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

An Exploratory Analysis Of Student Attitudes Towards Punishment: Punitive Vs Rehabilitative Orientations, Leah Johnson

Honors Theses

This study examined differences in punishment orientation among undergraduate students, paying particular attention to variations across academic major, degree progression, and connectivity to law enforcement and corrections. This study explored how individual characteristics may influence attitudes toward crime and appropriate punishment. Data were collected through surveys which were administered in person to students enrolled in criminal justice or social science courses at the University of Southern Mississippi. Participants were asked to rate their level of agreement on a variety of statements regarding punishment. These responses were used to calculate punitive and rehabilitative orientation scores. Statistical analyses were conducted to test …

An Analysis Of Policies Impacting Ex-Offenders And The Barriers Created In Their Transition Into Society: A Qualitative Metasynthesis, Thomas A. Ayala

Theses & Dissertations

In 2018, more than six million people in the United States were under correctional supervision, including incarceration, probation, or parole, equivalent to 1 in 40 adults (Maruschak & Minton, 2020). While this reflects a decline from previous years, prison populations reversed course in 2022, increasing by 2% nationwide, with 36 states and federal facilities reporting higher inmate counts (Nellis, 2024). Since 1973, policy shifts have fueled the rise of mass incarceration (Nellis, 2021; O’Brien, 2020). According to the Pew Center, the United States remains a global outlier, holding 5% of the world’s population, but incarcerates 25% of the 9 million …

Perceptions And Treatment Decisions For A Drug Offender Based On Social Class, Cocaine Type, Personal Characteristics, And Compassionate Love: A Vignette Study, Yasmin A. Odeh

Theses and Dissertations

Problem: The shift from a focus on rehabilitation to the more punitive, “tough on crime” approach to illegal behavior in the U.S. has been enacted in no small way by policies connected to the use and abuse of drugs. The disparities between crack and powder cocaine—two chemically similar substances—have headlined this shift (Vagins and McCurdy 2006). However, research is scarce on laypeople’s approval of deterrence approaches for drug offenses, including as a function of types (e.g., powder vs. cocaine possession). This study examined people’s perceptions of prosecutorial decisions for drug offenders—whether they are punished, rehabilitated, or both—and whether people perceived …

Miami-Dade County Status Offenders: A Literature Review Of Punishment And Rehabilitation Of Youth, Colette B. Harris

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

The number of juveniles in detention centers has decreased across the United States. Although overall incarceration rates of juveniles in Miami-Dade County have declined, the number of youths at risk for delinquent activity and the number of girls in detention centers has increased. In the last nine years, Florida legislators have created laws to eliminate zero-tolerance policies in county schools, lessened the punishment role of law enforcement officers for in-school behaviors, as well as minimized the presence of law enforcement officers on school grounds. Although Miami-Dade County has been a part of the reformation of the Florida juvenile justice system, …

Rethinking Social Reintegration And Prison: A Critical Analysis Of An Educational Proposal For An Alternative Model In Brazil, Sergio Grossi

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

The call for social reintegration of prisoners, in many cases, does not work or has been abandoned, leaving the question of inclusivity regarding the imprisoned an open challenge in contemporary societies. My study provides a critical analysis of a model defined as an educational system of social reintegration, which aspires to be an alternative to imprisonment in Brazil and worldwide by proposing a reduction in the recidivism rate at a lower cost. I discuss the possibilities of social reintegration and the educational conceptions and practices that can emerge from it, though a document analysis and ethnography of two model units. …

Transformation As Desistance Inside: Temporality And Identity Reconstruction Among Men With Life Sentences, Richard Stover

Honors Theses

This thesis is an investigation of destistance strategies among men sentenced to life in prison in a medium security prison in Pennsylvania. Desistance here is defined as the process leading to the cessation of formally deviant behavior. Drawing from life narrative interviews conducted among 22 men, I argue that desistance is intrinsically tied to how inmates conceptualize themselves within the institutional context of the prison and can be expanded to include people who are still incarcerated. I build off of Peggy Giordano and colleagues symbolic interactionist perspective on desistance and expand it to chart how men with life sentences order …

God, I Hope This Part Of My Life Is Over: A Focused Ethnography Of A Correctional Youth Facility’S Therapeutic Climate, Eric Meyer

Theses & Dissertations

Although all prisons have the same goal of isolating offenders from society, the precise strategies used vary from one jurisdiction to the next. Some prisons use means of punishment to gain inmate compliance. Other prisons concentrate their limited resources on rehabilitation. Contained within the following pages are details of a focused ethnography that was completed in a state correctional youth facility that housed males between the ages of 15 and 21 years, all of whom were convicted of violent crimes. This study had the objective of exploring the climate of therapy in this correctional youth facility where rehabilitative programs were …

Effectiveness Of Inmate Labor Programs: A Case Study Of Marion County's Inmate Work Farm, Cassie Beck

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This research project explores the topic of prison labor in the United States. The aim is to analyze the both the strengths and weaknesses of inmate labor programs. In addition, this project examines the effect that these programs have on both the prison itself and the inmates that participate. It analyzes Marion County’s Inmate Work Farm in order to investigate how helpful or harmful this program is to the inmates and the community that surrounds it. This project uses several different theoretical concepts to further explain the topic including Michele Foucault’s concept of power as well as the concept of …

