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The Impact Of Prison-Based Therapeutic Community Programs On Motivation For Treatment, Jessica Tabor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The sentencing and use of mandated treatment policies throughout the country have heightened the number of inmates incarcerated for drug related offenses. The purpose of this quasi-experimental, archival, correlational descriptive study was to determine whether motivation changes during therapeutic community (TC) treatment among a group of incarcerated adult male offenders, as measured by differences in pre and post levels of motivation. The hypothesis that was tested was that there would be significant differences between levels of motivation as measured upon entry and discharge from treatment. The theoretical framework that guided the study was the stages of change theory. Data were …

Effects Of Police-Mental Health Collaborative Services On Calls, Arrests, And Emergency Hospitalizations, Sean Russel-Jacque Zauhar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With the increasing amount of police calls involving persons experiencing a mental health crisis (PICs), agencies are looking for ways to reduce the overuse of emergency services and criminal confinement. Police-mental health collaborative (PMHC) programs were developed to utilize the expertise of both mental health and law enforcement practitioners to provide immediate linkage to psychiatric services in an effort to prevent unnecessary involvement in the criminal justice system. The theoretical framework for this study was built on the sequential intercept model (SIM) along with the theories of social network and social support. The SIM identifies 5 key points where PICs …

Body Cameras Effectiveness In A Large Police Department In The Southeast, Jason D. Armstrong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Several recent high profile incidents involving law enforcement officers have resulted in the death of a citizen. In some of these cases, the use of deadly force by police was ruled as justified only to learn later that one or more officers were not truthful about what occurred. These incidents have called into question law enforcement's legitimacy and created a demand for greater transparency by equipping officers with body-worn cameras. Body cameras can act as independent, reliable witnesses with no bias or agenda. Federal, state, and local governments have pledged millions of taxpayer dollars to implement body-worn camera programs in …

The Impact Of The Use Of Wearable Video Systems In Law Enforcement, Dearis Vontae Hoard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Wearable video systems (WVSs) are one of the most popular and fastest growing technologies used by law enforcement today. While published WVS literature predominantly focuses on stakeholder perceptions, community interactions, assaults against officers, and use of force, there has diminutive exploration of the impact of WVSs as it related to aspects of police misconduct, especially in the Cruiser Police Department (pseudonym; CPD). The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore and describe how the use of the use of WVSs by the CPD impact police misconduct, by tracking the changes in complaint type and disposition of a 5-year …

Law Enforcement Methods To Improve Relationships Within The Illinois Communities, James F. Reilly

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Will County community supports community policing efforts and wants their law enforcement agencies to be transparent, service-orientated, and committed to their diverse neighborhoods. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore current policing methods and tactics to improve community relationships within Will County, Illinois. Six different focus group studies were completed where 33 participants completed questionnaires and follow-up, in-depth interviews were conducted to gather data on personal police experiences and perceptions. The questionnaire responses were separated into three categories including Likert-scale response questions, dichotomous (yes and no answers), and ranking police tactics by levels of importance. Nine statistically …

Correctional Social Work Practice With Female Offenders In A Midwestern State, Veronica Labrell Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A women's prison in the midwestern region of the United States experienced an increase of female inmates. Incarcerated women have reported higher rates of substance abuse problems, prior victimization, and mental illness than their male counterparts. Clinical social workers are often the primary service providers in criminal justice settings. The purpose of this action research project was to explore the challenges faced by social workers in a midwestern state when providing clinical treatment services to female offenders. Postmodern feminist theory and pathways theory provided a framework for understanding the factors related to female offending. The practice-focused research question explored the …

The Impact Of The Use Of Wearable Video Systems In Law Enforcement, Dearis Vontae Hoard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Wearable video systems (WVSs) are one of the most popular and fastest growing technologies used by law enforcement today. While published WVS literature predominantly focuses on stakeholder perceptions, community interactions, assaults against officers, and use of force, there has diminutive exploration of the impact of WVSs as it related to aspects of police misconduct, especially in the Cruiser Police Department (pseudonym; CPD). The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore and describe how the use of the use of WVSs by the CPD impact police misconduct, by tracking the changes in complaint type and disposition of a 5-year …

