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Research has shown that high-quality relationships between individuals on probation/parole and their supervising officers can reduce recidivism and increase compliance. Although this relationship clearly matters, little attention has been given to understanding the factors that influence this relationship. Drawing on research in psychology and counseling, this study explores how both individual characteristics and supervision experiences affect the perceived quality of the supervision relationship. Results from the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) reveal that both individual characteristics—such as mental health and family support—and supervision experiences—such as the use of sanctions and incentives—exert significant effects on the supervision relationship. Yet, the effects of supervision experiences were substantially more robust than the individual characteristics. Findings suggest community supervision agencies should prioritize positive supervision experiences to build positive relationships between the returning person and supervising officer.

The use of sanctions in community supervision has received considerable attention in recent years. Fueled in large part by the attention given to the swift, certain, and fair (SCF) sanctioning model, many agencies have adopted sanctioning programs, which often rely heavily on the use of short-term jail incarceration. In addition to jail, there exist a number of alternative, community-based punishments that can be utilized to respond to instances of noncompliance, including enhanced drug testing and community service hours. Little is known, however, about how individuals perceive community-based sanctions compared with jail. This study addresses this issue by examining perceptions of sanctions among individuals under community supervision. Survey findings indicate that community-based punishments are not viewed as being substantially less punitive than jail incarceration. In addition, perceptions of sanction severity are influenced by a variety of individual, experiential, and supervision-level factors. The policy implications of the study findings are discussed.

The use of incentives to promote offender compliance is becoming increasingly common in community supervision. Although evidence suggests that incentives can improve offender outcomes, little is known about how they can best be implemented to achieve desired results. Research in other fields demonstrates that incentive quality plays an important role in promoting behavioral change. Unfortunately, little is known about the perceived value of incentives utilized in probation and parole settings. The current study addresses this gap in the literature by examining the results of a survey administered to 200 adult probationers. Results indicated that earned compliance credits were rated most favorably, followed by a $50 fee waiver, reduced reporting requirements, and a $50 gift card. Recognition-based incentives received the weakest ratings. Multivariate analyses showed that individual level, as compared to offense- and supervision-level variables, had more consistent influences on perceptions of incen...

While organizational citizenship behaviors (i.e., employee’s choosing to perform above and beyond work expectations) are beneficial for the success of any organization, there has been little research on this form of prosocial behavior in private correctional agencies. This study is the first to examine the relationship between two forms of organizational commitment (affective and continuance) and organizational citizenship behaviors for 160 correctional staff at a maximum security private US prison. Results of the Ordinary Least Squares regression analysis supported the predictions that affective commitment would have a positive association with organizational citizenship behaviors and continuance commitment would have a negative association. Possible interventions that private correctional organizations can undertake to encourage affective organizational commitment from their staff are discussed.

Although community corrections courses have existed in universities for decades, studies have yet to explore whether the depth and breadth of academic preparation is meeting practitioner needs. In many jurisdictions across the country, community supervision officers receive little pre-service training, making classroom learning a very important component for job preparation. Using survey data collected from members of the American Society of Criminology, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and American Probation and Parole Association, this study examines university faculty and community corrections practitioner expectations regarding topical coverage in undergraduate coursework relevant to the community corrections field. Results indicate that both groups, especially practitioners, gave the strongest preference to coverage of universally applicable job skills such as critical thinking, written and oral communication, and organizational and listening skills. Practitioners generally expected classroom le...

