Criminology Commons^™

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. …

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 …

Good Kids, Bad City: The Examination Of Crime Resistance In Low Income, High Crime, Communities Of Color, Troy M. Williams

Theses

A number of criminological theories assert that individuals from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities are more likely to participate in criminal activities. Given the confluence of race and class in this country Black and Latino men are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. However, less is known about men of color who grow up in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods, but do not commit crimes. In this study, the researcher examines a group of Black men who exhibited leadership to resist assimilated criminological behavior, which is the process of participating in crime in order to be revered by peers, family, or community members. …

The Influence Of Personality Traits And Officer Variables On Perception Of Excessive Force, Ashley N. Wooton

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

Often there are reports of people being the victims of excessive force from law enforcement officers. Despite the occurrence of documented cases of excessive force, there is a possibility that accusations of excessive force are exaggerated. Personality and situational theories have been applied to the study of people’s perceptions of excessive force. The purpose of this study is to replicate a study conducted by Perkins and Bourgeois (2006). This study will attempt to determine how situational factors and differing personalities can cause differences in society’s perception of excessive force, similar to Perkins and Bourgeois (2006). This study has two purposes: …

The Criminal Disparity Between African American And Caucasian Males: Police Use Of Excessive And Deadly Force In The United States, 1991 - 2014, Denise Reese

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This research focuses on the use of excessive and deadly force executed by law enforcement agencies in the context of a racial bias operating throughout the United States and its criminal justice systems. America's criminal system past and present, openly displays an enormous amount of inequality and injustice against African American males, females and other minorities. Are law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice system allowing police officers the right to desecrate minorities through the use of excessive and deadly force? This research focuses on the consequences of a U.S. legal system that seldom if ever provides any retributive justice …

Editorial, Willard M. Oliver

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Welcome to the third volume of the Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice & Criminology. I am pleased to report that the journal is still going strong and manuscripts continue to be submitted on a regular basis. The journal continues to hold its authors to a high standard and as you will note for this issue’s updated analytics, the journal is currently holding a 16.9% acceptance rate. I believe you will see the satisfactory results of maintaining the high standards in this first issue of Volume 3. Lisa Kort-Butler and Michael Killingsworth lead off with a historical analysis of media-crime …

“Were You Drunk At The Time?”: The Influence Of Parole Boards On Accounts And Neutralization Techniques In State Parole Hearings, Danielle Lavin-Loucks, Kristine Levan

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"This paper examines the collaborative nature of accounts and neutralization techniques that are employed in parole hearings. Prior research using neutralization theory has largely overlooked the role of other actors in the development of neutralizations, examining them through interviews or narratives where interaction is either scripted or limited and thus has little bearing on the production of such accounts. In contrast, this study evaluates real time interaction, examining how parole board members propose, respond to, and modify neutralizations issued by inmates seeking parole. Ethnographic observations of 438 regular parole and parole revocation hearings, videotapes of 40 such hearings from the …

Becoming A Hacker: Demographic Characteristics And Developmental Factors, Kevin F. Steinmetz

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Hackers are not defined by any single act; they go through a process of development. Building from previous research and through ethnographic interviews and participant observation, the current analysis examines characteristics which may influence an individual’s development as a hacker. General demographic characteristics are analyzed, the participants’ school experiences are discussed, and perceived levels of parental support and influence are defined. Finally, descriptions of first exposures to technology, the concept of hacking, and the hacking community are presented. The study concludes with theoretical implications and suggestions for future research."

Summer Cop: A Qualitative Study Of Summer Police Officers, Brad Campbell

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"There are approximately 18,000 police agencies employing 750,000 police officers in the United States in order to police a population over 300 million citizens. In addition, sketchy estimates state there are 400,000 police reserves assisting full-time sworn officers in their duties. One major subgroup of these police reserves are summer police officers (“summer cops”) who serve full-time during the tourist season in mostly beach communities. There has been little to no research into this subpopulation of police officers and little is known about their background and reasons for becoming summer reserve officers. In order to fill this gap in the …

