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School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Research Spotlight
Emily Wright

Neighborhood context and exposure to violence. Emily Wright, Ph.D., and her colleagues are examining the direct and moderating impact of various neighborhood features, such as disadvantage, on criminological outcomes. Her work regarding the moderating impact of neighborhood disadvantage on the relationship between social support and intimate partner violence is forthcoming in Crime & Delinquency, and her work (with Courtney Crittenden, East Tennessee State University) regarding the direct effect of neighborhood features on patriarchal views is forthcoming in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.  She and her colleagues (Abby Fagan, Florida State University, and Gillian Pinchevsky, University of South Carolina) are also examining how youths’ exposure to violence is related to their deviant behaviors. Their work in this area has appeared in Child Abuse & Neglect (2011, 35(7)), Criminal Justice & Behavior (2012, 39(1)), and is forthcoming in Violence & Victims.


Research in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Research activity within the School focuses on a wide variety of current issues in criminology and criminal justice ranging from tests of criminological theory and research on juvenile delinquency to program evaluations and policy analyses for criminal justice agencies.  It is characterized by theoretical and methodological diversity with an emphasis on both quantitative and qualitative techniques as well as mixed methodologies.  Research within the School is also characterized by traditional scholarly work as well as applied research involving collaborative partnerships with community agencies.

Faculty Research Concentration Areas
For additional information about faculty research interests, select one of the concentration areas below: 

Criminology Theory and Juvenile Delinquency
       Amy L. Anderson                    
            Theories of crime and delinquency, particularly routine activity theory
      Candice Batton
             Theories of crime and violence
      Samantha Clinkinbeard         
            Health, psychology, and delinquency
      Lorine Hughes
            Street gangs; theories of crime and delinquency
      Chris Marshall
            Postmodern perspectives on social science theory
      Robert F. Meier
            Theories of crime and delinquency
      Jukka Savolainen
            Life-course theories of crime and delinquency
      Pete Simi
            Symbolic interactionism, gangs, and delinquency
      Marc L. Swatt
            Theories of crime

Women, Crime and Criminal Justice
      Candice Batton                      
             Feminist theories and women and crime
      Pauline Brennan                    
             Female offenders
      Robbin Ogle
             Feminist theories and women and crime

Methods and Statistics
      Amy L. Anderson
             Multilevel modeling, advanced quantitative techniques
      Samantha Clinkinbeard
             Survey research
      Lorine Hughes
             Stata and social network analysis, advanced quantitative techniques
       Chris Marshall
              Excel techniques and SPSS
      Lisa Sample
             Mixed methods and qualitative research
      Pete Simi
             Qualitative research
      Marc Swatt
             Geospatial analysis, social network analysis, advanced quantitative techniques

Policy and Applied Research
      Pauline Brennan
             Corrections, female offenders, effectiveness of correctional programs, community-based programs
             (e.g., day reporting, halfway houses)
      Samantha Clinkinbeard
             Substance abuse prevention evaluation
      Anne Hobbs
             Implicit bias in investigations; racial and ethnic inequality in the courts; refugee experiences with the U.S. legal system
       Hank Robinson
             Community-based interventions; juvenile and adult justice programs
      Lisa Sample
             Drug control policy; sex offender legislation; prisoner re-entry
      Bill Wakefield
             Drug control policy; federal probation

Criminal Justice Issues
      Pauline Brennan
             Court processing; correctional issues; disparity and discrimination
      John Crank
             Policing
      Susan Jacobs
             Sexual assault; self-defense; human organ transplant
      Colleen Kadleck
              Policing
       Pete Simi
              Extremist movements and political violence
       Robbin Ogle
              Corrections
       Rebecca Trammell
             Prison culture; violence

International Criminology and Criminal Justice Issues
      Pauline Brennan
             Cross-national criminal justice, including teaching a criminal justice class with an international trip to London
      John Crank
             Terrorism and counter-terrorism
      Chris Eskridge
              Developing criminology degree programs and criminology societies; terrorism
      Dennis Hoffman
             Terrorism
      Jukka Savolainen
             Cross-national comparisons of crime and delinquency
      William Wakefield
             Cross-national criminal justice

