Introduction to Criminal Justice (CRJ 161) City as Classroom Project Report

This course is designed to provide a survey of the discipline, including its use of social sciences and law in understanding the phenomena of crime and justice and how the two relate. Further it explores criminal justice theory and processes, as well as the roles of ideology, politics, and mass media in shaping crime policy. Lastly, it seeks to foster deeper perspectives on how justice—for individuals as well as for society—relates to intensely human experiences like freedom and suffering. For this assignment students were required to visit and tour Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP). After the tour students were expected to write a paper describing what they witnessed along with examining the historical significance of ESP, specifically focusing on the approach, forms and goals of the punishments used

Breaking Up or Backing the Blue: A Content Analysis of Individual\u27s Views of the Police Abolition Movement

In the wake of the death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others there has been increased discussion regarding the scope and scale of policing in the United States. The defund the police movement has gained a substantial amount of traction in recent months as country wide protests and unrest has sparked the conversation of whether the police are fulfilling the sworn duties and more broadly what the public expect of the police. While individuals increasingly debate the merits of defunding and abolishing the police, what is less clear is whether people support the police abolition movement in the U.S. and the justifications for their views. An op-ed in the New York Times arguing that the U.S. should abolish the police provides an opportunity to better understand public opinion regarding this issue. A content analysis of almost 2,000 reader comments revealed that while some readers were supportive of the abolish movement in part due to the racist historical legacy of law enforcement, many others felt the proposal was radical and would have a series of negative consequences. In addition to those calling for reimaging how the police and to reconsider the types of incidents they handle; a common refrain from readers was the notion that crime would increase. Lastly, others worried the framing and focus on police abolition was unnecessarily divisive and would undermine what they consider more realistic reforms

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Beliefs about Higher Education for Incarcerated People Through the Lens of Public Health Prevention : Beliefs about Higher Education for Incarcerated People

Incarcerated individuals are one of the most educationally disadvantaged populations in U.S. Limited education is a risk factor for initial incarceration and recidivism. Despite robust empirical findings supporting post-secondary correctional education (PSCE) as an evidence-based intervention that reduces crime, some individuals are reluctant to support their adoption more widely. An&nbsp;opinion piece in the New York Times suggesting that prisons be turned into colleges provides an opportunity to better understand public opinion regarding PSCE programs through the lens of public health prevention. Although, many readers were supportive of PSCE’s as a means to prevent recidivism, many questioned if the target population was capable of completing college level work, if these programs would incentivize criminal behavior and felt prisoners are not deserving of the opportunity to take college courses, especially as student debt and college costs are rising. Lastly, potential implications and recommendations for policymakers and higher education leaders are discussed.&nbsp; &nbsp

Variable links within perceived police legitimacy?: Fairness and effectiveness across races and places

a b s t r a c t This work examines connections between two threads of community residents&apos; perceptions of local police legitimacy, effectiveness and procedural fairness, and how those links depend on race, place, and race/place combinations. Previous works have connected these two threads, but have failed (a) to explore the variability of that connection by race, place, and race/place combinations across communities spanning the urban to suburban to rural continuum or (b) to model mutual influence. An extension of the group position thesis and work on minority views of police practices suggest how these variations might be patterned. Data were derived from a 2003 probability-based sampling survey of household respondents across Pennsylvania (n = 1289). Generalized confirmatory factor analysis models built procedural fairness and effectiveness indices for four groups: whites in urban core counties, non-whites in urban core counties, whites in non-urban core counties, and non-whites in non-urban core counties. Non-recursive structural equation models revealed variable impacts of perceived police effectiveness on perceived police fairness and, to a lesser extent, of fairness on effectiveness. Implications for a more structurally and contextually aware understanding of links in police legitimacy models are developed

Variable links within perceived police legitimacy?: Fairness and effectiveness across races and places

a b s t r a c t This work examines connections between two threads of community residents&apos; perceptions of local police legitimacy, effectiveness and procedural fairness, and how those links depend on race, place, and race/place combinations. Previous works have connected these two threads, but have failed (a) to explore the variability of that connection by race, place, and race/place combinations across communities spanning the urban to suburban to rural continuum or (b) to model mutual influence. An extension of the group position thesis and work on minority views of police practices suggest how these variations might be patterned. Data were derived from a 2003 probability-based sampling survey of household respondents across Pennsylvania (n = 1289). Generalized confirmatory factor analysis models built procedural fairness and effectiveness indices for four groups: whites in urban core counties, non-whites in urban core counties, whites in non-urban core counties, and non-whites in non-urban core counties. Non-recursive structural equation models revealed variable impacts of perceived police effectiveness on perceived police fairness and, to a lesser extent, of fairness on effectiveness. Implications for a more structurally and contextually aware understanding of links in police legitimacy models are developed

Financial Barriers and Utilization of Medical Services in Prison: An Examination of Co-payments, Personal Assets, and Individual Characteristics

Although research has found that requiring incarcerated individuals to pay fees for medical service decreases use, there are still important unanswered questions about this association: 1) Is the copayment fee a barrier to those seeking medical attention? 2) If so, what individual factors are associated with viewing the copayments as the reason to avoid seeing a medical professional? Using 2012 survey data collected from 45 incarcerated persons housed in a maximum security prison on the East Coast, it was discovered that over 70% of the men surveyed reported avoiding medical services at least once in the past three months due to the five dollar copayment. Further, participants with higher levels of education were significantly less likely to indicate the co-payment fee was a barrier and avoid getting medical attention, relative to those with lower levels of education. Lastly, potential explanations and policy suggestions are discussed

Deterrence, Firearm Arrests, and Subsequent Shootings: A Micro-Level Spatio-Temporal Analysis

Do police firearm arrests reduce later shootings in nearby locations and in the days immediately following the arrest? This question is examined at a more detailed level than in previous work in order to better describe the spatio-temporal dynamics linking these two event types. All firearm arrests (n = 5,687) and shootings (n = 5,870) in Philadelphia from 2004 to 2007 were analyzed using a modified Knox close-pair method. Following a firearm arrest shootings declined significantly, 28–47% up to a couple of blocks away. These significant declines, however, lasted for just a few days. Overall, results suggest police firearm suppression effects occur, may extend up to two blocks away from a firearm arrest, but also are short-lived. Potential implications for deterrence are discussed

Exertional Rhabdomyolysis and the Law

In rare cases, excessive and/or exuberant exercise can result in exertional rhabdomyolysis where muscular damage results in potential long-term disability. The purpose of this review is to identify what can lead to exertional rhabdomyolysis, provide several legal cases where the duty of care of an exercise specialist is examined, and question the assumption of risk for exercise participants. Exercise specialists should understand the importance of carefully applying the principles of progressive overload and eccentric training to avoid putting the participant at risk for exertional rhabdomyolysis. It is also important that the exercise specialist and the exercise participant understand the legal implications of reasonable foreseeability when it comes to the potential for complications from exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis