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When Prisoners Come Home: Parole and Prisoner Reentry
01 Jan 2003-
TL;DR: In this paper, a profile of returning prisoners is presented, along with a discussion of the changing nature of Parole Supervision and Services, and the role of the victim's role in prisoner reentry.
Abstract: Preface 1. Introduction and Overview 2. Who's Coming Home? A Profile of Returning Prisoners 3. The Origins and Evolution of Modern Parole 4. The Changing Nature of Parole Supervision and Services 5. How We Help: Preparing Inmates for Release 6. How We Hinder: Legal and Practical Barriers to Reintegration 7. Revolving Door Justice: Inmate Release and Recidivism 8. The Victim's Role in Prisoner Reentry 9. What to Do? Reforming Parole and Reentry Practices 10. Conclusions: When Punitive Policies Backfire Afterword
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01 Aug 2012
TL;DR: Moon et al. as discussed by the authors used a sample of university students to complete a comprehensive analysis of the main tenets of general strain theory with the specific inclusion of conditioning variables such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, and delinquent peers, and expansion of the traditional measures of affective states, coping strategies, and types of deviant and criminal behaviors.
Abstract: General strain theory has been tested critically, but the development of the theory has lagged because tests of the full model are rare, and the integration and specification of conditioning variables that affect crime and deviance are not clear. This test of general strain theory used a young adult sample (n=679) of university students to complete a comprehensive analysis of the main tenets of general strain theory with the specific inclusion of conditioning variables such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, and delinquent peers, and expansion of the traditional measures of affective states, coping strategies, and types of deviant and criminal behaviors. General support for the theory was confirmed. The results show that perceptions of success and fairness, a more traditional measure of strain, are not related to crime and deviance, but the more subjective measure of stress, consistent with general strain theory, does have a relationship with crime and deviance. Implications based on these findings are presented. Keywords: coping; crime; delinquency; general strain; negative affect; stress INTRODUCTION For nearly two decades, Agnew's (1992) general strain theory of crime and delinquency has generated much research and identified the need to examine critically and specify the personal, social, and psychological aspects of life related to individual criminal behavior. Agnew's theory offered extensions to the domain of strain theories by embracing traditions of the theory that centered upon an individual's appreciation for achieving or expecting to achieve personal goals, while expanding the sources of strain to include the removal or threatened removal of positively valued stimuli and the introduction of negatively valued stimuli. Agnew presented these strain sources as precursors to negative emotions that became a necessary intermediate status before leading a strained individual to delinquent or criminal behaviors. Individuals who experienced these negative emotions, however, might be able to disengage from a criminal trajectory if they were capable of evoking positive coping mechanisms, which might be cognitive, emotional, or behavioral (Agnew 2001; Brezina 1996; Broidy 2001). General strain theory proposes that strain, especially when combined with negative emotions such as anger and negative coping such as fighting, will lead to criminal behaviors. Generally, this model of how strain is connected to delinquency and crime is dynamic and identifies multiple testable propositions that relate to the individual human nature of behaviors. The connection between strain and deviant or criminal behaviors has been empirically examined, and moderate support exists (see Akers and Sellers 2009; Kubrin, Stuckey and Krohn 2009), with several investigations confirming a relationship between negative emotions and strain (e.g., Brezina 1996; Broidy 2001; Mazerolle and Piquero 1997). Despite the vast literature, the specification of strain, and its connection to a negative affect, is incomplete and additional specification of causal pathways is needed (Kubrin, Stuckey and Krohn 2009). The validity of this causal relationship seems to be accepted, but instead of taking it for granted, it is important to continue examining general strain theory and to identify its ability to explain a range of crimes and criminals. Many tests of general strain theory tested its ability to explain adolescent delinquency (Agnew and Brezina 1997; Agnew, et al. 2002; Aseltine, Gore, and Gordon 2000; Baron 2007; Brezina 1996; Brezina 2010; Hoffman and Cerbone 1999; Hoffman and Miller 1998; Hoffman and Su 1997; Mazerolle, et al. 2000; Mazerolle and Maahs 2000; Paternoster and Mazerolle 1994; Piquero and Sealock 2004), but examinations of other populations exist, including juvenile offenders (Piquero and Sealock 2000), university-aged adults (Ganem 2010; Mazerolle and Piquero 1997; Mazerolle, et al. 2000), adults (Tittle, Broidy, and Gertz 2008), African American adults (Jang and Johnson 2003; Jang 2007), and South Korean youth (Moon, Blurton, and McCluskey 2008; Moon, et al. …
12 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined a nonprofit regional reentry program in North Texas in order to better understand the number and nature of services available and the difficulties the organizations face and its potential impact on former inmates.
