have a vested interest in understanding the enormous task to re-program offenders, so that they have an opportunity to change and prepare for reentry back into our communities as productive citizens.

Bibliography

1. Gondles, James, Jr., (1996) A Frontline View of the Future of Prisons, The Prison Journal, Vol: 76, p.484-488.

2. alley Engle (2006) Race, Inequality, and Colonialism in the new World Order. Law and Society Review Vol: 40, Issue: 1, p.235-247

3. Lindquist, Stefanie A., Klein, David E., (2006) The Influence of Jurisprudential Considerations on Supreme Court Decision making: A Study of Conflict Cases. Law and Society Review Vol: 40, Issue: 1, p.135-162

4. Edwards, William; Hensley, Christopher (2001). Contextualizing Sex Offender Management Legislation and Policy: Evaluating the Problem of Latent Consequences in Community Notification Laws, International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. Vol: 45, Issue: 1, p.83-101.

5. Wood, Peter B.; Dunaway, R. Gregory (2003) Consequences of Truth-in-Sentencing: The Mississippi Case, Journal of Punishment and Society, Vol: 5, Issue: 2, p.139-154.

6. Katsiyannis, Antonis; Murry, Francie, (2000) Young Offenders with Disabilities: Legal Requirements and Reform Considerations, Journal Of Child and family Studies, Vol: 9 Issue 1, p.75-85

7. Weisstub, David N.; Carney, Terry, (2006) and Forensic Mental Health Law Reform In Japan: From criminal warehousing to broad-spectrum specialist services? International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, Volume: 29, Issue: 2, p.86-100

8. Martin, Steven S.; Butzin, Clifford A.; Saum, Christine A.; Inciardi, James A., (1999) Three-Year Outcomes of Therapeutic Community Treatment for Drug-Involved Offenders in Delaware: From Prison to Work Release to Aftercare, The Prison Journal, Vol: 79, Issue: 3, p.294- 320

9. Gillespie, Wayne, (2005) A Multilevel Model of Drug Abuse Inside Prison, The Prison Journal, Vol: 85, Issue: 2, p.223-246

10. Chang, Tracy F. H., Thompkins, Douglas E., (2002) Corporations Go to Prisons: The Expansion of Corporate Power in the Correctional Industry, Labor Studies Journal, Vol: 27: Issue: 1. P. 45-69

11. Rowley, Jenni, (1998) Towards a Framework for Information Management, International Journal of Information Management, Vol: 18, Issue: 5, p. 359-369.

12. Baird, S. Christopher; Wagner, Dennis, (1990) Measuring Diversion: The Florida
Community Control Program, Crime & Delinquency, Vol: 36, Issue: 1 p.112-125

13. Clark, Judith (1995) The Impact of the Prison Environment on Mothers. The Prison Journal, Vol: 75, Issue: 3. p.306-329

14. McCollum, Sylvia G., (1994) Prison College Programs. The Prison Journal. Vol: 74, Issue: 1. p. 51-61.

15, Kolstad, Arnull. (1996) Imprisonment As Rehabilitation: Offenders’ Assessment of Why It Does Not Work. Journal Of Criminal Justice. Vol: 24. Issue: 4. p. 323-335.

16. Weedon, Joey R, (2005) Budget Proposal Places State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Programs In Jeopardy, Corrections Today (Legislation Issues) V 67 i3 p18 (1)

17. St. Gerard, Vanessa (2003) Ohio Bill To Help mentally Ill Offenders. Corrections Compendium, V28 i8 p22 (1)

18. Fairchild, Mary; Davis Bell, Julie (Feb. 2000) School Violence Lessons Learned. State Legislatures. V26 i2 p12

19. Morgenstein, Peter D.; Fisher, Eric B. (July 20, 2005) Outside Counsel. New York Law Journal.

20. Samia Mair, Julie; Frattaroli, Shannon; Teret, Stephen P. (Winter 2003) New Hope For Victims Of Prison Sexual Assault. Journal Of Law, Medicine & Ethics. V31 i4 p602 (8)

21. Mel nick, Gerald; DeLeon, George; Thomas, George; Kressel, David; Wexler, Harry K. (Nov. 2001) Treatment Process In Prison Therapeutic Communities: Motivation, Participation, and Outcome. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. V27 ni4 p 633 (18)

22. Grauwiler, Peggy; Mills, Linda G. (Mar. 2004) Moving Beyond the Criminal Justice Paradigm: A Radical restorative Justice Approach To Intimate Abuse. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, V31 i1 p49 (21)

State Legislature Site List

1. Alabama http://www.legislature.state.al.us/AlisHome.html
2. Alaska http://www.state.ak.us/
3. Arizona http://www.azleg.state.az.us/FinalDisposition.asp
4. Arkansas http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/
5. California http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/
6. Colorado http://www.leg.state.co.us/
7. Connecticut http://www.cga.ct.gov/
8. Delaware http://www.legis.state.de.us/Legislature.nsf?Open
9. Florida http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Welcome/index.cfm
10. Georgia http://www.legis.state.ga.us/
11. Hawaii www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/doc
12. Idaho http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/
13. Illinois http://www.ilga.gov/
14. Indiana http://www.in.gov/legislative/
15. Iowa http://www.legis.state.ia.us/
16. Kansas http://www.kslegislature.org/legsrv-legisportal/index.do
17. Kentucky http://www.lrc.state.ky.us/home.htm
18. Louisiana http://www.legis.state.la.us/
19. Maine http://janus.state.me.us/legis/
20. Maryland http://mlis.state.md.us/
21. Massachusetts http://www.mass.gov/legis/legis.htm
22. Michigan http://www.legislature.mi.gov/
23. Minnesota http://www.leg.state.mn.us/
24. Mississippi http://www.ls.state.ms.us/
25. Missouri http://www.moga.state.mo.us/
26. Montana http://leg.state.mt.us/css/
27. Nebraska http://leg.state.mt.us/css/
28. Nevada http://www.leg.state.nv.us/
29. New Hampshire http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/ie/
30. New Jersey http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/
31. New Mexico http://legis.state.nm.us/lcs/
32. New York http://assembly.state.ny.us/
33. North Carolina http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/
34. North Dakota http://www.legis.nd.gov/
35. Ohio http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/
36. Oklahoma http://www.lsb.state.ok.us/
37. Oregon http://www.leg.state.or.us/
38. Pennsylvania http://www.legis.state.pa.us/
39. Rhode Island http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/
40. South Carolina www.scstatehouse.net/
41. South Dakota http://legis.state.sd.us/index.aspx
42. Tennessee http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/
43. Texas http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/
44. Utah http://le.utah.gov/
45. Vermont http://www.leg.state.vt.us/
46. Virginia http://legis.state.va.us/
47. Washington http://www1.leg.wa.gov/legislature/
48. West Virginia http://www.legis.state.wv.us/
49. Wisconsin http://www.legis.state.wi.us/
50. Wyoming http://legisweb.state.wy.us/

