Digital Commons Network^™

The Consequences Of Welfare Bans Of Drug Felony Convictions On Crime, Amanda Sughroue

UCARE: Research Products

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) was enacted in August of 1996, causing a major transformation in the US welfare system (1). • This study focused on one of the provisions, Section 115, which places a lifetime ban on receiving welfare through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) for those who are convicted of a drug felony in the states that adopted the provision. • About half of the states opted out of the ban. • The intention of the provision was to cut down on drug use and drug …

How The City Of Indianapolis Came To Have African American Policemen And Firemen 80 Years Before The Modern Civil Rights Movement., Leon E. Bates

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores a series of events that occurred in the spring of 1876. The relationship between the Indianapolis city government, the Marion County Courts, the Indianapolis Police Department, and the African American community came together to usher in changes never before envisioned. The Indianapolis Police Department (IPD) was formed in 1855, then disbanded 12 months later in a political dispute. From 1857-to-1876, the IPD was all white. These changes took place as the Reconstruction era was coming to a close. The first Ku Klux Klan was at its apex, terrorizing black communities, and Jim Crow was coming into its …

Clark County Department Of Family Services, Parenting Project, Julie Owens, Natalie Grajeda, Stephanie Thelen, David L. Olivieri, Fredric Jackson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Clark County Parenting Project offers a series of free programs to help parents become more effective in raising their children. This program evaluation focuses on Teen Triple P, one of the six programs offered by Clark County, evaluating the effectiveness of the program to the community. The Parenting Project partnered with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Public Policy and Leadership to be a participant in a program evaluation. The evaluation will serve as a tool to determine the overall effectiveness in meeting program goals and objectives as well as determining strengths and weaknesses in program implementation.

Nonprofit Organizations In Partnerships: An Evaluation Of Partnership For The Public Good’S Community Agenda, Kayla Carrasquillo

Public Administration Master’s Projects

In a time of economic uncertainty, networks and collaborations have become a vital tool for a nonprofit’s success. Networks and collaborations can assist a nonprofit operating independently to increase relationships within a neighborhood, or city, create a sense of community with the organizations within the collaboration, share resources from grants and other tools that a nonprofit developed to reach program outcomes and outputs, and build the network of nonprofits to expand their individual mission statements. Partnership of the Public Good (PPG) in Buffalo, New York has created an informal network collaboration to increase all of these characteristics within the City …

Bakken Bombs: A Criminological Inquiry Into The Lynchburg Train Derailment, Travis W. Milburn

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, several significant train derailments involving the transportation of crude oil have dotted the North American landscape. Each resulted in environmental and social harm to some degree which was extensive in many instances. Oil train derailments have occurred in places such as Lac-Mégantic, Canada (July 2013), Casselton, North Dakota (December 2013 and November 2014), and Mount Carbon, West Virginia (February 2015). Following derailments, communities have faced substantial environmental damage, human death and injury, and overall disruption from the explosions and subsequent oil spills that characterize these events. This project specifically examined the April 30, 2014 derailment in Lynchburg, …

Durable Collaborations: The National Forum On Youth Violence Prevention, Kathleen A. Tomberg, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

In 2012, the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College began to publish the results of an assessment conducted between Summer 2011 and Summer 2012. The project conducted surveys and measured the effectiveness of the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention. In 2016, with the support of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the research team tracked perceptions and opinions in each community involved in the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention.

Where Is The Survivor’S Voice? An Examination Of The Individual And Structural Challenges To The Reintegration Of Immigrant Human Trafficking Survivors, Michelle Cristina Angelo Dantas Rocha

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The United States is one of the top destination countries for human trafficking, and Florida has the third highest number of reported cases of human trafficking. Despite the severity of this issue, Florida anti-trafficking legislation, reintegration programs, and awareness campaigns tend to contribute to the invisibility of the victims and undermine their recovery and reintegration into society, especially when the victims are immigrants. This project uses a multi-method approach including content analysis of anti-human trafficking campaigns to argue that portrayals of a “perfect victim” only amplify stigmatization and discrimination against immigrant victims. Through in-depth interviews and ethnographic observation highlighting the …

Interventions For Problem Gamblers In The Correctional System, Nigel E. Turner Ph.D., Flora Matheson

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

The prevalence rates of problem gambling in the adult correctional population are 5 to 10 times higher than those found in the general population. The purpose of this study is to examine the type of interventions used to deal with this population. We conducted a combination of literature review and key informant study to examine the state of programming for problem gambling for clients who experience incarceration. The published literature on this topic is remarkably sparse. In fact only two peer reviewed published studies were identified that formally evaluated a treatment program for problem gambling for clients in these settings. …

