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Predictors Of Juvenile Court Dispositions In A First-Time Offender Population, Karen C. Kalmbach, Phillip M. Lyons

Psychology Faculty Publications (Archived)

Scholars and policy makers have long been troubled by the potential for some youth to receive disparate sanctioning as a function of extralegal factors, especially against the backdrop of ethnic/racial minority group overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system as a whole. Beginning in the late 1990s, many states began to adopt a graduated sanctions model in response to the emerging ‘get tough’ zeitgeist of the day. Originally intended by the federal government to reinforce juvenile accountability and to ensure equitable treatment of all youth in custody, some stakeholders began to note concerns about uneven outcomes in the use of graduated …

Role Strain In Probation And Parole Work And Strategies Used To Reduce Strain, Samantha A. Shoger

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Probation and parole officers play a vital role in the operation of the correctional system. As a part of their role work in community-based corrections, probation and parole officers must act as both a client monitor and treatment counselor to not only assist in client reentry, but also to protect the public. Due to the nature of probation and parole work and the historical changes that have affected their work (i.e. the punitive turn, the New Penology, and the current correctional budgetary constraints), probation and parole officers must cope with a variety of factors in their work that can cause …

Examining Juvenile Transfer Practices In Arkansas For The Years 2000-2005., Joseph Mcsherry

Theses and Dissertations

There has been a trend over recent decades to hold juvenile offenders more accountable for their actions and punish them more severely, which has resulted in more diverse avenues to transfer these offenders to adult court. This research examines emerging literature related to transfer and sentencing of juvenile offenders in criminal court. Further, this research will explore the characteristics of juvenile offenders transferred in Arkansas between 2000 and 2005. Results of the analysis will be discussed along with implications and limitations of the study.

Substance Abuse And Mental Disorders Among State And Federal Prison Inmates., John Richard Haggerty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research consistently demonstrates that prison inmates are more likely than the general population to suffer from both mental disorders and substance abuse. The current study explored the relationship between diagnoses of mental disorders and maladaptive substance use among state and federal prison inmates. Linear regression analysis was used to ascertain the prevalence of comorbidity of substance abuse and mental disorder, and multiple models were constructed to determine the direction of relationship between the two disorders. Overall, mental disorders and substance use were positively related within the sample, though mixed conclusions were drawn regarding the exact nature of their relationship. Recommendations …

Identifying Interventions That Work In Juvenile Justice: An Analysis Of The Moral Kombat Program., Thelma Deneen Mcgowan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Effective intervention programs play a fundamental role in reducing rates of juvenile delinquency. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy that is strongly supported by research (ACT, 2010). Moral Kombat (MK) is an intervention that combines character-building and CBT concepts in programs for at-risk and delinquent juveniles with the goal to change their belief systems, thus improving their behaviors (Marchant, 2009). The purpose of the study was to evaluate the extent to which MK incorporates the principles identified in the literature as necessary for a CBT program to be successful. The occurrences of the 11 CBT principles identified in …

Factors To Consider For Optimal Span Of Control In Community Supervision Evidence-Based Practice Environments, Gaylene Armstrong

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

In the face of budgetary constraints, legislative discussions in Iowa have focused on fiscal savings through an increased probation/parole supervisor to officer ratio, resulting in a reduced number of supervisory staff. Ramifications of this change, given the concurrent implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP), are unknown, given the lack of existing research on rubric for span of control decisions within community corrections agencies. Interviews with stakeholders in both Iowa and a national convenience sample led to a development of factors that should be considered in the future, including an agency’s level of task complexity, the workforce skill level, and the work …

Police Community Partnerships: A Review Of The Literature, Portland State University. Criminology And Criminal Justice Senior Capstone

Criminology and Criminal Justice Senior Capstone Project

To better understand community/police collaborations, this study researched several different types of successful partnerships. Our objective was to learn why the partnerships were formed and who was involved. Our research also sought to determine the goals of the partnerships, and the methods used to achieve those goals. The study also highlights several practices used by police agencies successfully to solve community problems.

Cj Times Volume 5, Issue 1, Department Of Criminal Justice

CJ Times (Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Examining Gps Monitoring Alerts Triggered By Sex Offenders: The Divergence Of Legislative Goals And Practical Application In Community Corrections, Gaylene Armstrong, Beth C. Freeman

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Purpose

Legislative mandates that require GPS monitoring of offenders add to the existing logistical complexities of community supervision. Challenges in implementing GPS policies and practices are heightened by the lack of sound empirical research. Studies examining the relationships between GPS monitoring of sex offenders in the community and the legislative goals of public safety, deterrence, and cost effectiveness are virtually nonexistent. To begin to address this gap in the literature, this study examines the impact of a statutorily-based GPS monitoring program for adult sex offenders convicted of dangerous crimes against children and placed under community supervision.