ICE-T, NO SUGAR: LAW ENFORCEMENT AND POLITICAL REACTIONS TO THE GANSTER RAP "COP KILLER"

2006-12-03T06:46:00.000-08:00

Ice-T, No Sugar: Law Enforcement and Political
Reactions to the Gangster Rap “Cop Killer”

By Keith Haley

A chapter in the book
Crime and Punishment in the Lone Star State
(Mark Stallo and Keith Haley, McGraw-Hill, 1997)

Article is copyrighted. All rights pertain.

INTRODUCTION

I got my black shirt on/I got my black gloves on/I got my ski mask on/This shit’s been too long/I got my 12 gauge sawed off/I got my headlights turned off/I’m ‘bout to bust some shots off/I’m ‘bout to dust some cops off (automatic weapons fire....)

Chorus: I’m a Cop Killer/It’s better you than me/Cop Killer/Fuck police brutality/Cop Killer/I know your family’s grievin’/Fuck ‘em/Cop Killer/But tonight we get even/Ha Ha I got my brain on hype/tonigt’ll be your night/I got this long-assed knife/And your neck looks just right/My adrenaline’s pumpin’/I got my stereo bumpin’/I’m out to kill me somethin’/A pig stopped me for nothin’

(Automatic weapons fire....)
Die, Die, Die Pig, Die!

Chorus....
Fuck the police/Fuck the police/Fuck the police/Fuck the police/Fuck the police/Fuck the police/Fuck the police! Fuck the police

Chorus....
Break it down/Fuck the police/yeah
Fuck the police/For Daryl Gates
Fuck the police/For Rodney King
Fuck the police/For my dead homies
Fuck the police/For your freedom
Fuck the police/Don’t be a pussy
Fuck the police/Have some motherfuckin’ courage
Sing along/Cop Killer/Cop Killer/Cop Killer/Cop Killer!
Cop Killer/What’ do you want to be when you grow up!
Cop Killer/Good choice/Cop Killer/I’m a motherfuckin’ Cop
Killer/oohyeah

So go the lyrics of the song “Cop Killer” which have triggered comments and reactions from the stately, the lowly, the powerful, and the pristine. So what’s all of the controversy about? Rapper Ice-T and his supporters say he is simply portraying a fictional character who is voicing frustration and anger with police brutality. Most of America’s law enforcement officers and a lot of other people think differently. Then there are some who aren’t sure what to make of the song.

Since March of 1992, when the “Body Count” album which contains the controversial number was released, approximately 100,000 copies of the album have been sold each month until Time Warner withdrew “Cop Killer” from the album in July at the request of lce-T himself. His justification for the decision was that threats had been directed toward Time Warner and its executives. In the meantime, fiery discussions and commentary as well as protests continued over the song “Cop Killer” well into 1993. The year long battle over the legitimacy and interpretation of “Cop Killer” is a story of big money, corporate irresponsibility, national values, political power, free speech, and racial disharmony.

The battle lines concerning the controversial song were drawn early after its release. Most of the nation’s police officers and their leadership were outraged by the lyrics of the song and the irresponsibility of Time Warner for making and distributing the “Body Count” album. They called for the withdrawal of the recording. Other demands, including an apology from Time Warner to the law enforcement community, were also made. The nature, volume, and diversity of responses to “Cop Killer” may indeed be unique in the history of the recording industry. The ability of the police to mobilize and act successfully on their rage concerning “Cop Killer,” which many perceived to be a “call to arms” or an “open season” on cops, is itself worthy of study.

Other questions are raised by the event. What forces were the police able to bring to bear on Time Warner? What social responsibility do music producers have in selecting artists’ work? What issues are raised in the publication of songs such as “Cop Killer” and those of related genre such as “gangster rap” which contain malicious, sexist, inflammatory, and vile material? What effects do such vicious lyrics have on their subjects, whether it be police officers or others? Finally, will the police now be a filter through which all new controversial material concerning them will have to pass? Will there be a “police correctness?”

OBJECTIVES OF THE PAPER

The paper will examine the law enforcement and political reactions to rap singer Ice-Ts song “Cop Killer” while focusing on the following objectives:

1. Discuss the controversial lyrics of “Cop Killer.”
2. Examine the issues related to the lyrics of gangster rap and related genre.
3. Analyze the leadership and power exerted by the law enforcement community in Texas and the nation in influencing Time Warner to drop “Cop Killer” from future editions of the Body Count’ album.
4. Describe the feelings of law enforcement officers concerning “Cop Killer,” lce-T, and Time Warner.

METHODOLOGY

Popular, social science, and select law enforcement journals and employee association literature were reviewed in order to ascertain the political and law enforcement reactions to Ice-Ts “Cop Killer” throughout the nation. The lyrics of the controversial song were analyzed to determine their meaning within the gangster rap genre and to identify the particular words and phrases most offensive to police officers.

Texas law enforcement officers who were instrumental in effecting the “Cop Killer” protest and proposed boycott were interviewed. Moreover, two questions were posted on a national electronic bulletin board, one of which investigated the willingness of police officers nationwide to participate in the proposed boycott against the Time Warner enterprises and products. The second question asked officers to describe their feelings when they first became aware of the lyrics to “Cop Killer.”

“COP KILLER” LYRICS AND INTERPRETATIONS

It is only once in a great while that an artist work is able to simultaneously attract attention from virtually every quarter of the nation. Ice-T, whose real name is Tracy Marrow, managed to accomplish precisely that. “Cop Killer” was a blockbuster which riveted out an indictment and deadly assault on America’s police to the background of zinging heavy metal music and simulated automatic weapons fire.

