Criminology Commons^™

The Juvenile Reentry Mentoring Project: Adaptations During Covid-19, Anne M. Hobbs, Marta Dzieniszewska

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Delinquent youths oft en do not receive the opportunity to be mentored. Th is is especially true for youths who have committed serious law violations or are detained for multiple law violations. In the United States, youths with the most serious off enses are oft en committed to detention, or rehabilitation, or treatment centers. Since 2011, the Juvenile Reentry Mentoring Project (JRMP) has matched mentors to youths detained in Nebraska Detention, and Treatment Facilities. Th e Nebraska Youth Rehabilitation, and Treatment Centers (YRTCs), specifi cally, are for youths with the highest level of needs and who have exhausted all other …

Racial Attitudes And Criminal Justice Policy, Francis T. Cullen, Leah C. Butler, Amanda Graham

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Empirical research on public policy preferences must attend to Whites’ animus toward Blacks. For a quarter-century, studies have consistently found that Kinder and Sanders’s four-item measure of “racial resentment” is a robust predictor of almost every social and criminal justice policy opinion. Racial animus increases Whites’ opposition to social welfare policies that benefit Blacks and their support for punitive policies that disadvantage this “outgroup.” Any public opinion study that fails to include racial resentment risks omitted variable bias. Despite the continuing salience of out-group animus, recent scholarship, especially in political science, has highlighted other racial attitudes that can influence public …

The Influence Of Youth And Parent Reports Of Parental Knowledge And Monitoring And Reporting Discrepancy On High Risk Youth Offending, Leana A. Bouffard, Gaylene Armstrong

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Introduction

Positive parenting practices are known to be related to lower levels of youth offending. Questions remain as to the overlap between youth and parent perceptions of parenting practices, and the relationship of perception discrepancies with youth offending. This study examines the concordance of parenting behaviors reports, the relationship between parent and youth perceptions of parenting measures with youth offending, and whether discordant youth and parent reports are related to heterogeneity in youth offending.

Methods

Survey data from 818 high risk U.S. youth averaging 16 years old who participated in the Pathways to Desistance study and his or her parent …

Examining The Effect Of Perceived Responsibility On Online Bystander Intervention, Target Hardening, And Inaction, Leah C. Butler, Amanda Graham, Bonnie S. Fisher, Billy Henson, Bradford W. Reyns

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Failure to take responsibility for intervening has been identified as a primary barrier to bystander intervention. Building on these findings, we examine how perceptions of responsibility affect responses to witnessing victimization in the online realm—a topic that has received limited attention. Using a maximum-likelihood selection model, we analyze data from the Pew American Trends Panel (N = 3709) to estimate the effects of respondents’ perceptions of the role different groups should play in addressing online harassment on their likelihood to engage in intervention, target hardening, or inaction in response to witnessing online harassment, conditioned upon their likelihood of having …

Corporate Crime And Punishment: An Empirical Study, Dorothy S. Lund, Natasha Sarin

All Faculty Scholarship

For many years, law and economics scholars, as well as politicians and regulators, have debated whether corporate criminal enforcement overdeters beneficial corporate activity or in the alternative, lets corporate criminals off too easily. This debate has recently expanded in its polarization: On the one hand, academics, judges, and politicians have excoriated enforcement agencies for failing to send guilty bankers to jail in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis; on the other, the U.S. Department of Justice has since relaxed policies that encouraged individual prosecutions and reduced the size of fines and number of prosecutions. A crucial and yet understudied …

Bridging The Gap Between Clients And Public Defenders: Introducing A Structured Shadow Method To Examine Attorney Communication, Christopher M. Campbell, Kelsey S. Henderson

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

A growing body of scholarship argues that representing clients in an effective and quality manner should be a critical goal for public defenders, emphasizing the need to be client-centered. Beyond this call, recent research emphasizes that client-centered approaches hinge on good communication as it can contribute to a more effective attorney–client relationship. However, to identify and improve communication and client-centered relationships, major obstacles must be overcome which involve conceptualizing and operationalizing quality representation and communication. In this article, we introduce a two-phase, structured shadowing method as a way to overcome these obstacles. Phase I consists of a survey of public …

Assessing Alexithymia In Forensic Settings: Psychometric Properties Of The 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale Among Incarcerated Adult Offenders, David A. Preece, Cate L. Parry, Maria [Ricks] M. Allan, Alfred Allan

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background:

Alexithymia is a trait involving difficulty identifying feelings (DIF), difficulty describing feelings (DDF) and externally orientated thinking (EOT). It is a risk factor for criminal behaviour. It is commonly assessed with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), but the psychometrics of the TAS-20 have not been tested across the range of offender populations, and it has been suggested it might be unsuitable in incarcerated offenders. Aim: To establish the psychometrics of the TAS-20 among incarcerated offenders.

