Todd R. Clear

Incarceration and the Community: The Problem of Removing and Returning Offenders

Prior research has established that the characteristics of “places” are an important aspect of public safety and local quality of life. Growth in the rates of incarceration since 1973, combined with social disparity in the experience of imprisonment among certain groups, has meant that some communities experience concentrated levels of incarceration. This article examines the spatial impact of incarceration and explores the problems associated with removing and returning offenders to communities that suffer from high rates of incarceration. The study analyzes data from a series of individual and group interviews designed to reveal the experiences and perspectives of a sample of 39 Tallahassee, Florida, residents (including ex-offenders) who live in two high-incarceration neighborhoods. The authors then provide a series of policy recommendations to offset some of the unintended consequences of incarceration. The article concludes with research priorities for further study.

Coercive mobility and crime: A preliminary examination of concentrated incarceration and social disorganization

This article explores how incarceration affects crime rates at the neighborhood level. Incarceration is analyzed as a form of residential mobility that may damage local network structures and undermine informal control. Geocoded data are combined with census data, data on incarceration convictions and releases, and crime data for Tallahassee, Florida. The results show a positive relationship between the rate of releases one year and the communitys crime rates the following year. They also show that low rates of admissions to prison have an uncertain impact on crime rates, moderate rates reduce crime, and higher rates increase crime. Implications for criminal justice policies are discussed.

Prisoners, Prison, and Religion: Religion and Adjustment to Prison

SUMMARY During the twentieth century there has been much speculation by scholars in the United States about the relationship between religion and prisoners. In spite of the fact that both religion and the prison have been subjected to considerable study, we know little about religion in prison, particularly as it relates to the psychological adjustment of offenders to the prison environment and reduction in problematic behaviors such as disciplinary infractions. Applying a survey methodology which incorporates a recently developed scale of religiousness (the first to be developed with the assistance of inmates specifically for use with inmates) and a previously developed scale of inmate adjustment to prison, this study explores the relationship between inmate religiousness and adjustment to prison and the number of disciplinary confinements they receive. A self-report questionnaire was administered to a non-random sample of 769 inmates in 20 prisons from 12 states in order to determine if an inmates religiousness was related to prison adjustment and the number of disciplinary infractions they received. The findings from the study indicate that a significant relationship exists between inmate religiousness and multiple measures of inmate adjustment to the prison environment. More specifically, increasing levels of religiousness, as measured by a self-report questionnaire, are associated with higher levels of in-prison adjustment, as measured by the Wright prison adjustment questionnaire. Similarly, inmate religiousness (as measured by the same self-report questionnaire) is also significantly related to the number of times inmates report being placed in disciplinary confinement for violation of prison rules. Thus, higher levels of inmate religiousness are associated with better psychological adjustment to the prison environment and fewer self-reported disciplinary confinements.

The New Intensive Supervision Movement

In the face of severe institutional crowding across the United States, the 1980s has seen a revitalization of probation and parole through reliance on intensive supervision programs (ISPs). The ISPs of the 1980s are different from their predecessors of two decades earlier. Experiences with the new ISP movement identifies four areas of concern: stated goals may be difficult to achieve, confusion exists in the identification of appropriate target groups, supervision methods may be inappropriate to some clients, and the operating contexts are sometimes hostile to the ISP movement.

The Value of Religion in Prison An Inmate Perspective

In recent years, religious programming for inmates is being applauded by some as the latest answer to recidivism. Policy makers and correctional officials alike are among the supporters of these programs that go well beyond conventional prison ministry. The emphasis in promoting the expansion of religion-based programs indeed lies in the claim that faith in a higher power prevents relapse into criminal activity better than secular strategies. Whether this claim can be consistently validated remains unclear. Moreover, the sustained focus on religions utility in preventing future criminal conduct diminishes religions immediate value to the inmate during the term of incarceration. With this latter function in mind, this article reports findings from qualitative inquiries conducted in several prisons nationwide. Designed to reveal the meaning of religion to inmates, the study calls attention to the role of religion in preventing devaluation and fostering survival.

