WPACJE
Western and Pacific Association of Criminal Justice Educators |
2003
Conference Schedule
Park City, Utah
October 9-11, 2003
Registration
THURSDAY 1:00-5:00
Prospector Square Lodge Conference Center
Welcome
and Opening Remarks
THURSDAY 1:00 - 1:30
Craig
Hemmens, Boise State University, WPACJE President
Andrew Giacomazzi, Boise State University, WPACJE Vice President
Michelle Heward, Weber State University, Local Arrangements
Session
One: Juvenile Justice in the West
THURSDAY 1:30 - 3:15
National
Children's Alliance: The Utah Children's Justice Center Approach
Wayne D. Williams
Southern Utah University
In
1986, the United States Congress amended The Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act to include The Children's Justice and Assistance Act.
What has been happening since that amendment to date relative to
children who are at risk or victims? The purpose of this paper is to examine
the National Children's Alliance as applied by the State of Utah's Children's
Justice Act Task Force pertaining to those Children Justice Centers operating
throughout the State of Utah. A panel of criminal justice honor society
students from Southern Utah University together with their advisor will
present a paper that includes the history, purpose, and current assessment of
Utah Children's Justice Centers.
A Collaborative
Continuum Of Services: The Effect Of California’s Challenge Grant Program On
Juvenile Arrests
John Worrall
California State University, San Bernardino
In 1996, the California legislature established the
Challenge Grant Program. Counties funded under this program were required to
implement a collaborative continuum of services to reduce juvenile crime and
delinquency. Funding was competitive, and 14 of 58 counties received a total
of $45.9 million to be spent over three years. Using data covering the years
1989-2000, the research reported here sought to determine whether the
Challenge Grant Program reduced juvenile arrests (one of its stated goals).
Results from a series of fixed effects regression models suggest that the
funding reduced arrests for status offenses and the misdemeanors assault and
battery, marijuana possession, and vandalism. Arrests for the index crimes of
assault and burglary also declined. However, once county-specific trends were
modeled, the only significant reductions were for status offenses, assaults
and burglaries. Estimated costs
savings show that the Challenge Grant Program should serve as a model for
other states to follow.
It’s All
About Attitude
Lisa Hutchinson Wallace
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Although
a substantial body of literature has been devoted to theoretical discussions
about the role of oppression in the production of delinquency and violence,
oppression as an explanation of school violence has only recently received the
attention of empirical researchers. According to differential oppression
theory, delinquency is the result of oppressive relationships between adults
and children. The theory asserts that the level of oppression children
experience is a more substantial predictor of delinquency than are the
emotions associated with such oppression. Research indicated that emotions
associated with oppression were more likely than the levels of oppression to
explain school violence. This paper seeks to explore the role of emotions in
the manifestation of school violence. More measures of oppression, as well as
the emotions associated with oppression, were included in the regression
model. Students’ emotions were
measured along indices of isolation, anger, frustration, ability to succeed,
and positive self-worth. The
level of oppression students experienced was measured along parental
involvement, parental punitiveness, negative relationship with teachers,
school restrictiveness, bullying, and physical victimization by peers.
Community
Juvenile Justice in Rural Idaho
Sharon Bradshaw
Boise State University
As
families in Ada County, Idaho seek to improve their quality of life, there has
been a tremendous increase in the migration away from congested city life to
the rural areas outside of Boise, Idaho.
The City of Kuna is one such community that has seen enormous growth
and has met the challenge for restorative justice for its juvenile population.
With full support of the community, Kuna has developed a community
juvenile justice council. This paper is about how Kuna’s juvenile justice program
came about, how it functions, and the future of this program within the
community.
That
Was Then
Kay Gillespie
Weber State University
We sometimes forget how we get to where we are with
public policy and other changes in criminal justice. Juvenile institutions,
during and prior to the 1960s and 1970s, were significantly different than
they are today. Some complain that there are too many restrictions on staff
and too many privileges for residents. This paper will focus on the state of
juvenile institutions and programs from my experience in three states--Idaho,
California and Utah. As a result of my experience at the Idaho State Youth
Development Center in St. Anthony, Idaho (Reform School, Industrial School,
State School), I will focus on discipline and program aspects that prepared
the way for today's programs and philosophy in juvenile justice.
