Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons^™

Effects Of Senate Bill 4 On Wage-Theft: Why All Workers Are At Risk In Low-Income Occupations, Daniella Salas-Chacon

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

Abstract forthcoming

Research Brief On Eti Driver's License Studies, John Pawasarat, Lois M. Quinn

ETI Publications

A critical issue facing central city Milwaukee residents is access to jobs -- jobs that are increasingly beyond the Milwaukee County bus lines. The spatial mismatch between available jobs and job seekers is most acute in low-income Milwaukee neighborhoods, where job seekers have outnumbered full-time openings by a gap of seven to one and only a third of unemployed job seekers have a valid driver's license. From 1998-2017 the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Employment and Training Institute conducted extensive employment research on the importance of a driver's license.

The Persistent Fear Of Crime In A Safe Metropolitan Area: The Continual Impact Of Social Disorganization, Guillermo Rivas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

While the association between physical and social disorder on crime have been established (Skogan, 1990), it is less clear how they influence fear of crime. Fear of crime is important to consider given that is can decrease both physical and mental health (Gee & Payne-Sturges, 2004). Utilizing data based on a randomly selected household survey in El Paso County, Texas (N= 1,070) I seek to examine the influence of physical and social disorders and social cohesion on fear of crime. OLS linear regression results illustrate the persistent impact of physical and social disorders regardless of neighborhood characteristics of poverty and …

Cited In Milwaukee: The Cost Of Unpaid Municipal Citations, John Pawasarat, Marilyn Walzak

ETI Publications

The Employment and Training Institute collaborated on a project with the Justice Initiatives Institute examining Branch A Milwaukee Municipal Court cases from 2008 to 2013 using records obtained from the Milwaukee Municipal Court and the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office and focusing on the population incarcerated for municipal ordinance violations. A majority of those jailed for failure to pay municipal judgments were not employed at the time of booking. Municipal courts often denied Wisconsin residents unable to pay or delinquent in paying court judgments for municipal citations their right to drive for two years -- jeopardizing workers’ employment options and placing …

Resources Matter: The Role Of Social Capital And Collective Efficacy In Mediating Gun Violence, Jennifer Lynne Dean

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

This study explains how community activists make use of available social capital and collective efficacy while attempting to mediate gun violence. It specifically focuses on twelve in-depth interviews of activists' perspectives, processes and rationales to alleviate community gun violence, based on informal social control models. Findings suggest activists must establish trust and respect with youth they work with before mediation begins, which is established through similar life experiences or backgrounds. Once a strong bond is established with youth, activists identified five core processes to reduce violence: 1) improve the mindset, 2) provide life skills, 3) assist youth as their …

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, …

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 …

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; …

Social Disorganization And The Spatial Distribution Of Homicides In El Paso, Nicholas Andrew Emerick

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Recent research on social disorganization theory shows general support for economic and stability measures of disorganization, but spatial dispersions and the disaggregation of homicides of crime have not been fully examined. 1985-1995 homicide data from the El Paso Police Department's detective logs and US Census data are combined to explore social disorganization in El Paso, the impact of ports of entry, and how motive interacts with social disorganization. Findings for total homicides in El Paso support existing social disorganization research. Motive specific homicides displayed distinct relationships to the disorganization measures. The concentrations of homicides near ports of entry can be …