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Browsing by Author "Grommon, Eric"
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Item A rapid review of literature on factors associated with adult probation revocations(Taylor & Francis, 2022) Diaz, Carmen L.; Rising, Staci; Grommon, Eric; Northcutt Bohmert, Miriam; Lowder, Evan MarieCriminal justice stakeholders have increasingly relied on probation supervision as an alternative to incarceration and yet, probation revocations often result in incarceration. As such, increased understanding of the mechanisms behind revocations and strategies to reduce them is critical. We conduct a rapid review of the literature on factors associated with probation revocations. Specifically, we review 50 articles on how probation officer behavior, officer-client relationships, caseload size, supervision intensity, monetary sanctions, probation client characteristics, or programming and services are associated with probation revocations. Though the literature is limited, and findings are mixed, the most consistent findings indicate that officer-client relationships involving trust, support, respect, and empathy as well as reduced caseload sizes and cognitive behavioral therapy programs are associated with probation success while intensive supervision programs; greater monetary sanctions and nonpayment of those sanctions; and being Black and less educated are associated with poorer supervision outcomes. Implications for future research, policy, and practice are discussed.Item Access to Recovery and Recidivism Among Former Prison Inmates(Sage, 2015) Ray, Bradley; Grommon, Eric; Buchanan, Victoria; Brown, Brittany; Watson, Dennis P.; Department of Health Policy and Management, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public HealthAccess to Recovery (ATR) is a SAMHSA-funded initiative that offers a mix of clinical and supportive services for substance abuse. ATR clients choose which services will help to overcome barriers in their road to recovery, and a recovery consultant provides vouchers and helps link the client to these community resources. One of ATR’s goals was to provide services to those involved in the criminal justice system in the hopes that addressing substance abuse issues could reduce subsequent criminal behaviors. This study examines this goal by looking at recidivism among a sample of clients in one state’s ATR program who returned to the community after incarceration. Results suggest there were few differential effects of service selections on subsequent recidivism. However, there are significant differences in recidivism rates among the agencies that provided ATR services. Agencies with more resources and a focus on prisoner reentry had better recidivism outcomes than those that focus only on substance abuse services.Item Age Disparities of Non-Fatal Shooting Victims in Official vs. Media Reports 2020 – 2022 Indianapolis, Indiana.(2023-01-17) Spivey, Erin; Crawford, Jara; Kaur, Amarpreet; Magee, Lauren; Grommon, EricBACKGROUND Trends in the victimology of non-fatal shootings in Indianapolis reported upon by the media differ from official records, with possible implications on the preventative measures taken by the community and officials. OBJECTIVE Examine disparities between media reporting of non-fatal shooting victim ages and official records. KEY FINDINGS Since data collection of media reporting on gun violence victims in Indianapolis began in 2020, 46% of non-fatal shooting victims were reported on by the media. Of those, 9% of victims had a known age. From 2020 through 2022, juvenile victims of non-fatal shootings were 5.8 times more likely to be reported upon than adult victims. An average of 35% of juvenile victims were reported about in the media from 2020 through 2022 while 6% of adult victims were reported upon. The media was 5.3 times more likely to report on juvenile victims than adult victims in 2022 – 32% of juvenile victims were reported on while 6% of adult victims were reported on in 2022. Official records show approximately 89% of non-fatal shooting victims in the past 3 years are adults while 11% are juveniles. Among media reports of non-fatal shooting victims when age was known, 58% were adults and 42% were juveniles.Item Alternative models of instant drug testing: evidence from an experimental trial(Springer, 2012-12-12) Grommon, Eric; Cox, Stephen M.; Davidson, William S.; Bynum, Timothy S.Objective This study describes and provides relapse and recidivism outcome findings related to an experimental trial evaluating the viability of frequent, random drug testing with consequences for use. Methods The sample consisted of 529 offenders released on parole. An experimental design with random assignment to one of three groups was employed. The Experimental Group received frequent, random drug testing with instant results, immediate sanctions, and referral for substance abuse treatment. Control Group I received frequent, random drug testing and treatment referral, but did not receive immediate test results or immediate sanctions. Control Group II followed standard parole practice. Members of this group were not tested on a random basis and did not receive immediate sanctions. Repeated measures ANOVA and survival analysis techniques were used to explore group differences. Results Frequent monitoring of drug use with randomized testing protocols, immediate