Afternoon
Break
THURSDAY 3:15 – 3:30
Session
Two: Issues in Policing
THURSDAY, 3:30 – 5:00
Village
Public Safety Officer Turnover and Violent Crime in Alaska Native Communities
Darryl Wood
Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage
Since
its inception in the early 1980s as a response to high rates of accidental and
intentional injury deaths in isolated Alaska Native villages, the Village
Public Safety Officer (VPSO) program has suffered from tremendously high
levels of employee turnover. This attrition often results in villages being
without a local police presence for weeks at a time. The impact of this lack
of presence upon public safety in these villages will be examined using
records of offenses recorded by the Alaska State Troopers over the period
1998-2002. The differences in violent crime rates during the periods when a
VPSO is present in a community will be compared with the violent crime rates
during periods of officer absence. Given that the stated purpose of the VPSO
program is to reduce violence in Alaska Native villages, it is expected that
periods of officer absence will be associated with elevated levels of violent
crime.
Intimate
Partner Violence Incidence and Characteristics: Idaho NIBRS 1995-2001 Data
Mary K. Stohr, Boise State University; Salvador Vazquez, Statistical Analysis
Center, Idaho State Police; Marcus Purkiss Boise State University
Aggregate
research on intimate partner violence and its context presents special challenges. It was not until the development
of the National Incident Based Reporting System data that it was possible to
efficiently cull out the IPV incidents from other crimes in police reports. In
this research we use seven years of NIBRS data from one rural mountain state
to identify the situational descriptors that serve as the ingredients in the
“chemistry of crime” (Felson 1998). We found that there is a tendency for
IPV incidents to occur late at night, on the weekends and on certain
distinctive holidays. Such information may confirm what many have known
anecdotally and help policymakers to best direct scarce prevention related
resources.
Computer
Crime: Profile and MO Typologies
Carl Franklin
Southern Utah University
Computer
crime is unlike almost anything investigators have encountered in the past.
Crimes involving the computer range from simple electronic trespass to theft
of company trade secret valued at millions of dollars. In this presentation I
will examine how some of the traditional methods of identifying the modus
operandi are being applied to help investigators profile potential
perpetrators. Special focus is given to classroom methods used to teach crime
typology, analysis of computer related MO, and perpetrator profiling.
Physical
Fitness Standards in Law Enforcement
Lamar Jordan
Southern Utah University
Virtually
all law enforcement agencies have established physical fitness standards for
their officers. This paper will
explore the rationale for fitness requirements, how fitness is measured, and
what fitness standards are considered valid and legal.
Should fitness standards apply to veteran officers as well as new
recruits? Also discussed is the
impact of the Cooper Institute in developing acceptable standards.
A comparative study of fitness standards in various law enforcement
agencies on a local, state, and federal level is presented.
Policing
Issues in Alaska
Lawrence Trostle
University of Alaska, Anchorage
Current
issues in policing in Alaska are discussed.
Registration
FRIDAY 8:30-5:00
Prospector Square Lodge Conference Center
Session
Three: Criminal Justice Education
FRIDAY 8:30 - 9:45
Using
Evaluation Research to Enhance Pedagogy in a Criminal Justice Administration
Course
Tim Capron
California State University, Sacramento
Examples,
examples and more examples are often necessary when teaching undergraduates in
a course on Criminal Justice Administration. At this university, California
State University, Sacramento, we require a course in criminal justice
administration that is demanding. A
number of professors use Richard J. Stillman's Public Administration text that
employs concepts and cases. A concept is presented, such as bureaucracy, and
is followed by a case that illustrates how bureaucracy worked or failed. The
current chapter discusses moving towards a theory of effective government
organizations. The case study is of an airplane crash. Very interesting, but
a criminal justice example is needed. Criminal justice professors frequently
engage in evaluation research. Currently, a number of professors at this
institution are conducting evaluation research for the Office of Criminal
Justice Planning. This paper details how this research can reinforce teaching
points and provide examples that enhance teaching.
Plagiarism
and the Internet
Donald R. Dixon, Ph.D.
California State University at Sacramento
On April 3, 2003, the Dallas County Community
College District hosted a nation-wide teleconference entitled “Cheating and
Plagiarism Using the Internet.” These
are especially salient topics for educators as students become more
technologically savvy. The teleconference provided information on identifying
and confronting plagiarism, and how to prevent it.
