Criminology Commons^™

Explaining Bias Homicide Occurrences In The United States, Kayla Gruenewald

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between Social-structural characteristics and bias homicide across counties in the United States between the years 1990 and 2014. While there have been several notable studies on this topic, most have been conducted in single cities or at the state level, thus overlooking variations across community types for the broader United States. Moreover, scholars have failed to distinguish violent from non-violent bias crimes in their research. Drawing from several ecological theories of crime, this study seeks to contribute to the literature by asking (1) what are the structural predictors of the …

Policing And The Likelihood Of Terrorism: A Community Structural Approach To An Uncertain Relationship, Andy Bellamy Brooks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prior research on terrorism has argued that local law enforcement play an important role in counterterrorism though the mechanisms by which the police should prevent terrorism are empirically unsettled and atheoretical in nature. Even less understood is how policing might differentially impact terrorism across specific ideological movements (e.g., far-right, environmental, Islamic extremism). Drawing from prominent sociological and criminological theories (i.e., Environmental perspectives, Social Disorganization, Conflict/Marxist) the current study addresses several key gaps in prior literature by utilizing data from the American Terrorism Study (ATS) paired with data from the FBI Uniform Crime Report and U.S. Census Bureau. Results suggest that …

Evaluating A Brief Sexual Violence Therapy Group For Incarcerated Women, Marie Elisabeth Karlsson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Incarcerated women report higher rates of sexual victimization and mental illness than the average woman and incarcerated men. Researchers have argued that sexual victimization is a pathway to prison for women, and that there is a lack of trauma-focused treatments in prisons. Some researchers have evaluated trauma-focused group treatments for incarcerated women (Bradley & Follingstad, 2003; Cole et al., 2007; Ford, Chang, Levine, & Zhang, 2013; Kubiak, Kim, Fedock, & Bybee, 2012; Paquin, Kivlighan, & Drogosz, 2013; Roe-Sepowitz, Bedard, Pate, & Hedberg, 2014; Zlotnick, Johnson, & Najavits, 2009), with mixed results and several limitations. Most of these treatments are lengthy …

Opportunity, Temporal Patterns, And Successful Outcomes Of Far-Right Terrorism Incidents In The United States, Brent Ryan Klein

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the impact that far-right terrorism opportunity structures and temporal patterns of precursor activity have on incident outcomes. Data from the American Terrorism Study (ATS) are extracted for several attributes of far-right opportunity, in addition to measures for temporal patterns of planning and preparatory behaviors. Bivariate and multivariate findings generally support expectations that target attractiveness and vulnerability, far-right group structures, and patterns of precursor activity are significantly associated with incident outcomes. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research and several implications for homeland security policy.

Concentrated Disadvantage And Coercive Mobility: A Longitudinal Analysis Of The Impact Of Coercive Mobility, Megan Nicole Handley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact of incarceration, or coercive mobility, on concentrated disadvantage, testing an essential component of the theoretical model proposed by Todd Clear and Dina Rose (1998) and elaborated by Clear (2007). These authors argue that while concentrated economic disadvantage may lead to high crime rates, chronically high rates of incarceration may operate as a type of "coercive mobility," exacerbating concentrated disadvantage and increasing crime rates, especially in high-minority urban communities. The study also examines the importance of religious congregations, as a measure of community Social capital, which may moderate the relationship between coercive mobility and concentrated disadvantage. …

Human Intelligence In Federal Terrorism Cases, Noah James Schneider

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Though it has often been quipped that the September 11th attacks changed "everything", domestic policy alterations were among the most significant changes after 9/11. Specifically, the 2002 Ashcroft Attorney General Guidelines and the 2008 Mukasey Attorney General Guidelines were two of the most impactful policy changes following 9/11. These Attorney General Guidelines changed the way the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated terrorism in the United States in addition to making counterterrorism the FBI's top priority. One of the ways the FBI prevents terrorism is through the use of undercover agents and confidential informants. How the 2002 and 2008 Attorney …

Framing Responsibility For Bullying: An Ethnographic Content Analysis, Kayla Knight

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study is to explore ways in which American print news media frame responsibility for adolescent and teen bullying. More specifically, how media portray responsibility for the underlying causes and consequences of bullying, as well as for responding to bullying, are examined. Drawing from media studies and the construction of Social problems literature, the study is guided by two broad research questions, 1) How do American news media frame responsibility for bullying? and 2) What news sources, or "claims-makers," are selected as authorities on bullying in news media articles? Articles published between 2009 and 2013 are …

Incarcerating Exceptional Pupils: Is There A School-To-Prison Pipeline In Eastern Oklahoma?, Brett Alan Fitzgerald

