Criminology Commons^™

Clarifying The Effects Of Neighborhood Context On Violence “Behind Closed Doors”, Emily M. Wright, Michael L. Benson

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Research on neighborhood-level effects on intimate partner violence (IPV) has expanded significantly in the past two decades. However, to date, studies have been unable to disentangle compositional and contextual effects on IPV and have rarely considered the social mechanisms that might link neighborhood conditions to IPV. Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, this study considers individual and contextual influences on violence between partners, and examines the effects of disadvantage and collective efficacy on this type of behavior. Results indicate that neighborhood disadvantage significantly increases and collective efficacy significantly decreases IPV after controlling for individual-level correlates. …

Who's To Blame? Elaborating The Role Of Attributions In General Strain Theory, John P. Hoffmann, Karen R. Spence

Faculty Publications

Agnew’s general strain theory (GST) has motivated dozens of criminological studies over the past two decades. Borrowing in part from Cloward and Ohlin’s model of delinquency, Agnew claimed that anger, a key component of GST, occurs when adolescents externalize blame for their adversity. This implies that adolescents who blame strain on an external causal agent (e.g., a parent, a teacher, economic disadvantages) are more likely to get angry and thus lash out through delinquent acts. However, this essential characteristic has been largely neglected in studies of GST. The purpose of this article is to show that external attributions of blame …

The Disutility Of Injustice, Paul H. Robinson, Geoffrey P. Goodwin, Michael Reisig

All Faculty Scholarship

For more than half a century, the retributivists and the crime-control instrumentalists have seen themselves as being in an irresolvable conflict. Social science increasingly suggests, however, that this need not be so. Doing justice may be the most effective means of controlling crime. Perhaps partially in recognition of these developments, the American Law Institute's recent amendment to the Model Penal Code's "purposes" provision – the only amendment to the Model Code in the 47 years since its promulgation – adopts desert as the primary distributive principle for criminal liability and punishment. That shift to desert has prompted concerns by two …

Criminal Offending Among Respondents To Protective Orders: Crime Types And Patterns That Predict Victim Risk, Carol E. Jordan, Adam J. Pritchard, Danielle Duckett, Richard Charnigo

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

Research has shown that respondents to protective orders have robust criminal histories and that criminal offending behavior often follows issuance of a protective order. Nonetheless, the specific nature of the association between protective orders and criminal offending remains unclear. This study uses two classes of statistical models to more clearly delineate that relationship. The models reveal factors and characteristics that appear to be associated with offending and protective order issuance and provide indications about when a victim is most at risk and when the justice system should be most ready to provide immediate protection.

Attitudes About Addiction: A National Study Of Addiction Educators, Angela D. Broadus, Joyce A. Hartje, Nancy A. Roget, Kristy L. Cahoon, Samantha S. Clinkinbeard

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The following study, funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), utilized the Addiction Belief Inventory (ABI; Luke, Ribisl, Walton, & Davidson, 2002) to examine addiction attitudes in a national sample of U.S. college/university faculty teaching addiction-specific courses (n = 215). Results suggest that addiction educators view substance abuse as a coping mechanism rather than a moral failure, and are ambivalent about calling substance abuse or addiction a disease. Most do not support individual efficacy toward recovery, the ability to control use, or social use after treatment. Modifiers of addiction educator attitudes include level of college education; teaching …

Geographic Factors Of Residential Burglaries - A Case Study In Nashville, Tennessee, Jonathan A. Hall

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study examines geographic patterns and geographic factors of residential burglary at the Nashville, TN area for a twenty year period at five year interval starting in 1988. The purpose of this study is to identify what geographic factors have impacted on residential burglary rates, and if there were changes in the geographic patterns of residential burglary over the study period. Several criminological theories guide this study, with the most prominent being Social Disorganization Theory and Routine Activities Theory. Both of these theories focus on the relationships of place and crime. A number of spatial analysis methods are hence adopted …

Sleep And Delinquency: Does The Amount Of Sleep Matter?, Samantha S. Clinkinbeard, Peter Simi, Mary K. Evans, Amy L. Anderson

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Sleep, a key indicator of health, has been linked to a variety of indicators of well-being such that people who get an adequate amount generally experience greater well-being. Further, a lack of sleep has been linked to a wide range of negative developmental outcomes, yet sleep has been largely overlooked among researchers interested in adolescent delinquency. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between hours of sleep and delinquent behavior among adolescents by using data from Wave 1 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 14,382; 50.2% female, 63.5% white). A series of …

