Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons^™

Sexual Abuse: A Multi-Faceted Problem, Marcus Venable

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

On average, US citizens have experienced approximately 400,000 sexual assaults per year, which results in enormous immediate and long-term consequences for individuals, as well as society in general.

In the U.S., the principal method of combatting this crime has been the creation of Sex Offender Registries used to notify the public of the identity and location of convicted sex offenders who may be living in proximity to their residence. In addition to the Registry, laws have been passed forbidding convicted sex offenders from residing within buffer zones around areas of high child concentration [schools/parks/etc.].

The efficacy and consequences of these …

Boiling Behind Bars: Exploring The Hidden Toll Of Extreme Heat On Mental Health In Texas Prisons, Sandra K. Miller

Social Work Theses

The State of Texas supports the largest prison system in the US and held 132,859 people in 100 units scattered across the state as of December 2023. Approximately 70% of Texas prison beds are not air conditioned, despite the state’s reputation for dangerously hot, humid summers. The State has officially recorded temperatures inside Texas prison facilities as high as 120 degrees with heat index values of over 150. Although there is a growing body of research on the negative physiological and psychological consequences of extreme heat among the general public, little is known about the physical and emotional toll of …

Exploring The Factors That Influence Female Offending In The U.S. And Mexico, Dana Villasenor

CMC Senior Theses

Hollywood has painted a picture of the criminal woman as a sexy, sneaky, and often psychotic female fatale. This is because men run Hollywood. Much like movies, research on why women offend had historically focused on men as their stellar. However, towards the turn of the century and with the disproportionate rise in female incarceration, literature caught up to the fact that women and men do not experience the same socialization, standards, or reality and, therefore, have different reasons for and ways of offending. This research explores those reasons for women in the U.S. and Mexico and paints the picture …

Diving Into Correctional Education Program Research: A Systematic Review, Evelyn Roehn

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the last three decades, there has been a growing interest in correctional education programming and its effects on the recidivism rates of offenders. Research has concluded that programs such as general education equivalency (GED), college credit, and trade/vocational skill-building work to reduce recidivism rates among offenders. Although current research is widely accepted among scholars, several questions remain. 1) How is recidivism defined, and how does the definition change the rates? 2) How are researchers addressing selection bias in their study, and what impact does this have on their findings? 3) How are inmates with learning disabilities and language barriers …

Exploring The Influence Of School Location On School Resource Officers’ Perceptions Of Their Roles And Priorities, Larry A. Potts

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the widespread presence of school resource officers (SROs) in public schools for decades, their proper roles and priorities have remained unsettled because those roles are often varied, complex, conflicting, and ambiguous. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how SROs perceive their roles and priorities and whether school location influences those perceptions. Qualitative research methods provided opportunities for one-to-one interviews with SROs and their supervisors. Two elements embedded in the design consisted of a descriptive questionnaire provided to the SROs before their interviews, and a qualitative interview question designed to elicit a percentage estimate response from SROs. …

Human Trafficking: The Impact Of Covid-19 On Labor Trafficking In The Us, Anthony A. Mottola

Theses and Dissertations

Human trafficking is a global phenomenon where traffickers prey upon their victims without discriminating against age, gender, ethnic background, or nationality. The United States (US) is not immune to the human rights violations of human trafficking. The victims of human trafficking are coerced into a life of exploitation through forced labor or sexual exploitation. Many victims are migrants from disadvantaged countries that travel to the US seeking employment but end up the victims of abuse, both physically and mentally, at the hands of traffickers. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the global economy, forcing quarantines, travel bans, and social distancing. …

Crisis Intervention Team Training And Use Of Force On Persons With Mental Illnesses, Xavier Aguirre

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The criminological literature on the effects of Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) among police in handling of crisis situations involving persons with mental illness (PMI) has emerged as a critical in modern policing. This study seeks to add to the literature on policing persons with mental illness by investigating the effects of CIT training, officer characteristics, and crisis incidences in the Seattle, Washington Police Department. There are two models that is used for this study. The first model focuses on the aforementioned factors in predicting police to use force in such incidents. The second model focus on officer dispositions. The data …

Victim Impact: The Manson Murders And The Rise Of The Victims’ Rights Movement, Merrill W. Steeg

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: Analyzing Inhumane Practices In Mississippi’S Correctional Institutions Due To Overcrowding, Understaffing, And Diminished Funding, Ariel A. Williams

