Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons^™

Narcissistic Traits Of Police Officers In America, Paloma Moran

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The narcissistic traits of police officers aged 17 to 78 in the United States affect American citizens in various degrees. Improvements made to pre-employment psychological evaluations, such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2), the L (Lie) Scale, and the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), may detect and screen out police officer candidates with underlying Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). It is important that candidates with NPD be screened out as, if they become officers, they may commit acts of police misconduct, which greatly affect the safety and trust of the American people.

The Csi Effect: Fact Or Fiction?, Kavita Alejo

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The CSI effect has been a subject undergoing intense scrutiny in recent years. With the ever-increasing number of television shows, such as CSI and all of its spinoffs, that poorly represent the field of forensic science, there has also been a growing concern over the effects that media has on the legal system. Prosecutors argue that the CSI effect raises their burden of proof and makes jurors more likely to acquit in cases involving little or no forensic evidence, while defense lawyers claim that jurors are more inclined to wrongfully convict based on their unrealistic perceptions of forensic evidence. This …

Executive Order 13492: Legal Borderlands, Laura Diaz

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

On January 22, 2009, newly inaugurated President Barack Obama implemented Executive Order 13492. The order refers to the legal disposition of detainees at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base and the termination of the detention center. The Executive Order lists five possible options to close Guantánamo Bay and to otherwise try and place current prisoners elsewhere: prosecution under military law, prosecution under federal law, permanent detainment, deportation and release. Still, Guantánamo Bay remains open. Guantánamo detainees exist in a legal limbo without formal charges and trial. Executive Order 13492 was created to place them elsewhere and close the detention center.

Human Cattle: Prison Overpopulation And The Political Economy Of Mass Incarceration, Peter Hanna

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

This paper examines the costs and impacts of prison overpopulation and mass incarceration on individuals, families, communities, and society as a whole. We start with an overview of the American prison system and the costs of maintaining it today, and move on to an account of the historical background of the prison system to provide context for the discussions later in this paper. This paper proceeds to go into more detail about the financial and social costs of mass incarceration, concluding that the costs of the prison system outweigh its benefits. This paper will then discuss the stigma and stereotypes …

Ab 109 And Its Impact On Prison Overcrowding And Recidivism: A Policy Analysis, Angie Wootton

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

California experienced escalating issues with prison overcrowding from the late 1970s to 2010, as the prison population skyrocketed to unprecedented highs. This article will discuss the problem of prison overcrowding, and one recent policy intervention implemented to decrease overcrowding and offender recidivism rates, the Public Safety Realignment Act (AB 109). After providing background on the Public Safety Realignment Act, this article will analyze the effectiveness of the policy and make recommendations.

Not Yet Legal And In Prison?, Araseli Saldivar

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The United States is the only industrialized country that

sentences individuals to spend the remainder of their lives in

prison for a crime they committed before the age of eighteen.

The justice system established the sentencing of juveniles to life

in prison without the possibility of parole to deter juvenile

delinquency. Life without parole was regarded as an appropriate

punishment following the rise of juvenile crime during the 1980s

and 1990s. However, as psychological differences between

juveniles and adults became more prominent, society began to

regard life without the possibility of parole as a cruel and

unusual punishment. Although some …

A Prison Of Education: The School-To-Prison Pipeline In Low-Income Schools, Adam Le

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

This paper examines the relationship between prisons and education in American culture, comparing public schools in California cities to wealthier private schools. The essay critiques the American dream’s notions of social stratification and success of the individual in racialized areas. The first section compares funding disparities between education and prison and argues that while funding is an integral part of the inner-city’s problem, the curriculum itself is ineffective. The second section takes a closer look at differences in the curricula and educational settings of an inner-city school and a private school. It offers ethnic studies in secondary education as a …

Guilty By Reason Of Insanity: Unforeseen Consequences Of California's Deinstitutionalization Policy, Jen Rushforth