Transitional housing facilities for released prison inmates have existed in the United States since the early 1800s and are a promising strategy to aid offender reintegration. One recurring obstacle to the successful implementation and sustainability of these facilities is public resistance. Unfortunately, very little is known regarding what influences public support or opposition specifically for offender-based transitional housing. The current study examines how support for transitional housing centers may vary among residents of a Midwestern state based on the proximity of the facility and the types of offenders living there. The study also examines a range of possible influences on support, including community factors, family-related considerations, correctional and political views, and demographic variables. The most consistent influence on acceptance of transitional housing centers was general support for helping offenders during reentry. Other variables with more limited effects were an emphasis on services and programming over monitoring and surveillance during reentry, having a close family member imprisoned, age, and education level. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Sexual victimization is a growing concern on college campuses. Although academic literature has examined the extent and perceived risk and fear of sexual assault at universities, studies focusing on college student attitudes about appropriate sex crime–related policies are severely limited. The Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act of 2000 requires post-secondary institutions to provide a statement giving the campus community guidance on how to access information about registered sex offenders. Colleges and universities are afforded wide discretion regarding whether to use more direct and involved methods for notifying faculty, staff, and students. The current study examines how college students attending a Midwestern university feel about various approaches to notification about sex offenders on campus. Results indicate that impressions of vulnerability are driving some of student opinion about notification, but that other considerations, such as character assessment, privacy concerns, and feelings of uneasiness, are possibly having an impact as well. The findings also strongly support that female student input should be factored heavily into campus sex offender notification strategies.

The sustainability of the modern prisoner reentry movement may rest heavily upon public support. Although little is known about how public opinion toward reentry is shaped, religion is potentially a key contributor. Several studies indicate that religious perspectives affect public attitudes toward punishment and rehabilitation. The current study aims to determine whether religious beliefs contribute to support for or opposition against three distinct approaches to prisoner reentry. Using survey data obtained from a randomly selected sample of a nationally representative Midwestern state, multivariate regression models were used to examine whether feelings of religious forgiveness and belief in a punitive God affected attitudes toward transitional programming, transitional housing, and assisting post-release offenders through housing agencies. Respondents who felt greater religious forgiveness and had less belief in a punitive God more strongly supported transitional programming and transitional housing and expressed greater opposition to denying housing assistance for recently released offenders. Both advocates and opponents of reentry initiatives should consider religious beliefs when attempting to gain support for their respective positions.

Purpose In response to escalating revocation rates in community supervision, many jurisdictions have adopted graduated sanction policies. Research on graduated sanctions has shown promising results. However, most studies focus exclusively on jail sanctions and have largely ignored the possibility that community-based graduated sanctions such as written assignments, increased treatment participation, or community service hours may be as effective, or more effective, than jail sanctions. Extending this research, the current study examines whether community-based sanctions are as effective in increasing offender compliance as spending time in jail. Methods Using data from over 800 violations committed by a random sample of probationers and parolees on intensive supervision probation, multilevel models are estimated that examine whether jail sanctions are more effective than community sanctions in 1) extending time to the offender’s next violation event, 2) reducing the number of future violations, and 3) successfully completing the probation program. Results Results consistently indicate that jail sanctions do not outperform community-based sanctions. Conclusion Due to the financial, social, and potentially criminogenic effects of jail, the lack of significant differences between jail sanctions and community-based sanctions calls into question the use of jail as a means of punishing persons on community supervision.

Few topics have been discussed more extensively or feverishly within correctional academic and professional circles in the past few decades than prisoner reentry. Although program and policy evaluations have been conducted, a lack of public support for prisoner reentry initiatives could undermine the sustainability of prisoner reentry as a large-scale movement. Interestingly, no multivariate, explanatory analyses of the correlates of support for prisoner reentry policies could be found in the literature. This omission is due in part to the absence of clear psychometric measures to assess support. The current study examines the data obtained from a sample of residents in a Midwestern state to determine the dimensionality of support for prisoner reentry interventions using both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. Specifically, our expectation is that the following three-factor structure will be identified: (a) support for transitional programs aimed at building skills and knowledge to handle the obstacles of the prison-to-community transitional process, (b) support for post-release transitional housing units, and (c) opposition to denying offenders housing opportunities. Our results support a three-factor model. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.

Placing youth in detention centers has the potential to generate negative educational and behavioral consequences. Recognizing this problem, scholars and juvenile justice policy makers and practitioners have searched for viable alternatives during the past two decades. One alternative promoted by the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative is the evening reporting center (ERC). Although promoted as a promising practice, little is known about the ERC’s operational design and effectiveness. This research note explores the ERC through site visits at seven locations across the United States. Data from the site visits are integrated with evidence-based literature to provide suggestions for examining the need for the ERC, creating a model design, and evaluating the program.

