Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons^™

Secondary Victims' Perceptions Of Justice : Implications For Forensic Psychology, Benjamin Bannister

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

An emerging area of study has begun to look at the perceptions of justice of the family and friends of crime victims – or, secondary victims. It is important to improve understanding of secondary victims’ experiences of justice, partly because knowledge about how they perceive justice may help forensic psychologists assist them more effectively. This research attempted to assess how well existing justice theories could account for secondary victims’ perceptions of justice, and also help determine what is important to them. Using the largely ignored group of secondary victims of non-sexual violent crime, the research consisted of two interrelated stages. …

Life And Health Outside Prison, Tiffany Amorette Young

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative study explores the subjective understandings of formerly incarcerated individuals' experiences of health and healthcare prior to, during, and post release. The study incorporates in depth ethnographic interviews, participant observation, and life charting to formulate a holistic understanding of how incarceration has impacted the health and lives of the participants recruited for this study. All participants were incarcerated for a minimum of one year in the U.S. prison system. This interdisciplinary study contributes to the fields of sociology, criminology, and public health, and builds on the literature of race, health, and corrections in the United States.

The Politics And Practicalities Of Reentry: A Case Study Of The Reentry Environment In A Suburban Community, Carlene Sipma-Dysico

Dissertations

Although inquiry into reentry has grown significantly in the past decade, studies concerning formerly incarcerated persons entrance back into society tend to look at the outcomes and consequences of reentry, not the process. This "what works and what doesn't work" research approach (Seiter and Kadela 2003) leaves some very important aspects of reentry unexamined. While determining the efficacy of programs designed to reduce recidivism is important for public safety, social policy creation, and budgetary considerations, the role of the community in reentry remains largely unexplored.

This dissertation examines how reentry is done at the community level; by practitioners of reentry, …

Seeing Is Believing: The Csi Effect Among Jurors In Malicious Wounding Cases, Corey Call, Amy K. Cook, John D. Reitzel, Robyn D. Mcdougle

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

With the popularization of television crime shows that focus heavily on forensic science, such as CSI and its spin-offs, concerns about a new threat to jury trials have emerged in recent years. Dubbed the “CSI effect,” this phenomenon has reportedly come to influence the way jurors perceive forensic evidence at trials based on the way forensic evidence is presented on television. While the CSI effect has been the topic of much discussion throughout the popular press, the CSI effect has seldom been empirically tested. In this study, we present a selection of media accounts as well as criminological and …

Distinguished Historical Geography Lecture: Carceral Space And The Usable Past, Karen M. Morin

Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Attitudes Toward Sexualized Advertising In Las Vegas, Ashley Crisp, Alexis Kennedy

McNair Poster Presentations

This study explores the attitudes of college-level criminal justice students as to their perception of sexualized advertising in Las Vegas, and if these attitudes have any correlation with the participant’s length of residency. The study also correlates college-level student’s attitudes toward sexualized advertising and how religious they rate themselves. Female participants who lived in Las Vegas for 5 years or more on average agreed advertisements in Las Vegas are too sexualized. In contrast, female participants who were either born in Las Vegas or lived there less than 5 years neither agreed nor disagreed that advertising was too sexualized. As for …

The Only Thing That Stops A Guy With A Bad Policy Is A Guy With A Good Policy: An Examination Of The Nra’S “National School Shield” Proposal, Gordon A. Crews, Angela D. Crews, Catherine E. Burton

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

With the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT, the public and the government are looking for solutions to school violence. The National Rifle Association (NRA), a Second Amendment, pro-gun advocacy group, has proposed an “education and training emergency response program” called The National School Shield, which advocates the placement of armed security in schools. Although the program sounds provocative, serious questions complicate its plausibility, necessity, motive, and effectiveness. Furthermore, the potential policy and practical ramifications of encouraging armed security forces in U.S. schools are complex. The authors examined the proposal’s key elements from a public policy …