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The school-to-prison pipeline metaphor represents an educational environment that allows public schools to push many at-risk children out of school and into the juvenile justice system or even worse, the adult criminal justice system (Wald and Losen, 2003; Lynn, 2010; Tuzzolo and Hewitt, 2006). The purpose of this study is to examine whether a school-to-prison pipeline exists in eastern Oklahoma, and if so, to better understand the characteristics of the public schools that may be contributing to it. The school-to-prison pipeline metaphor guided three research questions regarding whether certain public schools in eastern Oklahoma referred greater percentages of their students, …

Paws In Prison: A Second Chance, Tiffany King

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The documentary film Paws in Prison: A Second Chance takes an in-depth look at a program that has been incorporated in seven Arkansas prisons since 2011. Select inmates housed in these prisons are chosen to learn how to become dog trainers during their sentences. They spend 24 hours a day with dogs that were rescued from shelters where they may have been euthanized. This project incorporates interviews with inmates in the Paws in Prison program, wardens at the Maximum Security Unit and the Tucker Unit, and volunteers who spend time teaching inmates how to train and socialize their dogs. The …

Time-Space Analysis Of Terrorist Planning Cycles, Michael Stephen Gerald Eastham

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Terrorism is among the largest threats to national and international security in today's global community. Acts of terrorism have resulted economic and societal impacts throughout the world. Improvements in technology have increased the capacity of terrorists to maximize the impact of their actions. The increasing influence and prevalence of terrorist activity has demanded research focused on the prevention of terrorist acts. A known method of terrorism prevention is uncovering a plot during its planning and preparation phase. Terrorist planning can be evaluated based on how actors move through space and time prior to the execution of their attack. General patterns …

Rape Myths And Consent In College-Aged Southern Students, Amy Leanne Cofer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rape and sexual assault are problematic issues for women on college campuses. Internal and external consent play a role in understanding sexual assault because sexual assault is defined as "nonconsensual sexual activity obtained through force, threats, intoxication, or intimidation." Factors related to understanding consent may include attitudes regarding sexual assault and rape, known as rape myths, which are defined as attitudes and false statements concerning rape that are widely known and accepted, mainly served to justify male sexual aggression towards women. The southeastern United States is known for being religiously and politically conservative, where gender roles are intertwined with a …

21st Century Radicalization: The Role Of The Internet User And Nonuser In Terrorist Outcomes, David Wayne Woodring

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines differences between users and nonusers of information communication technologies (ICTs) within the pre-incident planning processes for domestic terrorist movements operating within the United States. In addition, this study is the first quantitative exploration of the prevalence, types, and purposes of ICT use within terrorist movements, specifically environmental, far-right, and Islamic extremist movements. Using "officially designated" federal terrorism investigations from the American Terrorism Study (ATS), we analyzed extracted evidence of ICT usage among individuals (n =331) engaged in the pre-incident planning processes as members of terrorist movements between 1995-2011. While we find significant differences in terrorist ICT use …

Hot Crime: Economic Analysis And Insight Into The Relationship Between A City's Latitude And Its Rate Of Violence, Erin K. Piepenbrok

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Every day in America, a case of violent crime makes headlines across the television, newspapers, websites, and social media. These tragedies deeply affect those directly involved and the communities in which the crimes take place. Not only are individuals physically and mentally affected by violent crime, but communities and cities suffer an economic loss from rising violent crime rates. Reducing the current rates of violent crime (robbery, assaults, rapes, and murders) can reduce costs for cities and taxpayers, while ultimately improving the quality of life for Americans. Research into what affects violent crime rates lead to discoveries that unemployment, gun …

A Typology Of Preadolescent Sexual Abusers Based On The Emerging Personality Patterns In The Millon Preadolescent Clinical Inventory, Sam Wallace

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop a personality-based typology of preadolescents with sexual behavior problems based the Emerging Personality Patterns in the Millon Preadolescent Clinical Inventory (M-PACI, Millon et al., 2005). Grounding a typology in a theory driven personality system may offer clarity and specificity in understanding preadolescents with sexual behavior problems in a manner that has not yet been explored. A personality and theory driven typology could provide a more comprehensive framework for assessing and treating children who sexually abuse than any of the current taxonomic models.

The study used an ex post facto design with test …

Measuring Intervention Success In Countering Terrorism, Summer Marie Jackson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the shift of Attorney General Guidelines in the wake of September 11th, 2001, and the consequences for both federal law enforcement and federal prosecutors. Previous research has found that prosecutors are more apt to use an exceptional vagueness approach and try terrorists like traditional offenders. Likewise, terrorist are more likely to act like traditional offenders and plead guilty in the post-9/11 era. This study further supports the existing knowledge by providing evidence of increased plea bargain rates post-9/11 of terrorists. In addition, this study is important because it examines the consequences of the early intervention approach and …