Examining Remorse In Attributions Of Focal Concerns During Sentencing: A Study Of Probation Officers, Colleen M. Berryessa

International Journal on Responsibility

This research, using interviews with probation officers in the United States (n = 151) and a constant comparative method for analysis, draws from the focal concerns framework to qualitatively model a process by which probation officers use a defendant’s remorse to attribute focal concerns in order to guide their sentencing recommendations in pre-sentencing reports. The model suggests that officers use expressions of remorse to make attributions about mitigated criminal intention (blameworthiness and notions of responsibility), reduced dangerousness and a high potential for reform (community protection), and organization-level effects for increasing caseload efficiency and using correctional resources (practical effects of …

“Prison Tiktok”: Incarcerated Life Shared On Social Media, Kayla Reid, Nicole Niebuhr

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

Different areas of the criminal justice system interact with social media, but not much is known about how those incarcerated may be using it. A thematic analysis of “Prison TikTok” videos was conducted in order to gain a better understanding of what those incarcerated are sharing. The most represented themes in the sample are performance, food, prison views, and pains of imprisonment. Performance and food demonstrate creativity within the sample, and highlight how those incarcerated may be looking for creative outlets. Prison and pains of imprisonment include the realities of life incarcerated, and contain messaging that those incarcerated may be …

Blowing In The Wind: Cannabis Legalization, Insiders, And Methodological Insights From British Columbia, Jon Heidt, Johannes Wheeldon

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

Legalizing cannabis in Canada has proven momentous in some ways and insufficient in others. This paper presents findings from a re-analysis of two studies on cannabis legalization conducted in British Columbia (B.C.) before and after legalization. Prioritizing public health over access appears to prolong stigmatization, complicate policing, and undermine efforts to disrupt illicit cannabis markets. We outline three contributions to the nascent post- prohibition cannabis research agenda. First, we demonstrate the potential for secondary data analysis (SDA) and model an approach to address recent concerns about this practice. Second, we show the value of insiders when assessing cannabis policy by …

“I’M Not Unemployed, I’M Unemployable”: Challenges Finding And Sustaining Work For People Requires To Register As Sex Offenders, Jennifer L. Wooldridge, Danielle J. S. Bailey

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

Many individuals convicted of a sexual offense (ICSOs) experience various collateral consequences due to registration requirements, including income loss, unemployment, harassment, social isolation, homelessness, and more. Finding employment post-conviction is a difficult endeavor for many reentering citizens with criminal records, but for ICSOs, the difficulty increases due to their label as sex offenders. When these individuals are unsuccessful in obtaining steady, living-wage employment, it can result in mental health impacts such as depression, hopelessness, and other reactions. This paper seeks to analyze participants’ emotional and mental health reactions to their direct experiences with employment struggles due to registration. What feelings …

Stroking Reflexivity Into Practice: The Pros And Cons Of Resorting To Gatekeepers To Conduct Qualitative Criminological Research, Gabriela Mesquita Borges, Ana Guerreirro, Leonardo Conde

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

Accessing research settings and participants can be deeply challenging for scientific research, especially when gatekeepers are involved. Gatekeepers are known to affect research through, among other reasons, their position inside institutions, their knowledge of the research topic, and their power over prospective participants. This article explores the methodological and ethical challenges that may arise from resorting to gatekeepers to access participants in qualitative criminological research. Using reflexive notes from the fieldwork of two doctoral research projects in criminology, this article emphasizes the central role gatekeepers can assume in qualitative research regarding gaining access to participants for a study and conducting …

Dying In Prison: End-Of-Life Care Services In A State Correctional Facility, Brook Cooley Webb, Mollee K. Steely Smith, Tusty Ten Bensel

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

The aging inmate population in American prisons has noticeably increased, contributing to a more significant number of offenders who will die in prison, thus forcing correctional facilities to aid in caring for prisoners at the end of life. Two common responses have emerged to deliver adequate healthcare to inmates, including hospice programs and End-of-Life (EOL) care services. This study aimed to explore the nature of EOL care in a state prison by interviewing correctional administrators, correctional officers, and relevant medical personnel (N=17). The current study provided insight into the inclusion criteria for inmates who utilized EOL care in the prison …

Doing Death Work: A Mixed Method Examination Of Imprinted Events And Behavioral Responses Of Medical Examiner's Office Employees, Elizabeth L. Gilmore, Kevin Buckler

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"This study provides a qualitative and quantitative data analysis from interviews of current and former employees of medical examiner offices. These employees’ current and former positions required that they arrive at scenes of natural, accidental, suicidal, undetermined, and homicidal deaths, document and retrieve the decedent(s), and assist in eviscerating the remains to aid forensic pathologists during autopsy procedures. The authors interviewed 14 current or past employees of different medical examiner offices to understand what they liked and disliked about this curious profession and aimed to understand professional struggles. Additionally, study participants answered questions about imprinted events, how they and colleagues …

Editorial, Kevin Buckler

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

This issue contains five articles that utilize various qualitative and mixed methods.

