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Cj Times Volume 6, Issue 2, Department Of Criminal Justice

CJ Times (Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Media Bias Toward The Colorado Springs Police Department: An Analysis Of The Existence Of Bias Through Three Eras Of Police Chiefs /, Jennifer Walden

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Research has been conducted for decades examining bias in the media, specifically toward targeted groups and organizations such as politicians and public agencies. The intention of this study is to examine written media news stories surrounding the time period of three local police chiefs from 2001 through 2011 to determine the existence of bias toward the Colorado Springs Police Department. The research conducted during this study adds to existing research and literature which assesses the unpredictable relationship between the police department and the media. It expands on the need for a police department to utilize its public information officer and …

Phenomenological Theories Of Crime, Peter K. Manning, Michael W. Raphael

Graduate Student Publications and Research

The distinctive aspect of phenomenological theories of crime is that they are based upon a stated epistemology: how things are known and a specific ontology—the nature of social reality. This specificity aligns itself with neo-Kantian concern with forms of knowing, interpretation, and meaning, as well as with 20th-century concern with perception, cognition, and the framing of events. While there are influences of phenomenological thinking on varieties of theorizing, such as symbolic interactionism, critical theory, queer theory, and gender-based theories of crime, these ideas are refractions and are inconsistent in their reference to and understanding of the foundational phenomenological works. A …

Crime Emergence And Simulation Modeling: Modeling Crime Space, Patricia Brantingham, Kathryn Wuschke, Richard Frank, Paul J. Brantingham

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

This chapter explores several new modeling approaches and research findings, showing how they may be used to explore and enhance theory. There is a special emphasis on Target Choice Selection, focusing on Crime Pattern Theory and the Geometry of Crime (Brantingham and Brantingham, 1978a, 1984, 1991; Brantingham and Brantingham, 1981, 1993a, 2008). This exploration is described through a series of research examples and a case study of the target choice behavior of high repeat offenders. The goal is to explore the emergence of patterns better understood against the urban backcloths for high repeat offenders. Emphasis is in this case study …

Play Fair With Recidivists, Richard Dagger

Political Science Faculty Publications

Retributivists thus face a difficult challenge. Either we must go against the social grain, and perhaps our own intuitions, by insisting that a criminal offense carry the same penalty or punishment no matter how many previous convictions an offender has accrued; or we must find a way to justify the recidivist premium. I shall take the second route here by arguing that recidivism itself is a kind of criminal offense. In developing this argument, I shall rely on Youngjae Lee's insightful analysis of "recidivism as omission." I shall complement his analysis, however, by grounding it in a conception of criminal …

Public Attitudes Toward Crime Control In Contemporary China : A Multilevel Analysis, Yue Zhuo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study applies the Western sociological theories in the Chinese context and systematically explores crime control attitudes in contemporary China. This research links individual-level data from the 2005 China General Social Survey with contextual-level data from China Procuratorial Yearbooks, Chinese Population Census 2000, and China Statistical Yearbooks. A multilevel framework informed by the instrumental perspective, the constructionist/conflict perspective, and the symbolic perspective is adopted to examine the individual-level and contextual-level social factors that affect the three dimensions of public attitudes toward crime control - satisfaction, spending, and due process.

Binge Drinking And Drug Use Among College Students: A Test Of Hirschi's Social Control Theory, Katelyn Riley-Cook

Master's Theses

This thesis tests Travis Hirschi's Social Control Theory using a sample of college students. The purpose of the study was to examine whether social bonds (attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief) impact binge drinking and drug use among college students. In addition, this study assessed the need for drug and alcohol intervention and prevention measures.

Random classes were selected from a college catalogue, and a total of five classes were surveyed. The total sample size was 193 students from a Bay Area university.

The research revealed little support for Hirschi's theory. Contrary to the theory, the research showed that attachment to …

Trying To Get A Good One' Bigamy Offences In England And Wales, 1850-1950, David Cox

The Plymouth Law and Criminal Justice Review

Bigamy has attracted little attention from both criminologists and historians in the past few decades. This is perhaps understandable, as bigamy is an uncommon crime, no longer regarded as a major threat to the institution of marriage or familial stability, as divorce laws have made it much easier for couples to legally separate, and co-habitation outside marriage is much more common than in pre-World War II England and Wales. 2 However, this has not always been the case; before men and women could divorce on equal terms and without blame being apportioned, bigamy was seen as one way in which …

