National commissions studying police have urged the hiring of college educated police officers, many experts in the field have urged the hiring of college educated police officers, and numerous police agencies have actually hired college educated police officers--but little is known of the effects of hiring college educated police officers. Most of the arguments made for and against hiring college educated police officers are based more on conjecture than on hard empirical facts. / To help fill this information void, the present study entails a study of the education and work performance of police officers from two Southeastern United States police departments (a sample of 603 officers from one department and a population of 137 officers from the other department). / Numerous educational and other background variables were used as independent variables, and the following were used as the dependent, work performance variables: Awards and Commendations; Suspensions; Reprimands, Complaints to Internal Affairs Department; Evaluations; Sick Leave; Discharge of Firearms; Promotional Test Scores; Felony Arrests; Felony Arrest Filing Rates; and Misdemeanor Arrests. Multiple regression was used as the statistical means to determine the relationships among these variables. / The data revealed that college education made a difference in ten of the eleven dependent variables. Only in the case of the dependent variable Discharge of Firearms did college education not make a difference in performance. Moreover, based on a paradigm formulated for the study, college education was found to be a factor in the superior work performance for the following dependent variables: Sick Leave; Awards and Commendations; Reprimands; Promotional Test Scores; Felony Arrests; Felony Arrest Filing Rates; Misdemeanor Arrests; and Performance Evaluations. College education made no difference in the dependent variables Suspensions and Discharge of Firearms; and there was some evidence that college education was a factor in more Complaints to the Internal Affairs Department. Implications for future research and for deployment of college educated officers were discussed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-03, Section: A, page: 0935. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

The U.S. Parole Commission in 1974, initiated parole decision guidelines articulating a national cohort justice parole policy model which theoretically reduced criticism of arbitrary and capricious decision-making. In 1976, reparole guidelines were implemented which unlike the parole guidelines, were not founded upon scientific research. Reparole is the procedure whereby a conditional release violator is considered for reparole supervision. / This dissertation examines reparole decision-making and attempts to demonstrate an alternative policy which would reduce criticism of "fixed and mechanical" decision-making, and the potential for the appearance of unfairness in weighting parole violation accountability. Additionally, this dissertation examines "relative improvement" as it relates to the efficacy of parole decision-making and supervision. Relative improvement is defined as the commission of a "less" serious parole violation compared to the original imprisoned behavior. / Lastly, the study attempts to discover if by the employment of decision-making parole guidelines, there is produced an unwelcomed policy by-product, what Robert Merton calls goal displacement. He expresses goal displacement as strict adherence to agency policies, which originally conceived as a means, then becomes transformed into an end-in-itself. / The study findings demonstrated that generally the introduction of violation guidelines structured discretion well and did not appear to have a "chilling effect" on the exercise of discretion where warranted. / In respect to the efficacy of pre-quideline (clinical) parole decision-making and supervision, recidivism data failed to demonstrate "relative improvement", to the contrary data suggested an increase in reported crime severity violation behavior. / Lastly, an alternative reparole policy is suggested by the writer which incorporates an existing parole risk "Burgess" type actuarial instrument that should reduce the potential criticism of "fixed and mechanical" decision-making, as well as the potential for the appearance of unfairness in weighting parole violation accountability. / Unfortunately for the U.S. Parole Commission the development of a cohort justice model for parole decision-making may have created an unwelcomed dysfunctional agency by-product of power emasculation, in that pending congressional determinate sentencing legislation has transferred the decision-making scheme to the judiciary for administration. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-05, Section: A, page: 1699. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

The study tests a theory of homicide. Previous research in the area has found the Southern portion of the United States to experience rates of homicide which exceed those of the non-South even when controlling for various etiological variables. The high rates of deadly violence in the Southern states have been attributed to violent cultural patterns which are assumed to exist in these areas. This study dispenses with the practice of inferring the existence of a Southern subculture of violence from measures of region and attempts to explain the variation in homicide with more concrete etiological variables. / It is argued that homicide is often the result of a violent outburst in which the intention to kill is ambiguous. If this is true, then the deadliness of the weapon which is used in an attack should have some bearing on the extent to which violent outbursts culminate in the death of the victim. Since firearms are perceived to be the deadliest of weapons which are likely to be used in an assault situation, it is hypothesized that homicide rates should vary directly with the accessibility of firearms. Homicide is seen as being largely a function of the extent to which assaults are carried out with deadly weapons. This is consistent with the findings of Gastil (1971) and Hackney (1969) since firearms appear to be most accessible in the South. / The theory is generally supported by the data. However, although the accessibility of firearms is found to be an important determinant of homicide, this is not the case for the restrictiveness of gun control legislation. It is concluded that gun control laws, as they currently exist in the United States, do not seem to effectively reduce the accessibility of firearms. Several reasons are given regarding why the currently existing gun control legislation cannot logically be expected to reduce homicide and it is suggested that perhaps a nation-wide system of restrictive firearms legislation would be more effective. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-12, Section: A, page: 5258. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

