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No department or individual involved in the investigation of homicides is ever going to have a 100% closure rate. Therefore, many departments will be faced with a situation where another homicide happens before they are finished handling the previous one. How does one manage these open cases; how often are they reviewed; and who is responsible once the assigned detective is either transferred or leaves the unit or department? Someone has to be able to answer questions from the family, media and anyone else who might inquire about the case. Based on the number of unsolved homicide cases within Fairfax County, the concept of a “Cold Case Squad” was explored. During January 1995, the Fairfax County Police Department implemented a Cold Case Squad consisting of one supervisor, three veteran detectives, two auxiliary police officers and one cadet. The Cold Case detectives inherited approximately 75 unsolved homicides which occurred in Fairfax County, Virginia, from 1964 through December 31, 1994. More than half of the unsolved homicides (42) have occurred in the past nine years. The hypothesis for this thesis was: The formulation of a Cold Case Squad would measurably reduce the number of unresolved homicides within Fairfax County. The primary evaluation factor for the thesis was the Cold Case Squad’s “close-ability” rate. The thesis identified and evaluated nine solvability factors utilized by the Cold Case Squad Supervisor. The solvability factors are considered when prioritizing case investigation, assigning personnel to an investigation and suspending investigate efforts. One of the goals for utilizing solvability factors is to develop a clear profile of cases with the most potential for close-ability. The study population for this thesis is the 42 unsolved homicides which have occurred in Fairfax County, Virginia, between January 1, 1986, and December 31, 1994. Solvability factor work sheets were completed and computated for the study population. The hypothesis has been proven as there is a measurable reduction in the number of unsolved homicides. From the study population, two cases have been closed by arrest, one case closed by exceptional means and one case is pending approval from the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office to obtain arrest warrants. These four cases represent a 9.5% reduction of unsolved cases within the study population. A copy of this thesis was given to the Cold Case Squad Supervisor for review and application. It is hoped the research from this thesis will be applied to the Cold Case Squad so it will become more effective and continue to turn the liability of time into an asset.

Much scholarly attention has been given to crime trends during recent decades in which the United States and the world experienced a spike in violent crime during the late 1980s into the early-mid 1990s, followed by an unanticipated and unparalleled decline during the mid to late 1990s. These trends have been described in detail by a number of scholars that have offered explanations ranging from record increases in incarceration to the rise and fall of crack cocaine. A lack of consensus regarding the main factors driving these trends has kept researchers interested, and arguably stuck in this period. As a result, we lack an understanding as to what has occurred in the last decade, begging the question, "What has happened since the 1990s?" The purpose of this paper is threefold: First, to determine whether there have been any significant changes in crime across cities in the U.S. since the end of the Great American Crime Decline, as well as to explore what economic, social, and criminal justice factors may be associated with these changes. Secondly, with an eye towards theory, a commonly used variable is reconceptualized and explored in depth. Finally, the existence of a national trend is examined in the context of a large sample of U.S. cities with hopes of guiding future research in the area of crime trends. / A Thesis submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2010. / Date of Defense: April 15, 2010. / Crime Trends, Violence, Crime Decline / Includes bibliographical references. / Eric Baumer, Professor Directing Thesis; Brian Stults, Committee Member; Eric Stewart, Committee Member.

While there is a great deal of research addressing the issue of stalking, very little of the work focuses on the law enforcement response to this crime. The current study used case analysis to determine how intimate partner stalking cases reported to a metropolitan police department in southeast Florida were addressed. The study also used survey analysis to test serving Florida law enforcement officers on their knowledge and training in Florida's anti-stalking law. Additionally, respondents were presented with a number of scenarios to classify. Among the relevant findings was the fact that officers use a classification other than stalking in the vast majority of cases. Research additionally revealed that cases not classified as stalking received little or no follow-up. Perhaps most significantly, research revealed the fact that unwanted communication from an offender, the most common form of stalking behavior, was the form of behavior respondents were last likely to classify as stalking. / A Thesis submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2010. / Date of Defense: February 5, 2010. / Stalking, Domestic Violence / Includes bibliographical references. / Cecil Greek, Professor Directing Thesis; William Doerner, Committee Member; Irene Padvic, Committee Member.

