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Although journal outlets are beginning to put forth explicit criteria that define authorship, studies have also found that there are nonetheless components of authorship philosophies that remain interactional and culturally defined among members of particular scientific communities. In line with other scientific fields, authorship practices and philosophies are central to publishing in criminology. By drawing from a set of 40 interviews with elite scholars in the field, this paper investigates authorship philosophies prominent in criminology. This paper contributes to knowledge on criminological research practices in two ways. First, this paper contributes to the scant literature on authorship in criminology by investigating cultural definitions of what constitutes authorship right and order. Second, this paper contrasts widespread notions of scientific literate practices as being universal and instead builds on a body of work suggesting that literate practices in scientific communities are culturally defined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to explore the feelings and reactions of university students enrolled in the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Inside-Out is a nationally recognized program that has provided the framework for college courses to take place inside the walls of prisons and jails. Both college and university students and residents of correctional facilities take a college-level course, together, inside a correctional facility. Throughout the semester, students are required to write reflection papers that detail their observations, analyses, and reactions to the class sessions. The current research analyzed these papers to explore how the course was impacting students. Findings indicate that students had a wide range of reactions to the course, and often found themselves questioning their beliefs, punishment philosophies, and thoughts on the criminal justice system as a whole and the corrections system specifically. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Experiential learning can be an effective practice to improve student engagement, comprehension, and application of course material in criminal justice classrooms. The current study analyzes 33 undergraduate students' reactions to three experiential learning activities in an upper-level corrections course: a jail tour, a formerly incarcerated guest speaker, and/or a documentary on life without parole. As a course assignment, students submitted reflection papers in relation to two of the three activities. Students' blinded papers were then coded and qualitatively analyzed to determine the impacts of experiential learning on connections to the course material and changes in perceptions of incarcerated persons and the correctional system. Three themes emerged from their papers, supporting the use of experiential learning tactics. The ethical concerns of the use of correctional tours are also discussed as well as areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional literacy skills often neglect to develop students' critical understanding of how information and knowledge are formed, and the unequal power relations at the heart of this process. There are deep, entrenched biases within criminology curriculum content, and empowering students to use critical information literacy skills is an important part of recognising and disrupting knowledge hierarchies in relation to race, class, and gender. This paper builds on research exploring the content of student reading lists from the curriculum of a new criminology degree programme at an English university. Focus groups and one-to-one interviews were held with 20 undergraduate criminology students to explore how students interact with the course reading lists and how they consider and engage with the sources they use. We argue for critical information literacy to be embedded within our teaching of criminology, and for lecturers and students to more pro-actively consider the sources they use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study provides an examination of the publication productivity of 46 previously identified top-ranked criminology and criminal justice scholars across a host of publication productivity metrics. More importantly, the trajectories of the citations accumulated by these scholars’ published works from 2007-2016 are estimated. Results reveal five distinct group-based trajectories, and there are several factors such as the author’s h-index, the author’s number of publications, and the age of the publication that were significantly associated with the citation-based, trajectory group membership. In addition, some of the most frequently cited papers were systematic reviews and meta-analysis and papers focusing on developmental life-course criminology or biosocial research. Study implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upon exiting a doctoral program, many graduate students in criminology and criminal justice hope to enter the academic workforce. The academic job market is a stressful and exciting time in a doctoral candidate's life, but with some planning and forethought—the process can feel more manageable. This advisory paper provides practical advice to academic job seekers from pre-market preparation through offers and negotiations. While standard aspects of the job market are described, care was taken to also describe some lesser discussed aspects of the job market—such as networking on social media and at conferences and the financial cost of academic interviewing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on pedagogy has established the benefit of High Impact Practices (HIP) for student outcomes. Learning communities are a specific HIP that can vary widely in their structure. Learning communities appear to have a positive impact on academic outcomes and student perceptions. While research appears to support the use of learning communities, research has yet to fully explore the impact of the learning community on specific student skills. Given the increased popularity in their use, particularly in the field of criminal justice, the purpose of this study is to examine the effect of a linked-course freshman learning community (FLC) on student engagement and transferrable academic skills, including information literacy, critical thinking, and written communication. Differences were