Like many of her classmates, Ashley Vagnoni (ʼ22, MAʼ23) was first drawn to the Criminology and Criminal Justice program through the allure of fast-paced crime shows she grew up watching on television.
As it turns out, Criminal Minds and CSI aren’t the most faithful depictions of the criminal justice system, said Vagnoni, who will begin working as an adult probation officer with Montgomery County Adult Probation upon completion of her Master of Criminology and Criminal Justice in May.
In fact, Vagnoni wrote an award-winning research paper exploring criminal justice myths perpetuated by true crime TV programming. “Crime-Related Television Consumption and the Belief in Criminal Justice Myths” took home top undergraduate research paper honors at the Pennsylvania Sociological Society’s 2022 conference this past fall.
“Ironic as it may sound, I grew up watching Criminal Minds and all that stuff, which prompted me to end up writing the research paper on it,” Vagnoni said.
Her research revealed how DNA does not factor into investigations nearly as often as is shown on TV, and how the investigations dramatized in these programs oversimplify the hectic caseloads law enforcement officials often work through.
Beyond dispelling myths from crime’s representation in popular culture, Vagnoni’s experience in Cabrini’s Criminology and Criminal Justice 4+1 program has empowered her with tools and perspectives for making a difference as a professional in the field.
“I’m looking forward to trying to change the criminal justice system one person at a time,” she said. “Our society is so incarceration-based, and it’s strayed away from rehabilitation.”
As a probation officer, Vagnoni will oversee a caseload of about 50 people. The Haverford High School graduate said she hopes to connect them with opportunities for upward mobility, including treatment programs, housing assistance, and job placement.
“By offering just one person from the caseload another chance…I think that would be really beneficial in changing the perception of what incarceration could be,” she said.
Between her coursework and an internship experience during the fall 2021 semester with Chester County Adult Probation, Vagnoni said she has learned to reject the stigma that somebody’s worst mistake automatically defines the rest of their life.
“Cabrini has changed my views on that, not in a way that’s forced views on me at all,” she said. “But, it’s opened my eyes to the injustices that are actually happening. It’ll be really interesting to apply what I’ve learned here.”
Vagnoni has done much of that learning with Associate Professor of Criminology Bethany Van Brown, PhD. She has enrolled in six of Van Brown’s courses, and the two have developed an enduring friendship.
“Her level of self-awareness is remarkable, and I think that speaks to her maturity, her intelligence, and her emotional intelligence,” Van Brown said of Vagnoni. “It’s hard to capture in words who she is as a student and as a person. She has a wide array of skill sets, and I know this is just the beginning.”