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Probation:
What
Works?
PRESENTATION TITLE
Created by Jonathan Lee and Allen Lim
In this Presentation:
• An Overview of the Current System
• 2 Different Programs, 2 Success Stories
• Recommendations for Probation’s Future
Today’s Probation
• The current probation model
• 3 types of caseloads:
– Regular Caseload
– Banked Caseload
– Specialized Caseload
Probation Officer Opinions
• Goal ambiguity
– Is there a clear departmental goal?
– Lack of funding = increased rates of recidivism
2 Different Approaches;
2 Success Stories
• Rehabilitative
– Travis County (TX) 10-Step Program
• Punitive
– Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement
(HOPE)
Travis County (TX) 10-Step:
A Rehabilitative Process
• Program followed 4 core practices:
– Effectively assess probationers’ criminogenic risks
and strengths
– Employ smart and tailored supervision tactics
– Use incentives and graduated sanctions, and
respond promptly to probationers’ behaviors
– Implement performance-driven personnel that
reward reduced recidivism
Travis County (TX) 10-Step:
A Rehabilitative Process
• Results:
– Reductions in probation revocation hearings saved
$400,000 in local jail costs per year ($24 per day,
per person)
– One year re-arrest rate fell 17%
– Re-arrest rates for low-risk offenders fell 77%
Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with
Enforcement (HOPE):
The Punitive Approach
• Probationers are required to phone in every
weekday
• Probation violations result in immediate stay
in jail
• Probation can be modified for probationer to
resume normal life
Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with
Enforcement (HOPE):
• Results:
– Missed appointment rate fell from 13.3% to 2.6%
– “Dirty” drug tests fell from 49.3% to 6.5%
– Provided a fiscal saving of $6000 per participant,
per year
– About 80% probationers on HOPE stopped using
drugs
– Abbreviated probation modification hearings
economized court time
Different Successful Approaches with
Similar Successful Characteristics
• Success through use of:
– Cognitive-Behavioral Methods (CBM)
– Proven Evidence-Based Practices (EBP)
– Risk-Needs-Responsivity (RNR)
What Other Members of the Criminal
Justice Field have Recommended
• Reduced Caseload Size
• Placeload Probation
Is there a Proven Solution?
• No. Not one program has been proven to work
in every jurisdiction
Our Recommendations
• Start with a more sociological approach to
understanding people within the jurisdiction
• Based on findings, determine which
enforcement approach (rehabilitative or
punitive), and set that as a departmental goal
• Train officers to use new methods of
interacting with probationers such as
Motivational Interviewing (MI)
Our Recommendations
• Use already successful screening process, such
as Static Risk and Offender Needs Guide
(STRONG-R), Risk Need Responsivity (RNR),
and Strategic Training Initiative in Community
Supervision (STICS) for each offender
• Enforce and patrol based on results of survey
and new departmental standards
• Tinker and tailor program to fit needs
Conclusion
• There is no proven solution to effective
probation enforcement
– Overall
• No one program is applicable for every jurisdiction
• The only proven way to reduce recidivism is to tailor
programs specifically for a certain
population/jurisdiction
• The most important thing for probation departments:
DETERMINE THE GOAL!!
The End
Thank you for your time!
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