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Technocrime At The Margins: Introduction To The Special Issue On Critical Or Marginal Perspectives And Issues In The Study Of Technocrime, Kevin F. Steinmetz

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"When first asked to guest edit a special issue of the Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice and Criminology, I admit that I was hesitant. I knew from helping Willard Oliver start this journal and from working as its first book review editor that editorship can be trying—and often underappreciated— work. Tom Holt, the editor of the journal at the time, however, was ambitious and willing to take some risks in his mission to carry the journal forward. As such, he offered me tremendous latitude and support for pursuing my unique vision for a special issue on technocrime issues from …

The Cyborgian Deviant: An Assessment Of The Hacker Through The Lens Of Actor-Network Theory, Wytske Van Der Wagen

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"When we think of technocrime, it is immediately “the hacker” who comes to mind, a somewhat mystical figure who can do seemingly magical as well as malicious things with technology. Throughout history, various scholars, including criminologists, have sought to grasp the hacker phenomenon so as to unravel hackers’ techno-culture, identity, and mentality. The current study is one of them, yet it does so from a novel, less anthropocentric angle. Drawing on the cyborg-lens of actor-network theory, which considers the human and the technical as nonseparable, this study conceives the hacker as a “cyborgian deviant:” a transgressive blend of human and …

The Use Of Mythic Narratives In Presidential Rhetoric On Cybercrime, Joshua B. Hill, Nancy E. Marion

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"What politicians say about crime matters, both because of the impact their rhetoric has on public opinion and the policies and motives those words often portend. This is no different when presidents speak about the relatively new area of technocrime. As with other types of crime, political rhetoric on technocrime relies on previous social constructions of the problem, which are (in part) based on myths rooted in popular culture. These myths can be used to help forward political agendas in ways that may be useful to the politician, but that do not address the causes or effects of technocrime. Using …

Seductive Events: A Critical Examination Of Youth Sexting, Karen Holt

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"The social impact of technologies is evident among both teenagers and young people. Youth now experience and engage in most aspects of daily life “online” through the use of social media, mobile phones, and the Internet. This has led to a host of concerns, from parents, educators, advocates, and law enforcement regarding the ways in which this technology is being used, with the debate focused primarily on the issue of “sexting” or sharing of naked and semi-naked selfies. This paper explores sexting behavior from a critical perspective, examining the individual and institutional narratives that continue to shape and influence opinion …

Coping With Cybercrime Victimization: An Exploratory Study Into Impact And Change, Jurjen Jansen, Rutger Leukfeldt

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"An increasing number of Internet users are dealing with cybercrime victimization. In order to find out whether victims adequately recover from cybercrime incidents, it is important to gain insight into its effects and impact on users. However, as it stands now, there is not much literature on the impact of cybercrime. We address this gap by qualitatively examining the impact of two types of cybercrime, namely phishing and malware attacks targeting online banking customers. We used the coping approach as a framework to study how victims deal with the negative events they have experienced. In order to study the impact …

A Multi-Level Study Of Clearance: The Role Of Gender, Jenna Dole

Sociology ETDs

Objective. To examine the role that gender plays in the clearance of a reported criminal incident, and whether it varies across places. Methods. Using multi-level logistic regressions, data from the 2014 National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), 2010 Census data, 2013 Law Enforcement Management Statistics, and the 2010 Municipal Yearbook are used to examine the effects of a victim’s sex on crime clearance. Results. Women are initially advantaged in clearance before controlling for any evidentiary factors. However, most of the relationship is explained away when controlling for the relationship between the victim and the offender. Women are more likely to be …

Who Am I? Criminal Social Identity As A Mediator In The Relationship Between Criminal Peers And Criminal Attitudes Within A Sample Of Probationers/Parolees, Quinton Thomas Alexander

Dissertations and Theses

Previous research has shown there to be a relationship between criminal peers and an individual's antisocial behavior and attitudes. Social literature lacks however empirical support for social identity theory, which suggests social identity serves as a mediator in the development of attitudes. Rather than a direct relationship where criminal peers influences the presence of criminal attitudes, this research suggests that criminal peers actually influences a mediator (i.e. an individual's social identity), which in turn influences their criminal attitudes. Thus, this mediation serves to clarify the nature of the seemingly apparent relationship between peers and attitudes. The current study, then, attempts …

Why The Uk Needs A Separate Justice System For People With Mental Illness, Karen A. Snedker

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

"Severe mental illness is on the rise in the UK, and an increasing number of people with mental illness are behind bars and supported by inadequate mental health services. This is a situation that could be improved by the introduction of courts specifically geared for hearing cases involving defendants with mental health issues."

