Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Sociology of the law'

The problem addressed through this program evaluation was that no formal study had been conducted regarding the implementation and effectiveness of the BlueTeam Program (BTP) within the law enforcement agency (LEA) serving as the study site. The BTP is a program that utilizes a computer application to track officer behaviors and alert administrators to potential trends in officer misconduct and complaints against officers. The program evaluation was guided by the process and product segments of Stufflebeam's (2003) content, input, process, and product model.

To conduct the evaluation, the researcher used a mixed methods approach for analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data. The perceptions of LEA stakeholders regarding the BTP, such as the sufficiency of staffing, budget, training, and ongoing support for effective implementation, were first collected. Quantitative data, consisting of archived, deidentified indicators of officer misconduct and complaints against officers acquired through the BTP, were then analyzed.

Findings of the study were that the BTP was effective in reducing incidents of officer misconduct and complaints against officers and for use in identifying which alerts were valid indicators of misconduct and complaints against officers. The one concern of stakeholders involving the BTP was limited nighttime vision; the recommendation for program improvement is that this shortcoming be addressed to determine possible solutions. Recommendations for future research involve the need for initial determinations, as well as formative evaluations, pertaining to the following three areas: (a) ascertaining the way in which the early intervention system will be used, (b) identifying the indicators of misconduct that will be tracked, and (c) determining the threshold at which the system will issue an alert.

With overwhelming public support, pressure has been mounting on police departments to improve accountability and public trust by equipping their officers with body worn cameras (BWCs) to reduce police violence and hold officers responsible for excessive use of force, unjustified shootings, and other forms of misconduct. As police departments have begun to employ BWCs, however, concerns have risen regarding the application of this new technology and its potential to benefit police officers more so than the communities they serve. This study focuses on the city of Chicago’s recently implemented Body Worn Camera Pilot Program. The goals of this study were to determine if racial demographics could predict which of Chicago’s 22 police districts received BWCs during its pilot program, and whether and to what extent BWCs and the racial makeup of those districts influenced the arrest to crime ratios within them. A preliminary analysis revealed crime rates were not a statistically significant predictor for whether a district received BWCs. There was, however, an association between race and BWCs, where majority white police districts were much less likely to receive the technology. Standard multiple regressions indicate that as the white population percentage increases, arrests decrease. This finding was statistically significant at the .05 alpha level while controlling for the crime rate and BWC implementation. Three-way mixed ANOVA models were run to compare arrest to crime ratios pre- and post-BWC implementation for overall crime, serious crime, violent crime, non-index crime, and property crime. Although no significant two- or three-way interactions were found in any of the ANOVA models, when plotting the pre- and posttest arrest ratios there were noticeable differences between control and experimental groups across race.

Since deinstitutionalization, the responsibility for mentally ill members of society has shifted to the criminal justice system in a process of trans-institutionalization or “criminalization of mental illness” (Slate & Johnson, 2013, p. 28). Though various groups have been studied to ascertain their perception of mentally ill individuals and offenders, previous research focuses largely on students of psychology, social work, and medicine. Little research has been conducted regarding the perceptions of criminal justice students toward mental illness, despite the increasing involvement of the criminal justice system in treating and handling mentally ill individuals in the past thirty years. This exploratory research serves as a replication to a study which was conducted by Thompson, Paulson, Valgardson, Nored, and Johnson (2014).

Since the passage of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, which amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964, female law enforcement officers have battled obstacles and barriers, both external and internal in their effort to gain equality and assimilate into the role of police officer. The problem examined in this qualitative study was the low percentage of women in sworn law enforcement positions of all ranks. Thirty-six sworn female officers currently serving in the state of Arizona were selected to participate in focus group discussions to assist in the phenomenological examination of low representation of women in law enforcement. The female officers were asked a series of questions to facilitate discussion in an effort to explore their experiences and possibly reveal underlying police cultural factors that may lead to limited opportunities for women who choose law enforcement as a career. The qualitative design fostered a sharing of the stories of these female officers and provided an in-depth understanding of their experiences both on and off the job related to their choice of career. Information-rich data provided by the participants served to inform the Arizona law enforcement community concerning the experiences and career choices of women in law enforcement. Discovered through focus group discussions were the reasons women choose law enforcement as a career as well as why they remain in the profession. The excitement of the job coupled with job security, and salary factored into the decision making processes. Data addressing promotion, leadership, and role models were also revealed with female officers advising an inequitable promotional process, yet one in which they believed women needed to participate to improve the profession for others. Recommendations of formal mentoring and succession planning were made along with changes in the recruitment process. Future study should include male participants as well as female participants. Funding sources or sponsoring organizations should be explored in an effort to expand the scope of future study. Conducting focus groups discussions in different parts of the state and for longer periods of time would permit individuals from different areas of the state an opportunity to participate.

