Matching Items (25)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: criminology
- Creators: Wallace, Danielle
Description
Knowing that disorder is related to crime, it has become essential for criminologists to understand how and why certain individuals perceive disorder. Using data from the Perceptions of Neighborhood Disorder and Interpersonal Conflict Project, this study uses a fixed photograph of a neighborhood, to assess whether individuals "see" disorder cues. A final sample size of n=815 respondents were asked to indicate if they saw particular disorder cues in the photograph. The results show that certain personal characteristics do predict whether an individual sees disorder. Because of the experimental design, results are a product of the individual's personal characteristics, not of the respondent's neighborhood. These findings suggest that the perception of disorder is not as clear cut as once thought. Future research should explore what about these personal characteristics foster the perception of disorder when it is not present, as well as, how to fight disorder in neighborhoods when perception plays such a substantial role.
ContributorsScott, Christopher (Author) / Wallace, Danielle (Thesis advisor) / Katz, Charles (Committee member) / Ready, Justin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Criminologists have directed significant theoretical and empirical attention toward the institution of marriage over the past two decades. Importantly, the momentum guiding this line of research has increased despite the fact that people are getting married far less often and much later in the life course than in any point in American history. The aim of this dissertation is to address this disconnect by focusing attention to nonmarital romantic relationships and their instability during emerging adulthood. To do so, it uses data from the Pathways to Desistance Study, a longitudinal study of 1,354 at-risk males and females who were adjudicated from the juvenile and adult systems in Phoenix and Philadelphia between 2000 and 2003. The project focuses attention to the following issues: (1) the effect of romantic dissolution on aggressive and income-based offenses; (2) the extent to which strain
egative emotionality and peer influence/exposure account for the effect of romantic dissolution on crime; and (3) the extent to which certain relationship and individual circumstances moderate the effect of romantic dissolution. The models reveal a few key findings. First, romantic dissolution is strongly related to an increase in both aggressive and income-based crime, but is more strongly related to income-based crime. Second, the effect of romantic dissolution is reduced when measures of strain
egative emotionality and peer influence/exposure measures are added to models, but the peer influence/exposure measures account for the strongest reduction. Finally, romantic dissolution does not serve as a positive life event among these at-risk youth, but its effect is exacerbated under a number of contexts (e.g. when an individual is unemployed). This study closes with a summary of these findings as well as its key limitations, and offers insight into potential policy implications and avenues of future research.
egative emotionality and peer influence/exposure account for the effect of romantic dissolution on crime; and (3) the extent to which certain relationship and individual circumstances moderate the effect of romantic dissolution. The models reveal a few key findings. First, romantic dissolution is strongly related to an increase in both aggressive and income-based crime, but is more strongly related to income-based crime. Second, the effect of romantic dissolution is reduced when measures of strain
egative emotionality and peer influence/exposure measures are added to models, but the peer influence/exposure measures account for the strongest reduction. Finally, romantic dissolution does not serve as a positive life event among these at-risk youth, but its effect is exacerbated under a number of contexts (e.g. when an individual is unemployed). This study closes with a summary of these findings as well as its key limitations, and offers insight into potential policy implications and avenues of future research.
ContributorsLarson, Matthew Joseph (Author) / Sweeten, Gary (Thesis advisor) / Piquero, Alex (Committee member) / Spohn, Cassia (Committee member) / Wallace, Danielle (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Effectiveness and efficiency of the police have been contentious topics from the public perspective. Police departments have developed policies to help better their patrol officers' effectiveness on the streets in both quality and timeliness. Although there have been few recent studies about the response time of officers to calls for service, this is a subject that should not go overlooked. As an important aspect to the patrol officer's repertoire, response time can have effects on the community and its perception on the police. This study uses a multi-level modeling approach to examine the effects of incident and neighborhood factors on police response time within a medium size Southwest city. Police departments use a scale to determine the priority of a call for service, commonly referred to as the PRI. This index scale was found to have the most effect on the response times, while a few cyclical patterns were obtained of level 1 variables. Neighborhood characteristics showed significant effects, measuring structural disadvantage, however, caution should be used in generalizing these findings to other public jurisdictions.
ContributorsSullivan, Eamon (Author) / Ready, Justin (Thesis advisor) / Wallace, Danielle (Committee member) / Katz, Charles (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
ABSTRACT
The legalization of marijuana is increasing in the United States. With more dispensaries opening, it is essential to look at these businesses' impacts on neighborhood crime rates. Alcohol outlets are known as crime attractors/crime generators, and their presence in a neighborhood is also significant to look at when investigating violent crime rates. It is crucial then to take both marijuana and alcohol outlets together to determine the effects these facilities have on aggravated assault and robbery in a neighborhood. To assess the impact of marijuana outlets, on-premises alcohol outlets, and off-premises alcohol outlets in Los Angeles, California, on aggravated assaults and robberies, this thesis uses Los Angeles business, crime, and census data. The study addresses the following research questions: (1) Does an additional marijuana outlet in a neighborhood increase aggravated assaults and robberies? (2) Does the presence of on- and off-premises alcohol outlets increase aggravated assault and robbery? (3) Does the presence of multiple types of risky businesses increase violent crime? The current study finds an increase in aggravated assaults and robberies when marijuana outlets and on- and off-premises outlets are located in a neighborhood. The only non-significant finding is when all three outlet types were present; marijuana outlets are the only outlet type not associated with an increase in robbery. These findings suggest that limits should be placed on the number of risky retailers in a neighborhood and provides policy implications directed toward reducing violent crime near marijuana and alcohol outlets.
