Criminal Justice Students' Perceptions of Their Future Careers

This study examines how criminal justice majors taking courses during the COVID-19 pandemic perceive their future careers. These expectations are compared to those of students majoring in lab sciences and non-lab fields. Variation by race and ethnicity are also assessed. Data were obtained from 188 undergraduate students at a single institution in Spring 2021 and Fall 2021 using an online survey. Results indicated that students' estimates of their future salaries and job availability were accurate to current labor market conditions. Hispanics anticipated higher salaries and more salary growth than non-Hispanics. Criminal justice majors were attracted to jobs based on potential to help others, challenge, job tasks, salary, and the fun, thrill, or excitement of the job. Health majors were more drawn to features like salary and job availability. Criminal justice students were more likely than others to note power as well as prestige, recognition, or status as appealing job features. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Criminal Justice Education is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

COVID-19 and Courts: An Exploration of the Impacts of the Pandemic on Case Processing and Operations

The COVID-19 pandemic instantly changed the day-to-day practices of the criminal justice system. The court system, traditionally reliant on face-to-face interaction, had to quickly alter operations to decrease the virus' spread while remaining functional as an integral role in the criminal justice system. The current exploratory study examines the response strategies U.S. court systems implemented, impacts on case processing, case backlogs, and additional consequences endured due to the pandemic. Using responses from self-report surveys of court staff (e.g., judges, clerks), results indicated that courts prioritized the types of cases heard and implemented multiple mitigation strategies that were deemed effective, some of which may be sustainable post-pandemic. Despite an increase in virtual jury trials and hearings, many courts saw a surge in backlogged cases and complications in assembling juries. The overall findings may inform judiciary policy and practice concerning short and long-term pandemic outcomes on court processing and future pandemic preparedness.

Exploring Thailand's Probationary Practices Since COVID-19: Changes in Strategies with Regards to Probation Supervision

The COVID-19 pandemic had a critical impact on the Thai criminal justice system. The goal of this study is to explore policies and practices of Thailand's Department of Probation as it responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study surveyed probation officers in Thailand (N = 534) from March to April 2021, focusing on probation practices and case management issues prior- and post- COVID-19. Data reveals that, overall, the frequency of officer-offender contacts remained steady even though the type of contact changed after COVID-19. In-person contact was replaced by remote contact strategies, specifically telephone calls, which increased significantly following the onset of the pandemic.

A view of probation and mental health after the pandemic

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has seen the world change dramatically. For people in the Criminal Justice System (CJS), the pandemic has levied an even heavier toll. To date, the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of those within the CJS has been most acutely focused on people in prison. However, the impact of the pandemic on people on probation has carried similarly devastating costs to mental health. People on probation also have higher rates of suicide and suicidal ideation than in the general population. The implications of the pandemic and what it has meant for both service users and the probation staff who supervise them are therefore an area of vital concern. The mental health costs of the pandemic for Probation Service users have been immense. The impact of the pandemic has also been felt by service users residing in supported housing and approved premises. For probation staff the pandemic has shifted the boundaries of working, communicating and interacting with others. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Conclusion

This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book is produced during the COVID-19 pandemic, an event that has drawn attention to the importance and fragility of good mental health. It presents the use of the Level of Service Inventory-Revised, Mental Health Service Evaluation and the Global Assessment of Functioning in probation in Ireland. The book discusses the use of the Kessler-6 in London and the idea that currently mental health services would be overloaded if screening positive on this measure alone was used to initiate a referral. It outlines the use of the Autism Quotient-10 to identify 'possible autism' and the Adult Asperger Assessment to gather a more detailed picture. The book discusses the use of drug specialists in probation practice. It highlights the central importance of a positive and consistent relationship between a person under supervision and their Probation Practitioner for positive mental health. This is important to build trust in order for an individual to be open about their mental health needs, and to minimise the potential trauma and stress that may result from having to retell a difficult story. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Restorative Justice and Non-Custodial Measures as Panacea for Prison Decongestion in a Covid-19 Era: Nigeria in Perspective

Restorative and non-custodial sentences or measures are those sentences a court can impose on an offender which does not involve keeping the offender in prison or any other penal facility. They include compensation, damages, costs, restitution, restoration, plea bargain, community service, suspended sentence, probation and parole. The overuse of imprisonment and fine as sentencing measures by the judiciary in Nigeria without commensurate recourse to restorative and non-custodial sentencing measures as provided in our laws have increasingly led to prison congestion. Overcrowding is a known risk factor for infection and high-density prisons can double the risk of major infections, such as tuberculosis and COVID-19. This paper, while discussing legislative provisions on restorative justice and non-custodial sentences, makes a case for Judges, Magistrates and Prosecutors to apply restorative justice and non-custodial measures as they are beneficial and viable tools for prison decongestion particularly in this COVID-19 era. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.

