Predictors of Law Enforcement Agencies’ Perceptions of Partnerships With Parole Agencies

Abstract

The current study aimed to enhance the understanding of how law enforcement agencies collaborate with parole agencies and how they view police-parole partnerships. The data were collected through a state-wide survey of all sheriffs’ offices and a random sample of municipal police departments in Texas, the state with the nation’s largest parole population. The primary research question focused on identifying (1) empirically derived and meaningful patterns of police-parole partnerships and (2) the predictors of the perception among law enforcement agencies with regard to partnerships with parole agencies. The main finding was that police agencies who valued partnerships with parole agencies tended to already be involved in collaborations with parole agencies and had an organizational culture which supported working with other agencies.

Working Together or Working on the Same Task but Separately? A Comparison of Police Chief and Chief Probation or Parole Officer Perceptions of Partnership

“…As in the case of Kim, Matz et al.s’ (2013) research in Texas, two indices of organizational culture—core culture and leadership—were measured using questions adapted from Sexton’s (2000) Alliance Assessment. This assessment was originally created to assess organizational and jurisdictional capability or fitness to fulfill its responsibilities in an interagency partnership.…”

“…Some of these obstacles border on infringing an individual’s civil rights, while others involve the altering of an organization’s mission and changing the way officers perform their jobs. Given the lack of conclusive research findings to date, care must be taken to understand the risks of police-probation/parole partnerships in addition to appreciating the potential benefits (Kim, Matz, Gerber, Beto, & Lambert, 2013).…”

“…Kim et al. (Kim et al., 2010; Kim, Gerber, et al., 2013; Kim, Matz, et al., 2013) conducted a statewide survey of police chiefs in Texas. These Texas-based studies revealed the overwhelming majority of police-probation or parole partnerships in Texas were based on individual relationships and were primarily informal in nature, limited to periodic information sharing, and often terminated when key participants retired, transferred, or received a promotion.…”

“…Over the past two decades, the concept of police-probation or parole partnerships has grown in popularity in response to a greater need for proactive supervision of probationers and parolees (Beto, 2005; Kim et al., 2010; Kim, Gerber, Beto, & Lamert, 2013). Yet, despite its potential, partnerships have often been highly individualized, mostly informal, and generally resisted by police (Kim, Gerber, et al., 2013; Murphy & Lutze, 2009). Giacomazzi and Smithey (2001) explain that we are in an era of multiagency collaboration, but not all personnel of relatively autonomous organizations have the organizational capacity or the willingness to truly collaborate.…”

Police Cadets’ Career Plans in China: Testing the Mediation and Moderation Effects of Job Satisfaction

“…The Cronbach's a values of the three variables including lack of other career alternatives, academic emphasis, and community policing orientation were .511, .557, and .539, respectively. Although these were moderate coefficients, it was not surprising as only two or three items were used to measure each variable (Kim et al, 2013;Pallant, 2001). Cronbach's a is not suitable for measuring the reliability of variables with less than 10 items.…”