Evaluation Of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy And A Standard Parenting Program Within A Women's State Prison Facility, Ashley B. Tempel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A majority of inmates in state and federal prisons across the U.S. have been reported to be parents of minors (Glaze & Maruschak, 2008). It is estimated that twice as many American children (i.e., 2% or over 1.7 million) compared to children of other industrialized countries have incarcerated parents (Murray, 2007). Approximately 336, 000 households with minor children are believed to be directly affected by parental imprisonment (Mumola, 2000). Parent training provided through correctional programming has potential to impact a large number of American families that are affected by parental incarceration. However, correctional parenting programs often vary across facilities and …

Overcriminalization For Lack Of Better Options: A Celebration Of Bill Stuntz, Daniel C. Richman

Faculty Scholarship

The unity of Bill Stuntz's character – his profound integrity – makes it easy to move from a celebration of his friendship (which I’ve treasured since we first met back in 1985) to one of his scholarship, for creativity, wisdom, and humility are strengths not just of Bill himself but of his work. Even as his broad brush strokes have fundamentally advanced our understanding of the interplay between substantive criminal law, criminal procedure, and criminal justice institutions over time, Bill's work – like Bill himself – welcomes and endures sustained engagement. Humility is appropriate for me, too, as I offer …

Animal Assisted Therapy: The Perception Of Animal Assisted Therapy Clinicians Regarding Active Participation In Treatment Therapies Of Juveniles In Detention Center Settings, Julia M. Lowe

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Juvenile delinquent facilities have witnessed an increase in youthful offenders experiencing mental health disorders. Mental health clinicians have been required to implement new forms of mental health treatments to address the rise in this special population of juveniles. Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) has become a popular form of treatment in detention facilities. Qualitative data collection was administered using a focus group of three participants to examine clinicians' perceptions of juvenile participation during AAT. Clinicians perceived increased participation of juveniles participation in AAT. Clinicians also witnessed changes in juvenile behaviors within the detention facility, indicating juveniles participating in AAT were more …

Media Perception Of Excessive Police Force Based On Unemployment Rate: An Analysis Of Colorado Springs, Denver, And Pueblo, Jennifer Meckstroth

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Excessive police force is reported in newspaper articles throughout the country on a regular basis. The purpose of this project was to determine whether the unemployment rate of a city had an effect on how the media perceives excessive police force in local newspapers. A content analysis of articles combined from Colorado Springs, Denver, and Pueblo examined the current perception of police in the media and how the unemployment rate effects how the media portrays excessive police force. The results of this study analyzed how the newspaper are analyzed the results determine whether a city with high a unemployment rate …

The Demographics Of Healthcare Fraud In South Florida, Jennifer K. Pond

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Health care fraud is a large problem in this country. Experts in the field estimate that 3-10% of all health care expenditures in the United States are fraudulent (National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, n.d., Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2009). "Financial losses due to health care fraud are estimated to range from $70 billion to a staggering $234 billion a year" (The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association, 2010). With this problem identified, it is important to identify and isolate possible influences and factors which perpetuate this type of fraud. Using South Florida as the subject area and health care fraud as …

Medical Marijuana Centers And Urban Resident's Perception Of Crime In Their Neighborhood, Maura L. Scherrer

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Due to the ambiguity of constitutional amendments, multiple state legislations, and municipal ordinances, medical marijuana has become quite a contentious subject. Despite the fact that many Americans approve the use of medical marijuana, they are opposed to medical marijuana centers opening in their own neighborhoods. People are concerned about the "element" that these centers bring into their neighborhoods as a result of increased pedestrian and vehicle traffic, loitering, open display of drug usage, and the fear of organized crime; comparable to the theory of broken windows, where crime is invited into a community when the wrong element is allowed to …

Victims Of Identity Theft: Can Existing Victim Assets Mitigate The Emotional And Psychological Impact, Carolyn M. Billecci

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Since Sutherland coined the phrase "white-collar crime" in 1939 during his address to the American Sociological Society (Barnett, n.d.), an array of crimes now fall under that heading. In particular, the crime of identity theft is an area of great concern and the subject of this study. The first identified task in this study was to achieve an understanding of what has been learned thus far about the emotional impact of identity theft on victims. The second resided in seeking to understand if a correlation exist between assets and income, and the emotional impact felt by identity theft victims. The …

