NCJ Number
138481
Date Published
1990
Length
183 pages
Annotation
This report presents the methodology and results of an evaluation of intensive supervision probation (ISP) programs for high-risk probationers in three California counties.
Abstract
The ISP programs in the three counties generally place offenders in small caseloads and require that they participate in work, submit to random urine and alcohol testing, and perform community service. Each site developed its own ISP eligibility criteria, and each was responsible for determining whether probationers met those criteria. Once a site determined that an offender was eligible for inclusion, the evaluators randomly assigned the offender to either the experimental (ISP) program or the control (routine probation) program. The study assignment period began in January 1987 and continued through July 1988. The 1-year followup period was defined individually for each participant, beginning on the day of assignment to a program. The final sample in Contra Costa County consisted of 170 offenders; in Ventura, 166 offenders; and in Los Angeles, 152 offenders. More than half of the ISP participants had been previously incarcerated, and nearly half had serious drug-abuse problems. The ISP participants received more probation contacts than did those on routine probation, and the ISP programs were primarily surveillance- oriented rather than service-oriented. At the end of the 1- year followup period, approximately 25 percent of the ISP offenders in each site had no new incidents (technical violations or new arrests), approximately 40 percent had technical violations, and approximately one-third had new arrests. These rates were virtually identical to those of the control group. The report concludes that if ISP effectiveness is judged solely by offender recidivism rates, it is not effective with high-risk offenders. It advises, however, that ISP is a reasonable alternative to incarceration and provides an intermediate punishment for offenders not sufficiently serious to be imprisoned but who require more careful monitoring in the community than other probationers. The report also notes that those ISP participants who were employed and participated in counseling and other rehabilitative services had a lower recidivism rate than those who were unemployed and who did not participate in treatment programs. The report recommends greater efforts to involve ISP participants in employment and treatment services. 9 figures, 26 tables, evaluation forms, and 84 references