NCJ Number
197810
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 66 Issue: 2 Dated: September 2002 Pages: 14-27
Date Published
September 2002
Length
14 pages
Annotation
In examining the role of offender supervision, a fundamental task in every correctional agency, this article examines such issues as the relationship of supervision to risk assessment, practices related to changing offender behavior, the use of social controls, offender accountability, and successes and failures in intervention strategies.
Abstract
Overall, there have been few rigorous assessments of the effectiveness of different interventions in the field of supervision. The majority of studies have focused on caseload size and intensive supervision. Little has been done on case management, risk assessment, or models that test various philosophies of supervision. The larger body of literature in the field of corrections, addictions, and psychological interventions provides evidence about practices that could be applied to the field of supervision. These practices could be incorporated into the field to develop a theoretical model of supervision that contributes to changes in offender behavior to maximize recidivism reduction. These practices include the use of informal social controls, the duration of the intervention, the importance of the amount of treatment provided, continuum of care, and offender accountability through contingency management and graduated responses. The author proposes an evidence-based model of supervision that involves engagement, a commitment to early change, and sustained change for the long-term. These components of the model are linked by the use of department strategies that focus on improving the contacts between the offender and supervision agent. Although the use of deportment strategies will humanize the supervision experience in fulfilling behavioral objectives, it is not known whether traditional, surveillance-oriented agencies can move in the direction of using evidence-based practices of interventions. 5 tables, 1 figure, and 65 references