From Burlesque To Grand Theft Auto: An Historical Analysis Of The Treatment Of The Media-Crime Relationship In Criminology Texts, Lisa A. Kort-Butler, Michael Killingsworth

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"The degree to which criminological scholarship on the mediacrime relationship has been subject to the tides of moral panics is not well-understood, although there are theoretical reasons to hypothesize about the role of scientists in moral panics. Textbooks are one location in which a discipline chronicles its scholarly history and speaks to the public, making texts an important site for understanding how scholars interpret the media-crime relationship. A content analysis of over 200 criminology texts, ranging in publication dates from 1880 to 2012, was conducted. Almost half the texts covered the media-crime relationship. These texts often appeared to be responding …

Sharon S. Oselin, Leaving Prostitution: Getting Out And Staying Out Of Sex Work, Melisa M. Jaris

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Leaving Prostitution highlights the critical role that prostitute-serving organizations (PSO) can play in prostitutes’ efforts to leave the sex industry. PSOs can provide prostitutes subsidized housing, employment opportunities, food, transportation, counseling, education, and mentoring. These fundamental amenities offer prostitutes the life choices and confidence needed to leave the sex industry."

Rachel Zimmer Schneider, Battered Women Doing Time: Injustice In The Criminal Justice System, Cortney A. Franklin

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Advocacy and scholarly attention directed toward the plight of battered women began in the mid-1970s (del Martin, 1975). Since that time, a host of research has been conducted on the incidence and prevalence of domestic violence, the dynamics of battering relationships (LaViolette and Barnette, 2014), the predictors of why men batter, and the risk of increasing harm for survivors who are courageous enough to leave domestically violent relationships. As Lenore Walker (1977) so insightfully recognized in her early work using a sample of sheltered women who had escaped a domestically violent partner, these relationships are characterized by specific stages and …

Nickie D. Phillips & Staci Strobl, Comic Book Crime: Truth, Justice, And The American Way, Jordan E. Mazurek

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"In what can be described as an ethnographic content analysis of (super) heroic proportions, Nickie D. Phillips and Staci Strobl’s Comic Book Crime: Truth, Justice, and the American Way provides an in-depth exploration of crime and justice discourses presented in the medium of the comic book in the first decade of the 2000s. The authors employ years of in-depth participant observation in the comic book subculture along with group interviews to inform their analysis of the story arcs in two hundred popular comic book series, along with a number of graphic novels, in the post-9/11 American context. Drawing on a …

S.F. Sharp, Mean Lives, Mean Laws: Oklahoma’S Women Prisoners, Kerri Bellamy

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Using a feminist strain approach, Susan Sharp’s Mean Lives, Mean Laws: Oklahoma’s Women Prisoners, investigates the impact of incarceration on women in the Oklahoma prison system and their families. Oklahoma incarcerates women at a rate of 135 per 100,000, the highest in the nation. The book examines this high incarceration rate by investigating factors such as childhood abuse and neglect which may continue into adulthood and that contribute to women’s imprisonment. Sharp makes it clear that once in prison there are few avenues for the women to obtain education and healthcare or to maintain relationships with family on the …

Sutherland, Edwin H., The Professional Thief, Jurg Gerber

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Perhaps because he was the son of a minister and raised in a very traditional home (Geis & Meier, 1977, p.24), Edwin Sutherland (1883-1950) had a populist streak and is known for two major contributions to American criminology: the theory of differential association (DA) and the concept of white collar crime (WCC). His classic book entitled The Professional Thief is at the intersection of these two interests, although its influence has been more acknowledged with respect to DA than WCC. This review traces scholarly reactions to the book and its enduring contributions to American criminology."

Alice Goffman, On The Run: Fugitive Life In An American City, Dzhamilia Makashova

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Alice Goffman’s On the Run is an ethnographic study of the impacts of the war on drugs and policing in an American urban neighborhood. Her research started during her sophomore year at the University of Pennsylvania in Dr. David Grazian’s urban ethnography class. As a part of the class, Goffman’s assignment was to pick a site to observe and take notes, and she got a job at a cafeteria at the west edge of Penn’s campus with Miss Deena, a Black woman in her sixties who managed the staff. Through this job, Goffman was introduced to Miss Deena’s family and …

Developing Capacity And A Culturally Appropriate Mindfulness Intervention For Inner City Survivors Of Violence, Stephanie Hartwell, Anna Andrews

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

This project examines the acceptability and cultural relevance of Mindfulness for low-income communities of color most affected by urban/gun violence. The burden of violence extends to classmates, friends, family members, and communities through adverse effects on parenting, quality of life, economic productivity, and social cohesion.