Methods:

Factorial validity was examined using confirmatory factor analyses, and the invariance of this factor structure was tested against a published community sample. Reliability …

Alexithymia In Nonviolent Offenders, Cate L. Parry, David A. Preece, Maria [Ricks] M. Allan, Alfred Allan

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background:

Alexithymia is a trait involving difficulties processing emotions. Existing data suggest it is associated with violent offending. In violent offender programmes, therefore, violent offenders are screened for alexithymia and it is attended to if necessary. No studies have, however, examined alexithymia levels in nonviolent offenders and it is, therefore, unknown whether it is also a criminogenic factor in this population.

Aims:

To investigate alexithymia levels among incarcerated nonviolent offenders and compare them with a community comparison group.

Method:

The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale was used to compare the alexithymia levels of 67 incarcerated nonviolent offenders with a group of …

An Exploration Of The Psychological Impact Of Hacking Victimization, Alexa Palassis, Craig P. Speelman, Julie Ann Pooley

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Cybercrime has rapidly grown in prevalence and potential for harm and disruption for victims. Studies have examined the adverse psychological impact of cybercrime for victims; however, the specific effects for victims of hacking are unexplored. The present study aimed to investigate the psychological impacts of hacking victimization through exploration of the experience of victims of hacking. The study employed an in-depth phenomenological approach to explore the experiences of 11 victims of hacking. Semi-structured interviews were used as a tool for data collection, and thematic analysis of the data revealed four main themes: emotional impact; an increased sense of vulnerability; a …

On Assessing The Scope Of Missing Native Americans In Nebraska: Results From A State-Wide Study And Recommendations For Future Research: On Assessing The Scope Of Missing Native American Persons: Results From A State-Wide Study And Recommendations For Future Research, Tara N. Richards, Emily M. Wright, Alyssa Nystrom, Sheena Gilbert, Caralin Branscum

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Recent legislation in multiple states has called for studies on the scope of missing Native American persons. Here we report on one such study from Nebraska by first describing the practical and methodological issues for researchers to consider when examining data on missing Native persons. Then, using data from four point-in-time-counts in 2020, rates of Native American missing persons as well as case contexts over the study period are reported. Findings show that Native Americans are disproportionately represented among Nebraska's missing persons, that reports often involve minor boys, and that cases are dynamic and most are resolved quickly. Relatedly, most …

Adverse Childhood Experiences Distinguish Violent Juvenile Sexual Offenders’ Victim Typologies, Michael T. Baglivio, Kevin T. Wolff

Publications and Research

Juvenile perpetrators account for over 25% of all sexual offenses, and over one-third of such offenses are against victims under the age of 18. Given empirical connections between adverse childhood experience (ACE) exposure and perpetration of violence, we create victim typologies based on the juveniles’ relationship to their victims among 5539 justice-involved adolescents who have committed violent against-person sexual felonies. Multinomial logistic regression is used to assess which covariates, including individual ACE exposures and cumulative traumatic exposures, are associated with victim typologies. This approach allows for better targeting of violence prevention efforts, as a more nuanced understanding of the increased …

Shooting Trends Vary Across Areas Of New York City, Jeffrey A. Butts, Richard A. Espinobarros

Publications and Research

Recent reports point to slight reductions in New York City’s recent surge of shooting incidents. The number of shooting incidents was higher in 2020 and 2021 than in 2019, but the rate of increase appeared to be slowing. The degree of change varied across areas of the city.

Using Google Alerts To Study Police Crime, Chloe Wentzlof, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Presentation from the annual meeting of the Criminology Consortium on October 18, 2021.

Judicial Involvement In Plea-Bargaining, Kelsey S. Henderson, Erika N. Fountain, Allison D. Redlich, Jason A. Cantone

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

The topic of judicial involvement in plea negotiations is a controversial issue, with potential benefits (e.g., ensuring that the process is fairer) and risks (e.g., inducing an innocent defendant to plead guilty). Currently, 20 jurisdictions explicitly prohibit judicial involvement in plea negotiations, whereas eight permit some type of involvement. We surveyed state court judges about judicial involvement in plea bargaining (colloquy and negotiations) and their perceptions on judicial participation. We expected judges in states that prohibit judicial involvement in negotiations to have a more negative view of judicial participation compared with judges in states that permit involvement or those in …

