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WORK ORDER SCHEME - AN EVALUATION OF TASMANIA'S WORK ORDER SCHEME

NCJ Number
58089
Author(s)
J G MACKAY; M K ROOK
Date Published
Unknown
Length
124 pages
Annotation
BOTH STATISTICAL AND CASE STUDY ANALYSIS FIND THAT THE USE OF WORK ORDERS IN PLACE OF INCARCERATION FOR MINOR OFFENDERS IS SUCCESSFUL IN TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA. THE MAJOR PROBLEM IS GOOD SUPERVISION.
Abstract
THE USE OF WORK ORDERS BEGAN IN 1972; THIS EVALUATION OF 452 MEN ON 30 PROJECTS IN 5 DISTRICTS WAS CONDUCTED BETWEEN APRIL AND SEPTEMBER, 1975. THE STATISTICAL EVALUATION FOUND THAT A MEAN NUMBER OF 201 OFFENDERS WERE ON WORK ORDERS EACH WEEK; 12.3 PERCENT OF THESE WERE ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE. CASE STUDY DATA FOUND THAT MANY OF THESE 'FAILURES' GRADUALLY ACHIEVED GOOD WORK ORDER RECORDS WHEN THEY HAD PROPER SUPERVISION. THOSE WHO WORKED HELPING PENSIONERS OR IN INSTITUTIONS AND HAD JOBS ENTAILING PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT HAD BETTER RECORDS THAN THOSE WHO WERE GIVEN IMPERSONAL PROJECTS. THE OVERALL RECIDIVISM RATE FOR THIS GROUP WAS COMPARED WITH THE RECIDIVISM RATE FOR ALL MEN GIVEN SHORT TERM PRISON SENTENCES IN 1974 AND 1971 (BEFORE WORK ORDERS STARTED), AND WITH A SMALL RANDOM SAMPLE OF THOSE GIVEN PRISON SENTENCES IN 1971. ALTHOUGH DISCRIMINATE ANALYSIS DID NOT SHOW SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES, IT DID SHOW THAT THE WORK ORDER GROUP DID NOT HAVE A HIGHER RECIDIVISM RATE OVERALL AND DID HAVE A LOWER RECIDIVISM RATE THAN THE 1971 PRISON GROUP, WHICH CONCEIVABLY CONTAINED WORK-ORDER CANDIDATES. THE PROGRAM CAN BE IMPROVED BY COMBINING THE WORK ORDER WITH PROBATION, SETTING UP WORK ORDER SUPERVISORY STAFF (INSTEAD OF RELYING ON VOLUNTEERS OR DIRECTORS OF INSTITUTIONS EMPLOYING THE OFFENDERS), IMPROVING TYPES OF PROJECTS, AND OFFERING AN EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT. CHARTS AND TABLES DETAIL STUDY DATA. (GLR)