found between the FLC students and their non-FLC counterparts for some of the transferrable academic skills, but not overall engagement with the courses and campus. Implications for findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the academic year 2015–2016, our department implemented a capstone experience for all criminal justice majors. The contemporary scholarly literature on developing a capstone in a criminology/criminal justice program is limited. Therefore, we focused on developing a capstone experience that would be a high impact practice opportunity, take advantage of the existing Internship option, and be consistent with our program-level learning outcomes. A Senior Seminar course was also developed as an alternative to the Internship and students were provided the option of either. A common assignment was also developed with the goal of assessing program-level outcomes in communication. Preliminary assessment results are discussed along with the challenges and lessons learned in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responses to breaches in cybersecurity are increasingly reliant on criminal justice practitioners. However, while the demand for criminal justice participation in cybersecurity increases daily, most universities are lagging in their educational and training opportunities for students entering criminal justice agencies. This paper discusses the need for cybersecurity programs in criminal justice, and examines how the evolution of this "new crime" has become an issue for criminal justice professionals in addition to computer science experts. A review of existing cybersecurity programs in Texas suggests that most four-year universities have yet to develop courses/programs in criminal justice. Course recommendations, sample syllabi for cybersecurity courses in criminal justice, and recommendations for development of these programs are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the media, many students enter undergraduate Criminal Justice programs with biased and/or entertainment-based perceptions about justice generally, and the Criminal Justice system in particular. As a result, many instructors may be compelled to do regular “myth busting” in order to instill a more realistic understanding of Criminal Justice. However, these “myths” hold potential as learning tools in a specific course that confronts and deconstructs them head on. The current paper is about the use of popular media (specifically produced films) as the primary focus of a Criminal Justice course. While such courses tend to be very popular with students, and are potentially very useful in a comprehensive curriculum, there are many considerations when implementing them effectively. Using both student and faculty perspectives, we present the major concerns that need to be considered and addressed when implementing courses that focus solely on Criminal Justice within the popular media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizing, summarizing, and critically analyzing research is one of the first steps in the development of a research project. Creating annotated bibliographies is a common practice for students and researchers alike. Although annotated bibliographies are frequently utilized as course assignments, scaffolding exercises for project-based learning, and tasks for research assistants, many students and early researchers are unfamiliar with the process and format of an annotated bibliography. The purpose of this article is to provide undergraduate and graduate students, research assistants, and early career researchers within criminal justice, criminology, and other social sciences an explanation and examples of how to improve their research skills through writing annotated bibliographies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desistance is the study of pathways out of offending and desistance narratives are expressions of 'going straight'. This paper explores the impact of using desistance narratives in criminology teaching. A lecture around desistance was delivered and students at an English University completed a questionnaire (n = 82) to establish perceptions of offenders, the UK criminal justice system and the relationship between desistance and peer work, which is one possible "hook for change." Data was also collected around students' future employability aspirations in the criminal justice system. Key findings suggest that real-life desistance narratives challenged expectations of the criminology syllabus, humanized offenders and proved effective when delivered by an ex-criminal justice practitioner. The session allowed some students to envisage a future self in the criminal justice system. As future practitioners, criminology graduates need to understand desistance theory and application. Desistance is absent from the Quality Assurance benchmark for criminology in the UK [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the feedback provided by the panel chairmans and general conference attendees from the previous Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) meetings from 2009-2012 on the improvement in the quality of its future annual meetings. Topics discussed include the maintenance of the quality panel presentations, program dilution, and the failure of presenters to show in their scheduled event.

Recent years have seen an increased reliance on the Thomson Reuters Journal Impact Factor (JIF) as a method of evaluating the prestige of academic journals. While the JIF has existed for many years, the increased use of technology to track publications and citations has resulted in other methods of measuring prestige, including Google Scholar’s H-index and Elsevier’s Cite Score. It is unclear, however, whether these “objective” methods of evaluation are correlated with the journals’ reputations among scholars. This paper compares objective and subjective evaluations of journals in criminal justice and criminology among a sample of ASC and ACJS members. Our findings indicate that subjective evaluations of experts are more strongly correlated with Google’s H-Index and Elsevier’s Cite Score than with impact factors. We conclude that for criminal justice and criminology scholars, Thomson Reuters’ JIF may not be the best measure of quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persons with Mental Illness (PMIs) require unique consideration and individualized attention in the criminal