Criminology Commons^™

Probation Officers' Attitudes On Illinois Electronic Monitoring Program For Drug Offenders, Erika J. Jones-Dilworth

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Probation Officers' Attitudes on Illinois Electronic Monitoring Program

For Drug Offenders

by

Erika Jones-Dilworth

MPA, Governors State University, 2009

BS, Governors State University, 2007

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Public Policy & Administration

Walden University

November 2018

Understanding The Perceptions And Decision-Making Behaviors Of First Responders In The Context Of Traumatic Events And Ptsd, Sunday O. Olatunji

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous researchers have indicated that first responders are in an ever-changing environment, and unfortunately, the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among first responders is increasing. This study sought to better understand first responders' perceptions of emergency preparedness protocols and training, as well as the prevalence of PTSD. This study also examined first responders' thoughts, decision making processes, and protective actions information, communications necessary during situations of emergency preparedness for traumatic events, and how PTSD impacted this process. A sample of 16 first responders of various ages was recruited for the purpose of this study. The participants were made up …

Student Perspectives Of Alternative Schools As Facilitators And Barriers For Positive Disciplinary Outcomes, Chasidy Phelps

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inconsistent findings within the existing literature tend to confuse the ability of behavior-focused alternative schools to address behavior problems of at-risk juveniles. Recent studies have suggested that juveniles who successfully commit to greater self-regulation skills display both academic success and positive classroom behavior. Although self-regulation skills have been positively associated with behavioral success among juveniles placed in behavior-focused alternative schools, it remains unclear as to what aspects of these programs that juveniles experience as facilitating the development of such skills. This phenomenological study used semistructured interviews of 5 students in Grades 10 through 12 enrolled in a behavior-focused alternative school …

The Effects Of Common Methods Of Soft Tissue Removal On Skeletal Remains: A Comparative Analysis, Emily Silverman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The removal of soft tissue from skeletal remains is a process familiar to a wide array of scientific fields and the methods used to perform it are likewise numerous yet inconsistent. In forensic investigations and crime labs across the country, there lacks a standardization for this process. This lack of standardization pairs with a distinct lack of literature on the potential benefits and risks associated with each method as well as basic information on the proper amount of additives, temperatures, or time estimations. In a forensic context, human remains may be the only evidence available, which makes any damage or …

The Effects Of Common Methods Of Soft Tissue Removal On Skeletal Remains: A Comparative Analysis, Emily Silverman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The removal of soft tissue from skeletal remains is a process familiar to a wide array of scientific fields and the methods used to perform it are likewise numerous yet inconsistent. In forensic investigations and crime labs across the country, there lacks a standardization for this process. This lack of standardization pairs with a distinct lack of literature on the potential benefits and risks associated with each method as well as basic information on the proper amount of additives, temperatures, or time estimations. In a forensic context, human remains may be the only evidence available, which makes any damage or …

Measuring The Effect Heterogeneity Of Police Enforcement Actions Across Spatial Contexts, Eric L. Piza

Publications and Research

Purpose: This study tests whether the effect of police actions is influenced by similar crime generators and attractors (CGAs) that influence crime. Said differently, in recognition that the presence of CGAs presents higher risk of crime at certain places, we test whether CGAs similarly create a situation where specific police enforcement actions are more effective at certain types of places than others.

Methods: Using longitudinal logistic regression models incorporating panel data, we measure the effect of various police enforcement actions on gun violence in Newark, NJ. Risk Terrain Modeling (RTM) was further used to test whether the effect of the …

Script Analysis Of Open-Air Drug Selling: A Systematic Social Observation Of Cctv Footage, Victoria A. Sytsma, Eric L. Piza

Publications and Research

Objectives: Through the use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) video foo- tage, the current study builds upon the drug transaction work of Piza and Sytsma by developing a crime script for open-air drug selling.

Methods: Researchers conducted a systematic social observation of CCTV footage of open-air drug markets in Newark, NJ. The data were used to identify sequential stages of drug transactions. Fisher’s exact tests measured whether buyer and seller activities during specific acts of the drug transaction event were related to activities seen in subsequent stages.

