12 Research and the Future of Probation and Parole

Success or Failure? Research in the behavioral sciences uses the experimental model experimental group is exposed to an intervention control group is not powerful tool for determining program impact difficult to implement, expensive, and requires time and expertise

Success or Failure? In P/P research into the impact of supervision typically uses a quasi-experimental approach In examining the degree to which P/P is successful, the results are often contradictory Many studies indicate probation/parole did not cause a significant reduction in recidivism

What is Meant by Success? Success is usually conceived of in terms of recidivism Difficult to operationalize recidivism No consistent definition Selection complicates efforts to determine success (low-risk offenders are more likely to have higher rates of success)

What is Meant by Success? Variables that correlate with success or failure on probation Age younger offenders have greater difficulty adhering to probation conditions Employment employed and financial stable do better

What is Meant by Success? Variables that correlate with success or failure on probation Marital status married less likely to violate probation Offense those on probation for drug- and theft-related crimes have higher recidivism rates High-risk offenders lessen the chance of success

What is Meant by Adequate Supervision? Routine probation, by definition, is inappropriate for most felons What is appropriate for most felons? Combined model Monitoring/control and social services Unannounced home/employment visits Checks for drug use Attention to clients’ needs

What is Meant by Adequate Supervision? Basic mechanism of P/P supervision is client contact Quality of contact Continuity of care Interventions in prison, community, or community-based facilities should be compatible

Evidence-Based Practice Community corrections agencies are implementing evidence-based practice: Cost-efficient practice proven to reduce risk to the community Rigorous quality assurance and evaluation to ensure effectiveness

Goals of Probation & Parole If based on a social service model Success is measured by the delivery of or referral to services, including education, training, employment, and counseling Will be affected by variables beyond its control, such as variations in unemployment rate, poverty and collapse of the family

Goals of Probation & Parole If based on a control model Success is measured according to the agency’s ability to hold the offender accountable for his/her behavior Close supervision may discover violations and/or new crimes

Goals of Probation & Parole Different levels of law enforcement will produce different levels of official recidivism, regardless of P/P agency effectiveness Effective control model agency will enhance the law enforcement function

Goals of Probation & Parole Stanley points out that an offender can be unemployed and drunk but still a success as far as the system is concerned if he commits no crime

Goals of Probation & Parole How are technical violations to be treated with respect to agency goals? How long does the agency retain responsibility for success or failure of a client who has completed supervision? Most difficult agency to evaluate in terms of success or failure is one based on a combined model

Goals of Probation & Parole Most agencies in the U.S. are combined Services and rehabilitation and control Broad purposes - cannot fail, nor can it succeed Too dependent on variables beyond agency control to evaluate effectively Probation/parole exists for economic reasons

Goals of Probation & Parole Probation officers are the first line of defense against prison overcrowding More than 97% of all state prison inmates will be released Who will make the release decision—judges, prison officials, or parole boards?

Goals of Probation & Parole If no parole, we go from a rational controlled system of “earned” release for selected inmates to a system of automatic release for nearly all inmates Discretionary release creates an incentive for inmates to engage in activities that prepare them for release In the absence of parole, release planning may be absent or inadequate

Where Have We Been? In 1977, indeterminate sentencing and parole were under great scrutiny Later, about a dozen states adopted determinate sentencing and abolished parole By the 21st century, most states had either abolished indeterminate sentencing or restricted the categories of offenders eligible for parole release

Where Have We Been? Determinate sentencing - a turn to classicalism But restricting use of indeterminate sentence and parole cannot respond to prison overcrowding In Georgia, violent offenders serve a minimum of 90% of sentence In New York, violent offenders are not eligible for parole

Where Have We Been? These policies led to corrections overload: Forced releases Criminal justice systems increased their use of probation Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (1994) Truth-in-sentencing offenders serve at least 85% of sentence

Where Are We Now? Control model became predominant Corrections was displaced by the buzzwords of a new era – intermediate sanctions Decreases in the crime rate, but still prison overcrowding Get tough legislation Special good time provisions

Where Are We Going? Research shows that supervision providing treatment and not just control has significantly greater rates of success Probation and parole agencies can offer field services in their client’s neighborhoods

Where Are We Going? An array of intermediate sanctions ranging from intensive supervision with electronic monitoring, to short-term detention

Justice Reinvestment Second Chance Act (2008) Promote and support programs that reduce recidivism Provides funding for research to improve the effectiveness of release and revocation decisions Designed to deal with high cost of imprisonment and shortage of money

Justice Reinvestment Proactive Community Supervision (PCS) System of community supervision focusing on treatment and rehabilitation Emphasis on the quality of the relationship between P/P agents and clients Reduced caseloads for high-risk offenders Use of the Level of Service Inventory-Revised

Key Terms Classicalism Combined model Control model Felony probation Success Social casework Split sentences Indeterminate sentence

Key Terms Intermediate sanctions Social services model Determinate sentence Recidivism