The police should indeed be troubled if the lyrics found on page one of this paper are to be taken at face value and that itself became a central question in the “Cop Killer” episode. If a reader or listener takes the lyrics of the song literally, and tens of thousands have done so, s/he is listening in on a well conceived ambush of police officers. The assailants dress the part with black shirts, gloves, and ski masks and are armed with a 12 gauge shotgun and big knife. They intend to kill cops tonight because they are fed up with police brutality. Their redress is immediate and fatal for the police. You hear the shots. In the chorus the killer then proclaims his success, his anger over police brutality, and his glee over the, that the police officer’s f is grieving. We know because he laughs.

Later the listener hears how pumped-up the assailant is. His brain is cranked and his stereo is blasting, He needs to kill something in apparent response to being illegitimately stopped by a police officer, a “pig.” One more cop dies as you hear the gunfire.

A string of “Fuck the police” ensues. Then the same phrase precedes several specific instigations for murdering police officers: “Daryl Gates,” “Rodney King,” “Ice-Vs dead homies,” and certainly not the least inspirational if you are so inclined, “freedom.”

Then, should the intended audience be timid or hesitant, there is the encouragement “Don’t be a pussy, have some motherfuckin’ courage.” The anthem blares onto another strand of”Cop Killer.”

Finally, there is something for the children to aspire to. Ice-T poses the question, “What do you want to be when you grow-up?” The reply is “Cop Killer” to which Ice-T responds “Good choice.” The final line is ‘I'm a motherfuckin Cop Killer.” So why would the police be angry over this song?

THE POLICE WORKING ENVIRONMENT

American police officers spend a substantial portion of their time trying to resolve conflict in an environment that is more than occasionally hostile (Skolnick, 1966). It’s not surprising that the police would oppose anything that might exacerbate the level of hostility they already experience. Even police officers suffer fear on the job and far too many officers don’t come home from work because they have been assaulted or killed. Table I below identifies dangerous circumstances for police officers.

CIRCUMSTANCES AT SCENE OF INCIDENT

TOTAL

71,794
100.0%

Disturbance calls (family quarrels, man with a gun, etc.)
23,535
32.8%

Burglaries in progress or pursuing burglary suspects
1,112
1.5%

Robberies in progress or pursuing robbery suspects
1,149
1.6%

Attempting other arrests
14,741
20.5%

Civil disorders
1,112
1.5%

Handling, transporting, custody of prisoners
8,323
11.6%

Investigating suspicious persons and circumstances
5,941
8.3%

Ambush (no warning)
350
0.5%

Mentally deranged
937
1.3%

Traffics pursuits and stops
6,754
9.4%

All other
7,840
10.9%

Table I LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ASSAULTED

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, 1990, FBI Uniform Crime Reports (Washington, D.C., 1991), p. 45
The data reveal that disturbance calls, arresting suspects, and managing prisoners are indeed dangerous circumstances for police officers. They frequently result in assaults on the officers.
But assaults on officers aren’t the whole story. Some are killed. Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, sisters, and brothers are lost to their families forever. The community and the nation lose trained and talented officers. In 1992, 136 officers were killed in the line of duty. Texas lead the nation with a total of 13 officers killed (Dallas Morning News, January 22, 1993). This was the fifth straight year Texas had the most officers killed. Perhaps it is more than a coincidence that Texas peace officers were particularly bothered by the song and initiated the national protest movement against Time Warner. They may have had the most to lose if the song served as even the slightest motivation to challenge the police.

LAW ENFORCEMENT INTERPRETATIONS OF “COP Killer's” LYRICS

Mainstream American law enforcement was appalled at the lyrics of “Cop Killer.” Clearly many officers, their leadership, and their employee organizations interpreted the lyrics as a real threat to their personal safety. Mark Clark of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT), an organization of 12,000 peace officers, confirmed the perceived threat saying, “What we can’t believe is that people who are in the business of entertaining the public would enter into a business relationship that would jeopardize the lives of the men and women that police our communities” (Jet, June 29, 1992).

Police in Houston, Texas bad a similar interpretation according to Doug Elder, President of the Houston Police Officer’s Association. He stated, “You mix this with the summer, the violence, and a little drugs, and they are going to unleash a reign of terror on communities all across the country” (Donnely, June 22, 1992).

What many consider the triggering event for the nationwide protest and proposed boycott was the May 29, 1992, publication of the “Cop Killer” lyrics in the Dallas Police Association’s newsletter in an article entitled “New Rap Song Encourages Killing of Police Officers.” Had there been any doubt as to what the majority of police officers in America believed the lyrics meant, the subsequent firestorm of protest would not have ensued.

The plethora of law enforcement and political responses to the song notwithstanding, not all law enforcement officers and their leadership accepted the view that “Cop Killer” advocated violence against the police. There was evidence of a far different interpretation which seemed to break along racial lines. Some African-American officers and their employee associations believed the song depiction was precisely what Ice-T himself said it was, a fictional character voicing frustration and anger over police brutality.

The National Black Police Association based in Washington D.C. and the African- American Peace Officer Association in Los Angeles opposed any actions against the album and Time Warner. According to the National Black Police Association, “Ice-T is entitled to voice his anger and frustrations with conditions facing oppressed people” (Pareles, 1992). Likewise, Dallas Senior Corporal James Allen of the predominantly African-American Texas Peace Officers’ Association said of Ice-I and the song, “He’s just a brother expressing himself about the attitude of police across the nation. It’s true and we have to deal with it” (St. Pierre, 1992).

Corporal Allen and the Texas Peace Officers’ Association Chapter in Dallas, in fact, volunteered to provide security for Ice-T and his band at a 1992 New Year’s Eve concert in the city. Lce-T did not respond to the offer but Glenn White of the Dallas Police Association did saying, “It would be in pretty poor taste to work for a band that talks about killing police officers” (St. Pierre, 1992).

Ice-T defends the song and its Lyrics by saying it is no different than other fictional works where police are assaulted and killed, the Terminator II movie as case in point. In the song Ice-T said he represents a fictional character “who is fed up with police brutality” (Rule, 1992). This is a commonly given explanation for much of the violence, hate, and obscenity found in the genre of thrash, gangster rap, and other like categories of music.

