The overall goal of this dissertation is to examine how the built and natural environment influences how potential criminals identify crime sites to offend within. Guided by the theoretical principles of crime site selection and crime pattern theory, this study specifically focuses on the crimes of street robbery and commercial burglary in three unique study locations—Atlanta, GA, Fayetteville, NC, and Rochester, NY. The data for this study were collected from multiple publicly available data repositories. Of these repositories, criminal incident data for the dependent variables were gathered from the National Policing Institute's Police Data Initiative. Data for the independent variables, which are representative of the built and natural environment, were collected from various open-source public and governmental agencies. To assess the influence of the built and natural environment on crime site selection, several techniques were employed. First, general spatial patterns were mapped using both kernel density estimation (KDE) and directional distribution analysis. Subsequently, temporal trends were identified by separating the data into several temporal units of analysis, including by meteorological season, weekday/weekend, and four-hour block increments. To assess multivariate relationships, two machine learning techniques were used: multivariate clustering and random forest classification. In alignment with prior literature, findings indicate that criminal incidents for both street robbery and commercial burglary cluster spatially and temporally. Of note, there are seasonal trends identified within the data, as well as trends relating to the time of day. Results from the multivariate clustering analysis reveal several unique spatial clusters of variables within each study location. The random forest classification and regression analysis rank ordered the importance of independent variables in their relationship to the criminal incidents in question. This ordering varied considerably depending on the temporal unit of analysis in question, which suggests the spatial predictors of street robbery and commercial burglary differ by season, weekday and weekend, and time of day. These results hold theoretical, methodological, and practical implications within the scope of environmental criminology.

Juvenile delinquency among the nation's youth is an ongoing concern. An essential task of juvenile justice workers is to identify and measure risk factors that impact a youth's likelihood of recidivating. The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (FDJJ) utilizes the Positive Achievement Change Tool (PACT) to assess the risk for recidivism among all juveniles referred to the system. The current study examined how youths' level and types of risk, as well as the ability of the PACT to predict the odds of reoffending and the time to reoffend, vary across urban and rural communities. This study drew upon theories of social disorganization and collective efficacy (Raudenbush & Sampson, 1999; Shaw & McKay, 1942) and Andrews and Bonta's (2010) Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model. Secondary data was used from 10,229 juvenile probationers in Florida to conduct bivariate analyses including chi-square tests of significance, independent samples t-tests, area under the curve estimations, multivariate logistic regression, and survival analyses. Results indicated that a greater proportion of urban youths than rural youths were rated at higher risk levels for recidivism. Of the eight types of risks examined, only past antisocial behavior, current antisocial peers, and current substance abuse varied significantly across community type. Also, a significant relationship was found between recidivism and community type. Finally, the PACT predicted both the odds of recidivism and time to recidivism more accurately for urban youths than for rural youths. The findings of this study may help guide juvenile justice practitioners in more accurately identifying risk factors and in determining whether one risk assessment instrument is sufficient for assessing juveniles from different types of communities.

Law enforcement agencies across the United States are establishing real-time crime centers (RTCCs) at a rapid rate, yet research exploring the decisions to establish them is lacking. This study therefore attempts to fill that void by using a mixed methods approach to examine whether adaptive organizational theories, consisting of contingency theory (Lawrence & Lorsch, 1967; Woodward, 1965), resource dependency theory (Pfeffer & Salancik, 1978), and institutional theory (DiMaggio & Powell 1991; Meyer & Rowan, 1977), can be used to explain a law enforcement agency's decision to set up an RTCC. This cross-sectional mixed methods design comprised two different studies (Study 1 & Study 2). Study 1 consisted of a content analysis of newspaper articles (N = 235) that listed the terms "real-time crime center" or "real time crime center". The content analysis revealed that both resource dependency theory and contingency theory were likely factors for a law enforcement agency's decision to establish an RTCC. Study 2 included interviews of agency leaders of Florida law enforcement departments that had established an RTCC (N = 11) and those that had not (N = 2). A qualitative analysis of the interviews with agency leaders indicates that traditional organizational theories may not fully explain law enforcement agencies' adoption of RTCCs. The interviews partially confirmed the content analysis of newspaper articles while revealing a theme of front-line and mid-management influence on decision-making. This study found that internal lower-ranking "champions," not external forces, are the primary reason law enforcement agencies are establishing RTCCs, a term known as institutional entrepreneurship (DiMaggio 1988; Eisenstadt, 1980). This study is important because it provides a foundation for explaining why law enforcement agencies choose to set up RTCCs, a law enforcement organizational element whose establishment across the United States does not appear to be slowing anytime soon. This study also highlights an aspect of institutional theory not found in the criminal justice literature. Lastly, limitations and future directions for research are discussed.

