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

Uncovering The Connection Between Mental Health Service Availability And Violent Crime: A Test Of Macrolevel Theory, Tatianna R. Pugmire

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Since the decline of mental health service funding and availability, the relationship between untreated (or improperly treated) serious mental illness and violent crime is increasingly critical to examine. Rooted in a social support and institutional anomie theory (IAT) perspective, the purpose of this quantitative study is to analyze the relationship between mental health service availability and violent crime rates across the United States for the year 2016. It was hypothesized that findings would suggest an inverse relationship between mental health service availability and rates of violent crime. Results revealed the opposite, however, indicating that the more psychiatric hospitals in an …

A New Era Of Policing: Uncovering Ways Officers Believe Community Relations Can Be Restored, Bradi Kai Kooyman

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The present study qualitatively investigated law enforcement officers’ opinions on creating more positive relationships with community members and how news media can play a role in deteriorating community attitudes and perceptions of law enforcement officers. A total of six participants were selected to participate in a forty-five-minute interview. Participants were asked questions regarding positive and negative factors in their relationship with their communities, local and national law enforcement portrayals in news media, reforms needed within law enforcement, beliefs toward community policing, and factors that lead to success in their relationships with citizens. This study discovered that building trust, implementing community …

Understanding The Impact Of Scientific Testimony On Potential Jury Members: Independent And Interactive Effects Of Expert Characteristics And Jury Member’S Social Location, Ellory R. Dabbs

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As science and technology evolve, they impact society at different levels. With these changes, it is important to understand how members of society will be affected. One area where there has been a rise in the use of scientific information is in jury trials. Those who are on trial for a criminal offense are more often relying on forensic evidence, and forensic experts, to aid in their defense, and those who are prosecuting a criminal case are also relying on forensic evidence and forensic experts. However, forensic evidence is not consistent in type or interpretation – what one person may …

Prison Libraries, Intellectual Freedom And Social Justice In Nigeria, Olusegun Adebayo Opesanwo, Oluyomi Abidemi Awofeso Phd

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This paper deployed a systematic review to examine prison libraries and intellectual freedom towards attaining social justice in Nigeria. Information resources used cover the periods of 2010 and 2020 to articulate the necessary development in prison libraries, intellectual freedom and social justice in Nigeria. Search engines such as Google scholar, Semantic Scholar, and RefSeek were used to retrieve information and through different queries yielded several results but very few of them were selected to fit in the study due to limited studies directed to address the focus of this study particularly in the Nigeria scenario. Information obtained were subjected to …

The Political Ramifications Of Judicial Institutions: Establishing A Link Between Dobbs And Gender Disparities In The 2022 Midterms, Udi Sommers, Or Rappel-Kroyzer, Amy Adamczyk, Lindsay Lerner, Anna Weiner

Publications and Research

In the American system of government, courts are designed to operate within the legal sphere, with limited political interference. Is it possible, though, that a behavior that is at the heart of the political process can be influenced directly by a judicial decision? Focusing on voter registration big data for the universe of voters in North Carolina around the time of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the authors assess the roles of gender, political party affiliation, and age in voter registration. North Carolina is the only state whose voter registry has the necessary granularity over time and information needed. …

Examining The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Violent Crime In The City Of Pittsburgh, Brittany Urban

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research is to examine patterns of Part I crimes [including Part I Person/Violent: Homicide, Rape, Aggravated Assault, and Robbery, and Part I Property: Burglary, Larceny-Theft, Motor Vehicle Theft, and Arson, as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Standards] in The City of Pittsburgh, framing the COVID-19 pandemic as a major stressor that Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory suggests may lead to increased opportunity for crime, due to the perceived unjustness of the associated lockdown orders and potential incentive for criminal coping (Agnew 1992). This descriptive analysis is based primarily upon …

Press Freedom Under Threat In Europe: A Case Study Analysis Of The Increasing Threat To Press Freedom In Greece, Italy, And Hungary, Maya O'Leary-Cyr

