Criminology Commons^™

Attitudes Toward Marijuana Legalization: Temporal And Thematic Trends, Daniel James Krystosek

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation examines historical changes in marijuana legalization attitudes between 1974 – 2018, using a qualitative study of pro-legalization social movements in marijuana culture and quantitative analyses of measures from the General Social Survey (GSS). The main research question asks what themes have been prevalent in pro-legalization social movements (e.g., libertarianism, anti-establishment and anti-drug-war, medical/cancer patient advocacy, market incentives), how these themes have changed over the past several decades, and whether they connect to trends in legalization attitudes in the (GSS).

The first part of this study is qualitative, employing thematic content analysis of the most prominent national pro-marijuana publication. …

Stop Running In Laps: Evaluating The Lethality Assessment Program's Effectiveness In Reducing Repeat Intimate Partner Violence, Dory A. Mizrachi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Repeat victimization is a phenomenon which is generally understood as the pattern and prevalence of victimization. This is an important factor for local authorities in their attempt to develop innovative policies and practices to facilitate predicting and preventing crimes. Thus, many police departments around the country, including the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) have adopted the Lethality Assessment Program (LAP). This is a risk assessment tool used by responding officers on domestic violence calls that intends to prevent future risk of lethal violence to victims of domestic violence by assessing their risk of lethality and providing immediate referrals to …

Missed Opportunities: The Effect Of Cps Involvement On Trafficking Victims In The Delinquency System, Kelly Rae Stout

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Children and youth involved in the child welfare system are an incredibly vulnerable population that could potentially have an increased risk for being sexually exploited. In 2014, Federal Public Law 113-183 mandated that all child protective service (CPS) agencies in the United States improve services of commercially sexually exploited children and youth (CSEC). This federal directive requires that states and counties train their staff in identifying and helping children who have been or are at risk for being trafficked. To explore this complex issue, quantitative methods were used. The data were analyzed for CPS engagement among the CSEC victims identified …

Silenced Voices: Remedying The Historical Suppression Of Felons And The Black Vote, Isabel Tayag

Creative Activity and Research Day - CARD

The disenfranchisement of felons in the United States evolved from a historical precedent brought to the Americas during colonization. Our country adopted the political philosophy that shaped criminal voting laws around the country—criminals are unable to govern themselves and therefore unable to govern a country; their participation in our government would be danger to the purity of the ballot box. With rising racial tensions after Reconstruction, preserving the purity of the ballot box became a preservation of the white vote. This paper argues that felon disenfranchisement became a tool to further suppress African American after poll taxes, literacy tests, and …

From “Whores” To “Victims”: The Rise And Status Of Sex Trafficking Courts, Teresa C. Kulig, Leah C. Butler

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Views of people involved in the commercial sex trade have shifted. Once seen as prostitutes or “whores,” they are increasingly perceived as exploited “victims.” The behavior associated with commercial sex has been redefined from voluntary and disreputable to coerced and deserving of rescue. This new framework is part of a broader anti-trafficking movement in society to recognize and save vulnerable individuals who are exploited for sex. In this context, the model of problem-solving or specialty courts has been extended to sex trafficking cases. The goal first is to identify trafficking victims–also known as “victim-defendants”–and then to address their risk factors …

The Sources Of Violent And Nonviolent Offending Among Women In Prison, Benjamin M. Steiner, Emily M. Wright, Sara Toto

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This study involved an assessment of the relevance of women’s background characteristics for predicting their offending in prison. Data were collected from over 650 women confined in a large prison for women in a Midwestern state, and the relative effects of these factors were examined. Findings revealed that background characteristics reflecting social demographics (e.g. race, sexual orientation) and women’s life experiences (e.g. abuse as a child) were relevant for predicting women’s violent and nonviolent misbehavior in prison.

“I Am Whatever You Say I Am”: The Social Construction Of Identity In Rural Drug-Using Women’S Narratives, Amanda Bolton

Dissertations

Previous narrative criminology research has examined how drug users manage their identities through discussions of themselves, while providing little insight into how they manage their identities through discussions of others(McIntosh & McKeganey, 2000; Rødner, 2005; Sandberg, 2009).It is important to consider others because according to many symbolic interactionists (Cooley, 1902; Goffman, 1959; Mead, 1934), identity is a social product that is constructed and maintained through social interaction with others and is based on perceptions of others. Cooley (1902) more specifically argued that one’s primary group (i.e., those that are relationally or proximally close to an individual) are even …

