In the past, police scholars have examined the impact of higher education on different measures of officer behavior, most notably arrest and the use of force. Much of this prior work has suffered from poor methodologies, such as inadequate samples and the inability to control for theoretically relevant variables. In addition, previous inquires have focused on but one single behavior per study. In an attempt to overcome some of these limitations, we examine the effect of officer education on three key decisionmaking points (i.e., arrest, search, and use of force) by relying on observational data from two medium-sized cities.The results of the analysis indicate that higher education carries no influence over the probability of an arrest or search occurring in a police— suspect encounter. College education does, however, significantly reduce the likelihood of force occurring. Results may be due to the amount of discretion officer’s exercise in pursuing these behaviors. Recommendations for future inquiries revolving around theory development and the incorporation of research from the field of education are presented, as well as varying policy implications.

M i c h i g a n S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y Eric Grommon I n d i a n a U n i v e r s i t y -P u r d u e U n i v e r s i t y I n d i a n a p o l i s Breanne Pleggenkuhle S o u t h e r n I l l i n o i s U n i v e r s i t y -C a r b o n d a l e Research SummaryWe evaluated the efficacy of sex offender residence restrictions in Michigan and Missouri using a quasi-experimental design with propensity score matching. First, we examined the implementation of the laws and found that sex offenders in both states were less likely to live in restricted areas after the implementation of the laws than the prerestriction sample, but the differences were not statistically significant. In our outcome analysis, we find little evidence that residence restrictions changed the prevalence of recidivism substantially for sex offenders in the postrelease period. In Michigan, trends indicate that the implementation of the laws led to a slight increase in recidivism among the sex offender groups, whereas in Missouri, this effect resulted in a slight decrease in recidivism. Technical violations also declined for both groups in Missouri. The small effect sizes, inconsistent results across states, and the null results between sex offender and non-sex offender models cast doubt on the potential usefulness of the laws to influence individual patterns of recidivism broadly. Policy ImplicationsThe results caution against the widespread, homogenous implementation of residence restrictions. Instead, we advocate individualization in sex offender programming and call for the development of risk-centered models of residence restrictions that draw on the established literature. In addition, the research highlights the practical challenges in defining restricted areas, enforcing restrictions, and promoting successful returns to the community. Furthermore, a call for reframing the focus of sex offender reentry to include collaborative treatment groups and enhanced communication and services between key stakeholders is made. Finally, we close with a discussion of several best practice models that provide alternative housing sources for individuals sentenced under residence restrictions without a suitable home plan.Keywords residence restrictions, recidivism, parole, sex offenders, geographic information systems, collateral consequences of incarceration. taken place in the absence of the legislation. We use a quasi-experimental design with propensity score matching to estimate the efficacy of residence restriction legislation. This research design allows for a multistate evaluation of policy further increasing the internal and external validity of the research observations (Shadish, Cook, and Campbell, 2002). Data, Sample Selection, and MeasuresData for the current study were obtained from two sources. Recidivism and parolee movement information were culled from official records maintained by the Michigan and Missouri Department of Corrections. Address data for schools and childcare facilities were obtained from the Missouri State Police, the Missouri S...

The current inquiry adds to the literature by using Hindelang's lifestyle theory to examine the relevance of victim involvement in a deviant lifestyle to the likelihood of and time to homicide clearance. Bivariate analyses suggest that victim lifestyle is an important factor in the distribution of clearance enhancing characteristics across homicide incidents. Cox proportional hazard models indicated that higher levels of victim participation in deviant lifestyle significantly increased the time until a homicide was cleared by arrest. Theoretical and practical issues are discussed in light of these findings.

Research Summary We examine citizen decision‐making in the context of providing access to safe housing to different noncriminal and criminal populations. More than 4,000 national online survey respondents considered different “emergency housing policy” scenarios that would affect the housing conditions of one of five randomly assigned populations of varying stigma (three noncriminal, two criminal). We find that the criminal populations had the least support for helpful housing policies and the most support for harmful housing policies. Furthermore, compared with a “no cost” policy, average support levels decreased when it increased taxes for the respondent. Policy Implications Citizens seem more willing to subject criminal populations to poor and unsafe housing conditions compared with noncriminal populations. Thus, citizen support may be higher when policies are pitched in ways that do not imply specifically helping ex‐offenders, when they do not involve a personal sacrifice through increased taxes, and when they do not involve “in‐my‐backyard” proposals. For example, a housing policy pitched as aiding the area's homeless (ex‐offenders included) would likely see more support than one that identifies ex‐offenders (and particularly sex offenders) as the population being targeted for help, or that identifies a specific neighborhood as a potential housing facility location.

In this paper we examine the extent to which organizational culture, police enforcement strategies, and occupational role influence the job satisfaction of police officers in Slovenia. More specifically, we ask if these factors shape perceptions of satisfaction among police officers working in different departments and to what extent they differ among various occupational groups within the same organization. These groups include law enforcement officers, police investigators, and state border officers. Using data from a sample of 995 Slovenian police officers, our analyses suggest that officer demographic characteristics alone do little to explain variation in job satisfaction, whereas the introduction of organizational and environmental factors such as opportunities to innovate, perceptions of citizen cooperation, and job challenges vastly improve the models. Similarities and differences between the occupational groups are discussed, along with implications for policy and future research.

No abstract

This study examines effects of court and community contextual factors on sentencing outcomes for individuals convicted of sexual crimes using indicators from two perspectives—focal concerns and populist punitiveness. Sourced from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, the sample includes 9,431 persons convicted of sexual crimes and a precision-matched sample of persons convicted of non-sexual violent crimes for comparison. Based on multilevel hurdle regression models for both incarceration and sentence length decisions, results indicate that individuals convicted of sexual crimes face enhanced sentence severity in judicial districts with smaller courts, increased jail capacity, stronger political competition, and higher religious homogeneity. The results also suggest statistically significant differences between effects for persons convicted of sexual crimes and a matched sample of persons convicted of violent crimes. Overall, results suggest that specific contextual factors have a distinguishable impact on sentencing of individuals convicted of sexual crimes.

Obtaining employment is one of the most difficult challenges for individuals released from prison. This research explores the strategies recently released male parolees employ in attempting to find work, with specific attention to the role of anticipated stigma from their exconvict status. Through the use of in-depth longitudinal interviews, this research contributes to our understanding of returning prisoner's experiences in job searching. We find that although a majority of the sample anticipated stigma as a barrier to employment, those who did expressed an extreme-self-reliance consistent with defensive individualism. This reluctance to draw on social networks, may ultimately be counter-productive to the search for employment.