Criminology Commons^™

The Cognitive Underpinnings Of Bias In Forensic Mental Health Evaluations, Tess M. S. Neal, Thomas Grisso

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

We integrate multiple domains of psychological science to identify, better understand, and manage the effects of subtle but powerful biases in forensic mental health assessment. This topic is ripe for discussion, as research evidence that challenges our objectivity and credibility garners increased attention both within and outside of psychology. We begin by defining bias and provide rich examples from the judgment and decision-making literature as they might apply to forensic assessment tasks. The cognitive biases we review can help us explain common problems in interpretation and judgment that confront forensic examiners. This leads us to ask (and attempt to answer) …

Police Sexual Misconduct: A National Scale Study Of Arrested Officers, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Steven L. Brewer, Brooke E. Mathna

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Police sexual misconduct is often considered a hidden crime that routinely goes unreported. The current study provides an empirical data on cases of sex-related police crime at law enforcement agencies across the United States. The study identifies and describes incidents where sworn law enforcement officers were arrested for one or more sex-related crimes through a quantitative content analysis of published newspaper articles and court records. The primary news information source was the Google News search engine using 48 automated Google Alerts. Data are analyzed on 548 arrest cases in the years 2005-2007 of 398 officers employed by 328 nonfederal law …

State Of Juvenile Justice Report: 2014, Anne M. Hobbs, Sommer Fousek

Reports

The 2014 State of Juvenile Justice Report provides a snapshot of the juvenile justice system in Nebraska, with a specific focus on the current legislative context and an examination of three key points in the system: diversion, probation, and detention.

Trends within the juvenile justice system should be analyzed against the backdrop of statewide shifts that are a result of legislative mandates. In particular, Legislative Bill 561 has altered the juvenile justice landscape. Passed in 2013, LB 561 required communities to use programs aligned with evidence-based practices or best practices, with the goal of diverting youth out of the formal …

Beyond The Big House: Making The Transition To Life After Prison, Kelsey Brewster, Paula Sorrentino, Mina Hailemariam

VA Engage Journal

As the cost of imprisonment climbs, overcrowding in correctional facilities proves to be a major concern. The Virginia Department of Corrections spends an average of $24,380 per inmate annually (VADOC, 2013). The burden of recidivism puts strain on the state budget due to the steady increase in inmate population. Without proper resources and support, released inmates will likely face health, financial, and social barriers, forcing many to revert back to criminal behavior. There is ample evidence to suggest pre- and post-release programs can reduce criminal behavior and aid offenders in their transition back into society. This article summarizes the current …

The Bad Guys Are Using It, Are You?, Hong-Eng Koh

Australian Security and Intelligence Conference

From Occupy Wall Street to 2011 England riots to Arab Spring to Mumbai 26/11 to the ethnic cleansing rumors in India and increasingly used by pedophiles, social media is a very powerful tool for pedophiles, troublemakers, criminals and even terrorists to target individuals and even to go against the establishment. On the other hand, social media can save lives in a disaster, and its a natural extension of community policing or engagement. Community engagement is a must-have strategy for any public safety and security agency. However, this strategy requires the removal of stovepipe processes and systems within an agency, allowing …

Not Just Welfare Over Justice: Ethics In Forensic Consultation, Philip J. Candilis, Tess M. S. Neal

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

The ethics of forensic professionalism is often couched in terms of competing individual and societal values. Indeed, the welfare of individuals is often secondary to the requirements of society, especially given the public nature of courts of law, forensic hospitals, jails, and prisons. We explore the weaknesses of this dichotomous approach to forensic ethics, offering an analysis of Psychology’s historical narrative especially relevant to the national security and correctional settings. We contend that a richer, more robust ethical analysis is available if practitioners consider the multiple perspectives in the forensic encounter, and acknowledge the multiple influences of personal, professional, and …

Te Efect Of Experiencing Child Physical Abuse On Violence In Adolescence Is Weakest In The Most Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods, Emily M. Wright

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

It is reasonably well established that those who suffer physical abuse as children are more likely to be violent as adolescents and young adults. It is less well known, however, whether the effects of abuse are amplified or made weaker by the social circumstances in which a child lives.

