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Using data from the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), longitudinal trends in graduate degree completion rates for Hispanic and White students were analyzed over a period of 17 years (2002-2019). The results indicated that there was a significant positive linear trend in graduation rates for both Hispanic and White graduate students, with no adverse impact in graduate degree completion rates for Hispanic students when compared to White students.

Because correctional facilities are closed environments, perceptions of prison and jails are largely informed by the media; unfortunately, those perceptions are often inaccurate. Faculty in criminal justice programs often strive to combat inaccurate media images, including offering criminal justice students the opportunity to tour a prison or jail. In this study, undergraduate criminal justice students were surveyed about the sources of their corrections information prior to attending a tour of a prison or jail. After the tour, students wrote a reflective essay comparing their perceptions before the tour to their actual experiences on the tour. In the survey and in their essays, students pointed to the media as a major source of their information about corrections. While a few students noted similarities, most students commented about the differences in what they observed on the tour versus what they expected to see. These findings indicate the important role the media plays in shaping student perceptions and how short-term experiential learning opportunities like field trips can counteract stereotypes. We discuss implications for instructors planning field trips in relation to the study results.

This study surveyed 322 officers at two prisons in China to investigate the influence of job demands (i.e., role overload and routinization), job resources (i.e., training, job autonomy, instrumental communication, and supervision), and demographic characteristics on workplace fear of victimization. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis indicated role overload was related to higher levels of fear, while training and job autonomy were related to lower levels. Routinization, instrumental communication, and supervision had nonsignificant effects. Male officers were more likely to report higher fear of victimization, as did staff at one of the two prisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigated differences and similarities in criminal thinking between men and women attending a multi-site Batterer Intervention Program (BIP). Overall, rates of criminal thinking were low. However, the results of the multivariate analyses suggest that, after controlling for demographic characteristics (i.e., race, ethnicity, education, SES) and personal experiences (i.e., prior convictions, mental health problems, substance abuse, experience of abuse) female participants significantly differed from men in patterns of Power Orientation. If replicated by other studies, especially studies that use larger samples of women enrolled in BIPs, these findings may contribute to identifying rehabilitation programs that best address women's needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Private prison staff are a valuable resource, and they can be affected by various workplace variables. The effects of organizational justice on counterproductive staff behaviors in a sample of correctional staff at a private prison were examined using organizational-justice theory. Specifically, the association of distributive and procedural justice with turnover intent, sick-leave views, and absenteeism were tested while controlling for demographic characteristics (position, gender, age, tenure, and race/ethnicity). OLS regression models show that procedural justice was the strongest predictor and was negatively associated with all three measures of counterproductive behaviors; distributive justice was only predictive of turnover intent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study compares incidents of intimate femicide-suicide (IFS) to incidents of intimate femicide without suicide (IFWS) that occurred in Italy between 2015 and 2019 and examines the influence of situational, sociocultural, and individual characteristics. Findings from the multivariate analysis show that incidents of IFS are more likely than incidents of IFWS to involve the use of firearms and the death of multiple victims. Furthermore, incidents of IFS are less likely than incidents of IFWS to involve previous instances of domestic violence and less likely to involve a perpetrator who was unemployed at the time of the incident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employed organizational justice theory to examine the influence of employee perceptions of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice on whether employees trust their supervisors and management. Analysis of survey results from 322 employees of a state prison located in the Southern United States indicate that procedural and interactional justice—but not distributive justice—predict employee trust in both supervisors and management. These findings present important policy implications that suggest that the employing organization would benefit from having mechanisms in place to ensure that decisions follow consistent rules and strategies. Considering the relevance of employee trust to the organization, transparency in the use of pre-determined standards to allocate resources and rewards fairly needs to become a priority in institutions of corrections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of research on organizational justice views indicates that distributive (i.e. perceived fairness of outcomes) and procedural justice (i.e. perceived fairness of procedures to reach outcomes) are linked to salient correctional staff outcomes, such as job stress, job involvement, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and life satisfaction; however, limited research investigates the relationships between workplace factors and the organizational justice views among prison staff. The current study investigated the relationships between organizational structure variables of instrumental communication, formalization, integration, and input into organizational decision-making with the procedural and distributive views of staff at a state-run U.S. prison. Data was from 257 staff who worked at a prison holding medium- and high-security convicted male offenders. