North Carolina Criminal Justice Association

North Carolina Criminal Justice Association

2016 Annual conference

“Building relationships in criminal justice training and education”

February 4-6, 2016

Homewood Suites at crabtreeValley

Raleigh, north carolina

Thursday, February 4, 2015Winston/Barclay

8:00 a.m.Registrations opens (table outside of Winston/Barclay rooms)

7:00 - 8:50 a.m.Continental breakfast (in lobby)

Panel 1: Connecting academia to the workplace9:00–9:40 a.m.

Chair:Kris Macomber

Making It Real: Bringing Criminal Justice Professionals into the College Classroom by Lori Brown and Kris Macomber (Meredith College)

In most cases, students majoring in criminology are introduced to theories about crime, but they often lack exposure and experience with practical issues related to crime and careers in criminal justice. We will highlight our current strategy for bridging this gap, which is to incorporate criminal justice professionals into our criminology curriculum. Drawing off five years of our “community-to-classroom” approach, we will identify the benefits of this approach, which includes: (1) by bringing in outside experts from policing, courts, corrections and nonprofits, students are able to connect course materials to practical hands-on experiences; (2) by utilizing experts from local, state and federal agencies, students are introduced to non-traditional careers within the criminal justice field; (3) recruitment opportunities for internships and jobs are expanded; and (4) community partnerships and networking among professionals are diversified and strengthened. We will also discuss the challenges and lessons learned in working to bridge the gap between the criminal justice community and the college classroom.

Building Bridges: A Qualitative Case Study of Workforce Development Functions Utilizing Community College and For-Profit Criminal Justice Programs by Erica M. Ross (North Carolina State University and Cleveland Community College)

Workforce education has been described as pre- bachelor degree programs that provide education to prepare someone for work; while workforce development has commonly been seen as programs, training, or education that is sector specific and driven by labor and industry needs. Criminal Justice programs have commonly been categorized utilizing both of these terms because of the ability of the programs to train and re-train individuals within the field. Many programs are labeled under the Applied Associate Degree path indicating this relationship with workforce development. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the workforce education and development functions of North Carolina Criminal Justice Programs. The evaluation of the workforce functions within Criminal Justice programs in North Carolina revealed some common themes and best practices for providing the most effective criminal justice programs for connecting students to the workforce.

Panel 2: Issues in majoring in CJ & personnel recruitment/retention 9:45 – 10:55 a.m.

Chair: Tyler McCarty

The Millennials and Choice of Career in Criminal Justice: An Examination of Survey Results by Lisa T. Briggs and Karen A. Mason (Western Carolina University)

Hollywood crime dramatization (albeit incorrect representation) likely contributes to why many students are attracted to criminal justice as a major. Research suggests other reasons include past experiences and achievements, parental occupations, and individual personality differences. This study provides data from a sample of approximately 100 undergraduates on factors contributing to their decision to pursue a degree in criminal justice- as well as the level of research efforts used by the students to verify correct choice of intended career. Advisors in criminal justice are familiar with common statements like: “I want to go federal; it is what I’ve always wanted to do,” but are less familiar in how to advise students who represent what developmental theory terms “identity foreclosure” which can happen when students begin to contemplate if premature decisions on career aspirations have been made. This paper explores techniques to help advisors reduce issues of identity foreclosure.

Recruitment and Retention Programs for Law Enforcement Agencies by Tyler McCarty (University of North Carolina Wilmington)

The field of law enforcement has experienced negative connotations from media in recent years and the qualified applicant pool is decreasing. Therefore, law enforcement officials must now take an aggressive approach to recruitment and retention in their agencies. The purpose of this paper is to highlight some of those strategies that can be used in order to increase the qualified candidate pool. An emphasis on the use of social media and program evaluation methods will be stressed. Suggestions will be made about the ways to increase recruitment, such as, tackling the challenge to increase minority and women police officer statistics. Finally, future research will be addressed in hopes to increase the literature in policing surrounding the challenges of recruitment and retention in today’s policing culture.

Exploring the Influence of Media, Social Media, and Other Factors for Recruiting Qualified Law Enforcement Officers for Municipal Agencies in North Carolina by Stedman Smith and Tammatha A. Clodfelter (Appalachian State University)

The recruitment of qualified personnel for law enforcement agencies is critical to their stability and success, but in recent years it has been shown to be a difficult endeavor in North Carolina. Therefore, this study is being conducted at the request of NCCJETS to help identify the extent of the problem and to recommend strategies to improve officer recruitment. To accomplish this goal, the research first seeks to isolate the primary reasons why individuals chose not to join law enforcement as a profession. Of particular concern is the potential influence of the media and social media in how they shape one’s perception of law enforcement, as well as the perceived public support for law enforcement. The major findings from current literature, discussed herein, will be utilized to construct an online survey and disseminated to students (potential recruits) across various North Carolina Universities and Community Colleges in the Spring.

