Date of Award

10-4-2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Criminal Justice

First Advisor

Tusty ten Bensel

Second Advisor

Robert Lytle

Abstract

Previous research has examined factors that affect transfers to adult court. Offender race, age, and gender, along with offense type and seriousness have all been found to influence transfers to adult court. Existing studies have not examined the association between county characteristics and transfers to adult court. County characteristics, such as poverty and education, influence other portions of the juvenile justice and criminal justice system. Furthermore, most of the research examining transfers to adult court has been cross-sectional. It is important to examine transfers to adult court longitudinally because it is possible that as factors change over time, the influence on transfers to adult court also change. The purpose of the current study is to examine the factors that influence transfers to adult court in Arkansas from 2009 to 2015. I did this using a longitudinal, multilevel analysis and data from the Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts, American Community Survey, and National Incident-Based Reporting System. The results suggest that legal and extralegal factors influence transfer rates to adult court between counties. The dissertation concludes with practical implications and future research based on these results.

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