Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Akers' Social Learning Theory: Childhood Victimization, Witnessing Violence, Peer Violence And Later Violent Offending, Pamela Annette Styles

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The literature linking abuse and later violent offending is extensive. More importantly, the effects of witnessing violence and peer violence on later violent offending have been well established. Drawing upon Akers' social learning theory, the current study explored the effects of victimization, witnessing violence, deviant peer association on later violent offending comparing Blacks and Whites. Using data from the National Survey of Adolescents (NSA), the sample was comprised of 2746 Whites and 572 Blacks. Bivariate and multivariate analyses revealed similar effects for Blacks and Whites. Examining social learning theory variables, the effects of witnessing violence, associating with violent peers and …

The Initial Development And Validation Of The Teen Screen For Dating Violence, Kelly M. Emelianchik-Key

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

This study was related to the initial development and validation of the instrument, the Teen Screen for Dating Violence (TSDV). The TSDV is an assessment tool that screens for adolescent dating violence perpetration and victimization. It examines perceptions, experiences, perpetration, and exposure to dating violence as well as available support systems for adolescents. Literature shows that dating violence among the adolescent population is on the rise and adolescent dating violence mimics many of the patterns of adult intimate partner violence. Children who grow up in homes with violence are more likely to continue the cycle of violence in their future …

The Influence Of Poverty On The Development And Maintenance Of Conduct Disorder And Perpetuation Of Crime And Violence, David Saunders-Scott

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Jamaica has one of the highest murder rates per capita in the world, as well as a high rate of other crimes. With this study, I examined how factors such as income, socialecological factors of poverty (S-E factors of poverty), and symptoms of conduct disorder (CD) were related to criminality in a sample of 79 male Jamaican parolees and probationers. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 74 years old and were all of African descent. I interviewed participants using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WHO-CIDI), a survey to assess S-E factors associated with poverty, and the …

Comparative Analysis Between Routine Preventative Uniformed Police Patrols And Crime Reduction And Calls For Service, Oscar F. Vigoa

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The majority of the theoretical and empirical literature on police patrols and crime has concentrated on the logical assumption that more uniformed preventative police patrols reduce crime. However, few studies have examined the comparative relationship between more police officers doing preventative patrols in a specific area and crime rates and response to calls for service. The objective of this research was to examine whether more uniformed police officers, doing routine preventative patrols, assigned to an area the size of a small city reduces class one crimes (robbery, residential, and commercial burglary and auto theft). The principal intention of the study …

Characteristics Of Adolescent Females Sexually Exploited Through Prostitution, Alanna Robinson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Adolescent females are becoming the fastest growing population amongst juveniles being held in detention and referred to juvenile courts. Unfortunately such increases are linked to a lack of alternative services available for youths during the adjudication process. Upon being arrested, delinquent girls are suffering from a host of health, emotional and social issues for which there is also a lack of programming and detailed research. However, emerging evidence indicates that female delinquency is characterized by a multitude of overlapping problems that distinguish them from male delinquents. Issues include poor mental health, history of child abuse, substance abuse among parents and …

Sex, Drug Courts, And Recidivism, Doria Nour Dandan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Research studies have identified gender differences in the drug abusing patterns and treatment needs of men and women. Even so, studies on the drug court model have not assessed drug court effectiveness across sex. Using secondary data collected from the Ada County Drug Court, the recidivism rates of drug court participants (n=259) and probationers (n=235) were analyzed. Drug court participants were found to be less likely to recidivate compared to probationers, which supports previous research on drug court effectiveness. Regression analyses failed to find an interaction between group membership and sex, thereby indicating that the effect of the drug court …

Assessing The Impact Of Police Order Maintenance Units On Crime: An Application Of The Broken Windows Hypothesis, Steven Andrew Pace

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

High levels of violent crime and disorder area concentrated within certain neighborhoods of northwest Las Vegas, Nevada. In April 2009 a police order-maintenance unit designed to reduce minor and major offenses was initiated in these areas. Drawing on the Broken Windows Hypothesis, the unit combined detailed crime analysis with extensive police efforts to address specific community problems. This paper discusses the implementation and impact of the police order-maintenance unit during its operation.

