Jail Visitation: An Assessment of Organizational Policy and Information Availability

Jail inmates face substantial emotional, economic, legal, and other challenges when they are incarcerated. The extent to which they are able to maintain contacts with individuals on the outside can substantially determine how well they cope with these concerns, and visitation is the primary way that such links may be maintained. To date, no systematic assessment of jail visitation policies has been conducted. The current study examined the availability of visitation policy information and the content of policies for national samples of large and small jails. The results suggest that large jails provide more opportunities for visitation and that they provide more information than small jails. Overall, there exists an opportunity for jails to substantially increase the availability of crucial visitation information. Policy implications are discussed

Teaching Criminal Justice Online: Current Status and Important Considerations

The most significant change to impact the pedagogy of criminal justice students in recent years has been the development of online classes. Online coursework is now a commonly accepted method of accessing criminal justice students and the sustained growth in online classes is expected to continue in the future. However, there is currently a lack of research that focuses on online classes in criminal justice. In response, we present and assess the modest literature regarding criminal justice online classes and highlight important themes. This leads into a presentation of important considerations along the following pedagogical continuum: Planning the online course (i.e. asynchronous timing, technological developments), implementing the online course (i.e. maintaining an online presence, managing student interactions and expectations), and identifying effective means to measure learning outcomes (i.e. measuring success, quality matters). Policy implications for online coursework that are likely to impact future criminal justice educational practices are then discussed

The Jail And The Community: Comparing Jails In Rural And Urban Contexts

Most of the available research on jails focuses on large institutions, located in urban areas. In this study we empirically consider whether this emphasis shortchanges our understanding of jails by comparing 2,638 rural and urban jails on four dimensions: jail size and use, inmate characteristics, staff characteristics, and inmate services. Our results reveal several important cleavages between rural and urban jails. Based on our findings and a conception of jails as influenced in meaningful ways by their social, political, and organizational contexts, we suggest avenues for future research on local incarceration. © 2008, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved

Testing Deterrence Theory with Offenders: The Empirical Validity of Stafford and Warr\u27s Model

Stafford and Warr (1993) reconceptualized general and specific deterrence into a single theory in which individuals\u27 propensities to engage in crime are based on a combination of personal and vicarious experiences with being punished and avoiding punishment. The current study extends prior tests of this conceptualization of deterrence by expanding the definition of vicarious experience, analyzing extralegal as well as legal consequences, examining multiple types of offending behavior, and drawing its data from a sample of work release facility inmates. The results fail to support legal deterrence as an explanation of offending for this sample but suggest the importance of extralegal consequences. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Testing The Deterrent Effects Of Personal And Vicarious Experience With Punishment And Punishment Avoidance

Stafford and Warr (1993) reconceptualized general and specific deterrence into a single theory in which people\u27s tendencies to commit crimes are based on a combination of personal experiences and vicarious experiences with being punished and avoiding punishment. The authors make a significant contribution to the deterrence literature by considering the effect of punishment avoidance when testing deterrence theory. The present study tests the applicability of Stafford and Warr\u27s reconceptualized theory. The results reveal only partial support for deterrence. We discuss the implications of our findings and make suggestions for future research on deterrence theory. Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Intentions To Offend: Examining The Effects Of Personal And Vicarious Experiences With Punishment And Punishment Avoidance

Stafford and Warr (1993) reconceptualized general and specific deterrence into a single theory in which people\u27s tendencies to commit crimes are based on a combination of personal experiences and vicarious experiences with being punished and avoiding punishment. The authors make a significant contribution to the deterrence literature by considering the effect of punishment avoidance when testing deterrence theory. Despite the theoretical appeal of this model, few studies have assessed its empirical merit. The present study tests the applicability of Stafford and Warr\u27s reconceptualized theory by examining people\u27s intentions to drink and drive. The results reveal only partial support for deterrence. We offer suggestions on how future research can clarify why some findings are inconsistent with deterrence theory. © 2006, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Jail Visitation: An Assessment of Alternative Modalities

The existing research on inmate visitation disproportionately focuses on the social ties between mother and child within a traditional face-to-face engagement at state prisons. This overreliance on a certain type of visit has limited empirical assessments of the visitation process. The current study features a purposive sample of 47 (n = 47) visitors to a remote visitation center linked to a county jail. Qualitative responses indicate that respondents held positive perceptions of staff and the facility itself. Visiting sessions were complex, with visitors displaying an assortment of individual needs, previous visitation experiences, and goals for the visit. Participants did experience a loss of privacy and they employed strategies to retain a personal sense of privacy. Technology was highly valued by visitors, with frustrations being common when technology failed. However, the use of a remote visitation coupled with technology served as a positive and effective modality for jail visitation

Exploring The Determinants Of Probationers\u27 Perceptions Of Their Supervising Officers

Despite the widespread use of probation in the United States, little is known about how offenders perceive this sentence or the officers who provide their supervision. The present research measures and evaluates perceptions of the probation process, specifically probationers\u27 perception of their probationer officer, and examines characteristics associated with these perceptions. The sample consisted of 347 probationers drawn from a large urban county office. A self-administered survey was utilized to reveal probationers\u27 views of their probation officer. Overall, the probationers expressed positive feelings regarding their probation officers. They were fairly satisfied, and a majority of probationers felt officers were fair, competent, helpful, and clear. Perceptions were more positive among clients who were supervised by an officer of their own race. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

From The Inside: The Meaning Of Probation To Probationers

Beyond considerations of relative punitiveness, very little is known about how offenders understand the experience of serving a probation sentence. The current study surveyed offenders currently on probation to assess the extent to which they believed their sentence was rehabilitative, incapacitative, deserved, and a deterrent to future offending. Perceptions that probation served no purpose and that it represented a game of manipulation and impression management were also investigated. The results showed that most probationers believed that their sentence was a deterrent, and it was rehabilitative and deserved. They also felt that probation served multiple purposes, and a minority of respondents perceived that there was no point to being on probation. The implications of these findings are discussed. © 2008 Georgia State University