If that is all there is to it, what’s the worry over? But on the other hand, Ice-T said in an interview with Time magazine, “My raps aim to give people courage. Listening to me gives you the ability to say screw the system if it’s doing you wrong” (Donnely, 1992). Does that mean the words are meant to cause action or simply to inspire a person to speak-up? It takes some sorting out to find the meaning and the young people who may, in fact, be frustrated might not be able to make the subtle distinctions in interpretation that Ice-T and Time Warner have made.

Ice-T's own life experiences are brought to bear on the issue of the lyrics when asked how the police should feel about the song. Ice-T said,” ‘Cop Killer’ should make cops nervous. I think they should feel threatened. They know they can’t. take a life without retaliation. I do not say go out and do it.” One particularly aggravating circumstance in his own life was when Ice-T was pulled out of a car by the police and laid down on the street. The police left the scene without even saying “Get up” (The New York Times, June 19, 1992).

Time Warner, as might be expected, interpreted the lyrics exactly as Ice-T did. The corporation took the view that the song is fiction but not without a factual base. Time Warner President and CEO Gerald Levin said, “The song is rooted in the reality of the streets,” but points out that ‘Cop Killer’ is no more a call for gunning down the police than Frankie and Johnny is a summons for jilted lovers to shoot one another” (The Wall Street Journal, June 22, 1992). For Time Warner “Cop Killer” was simply a classic case of free expression of an artist protected by the First Amendment. With this almost matter of fact stance the corporation had no plans to alter its course in distribution and sale of the album. In fact, a TW spokesman said, “What guardians of respectability find vile is considered compelling and clever to hundreds of thousands of fans” (The Wall Street Journal, June 22, 1992).

OTHJ INTERPRETATIONS OF “COP KILLER’S” LYRICS

Some of the many journalists who commented on the song would seem to be having it both ways. They feel the lyrics should sound an alarm because of its reality base in places such as South Central L.A., yet claim the song is hyperbole, boast, and gesture emanating from the black traditions of street life (Editorial, New Republic, August 10, 1992). Are the situations depicted real or not, and if they are not, why the alarm?

Other journalists were as offended as the police. Michael Kinsley (1992) of CNN and Time magazine renown said, “Killing policeman is a good thing. That is the meaning of the words and no larger understanding of black culture, the rage of the streets, or anything else can explain it away.” Similarly, the Parents’ Music Resource Center was struck by the “vileness of the message” (Donnely, 1992).

POLITICAL REACTIONS TO “COP KILLER”

If the police were feeling neglected and abused coming off the deluge of negative publicity from the Rodney King incident and the Los Angeles riot, their hopes were lifted by support they received from many quarters concerning “Cop Killer,” including attention from the very top. It was an election year for the President, the Vice President, and Congress and there were numerous platforms from which they could speak their minds on an issue that connected to violence and crime.

President Bush was quick to react stating that “he is against those who use films and records or television or video games to glorify killing police officers. I don’t care how noble the name of the company, it is wrong for any company to issue records that approve of killing police officers” (The Wall Street Journal, June 30, 1992). Vice President Quayle urged Time Warner to reexamine its sponsorship of “Cop Killer,” realizing that the government could not act because of First Amendment Rights (The Wall Street Journal, June 22, 1992). Time Warner had no reply.
Then presidential candidate Bill Clinton raised an issue in the Sister Souljah case that was mentioned by more than one critic of Time Warner. Known as the “Clinton Test,” Mr. Clinton asked the question, “What if the roles were reversed in Sister Souljah’s rap that suggested that blacks take a day off from killing each other and kill only whites for a day?” He said that would make them sound like a speech from David Duke (The Wall Street Journal, June 22, 1992). The logic was persuasive and used by many in expressing their displeasure over the controversial song “Cop Killer.”

There were other reactions from political quarters. Several dozen members of Congress angrily protested the record in a letter and urged Time Warner to withdraw the record from production and distribution. State legislator Will Harnett of Texas wrote a letter of protest to Time Warner on May 29, 1992, well before any of the of the other politicians. The Los Angeles Police Commission also called for Time Warner to stop selling the record and said their action was “in concern for all of the police officers throughout the country, we have to take a position that we oppose this kind of music” (The New York Times, July 16, 1992).

Oliver North and the Freedom Alliance put pressure on the nation’s 50 governors to bring criminal charges against Time Warner in violation of sedition and anti-anarchy statutes (Zimmerman, 1992). The pressure on Time Warner was mounting.

As lithe explosive law enforcement and political reactions to “Cop Killer” were not enough, corporate America began to raise a critical issue. Editor-in-Chief Charles Day (1992) of Industry Week believed the lce-T song struck deeper than the current issue over the lyrics. He believed that American corporations had not identified what their values were not what kinds of behavior they wanted to either encourage or discourage among their workers. The “Cop Killer” song “is hardly a solitary example of corporate indifference to the public interest,” according to Mr. Day. Perhaps a lesson might be learned concerning the need to define the values management should hold dear and ask their employees to embrace.

A SAMPLE OF OPINION FROM A NATIONAL COMPUTER BULLETIN BOARD

On January 17, 1993, two questions were posted on the interactive personal service board of Prodigy, a national computer information service. The questions to police officers were:

1. How did you feel when you first read the lyrics of “Cop Killer?”
2. Would you have participated in a boycott against Time Warner if the corporation had not pulled the song from the market?

Only seven responses were received, one from a police widow whose husband was killed in 1989. The responses to question # I were examined for common themes. Table 2 below summarizes the results of the inquiry on Prodigy.

RESPONDENT FEELINGS
BOYCOTT ACTIVITY
A
“anger and grief’
Would boycott
B
“infuriated”
Already boycotting
C
“should know feelings”
Already boycotting
D
“lyrics are trash”
Would boycott
E
“outraged”
Already boycotting
F
“outraged”
Already boycotting
G
“lyrics are free speech”
No response

Table 1

RESPONSES TO PRODIGY BULLETIN BOARD SURVEY

Only one of the respondents to the Prodigy survey failed to react negatively to the lyrics and in most cases the respondents were angered, outraged, and infuriated. The lone dissenter saw the issue of the lyrics in terms of free speech. Relative to the boycott, again all but one would have participated and some of them had started and were continuing to take some boycott action against Time Warner. In sum, six of the seven (85.7%) were both angered by the lyrics of the song and were in favor of boycotting Time Warner had it been necessary to get the song removed from distribution.

