Matching Items (22)
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- All Subjects: criminology
- All Subjects: Crime prevention
- Genre: Academic theses
- Genre: Masters Thesis
- Creators: Sweeten, Gary
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
- Status: Published
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
The current study examines the social structure of local street gangs in Glendale, Arizona. Literature on gang organization has come to different conclusions about gang organization, largely based on the methodology used. One consistent finding from qualitative gang research has been that understanding the social connections between gang members is important for understanding how gangs are organized. The current study examines gang social structure by recreating gang social networks using official police data. Data on documented gang members, arrest records, and field interview cards from a 5-year period from 2006 to 2010 were used. Yearly social networks were constructed going two steps out from documented gang members. The findings indicated that gang networks had high turnover and they consisted of small subgroups. Further, the position of the gang member or associate was a significant predictor of arrest, specifically for those who had high betweenness centrality. At the group level, density and measures of centralization were not predictive of group-level behavior; hybrid groups were more likely to be involved in criminal behavior, however. The implications of these findings for both theory and policy are discussed.
ContributorsFox, Andrew (Author) / Katz, Charles M. (Thesis advisor) / White, Michael D. (Committee member) / Sweeten, Gary (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
The controversy over law enforcement use of TASER devices and the potential for the devices to cause death has proliferated in recent years. In 2005 the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) and International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) published national-level policy guidelines for the use of TASER devices, with one of the goals being to reduce the occurrence of deaths proximal to their use. What remains unknown in regard to these guidelines is whether or not departments that adhere to these guidelines are experiencing fewer TASER-proximate arrest related deaths (ARDs) than departments who are not. This study seeks to determine preliminary answers to this question by conducting a comparison of the policies of departments with three or more TASER-proximate ARDs to a matched sample of police departments that deploy the TASER, but have no (or one to two) TASER-proximate ARDs. The departments were matched on the number of full time sworn officers, geography (region, division, or state), and department type. Once matched, all department policies were coded based on how closely they adhered to the following areas of PERF and IACP guidelines: use of force against vulnerable/at risk populations, policies governing the TASER device deployment, training, reporting, and post-exposure requirements. Study departments, when compared to matched departments, had a greater number of policy areas with higher failure to comply rates. The same was true when looking at the category totals, as well as the overall totals, with the difference in failure to comply rates being larger for PERF than IACP. These findings show an association between departments with three or more TASER-proximate ARDs and higher failure to comply rates with national model policies. Additionally, it appears that many departments are failing to heed research findings or advice from outside their department. Based on this, future research may want to address the ways in which greater compliance with national policies can be obtained nationwide.
ContributorsRiggs, Courtney (Author) / White, Michael D. (Thesis advisor) / Ready, Justin (Committee member) / Sweeten, Gary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Research on the consequences of gang membership is limited mainly to the study of crime and victimization. This gives the narrow impression that the effects of gang membership do not cascade into other life domains. This dissertation conceptualized gang membership as a snare in the life-course that disrupts progression in conventional life domains. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Cohort of 1997 (NLSY97) data were used to examine the effects of adolescent gang membership on the nature and patterns of educational attainment and employment over a 12-year period in the life-course. Variants of propensity score weighting were used to assess the effects of gang joining on a range of outcomes pertaining to educational attainment and employment. The key findings in this dissertation include: (1) selection adjustments partially or fully confounded the effects of gang joining; despite this (2) gang joiners had 70 percent the odds of earning a high school diploma and 42 percent the odds of earning a 4-year college degree than matched individuals who avoided gangs; (3) at the 11-year mark, the effect of gang joining on educational attainment exceeded one-half year; (4) gang joiners made up for proximate deficits in high school graduation and college matriculation, but gaps in 4-year college degree and overall educational attainment gained throughout the study; (5) gang joiners were less likely to be employed and more likely to not participate in the labor force, and these differences accelerated toward the end of the study; (6) gang joiners spent an additional one-third of a year jobless relative to their matched counterparts; and (7) the cumulative effect of gang joining on annual income exceeded $14,000, which was explained by the patterning of joblessness rather than the quality of jobs. The theoretical and policy implications of these findings, as well as directions for future research, are addressed in the concluding chapter of this dissertation.
ContributorsPyrooz, David (Author) / Decker, Scott H. (Thesis advisor) / Pratt, Travis C. (Committee member) / Sweeten, Gary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Officials employed in the criminal justice system have a duty to serve, protect, and uphold the law. Nevertheless, previous research has found problematic drinking and illegal substance use exists among criminal justice system employees. Criminal justice employees may be more likely to use substances due to strains or due to increased access to drug. On the other hand, self-selection and screening processes may result in a pool of employees who fewer substances than the general population. Using waves 1 through 17 of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, the current research examines substance use patterns of criminal justice system employees, assessing how their rate of substance use compares to a nationally representative sample, and how their substance use changes once employed with the criminal justice system, this research surveys the alcohol and illicit drug use of people who went on to work in the criminal justice system and how their substance use compares to the general population. In addition, this research compares police officer substance use to the general population. When compared to a nationally represented sample, criminal justice system employees consistently use illegal substances at lower rates. However, the prevalence of alcohol use among police officers specifically is higher when compared to the general population and increases once employed with the criminal justice system. Information from this research can be used to help agencies with employee selection procedures and employee assistance programs for current employees.