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to examine the political, social, and economic factors which have led to inhumane conditions in Mississippi’s correctional facilities. Several methods were employed, including a comparison of the historical and current methods of funding, staffing, and rehabilitating prisoners based on literature reviews. State-sponsored reports from various departments and the legislature were analyzed to provide insight into budgetary restrictions and political will to allocate funds. Statistical surveys and data were reviewed to determine how overcrowding and understaffing negatively affect administrative capacity and prisoners’ mental and physical well-being. Ultimately, it may be concluded that Mississippi has high …

Metaphysics & Morals In Canadian Criminal Justice: A Pragmatic Analysis Of The Conflict Between Neuroscience And Retributive Folk Psychology, Sarah Greenwood

LLM Theses

The retributive justification of Canadian criminal law contains several assumptions about human nature that conflicts with what neuroscience has established regarding human behavior and the function of rationality. Interdisciplinary discourse on this conflict between law and neuroscience has unnecessarily implicated the free will debate and is further stagnated by epistemic cultural differences between the two disciplines. To avoid these roadblocks, this thesis applies the methodological principles of pragmatic philosophy. Rather than asking which description of human nature is true, pragmatic inquiry focuses on the difference either would make in practice. This analysis reveals that retributive folk psychology in practice causes …

After 31 Years In Prison, Lee Chalk Asks For Forgiveness., Jeffery Harrell, Brenda Leon

Capstones

Lee Chalk has spent more than three decades in state prison, and is now applying for executive clemency to have his sentence ended early. He is guilty of a crime, being involved in an armed robbery turned deadly which killed two people. Our project explores the potential for transformation and rehabilitation inside prison, and the personal and political ramification of mass incarceration and extreme sentencing.

https://medium.com/p/738d1cb28532/edit

A shorter version of the capstone was also published with Gothamist here: https://gothamist.com/news/ny-prison-clemency-parole-cuomo

Sentencing Persons Convicted Of Minor Offences In Ghana: Reducing Judicial Over-Reliance On Imprisonment, Nenyo Kwasitsu

LLM Theses

This thesis argues that there is overuse of imprisonment for minor offenders in Ghana. These are offenders whose punishments go up to 3 years of jail time, essentially offending mainly for reasons of material poverty. Statutory sentencing provisions have essentially limited judges to impose jail terms. It is argued that one way to decongest Ghana’s prisons is to consider the institutionalization of a regime of community service orders and probation, the administration of which would equip the offenders with income-earning skills while they also reform. Drawing on Kenya, a country that has achieved reasonable success in this reform effort, this …

Creating The Best: A Two-Prong Policy Approach To Improve The Quality Of Future Certified Ohio Peace Officers, Amy English

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

This qualitative client applied study explained and explored a two-fold approach that could be used to implement policy changes that will aid small Ohio police departments in commissioning intellectually developed and psychologically suited individuals for employment in law enforcement. Several issues needed to be addressed in order to accomplish these policy changes. Criminological theories were correlated to deviant behaviors of criminally charged Ohio police officers. Past legislated police reform acts were addressed. Past studies of police officer higher education were analyzed. Finally, the implementation factors for psychological evaluations as a police academy pre-enrollment requirement were identified. This study, based on …

Exploring Locus Of Control In Offender Cognition And Recidivism Paradigms, Anistasha Lightning, Danielle Polage

All Master's Theses

Working with four Washington State county jails to administer surveys to currently incarcerated inmates, we investigated locus of control and beliefs in the likelihood of continued legal involvement as possible antecedents to criminal recidivism. The surveys examined whether there was any connection between legal involvement frequency and the externalization of locus of control. We investigated external locus of control with specific respect to involvement with the law, the prospect of future incarceration, and feelings concerning the overall cause of original and/or sustained legal involvement utilizing the Revised Causal Dimension Scale (McAuley, Duncan, & Russell, 1992). We identified statistically significant interactions …

Perceptions, Knowledge And Experiences Among Police Officers: Traffic Stops, Vehicle Searches And K-9 Involvement, Daniel Ozment

Master of Science in Criminal Justice Theses & (Pre-2016) Policy Research Projects

This survey study explores the perceptions, knowledge and experiences of police “line” officers concerning Fourth Amendment search and seizure norms and applications during traffic stops and vehicles searches, in particular police use of canine units following the landmark United States Supreme Court decision of Rodriguez v. United States. In particular, the study examines issues surrounding the length and scope of a traffic stop by police, including stops with canine involvement. Finally, the study includes an analysis of how federal courts of appeal and Georgia courts have interpreted the Rodriguez decision.

