Digital Commons Network^™

Offender Reintegration In Nevada: A Longitudinal Study Focusing On Transitional Challenges, Reentry Capital, And Recidivism, Carolyn S. Willis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Offender reintegration (reentry) depends on offender motivation, public policies, community efforts, and resources provided through government and nonprofit sectors. As individuals are released from incarceration and reintegrate into the community, they are often dependent on resources provided by different service providers and the community. The role of the community is crucial as resources are oftentimes not accessible. Lack of employment and housing, mental health issues, substance abuse, and the inability to reestablish personal relationships diminish the prospects of successful reintegration and increase the chances of reincarceration. Reentry capital delivered through community-based programs addresses the transitional issues justice-impacted individuals encounter post-incarceration. …

The Impact Of Collaboration Outcomes In Rape Crisis Centers, Robin J. Mendoza

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sexual violence is a health and human service issue that touches a multitude of individuals, organizations, and communities. Collaboration is essential to achieving desired outcomes to prevent or intervene in sexual violence. Rape crisis centers depend on cooperation and communication with other health and human service organizations to achieve common goals of reducing sexual violence. Increasing organizational effectiveness and diversifying social and systems change through maximizing relationships is an important facet of collaboration. The purpose of this research is to identify the extent of effective collaboration amongst rape crisis centers and their affiliates in the United States. Social and organizational …

Built Environment, Land Use, And Crime: A Las Vegas Study, Stacey Lynn Clouse

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined land use and crime against persons and crime against property in Las Vegas, Nevada at varying spatial levels of analysis. Using crime data provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Clark County Assessor’s office, results at the macro-level of analysis reveal that property crime rates concentrated on commercial, transportation, communication and utilities, and industrial land use, whereas violent crime concentrated at commercial, multi-residential, and civic, institutional, and recreational land use. Upon examining the subtypes of land use that generate or radiate more crime, property crime concentrated on transportation land use, class 1 resorts, and …

The Implementation Of Tribal Provisions From The Vawa 2013 Reauthorization, Deejay E. Chino

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Recent changes in VAWA allows tribes – for the first time – to prosecute non-Indians for intimate partner violence. In order to do so, however, tribes have to first meet specific federal mandates. Implementation of federal regulatory policy by American Indian tribes is a dynamic and complex process but there is a dearth of information on the challenges tribes face or on factors that would facilitate successful implementation at the tribal level. This legislation has filled a serious gap in tribal jurisprudence but not all tribes are able to meet requirements, which include having specific legal codes and justice resources. …

State Law And Child Welfare Policy Role In Nonparental Family Composition, Laura Alison Caliendo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Children in nonparental care have worse outcomes than children in the general population, Federal child welfare policy has prioritized kinship care in an effort to improve outcomes for children; however, it is unclear if the intended child outcomes are achieved. Research shows outcomes vary depending on the type of nonparental family with whom a child lives, due in part to relationship but also to access to services and child welfare system supports. This research defines first five nonparental family types and then uses the framework of ecological systems theory to examine if state laws and child welfare policy influence the …

Missed Opportunities: The Effect Of Cps Involvement On Trafficking Victims In The Delinquency System, Kelly Rae Stout

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Children and youth involved in the child welfare system are an incredibly vulnerable population that could potentially have an increased risk for being sexually exploited. In 2014, Federal Public Law 113-183 mandated that all child protective service (CPS) agencies in the United States improve services of commercially sexually exploited children and youth (CSEC). This federal directive requires that states and counties train their staff in identifying and helping children who have been or are at risk for being trafficked. To explore this complex issue, quantitative methods were used. The data were analyzed for CPS engagement among the CSEC victims identified …

Stop Running In Laps: Evaluating The Lethality Assessment Program's Effectiveness In Reducing Repeat Intimate Partner Violence, Dory A. Mizrachi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Repeat victimization is a phenomenon which is generally understood as the pattern and prevalence of victimization. This is an important factor for local authorities in their attempt to develop innovative policies and practices to facilitate predicting and preventing crimes. Thus, many police departments around the country, including the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) have adopted the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP). This is a risk assessment tool used by responding officers on domestic violence calls that intends to prevent future risk of lethal violence to victims of domestic violence by assessing their risk of lethality and providing immediate referrals to …

Factors That Impact Direct Democracy And Voter Turnout: Evidence From A National Study On American Counties, Michael Joseph Biesiada

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation examines factors that impact citizen initiatives and voter turnout. The dissertation contains two parts that build upon each other with fitting theoretical frameworks. The first part investigates the decision for a county government to permit citizen initiatives. This part applies new institutionalism theory as a framework to examine county governance, autonomy, and decision-making. County governments play a vital role in American politics, yet little is known about why some counties permit citizen initiatives while others do not. I address a gap in the literature that focuses on policy outcomes that vary at the county-level due to election laws. …

