Copyright (c) 2013 Georgia State University All rights reserved. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses Recent documents in Criminal Justice Theses en-us Fri, 26 Apr 2013 01:42:55 PDT 3600 http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/11 http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/11 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:25:21 PDT Sexual revictimization of college women is a relatively new area of study within the field of victimology. Although the link between childhood sexual assault (CSA) and adult revictimization has been examined, many aspects of why college-aged females are revictimized have gained little attention. This Master’s thesis will explore the current literature as well as analyze the possible link between risky behaviors, individual characteristics, and sexual revictimization. Using Jacquelyn W. White and Paige Hall Smith’s (2004) data, A Longitudinal Perspective on Physical and Sexual Intimate Partner Violence Against Women, bivariate analyses were conducted regarding the revictimization of college women. The findings suggest a few differences between single victims and revictims. The findings also suggested that nonvictims and revictims were found to have multiple differences across variables. Suggestions for future research will be discussed.

]]> Sadie J. Mummert http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/10 http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/10 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:25:20 PDT Despite the importance of offenders’ perspectives of the criminal justice system, inmates’ perceptions of prison life remain largely unexplored in correctional research. In the current study, data were analyzed from a survey of approximately 700 incarcerated felons, focusing on their perceptions regarding the perceived difficulty or severity of prison. The correlates of these perceptions were examined, as well as the impact of such perceptions on inmates’ intentions to avoid crime after release. The findings suggest that, while most inmates perceive prison life as difficult, a sizeable proportion of inmates do not find prison time to be overly difficult or severe. Further, inmates who do not view prison as difficult are less likely to report intentions to avoid crime after release. Implications for deterrence theory and future research are discussed.

]]> Beverly Reece Crank http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/9 http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/9 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:25:18 PDT Research has not yet examined the relationship between minor teenage deviance and later adulthood success. Building on previous research by Moffitt (1993) and Hagan’s (1991) youth party-subculture, I will define and compare four adolescent groups based on offending type. I argue that minor deviance, rooted in the party-subculture, will enhance social and networking skills that will be beneficial in adulthood. College attainment, serving as a social control, is expected to moderate the effects of deviance, benefiting party-subculture youth. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health dataset, findings suggest that adolescents engaging in minor deviance are more extroverted in adulthood, with little difference in earnings when compared to party-subculture abstainers. However, adolescent deviants continue substance use and deviance into adulthood significantly more than party-subculture abstainers.

]]> mollie v. mills http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/8 http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/8 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:40:19 PDT Victim offender overlap is a relatively new area of research with most studies having focused on applying this concept to the study of assault and homicide. Research in intimate partner violence has found that there exists a group of victim offenders or individuals who are involved in initiating, sustaining, and engaging in intimate partner violence as both victims and offenders (Johnson & Ferraro, 2000; Steinmetz, 1980). This Master’s thesis explored the concept of victim offender overlap in connection to intimate partner violence (IPV). Bivariate analyses were conducted using Paul C. Friday, Vivian Lord, M. Lyn Exum, and Jennifer L. Hartman’s (2003-2005) data, Evaluating the Impact of a Specialized Domestic Violence Police Unit in Charlotte, North Carolina. The findings suggest that there is a separate group of individuals involved in intimate partner violence who are both victims and offenders. Furthermore, the three groups (offenders only of IPV, victims only of IPV, and victim/offenders of IPV) were found to be different across gender, past criminal involvement, and future criminal activity as predicted. Suggestions for future research and the implications of the findings are discussed.

]]> Erin A. Marsh http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/7 http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/7 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:40:18 PDT The Shackleford Marijuana Perception Survey is a series survey conducted on criminal justice students at Georgia State University. The current survey design is targeted towards determining perceptions of marijuana related issues at GSU related to the theoretical concepts of Social Learning Theory and the Gateway process of substance use escalation. The currentfindings will include the responses of 163 students in three criminal justice related classes. The major focus of the analysis will be the comparison of the results of the “marijuana knowledge test” section to the likert scale opinion section and the overall positive or negative opinion score for each respondent. It is the goal of this research is to measure and eventually tack changes in the opinions of students taking criminal justice themed classes at GSU as they pertain to marijuana and related issues. This research is called for by the increasing interest by State Legislations, and recently the federal government, in the reform of marijuana laws and policing practices. Understanding this, and other, samples’ level of knowledge and their relative opinions about this topic is needed in order to help formulate effective and efficient policy reform.

]]> Charles E. Hogan http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/6 http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/6 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:40:17 PDT Research has found support for the effectiveness of procedural justice, specifically perceived fairness, in gaining compliance from people with respect to the police and the courts (Sunshine & Tyler, 2003; Tyler, 1984; Tyler, 2001). Further, research has examined the effectiveness in jail-based residential substance abuse treatment (RSAT) programs in reducing recidivism for offenders with substance abuse problems (Bahr, Harris, Strobell, & Taylor, 2012; Eisenberg & Fabelo, 1996; Hiller, Knight, & Simpson, 1999). However, research has yet to test whether procedural justice can impact recidivism for offenders with substance abuse problems and multiple incarcerations. The major focus of this Master’s thesis was to examine whether 78 participants in the 90-day jail-based RSAT program known as Starting Treatment and Recovery Today (START) were less likely to be rearrested after release from jail if they felt they were treated fairly by the jail staff. Bivariate analyses were conducted on survey data and official criminal records. The findings suggest that perceived fairness of the jail staff was not related to post-program recidivism. Moreover, the results indicate that offenders with more extensive criminal histories were more likely to recidivate. Recommendations for future research and the implications of the findings are discussed.

