<p> Victimization by its very nature poses serious psychological harm to those who suffer from it. There are many ways one can end up victimized, including cyberbullying, which is bullying conducted via electronic mediums. This study analyzes the likelihood of being bullied and cyberbullying as well as detrimental effects on juveniles from lowered grades to suicides in extreme cases and will use strain theory to explain the correlation between cyberbullying and negative coping methods such as truancy. Using data from the 2013 National Crime Victimization Study's School Crime Supplement (n=9,552), findings suggest that bullying in general indeed has a profound effect on fear of school, grades, and truancy. However, while cyberbullying significantly influences avoidance of online activity and truancy, in other models, it pales in comparison to the impact of traditional bullying. Limitations to the study and implications for the future are also discussed.</p>

The research critically examined the use of juvenile Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) in the context of the intelligence-led policing model, the Coalition Government’s crime control agenda (in which the only test set for the police is to cut crime), and child safeguarding orthodoxy. It represents the first examination of the use of juvenile CHIS since the introduction of the enabling legislation, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). The researcher was given privileged access to police practitioners and other professionals, from whom the primary data was collected. Secondary data included a wide variety of internal documents and reports relating to the use of juvenile CHIS by an urban police force in England. The data were analysed thematically against the background of the relevant scholarly literature. The research found that even though the use of juvenile CHIS is limited, their use presents significant issues for the police, but currently fewer for other professionals who largely are ignorant of policing activity in this context. The research established that the use of juvenile CHIS was subject to the strictest controls through the authorisation systems and procedures, mandated by RIPA, which were in place and strictly adhered to, with the welfare of the CHIS and safeguarding issues beyond their deployment/authorisation given the highest priority. Indeed, the data collected for this study demonstrated an absence of negative life outcomes for those whose use had been authorised. However, the research highlighted a continuing institutional nervousness around the use of juvenile CHIS, which inter alia suggests an aversion to the risks associated with their use that might not always be justified, notwithstanding a lack of engagement with professionals who, in many cases, may be able to assist in informing the risk assessment and the duty of care provisions required under statute for juveniles used by the police in this way. The study also illustrated the challenges that the police face in properly assessing risks (particularly the competence of officers to assess the psychological and moral risks that are always associated with the use of CHIS). The research contains a number of recommendations for policing and for wider public policy. Critically, it argues for further research in this important area.

<p> In the context of policing, an officer&rsquo;s risk perception of felonious death and likelihood of using deadly force as a risk response are paramount among police concerns in the United States. Prior research on these topics has predominantly involved macro-analytical methodologies under a mono-disciplinary approach, with limited emphasis on theoretical-based perspectives. Risk perceptions and responses were examined using a quantitative, interdisciplinary correlational methodology. Its purpose was to examine whether the Social Amplification of Risk Framework applied to a specialized occupational population of Missouri police officers. The methodology included a pilot study of an adapted instrument designated the Cognitive Appraisal of Felonious Death Risk questionnaire (CAFDR), followed by a full study using the final form of the CAFDR. The participants were full time Missouri police officers. A total of 192 surveys were completed, from which 154 surveys were randomly selected for analyses. Key findings indicated that only two of the 30 permutations of the analyses reached statistical significance. Those two outcomes equated with extant literature while the remaining results largely contradicted the contemporary literature on the influence of these covariates. The result was that Social Amplification of Risk Framework did not explain the relationships between risk perceptions and risk responses in this specialized occupational population. What was discovered concerns the influence that socio-cultural, legal, and psychological influences from controversial police shooting events may have on these Missouri officers. Results of the debriefing questionnaire portion revealed significant psychological resilience among the officers, but raised the possibility that a stigma associated with accessing mental health services was present within police cultures. Practical application recommendations involved the development of policies and training paradigms that recognize/mitigate aberrations in risk perception and response, bench-marking force tendencies and unconscious risk bias among officers as a management tool, and use of these findings under an interactive educational tool for police-community outreach. Future theoretical research opportunities include a hypotheses-testing model under Social Amplification of Risk Framework employing a qualitative methodology, and exploration of perception/response anomalies as a form of occupational delinquency under Differential Association.</p>

