Despite growing attention to bail reform and pretrial practices, less is known about how the role of U.S. county jails has changed over time. This study analyzes long-run changes in jail use between 1999 and 2019, with particular attention to the expansion of pretrial detention. Drawing on county-level data from the Census of Jails, the analysis applies a decomposition framework that separates national change into within-county institutional shifts and population redistribution across counties. The results indicate that while overall jail incarceration remained largely stable, pretrial detention increased substantially in both rate and share. Nearly all observed change reflects within-county shifts in detention practices rather than compositional change driven by population movement. Similar patterns are evident across metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties. These findings highlight the importance of treating jails as dynamic institutions whose functions evolve over time and demonstrate how stability in aggregate incarceration can coexist with significant institutional transformation.
This study examines how the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped U.S. court operations, workgroup dynamics, workloads, and case processing. Prior research focuses on single jurisdictions, courts, or roles, and little is known about comparative nationwide cross-role experiences. We surveyed 803 court professionals, including judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, civil and appellate attorneys, administrators, and external workgroup members, who worked in U.S. courts during the first year of the pandemic. Regional and job-based differences shaped experiences more than jurisdiction or court type. Although procedural adaptations were shaped by highly localized leadership, resources, and guidance, the core experiences were remarkably consistent. Shared themes reflected variation at the procedural level (e.g. different rules, technology use, consent procedures, safety protocols) but similarity at the experiential level (e.g. shared stressors, workload shifts, uncertainty). The pandemic exposed persistent gaps where clear protocols, equitable training, administrative support, and sustainable technology are essential for resilient and adaptable courts.
This study examines the role and impact of LGBTQ+ liaison officers within police departments in the United States. Despite the historical tensions between law enforcement and LGBTQ+ communities, liaison programs have emerged as a strategy to enhance communication and address systemic discrimination. Using survey data from 49 LGBTQ+ liaison officers, we examine the factors influencing the adoption of liaison models, the responsibilities and activities of these officers, and their perceived effectiveness. Findings reveal that while LGBTQ+ liaison officers engage in both internal (departmental training and recruitment) and external (community outreach and advocacy) activities, they face challenges related to visibility, institutional support, and community skepticism. The study highlights the 'visibility paradox,' where officers' roles enhance public awareness but also expose them to professional and social backlash. Furthermore, despite increased representation, many liaison officers report a lack of formalized training and ambiguous role definitions. This research underscores the need for stronger institutional support, ongoing cultural competency training, and systemic reforms to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of LGBTQ+ liaison programs.
Illegal bird hunting in the United States poses significant challenges to conservation funding and wildlife management, yet the crime remains understudied in criminology. This study investigates the economic context in which the hunting industry relates to illegal bird hunting behaviors across Texas. Drawing on political economic green criminology, the research employs spatial window analysis (SatScan) to identify county-level hotspots of illegal bird hunting using data from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The study argues that the hunting industry is the main mechanism for monitoring hunting behavior, but its reach also depends on the broader economic structure in which it operates. Results identified four main hotspots driven by smaller core hotspots, covering counties exhibiting lower economic development and fewer hunting industry resources than nearby developed areas. The study suggests that the economic structure for controlling and promoting legal hunting is limited in the hotspots due to their proximity to more developed regions. Thus, conservation law enforcement and policy should consider how the organization of society may perpetuate illegal bird hunting behaviors, thereby lowering the effectiveness of conservation efforts.
In response to national pretrial reform efforts, local jurisdictions adopted pretrial risk assessments to inform release and supervision decisions. Despite their widespread use, legal advocates and stakeholders have voiced concerns over these tools, including their potential for reinforcing racial bias and curtailing discretion. Prior research has examined these claims empirically, focusing on observational studies and perceptions of judicial decision-makers. However, existing research neglects a critical perspective: those of pretrial defendants themselves, who are most affected by risk assessment-guided decisions and represent a hard-to-reach population. To bring defendant perspectives into this debate, we sampled pretrial defendants who were placed on risk assessment-informed supervision across 10 local jurisdictions. We conducted surveys and semi-structured interviews with 256 and 73 defendants, respectively, to examine their perspectives on pretrial risk assessments. Survey responses showed defendants were largely supportive of pretrial risk assessments as an alternative to cash bail; however, only a third remembered receiving a pretrial risk assessment. Black and multiracial defendants were less likely to recall receiving a risk assessment relative to their white counterparts. Semi-structured interview findings largely supported survey findings, with defendants expressing limited awareness of risk assessments being conducted. Our findings highlight a disconnect between risk assessment implementation and defendant experiences.
