Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons^™

Deconstructing The "Power And Control Motive": Developing And Assessing The Measurability Of Internal Power, Shelly Marie Wagers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the increased social recognition, law and policy changes within the criminal justice system, and the widespread use of court mandated batterer intervention programs (BIPs) domestic violence continues to be a persistent problem. The lack of significant decline in incidence rates along with a growing body of empirical evidence that indicates BIPs are, at best, only moderately effective raises serious concern. Effective policies and programs are based upon empirically tested theory. The assertion "the batterer's motive is power and control" has become fundamental to almost all of our currently used and accepted mainstream theoretical explanations regarding domestic violence. However, the …

Human Trafficking: Law Enforcement's Perceptions And Knowledge, Stormy Michelle Slider

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The perceptions and knowledge of law enforcement personnel regarding the issue of human trafficking was analyzed by utilizing a self-administered survey with questions measuring those items. Unfortunately there is a limited amount of literature available that addresses the role and responses to human trafficking amongst law enforcement personnel and was therefore taken into consideration during the analysis of this research study. The findings of this study found that there does not seem to be a significant statistical difference among law enforcement personnel's confidence in victim identification when related directly to the number of training hours they have received pertaining to …

A Closer Look At Race, Capital, And Sentencing: An Examination Of Race And Death Penalty Post-Furman And Gregg Decisions From 1977-2011, Michael R. Khodayari

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The aim of this thesis is to study racial disparity in capital sentencing since Gregg and Furman decisions from 1977-2011. The data used in this study came from execution in the United States, 1608-2002 (the ESPY file) and death penalty information center, 2003-2011. The findings of the data suggest that there is a relationship between the race of the victim and the race of the offender in the capital sentencing. Most of the empirical literature to date examined in the study also conclude that race is a determining factor in capital punishment cases.

Racial Disparity And The Crack Cocaine Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Sandy L. Binnicker

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

Racial disparities throughout the Federal Prison System are perhaps more apparent today than ever largely due to the fact that people are becoming increasingly cognizant of disproportionate sentencing for various types of crimes, most notably for crack cocaine versus powder cocaine offenses established under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Regardless of their legal origins, or who or what is most responsible for their continued utilization, the uses of disproportionate sentences for similar offenses are part of an alarming trend occurring in our criminal justice system. It is crucial, therefore, to have a better understanding of the magnitude of this problem, both …

Human Trafficking: The Perceptions Of Students Towards The Underground Sex Trafficking Network, Jennifer Jones

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The purpose of this study is to measure the perception, while controlling for race and ethnicity, towards human trafficking in 2012. Specifically, the perceptions of both undergraduate and graduate criminology and criminal justice college students at the University of Texas at Arlington are examined by a survey. A Quantitative empirical approach is used to measure the views of students on this topic. This study uses a non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design which consists of a single observation of undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Texas at Arlington. A non-probability convenience sample (n=108) is used for this group. The ultimate …

Fear Of Dna Exonerees, Callie Brown

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The purpose of this research was to determine if the public has a fear of wrongly convicted individuals that have since been exonerated through the use of DNA evidence. Existing research on DNA exonerations and exonerees has not addressed this phenomenon. The researcher distributed surveys to undergraduate students taking criminology and criminal justice courses at the University of Texas at Arlington. The data was analyzed using a t-test to compare the means of Caucasian and non-Caucasian respondents. The findings suggest that Caucasians and minorities have different levels of perceived fear of DNA exonerees in a variety of circumstances. The two …

Defense Industry Fraud And Whistle-Blowing: A Study Of The Relationship Between Perceptions Of Fraud And Whistle-Blowing, Ryan A. Bradbury

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between perception of fraud occurring in the defense industry and likelihood of engaging in whistle-blowing behaviors. To accomplish this, college students attending the University of Texas at Arlington were selected (n=281) to respond to surveys on the topic of defense industry fraud and whistle-blowing. This study used statistical analyses such as T-tests (Independent Sample T-test and ANOVAs) to determine significant differences between variables. The variables of gender, race, major, political party and defense industry associations were found to have statistically significant differences. Scales were also created for perception of defense …

The Effect Of Video Games On Aggressive Behavior In Undergraduate Students, Marisa Prokarym