THE GANGSTER RAP GENRE

Poetic depictions of crime, violence, racial haired, sexual assault, and conflict with the police on the streets are a major source of profit in today’s music industry, maybe reaping as much as $700 million each year. Ice-T, who is credited with the founding of the particular genre known as “crime rhyme” or “gangster rap”, is reported to have 400,000 hard-core fans across the nation. The “Body Count” album which contained “Cop Killer” sold 100,000 copies a month until the song was deleted. It should be noted that this amount of sales was accomplished with virtually no air time for the song on radio or television since the lyrics were considered too offensive to be aired.

Who buys the music? Ice-T claims that 70% of the sales are to middle class white young people who also can afford the T-shirt, hat, and perhaps the jacket. Urban blacks are more likely to hear the tape on pirated copies. Nevertheless business is booming.

Ice-T, who grew up in middle class Los Angeles and did a four year stint in the Army, has had four gold albums beginning with “Rhyme Pays” and including “OG: Original Gangster” which many critics and commentators consider to be his best work. Ice-T, raised as Tracy Marrow, has been successful enough to branch out into other ventures such as his roles in the movies “New Jack City” and “Trespass.” “Trespass” was originally intended to be entitled “The Looters,” but the L.A. riot changed the movie producer's mind.

To droning yet captivating hip-hop beats rappers such as Ice-T, Ice Cube, and NWA (Niggas With Attitude) pipe out a profitable onslaught of sexism, hatred, homophobia, violence, and crime. But some say there are messages in the music which are truly compelling and can give all Americans an ear to the desperation and hopelessness that reside in the nation’s urban centers. So buried within the titles such as “Fuck the Police,” “KKK Bitch,” “Momma's Gonna Die Tonight,” “Home of the Body Bag,” “Street Killer,” “100 Miles and Runnin,” and many others there is, for the most part some injustice or inequity which is supposed to have fueled the rage and hatred that emits from the music. Other titles are more direct in portraying the plight of urban black life. “911 Is a Joke,” “Escape from the Killing Fields,” “Mind Over Matter,” and “Ed,” a song which warns of the fast life and drunk driving, point out the futility of much of life in the ghetto. There is something here that needs to be heard and may not be available for most Americans any other way. An understanding of Ice Cube’s “Black Korea,” some say, might very well have given us a portend of the poor state of relations between Korean merchants and their black customers in L.A. prior to the 1992 riot had anyone been listening.

Because the music is offensive to so many Americans of all creeds and color, the gems of truth which may be found in the vile, profane, and exaggerated language of the gangster rappers and others will more than likely be heard by only a small segment of the American population. Perhaps knowing that the messages are there could spur some other means of finding the truths amidst the hyperbole. For many African-Americans rap is no more attractive, sometimes driving a wedge between people of the same race. L.A.’s new African-American police chief, Willie Williams, claims to have “major problems with rap music as an American, as a parent, and as a 30 year police officer” (Zimmerman, 1992).

One Chicago radio station, whose listening audience is predominantly black, advertises as the station that plays no rap, apparently capitalizing on the widespread distaste for the genre among blacks with higher demographic profiles and incomes (Muwakkil, 1990).

But there are other views on this music of the African-American underclass. Dr. Charles V. Willie, Professor of Education and Urban Studies at Harvard University comments that entertainment through depictions of violence is not new and points out that “the elite in their finery have for years attended opera as form of entertainment and some operas are known to be violent...like Wagner’s “Das Rheinhold” (Jet, April 1, 1991). The language of rap, which conveys the street themes to the underclass and the youth, is simply considered vile and vulgar by the majority of Americans and that fact alone will prevent the messages from ever being heard unless delivered in some other medium.

Poetry by its very definition is to evoke the highest and lowest emotions in human beings. Gangster rap does that indeed and Ice-I would appear to be at the head of the class in this genre. Quincy Jones believes “Ice-I has the best poetic quality of any rapper, and the strongest narrative” he has ever heard (Donnely, 1992). Ice-T has evolved since he first began spinning records in the Army and when the renowned gangster rapper stepped in to the heavy metal world with the controversial “Body Count” album, he evoked some emotions and a whale of a controversy.

THE APPLICATION OF POLICE LEADERSHEP AND POWER

A number of perspectives might logically be taken to tell the story of what happened in the police protest and boycott against Time Warner. It was in many respects a moral victory of sorts against vile and obscene lyrics, with many victories left to be won in that arena in many people’s minds. It was no less a media blitzkrieg with scores of journalists around the nation offering their “two columns” or so on the matter. But the perspective on the fight and its accomplishments that is perhaps most plausible is that of a righteous movement orchestrated by an enraged law enforcement community who seldom exercise the real power they possess. That exercise of power and influence on a national scale was accomplished by the contributions of scores of police labor and agency leaders. But several law enforcement officials in Texas made it happen through their moral courage and leadership directed against Time Warner. What odds would anyone have given to American law enforcement officers in this age, thought to be loosely organized nationwide and incessantly pummeled in the media over alleged police brutality and racism, in taking on a multi-billion dollar corporation and winning any concessions? They believe they won and the victory came in slightly more than one month from the call to arms. The story of the “Six Week War” is intriguing.

THE POLICE POWER-UP FOR A FIGHT

Perhaps no different than a lot of other nights Glenn White, Senior Corporal of the Dallas Police Department and Vice President of the Dallas Police Association, was at the Northeast Police Substation doing business as usual when his Sergeant asked him if he had seen the words to a new rap song that was out about killing cops. He had not. But when he did read and reflect on the lyrics of “Cop Killer,” his anger began to build and he wanted to do something about it. Out of this one officer’s outrage and commitment to change things came a lesson that the recording industry, law enforcement, and lots of other people are not likely to forget. A brief chronology of the events and developments that followed Glenn White’s initial steps to fight back are detailed below in an attempt to assist the reader in grasping the essential developments in a well orchestrated, albeit fortuitous, sequence of events and circumstances that allowed the police of the nation to accomplish a feat that heretofore was clearly deemed unassailable.