Identity Theft Among College Students, Laura B. Lucas

Masters Theses

Identity theft is prominent and is specifically affecting the general population of young adults. There is a void the in research that focuses on parental influence regarding identity theft on their college children. Prior research shows that identity theft is rapidly growing and is a problem. (Winterdyk & Thompson, 2008). The aims of this study are to enhance the awareness of identity theft, and to show the importance of identity theft education. Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory is applied to the study as well, and is used a potential guide to understanding the effects of parental behavior and perceptions of …

Incarceration And The Economic Fortunes Of Urban Neighborhoods, Jeffrey A. Fagan, Valerie West

Faculty Scholarship

This chapter turns to the response of the criminal justice system to neighborhood violence, in particular examining to what extent persistently high levels of incarceration can depress economic well-being and human capital in disadvantaged and racially segregated communities. A panel analysis of New York City neighborhoods between 1985 and 1996, a period in which the city's violent-crime rates both rose and fell sharply, provides evidence that high incarceration rates reduce income growth, educational attainment, and work experience in disadvantaged and racially segregated neighborhoods. To rectify this, targeted micro investment and housing development in such areas can break the connection between …

Nebraska Sex Offender Registry Study: Interim Report, Ryan E. Spohn

Reports

Sexual victimization is of great concern to the public, as evidenced by the legislative attention it has received over the last twenty years (Adkins, Huff, and Stageberg 2000; Levenson 2006; Sample and Kadleck 2008; Schram and Milloy 1995; Walker et al. 2005; Zevit 2006). To help increase public safety and address public concern, corrections departments nationwide have adopted some form of risk classification and assessment instrument for offenders who have been convicted of sex crimes (Richardson and Huebner 2006). Some of the most popular risk assessment instruments include the STATIC 99, RRASOR, MnSOST, SORAG, and ASRS (Richardson and Huebner 2006; …

Nebraska Offender Registry Study: Interim Report, Consortium For Crime And Justice Research, University Of Nebraska At Omaha, Ryan E. Spohn

Reports

Sexual victimization is of great concern to the public, as evidenced by the legislative attention it has received over the last twenty years (Adkins, Huff, and Stageberg 2000; Levenson 2006; Sample and Kadleck 2008; Schram and Milloy 1995; Walker et al. 2005; Zevit 2006). To help increase public safety and address public concern, corrections departments nationwide have adopted some form of risk classification and assessment instrument for offenders who have been convicted of sex crimes (Richardson and Huebner 2006). Some of the most popular risk assessment instruments include the STATIC 99, RRASOR, MnSOST, SORAG, and ASRS (Richardson and Huebner 2006; …

Corporal Punishment And Aggression In Adulthood: A Product Of Social Learning, Derek R. Schneider

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

The focus of my study will be on the relationship between child abuse and aggression in adulthood. Individuals who support corporal punishment are more likely to support using violence against other adults, as compared to those that do not support corporal punishment. In other words, adults that are likely to use violence to resolve conflict with children are more inclined to use violence to resolve conflicts with other adults. Bandura (1977) explained that human behavior is learned observationally through modeling. The idea of modeling involves observing others and beginning to form an idea of how new behaviors are performed; on …

Fetal Attraction: A Descriptive Study Of Patterns In Fetal Abductions, Kerry E. Arquette

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Fetal abduction is a crime in which a perpetrator forcibly takes an unborn baby from the womb of another woman. The act is always done without the permission of the pregnant woman, is always violent, and is often deadly for the mother or baby, or both. Based upon available data, the crime of fetal abduction is rare and relatively new, but publicized incidences in the United States of America are growing, which raises the question, "Why?" In order to answer that and other questions surrounding fetal abduction it is necessary to know more about the crime and the criminals. This …

The Use Of Familial Dna Searches: A Policy Analysis, Caroline O. Moorman

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Many cases go unsolved every day in the United States; some due to a lack of technological advancement in forensic science. When a person is killed, raped, or in danger of physical harm, it is the responsibility of law enforcement and their collaborative agencies to find and apprehend the responsible parties. The use of familial DNA searches in the United States is a relatively new investigative technique. Traditionally, DNA samples found at a crime scene are run through a national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) to look for possible matches. When a sample does not return a positive hit, investigators …