Follow The Legislation - Human Trafficking And Child Abduction, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Crime/Violence

Bibliography and photographs of a display of government documents from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

The New Drug War Or The New Race War: Incarceration's Impact On Minority Children, Families, And Communities, Karen P. Lawrence

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

This non-experimental study examines the issues of over-representation of minorities in the criminal justice system due to drug-related incidences, race relations, and the impact such representation has on families, children, and communities. The exploration of the current criminal justice efforts against drugs is presented through a meta-analysis qualitative lens in an effort to disseminate the information on those arrested, sentenced, and subsequently incarcerated for various drug offenses. In an attempt to understand the encyclical racial disparities that promulgate the criminal justice system, the study relies on information from several key theorists to cement the discussions in the research. Qualitative data …

Unpunished Criminals: The Social Acceptablity Of White Collar Crimes In America, Joseph P. Martinez

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

White collar crime is a serious issue in the United States of America, responsible for an estimated $250 billion to $1 trillion in economic damages each year. White collar crimes include: bank fraud, blackmail, bribery, counterfeiting, credit card fraud, embezzlement, extortion, forgery, insider trading, insurance fraud, investment schemes, securities fraud, tax evasion, advanced fee scams, service and repair scams, as well as Ponzi & pyramid schemes just to name a few.

There are a number of factors to consider regarding crimes, both street and white collar level including: the total cost of the damages and ripple effects that will reach …

Racial Residential Segregation And Social Control: A Panel Study Of The Variation In Police Strength Across U.S Cities, 1980–2010, Stephanie L. Kent, Jason T. Carmichael

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

Despite a great deal of theoretical and empirical attention given to racial residential segregation and its influence on a number of social problems in the United States, few scholars have examined the role that this persistent form of racial inequality plays in shaping the magnitude of formal social control efforts. Our study examines this relationship by assessing the potential influence that the isolation of minorities may have on efforts to control crime in urban centers across the United States. Using a pooled time-series regression technique well suited for the analysis of aggregate, longitudinal data, we assess the potential influence of …

Trafficking In Child Labor In Ghana And Senegal, Steven Brandt

Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking: 6th (2014)

The goal of this paper is to determine the efficacy of anti-trafficking governance in Senegal and Ghana and what social, political, legal and economic factors work for or against those policies such as: - social policies for and against the growth of the NGO community - enforcement of anti-trafficking laws - economic policies for impoverished urban and rural communities - government rehabilitation policies for minors - federal, state and local corruption - border security/immigration - religious and political freedom This research comprises a comprehensive literature analysis as to the current state of trafficking of minors in Ghana and Senegal. First …

I Remember Richelieu: Is Anything Secure Anymore?, Michael G. Crowley, Michael N. Johnstone

Australian Security and Intelligence Conference

Petraeus-gate, hacked nude celebrity photos in the cloud and the recent use of a search and seizure warrant in the United States of America to seek production of customer email contents on an extraterritorial server raises important issues for the supposably safe storage of data on the World Wide Web. Not only may there be nowhere to hide in cyberspace but nothing in cyberspace may be private. This paper explores the legal and technical issues raised by the these matters with emphasis on the courts decision “In the Matter of a Warrant to Search a Certain E-Mail Account Controlled and …

Understanding The Role Of Social Groups In Radicalisation, Kira Harris, Eyal Gringart, Deirdre Drake

Australian Security and Intelligence Conference

The inability to form psychological profiles of individual members across a variety of extremist groups, as well as the recognition in extremism and terrorism research indicates that no adequate personality profile exists. This requires an analysis of other factors that influence the radicalisation process. By drawing on social identity theory, this paper offers a psycho-social explanation for how people define themselves in relation to their social group, as well as how the intra-group relationships can lead to extreme behaviour and resistance to counter efforts. These groups promote a salient social identity that becomes intrinsic to the self to the extent …

7th Australian Security And Intelligence Conference, 2014, Edith Cowan University: Conference Details, Security Research Institute, Edith Cowan University, Security Research Institute, Edith Cowan University

Australian Security and Intelligence Conference

No abstract provided.

