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Despite the longstanding issues within the correctional officer occupation (e.g., high turnover, absenteeism), decades of research have tended to focus solely on the negative consequences of correctional officer work, rather than on the unique personal characteristics of the officers themselves. This omission is surprising as it is highly probable that each person experiences correctional work differently, with variation potentially hinging on the unique views and characteristics individuals bring with them to the job. Just as the "importation model" of prison adaptation recognizes the importance of pre-prison characteristics in explaining offender behavior, we argue that the unique personal experiences and social histories correctional officers import with them might shape the way they react to prison work. Thus, by thematically, descriptively, and multivariately examining three theoretically germane pre-prison work characteristics of 673 pre-service correctional officers (career motivations, attitudes toward prisoners, occupational histories), this call for research aims to raise awareness of the less studied factors within the correctional officer literature. Understanding the backgrounds and attitudes of newly hired correctional officers may potentially assist in the recruitment and retainment of these crucial employees in the prison system both in the United States and abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Each year, thousands of prospective students are denied admission to universities because they possess a criminal record. Prior research finds that university officials and faculty are generally accepting of those with records attending universities. To date, few studies have examined the perspectives of college students on this matter. The current study adds to this literature by examining college students' (n = 846) attitudes toward denying individuals admission to universities based on possessing a criminal record. The results reveal general opposition toward denying prospective students solely on the basis of possessing a record. However, divisions exist among students and fall on factors related to criminal justice system contact and racial, punitive, and political viewpoints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gun ownership literature is vast, with dozens of studies seeking to explain who owns guns and why. We build on this literature in two key ways. First, we introduce a new variable into the fold: sensitivity to harm. We theorize that this concern actively inhibits gun ownership. Second, we direct theoretical and empirical attention to a predictor that has frequently been overlooked in the contemporary gun literature even though its timing makes it the proverbial confounder: childhood gun socialization. Using data from a national sample of 1,100 adults and controlling for other known predictors, we find that sensitivity to harm is negatively related to gun ownership, whereas childhood socialization is positively related to it. Furthermore, we find that childhood socialization is not only the strongest predictor of owning guns, but also confounds the relationship between racial resentment and gun ownership, and fully mediates the effect of gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a comprehensive assessment of what Millennials think about U.S. correctional policy. Using a 2017 national-level sample (N = 1,000), Millennials' correctional policy opinions across 13 outcomes are assessed and compared to the views of other generations. The main findings are twofold. First, Millennials are only modestly punitive but clearly supportive of progressive policies. Thus, Millennials favor a rehabilitative correctional orientation, believe in offender redeemability, and prefer policies to protect ex-felons' civil rights and to expunge criminal records for minor offenses. Second, generational differences in public support for correctional policies are mostly limited. Americans of all generations tend to endorse inclusionary policies—a finding indicating that the future of American corrections might see a lengthy era of progressive reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, Catholics make up more than 50 million members of the adult population, or about one in five Americans. It is unclear whether their religious affiliation shapes Catholics' views on public policy issues, ranging from the legality of abortion to criminal justice practices. Capital punishment is especially salient, given that Pope Francis announced in 2018—as official Catholic Church teaching—that the death penalty is "inadmissible" under all circumstances. Based on two national surveys, the current project explores Catholics' support for state executions before (2017) and after (2019) the Pope's momentous change in the church's Catechism. At present, little evidence exists that Pope Francis's doctrinal reform has impacted Catholics, a majority of whom—like Americans