Community Corrections And Attitudes Towards Offenders Essay

PURPOSE The purpose of this study is to use ethnographic methods to identify the perceptions of crimes among male and female community corrections staff members of North Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee. The conceptual model for this research project was developed on the hypothesis that the perceptions of crimes among community corrections staff members are influenced by various factors. These factors include age, gender, ethnicity and job title.

LITERATURE REVIEW
The way community corrections personnel perceive crimes can impact their treatment and attitude toward offenders. Many factors can influence a correctional employee’s perceptions of crimes and their attitudes toward offenders. These factors can have positive or negative effects

For instance, younger staff members may perceive crimes differently than older staff members. An article by Kelly Chesseman and Ragan Downey investigates how generational factors can influence how crimes are perceived and how offenders are treated and supervised. Gender is also another factor that can determine how a member of correctional staff treats and supervises offenders. Men and women may perceive crimes in different ways which effects how offenders are treated and supervised (Cheeseman & Downey, 2011). These factors provide variations in perceptions and attitudes of correctional staff toward

According to authors of an article in International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, the cultural construct of race creates racial perceptions, which can influence how staff members treat and supervise offenders. This article suggests perceptions that are developed on the basis of race can impact attitudes toward certain crimes and who commits those crimes (Spiropoulos, Salisbury, & Voorhis). This can happen in cases of gang-related crimes, vandalism, and even property