Melinda Tasca

Police Decision Making in Sexual Assault Cases: Predictors of Suspect Identification and Arrest

As the initial gatekeepers of the criminal justice system, police officers hold considerable discretion in the investigation of offenses and in the decision to make an arrest. This is particularly true with sexual assault given the unique nature of these cases. Yet most research in this area has focused on prosecutors’ charging decisions rather than police outcomes for reports of sexual assaults. In an effort to address this gap in the literature, we rely on official records collected from all sexual assaults reported to police in a large Arizona city in 2003 (N = 220) to examine the effects of crime seriousness, evidentiary strength, victim blame, and believablity factors on suspect identification and arrest. Results revealed that both legal and extralegal factors influenced whether police identify and arrest a suspect. These findings raise questions surrounding the role that police play in securing victim cooperation and the extent to which stereotypes of “legitimate” victims shape police officers’ willingness to investigate sexual assault cases.

The Effect of Importation and Deprivation Factors on Violent Misconduct: An Examination of Black and Latino Youth in Prison

There are volumes of research on inmate misconduct; however, few studies focus on institutional violence among juvenile inmates and even fewer examine violent misconduct among youth sentenced as adults and transferred to prison. The current study draws on theories of importation and deprivation and relies on self-report data from in-depth interviews conducted between February 2001 and March 2003 with 95 male juvenile inmates incarcerated in adult prisons in Arizona and New York. The current study fills a void in prior research by examining a specialized and relatively underresearched population to better understand the predictors of violent misconduct among youth in prison. The findings suggest that the importation measure of gang membership and the deprivation measure of threatened with a weapon are significantly associated with violent misconduct. Correctional policy implications are discussed.

Family and Residential Instability in the Context of Paternal and Maternal Incarceration

This study contributes to research on the effects of parental incarceration on youth, using quantitative and qualitative social file data among a sample of youth referred to an urban juvenile court. The authors expand on prior research by highlighting the role of the “unstable family” before and after parental incarceration, looking specifically at changes in guardianship status and residential instability. Maternal incarceration was significantly related to rearrest among youth, and residential instability that occurred following both maternal and paternal incarceration was significantly associated with rearrest. Results underscore the need for more nuanced research on the dynamic relation among family situational factors, paternal and maternal incarceration, and continued involvement of youth in the juvenile justice system.

Prisoners’ Assessments of Mental Health Problems Among Their Children

High rates of imprisonment among American men and women have motivated recent research on the well-being of children of incarcerated parents. Despite advances in the literature, little is known regarding the mental health status of children who experience maternal relative to paternal incarceration. Accordingly, we examine whether there are differences in mental health needs among children of incarcerated parents. Specifically, we assess whether incarcerated mothers are more likely than incarcerated fathers to report that their children suffer from mental health problems. Using cross-sectional data on children (N = 1,221) compiled from a sample of parents confined in the Arizona Department of Corrections, we find that children of incarcerated mothers are significantly more likely to be identified as suffering from mental health problems. This effect remained even after controlling for additional parent stressors and child risk factors such as exposure to violence, in utero exposure to drugs/alcohol, and parental mental illness. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Girls' Experiences With Violence: An Analysis of Violence Against and by At-risk Girls

A growing body of work has emerged that examines crime and delinquency as gendered events. Given the prevalence of violence in the lives of women and girls, scholars have used various theoretical perspectives, including feminist pathways and “doing gender,” to investigate the victimization–offending overlap. The authors contribute to this literature through an analysis of juvenile court records using a sample of at-risk girls. The authors identify the context of girls’ experiences as victims of violence, perpetrators of violence, and both victims and perpetrators of violence. The authors conclude with epistemological thoughts regarding transdisciplinary research on girls’ experiences with violence.

Inmates’ Experiences with Prison Visitation

Prison visitation is an important tool used to strengthen inmates’ social ties and incentivize good behavior in prison. Nevertheless, prison visits do not always go well for inmates, and we know little about why that is. Accordingly, in the current study we examined inmates’ varied experiences with prison visitation. We used data collected from 228 visited inmates who reported on 701 of their adult visitors, and identified whether visits typically made inmates feel guilty, stressed, sad, loved, comforted, and/or supported, and if inmates often argued with their visitors. Results from multilevel models indicated marked variability in inmates’ experiences with visitation, shaped by: who visits, how often they visit, inmates’ pre-prison behaviors, prison life, and demographic factors. These findings suggest that resources for conflict resolution may be needed during visitation, and that family-centric correctional interventions that recognize the variation we have uncovered here might hold promise in maximizing the effectiveness of visitation.