<p>Since the passage of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, which amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964, female law enforcement officers have battled obstacles and barriers, both external and internal in their effort to gain equality and assimilate into the role of police officer. The problem examined in this qualitative study was the low percentage of women in sworn law enforcement positions of all ranks. Thirty-six sworn female officers currently serving in the state of Arizona were selected to participate in focus group discussions to assist in the phenomenological examination of low representation of women in law enforcement. The female officers were asked a series of questions to facilitate discussion in an effort to explore their experiences and possibly reveal underlying police cultural factors that may lead to limited opportunities for women who choose law enforcement as a career. The qualitative design fostered a sharing of the stories of these female officers and provided an in-depth understanding of their experiences both on and off the job related to their choice of career. Information-rich data provided by the participants served to inform the Arizona law enforcement community concerning the experiences and career choices of women in law enforcement. Discovered through focus group discussions were the reasons women choose law enforcement as a career as well as why they remain in the profession. The excitement of the job coupled with job security, and salary factored into the decision making processes. Data addressing promotion, leadership, and role models were also revealed with female officers advising an inequitable promotional process, yet one in which they believed women needed to participate to improve the profession for others. Recommendations of formal mentoring and succession planning were made along with changes in the recruitment process. Future study should include male participants as well as female participants. Funding sources or sponsoring organizations should be explored in an effort to expand the scope of future study. Conducting focus groups discussions in different parts of the state and for longer periods of time would permit individuals from different areas of the state an opportunity to participate. </p>

<p> This quantitative study was an exploration of police officers&rsquo; in Puerto Rico level of trust, perception of leadership style, and perceived leadership effectiveness in two different contexts, normal contexts and life-threatening contexts. Data were collected through a web-based system, SurveyMonkey&reg;, where police officers from Puerto Rico completed an online survey. The survey instrument included the Leadership Style Survey by Dr. Peter Northouse, the Global Trust Scale by Dr. Jason Colquitt, and the Perception of Leadership Effectiveness Scale published in Psych Articles. The sample included 128 sworn, active duty police officers from Puerto Rico. The findings of this study revealed that demographics such as age, sex, and years on the force were not related to trust in the supervisor by the police officers. The study findings further revealed that police supervisors in Puerto Rico demonstrated an authoritarian leadership style in both normal contexts and life-threatening contexts. Multiple regression analysis showed that high levels of authoritarian leadership styles are related to high levels of trust. Although the study findings revealed that, overall, leaders&rsquo; skills were rated on the subscale as moderately bad, authoritarian leaders were also perceived as effective leaders in both normal contexts and life threatening contexts.</p>

<p> There is substantial cost in the hiring and training of a correctional officer, with a high rate of turnover compounding these costs. While pre-employment psychological screening is suggested as one method to prevent these losses, mandates to screen are not as common in corrections as they are in law enforcement. Further, minimal research has examined the validity of psychological testing in correctional officers. This dissertation examined pre-employment psychological screening for 421 correctional officers hired by one of three upstate New York sheriff's departments. Assessments were conducted by Public Safety Psychology, PLLC from March, 1997 to June, 2012. T scores and risk estimates from the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) and Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), DQ admission and problem points from the Personal History Questionnaire (PHQ) and Psychological History Questionnaire (PsyQ) and the psychologist's recommendation were used as predictors of supervisor rating and job status. Utilizing logistic regression and controlling for agency of hire, high ratings by the psychologist, high scores on PAR-H and low scores on BOR-S from the PAI were associated with satisfactory supervisor ratings. Multinomial logistic regression revealed that being non-White, having a lower rating by the psychologist, higher To and Ai scores and lower So scores from the CPI, and more General problem points on the PsyQ were predictive of officers who were fired compared to being currently employed. Furthermore, previous law enforcement experience, being younger, lower Gi, So and Wo scores on the CPI, higher To and Sc scores on the CPI, and lower probability of substance abuse issues as based on the PAI and PHQ were predictive of officers quitting rather than staying on the job. Limitations and future directions are discussed.</p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to write a grant proposal to create, implement, and test the effectiveness of an innovative support and psycho-educational group program for adult survivors of childhood maltreatment. This pilot program is geared to alleviate trauma related symptoms that impair their ability to be successful members of society. Adult survivors of childhood abuse and neglect are often times undetected and not considered as obvious targets for prevention and intervention programs. For this reason, this pilot program was named Interventional Strategies for Imperceptible Survivors of Childhood Maltreatment (ISISMA) to recap their increased need for mental health services and the need to strategize concurrent and comprehensive prevention and treatment approaches. </p><p> To address the gap in services and budgetary limitations, this pilot program was delineated to provide services in a group-community setting. It is tailored to mitigate their unique needs and challenges of this marginalized population living in Anaheim and surrounding areas. This pilot program is expected to be an innovative platform for planning, expansion, and implementation of other replicated support and psycho-educational group programs.</p>

