Jason Rydberg

The Effect of Higher Education on Police Behavior

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.

The Effect and Implications of Sex Offender Residence Restrictions

Research Summary We 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 Implications The 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.

Organizational factors, environmental climate, and job satisfaction among police in Slovenia

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.

The Effect of Statewide Residency Restrictions on Sex Offender Post-Release Housing Mobility

Securing stable housing may be difficult for returning offenders in general, and these concerns may be exacerbated for sex offenders. In addition to the barriers faced by other returning offenders, sex offenders face intense stigma and once released to the community, they are also subject to additional legal restrictions. The current study explores the effect of statewide residency restriction policies on housing mobility using a unique sample of male sex offenders released in a Midwestern state. The research is based on a quasi-experimental cohort control group design and it describes the frequency and correlation of movement for pre- and post-statewide residency restriction legislation samples. Sex offenders released after the implementation of residency restrictions moved more often and had relatively high degrees of housing mobility compared to offenders released prior to the legislation. The results have important implications for reentry programming and post-release services for sex offenders.

Victim Lifestyle as a Correlate of Homicide Clearance

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.

A Multimethod Examination of the Dynamics of Recidivism During Reentry

ABSTRACT Research on prisoner reentry has indicated that the transition to the community can be a tumultuous process. Despite this growing understanding, research has continued to operationalize recidivism as a terminal event in the reentry experience, categorizing returning prisoners as recidivists and nonrecidivists. Using detailed mixed methods with a small cohort of parolees, this inquiry documents the dynamic nature, timing, and context of recidivism as it occurs during reentry. The analyses suggest that treating initial recidivism events as if they were terminal to reentry has the potential to miss information about subsequent reentry processes and outcomes. Comparing multiple recidivism measures with supervision outcomes suggests that simple categories of recidivists and nonrecidivists may not be informative for the purposes of reentry research.

Public Support for Emergency Shelter Housing Interventions Concerning Stigmatized Populations

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 areas 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.

Irreconcilable Differences? Examining Divergences in the Orientations of Criminology and Criminal Justice Scholarship, 1951–2008

This investigation addresses the question of whether the establishment of intellectual boundaries between criminology and criminal justice are the result of substantive methodological and theoretical differences. To provide an outline of the contours of criminal justice and criminology, we performed a descriptive content analysis of 1,877 peer reviewed articles published in the field’s top journals over the period of 1951–2008. Three primary results emerged. First, criminology and criminal justice articles are appearing in separate journals. Second, criminology articles were significantly more likely to utilize theory, although criminal justice articles are closing the gap as of recent. Third, criminology and criminal justice articles showed few significant methodological differences until 1981. Since then, relative to criminal justice, criminology articles are more quantitative, more multivariate, more analytical, and more micro-level focused. Implications for the convergence and divergence of theories and methodologies are discussed.

Utilizing Alternate Models for Analyzing Count Outcomes

Although ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was once a common tool for modeling discrete count outcomes in criminology and criminal justice, the past several decades have seen an increasing reliance on regression techniques specifically designed for such purposes. Utilizing a practical example from the 1958 Philadelphia Birth Cohort, this article describes and compares various estimation strategies for modeling such outcome variables, including a discussion of the inappropriateness of OLS for such purposes and specific features of discrete count distributions that complicate statistical inference—overdispersion, non-independence, and excess zeros. Practical advice for selecting an appropriate modeling strategy is offered.

The effect of institutional educational programming on prisoner misconduct

Abstract Relative to studies of recidivism, past research on prison educational programming has largely neglected to examine the relationship, if any, between participation in these programs and institutional misconduct. Using data from the National Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities (N = 6957), we assess the relationship between participation in prison educational programming and instances of prisoner misconduct, considering the types and completion of such programs. Utilizing a recently developed propensity score weighting procedure to adjust for selection into programming, our findings indicate that, contrary to research on educational participation and recidivism, those involved in prison educational programming are more likely to commit misconduct infractions than those who are not involved in these programs. Practical implications and directions for future research are explored.