Criminology Commons^™

Examining The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Violent Crime In The City Of Pittsburgh, Brittany Urban

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research is to examine patterns of Part I crimes [including Part I Person/Violent: Homicide, Rape, Aggravated Assault, and Robbery, and Part I Property: Burglary, Larceny-Theft, Motor Vehicle Theft, and Arson, as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Standards] in The City of Pittsburgh, framing the COVID-19 pandemic as a major stressor that Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory suggests may lead to increased opportunity for crime, due to the perceived unjustness of the associated lockdown orders and potential incentive for criminal coping (Agnew 1992). This descriptive analysis is based primarily upon …

“Have You Seen Me?”: Forensic Art For Human Identification, Mckenzie Stommen

Honors Theses

Forensic art for human identification is used to identify victims, suspects, and unidentified decedents. The field is highly interdisciplinary, and forensic artists draw on a broad range of skills, knowledge, and relationships with colleagues to complete this work. This paper will focus mainly on age progression and forensic facial reconstruction, although more applications of forensic art do exist. The case study in forensic art discussed here took the form of an age progression.

New developments in artificial intelligence, facial recognition, computed tomography, and DNA have implications for forensic art, and have already begun to find a place in the field. …

White Savior Projects: An Examination Of The Antitrafficking Social Movement, Jennifer A. Cheek

Theses and Dissertations

For this dissertation, I conduct an ethnography of three antitrafficking programs; interview 38 activists and survivors of trafficking; and analyze organizational texts, websites, and social media. I examine the history of the antitrafficking movement. Among the three organizations, activists provide housing; food, clothing, and hygiene items; medical services; mental health services and counseling; mentorship; education for survivors; a 24-hour hotline; outreach; case management and referrals; training for law enforcement; a drop-in center; and education and awareness events. I examine activists’ diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational framing of sex trafficking, and other framing tactics, such as frame alignment, frame diffusion, frame resonance, …

The Real Face Of Borderline Personality Organization Within Intimate Partner Violence, Adriana Isabel Patino

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study tests the relationship between IPV perpetration and victimization with BPO. Results indicate that, as predicted, BPO is positively associated with both IPV perpetration and victimization and is more prevalent in female perpetrators and victims than in male perpetrators and victims. However, contrary to what previous literature says, self-control does not show enough significance to state that it is one of the leading causes of IPV perpetrated by those who present traits of BPO. In addition, results also indicate that having suffered from physical abuse during childhood diminishes the probability of perpetrating IPV. To fully understand these results, future …

Thematic Consistency Between Criminal History And Crime Scene Behaviors: Comparing Sexual Homicide Offenders With And Without Criminal Histories Of Sexual Offenses, Shannon E. Ettinger

Student Theses

Offender profiling research suggests that offenders may display behavioral consistency, meaning they may behave in some consistent manner between their crime scene actions and other aspects of their lives. Through behavioral themes, researchers can identify consistency in groups of individual behaviors that are thematically similar. Previous literature successfully applied the Expressive/Instrumental themes to homicide crime scene behaviors and criminal history. The current study aims to apply the Expressive/Instrumental thematic approach to analyzing the relationship between sexual homicide offender’s criminal history and their crime scene behaviors. The present study focuses on the distinction between sexual homicide offenders with a history of …

Human Trafficking: Physical And Non-Physical Force Factors And Their Links To Victim Industry, Mary Caroline Kerr

Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper examines the occurrence of different types of physical and non-physical force factors with two distinct human trafficking industries: sex trafficking and labor trafficking. This research’s main goal is to identify if there are specific uses of force that are more likely to be used in either sex or labor trafficking. The Human Trafficking Study, a database housed at the University of Arkansas, is used as a sample for this study. Two-sided, two sample proportion tests were conducted to establish if there is a statistical significance between the amount of physical force used in sex trafficking and the amount …

Invisibly Inked: An Intersectional Analysis Of Tattooed Female Arrest Patterns, Jocelyn N. Camacho

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This project fills a gap in the literature of law enforcement response to a visible tattoo on a racialized female arrestee. With the increase in popularity of tattoos and their inherited status as a proxy for deviance, the entanglement of both racialized female bodies and symbols of deviance at the place of entry into the criminal justice system is significant. The racialized female body does not move without carrying the history of violence and inequality on it. As such, the entry of female bodies of Color into the criminal justice system is a time where capturing their experience is critical. …

Myths, Misconceptions, And Misrepresentations: An Examination Of Erroneous Human Trafficking Beliefs, Sarah M. Vanorder