Cj Times Volume 4, Issue 1, Department Of Criminal Justice

CJ Times (Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Realism, Punishment & Reform [A Reply To Braman, Kahan, And Hoffman, "Some Realism About Punishment Naturalism”], Paul H. Robinson, Owen D. Jones, Robert O. Kurzban

All Faculty Scholarship

Professors Donald Braman, Dan Kahan, and David Hoffman, in their article "Some Realism About Punishment Naturalism," to be published in an upcoming issue of the University of Chicago Law Review, critique a series of our articles: Concordance and Conflict in Intuitions of Justice (http://ssrn.com/abstract=932067), The Origins of Shared Intuitions of Justice (http://.ssrn.com/abstract=952726), and Intuitions of Justice: Implications for Criminal Law and Justice Policy (http://.ssrn.com/abstract=976026). Our reply, here, follows their article in that coming issue. As we demonstrate, they have misunderstood our views on, and thus the implications of, widespread agreement about punishing the "core" of wrongdoing. Although much of their …

Do Judges Vary In Their Treatment Of Race?, David S. Abrams, Marianne Bertrand, Sendhil Mullainathan

All Faculty Scholarship

Are minorities treated differently by the legal system? Systematic racial differences in case characteristics, many unobservable, make this a difficult question to answer directly. In this paper, we estimate whether judges differ from each other in how they sentence minorities, avoiding potential bias from unobservable case characteristics by exploiting the random assignment of cases to judges. We measure the between-judge variation in the difference in incarceration rates and sentence lengths between African-American and White defendants. We perform a Monte Carlo simulation in order to explicitly construct the appropriate counterfactual, where race does not influence judicial sentencing. In our data set, …

Relational Aggression, Intimate Partner Violence, And Gender: An Exploratory Analysis, Emily M. Wright, Michael L. Benson

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This study explores the effects of romantic relational aggression on intimate partner violence. The concept of relational aggression denotes a type of nonphysical aggression that is specific to relationships and that has only recently been recognized in the psychological literature. Using responses to the Conflict Tactics Scale from adults participating in the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, romantic relational aggression is examined with regard to male and female intimate partner violence perpetration and victimization. Results indicate that romantic relational aggression is a predictor of partner violence perpetration and victimization among both males and females.

Routine Activities As Determinants Of Gender Differences In Delinquency, Katherine B. Novak, Lizabeth A. Crawford

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

This study examined the extent to which gender differences in delinquency can be explained by gender differences in participation in, or response to, various routine activity patterns (RAPs) using data from the second and third waves of the National Education Longitudinal Survey of 1988. While differential participation in routine activities by gender failed to explain males’ high levels of deviance relative to females, two early RAPs moderated the effect of gender on subsequent deviant behavior. Participation in religious and community activities during the sophomore year in high school decreased, while unstructured and unsupervised peer interaction increased, levels of delinquency two …

Immigration And Intimate Partner Violence: Exploring The Immigrant Paradox, Emily M. Wright, Michael L. Benson

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Recent evidence indicates that contrary to some criminological theories, immigrants are less violent than native-born Americans. The relationship between immigrant status and reduced violence appears to hold at both the individual and neighborhood levels of analysis. This phenomenon has been referred to as the immigrant or Latino paradox. It has been suggested, although rarely examined, that cultural differences and strong social networks among immigrants account for their lower violence rates. These factors even appear strong enough to counterbalance the crime-promoting effects of economic disadvantage. This study investigates whether such patterns extend to intimate partner violence. Consistent with research on other …

Through The Looking Glass: Finding And Freeing Modern-Day Slaves At The State Level, Michelle L. Rickert

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article delves into the interaction between federal and state laws prohibiting human trafficking. The article advocates for comprehensive human trafficking laws at the state level, including police training, victim aftercare, forfeiture, and prosecution as essential elements. It looks comprehensively at the existing state laws prohibiting human trafficking. Additionally it examines the five existing models for state law and suggests benefits and potential improvements for each model. The article concludes y advocating a holistic law prohibiting human trafficking in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Experienced And Vicarious Victimization: Do Social Support And Self-Esteem Prevent Delinquent Responses?, Lisa A. Kort-Butler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This article extended research that views violent victimization as a stressor that may lead to delinquency. Following general strain theory, the analysis considered the mediating role of fearfulness, depression, and anxiety. The analysis also examined whether social support and self-esteem conditioned the relationship between victimization and delinquency. Results indicated that negative emotions did not substantially mediate the effect of victimization on delinquency. Among those with lower levels of both social support and self-esteem, experiencing violent victimization and witnessing victimization led to general delinquency. Victimization was unrelated to general delinquency among those with higher levels of both these resources. Experiencing victimization …

