Browsing by Author "Sundt, Jody"

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    Does Feminist Theory Matter?
    (Oxford University Press, 2015) Petersen, Amanda; Salisbury, Emily; Sundt, Jody
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    Good governance, political experiences, and public support for mandatory sentencing: Evidence from a progressive US state
    (2017-11) Sundt, Jody; Schwaeble, Kathryn; Merritt, Cullen C.
    A shift in public mood and declining incarceration rates in the US signal a potential change in the politics of punishment. This research considers whether the public continues to support mandatory sentencing. The study expands upon existing knowledge by testing theoretical predictions about how instrumentalism, political beliefs and political participation affect public support for mandatory sentences. Drawing on a state-wide survey of 1,569 adults from Oregon the study found that belief in the effectiveness of prosecutors, judges, and prisons significantly influenced support for mandatory sentencing. Although 67% of those surveyed favored judicial discretion, a firm belief that “prisons work” may limit efforts to reduce incarceration and roll back mandatory sentences.
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    Indiana Probation Officer Professional Development Project: Interview Guide
    (IU Executive Education, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, 2017-12) Greenwood, Matthew; Weber, Mary Anna; Johnson, Sara M.; Sundt, Jody
    This guide provides information on the design of a structured interview using behavioral based questions aligned to competencies recognized as essential to an Indiana probation officer. The guide discusses the steps involved in an interview process. It also presents a bank of behavior based questions interviewers may wish to use to evaluate candidates for Indiana Probation officer positions. It is organized scientifically to guide the hiring of the most qualified Indiana probation officers in a legally defensible manner. The intention is not to pose every question in this guide to probation officer candidates. Instead, interviewers from each Indiana County may choose the questions from each section that fits their needs.
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    Is Downsizing Prisons Dangerous? The Effect of California’s Realignment Act on Public Safety
    (Wiley, 2016) Sundt, Jody; Salisbury, Emily J.; Harmon, Mark G.; School of Public and Environmental Affairs, IUPUI
    Research Summary: Recent declines in imprisonment raise a critical question: Can prison populations be reduced without endangering the public? This question is examined by testing the effect of California’s dramatic efforts to comply with court-mandated targets to reduce prison overcrowding using a pretest-posttest design. The results showed that California’s Realignment Act had no effect on violent or property crime rates in 2012, 2013, or 2014. When crime types were disaggregated, a moderately large, statistically significant association between Realignment and auto theft rates was observed in 2012. By 2014, however, this effect had decayed and auto theft rates returned to pre-Realignment levels. Policy Implications: Significant reductions in the size of prison populations are possible without endangering public safety. Within just 15 months of its passage, Realignment reduced the size of the total prison population by 27,527 inmates, prison crowding declined from 181% to 150% of design capacity, approximately $453 million was saved, and there was no adverse effect on the overall safety of Californians. With a mixture of jail use, community corrections, law enforcement and other preventive efforts, California counties have provided a comparable level of public safety to that previously achieved by state prisons. Nevertheless, sustaining these policy objectives will require greater attention to local implementation, targeted crime prevention, and sentencing reform.
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    Mapping the Implementation Landscape: Assessing the Systemic Capacity of Statewide Community Corrections Agencies to Deliver Evidence-Based Practices
    (Corrections: Policy, Practice and Research, 2018-09) Salisbury, Emily; Sundt, Jody; Boppre, Breanna
    Treatment quality is recognized as a critical moderator for programs to successfully reduce recidivism. Yet, the implementation of any new initiative takes place within a context—a system comprised of varying structures, norms, policies, and relationships to external stakeholders. Surprisingly little evidence exists about how to build organizational capacity to successfully achieve program fidelity and sustain innovations over time. This study provides results from a process evaluation measuring implementation capacity to deliver evidence-based practices (EBPs) in the state of Oregon. Using the ImpleMap interview procedure created by the National Implementation Research Network, findings from ten county-level community corrections agencies demonstrated how systemic, actionable implementation can be facilitated. Aggregate statewide patterns of organizational capacity emerged, as well as individual variation in the strengths and gaps of implementation among each county. By understanding county-level variation, we reveal that sustainable implementation requires purposeful attention to systemic capacities that go beyond training and coaching. To advance the science and practice of offender rehabilitation, we need to broaden our focus to rediscover the importance of process, structure, and context. Responsibility for change needs to shift from individuals to implementation systems.