Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons^™

Driver's License Issues And Recommendations, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

This presentation by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Employment and Training Institute identifies public policies and practices creating obstacles for licensing of youth and workers in Wisconsin and examines racial/ethnic variations in licensing rates. The impacts of driver’s license suspensions issued by courts for failure to pay fines and forfeitures are graphed and mapped for subpopulations in Milwaukee County. Recommendations are offered to further universal driver education, licensing recovery efforts, limiting court use of license suspensions to collect fees and debts, and criminal justice reforms.

2015 Centro Hispano Head Start Community Needs Assessment, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Employment and Training Institute prepared a Head Start Community Needs Assessment for Centro Hispano of Milwaukee, with a detailed study of conditions impacting schools, families and children in the neighborhoods in the southside target area served by the agency and collecting information on the special needs of Latino youth populations in Milwaukee County. The data are used to improve the planning for and delivery of education and social services to children living in poverty. The neighborhoods served by Centro Hispano are among the most densely populated of Milwaukee County. Data from 59 public and private schools …

Comparing The Recruitment Of Ethnic And Racial Minorities In Police Departments In England And Wales With The Usa, Jeffrey Ian Ross Ph.D., Mike Rowe Ph.D.

Jeffrey Ian Ross Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

Physical Child Abuse And Cultural Differences In Reporting, Emily Frances Reed

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Previous research using both National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) data and other sources has found that biases do exist with regard to racial differences. The current study will build on past research of biases in the Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement and reporting. This study uses a secondary data set, the 2009 NCANDS dataset; which consists of child specific data of all investigated reports of maltreatment to state CPS agencies. This research seeks to determine if there are disparities in cases reported to and substantiated by CPS as reflected by race (Black, White, & Hispanic children) and …

Issues Related To Wisconsin "Failure To Pay Forfeitures" Driver's License Suspensions, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

This paper examines the compounding problems resulting from court-ordered removal of driving privileges for low-income residents in Milwaukee County and Wisconsin as a “tool” for spurring payments of municipal fines, forfeitures and fees (including charges for violations unrelated to dangerous driving). The analysis is based on data from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, and Branch A of the Milwaukee Municipal Court (i.e., handling municipal cases incarcerated in county jail). Police and court actions taken in Ferguson, Missouri, brought national attention to one suburban municipality’s routine use of traffic stops, arrest warrants, …

State Imprisonment Of Milwaukee County Women: 1990-2012, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

This research study by the Employment and Training Institute provides data on the 4,300 Milwaukee County women who were incarcerated in adult state correctional facilities from January 1990 to January 2012 using the Wisconsin Department of Corrections public inmate data files. Two-thirds of the women were African Americans. whose incarceration numbers spiked in 2003 during the height of the “war on drugs” enforcement years. The heaviest concentrations of imprisoned women were from the poorest neighborhoods on Milwaukee’s near north side and near south side.

Statewide Imprisonment Of Black Men In Wisconsin, Lois M. Quinn, John Pawasarat

ETI Publications

This report provides data on African American male incarceration for the state onf Wisconsin at the request of the NAACP Wisconsin Conference of Branches. For most ex-offenders, prison records remain public and impediments to employment for the rest of their lives. Consequently, unlike studies reporting point-in-time levels of incarceration or average daily inmate populations, this report identified the total populations of African American men who had been incarcerated in adult state correctional facilities from 1990 to 2012 using Wisconsin Department of Corrections public inmate records. State DOC records showed incarceration rates for African American men at epidemic levels throughout Wisconsin. …

Wisconsin's Mass Incarceration Of African American Males, Summary, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

This two-page paper provides a summarizes the Employment and Training Institute research on mass incarceration of African American males in Wisconsin, the state’s ranking as having the highest percentage of black males in state prison and local jails (according to the 2010 U.S. Census data), and costs of incarceration.