generally—continue to favor the death penalty for murderers. Data from our additional 2020 MTurk survey show that only 17.0% of Catholic respondents could correctly identify the Church's position on capital punishment. Despite these results, Pope Francis's teachings provide Catholic leaders and activists with a compelling rationale for opposing the death penalty and holding Catholic public officials accountable for espousing offenders' execution. Further, for the next generation of Catholics, instruction in the inadmissibility of capital punishment, as part of the Church's consistent ethic of life, will be integral to their religious training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beliefs about race, especially racial resentment, are key predictors of public support for capital punishment and punitiveness generally. Drawing on a conceptual innovation by political scientist Jennifer Chudy, we explore the utility of transferring into criminology her construct of racial sympathy – or Whites' concern about Blacks' suffering. First, across three data sets, we replicate Chudy's finding that racial sympathy and resentment are empirically distinct constructs. Second, based on a national-level 2019 YouGov survey (n = 760 White respondents) and consistent with Chudy's thesis, racial sympathy is then shown to be significantly related to the race-specific view that capital punishment is discriminatory but not support for the death penalty or harsher courts. Racial sympathy also is positively associated with advocacy of rehabilitation as the main goal of prison. Notably, in all models, racial resentment has robust effects, increasing punitive sentiments. Taken together, the results suggest that racial sympathy is a concept that can enrich criminologists' study of how racial beliefs shape crime policy preferences in the United States and beyond, especially those with disparate effects on Blacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From Columbine to Sandy Hook to Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the American public has repeatedly witnessed the carnage and tragic consequences of mass school shootings. Using a national survey of American adults (N = 1,100) conducted between May 30 and June 6, 2018 in the aftermath of the Parkland tragedy, this project explores public opinion on why these events occur. Informed by sociological scholarship on social movements and framing, the analysis shows that the public endorses both gun and non-gun attributional frames for school shootings. What appears to most strongly influence the resonance of both types of attributional frames, by affecting their narrative fidelity, is racial resentment, seeing the world as dangerous, and ideological beliefs. The attributional frames that respondents endorse, in turn, serve as "anchors" for their social action beliefs—or vocabularies of motive—with gun attributions increasing both confidence in and support for the #NeverAgain movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School shootings are one of the most salient social problems in America. Most prior research in this area has focused on identifying their causes and evaluating preventive school safety measures. An overlooked issue involves what to do with individuals who plan, attempt, or commit school shootings. Using data from an experiment embedded in a national survey of American adults (N = 1100), this study seeks to answer that question. We examine the public's sentencing preferences and perceptions of rehabilitation potential for offenders who plan, attempt, and/or carry out a school shooting. We focus specifically on the effects of offense outcomes and of the shooter's age and mental health. We find that offense severity is the strongest predictor of both sentencing preferences and perceived rehabilitation potential. Offender age interacts with offense severity, such that sentencing preferences are harsher for adult than juvenile shooters, but only for mid- and high-severity offenses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article assesses empirically whether Gottfredson and Hirschi's 'general theory' can account for the 'gender gap' in crime and, when rival theories are included in the analysis, can explain criminal behavior for both mates and females. Based on a sample of 555 adults, the results indicate that the relationship of gender to crime be comes nonsignificant when self-control is introduced into the analysis. Further when males and females are analyzed separately, self-control is related, albeit differently, to males' and females' criminal involvement. These results suggest that Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory should be incorporated into future empirical assessments of gender and crime., The central thesis of Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) 'general theory of crime' is that people lacking in self-control are predisposed toward criminal and deviant behaviors. 'People who lack self-control,' the [...]