KEYWORDS alcohol outlets, marijuana outlets, aggravated assault, robbery
ContributorsStowell, Sierra (Author) / Chamberlain, Alyssa (Thesis advisor) / Wallace, Danielle (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
The purpose of this study is to examine how sex influences the physical demandof weapons used in homicide. The study focuses on two research questions using data
from Newark, New Jersey: (1) Does sex influence the use of a weapon that is more or
less physically demanding to commit homicide? and (2) Does the sex dyad of the
offender and victim influence using a weapon that is more or less physically demanding?
The descriptive analysis shows significant relationships between the sex dyad of the
offender and victim in homicide and the level of physical demand used to perpetrate
homicide. The logistic multinomial regression analysis shows suspect sex and suspect
and victim sex dyads significantly predict the physical demand of the weapons used to
perpetrate homicide compared to those who utilized weapons of low physical demand.
The results support the need to challenge traditional perspectives regarding the role of sex
in criminal decision-making and seek to integrate more intersectional and gendered
explanations into neoclassical theories of criminal behavior. Theoretical implications and
future avenues of research are also discussed.
ContributorsAlvarez, Gabriel (Author) / Pizarro, Jesenia M. (Thesis advisor) / Messing, Jill T. (Committee member) / Wallace, Danielle (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Body-worn cameras and early intervention systems have become best practices for police departments. A wide body of empirical work has examined body-worn cameras, and there is a growing focus on early intervention systems. However, little research has examined how these mechanisms of accountability influence officer behavior when employed together. Further, little attention has explored whether the effects of body-worn cameras and early intervention systems are stable by officer gender and race, important and largely untested assumptions of each program. To address these gaps, the current study uses longitudinal, administrative data from the Phoenix Police Department to examine patrol officer misconduct between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2020. Generalized estimating equation models predict seven alleged and sustained misconduct outcomes, including police crime, use of force, harassment/conduct unbecoming, obstruction of justice, neglect of duty, traffic-related, and an overall measure of misconduct. The findings revealed that body-worn camera implementation and activation and early intervention system implementation and referrals individually and in combination were associated with very few substantive changes in officer misconduct. Increases in body-worn camera activation were associated with reductions in sustained police crime (i.e., felonies and misdemeanors), while officers who received an early intervention system referral were more likely to be alleged of police crime in the future. These findings were stable by officer gender and race. Further, past work demonstrates that implementing accountability programs can lead officers to less self-initiated engagement with the public. The current study reaffirmed that body-worn cameras and early intervention systems have unintended effects on officers’ proactive behaviors with unique changes in arrests, citations, and self-initiated incidents across accountability program measures. Given the importance of addressing officer misconduct to build and maintain community trust, the rapid expansion of body-worn cameras and early intervention systems across the United States, and the cost of these systems, it is vital that police departments consider the accountability programs they implement and whether and how these programs influence officer behavior. The current study provides insight into this process in one police agency and offers policy implications and directions for future research.
ContributorsFreemon, Kayla (Author) / Katz, Charles (Thesis advisor) / Wallace, Danielle (Committee member) / Huebner, Beth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Recently, videos of negative police interactions have gone viral on social media causing riots and protests nationwide. However, police scholars have spent little time exploring how these videos affect the legitimacy of this authority or why these videos are interfaced with—e.g., shared, liked, direct messaged, and quoted—on social media. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which the content of police videos and the source of who is sharing them impacts the legitimacy of the police as well as the likelihood of social media interfacing. This study used a factorial vignette design with an online sample (N = 179) that presented one of six experimental vignettes describing a scenario in which the participant received a video of a police interaction via social media. Within each vignette, the officer behaved in a procedurally just or unjust way and the video was shared by either a local news source, best friend, or online friend. Participants were asked questions assessing the legitimacy of the officer, as well as the likelihood they would share, like, direct message, or quote the video on social media. Participants in the procedurally unjust condition perceived the officer as less legitimate and were more likely to share the video than those in the procedurally just condition. The manipulation of source had no significant effects. The results from this study indicate that police departments need to be sensitive to these videos that are being interfaced with on social media by striving for a strong and positive social media presence in order to aid in being deemed as a legitimate authority that represents the community.