Using information from that teleconference I identified 31 instances of
plagiarism in research papers from two criminal justice classes I taught in
the Spring, 2003 semester. I will
present a summary of the teleconference information with additional
observations and experiences I have had relating to the topic of plagiarism.
So
How Was Your Conference? Panel
Chairs’ Perceptions of the 2003 ACJS Meeting in Boston
David Mueller, Boise State University; Andrew Giacomazzi, Boise State
University; James Wada, Washington State University
Questionnaire
data from 137 panel chairs at the 2003 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
meeting in Boston reveal respondent perceptions of the conference site,
overall impressions of the conference, as well as panelist attendance, and the
quality of information presented by panelists.
The findings reveal high marks for the conference space, hotel rooms,
and the City of Boston itself, resulting in an overall positive conference
experience. Responses also
highlight several areas of concern, including panelist attendance problems and
presentation etiquette. Recommendations
are provided, which may foster positive, incremental change at future ACJS
annual meetings.
Reflections
Upon The Implementation of an On-Line Masters Program
David Blurton, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Lisa Hutchinson Wallace
University of Alaska Fairbanks
In
the fall of 2001 the University of Alaska Fairbank’s (UAF) Justice
Department inaugurated its on-line Master of Arts in Administration of
Justice. Prepared at the request
of the University’s Board of Regents, the degree was UAF’s first
Master’s program to be delivered entirely online. Summer of 2003 saw the
graduation of the first students from this program.
Given this milestone, the authors sought to conduct a reflective review
of the creation and implementation of this degree.
Indeed, this unique program has faced some challenging experiences.
This paper seeks to delineate some of those challenges, as well as offer
recommendations for individuals seeking to undertake similar endeavors.
Specifically, we will discuss the various barriers encountered, the
feasibility of implementing such a degree, suggest characteristics of a
successful on-line program, as well as provide specific recommendations for
instruction within the context of an online environment.
Morning
Break
FRIDAY 9:45 – 10:00
Session
Four: Supreme Court Roundtable: Leading Criminal
Justice-Related Decisions of the 2002 Term
FRIDAY 10:00 – 11:30
Steve
Burge, EasternUtah
Craig Hemmens, Boise State University
Michelle Heward, Weber State University
John Worrall, California State University at San Bernardino
A
summary and analysis of the leading cases involving criminal justice from the
2002-2003 term of the United States Supreme Court. Each presenter will discuss
three major cases The discussion of individual cases will be followed by a
roundtable discussion of the significant cases and events of the term.
Luncheon
FRIDAY 11:30-1:30
Presentation
by Steve Lab, ACJS President
General Business meeting
Recognition of Craig Hemmens, outgoing WPACJE President
2003 Election Results and Installation of new officers
Session
Five: Roundtable on Getting Published
FRIDAY 1:30 - 2:30
Robert
Wadman, Weber State University
Steve Lab, Bowling Green State University
Craig Hemmens, Boise State University
Jon Worrall, California State University, San Bernardino
A roundtable discussion of the “nuts and bolts”
of academic publishing. Publishing in academic journal, practitioner-oriented
journals and law reviews will be discussed. The panel will also discuss how to
obtain a contract for a textbook, and provide tips on writing textbooks.
Questions from the audience are welcome.
Session
Six: Workshop—Pre-Law Advising in Criminal Justice
FRIDAY 2:30 - 3:15
Laurie M. Kubicek
California State University, Sacramento
This
presentation is designed for criminal justice faculty for use in advising
criminal justice students interested in the study of law.
A Power Point presentation will detail advising strategies, important
dates and deadlines as well as admissions criteria for law school.
I will also offer information about additional resources for faculty
advisors, lawyers and non-lawyers alike, who provide pre-law advising.
I will share a sample pre-law advising guide that I designed to assist
students in planning their course of study within the discipline.
In addition to a substantive advising guide and materials, the
presentation will also detail the development of the pre-law advising program
currently in progress in the Division of Criminal Justice at CSU, Sacramento.
I will summarize and present survey data collected from the spring 2003
program and provide information about what additional programs we are
implementing to assist students in the coming year.