Child Sex Abusers In Protestant Christian Churches: An Offender Typology, Andrew S. Denney

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

Sexual abuse within religious settings has been the focus of prior research for over fifty years. However, most research has focused on the Roman Catholic Church, not Protestant Christian churches. Yet, Protestant Christian Churches are the most prominent religious institutions, both in the physical number of churches and total participants, across the United States. By examining 326 alleged instances of sexual abuse at or through activities provided by U.S. Protestant Christian churches, this study sought to create the first typology of sexual abusers within this setting. This study found that three types of offenders exist within these settings, (1) on-site …

Infidelity, Liability, And Violence, Jason Manning

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

Much criminal violence arises from conflict and is moralistic. The perpetrator is punishing someone for a perceived wrong. Liability refers to accountability for a wrong: Who exactly has to suffer punishment? Here I argue that violence arising from infidelity and sexual jealousy is a strategic research site for studying liability. When these matters trigger lethal violence, there is variation in who the perpetrator targets. Using detailed descriptions of US homicides, as well as the cross-cultural ethnographic literature, I describe and classify three patterns of liability: mate, rival, and dual. I conclude by suggesting sociological factors relevant to explaining these patterns …

“Title Ix Isn’T For You, It’S For The University”: Sexual Violence Survivors’ Experiences Of Institutional Betrayal In Title Ix Investigations, Katherine Lorenz, Rebecca Hayes, Cathrine Jacobsen

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

Institutional betrayal occurs when an institution fails to appropriately respond to harm experienced by a member of the institution, such as by failing to act or by mishandling cases. The concept has been applied to higher education institution’s (HEI’s) response to students who experience sexual violence, particularly Title IX investigations, showing that institutional betrayal is common among student survivors. Yet, to our knowledge, institutional betrayal in HEI Title IX investigations has not been qualitatively explored. We conducted interviews of graduate and undergraduate student sexual violence survivors (n=21) who participated in a Title IX investigation at a U.S. HEI to understand …

Treating Criminal Justice-Involved Serious Mental Illness (Smi) Clients In The Community, Brittany Hood

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

With criminal justice-involved individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) at an all-time high in the criminal justice system, research on community mental health centers (CMHCs) demonstrates a lack of treatment for justice-involved persons. Scholars have argued that providing appropriate treatment to criminal justice-involved individuals with SMI could alleviate symptoms. Therefore improving the effectiveness of mental health treatment to reduce recidivism in this population is paramount. The current study used a qualitative approach to examine how community service providers perceived organizational-level variables and legal constraints to influence treatment decisions for justice-involved individuals with SMI. Findings suggest three critical implications for policy …

Modern Approaches To Addressing The Mass Incarceration Of America's Mentally Ill Population, Cameron A. Bice, April N. Terry

Academic Leadership Journal in Student Research

Correctional facilities negatively affect individuals with pre-existing mental and behavioral health concerns while also creating an environment that manifests future mental illness. Issues include facility overcrowding, restrictive housing practices, lack of accessible services, and ill-informed practices and procedures when working with individuals with mental illness. Incarcerated individuals with mental illness also face disparities through (1) sentence length, (2) race/ethnicity and gender, and (3) increased risk in victimization. This paper draws attention to a long-standing, yet current critical issue in the American criminal justice system—the use of jails and prisons as modern-day psychiatric hospitals. This literature yields many options for disrupting …

Predicting Suicidal And Self-Injurious Events In A Correctional Setting Using Ai Algorithms On Unstructured Medical Notes And Structured Data, Hongxia Lu, Alex Barrett, Albert Pierce, Jianwei Zheng, Yun Wang, Chun Chiang, Cyril Rakovski

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Suicidal and self-injurious incidents in correctional settings deplete the institutional and healthcare resources, create disorder and stress for staff and other inmates. Traditional statistical analyses provide some guidance, but they can only be applied to structured data that are often difficult to collect and their recommendations are often expensive to act upon. This study aims to extract information from medical and mental health progress notes using AI algorithms to make actionable predictions of suicidal and self-injurious events to improve the efficiency of triage for health care services and prevent suicidal and injurious events from happening at California's Orange County Jails. …

Child Sexual Abuse Cases In The Catholic Church Vs. Secular Groups: A Media Content Analysis, Hannah G. Adkison

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a serious public health problem in the United States, with estimates suggesting that approximately 8% of males and 20% of females experience some form of sexual violence before adulthood (Pereda et al., 2009). Adult acquaintance victim-offender relationships account for 83% of all cases (Ullman, 2001). And while the acquaintance of victim- offender relationships is facilitated by a range of social institutions, perhaps none have received as much media attention as those occurring in the context of the Catholic Church (Formicola, 2014). Although child sexual assault is recognized as a serious punishable charge in all 50 …