justice system. Research has demonstrated the prevalence with which police come into contact with these individuals, the unique considerations made by courtrooms serving PMIs, the overrepresentation of PMIs in correctional settings, and the problems PMIs experience when reentering the community from incarceration. Given the growth of attention to this area, and the increased reality of challenges that criminal justice professionals encounter when working with PMIs, this paper explores the prevalence of courses on mental illness in criminal justice undergraduate programs in the United States. The current review of over 640 curricula in the United States illustrates that courses devoted solely to the topic of mental illness in the criminal justice system are particularly rare. The importance of offering more courses in the interface between mental illness and criminal justice for future professionals in the field is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While there has been significant growth in victimology theories since its roots in the mid twentieth century, these developments have not been adequately transferred to victimology textbooks. This paper evaluates the representation of theories in victimology textbooks using a content analysis approach. It specifically examines the amount of space dedicated to theory, what specific theories are discussed, and the way theories are integrated into the text. Although these texts provide a solid foundation in the historical development of victimology, measuring victimization, and to a lesser extent, the criminal justice response and remedies for victims, students are often not given a framework for which to understand and explain patterns and risk factors of victimization. In light of the paucity of attention to theories of victimology, suggestions for teaching theories of victimology in ways that supplement existing texts and implications for future textbooks are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How has publishing in the field of criminology and criminal justice (CCJ) changed over the last thirty years? Using a dataset combining information on all articles published in the "Big 5" CCJ journals from 1985 to 2017 with their Google Scholar Citations, we identify several key trends. There was an observable positive trend in the number of articles published per year since 1985. Similarly, the average page length and the total number of co-authors has increased over time. Older articles were cited more often than newer articles. This is expected, though notable peaks were observed for articles in Criminology (CRIM) and the Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency (JRCD). Poisson regression results indicate page length, the number of co-authors, and journal affiliation were significant predictors of the number of Google Scholar Citations. The five articles with the largest number of citations for each journal are featured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proliferation of criminal justice programs brings new pedagogical challenges for educators who look for innovative ways to help students build lasting connections between theory, research, and practice. Prison tours are a well-known experiential learning practice in criminal justice courses. Educators have emphasized the benefits of using prison tours in providing students with first-hand knowledge of the criminal justice system, but critics have questioned their educational value, and the subjectivity of students' personal experiences are rarely considered. In this article, I use LatCrit to problematize the use of prison tours as pedagogical tools in criminal justice courses, focusing on my status as a Latinx scholar and educator. I combine counter-story telling and autoethnography to highlight my own prison tour experience. I question the educational benefits of prison tours and discuss the potential harms they can cause Latinx students who have previously come into contact with the criminal justice system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We ask: (1) how are Latino-identifying and Latino-identified persons (mis)represented in criminal and immigration systems data? and (2) how do institutions of formal social control, through their measurement systems, contribute to skewed understandings of racial-ethnic disparities in criminological research? We anchor this analysis in Omi and Winant's racial formation theory to understand how variously situated Latinos are made both visible and invisible in the criminal and immigration systems. We use the term techno-bureaucratic race-making to reflect how bureaucratic institutions and processes contribute to the racialization and criminalization of Latinos in the United States. We argue that techno-bureaucratic nomenclature and data generating processes condition the capacity to identify the existence, scale, and scope of racial-ethnic inequities attributable to the carceral state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Career aspirations, influences, and motives were compared for cohorts of criminal justice majors surveyed in 2014 (N = 204) and 2021 (N = 218). The first hypotheses held that there would be significantly fewer students interested in a career in law enforcement in 2021 than in 2014 because of recent events involving police use of excessive force against people of color. Contrary to this hypothesis, interest in a law enforcement career, particularly federal law enforcement, grew rather than shrank between 2014 and 2021. A second hypothesis predicted an increase in altruistic motives and a decrease in egotistic motives for a criminal justice career between 2014 and 2021. This hypothesis received partial support. A third hypothesis, this one testing whether law enforcement career aspirations and media influences on career choice in criminal justice majors decreased and teacher/professor influences increased as class standing (freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior) increased, also received support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monopoly©, the classic board game that celebrates capitalism, has been used in a variety of classes to help students understand concepts such as the impact of systemic racism on generational wealth and global inequality. In this article, I explore the use of a modified version of Monopoly© to explain the prison industrial complex (PIC). In reviewing post-game