A multicomponent psychosocial intervention to reduce substance use by adolescents involved in the criminal justice system: the RISKIT-CJS RCT.

Background: Substance use and offending are related in the context of other disinhibitory behaviours. Adolescents involved in the criminal justice system constitute a particularly vulnerable group, with a propensity to engage in risky behaviour that has long-term impact on their future health and well-being. Previous research of the RISKIT programme provided evidence of a potential effect in reducing substance use and risky behaviour in adolescents. Objectives: To evaluate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a multicomponent psychosocial intervention compared with treatment as usual in reducing substance use for substance-using adolescents involved in the criminal justice system. Design: A mixed-methods, prospective, pragmatic, two-arm, randomised controlled trial with follow-up at 6 and 12 months post randomisation. Setting: The study was conducted across youth offending teams, pupil referral units and substance misuse teams across four areas of England (i.e. South East, London, North West, North East). Participants: Adolescents aged between 13 and 17 years (inclusive), recruited between September 2017 and June 2020. Interventions: Participants were randomised to treatment as usual or to treatment as usual in addition to the RISKIT-Criminal Justice System (RISKIT-CJS) programme. The RISKIT-CJS programme was a multicomponent intervention and consisted of two individual motivational interviews with a trained youth worker (lasting 45 minutes each) and two group sessions delivered over half a day on consecutive weeks. Main outcome measures: At 12 months, we assessed per cent days abstinent from substance use over the previous 28 days. Secondary outcome measures included well-being, motivational state, situational confidence, quality of life, resource use and fidelity of interventions delivered. Results: A total of 693 adolescents were assessed for eligibility, of whom 505 (73%) consented. Of these, 246 (49%) were allocated to the RISKIT-CJS intervention and 259 (51%) were allocated to treatment as usual only. At month 12, the overall follow-up rate was 57%: 55% in the RISKIT-CJS arm and 59% in the treatment-as-usual arm. At month 12, we observed an increase in per cent days abstinent from substances in both arms of the study, from 61% to 85%, but there was no evidence that the RISKIT-CJS intervention was superior to treatment as usual. A similar pattern was observed for secondary outcomes. The RISKIT-CJS intervention was not found to be any more cost-effective than treatment as usual. The qualitative research indicated that young people were positive about learning new skills and acquiring new knowledge. Although stakeholders considered the intervention worthwhile, they expressed concern that it came too late for the target population. Limitations: Our original aim to collect data on offences was thwarted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this affected both the statistical and economic analyses. Although 214 (87%) of the 246 participants allocated to the RISKIT-CJS intervention attended at least one individual face-to-face session, 98 (40%) attended a group session and only 47 (19%) attended all elements of the intervention. Conclusions: The RISKIT-CJS intervention was no more clinically effective or cost-effective than treatment as usual in reducing substance use among adolescents involved in the criminal justice system. Future research: The RISKIT-CJS intervention was considered more acceptable, and adherence was higher, in pupil referral units and substance misuse teams than in youth offending teams. Stakeholders in youth offending teams thought that the intervention was too late in the trajectory for their population. Trial registration: This trial is registered as ISRCTN77037777. Funding: This project was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme and will be published in full in Public Health Research; Vol. 11, No. 3. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

We explored how useful a psychological intervention was in reducing substance use among young people who had some involvement in the criminal justice system. We recruited young people aged between 13 and 17 years in four areas of England (i.e. South East, London, North West and North East). Young people were recruited from youth offending teams, pupil referral units and substance misuse teams. Those young people who were willing to participate were offered usual treatment and half, chosen at random, were offered an opportunity to take part in the RISKIT-Criminal Justice System (RISKIT-CJS) programme. The RISKIT-CJS programme had four distinct parts. The first was a 1-hour session that used an approach called motivational interviewing to explore the young person's substance use and discuss different strategies to change their behaviour. This was followed by two group sessions delivered over 2 consecutive weeks. These group sessions addressed risks associated with substance use, what triggers use and the health and social consequences. In addition, young people were taught new skills to help them manage in situations in which they might normally use substances. At the end of the group sessions, the young people had another motivational interview. Twelve months after participants started, we found that the frequency of substance use had decreased in both groups; however, the RISKIT-CJS intervention was no better than treatment as usual. When we spoke with young people who had taken part and staff involved with this population, we got a mixed picture. In some settings, particularly pupil referral units, the RISKIT-CJS intervention was well received by young people and staff, and staff felt that it was a useful additional resource to the work that they were currently undertaking. On the other hand, in the youth offending teams, the staff thought that the programme was too different from their normal work to be implemented easily and they considered the population they work with too established in their substance use and criminal activity to benefit from the programme.

