Morality, Context, And Crime Decision-Making, Shaina Herman

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Recent criminological advancements increasingly aim to better understand criminal behavior in context. This is particularly true regarding how perceptions of legal sanction risk are anchored in reality and influence offending decisions. Yet research on extralegal considerations such as morality has not kept pace. The current dissertation integrates criminological morality literature, with psychological research on Self Concept Maintenance Theory (SCMT) and moral identity, into a perspective on moral decision-making dynamics that integrates personal and situational factors. I utilize three data collections containing randomized experiments to investigate the situational malleability of moral evaluations and the interrelatedness with moral identity and criminal intentions. …

Guns And Fatal Police Shootings: Accuracy Of Firearm Prevalence Proxies In A Panel Data Analysis, Corin Elmore

CMC Senior Theses

This paper explores the relationship between gun prevalence and fatal police shootings in the United States. Specifically, the study assesses the validity of using FSS (Firearm Suicides Per Total Suicides) as a proxy for gun prevalence. It examines whether FBI background check data can be a more reliable alternative. Through a panel data analysis, the study provides moderate evidence that FBI background check data performs better than FSS as a proxy for gun prevalence and that the relationship between firearm prevalence and fatal police shootings is positive. Additionally, the study finds that instrumenting FSS with background check data to account …

The Effects Of Gender Stereotypes And Types Of Crime On Perceptions Of Responsibility, Sentencing Severity, And Likelihood Of Recidivism, Spencer Hagenbuch

CMC Senior Theses

Past research has produced mixed findings regarding the roles of gender stereotypes in criminal sentencing. Usually, women receive preferential treatment; however, studies have shown that women receive harsher sentencing than men under certain circumstances. In light of these findings, we argued that the Chivalry and Paternalism thesis shows how women are exempted from harsh punishment when their crimes align with negative gender stereotypes, resulting in lenient treatment most of the time. Additionally, we argued that women receive harsher sentencing when their crimes violate positive gender stereotypes while men receive harsher sentencing when their crimes 1) violate positive gender stereotypes or …

How The “Black Criminal” Stereotype Shapes Black People’S Psychological Experience Of Policing: Evidence Of Stereotype Threat And Remaining Questions, Cynthia J. Najdowski

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Cultural stereotypes that link Black race to crime in the U.S. originated in and are perpetuated by policies that result in the disproportionate criminalization and punishment of Black people. The scientific record is replete with evidence that these stereotypes impact perceivers’ perceptions, information processing, and decision-making in ways that produce more negative criminal legal outcomes for Black people than White people. However, relatively scant attention has been paid to understanding how situations that present a risk of being evaluated through the lens of crime-related stereotypes also directly affect Black people. In this article, I consider one situation in particular: encounters …

Essays On The Economics Of Law And Crime, Zachary J. Porreca

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The first chapter examines the connection between gentrification and urban violence. I demonstrate a positive and plausibly causal relationship between urban redevelopment and gun violence in Philadelphia. As the underlying mechanism, I focus on gentrification's displacement effect on local drug markets. Treating the city as a spatial network of city blocks and using two-way fixed effects differences-in-differences estimators, I show the gentrification of one block increases violence across the surrounding neighborhood. I find that some 2,400 (8%) of Philadelphia's shootings between the years 2011 and 2020 can be attributed to spillover effects from the gentrification of drug blocks. This effect …

Tennessee Felon Population Update, January 2023, Tennessee. Department Of Correction.

Felon Population Reports

No abstract provided.

Office Of Criminal Justice Programs 2024 Addendum To Ocjp 2022 Five Year Strategic Plan, Tennessee. Department Finance & Administration.

Office of Criminal Justice Programs

No abstract provided.

Office Of Criminal Justice Programs Annual Report Fy 2022, Tennessee. Department Finance & Administration.

Office of Criminal Justice Programs

No abstract provided.

Office Of Criminal Justice Programs Victim-Centered Forums Fy 2023, Tennessee. Department Finance & Administration.

Office of Criminal Justice Programs

No abstract provided.

Legislative Report, Calendar Year 2022, Tennessee. Department Of Safety & Homeland Security.

Legislative Reports

No abstract provided.

Archaic Laws In A Progressive State: A Case For Emerging Adults, Aaron Edward Olson, Brock Marchel-Zerr

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Uncovering The Connection Between Mental Health Service Availability And Violent Crime: A Test Of Macrolevel Theory, Tatianna R. Pugmire

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Since the decline of mental health service funding and availability, the relationship between untreated (or improperly treated) serious mental illness and violent crime is increasingly critical to examine. Rooted in a social support and institutional anomie theory (IAT) perspective, the purpose of this quantitative study is to analyze the relationship between mental health service availability and violent crime rates across the United States for the year 2016. It was hypothesized that findings would suggest an inverse relationship between mental health service availability and rates of violent crime. Results revealed the opposite, however, indicating that the more psychiatric hospitals in an …

Three Essays In Applied Microeconomics: Philly Style, Alexander Christian Marsella

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

My dissertation analyzes several contemporary policy-based and institutional occurrences in an urban setting to help guide further advancements in reducing violence, drug overdose deaths, and other unhealthy behaviors that city governments look to curb. Several recent developments in Philadelphia offer a promising setting for studying policies that have broad implications.