Few current criminal justice scholars, practitioners, and politicians expected to witness the phenomenon of decreasing correctional populations. Yet, there is evidence at local, state, and regional levels of significant declines in the growth of incarceration and even decreases in the size of prisoner populations. In this article we delineate the extent of decarceration and examine the context in which it has occurred. We then explore possible positive and negative outcomes resulting from decarceration and conclude with an agenda for advancing a decarceration movement.

Finding strategies to prevent burnout is imperative for correctional administrators. Ordinary least squares regression analyses of survey results from 160 employees at a private prison for offenders aged 14 to 19 who were tried as adults were used to examine the effects of affective and continuance commitments on the three dimensions of staff burnout. The results indicate that affective commitment had a negative association with emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feelings of reduced accomplishment, while continuance commitment had a positive relationship with these dimensions of burnout. Of the control variables, tenure had a positive association with emotional exhaustion, age had a negative relationship with depersonalization, and average daily contact with inmates had a positive association with feelings of reduced accomplishment. One strategy that administrators could employ to reduce staff burnout is to strengthen staffs’ emotional ties and feelings of loyalty to the organization, while attempting to decrease perceptions that the employee is trapped in the job.

In recent years, correctional and community agencies in the United States have developed and promoted an array of policies and programs aimed at successfully facilitating the offender transition from prison to community. One model, the Reentry Partnership Initiative (RPI), emphasizes building collaborative partnerships in an effort to deliver a coordinated and continuous stream of supervision, services, and support during the transitional process and includes institutional, structured reentry, and community reintegration phases. The current study evaluates the outcome of an RPI-style model called the Missouri Prisoner Reentry Initiative (MPRI). The impact of MPRI participation was examined by comparing the reimprisonment of two MPRI treatment groups to the reimprisonment of a reference group having no MPRI involvement. The MPRI groups consisted of (a) offenders entering all MPRI phases and (b) offenders receiving MPRI assistance exclusively inside prison. MPRI was not successful in reducing reimprisonment for males but had benefits for females who entered all MPRI phases. Language: en

Life is filled with the demands of work and family. When conflict exists in one domain, research indicates it can spill over and affect the other. In corrections, many workplace factors have been shown to affect the organizational commitment of staff. As staff are the most valuable resource in this labor intensive field, this study focused on the effects of two types of organizational commitment (affective and continuance) on three work–family conflict variables (time based, strain based, and behavior based). Using ordinary least squares regression analysis of survey data from 160 correctional staff at a Midwest private prison, the results indicated that as affective commitment rises, all three work-on-family conflict variables decreased. Conversely, when continuance commitment rose, all three work-on-family conflict variables increased as well. Surprisingly, both forms of commitment had nonsignificant associations with family-on-work conflict. The only significant control variable was age, which revealed that older staff had less conflict between work and family.

Despite the recent burgeoning of the private prison industry, little research has focused on private prison personnel. This study attempts to help fill this research gap by examining the relationship between two distinct forms of organizational commitment, continuance and affective, and the withdrawal outcomes of absenteeism and turnover intent for personnel at a Midwestern U.S. private prison. Results of an ordinary least squares (OLS) multivariate regression analysis supported our prediction of an inverse relationship between affective organizational commitment and the withdrawal outcomes of absenteeism and turnover intent; however, contrary to our hypotheses, the analysis indicated no statistically significant relationship between continuance organizational commitment and these withdrawal outcomes, after controlling for custody position, gender, age, tenure, education, race, and supervisory status. Our results suggest that enhancing employees’ affective organizational bonds should be a priority for pri...

