Alexander L. BurtonUniversity of Texas at Dallas | UTD
Alexander L. Burton
Doctor of Philosophy
About
50
Publications
40,385
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Introduction
Alexander L. Burton received his PhD from the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati. He is an Assistant Professor in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Program at The University of Texas at Dallas.
Publications
Publications (50)
Each day, more than 425,000 correctional officers supervise an inmate population exceeding 2 million offenders, a task that is multidimensional and challenging both practically and psychologically. Although training in the skills and knowledge needed to perform this role is essential, relatively little research has explored this issue. To help fill...
Regression modeling allows researchers to examine the specific effects variables have on one another, net of the effects other variables. Although many types of regression frameworks exist, the most frequently used in criminal justice research are logistic regression techniques (example, binary logistic regression, ordinal logistic regression, and...
Despite the longstanding issues within the correctional officer occupation (e.g., high turnover, absenteeism), decades of research have tended to focus solely on the negative consequences of correctional officer work, rather than on the unique personal characteristics of the officers themselves. This omission is surprising as it is highly probable...
Objectives
To conduct the first outcome evaluation of pre-service academy training instruction on newly hired correctional officers’ custodial and rehabilitative orientations toward those serving time in prisons.
Method
A quasi-experimental design involving 505 pre-service correctional officers from three states was conducted. Officers were survey...
Objectives: Assess the receptivity of prison officers toward academy training using their attitudes toward rehabilitation and punitiveness.
Methods: Using the potential outcomes framework, we quasi-experimentally examine the role of incoming officers' (N = 519) rehabilitative and punitive attitudes on post-training self-efficacy in performing the...
This article evaluates the impact of academy training on newly hired correctional officers' perceptions toward how long they will remain in the occupation. Although the expectation would be that training builds officers' commitment and loyalty to the organization, the opposite was found. Training actually tempers expectations and many officers redu...
Misconduct committed against incarcerated people is severe and dehumanizing. As the media has begun to shine light on correctional officer misconduct, corrections departments have started implementing policies to curb misbehavior, such as equipping officers with body-worn cameras. Using data from a survey experiment fielded with a national sample (...
This study examines factors that weigh on a victim advisors’ mental calculus when approving whether a victim report a crime to the police. A factorial design was embedded in a survey of college students (n = 1,221) and vignettes randomized the relationships between the victim, advisor, and perpetrator and the age of the victim and perpetrator. Resu...
Each year, thousands of prospective students are denied admission to universities because they possess a criminal record. Prior research finds that university officials and faculty are generally accepting of those with records attending universities. To date, few studies have examined the perspectives of college students on this matter. The current...
Individuals applying for careers in corrections are not immune to the media’s depiction of dangerous prisons. As some of the factors exacerbating correctional officer fear are imported into the job, correctional officer training academies may serve as an opportunity to mitigate and lessen the levels of fearfulness. The authors measure the baseline...
Correctional officers are expected to fill a variety of roles in a complex social environment fraught with understaffing, underfunding, and overcrowding. To prepare officers for this highly stressful work, states rely on training academy instruction. Although other fields (e.g., policing) have extensively researched the quality of academy instructi...
Due to their close proximity to those serving time, correctional officers may not only be agents of control but also agents of change. Although state departments of correction often target for recruitment those individuals who can fulfill the custodial role of the job, little attention is given to hiring a human service-oriented workforce. To fill...
Most research finds that individuals are drawn to the correctional officer occupation for the pay and benefits or because it provides a new and exciting opportunity. However, these are not the only interests for taking these positions. The current study draws on a sample of pre-service correctional officers surveyed prior to beginning their jobs (N...
For decades, scholars have examined the role of gender in shaping attitudes toward criminal justice policy. Specifically, research has attempted to explore whether a "gender gap" in public attitudes exists. Although females tend to differ from males regarding patterns of offending and victimization experiences, tens of studies reveal that their att...
