Showing papers by "Francis T. Cullen published in 2018"

Situational Opportunity Theories of Crime

Abstract: Historically speaking, criminological theory tends to pay great attention to identifying the various sources of criminal motivation while downplaying the opportunity to carry out crime in particular situations. However, perspectives that address situational opportunity have gained tremendous traction in the field over the past several decades to the point that there is now a substantial body of theory and research on the issue. This article reviews such theory and research within the context of four overlapping yet distinct lines of inquiry. First, we review scholarship that uses situational opportunity to understand individual victimization. Second, we discuss theory and research that link situational opportunity and high-crime places. Third, we explore scholarship that embraces a multicontextual opportunity perspective to understand crime and victimization events within neighborhood contexts. Fourth, we examine work that integrates situational opportunity into explanations of offending.

When Bad News Arrives: Project HOPE in a Post-Factual World:

Abstract: On the basis of limited empirical evidence, advocates of Project HOPE (Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement) have succeeded in spreading the model to a reported 31 states and 160 locatio...

Creating a Model Correctional Officer Training Academy: Implications from a National Survey

Abstract: THE MASS IMPRISONMENT movement, which eventually led to more than 2.4 million offenders being incarcerated on any given day in the United States, has justifiably earned considerable policy analysis (Petersilia & Cullen, 2015). With the increased inmate population, scholars have also focused in detail on the taxing conditions inside American prisons that negatively affect the health, safety, and future criminality of the incarcerated (Cullen, Jonson, & Stohr, 2014; Simon, 2014). Equally important, however, is the plight of those who, day in and day out, must not only survive inside prison walls but engage in the daunting occupational task of managing this inmate nation—correctional officers. Although research on correctional officers has expanded (see, e.g., Johnson, Rocheleau, & Martin, 2017; Steiner & Meade, 2014), one area has received relatively little attention: the extent and nature of the job training that officers receive. By contrast, information on police training is more common (see, e.g., Reaves, 2009). In this context, this project was undertaken to assess the current status of correctional officer training through a national survey of state departments of correction. This assessment is then used to suggest what a model training program delivered by a Correctional Officer Training Academy might entail. The larger purpose of this study is to call attention to the need to take stock of the training prison guards receive and to develop ideas on how such training may be improved upon in the future. In particular, the potential role of officers in providing treatment is considered (see Toch & Klofas, 1982). The issue of training takes on importance when it is realized that approximately 428,870 people hold the title of “correctional officer/prison guard” in America (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017). The number of correctional officers a state employs generally depends on the size of the inmate population housed in its jails and prisons. The states with the greatest numbers of correctional officers include Texas, California, Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). For all states, there are minimum qualifications for education level and age. To be qualified to become a correctional officer at a state-level institution, an applicant must have at minimum a high school diploma or its equivalent and be at least 18 years of age (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017).

Deterrence, Choice, and Crime : Contemporary Perspectives

Abstract: Part I. Theories of Deterrence 1. Classical Theory: The Emergence of Deterrence Theory in the Age of Enlightenment Gerben J. N. Bruinsma 2. The Economics of Deterrence: A Review of the Theory and Evidence Aaron J. Chalfin and Sarah Tahamont 3. Perceptual Deterrence Theory Raymond Paternoster 4. Criminological Theory and Deterrence Christopher J. Sullivan and Melissa Lugo Part II. Unpacking the Effects of Deterrence 5. Informal and Formal Sanctions Robert J. Apel and Samuel E. DeWitt 6. Deterrent Effects of the Certainty and Severity of Punishment Daniel S. Nagin 7. Celerity and Deterrence Travis C. Pratt and Jillian J. Turanovic 8. Individual Difference and Deterrence Thomas A. Loughran, Raymond Paternoster, and Alex R. Piquero Part III. Agents of Deterrence 9. Police Interventions Nicholas Corsaro and David Weisburd 10. Place Management, Guardianship, and the Establishment of Order John E. Eck and Tamara D. Madensen 11. Corrections and Deterrence Cheryl Lero Jonson and Sarah L. Manchak 12. Community Members and Deterrence Pamela Wilcox and Francis T. Cullen Part IV. Final Thoughts 13. An Honest Politician's Guide to Deterrence: Certainty, Severity, Celerity, and Parsimony Michael Tonry 14. Remembering Ray Paternoster: Contributions to Deterrence, Criminology, and His Students Alex R. Piquero