Harry E. Allen

Halfway houses and parole: A national assesment

Abstract As part of a 1978 national study of parole, the roles of halfway houses for criminal offenders were examined. It was found that the number of halfway houses began to expand rapidly in the 1960s, and that both services and types of clientele proliferated in the 1970s. Three underlying assumptions of halfway houses were examined, and a topology of houses was developed. It was concluded that halfway houses may be as effective as any other parole program and strategy and may be more cost effective at this time. Future research should further clarify and expand on types of houses and their treatment modalities, linking treatment outcomes to recidivism and reintegration, as well as on including more adequate comparison groups.

Shock Probation in Ohio: A Comparison of Outcomes

Shock probation-or shock release-was introduced in Ohio in 1965. Offenders originally sentenced to penal institutions may be released by the Cour-t after a &dquo;shock&dquo; incarceration period of 30 to 130 days, and are then returned to the community under probation supervision. In addition to its treatment uses, &dquo;shock&dquo; release provides a useful way f ojsentencing judges to review their own institutionalization decisions, thus permitting them to grant leniency where such is subsequently seen to be more appropriate than was realized at the time of sentence. It gives both the offender and the judge a &dquo;second chance&dquo;. This system is described in the article by Denton* and Pettibone &dquo;How to Reduce Needless Incarceratiofz&dquo; in this Journal, Vol. 17, No. 2, pages 138-147. It was then said that &dquo;between 1965 and December, 1971, 2,581 off enders had been released-af ter judicial review of previous commitment decisions-on &dquo;shock&dquo; probation. So far, only 120 of these have been returned to State institutions, a recidivism rate of 8.9 per cent. This rate is excellent in view of the merely nominal nature of probation services that many counties provide&dquo;. The present article by Vito and Allen shows that recidivism up till the present time has been substantially higher among shock probationers than normal probationers, and discusses the reasons for this. We sent tlze article to Mr. Denton for his comments, and append a review of the article.by Mr. George W. Farmer, Probation Depart-

Job burnout among narcotics investigators: An exploratory study

Abstract In exploring the relationship between narcotics investigators and job burnout in the United States, a sample of 115 East San Francisco Bay police officers from five law enforcement departments was drawn. Three subgroups (current narcotics investigators, former narcotics investigators, and patrol officers) were used in the survey. The findings indicate that current narcotics investigators had significantly higher burnout scores than the comparison groups on most dimensions of burnout. Both former narcotics officers and patrol officers had similar burnout scores. Conclusions reached were that: (1) narcotics officers experienced a greater degree of job burnout while in the assignment; (2) this burnout was directly attributed to the working environments of the narcotics officers; and (3) burnout decreased once an officer left the assignment. Administrative and managerial implications for dealing with job burnout are discussed along with suggested techniques for dealing with, and minimizing, job burnout among narcotics officers. Future research issues are identified.

The new chain gang: Corrections in the next century

This article examines the operations and excesses of the correctional chain gang as a group of prisoners working outside a penal facility under armed correctional supervision and wearing chains or other restraining devices to prevent escape. We detail the operations and excesses of earlier chain gangs, identifying variables that contributed to the contemporary phase that emerged in 1995. Predicated on vengeance, retributive justice, and punitiveness, the chain gang represents yet another devolving standard of human decency in correctional policies. Future scenarios are explored.

Job burnout in law enforcement dispatchers: A comparative analysis

Abstract This study examined the relationship between civilian law enforcement dispatchers and job burnout, utilizing a sample of dispatchers drawn from a large metropolitan police department in the San Francisco Bay area. Responses of sixty-two civilian dispatchers on the Maslach Burnout Inventory were compared with those of 115 sworn law enforcement officers from five other departments in the San Francisco Bay area, as has been previously reported. The latter included narcotics officers, former narcotics officers, and patrol officers. Results indicated that, in most cases, narcotics officers experienced significantly more burnout than did dispatch personnel, but dispatchers exhibited significantly higher levels of burnout than did ex-narcotics and patrol officers. Policy implications for dealing with burnout among dispatchers are discussed. Some sugestions for minimizing burnout and for additional research are offered.