Role stress is an important aspect of the prison workplace that impairs organizational functioning and can have negative effects for correctional staff. While the effects of role stress on correctional workers are largely known, few studies have examined the causes of role stress. The current study explores potential antecedents of role stress among 160 correctional staff at a private Midwestern prison. Multivariate OLS (ordinary least squares) regression analysis identified five statistically significant predictors of role stress: instrumental communication, supervisory support, formalization, job autonomy, and race. The results suggest that correctional managers and supervisors can reduce role stress substantially by clarifying the roles, responsibilities, and expectations of employees, creating a supportive atmosphere for workers, and identifying areas where staff can have greater control over their jobs.

Juvenile blended sentencing statutes enable juvenile courts to impose sanctions in the adult correctional system without the youth being processed by adult courts. The current study examines levels of public support for juvenile courts having the option to consider applying this new blended sentencing policy, and it analyzes the impact of various predictor variables, such as the perceived nature of juveniles and expected consequences of adult-level sanctions, on supportiveness. In 2009, a survey was mailed to a random sample of 1,000 Missouri residents, and through a series of follow ups, a 51% response rate was achieved. In general, respondents favored juvenile courts possessing the option to use juvenile blended sentencing. OLS regression analyses determined that the expected consequences of adult sanctions on youths were the strongest predictors of support. Attitudes about the respectfulness of youth and perceived importance of incapacitation in responding to youth crime also influenced attitudes toward the blended policy. Future directions for research along with policy and legal implications are discussed.

The dramatic growth in the incarceration rate since the mid-1970s has unintentionally resulted in massive numbers of people being released from prison each year. Consequently, prisoner reentry initiatives are receiving greater attention than ever before. At this point few studies have looked at public support for reentry initiatives, and the existing ones have taken a rather general and atheoretical approach. The current study explores public opinion toward a wide range of reentry policies and practices through a value conflict framework. Results from a randomly selected, statewide sample in Missouri indicate that people take into account such values as social welfare, retribution, and self-interest when assessing their support for reentry measures. As reentry initiatives may struggle to attain legitimacy and resources without public support, a number of policy implications are discussed. These implications include informing the public of the need for servicing those with prior prison terms and communicating the value of housing assistance during reentry.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has employed a litigation strategy to dismantle White supremacist organizations and reduce racist violence. Like all social control strategies, lawsuits brought against these organizations can create unintended consequences that undermine intended goals. This article explores the assumptions underlying the litigation strategy and presents several arguments that question the utility of this approach. Utilizing theory and research from a variety of academic disciplines, both perceptual and organizational consequences of litigation are addressed, with an emphasis on potential violent outcomes. In particular, the article explores how civil lawsuits against White supremacists might influence organizational form and structure, and the effect on leadership in the movement is examined. The impact of litigation on feelings of injustice and the strength of collective identity is also investigated. In addition, potential impediments posed to the lawsuit strategy by the Internet and modern technology are explored.

Prison educators and vocational trainers are instrumental in prisons given their roles in teaching and preparing prisoners for a successful reintegration into the community. Although prior research has explored the impact of vocational and educational programs on offender recidivism, scant attention has been paid to the work experiences of prison educators and instructors. The current study thus examines perceptions of supervision and organizational operations among a sample of 263 educational and vocational staff employed in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. A key contribution of this study is the inclusion of new organizational-level variables (e.g., a prison’s average institutional tenure and average institutional commitment) as predictors of perceptions of the prison work environment. Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM) identified that efficacy with inmates was the strongest predictor of perceptions of both supervision and organizational operations. Age, supervisory status, Hispanic ethnicity, and the average institutional tenure were also significant predictors of both outcome measures. Security level, inmate gender composition, average institutional commitment, the amount of contact with inmates, and race had different effects on the dependent variables. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

The number of offenders supervised in the community has grown significantly over the past few decades, whereas successful completions of probation and parole terms have been declining during the same time period. The current study examines the impact of rewards and sanctions on offenders in an Intensive Supervision Program (ISP). Data were collected on a random sample of 283 offenders who participated in an ISP between 2000 and 2003. Agency records, including supervision notes, violation reports, and other offender-related correspondence, were used to track offenders’ sanction and reward histories during their participation in the program. Controlling for a number of variables, the study found that the use of both sanctions and rewards led to higher success rates. Administering rewards in proportionally higher numbers than sanctions produced the best results, especially when a ratio of four or more rewards for every sanction was achieved. Correctional administrators are encouraged to identify ideological obstacles that may impede the application of behavioral techniques and to carefully train and guide line staff in the use of sanctions and rewards.