The Effectiveness Of State Ethics Commissions On Curbing Corruption And The Effect Of Corruption On State Economic Performance, Anthony J. Prato

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation investigates the effectiveness of anti-corruption policies implemented across the United States that significantly reduce public sector corruption. In addition to the normative desire to combat corruption, it documents, the economic impact that corruption has on each state's per capita gross domestic product. To investigate public sector corruption articles between the years 2010 – 2015were reviewed for news stories that report on public sector corruption at the state level and below. The practical implications of this dissertation, if incorporated into a state level anti-corruption policy, could be used to reduce public sector corruption and increase that states' economic health. …

Assessing The Potential For A Backfire Effect On Citizen Perceptions: A Test Of Hot Spot Policing In Las Vegas, Steven Andrew Pace

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Objects: In this dissertation, I explore whether the use of motorized police saturation patrol in high crime neighborhoods negatively impacts citizen perceptions of police activity, opinions about the police, and perceived safety level. This research focuses on evaluating

whether or not any backfire effects were attributed to the use of the hot spot policing tactic. Methods: I report on survey data from the Smart Policing Initiative (SPI), which entailed face-to face interviews in 12 hot spot neighborhoods (n=1,005) (6 paired locations) as part of an evaluation from the SPI on the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Mobile Crime Saturation Team. …

The Balance Between Privacy And Safety In Police Uav Use: The Power Of Threat And Its Effect On People’S Receptivity, Mari Sakiyama

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, are an innovative technology that has received significant interest from the law enforcement community. The size and ability, technological capability, and cost effectiveness of UAVs make them an attractive tool for law enforcement agencies to utilize in the course of operations, including domestic surveillance. Despite the potential benefits to the society, public perception of police UAV use is mixed, and “Not Over My Backyard (NOMBY)” attitudes relevant to Fourth Amendment privacy concerns are consistently demonstrated across studies related to public perceptions on this emerging technology.

The present study focuses on the relative …

[Community Oriented Policing (Cop) Evaluation], Kaci Kerfeld, Taylor Glaser, James Koloskie

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An in-depth review of the use of force policies and practices used by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) was conducted after the alarming rate of officer involved shootings was publicized by the Las Vegas Review Journal (RJ) in 2011. The 75 recommendations handed down to LVMPD after the review not only helped guide the agency towards procedural and reporting changes, but also paved a way for the agency to begin rebuilding trust in police within the community. This program evaluation focuses on the community engagement efforts put forth by the Bolden Area Command (BAC) community oriented policing (COP) …

Policy Analysys And Program Evaluation: Real Talk Youth Impact Program, Carlton Monroe, Liam Maccaul, Natalie Lorenzano, Vincentiu Anghel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to evaluate Real Talk’s effectiveness on having a positive impact with at-risk youth here in Southern Nevada. Using data collected by Real Talk, the goal was to find new strategies for the program to further expand its outreach based on the impact they have made on the students that have successfully completed the program.

Jornaleros Engaged In A Multidimensional Struggle: A Critical Ethnography With Day Laborers In Las Vegas, Jorge Adrian Castrejon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Day labor work has spread across the entire Unite States as part of the secondary labor market, or as Cherrie Moraga describes it- survival work. Day laborers in Las Vegas, Nevada have become a significant part of this trend in the Southwest, where the highest rate of day laborers work, and for which little community and scholarly work has been produced. The National Day Labor Survey, the most comprehensive study with day laborers, reports that the day labor market is rife with abuse and violations of worker rights. But, the exploitation of this predominantly migrant workforce would not be possible …

Clark County Department Of Family Services, Parenting Project, Julie Owens, Natalie Grajeda, Stephanie Thelen, David L. Olivieri, Fredric Jackson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Clark County Parenting Project offers a series of free programs to help parents become more effective in raising their children. This program evaluation focuses on Teen Triple P, one of the six programs offered by Clark County, evaluating the effectiveness of the program to the community. The Parenting Project partnered with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Public Policy and Leadership to be a participant in a program evaluation. The evaluation will serve as a tool to determine the overall effectiveness in meeting program goals and objectives as well as determining strengths and weaknesses in program implementation.