The Modern Irrationalities Of American Criminal Codes: An Empirical Study Of Offense Grading, Paul H. Robinson, Thomas Gaeta, Matthew Majarian, Megan Schultz, Douglas M. Weck

All Faculty Scholarship

The Model Penal Code made great advances in clarity and legality, moving most of the states from a mix of common law and ad hoc statutes to the modern American form of a comprehensive, succinct code that has served as a model around the world. Yet the decades since the wave of Model Code-based codifications have seen a steady degradation of American codes brought on by a relentless and accelerating rate of criminal law amendments that ignore the style, format, and content of the existing codes. The most damaging aspect of this trend is the exponentially increasing number of offense …

A Content Analysis Of Criminal Justice Policy Review, 1986-2008, Philip M. Stinson, Jennifer L. Huck, Jason D. Spraitz

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Academic disciplines have been characterized as static institutions that do not change or conform to outside forces. Abbott (1999) and Silbey (2000) have discussed this issue in relation to how the history of refereed journals in the social sciences can provide information on department, institution, and disciplinary changes that often wear a false guise of continuity. This paper analyzes the content of Criminal Justice Policy Review by replicating the methodology Silbey (2000) used to study the content of Law & Society Review in terms of editorship, authorship, article contents, method and mode of research, and article topics. The results indicate …

Predictors Of Completion In A Batterer Treatment Program: The Effects Of Referral Source Supervision, Sara J. Barber, Emily M. Wright

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Domestic violence offenders who are court mandated to attend a batterer treatment program are more likely to complete treatment than offenders who voluntarily attend. However, few studies have examined the amount or severity of referral source supervision and its effect on treatment completion. This study uses data from three referral sources in South Carolina (i.e., pretrial intervention, criminal domestic violence court, and summary court) to determine whether higher levels of monitoring during a 26-week hybrid cognitive-behavioral batterer treatment program increase the likelihood of completion among batterers. Results indicate that increased supervision exercised over the clients by the referral source during …

Future Of Criminal Justice In America, Andrew Karanikolis

Senior Honors Projects

Throughout history, a civilization’s attitudes toward the law, crime, and punishment have served as indicators of its morality and commitment to progress. What then, I wonder, will history say about the American Civilization? Might they ask why the wealthiest nation in the world also has the highest incarceration rates?

This is but one of the critical questions I was left with after my internship at the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office. America currently houses over 2.5 million inmates in state and federal prisons across the country. Despite the noticeable decline in crime (particularly violent crime) over the past decade, prison …

Predicting Police Discretion: A Traffic Stop Analysis, Andrew Girard

Honors Projects

Examines Donald Black's (1976) theory of pure sociology with data from traffic stops collected over eight months during seventy hours of "ride alongs" with eight different police departments in Rhode Island. Posits that the social structure of each traffic stop is predictable based on observable characteristics of the parties involved and that distance in social space increases the likelihood of a police officer issuing a citation to a driver, while social characteristics similar to that of the police officer reduces the likelihood of a driver receiving a citation. Twenty-one variables throught to impact a police officer's discretion are analyzed. As …

Cj Times Volume 3, Issue 1, Department Of Criminal Justice

CJ Times (Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Women’S Risk Factors And Their Contributions To Existing Risk/Needs Assessment: The Current Status Of A Gender-Responsive Supplement, Patricia Van Voorhis, Emily M. Wright, Emily J. Salisbury, Ashley Bauman

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

A growing body of scholarship faults existing risk/needs assessment models for neglecting the risk factors most relevant to women offenders. In response, a series of gender-responsive assessment models were tested for their contributions to widely used gender-neutral risk needs assessments. In six of eight samples studied, subsets of the gender-responsive scales achieved statistically significant contributions to gender-neutral models. Promising results were found for the following: (a) parental stress, family support, self-efficacy, educational assets, housing safety, anger/hostility, and current mental health factors in probation samples; (b) child abuse, anger/hostility, relationship dysfunction, family support, and current mental health factors among prisoners; and …

Campus Safety: Assessing And Managing Threats, Mario Scalora, Andre Simons, Shawn Vanslyke

Mario Scalora Publications

Since the shootings at Virginia Tech, academic institutions and police departments have dedicated substantial resources to alleviating concerns regarding campus safety. The incident in Blacksburg and the similar tragedy at Northern Illinois University have brought renewed attention to the prevention of violence at colleges and universities.