Results: This study finds three distinct acts to open-air drug events. During the pretransaction …

The Crime Prevention Effect Of Cctv In Public Places: A Propensity Score Analysis, Eric L. Piza

Publications and Research

This study measures the effect of CCTV in Newark, NJ across three separate crime categories: auto theft, theft from auto, and violent crime. CCTV viewsheds, denoting camera line-of-sight, were units of analysis. Viewsheds for treatment units were created by digitizing live CCTV footage within a geographic information system (GIS). Control viewsheds were created with GIS tools and aerial imagery from Google maps. Treatment cases were matched with control cases via propensity score matching (PSM) to ensure statistical equivalency between groups. Effect was measured via odds ratios and average treatment on the treated statistics. Findings offer modest support for CCTV as …

The Effect Of Various Police Enforcement Actions On Violent Crime: Evidence From A Saturation Foot-Patrol Intervention, Eric L. Piza

Publications and Research

The current study tests the crime prevention effect of different police actions conducted during a foot-patrol saturation initiative in Newark, New Jersey. Police actions were categorized into two typologies: enforcement actions (i.e., arrests, quality of life summonses and field interrogations) and guardian actions (i.e., business checks, citizen contacts, bus checks, and taxi inspections). Logistic regression models tested the effect of enforcement and guardian actions on crime during daily (i.e., 24-hr) periods as well as the intervention’s operational (6:00 p.m.-2:00 a.m.) and nonoperational (2:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.) periods. Analyses were conducted twice, once for the Operation Impact target area and once for …

The History, Policy Implications, And Knowledge Gaps Of The Cctv Literature: Insights For The Development Of Body-Worn Video Camera Research, Eric L. Piza

Publications and Research

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) and body-worn video cameras (BWVCs) have rapidly spread throughout policing. Such widespread deployment has heightened the importance of identifying best practices for both of these technologies. The research community has worked toward the identification of such best practices, with bodies of knowledge emerging for both CCTV and BWVCs over recent decades. Given its earlier emergence, research on CCTV is more developed. Nonetheless, the BWVC literature is quickly becoming robust, with BWVC research developing at a much more rapid pace than research on most other police technologies. This essay reviews the CCTV and BWVC literatures across four main …

Facilitators And Impediments To Designing, Implementing, And Evaluating Risk-Based Policing Strategies Using Risk Terrain Modeling: Insights From A Multi-City Evaluation In The United States, Eric L. Piza, Les W. Kennedy, Joel M. Caplan

Publications and Research

The contemporary policing literature contains numerous examples of partnerships between academic researchers and police agencies. Such efforts have greatly contributed to evidence-based policing by increasing the knowledge base on effective strategies. However, research has demonstrated that successful collaboration between researchers and practitioners can be a challenge, with various organizational and inter-agency factors presenting difficulties at various stages of the process. Additionally, applied research can oftentimes face implementation challenges when the time comes to convert research into practice. The current study contributes to the literature by discussing researcher/practitioner partnerships and program implementation in the context of a multi-city risk-based policing project …

Reentry Practitioners' Perceptions Of Constraints During Ex-Offenders' Job Search Process, Crystal Raquel Francis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Unemployment among formerly incarcerated citizens is a complex problem that continues to grow. Previous reentry studies describe the collateral effects of incarceration on employment from the perspective of formerly incarcerated individuals, yet little academic research exists regarding reentry practitioners' perceptions of constraints during the job search process. Using Goldratt's theory of constraints as the foundation, the purpose of this case study of reentry and employment in a mid-Atlantic state was to explore from the perspective of practitioners, the types of constraints individuals with criminal records face during the job search process, the most difficult phase of the job search process, …

A Phenomenological Analysis Of Formerly Incarcerated Women's Perceptions Of Successful Reentry, Angela Martilik

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Female offenders are distinctly different from male offenders, and present with their own gender-specific needs and issues both in and out of the correctional setting. Most approaches to treatment and programming for female offenders are currently based on research involving males and approaches designed for males. Inquiry regarding the gender-specific needs of female inmates as they pertain to treatment and reentry programs is necessary so professionals can better understand how to serve this population. Through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 8 women who were formerly incarcerated in the United States, this phenomenological study was used to examine the perceptions of successful …