Regulating Medicolegal Death Investigations, Antoinette Vicks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Medicolegal death investigators (MDIs) are a crucial part of the death investigation process but the profession remains unregulated and lacks a required accreditation or licensing process that many other professions use. Research shows the current medicolegal death investigations system, though a crucial government function, has existing deficits in its functionality that affect service delivery. The current study was based on an educational theory and utilized open ended survey questions. Data from 16 investigators was collected through surveys where relevant information was asked in the context of their situation and questions were specific to the phenomenon being studied. The data was …

Experiences Of Ex-Offenders Assigned To A Work Release Program, Julia Marie Cottrell Lefevre

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ex-offenders face many challenges and barriers in obtaining sustainable employment when reentering society. Researchers have demonstrated that participation in a work release program prior to release from prison may be beneficial. However, not all work release reentry programs are alike. Because offenders are the benefactors of these programs, it is essential their experiences are captured. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and describe unique experiences of male ex-offenders previously assigned to a work release program in an urban setting in an Atlantic East Coast state. Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory framed the study. This study gives voice to …

The Long-Term Health-Related Outcomes Of Breast Ironing In Cameroon, Norbert Nicholas Njume Nkwelle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Breast ironing (BI) practice is a common practice in Cameroon. Most villages and towns continue with BI because they believe it constitutes a positive cultural lifestyle. However, public health officials and other advocates have branded BI as a harmful traditional practice because of the traumatic impact it has on the women who experience it. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the perceived long-term health-related outcomes of BI and the quality of life changes on these women. Underpinning this study was the betrayal theory of trauma. A survey was used to collect data from 230 women. Descriptive analysis …

Experiences And Perceptions Of Staff Providing Substance Use Disorder Treatment For Adolescents, Connie Jean Rendleman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) is associated with high mortality rates and remains a public health concern in the United States. Although, numerous interventions are offered for adolescents struggling with substance misuse, minimal research is available on the effectiveness of treatments to reduce recidivism. Researching the most effective treatment offered to adolescents is crucial to treatment adherence and recovery. The purpose of this study is to determine the most effective SUD treatment for adolescent patients by exploring the perceptions and experiences of treatment therapists providing treatment. The trans-theoretical model was used with elements of the social cognitive theory as a guide …

A Comparison Of Sexual-Minority Stress In Lesbian And Gay Police Officers, Laura Ellen Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The original purpose of this quantitative study was to compare 5 self-reported sexual minority stress (SMS) factors experienced by lesbian and gay police officers to discover if lesbian or gay police officers experience more SMS, and which factor, if any, is the biggest stressor for either group as measured using subscales of the Daily Heterosexist Experiences Questionnaire (DHEQ). This study partially incorporated minority-stress theory as applied to sexual minorities. This study used subscales from the DHEQ in anonymous, online surveys. Because of the low response rate, the study changed to compare the group of lesbian and gay police officers' self-reports …

Efficacy Of A Va Residential Treatment Program For Co-Occurring Disorders, Kathrin Hohenstern

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem of co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders among the veteran population can impact numerous aspects of a veteran's life, including self-esteem, relationships, employment, and legal issues. The Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program (MH RRTP) at the Saint Cloud, Minnesota VA Healthcare System is a program that provides residential treatment for this population. Identifying practical and beneficial treatment methods promotes better coping mechanisms for veterans and impacts social change by providing timely and cost-efficient care for veterans, while also leading the way for overall changes and improvements in other VA residential treatment programs. This study identified how …

High School Students' Perceptions Of Safety Concerns Predicts School Avoidance, Ann Marie Howard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School violence is a growing concern and an impending danger for American youth. Students' perceptions of violent school incidents may lead to fear and this fear may lead to school avoidance. Although researchers have found that teenage pregnancy and working to support family are two of the main reasons that students stay home from school, there has been no research conducted on whether students' perceptions of safety concerns, solely focusing on the presence of guns, gangs, student bullying, and fear of victimization, predict their decision to stay home from school. Therefore, based on social disorganization and resilience theories, the purpose …

The Impact Of Good Governance And Stability On Sustainable Development In Ghana, William Deiyan Towah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous studies have lauded Ghana's commitment to sustainable development, but corruption and violence may affect sustainable development policies and initiatives related to poverty reduction, agricultural practices, environmental protection, and human development. The purpose of this holistic, qualitative case study was to identify and describe good governance practices in Ghana and threats to sustainable development. A Marxist conceptual lens guided the thematic analysis of data collected from artifact documents, field notes, and interviews of 20 key informants from various professions and diverse perspectives who were directly involved in the governance of Ghana or implementation of policies. Three primary themes emerged: (a) …