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Beginning with the passage of the Lanterman-Petris- Short Act in 1969, deinstitutionalization in California has had a devastating effect on the mentally ill. Instead of affording the mentally ill with more rights and protections, the process of shutting down state psychiatric hospitals and impeding psychiatric care for those in need caused a cascade effect leading to an increase of homelessness and incarceration. Over the past four decades, prisons and jails in California have become the de facto state mental hospitals, with severely mentally ill individuals having nearly a four-to-one chance of ending up in jail or prison over a psychiatric …

The Surveillance State: Do License Plate Readers Impinge Upon Americans' Civil Liberties?, Jourdin Hermann

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The boundaries that delineate public from private sphere have challenged our political system’s foundations since its origination. License plate readers (LPRs), a tool used by law enforcement and private businesses, cause citizens and their government to question the criteria separating public and private information. While police and repossession agencies contend that license plate readers aid their work, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argues that surveillance equipment interferes with an individual’s right to privacy. Addressing such privacy concerns requires the public to hold its government accountable by petitioning for limits on LPR use and data retention. LPRs also pose unique …

Justice Reform: Who's Got The Power, Yevgeniy Mayba

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

As the US prison population continues to rise despite the significant decrease in crime rates, scholars and social activists are demanding comprehensive reforms to the penal system that disproportionately affects minorities and the poor and has become a significant burden on the taxpayers. This paper examines some of the processes that contributed to the rise of the modern day carceral state, such as the determinate sentencing reform and the proliferation of mandatory minimum sentencing. It also explores the unintended consequences of these penal developments and traces the reaction and subsequent resistance to these sentencing schemes from the judiciary, as well …

There Goes The Neighborhood: Exposing The Relationship Between Gentrification And Incarceration, Casey Kellogg

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

This paper seeks to demonstrate that there is a deliberate and intentional link between residential housing patterns and crime and mass incarceration, and that government plays a strong role in allowing and formalizing this link. Using historical examples, this paper attempts to document the role of government and policy in furthering residential segregation through the processes of gentrification and disinvestment. By contributing to the destruction of low-income communities and the invasion of gentry through covert partnerships with the private sector to develop land and design cities, government has prioritized commercial interests over the needs of the community at all income …

The Use Of Criminal Profilers In The Prosecution Of Serial Killers, Chelsea Van Aken

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the concept of criminal profiling in terms of serial killers in the United States. The research provided in this paper was found using the most recent research available on the topic. The FBI’s Behavioral Unit, or National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC), is the current leading law enforcement agency that investigates these types of crimes. They utilize definitions, typographies, and motives to create a criminal profile to investigate serial killings. Ultimately, these profiles are inadequate because they are inconclusive and exclude multiple suspects that are potentially dangerous. Therefore, criminal …

From The Warehouse To The Deathbed: Challenging The Conditions Of Mass Death In Prison, Ernest K. Chavez

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The purpose of this project is to analyze the crisis of mass incarceration by placing the conditions faced by elderly, terminally ill, and dying prisoners, as its main point of focus. Much of this crisis was built through post-1970s American penal policies which set in place tough sentencing laws, increased prosecutorial power, and ultimately, led to a significant growth in the prisoner population. Today, elderly and terminally ill prisoners make up the fastest growing population inside of prisons. Few of these prisoners are approved for early release, and instead die while incarcerated. This has resulted in a condition of mass …

The "Csi Effect" And Its Potential Impact On Juror Decisions, John Alldredge

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The “CSI Effect” was first described in the media as a phenomenon resulting from viewing forensic and crime based television shows. This effect influences jurors to have unrealistic expectations of forensic science during a criminal trial and affect jurors’ decisions in the conviction or acquittal process. Research has shown the “CSI Effect” has a possible pro-defense bias, in that jurors are less likely to convict without the presence of some sort of forensic evidence. Some studies show actors in the criminal justice system are changing their tactics, as if this effect has a significant influence, causing them to request unnecessary …

Did They Ever Stand A Chance? Understanding Police Interrogations Of Juveniles, Brian Werner