<p> Prior research indicates that human service care providers experience especially high levels of chronic workplace stress and burnout compared to workers in other professions. Chronic workplace stress is linked to a variety of poor physical and mental health outcomes. There has been significantly more research to assess and support human service care providers in education, social welfare, and health care than providers working in law enforcement such as the population considered in this case study: juvenile justice officers, JJOs. In particular, there has been little prior research on juvenile justice officers (JJOs), who have the difficult job of working closely with incarcerated youth populations. </p><p> The intended contributions of this study are: (1) developing a descriptive baseline understanding of stress among an important and understudied population of human service care providers, (2) exploring human service care provider workplace stress through a new lens of empathy and meaning and (3) piloting a training to reduce stress with a focus on facilitating empathy and meaning. This research is carried out over three phases. </p><p> The promising insights from the case study and pilot analysis include strategies to support JJOs finding meaning in their workplace. These strategies are achieved through creating opportunities for building relationships and empathy with youth and coworkers, improving the system for communication and positive feedback with management and teaching emotion regulation, mindfulness and empathic communication to improve individual coping skills.</p>

<p>This research examines racially biased crimes across US cities, utilizing social threat and a general criminality perspective based on social disorganization and strain theories. Racially biased crime is compared to violent crime in general and to unbiased racially disaggregated homicide to further examine the effects of social threat and general crime variables on different forms of violent crime. Data is compiled mainly from the 1990 and 2000 US Censuses, the 1996&ndash;2000 Uniform Crime Reports and the 1996&ndash;2000 Supplemental Homicide Reports. The research shows bias crimes cannot be explained utilizing general crime predictors. In particular, anti-Black violent bias crimes committed by Whites are mainly driven by economic forces, though not necessarily economically threatening conditions. Anti-White violent bias crimes committed by Blacks are more similar to homicides of Whites committed by Blacks, which is consistent with prior research. Additionally, the research shows the importance of complying with hate crime reporting requirements and region, again consistent with prior research. That is, the more frequently a city reports data, the higher the counts of bias crimes. Cities located in the South are less likely to have high counts of bias crimes, suggesting a lack of compliance with reporting requirements. These findings pertaining to reporting compliance offer support for social constructionist perspectives in the study of bias crimes. </p>

<p> When an individual commits a crime and is sentenced to time in prison, the sentence has a profound impact on the individual's family. The purpose of this project was to write a grant proposal to ask for funds to develop a program for families of incarcerated men and women who access services from "Friends Outside," and lack community support during the period of time that the prisoner is incarcerated. The current research regarding the issue of support for families affected by incarceration is sparse. Traditionally programs have placed focus on the inmate rather than the families. The goal of the proposed program is to serve families with an incarcerated family member, according to risk factors, level of current support and need. The program will offer therapy groups, education, referrals to community resources and individual counseling on an as needed basis. The Public Welfare Foundation was selected as a potential funder for the proposed program. Submission and/or funding of this grant is not a requirement for the successful completion of this project.</p>

