Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance Commons^™

Intensive Supervision In New Jersey: An Alternative To Incarceration, Michael A. Ramirez

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Social Disorganization Theory The Effect Of Social And Economic Factors On Crime And Delinquency, Tonya G. Anderson

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate which social and economic factors impact juvenile arrest rates and crime rates. In addition this study hopes to lend support to Shaw and McKay's (1942) theory of social disorganization. A large body of research exists on this topic. Scholars have analyzed and debated the validity and strength of the relationship between social disorganization indicators (unemployment, poverty, welfare dependency, single female-headed households, and changes in an areas population size) and increased delinquency and crime. This study will add to existing literature by providing a measure for juvenile crime that focuses on specific offenses. …

Television, Low Self-Control, And Deviance: Examining Basic Elements Of Gottfredson And Hirschi's General Theory Of Crime, Moises O. Mina Jr.

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

In a secondary analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), this study examines the basic concepts of Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime. A set of variables measured at ages 6-9 was used to operationally define the concepts of self-control, parenting, and deviance. The study tests for empirical associations between self-control, deviance, and parenting. Also, television viewing is introduced as a possible cause of low self-control. Age, race, and gender are included as statistical controls. Models of self-control and deviance were developed to analyze these relationships. Results found qualified support for the existence of significant …

Factors That Affect Recidivism Of Offenders On Electronic Monitoring In Norfolk, Virginia, Michael P. O'Toole

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate which factors impact offenders' recidivism on electronic monitoring. Research on electronic monitoring has mainly concentrated on individual program completion rates. A review of the available literature on electronic monitoring reveals few evaluative studies focusing on offender recidivism. No long term recidivism studies are available for electronic monitoring. The present research reviews 277 offenders five years after completing their electronic monitoring sentence in Norfolk, Virginia. The following factors as they may relate to offenders' recidivism, while on electronic monitoring are measured: current offense, prior conviction, offenders' age, sentence length, and employment history. Analyses …

School-Based Juvenile Boot Camps: Evaluating Specialized Treatment And Rehabilitation (Star), Chad R. Trulson, Ruth Triplett

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Implemented in Montgomery County, Texas, STAR deviates from traditional boot camps in a variety of ways. The program is closely coupled with school jurisdictions, the juvenile court, and correctional authorities. In addition, the program is non-residential and serves status, misdemeanor, and felony juvenile offenders and mandates parental participation. STAR was initiated to address several goals: enable individuals to remain in school while reducing their disruptive behavior, use school expulsion as a last resort, improve the academic performance of participants, coordinate a joint effort between juvenile authorities and school jurisdictions, instill a sense of pride and discipline in participants, and reduce …

Perceptions Of Corporate Crime: Assessing The Seriousness, Dale J. Ardovini-Brooker

Masters Theses

Many studies have been done concerning the seriousness of traditional street crime. There is a need in the field of criminology to expand our knowledge about how serious corporate crimes are. A key feature of seriousness is how researchers measure it. Using a survey, I analyzed people's perceptions of corporate crime. I had the respondents indicate the seriousness of the crime and harm by using a Likert Scale as well as identifying the appropriate sanction/sentence for the company convicted of the crime. This proved useful in attempting to identify how seriousness is measured by the sanctions/sentences imposed by the respondents. …

The Relationship Between Treatment Programs And Recidivism With African American Delinquents Under The Age Of 14, Sonya D. Gray

Dissertations

Problem statement. African American youth are over-represented in the juvenile justice system, which fails to meet their needs. Research is necessary, therefore, to discover treatment alternatives that effectively address these delinquents' needs.

Methodology. This study examined the relationship between treatments and recidivism of 100 African American male delinquents under the age of 14. Recidivism was defined as any arrest, within a 3-year period, for either criminal or misdemeanor offenses, subsequent to the court's referral for the treatment programs named in the study. Only delinquents who were adjudicated for the first time in 1991 through 1994 were included in …

An Analysis Of Police Perceptions Of Community Policing And Female Officers, Rhonda Kaye Delong

Dissertations

Traditional and community policing differ in their approach to crime and other social concerns. Traditional policing emphasizes reactive response and enforcement while community policing emphasizes proactive response and community partnership. Often, these two types of departments select officers with specific characteristics which fit well with the philosophy of the department. Characteristics such as age, education, years of military experience, rank, years of police experience, type of department, and family members in the military and the police are examined in this study to determine perceptual differences among officers regarding the community policing philosophy and the role of women in policing. A …

Less-Than-Lethal Weapons And Police-Citizen Killings In U.S. Urban Areas, William C. Bailey

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

There appears to be general consensus in law enforcement circles that less-than-lethal weapons are effective in reducing police-citizen killings, but this “common wisdom” has not been subject to systematic empirical analysis. Considering a large sample of U.S. cities for 1990, this article examines the association between the availability to the police of various types of less-than-lethal weapons and general and race-specific justifiable homicide rates. The analysis produces no evidence that police killing rates are affected by the availability of less-than-lethal weapons.

