Susette M. Talarico

Police Perceptions and Job Satisfaction

The literature includes analyses of the perceptions of the police regarding public, political, and institutional support, along with the consequences of such perceptions. Herein attention is focused on the perceptions of line officers assigned to field duty regarding supervisory and administrative support. Nine hundred questionnaires were distributed to 18 different-sized departments in 15 different states and a 72% return rate achieved. Using perceptions of supervisory and administrative support, separate multiple regression analyses were employed. It was found that sizable portions of police perceptions of the two kinds of support were accounted for by the independent individual and environmental level variables.

Problems of reliability and validity in criminal justice research

Abstract Reliability and validity are critical standards of scientific inquiry. This analysis directs attention to problems of reliability in data collection and to problems of validity in measuring two key criminal justice variables: the offense and the sentence. The discussion and empirical analysis indicate that reliability of official information sources in criminal justice cannot be assumed. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that the criterion of validity is even more elusive. This elusiveness is demonstrated in the operational definition of criminal offense, an important predictor variable, and in attemps to operationally define the criminal sanction, i.e., the disposition of charges against convicted defendants. These considerations suggest that research in the sentencing area may not be directed to the subject at hand and that research results should be interpreted with “scientific” caution.

Policing styles: Notes on an empirical synthesis of Wilson and Muir

Abstract The works of James Q. Wilson and William Ker Muir stand as classics in the recent but voluminous literature on police. The concept of style is central to both analyses. Wilson focuses on departmental approaches to law enforcement, while Muir examines individual police perspectives. Both emphasize, however, that style is a critical component of law enforcement policy. Scrutiny of the typologies constructed by Wilson and Muir reveals patterns of compatibility and conflict. Assuming that simple congruity of approach carries critical consequences for policing, the authors initiated an empirical extension and synthesis of the works of Wilson and Muir. Surveying police in eighteen departments across the country (72.2 percent of the 900 potential respondents returned completed questionnaires, leaving a sample of 650), the authors hypothesized that simple congruity of policing style along three lines of comparison (individual officer and supervisor, individual officer and squad, and individual officer and department) would be associated with attitudinal perspectives long thought to be part and parcel of the “police personality.” Additional hypotheses were advanced about the relationship between congruity of style and other officer perceptions—particularly job satisfaction and assessments of supervisor support, departmental discipline, and management. The results: indicate that style congruity is critical at the lowest levelsof the organization, reinforce the importance of the first-line supervisor in policing, extend and refine the concept of style as advanced by Wilson and Muir, and demonstrate the utility of replication and synthesis in social science.

Abolition of plea bargaining in the coast guard

Abstract In the administration of criminal justice, the abolition or restriction of plea bargaining has raised many issues. Of primary concern is the impact on court systems and case dispositions. This research note looks at the Coast Guard military justice system and its 1975 decision to abolish pretrial agreements, effectively eliminating plea bargaining in that system. Studying criminal cases from 1973 to 1978, we determine if that intervention in a time series exhibits any potency. Specifically, what difference did the abolition of plea bargaining make? We find that the abolition of plea bargaining did not make much of a difference to the Coast Guard military justice system, similar to the conclusions drawn from studies of civilian courts.

The Court and Sentencing

In this chapter, we explore the role court organization and personnel play during sentencing. Again, we are interested in two issues: whether bureaucratization and characteristics of the sentencing judge directly affect outcomes and whether they operate more subtly to condition the effect race and offense have on sentences. As we shall see, characteristics of the court and sentencing judge resemble county variables in several respects. They often have unanticipated, but very slight, effects on the three sentencing outcomes. Moreover, the weakness of these direct effects does not appear to be due to the imprecision introduced by aggregating judge information (see Appendix A). Instead, like county factors, court variables play a more indirect but nonetheless prominent role as conditioners of the effect race and offense have on sentencing. Some attributes of the sentencing judge, such as age, religion, and circuit of origin, are particularly influential conditioners, whereas others are less important (e.g., membership in community organizations). As a group, however, court variables affect differences in treatment for each of the three sentencing outcomes. Race differences in treatment are particularly noticeable, as are differences in the sentencing of common-law violent and burglary offenders.

Split sentencing in georgia: A test of two empirical assumptions

Recent research on felony sentencing in the nations trial courts has highlighted a type of sentence in which a prison term is coupled with a probation period. Under these so-called “split sentences,” convicted felons serve a term of incarceration, are released (possibly) on parole, and eventually come under the concurrent jurisdiction of both parole and probation authorities. Although such a sentence may serve a variety of purposes, it is at least conceivable that judges use the prison/probation combination as a way to respond to prison overcrowding and public pressure for punitiveness. This article reports a study of split sentencing in Georgia from 1976 to May 1985. Drawing on more general research on felony sentencing in the states Superior Courts, the authors test two empirical assumptions about split sentencing: (1) the perception that split sentencing has increased over time and (2) the importance of the total term (i.e., the prison/probation combination) over the actual severity (i.e., the time s...

The Community and Sentencing

In this chapter, we consider the effects that urbanization, economic conditions, and crime have on three sentencing decisions. As will become apparent, the direct influence these characteristics exert is neither strong nor consistent. Indeed, both the magnitude and direction of effects vary, depending on the sentencing decision in question. We also briefly consider an issue that has traditionally concerned criminologists, namely, the extent to which sentences vary as a function of offender attributes and behavior. Consistent with the previous literature, we find that judges give greater weight to factors that can explicitly be construed as legally relevant. Although social background attributes do affect outcomes, there is no evidence that offenders with fewer resources are consistently punished more severely. As was the case for county characteristics, the role case attributes play depends on the sentencing outcome under consideration.

The Context of Time

In the previous two chapters, we documented the ways in which the sentences imposed on convicted felons vary as a function of the county and the court where sentencing occurs. We also demonstrated that both the magnitude and direction of differential treatment are contingent on the court and surrounding community. In this chapter, we consider the context of time, and its implications for outcomes and for differential treatment during sentencing.

Criminal Punishment and Society

Criminal sentencing has always evoked considerable passion on the part of the judicial system and society. Judges frequently complain that it is one of their least favorite responsibilities, and the general public and many politicians think it exacerbates the problem of crime. Efforts to reform sentencing laws and practices have been introduced in virtually every state and the federal government (Shane-DuBow et al., 1985). As the National Academy of Sciences report emphasized, “the decade of the 1970’s was characterized by a variety of efforts to modify sentencing practices, to establish more detailed criteria for sentencing, and to establish new sentencing institutions and procedures” (Blumstein et al., 1983:1).

Prison Politics and Criminal Law: An Essay

Criminal law and the agencies charged with its administration are part and parcel of the political process. The determination of the purpose of the criminal sanction, the evaluation of the effectiveness of justice agencies, the identification of appropriate forms of punishment, and the real, perceived, and symbolic issues that capture the public’s attention all involve efforts to balance and use power. Specific to prison politics are questions on the length and severity of sentences, the condition and cost of incarceration, and the release and parole of inmates. These questions constitute the heart of the postconviction