Matching Items (6)
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- All Subjects: criminology
- Genre: Masters Thesis
- Creators: Katz, Charles
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
Although prior research has identified negative consequences from marijuana use, some states are legalizing marijuana for medical use due to its medical utility. In 2010, the State of Arizona passed medical marijuana legislation, yet, to date, little research has been published about the specific population characteristics of medical marijuana users or their criminal activity. The purpose of this study is to present the characteristics of medical marijuana users and examine the relationship between medical marijuana use and crime, including substance use, by comparing four groups which are medical marijuana users with authorized medical marijuana ID card (authorized medical marijuana users, AuMM users), medical marijuana users without authorized medical marijuana ID card (non-authorized medical marijuana users, NonAuMM users), illegal marijuana users without authorized medical marijuana ID card (non-authorized marijuana users, NonAuM users), and non-marijuana users (Non-users). Data were collected from a sample of recently booked arrestees in Maricopa County, Arizona through the Arizona Arrestee Reporting Information Network (AARIN) project. A total of 2,656 adult arrestees participated in the study. Findings show that authorized medical marijuana users were more likely to be male, younger, and high school graduates. Medical marijuana users, on average, were likely to acquire more marijuana and spend more money on obtaining marijuana compared to non-authorized marijuana users. Whereas the authorized medical marijuana users had a higher probability for DUI and drug selling/making than non-marijuana users, non-authorized medical marijuana users had a higher probability for involvement property crime, violent crime, DUI, and drug selling/making than non-marijuana users. Authorized medical marijuana users were less likely to use meth compared to non-authorized medical marijuana users and non-authorized marijuana users. This study suggests that it is important to recognize the non-authorized medical marijuana users under medical marijuana policy as well as the DUI regulations and medical insurance.
ContributorsCheon, Hyunjung (Author) / Katz, Charles (Thesis advisor) / White, Michael (Committee member) / Shafer, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
ABSTRACT Research has shown that the manner in which people are treated in their interactions with agents of the criminal justice system matters. People expect criminal justice officials to treat them fairly and with honesty and respect, which is the basis for procedural justice. When people are treated in a procedurally just and equitable manner they will view the system as legitimate and will be more likely to voluntarily comply and cooperate with legal system directives. People who have personal or vicarious experiences of unfair or unjust interactions with the legal system tend to view the system as less legitimate and are less likely to comply and cooperate when they have contact with representatives of the system. This study examines a random sample of 337 arrestees in Maricopa County, Arizona who have been interviewed as a part of the Arizona Arrestee Reporting Information Network. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis are used to examine views of the procedural justice experienced by arrestees during arrest, perceptions of police legitimacy by arrestees, voluntary compliance to the law, and voluntary cooperation with police. Results of the study show that perceptions of legitimacy work through procedural justice, and that procedurally just interactions with police mediate racial effects on views of legitimacy. Views of procedural justice and legitimacy increase cooperation. No variables in this study were significantly related to compliance.
ContributorsJorgensen, Cody (Author) / Ready, Justin (Thesis advisor) / White, Michael (Committee member) / Katz, Charles (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
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
Mexican drug cartels have been a difficult group to get official data on because of the clandestine nature of their operations and the inherent dangers associated with any type of research on these groups. Due to the close relationship that the United States and Mexico share, the United States being a heavy demander of illicit drugs and Mexico being the supplier or the transshipment point, research that sheds light on cartels and their effects is necessary in order to solve this problem. A growing concern is that cartels have been seeking to improve their international infrastructure. This could potentially be done by partnering with gangs located in the United States to help with the distribution of drugs. The author uses data from the 2009 and 2010 Arizona Gang Threat Assessment and three sets of analyses (dummy variable regression, change score, multinomial logistic) to shed light on the possible partnership between cartels and U.S. based gangs. Primarily using the varying level of intervention strategies practiced by police departments throughout the state of Arizona, this study is exploratory in nature, but attempts to find the effectiveness of intervention strategies on "cartel affiliated" gangs, as identified by federal authorities, and how police departments respond towards these same groups. With the current data, there was no significant evidence that suggests that intervention strategies were less effective on "cartel affiliated" gangs or that police departments were responsive towards these “affiliated” gangs.
ContributorsMora, Victor, M.S (Author) / Sweeten, Gary (Thesis advisor) / Wang, Xia (Committee member) / Katz, Charles (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Police departments have perceived improved citizen behavior to be a benefit of body-worn cameras (BWC) since their implementation. Often referred to as a civilizing effect, the idea that citizens will become calmer when they know that they are being recorded by an officer is rooted in deterrence theory and self-awareness theory. Deterrence theory states that people will behave properly when they believe punishment will be swift, certain, and severe, while self-awareness theory states that individuals cognizant of their place in society model their actions based on social norms. The presence of a BWC, though, does not guarantee that the citizen is aware they are being recorded. Citizen awareness of the BWC and activation of the BWC are necessary pre-conditions to improved behavior. Current evidence is mixed regarding if BWCs are a catalyst for improved citizen behavior, which is typically measured through reductions in use of force by police and citizen complaints. Using data collected through systematic social observation during police ride-alongs, the author will seek to determine: 1) How often BWCs are activated in police-citizen encounters, 2) How often citizens are aware of BWCs in these encounters, 3) How often citizen behavior changes positively following BWC awareness, and 4) How often citizen behavior changes independent of BWC awareness. This study expands on current research by examining the civilizing effect of BWCs from a transactional standpoint and how citizen behavior changes within an officer-citizen encounter, rather than using a post-interaction metric such as use of force.
Despite high BWC activation compliance among the officers within this study, no evidence was found for BWCs having a civilizing effect as the pre-condition of citizen awareness was rarely satisfied. These results could shape policies within departments implementing BWCs hoping to improve officer safety and community relations. Mandatory notification would satisfy the pre-condition of citizen awareness, allowing for the BWC to potentially have a civilizing effect.
Despite high BWC activation compliance among the officers within this study, no evidence was found for BWCs having a civilizing effect as the pre-condition of citizen awareness was rarely satisfied. These results could shape policies within departments implementing BWCs hoping to improve officer safety and community relations. Mandatory notification would satisfy the pre-condition of citizen awareness, allowing for the BWC to potentially have a civilizing effect.
ContributorsPatterson, Quin Ryan (Author) / White, Michael D. (Thesis advisor) / Katz, Charles (Committee member) / Wallace, Danielle (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020