Afternoon
Break
FRIDAY 3:15 – 3:30
Session
Seven: Inmates and Intimates
FRIDAY 3:30 – 5:00
Jail
Progress: One Person’s Spin
Ken Kerle
American Jails Association
This
presentation will concentrate on the differences in numbers found in Who’s
Who in Jail Management, lst edition, 1991, and Who’s
Who in Jail Management, 4th edition, 2003. Subjects covered will be such
things as rated capacities and jails, regional jails, city jails, women jail
administrators, and planning and construction of jails in the future.
Understanding
Life and Death on Death Row
Sandy McGunigall-Smith
Utah Valley State College
This paper which addresses two issues is informed
by my research on life and death row at Utah State Prison. Firstly, death row
inmates in Utah and most other jurisdictions in the USA are housed in the
severe conditions of supermax
facilities, often in isolation. These inmates are housed in facilities which
were designed to house “the worst of the worst” yet they are there simply
because of the sentence of the court, regardless of their institutional
behavior. Is such confinement for death row inmates justified? Secondly, to
understand the ways in which death row inmates cope with the conditions of
punitive segregation we need to go beyond longstanding criminological theories
relating to prison life. Some of the limitations of these theories will be
discussed together with alternative theories for understanding life and death
on death row.
Broken
Waves: Factors Related to Domestic Violence in the United States Navy
Megan Vogt, Washington State University; Faith Lutze, Washington State
University;
Scott Jacobs, Naval Criminal Investigative Service; Kathy Korth, Regional CAPS
Director Command Navy Region Northwest
In
recent years, domestic violence within military families has become a source
of concern. This paper examines the factors that may contribute to domestic
violence in the United States Navy. Findings from the Domestic Violence
Working Group suggest that the dynamics of naval operations, the naval command
and organizational structure, and the navy/civilian interface may be related
to the prevalence and the response to domestic violence in the Navy. Further
research should be conducted to uncover the actual amount and lethality of
domestic violence in military families.
Is E-Code Effective?
Addressing Management Problems In USP Marion
Kate King
Murray State University
The
Enhanced Challenge, Opportunity, Discipline and Ethics (E-CODE) program is a
multi-phase approach designed to teach high-max custody inmates self
discipline, the value of conforming to pro social lifestyles, and to help them
change negative thinking and behaviors. Program
objectives include the reduction of violent assaults, reduced rates of
incidence reports, lower levels of drug use in the institution, and reduced
gang activity. This paper
explores the methods used by E-CODE and its utility as a management tool for
the most violent, predatory inmates in this federal prison.
President’s
Reception
FRIDAY 5:30 – 7:00
Held in the President’s Suite. Everyone is
invited!
Registration
SATURDAY 8:30-10:00
Prospector Square Lodge Conference Center
Session
Eight: Sex, Drugs and Race in Criminal Justice
SATURDAY 8:30-9:45
Adult
Female Sex Offenders: A Gendered Analysis
Jennifer Chiotti
Washington State University
Although
there is a large body of literature on male sex offenders, there is little on
their female counterparts. In addition, concerning the literature and research
available on female offenders, the role society plays on the prevalence,
identification, characteristics of offenders and victims, and the passage
through the criminal justice system is non-existent. This gendered analysis
attempts to uncover the influence society has on female sex offenders in hopes
of encouraging further exploration and research within this unique criminal
class.
Winning
the Battle but Losing the War: An Analysis of Recent Immigration Decisions
Marlyn
J. Jones
California State University, Sacramento;
Recent
immigration legislation increased immigrants’ vulnerability and exposure to
involvement with the U.S. criminal justice system. Although often treated as
criminals, they are denied many of the due process safeguards. Nonetheless,
judicial decisions have effected minor changes. This paper, through a review
of immigration statistics and analysis of judicial discourse, analyses
immigration cases decided during the period July 2002 to July 2003 for
offenses of “re-entry” and being “found in” the United States. The
paper analyses the nexus between
recent immigration legislation and the 2001 Federal
Sentencing Guidelines.
Racial
Disparities in Sentencing
Brenton Roncace
Boise State University
The paper I will be presenting focuses on racial
disparities in court and sentencing decisions. The paper begins with
examining how race affects the decision to prosecute and sentence qualified
defendants as "habitual" offenders. The focus will then shifts to
sentence disparities among races. Then moves on to examine the effects of
employment and unemployment as a possible explanation of the sentencing
disparities between whites and minorities in court. Next, socioeconomic
status, or SES, will be examined in order to determine whether or not it
affects sentencing, and, if so, how those affects might favor one race over
another.