PurposeExpanding on earlier research, this paper aims to develop a more complete understanding of military experience as it relates to stress and burnout in law enforcement. The current study examines whether influences on stress and burnout vary between officers with military experience and officers without a military background.Design/methodology/approachData for this study were obtained from earlier research on police staff at a Northeastern metropolitan city. A combination of analytic methods, including t‐tests and multivariate regression analysis, were used to explore the effects of variables on stress and burnout among military and non‐military officers.FindingsThe results indicate that negative exposures to demanding events influenced burnout for all officers. In contrast, negative exposures affected stress levels for those officers with no military experience. Coping techniques were important predictors of stress and burnout for both groups; however, contrary to expectations, police experience in years was not significant in any model. Demographic controls had no influence on stress and burnout for either group, with the exception of gender, which was a significant predictor of stress only for the non‐military group.Research limitations/implicationsThis research has implications for police departments interested in developing group‐based strategies for reducing stress and burnout among officers. The findings are limited in their capacity for wide geographical generalization, however, because this study represents the views of only one department.Originality/valueIn contrast with previous empirical work, the findings here demonstrate that military experience can have a favorable influence on the work outcomes of police officers. This study suggests that officers with military backgrounds are less stressed when faced with demanding situations and that military experience provides female officers with an edge in handling work‐related stressors.

The number of people reentering society after imprisonment has increased dramatically in recent decades in direct correlation with the growing prison population. As a result, empirical studies of prisoner reentry have also increased, but these studies typically focus on large urban areas and use quantitative methodologies. The current study expands the existing literature by examining qualitatively the reentry experiences of 43 male offenders living in a small metropolitan community. Participants were interviewed at the 3-month mark of their release from prison. They were asked about the strains and obstacles they encountered at three distinct time periods since their release: the first days of release, the 1-month mark, and the 3-month mark. These former prison inmates were also asked to identify any program or service that had helped or could help their reintegration into society. The results suggest that core obstacles and strains in reentry, such as issues with money, employment, and reconnecting with family, are consistent across geographical location. The study also produced some unique findings, such as psychosocial challenges being cited most frequently as obstacles or strains, the role of employment beyond its financial importance, and the negative aspects of religious components in reentry programs. Several policy recommendations relevant to the findings are discussed.

Health care staff are instrumental in prisons given their roles in aiding security and the growing demand for medical services among prisoners. Unfortunately, little attention has been paid to this prison staff subpopulation. This study examined perceptions of supervision among 424 prison health care staff in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Participants felt that prison supervisors were most effective in clarifying expectations and least effective in giving feedback for performance, involving staff in planning, and extending job autonomy. Using hierarchical linear models (HLM), some unique findings emerged. Efficacy in dealing with inmates was the strongest predictor variable: health care staff who felt more positive and effective with inmates had more favorable feelings toward supervision. Staff working in high- and medium-security prisons had more positive feelings toward supervision than those in minimum security, and younger staff had more favorable attitudes toward supervisors than older staff. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Health care staff serve important humanitarian, legal, and security functions inside prisons. Although medical and health staff have become critical to daily life in prisons, little is known about their work attitudes and outcomes. This article examines the job satisfaction of 430 health care practitioners in the federal prison system. Ordinary least squares regression is used to analyze responses to a global measurement of job satisfaction. This analytic procedure was chosen after tests determined that prison-level characteristics would have very little influence on the job satisfaction of this sample. Work-related variables were stronger predictors of job satisfaction than personal characteristics. Feeling effective in dealing with inmates had the strongest impact on job satisfaction. Health care staff also had higher job satisfaction when they perceived greater flexibility and effectiveness in organizational operations and when they had more positive feelings about supervision. Significant personal characteristics that influenced job satisfaction included race and education level.