Law Enforcement Officer Stress and Coping: The Impact of Relationship Satisfaction by Heidi Bonner, Lindsey Frederick, and Mark Jones (East Carolina University)

Law enforcement officers, like many professionals, are not immune to the effect of stress on their overall health. In fact, law enforcement officers may be particularly vulnerable to these effects due to unique and sometimes traumatic work stressors inherent in their work. Researchers have determined that relational quality has an impact on the physical impacts of stress but have also highlighted potential relational challenges faced by law enforcement couples. Further, the stressors of the law enforcement profession, and the effect of relational quality, may be experienced differently when the officer is female. This research attempts to provide a better understanding of the emotional connections between officers and their spouses/partners, their social support system, and their coping mechanisms for stress which might help bring to light ways in which departments can further support their officers to lead healthier lives both emotionally and physically.

Panel 3: Victimization issues 11:00 – 11:55 a.m.

Chair: Justin Ovaska

Child Sex Offenders: How Psychology and Sociology Both Play a Role in Understanding Offender Characteristics and Public Perception in Society by Justin Ovaska (Wilmington Police Department)

Psychology plays an important role in understanding how child sex offenders think and strategically seek out their victims. Child sex offenders will exert a good amount of effort and time into manipulating and targeting vulnerable victims, before the actual sexual assault takes place. There is still false belief in society that child sex offenders are strangers. Most often, the offenders are well known to the victim and/or the victim’s family. Child sex offenders will often seek out employment and families where children are accessible to them to victimize. Offenders often know that society views sexually victimizing children is wrong, however they still act on their urges. It is important for people in society to recognize the possible characteristics of child sexual offenders, respond appropriately and report any suspicious behavior.

Exploring Families and Schools: Factors Associated with Running Away from Home by Monica S. Bixby (North Carolina State University)

Recent studies suggest that experiences at school (e.g., academic achievement and behavioral issues) may be associated with running away from home during adolescence, but little is known whether school environmental factors, such as school safety, may contribute to youths’ likelihood of running away from home. Current research on youth runaways focuses on their family environments, yet I argue that experiences in other contexts may shape youths’ decisions to leave home. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997) I test if both families and schools have the potential to deter youths from running away from home and if school safety moderates these relationships. I also take into account other factors that are associated with running away from home, including bully victimization, deviant peer groups, and delinquency. My findings suggest that family structure, school social capital, and school safety matter in preventing youth from running away from home.

LUNCH 12:00 – 1:20 p.m.

Panel 4: AACU High Impact Educational Practices 1:30 – 2:25 p.m.

Nicola Davis Bivens (Johnson C. Smith University), Anita Bledsoe-Gardner (Johnson C. Smith University), Deborah Brown Quick (Johnson C. Smith University), Criminology Students from Johnson C. Smith University, and Laytifia R. Williams (North Carolina Central University)

The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU) identifies a number of High Impact Educational Practices which are effective in working with students of diverse backgrounds (Kuh, 2008). These practices include capstone projects, common intellectual experiences, undergraduate research, and capstone projects. This panel presentation of faculty, students, and alumnae from one undergraduate criminology program will share their experiences with (1) community based participatory research, (2) service learning projects, and (3) capstone projects.

Panel 5: Critical issues in CJ 2:30 – 3:40 p.m.

Chair: Matthew Robinson

The Real Problem of Contemporary Criminal Justice: Politics and Ideology by Matthew Robinson (Appalachian State University)

In this paper, the author identifies what he calls the "real problem of contemporary criminal justice"—referring to the fact that all of criminal justice has been negatively impacted by a flawed ideology of criminal justice practice, due to the conservative political ideology that became firmly entrenched in American criminal justice starting in the 1980s. The paper identifies the major ways that conservative politics has created an unjust criminal justice system.

Strategic Underfunding: Public Defender’s Offices and Membership Theory by Sheri Law (Meredith College)

As an intern at a Public Defender’s office in a mid-sized city in the southeast, I observed that insufficient funding and a high volume of cases characterized the organization and accessibility of legal services. In this session, I will apply membership theory (Strump 2006), to examine the consequences of these trends, particularly for the provision of legal services for indigent citizens. According to membership theory (Strump 2006), criminal law works as a gatekeeper to determine who is a member of society and who is not. Using this theory, I argue that decision makers use the criminal justice system as a method of social ostracism where those who are poor, minority, and non-citizens are often incarcerated and ultimately labeled with a criminal record that reveals this outsider status. This strategic low funding of an agency whose sole purpose is to defend the poor makes clear the non-membership of its clients in society.

Repairing Public Trust in Policing: An African-American’s Criminologist’s Perspective Concerning Reasonable Policing by Steven R. Cureton (The University of North Carolina, Greensboro)

The public’s trust concerning fairness in policing has eroded in spite of the fact that police protect and provide services to communities both formally and informally in a far more appropriate manner than those negative instances of video footage that have proven detrimental to police-to-community relations. The optics of policing appears to have taken a turn for the worse dividing police, the policing community, and minority communities. There is a fallacy in thinking that more minority cops will improve police-to-community relations. Perhaps the solution rests with increased transparency relative to the Citizens’ Complaint Review and Police Review Board processes. Moreover, reasonable policing strategies should demonstrate an awareness between policing criminality, which leads to profiling and policing crime. It is the job of cities’ Human Relations departments to intercede and perhaps assist in bridging the chasm that exists between police and the people they are sworn to protect.

