Criminology Commons^™

Opportunity And Rationality As An Explanation For Suspicious Vehicle Fires: Demonstrating The Relevance Of Time, Place, And Economic Factors, Hannah Kelly, Joseph Clare, Kathryn Wuschke, Len Garis

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

Opportunity theories of crime emphasize the non-random spatial and temporal patterning of criminal events. Such theoretical development has proven useful when extended beyond traditional applications to crime event data. This study continues to explore the wider utility of such criminological theories by examining the spatio-temporal patterns of vehicle fires through an opportunity lens. Specifically, we explore the patterns associated with different types of vehicle fires, and consider longitudinal socio-economic trends that may influence the perceived costs and benefits associated with crimes committed with the intention of escaping debt, such as vehicle arson. Data for this study were obtained from Surrey …

Compliance, Noncompliance, And The In-Between: Causal Effects Of Civilian Demeanor On Police Officers’ Cognitions And Emotions, Justin Nix, Justin T. Pickett, Renée J. Mitchell

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Objectives
Police legitimacy can hinge on what happens in police–civilian encounters, yet much remains unknown about the socio-psychological processes involved in these bilateral interactions, especially those affecting officers. We integrate insights from policing research with theories and findings from scholarship on moral psychology, interpersonal strain, and victimization fear to develop hypotheses about the situational effects of civilian demeanor on officers’ cognitions (suspicion and perceived danger) and emotions (anger, frustration, annoyance, and fear).

Methods
We administered a series of three randomized vignettes involving routine police–civilian encounters to 546 officers working in a large city in the southwestern United States. We randomized …

Assessing The Model Fit Of Multidimensional Item Response Theory Models With Polytomous Responses Using Limited-Information Statistics, Caihong Rosina Li

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Under item response theory, three types of limited information goodness-of-fit test statistics – M₂, M_ord, and C₂ – have been proposed to assess model-data fit when data are sparse. However, the evaluation of the performance of these GOF statistics under multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) models with polytomous data is limited. The current study showed that M₂ and C₂ were well-calibrated under true model conditions and were powerful under misspecified model conditions. M_ord were not well-calibrated when the number of response categories was more than three. RMSEA₂ and RMSEA_C2 are …

Exploring Locus Of Control In Offender Cognition And Recidivism Paradigms, Anistasha Lightning, Danielle Polage

All Master's Theses

Working with four Washington State county jails to administer surveys to currently incarcerated inmates, we investigated locus of control and beliefs in the likelihood of continued legal involvement as possible antecedents to criminal recidivism. The surveys examined whether there was any connection between legal involvement frequency and the externalization of locus of control. We investigated external locus of control with specific respect to involvement with the law, the prospect of future incarceration, and feelings concerning the overall cause of original and/or sustained legal involvement utilizing the Revised Causal Dimension Scale (McAuley, Duncan, & Russell, 1992). We identified statistically significant interactions …

Framing Discrepancies: A Comparison Of Sex Offender Notification Meetings Between Minnesota Sex Offender Program And Minnesota Department Of Corrections., Justina Bakker

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research was to assess if there are similarities and / or in how sex offender notification meetings are conducted by two different agencies who are not legally bound to assist in these meetings, but provide assistance, upon the release of sex offenders from custody. The agencies are the Minnesota Department of Corrections who release sex offender after their completion of custody sentences and the Minnesota Sex Offender Program who release sex offenders upon completion of treatment. Interviews were conducted with professional staff from the both agencies. Analyses of the findings of these interviews, along with an …

Marijuana Legalization And Traffic Fatalities Involving Cannabinoids, Mark Lewn Hake

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Washington State and Colorado were the first states to legalize recreational marijuana. According to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, the number of drivers who tested positive for marijuana in traffic fatalities increased 48% from 2013 to 2014, and marijuana legalization may have influenced this increase. Since marijuana legalization is new to the United States, the effects of this change in policy are untested in the literature. The purpose of this quantitative study using a regression point displacement design was to examine the relationship between traffic fatalities involving cannabinoids in Washington State before and after marijuana legalization. Rational choice theory and …

Reintegration Process Of Previously Incarcerated African American Women Older Than 50 Years, Eva Carol Brent

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Successful reintegration of ex-offenders is difficult for most, evidenced by high recidivism rates. Ex-offenders face a broad range of obstacles once released from prison, including personal, social, and employment barriers. This study was an examination of the issues that contributed to a successful or unsuccessful reintegration as reported by ex-offenders. Participants included 10 ex-offenders who participated in interviews regarding the conditions that they believed were necessary for successful community reintegration. The conceptual framework for this study came from the ecological perspective, also known as the person-in-environment theory. Data collection involved one-on-one interviews with the participants. Data analysis was conducted through …