Employer Attitudes And Beliefs About Hiring Post Incarcerated Offenders In Mississippi, Ora Starks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employer Attitudes and Beliefs About Hiring Post-Incarcerated Offenders in Mississippi

by

Ora Starks

MS, Criminal Justice, 1999

BS, Criminal Justice,1994

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Human Services Program

Criminal Justice Specialization

Walden University

May 2018

A Case Study Of Overcrowding In A County Jail In The Southeast United States, Marquice Robinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

For the past several decades, the county jail in a large metropolitan city in the southeast United States has been overcrowded, which has resulted in violence within the jail, excessive costs to the Sheriff's Office, and a requirement of Federal oversight of the jail from 2005 to 2015. In spite of these events, little is understood about why jail overcrowding is prevalent in the county and what impacts overcrowding may have on the communities around the jail. Using Shaw and McKay's social disorganization theory as the foundation, the purpose of this case study was to understand the unique circumstances around …

Advocating Ideal Type Policy For Police Officer Wellness Based On Body Mass Index As A Predictor Of Self-Reported Occupational Stress, Louis Chiappetta

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Scholars have validated both the damaging presence of police officer stress and separately, their increasing obese condition in the United States. Previous studies of police officers focus on stress or body weight, but not these variables conjointly. The purpose of this study was to inform policy creation by examining the problem of officer stress in relation to the calculated body mass index (BMI) values and to gain insight into stress outcomes. Lazarus and Folkman's stress-coping theory served as the research lens to examine if BMI would significantly contribute to the percent change of R2 variance accounted for in the predictive …

Predictors Of Incarceration For African American Males Aging Out Of Foster Care, Marlean.Wrotten Wrotten

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Past research has shown that many youths in the United States age out of foster care group homes unprepared for independent living. Lack of connections to adults, low educational attainment, and homelessness are negative outcomes that have been linked to incarceration for youth who age out of foster care. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine how well the independent variables of connection to adults, educational attainment, and homelessness predict the dependent variable of likelihood of incarceration for African American males (n = 504) within 3 years after aging out of foster care group homes. The Bridges …

Perceptions Of Reasonable Use Of Force By Probation Officers And Civilians, Timothy Loranzy Sowards

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is little academic research that examines whether there are differences between the ways probation officers and community members perceive the use of force on juvenile offenders. Failure to understand the differences in these perceptions negatively affected a probation department in California, which failed to address public concerns regarding the use of force in the juvenile hall, which resulted in a consent decree and a costly financial settlement. Using socialization theory as the foundation, the purpose of this study was to understand if there is a statistically significant difference between probation officers and civilians regarding their perceptions of use of …

The Formation Of A Citizen-Police Encounter And Its Effect On Dispositional Outcomes For Traffic Stops In A City And County Jurisdiction, Darby A. Semenza

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This research extends Donald Black’s (1976) theory of law to a large, more diverse sample of traffic stops than previous research. The theory suggests that with every citizen-police encounter, there is social distance separating the two parties. This distance is based on observable characteristics of both the officer and citizen involved. Specifically, their gender, age, race, demeanor, and whether they differ across these variables or not. A large difference in “social distance” increases the likelihood that an officer will cite a motorist; while a small distance reduces this likelihood. Social distance is the amount of diversity between two parties in …

การเปลี่ยนผ่านสู่ชีวิตในเรือนจำของ "แพะ" ในคดีอาญา, สุพรรณี อ่วมวงษ์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