The Development Of A Model Syllabus For Use At The Community College Level In Criminal Justice Programs With Ethics Courses, Douglas Ray Larkins

Student Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop a model syllabus template for use in community college criminal justice programs. Additionally, the model syllabus proposes a framework upon which an ethics course in criminal justice could be constructed. Syllabi were collected from criminology instructors who teach criminal justice ethics courses at Higher Learning Commission (HLC) accredited community colleges. Key components of these criminology syllabi were reviewed for common words, phrases, and concepts for incorporation into the model syllabus template. The initial step was the development of a rubric, based on a grounded theory, open coding research tool. The open coding …

Kittens And Nutella: Why Women Join Isis, Samantha K. Smith

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

On February 18, 2015 CNN published a reported stating that Western women were leaving their homes to join ISIS because of a social media campaign featuring pictures of kittens and Nutella. This reported propagated the notion that women who join jihadist organizations are brainwashed or feeble minded. The reality is not so simple. This paper explores the motives women may have for joining ISIS through comparison to the motivations that drove women to partake in other violent jihadist organizations' activities.

Challenges In Implementing Restorative Justice Practices In The United States, Erin Roaza

Capstone Collection

The purpose of this study was to research the challenges that restorative justice practices come across in their institutional and implementation phases within the United States. The modern concept or philosophy of Restorative Justice has been around for about four decades since the 1970s or 80s. There have been multiple studies made to prove that restorative justice practices might reduce recidivism incarceration costs, while also creating a more fulfilling experience for all parties involved, including minimizing feelings of revenge from the victim. So why has the United States criminal justice system not made more advancements to incorporate more restorative justice …

Immunology Inspired Detection Of Data Theft From Autonomous Network Activity, Theodore O. Cochran

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

The threat of data theft posed by self-propagating, remotely controlled bot malware is increasing. Cyber criminals are motivated to steal sensitive data, such as user names, passwords, account numbers, and credit card numbers, because these items can be parlayed into cash. For anonymity and economy of scale, bot networks have become the cyber criminal’s weapon of choice. In 2010 a single botnet included over one million compromised host computers, and one of the largest botnets in 2011 was specifically designed to harvest financial data from its victims. Unfortunately, current intrusion detection methods are unable to effectively detect data extraction techniques …

Sex Registries And Juvenile Offenders: An Examination Of College Student Perception, Ebony D. Bryant

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

Juvenile sex offenders are included in sex offender registration laws based on the assumption that they pose a high risk for future reoffending. Without doubt sex offender laws are quite controversial. Given the recent support in applying sex offender registry laws to juveniles, laws originally designed to protect children of these same ages, this study addresses the following: 1. How do the disciplines of psychology and criminal justice impact student perception of juvenile sex offender registration? 2. How do major of study, race, and gender impact student perception of juvenile sex offender registration? 3. To what extent do social science …

The Lucrative Business Of Children: A Study Of Child Trafficking In Nepalese Orphanages, Mira Saxe-Smith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this research paper is to shed light on and explore the detrimental effects orphanage volunteer tourism has on communities in Nepal, especially the orphans themselves and their families who become subject to different degrees of manipulation, deceit and abuse due to the industry. This study will also delve into the Nepal Civil War’s effect on orphan trafficking in Nepal, the effects of institutionalization, media and campaigns launched against voluntourism, and other related topics. The paper particularly focuses on orphanage voluntourism in the tourist heavy and capital of Nepal, Kathmandu.