Review Of The Youth Gang Problem: A Community Approach. Irving A. Spergel. Reviewed By James Callicut, University Of Texas, Arlington., James W. Callicutt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Irving A. Spergel, The Youth Gang Problem: A Community Approach. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. $24.00 papercover.

Rural And Urban Police Officer Attitudes Toward Psychologists And Psychological Services, Kara Gettman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Psychologists are frequently called upon to work with law enforcement personnel, yet little research has been conducted to examine the attitudes of police officers toward psychologists and psychological services. The purpose of this study was to survey police officers in both urban and rural settings in an attempt to gauge their attitudes toward psychologists and psychological services. The researcher designed the questionnaire that was used because no single assessment instrument currently exists which measures all of the potentially relevant variables The attitudes assessed included the perceived need for psychologists and psychological services, the preferred roles for psychologists in law enforcement …

An Examination Of Factors Influencing The Definition Of Rape, Connie Sue Minton

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the concept of rape and factors which influence the definition of rape. A survey consisting of demographic and attitudinal questions and rape scenarios was administered to college students at two middle-sized universities in the southeast. The results indicate that as the level of intimacy between the victim and the rapist increases the likelihood of a situation being defined as a rape decreases. In this study religion and political attitudes were two independent variables which did not influence the definition of rape while race, gender, relationships with women, and attitudes toward women were …

A Comparative Study Of Victimization Experiences And Family Dynamics Of Adolescent Sexual Offenders And Nonsexual Offending Delinquents, Alicia Ann Chavis

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Research has directed little attention toward understanding and dealing with the adolescent sexual offender. In an effort to understand what makes adolescent sexual offenders different from other delinquents. I will examine the victimization experiences (sexual abuse and physical abuse) and the family dynamics (family violence, family incarceration and family structure) of both adolescent sexual offenders and nonsexual offenders. The research question is: what factors contribute to each group of delinquency the most? Although all of the factors influence delinquency, victimization is expected to be the most influential. This study utilized data from The Survey of Youth in Custody, 1987; a …

Juvenile Delinquency And The Transition To Monopoly Capitalism, Kevin I. Minor

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper identifies three macrosociological forces (i.e., the social position of youth, private market relations, and poverty and inequality) that are crucial for understanding delinquency and analyzes how these forces evolved together as part of the historical transformation in the United States to monopoly capitalism. The thesis is that these forces have contributed to delinquency by acting collectively to decrease the capacity of social institutions to maintain informal social control. Implications for policy are also considered.

Waco Tragedy Product Of Groupthink, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This opinion column employs the eight symptoms of groupthink specified by Irving Janis to evaluate whether the tragic end to the 1993 FBI siege of David Koresh’s Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas — which culminated in deaths of 76 civilians — could have been the product of groupthink.

Reforming The Juvenile Correctional Institution: Efforts Of The U.S. Children's Bureau In The 1930s, Marguerite G. Rosenthal

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The U.S. Children's Bureau, the federal agency responsible for social policy for children in the early part of this century, delayed studying the problems associated with the institutionalization of juvenile delinquents for nearly twenty-five years. In the 1930's, the Bureau undertook several projects and studies related to training schools for delinquents which were designed to create reform in an area long recognized as harmful to children. This article traces the history of the Bureau's work in the institutional field from 1912-54, analyzes the reasons for the agency's initial reluctance and later activity in this area, discusses the results of these …

Stability And Fluctuation In Juvenile Delinquency In Israel, Ram A. Cnaan, Itzhak Hocherman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A review of the literature indicates two major approaches in official crime rate analysis. The first approach postulates a positive correlation between recorded crime rates and a number of factors including police strength, organizational structure of social control agencies, opportunity, and social pathologies. The second postulate is based on Erikson's hypothesis of stability of deviance over time, namely that recorded crime rates in a given society will remain comparatively stable over time. We tested these approaches based on 15 years of juvenile delinquency statistics in Israel. Official statistics on both recorded juvenile delinquents and their recorded crimes were tested through …

Perceived Effectiveness Of The Chicago Crime Commission, 1980-1985: Insiders And Outsiders, Dennis Hoffman, Vincent J. Webb

Publications

This study examines the perceived effectiveness of the oldest and most famous citizens' crime commission in the United States--the Chicago Crime Commission.l The commission's effectiveness is measured by the perceptions of influential criminal justice decisionmakers and policymakers.

Corrections In Crisis : Report Of The Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission On Corrections, Maine Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission On Corrections

Maine Collection

Corrections In Crisis : Report of the Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Corrections.

Augusta, Me., The Commission, December 1985

"This Commission was funded through the 1984 Appropriations Act, P.L. 1983, Ch. 824, Pt. A."

