Digital Commons Network^™

New Jersey Overdose Prevention Act: Police Officers’ Experiences At A Drug Overdose Scene, Michael Ziarnowski

All Theses And Dissertations

The number of drug overdose deaths in the United States from opioids has led to national attention about the problem commonly described as the “opioid epidemic.” Federal and state policymakers have shifted from a hardline punitive approach to a rehabilitative approach in an attempt to save lives. Good Samaritan Laws (GSLs) and advances in medicine have been implemented differently in different states. For example, the enactment of the New Jersey Overdose Prevention Act (NJOPA) and the use of naloxone by first responders are ways that state officials try to save lives. However, there is limited research on the first responders’ …

The Application Of A Simple Tissue-Disruption Method To Dna Extraction For Species Identification, Jordana R. Fox

Student Theses

The TissueLyser II was used to disrupt animal bones and plant tissue without dry ice or liquid nitrogen for species identification. Bone fragments of fresh swine (Sus scrofa) ribs were used. A 521bp fragment of the cyt b locus was analyzed, and the BLASTn results confirmed that the origin of all the samples was swine (E-value = 0.0). Bone fragments of bovine, chicken, duck, fish, sheep, and swine were also used to test the procedure. An approximately 600bp fragment of the COI locus was analyzed, and the BLASTn results confirmed the origin of all the samples (E-value = …

Developing A Maceration Method For Isolation Of Dna From Cancellous Bones, Bryan Bernal

Student Theses

Prior to isolating DNA, it is necessary to remove any biological materials that may be present on commingled remains. Manual maceration of the outer surface is time-consuming. This study will address this issue by developing a simple method for processing bone samples prior to DNA isolation. A liquid-based technique was applied to macerate bone fragments by incubating bone fragments in an enzyme solution, removing potential contaminants, followed by a bone tissue disruption. Swine (Sus scrofa) bones were used to simulate human bones. Microscopic analysis suggested this method was effective for surface material removal. The methods effect on the …

Getting Up: An Ethnography Of Hip Hop Graffiti Writers, Their Art, And Perceptions Of Society's Reactions., Theodore Malone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This ethnographic analysis of the modern hip hop graffiti writing subculture connects the separate but complementary theoretical constructs of serious leisure (Stebbins 1982), dark leisure (Smith and Raymen 2016), recreational specialization theory (Bryan 1977), and edgework (Lyng 1990) and situates the writer “standpoint” (Smith 1987) in terms of interrelations of policy and written discourse. Past research found that writers were motivated by fame and status, to express artistic skills, and to control and destroy space (Brewer and Miller 1990). Others found that writers sought to express contestant notions of style and resist economic and political authority (Ferrell 1996; 2006), and …

Archaeology Or Crime Scene? Teeth Micro And Macro Structure Analysis As Dating Variable, Jessica A. Vincenty

Student Theses

Simple methods to aid in the determination of forensic or archaeologic relevancy of skeletonized remains have been researched since the 1950s. With advances in microscopic imaging techniques and machine learning computer data analysis methods the relevancy of decontextualized, comingled remains has room for improvement. This thesis is a study done to pioneer a new approach to analyzing dental skeletal remains to determine forensic relevancy.

Archaeological dental samples collected from the ancient city of Ur in modern day southern Iraq in addition to modern dental extractions were processed for scanning electron microscopy imaging. Archaeological and modern samples displayed different surface and …

Eyewitness Recall And Identification Accuracy: Effects Of Stress In An Extreme Haunt And A Haunted House, William Blake Ridgway

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The impact of stress on eyewitness recall and identification accuracy has been studied extensively but with somewhat inconsistent results. Understanding the effects of stress are important if they are to be generalized to victims or witnesses of real crimes. This study consisted of two experiments that used an extreme haunt and a haunted house to examine attendees’ ability to recall details of and identify actors encountered, as a function of state anxiety and in the context of Deffenbacher’s (1994) catastrophe model of memory performance under anxiety. The results showed that physiological (i.e., heart rate) and psychological (i.e., State Anxiety Inventory) …

Implicit Attitudes, Explicit Attitudes, And Priming: A Preliminary Analysis Of Factors Affecting Use Of Force Decisions, Christopher Allen Forepaugh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examines the effects of priming, situational factors, and attitudes on deadly force decision making. A small sample of undergraduates completed high-fidelity deadly force simulations. Simulation results were compared across experimental conditions and various attitudinal and demographic factors. Participants were generally accurate when assessing the threat posed by suspects. Participants primed to expect a threat were more accurate in their decisions but were no more likely to shoot an unarmed suspect. Participants were more accurate when responding to unarmed suspects. Participants more likely to exhibit implicit bias were less accurate. Several attitudinal and demographic traits were associated with deadly …