The Trend of Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitations: A Profile of Online Sexual Offenders and Criminal Justice Response.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of technology-facilitated crimes against children worldwide has increased substantially and become one of the most serious crime problems. Due to these considerations, there is a lack of large-scale systematic reviews investigating Cybercrime in and of itself could be challenging to investigate in comparison to traditional ones due to the elusiveness of the cyber realm. Specifically, investigating internet crimes against children comes with specific challenges. These offenses target vulnerable children who are less likely to realize their victimization, lowering the probability of reporting to the proper authorities. With these obstacles in mind, this research study utilizes data information regarding the characteristics of online CSAM users and their practices to inform law enforcement, parents, and the public for preventative and strategic purposes. Furthermore, this study diagnoses the significant challenges of investigating technology-facilitated crimes against children by examining how the current criminal justice system responds to these incidents. The policy recommendations discussed offer a holistic lens for highlighting this critical issue and implementing practical and proactive training solutions for law enforcement and the public.

The Criminal Justice Activism of Naomi Osaka: A Case Study in the Criminology of Celebrity Culture.

This paper examines the criminal justice activism of tennis star Naomi Osaka as it evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding matters of police violence and racial justice. Calls to reform and defund the police received much attention in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020. The Floyd killing also motivated Naomi Osaka to begin her criminal justice activism, which has generally been very well received. Adopting a constructionist perspective, I investigate how Osaka's criminal justice activism has, in the broader context of the development of celebrity culture, been subjectively motivated and inter-subjectively received by the public and in the news media. Theoretically this paper has the two-fold objective of developing a model of the conditions favorable to the successful reception of celebrity activism and, additionally, of suggesting how such criminologically relevant activism can be understood in terms of a process of celebritization of criminal justice and police reform as causes worthy of attention. This case study of Osaka's criminal justice activism reveals the important role a celebrity can play in influencing public sentiments about key aspects of policing and crime control as an important element of criminal justice culture.

Conservative government penal policy 2015-2021: Austerity, outsourcing and punishment redux?

This book interrogates Conservative government penal policy for adult and young adult offenders in England and Wales between 2015 and 2021. Government penal policy is shown to have been often ineffective and costly, and to have revived efforts to push the system towards a disastrous combination of austerity, outsourcing and punishment that has exacerbated the penal crisis. This investigation has meant touching on topical debates dealing with the impact of resource scarcity on offenders' experiences of the penal system, the impact of an increasing emphasis on punishment on offenders' sense of justice and fairness, the balance struck between infection control and offender welfare during the government handling of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and why successive Conservative governments have intransigently pursued a penal policy that has proved crisis-exacerbating. The overall conclusion reached is that penal policy is too important to be left to governments alone and needs to be recalibrated by a one-off inquiry, complemented by an on-going advisory body capable of requiring governments to 'explain or change'. The book is distinctive in that it provides a critical review of penal policy change, whist combining this with insights derived from the sociological analysis of penal trends. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Introduction: The Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacted a historic toll on Americans' health and longevity. It has also shaped socioeconomic inequalities along the lines of gender, race, ethnicity, nativity, and class in America. The effects of COVID-19 are evident in the stratified experiences of Americans in work, unemployment, and unpaid labor;in stark inequalities in wealth and income;in the historic expansions and retrenchments in social welfare spending;and in the increase in violence and changes in the criminal justice system. While there has been an outpouring of research on the social and economic consequences of COVID-19, far less work draws together research across these varied, but interrelated, domains. In this introduction, we provide a broad narrative of how the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in America and reshaped, in some instances fleetingly and in others more permanently, the landscape of socioeconomic inequality in America.

The Impact of Remote Hearing Policies on Racial Equity in Criminal Case Outcomes During the Pandemic

The criminal justice system confronted unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, court systems nationwide quickly instituted policies to enable criminal cases to proceed while protecting public health. The shift toward criminal hearings by videoconference or teleconference has persisted. All fifty states now conduct criminal hearings remotely. Yet evidence about how remote proceedings affect case outcomes remains sparse. Using data for all arrests and criminal case dispositions that occurred in California between 2018 and mid-2021, I characterize the impact the pandemic had on arrest and case resolution rates, estimate the impact of adopting policies to permit remote hearings on conviction and sentencing outcomes, and determine which factors contributed to racial differences in outcomes. Remote hearing policies contributed to racial inequalities in outcomes, which predated the pandemic and persisted amid it.

