Law Commons^™

Correctional Officer Opinions About Offenders With Mental Illness: The Relationships Among Opinions, Burnout, Emotional Intelligence, And Mental Health Training, Courtney Hull

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Rates of mental illness among incarcerated individuals in the United States are high and have been well documented. Correctional officers are on the front line of identifying symptoms and alerting mental health professionals to problems as they arise. Correctional officers often lack an understating of mental illness, feel ill-equipped to manage mental health crises, and experience high levels of job-related stress. The objective of this study was to better understand the relationship between correctional officers’ emotional intelligence and opinions about mental illness, and to identify if burnout moderated the relationship between the variables. Additionally, the study sought to understand the …

Non-Traditional Church Involvement As A Life-Course Turning Point: Qualitative Interviews With Religious Offenders, William Hunter Holt

Dissertations

This research project conducted and then analyzed qualitative interviews from former and current addicts and criminal offenders who are voluntarily participating in the Christian faith at the same non-traditional, Protestant church. An abridged case study of this church is also provided for background and context. Life-course theory and grounded theory are utilized.

Both the offenders and this church were chosen in an attempt to better understand how the offenders’ involvement at this house of worship, along with their faith in general, have impacted them. Obtaining the perspectives of the offender is essential for three reasons. First, qualitative research conducted in …

Courtroom Psychology During Criminal Trials And Its Therapeutic Role On Victims And Offenders, Tierra Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the legal and mental health fields little is known about the therapeutic impact of courtroom psychology during criminal trials. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the inter-relating factors of law and psychology throughout criminal trials as experienced by lawyers and psychologists. Research questions explored the influence of courtroom psychology on criminal trial proceedings and challenges as experienced by both criminal trial attorneys in presenting mental health evidence, and by psychologists when testifying during criminal trials. Further exploration focused on the significance of courtroom psychology, and how lawyers and psychologists perceived courtroom psychology impacting justice for victims …

Cross-Validation Of The El Paso Risk Assessment Of Juveniles At Intake Scale (El Paso Raji), Dilata Ranadive

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

No published risk assessment instrument is designed for the specific purpose of identifying high risk first-time juvenile offenders at their first contact with the juvenile justice system. The El Paso Risk Assessment of Juveniles at Intake (El Paso RAJI) was developed by Valenzuela (2011) for this purpose. The current study had three aims: i) to assess the validity of the RAJI as a predictor of recidivism among first-time juvenile offenders, ii) to compare the predictive power of RAJI items with the predictive power of similar items from another risk assessment instrument, the Pre-Positive Achievement Change Tool (PrePACT), and iii) to …