Juvenile Detention Center Effects On Futures Of At-Risk Youth, Jennifer Lynn Zitterkopf

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Juvenile Detention Center Effects on Futures of At-Risk Youth

by

Jennifer L. Turner

MS, Walden University, 2014

BS, University of Maryland University College, 2011

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Forensic Psychology

Walden University

August 2019

Many juvenile offenders return to the justice system after serving their incarceration sentences. Detaining youth has a negative impact on their mental health, education, employment, and ability to secede from a criminogenic life course. Identifying detention center effects on youths' futures can provide further insight on why the current approach does not successfully deter youth from …

Challenges Of Combating Homegrown Terrorism In Kenya: A Youth Radicalization Perspective, Alice Mary Wamuyu Kariuki

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Radicalization and recruitment of young Kenyan males into homegrown terrorism has persisted since November 2011 following the decision by the government to send Kenya Defense Forces to fight al Shabaab terrorist groups in Somalia. Using Schneider and Ingram's conceptualization of social construction of target populations as a guide, the purpose of this multicase study was to explore the motivation of young Kenyan males in accepting radicalization and recruitment into homegrown terrorism and their interpretations, feelings, and perceptions of the policies and strategies in place to empower them. Using a purposeful sampling with a maximum variation strategy, data were collected through …

Female Sergeants, Lieutenants, And Captains Obtaining Leadership Roles In Law Enforcement, Latoya Mills

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The field of law enforcement is one of the most sought-after careers. People have various reasons why they choose to embark on this field of work. There are many levels of law enforcement from correctional officers to particular agents, such as patrol officers, federal officers (FBI, DEA, IRS etc). There is a lack of females that represent the field of law enforcement in numerous police divisions nationwide. Previous studies explored these deficiencies, yet they failed to examine the perspectives of high-ranking female officers. There is a gap in the literature that analyzes female officers' academy experiences, struggles, and barriers as …

Law Enforcement Perception Of Social Media As An Influence In Mass Shootings, Jazma Mekelle Parker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mass shootings have been a persistent issue in the United States, and the underlying factors that continue to influence this crime are not yet evident. This study explored the effects of social media as an influence on mass shootings in the United States. Its purpose was to address the role of social media in spreading opinionated ideologies. The research question addressed the role of social media in influencing the actions of perpetrators of mass shootings in the United States. The study framework was based on the social-ecological model to facilitate classification of the susceptibilities of social media users to adverse …

School Resource Officers And Student Arrest Inclination, Bill B. Young

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem examined in this study was the harming of students arrested in schools and related human and fiscal costs. The purpose was to identify arrest decision-making processes of school resource officers (SROs) and non-SROs and examine how arrest inclinations may lead to the concept of a school-to-prison pipeline. Black's theory of arrest and the factors of amount of evidence, suspect demeanor, wishes of the victim, seriousness of the offense, and the relationship between victim and suspect was the theoretical framework for this study. Six research questions were tested to examine relationships between SROs, non-SROs, and the arrest of students. …

Influence Of Police Officer Fear And Use-Of-Force Outcomes, Michele D. Stafford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Police officer and community relations tensions have heightened with increases in publicized deadly use-of-force incidents on social media platforms. Though some deadly force encounters have been justified because officers stated they feared for their lives, little is known about the impact fear has on police officers' actions. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the impact fear plays when officers implement use-of-force continuum practices during encounters with civilians. Schacter and Singers' two-factor theory of emotion was used as the conceptual framework for this study. The key research question examined the influence of police officer fear as a factor …

Perceptions Of Fatherhood Programs From The Experiences Of Uninvolved Fathers, Rahsaan Roland Turpin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Past researchers have reported that father absence and low engagement affects 24 million children in the United States. African American fathers make up the largest group with low involvement. Fatherhood programs support men in their roles, yet little is known about why this group still exhibits low engagement. Using the family systems theory as a foundation, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of African American fathers who participated in fatherhood programs and their engagement after these programs. This study used purposeful sampling and semi-structured interviews to collect information from 9 African American men aged …

Counter-Ideology As A Wider Strategy For Defeating The Boko Haram Terrorist Group, Kwesi Ayima