]]> Christian B. Dane http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/5 http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/5 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:35:16 PDT Drug courts use sanctions as a form of behavior management and modification, and they are an important structural tool in the treatment of drug offenders by the criminal justice system. This research examined noncompliant behavior being sanctioned in a felony level drug court. The sample consisted of 66 high risk/high needs individuals who were enrolled in a drug court over a two-year period. Sanctionable behaviors were analyzed through a criminal-thinking framework in order to better understand noncompliant behavior in drug court. This study finds support for applying a criminal-thinking framework to noncompliant behavior sanctioned in drug court. The findings from this study illustrate the nuances of noncompliant behavior of a drug court population.

]]> Elizabeth Bonomo http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/4 http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/4 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:35:13 PDT Home guardianship measures provide individuals with a means to enhance and ensure the safety of themselves, their family, and their property inside their homes. However, research regarding the factors considered in the decision to employ home guardianship measures as well as the means by which individuals assess this information regarding potential threats and protective responses is limited and varied in its implementation. This study attempts to provide a theoretical framework for understanding the use of home guardianship measures with the application of a modified version of Ronald Rogers’ (1983) Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) model. This model assesses factors that directly contribute to the motivation to engage in protective measures as well as cognitive processes through which an individual assesses these factors. This study finds support both for the direct relationships between sources of information about potential threats or protective responses and the use of home guardianship measures, as well as support for mediating effects of these relationships. In conclusion, this study provides suggestions for future research to further examine the application of PMT to understand the use of guardianship measures.

]]> Audrey C. Clubb http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/3 http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/3 Fri, 30 Nov 2012 06:40:11 PST To date, research concerning children affected by parental incarceration has focused primarily on children that are eighteen years of age and younger. The effects of parental incarceration on adults that are eighteen years of age and older has remained unexamined. The purpose of this exploratory study is to explore the outcomes of young adult college students that have been affected by parental incarceration. A sample of 345 undergraduate college students was surveyed at a sizeable University in the southeastern region of the United States to create a demographic and behavioral profile of college students affected by parental incarceration. It was hypothesized that college students affected by parental incarceration will have lower institutional grade point averages (GPA), higher accounts of criminal involvement, higher likelihoods of substance abuse, and lower levels of self-control than college students that have not been affected by parental incarceration. Results indicated that, the outcomes of college students affected by parental incarceration were comparable to college students not affected by parental incarceration.

]]> Shari B. Gadson http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/2 http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/2 Fri, 30 Nov 2012 06:40:10 PST Research on reporting crime to the police on the individual- and incident- levels has received much attention over the years. However, many studies examining neighborhood-level effects on reporting are limited in scope. The current study examines the relationship between neighborhood characteristics central to social disorganization theory and police notification. Data for this study were derived from Warner’s (2004) study entitled “Informal Social Control of Crime in High Drug Use Neighborhoods in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, 2000.” The analysis uses OLS regression models to isolate how different neighborhood characteristics impact reporting. Findings indicate that disadvantage and mobility have a positive effect on reporting but are mediated by social cohesion. Social cohesion has a negative effect on reporting while confidence in police had no significant effects. Suggestions for future research are also discussed.

]]> Tonisia M. Pinson http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/1 http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cj_theses/1 Fri, 30 Nov 2012 06:40:08 PST The criminal justice and mental health systems increasingly overlap as persons with mental illness (PMI) are disproportionately present throughout components of the criminal justice system, a concern to mental health and criminal justice professionals alike. In response, various initiatives (aimed across components of the criminal justice system) have been developed and implemented as a means of combating this overrepresentation. The following research will focus on one specialized police-based initiative, the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), which aims to train police how to recognize mental illness, de-escalate persons in crisis, and to seek treatment-based alternatives to arrest, when appropriate (Schwarzfeld, Reuland, & Plotkin, 2008). Alternatives to arrest consist of various community-based mental health services such as public hospitals (some of which are designated as emergency receiving facilities, or ERFs) or private clinics. While the components of CIT training likely influence officers in unique ways, research has yet to empirically examine how CIT influences police perception, behavior or the incidence of referrals to mental health treatment. As an initial step, this research assessed the attitudes police have regarding the hospital and mental health system within their district. Specifically, this research provides a basic understanding of how police regard their local hospitals and mental health facilities that are posited as available alternatives to arrest, and help identify the role CIT plays in shaping these attitudes. This study found almost no significant difference in the attitudes CIT-trained officers had towards district ERF and the local mental health system as compared to non-CIT officers. Only in one of the six departments studied was there a significant difference between the attitudes of CIT-officers and non-CIT officers; with the non-CIT officers actually having more positive attitudes about their local mental health system than CIT-officers. The six departments studied had nearly similar attitudes of their mental health resources, which would barely be considered passing on a standard grading scale. While officers in this study do not have very positive attitudes towards the ERF they use to transport PMI or their districts’ mental health system, these attitudes may in fact be more positive than many police departments without any specialized approach or initiative. The significance and policy implications of these attitudes are discussed at length, as these findings speak to the need for increased attention by both the mental health and criminal justice systems. Recommendations for future research, including expanding this study to rural departments or agencies with no connection to CIT, are also outlined.

]]> Meredith L. Knowles