Bias Blindness: How Police See And Don't See Hate Crimes, R. Jake Stump

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study examines how police see and don't see hate crimes. Prior research has drawn mainly on the ambiguity of hate crime laws and definitions, as well as the struggles endured by law enforcement when investigating these cases. This thesis delves deeper into the issue by analyzing the forces that shape officers' perception of hate crimes and how they influence the way they identify, investigate and report bias-motivated incidents. This research focuses on a police force of a small municipality, of less than 75,000 people, located in a Mid-Atlantic state. An analysis of the department's police records and a focus …

An Approach Integrating Deterrence And Rational Choice Theory, Bradley Rankin Poole

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

This study used an integrative theoretical approach. Criminological theories (deterrence and rational choice) were utilized in the theoretical framework for this study. A massive literature review was included in this study to help connect the theories being integrated. In the fall of 2010, approximately 505 students from the University of Memphis were used as the unit of analysis to examine their perceptions about offending, specifically, illegal parking. The respondents were all given a questionnaire that was used to measure two essential components of deterrence theory: certainty and severity of punishment. The questionnaire also asked the respondents about their perceptions of …

Whither Criminology?: On The State Of Criminology's Paradigm, Brendan David Dooley

Dissertations

What is the condition of criminology’s paradigm? The reply to this question has implications bearing on the profession’s bona fides as a science as well as its sustainability as an independent academic enterprise. The work attempts to capture the elusive term through the use of five themes: theoretical consensus, methodological consensus, boundaries, the departure from sociology, and the current and future status of the field. In approaching this question the work presents an analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seventeen renowned criminologists. The centerpiece of the latter data set was assembled and analyzed in …

Prescription Drug Abuse And Diversion Increase With Age, Don Wunderlin

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

This study conducted a secondary analysis of quantitative data collected from 2005 through 2009 from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The study found that prescription drug abuse and diversion from 2005 through 2009 showed an increasing usage, which is dependent upon age and drug category. While those aged 18-25 demonstrated higher nonmedical use of prescription drugs for three drug categories, those aged 50 and older were determined to have a higher usage in only one drug category. Overall the study determined that after age 50 nonmedical use of prescription drug and therefore diversion begins to drop significantly …

Identification Of Factors Influencing The Commission Of Burglaries, Mustafa Donmez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As in many countries, burglary is a very serious crime in Turkey. Scientific methods and techniques are needed to solve complex burglary cases. This study is completed in the Bursa Police context since they classified many crime data conducive to scientific studies under a project called BEMTAP. The main purpose of this study is to examine the factors influencing the commission of burglaries, using an epid-criminological perspective. It can be argued that factors leading to the commission of a crime are important for formulating preventive strategies in the community. In this study, the contributing factors are categorized into three main …

General Strain Theory And Juvenile Delinquency: A Cross-Cultural Study, Wen-Hsu Lin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

General strain theory (GST) (Agnew, 1992, 2001, 2006a) is an established criminological theory. Although the theory has been examined by many and enjoys empirical support, some limitations of previous studies need to be addressed. First, previous studies have not incorporated all major types of strain in their models; hence, the effects of these strains on delinquency are unclear. Second, many previous studies did not include negative emotions and even negative emotions other than anger. Finally, and the most serious limitation, many previous studies rely heavily on samples from Western countries, mostly the U.S.; thus, possible cultural influences are ignored. Although …

Adolescents Vs. Adults: Does The Criminal Justice System Punish Youth More Severely Than Adults For The Same Type Of Crime, Sheena L. Bowman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Understanding the disparity in the amount of punishment between youth and adults, for violent and non-violent criminal activity, remains a matter of theoretical debate. In the present study, the research employs deterrence and labeling theory, through a life course theoretical framework, to assess the extent to which the punishments for violent and non-violent crimes follow different trajectories. The deterrence theory posits an individual will refrain and deter from future offending if the consequence of the crime committed outweighs the actual crime itself. The labeling theory focuses on the labels applied to an individual, and if that label influences the individual's …

A Comparison Of White-Collar Offenders And Non-White-Collar Offenders On The Psychological Variables Of Personality, Criminal Thinking, And Psychopathy, Laurie Ragatz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The first purpose of this study was to replicate Walters and Geyer (2004) by examining how white-collar offenders differ from non-white-collar offenders on criminal thinking styles and lifestyle criminality. The second purpose was to examine the psychopathic characteristics of white-collar offenders in comparison to non-white-collar offenders. The third purpose was to explore the psychopathology of white-collar offenders compared to non-white-collar offenders. The study sample included 48 white-collar only offenders (offenders that only committed white-collar crime), 89 white-collar versatile offenders (offenders that have previously committed non-white-collar crime), and 89 non-white-collar offenders. Groups were matched on age and ethnicity. All participants completed …

