Rising global corruption continues to erode public trust in governmental institutions. This lack of public trust can extend throughout the system, even to faith in domestic law enforcement. This research investigates whether individuals residing in countries with higher levels of public sector corruption tend to have lower levels of trust in the police. This research aims to look at this correlation while taking additional factors into account and providing a more comprehensive model. The initial hypothesis is that higher levels of corruption lead to lower public trust in law enforcement. The model includes structural variables, such as a country’s levels of democracy and wealth, as well as individual-level data from respondents, including personal levels of wealth, education, perception of crime, and experience with crime. An Ordinary Least Squares regression model is estimated using data from the World Values Survey Wave 7 (2017-2021) and Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (2017-2021). The link between corruption and trust in the police was estimated along with variables of GDP per capita, education level, perceived crime rates, and a country’s level of democracy. The hypothesis was supported, as the relationship between corruption and trust in the police was found to be negative and statistically significant. All the other variables were significant, though the adjusted R-squared was low. These findings show that corruption does affect public trust, but it does not operate in isolation.

The criminal justice system is a complex institution composed of a variety of occupations, and all are heavily scrutinized in the media and by the public. Multiple factors influence individuals' perspectives when it comes to the criminal justice system. Influences span the media, personal knowledge, and experiences of friends and family. Prior literature has centered on perceptions of the police, but less has looked at correctional officers and other lesser-known law enforcement agents. This project tests two hypotheses: first, that people who have worked in these institutions, or know people who have, will have more positive attitudes towards them and their roles. Second, that anyone who has been incarcerated for more than one week, or who has had a friend or family member incarcerated for more than one week, will have negative attitudes towards correctional officers and their roles. This will be tested using a mixed-methods approach, involving both surveys and interviews. This study also includes controls for legal legitimacy and the types of entertainment media that respondents may consume, which could influence their perceptions of correctional officers and their jobs.

School shootings are a hot topic in the media and an important discussion among citizens of the United States. Despite this, the government does not collect data on school shootings and has left it to lay people and researchers to create their own data sources largely culled from media reports. In the present study, I compare two popular datasets, the K-12 School Shooting Database collected by Riedman (2025) and school shootings data collected by reporters at the Washington Post, that claim vastly different numbers of school shooting incidents over time. I examine incidents since the Columbine shootings in 1999 and focus on how reported incidents have changed before and after the Sandy Hook shootings in 2012. Results suggest that the number of school-related shootings have increased over time, but the size of the increase depends greatly on the definition of “school shooting.” Part of the recent rise in what are reported to be “school shootings” may be due to a more expansive definition of school shootings than before. For example, a larger percentage of incidents post – Sandy Hook occurred outside of the school building, outside of school hours, and did not involve any physical injuries. Some of these incidents likely existed in earlier years but would not have been identified as school shootings. I discuss the importance of establishing clear definitions in the media to avoid the creation of a moral panic and the need for systematic data collection independent from media sources.

This research employed a case study methodology to collect and analyze data through publicly available internet sources, regarding 18 officer-involved homicides that occurred between 2013-2017. The study represents a reexamination and expansion of prior research that focused on incidents involving victims below the age of 18. The focus of the current research was victims below age 13. The study examined the circumstances under which such homicides occurred, and the legal and departmental consequences officers faced after causing the deaths. The study fills a gap in the existing literature that primarily centers on adult and teenage populations. Preliminary findings suggest that young children are killed under two primary set of circumstances: domestic situations, where an officer who is a parent is responsible for the death of his/her own child; and, enforcement situations, where a child is killed in the course of a criminal investigation or apprehension. Regardless of the context, most officers retain their jobs and do not face criminal charges. Conversely, in most cases, there is a finding of civil liability. The objective of this research is to enhance understanding of these events and to produce new knowledge that can be used in the design and expansion of prevention strategies.