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis indicated formalization, integration, and input were significantly positively correlated with procedural justice. Instrumental communication, however, was not significantly correlated with procedural justice. Input was a significant positive predictor of distributive justice, while instrumental communication, formalization, and integration were not significant predictors. Considerably more variance was explained in procedural justice compared to distributive justice views. The findings suggest that correctional administrators should be aware that input into decision-making is associated with prison staff’s views of both distributive and procedural justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using national data from the US Department of Education, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the US Census Bureau, trends in graduate school enrollment percentages for Hispanic and White students from 2002 to 2018 were analyzed and compared. Major findings from three regression analyses included: (1) a strong, statistically significant positive linear trend for Hispanic students, (2) a small, yet statistically significant, negative linear trend for While students, and (3) statistically significant differences between the Hispanic and White student regression lines, in both y-intercepts and slopes. Additional calculations with the two student regression equations revealed that convergence or equality in graduate school enrollment percentages will not occur until 2051, if current trends continue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the influence of job demands (role ambiguity, role conflict, role overload and dangerousness) and job resources (job variety, supervisor structure and training views) on employee perceptions of procedural justice, general perceptions of distributive justice, and specific perceptions of distributive justice. Using a sample of 160 employees at a high‐security prison, the regression analyses found that only demands of role conflict was inversely correlated with procedural justice and both distributive justice measures. Role ambiguity was inversely related to procedural but was not related to either dimension of distributive justice. Furthermore, dangerousness was inversely associated with distributive justice (both general and specific), but it was not correlated with procedural justice. Among the job resources, job variety was positively associated with procedural and both distributive justice measures. Supervisor structure was predictive of procedural but not distributive justice. Role overload, and training views had non‐significant relationships with all the justice measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing from organizational justice theory, this study examined the mediating effects of organizational trust on the association between organizational justice (i.e. in the forms of distributive and procedural justice) and the job attitudes of job satisfaction and organizational commitment in a sample of 220 correctional staff employed full-time at a high-security prison in the U.S. Midwest. Ordinary least squares regression results indicated that participant perceptions of organizational trust fully mediated the association between procedural justice and job satisfaction, but only partially mediated the association between distributive justice and job satisfaction. Further, organizational trust fully mediated the association between both distributive and procedural organizational justice and staff commitment toward the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), longitudinal trends in graduate degree completion rates for Hispanic and White students were analyzed over a period of 17 years (2002–2019). The results indicated that there was a significant positive linear trend in graduation rates for both Hispanic and White graduate students, with no adverse impact in graduate degree completion rates for Hispanic students when compared to White students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, data were used from 322 employees at a large medium- and maximum-security prison in the Southern United States to examine the influence of job demands (dangerousness of the job, role overload, role ambiguity) and job resources (employee input into decision-making, instrumental communication, job variety) on employee job involvement. We also controlled for demographic characteristics (gender, age, position, tenure, and educational attainment). Drawing on the job demands–job resources model, four separate equations were estimated to assess the influence of job demands and job resources both separately and jointly. Overall, job resources (specifically, employee input into decision-making and job variety) have a stronger influence on job involvement than do job demands. The findings indicate that to boost employee job involvement in correctional settings, employers must implement policies and practices that facilitate the sharing of job resources in the work environment. Implications for policy and future research are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because correctional facilities are closed environments, perceptions of prison and jails are largely informed by the media; unfortunately, those perceptions are often inaccurate. Faculty in criminal justice programs often strive to combat inaccurate media images, including offering criminal justice students the opportunity to tour a prison or jail. In this study, undergraduate criminal justice students were surveyed about the sources of their corrections information prior to attending a tour of a prison or jail. After the tour, students wrote a reflective essay comparing their perceptions before the tour to their actual experiences on the tour. In the survey and in their essays, students pointed to the media as a major source of their information about corrections. While a few students noted similarities, most students commented about the differences in what they observed on the tour versus what they expected to see. These findings indicate the important role the media plays in shaping student perceptions and how short-term experiential learning opportunities like field trips can counteract stereotypes. We discuss implications for instructors planning field trips in relation to the study results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study employs a sample of 584 men and women referred to a multisite BIP and investigates IPV risk factors and stressors. The study also identifies unique risk factors and stressors in association with both IPV perpetration and IPV victimization. The findings show that women in the sample were more likely than men to report IPV victimization but the difference between the two groups is only marginally significant. Criminal thinking shows the most robust findings and is significantly associated with both IPV perpetration and IPV victimization. Mental health problems are consistently associated with both IPV perpetration and IPV victimization. The study's findings are particularly relevant for the design and implementation of BIP that address participants' needs based on gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the empirical