An analysis and discussion of key leadership issues and the results of interviews with the two most important law enforcement actors in the challenge to Time Warner’s might will follow. The concentration and application of power exercised by the police will also be considered.

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS

March 1992 - Time Warner releases the “Body Count” album which contained the song “Cop Killer” performed by rapper Ice-T and a new heavy metal band. Before the album’s release, against the wishes of Ice-T, the title was changed from “Cop Killer” to “Body Count,” the name of one of the songs on the new release and the name of Ice-Vs heavy metal band. Early promotion copies of the album were delivered to radio and television stations in miniature “body bags.”

May 29, 1992- Glenn White published the lyrics of the song “Cop Killer” in the May29 issue of ”The Shield,” the Dallas Police Association’s newspaper. White was astounded that Time Warner, a respectable company in his eyes, could be making money off of a song that suggested the killing of police officers. He urged the readers and their families to write Time Warner in protest and to boycott all their products and movies until the company removed the song. The address of Lenny Waronker, President of Time) Warner Bros. Records was provided in the article.

June 4, 1992 - Eric Wramp, President of the Corpus Christi Police Officers’ Association, read White’s article and called a press conference to express his anger over the song. That same day Wramp sent a scathing letter to Time Warner.

Dan Calderon, staff writer of the Corpus Christi Caller Times, published the first media article about the police anger and threatened boycott The story is picked up off of the Associated Press wire service and the nation began to read about “Cop Killer” and the police movement against it.
June 8, 1992 - Ron Delord., President of the 12,000 member Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT), held a meeting in Austin to decide strategy and tactics to fight Time Warner.

An Austin resident who holds stock in Time Warner provided CLEAT with a shareholder’s packet that delineated Time Warner financial holdings and included the news of a shareholders’ meeting in Beverly Hills, California on July 16.

June 9, 1992- CLEAT staff under the direction of Ron Delord and Mark Clark mobilized a national campaign by mailing out protest packets to hundreds of police associations and other groups across the United States and Canada. The packets contained a CLEAT press release, a copy of Glenn White’s article, a copy of the letter sent to Time Warner by a police survivors’ organization, Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS), Time Warner stockholders’ information, and other items useful in combating Time Warner.

June 11, 1992 - Approximately 75 uniformed police officers and others held a press conference in Arlington, Texas across from Six Flags Over Texas, an enormous amusement park, of which Time Warner holds 50% of the stock. At the press conference, chaired by Ron Delord and Glenn White, the police announced they would attend the stockholders’ meeting in Beverly Hills, California on July 16, and encouraged law enforcement officers from across the nation to attend. They would withhold a boycott decision until after the stockholders’ meeting in California, but wanted the record pulled, an apology made to law enforcement and police survivors, and a large monetary contribution from “Cop Killer” profits donated to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund.

June 11, 1992 to July 15, 1992 - Opposition to “Cop Killer” swelled across the nation despite Time Warner’s and Ice- stand on the fictional nature of the song and an artist’s right of free expression. The police attracted support from diverse quarters: politicians, record store owners, niteclub owners, journalists, corporate leaders, the black community, religious leaders, Time Warner stockholders, a vast majority of the public, and celebrities. The more publicity, the stronger the condemnation of Time Warner.

July 15, 1992 - Law enforcement officers and family members held a strategy meeting in Beverly Hills, the night before the stockholders’ annual meeting, and invited two Time Warner executives who left the meeting surprised at the level of anger and the strength of the opposition.

July 16, 1992 - The police protested outside the Beverly Hills Wilshire Hotel where the stockholders’ meeting was being held. Later inside the hotel Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin was repeatedly interrupted by stockholders who wanted to deal with the “Cop Killer” issue before regular business was attended to. Charlton Heston read the Cop Killer words to a stunned crowd of investors. Many others gave emotion-laden speeches and pleas, most of which were police labor leaders in the United States and Canada, police survivors of assaults, and family to officers.

July 28, 1992 - Ice-T “voluntarily” removed “Cop Killer” from distribution because of alleged death and bomb threats made toward Time Warner executives and him. Ice-T would continue to issue single copies to those who request them but the song would not be produced by Time Warner. Time Warner offered no apology.

July 31, 1992 - CLEAT and several other police associations across the nation declared an end to the verbal assaults on Time Warner and divested from any further boycott activity. Other police associations vowed to fight on to achieve somewhat nebulous objectives.
December 311992- Ice-T played a New Year’s Eve concert in Dallas where the crowd measured less than 300. The Dallas Police Association offered no protest, not wanting to promote racial disharmony in the city.

January 28, 1993 - Warner Bros. Records dropped Lce-T from its list of performers as a result of a disagreement over the artwork on the cover of his new album “Home Invasion.” Both claim the release from his contract was by mutual agreement. TW said it was the best way to resolve their “creative differences.”

February 1993 - Ice-T found an independent distributor, Priority Records, to release his “Home Invasion” album. Record is scheduled to be out by mid-March with apparently no changes in the album’s cover art, which depicts a white youth listening to the album while imagining violent images.

LEADERSHIP EMERGES

It didn’t take long after Glenn White’s publication of the lyrics to “Cop Killer” and the AP wire service story on a proposed police boycott of Time Warner for a momentum to build against the publishing and entertainment giant. But the momentum lacked a clear direction and it needed leadership if it were to accomplish anything. Fortunately for the law enforcement community Glenn White and Ron Delord were willing to step forward, an action that would require great personal sacrifice from both men. Other leaders eventually took up the cause nationwide. From the written coverage available on this event and from interviews with Delord and White, it became evident that their roles could not be minimized in this battle. It is unlikely that anything of significance would have been accomplished without them.

Leadership has many definitions, but virtually all of them contain several key ingredients that played a big part in the campaign against Time Warner, President Eisenhower’s definition was “getting someone else to do something you want done because they want to do it.” Historian James McGregor Bums (1980) describes transforming Leadership as “when one or more persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and morality.” The world is replete with examples of this kind of leadership where the moral high ground belonged to the movement: Gandhi in India, William Lloyd Garrison on slavery and King on civil rights. A shared set of motives is at the heart of transforming leadership.

