Lisa S. Nored

Future Law Enforcement Officers and Social Workers: Perceptions of Domestic Violence:

This study compares perceptions of domestic violence for college students planning to work in law enforcement with students aspiring to careers in social work and non-law-enforcement criminal justice (N = 491). The study involves students attending four public universities across one Southern state who completed a survey (spring of 2006) measuring whether various scenarios were (1) related to domestic violence, and (2) worthy of being reported to law enforcement. Findings indicate that all student groups (law enforcement, non-law-enforcement criminal justice, and social work) tended to identify the various scenarios as domestic violence (and worthy of being reported) regardless of the person’s sexual orientation, violence severity, and offender’s or victim’s gender. However, law enforcement students are less sensitive to domestic violence when compared with social work and non—law enforcement criminal justice students. Findings reveal that (1) graduate students, (2) female students, and (3) White students (compared with African American students in general) attending majority White universities were more likely to identify domestic violence and its worthiness of being reported.The data in this study indicate that criminal justice programs produce graduates who are reasonably sensitive toward the importance of appropriate domestic violence response but could still improve using the techniques employed within social work programs.

Success of Drug Court Programs Examination of the Perceptions of Drug Court Personnel

Literature indicates that drug courts produce lower recidivism rates, increased retention rates, and lower costs than traditional criminal justice case processing. As drug courts approach their second decade, there is a void in the literature regarding factors that influence the success of drug court programs. This work aimed to fill that void by equipping policy makers with meaningful information regarding (a) drug court success and (b) factors that facilitate and challenge the implementation of drug court programs. This study measured the perceptions of drug court judges and administrators in five states to examine factors identified by respondents as key to program success. Federal, state, and local factors (agencies and actors) influenced the success of drug court programs, with state and local factors consistently identified as most supportive and influential. Findings also indicated that perceived success was higher for drug court personnel (a) without graduate and professional degrees (law) and (b) with more experience guiding drug courts.

Law enforcement employment discrimination based on sexual orientation: A selective review of case law

Homosexuality has been the subject of discrimination from Biblical times through the present. Homosexuals continue to experience pervasive forms of discrimination, including denial of employment which they may be otherwise qualified to obtain. One profession that is particularly open in its discrimination against homosexual employees is law enforcement. This article traces the development of homosexuals’ rights as they specifically relate to employment in law enforcement. Examples of common arguments raised by police administrators to justify such actions are examined with each illustrated by an example from relevant case law. Finally, areas in which the law has begun to provide greater protection for the employment rights of homosexuals are identified.

The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) An Evaluation of Policy Compliance With Illustrative Excerpts

Although the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) is an acknowledgment of problems posed by forcible sexual assault in prisons and jails, many institutions of confinement at various levels of government continue to struggle with developing compliant policies and procedures. Given this practical reality, the purpose of this article is twofold. First, the authors examined the policies of 28 states plus the Federal Bureau of Prisons (n = 29) to assess the extent to which they comply with federal law using eight evaluative dimensions. Second, the authors excerpted language from various policy statements for the benefit of those institutions that are still in the process of developing their own such documentation. Emphasis is placed on identifying core dimensions of comprehensive policy statements along with observations and conclusions regarding future implications of prison rape abatement measures.