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The Effect Of Local Life Circumstances On Female Probationers' Offending, Marie L. Griffin, Gaylene Armstrong

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This article examines the influence of change in local life circumstances on the short-term criminal behavior of female drug-abusing probationers. Using a binomial hierarchical generalized linear model, we examine the probability that certain “discrete life events” act to modify or change criminal behavior in the short term. The findings indicate that participants' involvement in conventional activities results in the decreased likelihood of engaging in nondrug crimes but an increased likelihood of drug dealing. Faced with this contradiction, we suggest that the dynamics of offending are altered by the nature of the criminal activity itself and the way in which gender …

Assessing The Relative Effects Of State Direct File Waiver Laws On Violent Juvenile Crime: Deterrence Or Irrelevance, Benjamin Steiner, Emily M. Wright

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Juvenile waiver, or transfer, laws allow certain young offenders to be removed from juvenile court jurisdiction and prosecuted in criminal court, where the range of sanctions is presumably greater. In the past several decades, many states have modified their existing transfer statutes in order to streamline the waiver process and make it easier to prosecute juveniles in criminal court. In doing so, states have excluded certain offenses from juvenile court jurisdiction or added concurrent jurisdiction provisions to their existing waiver statutes. Concurrent jurisdiction, or direct file, statutes afford prosecutors the unreviewable discretion to charge certain juveniles in either juvenile or …

Recent Efforts To Make Nebraska Juries More Representative Of Their Communities, Carly Duvall, Elizabeth Neeley

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

According to the Minority and Justice Task Force Report (2003), “the majority of Nebraskans believe that it is important that juries reflect the racial and ethnic makeup of the community.”

Improving The Amber Alert System: Psychology Research & Policy Recommendation, Monica K. Miller, Samantha S. Clinkinbeard

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

When lawmakers implemented the AMBER Alert System, they initi­ated a system designed to save the lives of missing children. However, the system might not be working as well as possible. If psychological research on related areas (e.g., memory and witness identification) extends to AMBER Alerts, it is likely that the system can be improved.

Section II of this article begins with a description and history of the AMBER Alert System, followed by a brief discussion of the effectiveness of the system. Section III continues with a review of numerous psycho­ logical studies that have important implications when applied to the …

Review Of Fathers Under Fire: The Revolution In Child Support Enforcement, By Irwin Garfinkel, Sara S. Mclanahan, Daniel R. Meyer, And Judith A. Seltzer, Ryan E. Spohn

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The title of this book adequately reflects its timely focus on nonresidential fathers facing increased child support enforcement, examining how child support contributions (or failure to meet child support obligations) affect the lives of children as well as the fathers themselves. As the authors suggest, nonresident fathers have generally been treated as financial resources, with little attention paid to their rights as parents or their needs as providers for their children. A particular focus of this collection of studies is the role of indigent nonresident fathers and their role as parents and providers. Consequently, the scope of study adopted by …

Gun Related Youth Violence: Fear Of Victimization Versus The Influence Of Significant Others, Ryan E. Spohn, Samantha Lane

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Differential association/social learning theories have received considerable empirical support as an explanation of participation in delinquent acts, including violent delinquency (Heimer 1997). More recently, and primarily as a result of highly publicized school shootings in suburban high schools, fear of crime and victimization have received attention as motivators of gun-carrying and gun violence. These phenomena are generally not examined in unison, however, leaving open the question of their relative role as a cause of gun carrying and violence amongst youth. The current research project addresses this question. A major strength of the current research is the adoption of multiple measures …