To Promote Or Not To Promote: An Inquiry Into The Experiences Of Female Police Officers And Their Decisions To Pursue Promotion, Kristin Poleski

Dissertations

Despite an increase in the number of female police officers in U.S. police agencies, female representation in supervisory (sergeant and lieutenant) and command (captain, assistant chief and chief) positions in most agencies is limited. This research study focuses on the promotional aspirations as an explanation of limited female representation with attention to the decision-making criteria female police officers use when deciding to participate in the promotional process. This study also examines the institutional, political, organizational structures, and/or personal factors which may impact the female police officers’ decisions to participate in the promotion process. And, this study examines a factor mentioned …

Partnerships, Paradigms, And Social-System Change, Patricia Jessup, Beverly Parsons, Marah Moore

The Foundation Review

Social systems structures stem from underlying paradigms that are made up of beliefs, perspectives, and assumptions. Changing paradigms is a powerful way to change social systems. Such change is difficult and old paradigms keep pulling systems back to their former state.

This article examines three types of partnerships that focus on these deep structures and paradigms, and that go beyond implementing a project or initiative to create fundamental, lasting change in the underlying beliefs, perspectives, and assumptions on which such systems are grounded.

The functions of each type – project focused, formal-systems-focused, and community-grounded partnerships – are identified, along with …

Mexican Armed Forces And Security In Mexico, Tony Payan, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications

For nearly 40 years, Mexico's armed forces have been engaged in tasks more closely aligned with public safety than national security. This issue brief examines the challenges of assigning internal security duties to the military and argues for a new law that governs the country's safety and security.

Do Catastrophes In Poor Countries Lead To Event-Related Policy Change? The 2010 Earthquake In Haiti, Denise D. P. Thompson

Publications and Research

Prompted by Birkland and Warnement‘s (2014) findings that the earthquake was not a significant focusing event in Haiti, the author reassessed the issue. Using the 2010 earthquake as the starting point, a detailed content analysis of evaluation and strategy report and DRR and developmental plans to find the level of policy adopted and implemented after the earthquake. Using the criterion of event-related implementation as a proxy for event-related policy change the author judges whether and to what extent was the earthquake a focusing event. Among the findings are that not only were there event-related policy change inside and outside of …

A Prison Of Education: The School-To-Prison Pipeline In Low-Income Schools, Adam Le

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

This paper examines the relationship between prisons and education in American culture, comparing public schools in California cities to wealthier private schools. The essay critiques the American dream’s notions of social stratification and success of the individual in racialized areas. The first section compares funding disparities between education and prison and argues that while funding is an integral part of the inner-city’s problem, the curriculum itself is ineffective. The second section takes a closer look at differences in the curricula and educational settings of an inner-city school and a private school. It offers ethnic studies in secondary education as a …

Learning From Trayvon: Lessons And Implications For Police Organizations And Leaders, Megan Lepere-Schloop, Joseph H. Lumpkin Chief Of Police

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

Critical incidents like the Martin-Zimmerman encounter prompt us to examine not only the specifics of a particular episode, but also broader questions that hopefully illuminate a path leading to meaningful change. This reflective piece draws on the professional experiences of a highly effective and respected African-American Police Chief to examine some of these broader questions. Chief Joseph H. Lumpkin is a 43-year law enforcement veteran who was recently appointed Chief of the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department in Georgia. Before moving to Savannah he served as Chief of the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, an agency that solves violent crimes at a …

The Dangerous Intersection Between Race, Class And Stand Your Ground, Lakerri R. Mack, Kristie Roberts-Lewis

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

The Stand Your Ground (SYG) law has and will likely continue to generate a wealth of controversy and political debate. It derives its historical significance from the Castle doctrine that allows citizens to protect themselves. The aftermath of SYG has led to an increase in justifiable homicides of minority victims. A preliminary analysis of data from FBI Uniform Crime Reports suggests that the race of the victim is the foremost determinant in the outcome of SYG cases where the perpetrator is non-minority. This research will further explore the Castle doctrine and examine SYG laws in Florida where racial tension is …

The Ugly Side Of America: Institutional Oppression And Race, Renita Seabrook, Heather Wyatt-Nichol

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

This manuscript examines structural racism through a socio-historical context of institutional oppression and its effects on modern society. The epistemological framework of intersectionality is used to focus on the overlap of oppression, structural racism, and implicit bias evident in the stereotypes and perceptions of the African American male population in the United States. Four eras of socio-historical significance are addressed: 1. Foundations of Racial Oppression; 2. Racism: Reconstruction and Jim Crow; 3. Renewal: Civil Rights and Civil Disobedience; 3. Reckoning: Embedded Racism and the Criminal Justice System.