The Fast & The Furious…Torturous?: Examining The Impact Of Torture Scenes In Popular Films On Public Perceptions Of Torture Policy, Erin M. Kearns, Casey Delehanty

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Entertainment media regularly depict torture as effective. Indeed, most popular films contain torture—often outside of counterterrorism-specific plotlines. In the counterterrorism-specific context, watching a scene where torture works increases support for the practice. Yet counterterrorism-specific media is a niche genre, and we do not know if this holds for torture scenes more generally. We address this gap with a 4 (movie rating) x 3 (scene type) experiment with U.S. adults. While participants recognized that torture scenes are in fact torture, viewing these scenes did not impact support for the practice. Findings suggest that media’s influence on views about torture is more …

Gender And Criminal Justice Responses To Terrorism In The United States, Summer Jackson, Jeff Gruenewald, Katie Ratcliff

Research Projects

This brief summarizes findings from a recent study published in Crime & Delinquency titled "Gender and Criminal Justice Responses to Terrorism in the United States" (available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287211047535 ). Using data from the American Terrorism Study (ATS), this study examine show gender varies across federal terrorism cases, how gender shapes federal terrorism case outcomes, and how combinations of relevant case attributes uniquely impact court outcomes for males and females.

Data include a sample of 2,147 defendants in terrorism-related cases across several types of legal measures: charge type, number of charges, whether or not the prosecutor references terrorism (e.g., relying on …

Measuring Sex Trafficking: A National-Level Victimization Survey Of An At-Risk Sample, Teresa C. Kulig

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The current study administered a self-report survey with behaviorally specific questions to a stratified sample of non-college educated women, aged 18 to 29, in the general population (N = 996). Notably, the women were classified as being trafficked as adults only (3.8%), minors only (9.6%), or as both adults and minors (9.3%) using the federal legal definition. More than 1 in 5 (22.7%) women in the sample met the criteria for sex trafficking victimization at some point in their lives. However, only 39.6% of the respondents who experienced trafficking as an adult reported these events to police—further contributing to the …

Reforming United States Prisons: A Cross-Cultural Analysis, Alex Henkel

Honors Theses

This paper examines the United States prison system and its standing among peer countries, as well as potential reforms to improve this system and its effectiveness. The incarceration statistics of many different countries show that the United States incarcerates significantly more of its population than similar countries. I turn to an examination of how penal policies are formed across the world to evaluate their impact on the U.S. prison rate compared to other countries. Additionally, I look at recidivism to determine the effectiveness of United States incarceration. This analysis aims to highlight the differences between the U.S. and other countries …

More Guns, Pandemic Stress And A Police Legitimacy Crisis Created Perfect Conditions For Homicide Spike In 2020, Justin Nix

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

What role did the pandemic play in the hike in murders in 2020

On-Duty Fatal Police Shootings:Patterns Of Officers Charged With Murder Or Manslaughter, 2005-2020, Chloe Wentzlof, Philip M. Stinson

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Criminal Justice Association in Chicago, IL, on September 24, 2021.

Bench Vs. Jury Trials: Sentencing And Conviction Outcomes For Criminally Charged Police Officers, Bethany R. Sager, Chloe Wentzlof, Philip M. Stinson

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Criminal Justice Association in Chicago, IL, on September 24, 2021.

Hostile, Quick-Tempered, And Exposed To Dangerous Environments: Exploring The Link Between Temperament And Street Code Adherence, Kevin T. Wolff, Sharron Spriggs, Jonathan Intravia, Michael T. Baglivio, Matt Delisi

Publications and Research

Although Elijah Anderson’s (1999) code of the street thesis has received a great deal of scholarly attention, fewer studies have examined the characteristics associated with its adoption. Existing evidence is supportive of Anderson’s initial observations, however, less is known about the association between personality and emotional characteristics and adopting street code norms. The current study assesses the role of Delisi and Vaughn’s difficult temperament index in the adoption of the street code among a sample of juvenile justice-involved youth. Results indicated youth with more difficult temperaments, characterized by lower levels of effortful control and higher levels of negative emotionality, were …

Police Officers’ Best Friend?: An Exploratory Analysis Of The Effect Of Service Dogs On Perceived Organizational Support In Policing, Kenneth M. Quick, Eric L. Piza