Objectives: The recurring mass murder of students in schools has sparked an intense debate about how best to increase school safety. Because public opinion weighs heavily in this debate, we examine public views on how best to prevent school shootings. We theorize that three moral-altruistic factors are likely to be broadly relevant to public opinion on school safety policies: moral intuitions about harm, anger about school crime, and altruistic fear. Methods: We commissioned YouGov to survey 1,100 Americans to explore support for a range of gun control and school programming policies and willingness to pay for school target hardening. We test the ability of a moral-altruistic model to explain public opinion, while controlling for the major predictors of gun control attitudes found in the social sciences. Results: The public strongly supports policies that restrict who can access guns, expand school anti-bullying and counseling programs, and target-harden schools. While many factors influence attitudes toward gun-related policies specifically, moral-altruistic factors significantly increase support for all three types of school safety policies. Conclusions: The public favors a comprehensive policy response and is willing to pay for it. Support for prevention efforts reflects moral intuitions about harm, anger about school crime, and altruistic fear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collateral sanctions are separate from the direct punishments for crimes (such as a prison sentence or a probation term) and offenders are generally not told about these restrictions when they are convicted of a crime. Thus, Redeemability is a mean index ( = .718) created from the respondents' opinions (1 = strongly disagree, 6 = strongly agree) to the following four statements: (1) "Most offenders can go on to lead productive lives with help and hard work"; (2) "Given the right conditions, a great many offenders can turn their lives around and become law-abiding citizens"; (3) "Most criminal offenders are unlikely to change for the better"; and (4) "Some offenders are so damaged that they can never lead productive lives." For example, because most Americans commit crimes for which they have not been detected (e.g., illegal drug use, driving while intoxicated, domestic violence, tax fraud, and common crimes), it is an empirical question whether a criminal record reliably distinguishes who is morally appropriate for jury service (see Barnes, 2014; Pratt, Barnes, Cullen, & Turanovic, 2016). When specific crime types were used, the level of support declined, but was still 66 percent for violent offenders, 63 percent for white-collar offenders, and 52 percent for sex offenders. The remaining states impose some conditions limiting jury service, such as a waiting period following sentence completion, nature of the conviction offense, type of jury, and dismissal as a potential juror simply on the basis of a felony conviction (see Binnall, 2016, 2018a). [Extracted from the article]

In 2009, Maruna and King presented results from a British survey showing that the public's belief in the redeemability of people who committed offenses curbed their level of punitiveness. Based on a 2017 national survey in the United States (n = 1,000), the current study confirms that redeemability is negatively related to punitive attitudes. In addition, the analyses reveal that this belief predicts support for rehabilitation and specific inclusionary policies (i.e., ban-the-box in employment, expungement of criminal records, and voting rights for people with a felony conviction). Findings regarding measures for punishment and rehabilitation were confirmed by a 2019 Mechanical Turk (MTurk) survey. These results suggest that beliefs about capacity for change among people who committed offenses are key to understanding crime-control public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relying on a national stratified random sample of Indigenous peoples aged 19 years old and above in Canada, this study investigates the correlates of illicit drug use among Indigenous peoples, paying special attention to the association between social support measures and illegal drug use. Results from multivariate logistical regression show that measures of social support, such as residential mobility, strength of ties within communities, and lack of timely counseling, are statistically significant correlates of illicit drug use. Those identifying as Christian are significantly less likely to use illegal drugs. This is the first nationwide analysis of the illicit drug usage of Indigenous peoples in Canada. The results are robust because we have controlled for a range of comorbidity variables as well as a series of sociodemographic variables. Policy implications from these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the years, the prevailing correctional orientation in the United States has shifted back and forth between punishment and rehabilitation. These changes in correctional ideology are typically marked by differing sentencing practices and changing criminal justice research agendas. On the other hand, how corrections is legally mandated to operate is less understood. In 1993, Johnson, Dunaway, Burton, Marquart, and Cuvelier assessed the legally prescribed functions of community corrections for all 50 states and classified them as either reform or control oriented functions. They concluded the majority of states were primarily reform oriented. In this study, we replicate Johnson et al.'s (1993) methods using the statutes from all 50 states in 2002. However, we classified our findings, as well as recoded Johnson et al.'s (1993) findings, into punishment or rehabilitation functions. We make comparisons between 1992 and 2002 for the purpose of assessing where legally mandated orientation of community corrections stands today on the punishment/rehabilitation debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the similarities and differences between male and female correctional officers in their definitions of and responses to conflict situations. In this study, interviews were conducted with 192 officers at a large southwestern jail. Results indicate that male and female officers react to conflict situations in a similar manner, although it appears that the inmate's sex is a salient factor in the officers' decisions on how to resolve conflict. Both men and women define and respond to perceived conflict in a similar manner.

