Legal Studies Commons^™

Racial Profiling Policy And Its Relation To Pro-Active Policing, Bradley R. Anders

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

To address the primary problem of racial profiling by police, many states have passed legislation that require police departments to collect demographic data on those with whom the officer comes into contact; these data are later evaluated by supervisors. The problem lies in the possibility for police officers to disengage, or depolice, when faced with data collection policies that may be viewed as lessening the officer's discretion. It was this potential to depolice as related to policy interpretation that formed the conceptual framework for this study. As a result, implementation of racial profiling policies may negatively impact the very minorities …

The Utility Of Restorative Justice In Urban Communities For Afro Americans Males 12-17, Johnny Brooks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Juvenile delinquency continues to be a major social problem in the United States. One of the more salient problems with the juvenile justice system in the United States is its staggering incarceration rate, which poses a significant problem for youth exposed to the juvenile justice system, and the community as a whole. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the perspective of the program facilitators about the effectiveness of the restorative justice program in reducing recidivism for African American males aged 12 to 17 in Baltimore City's urban community. This study relied upon restorative justice theory as …

Analysis Of Variance In Recidivism Between Special Needs Offenders And Regular Offender Populations In Texas, Park Esewiata Atatah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A Specialized or Super Intensive-1 (SI-1) supervision level refers to a contact requirement imposed on special needs offenders (SNOs) under Texas parole supervision. SI-1 supervision requires greater contact with parole officers and treatment providers than supervision levels used on regular offenders (ROs), yet little is known about whether SI-1 supervision offenders violate terms of their parole or commit new crimes at a different rate compared to the regular offender population in the State of Texas. Reconstruction theory and the social construction of reality were used as theoretical underpinnings of this study, which examined whether differences in offenders' supervision levels created …

Law Enforcement`S Perception On Whether Or Not Criminal Street Gangs Are A Potential Terrorist Threat, Pamela Renee Mcintire

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

Over time gangs have evolved and formed a new era. The relationships today of these gangs are one of a convoluted nature. With technological advances like cell phones and the internet, they are not just a problem for an inner city area. The area is becoming worldwide. Because of the worldwide connections of these gangs another player is coming into the game with another agenda, terrorism.Local police officers are the front line defense when dealing with gangs. Their perception is crucial to the security of our neighborhoods. The current study explores the possible threat of terrorism through gang involvement by …

Comparing Risk Reducing And Incentive Based Reporting Strategies In A Small Business, William Howell

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The effects of employee theft can become detrimental when small businesses are their target. Small businesses are prone to employee theft through limitations solely defined by being a small business. The purpose of this research project was to present information that could be valuable in the elimination of employee theft. The research presented a questionnaire to examine the employees' attitudes of reporting employee theft of the selected small business. The research compared two common strategies used for reporting employee theft. Through analysis of these strategies, the more effective reporting strategy would be determined.

An Innovative Model For Police Leaders And Managers: From An Ancient Source "The Art Of War" By Sun Tzu, Melissa Pena

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

Crime has been perceived as a battle that has yet to be won within the United States, as in other countries as well. However, an ancient text over 2,500 years old has been used to achieve victory in many battles throughout history. The innovative leader, Sun Tzu created the thirteen chapter document called The Art of War which identifies principles and strategies that can be used to defeat and overcome one's enemy. The purpose of this study is to identify if strategies advocated by military leader Sun Tzu in his seminal work The Art of War, are applicable to modern …

Behaviors And Attitudes Related To Youth Runaway Behaviors, Braden Anthony Bozer

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The purpose of this study was to examine running away behaviors related to certain attitudes and behaviors during childhood and adolescence. Data for this study was collected from 206 students that filled out a self report questionnaire while attending the University of Texas at Arlington during the Fall semester of 2010 or Spring semester of 2011. The main point of this research was to examine attitudes and behaviors that caused participants to have runaway thoughts or actually run away. Other variables observed were gender, family structure, and parent's education level. Two logistic regressions were run. Depression was the behavior that …

The Impact Of The War On Drugs: African-American Women's Perceptions Through A Phenomenological Approach, Zandra D. Hubbard