#Therighttoremainsilent: Police Department Adoption And Deployment Of Social Media, 2010-~2015, Paul Geary

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Police have a complex myriad of ever-changing responsibilities and fluid expectations from the public, and traditional media has performed a largely ambivalent self-appointed oversight and agenda-setting function vis-à-vis police for decades. But in the last five years, the second wave of the first new mass communications medium since the 1940s, social media, has democratized both that oversight function as well as traditional media's agenda-setting ability. Meanwhile, police have been characterized as slow to adapt to change and to adopt new practices in response to a changing world. This work analyzed police agency social media adoption and explained the rate at …

Thank You For Your Time! Would You Mind Donating To Our Cause? The Effect Of Gratitude On Prosocial Behavior, Matthew L. Hortt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A random assignment experiment examined the effects of three expressions of gratitude on two prosocial behaviors: volunteering and making monetary donations to charitable organizations. The results indicated that two of the expressions of gratitude had a significant opposite effect on the two prosocial behaviors. Both a verbal thank-you speech and a hand written thank-you note, resulted in a significant reduction in the amount of pledged volunteer hours, while resulting in a significant increase in the amount of pledged charitable dollars. The third expression of gratitude, a ten dollar thank-you gift card, produced no significant findings for either prosocial behavior. The …

Citizen Participation Within Mental Health Planning And Advisory Councils, Ronald W. Strickland

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation studies citizen participation, mental health care and block grants. Each state has a Mental Health Planning and Advisory Council (MHPAC) that is required by the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant program. Councils must consist of at least 50 percent citizens. This dissertation looked at MHPAC activity levels of the 50 states (and Washington, DC) and developed an activity level index to measure council activity from 2008-2011. Two main questions were posed. First, do planning council differ in their level of activity? If so, what explains this variation? Second, do differences in activity levels of MHPAC’s explain variations …

Foundation For An Independent Tomorrow: Treatment Effects Of The Stages Of Employment Job Readiness Program On Program Completion And Employment Outcomes For Ex-Offenders, Michael Hammer, Stephanie Pocchia, Stacy Howell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Foundation for an Independent Tomorrow (FIT) is a local not for profit organization that seeks to assist residents of Southern Nevada by providing workforce development services (e.g., interviewing skills, job searching techniques, resume assistance) to increase a program participant’s opportunities to obtain and maintain employment. FIT is currently being federally funded through the Department of Labor’s Workforce Investment Act (WIA) grant, with a specific goal of serving the re-entry, or ex-offender, population. This population presents with a very unique set of barriers to obtaining employment, and in order to combat these barriers, FIT created the Stages of Employment job readiness …

Putting The Microscope On Crime Labs: The Effects Of Evidence Complexity And Laboratory Type On Jurors' Perceptions Of Forensic Evidence, Miliaikeala S.J. Heen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

An experiment was conducted to test the effects of evidence complexity and laboratory type on jurors' perceptions of forensic evidence. The study specifically focused on three types of labs: public labs, private labs, and "corporate labs." Public labs are managed by a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency, where evidence is usually analyzed internally at an agency. Private labs are those that have been formed as private businesses to provide services to federal, state, and local crime labs with overflow work. Corporate labs are managed by major retail corporations, and primarily service the needs of their store businesses, but …

Testing Orthodox Utilitarian And Extrajudical Determinants Of Incarceration In The U.S. At The State-Level, 1980-2005, Pavel V. Vasiliev

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This project is a theory-driven secondary data analysis of state-level incarceration trends in the U.S. between 1980 and 2005. I replicate and advance Smith's (2004) study of the relationship between the socioeconomic, demographic, political, electoral, and criminal justice factors and incarceration rates at the state level. The purpose of this project is to determine the empirical validity of the major explanations of the incarceration trends in the U.S. I advance Smith's (2004) study using important novel elements. First, I extend the scrutinized historic period by a decade by compiling time-series data for 1980-2005. Second, I employ a more sophisticated analytic …

Driving Forces: Factors Affecting Police Officer Injuries In Motor Vehicle Incidents In The United States, Carol Servino

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Traffic-related incidents were the leading cause of fatal injuries to officers in 14 of 15 years between 1997 and 2012. Vehicle crashes occur at the individual officer level, but chiefs are responsible for agency performance, creating and implementing police policy, and developing organizational culture. This quantitative survey research study draws from organizational culture theory and asks chiefs in state, county, and city police organizations what they believe are salient factors in crashes causing injuries and death to police officers in the United States. Independent variables include safety belt laws, written driving policies (including communication technology commonly used in police vehicles), …

Perceptions Of Police Responses To Domestic Violence, Kelly Rae Stout

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Domestic violence, also known as, intimate partner violence (IPV), has become an epidemic in the United States. According to the Center for Disease Control and prevention (CDC), about 24 women and men are victimized by an intimate partner each minute, equaling about 12 million victims every year (2012b). In recent years, the public has become more aware of IPV situations. An increase in public service announcements has helped to inform the public and has brought these dangerous situations out from behind closed doors. In the age of technology, information is more easily distributed and exchanged which has also increased public …