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The study of the relationship between media and aggressive behavior gained popularity in the 1950's with television and has evolved to examine other media sources in the following decades. Video games have become the new media source of concern within the past decade (popularized in 2000), and as a result inspired the current study as an extension of the previous media studies. The current study examined the effect of video game play on aggressive behavior through survey research and consisted of 167 undergraduate participants at the University of Texas - Arlington. The analysis revealed that the personality and behavior of …

Child Abuse Among Tarrant County Probationers, Alyssa Wadas

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

Child abuse occurs throughout every city, in every state, in the United States. Child abuse occurs in many different forms, including but not limited to: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, medical neglect, psychological abuse and neglect. For many children child abuse never gets reported and children have a lifetime to cope with the effects of the abuse without consequence to the abuser. The current study explores probationers who report to the Tarrant County Probation office in Tarrant County Texas who have been convicted of or received deferred adjudication for committing an offense against a child in the State of …

Perceptions Of Inmates, Inmates' Life In Prison, And Reentry Into Society: An Evaluation Of Educational Influence On Societal Perceptions Versus The Realities Of Inmates' Experiences, Krystal Salazar

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

The purpose of this study was to conduct an in class survey over the perceptions of inmates, inmates' life in prison and reentry into society. The study hoped to gain understanding of educational influence on societal current perceptions on the topic. Statistical analyses of t-tests were conducted to control for gender, victimization, and knowing someone who was ever incarcerated versus not knowing someone ever incarcerated. The results suggested many victims agreed that inmates face hardships in prison and in society. Furthermore, victims believed community cohesion is crucial to reintegration. The study hypothesized that perceptions of inmates, inmates' life in prison …

Student Perceptions Of Drug Neighborhoods: An Analysis Of Visual Cues That Contribute To Students' View Of What Is Or Is Not A Drug Neighborhood, Jeremy Thompson

Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses - Archive

Perceptions of crime has been an emerging criminological area of study for the past twenty years. Prior research has shown that visual cues of social disorganization are indicators of both general crime and narcotics crime. This research explores perceptions of narcotics crimes through the utilization of a cross-sectional quantitative research method. Data collected through this study was analyzed by a series of tests which confirm prior findings regarding the connection between visual cues of social disorganization and the perception of crime. This study further suggests that visual indicators of crime have the greatest impact on women, Asian or Pacific Islanders, …

Best Outcomes For Indian Children, Loa L. Porter, Patina Park Zink, Angela R. Gebhardt, Mark Ells, Michelle Graef

Center on Children, Families, and the Law: Faculty Publications

The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families and the Midwest Child Welfare Implementation Center are collaborating with Wisconsin's tribes and county child welfare agencies to improve outcomes for Indian children by systemically implementing the Wisconsin Indian Child Welfare Act (WICWA).This groundbreaking coUaboration wiU increase practitioners' understanding ofthe requirements of WICWA and the need for those requirements, enhance communication and coordination between all stakeholders responsible for the welfare of Indian children in Wisconsin; it is designed to effect the systemic integration of the philosophical underpinnings of WICWA.

In December 2009, Governor James Doyle signed the Wisconsin Indian Child Welfare Act, signaling …

Amphetamines And Western Australian Detainees: A Social Profile, Karen L. Foster

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The current study utilised data collected from the Australian Institute of Criminology’s project known as Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA). The DUMA project examined detainees’ social demographics and past and present drug use, at various Australian sites. The current study examined secondary data as a subset of the DUMA data collected from the East Perth lockup in Western Australia. Three sections of the DUMA data were analysed in this study (i) changes in amphetamine use by detainees (ii) demographic profile of detained amphetamine users and (iii) offences for which they have been detained. Analyses included chi-square tests, Kendall’s tau_b, …

Volume 04, Matt Szemborski, Phillip Van Ness, Sarah Croughwell, Sarah Mayfield, Alyssa Strackbein, Marley Kimmel, Stephanie Skipp, Jamie Yurasits, Katherine Taggart, Alex Leonhart, Kristen Rawls, Andrew Armes, Amanda Haymens, Allison Paqlowski, Erica May, Stephanie Lane, Luke Acree, Cassandra L. Wilson, Stephanie Pishock, Erica Hopson, K. Juston Osborne, Katheryn Grayson, Kyle Fowlkes, Jessica Cox, Kaity Byrum, John-Harwood Scott, Ashley Johnson, Samantha Hockman, Emily Staskiel, Nancy Macdonald, R. Kruger Bressin, Benjamin P. Bilodeau, Andrea Irby, Kristin Macquarrie, Sarah Bietsch, Elizabeth Bednar

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Please note that part of pages 92-95 are redacted, in the digital copy, due to a misprint of the original printed article.

