NCJ Number
53481
Date Published
1976
Length
9 pages
Annotation
AS AN AID IN THE ASSIGNMENT OF A LEVEL OF SUPERVISION IN PROBATION AND PAROLE, A METHOD OF ASSESSING A CLIENT'S PROPENSITY FOR FURTHER CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR IS DESCRIBED.
Abstract
IN ADDITION TO FELONY AND MISDEMEANOR CONVICTIONS, THE CONCEPT OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR WAS EXPANDED FOR ASSESSMENT TO INCLUDE ABSCONSIONS, RULES VIOLATIONS, AND ARRESTS. IN DEVELOPING THE ASSESSMENT METHOD, EACH OF THE FOLLOWING FACTORS WAS ASSIGNED A WEIGHT: RULES VIOLATION - 1, ARRESTS - 1, MISDEMEANOR CONVICTIONS - 3, ABSCONSIONS 5, FELONY CONVICTIONS - 7, AND CONVICTIONS FOR ASSAULTIVE OFFENSES - 9. EACH WEIGHTED OCCURRENCE WAS THEN ADDED TO A BASE SCORE OF 1. INFORMATION WAS COLLECTED ON APPROXIMATELY 250 RANDOMLY SELECTED CLOSED OR REVOKED CASES. A GROUP OF PERSONNEL DEEMED EXPERTS IN THE FIELD OF PROBATION AND PAROLE IDENTIFIED 22 FACTORS RELATED TO 'RISK' FOR FURTHER CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR. TO SELECT THE ITEMS WHICH WOULD CUMULATIVELY PROVIDE THE BEST SCALE FOR ASSESSING CLIENT RISK, A MULTIPLE LINEAR REGRESSION ANALYSIS WAS IMPLEMENTED. ALTHOUGH THE FACTORS ANALYZED EXPLAINED ONLY 58 PERCENT OF THE VARIANCE IN CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR, THE RESULTS WERE DEEMED SUFFICIENT TO CLASSIFY CLIENTS IN LESS PRECISE RANKING, I.E., 'LOW,' 'MODERATE,' AND 'HIGH' SUPERVISION. IN AN ATTEMPT TO ACHIEVE BETTER RESULTS, GROUP MEANS OR PERCENTAGES WERE COMPARED FOR ALL VARIABLES. BASED ON SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES AND SIMPLE CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS, THREE ITEMS WERE ADDED TO THE RISK SCALE. ALL 10 VARIABLES COMPRISING THE FINAL SCALE WERE THEN ASSIGNED WEIGHTS BASED ON THEIR CORRELATION WITH CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR. THE SCALE WAS THEN TESTED USING THE RANDOM SAMPLE FOR CLOSED AND REVOKED CASES. ONLY 5 PERCENT OF THE SAMPLE WAS DETERMINED TO BE CLASSIFIED LOWER THAN THEIR ACTUAL PROBATION/PAROLE OUTCOMES WARRANTED. VARIABLES USED ARE: ATTITUDE, AGE AT FIRST CONVICTION, PRIOR REVOCATIONS, ALCOHOL USAGE/PROBLEMS, NUMBER OF ADDRESS CHANGES, FELONY CONVICTIONS, PRIOR PERIODS OF PROBATION/PAROLE, SPECIFIC OFFENSES, PERCENTAGE OF TIME EMPLOYED, AND DRUG USAGE/PROBLEMS. REEVALUATION OCCURS EVERY 6 MONTHS, WHICH GIVES GREATER PRIORITY TO MORE RECENT BEHAVIOR SINCE INTAKE. A SAMPLE ASSESSMENT SHEET IS PROVIDED, ALONG WITH TABULAR DATA FROM THE RESEARCH. (RCB)