Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons^™

Criminology And Criminal Justice: Differences In Programs At The Master's Level, Ruth Triplett, Elizabeth Monk-Turner

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Our aim in this work is to: (1) determine how distinct the program structure and curriculum content for graduate education in Criminology was compared to Criminal Justice; and (2) evaluate whether the diversity or consistency of the curriculum in either field varied depending of what type of department was offering the degree. Differences in department titles, hours required for the M.A. degree, program descriptions, curriculum content and curriculum content by department type between M.A. programs in Criminology and Criminal Justice were examined. The results suggested there is both consistency and difference in program structure and in curriculum content across the …

Rape In America: An Empirical Test Of Two Theories, Vaughn Crichlow

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates two macro-social theories of rape-pornography consumption and gender inequality-utilizing state-level data. First, it is argued that media consumption patterns have changed due to the popularity of the internet and increasing household broadband access. In particular, it is contended that men who consume pornography prefer the internet to traditional mediums such as hard-copy magazines and DVDs. To test this assumption, a survey was administered to a convenience sample of nearly 500 male students at Rowan University. The results show evidence that males who intentionally consume pornography prefer the internet and, therefore, the use of broadband access as a …

Suicide And Unintentional Poisoning Mortality Trends In The United States, 1987-2006: Two Unrelated Phenomena?, Ian Rh Rockett, Gerry Hobbs, Diego De Leo, Steven Stack, James L. Frost, Alan M. Ducatman, Nestor D. Kapusta, Rheeda L. Walker

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Two counter trends in injury mortality have been separately reported in the US in recent times - a declining suicide rate and a rapidly rising unintentional poisoning mortality rate. Poisoning suicides are especially difficult to detect, and injury of undetermined intent is the underlying cause-of-death category most likely to reflect this difficulty. We compare suicide and poisoning mortality trends over two decades in a preliminary assessment of their independence and implications for suicide misclassification.

Methods

Description of overall and gender- and age-specific trends using national mortality data from WISQARS, the Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System, maintained …

Reflections And Perspectives On Reentry And Collateral Consequences, Michael Pinard

Faculty Scholarship

This essay addresses the continued and dramatic increase in the numbers of individuals released from correctional institutions and returning to communities across the United States. It provides a brief history of the collateral consequences of criminal convictions, and the ways in which these consequences impede productive reentry. It then highlights national and state efforts to address to persistent reentry obstacles and to better understand the range and scope of collateral consequences. It concludes by offering suggestions for reform.

Campus Rape Phenomenon, Keriann Speranza

Undergraduate Review

Rape is a serious crime affecting all colleges and universities, but it is rarely brought to the attention of the media, administrators, faculty, students, and community. Research shows that between 14% and 27.5% of college women have been sexually assaulted (Humphrey & Kahn, 2000). The 2005 Bureau of Justice Statistics Report on violent victimization of college students indicates that between the years 2000 and 2004, 74% of rapes and sexual assaults were committed by someone known to the victim (Gross, Winslett, Roberts, Gohm, 2006). This report also suggested that campus rape is the most underreported violent crime in the United …

Cartoon Violence: A Comparison Of Past And Present, Elizabeth Cameron Macias

Theses Digitization Project

This study examined four cartoons in order to determine the extent of the violence, type of violence, and the context of violence in both dated and modern cartoons. To achieve this goal a content analysis of 'The Flintstones', 'The Jetsons', 'The Simpsons' and "Family Guy' was performed. These shows were chosen based on their popularity, classification as family programming, and the influence they have had on American culture.

Prison Blockbusters: Relationships Between Prison Cinema And Student Perceptions, Jeremy Scott Mcqueen

Online Theses and Dissertations

This study examined college students' perceptions, as they relate to prison cinema. It also discussed and analyzed reoccurring themes in prison cinema that perpetuates the prison culture in the United States. Specifically, this research addressed the following research question: How is exposure to prison cinema related to student perceptions of prisons, prisoners, and prison staff? By asking this question and analyzing the responses given by students, this study hopes to contribute to improved understanding of how popular cinema shapes the perceptions of prison culture in the United States.

The researcher utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods in gathering research data …

Ua12/8 Annual Report, Wku Police

WKU Administration Documents

A statement of current campus policies regarding procedures for students and others to report criminal actions or other emergencies occurring on campus and policies concerning the institution's response to such reports.