Introduction from Dean Dr. Charles Ross

The Internal Other: Transculturation and Postcolonial Magical Realism in Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children by Matt Szemborski

Photography by Phillip Van Ness

Photography “Waterfall” by Sarah Croughwell

Romancing the Bite: Statistical Analysis of Young Adult Vampire Novels by Sarah Mayfield

Photography by Alyssa Strackbein

Photography by Marley Kimmel

Wine and Society in the Viceroyalty of Peru by Stephanie Skipp

Analysis of Claud Monet’s Impression, Sunrise by Jamie Yurasits

Exploring Meaning: The Lindisfarne Gospels by …

Mothers In Prison: Maintaining Connections With Children, Sylvia Mignon, Paige Ransford

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

The significant increase in the number of incarcerated women ensures that many children must live without their mothers for some period of time. Women in prison were interviewed about their efforts to maintain relationships with their children. Mail and telephone contacts were more frequent than actual visits. Almost one half of mothers had never received a visit from their children. This article identifies challenges to the development and maintenance of contact between incarcerated mothers and their children. Recommendations are made for correctional agencies to enhance opportunities for incarcerated mothers to foster positive connections with their children.

Overcriminalization For Lack Of Better Options: A Celebration Of Bill Stuntz, Daniel C. Richman

Faculty Scholarship

The unity of Bill Stuntz's character – his profound integrity – makes it easy to move from a celebration of his friendship (which I’ve treasured since we first met back in 1985) to one of his scholarship, for creativity, wisdom, and humility are strengths not just of Bill himself but of his work. Even as his broad brush strokes have fundamentally advanced our understanding of the interplay between substantive criminal law, criminal procedure, and criminal justice institutions over time, Bill's work – like Bill himself – welcomes and endures sustained engagement. Humility is appropriate for me, too, as I offer …

Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Grant, Nebraska Strategic Plan, 2012-2015, Ryan E. Spohn, Melissa Gray, Mike Behm, Lisa Stamm

Reports

The Consortium for Crime and Justice Research (CCJR) at the University of Nebraska at Omaha was tasked by the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice to facilitate the development of a three-year strategic plan for the use of Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistant Grant (JAG) funds. The Crime Commission serves as the State Administering Agency that is responsible for funding projects that fit into one or more of the seven JAG purpose areas: law enforcement programs; planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs; prevention and education programs; drug treatment and enforcement programs; corrections and community corrections programs; prosecution and …

The North Carolina Racial Justice Act: An Essay On Substantive And Procedural Fairness In Death Penalty Litigation, Neil Vidmar

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

How Porous Are The Walls That Separate Us?: Transformative Service-Learning, Women’S Incarceration, And The Unsettled Self, Coralynn V. Davis, Carol Wayne White

Faculty Journal Articles

In this article, we refine a politics of thinking from the margins by exploring a pedagogical model that advances transformative notions of service learning as social justice teaching. Drawing on a recent course we taught involving both incarcerated women and traditional college students, we contend that when communication among differentiated and stratified parties occurs, one possible result is not just a view of the other but also a transformation of the self and other. More specifically, we suggest that an engaged feminist praxis of teaching incarcerated women together with college students helps illuminate the porous nature of fixed markers that …

Off-Duty & Under Arrest: A Study Of Crimes Perpetuated By Off-Duty Police, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Tina L. Freiburger

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The findings of independent commissions and research derived from a data-set of career-ending misconduct among New York Police Department (NYPD) officers suggests that police engage in a wide variety of crimes while they are off-duty including domestic violence, bar fights, drunk driving, burglary, and sex offenses (The Mollen Commission, 1994; Fyfe & Kane, 2006; Kane & White, 2009). The off-duty misbehavior of police is an important concern for police agencies exposed to potential liability costs, and scholars engaged in debates about whether studies on police deviance should include acts committed while an officer is technically off-duty. The problem for scholars …

The Risk Of Violence And Intimate Partner Choice Within A Risk Society, Adam J. Pritchard

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

This dissertation examines the influence of competing risks in shaping individuals' choices about potential intimate relationships. According to Ulrich Beck's "risk society" theory, the individualization of social risks has direct and measurable consequences for the ways people organize and evaluate potential intimate relationships (Beck & Beck-Gernsheim, 1995, 2002, 2004; Giddens, 1994; Lupton, 2006). This study investigates the ways in which subjective or identity-related risks hypothesized by scholars of late modernity shape the perception and the actual risk of dating violence. Empirical research on dating violence identifies many objective “risk factors” related to a person’s chances of experiencing intimate partner violence; …

