Master Theses & Projects (FSSH)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10155/530

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404 not found error: searching for truth in privatized corrections through online material
(2012-12-01) Gould, Lakelan Richard; Perry, Barbara; Avi, Shahid
In the last three decades private involvement in correctional service has transformed. Since the 1980s private interest in correctional service has evolved from the delivery of tertiary and secondary services such as transportation, food, and medical services toward the provision of primary services such as design, construction, and complete management of correctional facilities. In an attempt to fill a gap in the literature surrounding correctional privatization, I examine to what extent corporate published online material explores the issue of incarceration, underlying theoretical ideology of prison, and what general and specific information is presented to online readers. Using a content analysis, results indicate inaccurate and incomplete information is presented to online readers culminating with incarceration constructed as the only choice to combat crime. Results also indicate strong Neo-liberal doctrine underlining the material, specifically, strong support for continued privatization, offender commodification, continued deregulation of public service, belief in the free market, and the transfer of government to corporate control. Together, these themes highlight the extension of a new economy of the power to punish.
Acknowledging offender trauma at intake: a qualitative thematic analysis of Canadian correctional policy
(2023-08-01) Quinn-Hogan, Ashlee; Dhungana-Sainju, Karla
Trauma has seldom been discussed in the literature in relation to incarceration. The research that does exist has tended to be gendered, focusing predominantly on the trauma experiences of female offenders. The current study examined the written policies that guide the Offender Intake Assessment (OIA) process in Canada to assess the extent to which trauma is being considered at point of intake, particularly for male offenders. A descriptive research design was used to assess the level of policy specific attention given to trauma and trauma-informed correctional care (TICC). An examination of current policies, audits/reviews, and action plans revealed 11 key themes. The results of this study reveal a need for improved policy guidelines for addressing the trauma experiences of male offenders in Canada. Implications, limitations, and future directions are also considered
An analysis of the representation of internet child luring and the fear of cyberspace in four Canadian newspapers
(2011-08-01) Roberts, Steven; Slane, Andrea; Downing, Steven; Olsson, Patrik
Due to the popularization of Internet technologies in the last two decades, public attention has been directed to issues surrounding online sexual exploitation of minors in Canadian Newspapers. Specifically, newspaper articles have assisted in shaping public perceptions of the nature and scope of Internet child luring. A mixed quantitative/qualitative content analysis methodology is applied to the study’s four Canadian-based newspapers to examine how Internet child luring is constructed between the 1st of January, 2002 and December 31st, 2010. The study highlights the possible influences Canadian print media might have on the perceptions of parents and legal guardians regarding crime prevention and the dangers associated with Internet use by minors. Canadian print media has been instrumental in constructing the perception of Internet technology and its use by minors as harmful, intrusive, and unavoidable while designating parents and legal guardians as primary watchdogs of their children’s online behaviours.
An applied comparison of eyewitness lineup procedures: New Jersey v. England and Wales' PACE v. New York.
(2014-07-01) Jehu, Michael; Cutler, Brian L.
In response to the growing recognition of wrongful conviction and the role that mistaken identification (ID) plays in these miscarriages of justice, some countries, states, and police departments have developed new guidelines for eyewitness ID procedures (Smith & Cutler, 2013a). The guidelines vary considerably, however, in their recommendations. The present research compared the performance of three reformed, ‘packaged’ lineup procedures: The New Jersey, England and Wales’ PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence), and New York procedures. The benefit of having examined current lineup procedures in a laboratory environment was that it allowed for precise measures of accuracy. Lineup type did not influence correct IDs in perpetrator-present conditions, but correct rejections were significantly more likely in the New York procedure when the perpetrator was absent. Causal conclusions from the findings could not be derived in view of the applied nature of the experiment, but important implications for policy and research are discussed.