Perceptions Of Mental Illness In The Legal System, Krista Wallace

Criminal Justice

Previous research suggests that there are stereotypes and misperceptions about the mentally ill population which affect juror’s decision making in cases where the insanity defense is raised. Many individuals believe it to be a “loophole” in the criminal justice system for offenders to escape punishment (Skeem and Golding, 2002). This study explores community perceptions of schizophrenia and personality disorders in a legal context. Results support that individuals are significantly less confident of their verdict decisions when the offender has a mental illness than when the offender has no mental illness. In addition, the presence of a mental illness significantly affects …

Reconciliation In A Community-Based Restorative Justice Intervention, David K. Androff

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) are among the primary means for promoting reconciliation in communities recovering from violent conflict. However, there is a lack of consensus about what reconciliation means or how it is best achieved. In a qualitative study of the first TRC in the U.S., this research interviewed victims of racial violence who participated in the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission (GTRC), a community-based restorative justice intervention. Findings reveal that participants conceptualized reconciliation as a multileveled process, that different concepts of reconciliation influenced assessments of the success and limitations of the GTRC, and indicate how community-based restorative interventions …

A Forensic Identification Utility To Create Facial Approximations Using Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Of 100 Hispanic Females: A Pilot Study, Behzad Nejat

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction:Estimation of facial soft tissue appearance from human skeletal remains is often necessary in forensic identification. This process has been referred to as facial reconstruction or facial approximation and is a branch of forensic facial anthropology. Original methods for facial approximation originated in nineteenth century Europe and consisted of artists shaping clay over skull models using average soft tissue depths measured in cadavers. The last two decades have introduced numerous computerized techniques that have digitized this process while attempting to accurately and objectively define the relationship between a skull and its overlying soft tissue. This pilot study describes a method …

Chaid Analysis Of Drug-Related Police Corruption Arrests, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Steven L. Brewer, Hans Schmalzried, Brooke E. Mathna, Krista L. Long

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Purpose- The purpose of the study is to provide empirical data on cases of drug-related police corruption. The study identifies and describes incidents in which police officers were arrested for criminal offenses associated with drug-related corruption.

Design/methodology/approach- The study is a quantitative content analysis of news articles identified through the Google News search engine using 48 automated Google Alerts queries. Statistical analyses include classification trees to examine casual pathways between drugs and corruption.

Findings- Data are analyzed on 221 drug-related arrest cases of officers employed by police agencies throughout the United States. Findings show that drug-related corruption involves a wide …

Drunk Driving Cops: A Study Of Police Officers Arrested 2005-2010, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Natalie E. Todak, Steven L. Brewer

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Police officers are generally exempt from law enforcement (Reiss, 1971) and it is widely known that police officers who drive drunk are rarely arrested, even when they are pulled over in a traffic stop for driving drunk. Using data from a larger study on police crime arrests, this is an exploratory study of 763 cases from years 2005-2010 of on- and off-duty police officers arrested for driving under the influence (DUI). The officers arrested for DUI were employed by nonfederal law enforcement agencies located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Preliminary findings indicate that almost half of …

Attica State Correctional Facility: The Causes And Fallout Of The Riot Of 1971, Kathleen E. Slade

The Exposition

Everyone has heard the rallying cry “Attica! Attica!” These are words shouted in protest by many in the 1970s including John Lennon in his song “Attica State” in 1971 and Al Pacino in the movie “Dog day Afternoon” in 1975. But what happened at Attica State Correctional Facility in the rural town of Attica, NY in 1971 to cause the bloodiest day in American history up to that time? A prison built to be escape proof and virtually riot proof in 1931 exploded just forty years later in a violent four day riot that ended in a bloody massacre of …