The purpose of this study was to analyze the influences such as age at current offense, gender, race, previous convictions, and the seriousness of crimes that contributed to the decisions received by juveniles in adult court. This study examined a secondary data set from the United States Department of Justice entitled Juvenile Defendants in Criminal Courts (JDCC): Survey of 40 Counties in the United States, 1998. The cases from these 40 jurisdictions represented all filings during one month in 75 of the most populous counties. The current study found significant differences among race, prior criminal history, current offense severity, and juveniles adjudicated in adult court. Future research should therefore continue to examine the impact of juveniles adjudicated in adult court to better inform the debate surrounding the potential dangers associated with juvenile offending and adult criminal sanctions.

This thesis examined police practices of the North Carolina Highway Patrol concerning the occurrence of racial profiling. The sample data consisted of motorists stopped in North Carolina by the Highway Patrol between January 1, 2000 and July 31, 2000 (N = 332, 861). The findings suggested that race was a likely factor in pretextual stops. The results also indicate that racial profiling was occurring more in the western region than the eastern region of North Carolina. Theoretical reasons are offered in support of these findings.

Utilizing Social Control Theory, this study explores the role of participation in After School Programs, mentoring relationships, and commitment to school in reducing adolescent delinquency. This study uses local survey data of 556 youth attending Boys and Girls Clubs collected from 2010-2012. The negative binomial regression results indicate that increased club attendance is associated with reduced delinquency. This effect is mediated by the presence of a mentor and by the youths' commitment to school.

Research testing the relationship between adolescent religiosity and delinquent behavior is inconclusive. Some studies show a significant negative relationship while others indicate no relationship. Stark (1996) asserts that the relationship between religiosity and delinquency is a function of community religiosity as opposed to personal religiosity. Thus, in areas of high religiosity, there will be a strong relationship, while areas of low religiosity will show no relationship. This study looks at the relationship between religiosity and delinquency of LDS youth in four different religious ecologies: Utah County (high religious ecology), the East coast (moderate religious ecology), the Pacific Northwest (low religious ecology), and Great Britain (very low religious ecology). Structural Equation Modeling of the data indicates that the relationship between religiosity and delinquency is strong regardless of religious ecology. Thus, the religious ecology hypothesis is not supported.

‘Knarkrondellen’, which translates to ‘Drug Roundabout’, is a known hot spot for drug trading in Malmö and the police have implemented several measures to prevent the narcotic crimes. This paper sets out to investigate the impact that the police interventions, namely enhanced police foot patrols, improved street lighting and the installation of a surveillance camera, have on the crime rates and the fear of crime at the roundabout. In a multi-method approach, quantitative data from the police register and police surveys as well as qualitative observations and interviews with the residents are analyzed. The findings show that the police interventions did not reach the desired preventative effect in the given study period and indicate the occurrence of displacement. The citizens’ feeling of safety and perception of the problems did not change significantly as a result of the interventions. Overall, the surveys and interviews suggest that the police are on the right track; however, a longer follow-up period is needed in order to examine the long-term effects of the intervention measures. Additionally, an enhanced involvement of the community in the fight against drug crimes appears necessary.

Prescription drug misuse (PDM), defined as use without a prescription or solely for the feeling or experience caused by the drug, has become a popular topic among substance use researchers. While the vast majority of studies on the topic tackle epidemiological questions surrounding PDM, there is a notable lack of studies that look specifically at risk factors rooted in sociological/criminological theories. The current research seeks to bridge this gap in the literature by examining theoretically based explanations for PDM among college students utilizing three criminological theories commonly applied to other forms of substance use: Social Learning Theory, Social Bonding/Control theory, and General Strain Theory. In addition, this study also seeks to examine differences in user types characterized by motives for misuse as they relate to predictors stemming from these theories of interest. Utilizing an independently collected sample of 841 college undergraduates from a large southern university, the findings show that nearly one in four students misused prescription drugs in the past semester. Motivations for PDM were primarily instrumental in nature, with very few respondents misusing solely for recreational purposes. Furthermore, social learning based risk factors could best account for PDM within the sample with partial and indirect supports also found for strain based risk factors as well. Implications of these findings as well as theoretical and practical applications are presented.

