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Officer Perceptions On Armed Campuses, Paul Perry Dec 2018

Officer Perceptions On Armed Campuses, Paul Perry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research was intended to investigate the perceptions of firearm policies and the views held by campus security personnel regarding student or teacher carry on campus. The purpose of the interviews was to investigate campus security officer’s perceptions and how they differ based upon individual belief systems. The goal, therefore, was to understand how their perspectives on campus carry could impact interactions with students and faculty. Exploring a representative sample of current firearm policies, both on and off campus, established a framework that exposed the opinions of campus security personnel and gave some insight into the potential impact that might …


Public Perceptions On Domestic Sex Trafficking And Domestic Sex Trafficking Victims: A Quantitative Analysis, Faith Browder Dec 2018

Public Perceptions On Domestic Sex Trafficking And Domestic Sex Trafficking Victims: A Quantitative Analysis, Faith Browder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sex trafficking is a grossly misconstrued and increasing issue within the United States. The purpose of this study was to extend current knowledge regarding the public’s education on domestic sex trafficking and perceptions of domestic sex trafficking victims. The public’s awareness of domestic sex trafficking and perceptions of domestic sex trafficking victims were examined through the utilization of a 31 closed-ended question survey. The survey included questions about domestic sex trafficking and prostitution myths, domestic sex trafficking victim characteristics, domestic sex trafficking legislation, law enforcement’s involvement in domestic sex trafficking cases, and demographics. The sample consisted of 195 Criminal Justice …


Political Competition And Predictors Of Hate Crime: A County-Level Analysis, Eaven Holder Dec 2018

Political Competition And Predictors Of Hate Crime: A County-Level Analysis, Eaven Holder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research on hate crime has tended to utilize sociological frameworks to best explain the incidence of such offending, but little research has been conducted to determine whether political factors may play a role. Although Olzak (1990) touched upon the relationship between racial violence and third-party politics during the American Progressive era (1882-1914), the research did not fully articulate how political competition may influence the commission of hate crime. The current study seeks to fill this gap, while also extending concepts associated with social disorganization theory and the defended communities perspective. It does so by utilizing a longitudinal research design to …


The Effects Of Sexual Victimization On College Women, Bailie Light Dec 2018

The Effects Of Sexual Victimization On College Women, Bailie Light

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzed the effects of sexual victimization among college women. Previous research has found that victimization has several negative effects. This thesis was designed to add to this literature by addressing how sexual victimization effects both behavior and academic performance. Results indicated that there was a significant relationship between sexual victimization and behavior changes, the type of victimization experienced had a different impact on the victim based on the type of victimization they experienced, and that academic performance was significantly affected by sexual victimization.


Furthering Understanding Of Forensic Units: A Detailed Examination Of Knoxville Police Department's Crime Scene Unit., Cassandra Christina Rausch Dec 2018

Furthering Understanding Of Forensic Units: A Detailed Examination Of Knoxville Police Department's Crime Scene Unit., Cassandra Christina Rausch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the past three decades, the criminal justice system has decidedly employed new technologies for the purposes of establishing guilt or innocence. Forensic science, with its synthesis of scientific methodology and investigative considerations of law enforcement, ushered in the development of DNA profiling and forever changed the process of crime scene investigation.This shift in focus also led to a shift in the individuals involved in investigation, producing the widespread formation of stand-alone crime scene units. Utilizing both civilian and sworn employees of a law enforcement agency, these units became responsible for the documentation, collection, and preservation of evidence that would …


Art Theft, Art Vandalism, And Guardianship In U.S. Art Institutions., Katharine L. Salomon Aug 2018