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The Miranda v. Arizona (1966) decision was a pivotal case in the United States. It afforded rights to suspects and defendants against self-incrimination and representation during police interrogations. Miranda ensured police read individuals in custody their rights before interrogations. However, what happens when individuals being read their rights do not fully comprehend the significance of what the police are telling them, whether it is because of lack of comprehension due to brain development, or susceptibility to the influence of those questioning them? The courts have examined these direct issues when it comes to “voluntary” confessions made by juveniles. Several cases …

Prison Privatization: Driving Influences And Performance Evaluation, Carla Schultz

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

United States conservatism and neoliberalism have created a market for prison privatization. The business of making money from incarcerated bodies is in direct conflict with the goals of the justice system. Driving economic and political forces are examined and used to explain the rising prison-industrial complex. Private prison performance is measured by recidivism, cost, inmate rights, and quality of confinement. This paper suggests that prison privatization must be reformed or abolished to improve the corrections system in the United States.

No One Cried For Help: The Integration Of Groupthink Into Modern Rape Culture, Jourdin Hermann

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Rape symbolizes lost innocence. Many young females increasingly endure sexual violence at the hands of multiple male assailants. Despite the common coupling of group dynamics and rapes, little evidence proposes Irving Janis’s theory of groupthink as one plausible explanation. This paper argues that the two concepts are related; groupthink needs to hold a more prominent position within the sexual violence literature. A case in the small town of Steubenville, Ohio provides the backdrop for investigating how groupthink impacts instances of gang rapes. Integration of the scholarly literature available on groupthink and sexual violence establishes the basis of this research. Janis’s …

Attitudes Toward The Way Courts Deal With Criminals, Chelsea Van Aken

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The way courts treat criminals depends on a variety of factors. This paper examines how age, sex, and race affect an offender’s treatment during sentencing. These variables were collected using the 2010 General Social Survey and were tested using the SPSS 20.0 Student Version Statistical Software. The independent variables include age, race, and sex, while the dependent variable is the way courts deal with criminals. The hypotheses that were tested stated that older individuals, nonwhite persons, and men would believe that courts deal too harshly with criminals. The conclusion found that none of the variables showed a significant correlation; therefore, …

The Unfair Sentencing Act: Racial Disparities And Fiscal Consequences Of America's Drug Laws, Kristin Zimmerman

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

In 1986, the United States government attempted to combat the perceived war on drugs by enacting mandatory drug laws, with a primary focus on incarcerating crack offenders. The result of this was a mass influx of African Americans to US penitentiaries and minimal to zero reduction of crack convictions. Because the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 recognized 100 grams of cocaine as equivalent to one gram of crack, it has been perceived not as a war on drugs, but as a war on a war on minorities. The mass incarceration of drug offenders also led to severely damaging fiscal consequences …

Immigration Control And The Punitive Turn, Eduardo Batista

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The “punitive turn” describes the penalizing and disciplinary focus the United States has implemented in regulating problem populations since the late 1970s. This period has welcomed the era of mass incarceration in which the US penal population has exploded to levels not seen anywhere else in the world. The rise in the use of prisons and jails has been accompanied by the retrenchment of the welfare state, attacks on affirmative action policies, continued segregation in education and housing, and a growing gap between the rich and the poor. All of these have essentially erased the gains made by the Civil …

The Lingering Killer: Agent Orange, Sharon Ungerfeld

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

This paper explores the utilization of the chemical herbicide, Agent Orange, as it was sprayed over Vietnam during the Vietnam War in 1961 to 1971. The United States government, military, and corporations acted irresponsibly by creating the chemical and spraying it as a war tactic. The outcome of the spraying includes detrimental socioeconomic impacts, environmental degradation, and health problems. The socioeconomic impact is explained with statistics and an explanation of loss of job and education capabilities. With data on the destroyed trees and vegetation, this paper demonstrates the degree to which the environment faced harm. The health effects of Agent …

The Stigmatization Of Individuals Convicted Of Sex Offenses: Labeling Theory And The Sex Offense Registry, Carla Schultz