Community corrections has grown into a salient component of the correctional system. This article traces the growth and development of community-based sanctions in the United States. The authors assert that the evolution of community corrections has largely been shaped by its enduring relationship with the prison. Thus, it is not possible to fully comprehend the evolution of community-based corrections without considering the influence of the institutions. As such, this article documents the development and durability of community corrections by focusing on their unique and dynamic relationship with the prison.

Staff are the most valuable and expensive resources in prisons. Although correctional officers have received considerable academic attention, we know very little about their noncustody counterparts. This study examines and compares the predictors of job satisfaction, institutional commitment, and commitment to a prison system among three noncustody groups: psychological staff, teachers, and unit management personnel. Data are taken from the 2005 Prison Social Climate Survey, a questionnaire sent annually to a stratified random sample of federal prison staff. Results of Hierarchical Linear Modeling analyses indicate that supervision and perceived effectiveness with inmates had a significant and positive impact on all dependent variables for each noncustody group. The amount of time spent working in a prison was also a common predictor of institutional commitment for all groups. Some differences in significant predictors were found across noncustody groups for several independent variables including security level, amount of inmate contact, and months in current institution.

– The purpose of this paper is to explore whether male and female police officers report different levels of occupational stress and burnout. Also, the research seeks to examine whether various factors that are purported to influence occupational stress and burnout have differential effects on male and female officers., – Using a sample of police officers working in a large metropolitan department in the Northeast, the paper begins by using t‐tests to make gender comparisons between the average levels of occupational stress and burnout between male and female officers. Next, separate multivariate analyses were run for male and female officers to determine how a set of independent variables measuring the work‐environment, coping mechanisms, and other demographic characteristics affected the measures of occupational stress and burnout., – The findings indicate that male and female officers did not report significantly different levels of occupational stress and burnout. Results of the separate multivariate analyses reveal that, although there are similar predictors of stress and burnout for male and female officers, differences did exist in the models, lending support to the assertion that the female officers may experience unique stressors in the police organization. The multivariate results also indicate that African‐American female officers report significantly higher levels of burnout than other officers., – The current research adds to the knowledge about how levels and predictors of work‐related stress and burnout compare between male and female police officers. The current study is limited by its focus on only one police department located in the Northeast. This may limit the generalizability of the results., – The results of the study have implications for programs and policies that seek to prevent stress and burnout among police officers. The results of the current study indicate that a one‐program‐fits‐all approach may not be the best way for departments to help officers to deal with stress and burnout, since male and female officers may not experience or deal with these issues in a similar fashion.

This exploratory study examined the relationship between upper-level administrative support and the burnout of 83 mental health and substance abuse staff working within a state prison system in the Midwest. After conducting univariate analyses, The author found that the burnout of the treatment staff seemed quite low, whereas their opinions about the supportiveness of high-ranking treatment managers varied considerably. Stepwise regression procedures indicated that danger, administrative support, and inmate contact, in descending order of strength, were the best predictors of exhaustion (burnout). Weaker perceptions of support from the deputy warden of special services were linked to higher exhaustion scores. A basic content analysis also revealed that the exhaustion of treatment staff could emerge from a range of sources. Suggestions on how to improve managerial support to prevent burnout and recommendations for further research are discussed.

Although the prevalence of sexual assault in U.S. prisons is debated, it is known that the consequences for victims can be quite severe. The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) requires prison officials to keep track of incidents of sexual assault, but accurate figures will be generated only to the extent that inmates regularly report these acts. Male rape itself is a highly underreported phenomenon and even less reported in prisons due to inmate cultural norms that frown upon forwarding inmate information to correctional authorities. This article examines whether prison inmates believe that reporting prison rape is equivalent to snitching and analyzes possible explanations for the inmates’ responses. Results indicate that inmates are less likely to view the reporting of prison rape as snitching earlier in their current commitment periods, and White inmates are more likely than Black inmates to think reporting rape is snitching. As this topic is extremely under studied, a number of suggestions for future research are advanced.