Pesach N. Rubenstein Cheats The Hangman: A Case Study Of Punishment And The Death Penalty At Brooklyn’S Raymond Street Jail, Philip M. Stinson

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This paper tells the story of Pesach Rubenstein and how he cheated the hangman in 1876. Rubenstein was charged, tried, and convicted in Kings County, New York, for the 1875 murder of his 19 year-old cousin, Sarah Alexander. The Rubenstein case is noteworthy in that it received unprecedented media attention in the 1870s, involved the use of rudimentary forensic evidence at the trial, and divided the community on issues of religion, ethnicity, immigration (the victim and defendant were recent Jewish immigrants from Poland), and imposition of the death penalty. Using a case study approach to analyze the trial transcript, newspaper …

Practitioner Perceptions Of Juvenile Transfer In Pennsylvania, David Myers, Daniel Lee, Dennis Giever, Jay Gilliam

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Consistent with virtually all other states in the nation, in the mid-1990s legislation was enacted in Pennsylvania to address increasing concerns about serious and violent juvenile offending. This legislation included provisions for facilitating the transfer of violent juvenile offenders to adult criminal court. The current study examines contemporary practitioner perceptions of juvenile transfer to adult court, with regard to the number of juveniles transferred, the effectiveness of this practice, and the appropriate minimum age for transfer to occur. Utilizing statewide survey data, comparisons are made between juvenile court judges, probation officers, prosecutors, and public defenders, and other predictors are assessed. …

Ua12/8 Wku Police - Campus Security Report, 2008, Wku Police

WKU Administration Documents

This report is designed to provide students, potential students, parents, facility and staff with crime statistics and information on university services and crime prevention programs. These programs are designed to help inform our campus communities about safety practices that will help you reduce the risk of being a crime victim. I feel hat these lessons can give people information that they can carry with them beyond college and will help keep them safe for the rest of their lives.

The Torture Of Alleged Terrorists Necessary For Public Safety Or A Criminal Act?, Michaela Clark

Undergraduate Review

Torture is defined in a variety of ways by many different sources. According to the World Medical Association’s (WMA) Declaration of Tokyo, torture is defined as, “the deliberate, systematic, or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more people acting alone or on the orders of any authority, to force another person to yield information, to make a confession, or for any other reason.” The Declaration of Tokyo was passed in 1975 and updated many times, most recently in 2006. This is a landmark document that has been used as a model for other medical statutes. The …

The Myth Of The Female Sex Offender, Chelsea Horrocks

Undergraduate Review

More than 300,000 women and nearly 100,000 men were forcibly raped in 1995 (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2006). The National Violence Against Women (NVAW) Survey, the last nationwide survey on rape, which had 8,000 male and 8,000 female participants, found that one of every six women and one of every thirty-three men is raped at some point in their lifetime. Thirty-two percent of the women and sixteen percent of the men were injured during their rape. In another nationwide telephone survey, twenty-two percent of 3,000 adults reported being sexually abused (Vandiver, 2002).

A Review Of Rape Statistics, Theories, And Policy, Gary Lowell

Undergraduate Review

Rape is defined in the laws of Massachusetts as “[s]exual intercourse or unnatural sexual intercourse by a person with another person who is compelled to submit by force and against his will or by threat of bodily injury” (Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 277, § 39, 2009). Although traditional definitions of rape have been that only a female can be raped and only a male can rape, “courts have held that the rape statutes in their jurisdictions are gender-neutral and apply equally to perpetrators of either sex” (Lynton, 1995). Still, since male on female rape is more prevalent (see Gonzales, …

A Moral Investigation Of Torture In The Post 9.11 World, Joe Moloney

Undergraduate Review

The field of philosophy is unique, as it allows one to logically examine issues in all disciplines, from science to politics to art. One further important discipline that philosophy examines is criminal justice. In this respect, one approach philosophy can take when examining criminal justice is to assess each issue by questioning its morality—that is, whether an action within the issue is right or wrong based upon a system of ethics. This approach concerns the subfield of philosophy known as ethics, a subfield that includes questions concerning what is morally good and morally bad. When one is faced with an …

Ua12/8 Wku Police - Campus Security Report, 2009, Wku Police

WKU Administration Documents

This report is designed to provide students, potential students, parents, facility and staff with crime statistics and information on university services and crime prevention programs. These programs are designed to help inform our campus communities about safety practices that will help you reduce the risk of being a crime victim. I feel that these lessons can give people information that they can carry with them beyond college and will help keep them safe for the rest of their lives.

Bad Moon On The Rise? Lunar Cycles And Incidents Of Crime, Joseph A. Schafer, Sean P. Varano, John P. Jarvis, Jeffrey M. Cancino

Justice Studies Faculty Publications

Popular cultures in Western societies have long espoused the notion that phases of the moon influence human behavior. In particular, there is a common belief the full moon increases incidents of aberrant, deviant, and criminal behavior. Using police, astronomical, and weather data from a major southwestern American city, this study assessed whether lunar cycles related with rates of reported crime. The findings fail to support popular lore, which has suggested that lunar phase influenced the volume of crime reported to the police. Future research directions examining qualitative rather than quantitative aspects of this problem may yield further inform the understanding …

A Tale Of Three Cities: Crime And Displacement After Hurricane Katrina, Sean P. Varano, Joseph A. Schafer, Jeffrey M. Cancino, Scott H. Decker, Jack R. Greene

Justice Studies Faculty Publications

When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in August 2005, it greatly disrupted both the physical and social structures of that community. One consequence of the hurricane was the displacement of large numbers of New Orleans residents to other cities, including Houston, San Antonio, and Phoenix. There has been media speculation that such a grand-scale population displacement led to increased crime in communities that were recipient of large numbers of displaced New Orleans residents. This study was a case study of three cities with somewhat different experiences with Katrina's diaspora. Time series analysis was used to examine the pre- and post-Katrina …

