Two groups of Sociology students were selected to present the results of their research at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology in Washington, D.C.

The portrayal of female offenders in television crime dramas and "non-fictional" true-crime shows was the focus of students Sarah Beiter, Emma Brooks, Annalia Guerrero, and Lyndsey Kelly.

Their research explored the image and the reality of female offenders across 30 separate coding schemes, using social, personality, and situational (crime-oriented) characteristics.

The research findings suggest that the television image of a female offender may be stereotypical rather than a true portrayal of reality. Professor Gini Mann-Deibert mentored this group.

To gain a deeper understanding of the factors that lead to a country’s involvement with illegal drugs and its unwillingness or inability to abide by U.S. drug war guidelines, four students worked with Maureen Norton-Hawk to examine the political, economic, cultural, geographical and social factors of four transit countries.

Students Bonnie McNee, Andrea Blasdale, Stephanie Souza, and Bradford Carvallo looked at Mexico, Albania, Kazakhstan, and Iran. These nations have dramatically different histories, cultures, climates, and economies, yet they all are major drug transit nations.

The student’s in-depth examination of the internal dynamics of these diverse nations suggests that U.S. drug war policy needs to become more sensitive to the uniqueness of the countries whose policies the United States hopes to influence.

The Center for Crime and Justice Policy Research sponsored the research projects.