Legal Studies Commons^™

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."

Faith-Based Addiction Treatment Programs And The Drug Courts, Christopher J. Boosey

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

Addiction treatment programs are a major part of the Drug Courts system as under this system, addiction treatment and rehabilitation are used in an attempt to address the root causes of crime with the intent to reducing recidivism rates. Trends in research are beginning to show that faith-based addiction treatment programs are more effective than comparable secular programs. However, there are constitutional issues that prevent these programs being awarded by the drug courts without a comparable, secular alternative. This essay reviews relevant research on the comparable efficacy of faith-based and secular addiction programs and the constitutional issues related to the …

Therapeutic Jurisprudence In Practice: Applying Goffman’S Dramaturgical Approach To Mental Health Courts, Karen A. Snedker

Sociology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"This chapter draws on qualitative data from two MHCs [mental health courts] to show how team members translate the tenets of therapeutic jurisprudence into the performance of their social roles in both formal and informal court settings. I argue that the successful operation of teamwork lies at the heart of MHC effectiveness. Judges, acting as both audience and team member, can undermine the work of the team. MHCs clearly rely upon a well-functioning collaborative team, working partially in backstage settings, with a judge willing to alter frontstage performances for the sake of collaboration and therapeutic effects for clients."

Understanding The Challenges Of Cryptography-Related Cybercrime And Its Investigation, Sinyong Choi, Katalin Parti

International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime

Cryptography has been applied to a range of modern technologies which criminals also exploit to gain criminal rewards while hiding their identity. Although understanding of cybercrime involving this technique is necessary in devising effective preventive measures, little has been done to examine this area. Therefore, this paper provides an overview of the two articles, featured in the special issue of the International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence and Cybercrime, that will enhance our understanding of cryptography-related crime, ranging from cryptocurrency and darknet market to password-cracking. The articles were presented by the winners of the student paper competition at the 2022 International …

Dynamics Of Dark Web Financial Marketplaces: An Exploratory Study Of Underground Fraud And Scam Business, Bo Ra Jung, Kyung-Shick Choi, Claire Seungeun Lee

International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime

The number of Dark Web financial marketplaces where Dark Web users and sellers actively trade illegal goods and services anonymously has been growing exponentially in recent years. The Dark Web has expanded illegal activities via selling various illicit products, from hacked credit cards to stolen crypto accounts. This study aims to delineate the characteristics of the Dark Web financial market and its scams. Data were derived from leading Dark Web financial websites, including Hidden Wiki, Onion List, and Dark Web Wiki, using Dark Web search engines. The study combines statistical analysis with thematic analysis of Dark Web content. Offering promotions …

Kerberoasting: Case Studies Of An Attack On A Cryptographic Authentication Technology, D Demers, Hannarae Lee

International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime

Kerberoasting, an attack vector aimed at the Kerberos authentication protocol, can be used as part of an adversary’s attack arsenal. Kerberos is a type of network authentication protocol that allows a client and server to conduct a mutual verification before providing the requested resource to the client. A successful Kerberoasting attack allows an adversary to leverage the architectural limitations of Kerberos, providing access to user password hashes that can be subject to offline cracking. A cracked user password could give a bad actor the ability to maintain persistence, move laterally, or escalate privileges in a system. Persistence or movement within …

How Mental Health Problems, Adverse Childhood Experiences, And Other Risk Factors Impact Recidivism Rates Among Juvenile Offenders, Ashley Elizabeth Brooks

Student Theses and Dissertations

Between the years of 1985 and 2008, there was a 43 percent increase in juvenile delinquency cases that were processed in the juvenile courts (National Center for Juvenile Justice, 2011). Based on this increase, the juvenile justice system’s ability to function could be diminished. It is important to properly rehabilitate individuals in order to reduce recidivism rates, and society cannot rehabilitate individuals if they do not know the influential factors of reoffending. This research focuses on influencing factors of reoffending among youth centering on recidivism rates of juvenile offenders by utilizing a secondary data set collected by Dr. Jeffrey Lin …

Court Actor Decision-Making: The Influence Of Victim Characteristics On Legal Outcomes In Cases Of Bias Homicide, Taylor June

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While most states in America have passed laws permitting harsher punishments for those convicted of hate (or bias) crimes, there has been no research to date on the adjudication of these defendants, including how legal and extralegal attributes of bias crime shape prosecutorial and judicial decision-making. This gap in research is likely due in part to the limitations of official data on bias crimes. Fortunately, new data on legal outcomes for bias homicide offenders who target victims because of their race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or homed status have become available from the open-source database known as …