Out Of The Recent Darkness And Into The New Light: Managerial Implications Emerging From The Martin-Zimmerman Encounter, Brian N. Williams, Billy R. Close, Seong C. Kang

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

This paper revisits the encounter between George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin from two perspectives: the co-production of public safety and public order and black crimmythology. Co-production is associated with the expanding and often unpredictable role that community residents, formal and informal communal organizations and nongovernmental institutions play in assisting public agencies in developing and implementing public services (Whitaker 1980; Parks et al. 1981). Black crimmythology is a term used to describe the historical and contemporary conflation of blackness, maleness, and criminality in the mind of the American public (Close 1997). The objectives of this analysis goes beyond ascertaining the guilt, …

Breaking The Legacy: Recognizing And Prosecuting Sexual Violence As A Violation Of Human Rights In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Miranda L. Weinstein

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper aims to outline the existing policies aimed at providing protection for sexual abuse survivors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In an attempt to provide justice for the survivors of sexual abuse, an analysis of the 1992-1995 Bosnia and Herzegovina post-conflict reconstruction is included. In particular, prosecution of sexual violence and rape as a weapon of war will be provided in order to weigh the benefits and weaknesses of international criminal law. The conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo witnesses widespread and systematic sexual violence abuses. With over 60 armed groups at any given day, …

A Partnership's Capacity For Community Impact Understood Through Neoliberal Technologies Of Risk And Responsibilization: A Look At Worcester Massachusetts Senator Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initative Partnership Worcester Massachusetts’ Senator Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative Partnership, Katie Byrne

Sustainability and Social Justice

Since 2006, the Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative has sought to reduce youth and gang violence in multiple Massachusetts cities through partnerships of community organizations, research institutions and police departments. Worcester, Massachusetts was an original recipient of Shannon funding due to its historic and increasing problem of youth and gang violence. Using a framework of governmentality, one of the ways crime is problematized and controlled is through the use of neoliberal technologies of risk and responsibilization, underscoring neoliberalism’s emphasis on personal responsibility. When risk is used to govern and assigned to individuals and groups of people living in …

An Exploratory Study Of Existing State Anti-Bullying Statutes., John-Robert Curtin, Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative exploratory study examines the current state of school anti-bullying legislation in the United States by reviewing the 50 state statutes and builds on the work of Sameer Hinduja, and Justin W. Patchin, (2015) and Sacco, D, Silbaugh, K, Corredor, F, Casey, J, Doherty, D. (2013). Their work on comparing state bullying statutes did not address restorative justice/practices, protections for special populations, safe-reporting systems, or stakeholder knowledge. This study addresses these four areas that were not addressed and they are the focus. In addition, this exploratory study addresses the following questions:

• What are the theories that explain youth bullying? …

Utilizing The Signaling Theory In Order To Enhance Minority Recruitment In Law Enforcement, Donald B. Terheide

Open Access Dissertations

Minority recruitment has been an emphasis for law enforcement agencies for decades. These agencies have attempted to recruit minority officers through different venues, including college visits, career fairs, advertising, high school visits, community organizations, and other avenues in an attempt to have their department more representative of the community. However, there has been a limited amount of research on the potential applicants’ perspective concerning how these recruiting efforts have persuaded them, and the messages conveyed to the applicants.

This dissertation has been written utilizing the Signaling Theory, and determining what signals are sent to minority applicants, and how they are …

Perceptions Of University Community Members Regarding Alcohol Restriction Policies, Katherine A. Meeker

Honors Theses

There has been a growing concern regarding sexual assaults on college and university campuses. The push to decrease sexual assaults has lead researchers and universities to examine alcohol abuse as a contributing factor. Many colleges and universities have developed new policies for alcohol restriction, but they have done so without taking into consideration the views of the campus community. In the absence of collaboration between the campus community and university administration, such policies will likely be ineffective. This study explores the beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes of the campus community regarding alcohol restriction policies at The University of Southern Mississippi.