Are they right or wrong? Investigating the ability to judge the accuracy of eyewitnesses in same-and -other race identifications
(2012-08-01) Riess, Katherine E.L.; Cutler, Brian
Past research has investigated the cross-race effect in the context of eyewitnesses and jury decision-making. The main goal of my thesis was to gain further insight into participants’ knowledge of the cross-race effect and how this impacted participants’ discrimination of same- and cross-race identifications. One hundred fifty-nine undergraduate students from UOIT viewed a series of showup identification videos. I found that participants were better able to discriminate accurate from inaccurate same-race identifications than cross-race identifications. However, participants believed White witnesses more and found them more credible than South Asian witnesses. Further research should investigate other conditions that influence people’s abilities to discriminate accurate from inaccurate eyewitness identifications.
Are we where we should be? Assessing investigative interviewing practices and training of officers in the Force Criminal Investigation Department of the Nigeria Police Force
(2023-06-01) Ogunseye, Funmilola; Eastwood, Joseph
In the criminal justice system, investigative interviewing is crucial for getting information that helps law enforcement agencies resolve cases. While there is a relative wealth of scholarly studies on investigative interviewing procedures in the West, there is a paucity of empirical research assessing this concept in Nigeria and Africa. To begin to fill this gap in literature, a paper and pen questionnaire was administered to Police Investigators (N = 64) in the Criminal Investigation Department of the Nigeria Police Force assessing their investigative interviewing practices and training. Results showed that some police officers had received some training, but only a few had been specifically trained on evidence-based investigative interviewing techniques. Most police officers reported not favouring coercive techniques in their practices. Implications of this study on investigative interviewing practices in Nigeria will be discussed.
Assessing the impact of demographic, experiential, and attitudinal factors on support for the criminalization of HIV transmission
(2012-12-01) Perkins, Michael; Slane, Andrea
Over the years criminal prosecutions regarding HIV transmission have increased in Canada. There is ongoing debate within the academic and legal community regarding whether reactive, criminal justice measures or preventative, harm reduction measures are best suited to address HIV transmission. Using an on-line survey and multiple logistical regression analyses on six vignettes on 316 undergraduate students from mostly 18-26 years of age, this research assessed student attitudes towards the criminal law as a response to HIV transmission against demographic, experiential and attitudinal predictors. The findings indicated that the majority of participants were in favour of the criminalization of HIV transmission. The policy implications that come from this study imply that there is a need to educate young people about HIV related issues and the harm criminal justice responses cause to HIV prevention efforts.
Attitudes of suspicion, perceptions of criminality and willingness to report Muslims in Canada
(2017-08-01) Farrukh, Maaha; Clow, Kimberley; Zaidi, Arshia
The current research incorporated two studies to examine stigma toward Muslims within a forensic psychology framework. The studies utilized fictional news coverage to assess participant’s attitudes of suspicion, perceptions of criminality and willingness to report Muslims vs. control suspects. In Study 1, 216 students from a Canadian university read about a suspicious event involving Muslims vs. control, conducted by Muslim and non-Muslim experimenters. In Study 2, 192 students read about either a burglary (home invasion) or explosion (terrorism) crime scenario, where the identity of the “person of interest” was either Muslim or Caucasian, conducted by either Muslim or non-Muslim experimenters. Results of Study 1 indicate greater suspicion toward suspects with Muslim experimenters, whereas Study 2 demonstrated greater suspicion, perceptions of criminality and willingness to report the Caucasian person of interest. The findings are discussed in terms of aversive racism and the implications for Canadian Muslims in forensic settings.
Benefits of apology for offenders: the effects of victim presence and coercion on apologies
(2012-05-01) Saulnier, Alana; Sivasubramaniam, Diane
Offenders in some restorative justice programs are required to offer an apology as a condition of successful completion of the restorative justice procedure, or else return to court. Apologies can be required even when victims do not attend the restorative justice procedure. Apologising can result in several benefits for apologisers, but previous research suggests that coercion and lack of victim presence in restorative justice procedures may reduce those benefits. Participants (n = 120) took part in a deceptive live study designed to elicit confessions for a transgression and subsequent apologies. In this study, I manipulated coercion (Coerced, Not coerced) and victim presence (Direct, Surrogate, Ambiguous), to test their effects on the outcome benefits that offenders derived from offering an apology. Findings indicated that victim presence and coercion significantly impact outcome benefits for apologisers, including: perceptions of personal responsibility, accountability for consequences, transgression exaggeration and procedural fairness judgments. Implications for restorative justice programs are discussed.
