Criminal Justice & Political Science
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Research from the Department of Criminal Justice & Political Science. The department website may be found at https://www.ndsu.edu/cjps/
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Item Assessment and Policy Recommendations for Domestic Illegal Firearms Trafficking(North Dakota State University, 2012) Heley, Frank AntonThis report examined the nature of domestic illegal firearms trafficking, including key features and predictors of firearms trafficking, and rationalizes the defining of domestic illegal firearms trafficking into three levels that are indicative of the seriousness and features inherent to the particular level of trafficking. This report also examined the scope of the trafficking situations at their respective levels, the means already being utilized to address firearms trafficking problems, and their effectiveness. Finally, this report recognizes that the differing levels of trafficking may require varied and differing efforts be used in combating firearms trafficking and policy recommendations involving both legislative and enforcement efforts are detailed at the respective levels of trafficking.Item A Big Deal: Examining Routine Activities Variables Related to Sexual Victimization on the College Campus(North Dakota State University, 2015) Wood, McKenzie AnnThe sexual assault and sexual coercion of women on college campuses is a pervasive and ongoing problem. It is estimated that over 15% of women attending college experience some type of sexual assault or coercion each year (Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, 2000). While sexual victimization ranging from mild, verbal, sexual coercion, to rape has been studied, more recently a newer form of sexual victimization has been researched: Stalking. The current study uses results from 873 surveys at a Midwestern university to examine the prevalence of sexual victimization and stalking on a college campus. Cohen and Felson’s (1979) routine activities theory is used to explain why sexual victimization and stalking are common on university campuses, and what variables might contribute to their occurrence.Item Blessings and Curses: The Impact of the North Dakota Oil Boom on Offender Reentry and Reintegration into the Community(North Dakota State University, 2016) Buchholz, Maria MaeEducation, employment, housing, and substance abuse pose significant problems to the successful reentry of individuals released from prison. The current research project utilized a natural experiment, an oil boom in a Midwestern state, to examine changes in offender reentry and recidivism outcomes overtime. The first part of the study compared a sample of offenders released from prison prior to the oil boom to a sample of offenders released from prison during the highest peak of the oil boom. Comparisons were made on variables known in the literature to be predictive of recidivism during the reentry process; these include risk, education, employment, housing, substance abuse, and treatment. Recidivism was measured as a new conviction, technical violation, and re-incarceration. The follow-up period for both samples was two years. The second part of the study incorporated the perspectives of probation and parole officers. All officers in the Midwestern state were surveyed on their perception of offender reentry and how it may have changed as a result of oil boom influences. Officer attitudes, philosophies, and supervision strategies were analyzed in relation to their perceptions on offender reentry and the oil boom.Item Can Detention Reduce Recidivism of Youth? An Outcome Evaluation of a Juvenile Detention Center(North Dakota State University, 2017) Simanovic, TiaThis study is an outcome evaluation of a secure unit of one juvenile detention center in the Midwest. The primary purpose of this study was to elucidate the relationship between a secure detention placement and recidivism on a sample of Midwest juvenile offenders. Besides the examination of recidivism of the total sample, this study examined differences between two subsamples of the institutionalized juveniles, those in a treatment program and those in detention only. The importance of demographics, prior admissions, length of stay, frequency of institutional misconduct, and exposure to treatment was examined. Results suggest a significant negative relationship between the age at admission and recidivism, and a positive one between prior admissions and recidivism. Length of stay, institutional misconduct, and treatment did not reach significance. This study did not find support for the effectiveness of juvenile detention in recidivism reduction. Implications of findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.Item Characteristics of Child Pornographers Under Federal Supervision in the State of North Dakota(North Dakota State University, 2020) Doerr, Mandy LeeCurrently, it is estimated that there are over 45 million child pornographic images and videos on the internet. The purpose of the current study is to record the characteristics of those convicted of accessing, distributing, and/or producing child pornography in the State of North Dakota. To examine this phenomenon, the District of North Dakota Federal Probation and Pretrial Supervision Service records have been disseminated. Overall, the results indicate that child pornographers in North Dakota mirror those around the globe. In addition, the sample of child pornographers was compared to other sexual offenders and general offenders through bivariate analyses. There were statistically significant differences found between both groups.Item Chasing the Dragon: The Social Construction of the U.S. Opioid Epidemic(North Dakota State University, 2019) Vondal, JennaferUtilizing a social construction perspective, this study uses a mixed method approach to examine the opioid epidemic. The study begins by identifying the numerous claims-making groups along with conducting a content analysis of the rhetoric and symbols used to legitimize the