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 …

The Impact Of Community On The Offender's Reentry Process Using Data From The Serious And Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (Svori) On Adult Males And Females, Meta Jean Schlimpert

Student Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study is to examine how offenders are impacted by their social environment upon being released from prison. Using data from the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI), the current study aims to examine the potential role of community support along with factors including employment, housing, peer relationships, and family support. By doing so, this study aims to identify difficulties in the reentry process and offer suggestions for improvements in this process. The results of the study are discussed, along with recommendations for future studies and policy implications.

Moral Panics And Politicians Who Create Them: A Comparative Historical Analysis Of The Crack-Cocaine And Methamphetamine Epidemics In The United States, Sasha Nicole Burdsal

Student Theses and Dissertations

This study compares two widely known drug epidemics: the crack-cocaine epidemic and the methamphetamine epidemic that has shifted our criminal justice system and societies within the last 40 years. The research is conducted utilizing a qualitative content analysis, with a concentration on the rhetoric of politicians who create a moral panic around any specific drug when beneficial to them. Racial disparity demonstrated through inconsistent sentencing and mistreatment of individuals is investigated, along with the militarization of police as ordered by government officials. The War on Drugs – a war that can never be won – is thoroughly reviewed to elucidate …

Criminological Evaluation Of The Impact Of Pathological Ludomania To Gambling Among Nigerian Youths, George Nzeadi Duru Mr., Larry Okechukwu Awo Mr.

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

ABSTRACT

The study was designed to evaluate the effects of pathological ludomania to gambling on Nigerian youth. The study looked at how get-rich-quick mentality, access to gaming, and poverty can lead to gambling ludomania in young people. The Social Learning and Differential Association Theories were debated and chosen as the theoretical framework for the study. A questionnaire created to represent the study's research topics was utilized to collect the study's data. A structured questionnaire was sent to two hundred (200) respondents, who were chosen using a multi-stage sampling procedure. The data were analyzed using simple percentage, descriptive, and chi-square statistical …

Giglio Feds: The Void Of Ethical Leadership Within Federal Law Enforcement, Christopher J. Boosey

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.

Crossfire In The Crosshairs: Why Prosecutions Are Necessary In The Interests Of The Republic, Christopher J. Boosey

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.

Alternative Approaches To Police Interventions When Responding To Mental Health Crises Incidents, Karen Rivera Apolinar

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Purpose: This study explored mental health workers perspectives on alternative approaches in responding to mental health crises.

The study was carried out in Southern California, in collaboration with mental health workers who currently work or previously have worked in mental health crisis. It adopted a post-positivists paradigm and data was gathered through individual interviews with mental health workers who have direct experience with mental health crisis response in the community and with the police. The twenty participants in the study were men and women working in the mental health field, and of various backgrounds, licensures, and ages.

The study found …

Unidentified Deceased Persons: Who Are At-Risk?, Sarah Duncan

All Theses

This study explores the silent mass disaster of unidentified deceased persons that is occurring across the United States and identifies the individual and community level characteristics that make a person “at-risk” of becoming an unidentified deceased person within the United States. This study identifies trends-based hotspots by using data reported on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) and comparing those trends to the gender United States population. It finds that males, and age of death between 20-64 are overrepresented and White persons are underrepresented in the unidentified deceased person sample when compared the general population. Social and human …

A Comparative Analysis Of The European And American Child Advocacy Model To Address Violence Against Children, Abigail Champion

Undergraduate Research Symposium

This presentation attempts to explain how each of the child advocacy models in the United States and Europe are different and similar. In addition, the presentation demonstrates how each model addresses violence against children. The slideshow provides examples of tools and resources therapists, social workers, and other social scientists use in the field. Lastly, the slideshow offers solutions and references on how the audience can become advocates and learn more information about child advocacy, child advocacy centers, and the different careers people can work in the child advocacy area.

A Remembrance Project: The Lynching Of Brack Kinley And Luther Durrett, Addison Rogers

Undergraduate Theses

From 1882 to 1968, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) estimates that 4,743 lynching’s occurred in the U.S. While other organizations report a slightly different number, the harsh reality of terror and violence remains the same. These violent acts of murder were used as a mechanism by white mobs to promote terror and enforce control upon the black community. Despite the presence of terror and violence in our current society, little is taught about such history and the people who were murdered. Instead of an emphasis on the actual history and the lives lost, the emphasis …

Understanding Involuntary Illegal Online Gamblers In The U.S.: Framing In Misleading Information By Online Casino Reviews, Sinyong Choi

UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

Although there are many illegal online gamblers in the United States who use offshore gambling sites while falsely believing that their activity is legitimate, few studies have focused on the role of online casino reviews (OCR) who facilitate this activity. These reviews, for a variety of reasons, may present misleading information designed to encourage U.S. players to use offshore gambling sites. Using framing theory and neutralization techniques, we conducted a content analysis of multiple OCR to examine how they present information and justifications regarding the use of offshore gambling sites in the U.S. The findings indicate that many OCR positively …

Police Funding In The Mountain West, 2020-2022, Lana Kojoian, Miguel Soriano Ralston, Annie Vong, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Criminal Justice

This fact sheet examines data from Third Way’s report “The Red City Defund Police Problem” which provides information on police funding and other metrics on police forces. The original report offers a review of police funding and operating budgets for the 25 largest Democrat-run cities and 25 largest Republican-run cities in the U.S. This fact sheet includes police force data for 10 Mountain West cities (Aurora, CO; Chandler, AZ; Colorado Springs, CO; Denver, CO; Glendale, AZ; Gilbert, AZ; Las Vegas, NV; Mesa, AZ; North Las Vegas, NV; and Phoenix, AZ).