What You See You Perceive: Public Opinions Of Potential Negative Consequences And Support For Officer Body-Worn Cameras, Jordyn Marian Sanders

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Officer-body worn cameras (BWCs) are used in policing to provide visuals from the perspective of the officer during interactions with the community. BWCs are often promoted for the ability to improve the relationship between the community and police by providing accurate and transparent accounts of the interactions. Millions of dollars have been spent to distribute BWCs to police departments across the Unites States, with an estimated 80% of departments implementing the devices through various policies and procedures (White & Malm, 2020). Most studies on BWCs have provided empirical evidence showing the potential benefits of the devices in policing (Lum et …

Crime Attractors In Sin City? A Pre/Post Test Of Crime Patterns And Police Enforcement Around Recreational Marijuana Facilities, Joshua Donnelly

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The federalist system in the United States has created criminal opportunities within jurisdictions that have approved recreational marijuana facilities (RMFs). These facilities have characteristics that are attractive for motivated offenders including marijuana and marijuana-related tangible goods. Through ArcGIS, this research examined the crime patterns and police enforcement patterns that occurred within a 288-meter street-network buffer around RMFs through a pre/post-test exploratory design in the Las Vegas area. The time periods examined were 2015 to 2016 (pre-legalization), and 2018 to 2019 (post-legalization). Calls for service data were used to demonstrate both crime and enforcement patterns. Furthermore, facilities were classified into “local …

To Report Or Not To Report: Student Reporting Behaviors Of Violent Crimes In Schools, Heather Monaghan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

School-based violence is a criminal justice topic that often captures the attention of the media and the public. As a result, measures - such as school security strategies, safety personnel, and teacher training - are put into place to help combat school-based violence. These measures are not only costly and time consuming, but also have inconclusive research findings to support them. However, violence in schools can still be prevented. Research has found support for the role that student reporting has in preventing violence. However, many students may choose not to report violent crimes. Using a modified version of Sykes & …

Repeating Patterns: Does Emotional Child Abuse Lead To Intimate Partner Abuse?, Kathryn R. Henry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Childhood abuse and intimate partner abuse (IPA) are serious issues in the United States This study examines the correlation between emotional childhood abuse and IPA. Anyone regardless of gender, race, or socioeconomic status may be a victim of childhood abuse or IPA. One in seven children are victims of childhood abuse, which results in a lifetime cost of $428 billion. The costs of IPA are even higher and estimated by the CDC (2020) to be near $3.6 trillion as 25% of women and 20% of men have been victims of IPA. Previous research has found a connection between childhood maltreatment …

Review Of The Little Book Of Police Youth Dialogue: A Restorative Path Toward Justice, Robert Brenneman

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Criminal Justice Update - July 2022, Autumn R. Chassie

Criminal Justice Updates

The Criminal Justice Update is a monthly newsletter created by the Adams County Bar Foundation Fellow providing updates in criminal justice policy coming from Pennsylvania's courts and legislature as well as the US Supreme Court.

Contents:

• Updates from PA Governor's Office (No new updates this month)
• Updates from the PA Legislature
• Updates from the Courts
• U.S. Supreme Court (No new updates this month)
• PA Supreme Court
• PA Superior Court

Cities Of God Under Occupation: Settler Colonial Practices And Pacification In The Favelas Of Rio De Janeiro And The Occupied Palestinian Territories, Amanda Pimenta Da Silva

Theses and Dissertations

The 2002 film ‘City of God’ tells an anecdotal story of violence in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, and is a reminder that the societies we tend to take for granted can actually be a luxury. The film portrays the daily life of the peripheries of Rio and its relation with drug trafficking, crime, and poverty, and how it has deteriorated into a war zone so dangerous that anyone risk being shot to death. Thousands of miles away from the Brazilian slums there is another so-called city of God, or the city chosen by God to be the home’s …

The Apostrophic Impasse: Diacritical Remarks On The Stories Of International Law, Legal Decolonial Genealogy And Antony Anghie’S Historiography, Britt L.A.Q. (Haadiya) Hendrix

Theses and Dissertations

The (hi)stories of international law have strengthened the tentacles of coloniality in the legal regime as they continue to taunt the precarious lifeworlds of people, our planet and social imaginaries of an otherwise. The flow of coloniality has similarly rematerialized in decolonial legal theories and the postcolonial historiographical accounts of international law. I intend to demonstrate this colonial revival in the groundbreaking text of Antony Anghie Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Creation of International Law (2005) which challenged the (hi)stories of traditional jurisprudence. The latter was not necessarily a rejection nor negation of Western thought, because I argue that postcolonial historiography …

