Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons^™

Prosecutorial Misconduct In Capital Cases In The Commonwealth Of Kentucky: A Research Study 1976-2000, Roberta M. Harding, Bankole Thompson

Kentucky Justice and Safety Research Bulletin

The prosecutor wields tremendous power within the American criminal justice system. When that power is misuesed-particularly in capital cases-tremendous injustices are perpretrated. Yet, occurrences of prosecutorial misconduct seem to occur with distressing reqularity.

Kentucky Probationers' And Parolees' Perceptions Of The Severity Of Prison Versus County Jail And Probation, David C. May, Kevin I. Minor, Peter B. Wood, Jennifer L. Mooney

Kentucky Justice and Safety Research Bulletin

This study extends a growing body of research on offenders' perceptions of the punitiveness of criminal sanctions. Specifically, we examine punishment equivalency ratings by Kentucky probationers and parolees (N-588) meant to gauge their perceptions of the severity of prison compared to both probation and county jail. Ratings are analyzed by several demographic characteristics. We find that, in general, survey respondents pereceived county jail as more severe than prison but that probation was rated as less severe.

Drug Cartels And The International Organization Of Drug Trafficking In The 21st Century, Gary W. Potter, Karen M. Potter

Kentucky Justice and Safety Research Bulletin

This research is a brief overview of the new cartels emerging to dominate today's international traffic in drugs. In terms of geographic reach, economic impact, and imperiousness to law enforcemnt, drug cartels became the dominant form of organized crime in the last two decades of the 20th century. In the 21st century drug cartels have taken advatage of the massive increases in international trade and commerce and have learned from the mistakes of the earlier cartels. The new cartels are more numerous, flexible, chameleonic in their nature, and durable than any we have seen before.

Disruptive Students In Kentucky Colleges: An Analysis And Comparison Of Policies And Processes, Teresa Mcglone, Judy Spain

Kentucky Justice and Safety Research Bulletin

This exploratory study examines the disruptive and violent student policies currently used by SACS accrredited four-year or higher degree granting institutions and compares Kentucky institutions with the ten other SACS states. The bais for the research is that policy examination may produce more valid and reliable results than comparing statistics.

Policing Kentucky's School Children: Issues And Trends, Peter B. Kraska, Matthew D. Dimichele

Kentucky Justice and Safety Research Bulletin

The purpose of this research bulletin is to document the scope and nature of an important dimension of the school safety movement--the degree to which schools in Kentucky are being "policed" by public police agencies. A shift toward having an active police presence in our public schools, an unprecedented and significiant development, should be examined carefully.

Attitudes Toward The Death Penalty In Kentucky: A Comparison Of Survey Results-1989, 1997, 1999, Gennaro F. Vito

Kentucky Justice and Safety Research Bulletin

This bulletin examines changes in the attitudes of Kentucky residents toward the death penalty. Over the period 1989 to 1999, the level of opposition to the death in Kentucky has risen. In 1999, 28.3 percents of the respondents were either strongly (17.3 %) or somewhat (11%) against the death penalty. Also, the percentage of respondents who were unsure about the use of capital punishment declined from 16.3 to 12.5 percent. By 1999, support for the death penalty had declined by 10 percents points (59.2 %).

A Descriptive Study Of The Kentucky Correctional Industries Program, Irina R. Soderstrom, Thomas C. Castellano, Heather Figaro

Kentucky Justice and Safety Research Bulletin

This bulletin addresses the topic of correctional industry programs. These programs are common across the United States and Europe, and research suggests that they may hold promise for helping accomplish correctional goals. However, correctional industry programs have not been adequately evaluated in the literature.

The Antecedents Of Organized Criminality In Kentucky, Gary W. Potter

Kentucky Justice and Safety Research Bulletin

This Kentucky Justice & Safety Research Bulletin examines the antecedents of modern-day organized crime in Kentucky. The question to be addressed is whether the genesis of organized crime in a predominately rural, southern state, such as Kentucky, follows well-established patterns of development found in historically analyses of Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, and other north-eastern and midwestern locales. This question is addressed by an examination of primary and secondary historical data sources relevant to early forms of organized crime. The research concludes that while Kentucky exhibited strikingly different forms of economic, socal and political organization compared to northeastern and midwestern locales, …

Swat In The Commonwealth: Trends And Issues In Paramilitary Policing, Peter B. Kraska

Kentucky Justice and Safety Research Bulletin

Movies and television shows depicting a future where law enforcement officers look like military soldiers may not be wholly inaccurate. In the last ten years, SWAT teams, or "police paramilitary units" (PPC's) have become an influential force in contemporary policing.

Academic research and the news media have recently taken note of this development and have highlighted several important trends and issues related to paramilitary policing. These include the rapid growth of PPU's, their movement into mainstream police functions and the potential negative consequences of such a shift. This study overviews national trends in paramilitary policing using two national surveys. It …

Kentucky's Response To The Lautenberg Act: Curbing Domestic Violence Among Police, Victor E. Kappeler

Kentucky Justice and Safety Research Bulletin

This study empirically investigates the impact of the Lautenberg Act on policing in Kentucky to determine whether a significant proportion of law enforcement agencies have been affected by the law and to ascertain whether a significant percentage of Kentucky officers will be forced to find alternative employment.

Inaugural Issue - Overview Of The Series, Gary W. Cordner

Kentucky Justice and Safety Research Bulletin

This bulletin is the first in a series devoted to important justice and safety issues in Kentucky. The bulletin series is a major scholarly product of Eastern Kentucky University's (EKU's) Program of Distinction in Justice and Safety, established in 1998 within EKU's College of Law Enforcement.