Wisconsin's Mass Incarceration Of African American Males: A Powerpoint Summary, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

The Employment and Training Institute analysis of Wisconsin Department of Corrections public inmate files showed incarceration rates for African American men at unprecedented levels in Wisconsin. This presentation summarizes ETI research on prison rates in Milwaukee and Wisconsin and offers recommendations for addressing workforce needs of ex-offenders.

A Thin Blue Line And The Great Black Divide: The Inter And Intra Departmental Conflict Among Black Police Officers, Their Agencies, And The Communities In Which They Work Regarding Police Use Of Force Perception By Black Americans In A Southwestern State, Vance Debral Keyes

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the relationship between Black police officers, Black citizens, and their external environment using a group of 30 police officers and citizens to establish the connection between police officer race and perceptions by same race citizens within the context of police use of force. I use the term Black to be inclusive of African Americans as well as others of African descent without regard to their ethnicity or national origin. Criminal justice means system application whereas criminology is the study of criminal behavior. In America, there exists a history of volatility between the police and Black communities. While …

Racial Discrimination And The Death Penalty: An Analysis Of The United States' Judicial System, Jessica Recarey, Nerses Kopalyan

McNair Poster Presentations

Racial discrimination plays a role in the administration of the death penalty. This research analyzes the history, and past scholarly research, of the death penalty. The purpose of this research is to understand the correlation between racial discrimination and those sentenced to death. This study includes a literature review regarding the different aspects of the death penalty and race. Following the literature review, an analysis is performed of both previous literature and current death penalty statistics that augments the discussion of the death penalty.

The New Drug War Or The New Race War: Incarceration's Impact On Minority Children, Families, And Communities, Karen P. Lawrence

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

This non-experimental study examines the issues of over-representation of minorities in the criminal justice system due to drug-related incidences, race relations, and the impact such representation has on families, children, and communities. The exploration of the current criminal justice efforts against drugs is presented through a meta-analysis qualitative lens in an effort to disseminate the information on those arrested, sentenced, and subsequently incarcerated for various drug offenses. In an attempt to understand the encyclical racial disparities that promulgate the criminal justice system, the study relies on information from several key theorists to cement the discussions in the research. Qualitative data …

Economic Interest Convergence In Downsizing Imprisonment, Spearit

Articles

This Essay employs a variation of the “interest convergence” concept to examine the competing interests at stake in downsizing imprisonment in the United States. In the last few decades, the country has become the world leader in both incarceration rates and number of inmates. Reversing these trends is a common goal of multiple parties, who advocate prison reform under different rationales. Some advocate less imprisonment as a means of tempering the disparate effects of imprisonment on individual offenders and the communities to which they return. Others support downsizing based on conservative values that favor reduced government size, spending, and interference …

When Poverty Is The Worst Crime Of All: A Film Review Of Gideon’S Army (2013), Jessica S Henry

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This review of the Sundance Award-winning documentary film, Gideon’s Army, examines the disparate impact of the criminal justice system on the poor and, particularly, poor people of color.

Introduction: Lynching, Incarceration’S Cousin: From Till To Trayvon, Barbara Lewis

Trotter Review

The wholesale criminalizing of the black male has been much in the news, put there by the Trayvon Martin case and the Florida verdict. (Incidentally, even though we don’t often think of it, Florida was where the first African slaves were installed in America, back in the 1500s in the city of St. Augustine.) As an academic, which, loosely translated means that I often bury my head between the covers of a book trying to figure out one thing or another, I am thought of as someone who is cautious and circumspect in what I think and write, but I …

Studies On Religion And Recidivism: Focus On Roxbury, Dorchester, And Mattapan, George Walters-Sleyon

Trotter Review

This research article raises the question of whether religion can be considered a viable partner in the reduction of the high rate of recidivism associated with the increasing mass incarceration in the United States. Can sustainable transformation in the life of a prisoner or former prisoner as a result of religious conversion be subjected to evidenced-based practices to derive impartial conclusions about the value of religion in their lives? With a particular focus on three neighborhoods of Boston—Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan—this study examines the relevance of religion and faith-based organizations in lowering the high rate of recidivism associated with incarceration …

The Personal And Family Challenges Of Reentry: Interview With Helen Credle, Kenneth J. Cooper

