Mary K. Stohr

Staff turnover in new generation jails: An investigation of its causes and prevention

Abstract A high turnover rate among carefully selected and monitored personnel signifies that the long-term return on selection and training resources invested in correctional staff too frequently is being lost. High negative turnover (loss of desirable employees) in New Generation Jails portends a serious compromise of long-range organizational effectiveness, but too often jail administrators are preoccupied with more immediate facility problems such as jail overcrowding. Despite the scale of this widely acknowledged problem, there is little direct evidence available as to the extent or likely causes of the staff turnover problem in such jails. Using survey and organizational profile data from six New Generation Jails, this study estimated the extent of turnover occurring in podular/direct supervision jails, identified causes, and has provided some preliminary recommendations for its reduction. Means of enhancing the “person-to-job” fit and the “person-to-organization” fit in such facilities are discussed in some detail in this article.

Staff management in correctional institutions: Comparing DiIulio's “control model” and “employee investment model” outcomes in five jails

In this study of five podular direct-supervision jails we test whether facilities with characteristics related to an “employee investment model” for management of corrections, as opposed to a “control model,” experience the positive personnel outcomes claimed by DiIulio for prisons operated in the “control” manner. We analyze outcome measures such as job enrichment, job satisfaction, workplace stress (supplemented with data on role conflict, organizational commitment, training, and turnover) and find only limited support for the supposed benefits of the DiIulio management model in the contemporary jail. In fact, we discover some evidence that investment in personnel is beneficial to the jail organization.

The Goals of Corrections: Perspectives from the Line

Four different goals of corrections are commonly espoused: retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation. Each of these goals has received varied levels of public and professional support over time. In an effort to assess the level of professional support for these goals, a survey was administered to staff in three prisons, two jails, and a jail academy in a rural mountain state. The results indicate that jail and prison staff are more likely than not to perceive the primary goal of corrections as incapacitation. Respondents generally ranked incapacitation first, followed by deterrence, rehabilitation, and retribution. Age, years of service, military background, and facility type (prison or jail) were significant predictors of staff orientation toward rehabilitation. For jail staff, only gender was related to a rehabilitation orientation. For prison staff, only age and years of service were related to a rehabilitation orientation. The authors conclude that role perceptions are colored by a variety of factors, including age, gender, years of service, facility type, and prior military service.

The Consequences of Official Labels: An Examination of the Rights Lost by the Mentally Ill and Mentally Incompetent Since 1989

Abstract This study presents a survey of state statutes which restrict the civil rights of persons with a mental illness or who have been declared mentally incompetent. Five civil rights (voting, holding public office, jury service, parenting, and marriage) are examined. The results of this study are compared with the results of studies conducted in 1989 and 1999 to determine what changes have occurred over time in the restriction of civil rights of those suffering from mental health problems. This comparison reveals that states continue to restrict the rights of the mentally ill and incompetent, and that there is a trend towards increased restriction of political rights, including the right to vote and hold public office.

The Two Faces of the Correctional Role: An Exploration of the Value of the Correctional Role Instrument

Correctional scholars once portrayed correctional offenders as hacks, little interested in the welfare of the inmates they supervised. Later researchers related how this conception of the officer as hack failed to take into account and explain the human service functions in which many officers are engaged. A role instrument was developed and administered to staff at a medium-security prison to measure the extent to which today’s officers identify with the old hack or the newer human service conception of their work. Analysis of the data indicates that the instrument appears useful in measuring correctional role orientation, as the alpha is .84. In addition, examination of responses to individual items indicates that selected sociodemographic characteristics are related to perceptions of the correctional role.

Staff stress in contemporary jails: Assessing problem severity and the payoff of progressive personnel practices

Abstract The presence of a high level of workplace stress among carefully recruited and monitored personnel could signify that the long-term return on selection and training resources invested in employees of podular, direct supervision jails could be jeopardized as staff either leave employment or withdraw psychologically from their work environment. Despite the suspected scale of this problem, however, there is little direct empirical evidence available as to the extent of staff stress problems in such jails. Using survey and organizational profile data from five podular direct supervision jails, the extent of stress occuring is estimated and some likely causes are isolated. Evidence indicating that the adoption of progressive personnel practices produces positive outcomes with respect to the incidence of turnover and workplace stress is presented.

Inmate Needs and Programming in Exclusively Women's Jails:

Most women in jail serve time in facilities that also house men. However, there are 18 jails nationally that house women only, and this study is based on surveys and interviews administered at 5 of these jails. It explores the extent to which womens jails meet the needs of inmates who want to further their education and training, maintain and deepen bonds with their children, and overcome their addictions to drugs and alcohol as well as their histories of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. The findings suggest that, when it comes to meeting most of these needs, the programming in womens jails fails miserably.

Intimate Partner Violence Incidence and Characteristics: Idaho NIBRS 1995 to 2001 Data

Aggregate research on intimate partner violence (IPV) and its context presents special challenges. It was not until the development of the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) that it was possible to efficiently cull out the IPV incidents from other crimes in police reports. In this research, we use 7 years of NIBRS data from one rural mountain state to identify the situational descriptors that serve as the ingredients in the “chemistry of crime.” We found that there is a tendency for IPV incidents to occur late at night, on the weekends, and on certain distinctive holidays. Such information may confirm what many have known anecdotally and help policy makers to best direct scarce prevention-related resources.

One step up, two steps back: The progression of perceptions of women's work in prisons and jails

Abstract The corrections workplace has undergone tremendous change during the past quarter century. Judicial intervention, public and media attention, and “get tough on crime” initiatives have all led to a variety of changes. Opportunities to work in corrections, in all positions, have increased dramatically. In an effort to determine how correctional staff today regard the presence and capabilities of women in the work environment, questions were specifically developed that addressed this issue and included in a more broadly conceived questionnaire administered to correctional staff in several prisons and jails in a western state. In this article, findings are reported regarding the gender-related items. It was found that, while jail and prison staffs generally shared similar views regarding most gender-related issues, there were some significant differences between both male and female respondents and those with prior military experience on the items regarding the competency of female staff.

We Know it, We Just Have to Do it: Perceptions of Ethical Work in Prisons and Jails

Determining what the appropriate behavior is in any given circumstance is not always clear in corrections work, given the nature of the tasks, the composition of the clientele, and the structure of the organization. In an effort to determine what correctional staff regarded as ethical behavior, the authors developed and administered a questionnaire to correctional staff in several prisons and jails in a western state. In this article, the authors report their findings from the effort to quantify the degree to which staff agree and disagree in their perceptions of ethical choices. They found that jail and prison staffs are more likely than not to perceive their work from an ethical perspective. The findings also indicate that although both types of facilities were in the top range of possible responses on the ethics summary variable, the jail staff were more likely to score higher. Finally, age increased the likelihood that a respondent had a higher ethical rating in jails, and being female increased such a score in prisons.