Citizen Perceptions of Police and Police Perceptions of Citizens: An Analysis and Explanation of Conflicting Perspectives by Christian Conner Franklin Roberts (University of North Carolina Wilmington)

Overall, citizens have favorable perceptions of the police and rank the institution of law enforcement highly. However, recent reports of police-citizen encounters have continually portrayed law enforcement in a negative light. Little evidence exists when attempting to define how police perceptions of citizens contribute to such incidents. Through an application of the symbolic interaction theory this paper seeks to investigate the extent to which citizens are impacted by police perceptions. Specifically, this investigation aims to test several research hypotheses relating to residents in low-income, high crime neighborhoods. Pursuant to this endeavor it should be possible to discuss, at length, how police perceptions of citizens’ impact citizen perceptions of police. This project will rely upon peer-reviewed literature, and national statistics to reach an ultimate conclusion. The overarching goal of this project is to provide an explanation for the perceptions of police officers and citizens in regard to approval ratings of law enforcement.

Panel 6: Special populations 3:50 – 4:30 p.m.

Chair: Anita Blowers

Dealing with an Aging Population: Implications for Law Enforcement by Anita Blowers and Amanda Thomas (University of North Carolina at Charlotte)

The United States population is rapidly aging. According to the Administration on Aging, by the year 2020, 56.4 million people will be 65 years and older. With this population change law enforcement officers need to be better prepared to deal with older adults as offenders, victims and witnesses. This research will provide an overview of the issues and will identify key topics that officers need to understand when working with older adults. Suggested modules for training will also be discussed.

Financial Exploitation of the Elderly by Anita Blowers and Maryam Kazempour (University of North Carolina at Charlotte)

As the number of older adults 65+ is increasing, mistreatments of this vulnerable cohort population is rising significantly as well. Financial abuse of the elderly is a serious problem and is often under-reported. Each year elderly Americans lose an estimated $3 billion to financial exploitation. Elderly victims of financial abuse often experience psychological distress and this significantly affects the quality of their lives. This research provides an overview of the nature and extent of elder financial exploitation and discusses the challenges associated with the detection and prosecution of these cases. Strategies for the prevention of this crime will also be presented.

Examining Context of American Indian Homicide Victimization in North Carolina by Brian Pitman (Old Dominion University) and Christina Lanier (University of North Carolina at Wilmington)

Contextual analyses of victim-offender relationships in homicide studies have revealed that individual level and structural level theories are both important to consider for the risk of homicide victimization. The current study seeks to understand the varying context of American Indian homicide victimization in North Carolina. Data for the study was obtained from the North Carolina Violent Death Reporting System (NC-VDRS) (2004-2011), which provides both medical examiner and law enforcement reports. Narratives for approximately 145 American Indian homicides were evaluated utilizing a grounded theory approach. Demographic data was also analyzed to augment the narratives. Results of analyses, directions for future research, and policy implications will be discussed.

Panel 7: Legal issues in North Carolina 4:40 – 5:15 p.m.

Chair: Marian R. Williams

Content analysis of “Alford plea” appeals following the 1970 U.S. Supreme Court case of North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 91 S. Ct. 160; 27 L. Ed. 2d 162 (1970) by Charles Robinson (University of Mount Olive)

This paper describes researchusing the Casemaker X and Lexis Nexis electronic legal research databases to conduct a content analysis of case law that specifically litigated federal constitutional due process challenges to an “Alford plea.” More than 1,052 cases were analyzed from 1970 to present. Cases were assessed for whether the defendant’s Alford plea was knowingly, understandingly, and voluntarily made and were classified as either conviction affirmed, conviction reversed, or disposition on other grounds. Case law was also assessed for what kinds of sentencing terms and conditions raised constitutional challenges to an Alford plea. Moreover, case law was further assessed to identify the types of offenses constituting the factual basis for the Alford plea. This study aims to provide an overview of the most common factual and legal themes in “Alford plea” appeals to determine whether appeals focus more on sentencing or more on the factual basis for the plea.

Asset Forfeiture in North Carolina by Marian R. Williams (Appalachian State University)

The use of asset forfeiture has resulted in a number of media and political groups calling its use into question. Most states utilize civil asset forfeiture, also called in rem forfeiture; in many cases, these involve the seizure and forfeiture of property from individuals who have not been arrested for, much less convicted of, a crime. The state of North Carolina utilizes criminal forfeiture, also called in personam forfeiture, which requires a criminal conviction before assets can be seized and forfeited. This presentation discusses the differences between civil and criminal forfeiture, focusing on North Carolina, in particular, in an effort to bring to light the uses and abuses of asset forfeiture in the United States.