Contents: Preamble / Summary of Recommendations / Community Corrections Recommendations / Sentencing Recommendations / Correctional Management Recommendations / Selected Legislative Issues / Conclusion

A Comparison Of Sexual And Non-Sexual Assault Prosecution, Susan Caringella-Macdonald

Dissertations

In 1974 the state of Michigan enacted what has come to be referred to as model rape legislation. A salient objective of the Criminal Sexual Conduct (CSC) Code in this state was to facilitate the comparable rather than unique handling of sexual assaults in the criminal justice system. The primary purpose of this study was to discern whether or not this objective of equitable case treatment was realized through implementation. The focus of this research was therefore directed towards the discovery of differences in sexual and non-sexual assault case prosecutions. Specific aspects of legal change involving corroboration requirements, consent and …

Political Symbolism In Juvenile Justice: Reforming Florida's Juvenile Detention Criteria, C. Aaron Mcneece, Mark Ezell

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A recent reform in Florida's juvenile detention criteria was over-turned during the subsequent legislative session. This paper describes both the initial reform and its reversal and suggests that symbolic political rewards may often be more important than the actual consequences of a policy. Recommendations are made for accomplishing policy reform in a traditional political culture.

The Deinstitutionalization Of Juvenile Status Offenders: New Myths And Old Realities, C. Aaron Mcneece

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Claims are being made for deinstitutionalization that obscure some of the lesser known, negative effects. Within the juvenile justice system, for example, many juveniles who were previously institutionalized as juvenile status offenders are being relabelled and institutionalized as jivenile delinquents. In the state system studied in this report, the total number of juveniles in institutional programs did not decrease during the period of "deinstitutionalization."

Factors Associated With Police And Probation/Court Dispositioning: A Research Note, Cheryl Chambers, Richard M. Grinnell Jr., Richard L. Gorsuch

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article presents the results of an empirically based study that examined the discretionary process operating within the same juvenile justice system. Assessment of the factors influencing the decision-making process at two points within the same system indicate some consistent factors operating between the two points.

Review Of Executions In America, William C. Bailey

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

Reviews the book "Executions in America," by William J. Bowers.

Certainty Of Arrest And Crime Rates For Major Felonies: Research Note, William C. Bailey

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

A recent investigation by Tittle and Rowe (1974) examining the deterrent effect of the certainty of arrest on felony rates in Florida is briefly summarized and critiqued. Examination shows their analysis to suffer from serious theoretical and methodological limitations. To extend their investigation and thus better understand the deterrent effect of arrest we examine the relationship between arrest rates and offense rates for cities and counties of Florida for seven major felonies. Analysis lends general support to the deterrence argument, but shows that the effect of arrest is not uniform for each offense, with different levels of arrest (certainty of …

The Conflicts Between Female Inmates' Needs And Prisoners' Goals, Aline L. Mohr

IUSTITIA

A comparison of the purposes behind the existence of male and female institutions reveals that several common goals exist: custody, deterrence, and rehabilitation. An examination of these goals of women's prisons can be best understood in the context of whom they are aimed to serve. If the goals are to serve society alone, then the custody of female offenders is undoubtedly viewed as an accomplished goal, since society is protected and secure from the infliction of criminal acts by these female offenders. However, if the goals are directed at the inmates as well, deterrence of further criminal activity and rehabilitation …

Behavioral Science Influences On Legislation: The Case Of Delinquency Prevention, Albert S. Alissi

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Excerpt from the full-text article:

This paper will discuss some of the issues and problems which arise in the field of delinquency prevention where there is over-riding public interest and concern and calls for action to prevent delinquency, but where the problem is elusive and where the variables are not easily isolated and controlled through experimental procedures. What, in fact, constitutes the body of knowledge in the field? What uses can be made of behavioral science materials where there has been little or no experimental successes, or data upon which to build action programs? What credence should be given to …

A Comparison Of Incarcerated And Non-Incarcerated Women Based On The M.M.P.I., Rose Marie Carter

Masters Theses

The field for research on women offenders provides an extensive opportunity for scientific investigation. Many writers (Gibbons, 1971; Cunningham, 1964; Sutherland, 1968) have discussed the causes of crime and their resulting social implications. Organized mass presentations of the movement of crime among women is negligible. Today female incarcerates make up approximately 11 per cent (Lerner, 1972) of the total number in state and federal penitentiaries. Previous research (Cunningham, 1964) on female felons found poor self-concept, excessive dependency and pathological emotionality to be a consistent pattern in women criminals. Other research (Apfeldorf, 1971; Guze, 1959) found criminal and non-criminal groups could …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Social Class And Crime, Carl H. Plath

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Prison Labor, Jean Polewsky

Bachelors’ Theses

For many years past the problems of prison labor have been the subject of frequent national and international discussions. Innumerable books dealing with various phases of prison labor have been written. Many of them discuss the systems, the history, the legislature and the operation of prison labor. Few, if any, give a complete understanding of the system of prison labor as it did exist and as it does exist at the present day. It is for this reason that the writer wishes to discuss prison labor and bring together all important material on the subject. By this means the writer …