Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons^™

Drug Courts Work, But How? Preliminary Development Of A Measure To Assess Drug Court Structure And Processes, Blake Barrett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The high prevalence of substance use disorders is well-documented among criminal offenders. Drug courts are specialty judicial programs designed to: 1) improve public safety outcomes; 2) reduce criminal recidivism and substance abuse among offenders with substance use disorders; and 3) better utilize scarce criminal justice and treatment resources. Drug courts operate through partnerships between the criminal justice, behavioral health and public health systems. Offenders participate in an intensive regimen of substance abuse treatment and case management while under close judicial supervision. Drug courts' effectiveness in reducing criminal recidivism and drug use has been documented through numerous primary studies as well …

A Multilevel Model Of Police Corruption: Anomie, Decoupling, And Moral Disengagement, Ruth Zschoche

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Police corruption is a primary concern for law enforcement agencies. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that could predict the likelihood of police officer susceptibility to corruption. Data was collected through surveys of 1083 officers within eight U.S. police agencies that were participating in the National Police Research Platform funded by the National Institute of Justice. The data were analyzed using multilevel structural equation and base multilevel models.

The theoretical model for this study addressed susceptibility to corruption on both the departmental (clusters) and individual officer levels. Four main constructs were utilized in this study. Acceptance of …

Mental Health Courts Effectiveness In Reducing Recidivism And Improving Clinical Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis, Brittany Cross

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mental health courts have recently emerged with goals to reduce recidivism and improve clinical outcomes for people with serious mental illness in the criminal justice system. The present study is a review of mental health court literature assessing their effectiveness in reducing recidivism and improving clinical outcomes for participants using meta-analytic techniques. A total of 20 studies that included sufficient information to compute the standardized mean difference effect size, focused on adult populations, and were within the United States were included in the analysis. Only experimental and quasi-experimental research designs were obtained. Using Cohen’s d (1988) guidelines, mental health courts …

Assessing Racial Differences In Offending Trajectories: A Life-Course View Of The Race-Crime Relationship, Michael S. Caudy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The developmental and life-course criminology (DLC) paradigm has become increasingly popular over the last two decades. A primary limitation of this paradigm is the lack of consideration of race and ethnicity within its framework. Race unquestionably matters in today's society and yet it has generally been ignored within the context of DLC theories. The current study aims to contribute to the literature informing DLC by viewing life-course theories through the lens of race and ethnicity. Utilizing nationally-representative data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, the current study examines race-specific developmental trajectories of offending over 11 years during the …

An Analysis Of The Influence Of Sampling Methods On Estimation Of Drug Use Prevalence And Patterns Among Arrestees In The United States: Implications For Research And Policy, Janine Kremling

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using data from the Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) and the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) programs collected by the National Institute of Justice the question whether the drug estimates of DUF, using a non-probability sample, and the drug use estimates of ADAM, using a probability sample, yield substantially different results will be explored. The following main questions will be addressed using equivalence analysis: Are there substantial differences in the DUF and ADAM samples with regard to the drug use information obtained from arrestees at nine sites across the United States? The analysis suggests that the drug use information contained in …

Is There An "Innocent Female Victim" Effect In Capital Punishment Sentencing?, Amelia Lane Kirkland

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Disparities in the administration of capital punishment are a prominent social and political issue. While the focus of death penalty disparity research initially lay with the defendant and how the defendant’s race or ethnicity affects sentencing outcomes, only marginal support for offender effects has been found. A consistent finding, however, is that victim race has a significant effect on capital sentencing outcomes. Recent examinations of the joint effects of victim characteristics indicate that victim gender also has some influence in capital sentencing decisions. While these prior studies have examined the interactive effects of victim gender and victim race the current …

Gender Differences In Age Of Onset For Delinquency:Risk Factors And Consequences, Laura M. Gulledge

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The age of onset of delinquency has long been viewed as a primary indicator for further delinquency and criminality. However, studies on the risk factors for onset, and future delinquency have focused predominantly on males. The purpose of this study was to explore gender differences and similarities in risk factors for onset and frequency of arrest. The data used in these analyses were from a longitudinal study, Pathways to Adulthood: A Three Generational Urban Study, 1960-1994. Sixty-six percent (N=1,758) of the eligible children completed the final survey. Of these children, only 515 were used in this particular study because they …