Chapter 1 examines the effect of the West Philadelphia Promise Zone initiative on violent crime rates in a high-crime area of West Philadelphia, where a series of educational, public-safety, and quality-of-life improvement grants were disbursed from 2014 onward. My difference-in-differences analysis with two-way fixed effects and cluster bootstrapped standard errors …

The Joker Controversy: An Origin Story, Brandon Bosch, Lisa Kort-Butler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The Joker has been in the Batman comics for over 80 years and appeared on small and large screen as Batman’s violent arch-nemesis. In the month prior to its theatrical release, commentary about the 2019 film Joker spurred a viral media reaction with concerns about the film inciting violence. To understand this phenomenon, we used Google Trends to trace a timeline of online media reactions mapped to events. Then, we analyzed over 200 news stories, commentary articles, and film reviews for explanatory narratives. We noted four key moments: the Venice Film Festival; an open letter by family members of victims …

An Empirical Analysis Of The Link Between Built Environment And Safety In Chicago’S Transit Station Areas, Ahoura Zandiatashbar, Agustina Laurito

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Considering that safety is a key environmental factor that promotes health, understanding the relationship between built environment features around transit station areas and crime may shed light on how to foster healthy communities. Yet, there is limited work that has examined how the combination of different built environment features around transit correlate with different crimes. We addressed this issue in this study using data from Chicago (IL). First, we used cluster analysis to classify stations in Chicago in a spectrum from transit-oriented development (TOD) to transit-adjacent development (TAD) categories depending on their built environment characteristics: …

Assessing Arrest & Traffic Stop Patterns In Portland, Me, Jack Mcdevitt Ph.D., George Shaler Mph, Sarah Krichels Goan Mpp, Stephen Abeyta, Carlos Cuevas Phd

Justice Policy

This project examined the available arrest and traffic citation data from Portland Police Department to determine if there is any evidence of disproportionate enforcement activities in the city.

Long Live Joint Criminal Enterprise: With A Particular Reference To Tadić’S Interactive Construction Between “The Beast” And Specific Direction, Miguel Ângelo Loureiro Manero De Lemos

San Diego International Law Journal

The idea that Joint Criminal Enterprise, in particular its extended version, contravenes fundamental principles of criminal law has gained track. Thus, not only did the International Criminal Court distance itself from the construct but, today, the widely held view is that the extended version should be discarded, not least because it is not grounded in customary international law. This Article challenges that view. While addressing scholarly criticism towards Joint Criminal Enterprise, and demonstrating why the “beast” is a solid construction, it argues that prosecutors and judges must look past the written provisions of the Statute of the International Criminal Court …

Deportations For Drug Convictions In The United States And The European Union: Creating A More Compassionate Approach Toward Drug Convictions In The Immigration Law, Megan Smith

San Diego International Law Journal

This Comment begins by examining and comparing the legal framework for deportation and other immigration consequences for convictions of drug offenses in the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. This Comment then looks at the harsh effects of current immigration policy on individuals and marginalized communities. Finally, this Comment argues that immigration law should be reformed to adopt a more humanitarian approach toward non-citizens convicted of drug offenses. Deportation and other harsh immigration consequences for drug offenses levy disproportionately severe punishments toward vulnerable minority immigrant communities, exposing them to consequences much harsher than non-immigrants would face for …

Examining The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Violent Crime In The City Of Pittsburgh, Brittany Urban

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research is to examine patterns of Part I crimes [including Part I Person/Violent: Homicide, Rape, Aggravated Assault, and Robbery, and Part I Property: Burglary, Larceny-Theft, Motor Vehicle Theft, and Arson, as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Standards] in The City of Pittsburgh, framing the COVID-19 pandemic as a major stressor that Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory suggests may lead to increased opportunity for crime, due to the perceived unjustness of the associated lockdown orders and potential incentive for criminal coping (Agnew 1992). This descriptive analysis is based primarily upon …

Do Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Strategies Deter Taggers? Voices From The Street, Arthur Vasquez, Nina Barbieri, John J. Rodriguez

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) postulates that jurisdictions can deter crime and antisocial behavior via effective use and proper design of the physical environment. When a jurisdiction implements a CPTED strategy, it makes involvement in criminal behavior more difficult, thereby increasing the chance of being caught. Using interviews with 35 active juvenile street taggers from a large metropolitan area in Texas, this research explores whether implementing CPTED strategies deter offenders from engaging in criminal activity. Results suggest physical barriers, natural surveillance, access, and signage serve as deterrents during the target selection process."