It became clear from the beginning that the police had an issue that the vast majority of the nation would support them on if they could mobilize and manage this attack. Glenn White’s article in the Dallas police Association’s newsletter and his call for a boycott against Time Warner was an act of courageously doing something first, also a credible definition of leadership. No less courageous was Eric Wramp’s news conference in Corpus Christi, before he had read the political climate. Others might have waited to get a reading of reactions to the song before stepping forward to protest. When the calls began to come in to the offices of the Dallas Police Association and CLEAT in Austin, the police knew they had to get organized. On June 8, 1992, Ron Delord of CLEAT held a strategy meeting in Austin with key staff to discuss the growing media coverage of the “Cop Killer” issue. It was there that a decision was made to expand the fight against the corporation.

Two decisions were made that were critical to the effectiveness of the campaign. First, CLEAT decided to move immediately before the story got old and secondly, a press conference was scheduled for June 11 at Six Flags Over Texas, a “family” amusement park in Arlington, Texas where large numbers of officers could be mobilized from many different agencies in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The show of combined law enforcement strength at the press conference in a location that would allow the police to make the striking contrast between the atrocious lyrics of “Cop Killer” and the financially rewarding Six Flags Amusement Park with its family image was a media bonanza. Both attractions of the press conference were Time Warner financed enterprises. In the meantime, both CLEAT and the Dallas Police Association began to mall out packets of information to interested and outraged police officers, survivor organizations, police employee associations, politicians, and the public across the nation. The DPA was asking recipients of the packages, among other things, to boycott Time Warner.
What would be the law enforcement position on “Cop Killer” beyond the fact they were shocked and angered at the song? The decision was made to focus on the greed and immorality of Time Warner for publishing such an offensive work of art and not to become embroiled in a futile controversy over Ice-Ts right to perform the song according to the First Amendment which might result in the police being tagged with a position that advocated censorship. This approach allowed the police to bring in an even greater number of supporters, some of which might have flinched if a call for censorship was made.

Next the decision was made by Ron Delord and the CLEAT organization to withhold their call for a boycott, realizing how often this approach proves fruitless. But the threat of a boycott loomed large and Time Warner was left to think about that possibility for awhile.

But as luck would have it, a Time Warner shareholder in Austin gave CLEAT a shareholder’s packet that contained an array of financial and investment information about TW, including an announcement of the July 16 annual shareholders’ meeting in Beverly Hills, California. CLEAT hoped to bring the protest to a successful conclusion at the July meeting and would be able to keep the story alive in the media for a month and have the time to mobilize a national campaign against Time Warner. In the meantime, the DPA under the leadership of Glenn White and CLEAT, directed by Ron Delord, mailed out nearly 2,000 information packets to law enforcement organizations and other groups across the nation. The CLEAT package contained the following: a CLEAT press release; Glenn White’s article; a copy of the Concerns of Police Survivors’ letter to Time Warner; an announcement of the July 16 stockholders’ meeting; a list of all TW directors and major holdings; and a copy of a visual that was used at the July 11 press conference which simulated a movie poster announcement reading “Time Warner...Now Proudly Presents...Cop Killer.”

The press conference on June 11 was an unqualified success. Dozens of police in uniform were there and it was chaired by Delord and White, no doubt both slightly stunned by the amount of media attention given the event. They played opening lines to “Cop Killer” and distributed the lyrics. The media covering the story were clearly struck and went back to their offices and studios to write about it and broadcast the story. The police also announced that they would be at the shareholders’ meeting in Beverly Hills on July 16 to demonstrate and promised that lots of other police from across the nation would join them.

The next five weeks prior to the July 16 meeting in Beverly Hills saw public condemnation swell. TW sent two public relations executives to Texas to feel out the strength of the police opposition. They were not impressed, apparently, because TW continued to stand by their artist’s right to record and perform the song. Glenn White was drafted into a nationwide schedule of media appearances and he told the “Cop Killer” story to Newsweek, People Magazine, CBS This Morning, and to many others as well on a litany of radio talk and news shows, many of which were in Canada. Keep in mind he was still a working Dallas police officer, but could not escape the movement he started even on vacation in Florida where a magazine descended upon him and his family because they needed photos for an upcoming edition. Glenn White spent a lot of his own money in this campaign and he all but drained his accumulated vacation time in making appearances for this cause he dearly believed in.

Things were coining to a head by the time of a strategy meeting that was held in Beverly Hills on July 15, 1992. Police officers, family members, and representatives from Concerns of Police Survivors attended as well as two TW executives who came to defend the corporation’s position on the song. Delord had invited the TW executives and he chaired the meeting. The crowd was angry and emotional. After a couple of hours of listening to the furor over the song, the TW representatives left with no doubt as to what they were confronting. They now knew the opposition was formidable.

On Thursday, July 16, the police protested outside the Beverly Hills Wilshire Hotel. To their surprise, the media personnel outnumbered the police available to demonstrate. Police leaders quickly characterized it as a representative group of the rank and file of law enforcement. Before the shareholders’ meeting began a couple of notable incidents occurred. Several youths attempted to aggravate the police by playing “Cop Killer” on their “boom boxes.” To avoid a confrontation, the police moved their protest to another location. Next, no other than Ice himself makes a cameo appearance by driving by in his Rolls Royce and giving the police protesters the “finger.” But the real action was to take place inside.

Now more than 1,200 shareholders were inside the hotel and had been given copies of the lyrics to “Cop Killer” by Glenn White and others. CEO Gerald Levin tried to hold the regular business meeting first and then deal with the controversy with the police. The shareholders demanded addressing the “Cop Killer” issue first.

By now the shareholders had read the lyrics and were virtually “dropped” by the emotion-laden reading of the words to the song by Charlton Heston. Numerous police leaders and others made persuasive presentations. Some of the organizations who had representatives speak at the meeting were the Fraternal Order of Police, the New York City Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, the New York City Detectives’ Endowment Association, the Metropolitan Toronto Police Association. Police widow Kathleen Young from Kansas City and Houston minister James Dixon also spoke.

One particularly heart-wrenching speaker was a Suffolk County, New York deputy sheriff who had suffered having his face blown off by a shot gun blast while he was writing the young perpetrator a traffic citation. He described the pain and agony of facial reconstruction and the long emotional struggle back. The words of “Cop Killer” reached a heightened relevance. Opera star Beverly Sills, seated in the front row, was reported to have wept like a baby. The meeting adjourned.