The current study examines the relationships between specific psychiatric diagnoses and both adolescent suicide and reoffending, the implications of adverse childhood experiences on these outcomes, and assesses whether these relationships are moderated by sex. Using a multilayer multiyear statewide sample of 6,515 adolescents who completed juvenile justice residential placements, logistic regression and moderation models were used to examine these relationships. Findings demonstrate that the rate of suicidal ideation was 2.5 times higher for female youth, while the recidivism rate was 1.7 times higher for males. Psychiatric diagnoses prevalence ranged from 65.9% for conduct disorder to less than 1% for personality disorders, schizophrenia, and psychotic disorders Clinical symptoms of traumatic exposure increased suicidal ideation across models, while adverse childhood experience exposures increased recidivism in all models. Covariates operated similarly for both males and females across outcomes, with limited exceptions. Policy implications for residential treatment programs are elucidated, including screening, staff training, and trauma-informed approaches.
While the field has amassed a sizeable literature related to sentencing decisions, there is considerable disagreement regarding magnitude and robustness of race-gender effects on sentencing outcomes. With focal concerns theory as a frame for shifting sentencing persuasions, we explore the nature and robustness of the relationships between race, gender and sentencing across different time periods, considering both individual legal factors and time-varying county-level factors. Using State Court Processing Statistics across thirty years, we employ a series of multilevel models to assess whether extra-legal factors influence non-custodial, jail, and prison decisions similarly across time periods. We further explore sentence severity as measured by sentence length within probation, jail, and prison populations. Race-gender effects show volatility across time, and differ by the decision examined (i.e. custody decisions and the length of any sentenced supervision). Female discounts sometimes emerge in the form of preference for non-custodial sentences, but these wane while other decision points such as prison length emerge. For men, differences consistently appear between Black and White males, although again, the particular outcome differs. The fluctuation and location of race-gender effects over time suggests further attention to the historical sensibilities that shape sentencing decisions and inequality.
Most research on job stress and satisfaction among correctional staff has been conducted in large, developed nations. However, developing nations often have unique characteristics that influence workplace attitudes, including job satisfaction. Correctional staff in these contexts may face distinct stressors - such as safety concerns and institutional resource constraints - that shape both stress and satisfaction. This study examines predictors of stress and satisfaction, testing a mediational model to assess how stress influences satisfaction among prison officers in Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean nation that has experienced increased levels of violence over the past 25 years. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we analyze survey data from more than 2,000 officers. Findings reveal that multiple organizational and job-related factors shape stress and satisfaction, and that stress partially or fully mediates certain effects on satisfaction. These findings contribute to the literature on correctional officer stress and satisfaction by providing large-sample evidence from a Global South context, with theoretical and practical implications for improving correctional staff well-being.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether antisocial cognition, as assessed with the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS), mediated and/or moderated the relationship between the number of prior convictions and subsequent receipt of prison disciplinary infractions for aggressive behavior. Using a sample of 2,363 male inmates processing through a single medium security federal prison, prior convictions, the PICTS general criminal thinking (GCT) scale, and aggressive incident reports (IRs) received in prison were subjected to mediation and moderation analyses. Results showed evidence of a significant mediating effect but no moderating effect of PICTS GCT on the prior convictions-aggressive IRs relationship. The direct effect of prior convictions on aggressive IRs was also non-significant. These results indicate that criminal thinking assessed proximal to a follow-up of aggressive IRs received in prison served an important role in linking prior convictions to violent misconduct in prison. By addressing criminal thinking with prison programming, it may be possible to reduce the inmate violence that is perpetrated annually against prison staff and other inmates.