Do Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Strategies Deter Taggers? Voices From The Street, Arthur Vasquez, Nina Barbieri, John J. Rodriguez

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) postulates that jurisdictions can deter crime and antisocial behavior via effective use and proper design of the physical environment. When a jurisdiction implements a CPTED strategy, it makes involvement in criminal behavior more difficult, thereby increasing the chance of being caught. Using interviews with 35 active juvenile street taggers from a large metropolitan area in Texas, this research explores whether implementing CPTED strategies deter offenders from engaging in criminal activity. Results suggest physical barriers, natural surveillance, access, and signage serve as deterrents during the target selection process."

Editorial, Kevin Buckler

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"

Editor Introduction to Volume 11, Issue 4

This issue of the Journal contains four articles and two book reviews. Each of the four articles focuses in some way on crime, criminal justice, and space. "

Getting Jumped In Vacationland: The Complicated Rhetoric And Realities Of Assault In A Small Town, Andrew Burns, Kat Albrecht

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) postulates that jurisdictions can deter crime and antisocial behavior via effective use and proper design of the physical environment. When a jurisdiction implements a CPTED strategy, it makes involvement in criminal behavior more difficult, thereby increasing the chance of being caught. Using interviews with 35 active juvenile street taggers from a large metropolitan area in Texas, this research explores whether implementing CPTED strategies deter offenders from engaging in criminal activity. Results suggest physical barriers, natural surveillance, access, and signage serve as deterrents during the target selection process."

“I Know A Guy”: Examining Homeless Income Generation And Spatial Mobility, Daniel J. Reinhard, Ted Palys

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"This study explores the variety of income-generating activities, along with corresponding distances that homeless and marginally housed persons travel to engage in the activities. Altogether 24 individuals were interviewed, and ethnographic field observations occurred over several months to increase rapport. The qualitatively gathered data were used in ArcGIS to calculate travel distances. These income-generating activities that persons engaged in were commonly forms of shadow work, and many kinds of income-generating activities were found. Among our sample, there appeared to be two distinct groups: those with more income methods and further travels, and those with fewer methods and shorter travels. The …

Entering Without Breaking: Challenges And Strategies Of The Qualitative Criminologist Investigating Carceral Spaces, Anaïs Tschanz

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Although qualitative methodology courses in criminology make it possible to gain theoretical and practical training in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data gathered using qualitative tools, these more rarely help address more targeted questions and concerns. Without making any claim to offer definitive solutions beyond the status of “tip,” this article attempts to tackle “things they don't really teach you how to handle in your qualitative methodology class,” concerning research in a carceral environment. By characterising carceral space as an opaque, all-encompassing environment pervaded by spatiotemporal constraints, it describes strategies that can be implemented in the face of organisational, …

Quicker, J. C., Batani-Khalfani, A. S., Before Crips: Fussin’, Cussin’, And Discussin’ Among South Los Angeles Juvenile Gangs., Shilpashri Karbhari

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Before Crips: Fussin’, Cussin’, and Discussin’ Among South Los Angeles Juvenile Gangs delves into a criminological discussion of juvenile gangs in South Los Angeles. Authors John C. Quicker and Akil S. Batani-Khalfani, deconstruct the term “juvenile gangs” and instead recommend using “street groups.” Chapters one through nine provide a historical timeline of the various pre-Crip-and-Blood gangs in South Central Los Angeles, past and present theoretical approaches, and the origins of the Slausons, one of the established early gangs in South Los Angeles. The book features a visual description of the various clubs, street groups, and gangs that were visible …

Decker, S. H., Pyroox, D. C., & Densley, J. A., On Gangs, Charles Cunha

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"The authors of the book, On Gangs, are well-known criminologists specializing in criminology and gangs. Scott H. Decker is a Foundation Professor Emeritus of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. David C. Pyrooz is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder. James A. Densley is a Professor and Department Chair of Criminal Justice at Metropolitan State University. The authors provided a current compilation of robust knowledge."