evaluations, I find the game is a fun in-class activity that helps students better understand the financial interests private industries have in the prison system and the impact of the PIC on incarcerated individuals. I also discuss suggestions for improving the game as a pedagogical tool, as well as limitations it poses as a classroom activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Criminal justice classes often involve emotionally taxing content. Students who identify as trauma survivors are at risk of being retraumatized through such courses, which not only impedes their ability to complete the courses but may also cause deleterious health consequences. While studies have addressed sensitive and triggering content in college curricula, fewer have examined mitigation techniques. Based on observations and student feedback, this study reports on the efficacy of utilizing a trained therapy dog in criminal justice courses focused on interpersonal victimization. Data were obtained over a three year period (prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic) in higher level undergraduate criminal justice classes on child maltreatment, family violence, and victimology, during which the author's registered therapy dog was strategically incorporated. Findings are discussed within the context of student mental health, bridging research on therapy dogs within primary and secondary education with innovative pedagogical approaches at the university level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program unites college students and incarcerated individuals for semester-long courses. The present study assessed the association between Inside-Out participation and perceptions of incarcerated populations, as well as criminal justice activism. Specifically, we compared Inside-Out participants to students who submitted a request to enroll in Inside-Out but ultimately did not participate, and students who neither participated nor requested enrollment, on: empathy, social closeness and similarity to incarcerated individuals, and criminal justice activism importance and confidence. Inside-Out students expressed greater affective, but not cognitive, empathy, and felt closer and more similar to the incarcerated, compared to their non-participating peers. Inside-Out students and those who requested enrollment did not differ in activism. Both groups scored higher than students who neither participated nor requested enrollment. Present findings demonstrate that empathy and social connectedness towards incarcerated populations are uniquely associated with Inside-Out Program participation, not simply an interest in its curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-secondary institutions have been increasingly called upon to decolonize pedagogy and syllabi. Minimal research has examined decolonization efforts within criminology curricula despite such classes often exploring structural racism in discussions of the overrepresentation of Indigenous, Black, and other racialized persons in the criminal justice system. Through a content analysis of multiple written assignments – written by 25 undergraduate students enrolled in a decision-making in criminal justice class offered at a university in western Canada – this study explores how an instructor decolonized their course through the strategic use of Indigenous literature and scholarship. The results indicate a single course does not provide enough time to unravel the complex connections between colonialism and Indigenous peoples' involvement in the justice system. Further, students have a desire to engage in difficult conversations about racism and colonialism. Take-aways for consideration by instructors and administrators working towards decolonizing curricula are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computational methods are increasingly popular in criminal justice research. As more criminal justice data becomes available in 'big' and other digital formats, new means of embracing the computational turn are needed. In this article, we propose a framework for data collection and case sampling using computational methods, allowing researchers to conduct thick qualitative research – analyses concerned with the particularities of a social context or phenomenon – starting from big data, which is typically associated with thinner quantitative methods and the pursuit of generalizable findings. The approach begins by using open-source web scraping algorithms to collect content from a target website, online database, or comparable online source. Next, researchers use computational techniques from the field of natural language processing to explore themes and patterns in the larger data set. Based on these initial explorations, researchers algorithmically generate a subset of data for in-depth qualitative analysis. In this computationally driven process of data collection and case sampling, the larger corpus and subset are never entirely divorced, a feature we argue has implications for traditional qualitative research techniques and tenets. To illustrate this approach, we collect, subset, and analyze three years of news releases from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police website (N = 13,637) using a mix of web scraping, natural language processing, and visual discourse analysis. To enhance the pedagogical value of our intervention and facilitate replication and secondary analysis, we make all data and code available online in the form of a detailed, step-by-step tutorial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2014, a debate has raged over trigger warnings in college courses. Proponents see trigger warnings (oral or written advance notification of course content with the potential to trigger adverse health responses, and therefore, inhibit academic performance) as supportive of students, particularly those who have experienced trauma. Critics see them as harmful to those same students, and as a threat to learning and academic freedom. Using data from a survey of criminal justice and criminology faculty (N = 791), this study found three domains of faculty attitudes, with trigger warnings as a student-centered teaching practice, an academic harm, and compromising content. Female faculty, those who had taught victimology, those in criminal justice departments, and those who identified as more liberal had more positive views of trigger warnings. Only attitudes