Gennaro F. Vito

SURVIVING “THE JOINT”: MITIGATING FACTORS OF CORRECTIONAL OFFICER STRESS

ABSTRACT Many studies have focused upon the effect of stress upon police and correctional officers. This study investigates the relationship between stressors, coping mechanisms, and three types of stress (job dissatisfaction, work stress, and life stress) encountered by correctional officers. Factors such as danger, education, and supervisory support, experience and court decisions are considered in the multivariate model.

Fear of crime and attitudes toward capital punishment: A structural equations model

This paper examines support for capital punishment in Kentucky. It is assumed that most citizens favor the use of the death penalty. Our findings confirm the conclusion, drawn from several previous studies, that attitudes toward capital punishment are complex and multidimensional. In particular, nonwhites, women, and respondents from low-income households are more likely to express less direct support for capital punishment. The fear of crime in the neighborhood results in a greater willingness to endorse capital punishment. It also plays a crucial role in mediating the influence of race, age, education, and the experience of violent crime victimization.

Transactional and transformational leadership

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine three different structural models the Leadership Challenge model to determine if they best capture transactional or transformational leadership. The three models are derived from the literature. Design/methodology/approach – The data for this study come from self-report surveys of middle managers that are attending the Administrative Officers Course at the Southern Police Institute. The managers completed the 30-item 360° leadership challenge measure. Because the leadership challenge measure is a 360° evaluation of leadership, up to five observers provided data about their manager. The authors use the data from the observer in this study. Using structural equation modeling, the authors examine the aims. Findings – The findings show two important advances. First, the leadership challenge model may capture both transformational and transactional leadership. Second, the findings support the view that the really captures transformational leadership. Originalit...

Community Policing: The Middle Manager's Perspective

Community policing has evolved as the new organizational orthodoxy of policing. Volumes have been written on the subject by academics and research scholars. However, the voices of those who are charged with the reorganization of their departments and the implementation of community policing have been relatively silent. This article presents data drawn from the content analysis of the written views of community policing held by a select sample of middle managers from across the country. The respondents were attending the administrative officers course at the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville. During the course of their studies, they read current anthologies on community policing research. These findings identify and discuss a number of problems that they have encountered in the implementation of community policing. As such, they represent a practitioner’s assessment of community policing.

Race and the death penalty in Kentucky murder trials: An analysis of post-Gregg outcomes

This study examines the effect of the victims race on the probability that an accused murderer is charged with a capital crime and sentenced to death in Kentucky. Our results show that blacks accused of killing whites had a higher than average probability of being charged with a capital crime (by the prosecutor) and sentenced to die (by the jury) than did other homicide offenders. This finding remains after we take into account the effects of differences in the heinousness of the murder, prior criminal record, the personal relationship between the victim and the offender, and the probability that the accused will not stand trial for a capital offense.

The Meaning of Compstat Analysis and Response

Policing is presently undergoing a paradigm shift. One of the new models of police operations, Compstat, has been widely touted as an effective and efficient method of delivering police services. It also has been critiqued and criticized by police scholars. The authors consider these criticisms and offer their interpretations of the meaning of Compstat.

Race and the death penalty in Kentucky murder trials: 1976–1991.

This study re-examines the effect of race of the victim on the probability that an accused murderer is charged with a capital crime and sentenced to death in Kentucky. It adds over five years of data to our original study. The results show that Blacks accused of killing Whites had a higher than average probability of being charged with a capital crime (by the prosecutor) and sentenced to die (by the jury) than other homicide offenders. This finding remains after taking into account the effects of differences in the heinousness of the murder, prior criminal record, the personal relationship between the victim and the offender, and the probability that the accused will not stand trial for a capital offense. Kentucky’s “guided discretion” system of capital sentencing has failed to eliminate race as a factor in this process.

Exploring the Influence of Race Relations and Public Safety Concerns on Public Support for Racial Profiling during Traffic Stops

The purpose of the present study was to explore hypotheses related to the influence of race relations and perceptions of safety on public opinion regarding racial profiling in traffic stops. Using a representative sample of the United States of America, our results indicate that views regarding race relations influenced public opinion on racial profiling in traffic stops, but perceptions of safety did not influence this view.

Homicide Patterns and Public Housing: The Case of Louisville, KY (1989-2007):

This study examines the impact of the revitalization of low-income, public housing properties on homicide patterns. It tracks the movement of homicide clusters from the initial properties to those neighborhoods where public housing residents were displaced over a 19-year period in Louisville, Kentucky. The median-income level of residents and vacant housing emerged as important predictors of homicide clusters. This article concludes that low-income public housing and Section 8 housing properties provide an environment where homicides are likely to occur. This pattern remained in effect even when the nature of public housing changed.

The Impact of Race on the Police Decision to Search During a Traffic Stop A Focal Concerns Theory Perspective

Racial profiling is an important issue in contemporary policing. Research in this area, especially in the decision to search, has relied on an outcomes test and correlates that are largely devoid of theory. Thus, the research is unable to provide a clear understanding of police decision making during a traffic stop. The purpose of the present study was to examine this process. Using data from more than 36,000 traffic stops from Louisville, KY, the present study applies the focal concerns theory to this decision-making process. The research results indicate that blameworthiness is the primary reason that searches are performed for the entire sample of traffic stops as well as those for the Black and White subsamples.