Filtering by
- All Subjects: Policing
- Creators: School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Status: Published
As a result of recent public attention on school resource officers (SROs), concerns regarding the effects of police presence in America’s schools have emerged. Despite this, little is known about how SROs and SRO programs function within the U.S. This project uses qualitative and quantitative methods to describe the six state-level programs that exist to regulate and fund SROs, as well as analyze the relationship between the schools that receive funding and their student demographics. Program elements were inconsistent among states, though some commonalities were found, such as the usage of the triad model, training sources, usage of a memorandum of understanding (MOU), and lack of regular evaluations or assessments. No relationship was found between student demographics and SRO-funded schools when compared to the overall state. The findings highlight a need for regulation and consistency among SRO programs, as well as more reliable publicly available information regarding these programs.
Mental health in the profession of policing is a topic that needs more attention. Many departments have readily available mental health resources however, they are only mandated for officers to use after an incident such as a shooting or suicide has occurred. Shift work, and police culture coupled with the traumatic events that take place on the job negatively impact the mental health of officers and more support is needed for officers to overcome their mental struggles. Through snowball sample interviews of officers and those who work with officers in a mental health capacity, this thesis found that it is evident that most police departments should be more proactive instead of reactive with their mental health support. Police officials should take mental health as seriously as physical health.
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.