Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons^™

The Decline In Child Sexual Abuse Cases., Lisa M. Jones, David Finkelhor

Crimes Against Children Research Center

Of all crimes against children, sexual abuse has arguably captured the greatest share of attention from child advocates, professionals, policymakers, and the general public. During the 1980’s, increasing numbers of victims were identified each year (American Association for the Protection of Children, 1988) and concerns about this crime intensified. However, a dramatic shift in child sexual abuse trends has occurred. Data from child protective services (CPS) agencies across the country indicate that the increases of the 1980’s were followed by an extensive period of marked declines in the 1990’s. Unfortunately, little effort has been expended to uncover the reasons why …

A Space For Co-Constructing Counter Stories Under Surveillance, María Elena Torre, Michelle Fine, Kathy Boudin, Iris Bowen, Judith Clark, Donna Hylton, Migdalia Martinez, 'Missy', Rosemarie A. Roberts, Pamela Smart, Debora Upegui

Publications and Research

Using our experiences as members of a participatory action research committee (from the City University of New York Graduate Center and the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility) documenting the impact of college in a maximum security prison, this essay illustrates the power of Participatory Action Research in the construction of counter stories. We raise for discussion a set of theoretical, methodological and ethical challenges that emerged from the co-production of counter stories under surveillance: the creation of a critical space for producing 'counter knowledge'; the co-mingling of counter and dominant discourses, the negotiation of power over and within research in prison, …

Principles In Public Reasoning About Criminal Justice : Victim Vulnerability, Trust, And Offender Status, Dianne R. Mckillop

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

It is popularly assumed that the public is highly punitive toward criminal offenders and that its reasoning about criminal offences is emotionally and morally based. This assumption has been challenged by social scientists who cite influences of news media and methodological flaws in empirical studies as contributing causes. Public sentiment is a basis for law and the increasing responsiveness of legislator to what is perceived to be public opinion on crime means that accurate information on enduring principles in the public's intuitive reasoning about criminal justice is vital. An initial exploratory study (N = 34) presented members of the public …

Kidnaping Of Juveniles: Patterns From Nibrs., David Finkelhor, Richard Ormrod

Crimes Against Children Research Center

The kidnaping of children has generated a great deal of public concern, not to mention confusion and controversy. These crimes, from the kidnaping of the Lindbergh baby to the abduction and murder of Adam Walsh, have been some of the most notorious and highly publicized news stories of recent history, occupying a central place in the fears and anxieties of parents. Yet, an ongoing debate has raged over how frequently such crimes occur, which children are most at risk, and who the primary offenders are.

Stalking: Cultural, Clinical, And Legal Considerations, Carol E. Jordan, Karen Quinn, Bradley O. Jordan, Celia R. Daileader

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

Crimes of violence against women are unique in their treatment by our culture and our system of legal justice. Both culturally and statutorily, victims of crimes which have historically been perpetrated against women, such as rape, domestic violence, and stalking have received significant focus. This article highlights cultural considerations and provides a statutory and case law analysis.

Officer Involved Shooting: The Emotional Impact And The Effective Coping Strategies, Patrick P. Charoen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The emotional impact of a shooting incident on the individual police officer has been recognized and detailed by both police and mental health professionals (Lippert & Ferrara, 1984). The human cost and financial costs to Police Departments as a result of "post shooting" trauma has sensitized many departments to the need for professional support for officers involved in shootings. Recent survey research has provided information about the percentage of officers who experienced great, moderate, or no emotional impact after being involved in shootings (Stratton, 1982). However, information about the degree to which police departments have responded to this need has …

The Relationship Between Homicidal Fantasies And Dangerousness, James C. Peterson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Aggressive behavior is a serious problem in the United States and has been studied from a variety of perspectives. Psychologists in many different settings are frequently asked to assess the risk of future dangerous behavior by individuals. Due to their important role, research into the prediction of dangerousness has dramatically increased in the past ten years. However, to date, research has offered few reliable predictors that can be used in such assessments. This exploratory study was designed to examine whether homicidal fantasies can be used to reliably discriminate between violent and non-violent individuals. Undergraduate male students (N=l42) completed a questionnaire …

Video Games And Teen Violence: Is It Related?, Lynn Marlene Tomaro

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

A research study was conducted involving parents feedback on whether they felt video games were related to teen violence. Despite technologies efforts to promote computer and video games in a positive mode by focusing on forms such as "developing important skills as concentration and problem-solving in children", the violent acts contained in these games are downplayed and basically defended by the makers of the games.

