Matching Items (13)
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- All Subjects: criminology
- Creators: Telep, Cody W.
Description
The purpose of this preliminary study is to determine if sentencing disparities exist between male and female teachers who have been convicted of sexual misconduct with a student in Maricopa County, Arizona over a ten-year period. The hypothesis is that male teachers convicted of sexual misconduct with a student will receive harsher punishment than their female counterparts. In addition, this research will analyze the sentencing decisions of Arizona judges and prosecutors through plea-bargaining when compared with the presumptive sentence set by the Arizona Legislature. Issues that will be addressed include: a brief review of gender disparities in sentencing, sex offender sentencing, Arizona's rules of criminal procedure, and a review of the Arizona Revised Statutes pertaining to sexual crimes as well as the Arizona Supreme Court sentencing guidelines. The data set consists of fifteen different Maricopa County teachers who committed a sexual offense against a student and were convicted of that offense from February 2000 through September 2009. According to the results of this study, male teachers do receive harsher penalties than their female counterparts within Maricopa County.
ContributorsSimmon, Christopher (Author) / Holtfreter, Kristy (Thesis advisor) / Wright, Kevin (Committee member) / Spohn, Cassia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
People are not expected to do well while in prison. People often do not do well in prison. Prison research is replete with accounts of the harmful psychological, behavioral, and social effects of incarceration, but much less attention or acknowledgment is given to the people who do not experience these negative outcomes and perhaps even flourish while on the inside. This dissertation better understands who is doing well in prison, who is experiencing change for the better in prison, and how the prison experience impacts reflections on well-being in life through three separate studies. The first study uses a negative case framework to identify incarcerated men who are doing well by avoiding negative outcomes across a number of psychosocial and behavioral domains (e.g. mental health, coping strategies), as well as assesses what background and environmental characteristics are associated with those who are doing well behaviorally and psychosocially. The second study identifies individuals who are reporting improvement in their personal circumstances during the first year of incarceration and assesses the processes and events that are associated with reported improvements. Specifically, an equifinality framework is used to highlight the numerous pathways that can lead to a single positive outcome (e.g., reporting improvement in prison). A multifinality framework is also used to highlight the numerous outcomes that can be associated with a single life event (e.g., incarceration). The final study of the dissertation descriptively assesses life satisfaction, psychological flourishing, generativity, and meaning in life among a sample of incarcerated men, as well as assesses the correlates of high well-being during incarceration. Using data from The Arizona Living and Working in Prison project (studies 1 and 2) and the Enhancing the Prison Environment project (study 3), results from this dissertation reveal a sizeable portion of incarcerated people who are doing well while incarcerated via avoiding negative outcomes and experiences, experiencing change for the better, and reporting high levels of well-being.
ContributorsMorse, Stephanie J. (Author) / Wright, Kevin A. (Thesis advisor) / Young, Jacob T.N. (Committee member) / Telep, Cody W. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
This study tested hypotheses derived from general strain theory, including whether the disposition for crime (e.g., trait anger and low self-control) and prosocial
coping moderate the link between state-based negative emotions and maladaptive coping.
A 2x2 factorial vignette was embedded in a survey instrument and administered to a
university-based sample (N = 503). The results from the regression models support
different parts of general strain theory, such as the direct effect of strain on negative
emotions, the effect of negative emotions on aggressive coping, and the mediating effect
of negative emotions. Finally, the effect of some negative emotions on aggressive coping
were moderated by trait anger, low self-control, and prosocial coping. The findings of
this study support the argument that dispositions to maladaptive coping amplify the
effects of negative emotion and underscore the importance of establishing prosocial
coping resources.