Mid West–Gascoyne District Police Officers’ Experience With The Cannabis Infringement Notice Scheme, Kara Wright

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Cannabis is currently the most frequently used illicit drug in Australia. Research has revealed a range of health, economic, criminal and social consequences associated with the drug. The widespread use of cannabis and the consequences associated with its use has ignited strong political and social debate as to what response should be taken to minimise the harmful effects of the drug. In order to reduce the harms associated with cannabis, and in line with the national harm minimisation framework, the Western Australia (WA) Cannabis Infringement Notice (CIN) scheme commenced in 2004. The introduction of the CIN scheme as part of …

Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute Newsletter, Portland State University. Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute

Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute Newsletters

Newsletter provides information on:

• Latest research results
• Project and studies underway
• Research awards and distinctions
• Recent research publications

Delinquents After Exile: A Review Of Aftercare Programs, Jeremy Olson, Daniel R. Lee

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

No abstract provided.

Recidivism Rates Of Youth Discharged From Supervision 2006 - 2009, Becky Noréus, Jillian Foley Mppm

Justice Policy

The Maine Department of Corrections (MDOC) Division of Juvenile Services (DJS) collaborates with the Muskie School of Public Service in a state‐university partnership to analyze juvenile recidivism rates. DJS measures juvenile justice outcomes to guide policy and program development geared toward recidivism reduction. Reduction of youth recidivism in Maine increases public safety.

Recidivism in this report is defined as a re‐adjudication (juvenile system) or conviction (adult system) for a new offense committed by a youth in Maine within three years after release from DJS supervision. This report measures DJS impact on youth who have been released from DJS supervision by …

Research Brief One-Sheet No.1: Late-Stage Police Crime: Is It An Exit Strategy?, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Tina L. Freiburger

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The study focuses on crimes committed by experienced police officers who are approaching retirement. Police scholars have traditionally been interested in the formative experiences that occur near the beginning of an officer's career, wherein the expectations of "rookie" cops clash with on-the-job realities to promote cynicism, personal anomia, and potential attachment to delinquent police subcultures. The literature suggests that officers will tend to "get into trouble" earlier in their career rather than later; but, the occurrence of "late-stage" misconduct committed by experienced police officers presents a challenge to existing assumptions regarding the relationship between experience and various forms of police …

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; …

Police Crime & Less-Than-Lethal Coercive Force: A Description Of The Criminal Misuse Of Tasers, Philip M. Stinson, Bradford W. Reyns, John Liederbach

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This study explores and describes the nature and character of cases that involve the criminal misuse of TASERs by police officers through a content analysis of newspaper articles. The news-based content analysis identified 24 police officers who were arrested for crimes that involved inappropriate use of TASERs over a 65 month period from January 2005 through May 2010. Data on these cases are presented in terms of: a) the arrested officer, b) victim characteristics, and c) the situational context of these events. The news-based content analyses were used to identify and describe some factors that were common among these events, …

Prevention Of Cyberstalking: A Review Of The Literature, Portland State University. Criminology And Criminal Justice Senior Capstone

Criminology and Criminal Justice Senior Capstone Project

With technological advances and increases in the number of people who can access and use technology, cyberstalking is a crime increasing in prevalence across the United States. The goal of this report is to provide a more clear understanding of the definition of cyberstalking, its prevalence, characteristics of both the victims and offenders of this crime, and the modus operandi of the crime. In addition, potential strategies to prevent cyberstalking will be discussed, including but not limited to changing internet behavior and educating the public about cyberstalking.

A Family Affair: The Effects Of Familial Relations On Offender Recidivism, Kenneth Tarez Kelso

Wayne State University Dissertations

Prisoner recidivism has and continues to impact families and communities. Traditional methods aimed at reducing this phenomenon have had little success in curtailing this problem. One obvious but often overlooked tool that may play a significant role in dealing with this issue is the importance of family relationships. This dissertation quantitatively examines offender's perceptions of the importance of family relations, specifically the relationships with the offender's children, spouse or significant other. These relationships are analyzed to determine their level of impact on prison misconduct and parole recidivism.

Response data from 102 male ex-offenders from the years of 2009 to 2010 …