This post was first published in January 2021. Editor Note: Over the coming weeks, The College of Social Sciences and Public Policy at Florida State University will work to provide experiential and academic faculty perspectives on the causes and consequences of the events surrounding January 6, 2021. This means that some posts will offer academic…
Category: Crime
Honors Thesis Spotlight: The Jurisprudence of the International Criminal Court: The Role of Language in Promoting a More Accessible International Criminal Justice System
In the last century, French and English became entrenched as the two working languages of international law. Since that time, we have witnessed the rapid development and integration of Asian nations into international systems and the adoption of English as the sole universal language in other fields. This article carries out a cost-benefit analysis concerning…
Ph.D. Spotlight: Criminal Justice Institutions: Human Behavior in a System of Neutral Competence
Within the majority of courtrooms throughout the U.S. you will find statues of lady justice in all sizes. Generally, she is depicted as a woman wearing a toga in a powerful pose, holding a scale in one hand, sword in the other, and is blindfolded. Lady justice is said to stem from Greek and Roman…
Gendered Consequences of COVID-19 Emergency Measures
This piece first appeared on Medium. One of the most common measures across the globe to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and reduce public health systems’ stress is the implementation of restrictions on citizens’ mobility and stay-at-home orders. While this measure has proven effective in containing COVID-19 contagion, it has gendered implications because…
Should Netflix’s “Waco” Renew A Discussion About Militarizing Law Enforcement?
On May 25, 2020, Dr. Sam Staley a Florida State University professor and film critic, discussed some controversial issues raised by Netflix’s miniseries, “Waco” on the program, American Viewpoints. The discussion includes religion, criminal justice, and militarization of law enforcement. Listen to the 10 minute interview here. The feature picture is from Forbes.
Suffering in Silence: How COVID-19 School Closures Inhibit the Reporting of Child Maltreatment
The rapid spread of COVID-19 has generated immediate challenges for policymakers across multiple areas including health, fiscal, environmental, and education policy. To contribute to ongoing policy discussions, recent academic work has sought to understand the impact of COVID-19 policy responses on outcomes ranging from job losses to mortality to pollution. In a recent paper, we…
Protests and Pressure: Why is Trump Responding to the Black Lives Matter Movement Now?
Today, Donald Trump is scheduled to sign an executive order on police reform. According to senior White House officials, the order will create a database to track police officers with histories of misconduct and use federal monies to incentivize police departments to meet higher standards on the use of force. The order will not address…
George Floyd and the Future of Police Misconduct
This piece first appeared in The Beacon. The death of George Floyd at the hands of a cop with a history of excessive force complaints has spurred protests, demonstrations, and riots across the nation. Unfortunately, the violence some protesters have unleashed on these cities is likely to exacerbate existing cultural and political schisms, making meaningful…
Queen and Slim’s Cynicism Should Prompt Serious Discourse on Race and Criminal Justice
This post first appeared on the Independent Institute. When Queen and Slim went into wide release in November 2019, trailers suggested the movie was a story of a “black Bonnie and Clyde.” It’s not. That’s also the point. The movie, directed by Melina Matsoukas and written by Lena Waithe, is a disturbing commentary on racial injustice in America. Most white…
COSSPP Faculty Impact on Scholarship: Influence at a Glance
As the spring semester comes to an end, we want to take a moment to celebrate the accomplishments and influence of faculty in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy. This series of graphs produced by Dr. Jim Elsner offers a glimpse of the amazing work taking place in the College of Social Science…
Wicked Problems, Wicked Solutions 