Cracking Down On Cages: Feminist And Prison Abolitionist Considerations For Litigating Solitary Confinement In Canada, Winnie Phillips-Osei

Master of Laws Research Papers Repository

Guided by prison abolition ethic and intersectional feminism, my key argument is that Charter section 15 is the ideal means of eradicating solitary confinement and its adverse impact on women who are Aboriginal, racialized, mentally ill, or immigration detainees. I utilize a provincial superior court’s failing in exploring a discrimination analysis concerning Aboriginal women, to illustrate my key argument. However, because of the piecemeal fashion in which courts can effect developments in the law, the abolition of solitary confinement may very well occur through a series of ‘little wins’. In Chapter 11, I provide a constitutional analysis, arguing that solitary …

Improving The Criminal Justice System In Nigeria Through Restorative Justice: Lessons From Canada And New Zealand, Olaniran Akintunde

LLM Theses

This thesis argues the need for Nigeria to incorporate restorative justice within its criminal justice system. Its prevailing adversarial system is bedevilled with various challenges such as over- incarceration, recidivism, high rates of juvenile crime and prison congestion. The work draws lessons from Canada and New Zealand, two jurisdictions that have made improvements to similar systems like Nigeria via the adoption and practice of restorative justice. The advantages that a restorative justice alternative bring to criminal justice administration in Nigeria include less use of incarceration, improvement in social relationships, rehabilitation and the reintegration of young offenders. The thesis recommends that …

Life Course Outcomes For Juveniles: Contact With The Criminal Justice System As A Turning Point, Dominique Tauffner

Honors Projects

This research investigated the life course outcomes of respondents who have been arrested during adolescence. Although the creation of the juvenile justice system is relatively recent, only existing for 119 years, there is a need for data on the impact this system has on society. The pre-existing knowledge and literature on juvenile delinquency and the criminal justice system often fails to capture longitudinal data. Most scholars on this issue will discuss the immediate effects of things like incarceration and placement or what influences delinquency, ignoring the long-term consequences or life outcomes of those that have been arrested prior to 18. …

Human Trafficking And Local Law Enforcement, Elizabeth Chesbrough

Honors Projects

“To protect our kids, we’ve given law enforcement new tools to fight human trafficking (Brett Guthrie).” Though Brett’s hopeful sentiment portrays a police force that is ready to battle the epidemic of modern day slavery, research has shown that local officers are sorely uneducated on the subject. The main focus of this paper is the link between the prevalence of human trafficking in the U.S. and the lack of local law enforcement training on the issue. The first section will be a brief overview of human trafficking, defining and discussing a few relevant details about it first. Next, I will …

The Perpetuation Of Mass Incarceration: Analyzing Systemic Effects Of The U.S. Penal System, Lillian Barreto

Theses

This paper is divided into four parts, Part I. Perpetuation of a Disparate System , Part II. Perpetual Marginalization , Part III. My Personal Research and Part IV. Moving Forward . Part I serves to show the pervasive racial disparities throughout the criminal justice system and how these disparities portray a system which discriminates primarily against poor men of color. Part II shows how this community is disadvantaged in various parts of their social, economic and political lives because of the extent of punitivity and criminalization. It explains the way these disadvantages translate to men of color being discriminated against …

The Impact Of Incarceration And Societal Reintegration On Mental Health, Veronica Wicks

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine ex-offender’s beliefs on the impact of incarceration and societal reintegration on mental health. The study is a qualitative design using interviews that were audio recorded and transcribed for analysis. The study sought to address the relationship between perceptions of mental health and experiences of incarceration and reintegration among formerly incarcerated individuals. The following themes emerged from participant responses: incarceration challenges, mental health stigma, and rehabilitation service accessibility. The findings of this study may contribute to social work practice by providing awareness to the factors impacting ex-offenders’ mental health and interventions needed. The …

The Fear Factor: Exploring The Impact Of The Vulnerability To Deportation On Immigrants' Lives, Shirley P. Leyro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This qualitative study explores the impact that the fear of deportation has on the lives of noncitizen immigrants. More broadly, it explores the role that immigration enforcement, specifically deportation, plays in disrupting the process of integration, and the possible implications of this interruption for immigrants and their communities. The study aims to answer: (1) how vulnerability to deportation specifically impacts an immigrant’s life, and (2) how the vulnerability to deportation, and the fear associated with it, impacts an immigrant’s degree of integration. Data were gathered through a combination of six open-ended focus group interviews of 10 persons each, and 33 …

Police And Gangs: Undergraduates’ Perceptions Of The Similarities And Differences, Seroyah Williams

