Legal Studies Commons^™

A Multi-Dimensional Macrolevel Study Of Drug Enforcement Strategies, Heroin Prices, And Heroin Consumption Rates, Alexander G. Toth

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

American policy makers primarily embrace a deterrent-based policing agenda to curb illicit drug trafficking and use that relies on the principles of the economic price elasticity of demand (Boynum & Reuter, 2005). This counter-drug platform includes three fundamental programs: arresting offenders, seizing illicit drugs, and eradicating horticultural sources of illicit drugs (U.S. DEA, 2015). One of the main goals of these programs is to deter illegal trafficking and use by increasing the price of illicit substances so they are no longer attractive to consumers. The United States has weathered various drug use epidemics during its history, and currently it is …

Dating Application Facilitated Victimization: An Examination Of Lifestyle-Routine Activities, Self-Control, And Self-Efficacy, Vanessa Centelles

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study examines how college students participate in the use of location-based real-time dating (LBRTD) applications and the correlates of in-person and cyber victimization. Using an exploratory lens, the present study draws on the classical criminological theories of lifestyle-routine activities (L-RAT), self-efficacy, and low self-control which have been applied to various forms of abuse. Although the use of LBRTD applications has become relatively common place, with approximately 15% of Americans reporting having used a mobile dating application or online dating site, little is known concerning the role these applications play, particularly among college students (Boillot-Fansher, 2017; Smith, 2016). Using …

Sexual Assault And Robbery Disclosure: An Examination Of Black’S Theory Of The Behavior Of Law, Caitlyn N. Muniz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The majority of research on victim decision making has focused narrowly on reporting to police neglecting other ways in which victims seek help after a victimization experience. Similarly, this research also focuses on only one crime at a time, typically sexual assault, or focuses broadly on categories of violent crime. This dissertation aims to explore variations in victim help-seeking by examining and comparing various combinations of formal disclosure. Moreover, this study compares two distinctly different yet comparable interpersonal violent crimes: sexual assault and robbery. In so doing, this study employs the Theory of the Behavior of Law to examine whether …

Social Constructionism And Cultivation Theory In Development Of The Juvenile “Super-Predator”, Elizabeth R. Jackson-Cruz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The myth of the “super-predator” offender was adopted by newspaper media in the mid-1990s characterizing “violent”, urban, and minority juvenile offenders. The phrase originated from newspaper headlines of the 1980s and 1990s, but limited research has identified whether this con-struct predated DiIulio and Fox’s crime surge prediction. This study sampled juvenile crime news items from The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times (N=2,008) 1985-1995 with defined search criteria of juvenile actors, “violent” juvenile crime, and/or juvenile drug crime. A descriptive analysis of the data determined reporting trends sought for a “period effect” caused by the …

Mass Shootings And Gun Sales: A Study On The Influence Of Red And Blue Power, Maria Jose Rozo Osuna

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mass shootings are one of the most discussed issues in American society. While it is evident who the main victims are, the impact of such an event reaches far beyond the lives that were directly impacted. One of the main effects mass shootings have been found to have is a spike in gun sales (Wallace, 2015; Studert et. al., 2017 ; Turchan et. al., 2017). This finding has been found time and time again by academic and non-academic researchers, and it is one of the most commonly believed ideas regarding the effects of mass shootings (Aish & Keller, 2016). The …

The Role Of Race/Ethnicity And Risk Assessment On Juvenile Case Outcomes, Tayler N. Shreve

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Guided by traditional and micro-level theories, the present study seeks to identify the relationship between race/ethnicity and risk factors in the Florida juvenile justice system. Central to this explanation is the understanding that racial biases and stereotypes have been shown to influence the decision-making of probation officers. The objectives are to examine the extent that race and risk factors influence court outcomes, in addition to the extent to which individual level risk factors influence court outcomes. The results provide insight into the relationship between the influence of racial biases and stereotypes of probation officers and juvenile risk assessment scoring.

Race And Gender In (Re)Integration Of Victim-Survivors Of Csec In A Community Advocacy Context, Joshlyn Lawhorn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I use feminist ethnography at a nonprofit organization to analyze the racialized gender in (re)integration of victim-survivors of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). Critical race feminism and intersectionality are the theoretical frameworks to guide the analysis of community advocacy. The analysis considers two themes with various subsections that capture CSEC at the site. The first theme analyzes the definition, challenges, coordination and rhetoric of reintegration at the site. The second theme highlights the site’s racial identity, Black victimhood of victim-survivors of CSEC in the context of community, and racialized gender within reintegration. I discuss the strategic …