Method

Official offender generated …

Marc Freshman Study 2011: Bullying, Cyberbullying, Risk Factors And Reporting, Elizabeth K. Englander

MARC Research Reports

The Sample:

• 617 College freshman, studied over a 6 month period in 2010-­‐2011
• Predominately white
• Predominately 18–19 years old
• Parents tend to be high working class, low middle class, or middle class

Studied for: rates of behavior; risk factors & their relationship to bullying and cyberbullying; and many other social, family, and school factors

Supermax Confinement: A Descriptive And Theoretical Inquiry, Marisa M. Baumgardner

Online Theses and Dissertations

In the past few decades, there has been a proliferation of supermax prisons and units across the nation, reflecting the increased use of administrative, isolated segregation. This proliferation is embedded within a broader shift in society towards more punitive measures of disciplining those people convicted of criminal offenses. The primary purpose of this thesis is to examine the proliferation of supermax confinement as a major component of the punitive shift. This is done primarily through the application of contemporary literature that focuses on the sociology of punishment theory. Another purpose of this thesis was to examine and describe the history …

Strategic Plan For Aboriginal Corrections, Correctional Service Canada

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Social Disorganization And Sex Offenders In Minneapolis, Mn: A Socio-Spatial Analysis, Joseph Koncur

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Using a combination of techniques stemming from the spatial analysis approach of Geography, structural-functionalist theory in Sociology, and an ecological perspective of Criminology, this thesis addresses where sex offenders reside and why. Analyses were performed using the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota as a typical urban setting. The study fuses multiple disciplines work on the complex social problem of released risk level III sex offender management in a spatially-conscious, micro-scale analysis attempting to understand the distribution of released offenders and the relevance of social disorganization theory in explaining their distribution. Socio-economic status and family disruption are tested …

Analysis Of Variance In Recidivism Between Special Needs Offenders And Regular Offender Populations In Texas, Park Esewiata Atatah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A Specialized or Super Intensive-1 (SI-1) supervision level refers to a contact requirement imposed on special needs offenders (SNOs) under Texas parole supervision. SI-1 supervision requires greater contact with parole officers and treatment providers than supervision levels used on regular offenders (ROs), yet little is known about whether SI-1 supervision offenders violate terms of their parole or commit new crimes at a different rate compared to the regular offender population in the State of Texas. Reconstruction theory and the social construction of reality were used as theoretical underpinnings of this study, which examined whether differences in offenders' supervision levels created …

Storm Spotting And Amateur Radio: A Field Guide For Volunteer Storm Spotters, Michael Patrick Corey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Volunteers have played a critical part in relaying weather information since the middle 19th century. The effort of these volunteers has helped safeguard life and property when severe weather threatens. For almost 100 years Amateur Radio operators have played a critical part in severe weather preparedness and response. Amateur Radio operators not only bring a willingness to serve, but communications skills that provide an added benefit to any storm spotter program. The National Weather Service recognized this when developing the SKYWARN program during the 1960’s. Amateur Radio and the National Weather Service have developed over the last 40 years a …

Voices Of Parolees Who Have Chosen A Community College Element Within A Reentry Program, Kristi S. Potts

Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe and understand how parolees experience participating in the community college element of a reentry program. This program was located in a Midwestern county and the parolees who chose to participate in the higher education aspect of this reentry program were a small subset of those who participated in the overall reentry program. Research questions included: What influences a parolees' decision to enroll in the community college element within a reentry program? How do such parolees describe their experiences as a student in a community college? How do such parolees describe the …

Risk Clusters, Hotspots, And Spatial Intelligence: Risk Terrain Modeling As An Algorithm For Police Resource Allocation Strategies, Leslie W. Kennedy, Joel M. Caplan, Eric L. Piza

Publications and Research

The study reported here follows the suggestion by Caplan et al. (Justice Q, 2010) that risk terrain modeling (RTM) be developed by doing more work to elaborate, operationalize, and test variables that would provide added value to its application in police operations. Building on the ideas presented by Caplan et al., we address three important issues related to RTM that sets it apart from current approaches to spatial crime analysis. First, we address the selection criteria used in determining which risk layers to include in risk terrain models. Second, we compare the ‘‘best model’’ risk terrain derived from our analysis …

Advanced Information Processing Technologies And Police Discretion, Kevin Wayne Howard

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This research seeks to evaluate the influence of advanced information processing technologies on police discretion. I have developed three propositions. First, advanced information processing technologies used in municipal law enforcement enable policing managers to easily collect and analyze large amounts of information. Second, the information acquired from these same technologies is used to create and/or modify bureaucratic rules regarding police work. Third, this combination of technological and bureaucratic processes has led to a reduction of patrol officers' discretion. Advanced information processing technologies include crime mapping, video surveillance, mobile data terminals (in-car computers), global positioning systems, and computer statistics (Compstat), a …

Collective Efficacy And Intimate Partner Violence: Community Context, Catherine B. Cowling

