Criminal Justice Professionals' Attitudes Towards Offenders: Assessing the Link Between Global Orientations and Specific Attributions

• NCJ Number: 239526
• Author(s): Dale Willits, M.A.; Lisa Broidy, Ph.D.; Christopher Lyons, Ph.D.; Ashley Gonzales, B.A.
• Date Published: November 2011
• Length: 12 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2009-BJ-CX-K04
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Justice Programs (OJP)
• Corporate Author: University of New Mexico
• Sale Source: University of New Mexico
• Publication Format: Document; Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report presents the findings and methodology of the first of two stages of a research project that is examining the factors that influence criminal justice professionals' perceptions and attitudes toward offenders.

Abstract

This report on the first stage of the research focuses on the factors that shape correctional employees' perceptions and attitudes toward offenders. In responding to a survey, correctional employees were pessimistic about the likelihood that offenders will "go straight" upon their release from incarceration. They had slightly more positive outlooks on an offender's ability to find any job, but only half believed that their employment would be "steady." The regression models suggest that corrections employees' experiences with offender characteristics in the course of their work, rather than employees' pre-employment beliefs about offenders in general, were more likely to influence their attitudes toward offenders. Respondents believed that male offenders are more likely to reoffend than females. Respondents also believed that offenders with three or more prior arrests for violent behavior or multiple/major infractions while in prison are more likely to recidivate and less likely to rehabilitate. In addition, respondents were more likely to believe that offenders with some college education are more likely to reoffend than those offenders who did not finish high school. Also, respondents viewed a history of offender job stability as an indication that an offender would have more stable employment after release. Further, respondents believed that an offender with social support is more likely to find steady employment. The aforementioned dominant beliefs of corrections employees regarding an offender's risk of reoffending are consistent with the literature on factors in reoffending. Education level, political ideology, and punitive attitudes were significant predictors of perceptions of offenders in the "importation" model, i.e., these are likely to be pre-employment factors brought to the job.