ABSTRACT While research suggests that marriage and relationships play an important part in desistance, there is a lack of research examining the role criminal stigma plays in creating romantic relationships and that attitudinal factors that may affect someone’s decision to pursue a relationship with formerly convicted individuals. The current study addresses this gap in the literature by examining the relationship between endorsement of hook up culture and willingness to date someone carrying a criminal history. Using street intercepts, over 600 adults in the United States were asked to complete a survey measuring various demographic and attitudes to examine their dating behavior. Results from the study suggest that a respondents’ endorsement of hook up culture influences the willingness of a person to engage in a committed relationship such as dating. Unsurprisingly, criminal history, crime type, political leanings, and gender also influenced the willingness to date someone with a prior conviction while controlling for other demographic factors. The results of the study implicate the importance of considering the attitudinal and contextual factors related to the decision to engage in romantic relationships, committed or otherwise, with people who have a criminal record.

ABSTRACT A substantial body of research demonstrates the importance of perceptions of safety within the correctional setting, predicting a variety of factors such as officer retention, satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Recently, the general fear of crime literature has been extended to the institutional environment to explain antecedent predictors of correctional personnel fear at work. Both fear facilitators and inhibitors broadly characterize the antecedents, capturing both individual and environmental factors. Since officers play a critical role in shaping the institutional environment, it is vital to understand factors, institutional or individual, that impact their fear at work. Based on a sample of 603 correctional officers from five facilities with varying security levels, it was found that both personal and organizational factors shape officers’ fear at work. Specifically, staffing levels, facility characteristics, and tenure facilitated greater officer fear, while shift assignment and social closeness inhibited fear. This study demonstrates how developing social connections and acceptance may hinder fear.

ABSTRACT The gateway hypothesis posits that marijuana use initiation may lead to neurological changes predisposing individuals to escalation to harder drug use later on. However, there is limited research, which has examined marijuana as a gateway drug leading to hallucinogen use and examination of mechanisms linking the two drug use behaviors. This study examined marijuana use as a predictor of hallucinogen use and tested for mediation via social, affective, and cognitive mechanisms. The Pathways to Desistance data were analyzed. This is a longitudinal dataset comprised a sample of 1,354 justice-involved youth. Path analyses were used to test for direct and indirect effects of interest. Findings indicated that elevated marijuana use frequency prior to baseline was a significant predictor of increased log-odds of later hallucinogen use. None of sensation-seeking, impulse control, nor deviant peer association significantly mediated this relationship. Ever having used marijuana prior to baseline was not significantly related to later hallucinogen use risk and no mediation effects were identified for this independent variable. Results indicated that higher frequency marijuana use may result in gateway effects for later hallucinogen use. Both marijuana use variables were also statistically significant predictors of increased sensation-seeking, diminished impulse control, and greater deviant peer association.

ABSTRACT Prior research focusing on mass shootings in the US has established the significant role of weapons in these events. Despite the extensive literature on the topic, minimal consideration has been given to the specific muzzle energy and caliber of ammunition used in these events and whether these factors influence the outcome of these shooting incidents. The current study examined the effect of muzzle energy and caliber of ammunition on the number of victims killed and injured in mass shootings. Analysis of The Violence Project (Version 6) mass shooting dataset indicated that the muzzle energy of the ammunition used in a mass shooting was positively associated with the number of people killed and total victims while the caliber of the ammunition was negatively associated with those outcomes. However, these findings were largely accounted for by the use of an assault weapon with high-capacity magazines.

ABSTRACT In recent years, school resource officers (SROs) and their role in the context of school safety have become a popular topic of research. In this study, we analyze data from 31,156 students from over 100 schools in Kentucky to better understand how students perceive SROs in their school environment. The findings reveal that males, students who liked having an SRO at their school, students who saw their SRO at several locations on campus during the typical school day, and students who viewed their SRO as more than a law enforcer had a higher opinion of the SRO working at their school. Interestingly, school-level variables had no impact on these relationships. Implications for policy and future research are also discussed.

ABSTRACT High-profile instances of police violence, including the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, have received immense attention in the news media and brought public attention to police use of force and racial bias. This study examines the connection between news media consumption and public perceptions of police misconduct. It also explores the role of racial empathy, a positive out-group attitude, in mediating this relationship. Analyses of nationally representative survey data indicate that those who view online news sites and those who use Twitter are more likely to believe that police treat White people better than they treat Black people. The political bias of the news site also matters, as those who view right-leaning sites are less likely to believe that police use more force than necessary and act in a biased manner. Racial empathy plays a mediating role in the relationship between viewing news sites and perceptions of police misconduct. Implications for research and policy are discussed.

ABSTRACT Cybercrime has become a major societal concern, and a better understanding OF cybercrime is needed to target and prevent it more effectively, minimize its consequences, and provide support for victims. Research on cybercrime victimization has exploded in the past few years, but much of it relies on convenience samples and is largely descriptive in nature. The research presented here involves the collection of data from a large sample of Virginia households in 2022 (n = 1,206). The data are analyzed to provide a partial test of routine activity theory to better understand fraud and theft via the Internet. The data provide a solid baseline for describing the extent of cyber victimization across the state. Bivariate and multivariate analyses (logistic regressions) show support for routine activity theory and provide important insights for future research. In particular, we find that certain routine Internet activities may better predict unique forms of cybervictimization than others and that length of time on the Internet is not a good indicator of exposure to motivated offenders. Further, protective guardianship mediates the effects of exposure to motivated offenders; thus, efforts to educate the public on best practices are needed. We conclude that to better assess cybercrime, victimization and engagement, better measurement and longitudinal panel data will be needed.

ABSTRACT Law enforcement agents are often the first professionals to come into contact with victims of commercial sexual trafficking (CST). While they likely have encountered female victims of CST, they may need increased understanding of the identification of male victims. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a training program aimed to increase awareness of male victims of CST among law enforcement professionals. Participants’ (N = 132) knowledge level was examined prior to the training and immediately thereafter and results showed that pretest knowledge scores were low. The majority of participants (77%) did not have prior training in CST in males and there was a significant gain in knowledge from pre to posttest. None of the participants’ demographic variables were significant predictors of pretest or posttest scores. Implications for training law enforcement in male CST are provided.

ABSTRACT The death notification is regarded as one of the most defining events for families of sudden and unexpected death. Little is known how the death notification process impacts families who have lost a loved one to homicide. Using the focus group methodology, this study depicts the death notification process through the eyes of homicide co-victims and examines the patterned aspects of the notifiers’ association with co-victims as their relationships and contacts unfold across three critical phases of death notification: initiating contact with co-victims, delivering the notice, and providing assistance and referral to co-victims. Of particular interest is retelling personal accounts of secondary victimization that homicide co-victims experience during the death notification process and how they responded to such experiences. The paper concludes by discussing ways to improve death notification protocols and training guidelines and providing direction for future policy and practice.

ABSTRACT Archival crime data collected by a police agency in Upstate New York from 2008 to 2015; outcome, sentencing, and incarceration data collected by the New York State’s Department of Criminal Justice Statistics; and demographic data collected by the U.S. Census were analyzed to explore how a suspect’s race and sex affect the investigation, prosecution, conviction, and sentencing in larceny cases. Results suggest that Black men were more likely to be the targets of excess suspicion, less likely to be granted leniency by prosecutors, no more likely to be convicted, but, if convicted, more likely to be incarcerated than White men.