claims about the opioid epidemic. The data for the content analysis was obtained through a search of the websites, newsrooms, and pressrooms of claims-making groups. Additionally, the study examines and assesses the volume of money that is generated and allocated towards opioid research and prevention in an effort to determine who has more power to influence the policy initiatives. Findings show that the frequency of rhetoric and the number of claims-making groups releasing information about the opioid epidemic increased from 2010-2016. Most of the rhetoric consists of groups proposing resolution strategies and formulating new policies. Only a few claims-makers are making financial contributions towards opioid prevention initiatives and in most cases, it is a very small amount of money.Item Citizens’ Perception of Police Services in an Oil Boomtown(North Dakota State University, 2018) Huynh, CarolPast research indicates that various factors influence citizens’ perception of police services, including citizen characteristics, prior criminal victimization, personal safety, and fear of crime. However, less is known about the influence that these variables have on citizens’ perceptions in a community experiencing rapid population growth as a result of increased energy production. Thus, the focus of the current research was to examine how such variables impact citizens’ perception of crime control by police officers in a town experiencing rapid changes. This study also examined the role of residential longevity by testing for perceptual differences among long-time and boom residents. Finally, this research considers the influence of neighborhood social cohesion/trust on citizens’ perception of police services. Data for this study was gathered from surveys completed by a random sample of residents living in Williston, North Dakota during the fall of 2015 (N=301). Overall, results suggest a number of factors related to citizens’ characteristics, prior criminal victimization, and personal safety impact residents’ perception of police services. Second, long-time residents were more likely than boom residents to agree that the police were doing a good job delivering services to their community. Lastly, neighborhood trust (but not neighborhood reliability) influenced residents’ perception of police services. The implications of these findings are discussed.Item Correctional Case Planning: An Examination Into the Impacts of Case Plans on Offender Recidivism(North Dakota State University, 2021) Borseth, Jenna LynnCase planning has become common practice within many correctional intervention programs. While the practice of case planning is not a new idea, it remains a largely neglected field within the study of offender rehabilitation. The current study seeks to expand this literature by investigating the effects of four case plan components: compliance, specificity (consisting of positively stated, measurable, and singular objectives), breadth, and expiration. To do so, the study examines 859 correctional case plans of offenders receiving treatment at a Halfway House facility. The results indicate that case plan compliance, breadth, and expiration are not significantly associated with offender recidivism. Additionally, only one of the specificity domains, positively stated, is significant. The positive relationship indicates that more positively stated objectives are associated with higher recidivism when other case plan specificity variables are controlled for. While the results fail to support the initial hypotheses, supplemental analyses demonstrate the importance of continued research on impacts of case plans. As a result, this paper should not be used as a justification to dismiss case planning but rather as a call for more research. The discussion section provides a continued narrative on how future research can expand on what is currently understood about the impacts of case planning on offender recidivism outcomes.Item Differences in DUI Punishments and Recidivism Between Transfers Among Municipal and District Court(North Dakota State University, 2021) Menke, AlexanderThe relationship between court transfers and punishment differences, as well as changes in recidivism, have been seldomly researched. This paper adds to the body of research by comparing punishments from DUI cases heard in municipal court and DUI cases heard in district court. The differences in recidivism between the defendants whose cases were heard in municipal and district court are also compared. A systematic sample of DUI offenders from Fargo and West Fargo, North Dakota make up the experimental and control groups. The 511 non-transfer cases are analyzed against the 402 transfer cases using crosstabulations and logistic regression techniques. The results of the analyses suggest mild support for transferring to district court and no support for any change in recidivism. Specific details of the results are discussed below, as well as the limitations of the study.Item Do Victim Impact Panels Reduce DUI Recidivism?(North Dakota State University, 2016) Joyce, Sarah LeighThis study looks at Victim Impact Panels as an effective program for reducing recidivism of convicted drunk drivers. Researchers collected data on a group of DUI offenders who were sentenced to attend a Victim Impact Panel (VIP) after being convicted of a DUI (410 cases) and a group of DUI offenders who were sentenced by a judge who did not order them to attend a VIP (373 cases). Using logistic regression, researchers found those offenders who were sentenced to attend a Victim Impact Panel were significantly less [likely] to reoffend, both in terms of subsequent DUI convictions, and criminal offenses in general. In addition, this study showed Victim Impact Panels proved to be beneficial to those offenders who have had previous DUI convictions, and have attended a Victim Impact Panel in the past. The resulting policy and program implications are discussed.Item Effectiveness of Restorative Justice Programs in the Prevention of Juvenile Crime(North Dakota State University, 