Unit 3 Jeff Collins

 Supervision is an officer’s oversight of clients committed to his or her custody.  Classification consists of the supervising officer using an objective assessment to compute the risks posed by the offender, identifying offender needs requiring intervention, and selecting the appropriate supervision and treatment strategies.  Highest priority is placed on identifying risks that would likely jeopardize public safety if not addressed.

 Risk assessment provides a measure of the probationer or parolee’s degree of dangerousness to the public and also measures the offender’s propensity to engage in future criminal activity.  The first generation assessments relied on interviewing the offender and using case-by-case information to make the decision about risk.  The second generation assessments primarily use static questions about previous behavior, which has already happened and cannot be altered.

 Third generation assessments include both static and dynamic factors, which aid in measuring both negative and positive offender change over time.  Dynamic factors include family relations, friends, emotional health, housing, leisure, and financial situation.

 The officer identifies those characteristics, conditions, or behaviors that limit motivation and may lead to criminal behavior.  Treatment activities are defined as actions taken by the supervising officer intended to bring about rehabilitation and reintegration into the law-abiding community.  Treatment needs include drug or alcohol abuse, mental illness, anger management or education or vocational deficiencies.  Sources of information that may be used to identify treatment needs include the presentence report, prison disciplinary records and the prerelease plan, physical or medical health evaluations, records of drug or alcohol abuse and other related criminal conduct, financial history, and residential history.

 Developing the Case Plan  Supervision issues addressed in the plan may involve:  Conditions imposed by the court  Risk control  Treatment

 Surveillance means ascertaining that the offenders are meeting the conditions of supervision imposed by the court or parole board.  The most common form of surveillance is maintaining contact through face-to-face meetings with each client in the office setting.

 Most classification systems use the traditional categories of maximum, medium and minimum.  The categories specify the smallest amount of contact requirements.  Factors of contacts include:  Type of contact  Location of contact  Frequency of contact

 Employment is likely the single most important element in preventing recidivism for probationers and parolees (Petersilia 2003).  Offenders are often the last to be hired and the first to be terminated.  Some offenders are barred from employment in their chosen fields as a result of regulatory and licensing laws that preclude people with a criminal conviction.

 In neighborhood-based supervision (NBS), the probation officers conduct the supervision and implement the case plan by being more visible and having a strong community presence.  Cases are assigned to officers according to geographic beat areas in a community

 Specialized Caseloads have proven to be effective for:  Drug offenders  Gang members  Sex offenders  Offenders with mental illness  About 5-10% of probationers and parolees are classified in a specialized caseload

 Sex offenders are typically court mandated to attend intensive treatment specific to the type of sex offense.  Aggressive rapists have an entirely different treatment approach than do more passive pedophiles.  They receive more frequent contacts and more frequent searches

 Most gang members are young offenders, either juveniles between 12 and 17 years, or young adults in their early to mid-20s.  Gang members are significantly more likely than non–gang members to be rearrested for drug and violent crimes.  They have more extensive criminal histories and associate with other people who are or were involved in criminal activity.

 Most supervision techniques and treatment programs were developed to serve characteristics of men.  Women on community supervision have typically entered the system because of a crime they committed alongside a male partner (boyfriend, husband, or brother) or they acted alone out of financial need.

 Probation is conditional and may result in:  Early termination- if the probationer is compliant  Modification- most typically, if technical or misdemeanor violations occur  Revocation- if serious technical violations or new crimes occur

 Early Termination of Probation  Some states allow early termination after successful completion of 1/3 of the probation term or 2 years, whichever is less.  Modifying Conditions Before the Revocation Decision  Some jurisdictions allow probation officers to modify conditions in response to specific violations through the use of Administrative Options.

 Administrative interventions are in-house approaches that take place by a probation officer, with a supervisor’s advice or approval, prior to filing a formal revocation with the courts.  Administrative interventions may include oral/written reprimands, motivational interviewing techniques, or directives.  Some agencies have the probationer sign a waiver that he or she is agreeing to modified sanctions in lieu of going to court, and thus is waiving the right to a court hearing.  Most officers preferred to use in-house intervention techniques with probationers who made little to no effort to find employment, who failed to report, did not appear for community service work, and for the first positive alcohol test.

 Issues involved in probation revocation include:  Revocation authority  Types of probation violations  Revocation procedures  Rights during revocation  While most revocation decisions are discretionary, some jurisdictions mandate automatic revocation

 Law Violation- occurs if a probationer commits another misdemeanor or felony crime.  Technical Violation-a pattern of infractions, usually technical, that breach a condition(s) of probation.  85%-90% of all violations are technical  Probation Absconders-occurs if a probationer leaves the jurisdiction without permission.

 Revocation procedures are governed by:  Constitutional rules  State/Federal law  Agency policy  The federal system and some states provide probation officers the power to arrest probationers, while other states specifically prohibit probation officers from doing so.  Time on probation or parole is usually not credited toward sentence completion if a revocation occurs.  However, a federal court and now a Florida statute permit the court the option to credit none, some, or all time spent on supervised release toward the sentence.

 A probation or parole revocation is an “administrative hearing” and is seen as an extension of the existing sentence, and:  Does not require a jury  No Fifth Amendment privilege  No speedy trial  Gagnon v. Scarpelli (1973)  The Supreme Court mandated due process for probation revocation proceedings, consisting of:  A 2 stage hearing, consisting of a preliminary hearing and a final revocation hearing  Written notice of the alleged violation

 Disclosure of the evidence  The opportunity to testify and present evidence  The right to confront and cross-examine witnesses  The right to judgment by a neutral and detached hearing body  A written statement of the final decision, including evidence relied on in arriving at the decision The level of proof and evidence required for revocation varies among the states, although most require preponderance of the evidence as the standard. Revocation for inability to pay fees, restitution or fines can occur if the behavior is willful and intentional.

1. Written notice of the alleged probation violation 2. Disclosure of the evidence of violation 3. The opportunity to be heard in person and to present evidence and witnesses 4. The right to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses 5. The right to judgment by a detached and neutral hearing body 6. A written statement of the reasons for revoking probation, including evidence used in arriving at that decision

 Probation Recidivism Rates  The definition of “success” and “failure” differs between researchers.  35 studies in the U.S. found rearrest rates from 12%-65%, the conviction rate from 16%-35% and the revocation rate from 14%-60%.  Two large studies reported successful probation completion rates of over 70%.  Probation is most successful for those eligible for diversion, misdemeanor or first-time felons.

 Those most like to succeed on probation are:  Women  Offenders over the age of 30  Those with no prior or adult or juvenile convictions  Those with skills to maintain employment  High school graduates  Those that lived with their spouse or children  Upon comparison, probationers committed less technical violations and fewer new crimes than parolees.  Probationers were more likely to complete supervision successfully than parolees, regardless of crime committed.