Publications and Research

This study explored the effectiveness of a novel technique for police departments to support their officers and promote wellness: the use of service dogs. We evaluated officer perceptions in two mid-sized, municipal police departments that have wellness programs with a service dog that is permanently assigned to a full-time police officer handler: Groton and Naugatuck, Connecticut. We assessed 6 factors believed to influence police officer wellness including: operational and organizational stress using the Police Stress Questionnaire (McCreary & Thompson, 2006); topical stressors including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, police use of force and community relations, and police reform efforts; …

Variations In Victim Presence In Restorative Youth Conferencing Programs: The Use Of Surrogate Victims Increases Reparation Completion, Anne Hobbs, Ana Cienfuegos-Silvera, Lindsey E. Wylie

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Victim-offender conferencing programs have expanded the type of victims involved in restorative rituals. However, little research has examined how variations in victim presence might impact these interventions. The aim of this study was to examine whether conferences involving actual victims resulted in higher reparation completion and how surrogate characteristics might impact reparation outcomes. Using regression modeling, we estimated how the variables of interest predicted reparation completion. Conferences with surrogates had a higher probability of completion than those with actual victims. Using surrogates may be a promising strategy to expand restorative justice practices when actual victim participation is not possible.

Changes In Jail Admissions Before And After Traumatic Brain Injury, Joseph A. Schwartz, Emily M. Wright, Ryan E. Spohn, Michael Campagna, Benjamin Steiner, Ebonie Epinger

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Objectives

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is differentially concentrated within incarcerated populations. Despite the consistency of this observation, the timing of within-individual changes in criminal justice contact in relation to TBI remains under-investigated. For example, previous studies have primarily considered TBI as a causal influence of later criminal justice contact. However, TBI may also serve as a consequence of criminal justice contact or a criminogenic lifestyle. The current study simultaneously observes both possibilities by examining criminal justice contact before, around the time of, and after the first reported TBI.

Methods

Drawing from a combination of self-report and lifetime official record data …

Shooting Surge Continuing To Slow Across New York City, Jeffrey A. Butts, Richard A. Espinobarros

Publications and Research

This report looks at quarter-specific comparisons of police reported shooting incidents across New York City. Shooting incidents increased between the first and second quarters of both 2020 and 2021. However, shooting incident increases slowed between quarters 1 (January-March) and 2 (April-June) in 2021, compared to the same quarters of 2020. Quarter-specific comparisons are one way to address seasonal fluctuations in gun violence.

Racial Disparities In Police Crime Victimization, Philip M. Stinson, Chloe Wentzlof, John Liederbach, Steven L. Brewer

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Violence In Justice-Involved Youth, Keely Reidelberger, Ashley Ann Raposo-Hadley, Jermaine Greenaway, Ashley Farrens, Jenny Burt, Lindsey Wylie, Gaylene Armstrong, Mark Foxall, Zachary M. Bauman, Charity H. Evans

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Background

Youth are tragically affected by violence. Justice-involved youth are at elevated risk for the effects of violence, as incarceration serves as a risk factor. The objective of this study is to explore the risks and needs of justice-involved youth and identify channels for future hospital-based programming.

Methods

Four weekly focus groups were conducted by a credible messenger at the Douglas County Youth Center with former participants of Dusk 2 Dawn, a youth violence prevention program delivered at the Douglas County Youth Center. Eight participants were prompted with preset interview questions. All focus groups were recorded and transcribed by a …

The Measurement Of Organizational Justice Matters: A Research Note, Scott Wolfe, Justin Nix, Justin Pickett

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Objectives: This experiment addressed whether, when administering a survey to police managers, it is best to measure organizational justice using attitudinal questions tapping into perceived importance or behavioral self-reports. Methods: We administered a survey to a national probability sample of police executives using a split-ballot experimental design, where respondents randomly received items measuring either (a) the perceived importance of organizational justice or (b) the self-reported usage of organizational justice. Results: Perceived importance of organizational justice was not significantly associated with the perceived quality of relationships with subordinates. However, actual usage of organizational justice was, increasing the perceived quality of relationships …

Drug Testing Policies And Practices: Predicting Successful Outcomes Among Juveniles Participating In Pretrial Diversion Programs, Chelsea W. Harris, Lindsey E. Wylie

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Drug testing is a frequent condition of juvenile justice programs, although research on the effects of drug testing juveniles – especially early system-involved youth – is scarce. The risk-needsresponsivity (RNR) model suggests drug testing would only be a beneficial intervention if substance use contributes to a youth’s criminal behavior and has a rehabilitative component. We examined drug testing policies and practices in one Midwestern state utilizing interviews with 27 diversion program managers and a statewide sample of 665 youth referred to pretrial diversion. Analysis tested whether drug testing juveniles with and without a substance use need predicted successful completion of …