Over the years, innovations such as community-oriented policing, problem-oriented policing, and crime analysis have helped police agencies control, reduce, and prevent crime and disorder, and improve police and community relations. However, research shows that some officers are resistant to using these innovations in practice. Few studies have examined the causal mechanisms behind innovation resistance. This doctoral dissertation details a study that utilized a mixed method approach to partially test a framework that encompassed two theories to explain officer resistance to innovation: The Model of Consumer Resistance to Innovation from the consumer psychology and marketing fields (Ram & Sheth, 1989), and the Monolithic Model of Police Occupational Culture (Paoline, 2003) from the police culture literature. The study was conducted at a midsize Central Florida police agency. The department recently introduced two new innovations, a community policing activity called the Community Interaction Project and an in-car computer system called Street Smart. The primary goal of the study was to examine officer attitudes toward these innovations using the theoretical framework. An Internet-based survey was disseminated to sworn staff (N = 263). In depth interviews were conducted with a sample of command staff and patrol officers (n = 19). Ordinary least squares multiple linear regression analysis of the survey results revealed that themes from the police occupational culture predicted innovation resistance barriers to the Community Interaction Project. The interviews revealed several additional themes that explain resistance to the Community Interaction Project and Street Smart. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of theoretical and methodological contributions to social science. Policy implications are provided for police practitioners. Limitations and future directions for study are also discussed.

In the aftermath of school shootings, policymakers presented the expansion of school resource officers (SROs) in the nation's schools as a method for keeping students safe. Recently, policing in the United States has come under increased scrutiny, and several school districts across the country cancelled their SRO contracts with law enforcement agencies. Notably, these contradictory decisions have been made with limited empirical knowledge surrounding, the roles, preparedness, and impact of SROs. A county in Florida substantially expanded its SRO program in the 2016-17 school year creating a new unit within the local sheriff's office and an opportunity to investigate these topics. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was applied to examine this new unit, consisting of a quantitative strand using interrupted time series analysis to assess the new program's effect on school-based arrests and Baker Act apprehensions, and a qualitative strand collecting and analyzing participant observations of training requirements and in-depth interviews with the SROs to explore their responsibilities, roles, and preparation for the position. Qualitative findings demonstrate that the primary role of the SROs is safety and security, while some also engage in a secondary role of engaging in positive interactions with the school community. Ambiguity exists surrounding execution of these roles, with the SROs relying a great deal on other relevant actors during decision-making. SROs identified the importance of careful selection for the position, training requirements are described, and problems with the training are identified. Contrary to this study's hypotheses, quantitative results show that the new unit did not have a statistically significant impact on overall school-based arrests, but disaggregating the data showed a significant impact on felony arrests. Similarly, there was no statistically significant impact on overall Baker Act apprehensions of students, however, there is preliminary evidence of an impact on elementary school-aged students.

The rate of suicidality in jail is estimated to be eight times greater than that of the general population, yet the identification of risk factors for suicidality among people incarcerated in jail has not been explored by researchers (Fazel, Grann, Kling & Hawton, 2011; Hayes, 1999; Noonan & Ginder, 2013). To date, the breadth of the literature on suicidology almost exclusively deals with the prison population or general public, and official data of completed suicides. However, when analyzing suicidality in jail and prison populations, it is evident they are not interchangeable and suicidal behaviors include more than just completed suicides. Identifying correlates of suicidality, the fuller spectrum of suicidal behaviors, allows for prevention and programming to be implemented before fatal self-harm occurs. This study seeks to identify correlates of suicidality, using the importations and deprivations models, of people incarcerated in jail as a means of better understanding this crisis, propose subsequent research, and equipping policymakers with the information they need to take action. Using data from self-reported surveys of jail inmates, this study focuses on predictors of a spectrum of suicidal behaviors other than completed suicide. This is the first such study on suicidality in jail environments and will inform research and policy.

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which workplace efforts and rewards are associated with probation officer stress, overcommitment, health, and productivity. This research uses the effort-reward imbalance model, which is an indicator of job stress, on a group of criminal justice probation officers. The probation officers completed questionnaires regarding their perceptions of health, perceived reward, perceived effort, perceptions of overcommitment, and perceived productivity. Afterward, the responses were collected, and analyses were conducted using correlation and multiple regression to determine the extent to which perceptions of effort, reward, and overcommitment effect probation officer productivity and health. A sample of 207 probation officers from Central Florida selected probation agencies are used in the study, with an individual response rate of approximately 90%. The results suggest that perceptions of reward have a limited effect on perceived productivity. Furthermore, the study found a significant relationship between effort-reward imbalance and perceptions of overcommitment. The study also found a significant relationship between perceptions of overcommitment and perceptions of reduced health. Finally, the study found that the interaction of effort-reward imbalance and overcommitment are correlated with negative perceptions of health. The results of the study demonstrate the ubiquity of perceptions among probation officers that they are overworked and under compensated. The results also suggest the need for improvements in organizational practice, so that efficiency and effectiveness of probation officers can be maximized.