State Juvenile Justice Spending Decisions: The Effects Of Federal Aid, Race, Politics, And Other Socioeconomic Factors, Willie B. Coleman Smith

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Historically, juvenile justice in the United States has been the responsibility of state governments with limited federal support. There is a notable gap in the empirical literature on factors that affect funding policies for state juvenile justice programs. In this dissertation research, I used two theoretical perspectives to examine determinants of juvenile justice spending: economic theory on intergovernmental aid and tenets of the Politics of Social Order Framework, developed by Stucky, Heimer, and Lang (2007) to investigate corrections spending. Two research questions were considered: 1) What impact does federal aid have on state spending on juvenile justice programs? and 2) …

Ready For Life — An Evaluation: Factors Relating To Truancy And Promising Practices, Clayton Nichols, Shenita Harper, Maria Thomas, Mikaela Louve, Christina Vela

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Truancy has been linked to serious delinquent activity in youth and to significant negative behavior and characteristics in adults. Truancy is one of the most common factors leading to dropout and students not meeting graduation standards. Nevada has arguably the highest high school dropout rate in the nation. This evaluation was prepared for Ready for Life: A movement created by Nevada Public Education Foundation (NPEF), to connect youth to school and work by age 25, but can be of use to several audiences. Practitioners who work with struggling students, court representatives and parents, teachers and administrators, and anyone who has …

Displacement Or Diffusion: A Secondary Analysis Of The Las Vegas Safe Village Initiative, Daniel Duane Swanson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Police initiatives have been implemented by many agencies in an attempt to curtail growing crime rates. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department implemented the "Safe Village Initiative" to address this issue in west Las Vegas. This deterrence based model reduced calls for service in the target area with a diffusion of benefits to the surrounding neighborhoods.

The current study will analyze two research questions pertaining to the "Safe Village Initiative". The first will assess the possibility that a displacement of crime occurred as a result of the treatment. The second research question will address whether, if no displacement occurred, there …

The Criminalization Of Homelessness, Sarah Mckenzie Prather

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The current study is an analysis of the problem of homelessness in American society today. It focuses on the demographic characteristics of the homeless in addition to some of the contributing factors that explain homelessness. Of particular concern is how the criminal justice system responds to homelessness, including the criminalization and stigmatization of homeless individuals and the implications of such a response. The data used in this study come from a recent survey conducted in a jail setting in a northwest city. The present study compares those who have been homeless at one time or another and those who have …

City Of Las Vegas Detention And Enforcement Commission On Accreditation Of Law Enforcement Accreditation Program Evaluation Report, Karen Kelly, Cecelia Mcneely, Sandy Seda

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The City of Las Vegas Detention and Enforcement (CLVDE) is a highly efficient, professionally managed, unique law enforcement agency. The CLVDE has a multifaceted mission and is responsible for providing diverse law enforcement, patrol, code enforcement and support services for the City of Las Vegas. The agency is comprised of several operational divisions: A city Jail, an Animal Control division, Parking Enforcement and the Marshals (police). For many years, the CLVDE, has enjoyed the unique distinction of being a "Triple Crown" accredited agency1. The agency currently has attained accreditation status from several nationally recognized professional organizations such as: The American …

Boulder City, Nevada Revenue Generating Analysis, Mayra A. Castro, Dolores P. Leyva, Arnetta M. Meagher, Wade Zimmerman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Boulder City (City) is unique in the State of Nevada as being a non-gaming city, maintaining a controlled growth ordinance, and steadfastly holding to its “small town” values and character. The City has been facing budgetary challenges as future expenditures are anticipated to continually exceed revenues if current services levels are maintained. Indeed, fiscal reviews indicate the City has been transferring contingency monies between funds to cover overages for the past several fiscal years. This “robbing Peter to pay Paul” methodology may offer a temporary solution to the shortage but may be detrimental as a long term solution.

City Of Las Vegas Municipal Court House Arrest Program Evaluation, Karen Coyne, Michele Hornstein, Timothy Shattler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The City of Las Vegas operates a municipal detention facility, primarily housing offenders who have committed misdemeanor crimes within the 130 square miles of the Las Vegas City limits. Similar to many jurisdictions, within the State of Nevada, but also across the Country, the offender population is on the rise. The City’s inmate population has grown steadily at a rate of 10%, annually, for five years. This trend, when calculated as a future projection, suggests the City must be prepared for the misdemeanant population to swell from its current daily average of 1144 to more than 3000 inmates by the …