Contemporaneous And Lagged Effects Of Life Domains And Substance Use: A Test Of Agnew's General Theory Of Crime And Delinquency, Fawn T. Ngo, Raymond Paternoster

Criminology Sarasota Manatee Campus Faculty Publications

This study presents a partial test of Agnew’s general theory of crime and delinquency. Relying on a sample of adolescents and employing measures of the self, family, school, and peers domains, this study examines the contemporaneous and lagged effects of these four life domains on the likelihood of consuming alcohol and using marijuana. This study also assesses the contemporaneous and lagged effects of the life domain variables on themselves and on one another. Overall, the results lend support for Agnew’s general theory. The results also reveal several notable puzzles and underscore the complexity of this potentially important contemporary theoretical perspective.

The Impact Of Trial Evidence On Juror Decision-Making, Jeremy Shifton

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

It is widely accepted that a confession is one of the most incriminating piece of evidence that can be presented in a criminal case (Kassin & Neumann, 1997). However, little prior research has examined the impact of situational characteristics (e.g., length of interrogation, how recently suspect has slept, etc.) of the interrogation and resulting confession. While police tactics and personal characteristics are known to impact perceptions of the resulting confession, little is known about how aspects of an interrogation might impact the perceptions of jurors. In three studies, this dissertation seeks to determine how mock jurors' perceptions of evidence strength …

Receptivity Of Capital Jurors To Mitigating Factors Of Mental Illness, Intellectual Disability, And Situational Impairments In Death Penalty Decisions : The Capital Trial Analyzed As A Mitigating "Weight And Counterweight" To Premature Decisions And Pro-Death Bias, Leona Deborah Jochnowitz

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This research presents aspects of juror receptivity to mitigating factors of mental, cognitive/intellectual and situational impairments in capital sentencing decisions. The study examined types of mental factors, as well as the gender of defendants, the aggravating nature of the crime and victim vulnerability. An exploratory cross-tabulation analysis evaluated the percentages and relationships between juror closed-ended CJP survey responses to mental sentencing factors and mental evidence presented at trial for 38 cases. While the sample size was too small in some cells for significance testing, the percentages demonstrated patterns. A detailed qualitative analysis of 12 cases with strong evidence of mental …

We Can Work It Out : The Hidden Role Of The Workplace In Shaping Urban Crime Control, Chris E. Rees

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Ethnoracial minorities have rapidly integrated into American workplaces over the last half-century, yet little research has examined the effects of this integration on wider social processes. Drawing from minority threat theory and the contact hypothesis, this thesis examines the impact of workplace segregation on metropolitan levels of police force size during the year 2010. Findings indicate that, net of controls, workplace segregation is associated with higher levels of police forces size. Moreover these effects are a stronger predictor of police forces than residential segregation. The thesis concludes with a relevant discussion on the research and policy implications of these findings.

Criminal Behavior In The Life Course : The Sex Difference And The Role Of Childbirth In The Desistance Process, Siyu Liu

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

My dissertation demonstrates sex differences in offending over the life course with a flexible model on the age-crime curve using a longitudinal dataset, and examines the causal role of childbirth in the process of desistance for both sexes.

Correctional Group Quarters, Neighborhood Crime And Property Values, Kelly Mcgeever

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The primary aims of this dissertation are to examine the association between correctional group quarters and crime rates and the effect of correctional group quarters on property values in urban neighborhoods. There has been a surprising lack of examination of these relationships, especially since community residents' anticipated fears of correctional facilities have been well documented. The few studies that have considered correctional facilities, crime, and property values have generally focused on one rural location and almost exclusively evaluate state prisons without consideration to the range of correctional facilities. Broken windows theory and `Not in My Backyard' literature are used to …

Family Structure And Juvenile Delinquency : An Examination Of Inter-Individual Difference And Intra-Individual Variability, Qing Wei

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Although a wealth of research in criminology identifies that family structure variables are critical in understanding adolescent and young adult involvement in delinquency and crime, family structure has been treated as static variables in most of the studies and the relationship between family structure and juvenile delinquency is often tested cross-sectionally. However, a full understanding on the role of family structure requires an examination of impacts of both the state and the change of family structure on adolescent behavior. It also requires an examination of both the short-term and the long-term impact of family transition on children's behavior.

On The Island : Marginalized Residents Of A Single Room Occupancy Motel, Christopher Philip Dum

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

One consequence of the punitive turn in criminal justice policy has been an increase in residential instability among previously incarcerated individuals. For registered sex offenders in particular, residence restriction laws severely limit housing options. Many formerly incarcerated individuals find difficulties securing employment, which limits their ability to afford a stable residence.

