Doing Crime: An Analysis of Repetitive Property Offenders\u27 Decision-Making

Over the past two decades social theory and research have focused increasingly on issues of criminal decision-making and deterrence. This inter-disciplinary movement draws from criminology, economics, and psychology, which share common assumptions that point toward a model of rational decision-making. Each body of thought considers criminal decision-making as being no different than non-criminal decision-making. Deciding whether to commit a crime is considered a decision problem, a unique one no less, but a decision that is resolved similarly to other decision problems. The central objective of my research is to enhance our understanding of decision-making, specifically individual career criminal decision-making about whether or not to commit a crime, various alternatives considered in the decision problem, and influences on the decision processes. This dissertation reviews literature on decision-making processes as explicated by perceptual deterrence, economic, and cognitive decision-making theories. They serve as theoretical guidance for this research. I then review previous research on perceptual deterrence and criminal decision-making processes and suggest that both merits or rational decision-making theory and proposed modification of it are debated with little empirical guidance. A purposive sample of 60 adult male repetitive offenders incarcerated in the Tennessee Department of Corrections was selected and interviewed at two different points in time. The interviews focused on each subject\u27s criminal calculus, i.e., their decision-making processes. The findings provide a description of criminal decision-making from which typologies of decision-making were constructed. Offenders were separated into Type I and Type II lambda categories, based on offense frequency, resulting in the following typological constructs: (1) the Type I lambda offender; (2) the non-drug-addicted Type II lambda offender; (3) the drug-addicted Type II lambda offender; (4) the hustling Type II lambda offender. The major conclusion of the study is that criminals do not engage in rational decision-making. The especially do not weigh the possible legal consequences of their actions. Negative consequences are far less influential than positive consequences. This conclusion has implications for deterrence and decision-making theories in that they may not explain adequately the decisions made by repetitive property criminals. The research also addresses the question of offense specialization. My findings are at odds with those who argue for a generalist position suggesting that specialization does occur when criminal activities are viewed over time. Theoretical and methodological suggestions for future research of this nature are offered

OxyContin and Crime in Eastern Kentucky

During the past ten years, rural Kentucky (and rural pockets of nearby states) witnessed the emergence of a new pharmaceutical drug of abuse. The powerful oxycodone, OxyContin, first manufactured in 1996 and designed for timerelease pain relief, found aready population in rural hamlets and mountain communities. Intended for patients in pain associated with terminal disease, it became a drug of abuse as it was over-prescribed andtrafficked. This Justice and Safety Research Bulletin describes the sudden growth in the use of this new drug and its antecedents. Describing the trends in use and abuse,this Bulletin presents evidence of an epidemic created in part by organizations in both the private and public sectors. It describes the marked changes in OxyContin arrests but concludes that arrest trendslikely reveal more about law enforcement than drug use. It also describes the muchpublicized relationship between OxyContin use andcrime in Kentucky, withemphasis on the eastern partof the state and suggests thatthe much heralded crime increases were more rhetorical than empirical

Illegal Dumping: Large and Small Scale Littering in Rural Kentucky

Illegal dumping, a social problem greatly affecting some rural states, occurs at both the large and small scale as open dump sites and roadside trash. Focusing on Kentucky, a rural state without mandatory trash pickup and a per capita income below and a poverty rate above the national average, this photo essay describes the dumping and littering problem. As is shown, legislative and executive initiatives have made some inroads in large-scale clean up. Some local governments, however, appear apathetic about addressing illegal dumping in their own communities. Kentucky’s litter problem is showing few signs of improvement and roadside littering seemingly is worsening. This problem, with resulting social, economic and environmental harms, is situated theoretically within a rural social disorganization thesis

Illegal Dumping: Large and Small Scale Littering in Rural Kentucky

Illegal dumping, a social problem greatly affecting some rural states, occurs at both the large and small scale as open dump sites and roadside trash. Focusing on Kentucky, a rural state without mandatory trash pickup and a per capita income below and a poverty rate above the national average, this photo essay describes the dumping and littering problem. As is shown, legislative and executive initiatives have made some inroads in large-scale clean up. Some local governments, however, appear apathetic about addressing illegal dumping in their own communities. Kentucky’s litter problem is showing few signs of improvement and roadside littering seemingly is worsening. This problem, with resulting social, economic and environmental harms, is situated theoretically within a rural social disorganization thesis

In Our Own Backyard: Methamphetamine Manufacturing, Trafficking and Abuse in Rural America

The abuse of methamphetamine ( or meth) is dramatically evident in the before and after faces of meth arrestees. Yet these pictures provide only a glimpse of the larger personal, environmental, and community fallout from methamphetamine use and production, an issue that barely existed 15 years ago in rural America, but has since grown into a large more serious problem

The Death of Roy Lee Centers

Be it remembered. A simple command yet, in this case, an introduction spoken by the judge in the Breathitt County, Ky., trial of William (Bill) R. Hurst, who killed Roy Lee Centers, a native of Jackson, Kentuck

Singing Across the Scars of Wrong: Johnny Cash and His Struggle for Social Justice

The life and music of Johnny Cash are explored in this article as we detail his commitment to social justice. Situating his politics and biography within a cultural criminology orientation, we show that Cash\u27s lived politics and edgy music reflect his concerns with the working class, the dispossessed, the rebellious, the American Indian, and above all, the convict. A pusher of social causes, Cash advocated for prison reform through decades of social activism and public and private politics. DOI: 10.1177/174165900934601

Socially Disorganized Rural Communities

The article talks about the social disorganization of rural communities in the U.S. It is stated that family farming has been on the decline for decades, with the numbers of farmers dropping by 16 million since 1950 and farms decreasing by over 4 million during the past century. It is inferred that a part of a community\u27s history and way of life are being forfeited when local business are closing. According to the author, the theory of social disorganization emphasizes social integration and stability as necessary conditions for community. It offers some of the disadvantages of disorganized communities, such as the lack of collective efficacy

A Roadmap for HEP Software and Computing R&D for the 2020s

Particle physics has an ambitious and broad experimental programme for the coming decades. This programme requires large investments in detector hardware, either to build new facilities and experiments, or to upgrade existing ones. Similarly, it requires commensurate investment in the R&D of software to acquire, manage, process, and analyse the shear amounts of data to be recorded. In planning for the HL-LHC in particular, it is critical that all of the collaborating stakeholders agree on the software goals and priorities, and that the efforts complement each other. In this spirit, this white paper describes the R&D activities required to prepare for this software upgrade.Peer reviewe