Digital Commons Network^™

Reimagining Public Safety In The Aftermath Of George Floyd, William J. Benet, Joseph Mcmillan

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Following the murder of George Floyd, the U.S. Congress called upon the National Organization for Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) to play a role in the reimagining of policing in America and a transformation of policing from a warrior to a guardian mentality. In turn, NOBLE partnered with the Institute for Polarities of Democracy (also referred to as the Institute) to conduct an analysis of the 21st century policing report. In this article we summarize the results of a year-long Phase 1 analysis carried out by the Institute and NOBLE. The Phase 1 analysis was conducted with support from the …

Criminal Justice Update - September 2021, Patrick Mahoney

Criminal Justice Updates

The Criminal Justice Update is a monthly newsletter created by the Adams County Bar Foundation Fellow providing updates in criminal justice policy coming from Pennsylvania's courts and legislature as well as the US Supreme Court.

Contents:

• Updates from PA Governor's Office (no updates this month)
• Updates from the PA Legislature: Criminal Law & Procedure
• Updates from the Courts
• U.S. Supreme Court: Criminal Law & Procedure (no updates this month)
• PA Supreme Court: Criminal Law & Procedure
• PA Superior Court: Criminal Law & Procedure

Tfr 13.3 Full Issue

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

State Sponsored Radicalization, Sahar F. Aziz

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Where was the FBI in the months leading up to the violent siege on the U.S. Capitol in 2021? Among the many questions surrounding that historic day, this one reveals the extent to which double standards in law enforcement threaten our nation’s security. For weeks, Donald Trump’s far right-wing supporters had been publicly calling for and planning a protest in Washington, D.C. on January 6, the day Congress was to certify the 2021 presidential election results. Had they been following credible threats to domestic security, officials would have attempted to stop the Proud Boys and QAnon from breaching the Capitol …

Towards Improving Engagement Of Youth Of Color In Cross-Age Mentoring Programs In High Poverty, High Crime Neighborhoods, Maria V. Wathen, Patrick L.F. Decker, Maryse H. Richards, Katherine Tyson Mccrea, Cynthia Onyeka, Charity N. Weishar, Donnelly Will

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

This study examines predictors of attendance in a cross-age youth mentoring program offered in four high-poverty, high-crime communities. Youth in greatest need of after school and summer interventions are those residing in such communities, but programs are scarce. More specific to mentoring programs that do exist, past research has demonstrated the significance of attendance as a predictor of positive outcomes. Two datasets were combined for this study: The Saving Lives, Inspiring Youth (SLIY) mentoring program dataset and a neighborhood database. OLS regression results show that for all participants, traveling from a lower-crime home area to a program in a higher-crime …

Lost Causal: Debunking Myths About Causal Analysis In Philanthropy, Jewlya Lynn, Sarah Stachowiak, Julia Coffman

The Foundation Review

What if philanthropic evaluations told us that changes in the world had occurred, as well as how and why they occurred, including in what ways foundation funding and grantees contributed to those changes? What if evaluations made change pathways more visible, tested hypotheses and assumptions, and generated new insights based on what happened in the “black box” of systems change strategies? This type of learning comes from causal analysis — inquiry that explores cause-andeffect relationships.

Yet currently in philanthropy, particularly for strategies and initiatives that feature high complexity, few evaluations use robust techniques for understanding causality. Instead, philanthropic evaluation tends …

Advancing Gender Equity Through Legislation: Overview Of Select Laws Passed From 2014–2020, Maria J. D’Agostino, Nicole M. Elias

Publications and Research

Advancing Gender Equity through Legislation: A Compilation of Laws Passed from 2014 - 2020 aims to provide New York City residents with information about legislation passed under the de Blasio administration that aims to promote gender equity in the city.

Pandemic Schooling: Lessons In Equity, Advocacy, And Racial Justice, Donna Rivera

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

It was my fourth year of teaching at a Brooklyn elementary school when the COVID-19 pandemic forced school buildings, and the entire city, to enter a world of lockdown and quarantine. New York City was an early epicenter of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, and the virus quickly revealed severe racial and socioeconomic disparities across the city. A disproportionate number of cases, serious illnesses, and death has been experienced by low-income Black and Latinx communities. At the same time, 2020 also ushered in a national racial reckoning following the May murder of George Floyd.

