Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

1st Judicial District Department Of Correctional Services: [An Internship], Madalynn Stone

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

A poster covering the experiences of an intern with the Iowa First Judicial District Department of Correctional Services.

Examining Individual Differences In Attitudes Toward The Insanity Defense, Dominique M. Kornely

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the present study was to examine how individual differences in stigma against people who are mentally ill, free will beliefs, just world beliefs, and sentencing goals are associated with attitudes toward the insanity defense. Because there are many misconceptions about what the insanity defense is, and how it is actually used as a sentence, the Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) plea may be underutilized due to public opinions reflecting misunderstanding and/or possible biases (Perlin, 2017). Understanding the relation between individual beliefs and attitudes about the insanity defense would help to better understand potential biases present …

Motivation To Call Police: The Exploration Of Racial And Risk Averse Motivation, Alivia Lauren Zubrod

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

When calls are made to the police, the magnitude of their impact is often overlooked. When calls are made to the police and there is no crime, police resources, time, and energy could be wasted (Sampson, 2002); however, when no call is made to the police and there is a crime, human lives could be put in danger (e.g., Felson, Messner, Hoskin, & Deane, 2002). Based on highly publicized news reports, it appears that being a racial minority is enough motivation to call the police in some situations (e.g., napping or humanitarian work; Griggs, 2018; Williams, 2018b). Aversive racism theory …

Childhood Factors And Incarceration For African American Men: How Early Life Community Experience Influences Adult Outcomes, Abigail Cobb

Research in the Capitol

There is a dearth of research that analyzes childhood influence on adult incarceration, and an associated lack of emphasis on the relationship between childhood poverty, lack of educational attainment, and family structure on criminality among African American men – a population wherein individuals are both incarcerated and generally socioeconomically disadvantaged at disproportionately higher rates. Consistent with the recent demand for criminal justice reform, the need for systematic research pertaining to tendencies in criminality has become apparent. Resulting from secondhand statistical data analysis on aggregate state factors such as childhood poverty rate, rate of single-parenthood, and high school drop out rate, …

Racial Disparities Among African Americans Primarily In The Criminal Justice System And Other Areas In Society, Juana D. Hollingsworth

Graduate Research Papers

African Americans are overrepresented in the criminal justice system and known to experience disadvantages in society because of their race/ethnicity. In an effort to understand the barriers that hinder African Americans from equal opportunity; this study explores the possible factors that account for the disparities against the African American population in the criminal justice system and other areas in society. The current studies that exist utilize qualitative and quantitative interviews to collect the perceptions and experiences of African Americans with law enforcement. Findings revealed disparities particularly in the criminal justice system; the disparities are present in traffic tops, arrest, and …

Role Strain In Probation And Parole Work And Strategies Used To Reduce Strain, Samantha A. Shoger

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Probation and parole officers play a vital role in the operation of the correctional system. As a part of their role work in community-based corrections, probation and parole officers must act as both a client monitor and treatment counselor to not only assist in client reentry, but also to protect the public. Due to the nature of probation and parole work and the historical changes that have affected their work (i.e. the punitive turn, the New Penology, and the current correctional budgetary constraints), probation and parole officers must cope with a variety of factors in their work that can cause …

The Social Origin Of Violent Behavior, Todd Arthur Mensink

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study examines the social origins of extremely violent behavior. Numerous explanations of violent offenders have focused on biological, psychological, environmental or a combination of these factors to explain violence. Most explanations of violent behavior fail to take a holistic approach to understand the cause of violent behavior. This study is an analysis of the applicability of the violentization theory. Data was obtained through in-depth semi-structured interviews from six violent offenders in a residential treatment faciIity in the Midwest. Findings indicate that for most offenders, the violentization theory is consistent with their social experiences. However, two exceptions pertained to the …

Advanced Information Processing Technologies And Police Discretion, Kevin Wayne Howard

