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Klinger, D. A. (1995). Policing spousal assault. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 32(3), 308–324.

The claim that police officers are less likely to arrest for spousal assaults as compared to other types of violence is one of two fundamental assertions undergirding recent laws and policies encouraging officers to arrest in cases of spousal assault. A review of relevant literature, however, discloses no evidence that bears directly on this claim. Data from an observational study of police behavior are used to test the thesis that arrest is less likely for spousal violence. The findings do not support the thesis. Rather, they indicate that although officers are unlikely to arrest in spousal assault cases, they are equally unlikely to arrest in other types of violence. The implications of the study are discussed.

Ray, B., Grommon, E., Buchanen, V., Brown, B., & Watson, D. P. (2017). Access to recovery and recidivism among former prison inmates. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 61, 874–893.

Access to Recovery (ATR) is a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)–funded initiative that offers a mix of clinical and supportive services for substance abuse. ATR clients choose which services will help to overcome barriers in their road to recovery, and a recovery consultant provides vouchers and helps link the client to these community resources. One of ATR’s goals was to provide services to those involved in the criminal justice system in the hopes that addressing substance abuse issues could reduce subsequent criminal behaviors. This study examines this goal by looking at recidivism among a sample of clients in one state’s ATR program who returned to the community after incarceration. Results suggest that there were few differential effects of service selections on subsequent recidivism. However, there are significant differences in recidivism rates among the agencies that provided ATR services. Agencies with more resources and a focus on prisoner reentry had better recidivism outcomes than those that focus only on substance abuse services.

Paoline, E. A. III, Lambert, E. G., & Hogan, N. L. (2006). A calm and happy keeper of the keys: The impact of ACA views, relations with coworkers, and policy views on the job stress and job satisfaction of correctional staff. The Prison Journal, 86(2), 182–205.

Job stress and job satisfaction have both received a considerable amount of attention among studies of organizations in general, and correctional organizations are no exception. Although many work-related factors have been used to explain these two concepts, several important areas have been excluded. The current study builds on existing research by examining job stress and job satisfaction and how they are affected by American Correctional Association (ACA) standards, relations with coworkers, and prison policies. Using survey data collected from a large county correctional system in Orlando, Florida, the findings suggest that ACA views, relations with coworkers, and institutional policies all have significant effects on job stress and satisfaction of correctional staff. The authors also find that these three work environment variables have a far greater magnitude of effects than do the personal characteristics of employees.

Crank, J., Regoli, R., Hewitt, J., & Culbertson, R. (1995). Institutional and organizational antecedents of role stress, work alienation, and anomie among police executives. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 22, 152–171.

This study assessed the idea that pervasive features of the occupational environment adversely affect the working psychology of police executives. These features of the chiefs' occupational environment, it is suggested, overwhelm individual characteristics that in themselves are perceived to have positive effects. Data were provided from nationally based random-sampling surveys of police chiefs and sheriffs. Individual characteristics of interest to police reformers were selected. It was found that measures of these characteristics were consistently associated with positive psychological outcomes. However, when measures of institutional and organizational effects were included, the beneficial outcomes often disappeared.