Appendix A
Survey For Demographic And Work-Related Characteristics
prison, probation, survey, probation officer, mission statement, department of corrections
(Survey designed in 2005 by
Patrick Fagan)
Please mark your answer with an “X.” It is estimated that this survey can be completed in less than 30 minutes, and there are only 60 questions to be answered. Your answers will not be associated with your identity in any way. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at ****@**** and with your phone number if you would like me to call you. I will assign your response a number and all references to your name, if provided, will be anonymized. Please return your completed survey in the self-addressed, stamped envelope that has been provided to you. You do not have to write your name on the envelope. The results of this survey will be placed on the internet in a password-protected directory. You can obtain the user name and password to access the results from your regional supervisor.
What is your official title? _____________________________
What is your age?
___between 20 and 25
___between 25 and 30
___between 30 and 40
___over 40
Are you married?
___yes
___no
Are you male or female?
___male
___female
Do you have at least one child?
___yes
___no
What is your race?
___white
___black
___Hispanic
___Asian
___other
Have you completed high school?
___yes
___no
___GED
Do you have a bachelor’s degree?
___yes
___no
How long have you worked as a probation officer for MS?
___less than 1 year
___between 1 and 5 years
___between 5 and 8 years
___between 8 and 15 years
___over 15 years
Is your salary
___less than $21,000 per year
___between $21,000 and $24,000 per year?
___between $24,000 and $30,000 per year?
___more than $30,000 per year?
Do you feel that you have enough time to complete your daily tasks from 8-5?
___yes
___no
___neutral
How much time do you think you spend on paperwork each week?
___less than 5 hours
___between 5 and 10 hours
___between 10 and 20 hours
___between 20 and 30 hours
___more than 30 hours
How much of your paperwork, if any, do you think is unnecessary?
___less than 5%
___between 10 and 20%
___between 20 and 40%
___between 40 and 60%
___all of it
About how many hours would you estimate that you spend in court per Month?
___less than 5 hours
___between 5 and 10 hours
___between 10 and 20 hours
___between 20 and 30 hours
___more than 30 hours
If you do not go to court monthly, about how many hours would you estimate that you spend in court per Year? If you answered the preceding question, leave this one blank.
___less than 10 hours
___between 10 and 20 hours
___between 20 and 30 hours
___between 30 and 40 hours
___more than 40 hours
Per year, about how often do you think you give a court suggestions for how an offender should be sentenced?
___never
___from 1 to 3 times
___from 3 to 5 times
___between 5 and 10 times
___more than 10 times
About how much time do you think you spend in the field, or outside of your office, to deal with work related activities?
___less than 5 hours
___between 5 and 10 hours
___between 10 and 20 hours
___between 20 and 30 hours
___more than 30 hours
If you conduct home visits on offenders, about how often do you think you conduct them?
___never
___from 1 to 3 times per month
___from 3 to 5 times per month
___more than 5 times per month
___more than 10 times per month
You can write in how often you do them here ___________________________
If you conduct an “unannounced” home visit or other visitation, please write in the most likely reasons why you conduct the visit? _______________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
How many adults do you have on your probation case docket now?
___none
___from 1 to 10
___from 10 to 20
___from 20 to 30
___from 30 to 40
___more than 40
You can write in the exact number if you know it ________________
How many adults did you clear off your probation case docket last year?
___none
___from 1 to 3
___from 5 to 10
___from 10 to 20
___from 30 to 40
___more than 40
You can write in the exact number if you know it ________________
You might consider this next section to be personal and private. Please remember that your answers will not be associated with your identity in any way. Once your response is received, it will be assigned a number and all references to your name—if you include it— will be removed.
What type of work did you do before you came to the DOC?
___construction/engineer
___business-related private/commercial
___law enforcement
other__________________
What is more important to you?
___enforcing the law
___social work
___combination of both
Do you feel that you have been given too much responsibility and too many duties considering your pay and time frame for completing your work?
___yes
___no
___neutral
Do you feel that you are overworked?
___yes
___no
___neutral
Do you think your job is stressful?
___yes
___no
___neutral
On a weekly basis, how happy would you say you “feel” while you are at your job?
___always happy
___usually happy
___somewhat happy
___seldom happy
Do you think you have too many offenders on your case docket?
___yes
___no
___neutral
If you get frustrated at work, what are the most likely reasons?
___frustration with superior
___frustration with coworker
___frustration with offender
___lack of time to complete tasks
___insufficient pay
___frustration with personal, nonwork-related problems
You can write in any other answer here_____________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Do you think your job has too many drawbacks?
___yes
___no
___somewhat
___neutral
In the next 4 years, do you think the overall value and effectiveness of the state probation system will
___increase
___decrease
___remain the same
Do you think probation in MS in general is effective?
