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- All Subjects: Criminal Justice
- Creators: DeCarolis, Claudine
We gathered qualitative data on criminal justice professionals because we wanted to debunk myths associated with their professions. Professions within the criminal justice field can be extremely dangerous and even life-threatening, therefore it is important that individuals looking to enter these professions are well-informed. With technology improving daily, more and more people have easy access to social media, news, and television shows. Some people rely solely on these platforms to receive information. Another key reason we chose qualitative methods is because we wanted our information to be applicable for criminal justice professionals themselves. Maureen McGough from the National Institute of Justice describes that for police officers, policy related research tends to be geared towards academics (McGough, 2019). We used qualitative methods to provide more actionable and relatable feedback. However, these platforms do not always reveal the full story. Our research reveals how television shows and movies are not always accurate in portraying the roles of criminal justice professionals.
Our findings revealed that there are both realistic and overexaggerated aspects in the portrayal of criminal justice professionals in television shows and movies. Some of the overexaggerated aspects include how nearly all the television shows and movies only captured action parts of criminal justice professionals’ roles. Which creates the illusion that these roles are all about action and never have dull moments. None of the scenes captured the research and paperwork that goes along with being a criminal justice professional. On the other hand, there were some aspects of television shows and movies that the professionals found realistic. These aspects include the unusual humor police officers use to cope with the pressures of their job and the tactics lawyers use to sway a jury.
Aside from the information we received about what was real and overexaggerated in television shows and movies, we also identified some of the aspects of criminal justice roles that are omitted from television shows and movies. The professionals we interviewed also shared some of the rewarding and fulfilling aspects of their roles that are often overlooked or just unknown to the public. With the valuable information we gathered from our thesis project, we created a website (See Appendix B). The website includes profiles on the criminal justice professionals we interviewed and a summary of our findings. The purpose of this website is to reach a larger audience, so that we can inform more people about the reality of criminal justice professionals’ roles. Individuals can use our website to learn more about what the role of a criminal justice professional entails and how to prepare.
This is a composition of information derived from the research conducted to produce each episode of Nefarious. As part of my final thesis project for my undergraduate degrees in criminal justice and forensic psychology, I created a podcast on the topic of true crime with an academic approach titled Nefarious. Each episode of Nefarious examines a particular case in relation to some academic theme learned throughout my educational career at Arizona State University. Episode one examines the life and crimes of Richard Ramirez and different criminological theories that could be used to explain his behavior. Episode two looks at the case of Brock Turner and Chanel Miller and focuses on the larger problem of rape culture in America and sexual assault on college campuses. In episode three the case of the Central Park Five is detailed in relation to false confessions and wrongful convictions within the legal system. Episode four is centered around Kyle Rittenhouse and the use of self-defense as a legal defense in the justice system as well as the political atmosphere surrounding this case. The fifth episode explores three cases of police brutality against racial minorities and the history of police in America. The final episode of Nefarious covers the life and crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer and analyzes such actions from a forensic psychology approach.
This project consists of a police officer training manual and supplemental paper. The goal being to address current flaws in police officer training and implement new ideas in the area of communication, stress management, and cultural awareness. Utilizing expertise from qualitative interviews as well as support found in existing literature this project was able to create a training curriculum that has the potential to lessen the gaps in police officer training.
This project consists of a police officer manual and supplemental paper. The goal of this project was to address current flaws in police officer training and implement new ideas in the areas of communication, stress management, and cultural awareness. Utilizing expertise from qualitative interviews as well as support found in existing literature, this project was able to create a training curriculum that has the potential to lessen the gaps in police officer training.
This thesis attempts to determine how the food system can contribute to delinquency and criminality, especially in regards to diet and nutritional influences on children’s behavior. The research for this thesis began with the book, Diet, Crime and Delinquency, written Alexander Schauss and published in 1980. This was the first book exploring how food can impact behavior in children and includes various areas of diet and nutrition which can influence children’s behavior and how they may contribute to delinquency. The literature since has identified four main areas of diet and nutrition that have the most evidence regarding their effects on behavior and contributions as risk factors for delinquency. These four contributors to behavioral changes in some children are: sugar/hypoglycemia, food allergies/ intolerances, nutrient/vitamin deficiencies, and exposure to heavy metals. Diet and nutrition are also significantly impacted by the environment, therefore this paper accounts for environmental factors and discusses how food justice is inextricably linked to the criminal justice system. This paper also evaluates correctional gardens in youth detention facilities as well as individualized and family based interventions within schools as possible strategies for addressing behavioral issues and risk factors for delinquency through food. New approaches such as those that involve diet and nutrition can help to explain why individuals within the same environment with the same risk factors may engage or desist from criminal activity. This line of inquiry could further develop an answer to the age-old question in the field of criminology, why do people commit crime or engage in delinquent behavior?
This is a composition of information derived from the research conducted to produce each episode of Nefarious. As part of my final thesis project for my undergraduate degrees in criminal justice and forensic psychology, I created a podcast on the topic of true crime with an academic approach titled Nefarious. Each episode of Nefarious examines a particular case in relation to some academic theme learned throughout my educational career at Arizona State University. Episode one examines the life and crimes of Richard Ramirez and different criminological theories that could be used to explain his behavior. Episode two looks at the case of Brock Turner and Chanel Miller and focuses on the larger problem of rape culture in America and sexual assault on college campuses. In episode three the case of the Central Park Five is detailed in relation to false confessions and wrongful convictions within the legal system. Episode four is centered around Kyle Rittenhouse and the use of self-defense as a legal defense in the justice system as well as the political atmosphere surrounding this case. The fifth episode explores three cases of police brutality against racial minorities and the history of police in America. The final episode of Nefarious covers the life and crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer and analyzes such actions from a forensic psychology approach.