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research critically examines the legal systems of European countries and their relationship to press freedom. This research focuses on the vexatious legal threats used by government officials and corporations to silence journalists. These legal threats are known as SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation) and their use has increased exponentially in the last decade. Considering the scope of the problem, this research analyzes the issue through the lens of European countries Greece, Italy, and Hungary. Being members of the European Union, each of these countries have an obligation to uphold the democratic standards put forth by the EU as …

Hustle In H-Town: Hip Hop Entrepreneurialism In Houston, Brittany L. Long

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

Imagine a sprawling, overheated American megalopolis that epitomizes diversity and segregation in one of the world’s youngest countries. Despite Houston’s history of structural racism and segregation, Houston Hip Hop entrepreneurs built communities and created storied businesses that culminate in a sense of local pride and Hip Hop identity that has not been replicated in the same manner in any other city. An examination of thought-provoking existing scholarship about the Hip Hop South and Hip Hop in Houston, as well as an examination of existing and collected primary sources (interviews) allow me to demonstrate two things: Hip Hop entrepreneurialism is a …

The Fiscal Impact Of Marsy's Law: A Financial Analysis Of Victims' Rights Policy In Nevada, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio

Undergraduate Research Symposium Lightning Talks

Since 2008, the "Marsy's Law" campaign has sought to embed in state constitutions a specific and lengthy set of victims' rights. In 2018, voters ratified "Question 1" in Nevada which broaded the definition of the term victim to any person directly and 'proximately' harmed by a criminal offense. As a result, Marsy's Law opens the door to the interpretation of the word "crime" and the word "victim."

The Role Of Female Offenders In Sex Trafficking Rings, Caroline Johnson

Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study examines the role of female offenders in sex trafficking rings. Using the Human Trafficking Study database, I found 502 cases that had clear information coded about convictions, sentences, and genders. It was hypothesized that women typically receive a lower sentence than men do. Bivariate analysis revealed that to be true. In addition, I compared conviction rates between the two genders, finding that women are more likely to plead guilty in comparison to men.

Using a smaller sample with additional information, I also isolated the roles that women play in a sex trafficking ring. I found that 48% were …

Human Trafficking: Physical And Non-Physical Force Factors And Their Links To Victim Industry, Mary Caroline Kerr

Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper examines the occurrence of different types of physical and non-physical force factors with two distinct human trafficking industries: sex trafficking and labor trafficking. This research’s main goal is to identify if there are specific uses of force that are more likely to be used in either sex or labor trafficking. The Human Trafficking Study, a database housed at the University of Arkansas, is used as a sample for this study. Two-sided, two sample proportion tests were conducted to establish if there is a statistical significance between the amount of physical force used in sex trafficking and the amount …

Biopolitics And Belief: The Impacts Of Religious Attitudes On Reproductive Rights In The U.S., Katlyn Barbaccia

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade (1973)—a groundbreaking case that legalized the right to have an abortion—which signified a deep rift in the nation between the opinions of its lawmakers and citizens in the wake of a widening partisan gap. Biopower, according to Foucault, can be defined as the governing of bodies wherein citizens are stripped of bodily autonomy and are closely regulated by the nation-state. Manifested in political consequences, this can be defined as biopolitics, or when the nation-state’s ideas are made into a reality in the political realm. …

Characteristics Of Bias Homicides Against The Lgbtqia+ Community, Jeff Gruenewald, Katie Ratcliff

Research Projects

Background: Five people were killed and at least 17 injured on November 19, 2022 just before midnight at Club Q, an LGBTQIA+ club in Colorado Springs, CO. The shooting ended after a 22-year-old gunman wielding an AR-15 style rifle was disarmed by club patrons. Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials continue to investigate the mass shooting. The alleged shooter has been charged with murder and hate crimes.

Orange County, Fl Substance Use Disorder Treatment Gap Analysis, Amy Donley Phd, Caroline Austin, Jacquelyn Reiss

Institute for Social and Behavioral Science (ISBS)

The University of Central Florida's Institute for Social and Behavioral Science (ISBS) partnered with the Orange County Drug-Free Office to undertake a gap analysis focused on substance use disorder treatment. Specifically, we designed a study to determine the capacity of treatment options, identify barriers to seeking treatment, and illuminate what works particularly well. The gap analysis results can guide future decisions on allocating resources best to ensure that treatment is accessible to all in need.