In this thesis, I will provide a …

Redlining, Neighborhood Decline, And Violence: How Discriminatory Government Policies Created Violent American Inner Cities, Richard Powell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Background – The practice of redlining involved the US government categorizing certain communities, often those inhabited by people of color, as too risky for private investment. Because of the resulting disinvestment, many of those neighborhoods deteriorated throughout the latter half of the 20^th Century. It also fostered conditions in redlined neighborhoods, such as high concentrations of poverty, joblessness, and racial segregation that the criminological theory of Social Disorganization identifies as correlates of violent crime.

Research Objectives – This study sought to determine whether redlining influenced levels of social disorganization operationalized as high levels of poverty, unemployment, family disruption, and …

Sex Trafficking And Slavery In Southeast Asia: To Free Captives, James D. Langteau, Timothy D. Dunham

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

Millions of people derive income from the sex industry in Thailand. Some claims estimate that the sex industry accounts for 10% of all tourist money spent in Thailand. All sex trafficked people are at high risk of both mistreatment and disease. While not all sex workers are victims of human trafficking, the sex industry is deeply involved in the practice. Sex trafficking is defined as deceiving, coercing or forcing someone to take part in sexual activity. Sex trafficking can take various forms, sometimes by the use of force but often by deception. As those commanded to "go and make disciples," …

Sanctuary In The City Of Brotherly Love: Probing The Effectiveness And Broader Implications Of Philadelphia’S Sanctuary City Policies, Thomas A. Koenig

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

Amidst the already fraught politics of immigration, “sanctuary” policies, whereby state and local law enforcement agencies limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement authorities to varying degrees, have emerged as a particularly contentious issue. This paper sifts past the political vitriol surrounding the issue of “sanctuary” and uses original survey research in Philadelphia to answer a straightforward question: Are these policies working? That is, are the city of Philadelphia’s sanctuary policies actually building trust between its undocumented residents and local law enforcement, thereby laying the groundwork for higher rates of crime reporting and safer communities? My results from a survey …

Parameters Autumn 2021, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (Lvmpd) Budget Review, Fiscal Years 2018-2021, Olivia K. Cheche, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Criminal Justice

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s (LVMPD) annual budget increased every fiscal year (FY) from 2018 to 2021. Using data provided by the LVMPD’s final budget reports for FY 2018 to 2021, this Fact Sheet details LVMPD funding increases and summarizes budget expenditures by unit and area command.

Shooting Surge Continuing To Slow Across New York City, Jeffrey A. Butts, Richard A. Espinobarros

Publications and Research

This report looks at quarter-specific comparisons of police reported shooting incidents across New York City. Shooting incidents increased between the first and second quarters of both 2020 and 2021. However, shooting incident increases slowed between quarters 1 (January-March) and 2 (April-June) in 2021, compared to the same quarters of 2020. Quarter-specific comparisons are one way to address seasonal fluctuations in gun violence.

Uncivil Disobedience And Democracy: An American Perspective, Walter J. Kendall

The Journal of Social Encounters

From the time of the Athenian democracy there has been the debated question of whether protest and dissent, especially uncivil disobedience to the law was supportive or destructive of a people’s democracy. The debate continues unabated today.

In a recent collection of essays titled Protest and Dissent, Professor Susan Stokes offered an answer to the question Are Protests Good or Bad for Democracy? (Schwartzberg, 2020, p. 269). After considering both possibilities, she concludes, as had James Madison in Federalist 10, that protests “are a natural by-product of freedoms of expression and association which, if curtailed, would threaten democracy itself.”(Schwartzberg, 2020, …

Criminal Justice Update - August 2021, Patrick Mahoney

Criminal Justice Updates

The Criminal Justice Update is a monthly newsletter created by the Adams County Bar Foundation Fellow providing updates in criminal justice policy coming from Pennsylvania's courts and legislature as well as the US Supreme Court.

