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Social Media Response to False Confessions in China and the United States.
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The Effects of Civil and Criminal Forfeitures on Drug-Related Arrests.
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Recidivism among Older Adults: Correlates of Prison Re-entry.
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Youth Gone Wild: Behavioral Disorder in Virginia High Schools.
Liberal theory embraces the notion that humans, by nature, are good and morally ethical while at the same time institutions of government can be corrupt or unjust. Neoliberalism, a theoretical outgrowth of liberalism, holds government institutions should be limited in their intrusion into regulating business activities and should assure social stability for the benefit of economic growth. There are many tense issues that arise when considering police institutions as they act when dealing with the members of the community they are supposed to serve. These issues range from public protests to false confessions to excessive force to corruption. These issues also transcend borders and exist from state to state and country to country. This study will apply neoliberal theory as it applies to China and the United States and the respective public reactions to such abuses as false confessions and its destructive aftermath expressed through social media. The Effects of Civil and Criminal Forfeitures on Drug-Related Arrests By: Mark Gius
The purpose of the present study is to determine if civil and criminal forfeitures have statistically-significant and negative effects on drug-related arrests. The primary focus of this paper will be on the deterrent effects of forfeitures. Using a random effects model and state-level data for the period 2000 – 2013, it was found that there is a negative relationship between the per capita value of seized assets and the drug-related crime rate. It is important to note, however, that the effect is very minimal; even if the per capita value of seized assets was doubled, the drug-related arrest rate would fall by only 0.05336%. Hence, given the constitutional issues surrounding civil forfeitures and the minimal effects of such forfeitures, it would be in the public interest to amend the Comprehensive Crime Control Act (CCCA) of 1984 so that equitable sharing of forfeiture proceeds among federal, state, and local agencies would no longer be permitted. Amending the CCCA in this manner would remove the incentives that state and local agencies have to engage in seizures and forfeitures. Such a revision of the CCCA would only very minimally affect the drug-related arrest rate but would, at the same time, restore some degree of due process to forfeiture proceedings. Examining the Situational- and Suspect-Level Predictors of Police Use of Force Among a Juvenile Arrestee Population By: Weston J. Morrow, Lidia E. Nuño, and Philip Mulvey
Research examining police use of force is well established across many factors, including officer‑, suspect‑, encounter‑, organizational‑, and environmental-level characteristics. Although such research has had a profound effect on our understanding police use of force, it has also overwhelmingly relied on adult populations. With the exception of a few qualitative studies, research examining police use of force involving youths is nearly nonexistent. To fill this critical research gap, the current study examines a host of situational- and suspect-level predictors of police use of force among a juvenile arrestee population. In order to investigate these predictors, data from the Arizona Arrestee Reporting Information Network (AARIN) are analyzed using multivariate analysis. The findings indicate that resistance, non-compliant demeanor, and disrespect are the three most robust predictors of police use of force among juvenile arrestees. These findings are contextualized using prior research on adult populations and have implications for best policing practices. Recidivism among Older Adults: Correlates of Prison Re-entry By: Sarah Rakes, Stephanie Grace Prost and Stephen J. Tripodi
This study aimed to examine odds and correlates of recidivism among discrete age groups (i.e., 45 – 54; 55 – 64; 65+) using a dataset of all prisoners age 45 and older released between 2004 and 2005 in North Carolina (n=6,522). This adds to extant literature which has examined recidivism among one older age group (45 and older) compared to younger adults. Descriptive and bivariate statistics and multiple binary logistic regression analyses were used to meet the aforementioned study aims. Odds of recidivism decreased significantly with age. Neither education nor prior violent crime accounted for model variation, though both are correlates of recidivism among older adults. Sentencing and parole reformations are recommended as unique factors are associated with recidivism among older adults. Incarcerated DisCrit: The Intersection of Disproportionality in Race, Disability, and Juvenile Justice By: Taryn VanderPyl
Many incarcerated youth experience the complex intersectionality of disproportional representation in race, disability, and juvenile justice. While a lot of research examines the phenomena of disproportionality in each of these three areas singularly, none explores the multidimensional intersectionality where these three areas converge. Further, much of the literature on these three areas of disproportionality is purely quantitative, leaving out the perspective of the subjects themselves. Without the voice of the individuals living at this intersection, the story is incomplete. The Disability Critical Race Studies (DisCrit) framework provides a lens through which a more complete understanding was sought in this study. Emergent themes in 1,008 writing samples from incarcerated youth were examined in the areas of a desire to change, the experience of incarceration, race and racism, and school. Through the writing samples, the voices of the incarcerated youth give context to these topics and clarify their lived experiences at the intersection of the three areas of disproportional representation. The writing samples lend credence to the literature and emphasize the importance of incorporating the voice of the subjects in research regarding any vulnerable and marginalized population, particularly incarcerated youth. Youth Gone Wild: Behavioral Disorder in Virginia High Schools By: Michael S. Klein and Brianna Egan
School misconduct and behavioral disorder interferes with the processes of teaching and learning. Prior research often analyzes the causal processes of school crime and disorder, but most methodologies combine multiple types of disorder into one measurement. This article takes a preliminary step towards a theoretical model of school crime that analyses different types of disorder separately. Utilizing a sample of N=302 Virginia high schools, the current article analyzes the causal processes surrounding behavior disorder and the punishment of behavioral disorder. Further, the current article also tests a hypothesis related to rational choice theory to determine if punishment can decrease future behavioral disorder. The results show that behavioral disorder is associated with both school and community variables and that punishment is primarily predicted by the amount of disorder within a school. Finally, the results do not show that punishment is effective in reducing future behavioral disorder.