ContributorsGeoghan, Stephanie Jena (Author) / Trinkner, Rick J (Thesis advisor) / Reisig, Michael (Committee member) / Wallace, Danielle (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Dispatchers are the first point of contact for most citizens seeking police services, as well as the lifeline for officers in the field. Their ability to navigate high-stress situations and obtain information from callers is essential to the successful distribution of police resources. Though central to policing, research on dispatchers is quite limited, including the techniques they use to keep callers and officers calm. De-escalation is also underexplored in policing, but recent evaluations of de-escalation training have shown some promise for applications in the field, and reductions in use of force and citizen injuries. Until this project, the nexus of dispatching and de-escalation has not been explored in a way that provides insight from experts in the field who use a subset of skills and techniques to resolve volatile calls and radio transmissions. Using survey responses and semi-structured interviews with peer-nominated Top Dispatch De-Escalators in Tempe, Arizona, this exploratory, mixed-methods study is the first to provide a nuanced perspective of the ways dispatchers de-escalate elevated callers and officers in the field to resolve incidents peacefully. Results from the general survey indicate that dispatchers act professionally when interacting with citizens, care about callers, and treat them with respect. Communication, staying calm, and patience were ranked as the most important deescalationtactics used in dispatching, with compromise being the lowest. Themes gathered from interviews with Top Dispatch De-Escalators shed light on the qualities embodied by an exceptional de-escalator, including listening and communication skills, transparency, and the ability to regulate emotion. Results also provide insight into the barriers that may prevent de-escalation, and recommendations for police agencies looking to bridge the gap that exists between dispatchers, other department personnel, and the community. Findings shed light on the mental health-de-escalation nexus that exists, and the importance of
improving conditions for dispatchers which has direct implications for one’s ability to deescalate. This study is the first to examine front-end de-escalation that occurs on the dispatcher side, revealing a missing link in the overall understanding of de-escalation
and highlighting the crucial role of dispatch in reducing the potential for violence between community members and police.
ContributorsOrosco, Carlena A (Author) / White, Michael D (Thesis advisor) / Fradella, Henry F (Committee member) / Wallace, Danielle (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Do the circumstances of sexual assault situations shape how individuals view a victims’ blameworthiness and risk? To examine this, data were collected on college students' perceptions of a victims’ blameworthiness and a victims’ perceived amount of risk specifically looking at how these views differ across scenarios portraying varying rape myths. College students (n=395) from Arizona State University were recruited via professors to participate in the survey. In the analysis, chi-square tests were run and zero-inflated ordered probit logistic regressions (ZIOP) with clustered standard errors predicting risk and blame perceptions across scenarios were conducted. The results show that the college students’ perceptions of risk and victim blameworthiness did vary across the rape myths that were shown within the scenarios. The chi-square tests demonstrated that for all three of the risk and blame questions, respondents’ answers on the outcome were dependent on the scenario. The ZIOP demonstrated that overall, the respondents were unwilling to assign risk and blame to the victims in the scenarios, however, when they assigned risk and blame answers varied across the different scenarios. This indicates that the rape myths portrayed in each scenario changed how individuals rated a victim’s perceived blameworthiness and risk. This has implications for the continuation of exposure to sexual assault awareness training and courses.
ContributorsJones, Teairstayn Kaylynn Angel (Author) / Wallace, Danielle (Thesis advisor) / Fox-Talbot, Kathleen A (Committee member) / Montes, Andrea N (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
In the United States, approximately 400,000 youth are in out-of-home care in the custody of child protection systems (CPS). They are incarcerated, but not as punishment for a crime. States place youth in CPS custody for many different reasons, centered around legal determinations of families’ failure to provide adequate care. Such youth are forcibly separated from their biological (“bio”) families and required to live in shelters, group homes, and foster households at the threat of arrest. Through the socio-legal concept of parens patriae, the government assumes responsibility for their safety and development. In other words, the state assumes the role of parents to children it places in CPS. Still, despite years of social work research, three fundamental questions remain about CPS for criminology. First, criminologists are beginning to recognize the overlap between criminology and CPS but lack a theoretical framework for analyzing that intersection. Second, the proper role of the state in youth development and the measurement of its relative success are of central importance to criminal justice, but at best loosely defined. Finally, this dissertation asks: how do entering CPS custody, growing up in state care, and (someday) exiting CPS shape the experiences and perceptions of CPS youth? Given the attenuated social processes associated with CPS, criminologists might expect youth to experience significant barriers to transitioning successfully to adulthood. At the same time, therapeutic assessment and treatment in CPS should ameliorate those barriers. This dissertation addresses that theoretical paradox in eight chapters. After an introductory overview, Chapter Two posits social control, social support, and agency over the life course as a theoretical framework for understanding the implications of growing up in CPS. Chapter Three details the phronetic and ethnographic approach of the study, designed to encounter the perspectives of youth themselves in their “natural” setting. Chapters Four through Seven present findings from interviews with participants in an arts-based therapy program for youth in CPS (n=33). Chapter Eight concludes the study with a discussion of the implications of this work for criminological research, juvenile justice policy, and youth who grow up in CPS.
ContributorsCesar, Gabriel T Gilberto (Author) / Decker, Scott (Thesis advisor) / Wallace, Danielle (Committee member) / White, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018