Understanding Police Officer Resistance To Body-Worn Cameras, Jessica Huff, Charles M. Katz, Vincent J. Webb

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Purpose

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been adopted in police agencies across the USA in efforts to increase police transparency and accountability. This widespread implementation has occurred despite some notable resistance to BWCs from police officers in some jurisdictions. This resistance poses a threat to the appropriate implementation of this technology and adherence to BWC policies. The purpose of this paper is to examine factors that could explain variation in officer receptivity to BWCs.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors assess differences between officers who volunteered to wear a BWC and officers who resisted wearing a BWC as part of a larger randomized controlled …

Remember My Chains: New Testament Perspectives On Incarceration, Matthew L. Skinner

Faculty Publications

Understanding the physical realities and social attitudes concerning incarceration in the ancient world provides a fuller context to the New Testament’s unadorned and ambiguous references to people’s experience of being held in custody. The context is crucial for interpreting biblical passages that commend caring for prisoners, that reaffirm God’s strength and nullify the ignominy associated with incarceration, and that declare God’s power over the means and motives of imperial coercion. Such passages also compel the contemporary church to advocate on behalf of prisoners and to denounce the systems that regularly victimize them.

The Persistent Labor Market Effects Of A Criminal Conviction And “Ban The Box” Reforms, Joshua M. Congdon-Hohman

Economics Department Working Papers

Past literature has established that individuals who have been incarcerated face difficulties reentering the work force following their release, while finding and keeping a job can significantly reduce recidivism amongst individuals with prior criminal convictions. In attempt to improve employment outcomes, many local and state governments in the United States have initiated "Ban the Box" regulations. These initiatives delay inquiries regarding criminal history on job applications. Versions of ban the box regulations covering public sector employment have been enacted in 31 states and more than 150 local governments. Ban the box laws have included private employers in eleven states and …

Teaching Note—Reification And Recognition In The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, Molly Malany Sayre

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

At an Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program course in a correctional facility, roughly half the students are from the university (outside students) and half are residents of the facility (inside students). I participated as a teaching assistant in an Inside-Out social work course on drugs and crime that was offered in a prison for men and interpreted the observed and reported experience of students using Lukács’ concepts of recognition and reification as discussed by Axel Honneth. This teaching note explores the implications of the Inside-Out course for outside students’ reification and recognition of people who are incarcerated, and by extension, members …

Exploring The Association Between How Social Media Affects Attitudes Toward Marijuana Legalization, Troy Adam Aubut Ii

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

As support for marijuana legalization continues to rise, it’s important to explore how the use of social media may be affecting the attitudes of Americans around this controversial topic. Social media has become a part of everyday life for most as it allows easy communication to anyone anywhere and allows the exchanging of influential ideas over a broad range of topics, especially marijuana legalization. As such, this study utilized data from the 2016 General Social Survey to examine the relationship between how the general use of social media affects attitudes toward marijuana legalization. The findings of this study suggest that …

More Than What Meets The Eye: An Examination Of Characteristics That Impact Juvenile Justice Detention Decisions, Ashley Maria Buchanan

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Research shows that disparities still exist in the juvenile justice decision-making process, but there is a gap in our understanding of neighborhood characteristics that may affect those detention decisions. Therefore, this research examines structural factors influenced by social disorganization theory to explore the impact they have on juvenile detention decisions. Neighborhood parks and recreation centers are examined as important local institutions that provide informal social control to the neighborhood. The Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) for the city of Norfolk compiled juvenile justice data, and 2016 Census data were also used to obtain neighborhood structural information. Non-White juveniles were …

Willingness To Speak In The Context Of Police Use Of Force, Rachel Italiano

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Police use of force has become a common phrase in the current United States society, especially in the context of law enforcement encounters with Black men. However, even with extensive media coverage of protests and incidents between police and Blacks, not much is known about peoples’ willingness to speak out about the topic. Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann’s spiral of silence theory, which states that peoples’ perceptions of others and media exposure is largely responsible for determining an individual’s willingness to speak, is uniquely positioned to examine this topic. This study utilized a Qualtrics panel of 905 participants and a questionnaire to examine …

Exploring Factors That Enhance Career Advancement For African-Americans Across Various Criminal Justice Occupations: A Qualitative Examination, Antonio Jon Bryer

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the factors that are important for African-Americans to reach executive-level positions within the field of corrections. Using nine semi-structured interviews with current and former executive-level corrections professionals, it was found that investments in social capital and human capital are the main career advancement enhancers. However, when it came to factors that were specific to African-American corrections professionals, a majority of the respondents mentioned proficiency as an enhancer.