The 23: Racial And Other Demographic Differences In The Assignment Of Risk Factors For Individuals Found Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity In Virginia, Dominique Raquel Blanchette

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) acquittees uniquely walk the line of involvement in both the criminal justice and mental health systems, both of which have literature indicating the presence of underlying racial biases related to practices and outcomes. The current study examined 366 forensic charts from an inpatient psychiatric hospital in Virginia to examine potential differences in the number of risk factors assigned for NGRI acquittees based on a variety of demographic variables. Information about demographic characteristics, psychiatric history, and criminal history was recorded and analyzed. It was hypothesized that younger age, male gender, a psychotic diagnosis, violent …

Intimate Partner Violence Risk Assessment: The Additive Value Of Victim Reported Risk, Jennifer Joanne Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects millions of people in the United States, causing negative generational consequences to the victim and the community. The criminal justice system has increased its preventative strategies to combat this issue through mandatory arrest laws and the use of risk assessment tools for determining the likelihood of offender recidivism. Risk factors included in standardized and actuarial risk assessment tools have been found to be relatively good predictors for violent recidivism.

This study assesses the predictive accuracy of risk factors through bivariate correlations and multiple logistic regression analysis. The risk factors analyzed include demographic information, mental health …

A Systematic Content Analysis Of The Justice Reinvestment Programs Across Oregon Counties, Lorena Ambriz

Dissertations and Theses

High levels of imprisonment and its associated costs have pressured criminologist and policymakers to create and establish new policies intended to reduce incarceration spending and lower the number of individuals under correctional facilities. Justice Reinvestment Initiatives (JRI) have been developed with the basic idea of redirecting the $54 billion annual incarceration spending toward rebuilding human resources and physical infrastructure of high-risk communities. These initiatives should create local programs that promote successful reentry, reduce recidivism, decrease prison usage, and improve public safety. Oregon passed the Justice Reinvestment Act in 2013, which allowed for all 36 Oregon counties to implement JRI programs …

Correctional Quackery: A Study Of Program Availability And Inmate Assaults In Adult Correctional Facilities, Casey Jay Legere

Dissertations and Theses

A wide variety of correctional programs have incited a debate regarding the utility and worth of programs within the correctional system. For some, programs are assigned strict qualifications and this narrow focus limits those that are "worthy"; all else are "correctional quackery." These harsh limitations do not allow for the consideration of secondary outcomes as measurements of value. Using negative binomial regression, this study examines 449 state correctional facilities to consider associations between program availability (categorized as correctional quackery or not) and incidence rates of violent assaults among inmates. The minimal significant results yield inconclusive findings but do offer some …

Identifying Typologies Of Failure To Appear, Ciara Mcglynn

Dissertations and Theses

Empirically tracking when defendants fail to appear (FTA) for their court date is important for virtually all court systems. Factors related to FTA can inform court decision-making. Developing a typology of FTAs may provide added accuracy in pretrial detention decisions and using pretrial risk assessments. The current exploratory study expands on current knowledge of factors associated with FTA by identifying profiles of those most likely to fail to appear, and comparing with profiles of those who do show up for their court date. Seven cluster profiles were established for FTAs, and eight cluster profiles were established for non-FTAs. While there …

Time Series Analysis Evaluating Mortality Rates And The Differences Of How States Investigate Deaths, Jordan M. Bruhn

Dissertations and Theses

Mortality statistics are essential to both public health and criminal justice systems. The causes of death that are determined by death investigators influence whether a criminal investigation is opened or not. Prior research suggests a high degree of variability for death investigator requirements across states, which may attribute to inaccurate death reporting. This research provides a 20-year evaluation of the differences in state death investigation laws and their impacts on rates of mortality. This study examines the variation in mortality rates by answering if there is a difference in mortality rates for states requiring medical examiners and states requiring coroners …

Social Support, Mental Health Problems, And Rule Infractions: A Study Of Female Inmates, Suraiya H. Shammi

Theses and Dissertations

Currently there are few studies that solely focused on female inmates and their mental health problems. There is huge lack of in-depth examination on the impact of social support variables on overall rule infractions. Using a multilevel analysis, this study analyzed the moderation effect of social support variables on rule infractions among female inmates (n=2,930) from the 2004 Survey of Inmates of State Correctional Facilities in the United States. Findings suggest that almost 55% of the sample suffered from mental health problems where female inmates with mental health problems reported significantly higher rates of minor rule infractions (78%). Also, the …

Justice For All? An In-Depth Look At Sexual Assault Kit Testing In The Carolinas, Jessalynn C. King

Senior Theses

Within the last few decades, technological advancements and an improved understanding of biological materials have led to an increase in evidence that can be submitted for forensic testing in criminal justice investigations. In a sexual assault investigation, a sexual assault kit (SAK) is often collected and contains the evidence found on the victim’s or suspect’s person. While the true total is unknown, it is estimated that several hundred thousand untested SAKs remain in the custody of law enforcement and forensic crime laboratories across the United States. Whether these SAKs were neglected due to law enforcement bias, the prioritization of other …

Prosecutorial And Judicial Decision-Making In Federal Sovereign Citizen Cases, Kyle Kaminicki

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how ideology and extralegal factors shape prosecutorial and judicial outcomes among sovereign citizens (“sovereigns”) compared to other terrorists accused of committing non-violent crimes in the United States. This study is informed by focal concerns theory (Steffensmeier et al. 1998), which suggests that perceptions of blameworthiness, risk, and other practical implications shape prosecutorial and judicial decision-making.