Abstract: Difficulties of returning prisoners to society have been well documented in research the last few decades. This article looks at reentry programs and finds very few standardized programs and brought up many practical issues exoffenders face upon reentry. We examine a nonprofit regional reentry program in North Texas in order to better understand the number and nature of services available and the difficulties the organizations face and its potential impact on former inmates. We use Texas ReEntry Services (TXRS) data located in Fort Worth, Texas, as a starting point for mapping the reentry landscape, including client information in order to identify variables that affect obtaining resources, such as transportation. Finally, we discuss the potential impact of this networked arrangement on policy and recidivism.
12 citations
Cites background from "When Prisoners Come Home: Parole an..."
...Petersilia (2001, 2003) painted a grim picture of the mass of prisoners coming home to a social and political environment set up for their failure and recidivism....
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...Some scholars have contextualized prisoner reentry using historical analyses (See Cullen & Gendreau, 2001; Travis, 2005) while others have examined corrections and reentry policies (See Petersilia, 2003; Travis, 2005; Visher & Travis, 2003)....
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...Petersilia (2003, 2004) identified a variety of problems all stakeholders must address for successful reentry (see also Travis, 2005; Travis & Visher, 2005)....
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TL;DR: Despite its growing use over past decades, there has been relatively little public or scholarly discussion of life sentences that deny the possibility of parole as discussed by the authors, despite the fact that life sentences have been widely used in criminal justice.
Abstract: Despite its growing use over past decades, there has been relatively little public or scholarly discussion of life sentences that deny the possibility of parole. This essay outlines the labyrinthin...
12 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the core propositions of differential social control (DSC) could explain recidivism among a sample of adult offenders, but the results do not lend support for DSC's ability to account for offenders' persistence in crime.
Abstract: To assess the generality of differential social control (DSC) theory, this study examines whether the core propositions of DSC could explain recidivism among a sample of adult offenders. Overall, the results do not lend support for DSC's ability to account for offenders' persistence in crime. Specifically, the results reveal that only two of the five measures of role-taking, antisocial attitudes and number of prior arrests, are consistent significant predictors of recidivism. The results also indicate that measures of role-commitment are not generally related to recidivism and as a consequence, the hypothesized mediating effects of role-taking on the relationship between role-commitment and recidivism by DSC are not supported. The results also show that with the exception of age, social location measures generally are not related to recidivism and thus, definite statements on the mediating effects of DSC's central concepts on this relationship could not be drawn.
12 citations
Cites background from "When Prisoners Come Home: Parole an..."
...According to recent evidence, approximately two-thirds of released convicted offenders re-offend within three years 9 (Langan & Levin, 2002; Petersilia, 2003)....
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TL;DR: The authors used a random sample of American Society of Criminology (ASC) members to measure the level of interaction with and attitudes toward criminologists working with the media, and found that most of them have participated in an isolated incidence of working with media.
Abstract: Traditionally, academic criminologists have addressed two audiences—other academics and students—while largely ignoring other segments of society. Frequently neglected is attention to educating the public. This paper uses a random sample of American Society of Criminology (ASC) members to measure the level of interaction with and attitudes toward criminologists working with the media. Findings suggest that most criminologists have participated in an isolated incidence of working with the media, tend to be generally satisfied with this experience, and perceive working with the media as a worthwhile endeavor for criminologists.
12 citations
Cites background from "When Prisoners Come Home: Parole an..."
...Ironically, however, as known crimes have decreased, the use of formal punishment has increased, with the number of adults incarcerated above two million and those on community corrections around five million (Christie 2001; Glaze and Palla 2005; Harrison and Beck 2005; Petersilia 2003)....
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