The Cruel Case Of Wrongful Convictions: Conveying A Racial And Criminal Crisis In Our Courts, Cullen Livingston

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Starting in 1989 with the advent of DNA analysis, discourse on wrongful conviction has become more prevalent in the U.S., but lacks an explanation for how they happen. There are a number of studies on the effects of wrongful conviction on its victims in social, mental, and historical terms. There is also a concerning level of scope in this concept, with an uncertainty on how to best measure the amount of people who have been victimized by wrongful convictions and what the rate of these convictions may be. Based on this literature I study three different potential causes, these being …

The Quest To End Human Trafficking: An Educational And Practical Guide For Everyone Who Wants To Help Break The Bonds And Assist Survivors, Dennis W. Mccarty

Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity Faculty Scholarship

People often assume that only legislators and law enforcement personnel can take meaningful steps to fight human trafficking, one of the most lucrative transnational crimes in the world. This inquiry sought to assess the validity of that belief. The study was informed by the author’s experience as a college instructor of human trafficking and the inspiration he drew from the range and quality of his students’ projects.

The methodology included examining the strategies that governmental and non-governmental organizations are using to fight trafficking and assist survivors. It also considered the work of individual activists and service providers such as social …

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 …

With Liberty And Justice For The Wealthy: The Criminalization Of The American Poor, Ashlyn Dickmeyer

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The last phrase of the Pledge of Allegiance states “with liberty and justice for all”. However, not everyone has access to this liberty and justice. Liberty and justice can be bought in this country for a price, and those who can’t afford to pay it are often left in the hands of those who can. One of the most prominent ways to see this is by analyzing the criminal justice system. Despite clauses in the Fourteenth Amendment and court cases like Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) establishing and upholding that the poor are entitled to equal treatment within the criminal justice …

Bearer Negotiable Instruments: Addressing A Financial Intelligence Gap And Identifying Criminogenic Weaknesses, Hollis B. Kegg

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Bearer Negotiable Instruments (BNI) are a long-standing category of financial instruments used to transfer large amounts of money in ways that may not be subject to regulation, reporting, tracking, review, or oversight. There is limited information available on BNIs, and no evidence that any studies have been undertaken on BNIs alone, much less reported. Increasingly, BNIs are being used for illegal purposes including money laundering. This study gathers information about their characteristics, nature, purpose, legal status, and numbers. It also focuses on the crime risks associated with BNIs, the crime opportunities they facilitate, and the criminal weaknesses in the financial …

The Role Of Suspect Development Practices In Eyewitness Identification Accuracy And Racial Disparities In Wrongful Conviction, Margaret Bull Kovera

Publications and Research

This article reviews the three previously studied categories of variables that are related to eyewitness identification accuracy: estimator (characteristics of the witnessing conditions), system (characteristics of the identification procedure that are under the control of the criminal legal system), and reflector (variables that reflect the likely accuracy of a witness). Although eyewitness scholars frequently turn to these variables and models of memory to explain why eyewitnesses make mistakes, none of these variables provides a reasonable explanation for the large racial disparities in wrongful convictions based on mistaken identifications, yet problematic policing practices might. The policies and practices guiding police efforts …

Prison Libraries, Intellectual Freedom And Social Justice In Nigeria, Olusegun Adebayo Opesanwo, Oluyomi Abidemi Awofeso Phd

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This paper deployed a systematic review to examine prison libraries and intellectual freedom towards attaining social justice in Nigeria. Information resources used cover the periods of 2010 and 2020 to articulate the necessary development in prison libraries, intellectual freedom and social justice in Nigeria. Search engines such as Google scholar, Semantic Scholar, and RefSeek were used to retrieve information and through different queries yielded several results but very few of them were selected to fit in the study due to limited studies directed to address the focus of this study particularly in the Nigeria scenario. Information obtained were subjected to …

The ‘Hijacking’ Of The Scandinavian Journal Of Information Systems: Implications For The Information Systems Community [Opinion], Sune Dueholm Müller, Johan Ivar Sæbø

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

Journal hijacking, which refers to the attempted brand takeover of a journal by a third party, is a nascent threat confronting the information systems (IS) community, as evidenced by cybercriminals having established an online presence, masquerading as the Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems (SJIS). The SJIS hijacking damages the journal's reputation, leads to payment and publication scams, involves identity theft among unsuspecting IS researchers, and results in tarnished author reputations. Beyond SJIS, journal hijacking presents a threat, not only to the IS community, but also to science and academic integrity in general if researchers and readers cannot distinguish between fake …

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. "