Criminology Commons^™

Rez Realities: Exploring The Perceptions Of Crime And Justice Among Tribal Police Officers In Indian Country, Favian Alejandro Martin

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Although American Indians and Alaskan Natives (AI/NA) compose just over 1% of the general population in the U.S., they experience higher rates of crime and violence than the total population and are dramatically over-represented in the criminal justice system. In light of these realities, the paucity of research on AI/NA crime, violence, and justice problems is appalling. What research does exist suggests that AI/NA crime and victimization is correlated with social problems such as poverty and illegal drug use which are linked to the social ills of colonialism. Drawing on the work of Loader (1997), this dissertation examines the perceptions …

To Catch A Pirate: Analyzing Processes Of Policy Making On Maritime Piracy, Victoria E. Collins

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

There has been a resurgence of political and media interest in maritime piracy, specifically in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia. This is credited to a rise in the number of piracy attacks that have been committed in Somalia's coastal waters. In response to this rise in attacks there has been an increased deployment of military warships from as many as 30 different countries to the region in efforts to combat piracy. Although the problem of piracy has received much attention there has been little attention paid to the structural conditions within Somalia itself, such as the …

A Further Test Of Strain Theory: Does Gender Discrimination Contribute To Theft By Employees?, John A. Casten

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study was an examination of General Strain Theory's contention that gender discrimination. as a source of strain. can lead to deviant behaviors. Specifically. the effects of gender discrimination in the workplace on theft by employees. The study was unique in that it utilized a sample split three different ways. First, by gender, second by perceived and actual measures of both crime and discrimination, and third, by combined versus separate discrimination measures. The third item being particularly unique. The study utilized bivariate correlations and logistic regression throughout for statistical analyses. The results indicated that combined measures were not as effective …

Religion And Intimate Partner Violence: A Double-Edge Sword?, Lee E. Ross

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

This article examined hypothesized relations between Judeo-Christian religion and intimate partner violence. Given its complex and controversial nature, the following two questions were explored: (1) whether batterers selectively misinterpret scripture to justify or rationalize violence toward women, and (2) whether certain religious tenets around faith, the nature of marriage, the role of women and men, obedience, forgiveness, and salvation constrict and inevitably bind women to abusive relationships? An integrative literature review was employed to draw inferences among male patriarchy, religious scripture, and intimate partner violence. Overall, the findings are twofold: (1) elements of male patriarchy are included in much of …

Testing The Influence Of Community Characteristics On School Misconduct, Todd A. Armstrong, Gaylene Armstrong, Charles M. Katz

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This study examines the effect of dynamic and structural community characteristics on school misconduct. Data include over 45,000 students in the eighth, tenth, or twelfth grade in 237 schools. Hierarchical linear models tested the direct and interactive effects of community measures, while accounting for student and school characteristics. Community substance abuse norms as well as perceptions of community crime and disorder mediated the influence of concentrated disadvantage on school misconduct. Interaction effects demonstrated that community substance abuse norms were more influential for students enrolled in schools that had a less positive school climate although individual and school characteristics remained robust …

The Effects Of Exposure To Violence And Victimization Across Life Domains On Adolescent Substance Us, Emily M. Wright, Abigail A. Fagan, Gillian M. Pinchevsky

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This study uses longitudinal data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) to examine the effects of exposure to school violence, community violence, child abuse, and parental intimate partner violence (IPV) on youths’ subsequent alcohol and marijuana use. We also examine the cumulative effects of being exposed to violence across these domains. Longitudinal data were obtained from 1,655 adolescents and their primary caregivers participating in the PHDCN. The effects of adolescents’ exposure to various forms of violence across different life domains were examined relative to adolescents’ frequency of alcohol and marijuana use three years later. Multivariate …

Drink, Drive, Go To Jail? A Study Of Police Officers Arrested For Drunk Driving, Philip M. Stinson, John Liederbach, Steven L. Brewer, Natalie E. Todak

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The purpose of the current study is to provide empirical data on cases of police driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol and/or drugs. It identifies events that may have influenced the decision to arrest, including associated traffic accidents, fatalities, officer resistance, the refusal of field sobriety tests, and the refusal of blood alcohol content (BAC) tests. The study is a quantitative content analysis of news articles identified through the Google News search engine using 48 automated Google Alerts queries. Data are analyzed on 782 DUI arrest cases of officers employed by 511 nonfederal law enforcement agencies throughout the United …

The Disparate Neighborhood Impacts Of The Great Recession: Evidence From Chicago, Sonya Williams, George C. Galster, Nandita Verma

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Research Publications

We advance scholarship about how macroeconomic forces differentially manifest themselves across local spaces by developing a holistic conceptual framework and empirical analyses involving multilevel change modeling. Unlike prior work, we examine differential rates of change in neighborhood indicators. We illustrate our approach with Chicago data measuring the crime, housing, and economic domains of neighborhood quality- of-life over the 2000-2009 period. We find that the local dynamic manifestations of macroeconomic cycles were far more nuanced than have been previously observed. Neighborhood indicators moved along distinct trajectories, sometimes but not necessarily tracking each other or the overall business cycle, and they changed …

Youths’ Access To Public Space: An Application Of Bernard’S Cycle Of Juvenile Justice, Amanda Marie Smith

The Hilltop Review

Since the late 1800s youth have been controlled in various ways. As argued in this paper, one of the ways policymakers have used to control youth throughout has been through controlling youth‘s access to public spaces. When youth do not have access to public space, adult society is able to breath a collective sigh of relief hoping that youth cannot crime crimes while out of sight. In this article, I will argue that policymakers have limited youth access to public space in a cyclical fashion. I will demonstrate this argument by discussing the issues of juvenile curfew, juvenile use of …