According to social threat theorists, it is the mere presence of blacks that induces a fear of crime which increases punitive attitudes and leads to the mobilization of social control. Blalock (1967) argued that social control is exerted upon minority populations that are deemed threatening. Recent work on the percent black and fear of crime has transformed this aggregate-level relationship into an individual-level measure of the presences of blacks, specifically, the racial typification of crime. The present study extends Chiricos and colleagues (2004) work on the racial typification of crime by conducting such analyses in Israel where there have historically been high ethnic tensions. The dissertation explores the relationship between the ethnic typification of crime and punitive attitudes by utilizing an Arab sample of respondents from Israel. Results indicate that the main hypothesis under examination was not supported by the regression analyses. The analyses demonstrated that concern for crime was the strongest predictor of punitive attitudes net of other control and demographic variables. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2010. / Date of Defense: October 25, 2010. / Arabs, concern for crime, intraethnic threat, intraracial threat, Israel fear of crime, minority threat, punitive attitudes, social threat, social control, typification of crime / Includes bibliographical references. / Dr. Marc Gertz, Professor Directing Dissertation; Joyce Carbonell, University Representative; Nicole Piquero, Committee Chair.

Recent studies have shown that the influence of gang membership is a more detrimental predictor of delinquency than the association with delinquent peers alone. A recent survey reported the existence of at least 1,500 gangs and over 65,000 gang members in Florida. Furthermore, statistics also reveal that Florida currently has the most rapidly growing gang population in comparison to all other states. This study examines and compares the predictors of gang membership in three South Florida counties with the highest gang membership rates, Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach, by evaluating risk factors at the community, family, school, peer and individual level. Using the Florida Substance Abuse Survey Data, the study seeks to examine the risk factors predictive of gang memberships that are present in the three counties, how the exposures to multiple risk factors increase the odds of gang memberships and how they compare in exposure to risk factors. Logistic regressions are employed to identify significant predictors of gang membership net of the effects of race and gender. Implications for policy and gang intervention programs are discussed. / A Thesis submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2009. / Date of Defense: April 24, 2009. / Gangs, Risk Factors, Florida Gangs, Life Course Perspective / Includes bibliographical references. / Sarah Bacon, Professor Directing Thesis; William Bales, Committee Member; Brian Stults, Committee Member.

There are a number of criminal law doctrines that evade the �doctrine of conjunction�1 � the precondition for culpability that the commission of a prohibited act be proven as accompanied by the intention to achieve the unlawful consequence.2 In general, they do so by ignoring, presuming, imputing or fictionally creating either actus reus or mens rea. This thesis contends that these are techniques which are deliberately constructed to manage incidental harm3 and which, together with the inchoate or anticipatory offences, form a patchwork of methods to supervise the citizen�s choices to inflict risks. It further argues that, by artificially converting secondary or incidental intention into malice, the doctrines disguise that modern criminal law has fate-management as its primary focus. The thesis illustrates that there are significant gaps in this regime. For instance, the inchoate offences can generally only address direct intention,4 and the outcome-based prohibitions cannot intercept fate. The thesis also maintains that fictions such as objective and constructive liability offend the rule of law, in that they modify fact rather than place values on it.5 The work suggests that current criminal law is an interim step towards a fully subjective fate-managing law. It proposes a radical revision to the existing approach: that the core criminal offence be �conscious disproportionate endangerment of the legal rights of others�.

Thesis (LL. M.)--Judge Advocate General's School, 1955. / "May 1955." Typescript. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in microfiche.

Abstract Teacher's improper disciplining behaviors often become the focus in the news.In the past,a large part of people thought that teacher's imporoper disciplinary behavior is corporal punishment. But in fact teacher's disciplinary behavior is absolutely not only include these corporal punishments . Educational Basic Law has stipulated that teacher has no power to discipline student with corporal punishment.But we do not know whether the other kinds of disciplining behaviors are legal or not.So the thesis want to research that elementary school teacher's disciplinary behaviors and criminal liability. In the chapter two,the object of this thesis is elementary school trachers . i analyze the real situation of elementary school teacher's disciplinary and it's character in law .I try to classify the disciplinary behaviors . In the chapter three,i analyse the¡©The resource of teacher coach and discipline studenes¡ªof Ministry of Education .To diccuss student's rights in school and the conflict betwen the student's rights and teacher's disciplinary behaviors . In the chapter four,i analyse what kinds of teacher's disciplinary behaviors are criminal behaviors . In the chapter five, i try to find some legal reasons can be used to make teacher's disciplinary behaviors to be reasonable. In the chapter six,when teacher's disciplinary behaviors was affirmed as criminal behaviors.So teacher should bear what liability of criminal are base on a full liability ability person.Teachers contended that they do not know their disciplinary behaviors are illegal or they had no alternative in the matter.Teacher's criminal liability whether are considered not guilty or can be reduce penalty. In the Chapter seven, i drew some conclusions from above-listed chapter. To make some concrete suggestions of teacher's disciplinary behaviors . Demarcate the limit of the teacher's disciplinary behaviors.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Cornell University.