Daniel Cox, Dixie State University
Humanities
Community correctional professionals stand between offenders and their potential relapse into criminal behavior, i.e., recidivism. These officers are expected to monitor conduct and use evidence-based practices for rehabilitation. However, this important dual-role is too often distorted. Researchers have noted that training for officers about the use of evidence- based practices filters through officers’ attributions (their values and professional orientation), thereby impeding implementation of these practices (Whetzel et al. 2011). In this presentation, I argue that training of this sort often fails apparently because its delivery does not address officers’ attributions, especially regarding stereotypes of psychology and organizational support. I plan to suggest that recidivism, as well, will drop when training accounts for how and to what extent attribution biases interact with efforts to implement evidence-based practices. These preliminary findings are drawn from a study I am leading that assesses 50 officers throughout the State of Utah, utilizing surveys provided by researchers Mario Paparozzi (University of North Carolina– Pembroke) and Jennifer Skeem (University of California– Berkeley), about their attributions prior to and after training to measure for positive change in using evidence-based practices. The study also evaluates officers’ use of evidence-based practices during interactions with offenders with evaluation tools provided by researchers Peter Raynor (Swansea University) and Faye Taxman (George Mason University). The intent of the study, ultimately, is to determine if and to what extent attribution-based training for evidence-based practices will cause positive organizational change, the outcome of which is likely not only to influence the manner in which correctional professionals are trained but also the manner in which their training manuals are written.