Research specific to gender and violent juvenile delinquency is sparse due to two factors: a substantially higher incidence of delinquent male violence and the cost associated with drawing adequate female samples is frequently prohibitive (Howell, 2003). Gender-differences are explored in a sample of arrested juveniles using an expanded measure of parental attachment [bond]. The dimensions of emotional attachment, supervision, and time-involvement with a selfreported caregiver are explored for between group differences and association with recognized risk factors for juvenile delinquency. Findings indicate that while statistically significant between-group differences are not found in the presentation of attachment, descriptive differences do exist. Females demonstrated a higher level of impairment in emotional attachment to a caregiver than their male counterparts; females arrested for a violent offense reported the highest level of problem in this area. Findings also indicate that the mechanism of attachment appears to function differently by gender group in terms of association with risk factors for delinquency. Time-involvement emerged as an important predictor for the full group and the female group, particularly in relationship with higher risk for antisocial peer involvement. Support for a gendered experience of parental attachment [social bond] is provided. Emotional attachment and time-involvement were found to be important predictors for the full group, while supervision was not indicated as important to any risk factor or to recidivism. The current research advances knowledge on gender-related differences within delinquency. Through enhancing the understanding of the complex gender-specific influences on juvenile crime, criminal justice and human service systems may better learn to address these needs thereby reducing both entrance rates into the juvenile justice system and recidivism.

The literature suggests that neighborhoods with organized criminal networks would have lower crime rates than other neighborhoods or communities, because of the social control their organization exerts on residents and visitors. The strictly organized Italian-American Mafia seems to have characteristics that would translate throughout the neighborhood: People will not participate in overt illegal behaviors because they do not know who is watching, and the fear of what the Mafia might do keeps residents and visitors to the neighborhood relatively well-behaved. Using crime statistics from the NYPD and census data for neighborhood characteristics, four linear regressions were calculated. The results indicate that low socioeconomic status is the main factor explaining neighborhood crime rate variations in New York City. The percent of the population under 18 and density were also listed as influential factors for some variables. The percent of foreign-born Italians was noted as significant in the correlation models, though it is not yet clear what this might truly indicate. The proxy variable for Mafia presence was not significant, and this can either be due to inaccuracies of the measurement of the variable or a true decrease in the influence of Mafia presence after the string of RICO arrests in the 1980s and 1990s. The results imply that Mafia presence does not influence neighborhood social control, but they do reinforce social disorganization theory. The foundation of this theory is neighborhood stability; the more unstable a neighborhood is, the more susceptible the neighborhood is to crime and dysfunction. Factors like low socioeconomic status and density influence neighborhood stability. Future research should attempt to have more accurate representations of Mafia presence and neighborhood characteristics.

Foster care case managers are responsible for the wellbeing of foster youth in the foster care system. Teens (ages 13-17) in foster care are most vulnerable to serious risks, such as sex trafficking. Such risks have been heightened by the advent of internet-based technologies that connect foster youth with unsafe others at unprecedented frequency and speed. This thesis examines how case managers tackle the challenge of online safety as it relates to adolescents in the foster care system in the United States. I conducted 32 semi-structured interviews with case managers who worked with foster teens (ages 13-17) within the past 5 years. After each interview, I transcribed the recording and conducted qualitative data analysis to identify emerging themes. I found that foster teens face numerous online risks with sexual-related risks (e.g., sex trafficking) and contact-related risks (e.g., unsolicited contact) being most prominent. However, case workers may not be prepared to address all of these challenges because of lack of online safety training and support from foster parents. Also, case workers are overburdened with many responsibilities that make online safety a secondary priority. This thesis identifies the gaps in which case managers are trained and highlights the need for more support to handle online safety challenges. Therefore, this thesis recommends that the foster care system must place a higher priority in establishing support groups and collaborative training among foster parents, case workers, and foster children to fully manage foster youth online safety.

This study aims to explore the various factors that influence the international joint venture (IJV) parent firms to use a specific control mechanism in an emerging market (EM). The study adopted a single case study design involving an IJV between a Nigerian firm as the local partner and a Chinese firm as the foreign partner. Data was collected through twenty semi structured interviews from both the parent firms and the IJV; and complemented by observations of the IJV activities, relevant information from newspapers; magazines; company brochures and newsletters; and website of the parent firms, IJV and the government regulating body. The study revealed that the design of formal and social control is influenced by a range of factors identified in the literature. This includes resource contribution and bargaining power, previous experience of the IJV managers, knowledge transfer, trust-building, environmental uncertainty, and institutional forces. In contrast to findings from existing studies, this study also reveals that a combination of factors can influence the use of a particular control mechanism. By examining the types of control exercised by each partner and the antecedent of each control type, this study complements prior research by incorporating insights from transaction cost theory, resource dependency theory, social exchange theory, institutional theory and organisational lerning perspective to provide a more integrative explanation of IJV control design. Specifically, it explains how one partner develops certain types of formal and social control according to its individual resource contribution and dependency and can adjust controls to achieve its various objectives.