<p> This study added to the literature on pathways to prison by examining a sample of federal inmates to assess whether the pathways identified predicted future antisocial behavior, i.e., prison misconduct and post-release criminal activity. Previous research has generally focused on only one point in the criminal justice system, either identifying pathways to prison, analyzing behavior while incarcerated, or focusing on post-release offending. This research examined all of these points. The research presented here identified both unique and overlapping pathways to prison for men and women, as well as similarities and differences in the risk factors that predicted prison misconduct and recidivism for women and men. </p><p> While the latent class models, which identified the pathways to prison, relied heavily upon indicators highlighted in the gender-responsive literature, the final misconduct and recidivism models included those factors along with traditional, gender-neutral items. The methods in this research moved beyond previous studies that relied primarily on bivariate analyses of female inmates. </p><p> Four pathways emerged for both men and women each. Three of the pathways overlapped for both groups: drug, street, and the situational offender pathways. Males and females each had one unique pathway which represented opposite ends of the criminal experiences spectrum. A first time offender pathway emerged for women; a more chronic, serious offender pathway emerged for men. When the pathways to prison were the only predictors in the misconduct and recidivism models, the pathways consistently and significantly predicted antisocial behavior. Once the socio-demographic and criminal history factors were added to the models, however, the vast majority of the pathway effects on antisocial behavior were no longer statistically significant. </p><p> Because the current literature presents mixed results as to whether the same factors predict offending for men and women, this study analyzed gendered aspects of prison misconduct and recidivism. There were more differences than similarities in the factors that significantly impacted these antisocial behaviors. </p>

<p> Research on race and sentencing is increasingly moving beyond racial category analyses to include more subtle attributes such as skin tone and facial features. In keeping with this progression, this research examines the extent to which convicted offenders' Afrocentric facial features interact with sex in order to create longer criminal sentences for stereotypically Black males and females. A random sample of Black and White males and females currently serving prison sentences in the state of Oregon were selected for inclusion in the study. A preliminary regression analysis was run in order to determine the effect of broad racial category on sentencing length when controlling for offense characteristics, offense history, and extralegal factors. Additionally, photographs of a sample of 110 Black males and 91 Black females were rated for strength of Afrocentric facial features by undergraduate students. These ratings were averaged to create an Afrocentric rating for each Black individual in the sample. Regression analyses were then conducted for Black individuals in order to determine the effect of Afrocentric facial features and sex on sentence length. Results suggested that although broad racial category is not a significant predictor of sentence length, Afrocentric facial features interact with sex to produce longer sentences for Black males, but not Black females, with stronger Afrocentric facial features. Individuals with the fewest Afrocentric facial features were excluded from the analysis in order to limit the potential misperception of racial category by judges. These findings are consistent with current understandings of feature-trait stereotyping, as well as the focal concerns perspective regarding judicial decision-making. </p>

<p> I would like to think that I chose this study to add to the literature on human development in the prison system. However, I would have to say that the study chose me. It became a deep discovery of what is required for human beings to grow within the context of a prison setting and afterwards in the community. The study explored the life history of an Aboriginal woman once considered to be a volatile, violent, and unmanageable female prisoner by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC). Changing her life she became a valued volunteer within that prison system.</p><p> Human growth and development must be considered with attention to the exogenous influences of all the systems people have to negotiate. I walked with Lora for 14 years: 7 while in custody and 7 afterwards until her death in 2013. During that time she became a mother, a volunteer, peer researcher, cancer patient, and always a teacher.</p><p> Since the 1970s there has been a pervasive decline in recognizing rehabilitation potential in people with lives plagued by addictions and the crimes supporting them. I observed the opposite: hundreds of lives changed for the better. There are interventions that kindle the flame and support a fire in people to build a healthy, productive life. Society has a responsibility to fan that fire, rather than feeding the despondency and hopelessness so prevalent in our prisons. </p><p> Information was gathered from interviews with Lora, video and audio recordings, her journals and poetry. Interviews were also conducted with family to gain clarity of her childhood and complex trauma history and with people who walked with her after prison to elucidate her change process.</p><p> The study encompassed literature from modern, post-modern, and Aboriginal epistemology, integrating theory from multiple disciplines. What emerged was how powerful the deleterious influences of complex childhood trauma are, in all domains, over the life span. Counteracting this damage most significantly are the mechanisms of hope and the inspiration of believing in the possibility for successful and lasting change: This is the key-stone to the archway through which people re-enter the community from prison.</p>