Discretion and the Determinate Sentence: Its Distribution, Control, and Effect on Time Served

Sentencing reformers have criticized current sentencing practices as abusive and as rooted in untenable assumptions. While many different approaches have been suggested, most reformers agree that changes must (1) reduce or eliminate the discretion available to those responsible for sentencing and (2) reduce or eliminate discrepancies in sentences, while (3) not resulting in an unreasonable increase in prison populations. Recently, the Indiana legislature passed a new penal code which, among other changes, established a determinate sentencing structure. An analysis of this code suggests that the intent of most sentencing reformers may not have been met by this new law. The potential for discretion has not been reduced; in fact, prosecutors may now have more power to manipulate the sanctions imposed. Substantial control over the sentence has been placed in the hands of correctional staff through credit time provisions. And projection of the impact of this penalty scheme indicates that sentences may be almost 50 percent longer for some first-time felony offenders. It is concluded that many of the codes problems could be eliminated by reduc ing the length of prison sentences.

Doctoral Education in Criminology and Criminal Justice

With more than half of all doctoral programs in criminology and criminal justice admitting their first doctoral student after 1990, growth in doctoral education in criminology and criminal justice in recent years has been substantial. Using seven years of data from annual surveys of all institutions known to offer the doctorate in criminology and criminal justice, we document and explore the contours of that growth in doctoral education in criminology and criminal justice. To the extent that growth in doctoral education is indicative of the emergence of a distinct discipline, the expansion documented in this article suggests that criminology/criminal justice is well on its way to establishing itself as such. Profiles of newly admitted students, enrolled students, and graduate faculties, are provided. * An early version of this article was presented by the first author at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, in March 2006. The authors would like to thank the representatives of member institutions of the ADPCCJ who have completed the annual survey each year.

Probation and Parole Supervision: A Review of Current Classification Practices

In the last decade, classification systems have become more common in probation and parole agencies. However, the potential benefits of classification have not been achieved in many agencies because the classification process is often misunderstood. In order to obtain the maximum benefits from the classification process, managers need to approach classification as a tool designed for their own particular organizations needs.

Who Doesn’t Know Someone in Jail? The Impact of Exposure to Prison on Attitudes Toward Formal and Informal Controls

This paper examines how experience with the criminal justice system contextualizes the relationship between people’s attitudes toward informal and formal social controls. In a survey of residents of Leon County, Florida, we asked respondents whether or not they knew someone who had been incarcerated. We also asked about their assessment of informal controls in their neighborhoods and about public control with questions about police, judges, and the criminal justice system as a whole. We find that knowing someone who has been incarcerated makes people with a low assessment of formal control also have a low opinion of informal control. Blacks are more likely than nonblacks to have a low opinion of informal social control only if they have not been exposed to incarceration. Knowing someone who has been incarcerated makes blacks and nonblacks just as likely to hold a negative assessment of informal social control.

Productivity of Criminal Justice Scholars Across the Career

From the moment young scholars enter the academy, they are cautioned that they should be prepared to “publish or perish.” Because a demonstrable record of scholarly publication is arguably the most important consideration at most universities and colleges that award tenure, junior faculty would be advised to heed that caution. But is there a reduction in pressure post‐tenure, and if so, does this result in a reduction in the publication productivity of faculty members? In this study, we collected and coded data on the publications of criminology and criminal justice scholars over time to determine whether tenure and promotion negatively impact publication productivity. The data, drawn from a random sample of ASC and ACJS members, were coded annually, and careers were tracked in 5‐year increments. Our findings indicate that, contrary to popular belief, the productivity of criminal justice scholars tends to initially increase post‐tenure and then stabilize as the career progresses. The findings also suggest that those affiliated with research‐oriented universities are more productive (in terms of publications) than are those at other types of institutions, and that highly productive scholars have a substantial influence on the average publication rates of scholars at research‐oriented institutions.