jobs

via sp:

The Sentencing Project is pleased to announce a new position opening for State Advocacy Coordinator. In conjunction with the Director of Advocacy, the State Advocacy Coordinator will develop and implement a program to support state and local advocates engaged in criminal justice reform. Issues to be addressed will include sentencing and drug policy reform, alternatives to incarceration, racial disparities in the criminal and juvenile justice system, felony disenfranchisement reform and others consistent with the mission of The Sentencing Project. The position will involve some travel to selected states.

Coordinator will be responsible for:

* developing a strategic plan for reform in selected states, which may include partnering with organizations from civil rights, voting rights and faith-based communities, formerly incarcerated persons, policymakers, and community leaders;
* providing research assistance, developing communications strategies, aiding in coalition-building, and advising on legislative campaigns;
* working at both the federal and state levels, including some federal policy work.

Click here to see the complete job description and qualifications.

To be considered for the position, applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and writing sample to: Nia Lizanna, Operations Manager, The Sentencing Project, 514 Tenth Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004 or nlizanna@sentencingproject.org. No phone calls, please.

Job Title: Criminal Information Analyst
Closing Date/Time: Thu. 12/04/08 5:00 PM Central Time
Salary: $40,740.00 – $66,456.00 annually
Location: Downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota
Department: Sheriff’s Office

The Criminal Information Sharing & Analysis Unit of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a Criminal Information Analyst to perform a wide range of analysis of information relating to criminal activities in support of law enforcement and criminal investigations…There are two positions available – one full-time, benefit earning, permanent and one full-time, benefit earning, limited duration appointment of up to two years. The primary duties and responsibilities of this position include:

• Research, compile, analyze and map crime trends and patterns.
• Assist patrol, investigative and administrative staff in planning the deployment of resources for the prevention, intervention, and suppression of criminal activities.
• Provide investigative case support to assist in criminal investigations.
• Produce and disseminate information sharing bulletins and alerts.
• Act as liaison to all Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and neighboring law enforcement Crime Analysis Details.
• Gather, research and analyze information in order to develop criminal information products.
• Perform crime analysis in support of law enforcement efforts.
• Detect and describe tactical, administrative, and strategic links, patterns, and trends in crimes.
• Respond to inquiries from law enforcement and other agencies.

The Ideal Candidate will have:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in sociology, psychology, criminal justice, law enforcement, business/public administration, or a closely related field PLUS one year of analyst, investigative or law enforcement experience (experience may be substituted for education on a year for year basis).
• Knowledge of research and data analysis methods and techniques.
• Ability to collect, assemble, analyze, and evaluate evidence, statistics, and other pertinent information to draw logical conclusions in order to effectively solve crimes.
• Experience working with Arc GIS Mapping, Pen Link or I2 analytical software.
• Experience working with Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint).
• Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.
• Experience working with federal, state and local law enforcement databases.
• Ability to demonstrate the employee competencies.

This position may be subject to overtime or extended hours when necessary. Applicants must have no felony convictions.Selection Process: A top group of applicants will be identified based on an evaluation of Education and Experience. Candidates who are offered employment will be required to pass, prior to appointment, a drug screening, and must successfully complete a background investigation conducted during the six month probationary period.

scott jaschik offers another nice inside higher ed piece today, based on a new american sociological association report on employment opportunities in academic sociology. an excerpt:

More than one third of the assistant professor positions did not specify a subfield. But the top subfield specified (nearly three times more than the runner up) was criminology/delinquency, and the sixth most popular subfield was a related one, law and society. The concern of those who prepared the report is that evidence suggests grad students are focused elsewhere.

i spoke with mr. jaschik on friday, so my opinions on this issue are well-represented in the article. i won’t say more, except to add a few words of reassurance for sociology grad students with specialties outside criminology. though crim is the top specialty area identified, there were 227 positions listed as “field open” in the ASA report, often in top departments. my sense is that these open positions often go to areas such as stratification, demography, and political sociology.

that caveat aside, the ASA report is also reassuring to me as an advisor — the market continues to be exceptionally strong for sociological criminologists. here are the top specialties specified in job postings for sociology assistant professors in 2006:

Field and Number of Positions
Field open 227
Criminology/delinquency 86
Quantitative methods/statistics 29
Theory 21
Urban/community 19
Race and ethnicity 19
Law and society 15
Medical 13
Race, class and gender 12
Demography 11
Family 11
Social psychology 11
Culture 10
Organizations/Economic 10
Stratification/Labor Markets 9
Policy Analysis/Public Policy 8
Education 7
Environment 7
Latino/Latina 7
Political/Social Movements 7
Aging/Social Gerontology 6
Applied Sociology/Evaluation Research 5
Social Welfare/Social Work 5
Other Fields 75
Total 610

inside higher ed reports on criminal background checks for faculty members.

i was surprised a few years ago when a student applying for an academic position sweated-out a very thorough criminal background investigation. during my job search in the mid-1990s, i can’t recall any discussion of criminal history — except for the senior scholar who chided me, saying “young criminologists these days haven’t done enough crime to make any sense of it.”

i can understand why colleges and universities might want a basic screen on applicants, but my student was called upon to explain every single arrest. on this point, i agree with the senior scholar who interviewed me: screening out criminologists with arrest histories is sort of like screening out economists who’ve handled currency.

grant duwe of the minnesota department of corrections emailed today with news of an opening for a research analyst. the department is doing some innovative research these days, so the job would be intellectually rewarding as well as remunerative.

Research Analyst Specialist – Minnesota Department of Corrections (St. Paul, MN)

Open Period: February 11, 2008-March 14, 2008

Position: Full-time permanent

Salary Range: $18.72-$27.46 hourly

Job Duties: This position will be responsible for evaluating correctional programs and conducting research on sex offenders, offender re-entry, and restorative Justice.

Minimum Qualifications Required:
* Graduate degree (Master’s or Ph.D.) in the social sciences (Criminology, Criminal Justice, Sociology or similar) with advanced training and/or professional experience in quantitative and qualitative research methods and multivariate statistics.

AND

* Demonstrated ability to write research reports for a variety of audiences, as evidenced by the preparation of legislative reports, program evaluation reports, or publications in peer-reviewed academic journals.

* Demonstrated ability to use SPSS, SQL or Access in combining multiple data sets into one final database to conduct bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses.

* Human relations and strong written/oral communications skills essential to work with department managers and staff, research and corrections professionals in the community and other state agency staff.

* Experience managing multiple research projects.

Preferred Qualifications:
* Experience in the criminal Justice system and field of corrections.

* Knowledge of advanced multivariate statistical techniques (e.g. logistic regression, poisson regression, Cox proportional hazards models) commonly used in corrections research.

* Demonstrated ability to design surveys and use appropriate statistical techniques to analyze and interpret survey data.

To apply: go to http://www.doer.state.mn.us/ and get your resume in Resume Builder. Save it and submit it into the database. Search for Job posting number: 08CORR000034. The job posting can also be found here.