Keywords: emotions, general strain theory, low self-control, maladaptive coping
ContributorsWood, Margaret Tynan (Author) / Reisig, Michael D. (Thesis advisor) / Young, Jacob T.N. (Committee member) / Telep, Cody W. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Recidivism occurs when an individual is released from prison and then, through a violation of parole or a new offense, ends up back in prison. Durose and colleagues (2014) cite that 55.4% of individuals go back to prison after a five-year post release. Considerable attention has been focused on reducing the cycle of these individuals going back to prison. One of the attempts to remedy this issue is through offering pre-release programs for prison inmates. These programs seek to provide individuals skills that will reduce their likelihood of reoffending. But existing research shows that the effectiveness of these programs is limited. Moreover, few attempts have been made to look at differences between individual’s dosage of program participation. This thesis aims to determine if participation in a pre-release program reduces recidivism. Using data from the state’s Department of Corrections, there is a comparison of previously imprisoned individuals who participated in a pre-release employment program and those who declined participation, to understand if participation influences recidivism. Additionally, dosage of the center will be analyzed to determine whether length of program participation influenced recidivism. Participating in the program and a longer dose of the program should allow more time for the individual to learn the material and fully absorb what the program is offering such as skills and training. The results show that participation in the pre-release employment program did not significantly affect recidivism as individuals who went through the program were no less likely to be reincarcerated. In addition, a longer dosage of the program did not significantly influence recidivism among those who went through the program.
ContributorsMoore, Deana (Author) / Young, Jacob T.N. (Thesis advisor) / Telep, Cody W. (Committee member) / Wright, Kevin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Procedural justice serves a critical role in the interactions between criminal justice system actors and their clientele. Much of the literature in this area focuses on policing, and we know comparatively less about how procedural justice operates in corrections. Much like policing, it is likely that perceptions of correctional procedural justice vary within larger contexts. Using structured interviews with inmates (N=248) in Arizona at max, close, and medium custody, this study examines the association between conditions of confinement and perceptions of procedural justice, with a focus on how personality characteristics may modify this relationship. Results indicate that custody level does impact inmate perceptions of correctional officer procedural justice and that certain personality traits serve as protective or aggravating factors within the relationship between custody level and procedural justice. Policy implications and future research are discussed.
ContributorsMatekel, Caitlin Grace (Author) / Wright, Kevin A (Thesis advisor) / Telep, Cody W. (Committee member) / Young, Jacob Tn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The use of restrictive housing in prisons is at the forefront of national discussions on crime and punishment. Civil and human rights activists have argued that its use should be limited due to harmful effects on the physical and psychological health of inmates as well as its limited ability to reduce subsequent offending. Stacked against this is the need for correctional administrators to respond to institutional violence in a manner that ideally curtails future violence while doing no further harm to the well-being of those housed in these environments. The current project explores the effectiveness of a Restrictive Status Housing Program (RSHP) designed for inmates who commit violent assaults within the Arizona Department of Corrections. The program, as designed, moves beyond exclusively punitive approaches to segregation by encouraging behavior modification that is influenced by cognitive behavioral training. This study advances the literature and informs correctional policy by: 1) examining the effects of program participation on future behavioral outcomes, and 2) exploring mechanisms through which the program works (or does not work) by interviewing former RSHP participants and staff. The current research uses a mixed-method research design and was carried out in two phases. For Phase 1, quantitative data on behavioral outcomes of program participants (N = 240), as well as a carefully constructed comparison group (N = 1,687), will be collected and analyzed using official records over a one-year follow-up. Phase 2 will examine qualitative data derived from semi-structured interviews with former RSHP participants (n = 25) and correctional staff who oversee the day-to-day management of the program (n = 10). Results from the current study suggest that placement in the RSHP has null, and at times, an adverse effect on subsequent levels of institutional misconduct. Policy implications and recommendations based on these findings are discussed.
ContributorsMeyers, Travis John (Author) / Wright, Kevin A. (Thesis advisor) / Young, Jacob T.N. (Committee member) / Telep, Cody W. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Sexual assault victimization is a pervasive issue affecting one in four college women. This staggering statistic causes concern for universities across the country to protect students and encourage victimization reporting. Yet little known about college women’s reporting behaviors and what influences the decision to report. Previous research has established possible reasons influencing reporting behaviors such as fear of retaliation, shame, guilt, and not viewing the incident as a crime. However, few studies have explored the role of prior perceptions of police and the impact of procedural justice on victimization reporting. Using a factorial vignette design, this study tests the influence of prior perceptions of police, procedural unjust treatment, and the sex of the responding officer on the likelihood to report sexual assault. Self-report survey data were collected from 586 female participants attending a public university. Consistent with expectations, results indicate that positive prior perceptions of police significantly increased students’ likelihood to report sexual victimization. Being treated in a procedurally unjust manner by the police had the largest impact on victim decision making, even when controlling for prior perceptions of police; decreasing the likelihood that a student would report their victimization. Contrary to expectations, the sex of the responding officer had no effect on students’ decision to report their victimization. This study has important implications for current policing methods and policies aimed at police-victim interactions among the population at highest risk of sexual victimization.