___yes
___no
___neutral
Which viewpoint do you think most closely reflects the way probation should be carried out in MS?
___rehabilitation viewpoint (cure the offender and reincorporate him into society)
___criminal justice viewpoint (probation is a form of punishment)?
___combination of both viewpoints
Which model is more important regarding the probationer?
___the law enforcement model (surveillance and punishment)
___the social worker model (rehabilitative and treatment)
___combination of both models
What is more important to you?
___helping the public
___helping the offender
___neutral
Have you ever been transferred to another position or another location without requesting it?
___yes
___no
Excluding the failure of a drug test, how difficult is it for you to get a client’s probation revoked?
___it is not difficult
___it is somewhat difficult
___it is very difficult
___neutral
How much do you worry about an individual client completing his or her probation successfully or in failure?
___when off duty I frequently think about the client
___when off duty I sometimes think about the client
___when off duty I seldom think about the client
___when off duty I never think about the client
In your opinion, what are the chances that you can take the typical probationer and have a positive affect on his or her life regarding rehabilitation?
___the chances are good
___the chances are somewhat good
___the chances are bad
___there is no chance
Would you ever allow a probationer to phone you at home?
___yes
___no
___neutral
How often would you say that you recruit potential employers for your probationers?
___frequently
___sometimes
___seldom
___never
___neutral
If the goal of probation in Mississippi has been to rehabilitate the offender, how successful would you say probation has been in this state?
___very successful
___somewhat successful
___not as successful as it should be
___not successful at all
Do you think officers should get involved in the personal problems of probationers?
___ yes
___ no
Would you rather do just casework or just community work or some combination of both?
___just casework
___just community work
___combination of both
How often would you say that you schedule interviews or mandatory meetings with probationers around the probationer’s work hours or school hours?
___frequently
___sometimes
___seldom
___never
___neutral
If a probationer needed a ride to a job interview, would you say that officers in your office are likely to give him or her a ride?
___ yes
___ no
___ neutral
If you have unresolved problems at work, how would you classify them? Check all that apply.
___problem caused by probationers
___problem caused by supervisor
___problem caused by coworker
___problem caused by personal finances
___n/a
Overall, do you think the DOC suffers from lack of skillful management?
___yes
___no
___somewhat
___neutral
Overall, do you think Your specific office suffers from lack of skillful management?
___yes
___no
___somewhat
___neutral
How satisfied are you with the DOC’s promotion and procedures policies?
___satisfied
___somewhat satisfied
___not satisfied
___n/a
Overall, how would you rate the working relationship with your Regional Management or Regional Supervisor?
___always good
___usually good
___sometimes good
___seldom good
___neutral
Overall, how would you rate your working relationship with the upper management of the DOC (commissioner, deputy commissioners, assistant commissioners, or the supervisors outside your specific office, etc.)?
___always good
___usually good
___sometimes good
___seldom good
___n/a
Overall, how would you rate the Communication Level between your regional management or regional supervisor?
___always good
___usually good
___sometimes good
___seldom good
___n/a
Do you wish Your office management/supervisor would leave procedures and policies the way they are instead of changing them occasionally?
___yes
___no
___maybe
___neutral
Do you wish the management/supervisor of the state DOC would leave procedures and policies the way they are instead of changing them occasionally?
___yes
___no
___maybe
___neutral
How often do you report a problem to your immediate supervisor that you personally and directly cannot resolve?
___frequently
___occasionally
___rarely
___never
When you report a problem to your immediate supervisor, how likely is it to be resolved to your satisfaction?
___always to my satisfaction
___usually to my satisfaction
___sometimes to my satisfaction
___seldom to my satisfaction
___neutral
In your specific office, do you think there is a problem with staff vacancy and staff turnover?
___yes
___no
___somewhat
How would you rate the morale in your specific office?
___always good
___usually good
___sometimes good
___seldom good
___not good
Regarding management in your specific office, how often do you feel you get too many requests from different supervisors?
___always
___sometimes
___seldom
___never
Think of the employees in your office getting along with each other and functioning as a team. How would you describe the colleague atmosphere in your office?
___great
___good
___somewhat good
___bad
Do you feel you have been given adequate resources to do your job (computers, enough office space, etc.)?
___yes
___no
___neutral
Do you plan to retire from the DOC?
___yes
___no
___maybe
Please feel free to write in your personal comments on the following questions or any other matter not addressed by this survey.
If your job has drawbacks, what are they?
If you have problems at work, what are they?
If you have any other comments about your job, coworkers, or management/supervisor, please discuss them here.
If you or your coworkers have problems at work, what can be done to address them?