Social And Human Capital: Contributing Effects Of Incarceration On Neighborhoods, Jacqueline Victoria Swofford

Dissertations and Theses

Interest in human and social capital's contribution to the desistence of crime is increasingly popular amongst criminologists, economists and policy makers. However, little attention has been drawn to the influence human and social capital indicators contribute towards the relationship between the re-entry process and juvenile crime at the neighborhood level. The current study hypothesizes the existence of a mediating relationship between human and social capital indicators (2000) and the rates of receiving formerly incarcerated persons (1997-2002) and juvenile arrest (2006-08) in 92 Portland, Oregon neighborhoods. Portland, Oregon receives more formerly incarcerated persons from Oregon's state correctional facilities than any other …

Sense Of Community, Collective Efficacy, And Perceived Police Efficacy: Research From A Social Cognitive Perspective, Ellen Belchior Rodrigues

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research investigates the relationship between two aspects of social cohesion on perceived police efficacy: (1) Sense of community, which is related to individual belonging and attachment to a place, as well as and trust and influence among residents; and (2) Collective efficacy, which is defined as cohesion among residents, combined with shared expectations for the social control of public spaces. Based in social disorganization theory and social cognitive theory, this study analyzes to what extent sense of community and collective efficacy affect perceptions of police work. This study was conducted in with residents from four neighborhoods from Wilmington, DE. …

Mission Statement Content And Prevalence Among Local Police Departments And Sheriffs' Offices, Gwendolyn L. Pascoe

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

This descriptive study uses grounded theory approach to investigate the prevalence and content of mission statements among United States local police departments and sheriffs' offices that employ less than 25 sworn personnel. Mixed method research analysis identified the prevalence of mission statements as well as the content and characteristics of mission statement. Mission statements were analyzed with no a priori assumptions, standards, or coding schema. From this study it was found that 80 (37.21%) of the study's sample law enforcement agencies (N = 215) have mission statements that were located through this study's web search and agency participation. The analysis …

Testimony Before The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, Miami, Florida September 21, 2010, William K. Black

Faculty Works

"Control frauds" are seemingly legitimate entities controlled by persons that use them as a fraud "weapon." (The person that controls the firm is typically the CEO, so that term is used in this testimony.) A single control fraud can cause greater losses than all other forms of property crime combined. Neo-classical economic theory, methodology, and praxis combine to optimize criminogenic environments that hyper-inflate financial bubbles and produce recurrent, intensifying financial crises. A criminogenic environment is one that creates such perverse incentives that it leads to widespread crime. Financial control frauds’ "weapon of choice" is accounting. Neoclassical theory, which dominates law …

Wall St. Fraud And Fiduciary Responsibilities: Can Jail Time Serve As An Adequate Deterrent For Willful Violations?, William K. Black

Faculty Works

The answer to the question posed by the title of this hearing is: only prison sentences can deter the violations that caused the debacle. We should, however, never rely solely on prosecutions to constrain crimes. The criminal justice system needs to work with regulation not only to make regulation more effective, but also to prevent “private market discipline” from becoming a “criminogenic” oxymoron. To understand the vital role that the criminal justice system must play if we are to avoid the recurrent, intensifying financial crises that have beset this and many other nations for nearly three decades we must begin …

The Art Of Caring: Woman And Restorative Justice, Peggy Lobb

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The process of restorative justice involves the caring compassion of others by providing support for the peaceful resolution of the conflict. The term restorative justice is used to describe a justice practice that has been in existence for hundreds of years in many indigenous communities. Recently, it is emerging in modern criminal justice systems as a way to obtain fair reparation for the victim and to offer an opportunity for the victim and the offender to mediate and reconcile after the offense to restore balance and peace to the community. The process involves the participation of the victim, offender, and …

Reel Images: Representations Of Adult Male Prisons By The Film Industry, Melissa E. Fenwick

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on the criminal justice system, punishment, and media continue to generate academic interest, particularly in the realm of social constructionism. The social construction perspective provides insight into the process through which media-controlled images are translated into social definitions of crime and justice. One new area of interest is the representations of prisons and penal culture by the entertainment media, namely the film industry. In this study, the author contributes to the area of social constructionist literature by administering a content analysis of eleven feature films on male prisons produced between 1979 and 2001. The author examines the frequency and …