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The sex offender registry currently lists over half a million U.S. citizens as sex offenders. Modern day legislation directed toward sex offenders was born in an era of public fear and rash decision-making. Terrible consequences have since been identified as resulting from the labeling of sex offenders via the registry. These unintended consequences socially, economically, and psychologically influence the lives of sex offenders. Labeling theory states that individuals who are given a label eventually subscribe to that label; in other words, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. In the case of sex offenders, this can only mean more damage to society. …

Democracy, Prison, And Public Safety Realignment: Renewing Our Imagination, Kimberly Turner

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The American carceral condition has waged a 200-year-old struggle where the lives of the guilty, the innocent, and the victimized have taken center stage in a debate centered on rehabilitation, reformation, and revenge. The drama has undergone a number of revisions from great scholarly authors, multidisciplinary intellectuals, and literary muses. Despite a number of new renderings, the central themes of the American prison have remained constant, and just as there have been builders of prisons, there have been forces intent on their destruction. The current state of the American carceral condition has burgeoned since the neoliberal political and economic shift …

Police Academy Training: An Evaluation Of The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Police Academies, Olga Bykov

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the historical and current protocols which have existed in police academies, with a focus on the gender issues being faced by female police officers. The development of the police force is examined, with explanation of the differences and developments aligning with each era of history. Next, current police practices are elaborated upon, emphasizing the difficulties women experience in becoming police officers and where the ideologies of the police academies originated. Finally, suggestions are given based on research findings in order to reduce the ideological divides that occur in the …

Reducing California's Overcrowded Prison Population, Morgan Macdonald

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

This paper evaluates how “tough on crime” sentencing policies have influenced California's prison population. Several laws which make up the state's strict criminal justice practices were passed over the course of forty years without consideration for their impact on the state's budget and safety. Beginning with the Uniform Determinate Sentencing Act of 1976, the state has created an unsustainable prison system that will dissolve without increased public funding. However, California’s depleted economic condition has forced policymakers to reevaluate the state's criminal justice agenda, while complying with the three- judge court order to reduce its incarcerated population to 137.5 percent of …

Confirmation Bias: The Pitfall Of Forensic Science, Scott Moser

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

As it stands, forensic science and its practitioners are held in high regard in criminal court proceedings due to their ability to discover irrefutable facts that would otherwise go unnoticed. Nevertheless, forensic scientists can fall victim to natural logical fallacies. More specifically, confirmation bias is “a proclivity to search for or interpret additional information to confirm beliefs and to steer clear of information that may disagree with those prior beliefs” (Budlowe et al., 2009, p. 803). To restore the integrity of the forensic sciences, the sources of confirmation bias need to be identified and eliminated. Accordingly, empirical studies have given …

The Patriot Act: Liberty Afire, Mark Fox

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

The USA PATRIOT Act was written and passed into law in the United States within weeks of the devastating 9/11 terrorist attack. Its purpose was to strengthen and realign U.S. policy to allow greater judicial power to better protect the U.S. from further acts of terrorism. However, as the legal tenets of the Act became more transparent, public concern mounted over the wide latitude given to the governmental agencies that seemed to threaten academic and intellectual freedom and overall civil liberties. The problems inherent in the USA PATRIOT Act are described, and potential amendments and improvements have been suggested.

Comparing Wearer Dna Sample Collection Methods For The Recovery Of Single Source Profiles, Corissa J. Harris, Amanda J. Cardenas, Steven B. Lee, Brooke Barloewen

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

Wearer DNA is the deposit of epithelial cells on clothing worn by an individual. Detection of the last individual to handle or wear an item is often an important and desirable determination in forensic science. The most commonly used collection methods for wearer DNA include swabbing and scraping. These often result in mixture profiles. Recently, adhesives have been introduced as a possible reliable method for the collection of biological evidence. The goal of the research was to compare the current collection methods of swabbing and scraping with a gel film called Gel-Pak ‘0’ which shares similar properties with adhesives. Gel-Pak …

Review Of Capote’S In Cold Blood, Yevgeniy Mayba

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

No abstract provided.