Honors College Theses

Human trafficking is a crime that effects people all over the globe and an estimated 24.9 million people are currently being exploited through some form of human trafficking. Despite its prevalence, there are a variety of myths regarding human trafficking that are commonly believed by the public. The proliferation of these myths can have damaging effects and ultimately prevent survivors from receiving the help they need. The aim of this study is to discover factors that lead to the belief of these myths about human trafficking. To uncover these factors, a survey was administered in October 2020 and completed by …

The Spatial Concentration, Stability, And Specialization Of Mental Health Calls For Service: Evidence In Support Of Proactive, Place-Based Interventions, Jacek Koziarski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

For many decades the police have been the de facto responders to persons with perceived mental illness (PwPMI). However, having the police in this role has come with negative repercussions for PwPMI, such as disproportionately experiencing criminalization and use of force. In recognizing these issues, the police—and more recently, the community—have developed responses that either seek to improve interactions between the police and PwPMI or remove the police from this role altogether. However, in either case, these efforts are reactive in nature, responding to crises that arguably could have been prevented had a timelier intervention taken place. Further, evidence on …

Mitigating The Harm Of Public Mass Shooting Incidents Through Situational Crime Prevention, Emily Greene-Colozzi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation used environmental theoretical frameworks to understand how public mass shooting incidents are impacted by aspects of the crime situation and opportunity. Predatory, public shootings perpetrated by individuals with evidence of mass intent were examined in the United States between 1966 and 2019. This project progressed in several distinct steps with discrete aims: (1) establish an open source database of public mass shooting incidents meeting definitional criteria; (2) perform statistical analysis, including latent class analysis, regression modeling, and structural equational modeling to assess research questions; and (3) perform comparative case studies and crime script analysis to assess situational crime …

Credible Messengers: An Exploratory Analysis Of What Makes Them "Credible", Jason Szkola

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The use of credible messengers to deliver violence reduction programs has spread rapidly since it was first used in a criminal justice context by Cure Violence in 2006. Despite the rapid growth in the use of credible messengers and the accompanying evaluations of these programs, there is no clear operationalization of what a credible messenger is, aside from vague definitions contained in the evaluation literature. This research explores what it means to be credible from the perspectives of the Credible Messengers themselves. The research used a mixed method approach wherein qualitative interviews were used to identify traits that the Credible …

Aging On Parole: An Empirical Analysis Of Reentry, Reintegration, And Life Satisfaction, Angela Silletti Murolo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As the prison population grays, so too does the people leaving prison. In New Jersey and New York, 35% and 26% of people on parole are over the age of 50 respectively. While older persons have lower recidivism rates compared to younger persons, there are physical, mental, and societal challenges that come with advancing age that can make reentry and reintegration a particularly difficult experience compared to younger persons. The aim of this dissertation is to explore the experiences of older adults on parole and the parole officers that assist them in their reentry and reintegration.

This study is unique …

Trauma Exposures Across The Life Course For Individuals Who Experience Incarceration, Maria Morrison

Brown School Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. incarcerates more people than any other country in the world, with 2.2 million people currently behind bars, 60% of whom are people of color. At the same time, there is an unprecedented political consensus to develop strategies for reducing the incarcerated population and safely returning the majority of incarcerated individuals to society. While there has been a substantial research focus on the potential of this population to commit acts of violence post-release, this tells only half the story. This dissertation hopes to provide a more complete picture of the role of violence in the lives of individuals released …

How Domestic Violence Affects Incarcerated Women, Michelle Ryman

University Honors Theses

The incarceration of women has grown seven times since the 1980s, with up to 90% of incarcerated women being survivors of domestic violence. Women are five times more likely to be abused by an intimate partner. Intimate partner violence leads to unhealthy coping mechanisms like drug abuse and violence against perpetrators. While coercion in IPV can contribute to violent retaliation and drug abuse, it can also lead to criminal behavior prompted by the perpetrator. Whether IPV shows itself as violent attacks, sexual assault, coercion, financial withholding, threats, isolation, psychological abuse, or any other behavior that allows one person to control …

Crime Attractors In Sin City? A Pre/Post Test Of Crime Patterns And Police Enforcement Around Recreational Marijuana Facilities, Joshua Donnelly

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The federalist system in the United States has created criminal opportunities within jurisdictions that have approved recreational marijuana facilities (RMFs). These facilities have characteristics that are attractive for motivated offenders including marijuana and marijuana-related tangible goods. Through ArcGIS, this research examined the crime patterns and police enforcement patterns that occurred within a 288-meter street-network buffer around RMFs through a pre/post-test exploratory design in the Las Vegas area. The time periods examined were 2015 to 2016 (pre-legalization), and 2018 to 2019 (post-legalization). Calls for service data were used to demonstrate both crime and enforcement patterns. Furthermore, facilities were classified into “local …