Legislatively and philosophically, the juvenile justice system in the United States is becoming more punitive. There has been a variety of research assessing the attitudes of adult correctional administrators and personnel. However, relatively few studies have examined juvenile correctional administrators. A national survey of juvenile correctional facility directors was conducted to assess their attitudes on several issues in juvenile corrections and their managerial problems and issues. Comparisons are made with adult prison wardens on several dimensions including demographics, job satisfaction, correctional orientation, and correctional programming emphasis and operation. Results show striking differences between perceptions of juvenile facility directors and those of directors of adult facilities. Several other managerial issues such as job-related stress, confidence in staff, role conflict, and attitudes toward juveniles and juvenile corrections are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although often tested empirically on high school samples, differential association and social control theories have only infrequently been used to explain offending by felons. Based on a sample of l, 153 newly incarcerated felons, the authors examine the ability of differential association and social control theories to explain self-reported offending across types of crime and gender groups. Overall, the analyses lend support to both perspectives and suggest that they are "general" theories of crime. It also appears, however, that differential association theory has more consistent effects, especially for men. Parental attachment is a significantly stronger predictor of female than male participation in violent crime. These results indicate that future studies of criminal behavior risk being misspecified if they do not include measures of these "traditional" theories of crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although recent empirical research questions the conclusion that crime is highest in the lower class, this empirical literature is plagued by limited measures of social class or of crime and by a failure to study systematically the effect of social class on crime in the adult general population. The present work was undertaken in an attempt to rectify many of the inadequacies of the class-crime research. Self-report data were collected from a general population of adult residents in a large, midwestern city and were analyzed to assess the effects of a wide range of class measures on crime measures. The overall results produced from a sample of 555 adults demonstrated that regardless of how class or crime were measured, social class exerted little direct influence on adult criminality in the general population. Consistent with research findings from nonself-report studies, social class was related to criminal involvement for nonwhites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines whether Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory in 1990 explained criminal and imprudent behaviors among community sample of adults across the age distribution. Indication that low self-control was significantly related both forms of self-reported offending activity through age fifty.

Evaluates the thesis that not only indirect parental controls but also direct parental controls lessen delinquency by extending Wells and Rankin's delinquency research on direct and indirect controls. Self-report survey of high school youths; Inverse relation between direct control and delinquent involvement; Strength and consistency of relationship.

Discusses the influence of boot camp program in Harris County, Houston, Texas on the felony offenders' attitude. Offenders' perception of the boot camp program; Boot camp as place of punishment and rehabilitation; Future opportunities of offenders; Assessed areas of attitudinal changes.

Gottfredson and Hirschi's recently introduced general theory of crime has received considerable empirical support. Researchers have found that low self-control, the general theory's core concept, is related to lawbreaking and to deviant behaviors considered by Gottfredson and Hirschi to be "analogous" to crime. In this article, we extend this research by assessing the effects of low self-control on crime and analogous behaviors and by using two distinct measures of self-control, an attitudinal measure and the analogous/behavior scale. Thus, following Gottfredson and Hirschi, we use analogous imprudent behaviors as outcomes of low self-control and as indicators of low self-control's effects on crime. We also examine an important but thus far neglected part of the theory: the claim that low self-control has effects not only on crime but also on life chances, life quality, and other social consequences. Consistent with the general theory, we found that both measures of self-control, attitudinal and behavioral, have effects on crime, even when controlling for a range of social factors. Further, the analysis revealed general support for the theory's prediction of negative relationships between low self-control and social consequences other than crime--life outcomes and quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since Hirschi and Stark's (1969) surprising failure to find religious ("hellfire") effects on delinquency, subsequent research has generally revealed an inverse relationship between religiosity and various forms of deviance, delinquency, and crime. The complexity of the relationship and conditions under which it holds, however, continue to be debated. Although a few researchers have found that religion's influence is noncontingent, most have found support--especially among youths--for effects that vary by denomination, type of offense, and social and/or religious context. More recently the relationship has been reported as spurious when