Life Course Outcomes For Juveniles: Contact With The Criminal Justice System As A Turning Point, Dominique Tauffner

Honors Projects

This research investigated the life course outcomes of respondents who have been arrested during adolescence. Although the creation of the juvenile justice system is relatively recent, only existing for 119 years, there is a need for data on the impact this system has on society. The pre-existing knowledge and literature on juvenile delinquency and the criminal justice system often fails to capture longitudinal data. Most scholars on this issue will discuss the immediate effects of things like incarceration and placement or what influences delinquency, ignoring the long-term consequences or life outcomes of those that have been arrested prior to 18. …

Prison Programming And Recidivism As A Method Of Social Bond Theory: A Meta-Analysis Of Research From 2000-2015, Madalyn Smith

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Prior research indicates that completion of prison programs significantly decreases recidivism amongst offenders. This research classifies prison programs as an aspect of Social Bond Theory to determine if these types of programs improve the recidivism rate. Social Bond Theory has four elements: commitment (time invested into education or career), attachment (relationships with family and friends), involvement (time spent in activities outside of crime), and belief (agreement with social norms). Research articles were compiled from 2000-2015, published and unpublished, with a three year recidivism rate or less (several exceptions were made), and a sample size of greater than 50. An odds …

Lessons From The Field: Kinship As An Intervention (Library Resources), Holy Cross Libraries

Library Resources for Campus Events

A bibliography of resources available through the Holy Cross Libraries which provide additional information related to “Lessons from the Field: Kinship as an Intervention,” a lecture by Rev. Gregory Boyle, S.J., founder and executive director of Homeboy Industries, held at the College of the Holy Cross on February 6, 2017.

Homeboy Industries is the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world

Diversion Of Juvenile Offenders In China, Ying Cao

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

No abstract provided.

Breaking The Cycle Of Incarceration: Strategies For Successful Reentry Final Report For Labyrinth Outreach Services For Women, Carolyn Moe, Brian Titzler, Melissa Johnson-Gross, Darek Conley, Emily Blankenberger, Kirk Richardson, Bethan Owen, Caleb Griffen, Andrew Kuka, George Stanton, Lauren Troxtel, Eliud Uresti, John Thornburg, Nicholas Anthony Canfield, Patricia Longwood, Jessica Linder, Amanda Britenstein

Student Research – Stevenson Center

Working with a local reentry organization, Labyrinth Outreach Services to Women, the purpose of this study was to gather information about opportunities and barriers related to two aspects of their program: employment services and establishment of a microbusiness. Information was obtained through a 22-item questionnaire given to a sample of local businesses, key informant interviews, and secondary data analysis. Thirty-nine businesses in the Bloomington-Normal area responded to the questionnaire via on-line and paper survey methods, nine face-to-face interviews were conducted, along with three case studies of similar reentry microbusiness programs and a review of current literature. Stigmas of formerly incarcerated …

They Tried To Make Me Go To Rehab: A Study Of Rehabilitation In United States Corrections, Kayla J. Toole

Senior Honors Projects

Rehabilitation has been a staple of the prison system in the United States since the 1700s. The idea that a criminal could be resocialized into a functioning individual in society has been the basis of the prison systems since they first began. Rehabilitation is always evolving in the criminal justice system and being improved to have more impact on recidivism rates. In this project, I examine the cultural and structural explanations for different forms of rehabilitation over time. I found that rehabilitation at various points has been influenced by religious, medical, psychiatric, and sociological understandings of crime.

Currently, rehabilitation combines …

Assessing The Efficacy Of A Modified Therapeutic Community On The Reduction Of Institutional Write-Ups In A Medium Security Prison, Lee Wayne Maglinger, Aaron W. Hughey, Monica Galloway Burke

Counseling & Student Affairs Faculty Publications

This study explored the impact a modified TC (Therapeutic Community) had on reducing institutional disorder as documented by institutional write-ups. The number of institutional write-ups exhibited by clients participating in a modified TC was compared with the number of write-ups exhibited by inmates in five non-treatment units over a four-year period. ANOVA (analysis of variance) revealed that the number of write-ups exhibited by clients in the TC was significantly lower than the number exhibited by inmates in the other five dorms (F_{(4, 24)} = 5.61, p < 0.002).Further, when examined by category of offense (major/minor), it was found that the write-ups of clients in the TC generally were not as severe as those exhibited by inmates in the general prison population. The implications of these findings for corrections administrators are discussed and specific recommendations are provided.

Obstacles To Resettlement For Human Trafficking Victims, Kate Heath

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

No abstract provided.

Delinquents After Exile: A Review Of Aftercare Programs, Jeremy Olson, Daniel R. Lee

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

No abstract provided.

Attitudes Towards Megan's Law And Juvenile Sex Offenders, Debra Lee Cochrane

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sex offender registration laws are very controversial. All fifty states require adult sex offenders to register. Twenty-eight states have extended registration and community notification requirements to juveniles (Hiller, 1998). These states seem to have failed to look at the uniqueness of juvenile sex offending. Juveniles have a very low recidivism rate and complex issues of culpability from age-of-consent laws. Applying Megan's Law to juveniles could have considerable negative consequences for juveniles' social development, particularly because one of the main stipulations of the law requires the juvenile to notify their school. Rehabilitation is a key factor of the juvenile justice system …