Repeating Patterns: Does Emotional Child Abuse Lead To Intimate Partner Abuse?, Kathryn R. Henry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Childhood abuse and intimate partner abuse (IPA) are serious issues in the United States This study examines the correlation between emotional childhood abuse and IPA. Anyone regardless of gender, race, or socioeconomic status may be a victim of childhood abuse or IPA. One in seven children are victims of childhood abuse, which results in a lifetime cost of $428 billion. The costs of IPA are even higher and estimated by the CDC (2020) to be near $3.6 trillion as 25% of women and 20% of men have been victims of IPA. Previous research has found a connection between childhood maltreatment …

To Report Or Not To Report: Student Reporting Behaviors Of Violent Crimes In Schools, Heather Monaghan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

School-based violence is a criminal justice topic that often captures the attention of the media and the public. As a result, measures - such as school security strategies, safety personnel, and teacher training - are put into place to help combat school-based violence. These measures are not only costly and time consuming, but also have inconclusive research findings to support them. However, violence in schools can still be prevented. Research has found support for the role that student reporting has in preventing violence. However, many students may choose not to report violent crimes. Using a modified version of Sykes & …

What You See You Perceive: Public Opinions Of Potential Negative Consequences And Support For Officer Body-Worn Cameras, Jordyn Marian Sanders

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Officer-body worn cameras (BWCs) are used in policing to provide visuals from the perspective of the officer during interactions with the community. BWCs are often promoted for the ability to improve the relationship between the community and police by providing accurate and transparent accounts of the interactions. Millions of dollars have been spent to distribute BWCs to police departments across the Unites States, with an estimated 80% of departments implementing the devices through various policies and procedures (White & Malm, 2020). Most studies on BWCs have provided empirical evidence showing the potential benefits of the devices in policing (Lum et …

Intimate Partner Femicide: An Exploratory Study In The Rio Grande Valley, Zoraya Berlanga Aguilar

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the cases of Intimate Partner Femicide Victims from the Rio Grande Valley. By developing a cohesive understanding and assistance towards fostering knowledge and promoting social justice. Given the close proximity to the border, and hearing of femicide cases from both the Rio Grande Valley and Mexico marked my interest as Intimate Partner Violence is an ongoing Public Health Issue. Intimate Partner Violence is the leading cause of Intimate Partner Femicide. First specific project to contribute to limited research on intimate partner femicide in the Rio Grande Valley. A non-probability purposive sample of …

Sexual Harassment As A Narrative Contest, Christine Vossler

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines how stories shape both the perpetration of sexual harassment and the experiences of victims during and after sexual harassment. During and after the experience of sexual harassment, a narrative contest transpires between the harasser, victim, and others who contribute to the contest by engaging in the formal and informal conversations that follow known experiences of harassment in the workplace. I analyze 22 public statements, interviews, and investigative reports, including statements from men accused of sexual harassment, women who were sexually harassed, and bystanders. A narrative framework, including concepts of narrative believability and story credibility, is used to …

Court Actor Decision-Making: The Influence Of Victim Characteristics On Legal Outcomes In Cases Of Bias Homicide, Taylor June

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While most states in America have passed laws permitting harsher punishments for those convicted of hate (or bias) crimes, there has been no research to date on the adjudication of these defendants, including how legal and extralegal attributes of bias crime shape prosecutorial and judicial decision-making. This gap in research is likely due in part to the limitations of official data on bias crimes. Fortunately, new data on legal outcomes for bias homicide offenders who target victims because of their race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or homed status have become available from the open-source database known as …

A Tale Of Two Gentrifications: Reconceptualizing Gentrification Using Third Places, Demolition And Hierarchical Linear Modeling, Kylil R. Martin

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

A growing body of research points out that communities in the most need of assistance are often the ones established by racially biased processes and have not been invested in for generations – with little to no attention ever positively directed toward these spaces. Instead, because of policies and tactics used to label areas as problematic and divest from them, public actors are reluctant to consider the lived-lives, both good and bad, of the residents of these communities when discussing needed changes. Criminologists have long been interested in neighborhood change and its relationship with crime. There has also been theoretical …

Film Women Violence, Madison R. Ross

Masters Theses

As a condensed version of social reality, film has become a more common object of modern sociological and criminological investigation. As such, we can explore film to understand taken-for-granted as well as innovative constructions of social phenomena. Among these are gendered violence. We can use film to dig deep into its logics, elaborated in visual and narrative representations. Prior literature has analyzed crime films and the behavioral constructions within them, outlining the representations of serial homicide, rape, mass shootings and revenge. However, few studies have outlined films that do meaningful, non-voyeuristic representational work on the issue of violence against …

Putting The Meat In Meat-Less?: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Corporate Marketing Of Plant-Based Products, Samantha A. Mcintyre