Effect Of Religion On Domestic Violence Perpetration Among American Adults, Cassidy Mitchell

Theses

After Hirschi and Stark’s Hellfire and Delinquency (1969), researchers have been seeking to determine whether there is a correlational link between religion and crime. This paper seeks to add to the literature by correlating domestic violence with four elements of religion (use of belief to solve everyday problems, prayer frequency, religious importance, and attendance of worship) that correspond with the four elements of Hirschi’s social control theory (attachment, commitment, belief, and involvement, respectively) (1969). It also includes male victims of domestic violence among female victims, unlike most previous literature. Using a series of logistic regression models, only attendance of worship, …

Stories Matter: Reaffirming The Value Of Qualitative Research, Samantha Mcaleese, Jennifer M. Kilty

The Qualitative Report

While the social sciences are experiencing narrative and emotional turns that are largely based on exploratory and theoretical qualitative research, the problematic dismissal of qualitative research approaches continues to loom large outside academia. Frequently described as a collection of “anecdotal stories,” qualitative research is dismissed as unscientific and unreliable— comments that limit the perceived usefulness of qualitative findings, especially in terms of policy reform. This article problematizes evaluating qualitative research according to quantitative measures of rigour and explores the richness and value of documenting experiential stories and the process of storying in social science research. Notably, we take up the …

Preventing Child Sexual Abuse And Juvenile Offending Through Parental Monitoring, Kelly E. Stewart

Dissertations and Theses

In this dissertation, I present three manuscripts to investigate the prevention of a range of crimes committed against, and by, youth, using parental monitoring or guardianship. In the first paper, I tested whether the routine activities of juvenile sexual offenders (JSOs) and their victims' caregivers was associated with the JSO being placed into a supervisory role, and whether subgroup differences existed in the use of modus operandi strategies between JSO supervisors and non-supervisors (Chapter II). Findings indicated that parents' need for childcare assistance predicted JSO supervisor status more strongly than perpetrators efforts to get the child alone or disruptions to …

Police Body-Worn Camera Perceptions Pre/Post Deployment, Aaron Veerman

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if officers’ perceptions of Body-Worn Cameras (BWCs) changed over the course of a six-month pilot program. Officers from a Midwest police department were surveyed prior to or shortly after receiving their BWCs (Pre-Test) and again approximately six months later (Post-Test). Once completed, independent samples t-tests, mean comparisons, and Pearson’s correlations were used to analyze the data. This study did not produce many significant differences in officers’ perceptions over the course of the study, according to t-test results. However, several significant differences were found after each shift was analyzed separately. Overall, less than …

Interviewing Criminal Justice Populations Without Electronic Recording Devices: A Guide, Phaik Kin Cheah, N. Prabha Unnithan, Annie Margaret Sandela Raran

The Qualitative Report

We outline a guide for facilitating face-to-face in-depth interviews without the use of electronic recording devices in criminal justice research. It is designed to provide researchers with step-by-step directions they can follow to conduct interviews when recording equipment is not available, not allowed, or not used due to other reasons. In-depth interviews are common in qualitative criminal justice research but require researchers to be highly flexible and adaptive. When interviews are conducted on sensitive issues or carried out in high security environments, recording devices may not be permitted or welcomed. This protocol aims to make the interviews more structured, systematic …

The Martin Institute Prints, Spring 2019, Stonehill College Martin Institute

The Martin Institute: Prints

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Mental Illness On The Perception Of Guilt, Sydney Garrison

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the presence of a mental disorder in a person accused of a crime affects an individual’s perception of the accused person’s guilt. Participants were randomly assigned a vignette used in a study by Skeem & Goulding (2001), describing a crime that has been committed; one condition included the presence of an unnamed mental illness and the other condition did not. Immediately after reading the vignette participants completed a survey that included a question regarding the perceived guilt of the person accused of the crime. The answers to this question were compared …

From Education To Incarceration: A Study Of School Process Affecting Disproportionate Minority Contact Within Hardin County’S Juvenile Justice System, Krystal Carver-Dickens

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study seeks to understand how school processes affect disproportionate minority contact within the Hardin County Juvenile Justice System. A study completed by Lovell and Drummond (2016) in conjunction with the Hardin County BRIDGES Council, is used as the foundation for the current research. The original research, along with several others, examined disproportionate minority contact (DMC) after the student had been referred from their respective schools to the juvenile court system. The current study investigates 858 juvenile court records, with permission of the Hardin County Juvenile Judges, and examines school information included in the court records related to the student …