feedback, and certain consequences is effective in lowering rates of relapse and recidivism. The effectiveness is particularly salient in the short term during the period of exposure to testing conditions. Conclusions The findings lend support to the use of randomized testing with swift and certain sanctions with parolees. Additional quality evidence is necessary to generalize and refine findings from this study and others that focus on sanction certainty. Future replications must consider the immediacy of test result and sanction execution as well as the length of exposure to randomized testing periods.Item An economic evaluation of a police mental-health co-response program: Data from a pragmatic randomized controlled trial(2024) Hofer, Meret; Lu, Thanh; Bailey, Katie; Aldridge, Arnie; Grommon, Eric; Lowder, Evan; Ray, BradleyItem Anticipated Stigma and Defensive Individualism during Post-Incarceration Job Searching(Wiley, 2016-08) Ray, Bradley; Grommon, Eric; Rydberg, Jason; School of Public and Environmental AffairsObtaining employment is one of the most difficult challenges for individuals released from prison. This research explores the strategies recently released male parolees employ in attempting to find work, with specific attention to the role of anticipated stigma from their ex-convict status. Through the use of in-depth longitudinal interviews, this research contributes to our understanding of returning prisoner's experiences in job searching. We find that although a majority of the sample anticipated stigma as a barrier to employment, those who did expressed an extreme self-reliance consistent with defensive individualism. This reluctance to draw on social networks may ultimately be counter-productive to the search for employment.Item Barriers and facilitators to implementing an urban co-responding police-mental health team(Springer, 2018-11-22) Bailey, Katie; Paquet, Staci Rising; Ray, Bradley R.; Grommon, Eric; Lowder, Evan M.; Sightes, Emily; School of Public and Environmental AffairsBackgroundIn an effort to reduce the increasing number of persons with mental illness (PMI) experiencing incarceration, co-responding police-mental health teams are being utilized as a way to divert PMI from the criminal justice system. Co-response teams are typically an inter-agency collaboration between police and mental health professionals, and in some cases include emergency medical personnel. These teams are intended to facilitate emergency response by linking patients to mental health resources rather than the criminal justice system, thus reducing burdens on both the criminal justice systems as well as local healthcare systems. The current study examines the barriers and facilitators of successfully implementing the Mobile Crisis Assistance Team model, a first-responder co-response team consisting of police officers, mental health professionals, and paramedics. Through content analysis of qualitative focus groups with team members and interviews with program stakeholders, this study expands previous findings by identifying additional professional cultural barriers and facilitators to program implementation while also exploring the role of clear, systematic policies and guidelines in program success.ResultsFindings demonstrate the value of having both flexible and formal policies and procedures to help guide program implementation; ample community resources and treatment services in order to successfully refer clients to needed services; and streamlined communication among participating agencies and the local healthcare community. A significant barrier to successful program implementation is that of role conflict and stigma. Indeed, members of the co-response teams experienced difficulty transitioning into their new roles and reported negative feedback from other first responders as well as from within their own agency. Initial agency collaboration, information sharing between agencies, and team building were also identified as facilitators to program implementation.ConclusionThe current study provides a critical foundation for the implementation of first-responder police-mental health co-response teams. Cultural and systematic barriers to co-response team success should be understood prior to program creation and used to guide implementation. Furthermore, attention must be directed to cultivating community and professional support for co-response teams. Findings from this study can be used to guide future efforts to implement first-response co-response teams in order to positively engage PMI and divert PMI from the criminal justice system.Item A Case Study of Mississippi State Penitentiary’s Managed Access Technology(2015-08) Grommon, Eric; Carter, Jeremy G.; Frantz, Fred; Harris, PhilManaged access technology allows the completion of authorized calls placed from approved phone numbers (numbers that have been vetted and entered into a database) while blocking calls to or from devices or numbers that have not been pre-approved. This process is often referred to as “white-listing.