title: Bosnian and American students' attitudes toward electronic monitoring: is it about what we know or where we come from?
abstract: The use of community corrections continues to grow across the globe as alternatives to incarceration are sought. Little research attention, however, has been directed at correctional alternatives from a global orientation. The purpose of this research study is to compare the way that a sample of criminal justice students from the United States (n = 118) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (n = 133) perceive electronic monitoring. Because electronic monitoring is a newer sentencing alternative and it is used differently in Bosnia and Herzegovina than it is in the United States, it is predicted that Bosnian students will view electronic monitoring differently than will students from the United States. This study finds that while students are largely supportive of electronic monitoring sentences, support is affected by offender type and student nationality. For example, Bosnian students are more supportive of electronic monitoring sentences for drug offenders while American students are more supportive of electronic monitoring sentences for juvenile offenders. Differences were also found across student groups when attitudes toward electronic monitoring and the costs and pains associated with electronic monitoring were assessed. Specifically, American students were less likely to view electronic monitoring as meeting the goals of rehabilitation and more likely to view the conditions and restrictions associated with electronic monitoring as being punitive than Bosnian students were. Implications from these findings, as well as limitations and suggestions for further research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA lmuftic@shsu.edu.
authors.forename: Lisa R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Muftić
authors.affiliation: Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Brian K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Payne
authors.affiliation: University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
authors.forename: Almir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maljević
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001290:Attitude; D017522:Bosnia and Herzegovina; D003416:Criminal Law / Q000193:education / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D040362:Geographic Information Systems / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008297:Male; D011329:Prisoners / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000523:psychology; D011678:Punishment; D012945:Social Values; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovina; United States; comparative penal policy; electric monitoring; student attitudes