Teen violence has escalated in the past several years with the school shootings being in the forefront. The mention of video games and lack of parental supervision has become the focus of this violent behavior, …

A Case Against Bringing Monsters To Justice: Pinochet, Deterrence, And Personal Identity, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article presents a philosophical psychology case against subjecting former national leaders who allegedly committed atrocities committed while they were in power to adjudication through a criminal or civil justice system.

Trends. Rape As Terrorism: Difficulties In Criminal Justice Adjudication, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The article focuses on psychological complexities in successfully adjudicating allegations of terrorist rape--i.e., rape committed intentionally to achieve formal political objectives.

The Political Psychology Of Child Molestation: Import For The Rule Of Law, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes the problematic nature of child molestation for the rule of law.

Effective Treatment Of Psychopaths Who Violently Offend: Suggestions From Political Psychology And Virtual Reality Technology, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes some difficulties in treating psychopaths who have been convicted of violent offenses. As well, it offers some suggestions for resolving these difficulties.

A Moral Dilemma For The Political Psychologist: Decreasing Criminal Violence As Symptom, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes two approaches to decreasing criminal violence and the moral dilemma in choosing between them.

Psychosocial Factors Differentiating Marijuana Users From Nonusers In Guam, Thomas K. Pinhey

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.

Attitude–Behavior Correspondence? Why Susan Smith Was Spared, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This opinion column employs the Susan Smith child domestic homicide (maternal filicide) case to explore attitude–behavior correspondence. The article describes Richard LaPiere’s (1934) landmark study “Attitudes vs. actions” published in the journal Social Forces and Leonard Bickman's (1972) study “Environmental attitudes and actions” published in the Journal of Social Psychology.

Destructive Hostility: The Jeffrey Dahmer Case: A Psychiatric And Forensic Study Of A Serial Killer, Jeffrey Jentzen, George Palermo, L. Thomas Johnson, Khang-Cheng Ho, K. Alan Stormo, John Teggatz

School of Dentistry Faculty Research and Publications

We were involved as forensic experts in the case of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. We discuss the scene and victim autopsy findings, with a brief consideration of the basic emotion of hostility. These findings support the thesis that at the basis of this serial killer's behavior were primary unconscious feelings of hate that he had channeled into a sadistic programmed destruction of 17 young men. The interview of the serial killer, the photographic scene documentation, and the autopsy findings stress the ambivalent homosexuality of the killer, his sexual sadism, his obsessive fetishism, and his possible cannibalism and necrophilia.

Inhalant Abuse In The Pacific Islands: Gasoline Sniffing In Chuuk, Federated States Of Micronesia, Mac Marshall, Rocky Sexton, Lee Insko

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of Socio-Psychological Factors That Influence Adolescent Gang Membership, Tanja Ballinger

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to identify socio-psychological differences in youths who may be at risk to joining gangs.

Waco Tragedy Product Of Groupthink, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This opinion column employs the eight symptoms of groupthink specified by Irving Janis to evaluate whether the tragic end to the 1993 FBI siege of David Koresh’s Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas — which culminated in deaths of 76 civilians — could have been the product of groupthink.

The Development Of A Predictive Model Of Pretrial Misconduct, Donald R. Trapp

Dissertations and Theses

The problem of jail overcrowding has forced corrections officials and jail administrators to examine ways in which to better manage available jail space. Pretrial release and detention policies have been a target of this examination as pretrial defendants typically account for 50% of a jail's population. Standards for pretrial release exist, but their administration varies by jurisdiction. The impact of jail overcrowding on pretrial release policies has been to decrease the time available to render a decision. Recent efforts to standardize pretrial release standards in Oregon have not addressed the issue of expediency. The current study examines pretrial misconduct (failure …

Mmpi And The Juvenile Sex Offender Russell Funk, Russell Funk

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the effectiveness of the MMPI in identifying juvenile sex offenders. This study examined the hypothesis that previously identified subscales of the MMPI (i.e., Toobert et al. (1959) Pe scale and Dolan (1986) Ic scale) could be used in discriminating juvenile sex offenders (n=l 02) (and subgroups of juvenile sex offenders i.e., pedophiles n=79, and incest perpetrators n=41) from a control group of 40 juvenile offenders who had been adjudicated for non-sex related crimes. The study yielded results which indicate that the Pe subscale was not effective in discriminating pedophiles from non-pedophile sex offenders or from the control …