Beyond prosocial motivations to empathize
(2018-11-01) O'Connell, Jennifer Elizabeth; Shane, Matthew
This study aimed to re-evaluate the lay assumption that empathic concern is entirely guided by prosocial motivations. To this end, the Empathic Concern Motivations Scale was created to measure the magnitude of one’s prosocial and/or antisocial motivations to manifest empathic concern for another person. Participants reported both prosocial and antisocial motivations for empathic concern, and these motivation types were uncorrelated, independent constructs. The degree of prosociality of participants’ motivations varied by target types, such that more prosocial motivations were reported for ingroup targets while more antisocial motivations were reported for outgroup targets. Responses to the scale were subsequently compared to established measures of empathy (the Interpersonal Reactivity Index) and antisocial personality (the Psychopathic Personality Inventory – Revised). These comparisons indicated that the relationship between motivations to empathize and the IRI depended on valence of motivation, but not target type, such that prosocial motivations were positively correlated with IRI’s measurement of empathy. As for psychopathic personality traits, motivation reports depended on both the valence of motivation (i.e. prosocial or antisocial) and the target of one’s empathic concern, such that PPI-R scores were positively correlated with antisocial motivations and uncorrelated with prosocial motivations. Furthermore, those higher in psychopathic traits did not show the heightened prosocial motivations towards ingroup targets, as was demonstrated across the sample more generally. These findings support a broader conceptualization of empathic concern that considers the potential for more than just prosocial antecedents, while reiterating the importance of the empathizer-target relationship.
Biased policing, martyrdom, white gratitude & brown pain: media narratives surrounding the Bruce McArthur case
(2021-08-01) Cashore, Maria; Marques, Olga
Between 2010 - 2017, eight men from Toronto’s Gay Village went missing and later discovered murdered by Bruce McArthur, a 67-year-old gay, white man from Toronto. Upon McArthur’s 2018 arrest, allegations of racial bias and homophobia against Toronto Police resurfaced, questioning the safety and protection of Toronto’s LGBTQ2SIA+ community. Existing research on news media framing of crime victims lacks to understand how the news media frames queer victims of crime. This research sought to explore the emergent media narratives framing the McArthur case through a critical discourse analysis of 212 news items from the Toronto Sun, Toronto Star, and Xtra. Findings suggest that local media coverage of the McArthur case centered around three major narratives: (i) biased policing by Toronto Police, (ii) different portrayals of white victims and families versus brown victims and families, and (iii) the complexity of intersecting victim characteristics. The implications of these narratives are discussed.
Blurred lines: perceptions of sexual consent and the role of mental illness
(2016-01-01) Jahanzadeh, Mersedeh; Harkins, Leigh
Sexual activity can be a pleasurable and critical element of self-expression. However, research has found that mental illness is a condition that may affect the ability to sexually consent. Despite this fact, sexual consent remains under-studied and under-theorized when considering the various ways it can be influenced. Bipolar Disorder is especially concerning, as it is characterized by symptoms of thought disorder patterns, perception alterations, mood oscillations, and impulsivity. Consequently, individuals are particularly susceptible to bias when judging situations. The aim of this study, then, is to explore the relationship between mental illness and sexual behaviour. Specifically, perceptions of sexual consent and the role of Bipolar Disorder were examined among university students. The study is intended to determine if an individual’s mental health status was related to perceptions of capacity to sexually consent. In other words, I sought to determine if individuals self-reporting a clinical diagnosis would be more likely to proceed with a sexual interaction knowing their partner had a mental illness, compared to individuals who had never experienced symptoms of a disorder who may be more fearful. Additionally, it was examined if students’ sexual decision-making was influenced more by some disorders over others (e.g., Bipolar Disorder, Depression and Schizophrenia). The findings of this study demonstrates that there is a need for greater research examining people’s understanding of sexual consent, and capacity to consent, especially in the context of mental illnesses such as Bipolar Disorder.