viewing trigger warnings as a student-centered teaching practice predicted use of trigger warnings. Future research should undertake inter-disciplinary comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken to mitigate its spread have presented numerous challenges for academia. Conferences are one challenge for academia in a COVID-19 environment. The present study discusses the purpose of academic conferences and provides a case study of a virtual conference in criminology and criminal justice (CCJ) that occurred in November 2020. We extracted data from the virtual conference program, from data publicly available through CrimCon, and from a sample of 53 of the 96 panels that occurred. Using these data, we present information about conference attendance and participation. We found that there were 558 unique presenters across 318 presentations and roundtable discussions, and a total of 1,629 unique attendees over the course of the three conference days. While virtual conferencing solves some problems, it presents unique others. Important comparisons between virtual conferencing and in-person conferencing are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature and attention to rape myth acceptance (RMA) often focuses on female victims, however, studies have found evidence of male rape myth acceptance (MRMA) and linked negative perceptions of male victims to victim blaming attitudes, as well as victim disclosure. Thus, examining a population that is at high risk for sexual victimization and underreporting, such as college students, is pertinent. There are many factors related to RMA, but few have examined college major as a factor associated with RMA. Moreover, none have specifically examined MRMA and college major. However, studies have indicated that Criminal Justice majors may have more punitive attitudes towards crime, and may be less empathetic than other majors, which may influence their future work-related actions in their prospective fields. Findings reveal that Criminal Justice majors scored significantly lower on the MRMA scale compared to all other majors included in the study. Limitations and implications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Criminal justice programs have grown dramatically in recent decades. Yet, relatively little is known about what motivates students to choose criminal justice as a major and what their career goals are after graduation. In light of current uprisings and demands for criminal justice reform, this study investigates the relationship between undergraduate students' personal characteristics and the criminal justice careers to which they are attracted. Findings can inform criminal justice curriculum development and student retention, as well as recruitment and hiring practices for criminal justice agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distance learning is common in higher education, especially online course and degree offerings. However, an older form of distance education, videoconferencing, continues to be used as a method of course delivery. Although some studies have considered the effectiveness of such courses, their findings are mixed and some were conducted with older forms of technology. The present study compares student performance and course and instructor satisfaction between resident and distance students across videoconference undergraduate criminal justice courses. The analyses indicate that students receiving the course through videoconference had lower final grades and were less satisfied with the course and the instructor than those students simultaneously receiving the course through resident instruction, even after controlling for instructor and campus effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiences and discourses within a college classroom can have meaningful and lasting influences on students. In this article, we present and analyze student reactions to a Criminal Activities Checklist, a unique classroom activity that demonstrates the social construction of "the criminal" and "law-abiding citizen" and challenges the "us versus them" mentality. Additionally, the activity illustrates the importance of recognizing privilege in society and understanding how privilege can interact with the criminal justice system. We analyzed 170 qualitative responses from students who participated in the activity at teaching-centered universities in Colorado and Oregon. Our findings demonstrate that the activity fostered student Reflexivity regarding their misperceptions of crime and criminals and demonstrated Empathetic Thinking towards those with less privilege or who were affected by the criminal justice system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examines the impact of the Ferguson Effect and related public scrutiny on college students' motivation to become police officers. Using data from 654 students located at two US universities with over 20,000 students, the results indicate that students' who perceived that officer motivation and dangerousness has been affected by negative media scrutiny had significantly higher log-odds of strongly agreeing that such scrutiny has negatively impacted their trajectory to work in the police profession and had higher log-odds of strongly agreeing that it has made them apprehensive about applying for police positions in comparison to the reference category. The current study highlights how the negative attention directed towards law enforcement is adversely influencing college students' motivation to enter the police profession. Police departments must make a concerted effort to mitigate such negative scrutiny in order to ensure a strong candidate pool for prospective police officers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have argued that media exposure involving criminal justice can influence perceptions of police, but empirical research is decidedly mixed. Additionally, some scholars argue that media effects depend on audience characteristics. However, the moderating role of academic major remains unexplored. Using a laboratory-style randomized experiment (N = 270), the current study examines the impact of media exposure that contains conflicting images of the police on perceptions of police and if this effect varies depending on academic majors by performing a series of paired t-tests, independent-samples t-tests, and a mixed between-within subjects analysis of variance. Findings show that