Survey Of U.S. Undergraduate Self-Reported Opioid Diversion And Heroin Use, Motives, Sources, And Collective Efficacy As Mediating Factors, Mark Francis Plaushin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Epic morbidity and mortality, and intractability make prescription opioid diversion a wicked problem. Meanwhile, college undergraduates are vulnerable to opioid misuse and its consequences. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess U.S. undergraduate students' opioid misuse and the relationship between mediating factors. The study's theoretical framework rested on Wakeland's et al. opioid system model and Shaw and McKay's social disorganization theory. This study bridged the gap, measuring collective efficacy and testing its relationship to undergraduate decisions to regulate misuse. Thus, research questions focused on gauging the problem's scope and assessing relationships between factors that drive or potentially regulate …

Factors Affecting Juvenile Drug Use In Medellín, Colombia, Kendall Miller

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Evidence shows that peer pressure is a strong indicator of juvenile substance use. Oetting and Beauvais (1986) determined that the Peer Cluster Theory was a common phenomenon in which adolescents tend to share the same opinions on substance use as their friends do, namely that juveniles who had friends that abused substances were likely to abuse substances themselves. The present study sought to determine if this phenomenon was true for adolescents in Medellín, Columbia. Data was collected on participants’ demographics, their opinions of their community, their relationship to their families and friends, how they spend their time each week, and …

The Criminal (In)Justice System Of Virginia: A Critical Reflection And Analysis, Alicia Jiggetts

Student Publications

More often than not, society’s attention is hyper-focused on the criminal justice system at the national level. The United States of America has been called out for leading the world in mass incarceration, and scholars like Michelle Alexander and Angela Davis, lawyer activists like Bryan Stevenson, and filmmakers like Ava DuVernay, have played integral roles in making our society collectively pause and take a critical look at our prison nation and the myriad of social inequities and injustices that manifest within it. Our nation is home to five percent (5%) of the global population but accounts for twenty-five percent (25%) …

Anger From Within: The Role Of Emotions In Disengagement From Violent Extremism, Peter Simi, Steven Windisch, Daniel Harris, Gina Ligon

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

There is growing recognition about the similarities between generic criminality and violent extremism. Using data derived from a unique set of in-depth life history interviews with 40 former U.S. white supremacists, as well as previous studies of criminal desistance, we examine the emotional valence that characterizes actors' descriptions of the disengagement process. More specifically, results suggest that negative emotions (i.e., anger and frustration) directed toward the extremist group and oneself function as a catalyst for disengagement. Negative emotions become a source of motivation in re-evaluating the relative importance of the group as it relates to the individual. Ultimately, the reevaluation …

Restorative Justice And Responsive Regulation In Higher Education: The Complex Web Of Campus Sexual Assault Policy In The United States And A Restorative Alternative, David R. Karp Phd

School of Leadership and Education Sciences: Faculty Scholarship

Sexual assault policy on college campuses in the United States is a complex system guided by federal policy, state policy, and local mandates. When students violate sexual misconduct policies, campuses primarily rely on suspensions and expulsions, paralleling the criminal justice system’s reliance on incarceration as a solution based on stigmatization and separation. Since the 1990s, restorative justice has made inroads as an alternative response to student misconduct, but application to sexual misconduct is rare. The Campus PRISM Project (Promoting Restorative Initiatives on Sexual Misconduct) is a network of academics and practitioners exploring a restorative approach within a responsive regulatory framework. …

Examining The Moderating Effects Of Defendant Characteristics On The Relationship Between Crime Type And Prosecutorial Decision Making, Caitlin Marie Howley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The concept of plea bargaining was not compractice until the nineteenth century (Langbein, 1978; Alschuler, 1979). Before that time, criminal defendants lacked representation in the court, leaving the judge to determine sentencing and punishment. Plea bargaining has become the prominent practice, with around 90% of cases, state and federal, resulting in a plea (Rabin, 1972; Lagoy, Senna, & Siegel, 1976; Alschuler, 1979; Alschuler, 1983; Scott & Stuntz, 1992; Schulhofer, 1992; Starkweather, 1992; Ross, 2006; Silveira, 2017). The concept of plea bargaining is inevitably accompanied by discretion, specifically prosecutorial discretion. Prosecutorial discretion grants prosecutors power in deciding what charges they would …