Does Crime Trigger Genetic Risk For Type 2 Diabetes In Young Adults? A G X E Interaction Study Using National Data, Fangqi Guo, Kathleen Mullan Harris, Jason D. Boardman, Jennifer W. Robinette

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Living in neighborhoods perceived as disordered exacerbates genetic risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D) among older adults. It is unknown whether this gene-neighborhood interaction extends to younger adults. The present study aims to investigate whether crime, an objectively measured indicator of neighborhood disorder, triggers genetic risk for T2D among younger adults, and whether this hypothesized triggering occurs through exposure to obesity.

Methods

Data were from the Wave I (2008) National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. A standardized T2D polygenic score was created using 2014 GWAS meta-analysis results. Weighted mediation analyses using generalized structural equation models were conducted …

Therapeutic Jurisprudence In Practice: Applying Goffman’S Dramaturgical Approach To Mental Health Courts, Karen A. Snedker

Sociology Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"This chapter draws on qualitative data from two MHCs [mental health courts] to show how team members translate the tenets of therapeutic jurisprudence into the performance of their social roles in both formal and informal court settings. I argue that the successful operation of teamwork lies at the heart of MHC effectiveness. Judges, acting as both audience and team member, can undermine the work of the team. MHCs clearly rely upon a well-functioning collaborative team, working partially in backstage settings, with a judge willing to alter frontstage performances for the sake of collaboration and therapeutic effects for clients."

White Male Privilege In The Perpetration Of Sexual Violence: An Exploratory Study Of Young Adults, Emily Elizabeth Camp

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This exploratory study examined how racism and sexism among privileged White men intersect and vary to influence factors associated with sexual violence (SV) perpetration. Specifically, this study examined the interconnection of racism and sexism via latent profile analysis (LPA), how profile groups differentially predict attitudinal responses to a victim in an acquaintance rape SV vignette regarding victim blame and rape minimization (e.g., rape myth acceptance), rape proclivity, and bystander intentions to help, and whether or not these attitudes change based on the victim’s race (i.e., White or Black). The sample included 628 young adult, White, heterosexual, cis-gender men currently living …

Cpted And The City: The Impact Of Privately Owned Public Spaces On Crime In Manhattan, Julia Von Ferber

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Privately-Owned Public Spaces (POPS) are public recreational areas that are maintained and secured by a private owner. POPS contrast their surrounding environments of public streets in urban city centers, creating distinct social environments that influence pedestrian paths and behavior. This dissertation evaluates POPS and how their physical features influence the occurrence of various street crime types through the lens of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). Empirical evidence supports CPTED as a crime prevention strategy framework, primarily in residential neighborhoods rather than city centers. To quantitatively assess CPTED in an urban context, this study examined 255 outdoor POPS with unrestricted …

The Social Murder Of Victoria Salazar: Neoliberal Capitalism And Working Class Precariousness In El Salvador, Steven Osuna

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

On March 27, 2021, a Salvadoran refugee named Victoria Salazar was brutally killed by police in the Mexican resort town of Tulum, Quintana Roo. In this article, I introduce a “proletarian feminist analysis” to the study of Central American displacement and forced migration to argue that Victoria Salazar’s death is a “social murder.” Although Mexican police murdered Victoria Salazar, I contend that the social degradation and working-class precariousness in El Salvador and Mexico, all shaped by neoliberal capitalist relations of exploitation and afflicting cisgender and trans women in distinctive ways, set the conditions for Ms Salazar’s social murder.

Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Students Experiencing Homelessness And Substance Use In The School Context: A Statewide Study, Hadass Moore, Kris De Pedro

Education Faculty Articles and Research

PURPOSE

This study explored differences between lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB)-housed and homeless students regarding substance use patterns on and off school grounds and the unique contribution of homelessness to substance use in school.

METHODS

Data were from the 2013-2015 California Healthy Kids Survey, a statewide survey of school protective factors and risk behaviors. A representative sample of 9th- and 11th-grade students (N = 20,337) was used. Comparisons between housed (n = 19,456) and homeless (doubled up: n = 715; acute homeless: n = 166) LGB students were conducted. We used chi-square tests to compare rates of lifetime, past-30-day, and …