exposure to mixed images of the police dampens confidence in the police, but this effect is pronounced among non-CJ majors compared to CJ majors. Expanding our knowledge base in differential media effects between CJ majors and non-CJ majors can offer useful insights into future CJ curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article extends a small but significant body of work on the motivations of criminal justice students to enter the major and to pursue a criminal justice career (Krimmel & Tartaro 1999; Gabbidon et al 2003; Courtright & Mackey 2004). The authors examine the influence of a variable previously ignored: that of victimization. A survey consisting of quantitative and qualitative questions was administered, and descriptive and inferential statistics used to compare victimized students' responses to that of non-victimized students on a range of questions related to motivation and career aspiration using a sample (N = 371) of criminal justice majors drawn from two large, urban, majority-minority colleges in the Northeast. Students who were victimized were more likely to view the criminal justice system as unfair and think that justice is infrequently served, were more likely to see the major as relevant, and to want a job where they could make a difference. Students reported victimization of self and those close to them as a significant influence on their motivation to enter the major. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Criminology is growing internationally. In this study, I examine articles by Nordic criminologists in fifteen top journals for the period 2008–2017 and present quality-adjusted rankings of the top 30. The ranking applies measures that integrate publications and citations with position in the author-sequence and journal impact factor. I found 191 articles by 188 unique authors with 352 contributions in total. The scholars in the sample had, on average, contributed to 1.87 articles in the selected journals, but only about a third were published in ten selected U.S.-based journals while the rest were published in five European-based journals. Six scholars place high on all the three composite scores of impact and prestige. The identified trend may signal the increasing diversity and inclusivity of the field. The results can provide benchmarks for the going rate of academic performance among Nordic criminologists and may serve to empower younger researchers seeking promotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The job duties of a conservation law enforcement (CLE) officer have been expanding and getting more complex. Many baccalaureate programs are now offered in conservation law enforcement, but it has been 30 years since research has examined what curricular components to emphasize in such a program. This study surveyed CLE officers in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to determine their opinions on probationary officer strengths & weaknesses, preparedness for entry-level training, relative importance of academic subject areas, relative importance of modes of instruction, and officer demographics. Results (65% response rate; n = 108) indicated that the top three skills to develop in a baccalaureate program were CLE field techniques, natural resource sciences, and basic law enforcement skills. Specific courses rated extremely/very important included oral/written communication, CLE fundamentals/field skills, criminal justice investigation, law enforcement academy, resource policy and law, English, human dimensions, internship, and natural resource field skills. Courses rated relatively low in importance included philosophy, economics, arts, history, and math/statistics. The top three instructional methods were practical exercises/application, role playing/scenarios, and case studies. Observations about how to incorporate the results into a CLE baccalaureate curriculum are made as are recommendations for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study relies on data from 388 junior and senior criminal justice majors to examine predictors of intentions to pursue graduate education in criminology, criminal justice, or a closely related field. Logistic regression results demonstrate that women, students who receive greater encouragement to attend graduate school, students with a lower aversion to reading, writing, and statistics, and students who perceive greater diversity intolerance are more likely to report graduate school intentions. Although students' race was not found to be significant in the overall model, split-sample models revealed that the significance of predictors varied by race and ethnicity. In discussing the findings, special attention is given to the need for primarily White institutions (PWIs) to partner with historically Black college and universities (HBCUs). We conclude by calling for departments to redouble their efforts to diversify their faculty and student bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artivism is a movement inclusive of art and activism that has flourished through the United States for decades. Multiple forms of artivism are responsible for initiating dialog amongst demographically distinct groups of people. The present study focuses on two community mural projects completed by justice related youth and adults in Florida and Washington states. Data analyzed entailed field observation notes, semi-structured interviews, and questionnaires from mural participants to address how artivism impacted their learning of social justice materials. The aim of this analysis was to identify the methodology of artivism, and how it was used to foster a deeper educational experience for youth and young adults. This research demonstrated how artivism has the ability to represent the multi-faceted nature of complex social issues not easily discussed in open dialog. Ultimately, this study revealed how the process of artivism transformed insight into scholastic knowledge when applied directly in criminal justice settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents findings based on an alternative to the Association of Doctoral Programs in Criminology & Criminal Justice data that allowed for examining the intersection of sex and race among criminology and criminal justice (CJ) and sociology program completers at the Bachelor’s, Master’s, and doctoral level. Five years’ worth of data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System