Trotter Review

For 40 years, Helen Credle has worked with prison inmates and exoffenders in Massachusetts, from inside or outside the state corrections system. The Boston native, who grew up in Roxbury, did not set out to become an advocate for prisoners and their families. Oddly, it was music that first took her inside prison walls and into that role. As director of community services for the New England Conservatory of Music, Credle organized concerts by bluesman B.B. King and balladeer Bobby Womack in state prisons. Her involvement grew deeper when the conservatory’s administrators and faculty members decided to teach inmates to …

Gray Matters Behind Bars, Howard Manly

Trotter Review

Forty years ago, the nation got tough on crime. It is now paying the price as the skyrocketing cost of incarcerating aging inmates is haunting state and federal prison budgets.

Life After Prison: A Different Kind Of Sentence?, A Forum At The Boston Center For The Arts, Andrea J. Cabral, Daniel Cordon, Lyn Levy, Gary Little, Janet Rodriguez

Trotter Review

In September 2012, the Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) hosted a forum on life after prison as part of its series, Dialogue: Social Issues Examined Through the Playwright’s Pen. The forum coincided with performances at the Boston Center for the Arts of The MotherF**ker with the Hat, a play by Stephen Andy Guirgis about prisoner reentry.

Andrea J. Cabral, then sheriff of Suffolk County and secretary of public safety in Massachusetts, moderated the forum in BCA’s Calderwood Pavilion, the same theater where SpeakEasy Stage Company was putting on the play. The four panelists work for nonprofit organizations primarily …

Inside/Outside: A Model For Social Support And Rehabilitation Of Young Black Men, Harold Adams, Castellano Turner

Trotter Review

This paper first identifies some of the most important problems facing incarcerated young black males. Next, we present an historical analysis that pinpoints the War on Drugs as the primary origin of mass incarceration of that group. Then we describe the major consequences for prisoners as well as collateral problems for their families, friends, and communities. We then outline the types of programs created to address these problems. We summarize research that shows the key to solving high recidivism rates is social support during incarceration and after release. We describe in particular a Boston-based organization, the Committee of Friends and …

Stop And Frisk: From Slave-Catchers To Nypd, A Legal Commentary, Gloria J. Browne-Marshall

Trotter Review

Today’s “stop and frisk” practices stem from centuries of legal control of Africans in America. Colonial laws were drafted specifically to control Africans, enslaved and free. Slave catchers culled the woods in search of those Africans who dared escape. After slavery ended, “Black Codes” or criminal laws were enacted to ensnare African Americans, including the sinister convict-lease system that existed well into the twentieth century. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled to extend police authority to stop and frisk during the Civil Rights Movement.

Police abuse of stop and frisk has led to tens of millions of people detained and searched …

Who We Are: Incarcerated Students And The New Prison Literature, 1995-2010, Reilly Hannah N. Lorastein

Honors Projects

This project focuses on American prison writings from the late 1990s to the 2000s. Much has been written about American prison intellectuals such as Malcolm X, George Jackson, Eldridge Cleaver, and Angela Davis, who wrote as active participants in black and brown freedom movements in the United States. However the new prison literature that has emerged over the past two decades through higher education programs within prisons has received little to no attention. This study provides a more nuanced view of the steadily growing silent population in the United States through close readings of Openline, an inter-disciplinary journal featuring …

Wisconsin's Mass Incarceration Of African American Males: Workforce Challenges For 2013, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

Among the most critical workforce issues facing Wisconsin are governmental policies and practices leading to mass incarceration of African Americans men and suspensions of driving privileges to low-income adults. The prison population in Wisconsin has more than tripled since 1990, fueled by increased government funding for drug enforcement (rather than treatment) and prison construction, three-strike rules, mandatory minimum sentence laws, truth-in-sentencing replacing judicial discretion in setting punishments, concentrated policing in minority communities, and state incarceration for minor probation and supervision violations. Particularly impacted were African American males, with the 2010 U.S. Census showing Wisconsin having the highest black male incarceration …