This research provides original data on the study of obsessive-compulsive personality traits in law enforcement. The study explored prevalence of obsessive-compulsive personality traits (OCPT) in law enforcement (compared to the general population) in association with the occupational need for such characteristics in that profession (orderliness, organized, attentive to detail, display restricted affect, adhere to laws and regulations, and assume leadership roles). While many studies seek to explain police personality, no literature could be found regarding prevalence of OCPT in sworn peace officers. Degree of OCPT was measured by the total mean score on the Five Factor Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (FFOCI) and compared using a one-tailed independent samples t-test. Differences between two groups across 12 subscales were analyzed retroactively using a MANOVA for qualitative descriptions of each group. Research revealed, with statistically significant results (p<.01), that prevalence of OCPT is significantly higher overall in law enforcement peace officers when compared to non-law enforcement participants. Results from this study contribute meaningfully to police psychology within the field of forensic psychology. Results have the potential to influence supplemental assessment for peace officer candidacy screening.

Gender-linked language penalizes women by both systematically devaluing women’s speech and limiting its form and content. In 1975, Robin Lakoff claimed that gender-linked language was a key diagnostic for gender equality within society. Forty years later, this interdisciplinary analysis brings together feminist, legal justice, sociological, and linguistic perspectives to examine the courtroom testimony of female domestic violence victims for compliance with gender-linked language norms and subsequent success in obtaining protective orders. Testimony was evaluated for compliance with Mulac’s Gender-Linked Language Effect (GLLE) as well as additional variables uncovered through research and experience. Results showed that all petitioners used female-linked variables at a consistent rate but that those who used more male-linked variables received fewer protective orders. The results of this analysis will serve to inform judges and legal professionals in their evaluation of women’s narratives without bias, fill a gap in research on the effects gender-linked language in courtroom testimony, and uncover the presence of the GLLE in everyday life. Most importantly, this analysis provides a rationale for eliminating gender-linked language as an extralegal barrier to protection helping to ensure that all citizens receive equal protection from the Court regardless of gender.

The South Asian American population growth rate is high, however, there is little research regarding their mental health concerns and low utilization of services. One of the most understudied and complex issues is the interpersonal relationships of South Asian women, specifically the relationship between a daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. This study is a first to examine the relationship between a South Asian daughter-in-law and mother-in-law living in the US through a combination of feminist and relational-cultural perspectives. Also investigated are the help-seeking sources daughter-in-laws use for personal/emotional and domestic violence concerns. Participants in this web-based, descriptive study were 155 married (or previously married) South Asian American women (ages 18-69), who had a mother-in-law. Most identified as Muslims or Hindus. T-tests, correlations, and standard multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between the daughter-in-laws' perceptions of their relationship with their mother-in-laws, cultural values, and formal and informal help-seeking for personal/emotional and domestic violence issues. Instruments used were adapted to be culturally sensitive. Thirty-five percent of the participants reported psychological abuse and 23% reported emotional abuse by their mother-in-laws. All identified caring and controlling aspects of their relationship with their mother-in-law. Most of the women did not meet full criteria for partner violence, however the daughter-in-law/mother-in-law relationship differed between the women who were abused by their partner and those who were not. Perceived care and control from mother-in-law was related to daughter-in-law's sex role expectations, partner violence, and help-seeking. Daughter-in-law's help-seeking sources differed depending on the type of problem; as with previous studies and cultural expectations most identified informal help-seeking sources. Higher care from mother-in-law predicted lower help-seeking intentions from mother-in-law for personal issues and domestic violence. Sex role expectations and partner violence predicted help-seeking from minister for personal issues. Intimate relations and partner violence predicted higher likelihood of help-seeking from minister for domestic violence. To promote interpersonal health among South Asian American women, it is necessary to explore and comprehend the nature of in-law relationships and study both positive and the negative in-law relationships. Implications of these findings for women's personal relationships, for clinical work and future research needs are discussed.

Responses to sex offenders often involve collective campaigns that target political and criminal justice systems rather than individual offenders. Scholars have described these community responses as part of a broader moral panic, but that interpretation generally overlooks differences in the form of responses across places. This dissertation uses data from case studies of three California towns to examine how local political and legal contexts contribute to variation in community responses to violent sex offenders. I argue that communities' orientations to authority shape how they respond to perceived injustices.

I introduce my main arguments and overarching concepts in chapter one. Then, in chapter two, I explore why communities deploy moral authority in service of their collective goals. Moral authority is an endogenous source of community power, and moral claims emerge within formal institutional contexts that allow for and even encourage morally based arguments. Because these institutions limit the effectiveness of moral claims, communities sometimes turn to other mobilization strategies. Chapter three shows how an orientation to political authority as a source of entitlement contributed to one community rallying around political mobilization. I contrast this case with a second community in which an orientation to political authority as a source of alienation contributed to ambivalence toward political strategies. In chapter four, I argue that the third community's orientation to legal authority as a source of protection contributed to litigation as the centerpiece of their response. I compare this case to the second community in which legal authority was perceived as a source of control, which facilitated indifference toward legal mobilization.

This research contributes to a new perspective on participation in moral panic as a contemporary form of civic engagement. By illuminating the social processes underlying the relationships between communities and formal institutions, my findings have implications for understanding community responses to crime, legal and political mobilization, collective action, and social control within communities. More practically, this research can inform discussions about how community members should be involved in decision-making about sex offender reintegration.