2014) Buchholz, Maria MaeThis study examined how restorative justice programs impact the probability of recidivism among juvenile offenders. It compared juveniles who completed restorative justice programs versus juveniles who were released with warning from the courts. Both groups were compared to determine if restorative justice juveniles outcomes differed based on recidivism. Logistic regression showed that restorative justice programs had statistically significant increased odds of recidivating when compared to juveniles released with a warning. However, when the groups of restorative justice were disaggregated, only the adjudicated juveniles were statistically significant. Survival time analysis showed that restorative justice juveniles have longer survival times of recidivism when compared to juveniles released with a warning. Suggestions for further research and analysis are discussed with respect to the current results.Item The Effects of the DUI 24/7 Program in Cass County, North Dakota(North Dakota State University, 2019) Berge, Christine MarieThis study presents the results of an evaluation of the 24/7 Sobriety Program in Cass County, North Dakota, looking specifically at participants’ likelihood of receiving a conviction of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) both during and after exiting the program. Data was collected of participants who have been enrolled in the program from the start of the program in 2010 through 2018 and matched to public criminal records searches of each participant. Several analyses were run to determine whether substance choice (alcohol vs. drugs), gender (male vs. female), and duration in program influence a participant’s likelihood to recidivate. Findings for each measure are presented including potential changes that could be made, as well as, limitations of the study.Item An Examination of the Relationship Between Individual Risk Factors and Drug Court Success: An Application of the Risk, Needs, Responsivity Model(North Dakota State University, 2010) Richardson, Katie AnnResearch has documented that drug courts can and do work; however, recent attention has focused on how individual characteristics may be related to program success and post program recidivism. It was the purpose of this study to further examine how participant characteristics may impact post program recidivism by applying the Risk, Needs and Responsivity framework. A sample of 104 drug court participants and a matched sample of similar offenders who received treatment as usual was used to test the hypotheses that those who possess certain risk factors may be less likely to recidivate post program because they have been appropriately matched to drug courts-a high intensity treatment experience. Gender and group membership were also explored as potential moderators of the relationships between individual risks and post program recidivism. Results found no support for the hypotheses, and no evidence was found suggesting an interaction effect. Among the entire sample of drug court participants and comparison group members, only the control variable age was significantly related to post program recidivism; those who were older were less likely to recidivate. Among only a subsample of completers, group membership was the only variable significantly related to post program recidivism; those who were drug court participants were less likely to recidivate.Item Exploratory Analysis of Mass Shooting Offenders in U.S. Journalism(North Dakota State University, 2022) Davis, DominicMass shootings are commonplace in media. The media reports as to why the events happened, often within days or hours. These reasons attributed often lead to political debates on how to deter future mass casualty events. The portrayal by the media is important because their perceptions influence the perceptions of their audience. As of beginning this thesis, there is a lack of research utilizing qualitative analysis to analyze the offender reports using large datasets from the media. This thesis is an exploratory analysis and examines the number of times the offender's name is mentioned to determine whether there are sufficient conditions for the copycat effect. This thesis also explores the attributed wording used in the media articles of mass shooting offenders within the initial 30 days of the shooting. Finally, coverage between the newspapers and events is discussed as well to explore whether certain shootings were provided significantly more coverage.Item An Exploratory Study of the Perceptions of Effectiveness for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Training for Law Enforcement(North Dakota State University, 2022) Harmon, NatalieThis study is designed to explore a possible solution to a variety of the current issues in the law enforcement field. The purpose of this study is to assess the views through purposive sampling of ten key informants in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and law enforcement field on the potential impact that routine Jiu Jitsu style training for officers would have. The current study outlines personal experiences for officers with prior Jiu Jitsu style training. This assessment also discusses the key informant's thoughts on benefits, limitations, and recommendations of the theoretical implementation of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training for law enforcement officers. Overall, each participant provided a unique perspective through the series of twelve questions. There was unanimous support for the idea with the central themes of ‘adding another tool’ for officers to use and increasing officer confidence.Item Formal and Informal Labeling Effects on Later Self-Reported Non-Violent and Violent Delinquency(North Dakota State University, 2011) Mitchell, Meghan MarieThis research examines the impact of formal and informal labeling on self-reported violent and non-violent delinquency. This longitudinal research design utilizes cohort 15 from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) at two different points in time. This research