Search

Background: Service-learning is a high-impact teaching technique that aligns with feminist pedagogy to engage students in influencing social change. Nonetheless, barriers exist to implementing direct service-learning, particularly from a trauma-informed lens as volunteer work could be triggering for students who experienced victimization first-hand. Purpose: This article examines a research-based service-learning project that utilized feminist and trauma-informed pedagogy. Methodology/Approach: Students participated in a student-led survey of their college campus which assessed student experiences of victimization, perceptions of safety, and university service availability. This study analyzed student reflections' on the research-based service-learning project. Findings/Conclusions: A thematic analysis of students' reflection responses to the service-learning project revealed four major themes: Enjoyment and Ease in the Process, Research Skills for Advocacy, Validation of Students' Concerns, and Need for Social Change. Implications: The findings support research-based service-learning projects as an alternative to direct volunteer work. Research-based service-learning still provides students with high-impact learning that can increase students' collaboration, skills, empowerment, and engagement.

Intimate partner violence (IPV), inclusive of all forms of abuse, is an ongoing public health and criminal-legal issue that transcends social boundaries. However, there is a lack of equitable representation of diverse populations who experience IPV in the literature. To garner a holistic knowledge of diverse IPV survivor populations' experiences with seeking help from the police, the current review utilized a qualitative research synthesis methodology to explore police interactions among six IPV survivor populations that are underrepresented in the current literature: women with substance use issues, immigrant women, women in rural localities, heterosexual men, racially/ethnically minoritized women, and sexual minority women. Seven electronic databases were searched to identify peer-reviewed articles on IPV survivors' narrative descriptions (qualitative or mixed-methods) of their encounters with law enforcement. The final analysis included 28 studies that were then coded with an iterative coding strategy. The analysis uncovered the following themes: (a) revictimization by the police, (b) police negligence, (c) discrimination, (d) cultural differences, and (e) positive experiences. These themes demonstrated that while some experiences with law enforcement were shared between under-researched survivor groups, some experiences were explicitly tied to some aspects of survivors' identities. Recognizing the potential law enforcement has to support survivors, the findings of the current review reiterate the need for ongoing efforts to improve law enforcement knowledge and overall response to IPV, especially for diverse populations of IPV survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiential learning is a valuable tool to increase students' understanding of complex phenomena we encounter in criminal justice classrooms. This study uses a mixed methods research design to explore the impact of short-term experiential learning tactics in an upper-division course on substance use and treatment. Students were asked to attend a lecture given by an individual who has engaged in drug use and then either volunteer in a treatment-related facility or conduct interviews on drug-related topics. Reflection papers on these experiences from 21 participating students form the qualitative portion of this study. To measure the impact quantitatively, two validated surveys on attitudes towards drug use and harm reduction were completed by the students at the beginning and at the end of the semester. Findings from both data sources are integrated to provide a holistic understanding of how the experiential learning tactics impacted students' views towards substance use and harm reduction. Our results suggest that the tactics helped students address some of their preconceived notions about harm reduction, drugs, and those who use them, as well as enhanced the course material. We conclude with a discussion focused on practical implications, limitations, and suggestions for future directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study is an outcome evaluation of the gender-responsive program, Girls...Moving On (GMO). Outcomes for treatment (n = 135) and control group (n = 135) participants reflected mixed findings, with no significant reductions in recidivism, which may have been due to problems with implementation. Nevertheless, girls who completed the program had significantly larger reductions in risk scores and increases in strength scores compare to non-completers, but little to no differences in recidivism. Additionally, GMO completers showed improvements in self-efficacy scores. Several implications and considerations regarding the outcomes are discussed to guide future gender-responsive programs for system-impacted girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

North America is currently experiencing an opioid crisis. One proposed solution to combat problems associated with injection drug use is the use of supervised injection facilities. These facilities provide drug users a space to inject pre-obtained drugs without any legal repercussions. Research on these facilities has focused on public health outcomes, and generally found positive results. Far fewer studies have investigated the impact supervised injection facilities have on crime. The current study provides an interrupted time-series analysis on the impact of North America’s only supervised injection facility on crime. Analyses of city wide crime data evidence no impact of the supervised injection facility on crime. Disaggregated analyses indicate a significant decrease in crimes in the district where the supervised injection facility is located. Implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Person-centered language is a well-known approach to reducing stigmatizing labels among marginalized groups. However, little research has explored person-centered language's impact in criminal justice classrooms. Utilizing a mixed-method research design, this study explores the impact of person-centered language on students' perceptions of persons convicted of sex offenses. The study used three sections of an online Sex Crimes course. The course sections were identical, except for the language used and awareness of person-centered language; the control group section did not utilize person-centered language, the second section utilized person-centered language, and the third section utilized person-centered language and was given an informational lecture on stigmatizing language. Quantitative data was collected from the Perceptions of Sex Offenders Scale at the beginning and end of the semester. Students' end-of-semester reflection papers served as the qualitative component. The findings suggest shifts in punitive attitudes toward sentencing and management for the group exposed to person-centered language and the informational lecture. These differences were not apparent for the other groups and subscales. While qualitative data provided a more in-depth understanding of students' perceptions, overall, exposure to person-centered language didn't seem to impact student perceptions. However, exposure alongside a lecture about person-centered language, seemingly had a more pronounced impact on students' perceptions, suggesting that transparency surrounding language and reducing stigma are important components of person-centered language. The findings have implications for using person-centered language for criminal justice pedagogical practices, as well as considerations beyond the classroom (e.g., program development and curricula)., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.