Prior research on the victim-offender overlap has largely focused on Western societies and community-based settings, with limited attention to juvenile correctional facilities in East Asian contexts. This study examines institutional misconduct, victimization, and the victim-offender overlap in Taiwan's juvenile correctional facilities using data collected in 2015 from a nationwide survey of incarcerated youth. Drawing on importation and deprivation perspectives, we employ bivariate probit regression models to assess the joint association between misconduct and victimization and to identify shared and distinct risk factors. Results indicate a significant overlap between institutional misconduct and victimization. Gang membership, prior victimization in society, and in-facility environmental stress are significantly associated with both outcomes, supporting the relevance of both theoretical perspectives. These findings highlight the importance of addressing pre-incarceration vulnerabilities and institutional conditions in efforts to reduce misconduct and improve safety in juvenile correctional facilities.
Examining attitudes toward the police is a conduit for improved police - community relations. Employing a probability sample of 718 U.S. residents based in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia and using ordinal logistic regression to analyze the data, I found that, compared to Whites, Blacks and other minorities were less trusting of the police. In addition, older and more highly educated participants expressed higher levels of trust in the police. Surprisingly, there was no significant difference between Blacks' and Whites' satisfaction with police in the sample. Hispanics had lower levels of satisfaction than non-Hispanics, while older and more highly educated participants were more satisfied with the police. As expected, Democratic Party-leaning participants and Independents expressed lower levels of trust in and satisfaction with the police. Finally, quality of life in the neighborhood and quality of life in the city were significantly and positively related to both trust in and satisfaction with the police. The implications of my findings for improved police - community relations, policy, and future research are addressed.
Many prison organizations face staff shortages and struggle to recruit and retain sufficient personnel. Their workers are confronted with high work pressure and mental strain. Affective organizational commitment of prison staff could help improve employee retainment, performance, and psychological strain. However, affective commitment and its outcomes have been scarcely studied in a prison context, and existing research is limited in its scope, samples, and measurements. Moreover, prison research has not considered the relevance of including multiple foci and studying profiles to enhance the prediction of outcomes. This study measured affective commitment to the prison work team, facility, and agency, and explored the existence of affective commitment profiles and their links to work attitudes and behaviors among a large and nationwide sample of Dutch prison workers (N = 2.667). A latent profile analysis identified three profiles: workers with low, high, and moderate affective commitment. Results from a multivariate analysis of variance showed that the profiles significantly differed across work attitudes and behaviors. Prison workers with high commitment to multiple organizational foci generate the best outcomes. Recommendations for future research include replicating the study in other countries, incorporating additional foci, and examining links between affective commitment and prison climate perceptions.
Deportation practices have expanded from the borders to the interior of the United States with the stated goal of enhancing public safety, including removals for serious and non-serious offenses. This research examines the effects of immigration enforcement using interior deportation data under the Secure Communities (S-comm) Program (2009-2016). Negative binomial regression models show that interior deportation practices for less serious offenses are consistently unrelated to crime. More importantly, deportations for minor offenses are associated with higher crime in U.S. counties. This study's findings suggest reconsideration of S-comm enforcement practices, as interior deportation practices are ineffective at best or, in the case of deportation for minor offenses, make communities less safe.
Research suggests men and women respond to crime in stereotypically masculine or feminine ways, consistent with the notions of 'doing gender' and gender socialization. However, much of this research relies on self-report surveys. The extent to which notions of 'doing gender' and gender socialization influence men's and women's responses on these self-report measures remain less well understood. This study is the first to employ a novel randomized controlled trial using a mental task to induce cognitive load, a method shown to reduce respondents' tendency to respond in socially desirable ways, thereby yielding more valid estimates of their actual precautionary behaviors. When the gender bias in their self-reported crime prevention behavior is reduced, gender differences disappear. These findings support the role of 'doing gender' and gender socialization in shaping how men and women self-report their behavioral responses to crime. Moreover, men in the experimental (cognitive load) group reported significantly more crime prevention behaviors than men in the control group, whereas no significant difference emerged between women across conditions. These findings suggest that men's self-reports are more strongly influenced by traditional gender roles than women's. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications for crime, gender, and survey measurement are discussed.