Guantanamo Bay Just Preventative Detention Of Terrorist Or A Fundamental Violation Of Due Process?, Michelle Cubellis

Undergraduate Review

In response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, in October of 2001, the Bush Administration launched the “War on Terror,” an attempt to eliminate all terrorist threats to the United States. As part of this war, the Bush Administration began detaining individuals it believed were linked to terrorism. Instead of capturing these individuals giving them a trial to determine whether they were guilty or innocent, and either sentencing them or releasing them, the Bush Administration detained these individuals at Guantanamo. They were held without due process and without access to federal courts. The Bush Administration repeatedly claimed that is was …

The Relationship Between Race And Suicide Ideation In Delinquent Females In The Texas Juvenile Justice System, Scott H. Belshaw, John Rodriquez

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2002) reported that suicide is the second leading cause of death among people between the ages of 14 to 25 in the United States. This research examined the effect race has on suicidal ideation among a cohort of delinquent girls in Texas. This study examined 2004 data provided by the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission on referrals to the juvenile justice system in Texas (N = 6850). Other variables such as age, family structure, and sexual abuse were also examined to determine the strength and effect that sexual abuse has on a juvenile becoming suicidal. …

Analysis Of Gender Responsiveness And Cultural Responsiveness, Barbara Carson, Kimberly Greer

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

The theories of gender responsive programming in corrections have focused on the importance of relationships, gender roles, and structural barriers for women (Bloom, Owen, & Covington, 2003). They also included a strong recommendation for cultural responsiveness in recognizing cultural differences among female offenders and providing culturally relevant services (Bloom et al., 2003). However, there was little theoretical or empirical guidance on how to respond when the goals of gender responsive programming conflicted with the culture of female offenders. Findings from a program evaluation of a small, gang intervention program working with Hmong American girls, suggested that in such conflicts, cultural …

Editor’S Statement, David Polizzi

Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Criminology

No abstract provided.

The Mediated Body As The Site For Contested Agencies: Ms-13 As A Case Study, Heather Pruss

Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Criminology

No abstract provided.

The Symbolic Capital Of Capital Punishment: A Scholarly Reflection, Jennifer Grimes

Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Criminology

No abstract provided.

Epidemiological Criminology (Epicrim): Definition And Application, Mark M. Lanie

Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Criminology

No abstract provided.

The Emergence Of Habitual Criminals In 19th Century Britain: Implications For Criminology, George Pavlich

Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Criminology

No abstract provided.

Salvia Divinorum: Patterns Of Use, Christie Bowles

Undergraduate Review

This study focuses on 13 salvia divinorum users, specifically seeking to understand the social, situational, and individual factors influencing their decision to use. Through semi-structured, in depth interviews, patterns such as the methods of use, settings of use, other frequently used drugs, and persistence or desistance of use are explored. Currently, there is limited research on salvia or the people who use this drug, and without this substantial research, the most effective way to address salvia use will remain unknown.

The Applicability Of Agnew’S General Theory Of Crime And Delinquency To Recent Juvenile Gang Membership In Houston, Marika Dawkins, Camille Gibson

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

This qualitative descriptive study used Agnew's general strain theory of crime and delinquency as lens through which to interpret the recent developments of juvenile gangs and gang-related activities in Houston, Texas. Agnew strain theory's main prepositions describe: 1) an inability to achieve goals that are valued positively, 2) an absence of positive goals, and 3) a presence of negativity or crime. These were assessed in terms of applicability to joining gangs in Houston. Data were collected by unstructured interviews of city employees who respond to Houston's gangs (e.g., Mayor' Anti-Gang Office staff and Houston Police Department officers), area observations, and …

Same Bang, Less Buck: A Cost-Benefit Analysis Of South Carolina’S Youth Courts, Holly Miller, J Mitchell Miller

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

While youth courts experience tremendous growth nationwide, their utility is largely unproven, particularly in state-level contexts. This study conducted a cost-benefit analysis of South Carolina's youth courts. The study found that while youth courts and family courts produced comparable recidivism rates, youth courts were substantially less expensive for comparable adjudications. The relative efficiency of youth courts, however, was neither monolithic nor guaranteed. Individual youth courts displayed considerable variation and some youth courts were not as efficient as their traditional family court counterparts. Inefficient youth courts had low caseloads, typically resulting from inefficient or immature referral systems and a reliance on …

Africentrism And Africentric Rituals: Their Role In Jamaican Male Motivation To Pursue Higher Education, Totlyn A. Oliver

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

This academic research presents the case for Africentrism and its attendant rituals for the African Diaspora to aid in the motivation and inspiration factor in the male's choice to pursue higher education in Jamaica. The paper discussed Africentric rites of passage against the background of pre-emancipation and post-emancipation education in Jamaica. It also analyzed the current educational system for male nationals along with the implications for applying Africentrism to theories and practice of education for male stu-dents. The major concern precipitating this study was the low levels of male enrolment in institutions of higher learning, as the female population far …