Snitch. Snake. Mole. Books.: Examining Responses To “Insider/ Outsider” Researchers In Corrections, Talisa J. Carter, Chelsea Thomson

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

Qualitative researchers face unique challenges when conducting original data collection within facilities of confinement. These challenges are shaped by a range of factors including the study’s research design, researcher identity, and organizational climate of the facility. Although the barriers of data collection in corrections are known, literature providing context, nuance, and recommendations for overcoming these obstacles is sparse, especially for qualitative fieldwork. This work addresses this gap by examining responses of correctional employees to observational research. During data collection, correctional staff called the primary author “snitch,” “snake,” “mole,” and “Books.” This paper investigates these labels and offers suggestions on how …

“Leave Your Pain Here”: An Illustration Of Therapeutic Jurisprudence Through The Remarks Of Judge Rosemarie Aquilla From The State Of Michigan V. Larry Nassar, Leah Kaylor, Terri L. Weaver, Katherine Kelton

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

Dr. Lawrence Nassar was the national medical coordinator of the United States of America Gymnastics (USAG), gymnastics team physician/assistant professor at Michigan State University, and the USAG artistic team physician who sexually abused many young women and children under the guise of medical treatments. In an unprecedented legal event, Judge Aquilina allowed anyone who had been impacted by Nassar’s abuse to participate in the pre-sentencing phase by reading a victim impact statement. Judge Aqualina listened to 156 impacted speakers and responded with personalized messages. This paper will examine Judge Aquilina’s responses to the victim impact statements through the lens of …

Using A Trauma-Informed Practice Framework To Examine How South Australian Judges Respond To Trauma In The Lives Of Aboriginal Defendants, Katherine J. Mclachlan

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

This article uses a trauma-informed practice framework to examine how South Australian superior court judges acknowledge defendant trauma when sentencing Aboriginal defendants. Trauma-informed sentencing requires that judges realise the presence of trauma, recognise its relevance, respond in a way that is informed by trauma and act to avoid re-traumatisation. By analysing sentencing remarks of 42 defendants identified as Aboriginal, the presence of trauma-informed practice was explored, in terms of judicial decision-making, the sentencing process and the sanction imposed. While not holistic summaries of judges’ reasoning, sentencing remarks are intended to enable the parties and the community to understand sentencing logic. …

White Supremacy And The Future Of Liberal Democracy: The Case Of The Nordic Resistance Movement, Ida Oesteraas

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

In 2015, the largest neo-Nazi organization in Scandinavia, The Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) registered as a political party and entered electoral politics in Sweden. Utilizing qualitative content analysis, the current work explores changes in NRM’s rhetoric from before the party entered politics in 2010 and five years later in 2018. Focus centers on NRM’s ideology, what or whom they frame as their threat, and their suggested solutions for constructed problems. Results show fascist rhetoric in both time periods. An argument is made that there is no actual moderation in NRM’s politics by liberal democracy. Rather, far-right extremism is a threat …

Defense, Disrespect, And #Deadly: A Qualitative Exploration Of Precursors To Youth Violence Informed Through Hospital-Based Violence Prevention Program Follow Up, Katherine B. Snyder, Ashley Raposo-Hadley, Charity Evans, Ashley Farrens, Jennifer Burt, Gaylene Armstrong, Julie Garman, Lindsey Wylie, Mark Foxall

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

Success of youth violence intervention and prevention effects, particularly for gun violence, will be enhanced when efforts are appropriately informed by the antecedents and context of violence. Youth violence is guided by social and cultural norms that are shifting with the rise of technology. Bullying, gang violence, and self-directed violence is increasingly found to occur in the online space influencing peer groups across contexts. Through focus groups with youth at risk for violence and victimization, this study finds three themes emerge as common precursors to violence: defense of self or others, disrespect of self or family occurring in traditional community-based …

Criminal Justice Update - June 2022, Autumn R. Chassie

Criminal Justice Updates

The Criminal Justice Update is a monthly newsletter created by the Adams County Bar Foundation Fellow providing updates in criminal justice policy coming from Pennsylvania's courts and legislature as well as the US Supreme Court.

