Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Scully, Kristen L
URN	etd-11142005-132002
Title	The Effect of Incarceration on Attitudes toward the Criminal Justice System
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	Criminology and Criminal Justice, School of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Ted Chiricos Committee Chair David Rasmussen Committee Member Todd Clear Committee Member
Keywords	Incarceration Neighborhoods Attitudes
Date of Defense	2005-09-30
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract This study looks at the impact of experience with the criminal justice system and attitudes towards the criminal justice system. It is the fist study to incorporate incarceration in one’s neighborhood with race, concentrated disadvantage, victimization and perception of neighborhood problems in the explanation of attitudes toward the criminal justice system. To do this I use data from a community survey, crimes reported to the police, department of corrections data and census data all of which have been previously collected for Tallahassee, Florida. Using a proportional grab technique I am able to give each individual a unique score on the neighborhood-level variables of crime, incarceration, concentrated disadvantage and mobility. With this I run an ordinary least squares regression finding that race, perception of neighborhood problems and percent of individuals incarcerated in one’s neighborhood impact attitudes toward the criminal justice system. The most significant finding is that incarcerating individuals from a person’s neighborhood generally leads to more positive attitudes. However, when a neighborhood has a very high level of incarceration, it can actually have a negative impact on person’s attitudes toward the criminal justice system. This finding suggests that formal agents of control can have negative effects at the community level.
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