Campus professionals must assess the risk posed by known individuals, as well as by anonymous writers of threatening communications. The authors offer threat assessment and management strategies to address the increased demands faced by campus law enforcement, mental health, and administration officials who assess and manage threats, perhaps several simultaneously.

Killings Of Police In U.S. Cities Since 1980: An Examination Of Environmental And Political Explanations, Stephanie L. Kent

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

Most research on killings of police in urban areas attempted to link lethal violence against officers to the violence and disorder in the communities they work.Yet support for this relationship is inconsistent. Fewer studies considered whether local political arrangements affect killings of police. This study attempts to remedy this gap by using recent data to investigate the relationship between the political conditions of large U.S. cities and the number of homicides of police officers in the line of duty in the years 1980, 1990, and 2000. Negative binomial regression analyses suggest that racial income inequality and the size of the …

On The Front Lines: Educating Teachers About Bullying And Prevention Methods, Aviva Twersky Glasner

MARC Publications

Problem statement: Bullying is a serious problem in American schools and is characterized by aggressive behavior distinguished by unequal power and the intention to cause physical, social, or emotional harm to others Bullying is evolving from the classic image of a big schoolyard bully picking on smaller kids to a more technologically, sophisticated model of kids using cyber technology to electronically tease, bully and harass their peers with texting, voicemails, emails and posts on public websites, like Facebook, that are popular with young students. While parents are and should be encouraged and trained to recognize understand the insidious nature of …

Girls And Cyberbullying, Elizabeth Englander, P. Snell

MARC Publications

No abstract provided.

Killings Of Police In U.S. Cities Since 1980: An Examination Of Environmental Andpolitical Explanations, Stephanie L. Kent

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

Most research on killings of police in urban areas attempted to link lethal violence against officers to the violence and disorder in the communities they work. Yet support for this relationship is inconsistent. Fewer studies considered whether local political arrangements affect killings of police. This study attempts to remedy this gap by using recent data to investigate the relationship between the political conditions of large U.S. cities and the number of homicides of police officers in the line of duty in the years 1980, 1990, and 2000. Negative binomial regression analyses suggest that racial income inequality and the size of …

A Gendered Assessment Of The "Threat Of Victimization", David May, Nicole E. Rader, Sarah Goodrum

Safety, Security and Emergency Management Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Rader has called for a change in how researchers study fear of crime, suggesting that fear of crime, perceptions of risk, and experiences with victimization are interrelated dimensions of the larger ‘‘threat of victimization’’ concept. In this study, the authors examine how each independent dimension affects additional theoretical dimensions of the ‘‘threat of victimization’’ and how these relationships vary by gender. Using data from residents of Kentucky, the authors estimate a series of multivariate linear and logistic regression models. The findings presented here suggest that gender differences do exist in the components of the threat of victimization and that many …

Pesach N. Rubenstein Cheats The Hangman: A Case Study Of Punishment And The Death Penalty At Brooklyn’S Raymond Street Jail, Philip M. Stinson

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This paper tells the story of Pesach Rubenstein and how he cheated the hangman in 1876. Rubenstein was charged, tried, and convicted in Kings County, New York, for the 1875 murder of his 19 year-old cousin, Sarah Alexander. The Rubenstein case is noteworthy in that it received unprecedented media attention in the 1870s, involved the use of rudimentary forensic evidence at the trial, and divided the community on issues of religion, ethnicity, immigration (the victim and defendant were recent Jewish immigrants from Poland), and imposition of the death penalty. Using a case study approach to analyze the trial transcript, newspaper …

Exit Strategy: An Exploration Of Late-Stage Police Crime, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Tina L. Freiburger

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

There are no exhaustive statistics available on the crimes committed by law enforcement officers, and only a small number of studies provide specific data on police crimes. The purpose of the current study is to examine the character of police arrests known to the media. Cases were identified through a content analysis of news coverage using the internet-based Google^TM News search engine and its Google News Alerts search tool. The study focuses on the crimes committed by experienced officers who are approaching retirement. The occurrence of these late-stage crimes presents a challenge to existing assumptions regarding the relationship between …