Maternal Figures Or Aggressors: Controlling Images In Newspaper Constructions Of Police Violence Against Black Women And Men, Ashley Hollingshead

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"In the last decade, media coverage of state-sanctioned police violence against Black women and men re-emerged. Despite campaigns that expose how Black women and men become victims of police violence, Black men’s fatalities gain more traction, garnering national outrage and calls for police reform, policy reform, and criminal justice reform (Crenshaw & Ritchie, 2015). I conduct a content analysis of 76 newspaper articles covering 24 cases of Black women and men from 2016 to determine how newspapers construct narratives of Black women and state-sanctioned violence in comparison to Black men. Newspaper articles reflect and construct differing narratives on Black women’s …

"Everything I Believe Is Rooted In Love": Women And Non-Binary Activists Of Color Fighting For The Practice And Promise Of Abolition, Brittany Pearl Battle

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"The police murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in the first half of 2020 sparked a powerful movement against police violence, white supremacy, and the carceral state with millions taking to the streets in the U.S. and globally. The movement coalesced around calls for police accountability, and to defund and abolish the prison industrial complex. While these calls for abolition were certainly not new, they reached national dialogues in a way not previously experienced. Although there are significant projects exploring abolition as a theory, there is not much scholarship on the specific area of the social movement that advocates …

Reclaiming Our Stories: Centering The Voices, Experiences, And Expertise Of Black, Indigenous, And Women Of Color (Biwoc) On The Carceral State (Introduction To The Special Issue), Janet Garcia-Hallett, Kanika Samuels-Wortley, Tri Keah Henry, Andrea S. Boyles

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"This special issue of the Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice and Criminology pays critical attention to systemic forces that impact Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color (BIWOC). It honors, respects, and reinforces the visibility of BIWOC not only as targets, survivors, activists, and community advocates relative to carceral systems, but showcases our presence as scholars with expertise across its components. In both instances, there continues to be erasure and invisibility that we hope to transform through this series. Reclaiming Our Stories takes on this challenge. This special issue highlights intersectional qualitative work, which includes articles written by BIWOC criminologists and …

One Hundred Tones, One Decision: Exploring Race, Skin Tone, And Motivations For Becoming A Criminal Justice Practitioner, Talisa J. Carter

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Overall, scholarship finds individuals have similar motivations to work in the criminal justice system. However, several studies acknowledge race and gender can influence motivations to work as justice professionals. Absent from the motivation and criminal justice profession literature is the potential role that skin tone plays. This gap is surprising as research firmly establishes people with darker skin complexions are more likely to negatively experience the criminal justice system. And thereby may find working as a criminal justice practitioner less desirable. Taken together, this raises the question, how does skin tone impact motivations to work in the justice system? To …

"I Went From Being Held Captive To Captivity Again": How The Criminal Legal System Fails Black Women And Girl Survivors Of Sex Trafficking, Cassandra Mary Frances Gonzalez

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Black women and girls are disproportionately arrested and incarcerated for prostitution and prostitution-related crimes while being sex trafficked. Despite laws and policies meant to discourage criminalization, Black women and girls are profiled and subjected to both interpersonal and state violence due to their victimization. This paper uses one-on-one interviews with thirteen survivors of sex trafficking and exploitation across the United States and their encounters with the criminal legal system and incarceration. Grounded in Black feminist criminology, this research analyzes the experiences of survivors as victims and as criminals. Narratives demonstrate that courts and social services were unprepared, and often unwilling, …

"Trying To Get Free": A Theoretical Centering Of Black Women's Post-Carceral Narratives Of Systemic Unfreedom, Geniece Crawford Mondé

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"This article examines how Black justice involved mothers navigate the enduring unfreedom of post-imprisonment life. Drawing upon the analytical framework of Black Feminist Criminology (BFC), this paper argues that centering women’s narratives of unfreedom provides a context for understanding and critiquing systemic and structural oppression. Interviews with thirty-three Black formerly incarcerated mothers from two transitional organizations in New York and Massachusetts reveals how women a) Identify instances of structural oppression at the hands of the legal system and the labor market and b) Deploy individual responses that reframe their marginal status by subverting expectations of their roles as mothers and …

"I Literally Role With The Punches": Black And Latina Women Coping Through Parental Incarceration, Melissa E. Noel Mondé, Cherrell Green

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

Racial and ethnic disparities within the criminal legal system have been shown to disproportionately impact Black and Latinx children. Parental incarceration is associated with emotional and psychological stresses for children, but these effects can extend beyond incarceration. Research suggests that parental incarceration is not a discrete event and problems during childhood can exacerbate throughout the life course. Yet, little is known on how challenges faced by parental incarceration transcend to adulthood. Further, an examination on the long-term effects of parental incarceration through the lens of race, ethnicity, and gender remains understudied. In order to address this gap, this study focused …

Do Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Strategies Deter Taggers? Voices From The Street, Arthur Vasquez, Nina Barbieri, John J. Rodriguez

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) postulates that jurisdictions can deter crime and antisocial behavior via effective use and proper design of the physical environment. When a jurisdiction implements a CPTED strategy, it makes involvement in criminal behavior more difficult, thereby increasing the chance of being caught. Using interviews with 35 active juvenile street taggers from a large metropolitan area in Texas, this research explores whether implementing CPTED strategies deter offenders from engaging in criminal activity. Results suggest physical barriers, natural surveillance, access, and signage serve as deterrents during the target selection process."