The survey instrument was designed to minimize error resulting from honest confusion among respondents, and it took into account the high rate of functional illiteracy among New Orleans inmates. The instrument contained 204 questions but took only about 45 minutes to complete because of skip patterns. The offenses of rape and arson were added in order to include all index offenses. Researchers also added items to determine residential mobility and history of mental hospitalization. The random sample of 200 convicted inmates was selected from a population of sentenced inmates with at least one burglary arrest during the 1973-1985 period. Interviews were conducted during September-October 1986. Survey findings revealed that the distribution of offense rates was highly skewed. Excluding drug deals, most inmates reported fewer than five offenses per year. However, the upper 10 percent of the sample reported over 160 offenses per year. The observed lower median offense frequencies were attributed both to the improved survey instrument and its method of administration and to Louisiana's high incarceration rate. The predictive consistency of the survey instrument and methods is discussed, and drug questions in the survey instrument are noted in an appendix. 14 references, 8 tables.
New Orleans Inmate Survey: A Test of Greenwood's Predictive Scale
NCJ Number
124020
Date Published
1990
Length
36 pages
Annotation
Analysis of face-to-face interviews with 200 inmates in New Orleans, using a modified version of a survey instrument employed in California, Michigan, and Texas, showed the same highly skewed offense rate distribution but generally lower median offense frequencies.
Abstract
Date Published: January 1, 1990