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Although crime rates have been decreasing nationwide, the public is still very concerned with crime as a social problem and generally supportive of criminal justice penalties for wrongdoing. The mass of punitive laws have been especially harsh on those convicted of sexual offenses, even as these offenders comprise a small part of the entire crime picture. The passage of mandatory minimum sentences and risk management laws for sex offenders suggest a moral panic over sexual offending. It may be that this moral panic influences sex offender sentencing such that these defendants are sentenced more harshly in courts than are other violent offenders. Through the lens of urban sentencing, this paper investigates if there is a moral panic about sexual offenses. Specifically, the effects of county level influences on violent offender sentencing outcomes are tested for 71 urban counties using hierarchical linear modeling. Results indicate that in places with larger percentages of Hispanics, higher rates of violent crime, in Southern states, and those with sentencing guidelines violent offenders are punished less severely. Comparing rapists to other violent offenders, it was found that in counties with higher percentages of Republican voters, the odds of receiving a prison sentence for rape is increased compared to a conviction for murder. The current study did not find overall support that sex offenders are disproportionately affected at sentencing. Yet, it is noted that the passage of symbolic legislation in the name of child victims of sexual offenders perpetuates myths of sex offending with dangerous consequences for society as a whole. In addition, the classification of sex offenders as folk devils in need of punitive treatment is concerning for the criminal justice system in terms of cost.

The behavior of bouncers at on site establishments that served alcohol was observed. Our aim was to better understand how bouncers went about their job when the bar had a mandatory policy to check identification of all customers. Utilizing an ethnographic decision model, we found that bouncers were significantly more likely to card customers that were more casually dressed than others, those who were in their 30s, and those in mixed racial groups. We posit that bouncers who failed to ask for identification did so because they appeared to know customers, they appeared to be of age, or they took a break and no one was checking for identification at the door. We found that bouncers presented a commanding presence by their dress and demeanor. Bouncers, we posit, function in three primary roles: customer relations, state law management, and establishment rule enforcer.