Risdon N. Slate

Florida Southern College · Department of Criminology

Stress among criminal justice professionals is generally associated with turnover intention. This study uses survey data from over 700 state and federal probation officers from the same southern jurisdiction to explore factors significantly related to turnover intention. Pearson correlation and a structural model reveal significant relationships be...

While there is a body of literature and research that focuses on the job of state probation officers, there is scant research on federal probation officers. This chapter reviews prior research on probation officers, then presents a pilot study that is among the first to compare the stressors experienced by state and federal probation officers. Diff...

The political, economic, and social context in which community corrections functions makes it extremely difficult to achieve successful outcomes. The current fiscal crisis, however, is forcing change as many states can no longer support the cost of our 30-year imprisonment binge. As in the past, community corrections will be expected to pick up the...

A number of existing studies have identified various factors that contribute to stress among police officers. This analysis is unique among these insofar as it employs structural equation modeling to specify, in path model format, the influence of participation in workplace decision-making and other variables on employee stress levels. The findings...

The causes of stress for criminal justice practitioners, including probation officers, can generally be categorized into four areas: internal to the organization, external to the organization, the job or task itself, or personal in nature. Historically, criminal justice agencies have been characterized as male-dominated organizations. However, the...

Mental health problems are notably common among correctional populations, including community corrections populations. The authors analyze breakdowns of mental illness in these populations and the treatment in prison before focussing on the peculiar problems of supervising defendants and offenders suffering from mental illness. They emphasize the c...

Stress can be costly not only to individuals but also to organizations. Participatory management has been recommended as a means for reducing probation officer stress. This article via self-report surveys of probation personnel in a southern state considers the relationship of a number of demographic variables with employee perceptions of participa...

This article examines congressional testimony preceding the passage of legislation authorizing federal funds for mental health courts and makes the case for the importance of anecdotal evidence in the process. The magnitude of persons with mental illness in the criminal justice system is considered, as well as factors that have led to the criminali...

Participatory management has been identified in the empirical literature as a technique to alleviate job related stress in criminal justice organizations. Although many advantages have been noted, few criminal justice agencies have developed programs to capitalize on the benefits of employee participation in decision making. This article focuses on...