Socioeconomic And Demographic Correlates Of Sex Offender Residency In Massachusetts, Margaret Chiavelli

Criminology Student Work

In states with sex offender residency restrictions, sex offenders have been found to cluster in areas that are poorer, less white, and generally less advantaged, but little research has been done on whether these patterns exist without residency restrictions in place (Tewksbury & Mustaine, 2008). All cities and towns in the state of Massachusetts eliminated residency restrictions for sex offenders in 2015 by way of court order. This policy shift provides a unique opportunity to study sex offender residency patterns that are not constrained to certain geographic areas. Using publicly available data, multivariate regression was used to examine correlates of …

Breaking The Cycle Of Intergenerational Crime: Theoretical Analysis And Intervention Program Recommendations, Katelyn Murphy

Criminology Student Work

With approximately 2.3 million individuals incarcerated in the United States, important questions arise about the consequences of mass incarceration. Of particular concern is the impact on juveniles with one or both parents incarcerated, who are an especially disadvantaged group in society. They face unique challenges because of their parent's incarceration, and research documents this resulting in problems with health, education, and criminal behavior. The literature on intergenerational crime emphasizes the statistically significant rates of children following in their parent's footsteps of criminal behavior, with parental incarceration being an important risk factor. The purpose of my research is to explain the …

Media Killed The Serial Killer Star, Brooke Ingala

Criminal Justice

This work examines the influences the media had in the “serial killer era” of the late 1960s into the late 1980s. While serial killers have made headlines in America since the 1896 capture of H. H. Holmes (Brown et al, 2015), the two-decade long hangover after the 1960s brought a rise of these violent offenders the likes of which had never been seen (Aamodt, M. G. 2016). This work defines the era as beginning with the Manson murders in 1969 and ending with the Columbine high school massacre of 1999 (Aamodt, M. G. 2016). This research explores the …

Goals, Outcomes, And Efficacy Of Music Programming In Prisons, Liam Byrnes 18

Honor Scholar Theses

No abstract provided.

Prosecutorial Discretion: The Difficulty And Necessity Of Public Inquiry, Bruce A. Green

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Prosecutors’ discretionary decisions have enormous impact on individuals and communities. Often, prosecutors exercise their vast power and discretion in questionable ways. This Article argues that, to encourage prosecutors to use their power wisely and not abusively, there is a need for more informed public discussion of prosecutorial discretion, particularly with regard to prosecutors’ discretionary decisions about whether to bring criminal charges and which charges to bring. But the Article also highlights two reasons why informed public discussion is difficult—first, because public and professional expectations about how prosecutors should use their power are vague; and, second, because, particularly in individual cases, …

Beyond The Employment Dichotomy: An Examination Of Recidivism And Days Remaining In The Community By Post-Release Employment Status, Amanda Marie Bunting, Michele Staton, Erin Winston, Kevin Pangburn

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Criminological research has tended to consider employment in a dichotomy of employed versus unemployed. The current research examines a sample of individuals 1-year post-release to assess the extent to which four distinct employment categories (full-time, part-time, disabled, and unemployed) are associated with reincarceration and days remaining in the community. Findings indicate disabled individuals remain in the community longer and at a higher proportion compared with other employment categories. Furthermore, unique protective and risk factors are found to be associated with each employment category while some risk factors (e.g., homelessness) highlight the importance of addressing reentry barriers regardless as to employment …

"I Assumed Chicago Would Be In The Forefront": Comments On The Movement To End Prostitution With Survivor-Leader Brenda Myers-Powell, Jody Raphael

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

For many years in the 2000’s, researcher Jody Raphael, teamed with prostitution-survivor Brenda Myers-Powell, undertook a myriad of speaking engagements in the Chicago metropolitan area, intended to raise awareness of the violence and coercion in the sex trade industry. Ten years ago, they were asked to make a video of their presentation. Recently, Dignity editors came across the video and asked for an update on the conversation. This piece is the result.