Political Decisions On Police Expenditures: Examining The Potential Relationship Between Political Structure, Police Expenditures And The Volume Of Crime Across Us States, Xavier D. Burch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study was designed to examine the variations in criminal justice expenditures across states in relation to crime, measures of political party membership, and several control variables that also attempt to explain both property and violent crime. The year, 2009, was chosen for the analysis. Data in the present study were collected by Olugbenga Ajilore (2016) for the year 2009 and supplemented with other state level data. The Ajilore dataset is one of the few datasets that has reliable criminal justice expenditure data across states, which is also disaggregated by type. Criminal justice expenditure data is actually quite difficult …

Identifying The Personal And Perceived Organizational Characteristics Associated With Job Satisfaction Among Juvenile Probation Staff, Julie M. Krupa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Satisfied employees are essential to an organization, as they are the primary means for meeting organizational needs. Employees who are more satisfied at work are less likely to leave their job or think about leaving their job, less likely to feel burnt out or stressed, and perform better at work. Job satisfaction is particularly important among criminal justice agencies, specifically probation agencies which largely rely on personnel for the supervision and rehabilitation of offenders. Yet the correlates of job satisfaction among juvenile probation staff are largely unknown. Theory suggests that organizational characteristics are influential predictors of job satisfaction across occupational …

Yet Another Ferguson Effect: An Exploratory Content Analysis Of News Stories On Police Brutality And Deadly Force Before And After The Killing Of Michael Brown, Carl Root

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research examined the police-media relationship through an exploratory content analysis of news articles indexed as police brutality and/or deadly force published in six newspapers (The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Denver Post and USA Today) between August 9th, 2013 and August 9th, 2015. This timeframe was selected in order to determine whether significant differences exist between articles published in the year before the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9th, 2014 compared to those published in the year afterward. Specifically, this research examined whether and how news stories pre and …

The Impact Of A Religious/Spiritual Turning Point On Desistance: A Lifecourse Assessment Of Racial/Ethnic Differences, Rhissa Briones Robinson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Criminology’s most recent theoretical tradition involves examination of the developmental onset, continuity, and desistance from offending behavior across the life course. A prominent life course perspective organized around social bonding was proffered by Robert J. Sampson and John H. Laub in dual volumes that include Crime in the Making: Pathways and Turning Points Through Life (1993), and Shared Beginnings, Divergent Lives (2003). Because Sampson and Laub’s age-graded theory is based on a sample of White males born in the 1920s and 1930s, and matured during a historical period of vast economic growth, the universal theoretical processes emphasized in their theory …

The Role Of Organizational Justice In Predicting Attitudes Toward Body-Worn Cameras In Police Officers, Nathaniel L. Lawshe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Body-worn cameras are a promising new development in policing. They have been linked to positive outcomes such as decreases in use of force and complaints against officers. However, this new technology has produced a number of issues that could thwart a successful body-worn camera program implementation. One issue is the extent in which officers possess positive attitudes toward using body-worn cameras. If officers do not view body-worn cameras positively, cameras may not be used to their full potential.

A promising factor that has emerged from past research in explaining attitudes toward body-worn cameras is organizational justice. Broadly, organizational justice is …

Intimate Partner Violence And The Capacity And Desire For Self-Control, Krista Taralynne Brewer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The effect of self-control on one’s criminal offending is a product of both an individual’s capacity to exercise self-control as well as their desire to exercise self-control. The present study utilized self-report data gathered at a large urban university in Florida (n=1,307) to test the independent and interactive effects of control-capacity and control-desire on intimate partner violence perpetration. The study suggests that while both capacity and desire for control have effects on one’s likelihood of reporting IPV, these effects are independent of each other.

An Exploratory Study Of Macro-Social Correlates Of Online Property Crime, Hyojong Song

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the recent decreasing trend of most traditional types of crime, online property crime (OPC), referring to crime committed online with a financial orientation such as online frauds, scams, and phishing, continues to increase. According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, the number of reported complaints about OPC have increased by approximately sixteen fold from 16,838 cases in 2000 to 288,012 cases in 2015, and referred financial losses have also increased about sixty times from $17.8 million in 2001 to $1 billion in 2015. The increase in OPC might be directly related to advanced online accessibility due to the accelerated …

Chronic Runaway Youth: A Gender-Based Analysis, Michelle N. Jeanis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Runaway youth often face a multitude of negative experiences during their childhood, which often leads to trajectories of psychological disorder/distress, victimization, and offending. This propensity for negative life trajectories may be exacerbated by repetitive runaway behavior. Additionally, these negatives experiences may be further shaped by the gender of the youth, thus creating distinct gendered pathways to chronic runaway behavior, victimization, and offending. This study utilized a sample of youth runaways in the state of Florida (N=295) to build upon the classification/typology research on juvenile runaways by assessing the presence of latent groups of youth based on runaway frequency. In addition, …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Their Role As Mitigators For Youthful And Non-Youthful Offenders In Capital Sentencing Cases, Jessica R. Trapassi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their role as mitigators in capital sentencing is an important, yet relatively unexplored, topic in criminological literature. Using data from the North Carolina Capital Sentencing Project, this study explores the role of ACEs as mitigating factors for youthful and non-youthful capital offenders: whether youthful offenders are less likely to be sentenced to death, whether or not ACEs are effective as mitigating factors, and whether ACE mitigators are more effective for youthful or non-youthful offenders. Results show that youthful capital offenders are less likely to be sentenced to death than adult capital offenders, and while ACE …