powers of theories of intersectionality, the study investigates the association between students' demographics (such as gender identity, race, ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic status) and sexual violence victimization. An anonymous survey was employed to collect data from a cluster random sample of 966 students attending face-to-face courses at a midsize urban nonresidential campus. The empirical findings suggest that being older and female are the only statistically significant factors in the analysis. As the first attempt to focus on students attending nonresidential programs in the United States, the study presents implications for policy and program implementation to include issues pertinent to students' diversity to better respond to students' risk of victimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational trust is an important workplace factor for organizations and their employees. There are different types of organizational trust, with coworker, supervisor and management trust being major ones. Yet, limited research has examined how organizational trust is associated with the work attitudes of correctional officers, such as job involvement, job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The current study explored how coworker, supervisor and management trust were related to the job involvement, job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment of Chinese correctional officers at two prisons in southeast China. Management trust had significant positive associations with involvement, satisfaction and commitment. The current results indicate the need to enhance management trust among the studied Chinese correctional officers to raise the three work attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children may say they want to grow up to be a police officer, but we typically do not hear children saying they want to work in a prison or jail when they grow up. Given negative media attention of correctional facilities, it may not be surprising that many students enter criminal justice programs uninterested in correctional careers. Correctional facility tours can be useful for exposing criminal justice students to careers they may not have previously considered or ones about which they held negative stereotypes. Drawing on the premises of Experiential Learning Theory and using student essays, we address the following research questions: (1) Does attending a jail or prison tour influence how students think of correctional officers and correctional careers? (2) What perceptions do students have of correctional officers prior to attending a jail or prison tour and what do students think of correctional officers after the tour? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies indicate domestic violence rates in military families have increased dramatically in the last decade, raising concerns among academics and service providers alike. Using survey data from a Batterer Intervention Program (BIP) offered in several counties of the Midwest, we conducted a multivariate comparison of veteran and non-veteran offenders convicted of domestic battery and court-mandated to attend the BIP. We analyzed intake data to address the following research question: Does military background affect a BIP client’s criminal thinking patterns? More specifically, does criminal thinking differ between the two groups? We utilized the Criminal Thinking Scale (CTS) (Knight, Garner, Simpson, Morey, & Flynn, 2006) to examine whether veteran and civilian domestic violence offenders varied on the subscales of justification, power orientation, cold heartedness, criminal rationalization, personal irresponsibility, and entitlement. While descriptive analyses did not indicate statistical significance between the groups, multivariate analyses suggested military status was associated with higher levels of criminal thinking, although this might be true only for one particular measure of criminal thinking, criminal rationalization. While our study is exploratory, it represents the first attempt to use the CTS to distinguish between veteran and civilian offenders and provides insights on future research on the issue of batterer rehabilitation and the importance of military background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the challenges faced by ex-convicts after serving their sentences in the U.S. Topics discussed include the consequences of criminal convictions including voting disenfranchisement, exclusion from public housing, and ineligibility for federal student loans; the lack of employment opportunities; and the Ban the Box movement started by some criminologists to prevent prospective employers from investigating applicants' criminal history.

Students’ negative perceptions of inmates are a challenging aspect of teaching criminal justice. Scholars suggest exposing students to the criminal justice system may provide a realistic approach to understanding offenders. Prison tours have become a viable solution for instructors who want to create such exposure, but contrasting perspectives on the impact of prison tours on students’ learning are present in research. Drawing upon theories of experiential learning, we designed a pre-/post-survey to address the following exploratory questions: (1) What perceptions do criminal justice students hold regarding corrections, inmates, and correctional officers? (2) Do these perceptions change after going on a tour of a correctional facility? Data were collected from a convenience sample of 123 students attending courses at two Midwestern universities. Findings add to the body of literature on prison tours as a component of criminal justice education and further our understanding of the complexity of student learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The use of service-learning courses has evolved in the United States in the past three decades. While the most traditional approach to service learning focuses on what universities and colleges can do for the community (Speck and Hoppe 2004), a more contemporary approach has transformed service learning into a holistic experience that engages educators, students, and community partners in a dynamic process of mutual exchange. Drawing upon the examples of other universities (Chupp and Joseph 2010; Freire 2004; Pompa 2002), our department has recently created five new opportunities for service learning in which service learning is viewed as a system of interactions and exchanges among all agencies and partners involved. This paper provides an overview of these five projects. Each project employs service learning in a unique way and provides us with the opportunity to reflect on the numerous aspects of learning (in both undergraduate and graduate programs) that are often neglected in traditional classroom courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]