Voices Unheard: Women And Their Children In Nepal’S Incarceration System, Aune Nuyttens, Mikayla Rose

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research project focused on women in Nepal’s incarceration system. Our goal was to hear and share their stories with the hopes of humanize and de-stigmatize perceptions of female prisoners in and outside of Nepal. A central component to these stories, as we learned, was also the story of prisoner’s children and the NGOs who provide assistance to this vulnerable group of women and their children. The researchers travelled to the east and west of Kathmandu to visit rural and urban prisons in Nepal, and visited various children homes, however the research was based out of Kathmandu, where many of …

Reshaping Counselor Education: The Identification Of Influential Factors On Multisystemic Therapy, T'Airra C. Belcher

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Multisystemic therapy (MST) is a form of behavioral health treatment for adolescents which has been identified as one of the leading effective forms of treatment for children and adolescents with severe behavioral and mental health disorders. Since its creation, there have been countless studies exploring if this form of treatment works with a different population in a variety of locations. Additionally, there have been studies which determined that MST is just as effective as or even less effective than other treatment modalities. This dissertation explored the specific aspects of MST and what leads to its effectiveness. A meta-analysis and case …

Effects Of Prison Program Participation On Recidivism Outcomes, Jordan Jakobs

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Although the relationship between prison programs and recidivism has been extensively researched, few studies have examined the role of commitment as a part of social bond theory and its relationship to prison programs and recidivism. Based on a nationwide sample of 9,890 prisoners, the concept of commitment is used as a paradigm to understand whether completion of prison programs increases bonds of commitment to conventional activities thereby reducing the rate of recidivism. The analyses indicate that commitment improves recidivism outcomes for offenders who completed alcohol and drug treatment programs but not for those in vocational and educational programs. These results …

A Framework To Reveal Clandestine Organ Trafficking In The Dark Web And Beyond, Michael P. Heinl, Bo Yu, Duminda Wijesekera

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Due to the scarcity of transplantable organs, patients have to wait on long lists for many years to get a matching kidney. This scarcity has created an illicit market place for wealthy recipients to avoid long waiting times. Brokers arrange such organ transplants and collect most of the payment that is sometimes channeled to fund other illicit activities. In order to collect and disburse payments, they often resort to money laundering-like schemes of money transfers. As the low-cost Internet arrives in some of the affected countries, social media and the dark web are used to illegally trade human organs. This …

On-Duty Police Shootings: Officers Charged With Murder Or Manslaughter 2005-2018, Philip M. Stinson, Chloe A. Wentzlof, Megan L. Swinehart

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

There were 97 nonfederal sworn law enforcement officers with the general powers of arrest (e.g., police officers, deputy sheriffs, state troopers) arrested in years 2005-2018 for murder or manslaughter resulting from an on-duty shooting where the officer shot and killed someone at incidents throughout the United States. Of those 97 officers, to date, only 35 have been convicted of a crime resulting from the on-duty shooting. This poster presents data on the arrested officers, criminal case dispositions, race of arrested officers and their victims, weapons possessed by victims who were shot and killed by police, and related variables.

Cctv Surveillance For Crime Prevention. A 40-Year Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis, Eric L. Piza, Brandon C. Welsh, David P. Farrington, Amanda L. Thomas

Publications and Research

Research Summary: We report on the findings of an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance cameras on crime. The findings show that CCTV is associated with a significant and modest decrease in crime. The largest and most consistent effects of CCTV were observed in car parks. The results of the analysis also demonstrated evidence of significant crime reductions within other settings, particularly residential areas. CCTV schemes incorporating activemonitoring generated larger effect sizes than did passive systems. Schemes deploying multiple interventions alongside CCTV generated larger effect sizes than did schemes deploying single or no …

A Comprehensive Assessment Of Rape Myths, Hookup Culture, And Social Structure Among Heterosexual Individuals, Timothy Thomas Reling

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation study is an examination of the relationship among rape culture, hookup culture, and social structure (i.e. regular and patterned forms of interaction over time which crystalize ideological constructs and channel behavior in specific ways). Since few efforts have examined female-on-female rape myth acceptance, I first explore collegiate perceptions of female-on-female rape to denote the influence of heteronormative discourse in guiding myths regarding survivor culpability, offender culpability, and situational contexts. Second, I develop, pilot, and validate a psychometric instrument to exclusively assess female-on-female rape myth acceptance. Finally, I comparatively assess the mediating influence of heteronormativity on the association between …

Graduate Keynote. The Online Predator: Cyberbullies As The Hunters Of The Online World, Molly-Gloria R. Harper

Western Research Forum

Abstract: Seeking out prey, laying traps, targeting the ‘weak’, and being proud of their ‘latest kill’ are some of the behaviours that are often associated with hunters. However, through this research, it can be argued there is a new type of predatorthat society, mainly youth, ought to consider – the cyberbully. Cyberbullies are a distinct subculture associated with the youth phenomenon of cyberbullying. Through this research, cyberbullying is constructed as a deviant youth internet phenomenon that emerges and affects youth as a result of increased usage and reliance on social media platforms, technology, and the Internet. As a result …