Rodger Benefiel

Dr. Benefiel received his Ph.D. in criminology and criminal justice from Arizona State University in 2015. Prior to arriving at Bloomsburg, he was an associate warden at the Federal Correctional Complex in Tucson, Ariz. 

Dr. Benefiel has 24 years’ experience working in federal corrections. He’s worked at nine different federal prisons, including being one of the first officers at the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum (ADX) in Florence, Colo., and serving as a lieutenant at three different prisons, including the U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan. Hel was also a chief correctional supervisor (captain) at the federal prisons in El Reno, Okla., and Phoenix, Ariz., prior to becoming an associate warden. 

Dr. Benefiel is trained in a wide variety of correctional areas, including witness security escort, armed escort, bus operations, disturbance control, special investigations, and disciplinary hearing officer. He’s the recipient of numerous professional awards, including being chosen as Supervisor of the Year three times and receiving special recognition for drug interdiction from the International Narcotics Enforcement Officers’ Association. 

Prior to joining the Bureau of Prisons, he served as a police officer in Tempe, Ariz., and was a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps. 

Teaching Interests 

Corrections/Crime and Punishment 

Sociological and Criminological Theory 

Social and Bureaucratic Organizations 

Management of Criminal Justice Organizations 

Sociology of Law / Deviance 

Social Conflict / Social Control 

Teaching Experience 

CRIMJUST 212 – Restorative Justice, CRIMJUST 240 – Introduction to Corrections 

CRIMJUST 310 – Penology, CRIMJUST 255 – Criminal Justice Research 

CRIMJUST 420 – Crime and Inequality, CRIMJUST 450 – American Street and Prison Gangs 

CRIMJUST 430 – Riots and Disturbances, CRJ 524 Punishment and Society 

CRJ 501 Seminar in Criminal Justice, CRJ 525 Life Course Criminology 

CRJ 470 Discretionary Justice, CRJ 308 Advanced Criminological Theory 

CRJ 201 Crime Control Policies, AJS 123 Corrections as a Process 

CRIMJUST 430 – Contemporary Issues,  

Research Interests 

Criminal Justice Organizations (Prisons, Police, and Probation/Parole) — The impact of informal structures/subcultures • the influence of external stakeholders • line-level and mid-level management • exploring social relationships with the public and between managerial levels • contemporary issues in prisons (long-term segregation, prison rape, privatization) • labor-management relations • interested in using quantitative and qualitative methods. 

Deviance — The impact of mass incarceration on youth role identities, recidivism and desistance, and on marginalized portions of society • how societies cope when changing social values conflict with existing laws • maintaining social order amid changes to attitudes regarding authority • cultural/social influences on attitudes toward deviant behavior. 

Criminological/Sociological Theory — I'm very interested in exploring criminological/sociological/social psychological theories, applying them to current social problems, and using the results of those studies to inform public policy. 

Publications 

Benefiel, Rodger. (2022). Adversarial System of Justice. In Huebner, B. (ed.) Oxford Bibliographies in Criminology. New York: Oxford. 

Benefiel, Rodger (2022). Managing their Needs, Managing their Risks: The education of sex offenders in the United States. In Harmes, M.K., Harmes, M.A., and Harmes, B. (eds) The Histories and Philosophies of Carceral Education. London: Palgrave- MacMillan. 

Benefiel, Rodger. (2021). DeInstitutionalization. Criminal Justice in America: The Encyclopedia of Crime, Law Enforcement, Courts, and Corrections, Volume 1, 143-146. ABC-CLIO. 

Benefiel, Rodger. (2021). Psychopaths. Criminal Justice in America: The Encyclopedia of Crime, Law Enforcement, Courts, and Corrections, Volume 2, 527-530. ABC-CLIO. 

Benefiel, Rodger. (2020). Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Intersex (LGBTQI) Offenders and Prison Management. In Carter, L.M. (ed.) Punishing Gender, 289-315. San Diego, CA: Cognella. 

Benefiel, Rodger. (2020) How do American Prisons Handle Disorder? An Examination of the Relevance of Disorder Theories and a Comparison with Popular Media Portrayals. In Harmes, M.K., Harmes, M.A. and Harmes B. (eds.) The Palgrave Handbook of Incarceration in Popular Culture, 243-262. London: Palgrave-MacMillan. 

Benefiel, Rodger. (2019). Positive Administrative Control: Using Social Exchange to Assess Managerial Impacts on Inmate Misconduct. Justice Quarterly, 36(4), 682-717. 

Benefiel, Rodger. (2018). Book Review: Big house on the prairie: Rise of the rural ghetto and prison proliferation. International Criminal Justice Review, 1-3. doi: 10.1177/1057567718790309 

Benefiel, Rodger. (2015). Universalism. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Economics and Society. ISBN: 9781452226439 

Benefiel, Rodger. (2014). Theoretical Integration. The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. doi: 10.1002/9781118517383wbeccj519 

Benefiel, Rodger. (2014). The Adversarial System. The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. doi: 10.1002/9781118517383wbeccj369 

Benefiel, Rodger. (2012). Book Review: Stress and the Correctional Officer. International Criminal Justice Review 22: 86. doi: 10.1177/0734016811414701 

Conference and Professional Presentations 

Eastern Sociological Society, 2017: Positive Administrative Control and Inmate Misconduct 

Western Regional Executive Staff, Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2013: What makes the difference between a team that performs and one that does not — an overview from an Associate Warden 

MCC San Diego Leadership Program, 2013: Leadership and social relationships 

American Society of Criminology, 2011: Routine activities and prison disorder: toward a dynamic administrative component