Attitudes Towards Megan's Law And Juvenile Sex Offenders, Debra Lee Cochrane

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sex offender registration laws are very controversial. All fifty states require adult sex offenders to register. Twenty-eight states have extended registration and community notification requirements to juveniles (Hiller, 1998). These states seem to have failed to look at the uniqueness of juvenile sex offending. Juveniles have a very low recidivism rate and complex issues of culpability from age-of-consent laws. Applying Megan's Law to juveniles could have considerable negative consequences for juveniles' social development, particularly because one of the main stipulations of the law requires the juvenile to notify their school. Rehabilitation is a key factor of the juvenile justice system …

Adjustment To Correctional Confinement: Investigating The Correlates Of Violence And Disorder In A Jail Environment, Fred W. Meyer Iii

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examines the individual- and institutional-level variables that are correlated with violence and disorder within a jail facility. Previous research indicates that deviant behavior is one of the main challenges that negatively impacts the safe and effective management of correctional facilities. While many studies have been conducted on prison populations, few studies have focused upon jail populations. Using official institutional data, this study explores the factors associated with general infractions and violent misconduct among a stratified random sample of inmates (n=447) incarcerated during a one year period in a large county jail facility. The logistic regression and conjunctive analyses …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between The Hypersexual Environment Of Las Vegas And Forcible Rape, Lisa Ann Dooley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine whether rates of forcible rape in Nevada are high, possibly a side effect of living in a hypersexual city. The study will explore whether these rates compare to other cities of the same size that are tourism focused and whether rates of forcible rapes are higher in counties without prostitution than with prostitution. This paper will also consider rates of sexual victimization among undergraduate students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University of British Columbia, and Simon Fraser University. Lastly, the study will consider whether the hypersexual nature of the city …

The Criminalization Of Homelessness, Sarah Mckenzie Prather

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The current study is an analysis of the problem of homelessness in American society today. It focuses on the demographic characteristics of the homeless in addition to some of the contributing factors that explain homelessness. Of particular concern is how the criminal justice system responds to homelessness, including the criminalization and stigmatization of homeless individuals and the implications of such a response. The data used in this study come from a recent survey conducted in a jail setting in a northwest city. The present study compares those who have been homeless at one time or another and those who have …

Domestic Violence And Recidivism: Does Stake In Conformity Matter?, Sara R. Olson

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Domestic violence is a pervasive problem throughout society and has been in existence since the beginning of interpersonal relationships. There have been changes in how the academic community, law enforcement, and the general public respond to this problem in the last thirty years. Punishments have become more punitive and mandatory arrest policies have been instituted. Mandatory arrest for domestic violence batterers has increased the number of batterers that are involved with the criminal justice system. In response to this increase, diversion to batterer treatment and other community based programs has taken the place of jail time for many offenders. This …

Untangling Fear Of Crime: A Multi-Theoretical Approach To Examining The Causes Of Crime-Specific Fear, Mariel Alper

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Fear of crime has been a major research topic over the past several decades. However, multiple explanations have been proposed and no clear theoretical model exists. Building on existing research, this study attempts to build a crime type-specific theoretical model of fear. In particular, the predictive power of three theoretical models is explored. This study addresses several methodological shortcomings by measuring offense type-specific, emotionally-based fear of violent and property crime. The results suggest that the predictors of each type of fear vary, and some theoretical models are a better explanation of one type of fear than the other. Overall, the …

Tobacco-Free Prison Policies And Health Outcomes Among Inmates, Alison R. Connell

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This study was the first to examine the effect of tobacco policies in prisons on the health of inmates. Kentucky has two types of tobacco policies in its 16 state prisons: indoor smoke-free policies, where smoking is allowed outdoors and tobacco-free policies, in which no tobacco of any kind is allowed on the grounds of the prison. The smoking rate of inmates is three times higher than that of current smokers in the non-incarcerated population which results in high rates of tobacco-related health conditions such as heart disease and lung cancer.