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of African-American women who have been impacted by incarceration based on drug offense. Studies have indicated that in last twenty years, women have been incarcerated at a much higher rate than their male counterparts (Bureau of Statistics Bulletin, 2009; Kappeler & Porter, 2005; Harrison & Beck, 2003).African-American women have the highest imprisonment rate (Tonry, 1995; Nunn, 2002). As a result, this study attempted to portray the impact of the war on drugs on African- American women while considering all the factors relevant to their incarceration phenomenon. This qualitative study was …

Perceptions Of Terrorism Regarding Fear Of Victimization, Rufus Abraham

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The purpose of this study is to measure perceptions of terrorism in regards to fear of victimization by terrorist organizations among college undergraduates. A quantitative measure of levels of fear of victimization and its possible effects on student behavior will be obtained through the use of a survey instrument. The 120 students will be confidentially surveyed at The University of Texas at Arlington. The experimental group will have nine media photos of major terrorist events attached to their survey. The research team hypothesizes that female undergraduates will have higher rates of fear of victimization than male undergraduates in both groups …

Racial Disparities And Capital Sentencing As Perceived By Criminology And Criminal Justice Students, Hubert Kanda Lumbala

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The purpose of this study is to examine the difference of perceptions of criminology and criminal justice (CRCJ) male students in comparison with their female counterparts on possible race factor in death penalty sentencing. The data in this study were obtained from a sample of 100 male and female CRCJ students enrolled in CRCJ courses during the semester of fall 2010 at the University of Texas at Arlington, located in north Texas. The findings in this research suggest that there is a little significant difference of knowledge among both male and female CRCJ students as pertaining to the death penalty, …

General Strain Theory, Race, And Delinquency, Jennifer Peck

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study drew on Agnew's General Strain Theory (GST) to examine the relationship between strain, race, and delinquent behavior. To address this possible association, five hypotheses were tested to examine if different types of strain and stress exposure influence delinquent coping and if these relationships are conditioned by race and ethnicity. Using data from the Add Health Study, White, African American, and Hispanic adolescents, the present study attempts to generalize GST to different racial and ethnic groups.

Results from OLS and negative binomial regression analyses indicate that some support was found for GST, in that indicators of strain to …

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 …

Social Contracts, Fair Play, And The Justification Of Punishment, Richard Dagger

Political Science Faculty Publications

In recent years, the counterintuitive claim that criminals consent to their own punishment has been revived by philosophers who attempt to ground the justification of punishment in some version of the social contract. In this paper, I examine three such attempts—“contractarian” essays by Christopher Morris and Claire Finkelstein and an essay by Corey Brettschneider from the rival “contractualist” camp—and I find all three unconvincing. Each attempt is plausible, I argue, but its plausibility derives not from the appeal to a social contract but from considerations of fair play. Rather than look to the social contract for a justification of punishment, …

Prospective Changes In Attributions Of Self-Blame And Social Reactions To Women’S Disclosures Of Adult Sexual Assault, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Sarah E. Ullman

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

The present longitudinal study examined relations between self-blame attributions and social reactions to disclosure in a community sample of adult sexual assault victims (N = 555). Cross-lagged panel analyses showed that neither characterological self-blame nor behavioral self-blame related to negative social reactions over the 1-year follow-up period. In contrast, characterological but not behavioral self-blame predicted fewer positive reactions over time. Although positive reactions did not reduce self-blame, negative reactions led to greater characterological, but not behavioral, self-blame during the course of the study. Thus, relations between self-blame and social reactions were not reciprocal but rather quite complex. The effects …

Vulnerability And Protective Factors For Sexual Assault, Sarah E. Ullman, Cynthia J. Najdowski

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Approximately 1 in 5 women experience sexual assaults in adulthood during their lives (see Post, this volume, for review), including experiences of unwanted sexual contact, sexual coercion, attempted rape, and completed rape that result from threat, force, or incapacitation from alcohol or drugs (either willingly or unwillingly consumed).