งานวิจัยเรื่องการเปลี่ยนผ่านสู่ชีวิตในเรือนจำของ "แพะ" ในคดีอาญาเป็นการวิจัยเชิงคุณภาพ (qualitative research) การศึกษาครั้งนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์ 1) ศึกษากระบวนการปรับตัวของ "แพะ" ในคดีอาญาก่อนถูกคุมขังและระหว่างถูกคุมขังในเรือนจำ 2) ศึกษาปัญหาในการเข้าถึงกระบวนการยุติธรรม "แพะ" ในคดีอาญา 3) ศึกษาผลกระทบของ "แพะ" และครอบครัวของ "แพะ" ในคดีอาญา เป็นการวิจัยเชิงคุณภาพ (qualitative research) โดยใช้วิธีการสัมภาษณ์เชิงลึก (in-depth interview) เป็นเครื่องมือหลักในการรวบรวมข้อมูล โดยเป็นการศึกษาวิจัยผ่านเรื่องเล่า (narrative) ของผู้ตกเป็น "แพะ" ในคดีอาญา ศึกษาปัญหาในการเข้าถึงกระบวนการยุติธรรม และศึกษาผลกระทบของผู้ตกเป็น "แพะ"และครอบครัวของผู้ตกเป็น "แพะ" ในคดีอาญา จากการศึกษาวิจัย มีข้อค้นพบดังต่อไปนี้ (1) กระบวนการปรับตัวของผู้ตกเป็น "แพะ" ในคดีอาญา มีองค์ประกอบ 2 ประการ ได้แก่ 1.1 ความเป็นชนชั้นและการปรับตัวสู่เรือนจำ ซึ่งประกอบด้วย ชนชั้นของผู้มีฐานะทางสังคมและผู้ที่มีฐานะทางสังคมที่ด้อยกว่า จุดเปลี่ยนสำคัญที่ทำให้บริสุทธิ์ตกเป็น "แพะ" ในคดีอาญาโดยมีจุดเปลี่ยน 3 ประการ ได้แก่ การเข้าไปอยู่ในสถานที่เกิดเหตุ การรู้จักกับผู้กระทำผิดหรืออาชญากร และการตกเป็น "แพะ" จากความบกพร่องของกระบวนการยุติธรรม ความวิตกกังวลก่อนเข้าสู่เรือนจำเกิดขึ้น 2 ประการ คือ ความวิตกกังวลต่อตนเอง ความวิตกต่อสมาชิกในครอบครัว 1.2 สภาพแวดล้อมในเรือนจำที่ส่งผลต่อการปรับตัว ได้แก่ มิติเชิงพื้นที่ คือ พื้นที่ภายในบริเวณเรือนจำเนื่องจากมีผู้ต้องขังเป็นจำนวนมากทำให้รู้สึกแออัดทางร่างกายและจิตใจ มิติการปฏิสัมพันธ์ซึ่งเป็นการสนทนาระหว่างผู้ต้องขังรายอื่นมีการเล่าประสบการณ์ของแต่ละคนอาจทำให้ลดความวิตกกังวลและทำให้ไม่สามารถลดความเครียดลงได้เช่นกัน กฎระเบียบที่เคร่งครัด ผู้ที่ตกเป็น "แพะ" และผู้ต้องขังรายอื่นต้องปฏิบัติตามกฎอย่างเคร่งครัดซึ่งกฎระเบียบมีทั้งผลดีและผลเสีย ซึ่งผลดีคือการทำให้เกิดความสงบในการอยู่ในเรือนจำส่วนผลเสียก่อให้เกิดความเครียด ความกดดันในการใช้ชีวิตอยู่ในเรือนจำ และกิจกรรมภายในเรือนจำ ซึ่งทุกเรือนจำจะมีการจัดกิจกรรมให้ผู้ตกเป็น "แพะ"ได้เข้าร่วม ได้แก่ กิจกรรมตามเทศกาลต่างๆ กิจกรรมทางศาสนา ทำงานตามกองงานต่างๆ ซึ่งการทำงานในกองงานนั้นเพื่อเป็นการใช้เวลาว่างให้เป็นประโยชน์ มีจิตใจที่สงบ ไม่ฟุ้งซ่าน และทำให้ร่างกายแข็งแรง (2) กระบวนการปรับตัวระหว่างถูกคุมขังในเรือนจำ มีองค์ประกอบ 8 ประการ ดังนี้ 2.1 ปัจจัยที่ส่งผลต่อกระบวนการปรับตัว …