Art Theft, Art Vandalism, And Guardianship In U.S. Art Institutions., Katharine L. Salomon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Art crime scholars and art world professionals constantly grapple with determining the most effective methods by which to reduce and prevent victimization by art thieves and art vandals. Despite the numerous accounts of this form of criminality, there is a dearth of empirical studies focused on the security and care of art collections. Using Routine Activities Theory to guide the research, the present study explores the relationship between social and physical guardianship practices and the prevalence of art theft and art vandalism using questionnaire data collected from 111 American art museums and art galleries. The results indicate an overwhelming lack …


The American And Swedish Criminal Justice System: A Comparative Study, Josefin Hedstrom May 2018

The American And Swedish Criminal Justice System: A Comparative Study, Josefin Hedstrom

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hosting 22 percent of the world’s prison population, the United States is the number one country in the world regarding incarceration rates where 1 in 109 adults are locked up behinds bars and about two-thirds of offenders will recidivate within three years of their release (Durose, Coope, & Snyder, 2014; Kaeble, Glaze, Tsoutis, & Minton, 2016; U.S. Census Bureau, 2015; Walmsley, 2013). Sweden has one of the lowest recidivism and incarceration rates in the world where only 29 percent reoffend and 1 in 2,278 of their total population is behind bars (Kriminalvården, 2017; The World Bank, 2016). The purpose of …


Police Perceptions On False Accusations Of Sexual Assault, Danielle Ostrander May 2018

Police Perceptions On False Accusations Of Sexual Assault, Danielle Ostrander

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to expand current literature regarding police officers’ perceptions on false accusations of sexual assault; specifically, focusing on perceptions of the frequency of false accusations, rape myths and behavior displayed by women reporting sexual assault. Police officers’ perceptions on false accusations of sexual assault were examined by administering a 21-question survey consisting of close-ended and open-ended questions. The survey included questions about police perceptions, false accusations, rape myths, training, and behaviors of women reporting sexual assault. The sample consisted of 40 sworn law enforcement officers from different municipal police departments in Tennessee. The results showed …


The Styles Of Criminology : Writing Among The Stars., Ethan Maxwell Higgins May 2018

The Styles Of Criminology : Writing Among The Stars., Ethan Maxwell Higgins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates how criminological writing style is "a [more] complicated terrain" than we realize in criminology (Butler, 1990, p. xix). Data is drawn from interviews with forty of the one hundred most influential criminological writers (Walters, 2015) to explore perceptions of good writing in the field, namely in describing writing practices, norms and values. Thus, the findings of this study come in three chapters. The first two result chapters explore the terrain of writing in criminology by presenting perceptions of best practices and values of good writing. The third results chapter then examines these perceptions within a lens of …


Qualitative And Quantitative Elemental Composition Analysis Of The Surrounding Pollen Coating Via Icp-Ms, Brandy Voyer Jan 2018

Qualitative And Quantitative Elemental Composition Analysis Of The Surrounding Pollen Coating Via Icp-Ms, Brandy Voyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pollen evidence has proven to be a powerful forensic tool to trace a suspect or item to a victim or a crime scene. This is possible because it is microscopic, abundant in nature, resistant to degradation and decay; it presents dispersal patterns that can be used to generate a 'fingerprint' within specific areas, and has illustrated a unique morphology that can be used to classify species. While the pollen grain morphology has been extensively used to characterize the specific species, not much has been investigated as pertains to the coating that surrounds the pollen grain aside from it being categorized …


Procedural Justice And Police Officers: The Forgotten Perspective, Kirby Laura Rhodes Jan 2018

Procedural Justice And Police Officers: The Forgotten Perspective, Kirby Laura Rhodes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, there has been increased attention to questions about police legitimacy and the expectation of citizen compliance. Some scholars argue that procedurally just practices benefit police-citizen interactions (see Mazerolle et al., 2012, 2013). While there are many studies that focus on procedural justice and its effects on the civilian population, there is little research on police officers’ willingness to implement procedurally just practices. This study evaluates police officer perceptions of and willingness to engage in procedural justice using factor analytic techniques. There are four major findings: 1) Police officers are willing to engage in procedural justice, 2) police …