College Students And Binge Drinking: Exploring The Relationship Between Control And Intention On Behavior, Trisha Rhodes, Samantha S. Clinkinbeard

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

The present study draws on Ajzen's (1985, 1991) theory of planned behavior (TPB) to explore the relationships between students' intentions to drink responsibly, students' perceptions of control over their behavior, and their reported levels of drinking. We relied on a randomly selected and surveyed sample of 149 students at a Midwestern university. We hypothesized students who reported stronger intentions and greater perceived control would report reduced levels of drinking. Our findings indicated that respondents who intended to drink responsibly and scored higher on two measures of perceptions of control consumed less alcohol 10 days prior to the survey and binged …

Demographics And Approval Of The Police Use Of Force In The General Social Survey, 2010, Jeremy William Algate

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The following study attempts to explore the relationship between the demographics of respondents and their approval of the police use of force. Many studies have determined that race seems to have the definitive effect on trust of the police. More than any other demographic, this variable is indicated as the determining factor. More recently, other studies have suggested that several other demographics and characteristics might help define trust in the police more fully. This study attempts to begin this determination using data from the aggregated General Social Survey (GSS). I hypothesized that while race would be the strongest relationship, we …

Humane Punishment For Seriously Disordered Offenders: Sentencing Departures And Judicial Control Over Conditions Of Confinement, E. Lea Johnston

UF Law Faculty Publications

At sentencing, a judge may foresee that an individual with a major mental disorder will experience serious psychological or physical harm in prison. In light of this reality and offenders’ other potential vulnerabilities, a number of jurisdictions currently allow judges to treat undue offender hardship as a mitigating factor at sentencing. In these jurisdictions, vulnerability to harm may militate toward an order of probation or a reduced term of confinement. Since these measures do not affect offenders’ day-to-day experience in confinement, these expressions of mitigation fail to protect adequately those vulnerable offenders who must serve time in prison. This Article …

Sexual Assault Detectives' Justifications For Aggressive Victim Interviewing Methods: A Qualitative Study, Shauna Davis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The crime of sexual assault is substantially underreported; yet, when victims do report, often times they are met with skepticism and blaming attitudes by law enforcement. Literature shows that sexual assault victims report being further traumatized by the harsh methods used by police and investigators. The effects of rape are aggravated when victims have a negative experience upon reporting, making this a serious concern. Efforts have been made to improve victim treatment but with little success. With reform efforts dating back to the 1970s, the question that must be asked is why is this still a problem? Most articles on …

Team Policing Revisited: A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation In Las Vegas, Nevada, Natalie Nicole Martinez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In 1967, the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended team policing, which involves the decentralization of patrol officers and investigators to the same, defined geographical area, as a way to more effectively organize police officers and improve crime control. Despite initial enthusiasm from police officers and administrators, team policing quickly faded from use during the 1970s because its design was incompatible with the centralized model of policing prevalent at that time. However, the implementation of community-oriented policing, which promotes various organizational changes and the use of problem-focused strategies, has changed police departments in recent years and …

Police Militarization: Attitudes Towards The Militarization Of The American Police, Phillip T. Wyrick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Police militarization is a critical contemporary issue in the criminal justice field; however, only a minor amount of research exists on this issue. Almost no research exists on public attitudes toward police militarization, which is very important given the social context. A contextual literature review covers a brief history of American police with emphasis on key events leading to modern police militarization, such as the Munich Incident and Columbine. Also covered are research topics that help outline the need for research on public attitudes in this field, such as the amount and use of PPUs by Peter Kraska and the …

Our Side Of The Fence: Investigating The New Nativism In The United States, Candace Griffith

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examines the new nativism movement in the United States. Specifically I look at groups who have formed in Arizona to combat illegal crossings over the U.S.-Mexico border. The new nativism arises from the perceived inability of the government to secure the border from illegal crossing. I draw on community policing and vigilante literatures to determine whether these groups could be considered a neighborhood watch or vigilante group. Using a sequential mixed method design, I conduct semi-structured interviews and engage in participate observation in the Sonoran desert with the Arizona Border Defenders, to identify how these groups label their …

A Study Of Surveillance And Privacy Rights, Jesse T. Kittle Mr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study it to research the role and public perception of security surveillance on a university campus. The research measured variables such as age, gender, class standing political affiliation, and one's residence whether on campus or off campus. This study is focused on how students view security surveillance, and whether they see security surveillance as an important tool for the safety of the public or a threat to privacy. A student survey was administered to undergraduate students asking how they felt about crime on campus and whether crime was a problem that could be solved by security …

Intimate Partner Violence And The Victim-Offender Overlap, Marie Skubak Tillyer, Emily M. Wright

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

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Socioeconomic Effect On Crime In The Southwest United States Pre- And Post-Great Recession, Kristina Donathan, Jaewon Lim

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Facing the Great Recession, the Southwest megapolitan cluster in the United States including Las Vegas, Southern California and Sun Corridor in Arizona had a massive negative economic shock. Skyrocketing unemployment, massive foreclosures and other socioeconomic factors may negatively affect our safe environment with changing patterns in crime. This study aims to investigate the impacts of socioeconomic factors on different types of crimes committed in the megapolitan cluster of the Southwest United States. Using annual crime datasets, we look at the three years before the Great Recession and subsequent three years (2005-2010). The metropolitan areas, Los Angeles, CA, Las Vegas, NV, …

Editorial, Willard M. Oliver

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

Criminal Justice & Criminology have a long history of using qualitative methods in the conduct of research, but to date there has been neither a qualitative journal in criminal justice, nor one in criminology. That has now changed with this first issue of the Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice & Criminology (JQCJC); and as one leading scholar recently told me, “It’s about time!”