The quality of probation officer-client therapeutic alliance (TA) can result in improvements in supervision success including reduced rearrest and non-compliance. However, less is known about how clients' perceptions of procedural justice during interactions with their probation officer (PO) influence the quality of the PO-client TA and impact supervision outcomes. While extant research supports the importance of procedural justice for shaping citizen's legitimacy beliefs and compliance to the law within policing, we know little about how and whether these concepts influence the PO-client TA in community supervision and whether they impact compliance. Using self-reported survey data collected from a sample of adult individuals on county-level probation (N = 172), this study examined the influence of client perceptions of procedural justice, legitimacy, and legal cynicism in predicting the PO-client TA. Multivariate regression analyses examined the collective effect of these interpersonal relationship factors on clients' odds of receiving a technical violation and receiving a positive drug test. Results indicated that clients' perceptions of procedural justice were positively associated with the PO-client TA. Clients who viewed their PO treated them fairly and with respect were more likely to report a higher quality relationship. However, perceptions of procedural justice, legitimacy, and the TA were unrelated to compliance outcome. Risk level was the strongest predictor for receiving a technical violating and positive drug test. These findings suggest that while procedural justice was associated with a stronger TA, procedural justice alone may be insufficient to elicit supervision compliance. This study suggests the need to expand future research to consider procedural justice in the context of other supervision outcomes, including client satisfaction. Though the current study found procedural justice did not impact technical violations and positive drug tests, it may improve clients' satisfaction of the supervision process, which could result in greater client success and improved outcomes

An estimated 200,000 juveniles are tried as adults yearly and receive punitive sentences intended to deter juvenile crime and increase public safety. Few qualitative studies on juveniles sentenced as adults and contradictory results indicate a need for further research. This study used a qualitative, phenomenological interpretive design, with the conceptual frameworks of general and specific deterrence and rational choice theories. In-depth interviews took place with 12 incarcerated adults serving sentences (24--540 months) for juvenile crimes. The research questions explored their knowledge of transfer laws and adult sentencing and perceptions of deterrence from future criminal activity. Coding of transcripts and audio files was distilled into meaning units following the hermeneutical tradition, and triangulation was used to identify overarching themes and patterns. Findings revealed that no participants understood application of transfer to adult court to them, and 10 (83%) revealed ignorance of juvenile transfer laws. Thus, they did not weigh costs or benefits prior to offending (general deterrence) or exercise rational decision making; however, 11 (92%) would have reconsidered offending if they were aware of adult sentences. Half admitted the impacts of incarceration would not deter them from future offending (no specific deterrence), and half believed negative factors would prevent recidivism. Study results can prompt further research in juvenile offenders' knowledge and decisions regarding adult sentencing. Implications for social change include dissemination of findings to deter adolescents from criminal behavior. Findings may also aid policymakers' reevaluation and revision of sentencing policies for juvenile offenders to help prevent juvenile crime and recidivism and increase public safety.

To address the primary problem of racial profiling by police, many states have passed legislation that require police departments to collect demographic data on those with whom the officer comes into contact; these data are later evaluated by supervisors. The problem lies in the possibility for police officers to disengage, or depolice, when faced with data collection policies that may be viewed as lessening the officer's discretion. It was this potential to depolice as related to policy interpretation that formed the conceptual framework for this study. As a result, implementation of racial profiling policies may negatively impact the very minorities they are designed to protect. The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify and analyze the possible correlationship between statutory racial data tracking, the frequency of racial profiling discussion, the officer's time in policing, and history of disciplinary procedures for violating profiling policy in the decision to either stop or not stop a motorist when the race of that motorist is observed to be that of a racial and ethnic minority. A forward stepwise logistic regression was utilized to analyze data collected from a sample of 176 police officers in the Midwest recruited through police organizational contacts. The results showed the only significant predictor in a police officer's decision to stop or not stop a minority motorist was the presence of a state statute requiring the collection of racial profiling data. This information can be useful to administrators and policy makers in addressing allegations of racial profiling. Understanding the influence of mandated racial profiling data collection policies on police officer behavior offers potential explanation when analyzing individual officer minority contact ratios, and may prompt policy revision to effect equal treatment of all citizens regardless of race or ethnicity.