Moral Development, Socioeconomic Status, And Family Intactness: Status Offenders Versus Criminal Offenders, Michael A. Glynn

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the possible differences between the two legally defined groups of juvenile delinquents (status offenders and criminal offenders) on the variables of moral development, socioeconomic status, and family intactness. Moral development was measured using Gibbs' Sociomoral Reflection Measure. Socioeconomic status was determined by the subject's parent's ranking on Nam's Occupational Status Score Index, and family intactness or non-intactness was determined from an examination of court records. The subjects were 106 males between the ages of 13 and 17 inclusive, and were evenly divided in the two legal categories. No significant differences were found between the two groups on …

The Mmpi : A Subscale (Ic) For The Identification Of Male Incest Offenders, Mary S. Dolan

Dissertations and Theses

The MMPI has been used extensively for the clinical assessment of deviancy among sexual offenders. In order to derive a diagnostic scale for the specific identification of male incest offenders, an item analysis, using MMPI data from offenders, compared MMPI data from a nonoffending control sample. The item analysis results were cross validated with MMPI data from a separate sample of incest offenders. Eleven MMPI items were found to be critical in discriminating male incest offenders from nonoffenders, and these items comprise the Ic experimental scale. On the basis of the Ic scale, male incest offenders evidence characterological disturbances in …

Violence In College Students' Dating Relationships, Carol K. Sigelman, Carol E. Jordan-Berry, Katharine A. Wiles

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

In a survey of 504 college students examining predictors of violence in heterosexual relationships, over half of both men and women had committed at least one physically violent act. Modest associations between physical violence and sexual aggression were uncovered. In a series of discriminant analyses, men who abused their partners were not readily distinguished from men who did not, but tended to by young, low in family income, traditional in attitudes toward women, abused as children, currently living with a women, and from Appalachian areas.

A Longitudinal Study Of Recidivism For 88 Forest Camp Inmates, Loreli S. Manning

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent a group of 88 subjects, who were sentenced to the Forest Camp in the early seventies, remained law abiding in the ten years which followed their release. In addition to analyzing recidivist patterns, the study attempted to identify which variables were associated with subsequent recidivist and non-recidivist behavior and relate those findings to previous studies in the literature.

Review Article Of Psychology And Criminal Justice, Sanford J. Fox

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

The Effectiveness Of Rational Behavior Therapy In Reducing Anger Of Inmates, Dennis Jerome Meers

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relative effectiveness of Rational Behavior Therapy and a waiting-list control condition for reducing the frequencies and intensities of anger of inmates. The sample consisted of 46 adult male inmates who attained elevated psychopathic deviate scale scores on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, and who expressed a desire to join an anger treatment group. The subjects in the treatment condition were exposed to fifteen group sessions of Rational Behavior Therapy, over an eightweek period. The subjects in the control condition experienced a no-treatment waiting-period. All subjects responded to pretest and posttest measures on the Novaco Anger Scale …

Judicial Incentives: Some Evidence From Urban Trial Courts, Greg A. Caldeira

IUSTITIA

In the following pages, I shall outline the basics of a method for studying the motivations of trial judges - or any public officials, for that matter - that I find particularly interesting and fruitful - "incentive theory". The use of incentive theory is, in my view, a preliminary contribution to an ongoing movement to fill glaring gaps in the literature on judicial motivation and trial judging.

The Abused Child And His Parents, Richard David Young

IUSTITIA

Children in our society pass through a prolonged period of dependency during which they are taught the complex technological and social skills necessary for successful adult functioning. The child's experiences during this period can have profound effects on the development of his potential for meaningful interpersonal relationships, competency, and creativity. The child's dependence needs are the complement of the caretaker's nurturance. When nurturance fails or is inconsistent, societal loss merges with individual tragedy. Yet nurturance does occasionally fail. Some of those charged with the care of children abdicate their responsibilities, and do not provide the physical and/or emotional necessities for …

Predicting Delinquent Sub-Types With The Social History Questionnaire, Charles S. Sulcer

Masters Theses

A major problem encountered in the juvenile courts concerns the large number of young offenders placed on probation, as well as the seriousness of their violations. Representative studies by Jenkins and Glickman (1947), Hathaway and Monachesi (1953), and Shinohara and Jenkins (1967) have pointed out the complexities of delinquent behavior by indicating that most legal authorities are often unable to determine who will repeat illegal acts.

This problem necessitates some objective approach toward identifying potential repeaters and non-repeaters. Such a technique would be useful in studying the early stages of delinquent behavior and provide a means of studying the growing …