This study aims to shed light on factors driving disparities in school discipline by examining the relationship between self-control constructs and punishments, specifically office referrals and suspensions, and exploring how this relationship varies across race and ethnicity. Utilizing data from Wave 3 of the Gang Resistance and Education Training (G.R.E.A.T) Program, this sample (N = 2,627) included students from 31 schools across seven cities. A series of regression models were employed to analyze the nature of the relationships between race and ethnicity, self-control, and school discipline. Low self-control was related to increased experiences of punishment for all youth - especially for the construct of anger. Our results indicate that the relationship between anger and office referrals is stronger for students of color. While school practitioners have begun to reduce the use of suspension and expulsion to address racial/ethnic disparities, our research suggests that more efforts need to be made when focusing on minor punishments such as office referrals. These punishments, while not as serious as suspensions and expulsions, still push youth from the classroom environment and increase the likelihood that the student is labeled as a troublemaker for years to come.
Studies on the contextual setting of hate crime over the past few decades have documented a host of neighborhood-level factors conducive to intergroup conflict. However, there remains limited work that takes a more longitudinal approach to hate crime occurrence despite ecological frameworks that stress dynamic spatial processes in predicting bias crime. We combine facets of semi-parametric group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) with exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) to clarify distinct trends of bias crime across 272 neighborhoods in Los Angeles County from 2003 through 2023 and their localized spatial occurrence. We likewise studied core community-level features that characterized the neighborhood trajectories of racially motivated crime in the county, finding important dimensions by neighborhood racial composition, mobility, and disadvantage. Our findings offer guidance for future studies on 'spaces of hate' as a continual spatial project.
Criminal justice research faces a credibility crisis-one that predates recent political turbulence but has been exposed and accelerated by it. For decades, our discipline has tolerated questionable research practices: publication bias, underpowered studies, p-value hacking, and HARKing. These problems have always undermined the reliability and replicability of our work, but we have largely gotten away with them. We cannot anymore. At a time when universities face political scrutiny, federal funding streams remain unstable, and public trust in science is increasingly fragile, our longstanding transparency problems are now being weaponized against us. Drawing on our experiences as mid-career scholars at a R-2 university collaborating with agencies in Nebraska and across the United States, we argue that the field must move beyond discussion to action. We must embrace open science practices-transparent articulation of assumptions and hypotheses, clear documentation of data-generating processes, and the sharing of data and code whenever possible. These practices not only strengthen research credibility but also build trust with practitioners and communities who still need rigorous research to guide their decisions. In an era when the legitimacy of science itself is contested, transparency and local engagement are essential for ensuring the future resilience and relevance of criminal justice research.
Probation operates through a set of behavioral restrictions and mandates known as conditions of supervision. Little research has explored how probation officers (POs) and clients perceive the appropriateness of conditions of supervision, a significant gap since perceptions of conditions' appropriateness may influence perceptions of procedural justice (PJ) in the supervision process, which in turn is known to affect the quality of the therapeutic alliance (TA) between PO and client. Both PJ and TA, collectively and independently, have been found to affect supervision outcomes. Drawing on interviews with 94 POs and focus groups with 26 probation clients, we analyze perceptions of inappropriate supervision conditions to examine how this may impact the TA via PO and client experiences of PJ. Ultimately, we find that POs and clients concur that mismatched, overwhelming, and unclear conditions are inappropriate. While POs blame the court for these conditions, clients also assign some responsibility to POs, weakening perceptions of PJ and TA. Thus, this study illustrates a need to address PJ and TA with relevant, realistic, and clear conditions.
Gun ownership is a widespread phenomenon in the United States. Indeed, in a recent national survey, almost half of U.S. non-gun owners reported they would consider owning a firearm in the future. This is a primary example of how the U.S. has become recognized as the world's leading country for firearm ownership, with estimates indicating that there is nearly one gun for every person in the country. Using a college-based sample (N = 462), this study examines perceptions of gun ownership in the United States among immigrants and native-born citizens. In our sample, a larger share of U.S. born non - gun owners reported interest in owning a gun when compared to those who do not (58% vs. 42%), suggesting greater openness to future firearm ownership among native-born citizens. The results further reveal that immigrants and native-born citizens differ significantly in their views on gun ownership. Participants in our sample who self-identified as immigrants held significantly less favorable views of gun ownership when compared to native-born participants. Policy implications of these findings are discussed.