On July 28, 1992, lce-T held a press conference and said he was voluntarily withdrawing the “Cop Killer” song from the “Body Count” album because of death threats made to Time Warner executives. Still today there is no real evidence that lce-T was pressured by Time Warner to drop the song, but can there be any doubt that they did since the corporation’s stock had dropped significantly in just several weeks and their reputation was soured during the period of the protest. There was no apology for the song by either lce-T or Time Warner. In fact, Ice-T maintained that he would continue to give out singles of the song at his expense to anybody who wanted a copy. Undoubtedly surprised, the police, who had wanted an apology and the song pulled from the market, expected perhaps they would get an apology and no action on the song. The opposite transpired.

Most of the law enforcement organizations involved in the protest have dropped their call for a boycott and seem reasonably satisfied that the song is no longer being distributed. Some officers and organizations are holding out for the apology from Tune Warner. That does not seem likely. CLEAT and other Texas police groups are generally satisfied with the results. It seems that the general mood nationwide is to claim the victory and move on.

BASES OF POWER

Producing intended results and having the capacity to gain compliance are both popular definitions and manifestations of power. American law enforcement was able to accumulate, coordinate, and exercise power in the “Cop Killer” protest in ways they had never done before. What power bases did they operate from in order to arrive at the point of whipping a giant? A number can be identified.

1. The Moral High Ground. Anger and disgust had been brewing in America for several years over the violent and obscene material coming out of the entertainment media, but few were willing to risk their reputations and political capital over a matter that traditionally had been cast as a censorship issue. Now gangster rap had made it something different when the artists’ depictions called for killing police officers. The police were able to mobilize support across age, racial, ethnic, religious, and political lines. Who would try to defend a song that advocated killing police officers? Strange allies came together in this movement In Dallas, for example, the strident and diverse Police Civilian Review Board, not known to see eye to eye on much of anything, all signed a protest letter against the song.

2. Police Labor and Police Management. The two groups have had their differences as of late over working conditions and the management of law enforcement agencies. But “Cop Killer” staked out common turf to be defended if there was ever anything to come together on. Police management, for the most part, contributed their moral and vocal support and stood back while the labor organizations took the lead on this one. It should be pointed out also that losing would have had adverse consequences for whoever led the fight. The rank and file were willing to take the risk. Perhaps they discovered just how strong they can be when the battle is carefully chosen and how much muscle they can flex if needed.

3. The Power of the Buck. It has been reported that the police were considering as the ultimate weapon to use in the fight against Time Warner the withdrawal of police pension funds out of Time Warner stock. The dollar value would have been in the billions with one report suggesting in New York City alone the figure would have reached seven billion dollars. As Time Warner watched its price of shares drop during the controversy, the thought of serious financial hardship had to loom large with the corporation’s leadership.

4. Media Support. Virtually all of the media, even while attempting to cover both sides of the issue, in the end came down on the side of the police. Those who put up a defense for Ice-T and Time Warner often seemed unsure about it. Media personnel, like most Americans, were offended by the song and exercised some trepidation over the thought of allowing something of this nature to go unchecked. The police needed to exercise no manipulation in this case, the media punched away as fervently as anybody.

5. Politicians and the Crime Problem. While no politician got into the particulars of gangster rap, there was the issue of shielding the nation’s crime fighters from such attack which politicians quickly noticed fit in well with their campaign rhetoric about crime control. Violence in the media and escalating crime rates did affect voters and the presidential candidates as well as many others commented on the “Cop Killer” controversy. This was a strong component of the broad-based campaign against Time Warner and the growing anti-violence phenomenon in our society.

6. Latent Support for the Police. At last the police saw large and diverse segments of the population support them. In the aftermath of the Rodney King incident and subsequent cases, the media and others seemed to “pile on” law enforcement. “Cop Killer” became a lightning rod for attracting sympathy and support from thousands of people and many organizations that had rarely come forward to defend the police. “Cop Killer” vividly told them what an evening of law enforcement duty might be like and they were touched.

7. Personal Courage and Will. Sometimes things happen as a result of the personal courage and wilt of an individual or small group of leaders. The half-dozen or so Texas law enforcement officers and officials who took it on their own to speak out against “Cop Killer” are precisely of that ilk. Their actions were not without risk and one would suspect that more than once they did the equivalent of “turning around to see if anybody was still behind them” Fortunately their leadership induced a massive following. In Glenn White’s June 9 article in the “The Shield” he exhorted his readers by saying, “WE CAN DO IT!” He made them believe.

RESULTS AND AFFERMATH OF THE “COP KILLER” CONTROVERSY

In slightly more than six months from the height of the “Cop Killer” controversy a lot of things have happened which were the results of the police protest. A number of the salient results are:

1. “Cop Killer” is off the market
2. A major corporation yielded to police and public pressure.
3. Warner Bros. Records has promised to be more careful in the review of what they publish.
4. Warner Bros. Records dropped lce-T as one of its recording artists, allegedly over the cover art on his new album “Home Invasion.”
5. Rappers who use vile and offensive language in their lyrics are having trouble getting their albums produced.
6. The nation has been awakened on the issue of violence in the media and even television has developed a set of standards concerning violence that it intends to employ in the fall 1993 season.
7. lce-T has found a new independent producer and distributor, Priority Records.
8. lce-T can claim he had a song so bad it had to be dropped from distribution.
9. The police of the nation have discovered that someone out there does care about them.
10. Time Warner has yet to offer a word of apology to American law enforcement.

CONCLUSIONS

Glenn White is back to his normal routine of working patrol until midnight and spending a good portion of his spare time, as usual, being the Vice President of the Dallas Police Association. Ron Delord is spending a lot of time over at the Texas Legislature which just went into session in January of 1993, something it does only every two years. There are always issues affecting the police to be discussed and he is in the throes of it.

Ice-T is about to release his “Home Invasion” album, the target date being March of 1993. No doubt he continues to make money with gangster rap music and has derived some notoriety from the controversy with the police and Time Warner. But when it comes to “Cop Killer” and all that it meant to the police and the public and its ultimate effect on Ice-T, there is perhaps no better way to put it, than to quote a lyric of one of Ice-Vs own raps on the album “00, The Original Gangster”, “HOW DID HE GO OUT? HE WENT OUT LIKE A BITCH!”

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