“ The overall conclusion of this study is that managed access technology does capture a large quantity of cellular transmissions, but it is impossible to determine the rate with which attempted calls or texts successfully elude detection by the system. Even if a hypothetical rate of successful transmission detection was only 40 percent, however, that 40 percent would provide a substantial value-added effect to combating contraband cell phones. Thus, the decision about whether or not to use managed access technology is whether its possibly limited impact (blocking less than 100 percent of contraband calls) is sufficient to warrant the cost of installing and maintaining the managed access system. A series of interviews and teleconferences, in addition to the secondary analysis of managed-access system data, were used to produce a fundamental understanding of managed access technology operations, identify challenges and lessons learned, and develop a baseline of contraband cell phone activity. This report acknowledges that the study did not attempt to quantify potential vulnerabilities or manipulations of managed access systems. Although such an evaluation would be beneficial, it was beyond the scope of this study. 18 figures, 13 tables, 40 references, and appended examples of contraband cell phone activity, MSP managed access system infrastructure, and evaluation protocolsItem Crisis event dispositions following a crisis response team intervention(APA, 2021) Bailey, Katie; Lee, Guijin; Victor, Grant; Sightes, Emily; Comartin, Erin; Grommon, Eric; Ray, Bradley; School of Public and Environmental AffairsOBJECTIVE: We examined dispositions of crisis response team (CRT) events over 2 years in a large Midwestern city. METHOD: Between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2019, the CRT self-dispatched to mental/behavioral health-related 9-1-1 calls. Data utilized for analysis included demographic information of persons in crisis, crisis type, and crisis event dispositions. Crisis types were mental health, self-harm, and substance use related. Event dispositions included immediate detention, arrest, transport, and issue resolved. Multinomial regression models were used to predict crisis event dispositions as a function of the three crisis types, controlling for covariates. The sample included 1,426 events to distinct individuals. RESULTS: Most CRT events involved persons who were White (47.7%; n = 680), male (56.1%; n = 800), and an average of 39.3 years of age (SD = 16.6). Most crises were mental health (65.4%; n = 932), followed by self-harm (31.7%; n = 452), and substance use (25.9%; n = 370). Events were generally resolved at the scene (55.0%, n = 784); over a quarter resulted in immediate detention (26.9%, n = 384), followed by voluntary transport (14.0%, n = 200), and arrest (4.1%, n = 58). Crisis type was a significant predictor of event dispositions: Self-harm crises were associated with immediate detention and voluntary transport, and substance use crises with arrest. Homelessness was also a significant predictor of arrest. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The findings provide a better understanding of the short-term impact of CRTs. Data highlight how crisis type indicators predict event dispositions, demonstrating potential for more efficient emergency responder utilization by dispatching units according to crisis type. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).Item A Critical Race-Feminist Examination of the Influence of Prison, Jail, and School Institutions on the Perspectives of Black Middle School Girls and Their Formerly Incarcerated Single Mothers(2020-10) Jordan, Patricia Ann; Thompson, Chalmer; Scheurich, James; Kazembe, Lasana; Grommon, EricThis study explored the perspectives of Black mothers and daughters as they contemplated how two institutions ---schools and prisons/jails -- influenced their relationship with one another. As the incarceration rates for Black females increase in the U.S., examinations of these perspectives can produce insights about the impacts of schools and jails/prisons on the lives of these girls and women, and more pointedly, about the perceived contributions of racist and misogynistic forces on the Black mother-Black daughter relationship. Three pairs of mother-daughter dyads were selected and interviewed for the study. The daughters were Black middle school-aged girls between the ages 10 and 14, and the mothers were of varying ages. Two specific research questions centered on: (1) the participants’ perceptions of how these institutions have had an influence mother and daughter relationships, and (2) how they dealt with problems they faced either separately or together that were associated with school (for both participants in the dyad) and/or that resulted from the jail/prison experience (for the mother). Interviews were analyzed using phenomenological research methods and metaanalyzed from a critical feminist framework. Findings show that both mother and daughter have been resourceful in maintaining strong ties despite the array of forces that challenged these unions. Participants from both sides of these mothers and daughters dyads expressed how mothers’ parenting styles, lifestyle decisions, and self-perceptions were effected by the institutions of schooling and criminal justice. Although the findings of the study offered a glimpse of participants’ perspectives on racism and sexism as forces that influenced their experiences, the relationship issues between them were most prevalent. Further research is recommended to uncover more of the intricacies of sexism and racism as they relate to relationships and personal issues of Black, formerly incarcerated mothers and their pre-teen and teenaged daughters.