The Role Of Immigrant Assimilation And Segregation In Explaining The Effect Of Immigration Size On Neighborhood Crime, Ilir Disha

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Role of Immigrant Assimilation and Segregation in Explaining the Effect of Immigration Size on Neighborhood Crime

The Sex Ratio, Gender Equality, And Women's Victimization : A Cross-National Analysis, Laura M. Demarco

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The relationship between the sex ratio and crime is underdeveloped in the criminological literature, particularly regarding the victimization of women. Much of the existing work draws on theorizing by Guttentag and Secord (1983) on the interpersonal dynamics related to dyadic power. In this line of research, the characteristics of structural power are largely taken for granted. Drawing on literature about gender inequality and women's victimization, this study recasts Guttentag and Secord's notion of structural power as a continuous measure of gender equality. I examine the effect of the sex ratio on women's victimization, and evaluate if that effect is contingent …

Crime And Natural Resource Booms: Evidence From Unconventional Natural Gas Production, Timothy M. Komarek

Economics Faculty Publications

The USA has experienced a sudden expansion of oil and natural gas production due to the combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. The energy extraction boom has had many localized impacts, most notably in areas with substantial shale gas reserves. This paper exploits a natural experiment in the Marcellus region to examine one channel of the so-called resource curse, the effect of resource extraction on local crime. The results show that areas experiencing a natural gas extraction boom suffer an increase in overall violent crimes, while property crimes remain similar to non-boom areas. Furthermore, the violent crime increase appears …

Policing Diversity With Diversity: Exploring Organizational Rhetoric, Myth, And Minority Police Officers' Perceptions And Experiences, Justin K. Szeto

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Police services are responding to the current realities of diversity. Specifically, police services attempt to adopt diversity policies, initiatives, and practices as a way to reflect community representation. The present study examines how minority police officers’ perceive and experience organizational diversity. While diversity is a broad term encompassing such variables as race, sex and sexual orientation, the present study focuses primarily on racial diversity. Through in-depth interviews with 12 Canadian police officers and 1 diversity trainer, as well as descriptive statistical data pertaining to the last 15 years of recruitment trends, the perceptions held by participants suggest that police services …

Pro-Anorexia/Bulimia Interactions Online: Problematizing Complex Cultural Phenomena, Nicole D. Schott

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In the West, and increasingly globally, individuals, particularly women, are fixated on weight loss, driven by the goal of achieving a culturally-desired, and aggressively marketed, "skinny" female physique. There are online forums where individuals refer to themselves or their eating disorders as "pro-ana" and "pro-mia". Individuals who post on these sites both align with, and challenge, what medical and mental health professionals define as serious mental health problems that result in severe, sometimes fatal, medical complications. This thesis specifically focuses on interactions with, and within, the pro-ana/mia culture on the social media websites Tumblr and YouTube. Over sixteen months, and …

Juror Perceptions Of Eyewitness Identification Evidence, Timothy G. Wykes

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Jurors rely on eyewitness testimony in deciding a defendant’s guilt or innocence. Archival analyses of hundreds of post-conviction DNA exonerations have identified eyewitness misidentification as the highest individual factor contributing to wrongful convictions (Innocence Project, 2014). Internationally, criminal justice systems have employed procedural safeguards (PSs) to educate juries on factors affecting eyewitness identification accuracy. Two such safeguards include the introduction of eyewitness expert testimony during trial proceedings and the reading of cautionary instructions by a presiding judge. In an independent factorial design, this research sought to examine the effects of a model judicial caution drafted by the Ontario Judicial Council …

Fight The Dead, Fear The Living: Post-Apocalyptic Narratives Of Fear, Governance And Social Control, Samantha Lynn Kolpin

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Post-apocalyptic narratives and themes have become increasingly popular in film, television and graphic novels. By imagining a society without the state, post-apocalyptic narratives are able to explore concerns about current forms of governance and social control. The post-apocalyptic narrative is particularly relevant in a post-9/11 society where public concerns about security and governance are prominent. In this study, I examined the potential allegorical function of the zombie narrative found in Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead. Specifically, this project involves an ethnographic content analysis of issues 1-100 of The Walking Dead graphic novel series. Analysis focused on the allegorical purposes of …