A literature review discussed the evolution of tobacco policies …

The Effect Of Plea Bargaining Vs. Trial Conviction On The Sentencing Of Offenders Charged With A Drug Offense In Cook County, Illinois, Joseph George Dusek

Dissertations

Traditional wisdom suggests those who lose at trial for a criminal charge receive a heftier prison sentence than those who plea bargain. Plea bargaining reduces strain on the courts, expedites adjudication and may indicate the defendant's propensity for rehabilitation as they accept responsibility for their actions. Some ask why two people charged with the same crime should receive different sentences based on the adjudication method. The Constitution guarantees the right to a jury trial. Innocent defendants may decide to plead guilty for a sure short sentence rather than risk a trial conviction's lengthier one. This study using statistical procedures examined …

Three Worlds Of Western Punishment: A Regime Theory Of Cross-National Incarceration Rate Variation, 1960-2002, Matthew Demichele

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation offers an explanation of cross national incarceration rate variation for 17 industrialized countries for the second half of the 20^th century. Both historical case studies and time-series cross-section analyses are used to provide an institutional explanation of incarceration rate differences. Borrowing from Weber’s Sociology of Law and comparative legal scholarship, it is suggested that three types of legal thinking exist among western democracies—Common, Romano-Germanic, and Nordic law. A regime approach commonly applied in political economic explanations of welfare state development is used to quantify the legal and criminal justice institutional differences between 1960 and 2002 to assert …

Social Disorganization And The Spatial Distribution Of Homicides In El Paso, Nicholas Andrew Emerick

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Recent research on social disorganization theory shows general support for economic and stability measures of disorganization, but spatial dispersions and the disaggregation of homicides of crime have not been fully examined. 1985-1995 homicide data from the El Paso Police Department's detective logs and US Census data are combined to explore social disorganization in El Paso, the impact of ports of entry, and how motive interacts with social disorganization. Findings for total homicides in El Paso support existing social disorganization research. Motive specific homicides displayed distinct relationships to the disorganization measures. The concentrations of homicides near ports of entry can be …

Incarcerated Adults Sentenced In Adult Criminal Court While Juveniles: Knowledge, Understanding, And Perceptions Of Their Sentences, Karen Miner-Romanoff

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An estimated 200,000 juveniles are tried as adults yearly and receive punitive sentences intended to deter juvenile crime and increase public safety. Few qualitative studies on juveniles sentenced as adults and contradictory results indicate a need for further research. This study used a qualitative, phenomenological interpretive design, with the conceptual frameworks of general and specific deterrence and rational choice theories. In-depth interviews took place with 12 incarcerated adults serving sentences (24--540 months) for juvenile crimes. The research questions explored their knowledge of transfer laws and adult sentencing and perceptions of deterrence from future criminal activity. Coding of transcripts and audio …

Authoritarian Parenting : A Race Socializing Protective Factor That Deters African American Adolescents From Delinquency And Violence, Frank S. Pezzella

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

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Community-Level Crime Control : A Closer Look At The Mediating Variables Of Social Disorganization Theory, David Paul Armstrong

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The present study focuses on the mediating factors of social disorganization theory. To be more specific, this study combines the insights from the classical social disorganization model, the systemic model of crime, and the more recent work of Sampson and colleagues on collective efficacy and Carr (2003) on the new parochialism to answer some of the lingering questions within the perspective. The three mediating factors examined are social ties, collective efficacy, and organizational activism, a concept derived from Carr's work on the new parochialism. The concept organizational activism refers to using local organizations with access to outside resources to indirectly …

Offender Routines And Awareness Space : Looking Beyond Space And Place To Predict The Spatial Clustering Of Crime, Gina Penly Hall

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Research confirms what many people witness everyday--levels of crime are higher at and around some places compared to others. Explanations surrounding the spatial clustering of crime incidents, or hotspots, typically focus on characteristics of the criminal event and devote little attention to the role of the offender. Building from ideas set forth in routine activities and crime pattern theories, the first goal of this dissertation is to address this missing element. The presence of crime hotspots are estimated using geocoded crime incidents. The resulting maps, along with bivariate and multivariate analyses, examine offender-based explanations for the development of crime hotspots …

Prosecutorial Decision Making In The Face Of Changing Norms : An Exploratory Study Of Animal Cruelty Prosecution In New York, Andrea Lynne Kordzek

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Societal norms regarding the treatment of animals are evolving. This is reflected in part in nationwide changes in criminal justice policy regarding animal welfare. These changes, however, are not likely embraced by all nor do they necessarily result in changes in the practices of decision-makers in the criminal courts. Prosecutorial decision-making in animal cruelty cases may be especially varied due to evolving norms regarding the treatment of animals and conflicting views on the seriousness of the offense, along with the classification of animal cruelty as a relatively low level offense. Research to date has failed to examine how these cases …