Risk Factor Profile Of Youth Incarcerated For Child To Parent Violence: A Nationally Representative Sample, Gaylene Armstrong, Calli Cain, Lindsey Wylie, Lisa Muftic, Leana A. Bouffard

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Purpose

Intra-familial violence occurs in many forms yet few researchers examine child to parent violence (CPV), which occurs in almost 20% of single parent homes. Studies have neither developed a risk factor profile for youth involved in the most severe cases of CPV resulting in incarceration, nor included a comparison of gender-specific correlates.

Methods

Data from the Survey of Youth in Residential Placement (SYRP) 2003, a large-scale, nationally representative sample of justice-involved youth between the ages of 10 and 20 who were survey using a multi-stage cluster sampling procedure is utilized.

Results

Youth incarcerated for CPV are typically white and …

"It's Not Equality": How Race, Class, And Gender Construct The Normative Religious Self Among Female Prisoners, Rachel Ellis

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Works

Prior sociological research has demonstrated that religious selves are gendered. Using the case of female inmates—some of the most disadvantaged Americans—this article shows that dominant messages constructing the religious self are not only gendered, but also deeply intertwined with race and class. Data from 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork on religion inside a U.S. state women’s prison reveal that religious volunteers—predominately middle-class African American women—preached feminine submissiveness and finding a “man of God” to marry to embody religious ideals. However, these messages were largely out of sync with the realities of working class and poor incarcerated women, especially given their …

Organizational Correlates Of Police Deviance: A Statewide Analysis Of Misconduct In Arizona, 2000-2011, Jessica Huff, Michael D. White, Scott H. Decker

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Purpose

Many examinations of police misconduct involve case study methodologies applied to a single agency, or a handful of agencies. Consequently, there is little evidence regarding the types of misconduct across agencies, or the impact of department-level characteristics on the nature and prevalence of officer deviance. The purpose of this paper is to address this research gap using statewide data of over 1,500 charges of police misconduct filed with the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (AZPOST) from 2000 to 2011.

Design/methodology/approach

This study examines variation in the prevalence and forms of misconduct across 100+ agencies based on agency …

Assessing The Experiences Of Women Who Have Suffered Intimate Partner Violence Living In Shelters, Queencilla N. Hammond

Theses and Dissertations

According to the Centers for Disease Control on National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence in 2010, more than 1 in 3 women (35.6%) and more than 1 in 4 men (28.5%) in the United States have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Throughout history, someone they knew has most often victimized women. Over the past thirty years, feminist organizers of the domestic violence (DV) movement powered public awareness regarding the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) dominantly. This led to the development of a network of shelters and other support services for victims, …

Reconsidering Policy Barriers For Justice-Involved College Students, Bradley D. Custer

Journal of College Access

Student affairs professionals are concerned about the access and success of diverse groups of students in U.S. higher education, but systematic barriers continue to confront one understudied population of college students. Justice-involved people–those who have experienced the criminal justice system–face unique challenges on our campuses but are often ignored in discussions of access, retention, and success. To raise awareness about the barriers these student face, this paper offers a descriptive examination of the federal, state, and institutional policies that target justice-involved college students, including policies related to admissions, financial aid, campus housing, student employment, student athletics, and others. Analysis suggests …

Programming In Restrictive Housing: Considerations For Improving Outcome Evaluations, H. Daniel Butler, Starr Solomon, Ryan E. Spohn

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

A number of studies have identified “what works” in regard to the successful implementation of correctional programming over the past several decades. Few studies, however, have examined the complexities associated with programming in restrictive housing. Using data from a Midwestern department of corrections, we examined whether the provision of programming in restrictive housing achieved desired outcomes (e.g., reductions in inmate misconduct). The findings revealed the amount of time served in restrictive housing and confinement in different types of restrictive housing may influence estimations of a treatment effect. As a growing number of states seek to reform the use of restrictive …

A Communication Guide For Ex-Offenders, Richard Anthony Contreras

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Incarceration rates and the release rate of ex-offenders into the community are both increasing. Studies have shown, on a consistent basis, that, while incarcerated, ex-offenders experience lower literacy levels than the general population, suffer emotional and mental distress from a harsh prison life, and suffer from the negative effects of public perception. Ex-offender anger abounds. These factors interfere with an inmate’s ability to communicate effectively. Notwithstanding, upon release from custody, how do we help such ex-offenders communicate? Many handbooks exist to help former inmates. However, the vast majority only offer assistance with locating government social services agencies, obtaining documents, and …