Documents on Democracy

In a country where every ninth person is suffering food shortage, a country where more than one million civilians have fled their homes and villages and have nowhere to live, a country where everyone has lost a family member or a friend to hunger, exposure, war, landmines, arbitrary killings, or the COVID pandemic the military did their utmost to exacerbate, we are all the victims of the military's crimes. There appears to be a parallel trend of an increased number and length of imprisonments occurring through criminal justice processes, suggesting that the focus of deprivation of liberty has shifted towards imprisonment, on purported grounds of counter-terrorism and counter-"extremism." The systems of arbitrary detention and related patterns of abuse in VETC and other detention facilities come against the backdrop of broader discrimination against members of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities based on perceived security threats emanating from individual members of these groups. The Government holds the primary duty to ensure that all laws and policies are brought into compliance with international human rights law and to promptly investigate any allegations of human rights violations, to ensure accountability for perpetrators and to provide redress to victims.

REFRAMING HATE

The concept and naming of "hate crime," and the adoption of special laws to address it, provoked controversy and raised fundamental questions when they were introduced in the 1980s. In the decades since, neither hate crime itself nor those hotly debated questions have abated. To the contrary, hate crime has increased in recent years-although the prominent target groups have shifted over time-and the debate over hate crime laws has reignited as well. The still-open questions range from the philosophical to the doctrinal to the pragmatic: What justifies the enhanced punishment that hate crime laws impose based on the perpetrator's motivation? Does that enhanced punishment infringe on the perpetrator's rights to freedom of belief and expression? How can we know or prove a perpetrator's motivation? And, most practical of all: Do hate crime laws work? This Essay proposes that we reframe our understanding of what we label as hate crimes. It argues that those crimes are not necessarily the acts of hate-filled extremists motivated by deeply held, fringe beliefs, but instead often reflect the broader, even mainstream, social environment that has marked some social groups as the expected or even acceptable targets for crime and violence. In turn, hate crimes themselves influence the social environment by reinforcing recognizable patterns of discrimination. The Essay maintains that we should broaden our understanding of the motivations for and effects of hate crimes and draws connections between hate crimes and seemingly disparate phenomena that have recently captured the nation's attention.

The effect of COVID-19 pandemic on college enrollment: How has enrollment in criminal justice programs been affected by the pandemic in comparison to other college programs

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected various aspects of our lives. For many, it has affected their ability to attend school. While some have switched to online classes, others have had to drop or delay college until later. Using official enrollment data for 12 public universities in the State of Texas, this study explores the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on student enrollment in criminal justice programs. A series of statistical techniques, including t-tests comparing pre- and post-pandemic enrollment numbers and panel data analysis models, are utilized to investigate the trends and changes in the program enrollments between 2009 and 2021. While in alignment with the existing research on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on college enrollment in general the authors have found a negative statistically significant effect of the pandemic on total college enrollment for all universities in the sample, no statistically significant effect of the pandemic was found on enrollment in criminal justice programs at 12 public universities. The effect was also non-existent for engineering and all social science programs combined. In contrast to all other programs studied herein, enrollment in natural science programs was found to be positively associated with the pandemic. Authors offer an explanation for these findings as well as suggest ideas for future research. Copyright © 2023 Korotchenko and Dobbs.

More of the Same, Only Worse: COVID-19 and the Administrative Burdens Facing Loved Ones of Incarcerated Men

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials have introduced measures to preserve the health of incarcerated individuals and prison employees. To understand the impact of COVID-related correctional policies on individuals with incarcerated friends and family members, we conducted 181 longitudinal interviews from April 2020 to January 2021 with 29 such 'loved ones.' Participants emphasized concerns about (1) health and safety;(2) unclear, unpredictable and untrusted communications;and (3) diminished personal intimacy. We analyze these findings using an 'administrative burden' framework and discuss possible reforms. We also suggest a wider applicably of this framework for studying individuals who have diverse encounters with the criminal justice system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of British Journal of Criminology is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Weaponizing and resisting time: Race, gender and punishment