Corrections in America: 2,000 A.D

Few tasks are more difficult than predicting the shape and future of corrections in the next two decades of this century. Corrections-increasingly a politically sensitive area-is beset by a series of forces over which it has little influence.l These include the conservative political and financial swing of the correctional pendulum as part of the American populace tries to follow certain political leaders back into the 19th Century;2 the alleged demise of the medical model 3 the shift in sentencing structures to mandatory flat-time or determinate sentences;4 continuous public fear of crime and demands to do something about it b a burgeoning crime rate~ alleged high rates of recidivism;7 and a shift in the theoretical rational underlying imprisonment, from rehabilitation to punishment.8 The judiciary are increasingly sentencing with their eye on the next election and their ear on the local political pulse. Inflation has cut deeply into correctional budgets, escalating costs of both incarceration and construction, while citizen tax revolts (epitomized by Proposition 13 and the proposed Proposition 9 in Californial9 bode ill for correctional programming and construction. While there were grounds for tentative optimism as the post-World War I I baby boom began to move through the high at-risk crime years of 16-29, certain countervailing demographic factors have dashed hopes for a declining crime volume. These include (1) territorial mobility and population shifts, with (2) concommittant higher delinquency rates among the second generation; (3) increased concentrations of the disadvantaged and socially inept in urban cores and ghettos, regardless of race and ethnicity; and (4) a general closing of both the economic system and legitimate opportunity structures, coupled with (5) persistent high unemployment rates amongst such economically and educationally marginal groups.1 0 Within the prison setting, disquieting developments include the growth of prison gangs, inmate polarization along racial and ethnic lines,ll and unionization of correctional staff.12 Class action suites, frmolous litigation, and other

Specialized Supervision in Probation: Implications, Research and Issues

Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, l’nited States Department of Justice. Professor Latessa iscurrently with the Department of Criminal Justice, University of Alabama in Birmingham. Doctors Allen and Parks are affiliated with San Jose University. Professor Carlson is at the University of Arizona. During a recent review* of probation research conducted since 1950, the issue of generalized vs. specialized probation caseloads was frequently encountered. This issue has implications for a wide variety of subjects, which range from the entry-level educational requirements for probation officers to the methods used for securing services for probationers. It affects not only the management of the probation agency, but also how the individual officer will budget his time. Indeed, this issue goes to the heart of the debate over the &dquo;proper&dquo; roles and functions of probation and the probation officer. This paper will examine the administrative and management considerations which surround this issue and suggest some conclusions which currently appear to be supported both by research findings and by practice.

Shock Probation in Ohio Use of Base Expectancy Rates as an Evaluation Method

In this study of Ohios shock probation program, base expectancy rates were developed through the use of predictive attribute analysis. These rates were used to evaluate the stated guidelines of the program; namely, that shock probation should be targeted for use with youthful first offenders. Therefore, the base expectancy rates were utilized to test a prediction which was being made by relevant decision-makers within the program (judges, probation officers). Analysis of the research sample of 1,081 shock probationers released in 1975 revealed that prior record was the best predictor of failure (reincarceration over a two year period). The shock probationers who had a previous criminal record were more than twice as likely to fail. These rates were not cross-validated and were not recommended for application in a mechanical fashion by decision-makers.

Abandoning The Medical Model In Corrections: Some Implications And Alternatives

* Professor Allen is Associate Professor and Director, Program for the Study of Crime and Delinquency, School of Public Administration, the Ohio State University. Mr. Gatz is Superintendent, Research and Administration, the Adult Parole Authority. Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. The views expressed herein are personal, not as a member of the Adult Parole Authority, and are not necessarily the opinions of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections nor of sponsoring and contracting agencies. Introduction

Some implications of non-reporting and self-reporting of crime on criminal justice research

ConclusionsThere are reasonable grounds for assuming that unreported crime is extensive. Inasmuch as questionnaires are the major source of data for self-reported crime and delinquency and Clark and Tifft have seriously challenged the validity of this data source, it seems these areas lack a valid and unequivocal basis for assessing theory. It seems rather pointless to pursue etiological studies until new, valid, and reliable sources of data are available for theory construction and testing.The contention that interdisciplinary research is needed in Criminology is strengthened by the Clark and Tifft study, which offers an instance of fruitful interdisciplinary collaboration. Other recognized examples of significant interdisciplinary effort include the works of Pasmanick,et.al.,23 Srole,et. al.,24 and Lindner,et. al.25 Students of crime and delinquency must break through the parochialism of unitary and doctrinaire commitment to their own disciplines. In particular, sociologists must learn increasingly to utilize and embrace, at least on the micro-level, the potentials offered by other sciences, especially the life sciences. An alternative to this proposal would be a largescale consecutive birth study; then, perhaps in a quarter of a century, we might have the data necessary to formulate tentative etiological conclusions.