Developmental Trajectories Of Self-Control: Assessing The Stability Hypothesis, James Vance Ray

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A key proposition of Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) self-control theory is the stability hypothesis which suggests that an individual's level of self-control, once established between the ages of 8-10, is stable over the life course. Empirical results from examinations of the stability hypothesis have been mixed. Prior tests of the stability hypothesis have employed aggregate assessment methods (e.g., mean-level and correlational analyses). Such approaches fail to take into account the possibility that individual developmental pathways may differ. This study employs individual longitudinal data over a four year period for 3,249 7^th to 10^th grade subjects to assess the …

Nebraska Strategic Plan 2012-2015, Ryan E. Spohn, Melissa Gray, Mike Behm, Lisa Stamm, Consortium For Crime And Justice Research, University Of Nebraska At Omaha

Reports

The Consortium for Crime and Justice Research (CCJR) at the University of Nebraska at Omaha was tasked by the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice to facilitate the development of a three-year strategic plan for the use of Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistant Grant (JAG) funds. The Crime Commission serves as the State Administering Agency that is responsible for funding projects that fit into one or more of the seven JAG purpose areas: law enforcement programs; planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs; prevention and education programs; drug treatment and enforcement programs; corrections and community corrections programs; prosecution and …

The Never Ending Attraction Of The Ponzi Scheme, Pearl Jacobs, Linda Schain

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

In the 1920’s, Charles Ponzi engaged in a notorious money making scheme. This scheme had been tried before but no one prior to Charles Ponzi had managed to swindle millions of dollars out of unsuspecting people. Thus, the scheme bears his name. In December 2008, Bernard Madoff, a major Ponzi schemer, was exposed. He managed to con investors out of over $65 billion over a thirty year period. Madoff was a highly respected financial expert. The investors were mostly well educated and supposedly financially savvy. How did this happen? This paper will examine some theories which may help explain both …

Texas Law Enforcement Resource Center: An Exploratory Study Of Fusion Center Databases, Tyler Lawrence Evenson

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

This research is a qualitative study examining fusion center databases, their value to the field of criminal justice, and their potential for shared information/education in the future. The research examines the growing trend of information sharing and analysis and describes a fusion center database created by the Center of Criminal Justice Research and Training within the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Texas at Arlington. Secondary data is reviewed and analyzed on current fusion centers to examine their methods of information gathering, analysis, program implementation, and overall mission.

School-Based Juvenile Probation And Police Partnerships For Truancy Reduction, Leanne F. Alarid, Barbara A. Sims, James Ruiz

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

Truancy places students at risk in primary and secondary education and is linked to conduct disorder, drug use, and delinquency. To prevent truancy and reduce risk, school-based proba-tion supervision has emerged within school districts in partnership with local law enforcement officers in an effort to enforce probation conditions for truant youths and prevent future delin-quency. This research uses key information interviews of knowledgeable stakeholders to examine the delivery of school-based probation supervision. Home visits and court hearings were perceived to be effective at reducing truancy and tardiness. This study affirms that strong lead-ership, information sharing, and involvement of parents were …

Preparing The Young Offender For Return To Society: A Theoretical Evaluation Of Guyanese Juvenile Delinquents' Narratives Based On General Treatment Models, Bertlyn Gretna Reynolds

Wayne State University Dissertations

The site of the study is a co-educational detention center known as the New Opportunity Corps (NOC), located in a former British colony of South America, now known as Guyana. Forty- eight detainees of this institution, which is also legally designated a training school, were interviewed about their backgrounds, daily activities and plans for the future. These structured interviews were used to test the central tenets of Sociological theories with some bearing on crime. Some of the findings are presented in the form of narrative analysis which includes discussion of various factors likely to have caused their juvenile delinquency. Family …

Assessing Harm Reduction A Qualitative Investigation About The Impact Of Therapeutic Jurisprudence On Non-Completing Drug Court Clients, Traci R. Francis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Currently, the drug court treatment outcome literature provides little guidance about examining clients that fail to complete drug court. Typically, only successful clients are tracked and measured for outcome success characteristics and not much is known about unsuccessful client outcomes. A large portion of individuals who begin drug court do not complete the program. With unsuccessful rates ranging from 34 to 73%, it seems reasonable to examine the outcome of these cases. Ignoring this phenomenon is problematic because various stakeholders remain uninformed about the drug court model’s full effectiveness. The focus on successful clients may fail to fully capture and …

An Exploration Of The Calls Received By The Kentucky Council On Problem Gambling Help Hotline, Carleigh Jones

Online Theses and Dissertations

Studies that focus on crisis hotlines are abundant, however very few deal with the subject of gambling. The literature reviewed examines gambling as an addiction and the general existence of hotlines. This study examines the use of the hotline provided by the Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling (KYCPG) in a dichotomous breakdown of gender. There are some significant differences between males and females, particularly regarding criminal behavior in the effort to recoup gambling losses or to continue gambling. An additional breakdown of seasonal and regional call logs further analyzes the use of the KYCPG hotline.