Victim Input And Satisfaction : An Analysis Of Victim Personal Statements, Jeanna Marie Mastrocinque

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Beginning in 2001, England and Wales implemented the Victim Personal Statement scheme, allowing victims to provide a statement to be included in their case file expressing the physical, emotional, and financial consequences of the incident and to state what information the victim wants as the case progresses through the system. The VPS was crafted with the specific expectation that victims would not use this resource as a sentencing tool, and that victims are informed of this stipulation when providing a statement.

Segregation And Social Control : An Agent Based Simulation, Stephen Matthew Pate

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

There exists a considerable body of literature devoted to the evolution of segregated

Cognitive Appraisals, Stress And Emotion About Environmental Contamination In The Akwesasne Mohawk Nation, Christina A. Papadopoulos-Lane

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study explored the long term impact of white collar environmental crime, i.e., illegal disposal of toxins by ALCOA and GM foundry, on Akwesasne Mohawk Territory. Specifically this study focused on whether toxic contamination was perceived by Akwesasne residents as a chronic stressor, and how residents appraised and coped with the long term consequences of contamination. Data were collected from retrospective interviews using a non random targeted snow ball method. Lazarus's theory of stress and emotion was used to analyze the responses of 47 residents of Akwesasne about environmental contamination. Respondents who were aware of the contamination appraised it as …

Regionalization Of Selected Police Services Through A Law Enforcement Council : Is It Worth The Cost?, Julie Schnobrich-Davis

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This research study presents results from an evaluation and cost effectiveness analysis of a regionalization of selected police services into a Law Enforcement Council approach, as practiced by the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council (Metro-LEC). The Metro-LEC is a non-profit organization comprising forty three law enforcement agencies in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The results from wave two surveys administered to officers in the organization as well as a survey distributed to the Chief Executive Officers of the participating law enforcement agencies illustrate the overall effectiveness of the organization. Additionally, a cost effectiveness analysis presents data from the costs of operating regionalized …

An Examination Of Observed Disparities Between Felony Murder And Manslaughter Rates Across California, Michael Christopher Fuhr

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to examine felony murder and manslaughter data at the county level, in context with supplementary factors such as; population turnover, ethnic heterogeneity, poverty, and infant mortality rates.

Testing The Selective Chivalry Theory In Iowa : Gender Sentencing Of Rural Property Offenders, Maria Dorothy Herring Koeppel

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

During recent decades, sentencing patterns of offenders based on gender have been the topic of criminological and sociological research. There has been particular attention given to the lenient sentencing of female offenders compared to male offenders. Several research studies have found that gender affects the sentencing process in ways that are advantageous to female offenders, such as lower incarceration rates and shorter prison sentences. Despite the existing research on gender and sentencing, there are still several specific areas that need to be studied regarding this topic, such as property crimes and rural areas. The current research adds to the existing …

The Effects Of Owi Victim Impact Courses On Offender Recidivism, Sarah Emily Johnson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study examines the effectiveness of victim impact courses, a court mandated intervention program, for 2nd OWI offenders (individuals with a second conviction of operating while intoxicated) in the first, fifth, and sixth districts of Iowa. Victim impact courses are intended to teach offenders about how drinking and driving can come to affect others in various different ways. The course is intended to lower reoffending rates for those who participate. Data was obtained through the ICON database. The ICON database is utilized by the Department of Corrections in Iowa to track information concerning offenders and their offenses. A bivariate analysis, …

The Applicability Of The Megargee Classification System For The Mmpi-A, Joel Andrew Dillon

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Megargee (1977) originally developed a classification system for MMPI profiles for male offenders, and eventually expanded this system to also accommodate the MMPI profiles of female offenders (Megargee, 1992). Recently Megargee expanded and modified this system for use with the MMPI-2 (Megargee, Carbonell, Bohn, and Sliger, 2001). The purpose of the current study was to examine the utility of Megargee's systems as applied to adolescents in correctional facilities based on MMPI-A results. The Megargee classification criteria were modified for the purposes of this study, generally based on quite limited modifications to accommodate the lower profile ratings typically found for adolescents …