revealed that, on average, 85% of students who completed a doctoral degree in criminal justice were white, but only 74% of students who completed a doctoral degree in sociology were white. The average percentage of CJ degree completions accounted for by black Americans and Latinos also decreased by 9 and 15%, respectively, from the Bachelor’s level to the doctoral level. We discuss the need for universities to invest in student and faculty diversity, and conclude by highlighting the importance of building strong partnerships between predominantly white and minority-serving institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An exploratory senior and alumni survey was administered to better assess the experiential learning opportunities, including Service-Learning, offered to students in a criminal justice department. This article highlights the academic, personal and professional development of students, based on the perception of criminal justice majors in the department who completed a Service-Learning course. Educators continue to assess the academic outcomes for students and the benefits to the community. What may be less appreciated is how Service-Learning can also benefit students in their professional skills development. This article illustrates these potential benefits, and also discusses why Service-Learning courses are a critical part of development for criminal justice majors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional person-based theories of crime causation, such as social control theory or a general theory of crime, are often at the forefront of developing students’ knowledge on the causes of crime. However, these perspectives do not address the settings in which crime activity occurs. This study explores the significance of a place-based approach to explaining crime theory and practice in the classroom setting. We argue this paradigm shift in how we traditionally think about crime causation and may take longer to be implemented in the classroom setting. Specifically, it is hypothesized that teaching crime and place at very small micro units of analysis is not as prevalent as teaching crime and place a large macro units of analysis. This study is exploratory in nature and uses descriptive statics from the top 28 graduate programs in Criminology and Criminal Justice in the United States, as identified by the US News and World Report, as a way to demonstrate whether any of these institutions have courses that relate to crime and place. Our findings indicate that although some programs teach crime and place at micro units of analysis, instruction is largely focused on crime and place at larger geographic units. Including discussions on crime and place in the classroom, especially at micro units of analysis, can enhance our understanding of crime causation and, arguably, provide a more well-rounded approach to the study of crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students’ negative perceptions of inmates are a challenging aspect of teaching criminal justice. Scholars suggest exposing students to the criminal justice system may provide a realistic approach to understanding offenders. Prison tours have become a viable solution for instructors who want to create such exposure, but contrasting perspectives on the impact of prison tours on students’ learning are present in research. Drawing upon theories of experiential learning, we designed a pre-/post-survey to address the following exploratory questions: (1) What perceptions do criminal justice students hold regarding corrections, inmates, and correctional officers? (2) Do these perceptions change after going on a tour of a correctional facility? Data were collected from a convenience sample of 123 students attending courses at two Midwestern universities. Findings add to the body of literature on prison tours as a component of criminal justice education and further our understanding of the complexity of student learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Using a factorial survey administered to college students at two Universities, this study examines students’ tendencies to engage in academic misconduct. The relation of strain, self-control, and deterrence theories to likelihood of cheating are further explored. The results suggest that increasing the severity of the punishment for cheating does not deter academic misconduct; however, several variables indicating an increased certainty of being caught did decrease the likelihood of cheating behaviors. Only the strain variables that indicated a student had an ill family member or that the student found the course difficult significantly increased academic misconduct. Although self-control did not have a direct effect on cheating it indirectly affected cheating behaviors through students’ perceptions of getting caught and their perception of wrongfulness of the cheating behavior. Policy and future research implications of the findings are further discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although community corrections courses have existed in universities for decades, studies have yet to explore whether the depth and breadth of academic preparation is meeting practitioner needs. In many jurisdictions across the country, community supervision officers receive little pre-service training, making classroom learning a very important component for job preparation. Using survey data collected from members of the American Society of Criminology, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and American Probation and Parole Association, this study examines university faculty and community corrections practitioner expectations regarding topical coverage in undergraduate coursework relevant to the community corrections field. Results indicate that both groups, especially practitioners, gave the strongest preference to coverage of universally applicable job skills such as critical thinking, written and oral communication, and organizational and listening skills. Practitioners generally expected classroom learning to be more in depth and applied than faculty members. Some of the most substantial gaps in expectations were found for daily routine items such as interview skills with offenders, on-the-job decision-making, providing courtroom testimony, and stress coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent media coverage in Baltimore, MD and Ferguson, MO on tensions between