not only evaluates the effect of formal labeling (arrest) but also determines the effect of informal labeling (warning and releasing) by police officers. Specifically, the hypotheses assess if labeling affects minority youth differently than white youth. Using nested ordinary least square re and logistic regression models, the results indicate that labeling only operates in simple models containing few variables. The apparent effects of labeling on non-violent delinquency are accounted for in the complete model by previous delinquent behavior, living in a two-parented home, and having a parent with a criminal record. Moreover, the apparent effects of labeling are diminished in the complete model predicting violent delinquency once controlling for the effects of race (Black), gender (male), lower income level, and having a parent with a criminal record.Item Homelessness and Police Contact(North Dakota State University, 2017) Noe, AllisonResearch regarding the homeless and their interactions with law enforcement is sparse. The current study examines the perceptions homeless men and women have of police officers in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Data for this study was collected via fifty-one semi-structured interviews with guests at three homeless shelters in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Roughly half of those interviewed have a positive opinion of police officers. The results demonstrate that the perceptions of police officers held by those interviewed is based largely on the amount of respect that they receive. If individuals feel they are respected by police officers, their perception is generally more positive. The results also show several of problems expressed by respondents in regards to how they view the homeless are treated by police. A number of policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.Item Integrating the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Approaches for an Enhanced Police Performance Measurement System(North Dakota State University, 2021) Lee, MyungwooAn effective performance measurement system is an integral part of modern police management. Police agencies have measured their performance against a very restricted set of crime-focused indicators, such as crime rates, arrests, response times, and clearance rates. Police performance should be measured across multiple dimensions to capture public values produced by modern police agencies. This study set out to present an enhanced performance measurement system for police agencies by integrating the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approaches. The BSC provides the theoretical foundation for building a comprehensive performance measurement framework, while the DEA provides the analytical tool to test the theoretical framework. Integrating the DEA and the BSC approaches can create many synergy effects because they are complementary to each other. A case-study approach was used to assess the feasibility of the integrated performance measurement system; to critically examine the ways in which performance information can be used for performance management in police agencies; and to put forward some recommendations regarding its successful application in practice. Police stations under the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) were chosen for conducting this case study. The Dynamic-Network (DN) DEA, with assumptions of input-orientation, variable returns-to-scale (VRS), and slack-based measure (SBM), was run to estimate the proposed police performance measurement model. The DN DEA presented the overall performance over the entire observed period as well as dynamic changes of the perspective-period performance. The DN DEA also presents the practical ways in which inefficient police stations become more efficient by reporting the specific benchmarking objects and the target input and output levels for the inefficient police stations. When network and dynamic dimensions, derived from the BSC, are incorporated in a DNDEA model, a more comprehensive information can be obtained and thus enables accurate estimate of organizational performance as well as identify potential improvements in more detail.Item Is Justice Delayed Justice Denied? : Examining the Timeliness of Completing Police Misconduct Investigations(North Dakota State University, 2018) Mrozla, Thomas JohnThis study aims to examine how patrol officer and complaint characteristics influence the timeliness of completing police misconduct investigations. Further, it analyzes how the timeliness of the investigation influences the disposition and discipline of complaint investigations while controlling for relevant police officer and complaint characteristics. Data were collected from a Midwestern municipal police agency for all complaints filed against patrol officers from 2006-2015. The analyses in this study demonstrate that the nature of the complaint and number of police officers present influences the length of the investigation. This study also finds that police officer and complaint characteristics are relevant predictors of the disposition and discipline outcomes of complaint investigations. Policy implications are discussed.Item Juvenile Perceptions of the Police and Police Services(North Dakota State University, 2011) Sanden, Michael BrianThis study examined the impact of four categories of variables (demographics, neighborhood context variables, contact with the police, and vicarious influence variables) on juvenile perceptions of the police and police services. Data analyzed in this study were collected as part of a larger research evaluation that examined the impact of law enforcement efforts in relation to violent crime. Students from one middle school were surveyed. Statistical analysis consisted of a series of One-Way ANOVA tests and several ordinary least squares regression (OLS) models. The study found significant results for both dependent variables within all four categories of independent variables. Policy implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.