The full text can be found here: https://www.corrections1.com/recruitment/articles/keeping-bad-apples-out-of-the-barrel-early-identification-of-correctional-officers-with-bad-intentions-DvYdF8TqkV1UkCTM/
This study examines the prior work histories of 673 newly hired correctional officers in three states. We apply Kato and Suzuki's (2006) career drift framework of "floating" and "flowing," which examines occupational histories and career motivations to classify employees as floaters or a flow-ers. Empirically, floaters tend to come from any manner...
This dissertation presents primary data from a 2022 national survey of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted by YouGov. The survey instrument measured public perceptions toward 16 outcomes, including the respondents’ views of corrections officers (“hacks” or “heroes”); ratings of occupational status; preferred role for officers (custody or treatment); percei...
Correctional staff turnover has been linked to burnout in current staff, risk of physical injury due to understaffing, and high replacement costs due to onboarding processes. To date, much research has been devoted to job characteristics and demographic profiles to understand turnover, but little research has examined highly dynamic factors, such a...
The gun ownership literature is vast, with dozens of studies seeking to explain who owns guns and why. We build on this literature in two key ways. First, we introduce a new variable into the fold: sensitivity to harm. We theorize that this concern actively inhibits gun ownership. Second, we direct theoretical and empirical attention to a predictor...
In any given year, more than 600,000 inmates are released from prisons into communities across the United States. Former prisoners face countless economic, social, and psychological obstacles that make reentry difficult and increase the risk of reoffending. These issues have become increasingly salient to scholars and policy makers over the past tw...
Two principal movers of American politics appear increasingly to be connected: racism and guns. The racial content underlying gun rights rhetoric, however, is rarely made explicit during political campaigns. As such, it is possible that espousing pro‐gun messages may be an effective way to surreptitiously court prejudiced voters without transgressi...
The gun ownership literature is vast, with dozens of studies seeking to explain who owns guns and why. We build on this literature in two key ways. First, we introduce a new variable into the fold: moral concern about harming others. We theorize that this concern actively inhibits gun ownership. Second, we direct theoretical and empirical attention...
Correctional staff turnover has been linked to burnout in current staff, risk of physical injury due to understaffing, and high replacement costs due to onboarding processes. To date, much research has been devoted to job characteristics and demographic profiles to understand turnover, but little research has examined highly dynamic factors, such a...
This study presents a comprehensive assessment of what Millennials think about U.S. correctional policy. Using a 2017 national-level sample (N = 1,000), Millennials’ correctional policy opinions across 13 outcomes are assessed and compared to the views of other generations. The main findings are twofold. First, Millennials are only modestly punitiv...
Beliefs about race, especially racial resentment, are key predictors of public support for capital punishment and punitiveness generally. Drawing on a conceptual innovation by political scientist Jennifer Chudy, we explore the utility of transferring into criminology her construct of racial sympathy – or Whites’ concern about Blacks’ suffering. Fir...
In the United States, Catholics make up more than 50 million members of the adult population, or about one in five Americans. It is unclear whether their religious affiliation shapes Catholics’ views on public policy issues, ranging from the legality of abortion to criminal justice practices. Capital punishment is especially salient, given that Pop...
A book review of Jennifer Carlson's "Policing the Second Amendment: Gun, Law Enforcement, and the Politics of Race."
On the basis of a 2019 YouGov survey of white respondents ( n = 734), the impact of racial beliefs on support for Donald Trump was explored. The analysis revealed that in addition to racial resentment, white nationalism—a desire to keep the United States white demographically and culturally—was strongly related to faith in Trump. Analyses based on...
After each mass public shooting, an inevitable debate surrounding the tools used to carry out the attack ensues. This debate is marked by two sides: those who endorse controlling access to firearms and those who oppose restrictions to the Second Amendment. Implicit in this dialogue is the assumption that gun owners are a homogenous group who stand...
In The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander drew national attention to the extensive imposition of collateral consequences on those convicted of a crime and to their racially disparate effects. These so-called invisible punishments are intended to restrict offender participation in civil, economic, and social institutions. At issue, however, is how the...