This dissertation explores time and imprisonment: I center the narratives of women, their understanding of the ordering of the clock, and experiences of time while they navigated the criminal justice system. I conducted ethnographic research with currently and formerly incarcerated women in and around upstate New York from February 2018 through February 2022. Discussions were centered around issues they were facing while on the inside and how we as advocates-though limited-could help. Interviews probed for how time was understood, passed, and even resisted inside jails and prisons. Women's time, especially poor women and women of color, are subject to greater levels of punishment, which can be seen through and in public and private spheres. I argue time is structurally and physically weaponized against the incarcerated women and their families. I simultaneously expose how time is used as a means of power and social control in, by, and through the government and the criminal justice system. I thus look at how the management of time is key to statecraft. The weaponization of time is at the discretion of the state and its actors-all of which was exacerbated by the looming COVID-19 pandemic. I also discuss how women negotiated, marked, and understood the time of imprisonment in both jail and prison spaces. Finally, I address how incarcerated people created means to combat these abuses of power-from what Scott (1985) called 'weapons of the weak' to organized and collective forms of resistance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Acesso à justiça em tempos de pandemia: a experiência do Núcleo Permanente de Métodos Consensuais de Tratamento de Conflitos do TJRJ

Com o advento da pandemia e das consequentes medidas e protocolos de saúde adotados para a proteção da população, todo o sistema de justiça que vinha avançando ao longo dos anos na implementação de medidas para romper as barreiras de acesso à justiça foi fortemente impactado, conforme se depreende do Relatório CNJ Justiça em Números 2021 e das estatísticas do NUPEMEC TJRJ. O presente estudo pretende contribuir para a análise do referido Relatório e dos dados do NUPEMEC TJRJ, demonstrando a rápida adequação das atividades do judiciário mediante a implementação de trabalho remoto e disponibilização de plataforma de videoconferência para realização de audiências e sessões de mediação/conciliação propiciou a continuidade da prestação jurisdicional. Ao mesmo tempo, reflete-se sobre os limites do acesso à justiça em tempos de pandemia em função das desigualdades e restrições de uso e acesso aos meios tecnológicos para a resolução online de controvérsias (ODR).Alternate :With the advent of the pandemic and the consequent measures and health protocols adopted for the protection of the population, the entire justice system, which had been advancing over the years in the implementation of measures to break the barriers of access to justice, was strongly impacted, as it is clear from the CNJ Report Justice in Numbers 2021 and the statistics of NUPEMEC TJRJ. The present study intends to contribute to the analysis of the Report and the data from NUPEMEC TJRJ by demonstrating the rapid adequacy of the judiciary's activities through the implementation of remote work and the availability of a videoconferencing platform to hold hearings and mediation/conciliation sessions. At the same time, it reflects on the limits of access to justice in times of pandemic due to inequalities and restrictions of use and access to technological means for online resolution of controversies (ODR).

Surveillance and the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic for formerly incarcerated individuals

To date, most criminal justice research on COVID-19 has examined the rapid spread within prisons. We shift the focus to reentry via in-depth interviews with formerly incarcerated individuals in central Ohio, specifically focusing on how criminal justice contact affected the pandemic experience. In doing so, we use the experience of the pandemic to build upon criminological theories regarding surveillance, including both classic theories on surveillance during incarceration as well as more recent scholarship on community surveillance, carceral citizenship, and institutional avoidance. Three findings emerged. First, participants felt that the total institution of prison "prepared” them for similar experiences such as pandemic-related isolation. Second, shifts in community supervision formatting, such as those forced by the pandemic, lessened the coercive nature of community supervision, expressed by participants as an increase in autonomy. Third, establishment of institutional connections while incarcerated alleviated institutional avoidance resulting from hyper-surveillance, specifically in the domain of healthcare, which is critical when a public health crisis strikes. While the COVID-19 pandemic affected all, this article highlights how theories of surveillance inform unique aspects of the pandemic for formerly incarcerated individuals, while providing pathways forward for reducing the impact of surveillance.

The impact of covid-19 on justice-involved african americans

Abstract This study aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 on justice-involved African Americans during incarceration and post-release. The study population comprised 25 African American men and women recently released from prison. A qualitative phenomenological approach was employed, and the reflexive thematic analysis process was utilized. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted and imported into NVivo 11 qualitative research software. The analysis revealed four major themes: stress, reentry, substance use, and community adjustment. The findings implied a need for (1) policy creation and revision to prepare jails and prisons for public health crises;(2) more realistic post-release coping strategies to prepare individuals to face post-release obstacles, such as COVID-19, housing, employment, relapse, and social reintegration;(3) improvements in data collection and transparency in disseminating such data to enhance healthcare services in jails and prisons;and (4) additional evidence-based research to address current concerns with data availability, misreporting, reporting delays, testing rate differences, and inconsistencies in population estimates. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)