the police and public highlight the importance of understanding how criminal justice practices affect public opinions. High crime neighborhoods are central to this research. However, residents of these contexts are typically minority and low-income residents, who have a reduced propensity to participate in surveys. Additionally, high crime areas pose a challenge for interviewer safety and retention. Past research on in-person surveys in high crime contexts is limited and spans multiple social science fields, making identification of best practices more challenging for criminologists. We review best practices and theories, identify issues when surveying in high crime contexts, and describe our challenges and outcomes conducting face-to-face surveys in 71 hot spots in St. Louis County, MO. We highlight our use of student interviewers to increase the response rate and reduce costs, while adding value to students’ educational experiences and knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 30 years, there has been much attention placed on the content within introductory textbooks in fields, such as education, sociology, economics, psychology, and criminal justice. Within the field of criminal justice, a surplus of information has been gathered through analysis of the text found within introductory textbooks. There has been much less emphasis, however, on the potential for stereotypical images found within the pictures of criminal justice textbooks. This study builds on the diminutive literature on the images in criminal justice textbooks. We examined the pictures in 22 introductory criminal justice textbooks over a 17-year period to determine the percentages of men, women, minorities, and other groups that comprise these pictures. We find that white males dominate the images of criminal justice personnel in these textbooks, and that minorities are more likely to be portrayed as criminals than as criminal justice employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Department heads are unique academic positions which can bridge the worlds of faculty and administration. As such, they are sometimes in the unique position where their perceptions and experiences can have real-world impact in the realm of assessing a colleague’s work, tweaking departmental policies of promotion and advancement, and mentoring. While faculty members of all levels have opinions of collaboration, department heads are the leaders who can actually act upon those perceptions, yet these perceptions have not been examined. This study addresses this gap in a survey of Criminal Justice and Criminology department heads (n = 73). The survey varied authorship order, journal prestige, medium of journal, and also examined co-author prestige. In addition, 12 years of 20 criminal justice journals were coded for solo-authored publications. Results demonstrated differential publication trends between top tier and lower tiered journals, and that department heads attributed these trends as a combination of increasing social research networks and more pragmatic concerns. Of particular interest, is the differential value respondents placed on solo-authored work and collaborative work even when taking into consideration prestige of the journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) perform an essential function in the protection of human participants. A survey was conducted on Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences members to determine their perceptions of IRBs as well as their knowledge of IRB principles and the extent to which they follow IRB protocol. Size of the researcher’s institution, number of research articles, number of years in active research, and number of external grants were also studied in relation to knowledge of IRB guidelines and number of IRB protocol infractions. Findings include significant correlations between involvement in research and engaging in research activities that are against IRB rules. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Forensic anthropology is burgeoning but traditionally under the auspices of anthropology departments where the methodology is grounded. Emphasizing the field’s applications justifies its position in criminal justice departments as identification of human skeletal remains serve to uphold the law. As criminal justice programs expand online, online forensic anthropology curriculum must be evaluated. The purpose of this study is to design a forensic anthropology course that meets objectives as equivalently and effectively online as it does face-to-face and test this by comparison of student learning outcomes and satisfaction between the courses. Learning outcomes are measured using mean scores of labs, quizzes, projects, and final grades. Student satisfaction is measured through evaluations. Results demonstrate that objectives are equally achieved and teaching is effective in both cases as student success is as high online as it is on campus. Student perceptions of the courses are also above average in both methods of delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article investigates the number of publications of thousands of members of theAmerican Society of Criminology(ASC) in hundreds of journals listed in theCriminal Justice Periodical Index(CJPI). Publications in 2004–2005 of ASC members in 2005, and publications in 2010–2011 of ASC members in 2011, were investigated. Only ASC members who were considered to be “at risk” of publishing inCriminology and Criminal Justice(CCJ) journals were included. About one-third of ASC members published at least one CJPI article in 2004–2005, but this increased to one-half by 2010–2011. The number of articles published per year by those who published any articles also increased, from 1.0 in 2004–2005 to 1.4 in 2010–2011. The number of articles published in the 26 most central CCJ journals also increased, by about 75%. The most-published scholars in the first time period were Alex R. Piquero, Brian K. Payne, Francis T. Cullen, David W. Webb, and Julian V. Roberts; the most-published scholars in the second time period were Alex R. Piquero, Kevin M. Beaver, Wesley G. Jennings, George E. Higgins, and Matthew J. Delisi. Alex R. Piquero was the most prolific publisher on all measures in both time periods. Female scholars were more likely to appear among the most-published scholars in the second time period. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]