Gun Control: The Gun Violence Epidemic In The U.S., Anna Koduru

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

While holding almost half of all civilian-owned guns around the globe and yet only 4.4 percent of the world’s population, the United States of America is heavily centered around gun rights due to the 2nd amendment in the U.S. Constitution. But gun violence is on the rise as deaths due to gun violence are at its highest rate in nearly 40 years. Americans are divided amongst themselves when it comes to how we must approach this issue. In order to reduce gun violence in the U.S., both Republican and Democrat leaders must come together and make bipartisan moves to implement …

Social Cohesion Among Individuals Participating In Re-Entry Groups, Todd Reiser

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

When prisoners are released from incarceration they enter a social landscape that holds unique challenges. One of the ways humans living within social systems understand their place and role is through the mechanism of religion. This study investigates how group religious practice establishes a shared worldview among those recently released from prison; a worldview that promotes the creation of positive social cohesion which contribute to life improvements, social mobility, and social status changes. "Social networks may include friendship circles in local congregations, scripture study groups and relationships with religious leaders who serve as role models for individuals" (Kerley et al …

The Ferguson Effect On Police Officers' Culture And Perceptions In Local Police Departments, Rarkimm K. Fields

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Ferguson effect is a recent hypothesis that suggests police officers have been influenced by negative media coverage of police conduct. The problem this study addressed is how policing continues to deal with perception, civil liability, and accountability issues related to police misconduct when interacting with Latino and African-American communities. The research was conducted to examine influence the Ferguson effect may have had on the culture and perceptions of police officers in local police departments. With a phenomenological qualitative approach, the research data were collected from interviews with 7 police officers across 3 police departments. The theoretical background of Merton's …

Using Labeling Theory As A Guide To Examine The Patterns, Characteristics, And Sanctions Given To Cybercrimes, Brian K. Payne, Brittany Hawkins, Chunsheng Xin

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Over the past decade, reports of cybercrime have soared across the globe. Criminologists agree that the increase in cybercrime stems from technological advancements that have changed all facets of societal interactions. While it is agreed that technology has shaped cybercrime, there is less understanding about the dynamics of cybercrime. In particular, some researchers have explored whether these offenses are simply traditional types of crime that are now carried out through different strategies, while others have argued that cybercrimes are, in fact, new types of crime. This ambiguity potentially limits prevention and intervention strategies. In an effort to build our understanding …

Students On The Margins: Intersectionality And College Campus Sexual Assault, Margaret Irene Campe

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

This three-paper dissertation quantitatively identifies and examines three different substantive areas using data from the American College Health Association’s Fall of 2016 National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA). Specific areas of inquiry include, marginalized populations and college campus sexual assault, intersectional analyses of risk factors for college campus sexual assault, and drinking protective behavioral strategies as prevention tools for college campus sexual assault. Paper one, titled, “College Campus Sexual Assault and Students with Disabilities,” explores a particular marginalized group of students that have been largely left out of college campus sexual assault studies: female college students with disabilities. The logistic regression …

Polysubstance Opioid Use In A Justice-Involved Population: An Analysis Of Patterns And Reentry Outcomes, Amanda Marie Bunting

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

The public health crisis surrounding opioid use is pronounced among justice-involved populations, who face high rates of overdose mortality as well as HIV, and hepatitis C due to injection drug use. The majority of opioid-related overdoses are due to polysubstance use (PSU), and a better understanding of the prevalence and patterns of PSU are necessary in order to inform interventions. This dissertation project has three aims: (1) understand the patterns of opioid PSU among a justice-involved population, (2) identify PSU patterns most at-risk for post-release relapse, and (3) examine engagement in post-release health service utilization. Post-release aims are guided by …

Social Disorganization Theory: The Role Of Diversity In New Jersey’S Hate Crimes Based On Race And Ethnicity, Dana Maria Ciobanu

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

The purpose of this correlational panel study was to test Shaw and McKay’s theory of social disorganization by examining the relationship between demographic diversity and hate crime rates. The study focused on the relationship between the level of diversity, residential mobility, unemployment, family disruption, proximity to urban areas, and population density in all 21 New Jersey counties and hate crime rates. The existing data of Federal Bureau of Investigations’ hate crime rates and the U.S. Census Bureau’s demographic diversity were operationalized as the percentage of Whites over all other races, and social disorganization from the 21 counties of New Jersey …