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This research seeks to evaluate the influence of advanced information processing technologies on police discretion. I have developed three propositions. First, advanced information processing technologies used in municipal law enforcement enable policing managers to easily collect and analyze large amounts of information. Second, the information acquired from these same technologies is used to create and/or modify bureaucratic rules regarding police work. Third, this combination of technological and bureaucratic processes has led to a reduction of patrol officers' discretion. Advanced information processing technologies include crime mapping, video surveillance, mobile data terminals (in-car computers), global positioning systems, and computer statistics (Compstat), a …

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, …

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 …

An Analysis Of State-By-State Variations In African American Incarceration Rates, Kristen Laura Johnson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

A great deal of social scientific research has examined the overrepresentation of African Americans in the American criminal justice system. Many of these analyses have focused on racial disparities in sentencing, and the disproportionate confinement of African Americans in jails and prisons. While the overrepresentation of African Americans in the criminal justice system is indisputable, explanations for this condition are often complex and controversial.

Institutional Racism And Public Policy : A Critical Discourse Analysis Of The War On Drugs, Kyle L. Mahannah

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Through reviewing the concept of institutional racism, I examine how this concept has been employed in the discourse on the war on drug. Moreover, I explore how this term has been employed by opponents and proponents on the war on drugs. First, I explore how the term 'institutional racism' is defined by various authors and scholars. I then reviewed how the United State Supreme Court has set precedents regarding intentional and unintentional discrimination. I also investigate how the concept of institutional racism is used in the discourse on American institutions of education, economics, law, and politics. l then review how …

Evaluating The Sentencing Of Non-Violent Drug Offenders, Christopher Joseph Koch

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

A great deal of criminological literature asserts that many non-violent drug offenders are being unnecessarily incarcerated in our nation's prisons. This argument suggests that those offenders typically specialize solely in drug crimes and alternative sanctions would be the most logical and cost-effective way to handle this growing segment of offenders. The purpose of the current research is to examine sentences for non-violent drug convictions and to assess whether presumably non-violent drug offenders pose a significant risk or threat to public safety. An analysis of a sample of 530 convicted drug offenders shows the majority do indeed have significant criminal histories …

Gender And Policing : An Analysis Of Police Departments As Gendered Organizations, Kimberly L. Seavey

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Drawing upon eighteen semi-structured, in-depth interviews with women officers from three municipal police departments, I examine the work lives these women experience and how their work lives are influenced by gender. I explore three categories in this analysis: (1) work environment; (2) social relations of work; and (3) occupational identity and role conflict. The analysis is based on in-depth interviews, participant observation, and archival data consisting of documents gathered from all three police departments. The study is guided by Joan Acker' s (1990, 1992a, 1992b) "theory of gendered organizations." I apply Acker's (1990, 1992a, 1992b) theory to determine if the …

Intergenerational Preferences Regarding Punishment Of Criminal Offenders, Allison Deutsch, Molly Movall, Christine Van Berkum

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

The purpose of this study is to examine intergenerational differences regarding corporal punishment of criminal offenders, particularly preferential differences that occur between members of the Baby Boom and Echo-Baby Boom generations. This research is of interest due to America 's changing culture. The children of Baby Roomers see fewer acts and practices as sinful and morally wrong than do their parents, and our research examines if similar changes occurred in the criminal justice system in response to how offenders should be punished. No studies currently exist which examine this issue, and this research will create awareness in the discipline of …

The Effects Of Individual Factors On Punitive Attitudes Toward Juvenile Offenders, Jennifer Keely Mac Connell

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between individual factors and punitive attitudes toward juvenile offenders. The individual factors examined were attributional style, authoritarianism, anxiety, self-esteem, the Five-Factor model of personality, and gender. It was hypothesized that possessing a punitive attributional style, maintaining authoritarian beliefs, and being male would predict punitive attitudes toward adolescent offenders. I also examined the effects of age of the offender and severity of the crime on attributions and punishment decisions. College students (N = 185) at a Midwestern university completed questionnaire packets in partial fulfillment of their introductory psychology course requirements. …

Dramaturgical Perspective In Modern Police Work : An Analysis Of Interviews And Observations, Michael P. Wagner

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Using a qualitative approach, I analyze data collected from two small Midwestern police departments. I gathered this data through a combination of methods: ethnographic interviewing, participant observation, and content analysis of police artifacts and documents. Most of the data derive from (1) my ethnographic interviews of 17 police officers and (2) my observations of officers during 16 "ride-along."