A Call To Arms: The Militarization Of Natural Disasters In The United States, Ashley Katherine Farmer

Online Theses and Dissertations

Natural disasters are an expected and uncontrolled part of history, and will continue and possibly worsen in the future. The humanitarian focus that has characterized disaster response throughout the years is changing, as is the way the federal government responds to large-scale natural disasters. In recent years, the primary concern in responding to these catastrophes has shifted from the well-being of citizens to the security and safety of the area impacted. Security and crime have become a main focus, with the military increasingly gaining a more prominent role in relief efforts. This thesis will provide evidence that the militarization of …

Factors In Juvenile Court Dispositions: Case Study Of A Rural Juvenile Court, Kevin Lee Kirk

Online Theses and Dissertations

The primary question of importance in this current study is what factors affect judges' dispositional rulings in a small rural Central Kentucky county. In order to evaluate these factors, this study involved a two stage process. The quantitative data were gathered from 120 Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) files dating back to 1999 that were processed through the study site small county court. The qualitative data were gathered through a series of structured interviews with court personnel. This current study provides descriptive statistics of the study cases that have been adjudicated delinquent with respect to their legal and extralegal characteristics, …

Transnational Crime In A Global Community: The Case Of West Africa, Holly Joanna Sims

Online Theses and Dissertations

This research project is an examination of the organization and behavior of criminal group activity in the region of West Africa. An assessment of the size, structure, and type of criminal enterprises crime groups are involved in are investigated. It is also uncovered if and how groups make use of corruption, the legit economy, and influence politicians. The environment in which transnational crime is able to thrive is also of great interest as the social, political, economic, and technological changes that occurred alongside the sudden trend in transnational crime activity are considered. The information is used to generate a discussion …

Zapped: A Typology Of Use And Misuse Of The Taser, Lindsey L. Upton

Online Theses and Dissertations

Police use of TASER force is currently a hot topic of controversy in the intersections of society and the criminal justice system. Proponents, including manufacturers and law enforcement, value the TASER as a less than lethal alternative to deadly force; providing increased safety for officers as an aid to maintain distance between potentially threatening suspect(s) and officer(s) while preserving the life and well being of suspects in such encounters. Civil and human rights advocacies argue the TASER to be associated with many deaths, serious injury and abuse of power by law enforcement. Those who lean more toward the opposition of …

Sexting As Moral Panic: An Exploratory Study Into The Media's Construction Of Sexting, Brandon Scott Marker

Online Theses and Dissertations

This paper presents a study of sexting as a socially constructed moral panic. Central to a social construction of moral panic perspective is the role the media plays in creating the panic. The purpose of this exploratory study was to make sense of the phenomenon of sexting by analyzing media reports for indication that sexting was constructed by the media as a moral panic. A content analysis was conducted on media reports for three concepts: Theme Setting, Sensational Stories, and Policy Changes. I conclude that sexting is constructed as a moral panic by the media.

Studying Rape Through A Theorectical Lens: The Development Of A Serial Rape Model Using Fbi Data, Brooke Smith

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The current study assessed whether there is an empirical foundation for different theories of rape including the feminist, evolutionary, social disorganization, psychopathy, and rapist type theories. Using a data set from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on serial rapists collected in the early 1990's, the study included two phases. The first phase assessed whether FBI data supported the previously mentioned theories of rape by analyzing associations between individual variables that are thought to support each theory. Support was demonstrated for the evolutionary and psychopathy theories. Using MPlus statistical software to accommodate the multi-level nature of the data, the second …

A Multilevel Model Of Police Corruption: Anomie, Decoupling, And Moral Disengagement, Ruth Zschoche

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Police corruption is a primary concern for law enforcement agencies. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that could predict the likelihood of police officer susceptibility to corruption. Data was collected through surveys of 1083 officers within eight U.S. police agencies that were participating in the National Police Research Platform funded by the National Institute of Justice. The data were analyzed using multilevel structural equation and base multilevel models.

The theoretical model for this study addressed susceptibility to corruption on both the departmental (clusters) and individual officer levels. Four main constructs were utilized in this study. Acceptance of …