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a need to address current military strategies to defeat the resilience of the Boko Haram Terrorist (BHT) group. The purpose of this qualitative study was to provide a counter-ideology framework as an alternative strategy to defeat the group. The relational/vengeance and relative deprivation theories provided the theoretical foundation for the study, and the research question addressed the extent to which counter-ideology strategies can be instituted to defeat the BHT group. Data were collected through semi structured interviews from 20 participants who were Muslim clerics, community leaders, and military personnel, and data were analyzed using Nvivo software. The themes …

Exploring The Factors Responsible For Occupational Stress Among Police Officers In Nigeria, Ahmed Lateef

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over 90 percent of police officers in Nigeria are confronted with psychological illness and injuries as a result of occupational stress, which is compounded by a lack of attention to police officer welfare by government, insufficient annual leave, and poor salaries that contribute to poor performance. Using Karasek's demands on decision and control model as the foundation, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the impact of occupational stress on police officers in a metropolitan police agency in Nigeria. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 senior police officers who had at least 20 years experience in …

The Use Of Compassionate Release Policies For Elderly Offenders, Lindsey Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This research examined the use of compassionate release policy in response to the fastest-increasing segment of the prison population- elderly offenders. Though this policy is an approach to this problem, there was little available research regarding which correctional organizations in the United States adopt compassionate release and how it is used. The purpose of this nonexperimental comparative quantitative study was to examine the use of the policy in neighboring and distant state correctional systems relative to those organizations that used the policy more frequently to determine if the leader-laggard theory of policy diffusion was an effective policy-implementation framework. The research …

Use Of Force And Perceptions Of Public Attitude Held By Police Trainers, Kenneth Lee Kinsey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Police use-of-force is a topic of interest to most Americans. High-profile shootings of minority citizens and the increase in ambush death rates of police officers has been problematic by dividing society into segments of harsh critics of an entire profession or supporters of the nation'€™s heroes. While use-of-force is highly researched, most existing work has typically forgone the examination of officer mindset in lieu of the more patent explanatory variables of race, sex, and method. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the psychological influences of officer motivation from those responsible for providing instruction to police officers. …

Juvenile Offender Risk Factors Associated With Participation In Diversion Programs And Recidivism, Latasha Lavette Allen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although reducing recidivism among juvenile offenders is an important goal of the criminal justice system and diversion programs are known to reduce recidivism, little is known about the risk factors associated with participation in diversion programs or recidivism. The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify the juvenile offender risk factors associated with participation in diversion programs and recidivism. Social learning theory was the theoretical framework. The key research questions focused on how juvenile offenders'€™ demographic characteristics, risk factors, and participation in different types of diversion programs were associated with recidivism. Archival data from a large juvenile justice agency …

Probation Officers And Parole Agents' Perceptions Of Institutional Obstacles To Reducing Recidivism In A Midwestern State, Gertha Lee Lusby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prison management and key stakeholders lack an understanding of how institutional obstacles interfere with probation officers and parole agents' ability in managing offenders to reduce recidivism in a Midwestern state. In 2014, 1 out of 52 adults in the U.S. were under the supervision of probation officers or parole agents. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to identify the institutional obstacles that exist for probation officers and parole agents in terms of their lived experiences in their jobs. The participants were 5 probation officers and 6 parole agents from a municipal district in a county in a Midwestern …

Public Officials' Defense Of Bribery As A Culturally Acceptable Behavior In Ghana, Agyena Osei Joseph

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The prevalence of bribery in Ghana has increased significantly since the mid-2000s and has received considerable attention in both local and international media, as well as among empirical researchers. Although researchers have examined factors that influence the giving and acceptance of bribes in Ghana, limited theoretical research exists concerning the ways public officials in Ghana defend their corrupt behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine ways bribees in Ghana defend their illegal actions, using Sykes and Matza’s neutralization theory. Data were collected from telephone interviews with 11 Ghanaian public officials who have served sentences for bribery; their statements …

Barriers That Prevent Adult Latino Students From Attaining A College Degree, Laly J. Rodriguez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The U.S. Latino community is underrepresented among those with college degrees, and high college dropout rates among Latinos have contributed to that underrepresentation. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore why Latinos are at increased risk for dropping out of college compared to their White counterparts. Tinto's theory of student integration and the geometric model of student persistence and achievement were used to guide the study. Data were collected from 12 Latino students at risk for dropping out at a college in the northeastern United States who were enrolled in a degree program but were considering dropping …