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Intimate partner violence is a very serious issue in the United States. In spite of improvements, there is still much work to be done. Policies focusing on formal controls such as arrest, orders of protection, and prosecution have questionable potential. However, collective efficacy and the examination of community context have much to offer the field of intimate partner violence. Collective efficacy, comprised of social cohesion, social capital, and informal social control, may be more effective in reducing intimate partner violence than use of traditional formal social controls alone. These community context variables may also be of great assistance in improving …

Comparative Analysis Between Routine Preventative Uniformed Police Patrols And Crime Reduction And Calls For Service, Oscar F. Vigoa

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The majority of the theoretical and empirical literature on police patrols and crime has concentrated on the logical assumption that more uniformed preventative police patrols reduce crime. However, few studies have examined the comparative relationship between more police officers doing preventative patrols in a specific area and crime rates and response to calls for service. The objective of this research was to examine whether more uniformed police officers, doing routine preventative patrols, assigned to an area the size of a small city reduces class one crimes (robbery, residential, and commercial burglary and auto theft). The principal intention of the study …

Juvenile Delinquency Policy And Juvenile Crime In The American States, Jennifer Baker

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Every year each state comes out with a report on all the possible crimes that were committed and how many people were convicted for various crimes in a given state. The same goes for juveniles, as reported in the Juvenile Offenders and Victims 2006 National Report. I compiled data on the fifty states and their programs directed towards juveniles. I then compared the different crimes against the different programs to see if there was any significant difference in Crime rates between states having a specific juvenile justice program or not. I found that some of the programs did affect crime …

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

CJ Times (Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of The Relationship Between The Hypersexual Environment Of Las Vegas And Forcible Rape, Lisa Ann Dooley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine whether rates of forcible rape in Nevada are high, possibly a side effect of living in a hypersexual city. The study will explore whether these rates compare to other cities of the same size that are tourism focused and whether rates of forcible rapes are higher in counties without prostitution than with prostitution. This paper will also consider rates of sexual victimization among undergraduate students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University of British Columbia, and Simon Fraser University. Lastly, the study will consider whether the hypersexual nature of the city …

Attitudes Towards Megan's Law And Juvenile Sex Offenders, Debra Lee Cochrane

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sex offender registration laws are very controversial. All fifty states require adult sex offenders to register. Twenty-eight states have extended registration and community notification requirements to juveniles (Hiller, 1998). These states seem to have failed to look at the uniqueness of juvenile sex offending. Juveniles have a very low recidivism rate and complex issues of culpability from age-of-consent laws. Applying Megan's Law to juveniles could have considerable negative consequences for juveniles' social development, particularly because one of the main stipulations of the law requires the juvenile to notify their school. Rehabilitation is a key factor of the juvenile justice system …

The Criminalization Of Homelessness, Sarah Mckenzie Prather

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The current study is an analysis of the problem of homelessness in American society today. It focuses on the demographic characteristics of the homeless in addition to some of the contributing factors that explain homelessness. Of particular concern is how the criminal justice system responds to homelessness, including the criminalization and stigmatization of homeless individuals and the implications of such a response. The data used in this study come from a recent survey conducted in a jail setting in a northwest city. The present study compares those who have been homeless at one time or another and those who have …

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.

Incarcerated Adults Sentenced In Adult Criminal Court While Juveniles: Knowledge, Understanding, And Perceptions Of Their Sentences, Karen Miner-Romanoff

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An estimated 200,000 juveniles are tried as adults yearly and receive punitive sentences intended to deter juvenile crime and increase public safety. Few qualitative studies on juveniles sentenced as adults and contradictory results indicate a need for further research. This study used a qualitative, phenomenological interpretive design, with the conceptual frameworks of general and specific deterrence and rational choice theories. In-depth interviews took place with 12 incarcerated adults serving sentences (24--540 months) for juvenile crimes. The research questions explored their knowledge of transfer laws and adult sentencing and perceptions of deterrence from future criminal activity. Coding of transcripts and audio …

Regionalization Of Selected Police Services Through A Law Enforcement Council : Is It Worth The Cost?, Julie Schnobrich-Davis

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This research study presents results from an evaluation and cost effectiveness analysis of a regionalization of selected police services into a Law Enforcement Council approach, as practiced by the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council (Metro-LEC). The Metro-LEC is a non-profit organization comprising forty three law enforcement agencies in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The results from wave two surveys administered to officers in the organization as well as a survey distributed to the Chief Executive Officers of the participating law enforcement agencies illustrate the overall effectiveness of the organization. Additionally, a cost effectiveness analysis presents data from the costs of operating regionalized …

Two Wrongs Make A Wrong: A Challenge To Plea Bargaining And Collateral Consequence Statutes Through Their Integration, Kevin O'Keefe

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.

Reflections And Perspectives On Reentry And Collateral Consequences, Michael Pinard

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

No abstract provided.