The Cultural Complex Of Innocence: An Examination Of Media And Social Construction Of Missing White Woman Syndrome, Sarah Land Stein

Dissertations

This study examined the etiology and promulgation of the sociological phenomenon known as missing white woman syndrome. It was hypothesized that missing white woman syndrome may not be entirely attributable to racial disparity as has been claimed in the past. Rather, citing the work of Dr. Carl Jung, the researcher believed that missing white woman syndrome may be partially explained by a concept known as a cultural complex. The cultural complex that was hypothesized for purposes of this study is one related to innocence: That is, as a western society, we have been culturally overexposed to the blonde, Caucasian female …

Racial And Ethnic Health Disparities In Incarcerated Populations, Meghan E. Borysova, Ojmarrh Mitchell, Dawood H. Sultan, Arthur R. Williams

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Alarming disparities in population health and wellness in the United States have led to multi-disciplinary research efforts to create health equity. Identifying disparities, elucidating the etiological bases of disparities, and implementing solutions to eliminate disparities are part of the U.S. national health agenda. Racial and ethnic disparities have been identified throughout the cancer control continuum, in cardiovascular disease, diabetes and a multitude of other conditions. The causes of disparities are complex, condition specific, and conjectured to result from combinations of biological and socio-behavioral factors. Racial and ethnic health disparities within the vast incarcerated communities have been excluded from most studies, …

The Californians Against Sexual Exploitation (Case) Act: A Case Study In Policy Advocacy, Bailey Mannisto-Ichés

Capstone Collection

In any given year in the United States of America at least 100,000 domestic youth are sexually exploited through the commercial sex industry. Current national and state laws do not adequately protect these children from being groomed, pimped, and exploited over and over again in their young lives. A majority of these children are trafficked from, into or within the nation’s most populated state of California. In 2003 the FBI identified three of the country’s 13 high-­‐intensity child sex trafficking cities as being in California. The cycle of violence these children endure is not being brought to justice through the …

Suspension And Revocation Status Report For Milwaukee County, John Pawasarat

ETI Publications

Driver’s license suspension and revocation records were analyzed for Milwaukee County residents using a series of data files from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Notable changes were observed in number and patterns of charges. The elimination of mandatory revocations for OAR (operating after revocation) charges, a policy reform initiated by the Center for Driver’s License Recovery & Employability, reduced the number of OAR revocations from 10,124 in 2009 to 64 in 2011. The legislative reforms also led to a very large reduction in revocations for OWS (operating while suspended), which dropped from 5,815 revocations issued in 2009 down to 130 …

Drivers License Status Report For Milwaukee County Presentation, Lois M. Quinn, John Pawasarat

ETI Publications

Presentation for the Center on Driver's License Recovery & Employability biennial meeting tracks changes in state suspension and revocation policies.

Drivers License Status Report For Milwaukee County, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Employment and Training Institute reviewed the driving records of 629,222 Milwaukee County residents in the Department of Transportation files, including drivers with current licenses as of January 1, 2012 plus unlicensed residents who received suspensions and revocations from 2009 through 2011. This report details the driving status of county residents in order to identify problems in licensing, suspensions and revocations. Prior ETI reports have shown the driver license to be essential for getting and keeping employment and exceeding high school completion as a predictor of sustained employment.

When The Abyss Looks Back: Treatments Of Human Trafficking In Superhero Comic Books., Bond Benton, Daniela Peterka-Benton

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Superhero comic book characters have historically engaged issues of social concern. From Superman’s opposition to the Ku Klux Klan in 1947 (Bowers, 2011) to Captain America’s acceptance of a gay soldier in 1982 (Witt, Sherry, & Marcus, 1995) to Batman’s stance against landmines in 1996 (O’Neil, 1996), stories involving superheroes have frequently demonstrated a developed social awareness on national and international problems. Given that the audience for superhero characters is often composed of young people, this engagement has served as a vehicle for raising understanding of issues and as tool for encouraging activism on the part of readers (McAllister, 1992; …