The general purpose of this research is to determine if there are case-level, individual, and/or social factors that have a differential impact on the federal criminal sentencing of Hispanic non-citizen offenders, compared to white citizens. Drawing on focal concerns and minority threat theories, hierarchical linear and generalized linear models are estimated to assess case, defendant, and district level effects on the federal sentencing outcomes for a large sample of defendants (N=63,753) convicted in 2008. The contextual factors of interest include the immigration caseload of the district, minority population sizes, and public attitudes on specific immigration policies. The results indicate that the average likelihood of incarceration and sentence length significantly varies across these court locations. While case and defendant-level characteristics have strong direct impacts on these outcomes, the findings also indicate that district characteristics also exert significant direct and indirect effects. These effects were strongest in the sentence length models. Notably, the minority compositions for the foreign-born and Hispanic populations have different effects on the average sentence lengths across districts. Anti-immigration attitudes were also positively related to sentence length. Overall, this work provides a more nuanced explanation of the federal sentencing disparities that exist for Hispanic non-citizens, which merit greater attention. It also highlights the need for current sentencing theory and public policy to be further developed in order to adequately address the complex and changing impacts on punishment decisions across place. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2015. / November 2, 2015. / Federal Sentencing, Immigration, Minority Threat, Multilevel Analysis, Public Opinion, Race and Ethnicity / Includes bibliographical references. / Brian Stults, Professor Directing Dissertation; Kathryn Tillman, University Representative; Daniel Mears, Committee Member; Eric Stewart, Committee Member.

Over the past 30 years, scholars have increasingly focused on the individual-level factors that explain criminal behavior. This line of research has revealed that myriad factors influence the onset of a criminal career, the maintenance of a criminal career, and the desistance from a criminal career. The current study focused on the factors that account for desistance from a criminal career. One of the most prominent contemporary criminological theories posits that exposure to adult social bonds such as marriage, employment, and military involvement explains why a person desists from crime. Criminological research has supported the theory, but has failed to consider the influence of genetic factors on exposure to adult social bonds and, ultimately, desistance from crime. Three key findings emerged from the analysis. First, genetic factors explained a significant proportion of the variance in nearly all of the adult social bonds analyzed. Second, genetic factors explained a significant proportion of the variance in changes in delinquency, drug use, and antisocial behavior from adolescence to adulthood. Third, once genetic factors were controlled, the explanatory power of an adult social bond on desistance from delinquency was often weakened or eliminated. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed. / 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: Summer Semester, 2010. / Date of Defense: May 17, 2010. / Life-course Criminology, Genes, Biosocial Criminology, Desistance / Includes bibliographical references. / Kevin M. Beaver, Professor Directing Dissertation; Stephen J. Tripodi, University Representative; Gary Kleck, Committee Member.

