Criminology Commons^™

Mentor Program Evaluation Report, Caitlin J. Taylor

Sociology and Criminal Justice Faculty work

This report details a three year evaluation of the MENTOR (Mentors Empowering to Overcome Recidivism) Program in the Philadelphia court system. MENTOR program participants who are serving county probation sentences are matched with a volunteer mentor from the community, receive case management from MENTOR staff, and attend a monthly status hearing with one of the MENTOR judges. The program evaluation relied on several data sources to assess program effectiveness, including surveys and focus groups with mentees, online monthly reports from mentors, internally collected program data on service referrals, interviews with stakeholders, and official records from Adult Probation and Parole Department …

Bus Robberies In Belo Horizonte, Brazil: Solutions For Safe Travel, Elenice De Souza De Souza Oliveira, Mangai Natarajan, Bráulio Da Silva

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This study examines the spatial patterns and other situational determinants leading to the high number of bus robberies in Belo Horizonte. Main research questions include patterns of robberies, spatial concentration, locations prone to robberies, and environmental characteristics therein. This study also provides a variety of safety measures based on the Situational Crime Prevention approach. The Rapid Assessment Methodology (RAM) was employed using both quantitative and qualitative data. It involves spatial analysis, direct observation of hot spots using a safety audit protocol, and focus group discussions with key participants. Bus robberies involve minimum risk and low detection and arrest. The “hottest …

The Influence Of Legal Brothels On Illegal Sexual Service Purchasing Habits: The U.S. Context, Chris Wakefield, Barbara G. Brents

Sociology Faculty Research

In this study, we use a survey of sex workers’ clients to examine the relationship between having paid for services in legal brothels in Nevada and paying for criminalized sexual services among male clients. Using ordinary least squares (OLS) and generalized ordered logistic regression models, the use of legal brothels is found to be negatively related to reported purchasing of criminalized sexual services, regardless of criminal history, income, and most other demographic factors. When tested by criminalized purchase context, purchases made using the Internet, from public, outdoor contacts (such as the street) and indoor, public contacts (like bars), were less …

Male Offenders Perspectives On Contextual And Proximal Events Associated With Incidents Of Domestic Violence, Sharon M. Aaron

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Domestic violence is a serious public health problem in the United States; one which has proven intractable to researchers working on theory development and on effective prevention interventions. Although much has been reported from the perspectives of battered women, there are few studies that examine the perspectives of male offenders. In particular, there has been a call for more research on contextual and proximal events associated with incidents of domestic violence from the male offenders’ perspective.

In this study, ten male offenders were interviewed to address this need. Interviews were analyzed using grounded theory method to identify themes in the …

Weaving The Dark Web: Legitimacy On Freenet, Tor, And I2p, John Schriner

Publications and Research

This is a book review of Robert W. Gehl's Weaving the Dark Web: Legitimacy on Freenet, Tor, and I2P (2018). The book explores these anonymity networks and the concept of legitimacy throughout. Using a multidisciplinary approach and interviews with network-builders and users, Gehl helps to demystify the dark web and critically examine these networks and technologies.

Police Legitimacy In Trinidad And Tobago: Resident Perceptions In A High-Crime Community, Ericka B. Adams

Faculty Publications

Violent crime in Trinidad and Tobago has increased over the last two decades, yet the police have been largely unsuccessful in reducing violence. Between 1999 and 2016, the murder rate increased by 475%. Despite the fact that the murder rate has increased, approximately 76 homicides are cleared each year, resulting in a low-homicide clearance rate. Using 40 semi-structured interviews with community members from a high-crime, low-income community in Trinidad and Tobago, this study examines residents’ experiences with police officers, and respondents’ willingness to work with the police to clear criminal cases. The results indicate that due to a lack of …

Symbolically Annihilating Female Police Officer Capabilities: Cultivating Gendered Police Use Of Force Expectations, Howard Henderson

Center for Justice Research Reports

This first step cultivation analysis examines the quantity, temporal dynamics, and stance of muni-cipal police officer use of force depictions based on the gender of the officer. The 112 theatri-cally released films that comprise the core cop film genre were systematically identified. Subsequently, a population of 468 police use of force scenes was identified to serve as the units of analysis for this study. Findings revealed male officer use of force scenes appeared across all 40 years of films. Female officer use of force scenes, however, were highly restricted to specific films, years, and often dwarfed by male scenes within …

The Justice System Is Criminal, Raven Delfina Otero-Symphony

2020 Award Winners

No abstract provided.

Anger From Within: The Role Of Emotions In Disengagement From Violent Extremism, Peter Simi, Steven Windisch, Daniel Harris, Gina Ligon

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

There is growing recognition about the similarities between generic criminality and violent extremism. Using data derived from a unique set of in-depth life history interviews with 40 former U.S. white supremacists, as well as previous studies of criminal desistance, we examine the emotional valence that characterizes actors' descriptions of the disengagement process. More specifically, results suggest that negative emotions (i.e., anger and frustration) directed toward the extremist group and oneself function as a catalyst for disengagement. Negative emotions become a source of motivation in re-evaluating the relative importance of the group as it relates to the individual. Ultimately, the reevaluation …

The Drug Economy And Youth Interventions: An Exploratory Research Project On Working With Young People Involved In The Illegal Drugs Trade, Matt Bowden

Reports

No abstract provided.

Poverty To Prison Pipeline, Tishawna Jones

Petersheim Academic Exposition

No abstract provided.

Batman's Animated Brain(S), Lisa Kort-Butler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Presentations

Much of the analysis of Batman’s brain – whether by scholars, writers, or other comic characters – focuses on his psychological make‐up. That is, what makes Bruce Wayne psychologically motivated to be The Batman? His childhood trauma is often poised as the answer, the tireless pursuit of “justice” in an attempt to regain control from the trauma of his parents’ murders (Sanna 2015). The same could be said for his nemeses. Madness, psychopathy, and insanity are centered in the corrupted minds of Gotham’s ghastliest, some of whom have also had psychological or physical traumas (Langley 2012; Lytle 2008). A psychological …