Electronic Dissertations and Theses - Criminal Justice
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This collection contains dissertations and theses completed by graduate students in the Department of Criminal Justice at Washington State University.
Recent Submissions
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THE EFFECTS OF CANNABIS AND THE LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA ON FATAL CRASHES IN WASHINGTON STATE
(2019)As cannabis use is legalized in more states, traffic crashes and fatalities related to cannabis and other drugs are becoming a major public health and safety issue. While researchers and policy makers have focused considerable ... -
Unmet Needs: Adverse Childhood Experiences and Mental Health Issues as Pathways to Recidivism in Justice-Involved Youth
(2019)Standard practice within the correctional system dictates that certain needs, such as antisocial personality, cognitions, and peers, are to be prioritized when providing interventions. However, greater concern has arisen ... -
ADVERSITY, RESILIENCE, AND CRIME: EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF RESILIENCE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
(2019)Empirical evidence has supported the argument that childhood trauma is associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in juvenile delinquency. Less is known, however, about how one’s level of resilience might affect ... -
QUALITY OF LIFE: ASSESSING THE MULTI-FACETED WORLD OF COMMUNITY COURT
(2019)The rise of problem-solving courts in the American criminal justice system has paved a way for a collaborative, rehabilitative approach to addressing crime. Community courts have since emerged as a criminal justice response ... -
Foreigners in their own homeland: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of criminal deportation and reintegration experiences
(2019)To date, there has been little attention given to the reintegration of convicted criminals after their deportation. While in the United States, programs, and interventions are dedicated for the successful reentry of convicted ... -
SEEKING INJUSTICE: A STUDY OF PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDCUT IN WASHINGTON STATE
(2019)Prosecutorial misconduct is one of a number of factors that has been identified as partially responsible for wrongful convictions. Where many of these factors have been researched quite heavily, there is a comparative ... -
UNIVERSITY STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF THE EFFECTS OF CANNABIS FOLLOWING LEGALIZATION IN WASHINGTON STATE
(2019)UNIVERSITY STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF THE EFFECTS OF CANNABIS FOLLOWING LEGALIZATION IN WASHINGTON STATE Abstract by Duane Leslie Stanton Sr., Ph.D. Washington State University December 2019 Chair: Mary Stohr Cannabis is ... -
Advertising Underlying Assumptions: A Quantitative Content Analysis of Militarized and Community-Oriented Artifacts in Police Recruitment Videos
(2018)Recent scholarly and media attention claims the United States policing institution is growing more militarized in behavior and values. With this renewal of attention towards police militarization, common recommendations ... -
Exploring Veterans' Pathways to Justice Involvement in Washington State
(2018)The majority of veterans end their military service on good terms, suggesting a future unencumbered by the justice system. Yet veterans made up approximately 8 percent of the United States’ incarcerated population in ... -
The Rule of Law: An Examination of Judicial Discretion in Terrorism Appeals
(2017)Prosecuting terrorism has proven to be difficult for the criminal justice system in recent decades. Moreover, terrorists are qualitatively different than traditional criminals. As a result, certain complexities arise that ... -
Rational Discretionary Risk: The Judicial Risk x Sentence Model for Sex Offenders
(2016)Given that sex crimes are considered to be dangerous offenses and are perceived to have a high risk of reoffending, sex offenders are subject to disproportionality harsh treatment in criminal institutions. Sentence disparity ... -
The Plain Touch Doctrine: Political Affiliation and Judicial Decision-Making
(2016)The Plain Touch exception to the Fourth Amendment allows police officers to seize contraband that is found during a Terry frisk. The exception, as outlined in the case of Minnesota v. Dickerson, extends the doctrine of ... -
TRUST IN THE POLICE: ANALYSIS OF URBAN CITIES IN GHANA
(2015)Given the deteriorated relationship between the police and the people of Ghana, this study examines the causes of trust in selected urban areas in Ghana. Specifically, the study aims to: (1) test the performance theory for ... -
LEGITIMATING THE SIERRA LEONE POLICE: POLITICS, CORRUPTION, AND PUBLIC TRUST
(2015)There are considerable variations in the level of trust and legitimacy of the police among the citizenry in different countries for a host of factors. The purpose of the current study is to determine how citizens' perception ... -
ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF THE CONTINUUM OF CARE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF SEX OFFENDER COMMUNITY SUPERVISION IN WASHINGTON STATE: A FOCAL CONCERNS PERSPECTIVE
(2015)The process of transitioning from prison to the community poses unique challenges for those who have been convicted of sexually-based offenses. Due to the realities associated with the unique challenges facing these ... -
Rush to Judgement: Understanding the Impact of Early Case Resolution on the Pace of Litigation and Quality of Justice
(2015)The court system in the United States has long suffered from a slow pace of litigation and its many consequences. Decades of research has concluded that the pace of litigation is by no means static and that certain case ... -
Dooming Failure: Understanding the Impact, Utility, and Practice of Returns on Technical Violations
(2015)Since its modern establishment in 1870, systems of parole or conditional release from incarceration have been understood as a test of "readiness." It is a test for returning offender's to demonstrate whether they are "ready" ... -
EFFECTS OF DISTRACTION AND DROWSINESS ON SIMULATED DRIVING PERFORMANCE IN POLICE OFFICERS
(2015)Motor vehicle collisions are a leading cause of police officer on-duty deaths. Distracted driving is a major contributing factor in motor vehicle collisions among the general public. Within policing, fatigue associated ... -
Evidenced Based Corrections and the Perils of Systemic Restructuring From a Traditional Prison to a Right Living Community
(2014)Prisons can no longer be an end gate to incarcerate and incapacitate people who have broken the law. As exemplified by The Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI), Washington State Institute for Public ... -
Evaluation of the CAN SPAM Act: Testing Deterrence and Other Influences of Email Spammer Behavior Over Time
(2014)Both email and email spam have experienced a growth that has paralleled the similar growth in technology worldwide. Email spam is more than just a nuisance, such mass unsolicited messages may also be harmful or fraudulent. ...