Editorial, Kevin Buckler

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"

Editor Introduction to Volume 11, Issue 4

This issue of the Journal contains four articles and two book reviews. Each of the four articles focuses in some way on crime, criminal justice, and space. "

Getting Jumped In Vacationland: The Complicated Rhetoric And Realities Of Assault In A Small Town, Andrew Burns, Kat Albrecht

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) postulates that jurisdictions can deter crime and antisocial behavior via effective use and proper design of the physical environment. When a jurisdiction implements a CPTED strategy, it makes involvement in criminal behavior more difficult, thereby increasing the chance of being caught. Using interviews with 35 active juvenile street taggers from a large metropolitan area in Texas, this research explores whether implementing CPTED strategies deter offenders from engaging in criminal activity. Results suggest physical barriers, natural surveillance, access, and signage serve as deterrents during the target selection process."

“I Know A Guy”: Examining Homeless Income Generation And Spatial Mobility, Daniel J. Reinhard, Ted Palys

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"This study explores the variety of income-generating activities, along with corresponding distances that homeless and marginally housed persons travel to engage in the activities. Altogether 24 individuals were interviewed, and ethnographic field observations occurred over several months to increase rapport. The qualitatively gathered data were used in ArcGIS to calculate travel distances. These income-generating activities that persons engaged in were commonly forms of shadow work, and many kinds of income-generating activities were found. Among our sample, there appeared to be two distinct groups: those with more income methods and further travels, and those with fewer methods and shorter travels. The …

Entering Without Breaking: Challenges And Strategies Of The Qualitative Criminologist Investigating Carceral Spaces, Anaïs Tschanz

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Although qualitative methodology courses in criminology make it possible to gain theoretical and practical training in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data gathered using qualitative tools, these more rarely help address more targeted questions and concerns. Without making any claim to offer definitive solutions beyond the status of “tip,” this article attempts to tackle “things they don't really teach you how to handle in your qualitative methodology class,” concerning research in a carceral environment. By characterising carceral space as an opaque, all-encompassing environment pervaded by spatiotemporal constraints, it describes strategies that can be implemented in the face of organisational, …

Quicker, J. C., Batani-Khalfani, A. S., Before Crips: Fussin’, Cussin’, And Discussin’ Among South Los Angeles Juvenile Gangs., Shilpashri Karbhari

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Before Crips: Fussin’, Cussin’, and Discussin’ Among South Los Angeles Juvenile Gangs delves into a criminological discussion of juvenile gangs in South Los Angeles. Authors John C. Quicker and Akil S. Batani-Khalfani, deconstruct the term “juvenile gangs” and instead recommend using “street groups.” Chapters one through nine provide a historical timeline of the various pre-Crip-and-Blood gangs in South Central Los Angeles, past and present theoretical approaches, and the origins of the Slausons, one of the established early gangs in South Los Angeles. The book features a visual description of the various clubs, street groups, and gangs that were visible …

Decker, S. H., Pyroox, D. C., & Densley, J. A., On Gangs, Charles Cunha

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"The authors of the book, On Gangs, are well-known criminologists specializing in criminology and gangs. Scott H. Decker is a Foundation Professor Emeritus of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. David C. Pyrooz is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder. James A. Densley is a Professor and Department Chair of Criminal Justice at Metropolitan State University. The authors provided a current compilation of robust knowledge."

Crime Across The Ages: An Examination Of Intergenerational Crime And Recidivism Among Serious Juvenile Offenders, A'Maiya Brown

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

Although prior research has studied whether parents and their criminal histories impact a juvenile’s likelihood to commit crime, there has been little examination of whether the criminal histories of family members impact the likelihood of rearrest for juveniles who have already committed serious crimes. Using data from the Pathways to Desistance study (Pathways), this study examines the relationship between the criminal history of family members (i.e., mother, father, and other family members living within the home) and rearrest rates of participants. Results from negative binomial regressions reveal that the arrest records of the mother and father do have a significant …

Tennessee Felon Population Update, December 2022, Tennessee. Department Of Correction.

Felon Population Reports

No abstract provided.

Mental Illness Labeling In Justice-Involved People, Elena Therese Vaudreuil

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

While it cannot be denied that there is a strong correlational relationship between justice-involvement and mental illness, research has demonstrated that severe mental illness is rarely the direct cause of criminal activity. However, stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental illness are often rooted in incorrect generalizations regarding the link between mental illness and unpredictable, dangerous behavior, which can be magnified by labels (e.g., "schizophrenic" or "criminal"). This reduction of a person to a label results in a number of negative outcomes, ranging from the prejudice and inequitable treatment one may experience from groups such as justice workers, police, and employers …

Tennessee Felon Population Update, November 2022, Tennessee. Department Of Correction.

Felon Population Reports

No abstract provided.