Female Incarceration And Prison Social Order: An Examination Of Gender Differences In Prison Misconduct And In-Prison Punishments, Elisa L. Toman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The dramatic increase in the U.S. prison population has renewed scholarly interest in the prison experience. Researchers have built upon and extended classic theories of inmate behavior to better understand the mechanisms that lead to inmate violence and misbehavior. Yet, scholars still consider what happens to inmates inside of prison a “black box,” due to limited systematic assessments of the prison experience. This body of scholarship is also limited by its narrow focus on males, as theories of inmate behavior have been developed around male experiences and, in turn, ignore the possibility that gender may influence prison life. Feminist theory …

School Shootings In The United States From 1997 To 2012: A Content Analysis Of Media Coverage, Victoria N. Iannuzzi

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study is a content analysis of news articles of school shooting incidents that occurred within the United States between 1997 and 2012. This paper was designed to (a) address the current profile of school shooting offenders and offenses, (b) assess a proposed typology of school shootings, (c) consider common case processing characteristics for offenders of school shootings incidents, and (d) address the potential for offender and offense characteristics to affect the amount of media coverage an incident receives. The database of “Major School Shootings in the United States Since 1997” by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence was …

A Test Of Wikström’S Situational Action Theory Using Self-Report Data On Intimate Partner Violence, Lauren Nicole Miley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Wikstrӧm’s Situational Action Theory (SAT) proposes a general theory of crime causation that addresses two sets of interactions between individuals and their situation/environment. These interactions predict whether or not individuals choose a criminal action. The current study utilized self-report data on intimate partner violence collected at a large urban university in Florida (n=1124) to test this process by examining both direct and interactive effects proposed by the theory. Specifically, this study examines the direct effects of moral propensity, temptations/provocations, self-control and perpetual deterrence on intimate partner violence as well as the various interactions among them as derived from the theory. …

Resistance From Within: Domestic Violence And Rape Crisis Centers That Serve Black/African American Populations, Jessica Marie Pinto

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses feminist critical discourse analysis to find and understand the discourses embedded in the mission statements and program documents of three domestic violence and/or rape crisis centers that primarily serve Black/African American populations in three distinct geographic locations in the United States. Existing literature addresses the discourses present in domestic violence and sexual assault service provision, but no literature addresses the discourses present in the mission statements of domestic violence and rape crisis centers, leaving a considerable gap in the literature. This project uses frameworks of feminist understandings of Foucauldian discursive patriarchal power, intersectionality and material feminism to …

Delving Into The Heart Of Victimization Risk: Examining The Interactive Relationship Between Demographic Factors And Context, Amy Sheena Eggers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation sought to expand the study of victimization by examining non-linear relationships across victim, offender, and offense characteristics within a routine activities theory framework. Moreover, my goals were to assess victimization risk using a more realistic approach through the implementation of a situational perspective approach and conjunctive analysis. Conjunctive analysis is an analytical with both quantitative and qualitative properties, which allowed for interpretations that were detail oriented and summative. Utilizing data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, several victim (e.g., demographic factors), offender (e.g., victim-offender relationship), and offense (contextual factors) characteristics were analyzed. Conjunctive analysis was estimated for incidents …

The Guilty But Mentally Ill Verdict: Assessing The Impact Of Informing Jurors Of Verdict Consequences, Erin Elizabeth Cotrone

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In response to public opposition to the insanity defense, the Guilty But Mentally Ill(GBMI) verdict was enacted with the intention of limiting the number of insanity acquittals and alleviating the public’s concerns. Prior research suggests, however, that many jurors are making verdict decisions with limited knowledge of the dispositional consequences of the GBMI and NGRI verdicts. Further, jurors may erroneously assume that the GBMI verdict is a compromise between a NGRI and guilty verdict, which mitigates punishment. In reality, the dispositional consequences of a GBMI verdict are equivalent to or more restrictive than a guilty verdict. The current study examined …