Data come from the American Terrorism Study (ATS) where several measures are used including terrorist background and other extralegal factors (age, race, gender) for sovereign citizens and terrorists affiliated with other ideologies. Data on 308 sovereign citizens indicted in 158 federal court …

The Impact Of Race/Ethnicity On Sentencing: A Matching Approach, Travis Jones

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to study the direct impact of race/ethnicity on sentencing of federal drug offenders. In order to accomplish this goal, an exact matching approach is utilized to generate strata containing white, black and Hispanic offenders who are matched based on relevant legal and extra-legal factors derived from focal concerns theory. The total sentences (i.e. fines, probation, incarceration, etc.) of matched offenders are then compared pairwise to determine which offender received the more severe sentence. The findings overall do not suggest that black and Hispanic offenders receive more severe sentences to comparable white offenders; however, drug …

Far-Right Extremism In America: A Geospatial Analysis Of Incident Distribution, Meredith Leann Lerma

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There has been little empirical research on the spatial relationship of violent far-right extremism. Previous studies have only focused on portions of far-right violent incidents, such as homicides, or amalgamated all far-right extremist activity, including legal incidents. This study uses data from the Extremist Crime Database (ECDB) and Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in a temporal frame of 2000 to 2018 to test the relationship of violent incidents against geographic and social factors. The goal is to explore the relationships between macro-level factors and violent far-right extremist incident. The research determines that the presence of hate groups, higher immigrant populations, …

Juveniles Tried As Adults:The Impact Of Youth Demographic Factors On Juror Perceptions, Denieka Ellis

Student Theses

Abstract: This study explored the impact of defendant age, race and stereotypic crime on verdicts and recommended sentencing of juveniles tried as adults. Previous research shows that jurors enter trial with negative preconceptions and biases of juveniles because they are being tried within an adult venue. These negative preconceptions have led jurors to recommend harsher sentencing for juveniles rather than adults with the same defendant characteristics and criminal history. Crime type and crime severity have also been shown to impact perceptions of juvenile defendants in adult court. However, research has not yet explored the potential impact that stereotypic crime—a crime …

Unraveling The Temporal Aspects Of Victimization: The Reciprocal, Additive, And Cumulative Effects Of Direct/Vicarious Victimization On Crime, Yeoju Park

Theses and Dissertations

The current study aims to assess the continuous impact of direct/vicarious victimization on subsequent victimization and delinquency/crime across waves using an incorporated model of Agnew’s general strain theory and the lifestyle/routine activities perspective. This study also aims to assess the additive and cumulative impact of dual victimization (i.e., exposure to direct and vicarious victimization) on offending. A cross-lagged model is conducted to examine the impacts of direct victimization, vicarious victimization, and delinquency/crime at an early point in time on these variables at later points in time using three waves from the Pathways to Desistance Study. Negative binomial regression models and …

Exploring Perceptions Of Healthcare Quality In Oregon Male Prisons: Interviews With Individuals Recently Released From Long-Term Imprisonment, Rén Rosz

University Honors Theses

The healthcare that people who are imprisoned receive is inadequate and does not meet the requirements owed to them by the Eighth Amendment. The Bureau of Justice Statistics has repeatedly surveyed inmates about the health care that they receive (Bureau of Justice Statistics [BJS], n.d.). One of the most recent iterations, in 2004, showed that there were large gaps in the health care that prisoners received: not being able to see a healthcare provider after an injury, necessary medications being discontinued, and lab tests being restricted (Wilper, et al, 2009). The surveys were implemented to highlight policies needing correction and …

Reducing Recidivism: People On Parole And Probation, Noe George Gutierrez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Continuing criminal justice approaches have led to persistent recidivism among parolees and probationers. This study investigates the observed influence recidivism has on individuals on parole and probation. This research project aimed to shed more light on the attitudes of parolees and probationers and to provide more insight into recidivism and its contributing factors. Focus groups were held to provide the data for this research. Also a survey was distributed to 13 male and 4 female parolees and probationers over the age of 18 who were previously or currently on probation and/or parole. The emphasis was on participant perception and not …

The Criminalized Victim: Can Knowledge Of Trauma And Coercion Influence Free Will Doubt And Perception Of Culpability For Sex Trafficked Individuals?, Megan Korovich