ContributorsStanek, Kayleigh (Author) / Talbot, Kathleen A (Thesis advisor) / Reisig, Kristy Holtfreter (Committee member) / Telep, Cody W. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
This study examined the effects of procedural injustice during hypothetical police-citizen encounters. Specifically, the main effects of procedural injustice on emotional responses to police treatment, components of police legitimacy, and willingness to cooperate with the police were assessed. Importantly, this study also tested whether the effect of procedural injustice was invariant across officer gender. A factorial vignette survey that consisted of two different police encounter scenarios (i.e., potential stalking incident and traffic accident) was administered to a university-based sample (N = 525). Results showed that the effect of procedural injustice during such encounters had a powerful and significant influence on participants’ emotional responses (e.g., anger), legitimacy perceptions, and the willingness to cooperate. These effects appeared to be consistent regardless of whether the treatment was doled out by a male or female police officer. Implications of the findings in terms of theory and future research are discussed.
ContributorsBrown, Katharine Leigh (Author) / Reisig, Michael D (Thesis advisor) / Holtfreter Reisig, Kristy L (Committee member) / Telep, Cody W. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Following a sexual assault, victims are advised to have a medical forensic exam and undergo a sexual assault kit (SAK) collection. The SAK is then held in police storage until it undergoes testing at a crime lab. Unfortunately, tens of thousands of SAKs in the United States remain untested. This thesis examines SAK submission by organizational decision makers in sexual assault case processing. Guided by Black's theory of law, this paper seeks to examine if white and minority victims systematically experience differential access to justice in terms of getting their respective SAKs submitted. Using data from a 1982-2012 Sexual Assault Kit Backlog Study in Los Angeles, California, the current study explores the relationship between race and SAK submission, legal (eg., case specific) and extralegal (eg., victim characteristics) variables across 1,826 backlogged SAKs and 339 non-backlogged SAKs. Results from the logistic regression analysis indicate that victims of nonstranger sexual assault are more likely to experience backlog of their SAK while victim race does not appear to affect SAK submission. Implications for theory, research and criminal justice practice are discussed.
ContributorsYlang, Norah (Author) / Holtfreter, Kristy (Thesis advisor) / Telep, Cody W. (Committee member) / Spohn, Cassia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Correctional officers are increasingly being trained in evidence-based practices and the willingness of officers to implement what they have learned is crucial for organizational reform. Most of the literature in this area has examined officer attitudes about rehabilitation and punitiveness. Left out are additional characteristics, such as self-control, that may affect an officer’s receptivity to learn and implement new techniques. The present study examines officer receptiveness to motivational interviewing using 280 surveys administered to correctional officers tasked with both delivering and supervising program delivery to inmates within the Arizona Department of Corrections. Three broad questions are asked: 1) Are officer attitudes about punishment associated with receptivity toward implementing rehabilitative techniques? 2) Are officer levels of self-control associated with receptivity toward implementing rehabilitative techniques? and 3) Is the association between officer attitudes toward punishment and receptivity toward implementing rehabilitation techniques moderated by officer self-control? The results suggest that punitiveness and self-control both have statistically significant direct effects on correctional officer receptivity to training and that self-control does not moderate the relationship between punitiveness and receptivity to training. However, these findings could be due to limitations in the present study’s sampling and statistical methods. Policy implications and future research are discussed.
ContributorsSmith, Wesley Thomas (Author) / Wright, Kevin A. (Thesis advisor) / Young, Jacob T.N. (Committee member) / Telep, Cody W. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018