Other
       Candice Batton
             Historical examinations of violence and crime
      Colleen Kadleck
             Criminal justice in film
      Chris Marshall
             Social networking for problem populations (e.g., re-entry population)
      Jukka Savolainen
              Alcohol and violence; homicide

Externally Funded Research with Community Partners

The UNO School of Criminology and Criminal Justice houses two research units:  the Juvenile Justice Institute (JJI) and the Consortium for Crime and Justice Research (CCJR).  Directed by Anne Hobbs, JJI works with local and state agencies on issues pertaining to juvenile delinquency, juvenile justice, and juvenile services in Nebraska.  CCJR is directed by Dr. Hank Robinson and focuses more broadly on research related to crime and justice at the local, state, and national levels.  Both JJI and CCJR are frequently engaged in externally funded, collaborative research with community partners.  A sample of JJI and CCJR projects are listed below.  For more information on JJI and CCJR:  link to their page.

Douglas County Adult Drug Court
Dr. William Wakefield is leading an evaluation of an alcohol screening instrument for the Douglas County Adult Drug Court.  This research is sponsored by an award from the Bureau of Justice Assistance Enhancement Grant Program.

Douglas County Day Reporting Center
Dr. Pauline Brennan is currently working on an outcome and process evaluation of the Douglas County Day Reporting Center (DRC) with funding provided by the Douglas County Department of Corrections.  The outcome evaluation will be based on data gleaned from a new data management system. 

Evaluation of the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Program
An inter-disciplinary team of researchers from UNO evaluated the Nebraska Department of Correction’s Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI).  Headed by Dr. Lisa Sample, the UNO research team conducted a process and outcome evaluation of the program to examine the accuracy with which the reentry program identifies and selects the target population; the extent to which the program builds effective partnerships between criminal justice, behavioral health, and social service agencies; and the degree to which the various components of the program are implemented as intended.  For additional information on this program:   more >>

Juvenile Justice Institute
Under the direction of Anne Hobbs, JJI is working on two statewide initiatives funded by the Nebraska Crime Commission.  The Web-Enabled Juvenile Diversion Case Management System encourages all juvenile diversion programs to enter data, and to develop common policies, regarding youth who enroll in diversion in Nebraska.  JJI has helped develop the policy, process and application of this system.  JJI has also been instrumental in helping counties develop meaningful long range plans pertaining to juvenile justice that impact communities across the state.  At the local level, Hobbs is currently evaluating an early assessment and referral program implemented by the Lancaster County Attorney to determine the effect of offering youth multiple levels of juvenile diversion.  For additional information on JJI research projects:  more >>

LiveWise Drug Free Community Partnership
The Drug Free Community Partnership program is geared toward addressing the use and abuse of alcohol, marijuana, and prescription drugs by juveniles.  An evaluation of the implementation of the project and its outcomes is being led by Dr. Lisa Sample.

Methamphetamine Initiative
Dr. Lisa Sample led the evaluation of the Methamphetamine Treatment initiative sponsored by the Omaha Police Department.  The initiative was geared toward increasing arrests and successful prosecutions of methamphetamine crimes and other drug-related crimes.

Moral Reconation Therapy Program - U.S. Probation
Dr. William Wakefield is conducting an evaluation of the Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT) Program in place at the U.S. Probation Office in Omaha since 2005. Nine probation officers are certified facilitators in MRT Programming and there is one certified trainer in the office.  The evaluation is ongoing and in Phase II with additional phases to follow over an 18 month period.

Nebraska Correctional Center for Women
Dr. Pauline Brennan and Dr. Marc Swatt are leading an evaluation of the parenting program at the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women.  The parenting program allows extended day visits and overnight visitation for inmate mothers and their children.  In addition, one aspect of the program includes a prison nursery, where some inmates may live with their infants.