Doctoral Dissertation Research: A Proposal to Study the Discretionary Decision-Making and Occupational Socialization of California Parole Agents in an Era of Organizational Change

假释代理人对他们所监督的假释者的命运作出酌情决定，同时受到他们周围的人和环境以及他们自己先前和正在进行的经验、培训和哲学的影响和约束。各州和政策制定者一再试图通过使用风险评估工具和要求越来越详细的文书工作来限制假释代理人的酌情决定权，这些文书要求高度的个人问责。然而，尽管假释代理人似乎因为这些强加的限制而失去了一些权力，但他们在他们监督的假释者的生活中保持的权力是巨大的。尽管假释在过去十年里在刑事司法界日益突出，但研究人员还没有系统地考察假释代理人(S)所扮演的角色。这个项目使用人种学的方法来探索自由裁量决策的动态和加州假释代理人的职业社会化。PI将通过非正式的对话访谈、生活史访谈、组织调查和分析加州各地假释单位和培训设施收集的机构数据来补充参与者的观察。这些丰富的三角数据将提供假释代理人在惩教实践中遇到快速变化时的日常活动、职业社交和个人特征的详细情况。在更广泛的政策层面上，这项研究可能会提出一些潜在的问题和/或假释代理人招聘、聘用、培训和评估方面的问题。这项工作还将为未来对加州及其他地区假释的社会学和犯罪学研究打开大门。随着各州削减刑事司法预算并将囚犯送往假释的人数比以往任何时候都多，这一点变得越来越重要。

Parole agents make discretionary decisions regarding the fate of the parolees they supervise, while being influenced and bounded by the people and environments around them, as well as by their own prior and ongoing experiences, trainings, and philosophies.States and policy makers have repeatedly tried to limit the discretionary decision making power of parole agents by employing risk assessment instruments and requiring increasingly detailed paperwork that demands high-levels of individual accountability. Yet, while parole agents appear to be losing some power due to these imposed limitations, the power they maintain over the lives of the parolees they supervise is substantial. Despite the increased prominence of parole in the last decade in criminal justice circles, researchers have not systematically examined the role(s) played by parole agents. This project uses an ethnographic approach to explore the dynamics of discretionary decision-making and the occupational socialization of California parole agents. The PI will complement participant observation with informal, conversational interviews, life-history interviews, an organizational survey and analysis of institutional data collected at parole units and training facilities throughout California. This rich triangulated data will provide a detailed look at the daily activities, occupational socialization, and personal characteristics of parole agents as they encounter rapid changes in correctional practices. At the broader policy level, the study may suggest some potential problems and/or issues with parole agent recruitment, hiring, training and evaluation. The work will also open doors to future sociological and criminological studies of parole in California and beyond. This is increasingly important as states cut their criminal justice budgets and send prisoners to parole in greater numbers than ever before.