Lisa Growette Bostaph

He Versus She: A Gender Specific Analysis of Legal and Extralegal Effects on Pretrial Release for Felony Defendants

The current study sought to identify significant predictors of pretrial processing for both male and female defendants in an aggregate sample. The data used in this study were taken from the State Court Processing Statistics, 1990–2000: Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2004). The original sample included a total of 87,437 felony cases. The relationships between relevant independent variables and 5 separate dependent variables (denial of bail, non-financial release, amount of bail set, making bail, and pretrial incarceration) were analyzed using both multivariate regression and Z-score comparisons within gender-specific models. Findings suggest that the effects of certain independent variables on pretrial release decisions and outcomes are different between the gender-specific models.

Criminal Justice Education: Are We Missing One-third of the Crime Triangle?

Theoretical explanations, systemic response, and policy work on offenders and specific crime types are the backbone of criminal justice curricula in the United States. However, a similar breadth and depth of education on crime victims appear to be lacking in traditional criminal justice curricula, despite voluminous research on victims of crime. In this exploratory study, the authors conducted a content analysis of 679 programs from the Academy of Criminal Justice (ACJS) website directory. Departmental and course-level variables were included in the analysis. Results indicate that while more than half of the programs have faculty with expressed interests in victimization, only 11% of programs studied required coursework on crime victims and/or victimization. Implications of the results are discussed.

Repeat Citizens in Motor Vehicle Stops: A Black Experience

ABSTRACT This paper explores the possible existence of the repeat phenomenon and their impact on racial disparities in police motor vehicle stops. The repeat phenomenon is the existence of a small proportion of people or places that account for a much larger proportion of events. While this phenomenon has been identified and discussed in other areas of criminal justice and criminology, it has not been extended to motor vehicle stops. The current study examines the existence of repeat citizens in a population of motor vehicle stops (N = 4775) from a Mid-western city during 2001. A small, but significant, concentration of motor vehicle stops were discovered among a few citizens and significant predictors of citizen performance included citizen race, gender, age, residency, time of the stop, and reason for the stop.

Predicting Officer Performance in Motor Vehicle Stops: An Example of the Repeat Phenomenon

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the possible existence of the repeat phenomenon in police motor vehicle stops.Design/methodology/approach – The study involved a mid‐western police department. Data were collected from contact cards completed by police officers making motor vehicle stops between July 1, 2001 and December 31, 2001. Contact cards included information concerning the stop itself, driver, passengers, motor vehicle, and the officer making the stop. Individual identifiers of police officers allowed for an analysis of individual officer performance concerning motor vehicle stops. A Poisson process and logistic regression were used in the analysis.Findings – Analyses revealed that motor vehicle stops are not randomly distributed across police officers and, in fact, a significant concentration of motor vehicle stops among few officers existed. Situational variables such as reason for the stop and time of the stop were significant predictors of high‐performing officers.Research limitations/implic...

IS BIGGER BETTER? AN ANALYSIS OF ECONOMIES OF SCALE AND MARKET POWER IN IDAHO POLICE DEPARTMENTS

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the nature of policing services allows for economies of scale to be realized. It is also a replication of Southwick (2005). Design/methodology/approach This study replicates the methodology used by Southwick (2005) to estimate police production and demand in order to determine whether there are economies of scale among police departments in a western state. Southwick’s (2005) method is unique in that it incorporates measures of market power to predict police efficiency. The present study is unique in that it involves data from a low-density, low-population western state. Findings Southwick’s results for New York State are markedly different from the results found for Idaho, thus questioning the external validity of Southwick’s model as applied to a relatively low-population state. The findings also indicate that, controlling for relevant variables, crime in Idaho is highly correlated with population, suggesting that police departments in low density/population states would not achieve efficiency gains through consolidation. Research limitations/implications The implications of this study include validating police performance measures and evaluating applicability of market power to police departments. Practical implications No evidence was found to support the contention that consolidation of police departments results in efficiency gains. Originality/value This is the first study of economies of scale in policing to use data from a low-density, low-population western state.

“They Were There for People Who Needed Them”: Student Attitudes Toward the Use of Trigger Warnings in Victimology Classrooms

Over the last five years, vigorous debate has been waged about the purpose, use, and impact of trigger warnings in courses offered at institutions of higher education. This debate has been largely uninformed by research findings. This study fills this gap using quantitative and qualitative data collected via surveys in a large undergraduate victimology course to explore student attitudes toward trigger warnings. Findings revealed considerable, but nuanced support for trigger warning use in victimology courses. Support does not appear to differ between crime victims and non-victims; support is higher among females than males. These findings underscore that universal decisions mandating or advocating for or against the use of trigger warnings are premature. Further study is needed with a diverse range of samples to gain a fuller picture of student attitudes about trigger warnings as well as to assess any impact of trigger warnings use on student behavior and learning.

Police Response to Children Present at Domestic Violence Incidents

Police response to domestic violence (DV) has continued to change and expand over the past several decades. Although DV was originally considered a private matter, it now represents one of the most common calls for service received by police agencies. While police response to DV incidents has improved substantially, intervention when children are present remains an undeveloped area of research and practice. The present study examined 345 police reports from an agency in the Northwestern United States to explore police response to DV incidents when children are present. Regression analyses indicated that child presence was a statistically significant predictor of victim-directed intervention, victim-directed follow-up, and arrest although in differing directions. While child presence increased the odds of victim-directed intervention and victim-directed follow-up, it decreased the odds of arrest. Findings further indicated that the frequency of police interaction with children present at DV incidents was minimal. Based on these findings, recommendations for policy and practice are discussed.