The role of negative staff behavior and fairness on perceptions of post-release success among formerly incarcerated juveniles

ABSTRACT

A large body of literature has examined the impact of staff behavior in correctional settings on offenders’ likelihood of recidivism. However, gaps remain with respect to how staff behavior is related to other indicators of post-release success, including an individual’s perception of success upon release. In this study, we examine how correctional staff behavior is related to perceptions of success at staying out of trouble with the law and at succeeding in ordinary life goals among a sample of 679 serious juvenile offenders. Using data from Pathways to Desistance, our results show that while negative staff behavior was not significantly related to perceptions of success, fairness by staff was significantly related to individuals’ perceptions of success in both domains. Thus, those who perceived staff – and by extension the institution – as unfair were less likely to believe they would stay out of trouble with the law and succeed in life. These findings provide evidence that institutional climate is related to re-entry and policy efforts aimed at improving procedural fairness within correctional institutions are needed.

KEYWORDS:

• Institutional climate
• re-entry
• corrections staff

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chelsey S. Narvey

Chelsey S. Narvey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Sam Houston State University. Her research interests include corrections, criminological theory, and developmental psychopathology. She has published on telemedicine and the way it can be used in correctional settings. Some of her work can be found in the Journal of Correctional Healthcare, as well as in Deviant Behavior, Aggression & Violent Behavior, and Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment.

Meghan A. Novisky

Meghan A. Novisky is an Assistant Professor of Criminology at Cleveland State University. Her research investigates the implications of carceral contact for health and well-being, conditions of confinement, and the collateral consequences of criminal justice policy.

Alex R. Piquero

Alex R. Piquero is Chair and Professor of the Department of Sociology and Arts & Sciences Distinguished Scholar at the University of Miami and Professor of Criminology at Monash University in Melbourne Australia. He is also editor ofJustice Evaluation Journal. His research interests include criminal careers, criminological theory, crime policy, evidence-based crime prevention, and quantitative research methods. He has received several research, teaching, and service awards, is fellow of both the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. In 2019 he received the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Bruce Smith, Sr. Award for outstanding contributions to criminal justice and in 2020 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Division of Developmental and Life Course Criminology, a division within the American Society of Criminology.