ContributorsRobin, Angela Evelina (Author) / Sweeten, Gary (Thesis advisor) / Scott, Michael (Committee member) / Decker, Scott (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Gangs present a wide array of consequences, both for society as a whole and for gang members themselves. Addressing factors that influence gang membership is of critical importance; however, very little research to date has sought to understand the relationship between spirituality, religion, and gang membership, instead focusing on general deviance. The goal of the present study is to bridge this gap by addressing two research questions: 1. what is the relationship between spirituality and gang membership? And 2. what is the relationship between formal religious participation and gang membership? In order to answer these questions, the current study utilizes Pathways to Desistance, a longitudinal study of adjudicated youth and young adults in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Phoenix, Arizona. Logistic regression indicates that spirituality, not formal religious participation, is associated with decreased odds of gang membership in the first two years following adjudication. In addition, increased levels of antisocial peer deviance are significantly associated with increased odds of gang membership. Together, these results indicate that reorienting gang members away from their deviant peers, fostering new, prosocial connections, and encouraging spiritual ideas such as personal closeness to a higher power and feelings of spiritual support may help decrease their odds of continuing participation in gang life. These findings support the continuation of faith-based gang treatments, but do not support formal religious practices (such as church services) as a focus of these treatments. Future research should collect original data, including qualitative interviews about gang members’ perceptions of and relationship with religion and spirituality, as well as utilize Pathways to Desistance in its full seven-year capacity in order to further understand the nuances of this relationship.
ContributorsLoomis, Katelyn (Author) / Decker, Scott H. (Thesis advisor) / Sweeten, Gary (Committee member) / Young, Jacob Tn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
This study utilizes the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive (ATF) eTrace data provided by the Crime Gun Intelligence Unit of Phoenix Police Department to examine firearms recovered from January 2016 to September 2019. The purpose of the study is to examine how firearm characteristics differ between gang members and non-gang members with the intent of identifying the types of firearms to target in a supply-side enforcement approach towards reducing gun violence. Specifically, this study examines the type of dealer the firearm was sold from, the state from which the original purchase of the firearm was traced to, the quality of the firearm as determined by its manufacturer, and the age of the firearm as determined by the number of days between its first original purchase and its recovery by law enforcement. Findings indicate that the odds of a firearm being recovered from a gang member significantly decreases when the firearm is older than three years and has a medium-sized caliber.
ContributorsGutierrez, Melissa Anne (Author) / Katz, Charles M (Thesis advisor) / Sweeten, Gary (Committee member) / Scott, Michael S (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Recent times have seen a steady growth in studies about gangs and their membersin prison. Despite the increased interest on gangs in prison, there is much to learn about
their members. Specifically, emerging research indicates that gang members disengage
from their gangs while in prison, however, explanations for why members leave have
been limited to individual level factors. Little is known about how the gang context
influences the process of disengagement in prisons. Further, despite disengaging from
their gangs, former members continue to be at a higher risk for recidivism upon release,
when compared to non-gang members. The current body of literature fails to explicate the
mechanisms that increase a former member’s risk for recidivism. Accordingly, this
dissertation seeks to advance the literature by asking three primary questions: 1) Does
gang organization matter for disengagement from gangs in prison?; 2) Do reentry
experiences differ by gang membership status—current, former and non-gang member?;
3) Do reentry experiences impact reintegration outcomes? Data from the LoneStar Project—a multi-wave study that explores thetrajectories, associations and reentry among 802 gang and non-gang involved inmates
released from Texas prisons—are used. Regression models are estimated to assess the
effects of the gang organization on disengagement and to compare the reentry and
reintegration experiences of current, former and non-gang members. The results indicate
that gang organization is important for disengagement in prison. Further, upon release,
former gang members show no differences in their reentry and reintegration experiences
when compared to non-gang members. Former members, however, show higher levels of
motivation for change and better mental health 1 month after release, when compared to
current members. Additionally, current gang members are found to have the lowest levels
of psychological reintegration 9 months after release. These differences are found to be
mediated by levels of motivation for change and mental health at 1 month after release.
The findings are discussed in light of their implications for continued theoretical
development, future empirical research and the creation of public policy concerning gang
members
ContributorsKhade, Natasha B (Author) / Decker, Scott H (Thesis advisor) / Sweeten, Gary (Committee member) / Wright, Kevin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
From a criminological life-course and developmental perspective, military service acts as a positive life event for most individuals. For others, it can serve as a catalyst for maladaptive life-course outcomes, including criminal justice system involvement. However, despite the well-documented negative risks of military service on veteran life-course outcomes and the increased prevalence of veterans in the justice system, relatively little inquiry exists that investigates first-hand accounts of the life-course experiences of veterans enmeshed within the criminal justice system. This dissertation begins to fill this gap by exploring the life-course experiences of justice-involved veterans in three separate, yet interconnected ways: (1) trajectories of deviance across the life-course and the impact of military service on deviance (Chapter 2); (2) the relationships between military service, mental health, and negative life-course outcomes (Chapter 3); and (3) the daily experiences of justice-involved veterans, including who they spend time with, what they spend time doing, and how these factors impact emotion (Chapter 4). This work is one of the few to utilize qualitative inquiry to better understand the relationship between military service and trajectories of deviance for justice-involved veterans, and is the first to use ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methodology to examine the daily experiences of justice-involved veterans. Findings suggest that the role of military service as a turning point is nuanced, and for many the military directly impacted both deviance and mental health outcomes. Further, emotionality of these veterans is quite variant over time, while social togetherness and engagement in activity show to be impactful on emotional well-being. Overall, this dissertation expands the understanding of the role of military service in the life-course, and provides an in-depth look into the daily and life-course experiences of justice-involved veterans, ultimately giving voice to the veterans themselves to articulate their own experiences and needs.
ContributorsTerpstra, Brice (Author) / White, Michael D (Thesis advisor) / Sweeten, Gary (Thesis advisor) / Telep, Cody (Committee member) / Mulvey, Philip (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024