Contents:

• Updates from PA Governor's Office
• Updates from the PA Legislature
• Updates from the Courts
• U.S. Supreme Court
• PA Supreme Court
• PA Superior Court

Online Legal Help-Seeking For Victims Of Intimate Partner Violence During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Christina S. Walker

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Legal, court, and criminal justice professionals regularly navigate court procedures and processes through online portals. They know where to locate applicable court rules, such as a specific section on a court website or a departmental contact. However, these tasks can be extremely daunting for laypersons seeking court assistance, especially for victims of violence who have limited time away from the abuser. To determine how state judicial branches make information available about protective order procedures and general information to a layperson, especially to victims of intimate partner violence, this study assessed court websites of five states where intimate partner violence (IPV) …

The Economic And Demographic Dynamics Of Pretrial Justice, Christopher Thomas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Scholars since Rusche (1978 [1933]) have tried to explain the observed relationship between changes in punishment patterns and changes in local labor markets, most recently framing the criminal justice system as a racialized labor market institution. In an era of bail and jail reform, this dissertation contributes to the literature on the causes and consequences of changes in one especially salient form of punishment, pretrial detention. In particular, it focuses on the macro relationship between pretrial detention and local labor markets. Prior research in this tradition has examined how changes in labor markets lead to changes in penality, as reflected …

Elements Of Social Disorganization And Environmental Criminology: A Spatial Analysis Of Homicides In Villa Nueva, Guatemala, David J. Topel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study seeks to integrate the main spatial theories of crime, social disorganization, and routine activities theories while investigating the spatial dimension of homicides in Villa Nueva, Guatemala. Empirical relationships at a small unit of analysis, the natural cadaster blocks as defined by the municipality offer a more appropriate unit of analysis for the context of the city. While there is a robust body of work in developed nations synthetizing social disorganization and routine activities theories, the exploration of criminological theory integration and the use of the smallest unit of analysis still needs the addition of empirical research in Latin …

Degree Of Satisfaction Of Elderly About The Services Provided To Them In Social Care Houses In White Beds Association, Yousef Mohammed Al-Shurman, Ferdous Hasan Omari

Al-Balqa Journal for Research and Studies البلقاء للبحوث والدراسات

This study aims at identifying the degree of satisfaction of the elderly about the (social, health, entertainment, psychological) services provided to them in social care houses. The sample of the study includes all residents of the White Beds Association for the care of the elderly in Amman. The researcher designed a questionnaire to use in the interviews with the elderly. The questionnaire has four items, and each item includes a group of questions about the service provided to them. The researcher interviewed all the members of the White Beds Association, whose health condition allowed this, (75 elderly people: 44 men …

Testing The Ls/Cmi For Predictive Accuracy: Does Age Matter?, Sandra Stephanie Lawlor

Dissertations and Theses

The Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI) is one of the most widely used instruments for assessing recidivism risk and treatment needs in correctional settings. The predictive validity of the measure and its predecessor (LSI-R) has been established in meta-analytic studies and research finds that the scale's accuracy is largely independent of sex, race, and ethnicity. Whether the LS/CMI works equally well for different age groups remains in question. The current study assessed the predictive accuracy of the LS/CMI from a sample of 14,940 adults in custody (AIC) released from an Oregon prison between 2011 and 2017 for three age …

America: The World’S Police—How The Defund The Police Movement Frames An Analysis For Defunding The Military, Anya Kreider

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

In this article, the author examines the tenets of the Defund the Police movement and applies them to the American military to make the argument that not only should the police be defunded, but so should the American military. The purpose of this piece is to push the conversation regarding policing beyond American borders to examine American influence internationally. The article incorporates various Critical Race Theories to explore the intersection of policing and the military. The Defund the Police Movement also provides a framework for critiquing the American military because the American police and military are inextricably connected. Part I …

Where The Rainbow Ends: The Hidden Humanitarian Crisis For Members Of The Lgbtqia+ Community In International Business, John R. Krendel

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Before pursuing an international career, members of the LGBTQIA+ community must be aware of the hardship that may be exacerbated by living and working abroad. This study addresses the trends in laws, including employment and anti-discrimination laws, that provide and restrict certain rights of members of the LGBTQIA+ community in eight countries. These nations, both progressive and discriminatory, include the United States, England, Switzerland, Germany, Taiwan, China, the Philippines and Kazakhstan. Eight LGBTQIA+ business professionals spoke on their experiences living and working in each of these countries and provided advice to members of the community wishing to pursue an international …

Predictors Of Intensive Supervision Placement Among Committed Youths Within A Maximum-Security Residential Facility, Tiffany Harris

Master's Theses

Some youths committed to juvenile justice residential facilities struggle to adjust and may exhibit institutional rule violations that necessitate an intensive supervision placement (ISP). ISPs require substantial institutional resources and may result in additional negative outcomes for these committed youths (e.g., additional charges, longer commitment). To date, only two studies have examined factors that place committed youths at greater risk of ISPs, and it was found that commitment length, number of arrests, age at admission, impulsive/reactive and psychopathic traits, and anger-irritability were predictive of ISPs (Taylor et al., 2007; Butler et al., 2007). The present study considered additional predictors that …