In this study the author has undertaken an empirical assessment of O. H. Mowrer's theory of psychopathology applied to a therapeutic community. Mowrer has asserted that much of all psychopathology is rooted in the inability of an individual to successfully assuage the dissonance created by guilt that is justified by prior misbehavior. Accordingly, recovery from psychopathology requires one to extricate oneself from immoral (dissonance-creating) behavior, confess openly to significant others the nature of the misdeeds, and to commit oneself to some form of appropriate restitution which will result in social reintegration for the individual. A detailed review of Mowrer's theory and treatment ideology is presented. Mowrer's rationale has been credited with providing the raison d'etre of the self-help therapeutic community model used for treating drug addicts. / An organizational and psychosocial perspective is presented of Daytop Village, the current research site. The intent of the study was to gather socialization and anxiety data from six groups of subjects (N = 232) selected on the basis of their length of time in treatment at Daytop. Seven dependent measures were selected: trait anxiety (from the STAI); six scales from the CPI; and a constructed variable, Social Maturity Index (SMI), from the CPI scales. SMI was not distinguishable from the So scale in assessing the level of socialization exhibited by the groups. The STAI indicated all subjects were within the normal range of anxiety. The So scale was the sole dependent measure found to be significantly related to the groups. The greatest difference in level of socialization occurred between Groups One and Two. / The data indicate that once the initial impact of the socialization change is made, it is sustained and moderately increases over time. No definite conclusions can be drawn in deciding whether the sociopath, mixed-type personality possesses the characteristics ascribed to it by Mowrer and if it is capable of responding to treatment as predicted by Mowrer. The data do appear to support that aspect of Mowrer's theory that asserts one's level of socialization increases over time while one continues to practice the tenets of Mowrer's theory of social reintegration. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-12, Section: A, page: 5259. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

Since 1967 the two major reforms of due process and diversion have been implemented by the juvenile justice system. This study subjects these two reforms to an empirical examination designed to answer three questions. (1) What is the influence of selected social and legal factors on juvenile justice decision-making? (2) Does the level of due process in the juvenile justice system influence the disposional pattern? and (3) Does the introduction of a new sentencing alternative (i.e., diversion) influence the disposional pattern in ways intended? / These questions are developed into a series of hypotheses and tested by examining the disposional patterns of four juvenile courts involving a total of 667 youth. The results of the study indicate that social and legal factors are important when considered in relation to the organizational factors of due process and diversion. The age, race, and gender of youth are not strongly associated with the severity of the disposition whereas the reason for referral (seriousness of offense) and the status at time of referral (prior record) are important influences on the dispositional pattern. The level of due process afforded the youth does not strongly influence the disposition whereas the introduction of a new sentencing alternative (i.e., diversion) alters the dispositional pattern, in that certain categories of youth (young, white, female) are disproportionally selected for less severe sanctions. The study concludes by discussing the implications of these findings and suggesting areas and techniques for future research. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-12, Section: A, page: 4050. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

The Rusche and Kirchheimer thesis, which argues that labor market marginality engenders larger confinement populations, has amassed substantial empirical support in recent years. However, there still remains the question whether these studies represent a valid empirical test of the Rusche and Kirchheimer thesis because most prior research relies on convicted offender data. A proper test of this thesis must consider pretrial defendants who more accurately represent the surplus labor population. To address this problem, this dissertation uses longitudinal data calibrated in monthly intervals to examine the impact of unemployment rates, arrest rates, court processing factors, jail capacity rates, jail population rates, judge rates, and jail staff rates on pretrial misdemeanor and felony jail incarceration rates for Florida (1986-1991). / The results of the time series analysis reveal no statistically discernible relationship between the unemployment rate and the pretrial misdemeanor incarceration rate. The incarceration rate for pretrial felony offenders also varies independently of the unemployment rate. The implications of these findings are discussed as they relate to the theoretical adequacy of the Rusche and Kirchheimer thesis. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: A, page: 2744. / Major Professor: Frederic L. Faust. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

Using an interrupted time-series design, this paper analyzes the impact of Minnesota's sentencing guidelines on reducing unwarranted disparity in sentencing outcomes that fall within their scope of authority. Specifically, two questions are addressed: (1) whether the actuation of the guidelines had an immediate effect on reducing disparity for the no prison/prison and length of prison sentencing decisions, and (2) whether any initial reduction in sentencing disparity was sustained over time. The findings suggest that Minnesota's sentencing guidelines effectuated an immediate and substantial impact on curtailing sentencing disparities; there was a 22 percent decline in disparity for the no prison/prison outcome and a 60 percent reduction in sentencing inequality for the length of prison decision. Further analysis revealed that the effect of the guidelines for the no prison/prison outcome was only temporary. Two explanations for this reversionary trend are discussed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: A, page: 2746. / Major Professor: Gordon P. Waldo. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