My analyses are guided by Goffman's (1959) dramaturgical analysis of face-to-face interaction, Manning's (1971; 1977) dramaturgical approach to policing, and Hunt and Manning's (1991) dramaturgical studies of police lying and the use of normal force (see also Hunt 1985). I rely most …

Gender, Religion, Causal Attributions, And Correctional Orientations Among Juvenile Justice Personnel, Amy Lynn Lyons

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine the attitudes and orientations of juvenile justice personnel from four urban counties within the state of Iowa. The nonrandom sample used in the present study is secondary and originally collected for a larger study conducted by Leiber (1993). A closed-ended, self-report survey was administered to each respondent. The total sample for the present research is 263. The hypotheses guiding the present study are based on the assumption that women experience religion differently from men, and in turn, will blame society for youth crime and favor orientations supporting diversion.

Carol Gilligan (1982) …

Gangs, Drugs, And Delinquency, Tina Renea Engstrom

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The main objective of this thesis is to study the link between gangs, drug use, and delinquency. Previous literature suggests that social learning and social control theories commonly provide theoretical contexts for explaining deviant behavior. The present research applies the principles of Sutherland's (1949) theory of differential association and Hirschi' s (1969) theory of social control to the delinquent behavior of gang members and their drug involvement. The present study does not attempt to explain why youths become gang members. Rather, this research uses an integration of social learning and social control theories to explain why gang members become involved …

Correctional Management : The Systemic Impact And Consequences Of Truth-In-Sentencing Legislation, Timothy S. Sexton

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Recently, a growing number of states have enacted truth-in-sentencing policies which will ensure that certain violent offenders serve at least 85% of their sentence. These policies are designed as a general deterrent to crime by placing an offender behind bars without the chance of parole. Theoretically by increasing the incarceration rate, "the effects of incapacitation will grow because fewer offenders will be free to victimize the population at large" (Parent, Dunworth, McDonald, & Rhodes, 1997, p.l). Although, truth-in-sentencing policies may sound practical, there is growing debate as to the systemic impact that truth-in-sentencing laws will have on correctional systems.

This …

Evaluating Intensive Home Supervision : A Community Based Juvenile Corrections Program, Laone K. Kishman

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The thesis presented herein is an evaluation of Intensive Home Supervision (IHS). IHS is a community based juvenile delinquency prevention program operated conjointly through the Department of Human Services (OHS) and Juvenile Court Services in Black Hawk County. The purpose of IHS is to provide a treatment oriented intensive supervision program designed specifically to keep youthful offenders in their homes and out of long term residential placements. IHS is different than many other intensive supervision programs in that it is designed to go beyond monitoring youths' behaviors by therapeutically intervening to enhance the offenders' life skills. The nine life skills …

An Analysis Of Racial Bias In Revocation Rates Among Felony Probationers In Black Hawk County, Iowa, Ross Thomas Todd

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The probation revocation hearing is one of many decision points in the legal system. Some probation violators are revoked from probation supervision and ordered to serve a prison sentence, while others are given another chance to successfully complete their period of supervision. Some legal scholars and researchers believe systematic racial discrimination occurs in the justice system, while others maintain that all criminal defendants are treated the same regardless of race. This does not mean that race never plays a role, only that it is idiosyncratic rather than systematic. The results of previous studies of the effects of race on judicial …

A Review And Modification Of Wilson And Herrnstein's Integrated Theory Of Criminality As It Pertains To Serial Murder And Serial Rape, Karen Bower Mead

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This thesis presents a review and modification of Wilson and Herrnstein's integrated theory of criminality in an effort to explain serial murder and serial rape. The crimes of serial murder and serial rape are described as offenses which appear to be unprovoked and "senseless" and as well are predatory and repetitious in nature. The objective of this thesis is to further understand and explain the occurrence of these particular criminal offenses through the integration of existing theories of behavior.

Wilson and Herrnstein's theory is discussed and modified specifically to address the criminality exhibited by serial murderers and serial rapists. Their …