Contents:

• Updates from PA Governor's Office (no updates this month)
• Updates from the PA Legislature (no updates this month)
• Updates from the Courts
• U.S. Supreme Court: Criminal Law & Procedure (no updates this month)
• PA Supreme Court: Criminal Law & Procedure
• PA Superior Court: Criminal Law & Procedure

When You Play The Game Of Drones, You Win Or You Die: Examining The Role Of U.S. Drone Strikes In U.S. And English Language Allies Newspapers From 2008-2019, Melissa Aho

Dissertations

In the years following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States ramped up its usage of drones and drone strikes around the world. Spanning three United States’ presidents, drone strikes became a regular feature in the US military arsenal. While American newspaper media and citizens have been very pro-drone, global citizens view drones in a far more negative light. This study examines US military drone strikes and English-speaking allied newspapers in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom and evaluates if coverage remains positive or negative depending on the newspaper’s conservative or liberal leanings from 2008–2019. …

A Study Of Disproportionality In Discipline For Black Girls In Texas: Does District Type Matter?, Tonelli L. Hatley

Public Affairs Dissertations - Archive

The number of African American girls that experience exclusionary discipline in Texas schools is an area of concern that needs to be addressed. In the Southern States, African American female students are five times more likely to receive out-of-school suspension than White female students. The research surrounding the topic of school discipline outlines the disparities concerning students of color and the likelihood of students of color receiving discipline more often and more severe than their counterparts (Fenning & Rose, 2007, Fowler, 2007, Townsend, 2000). Directly related to this concern is the makeup representation of the discipline committee members that decide …

The Impact Of Criminal Justice Involvement: Examining Experiences In A Housing First Program., Amanda N. Denton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individuals who come into contact with the criminal justice system are more likely to experience housing instability and homelessness, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of subsequent criminal justice involvement. Due to a lack of federal funding, as well as disjointed and inconsistent policies regarding eligibility criteria, people with criminal records are unlikely to receive federal rental assistance. While the exclusion of people with criminal histories is presented as necessary to protect communities and residents from crime, improving access to stable housing may reduce recidivism, incarceration rates, and correctional costs and increase public safety. The present study examined the differences …

Evaluating The 2019 New York State Bail Reform On Quality Of Life Offenses In New York City, Nodira Pirmukhamedova

Student Theses

Using the NYPD Complaint Data, this study compares the frequency of nine quality of life (QOL) misdemeanor complaints (n = 196,577) in New York City (NYC) before (n = 108,382) and after the 2019 NYS Bail Reform Act (n = 88,195), which eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanor crimes. The results show an overall decrease (18.6%) in nine QOL misdemeanor complaints in NYC after bail reform with a large effect (d = 1.317). The main limitation of this study is that it did not control for the impact of COVID-19 in 2020 on the criminal justice system’s shifting priorities. Another …

A Portrait Of Latino Children: The Gap With Non-Latinos In Massachusetts, Phillip Granberry, Alejandro Alvarez, Vishakha Agarwal, Fabián Torres-Ardila, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Gastón Institute Publications

Latino children are one of Massachusetts' fastest-growing segments of the population. However, evidence suggests that the social and economic context in which Latino children live does not adequately support their development and overall wellbeing. Nearly a third of Latino children in the United States live in very low-opportunity neighborhoods as defined by a scale of educational, health, environmental, and socioeconomic outcomes. Compared to non-Latino children, Latinos are more likely to grow up in households below the federal poverty threshold and less likely to have a mother with at least a Bachelor's degree. The research included in this report aims to …

The Impact Of Out-Of-Home Placements On Juvenile Delinquency And The Protective Factors That Neutralize Offending, Kenneth James Kilian

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The negative effects of adverse childhood experiences have been widely examined; however, there has been limited research exploring the association between out-of-home placements and juvenile delinquency. Evidence suggests that positive bonding and associations mitigate maladaptive behaviors, yet it remains unclear if certain protective factors have an equally mediating effect on offending. The current study expanded on the existing criminological literature of juvenile offending by applying general strain theory and developmental taxonomy as the frameworks for the association between childhood traumas, protective factors, and juvenile offending. Data were drawn from the Pathways to Desistance Study using foster care, residential treatment centers, …

Sound Of “Di” Police: Community Policing And Crime Abatement In Post-Colonial Jamaica, Bradley Gardner

Doctor of International Conflict Management Dissertations

Abstract

In 2007, the third largest island in the Caribbean, Jamaica, implemented a policing strategy known as community policing. With a population of just over 2.9 million, Jamaica is listed as number 10 out of 20 of the most dangerous places in the world. Additionally, the IMF has listed crime as the number one impediment to the country’s economic growth. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between community policing in Jamaica, and the number of crimes committed in its local communities. Particularly, this study analyzed the relationship between Community Policing activities and the number of homicides, …

