Richard Tewksbury’s research while affiliated with Louisville Seminary and other places

Over the past century, many American correctional professionals (including correctional officers, wardens, and support staff) have written memoirs and autobiographies that described their experiences working at one or more facilities. Although the number of books of this nature pales in comparison to those that have been written and published by convicts and exconvicts, enough of them have been released in order to warrant a more in-depth analysis. This article presents the results of a content analysis of 30 English language, American based memoirs/autobiographies published between 1996 and 2017, on 14 variables. Not only does this study contextualize these books, but it also provides an analytic framework for their review. The conclusion points out areas where continued scholarship on this topic may be conducted. In particular, the article argues that more first-hand treatments need to be conducted on the prison institution by current or former correctional professionals who have experience working inside correctional institutions.

Despite being in existence for over a quarter century, costing multiple millions of dollars and affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals, sex offender registration and notification (SORN) laws have yet to be subject to a book-length treatment of their empirical dimensions - their premises, coverage, and impact on public safety. This volume, edited by Wayne Logan and J.J. Prescott, assembles the leading researchers in the field to provide an in-depth look at what have come to be known as 'Megan's Laws', offering a social science-based analysis of one of the most important, and controversial, criminal justice system initiatives undertaken in modern times.

This study examined details of behavioural sequences that constitute male-on-male child molestation within the Boy Scouts of America based on the narratives reported by child victims. Previous studies largely focused on convicted offenders when reconstructing the circumstances of child molestations. Also, sex crime literature did not consistently distinguish victim's gender and age when it comes to child victims and child molestation in an educational setting. Such loopholes have made the significances of the behavioural patterns in male-on-male child molestation unknown. This qualitative study analyses the verbal and behavioural patterns of male adult scoutmaster perpetrators against boy victims at the physical contact stage. Using a fishing metaphor, we identify unique behavioural sequences of scoutmaster perpetrators and explain the implications of such behaviours in male-on-male child molestation. Details of three unique behavioural patterns of scoutmaster perpetrators in male-on-male child molestation within the Boy Scouts of America are discussed.

With the growth of qualitative research within the fields of criminology and criminal justice (CCJ) it is important to examine discipline standards and expectations of how to collect and analyze qualitative data and to present research findings. Our aim here is to assess qualitative research published in 17 top CCJ journals during the period of 2010 to 2019. We found that the number of qualitative articles published in these years increased over the previous two decades; however, the relative percentage of all articles remained relatively stable. During this period, 11.3% of all articles in the 17 CCJ journals used qualitative methods. In addition, we provide general patterns related to methodology and to presentation of findings. The results give insights into discipline standards and expectations and points to substantive areas that are under-studied (e.g., victims) and to issues relating to methodological transparency.

One of the often-noted ‘pains of imprisonment’ is the deprivation of good and services. One of the few ways that prisoners can acquire additional amenities is to purchase items at the prison commissary. As such, the commissary represents a small amount of control that inmates have over their lives with regard to food, clothing, and methods to pass the time. To use the commissary, however, inmates must have money in their accounts; typically from their institutional job or via family members or friends. The present study seeks to examine the prices of commissary items along with typical institutional minimum wage salaries of inmates, to determine the likelihood of inmates purchasing from the commissary. In addition, items of similar size and convenience from the commissary are compared with prices found online in a large superstore and federal and state minimum wages are compared to examine buying power. The authors find that contrary to common belief, prices of items in the commissary are similar to superstores in the free community; however, in-prison wages are so low that it is unlikely inmates can afford to purchase many, if any amenities without supplemental financing from families and friends. Implications of these findings are discussed.

This article analyzes the challenges that investigators face when conducting scholarly research on supermax prisons. Drawing on existing literature, as well as results of a survey sent to researchers who have published scholarship on supermax prisons, issues and suggestions for enhancing and growing this specialized body of literature are summarized.

Sexual violence in U.S. correctional facilities has been considered by the public as an inevitable feature of confinement. Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was designed to gather rigorous national data on incident rates, and to provide an analysis in order to enhance the knowledge about and response to sexual misconduct in prisons. Since the program began, PREA has confronted a wide variety of research struggles, primarily dealing with methodological issues, such as survey methods and techniques, difficulty accessing the population, political influence, and inconsistent findings. National Prison Rape Elimination Commission recommended prevention, detection, response, and monitoring of sexual abuse for every form of correctional institution. Prison victimization was examined through the lens of being either witnessed, attempted, or direct victimization.

A significant number of individuals are being diagnosed with autism in the United States. Autism characteristics have direct implications for how law enforcement officers conduct investigations, make arrests, and respond to the physical and mental needs of autistic individuals. Despite these implications, little is known about what kinds of interactions law enforcement has with autistic individuals and the characteristics of such interactions. The present research is a mixed-methods approach to analyzing media reports involving law enforcement and autistic individuals/autism to uncover what interactions law enforcement has with autistic persons and the characteristics of such interactions. Findings have direct implications for law enforcement media relations and policy.