Masters Theses

The plant-based industry has sustained rapid growth within recent years due to awareness surrounding environmental harms. Due to the rise in profitability of plant-based products in the consumer market, multiple corporations have either acquired or created plant-based brands. The corporations that have done so (Tyson, Smithfield, Kellogg’s, Nestlé, and Conagra Foods) are the subjects of study for this project. These major corporations are also part of the industrial animal agriculture system, and garner profit from meat and dairy businesses. This study explores the way the marketing is embedded in ideologies of Western capitalism and patriarchy. I use critical discourse analysis …

Housing Market Conditions And Neighborhood Concentrated Disadvantage: Impacts On Crime Victimization In Knoxville, Tennessee, Jiayi Li

Doctoral Dissertations

Neighborhood concentrated disadvantage is a composite social factor that quantifies the quality of neighborhoods in urban areas. Criminal activity and victimization are more prevalent in disadvantaged neighborhoods. However, whether housing market factors (e.g., eviction, foreclosure, and subprime lending) represent an unrecognized dimension of neighborhood concentrated disadvantage remains unknown. I contribute to the neighborhood disadvantage literature by assessing whether three housing market factors (eviction, foreclosure, and subprime lending) are a neglected part of neighborhood concentrated disadvantaged that explains criminal activity and victimization. Furthermore, I investigate whether housing market factors mediate the relationship between concentrated disadvantage and crime. Last, using spatial analysis …

The Effects Of Gang Membership And Transitions In A Gang On Within-Individual Changes In Offending., Leon Sergio Garduno

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have established that joining a gang exposes individuals to factors and environments that promote and increase antisocial and illegal behaviors, which decrease after leaving the gang (Decker & Van Winkle, 1994; Melde & Esbensen, 2014; Thornberry, Krohn et al., 1993). Scholars, by analyzing qualitative data, bivariate statistics, and by comparing gang members with non-gang members, have found that as individuals join and leave a gang they experience changes in the frequency with which they carry firearms, sell drugs, and engage in property crimes (Bjerregaard & Lizotte, 1995; Hagedorn, 1994; Thornberry et al., 1993). Researchers also have established that within-individuals’ …

Individual Differences In The Criminogenic Effects Of Discrimination: An Exploration Of The Role Of Impulse Control And Callous-Unemotional Traits, Toni Walker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The association between perceived discrimination and engagement in criminal offending has been well studied, especially in samples of minority (predominantly Black, Hispanic, and Latinx) adolescents. Several theories have been developed (Social Schematic Theory) and adapted (General Strain Theory) in an attempt to explain how harmful, discriminatory experiences may have an effect on an individual’s behavior. There may be variability in how an individual responds to perceived discrimination, however, but the moderating role of personality characteristics has not been explored. Impulse control and callous-unemotional (CU) traits are both established predictors of offending and may also relate to the mechanisms that theories …

Where Gunshots Turn Fatal: A Geographic Examination Of The Spatial Patterning Of Gun Violence, David Hatten

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation contributes fundamental work to the examination of gun violence through an investigation of prevalence, trends, and likely place-based dynamics that explain the spatial patterning of gun violence in Kansas City, MO over a 5-year period (2015-2019). Specifically, this dissertation assesses 1) the degree to which separate shooting typologies (fatal and non-fatal) concentrate in micro-places, 2) whether they co-locate at micro-places, and 3) the likely community characteristics and place-based dynamics that explain these observed patterns. Importantly, the role of place-based dynamics related to the post-incident operational response to gun violence is tested (e.g., a street segment’s proximity to trauma …

Elements Of Social Disorganization And Environmental Criminology: A Spatial Analysis Of Homicides In Villa Nueva, Guatemala, David J. Topel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study seeks to integrate the main spatial theories of crime, social disorganization, and routine activities theories while investigating the spatial dimension of homicides in Villa Nueva, Guatemala. Empirical relationships at a small unit of analysis, the natural cadaster blocks as defined by the municipality offer a more appropriate unit of analysis for the context of the city. While there is a robust body of work in developed nations synthetizing social disorganization and routine activities theories, the exploration of criminological theory integration and the use of the smallest unit of analysis still needs the addition of empirical research in Latin …

Tablets As A Vehicle For Imprisoned People’S Digital Connection With Loved Ones, Andrea Mufarreh

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The intersection between criminal justice and technology is fairly understudied, despite increasing technological advancements in the world and within the criminal justice system. A rather recent addition to the technological landscape of prison is the adoption of tablets used by imprisoned people for communication and connection with loved ones and other activities, which is particularly important given the context of COVID-19, a virus which caused a global pandemic from 2020-2022. While the use of tablets by imprisoned people appears to be a new trend, the use of tablets in prison both prior to and during the pandemic has remained an …