This study sought the answer to the following major research question: (1) Is there a significant difference among police agencies who employ some type of physical fitness program and those that do not employ any type of program? / The major hypothesis generated six sub-hypotheses. Each hypothesis was tested by population group to determine whether officers within agencies who employ some type of physical fitness program retire at a lower rate, receive on-duty injuries at a lower rate, use sick leave at a lower rate, and die as a result of medical/health factors at a significantly lower rate than officers in agencies who do not employ any type of physical fitness program. / The population of this study was comprised of full-time law enforcement officers at the municipal and county level. Five hundred and twenty full-time law enforcement agencies were surveyed with 303 or 58.3% of the agencies responding. / The survey instrument was studied and validated by three members of the Institute for Aerobics Research, Dallas, Texas. The data collected were analyzed through the Chi-Square Test. The .05 level of significance was used for all statistical tests in this study. / There was a statistically significant difference among the responding agencies that employ some type of physical fitness program and those agencies that do not employ any type of physical fitness program. / The process employed in this research project presented enough data to support statistically the implementation of some type of physical fitness training and evaluation program for law enforcement agencies. / The responding agencies provided some very meaningful data on causes for early retirement and limited duty assignments. The findings suggest the seriousness of medical/health conditions in general and heart-related conditions in particular, as well as the effects of stress, in terms of the numbers of officers who are forced to retire early or who are placed on limited duty assignments. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-12, Section: A, page: 3822. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

Currently in Canada no satisfactory method exists which determines the number of police personnel required to "police" a given jurisdiction. Several procedures are available which deploy existing police human resources within a given area. Such procedures however, assume that the "proper" number of police persons are available for deployment to the jurisdiction. That is, sufficient police personnel are available to respond to any "call for service" without that call experiencing an unnecessary long wait in queue. The premise of this research is that an inadequate number of police personnel are available in some police jurisdictions and that calls do experience unnecessary queueing delays. It is further surmised that a reduction in the response delay, prompted by an assessment and reevaluation of the number of personnel, will improve police operational performance in that department. / Various steps are followed in the research. These are: (1) The identification, by quantitative means, of an optimum performing police jurisdiction from within a sample jurisdiction, (2) Identify the demographic/ecological characters which contribute to the crime situation for the optimum performing police jurisdiction, (3) Regress these characteristics into a factor relating police performance to a single police person, and, in turn, establish a standard for comparison; and, (4) Realign existing police persons to the "standard". / For the study it is assumed that the policing function will improve with a rational and objective approach to human resource allocation. Such an approach will allow for the availability of sufficient human resources to deal with any call for assistance promptly and efficiently by the police. Prompt and efficient responses to calls for service, it is surmised, will contribute to a perceived improved performance on the part of the citizenry. / The study was confined by the quality of the secondary data and the sampling and non-sampling error which existed within each data set. At the conclusion of this study it was possible to identify a standard of policing. This standard had direct application to determining the required number of human resources needed to provide an optimum level of police performance in a given police jurisdiction. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-02, Section: A, page: 0651. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.

Utilizing the field theory/group dynamics approach from social psychology, a cross-sectional correlational analysis of the relationship between police perceptions of the cohesiveness of their work groups and indices of stress frequency and intensity was conducted with a sample of 289 police officers from the St. Petersburg, Florida Police Department. Respondents ranged in age from 19 to 54 years with a mean age of 32.75 years. The mean educational level was 13.6 years and the mean length of service was 8.76 years. Approximately eighty-five percent (84.8%) of the respondents were white and the remaining 15.2% were black, hispanic, or oriental. Two hundred sixty-five (91.7%) of the officers were male and 24 (8.3%) were female. / Five substantive hypotheses were tested to assess the impact of job specialization, shift assignment, length of service, and area worked on group cohesion; and whether or not cohesive group membership intensified or reduced the strain effects of job stress. / The Likert scaling technique was utilized to construct indices of cohesiveness and stress (frequency and intensity). The data was analyzed at the five percent significance level utilizing Pearson's product moment correlational technique. / The study failed to support the proposition that cohesion among St. Petersburg Police Officers varies with job specialization; however, cohesion was observed to vary with shift assignment, area worked, and length of service when the combined effects of age and specialization, age and area worked, and age and race were controlled. Limited support was also found for the proposition that both the intensity and the frequency of job stress decrease as the cohesiveness of work groups increase. / The significance of the study lies in its practical and research implications. On a practical level, the study alerts police administrators to the potential benefit of reduced stress and anxiety resulting from cohesive group behavior among police officers. From a research perspective, the study provides an opportunity for retrospective evaluation of the utility and effectiveness of the field theory/group dynamics approach to the study of police behavior; and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Likert scaling technique for operationalizing and measuring police stress and cohesion. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-05, Section: A, page: 1535. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1984.