Body-worn camera footage in the courtroom: an examination of the effects of BWC expert testimony on perceptions of police officer trustworthiness and guilt
(2020-09-01) Wardak, Rangina; Emeno, Karla
As more police agencies rely on Body Worn Cameras (BWCs) worldwide, the following study aims to guide policing and legal proceedings through an examination of perceptions of guilt and trustworthiness of an officer on trial for excessive force, where BWC footage is presented as evidence. More specifically, the presence or absence of expert testimony on BWC limitations, and the degree of unverifiable details present in the officer’s testimony (i.e., unverifiable by BWC footage), were manipulated across various study conditions through mock trial transcripts. Although primary analyses were nonsignificant, supplementary analyses suggest that expert testimony may result in lower guilty verdicts when BWC evidence is presented for officers on trial. Additionally, positive perceptions of police legitimacy and legal authoritarianism were associated with lower ratings of officer guilt and higher ratings of trustworthiness. This thesis provides a steppingstone for future research on the implications of BWCs and its use in legal proceedings.
Campus sexual violence: exploring student perspectives on sexual violence and the effectiveness of university responses
(2019-08-01) Palermo, Alisia M.; Harkins, Leigh
Sexual violence is a prevalent problem across North American universities. There is a lack of understanding of students’ sexually violent attitudes and behaviours and the effectiveness of university responses to sexual violence. In the first study, we explored students’ perspectives on and expressions of sexual violence, sexual consent, and rape myths. A number of students reported engaging in or a proclivity for sexual violence, endorsing victim-blaming attitudes and problematic expressions of sexual consent. In the second study, the effectiveness of university responses (e.g., watching a sexual violence prevention workshop, writing an essay on consent) to change problematic attitudes and behaviours was examined over time, in comparison to an unrelated task. University responses were relatively unsuccessful in positively changing students’ attitudes or behaviours. The results suggest the need to improve university responses to adequately address and change the problematic attitudes and behaviours of students, including perpetrators, on campus.
Can participation in drug treatment courts reduce emergency department use? An evaluation.
(2015-08-01) Middleton, Meaghan; Scott, Hannah
Drug treatment court evaluations often measure criminal recidivism. Further research is required to reflect any additional social benefits that may transpire from participation in this diversion program. To expand drug treatment court evaluations, the relationship between drug abuse and the use of emergency department services is considered. This study tests which participants’ characteristics predict successful completion of Durham’s Drug Treatment and Mental Health Court and if participation can reduce emergency department use. Results from Hypothesis One suggest that education, marital status and number of days in the program are significant predictors of program completion. Results from the second hypothesis confirm that number of emergency department visits while enrolled in drug treatment court has a significant positive relationship with emergency department use one year following programming. Recommendations to address drug treatment court participants’ ongoing use of emergency department services and areas for future research are discussed.
Carrying the burden: a study on the reported experiences and the lifelong impact of growing up with a serial killer parent
(2023-08-01) Krasowski, Mackenzie; Scott, Hannah; Hinch, Ron
This thesis explores the experiences of the offspring of serial killers and how they were impacted by their parent's crimes. The study employed a thematic analysis of six subjects who wrote biographies detailing their experiences with a serial killer parent or guardian. The children’s accounts revealed the complex relationships with their serial killer parent and their relationship with their family. This thesis also discusses the offspring’s interactions with legal and social entities resulting from their parent's crimes, how they were impacted by their parent's crimes, the subject’s overall experience, and revelations about their life. The results displayed that the offspring of serial killers identified various adverse social, emotional, mental, and physical experiences. Additionally, it was found that due to their parent's crimes, the subjects encountered phenomena such as internal and external stigmatization, indirect victimization, internalized guilt, and trauma-related symptoms.