Handling Municipal Case Flow Management During A Pandemic, Jennifer Billings

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

There is no right or wrong way to create your case flow management process. What works for one court, may not work for yours. The guidance provided by the Office of Court Administration, although confusing, played a major part in the Dayton Municipal Court’s success. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our court shut down all in-person proceedings. What we’ve learned about the pandemic response has provided our court and our defendants with new options in case management. Although we are now open, some of the new processes that were implemented during COVID-19 will continue to be used. Our relationships with peers …

Reimagining The Recruitment And Hiring Of Police Officers During Tumultuous Times, Shane Burleigh

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

The defund police movement has created negative consequences as it pertains to the recruitment of officers over the last five years; the author and other police administrators across the country have been presented with the challenges of hiring qualified employees from a quickly dwindling pool of applicants. This situation, now combined with the coronavirus pandemic and the Defund the Police movement, has made the job of simply filling those positions vacated by retiring officers or officers leaving the profession out of frustration almost impossible and has sent some hiring managers into a panic. Officers in some agencies are forced to …

Steps In Building A Successful Resilient Cyber Protocol, Benny Yazdanpanahi

Certified Public Manager® Applied Research

This article aims to help city administrators gain a systematic approach to building resilient cybersecurity protocols. Resilient protocols provide the basic organizational framework that layers employees, processes, and technologies that can address cyber risks to cities. Thus, these protocols provide the solid foundation necessary to protect cities and public institutions from the constant threat of cyberattacks. This article also offers suggestions on how cities can gain information technology (IT) resilience, and discusses boundaries in the layered approach to resilience.

Improving K-12 Education For Hispanic Students In Las Vegas And Beyond, Richard Reeves, Ember Smith

Policy Briefs and Reports

Public K-12 education serves as a launching pad for economic mobility and opportunity, preparing students for college or a good-paying job. Despite K-12 education’s influence on later-in-life outcomes, schools often underserve students of color. Hispanic students in particular constitute a significant and growing portion of the U.S. student population yet are often overlooked in education literature because they are not the lowest performing demographic. In this brief, we examine how well public K-12 education serves Hispanic students in Clark County, where nearly half of students are Hispanic. We then consider factors that may influence student performance, including both in-school factors …

Incarceration And Suicide: Do The Risk Factors Differ For Civilians And Veterans?, Rheannon Gail Ramsey

Dissertations and Theses

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in United States jails and prisons. Many researchers have looked at suicides in prisons and what can potentially cause suicidal ideation but there are conflicting findings among civilian incarcerated populations and United States military veteran incarcerated populations.

The intent of this study is to examine which risk factors are most prevalent among adults in custody, with a focus on mental health and substance use or abuse and how these risk factors differ between incarcerated civilians and incarcerated veterans. Using survey data from the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails conducted …

Criminal Justice Update - July 2021, Patrick Mahoney

Criminal Justice Updates

The Criminal Justice Update is a monthly newsletter created by the Adams County Bar Foundation Fellow providing updates in criminal justice policy coming from Pennsylvania's courts and legislature as well as the US Supreme Court.

Contents:

• Updates from PA Governor's Office (no updates this month)
• Updates from the PA Legislature (no updates this month)
• Updates from the Courts
• U.S. Supreme Court: Criminal Law & Procedure
• PA Supreme Court: Criminal Law & Procedure
• PA Superior Court: Criminal Law & Procedure

Abandoned Allies: A Case Study Analysis Of The Special Immigrant Visa Program, Sarah Pedigo Kulzer

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Employing a qualitative case study approach, the current study aims to critically analyze the U.S.’s use of the Special Immigrant Visa program in Iraq and Afghanistan by examining the individuals it serves, the agencies through which services are rendered, and the state’s vested geopolitical interests in the program. Engaging in active participation, I observed and interacted with those who work within, assist, or utilize the services of Commonwealth Catholic Charities’ refugee resettlement program, including case workers, service providers, and resettlement clients themselves. Examined through the lens of neoliberal harm, the theoretical frameworks of realpolitik and Simmel’s (1950) concept of the …