Lethality Assessment Protocol: A Qualitative Exploratory Analysis, Tanya M. Grant

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This exploratory, qualitative research study examined the perceptions and attitudes police officers expressed regarding successful implementation of the Lethality Assessment Protocol (LAP), a collaborative intervention between police departments and domestic violence advocacy agencies in the State of Connecticut. Focus groups were conducted at four police departments to determine officers’ perceptions of the LAP. Officers (N=27) were recruited through an individual contact at the police department (LAP Coordinator). Responses to focus group questions identified both aggravating and mitigating factors related to the system-wide and departmental execution of the LAP in domestic violence cases. Officers generally support the protocol and believe it …

Islamic Terrorism In The United States – The Association Of Religious Fundamentalism With Social Isolation & Paths Leading To Extreme Violence Through Processes Of Radicalization., Shay Shiran

Student Theses

This exploratory study focuses on identifying motivations for religious terrorism and Islamic terrorism in the United States in particular. Terrorism is a crime of extreme violence with the end purpose of political influence. This crime is challenging to encounter for its multi-faced characteristics, the unusual motivations of its actors, and their semi-militant conduct. The hypothesis of this study asserts that religious terrorists are radicalized by passing from fundamental to extreme devout agendas, caused by isolation from the dominant society, and resulted in high potential to impose those agendas by extreme violence. Under the theoretical framework of subculture in criminology, this …

Does Mental Illness Affect Societal Perception Of Sex Offenders?, Keely A. Bartram

Student Theses

Although mental illness is common in the sex offender population, it has never been examined how evidence of such may influence societal perception. In comparison to the non-sex offender population, it was hypothesized that participants would consider mental illness less mitigating for sex offenders, would be less likely to support the mental health treatment of sex offenders while incarcerated, and would consider certain mental illnesses (schizophrenia and substance abuse disorders) as particularly aggravating for this group of offenders. Respondents were asked to read a short vignette and then respond to a series of questions about culpability, sentencing decisions, and mental …

Therapeutic Justice: Crime, Treatment Courts And Mental Illness, Karen A. Snedker

Sociology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"This book examines Mental Health Courts (MHC) within a socio-legal framework. Placing these courts within broader trends in criminal justice, especially problem-solving courts, the author draws from two case studies with a mixed-methods design. While court observational and interview data highlight the role of rituals and procedural justice in the practices of the court, quantitative data demonstrates the impact of incentives, mental health treatment compliance and graduating patterns from MHC in altering patterns of criminal recidivism. In utilising these methods, this book provides a new understanding of the social processes by which MHCs operate, while narrative stories from MHC participants …

A Realist Model Of Prison Education, Growth, And Desistance: A New Theory, Kirstine Szifris, Chris Fox, Andrew Bradbury

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

This paper articulates the first ‘general theory’ of prison education, offering a new insight into the relevance of desistance theory and understanding of prison sociology to the lives of men engaged in education whilst in prison. Using a realist review method (Pawson, 2002b; Wong, 2013a) we develop a rough, initial general theory of prison education articulated in the form of three context-mechanism-outcome configurations (CMO). We then ‘test’ these CMOs by assessing the current evidence base through a systematic review of literature. This paper articulates three inter-related CMOs that we ground in prison sociology and desistance literature: ‘hook’, ‘safe space’ and …

The Role Of Police Officer Race/Ethnicity On Crime Rates In Immigrant Communities, Joselyne Chenane, Emily M. Wright

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Few studies have examined the role of city police officer racial/ethnic representation on violent crime in immigrant neighborhoods. Yet police officer race/ethnicity might play a significant role in bolstering or weakening the relationship between immigration and violent crime rates. Researchers have posited that increasing the representation of minority officer would be an important avenue for making police departments more accountable to the communities they serve. The current study contributes to existing research by using national (i.e., 89 cities and 8,980 neighborhoods) data on violent crime from large U.S. cities. We examine the relationship between immigration, violent crime rates, and minority …

Effects Of Abuse On Female Offenders, Grabiela Carranza

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Between 1995 and 2005, the number of female offenders increased significantly. However, studies show that most female offenders do not commit violent crimes. Researchers have established that women that have experienced some form of abuse causes them to offend. Although women do not commit violent crimes, they still receive severe punishments. Incarceration is not a solution for reform and courts should consider the effects of abuse on female offenders. This paper illustrates how the effects of abuse correlates with female offenders, describes the effects of abuse on male offenders and how it relates to female offenders, and provides additional risk …