Morning
Break
SATURDAY 9:45 – 10:00
Session
Nine: Offenders and Offenses
SATURDAY 10:00 – 11:15
Motivations
and Rationalizations of Wildlife Law Offenders
Stephen L. Eliason
Morehead State University
The
violation of wildlife laws is a serious problem in today's society.
This paper provides a descriptive account of motivations and
rationalizations associated with illegal hunting and angling.
Using qualitative data from a mail survey and in-depth interviews with
24 conservation officers and 33 wildlife law violators, several motives for
unlawful hunting and fishing were identified.
Empirical verification of some of the ten motivational categories of
poaching identified by Muth and Bowe (1998) is provided.
Motivations and rationalizations were categorized as
ignorance/forgetfulness, thrills and recreation, trophy violations and
money/profit. Responses by conservation officers indicated that individuals
no longer hunt or fish illegally for household consumption because of the
variety of social welfare programs that are now available to disadvantaged
citizens.
Profiles
of Robbery: Crime, Corollaries, and Concoctions
Richard P. Davin
Riverside Community College
A
qualitative analysis of over 300 police reports of robbery from a mid-size
Southern California city showed a variation in reporting which suggests that
police not infrequently file an incident as a robbery when incident more
accurately reflected a lesser offense. This paper presents a typology of
robbery derived from the variation in police reporting and offers three
profiles of robbery that reflect: 1) a common conception of the crime whereby
the criminal behavior substantively conforms to the penal code, 2) whereby the
technical elements of the crime are present but their sequence and substance
lends itself to question the mens rea,
3) whereby it can be readily determined that the crime of robbery was
fabricated from the combining of other lesser crimes. The paper concludes that
the importance of recognizing and making these typological distinctions is
less a matter of legalism than it is a matter of research validity. To the
degree criminal justice researchers rely on police reporting, the validity of
that reporting becomes crucial.
Active Gangs
And Economic Crime: An Empirical Analysis of Alternative Explanations for Auto
Theft Rates in U.S. Cities in 1993
Ronald Helms, Western Washington University; Nick Filer, Western Washington
University
The
literature on auto theft highlights various motivational claims (e.g.
adolescent joyriding, illicit chop shops) and diverse structural explanations
(e.g. heightened inequality, reduced employment opportunities, social
disorganization) for variation in the rates.
It is just as plausible that gangs would independently influence this
category of instrumental crime. Recent
ethnographic research suggests that gangs often broker access to local illicit
markets. Our research does not refute that conceptualization.
Instead, we offer empirical evidence that the presence of gangs
increases the likelihood that such crimes will occur. Our research shows that
after statistically controlling for other diverse structural conditions the
presence of active gangs is closely correlated with variation in city auto
theft rates. These results are consistent with recent conceptual claims
linking active gangs with economically motivated crime, particularly during
this historical period when social and economic misfortune for society’s
most destitute members was cresting.
Session
Ten: Workshop on Internet Education
SATURDAY 11:15 – 12:15
Live
Internet Education Rivals Traditional Classroom Education
Russell L Stiefel
Crown College
The
traditional college education is not accessible to tens of thousands of
potential students, who because of access, work schedules, child care, or
other reasons are unable to obtain a traditional college education. Crown
College's Cloudroom provides a unique, interactive college education that
rivals traditional education. The Cloudroom environment captures the emotional
environment of live two-way communication as it pertains to lectures, group
activities, discussions, debates, and oral presentations. Live, immediate
interaction that is heard and felt by all classroom participants is essential
to transfer thoughts and emotions into long term memory, the critical end game
of any educational activity. There is no difference between the traditional
classroom and the Cloudroom environment as it pertains to live, viewable
information, either through written information or web site links. An on line
educational environment that is live, and encompasses all of the educational
amenities rivals the traditional
classroom education.
Utah
State Prison Tour
SATURDAY 12:30-2:30
Arranged
by Sandy McGunigall-Smith, Utah Valley State College
Park
City/ Salt Lake City Crime Scene Tour /Salt Lake City Dinner
SATURDAY 2:30-8:30
Arranged
by Kay Gillespie, Weber State University