Honors College Theses

Police have been said to be the largest gang in America with badges. With recent events occurring throughout the United States, including police shootings of unarmed citizens, some may say that the police have shown various characteristics similar to those of gangs. Does the public also view officers, in general, in the same perspective? Surveys were administered to a large class of Georgia Southern University students to acquire their perceptions of both the police and gangs. Each student listed characteristics of the police and gangs, their opinion, and different ways those perceptions have been formed. The data collected revealed more …

Examining The Relationship Between Physical And Sexual Abuse And Mental Illnesses Among Female Inmates: Revising The Mental Health Care Process In Prisons, Josie Klepper

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Females are becoming a prominent population within America’s correctional facilities, which has led to incarcerated females increasingly becoming the popular subjects of more recent research. Along with the growing population of female inmates, the rates of sexual and physical victimization reported by incarcerated females is rapidly growing. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the pre-established correlation between mental health diagnoses, and the prior physical and/or sexual abuse of female inmates within the custody of correctional institutions, outline the current treatment process, and devise a revision of the treatment process in order to improve the future of mental health …

Juvenile Culpability And The Felony Murder Rule: Applying The Enmund Standard To Juveniles Facing Felony Murder Charges, Sterling Root

Senior Theses and Projects

Over the past decade, the Supreme Court has issued decisions in numerous cases (Roper v. Simmons, Graham v. Florida, Miller v. Alabama, and Montgomery v. Louisiana) involving juvenile sentencing that have radically transformed our juvenile criminal justice system. While some of these cases did involve juveniles convicted of felony murder, the Supreme Court never directly addressed how to handle juvenile sentencing in felony murder cases. This leaves a gap in society’s understanding of juvenile felony murder sentencing that must be addressed. Otherwise, many juveniles that never intended, attempted, or wished that a life be taken might spend the rest of …

School Shootings And Principals' Perception Of Armed Personnel In An Education Setting, Richard Reyes

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this study was to explore the dilemma principals have in determining the best approach to provide safe environment for their students and faculty, while at the same time creating an environment that is conducive to education.

The study looked at an urban school district with a marginalized community with low socioeconomic status as identified by the District Factor Group A. Twelve school principals were interviewed to gather information of their perceptions in relation to having armed personnel in their schools.

The literature on school shootings and armed personnel in schools was reviewed. The literature consisted of peer-reviewed …

Articulating A Vision: A Case Of Study Of Democracy, Education, And Prisoner Rehabilitation In A Day Reporting Center, Gregory A. Jones

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Abstract

Unfortunately, little or no time is spent on transitioning inmates back into society, especially those with physical and mental disabilities. One support service that is being taken into consideration is the Day Reporting Center. Day Reporting Centers are highly structured nonresidential programs. Parolees report to the center on a daily basis, submit to drug tests, and are enrolled in various counseling, education, or vocational classes. Whereas most centers have strict monitoring and surveillance of parolees, one center that stands out in its alternative approach of self-governance is the San Bernardino Day Reporting Center in San Bernardino, California. There, the …

Judicial Influence And The United States Federal District Courts: A Case Study, Justin R. Hickerson

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Organized Crime Outlaws: An Evaluation Of Criminal Organization Legislation In Canada, Carol Fleischhaker

PhD Dissertations

This thesis explains how some organized crime outlaws, such as anti-Prohibitionists, the North American Mafia or La Cosa Nostra, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and Aboriginal street gangs, come to exist and thrive in Canadian society. It sets forth the historical development and nature of criminal organization laws in Canada, and compares the definition of “criminal organization” in the Criminal Code with other criminal law concepts, such as corporate criminals and white-collar criminals; conventional criminality or garden-variety predatory crime; terrorists; and criminal conspirators, parties, and accessories. It uses various concepts and assertions within criminological, sociological and psychological theories to explain the formation …

The Dynamics Of Drug Trafficking/ Smuggling By Female Offenders In The Trinidad And Tobago Prison Service: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Approach, Le 'Jeane' Iman Ellis

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Female offenders incarcerated for the crime of drug trafficking/smuggling have received little research attention. This thesis is an exploratory study designed to help fill that gap. As such, the study is primarily focused on women involved in the illicit drug economy via their participation in drug trafficking/ smuggling activities and secondarily focused on the general population of females incarcerated/remanded for various other crimes. Within the relevant body of research the term "trafficking" is loosely utilized (Fleetwood 2009). Thus to provide clarity, in this research project the terms "trafficking" and "smuggling" are used interchangeably and specifically reference the act of international …