An Investigation of Serial and Spree Killings in Phoenix, A Podcast, is a six-episode podcast with episodes about 20-30 minutes about two different killers in Phoenix. The first episode presents the two cases involving Mark Goudeau and Cleophus Cooksey Jr. Two episodes are dedicated to each killer describing their timeline, victims, and case information. The final episode compares and contrasts the killers as well as touches upon the death penalty and the differences between spree and serial killers.

This thesis will explore the causality and link between Child Crisis Arizona (or “CCA'') and the applicability of the life-course framework. Child Crisis Arizona operates an emergency children’s shelter in Maricopa County, AZ, under the broader Arizona Department of Child Safety (or “DCS”) mission of providing safe and effective interventions for children at risk of being displaced from their homes. Utilizing a framework initially designed under a sociologist’s purview, the life-course perspective has evolved into a multidisciplinary approach to illuminate the complex nature of criminal behaviors, especially early in life in childhood. As such, the first section will detail the current issues regarding Arizona’s child safety system, the background of CCA, and the fundamental principles of the life-course framework to address how CCA provides beneficial results to a child’s life-course. The thesis will then discuss the policy measures provided by CCA that positively intervene in a child’s educational, medical, and other holistic developments. This is followed by examining the applications of CCA and course while incorporating various scholarly literature to link the two. The thesis will conclude with a brief discussion of this paper’s research limitations, future implications, and concluding remarks. Ultimately, this thesis highlights how children who go into Child Crisis Arizona’s emergency children’s shelter present significant potential of utilizing the event as a turning point to lead conventional lives through an early positive life experience.

Crime media has been a large part of entertainment for decades and the popularity of these shows continues. Because audiences' perceptions are shaped by the media they consume, it is important to understand how these shows portray offenders, and the accuracy of those portrayals. This thematic analysis focuses on the portrayal of offenders and if those portrayals have changed over time. The shows analyzed were Law and Order: SVU, Criminal Minds, and NCIS episodes sampled from seasons airing in 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. The themes that emerged were the relationship between victimization and offending, gender of victim and offender, relationship between offender and victim, number of offenders, connection between race and crime, lack of remorse, and forms of justice. The findings indicate that some respects changed over time while others remained consistent, with the majority of findings being congruent with justice system statistics.

Internet governance is complex. When illegal content gets to social media platforms, governments must work through public-private partnerships in a 21st century style of community policing. However, research on public attitudes for these scenarios is limited. To understand how this enforcement relationship can best be fostered, an online survey experiment examining the illegal content enforcement context was conducted. The causal effect of four treatments on law enforcement legitimacy perceptions by American participants (n = 704) was examined. Only one hypothesis finds empirical support, with the other null results suggesting that variation in the enforcement context has no meaningful effect on perceptions of legitimacy. While not statistically significant at conventional levels, some estimates move in some predicted ways, which creates a basis for future legitimacy research.

Recidivism is one of the most discussed issues in the topic of criminal justice reform due to how it contributes to the problems of crime and mass incarceration. To address this problem, correctional facilities across the United States have developed reentry systems, which prepare an incarcerated individual for their release back into society near the completion of their sentence. When implemented and run correctly, reentry programs can be effective at significantly reducing the likelihood that individuals will recidivate. This thesis focuses on programs run in Arizona and Michigan, which both have significantly lower recidivism rates than the national average. The programs analyzed in this paper were found to be particularly efficient at reducing recidivism by providing individuals with essential services and opportunities for reintegrating back into society. The common factors between these programs included large amounts of funding, collaboration between state agencies and non-profit organizations, and providing access to services from the beginning of an individual’s sentence to months after their release. By adopting similar practices and programs, other states may be able to more effectively address recidivism in the way that Arizona and Michigan have.

Migration to the United States, which pertains to the displacement of individuals, has endured across American history. Immigration is an intricate and serious subject that requires careful analysis and assessment to be comprehended. Deportation, an element of immigration, is a legally sanctioned process in which an individual is forcibly removed from a particular country. In the vast majority of instances, deportation entails the separation of families. The limited research examining the negative effects of deportation and family separation emphasizes the psychological, physical, and behavioral difficulties experienced by children. This thesis discusses children's consequences as internal and external repercussions. Children’s internal issues in deportation include psychological complications such as post-traumatic stress disorders, anxiety, depression, and trauma. Furthermore, children’s external consequences of deportation are discussed as physical, behavioral, and social issues that result in eating disorders, hypervigilance, aggression, and social isolation. With the discussion of family separation in deportation, additional recommendations and guidance are discussed in this thesis for better quality deportations that may lessen children's internal and external effects of family separation.

The importance of social work lies in the ability of individuals, families, and communities to thrive. It is important to note that social work encompasses a wide range of professions. However, this creative project will examine its different dimensions, specifically within the field of criminal justice. The purpose of this thesis project is to promote social work as a profession and explore its growing impact on the criminal justice system. As part of this effort, it is also intended to dispel the myth that social workers work exclusively in child protection agencies. Viewers will be introduced to exciting opportunities for meaningful change at the emerging intersection of social work and criminal justice, which is becoming increasingly prevalent in American society. This project will also highlight how negative media (news and documentaries like Gabriel Fernandez on Netflix) about social workers employed in the DCS system do not accurately portray current circumstances. This will be accomplished through a short video/documentary-style project that interviews social workers and social service workers employed in the criminal justice field. An interview will consist of questions designed to dispel myths about social workers and promote the diversity of the profession. The purpose of this is to provide an ‘on-the-ground’ perspective of real opportunities in the community, including descriptions of various occupations and the mission of agencies that employ at the cross-section of social work and criminal justice. This is done to enhance the viewers' perception of the field and give them the opportunity to experience real-life situations.