Changing prostitution discourse in Canadian common law from 2010 to 2018
(2020-06-01) Figueras, Ana; Marques, Olga
Since the first iteration of prostitution legislation in 1759, the language and discourses used to refer to ‘prostitution’ has undergone many changes. The constitutional challenge of Bedford v. Canada (2010 ONSC 4264) resulted in legislative amendments of prostitution laws (Bill C-36). Bill C-36, implemented in 2014, resulted in several significant changes, including the eradication of the word ‘prostitution’ from the Criminal Code, and the criminalization of buying, but not selling, sexual services. Given Bill C-36, this research inquires: How has prostitution discourse changed in Canadian common law from 2010 to 2018? A discourse analysis of 58 court decisions compared the language used before and after 2014; this revealed courts’ frameworks for understanding sex work have not changed significantly despite the Bedford ruling, since exploitation remains the major discursive underpinning. The theoretical framework integrates anti-carceral feminist theory and governmentality, to render visible the marginalization, discrimination and stigmatization of the paternalistic punitive system on sex workers.
Climbing the corporate ladder: desired skills and successful psychopaths
(2018-04-01) Hill, Dallas Leigh; Scott, Hannah
Many of the characteristics embodied by successful psychopaths, such as superficial charm, cool decisiveness, and a grandiose self-worth, are often treated synonymously with corporate leadership qualities. Consequently, successful psychopaths are actively being selected for corporate positions as they exemplify the perfect candidate. These successful psychopaths, as corporate leaders and recruiters, increase the probability of systemic psychopathy and white-collar crime. The current study will provide a deeper understanding of successful psychopaths while exploring the role of the “Westernized” corporation in recruiting successful psychopaths into their businesses through character descriptions in 25 executive career advertisements using Wexler’s (2008) Psychopathic Personality Dimensions and Positively Reinforced Corporate Labels. Results demonstrated that corporations are seeking out characteristics that are synonymous to Factor 1 psychopathic personality traits, which could increase the propensity of successful psychopaths in the workplace. This paper discusses the implications of these findings and identifies some potentially useful approaches for excluding corporate psychopaths from organizations.
Conceptualizing Silk Road as countercultural rebellion
(2015-08-01) Mestrinaro, Andrew; Genosko, Gary; Downing, Steven
Silk Road (SR) is an anonymous online illicit marketplace (OIM) that is often cited as an example of criminal innovation. I add that SR is more than just a marketplace and should be considered as a demonstration of rebellion. The aim of this research is to critically co-construct a definition of SR with the members of the discussion forum. Through a virtual ethnography of the SR discussion forum, I qualitatively analyzed the textual data in order to conceptualize SR as what Robert Merton (1938) describes as rebellion and what Howard Becker (1963) refers to as pure deviance. In addition, an epistemological bricolage with the works of Jean Baudrillard, Pierre Bourdieu, and Michel Foucault was established to guide explanations of cultural exchange, relational trust, and the spatial dynamics of SR. I postulate that SR is more than an online illicit marketplace; it is a virtual heterotopic space and cryptocommunity that exists in countercultural rebellion against the hegemony of control societies. The findings of this study provide a new qualitatively rich conceptualization of SR.
Connecting neoliberal ideology and incel ideology
(2022-08-01) Allison, Beverly M.; Alvi, Shahid
Incels are an online transgressive subculture holding misogynistic views of women, including the belief that women unfairly refuse them sex. While there have been few heinous physical attacks by individuals self-identifying as incels, their ideologies also pose a significant threat to the struggle to end misogyny. This thesis explores and identifies connections between neoliberalism and incel ideologies. A netnographic method was employed to collect qualitative data from a range of social media communities. Six major themes emerged from these data: resentment, hopelessness, coping with ontological insecurity, inauthentic women, significance of sexual relations, and the sexualization and objectification of women. These themes are connected to contemporary features of neoliberal ideology, and finds that incels either acknowledge but reject these neoliberal expectations or incorporate them into their own belief systems.

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