relevant secular controls are included. Our research attempts to resolve these issues by testing the religion-crime relationship in models with a comprehensive crime measure and three separate dimensions of religiosity. We also control for secular constraints, religious networks, and social ecology. We found that, among our religiosity measures, participation in religious activities was a persistent and noncontingent inhibiter of adult crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, the ideology ostensibly governing correctional policy has been transformed, it is claimed, from liberal-rehabilitative to conservative-punitive. Little empirical information is available, however, on whether those who manage correctional institutions--prison wardens--manifest a punitive or reformative orientation to their work. Data from a national survey indicate that, while placing a prime emphasis on maintaining custody and institutional order, wardens remain supportive of rehabilitation. Levels of support for treatment, moreover, are only modestly influenced by individual, career, organizational, and contextual variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although criminologists have generally been indifferent or even hostile to the idea that religion inhibits criminal deviance, evidence of a consistent inverse relationship between religion and deviance—including crime and delinquency—has steadily accumulated over the last three decades. Yet controversy abounds concerning the extent to which this relationship is shaped by offense type, group affiliation, and other religious and social contexts. Some researchers have also claimed that, in fully specified models with controls for secular bonds, religion has no direct impact on delinquency. Using comprehensive measures of religion, secular social bonds, and delinquency, the present study seeks to resolve questions concerning the relative efficacy of religion as an inhibitor of delinquency Unlike prior research, our models also include measures of three separate dimensions of religiosity (religious activities, salience, and ‘hellfire’) and peer religiosity. In our most fully specified models, we find that general delinquency is not inhibited by either personal religiosity or peer religiosity. Yet, antiascetic acts—those explicitly proscribed in a religious context—were dampened by peer religiosity only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased reliance on community-based correctional programs has been influenced by rising offender populations and the need for states to lessen prison crowding The ability of community-based corrections to provide rehabilitation, punishment, reintegration, and counseling services has been an issue among both researchers and administrators. Some researchers have asserted that community-based correctional programs have multiple or competing functions. This study examines 1992 legal codes for all fifty states to determine the legally prescribed goals as mandated by state legislatures. The findings suggest that rehabilitation is the primary legislatively mandated goal, and that moat states have multiple purposes for handling offenders in the community. Suggestions for future research in the area of community-based corrections goals are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

That rehabilitation ceremonies are ongoing in problem-solving courts throughout the country also indicates that court officials are optimistic about the potential for ceremonies to be part of the process of successful reintegration for those who have committed crimes. Some courts hold "rehabilitation ceremonies" for ex-offenders who have done certain things to prove to the community that they have left behind a life of crime -- such as completing rehabilitation programs and community service activities, taking responsibility and apologizing for their past crimes, and/or staying crime-free for a certain period of time (such as five years). At these public rehabilitation ceremonies, ex-offenders are declared "rehabilitated" and free from all legal penalties and other collateral sanctions of their crimes.How much would you agree or disagree that rehabilitation ceremonies for ex-offenders will help them reintegrate back into the community and stay out of crime? Ex-offenders can give these certificates to licensing agencies, employers, and state officials to show that they have paid their debt to society for their crimes.How much would you agree or disagree that "certificates of rehabilitation" will help ex-offenders be reintegrated into their communities and stay out of crime? That is, rehabilitation ceremonies that come with a certificate would offer official "signals" for the state that offenders are now "just like the rest of us" The broader point of this line of argument is that true offender reintegration will remain incomplete if the burden is placed solely on offenders not only to be rehabilitated but also to overcome the stigmatizing, life-long barriers potentially faced by all "ex-offenders.". [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the role of the correctional officers in the correctional institutions wherein they are responsible to maintain security and safety of the inmates in the U.S. It highlights the diversity on the job responsibilities of the correctional officers wherein they are equipped with skills. It also cites the assessment of training for the probation officers related to their duties and responsibilities in the correctional institutions.

Discusses a study which determined the impact of the shift in the nature and quality of probation has had on the legally defined roles of probation officers in the U.S. History and goals of probation; Categories of the statutorily prescribed functions of probation officers; Tasks which state legislators mandated probation officers in 2002.