Research summary
In the wake of repeated school shootings, today's youth have acquired the label of the “mass shooting generation.” Another fitting label would be the “armed school generation.” Most states now permit school security officers to carry firearms, and at least 466 school districts in 19 states allow teachers or staff members to be arme...
Research Summary:
In The Eternal Criminal Record, James Jacobs detailed how it has become increasingly difficult for ex-offenders to escape the mark of their criminal record. One way to “wipe the slate clean” is through the official expungement of criminal records. We assess public views toward this policy using a national sample of American adults...
Objectives. The recurring mass murder of students in schools has sparked an intense debate about how best to increase school safety. Because public opinion weighs heavily in this debate, we examine public views on how best to prevent school shootings. We theorize that three moral-altruistic factors are likely to be broadly relevant to public opinio...
In the United States, Catholics make up more than 50 million members of the adult population, or about 1 in 5 Americans. It is unclear whether their religious affiliation shapes Catholics' views on public policy issues, ranging from the legality of abortion to criminal justice practices. Capital punishment is especially salient, given that Pope Fra...
The authors studied the extent to which the American public would support the implementation of rehabilitation ceremonies, including certificates. Using a national-level survey they commissioned YouGov to undertake, the authors examined public views about the redeemability of offenders--whether they believe that those convicted of felonies are intr...
Beliefs about race, especially racial resentment, are key predictors of public support for capital punishment and punitiveness generally. Drawing on a conceptual innovation by political scientist Jennifer Chudy, we explore the utility of transferring into criminology her construct of racial sympathy—or Whites’ concern about Blacks’ suffering. First...
Beliefs about race, especially racial resentment, are key predictors of public support for capital punishment and punitiveness generally. Drawing on a conceptual innovation by political scientist Jennifer Chudy, we explore the utility of transferring into criminology her construct of racial sympathy—or Whites’ concern about Blacks’ suffering. First...
In light of the continuing mass shootings in America involving high casualties, we present national-level survey data (n = 1,100) examining the American public’s support for regulating the lethality of firearms. Our data allow us to examine how the American public views regulating the lethality of firearms in America, and also how the Second amendm...
Based on a 2017 national survey of 1,000 Black Americans, perceptions regarding the implications of Donald Trump’s election as President on race relations, police-minority relations, and police treatment of Black citizens in the United States were examined. Findings suggest the existence of a “Trump Effect.” With minor variation across demographic...
From Columbine to Sandy Hook to Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the American public has repeatedly witnessed the carnage and tragic consequences of mass school shootings. Using a national survey of American adults (N = 1,100) conducted between May 30 and June 6, 2018 in the aftermath of the Parkland tragedy, this project explores public opinion on why th...
In 2009, Maruna and King presented results from a British survey showing that the public’s belief in the redeemability of people who committed offenses curbed their level of punitiveness. Based on a 2017 national survey in the United States (n = 1,000), the current study confirms that redeemability is negatively related to punitive attitudes. In ad...
School shootings are one of the most salient social problems in America. Most prior research in this area has focused on identifying their causes and evaluating preventive school safety measures. An overlooked issue involves what to do with individuals who plan, attempt, or commit school shootings. Using data from an experiment embedded in a nation...
Based on a 2017 national survey of 1,000 Black Americans, perceptions regarding the implications of Donald Trump’s election as President on race relations, police-minority relations, and police treatment of Black citizens in the United States were examined. Findings suggest the existence of a “Trump Effect.” With minor variation across demographic g...
Recently, “problem-solving” courts have been developed as an alternative to imprisonment. They are often called “specialty” courts because
they process and divert into treatment programs offenders who are
seen as different from the general criminal population, such as those
with mental health or drug problems, those who are homeless or
veterans, an...
Shortly following the mass murders at a concert in Las Vegas, NV
and at a in church Sutherland Springs, TX, a national sample
(n¼1,000) was surveyed in December 2017 regarding gun control
policies. The study’s key finding is that two thirds of Americans
rejected the view that these incidents were the “price of liberty,”
advocating instead for effor...