In the past two decades, the older prisoner population in the U.S. has experienced unprecedented growth (Carson & Sabol, 2016; Scaggs & Bales, 2016). In fact, older prisoners represent the fastest growing inmate population (Carson & Sabol, 2016). This growth has become an important policy concern for government officials and correctional administrators because these prisoners are substantially more expensive to incarcerate and less likely to reoffend compared to younger prisoners (Chettiar et al., 2012). Older prisoners are more fiscally demanding to correctional systems due to healthcare and special housing considerations (Chettiar et al., 2012; Nowotny et al., 2015; Lemieux, Dyeson, & Castiglione, 2002; Linder & Meyers, 2007; Reimer, 2008). Older prisoners also represent a diverse population comprised of different criminal history profiles. While many prisoners are first time servers in old age, others are chronic offenders who have been in and out of prison multiple times (Beckett, Peternelj-Taylor, & Johnson, 2003). However, there is a void in prior literature regarding differences in the in-prison adaptation and post-prison reentry experiences among these inmates based on being a first time server and alternative definitions of what constitutes being an 'older prisoner. The current study seeks to fill two gaps in the prior literature on older prisoners. First, it will assess how older inmates differ from younger inmates in terms of in-prison adjustment and post-prison outcomes. Previous research studies find that older prisoners are less likely to engage in most types of prison misconduct (Blowers & Blevins, 2015) and to reoffend after prison release relative to their younger counterparts (Durose et al., 2014). What is less documented in prior studies is whether the employment prospects for older ex-convicts differ from those among younger prisoners and the extent to which finding work may, in turn, affect recidivism. Second, this study highlights the heterogeneity that exists among older versus younger inmates in their prison adaptation and reentry outcomes based on age and criminal history. A large percentage of older prisoners have never been previously incarcerated in prison. The Florida Department of Corrections 2013-2014 Annual Report shows that 46.2 percent of prisoners age 50 or older were committed to prison for the first time (Florida Department of Corrections, 2014). Prior research suggests that first time older prisoners may have an especially adverse response, and ultimately adjustment, to their commitment to prison which is manifested through institutional rule violations in the presence of family conflict, suicidal thoughts, depression, and fear of death (Aday, 1994; Leigey, 2015). This study uses data from a release cohort of former prisoners in Florida from 2004 to 2011 to examine differences between younger versus older prisoners. The data include institutional measures, pre-prison employment and criminal histories, and post-prison employment and recidivism information to examine differences in prison adjustment and post-release outcomes among different age groups and being a first time server among older versus younger inmates. By examining the effects of alternative age definitions on three primary outcomes—(1) prison misconduct, (2) post-prison employment, and (3) recidivism—this study contributes to prior literatures on gerontology, prison management, age stratification of post-prison employment opportunities, and recidivism. This study's focus on using old age as a key variable for explaining in-prison and reentry process outcomes is pertinent to a broader study of gerontology because it addresses important issues faced by a special subset of older adults within society. This study also contributes to the current literature on crime over the life course by assessing if and when older inmates are likely to find short-term employment and recidivate. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2017. / April 11, 2017. / Aging, Employment, Misconduct, Prisoners, Recidivism, Reentry / Includes bibliographical references. / William D. Bales, Professor Directing Dissertation; Melissa Radey, University Representative; Daniel Mears, Committee Member; Thomas G. Blomberg, Committee Member.

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Criminology has conventionally focussed on the onset and punishment of crime. Less attention is paid to how offenders reintegrate, exist, cope and move away from crime. However, there is a growing body of research interested in reintegration and desistance from crime. The literature on sex offender reintegration and desistance is limited but emerging, with studies exclusively involving child sex offenders remaining scarce. Therefore, this thesis has been designed to evaluate the reintegration experiences of child sex offenders in a community in England and Wales. Using a qualitative, semi-structured, individual interview approach, data were collected from 10 men (the participants) who had at least one current and at least one previous child sexual offence conviction. The index offences ranged from internet related charges, to rape. Data were additionally obtained from 11 professionals working with child sex offenders in the community. The professionals worked for either the National Probation Service (NPS), the police or Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA). The themes of resettlement, risk management and stigma were discussed, and an illustrative model of child sex offender reintegration was developed. The findings suggest the participants were vulnerable. They shared experiences of verbal and physical abuse at the hands of non-sex offenders, loss, fear, isolation and pressure. They were not afforded the opportunities to reintegrate with success in comparison to other offender types, with internet offenders’ opportunities being lessened further. They used a variety of coping methods, including self-risk management, identity passing, avoidance and appropriate offence disclosure. In addition, the illustrative model highlighted how the men were active agents of their reintegration journey, rather than being passive. They shaped and negotiated their way through life in the community as men with child sexual offences in different and interesting ways, whilst being mindful of the stigma associated with this offence type.

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No description available.