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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Effects Of Different Types Of Forensic Evidence On Arrest Probability: Toward A New Typology Of Evidence, Morgan Steele Ph.D. Jan 2020

Effects Of Different Types Of Forensic Evidence On Arrest Probability: Toward A New Typology Of Evidence, Morgan Steele Ph.D.

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Forensic evidence is an important component in criminal justice decision - making. Yet, few studies have examined the effectiveness of the various macro - types of forensic evidence in facilitating arrest. This article analyzed over 4000 case files from five cities to determine how the collection and analysis of three macro - types of forensic evidence (Classification, Identification, and Progenitor) affect the probability of arrest across five different crime types. The results of several sets of logistic regression analyses suggest that forensic evidence affects the probability of arrest, but that the impact is not consistent across different types of crime …


Re-Evaluating The Criminal Investigative Process: An Empirical Evaluation Of Criminal Investigations In The United States, Jeremiah J. Rayner Aug 2014

Re-Evaluating The Criminal Investigative Process: An Empirical Evaluation Of Criminal Investigations In The United States, Jeremiah J. Rayner

Dissertations

Criminal investigations are a fundamental part of the police mission. Little research or scientific inquiry has been considered in this area. However, within the past fifty years there has been some noteworthy research performed. Still, the amount of research undertaken within the realm of the criminal investigative process has not corresponded to the magnitude of its importance in everyday police operations. The research by Chaiken, Greenwood, and Petersillia (1976) on the criminal investigative process was the most substantial contribution to the research of the criminal investigative process in its time. However, in 2001 nearly twenty-five years had passed since the …


Deterring Fraud: Police Investigations Into Embezzlement, Brandon Grossman May 2014

Deterring Fraud: Police Investigations Into Embezzlement, Brandon Grossman

Honors College Theses

Embezzlement is a highly disruptive crime that comes with a large negative societal impact. This study was a secondary data analysis of embezzlement data from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for the years 2012-2013. Clearance rates were calculated and analyzed for general fraud related calls for service and for embezzlement cases specifically in order to determine what clearance rates were for the Las Vegas Valley and see if they are comparable to the national average. Data was analyzed within pie and bar charts to determine if the LVMPD is effectively solving embezzlement cases and see if cases with particular …


Dna Testing Is The Most Effective Procedure To Solve Crimes, Son Nguyen Aug 2013

Dna Testing Is The Most Effective Procedure To Solve Crimes, Son Nguyen

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

There are several different techniques to solve crimes. Fingerprinting has been used as an investigative tool to help law enforcement find suspects. By using the fingerprints obtained at a crime scene, investigators can try to find a match within the fingerprint database. Since fingerprints are truly unique, there are better technological advances that will aid law enforcements and forensic scientists confirm a suspect was at the crime scene. By using DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid, technology, established in 1985 but was first used in 1987 in law enforcement, as the main investigative tool, several different crimes can be solve by analyzing the …


Police Responses To Domestic Violence And Public Perception, Kelly Stout, Alexis Kennedy Apr 2013

Police Responses To Domestic Violence And Public Perception, Kelly Stout, Alexis Kennedy

Graduate Research Symposium (GCUA) (2010 - 2017)

Domestic violence, also known as, intimate partner violence (IPV), has become an epidemic in the United States. This research is intended to explain the types of IPV, describe the effects of severe IPV, look at the change in public perceptions of IPV situations, and explore the police responses to such situations. Students at UNLV participated in the “Police Responses to Calls for Service” survey, that was created to determine the public’s level of awareness of IPV situations and whether that awareness increases support for police policies in responding to intimate partner violence calls.


Moving Beyond Our Methodological Default: A Case For Mixed Methods, John Brent, Peter Kraska Nov 2010

Moving Beyond Our Methodological Default: A Case For Mixed Methods, John Brent, Peter Kraska

Peter Kraska

Within criminal justice/criminology exists a host of available research methods that generally default along qualitative and quantitative lines. Studying crime and justice phenomena, then, generally involves choosing one approach or the other. Although this binary tradition of qualitative vs. quantitative has predominated, our field's methodological infrastructure has recently demonstrated a willingness to adopt more inclusive practices. The purpose of this study is to discuss the nascent yet probable transformation of re-orienting our field toward a new paradigm of inclusiveness that acknowledges the use of mixed methods research as being both legitimate and beneficial. This paper examines the role methodological exclusivism …


Expanding The Role Of Patrol In Criminal Investigations: Houston’S Investigative First Responder Project, Dennis Kenney, Michael White, Marc Ruffinengo May 2010

Expanding The Role Of Patrol In Criminal Investigations: Houston’S Investigative First Responder Project, Dennis Kenney, Michael White, Marc Ruffinengo

Marc A. Ruffinengo

Research in the late 1970s discovered two on-going problems with criminal investigations. The first problem involved the inefficiency in the work done by detectives, and the second centered on the misunderstood role of patrol officers in those investigations. In recognition of these ongoing problems, the Houston police department (HPD) sought to improve its investigative capacity and effectiveness through the Investigative First Responder (IFR) project, a pilot program initiated in early 2007 that specially trained and reassigned 45 patrol officers to investigative status so that they could assume responsibility for Part 1 crimes. This article examined the impact of the IFR …


Forensic Science, Wrongful Convictions, And American Prosecutor Discretion, Dennis J. Stevens Feb 2008

Forensic Science, Wrongful Convictions, And American Prosecutor Discretion, Dennis J. Stevens

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

A hot controversy exists about the reliability of forensic science as reported by prime-time drama television series in bringing violent criminals to justice. This exploratory research will show that neither forensics or its fictionalised (CSI Effect) accounts, nor substantial evidence secured by police investigators, shape prosecutor decisions to charge a suspect with a crime, which can often result in freeing guilty suspects and convicting innocent individuals. In the summer of 2006, 444 American prosecutors responded to a survey. The findings reveal that judges, juries, and defence lawyers are influenced more by prime-time American drama forensic accounts than by the substantial …