Police Use Of Force With The Mentally Ill, Chelsea Moore

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Police officers experience many difficult situations in their line of duty, but two situations stand out as particularly unsettling for police officers: when they interact with people who are (a) under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and when (b) people appear to be suffering from serious mental illness (Kaminski, DiGiovanni, & Downs, 2004). This study explores the impact of these conditions on whether or not police officers resort to using force within a Northwestern metropolitan police department. A set of archival data consisting of force incidents was divided into four subgroups depending on subject (suspect) substance use and mental …

#Therighttoremainsilent: Police Department Adoption And Deployment Of Social Media, 2010-~2015, Paul Geary

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Police have a complex myriad of ever-changing responsibilities and fluid expectations from the public, and traditional media has performed a largely ambivalent self-appointed oversight and agenda-setting function vis-à-vis police for decades. But in the last five years, the second wave of the first new mass communications medium since the 1940s, social media, has democratized both that oversight function as well as traditional media's agenda-setting ability. Meanwhile, police have been characterized as slow to adapt to change and to adopt new practices in response to a changing world. This work analyzed police agency social media adoption and explained the rate at …

Problem Analysis In Community Violence Assessments: Reavealing Early Childhood Trauma As A Driver Of Youth And Gang Violence, Laurie Ross Phd, Samantha Arsenault, Sergeant Miguel Lopez

Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

Problem analysis conducted by a university-based research partner can provide communities with data-driven options to address the local drivers of serious youth and gang violence. Situated in Worcester, Massachusetts, this article describes how after early childhood trauma was identified as a potential driver of adolescent and young adult violence, problem analysis using local data confirmed that being the victim or witness of a traumatic incident before the age of 12 was significantly correlated with involvement in violence in adolescence or young adulthood. While there is a robust literature on the relationship between early childhood trauma and later delinquency, local decision-makers …

Rape And Sexual Violence: Questionable Inevitability And Moral Responsibility In Armed Conflict, Katherine W. Bogen

Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark (SURJ)

Wartime sexual violence is a critical human rights issue that usurps the autonomy of its victims as well as their physical and psychological safety. It occurs in both ethnic and non-ethnic wars, across geographic regions, against both men and women, and regardless of the “official” position of commanders, states, and armed groups on the use of rape as tactic of war. This problem is current, pervasive, and global in spite of the status of wartime sexual violence perpetration as a crime against humanity and the capacity of the international criminal court to indict offenders. Though some scholars have argued that …

A Place To Call Home: The Acceptance And Denial Of Burmese Refugees, Alexandra Craig

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

For more than 25 years Burma has been experiencing a refugee crisis due to the military government’s excessive human rights violations. The argument for not accepting refugees often prioritizes the economic troubles that a country can face when taking care of refugees. Meanwhile, those who prioritize humanitarianism often appeal to human morals and argue that refugees should be accepted wherever they need to in order to be safe. This project ultimately focuses on whether Burmese refugees should be accepted into the surrounding countries or if countries should be able to deny refuge within their borders.

Eyes In The Sky: Public Attitudes Towards Police Use Of Drone Technology, Miliaikeala S.J. Heen, Joel D. Lieberman, Terance D. Miethe

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

No abstract provided.

Abuse Us And Lose Us: Regional Effects Of Disarming Domestic Violence Offenders, Dory Mizrachi

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Domestic violence is among one of the most underreported crimes in the United States. Yet, national and international estimates suggest that approximately one in three girls/women will experience domestic violence. Research also demonstrates that this form of gendered violence is commonplace in the lives of millions of women and that it has deleterious outcomes, such as intimate partner homicide. It was not until recent decades that several legislations have been enacted to combat this critical problem. The Lautenberg Amendment, also known as the Domestic Violence Gun Ban of 1996 provided an essential addition to the Gun Control Act of 1968. …

Power Of Perspective: The Effects Of Public Perceptions Of Police And Fear Of Crime On Attitudes Towards Aerial Drone Use, Olivia G. Tuttle, Miliaikeala S.J. Heen, Mari Sakiyama, Terance D. Miethe, Joel D. Lieberman

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Historically, unmanned aerial systems (UAS; i.e., drones) have largely been used by the military and federal government. As UAS have become more affordable and easier to operate in recent years, state and local law enforcement agencies have become interested in adopting this technology to facilitate a wide range of police activities (e.g., search and rescue, surveillance, tactical operations, etc.). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has begun to regulate the use of unmanned aerial systems, which will likely lead to the increased use of drone technology by law enforcement agencies across the country in upcoming years. However, previous research suggests that …