The information in this report was attained through …

Texting While Driving: A Test Of Self-Control Theory, Charles R. Gray

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The consequences of texting and driving have never been more pertinent concerns than they are presently. As reports of injuries and death increase and are paralleled by direct and indirect emotional and financial costs, it is important to uncover why, even in the face of such escalations, individuals choose to engage in this behavior. This study examines texting while driving behavior in the context of self-control theory and postulates that low self-control is a significant predictor of the conduct.

An online questionnaire was distributed via email to all enrolled students at Old Dominion University, located in Norfolk Virginia, during the …

New York’S “Close To Home” Initiative — Lessons Learned, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

The Close to Home initiative is a policy reform that brings young people home from far-away correctional institutions to be served by programs closer to their families. New York plans to implement a second phase of the program in March 2015, bringing back youth from “limited-secure” programs that house more serious offenders. The program appears to be effective in helping youth maintain positive connections to their families and communities, increasing Regent Exams scores of justice-involved youth, and returning youth to their neighborhood schools following placement. Although more research and analysis needs to be done on the effects of Close to …

New York’S “Close To Home” Initiative – Did It Work?, Jeffrey A. Butts

Publications and Research

The report presents an overview of John Jay College of Criminal Justice's Research and Evaluation Center's study of the Osborne Association's Close to Home initiative, which aimed to reform the juvenile justice system by placing young offenders in community-based programs instead of distant facilities. It analyzed early outcomes, focusing on placement rates, arrest trends, system expansion, and detention impacts, highlighting successes and areas needing further research.

Mental Health Courts: The Criminal Justice Response To The Rise In Mentally Ill Prisoners, Amberle Heath

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

In 2005, more than half of all prison and jail inmates had a mental health problem, and correctional institutions had replaced all other mental health facilities to become America's primary venue for the treatment of mental disorder. Further, the proportion of the correctional population that is mentally ill is increasing significantly faster than the correctional population itself. From 1998 to 2005, while the overall correctional population increased 20.8 percent, the mentally ill correctional population increased 27.3 percent. This thesis discusses the most recent literature that documents this increase, and presents reasons for it, including deinstitutionalization, the criminalization of the mentally …

Violence-Related Police Crime Arrests In The United States, 2005-2011, Philip M. Stinson, Steven L. Brewer Jr, Joelle K. Bridges

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This study is a quantitative content analysis of news reports and court records on 3,328 violence-related arrest cases of 2,586 individual sworn law enforcement officers during the years 2005-2011. The arrested officers were employed by 1,445 nonfederal state, local, special, constable, tribal, and regional law enforcement agencies located in 805 counties and independent cities in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Binary logistic regression and classification and regression tree (CART) analyses were conducted to predict criminal conviction in violence-related police crime arrest cases. Finding indicate that conviction of police officers on one or more offenses charged are driven by …

The Role Of Parenting In The Prediction Of Criminal Involvement: Findings From A Nationally Representative Sample Of Youth And A Sample Of Adopted Youth, Kevin M. Beaver, Joesph A. Schwartz, Eric J. Connolly, Mohammed Said Al-Ghamdi, Ahmed Nezar Kobeisy

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The role of parenting in the development of criminal behavior has been the source of a vast amount of research, with the majority of studies detecting statistically significant associations between dimensions of parenting and measures of criminal involvement. An emerging group of scholars, however, has drawn attention to the methodological limitations—mainly genetic confounding—of the parental socialization literature. The current study addressed this limitation by analyzing a sample of adoptees to assess the association between 8 parenting measures and 4 criminal justice outcome measures. The results revealed very little evidence of parental socialization effects on criminal behavior before controlling for genetic …

Bullycide: An Exploration Of The Prevalence Of Potential Indicators Comparing Lgbtiq And Heterosexual Adults, Isai Valdez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This investigative study explores bullycide. Bullycide is the act of committing suicide because of bullying. The primary objective of this research was to compare Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer (LGBTIQ) (n = 41) and heterosexual (n = 20) respondents and the prevalence of potential bullycide indicators. By surveying (N = 61) adults, a comparison was made among respondents and their coping mechanisms to bullying. The study found that both sub-groups face an equally high tendency of coping with anger over discomfort (.017). The study also found that both sub-groups demonstrate a high likelihood of responding to bullying by withdrawing …