Student Theses

Individuals who have been sex trafficked are continuously being targeted for prostitution and other related offenses instead of being recognized for their victimization. This may occur due to a fundamental lack of understanding of the sex-trafficked experience, allowing for misperceptions to form unhindered. Individuals with these misperceptions then go on to form laws and services intended to aid victims, but instead leave them vulnerable and criminalized. This study assessed whether an educational intervention on the experience of a sex-trafficked individual could influence public perceptions of free will doubt and criminal culpability. This study used a nonequivalent groups posttest-only design to …

Remembering School Shootings: An Examination Of Intergenerational Differences, Kelly Huie

Student Theses

In recent years, school shootings have evolved from rare occurrences to a full-blown epidemic, causing generations of students to have a realistic fear of attending school. When negative or traumatic events like a school shooting occur, people often form long lasting recollections of where they were, when learning about the traumatic, public event. Hence, the aim of this study was to understand if certain school shootings are more memorable for Americans, and whether differences exist across generations, as certain school shootings that occur during the reminiscence bump period (i.e., between the ages 10 – 30) may influence which shooting is …

Comparing And Implementing Digital Evidence Applications To Reduce Cyber Crime Losses, Colleen Lim

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

A massive problem within the United States is the financial loss that occurs through cybercrime. Before a cybercrime investigation can be solved, there needs to be enough gathered evidence. One way to obtain evidence is through processing the individual’s digital files from any electronic device or source, this is called digital evidence. Digital evidence can be obtained through the use of multiple software such as Forensic Toolkit (FTK), Magnet, or Autopsy. Although each software is used for the same goal, to obtain valuable information that can be used as evidence to support an existing case, there are unique features that …

Addressing Reentry Experiences In California During Covid-19, Emily R. Cook

Social Sciences

I will first provide a literature review surrounding the topic of reentry and recidivism. Next, I will describe the projects that I completed related to reentry and reintegration in California including: participating in various parts of an educational reentry simulation, analyzing student responses to participation in this simulation, organizing a care package drive to assist those recently released, and creating a resource website compiling updates on the COVID- 19 crisis inside of the California incarceration system. I conclude by reflecting on my senior project experience.

Social-Ecological And Protective Factor Approach To Managing Parental Incarceration, Jacquelyn Harris

Dissertations

Mass imprisonment does not only impact the incarcerated individual; it also affects approximately five million children in the United States. Researchers identified and compare the impact of parental incarceration on child development. They acknowledged the protective factors across the lifecycle from a social-ecological perspective and specifically related to parental incarceration. The comprehensive literature review inspired an innovative model, the social-ecological and protective factor approach to managing parental incarceration. The primary goal of this model is to combat the detrimental effects of parental incarceration by identifying protective factors across the lifecycle and throughout the microsystem, mesosystem, and exosystem. This model is …

Differences In Characteristics Of Criminal Behavior Between Solo And Team Serial Killers, Matthew Woster

Dissertations

Criminal Profiling and classification of serial killers has been an expanding area of research for decades. Recent research has called into question the accuracy and utility of these systems, and calls for further research and development. This study aims to use the Serial Killer Database (SKDB) to examine and classify differences in criminal behavior between serial killers who act alone versus those who act in pairs, groups, or teams. The specific aim of this study is to examine whether there are significant differences between Solo Serial Killers and Team Serial Killers in the Number of Victims, Length of Career, Method …

Felony Disenfranchisement: Factors Relating To Support For Restoration, Alexis K. Karpf

Student Theses

Felony Disenfranchisement, a collateral consequence, strips justice-involved individuals of their voting rights. While this policy is enacted in 48 states and the District of Columbia, a majority of community members are unaware of its existence. The current study used three hypotheses to guide its research about how education about disenfranchisement policy impacts a community member's opinion:1) Participants exposed to information about the effects of disenfranchisement will be more supportive of enfranchisement than those in the control condition; 2) Participants who receive the vignette featuring the White justice-involved individual will indicate a higher level of support for enfranchisement compared to those …

Semi-Quantitative Detection Of Signature Peptides In Body Fluids By Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (Lc-Ms/Ms), Tebah N. Browne

Student Theses

This study covers a modified semi-quantitative approach for liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) signature peptide detection for body fluid identification. Peptide concentrations were measured based on synthetic peptide standards. Samples were processed with varying trypsin digestion and purification protocols, including a three-hour trypsin digestion and Microcon membrane filtration. The Microcon filtration method generates polymerase chain reaction (PCR) compatible DNA and peptide fractions that can be analyzed without any further purification. Preliminary validation tests covered stains on different substrates, semen/ saliva mixtures, minimum sample volume, and repeatability. All signature peptides in the multiplex were present at different concentrations and varied amongst …