How Mature Capitalism Turns Pollution Into Diamonds: Malagnogenesis And The Reverse-Engineering Of Harm Into Risk, Kevin P. Martyn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, there has been a great deal of debate about the pervasiveness and persistence of neoliberal thinking. In the context of the post-2008 ‘great recession’ the resilience of neoliberalism is particularly confounding. To begin to unravel the ways in which neoliberalism is situated relative to risk, this study identifies an increasingly important neoliberal knowledge practice: malagnogenesis. Malagnogenesis is proposed herein as the production of ignorance that normalizes harm for and amongst marginalized populations. To shed light on the phenomena of malagnogenesis, this study investigated the history of leaded gasoline in the U.S. To that end, I …

The Role Of Gender In Self-Control And Intimate Partner Violence, Laura Marie Gulledge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the interrelationships between gender, self-control and intimate partner violence (IPV). The sample consists of 960 undergraduate and graduate university students who are currently in a dating relationship. A series of bivariate and multivariate analyses are used to: 1) determine if self-control and IPV vary across gender and 2) assess the effect of gender on the relationship between self-control and IPV. Overall, results provide partial support for Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) general theory of crime. Self-control operated similarly on IPV for both males and females, supporting the gender-neutrality of their theory. However, the gender gap in crime, …

The Applicability Of Criminology To Terrorism Studies: An Exploratory Study Of Isis Supporters In The United States, Amanda Marie Sharp Parker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the years following the 11 September 2001 attacks, research in the area of terrorism expanded exponentially. However, the changing nature of terrorism and lack of available data make it a difficult topic for criminologists to study; as academics we do not have access to the governmental data and data that is publicly available is often restricted due to the sensitive nature of national security issues. As first hand data is not available, an alternate data source, court records, may provide insight to the profile of current terrorists/terrorist supporters in the United States. Using court data from 71 cases of …

Where Is The Survivor’S Voice? An Examination Of The Individual And Structural Challenges To The Reintegration Of Immigrant Human Trafficking Survivors, Michelle Cristina Angelo Dantas Rocha

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The United States is one of the top destination countries for human trafficking, and Florida has the third highest number of reported cases of human trafficking. Despite the severity of this issue, Florida anti-trafficking legislation, reintegration programs, and awareness campaigns tend to contribute to the invisibility of the victims and undermine their recovery and reintegration into society, especially when the victims are immigrants. This project uses a multi-method approach including content analysis of anti-human trafficking campaigns to argue that portrayals of a “perfect victim” only amplify stigmatization and discrimination against immigrant victims. Through in-depth interviews and ethnographic observation highlighting the …

A Power Conflict Approach To Animal Cruelty: Examining How Economic Power Influences The Creation Of Animal Cruelty Laws, Leonard J. Genco

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study examines the association of macro-level economic factors and the creation or enactment animal cruelty laws across the states at a fixed time. Criminologists have postulated that economic factors influence the legal system (Chambliss and Seidman, 1971). This thesis addresses whether state-level economic and related macro-level factors influences the amount and types of state animal cruelty legislation lawmakers enact. To do so, this thesis examined animal cruelty legislation and their association with measures of agricultural and farm production, Democratic Party, Republican Party, and pro-animal interest groups across all states of the United States for the time period (2012-2013). …

The Effects Of Racial Bias On Perceptions Of Intimate Partner Violence Scenarios, Batya Yisraela Rubenstein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore how racial bias affects perceptions of intimate partner violence (IPV). Public perceptions of IPV have been studied under numerous contexts to ascertain how characteristics of victim and the offender can affect these attitudes. A portion of this body of research has been dedicated to understanding the role of race in perceptions of IPV and a large portion of the findings have been mixed due to the interaction of biases and attitudes about race and IPV. Very few studies have looked at multiple forms of IPV in comparison with one another while also …

The Restrictive Deterrent Effect Of Warning Banners In A Compromised Computer System, Christian Jordan-Michael Howell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

System trespassing, which refers to the unauthorized access of computer systems, has rapidly become a worldwide phenomenon. Despite growing concern, criminological literature has paid system trespassing little attention. The current study utilizes data gathered from a Chinese computer network to examine system trespasser behavior after exposure to one of three warning messages: an altruistic message used for moral persuasion (warning 1), a legal sanction threat (warning 2), and an ambiguous threat (warning 3). More specifically, the current study examines the temporal order of various keystroke commands to determine if some keystroke commands are used as a tactical skill to avoid …

Tactics Of Sexual Control And Negative Health Outcomes, Anna Elizabeth Kleppe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) is a concerning, yet relatively understudied form of intimate partner violence (IPV). Furthermore, the majority of research regarding sexual violence fails to differentiate between different forms of control used to facilitate this violence. Although IPV has been linked to a multitude of adverse physical and health outcomes, it is less clear how these outcomes vary by type of control experienced. Using data from the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), the current study examines the physical and non-physical tactics used to facilitate sexual violence, and the associated health outcomes. Potential gender differences …